chapter 4 - the fan

The next morning Ava looked at herself in horror when she got out of the shower. Her washboard abs were gone. In their place she could pinch just a little bit of fat. Not much, hardly even an inch, but never before had she been able to do this.

"This is not happening!", she yelled.

Ava put on her running shorts and shirt and stepped out into the morning heat. She started to run. It felt good. She was going to burn off that pizza. No way was she getting fat. The devil could go ***self, she thought.

About a mile into her run a woman came along beside her. She was very pretty with dark hair, tan skin, and a perfect body. She only wore a very short pair of running shorts and a sports bra.

"Do you like to run?", the woman asked as she ran alongside her.

"Yes.", Ava responded, breathing hard in the sweltering heat.

"I like to run too. I run every day. It's how I stay thin.". the woman said, not even breathing hard, despite their fast pace.

"Yes, that's why I run too.", Ava replied.

"I know, and that's why we can't have you running.", the woman said in response, and turn to Ava, the woman's eyes the deepest blue, her teeth incredibly white. She reached over and touched Ava. As soon as she touched her, Ava got a terrible cramp in her right leg. Ava limped to a stop and the woman laughed as she ran away from her.

The cramp in her leg eased once Ava stopped running but started again as soon as Ava tried to run again. Ava tried running a few more times before giving up and turning to walk home. As she walked, she noticed that every restaurant was a buffet. You couldn't walk a block without encountering a donut shot, an ice cream parlor, or a bakery. None of the restaurants, bakeries, or donut shops had any patrons, but they were all open 24 hours.

Less than a block from her house she came upon a bakery. She couldn't remember running by it earlier, but there it was just the same. Out of front a good-looking man stood holding a tray of pastry samples.

"Would you like a sample?", he asked when she approached.

Ava looked at the tray, they were assorted danishes and stuffed croissants. She knew she shouldn't eat one, but she had not had breakfast and was starving.

"Please take one.", the man said, placing the tray in front of her.
"OK, but just one.", Ava said, and took a chocolate croissant from the tray.

He smiled and just as she was taking a bite, he said, "I must warn you. They can be quite addictive for girls like you."

As soon as she swallowed her first bite, a feeling swept over her that could only be described as euphoria. It was like the feeling she had the first time she had tried coke at a party. It was a rush and left her wanting more. She wolfed down the pastry and replied, "It's really good."

He smiled again, and said "Come in, I more for you to try."

Ava followed him into his bakery. Indeed, the bakery was full of pastries fresh out of the oven. The man picked up a platter and followed her around, placing every pastry she looked at on the platter. He stacked it high with an assortment of sweets and led her to a table.

It was like Ava could not get enough. Every bite was pure ecstasy. She ate pastry after pastry, not stopping when she felt full, or even stuffed. She at them until she could not eat another bite.

The man watched her intently as she ate and tallied up every pastry on an old cash register. When she couldn't eat another bite, he came over with the bill and asked.

"Can I get a picture with you. I have always been a huge fan."

Ava was miserably full, but she agreed just the same. "Sure.", she said. He leaned next to her and took a couple of selfies.

He handed her the bill and said, "Thank you so much. I wanted to get a picture with you before you got fat."

Ava was shocked at this and looked down at the bill. It wasn't a bill at all. Instead, it was a list of every pastry she ate and a count of the calories she consumed eating them, 2930 calories in total and it was just breakfast.