chapter 20- let the games begin

The time for talk was over. The sun was shining overhead, yet only damp track turf lay underfoot. A stubborn breeze migrated peacefully across the university’s stadium until it reached the determined faces of Mia and Kate. Their chosen battleground remained completely waterlogged from yesterday’s stormy weather. The 100-yard expanse of faded red track before them appeared completely dotted with pesky puddles.

These were hardly ideal conditions for a sprinting competition, but neither girl would voice a protest. Each of them in their own way, had found their way to the starting line to prove something. To turn away now would feel tantamount to admitting defeat. And neither girl could live with that. So, the they merely waited, in a palpable silence, for the wind to die down. For once it did…

“On your mark…” Mia growled taking the lull in the breeze as the cue to finally get this forgone contest underway.

She allowed her vision to narrow on the finish line. Bending her knees, she planted her right foot behind her, and then lowered herself into her racing position. Mia recognized with annoyance that the abrupt motion had cause her underwear to bunch up. With her right hand she quickly attempted to tug her tight short shorts downward to alleviate the wedgie they were giving her. These were the same shorts she’d worn during the first challenge of the year and now they uncomfortably clung to Mia’s hefty rear. In the moment, she blamed her discomfort on Kate probably shrinking them in them in the wash.

“Get set…” Kate echoed reading herself.

The blonde had already had to squeeze her fleshy boobs into two sports bras to ensure her bust wouldn’t flop around uncontrollably and spoil her chances of winning the race, but, deciding more support wouldn’t hurt, she zipped up the top of her brown sweat jacket for good measure. Her sweat suit felt uncomfortably tight despite how stretchy it was supposed to be. While the outfit felt the tightest around her chest, she couldn’t deny that it was also dangerously unequipped to comfortably contain her bloated gut, and softened butt.

It had taken some time for the truth of Mia’s revelation to really set in, but now Kate had to face the facts. She’d let herself go something fierce this semester. She wasn’t exactly sure how much she’d gained, but she knew it was a lot. She looked like she’d gotten bigger everywhere, her face, her legs, her arms, her coveted hourglass shape had overflown in every direction. She’d clearly gained much more than Mia had. And what made it worse was that there was nothing she could do about it now.

Returning her attention to the task at hand, Kate put her self-pity behind her. Feeling bad about herself wasn’t going to help her win. Clearing her head, the busty blonde took a wider stance than Mia, leaning her weight more onto her back foot so she could spring full throttle into motion once Mia yelled…

“Go!!” Mia shouted, as both girls simultaneously sprang into action.

Off the starting line, Kate pulled ahead. Her smart posture allowed her to leverage more of her bodyweight into her first few strides. Even though she was the heavier competitor, she’d accelerated faster!

It was impossible for Mia not to notice, with serious alarm, how the pudgy blonde had managed to edge a small lead over her off the start. Mia’s strides were too small. Her leg turnover too slow. She felt a sense of panic stirring within her. It was like the starch was missing from her step!

As the race progressed millisecond by millisecond, excuses echoed throughout Mia’s mind as to why her legs suddenly felt so heavy. Had she taken her warmup across campus too fast? Perhaps this strange soreness was a product of her frequent gym visits this week? She’d worked very hard on the treadmill, maybe that was why her thighs felt like they were on fire?

Three more steps, and Kate pulled farther in front of her. Mia could see the blonde’s pudgy legs distinctly jiggle with each step, yet she couldn’t close the distance! This was a problem! Mia felt like she had nothing in the gas tank! All she’d eaten for dinner last night had been a large piece of chocolate cake. She hadn’t even eaten breakfast today. The morning had been far too emotionally draining for that.

With her next few forward bounds, Mia recalled the text she’d awoken to from Kate. A screenshot of her boyfriend’s cell phone, and a list of rules governing sorority bingo. Just under the screenshot was a promise from Kate that Trent, in fact, owned a bingo board.

Hustling to keep pace with her overweight rival as the sprint continued, Mia remembered the callous move. Kate had tried to dishearten her and weaken her resolve. Mia knew it was bullsh*t, but she just had to know for sure. She’d foolishly taken the bait.

Striking a puddle with her next step and sending a splash of cold liquid up her whole left leg, Mia winced as she remembered the walk back to Trent’s apartment earlier this morning. She’d lied and told him that she’d left her notebook in his room.

Kate was approaching the halfway mark, and she still had a lead! The blonde had stopped accelerating and was now moving at peak speed! Try as Mia might to move her legs faster, for some reason, the energy just wasn’t there. Something was holding her back. She thought back to when Trent had gone to his bathroom and given her a minute alone in his room. She didn’t know where to start so she searched everywhere. It wasn’t long until she looked under his bed and noticed a stray pair of her panties. Squeezing under to retrieve them, Mia stumbled upon a more concerning discovery.

Kate hadn’t been lying after all…