Chapter 5 - 5 - settling in

5.
“And *uurp, let’s give our newest member of the Chomp Subs NA family a warm welcome back to the food party stream, here's Jakey Eats everyone!”

A row of five people sitting in their own home studios clapped their chubby palms as Jake’s square joined the video chat. Jake, unaware and headfirst in his first snack of the day, leapt back from his treat, chocolate staining the corners of his lips. He went red, chuckling as he tried to subtly wipe away the brown residue.

“Thanks for *eeeelch, having me TonsO!” Jake choked through a loaded mouth, “sorry, still finishing up my first snack.”

A chorus of laughter from the panel came through Jake’s headset. He saw looks of bemusement on most, save for one. Kayla watched with an expression that was part evaluation, part... something else. Jake leaned in to get a better look when the host’s voice broke through again.

“That’s right! Among a group of big eaters like us, you need to work to earn the nickname Jakey Eates! This man went straight from one contract to four folks! Now that is dedication to the team. Alright Jake, now finish up and we’ll get started. ”

Jake nodded, and shoved the snack back into mouth. It was a choco-rito, a bar of nougat and chocolate wrapped in dough and then fried. Despite being a ‘snack’, it was as thick as a burrito and nearly as dense. Jake had heated it up according to Chomp Subs instructions, and it was all he could do to keep the melty chocolate from getting all over him. He felt his stomach push outward as he downed it in ripped off chunks, finishing in a few big bites. Jake then opened his mouth and wagged his tongue to show there was nothing hidden. Again, per Chomp subs instructions. There was another round of applause and Jake couldn’t help but feel like a prize livestock at the country faire. He took another look at the panel, whose looks spelled out how foolish they thought their new teammate was. Jake felt pretty foolish right about now too.

“With Jake done we can do our first Chomp Party of the day. KayTrae, what are we starting the day off with?”

One by one, the members of the panel showed off the food item they would be eating today, as well giving a prepared speech Chomp Subs had provided. All the while, Jake rubbed his bloated stomach. It gurgled underneath his fingers, upset at the deluge of calories Jake had shoved in. The action was something he had been doing much more of over the last month and a half. Like his first contract, the time before his first shipment had arrived was bliss. Jake had bought a new computer, camera, and monitor in addition to paying his rent for the rest of the year. There was only one problem. The meals had been even bigger than Jake had feared.

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It was obvious Jake was in trouble when he saw the boxes. At first he assumed someone was moving with the amount of waist high cardboard laid out in the apartment complex parking lot.

“You Jake Palmah?” a man with a thick grey mustache and northeastern accent asked. Jake nodded, beginning to connect the dots.

“Well, I hope yah have a few freezers son, otherwise most’a this’ll go to waste. And this is only shipment one of three! Sign here please.”

Jake tried swallowing but found his throat had gone dry. He would barely remember signing the release, or the trip to and from the hardware store. When he came to, he was loading food into two separate freezers that took up nearly half the room in Jake’s studio apartment. He took a look at the package in his hand, a twelve pack of nacho cheese stuffed mozzarela sticks, and threw them in with the rest, a line from his new contract dancing in his mind.

“Chomp Subs NA is not responsible for lost, stolen, or prematurely expired food. Just great. That's another six hundred gone, and I haven't even begun streaming yet...” Jake sighed.
“This Chomp Team better be worth it...”

Jake finished unpacking the rest of the food and looked out on what he had signed up for. A mountain of junk and high calorie processed foods, and he’d be consuming it at an alarming rate. Jake looked back and forth from the freezers to his still-flat stomach, poking the slight softness and wincing. He couldn’t imagine eating three times this amount of food in just three months, or what he would look like after.

Suddenly all the shiny new things in his apartment took on a new look. An hour before they were symbols of his rising status in the world. Now, with the hum of his new freezers in the air, they looked more like anchors.

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