A Classic College Story (new Chapter Released Monthly)

Chapter 1 - Fall part 1

I was happy to be getting out of Clayton. I hadn’t grown tired of small-town living, I was bored by my small-town life. Vanderbilt had been my top-choice college, my “as-if” school. I knew I’d written a killer essay for my applications, but my grades were just okay. To my surprise, I received a large enveloped in the mail just eight weeks before my high school graduation, informing me that I’d been accepted from the school’s wait-list. I was going to Nashville!
My excitement grew throughout the summer as I shopped for dorm supplies and prepared for the next chapter of life. My ten-year old sister, Carly, spent most of the time moping. “I want to go to Nashville with Molly!” she pouted and stomped her feet into the plush carpet of my room, watching as my mother and I folded clothes and squished them into vacuum-sealed packing bags. My mother turned to face her, “Work hard in school sweetie, and you can go to college in Nashville too!” Carly continued to stomp her feet, hunching over and dramatically swinging her arms as she whined,”Ughhhh!”
“You’ve never even been to Nashville, Carly. So you don’t know what you’re missing out on. Maybe you would hate it.” I smiled at my sister, trying to make her feel better. She drove me crazy, but I didn’t want to leave her. Even more, I didn’t want her to be sad about me leaving.
“I know I wouldn’t hate it. They have fried chicken in Nashville, Molly!” I burst out laughing and put down the clothes I was folding. “Maybe we can have some fried chicken tonight to make up for it?” I glanced over at my mother who shot me an irritated look. She was always watching her weight, and encouraging me to do the same. I’d managed to maintain a size 2 throughout high school, but I secretly loved to gorge myself on fattening, greasy foods. I was looking forward to going to school in a city filled with legendary indulgent meals, far away from my thin-obsessed mother.
“Ooooh, please Mom?” Carly began to jump up and down, pleading with our mother to give in to the unhealthy meal.
“Okay, okay.” My mother rolled her eyes. “I’ll have your father pick up a bucket.”
Carly danced down the hall, leaving my mother and I to continue our folding, packing, and squishing of clothes.
“I hope you still fit in these when you come back for the holidays, missy.” I closed my eyes in an attempt to block out her nagging.
“Don’t worry about it, Mom. I know how to be healthy; and anyway, it’s my body. Not yours.”
“Hmmph.” She pressed her lips together and we folded the rest of my clothes in silence.

The sound of a key turning in the door alerted our dog that my Dad had come home, and Carly’s footsteps could be heard skipping down the hallway and then clomping down the stairs. Barking, the smell of chicken, and a familiar deep-voiced “I’m hooooome!” echoed throughout my childhood home. My mother gave me one last irritated glance before walking out of my room. I squished the air out of the last packing bag and stuffed it into a suitcase before walking downstairs to join my family.
The table was set with paper plates, a roll of paper towels, a styrofoam bucket of fried chicken legs, thighs, and wings, a pint of mac n’ cheese and six cobs of buttered roasted corn. I sat down at our circular table across from Carly, while our parents sat across from each other. The same way we’d been sitting since seemingly forever.
We held hands and said grace, and then began the bustle of scooping helpings onto our plates. Carly jumped right into a story about something that had happened at summer camp that afternoon. I focused on ignoring my mother’s judging glances as I piled mac n’ cheese onto my plate. We all let Carly chatter on about her day while we ate dinner, a typical occurrence. Carly has always loved to be the center of attention, and I love watching her. By the end of her elaborate story, our plates had been scraped clean. I reached for the last corn on the cob and my mother cleared her throat. I smiled at her and took a huge bite out of it, letting a bit of butter dribble down my chin. She scooted her chair away from the table and began clearing the dishes. I made sure to take another scoop of mac n’ cheese before she took the container away.
“Whoa there, Molly! I can only imagine what you’ll do in those dining halls!” My Dad chuckled, patting his round belly and grunting before he scooted his chair away from the table and joined my mother in clearing the dishes. Carly continued blabbing on about her day at summer camp and I listened, as I finished my extra helpings.
My flight was early the next morning. I walked around the house quietly as I gathered my belongings, checking and then double-checking that I hadn’t forgotten anything. I crept into Carly’s room, kissed her on the head, and called an Uber to make me to the airport. Walking out of that house made me feel a hundred pounds lighter.
Little did I know, the sensation of having weight removed from me was more ironic than I could have ever imagined.

By the time I’d arrived in Nashville, I was starving. As I stood outside the terminals at the pick-up area, my stomach began to rumble. I realized that I hadn’t eaten since dinner the night before.The ride from the airport to my dorm felt like it was endless. We finally pulled up and a young, chubby, red-haired woman with a long torso, short legs, and freckled cheeks opened the door for me. She had a clipboard under her arm, which she whisked out immediately upon slamming the car door shut and shooing the driver away.
“Hi! I’m Gloria. What’s your last name?”
“Hi…I’m Molly. It’s Collins.” Gloria smiled and flipped through pages.
“Collins…Collins…Casper…Conway� �nope, Collins! Here you are.” She removed a name tag with my name printed on it and slapped it into my hand. “Stick it somewhere visible. We’re having our first meeting after dinner.”
I checked the time on my phone, “Oh wow. It’s already 5? I haven’t eaten in almost 24 hours.” I felt my stomach rumble again, and this time, a nauseous wave of emptiness washed over me.
“Blech! Let’s get you to the dining room. Your roommate is Charlie. I think I heard her say she was heading there too. You should go together!”

Furniture could be heard dragging along thin carpet as I dragged my suitcases down a rowdy hall, bumping with music and excited chatter. I walked down the hallway until I came to a door with a brass “8” nailed to its front. Unsure of what to do, I set my suitcases down and knocked.
“Come in!” I tried twisting the doorknob, but it was locked. I heard sound of footsteps hurrying toward the door and then it swung wide open. Standing in the doorway was a girl who looked like she’d stepped off the cover of a magazine in the early 2000s. She was thin and blonde, wearing tight jeans that rose low on her waist, exposing the top of her hip bone and a pierced navel. Her lips were pouty and set below a button nose, which was perfectly placed so that her green eyes had enough room to show their brilliance. My heart skipped a beat.
“Oh my god, hi!” She jumped up and down and her small breasts jiggled beneath her tank top, uninhibited by a bra. “You are so cute! I LOVE your slipper slides. Chic n’ comfy. That’s how I like to travel too.” She stuck her foot out, showing me her nearly-identical slippers. I laughed and stuck my foot out too, and we instinctively tapped each side of our foot against the other’s.
“This is going well, we already have a secret handshake before I could introduce myself!” I picked up my suitcases and she reached to take one from me me.
“Well, Gloria told me that I was rooming with a girl named Molly, so I’m guessing that’s you.”
“And I’m guessing you’re Charlie.” She stuck her foot out to me and we did our taps again.
“Nice to meet you!” Before I could say, ‘You too!’ my stomach responded to her with a loud grumble, one sounding more like a roar. “Wow. It sounds like you’re hungrier than I am. I didn’t think that was possible. I haven’t eaten since breakfast!”
“I haven’t eaten since last night,” I replied.
“Holy shit. I’ll help you unpack later. Let’s eat!”

The dining hall was crowded; it seemed to be a particularly busy time of day. Students sat in awkward groups and pairs at tables. It was obvious who was clicking with their dorm mates and who was having trouble. A group of rowdy boys in a back corner caught my eye. There were four of them and they had a pile of plates pushed to the side of their table. They were good-looking, from the other end of the room, at least, and they were pigging-out. Something about that gave me butterflies. “Mmmm! Where should we start?” Charlie’s voice broke my trance. I turned my gaze to the buffet-style tables of hot food, cold foods, and salad. “Oh my god, look at those desserts!” Charlie headed straight for the dessert table. I needed something with substance after not eating for so long, so I turned to the hot food bar. I chose a fried chicken thigh because I was missing my little sister. I scooped roasted broccoli and cauliflower on my plate for my mother, I loaded french fries on a second plate for my dad and filled a bowl with chili and shredded cheese to dip them in. Balancing all of this on a tray, I searched for the drink dispenser for a Coke, and then Charlie among the tables.
Finally, I found her off to the side. I was hoping I’d be able to see the table of indulgent boys from where we were sitting, but they were just out of view. Charlie had a bowl of soft serve and a plate of little cupcakes and brownies.
“I have a sweet tooth!” She said when she caught me eyeballing her plate.
“I’m too hungry to judge you.” And with that, I dug in. The food wasn’t impressive, but it did the trick. With a little salt and pepper it was almost delicious. I ate my way through the chicken and vegetables, and was working on my fries when I noticed Charlie wasn’t at the table anymore. Her bowl and plate were empty. Just then, she sat back down with a plate of fried chicken and fries. “I needed something salty. I was going to steal some of yours, but you looked serious over there.”
I laughed through a mouthful of fries and chili. “I’m surprised you’re so skinny Charlie.” I tried not to let crumbs fly out of my mouth as I spoke, and was mostly successful.
“I’m on the track team, so I’m always exercising.” she patted her flat stomach, “Fast metabolism!” I rolled my eyes and kept eating. My plates were empty sooner than I expected them to be, and I didn’t feel any less hungry. I pushed them to the side and returned to the tables with an empty tray for more. I refilled my Coke, and then loaded mashed potatoes into a bowl and drowned them in gravy. Next, I went to the dessert bar and piled cookies onto a plate. Then, just for kicks, I made myself a small salad.
I returned to the table and found Charlie eating another bowl of soft serve. "I love this stuff." She had chocolate sauce on her nose, and I couldn't help but smile.
"Believe me, I do too! As long as it fits, that's what I'm having for my final course." I nearly inhaled the food in front of me, until I got to the salad. For some reason, it looked so unappetizing. I looked up to see Charlie with another bowl of soft serve.
"Jesus. You really do have a sweet tooth!"
"Yeah, yeah. I brought you one too, so shhh." She pushed a bowl toward me, filled with chocolate and vanilla soft serve, whipped cream and chocolate sauce. I was finally full, but it smelled so good. I decided that if I didn't eat the salad, I'd have room for soft serve.
Charlie and I ate our bowls slowly, and then sat talking while our bellies tried to digest all of the food we'd forced inside them. Now the gurgles were from fullness, which felt so much better than those hollow, empty grumbles of hunger. I loved that my new friend liked to eat too, and was a little jealous that she didn't put on weight easily.
I was always curvy in my 5'6" frame. I developed breasts late, but they grew quickly. I remember not knowing what to do with them. Regardless, I was comfortable in my body sitting with Charlie in that dining hall. And I was especially comfortable with my hand resting on my bloated belly, feeling the pressure of a large meal inside of it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the group of boys walking out of the door.They'd been inside much longer than us. Just as he was walking out the door, one of them stretched their arms up and his shirt rode above his belly button. He had a round, swollen tummy that shined like a rubber ball in the fluorescent light. I rubbed my own belly and felt those butterflies again.
"You ready to go back? I think it's almost time for our meeting." Charlie snapped me out of my daze.
"Yeah, let's do it." We grunted as we stood, lightheaded from the blood rushing to our full stomachs.
"Oof, I love a good pig-out. Breakfast is my favorite though."
"Ugh, I know I'm definitely not going to be hungry until then." I patted my bloated stomach over my t-shirt.
"Who knows?" Charlie chuckled, "Gloria said there would be snacks and hot chocolate at the meeting. You may get a second wind."
"Ha! No way, Charlie. We just ate so much. I'm good for the night."
"Is this you telling me you don't smoke weed?"
I stopped walking. 'Shit.' I thought. I loved smoking weed, but it was dangerous. The last time I'd smoked with friends, I'd gone home and eaten an entire unopened tub of ice cream. Not a pint, a tub. My mother didn't speak to me for weeks...but she wasn't here.
"Where should we go?" Charlie beamed and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the parking lot.
"We can smoke in my car!"
Charlie's '99 Acura was parked in the back of the lot behind our dorm building. When she opened the door, we were blasted with the stale scent of smoked weed and burnt palo santo. The ceiling was covered in a tie-dyed tapestry and glass beads hung from the rear-view mirror.
"The inside of your car reminds me of my aunt's hippie van!" We climbed in to the backseat and locked ourselves inside.
"That was my goal! My next car will be a volkswagen bus. I've always wanted to travel around in one." Charlie pulled a little baggy out from beneath the passenger's seat and retrieved from it a small jar and an iridescent glass pipe. She packed a bowl and handed it to me, "You're the company, you first."
I smiled nervously, but put the pipe to my lips and let Charlie light it.
Within minutes the car was filled with smoke and we were giggling like a couple of middle schoolers. A faint beep brought us back to reality. "Oh shit! It's 6.30, the meeting is starting right now!"
We tumbled out of the car and ran back to our dorm building, ditching our sweatshirts outside with their weed-stank so we wouldn't draw too much attention to ourselves.
Gloria was standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by a circle of chairs filled with our dorm mates. She waved us over and pointed us to two empty seats, right in front of the snack table.
Charlie and I stifled laughs as we shimmied into our spots in the circle. For thirty minutes we listened to Gloria ramble on about dorm rules, and for thirty minutes we thought about stuffing our faces with the donuts, cookies, and hot chocolate sitting on the table. Finally, Gloria told us to get up, grab some snacks, and get to know our "new friends". Charlie and I each grabbed a paper plate piled with cookies and donuts and a cup of cocoa and high-tailed it out of there. Back in the room we sipped our cocoa and crammed donuts and cookies in our mouths until there were only crumbs left on the plates, and sticky whipped cream under our noses. Talking to Charlie was easy, and I could tell that being her roommate was going to be fun. It was my first night at college and things were going surprisingly well. I'd made a new friend, I'd smoked some weed, and I'd eaten more food than I could remember ever eating before. My mother had always kept such a tight leash on me; pigging out was a rare occasion, but I had a feeling that wasn't the case anymore.
My belly was gurgling in an attempt to digest everything I'd packed into it. I pressed my hand against it gently and begin to rub in slow circles. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that Charlie was doing the same. We spent the rest of the night talking and rubbing our bellies. Before I knew it, my alarm was waking me up to start the next day. Charlie was already up, brushing her teeth in the little sink in our room. "Morning sunshine! You ready for breakfast?" I looked down at my belly, which was still bloated from the night before. I didn't really feel hungry, but Charlie looked like she was eager to go, so I rolled out of bed and pulled on a hoodie before joining her at the sink.
"I am absolutely starving!" Charlie patted her flat stomach. "Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I hope they have pancakes!"