Chapter 5

Jessica stood there, her mind reeling as she tried to come to terms with the enormity of her situation. She couldn't stop touching her new body, feeling the rolls of fat that had formed so suddenly, and trying to imagine what life would be like for her now. The laughter of the audience rang in her ears, and she felt a deep, gnawing shame and terror building within her. What would her friends think? Her family? How could she continue her online streaming career with this grotesque body? The questions kept piling up, and she felt more and more overwhelmed.

Wicked Tom, sensing the perfect moment to move on, addressed the crowd with his usual cruel flair. "Well, folks, that brings us to the end of Round 1! But fear not, because we're about to dive into Round 2, where things get even more interesting!" He turned to face the contestants with a wicked grin. "I hope you're ready, because this round is going to be a real test of your memory, Joe!"

As Jessica continued to grapple with her new body, Tom launched into the rules for the second round. "Welcome to the Upscale Memory Game! You'll see before you a 6x6 grid filled with tiles, just waiting to be flipped. Each tile hides a number, either positive or negative. There are 18 matching pairs of tiles, and your goal, Joe, is to find the pairs. But here's the catch – 12 of the sets are positive numbers, and if you match them, our Burden Bearer over there will gain the corresponding amount of weight. The positive numbers range from a mere 10 pounds to a massive 100 pounds. As for the other 6 sets, they're negative numbers, which means if you find a match, Jessica gets to lose that much weight. But don't get your hopes up too high – the negative numbers only range from 5 to 50 pounds. Each time, the board will be randomized, shown to you for just 2 seconds, and then you'll make your selections until you find a match. Sounds simple, right?"

Joe looked a bit lost but nodded slowly, trying to grasp the concept. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he thought he understood the basic idea. Jessica, on the other hand, had always been sharp and quick-witted. She silently prayed that Joe would be able to rise to the occasion and win this seemingly simple game. Her entire future seemed to hang in the balance, and all she could do was watch and hope that her shallow boyfriend would somehow manage to save her from her horrifying predicament.