Chapter 6

"Cam??" My mind didn't click right away. I was legitimately confused.

"Camryn Prig..." The girl softly said... as if it was obvious. But I paused too long, looking confused, to which she followed up by saying, "Remember...? Freshman year...? We sat next to each other...?"

It was starting to click. I'd never forget that name until my dying days. Then I realized what was going on after looking at this girl's eyes for the first time. For the next few seconds, it took everything I had to try not to let my jaw hit the floor. Even presented with this new reality, I only half-registered and half-believed that she was who she said she was as I stammered, trying to save face. "Woah..... uh.. hey.. sorry... I'm a little tipsy tonight. Not thinking straight. What's up... Cam?"

"Nothing much..." Cam replied, arching her eyebrow, her tone skeptical about my 'sudden realization,' sounding like she had something more important that she wanted to say. "Wait.. hold on. This whole semester, we've been in the same class, and you didn't realize it was me, did you? And you thought I was..."

"Uhh... sorry.." I apologized, not knowing what else to say while still in shock and trying to re-process that this heavyset girl before me wasn't Alana. I felt like my brain was breaking. Even Cam's voice sounded different than I remember. The undertones were the same, but there was an exaggerated labored heaviness to it that threw me off. My assumptions as to who this person had been had dismissed any similarities I could've drawn to who it actually was. "It's a big class." I shrugged, weakly trying to come up with an excuse.

"No, it's okay..." Cam sighed, deflating a bit. "I didn't realize you didn't recognize me. I guess it's been a while since we had a class together, and we haven't seen each other for a long time, so... yeah. Obviously... I've changed quite a lot."

"Yeah, I guess a bit." I lied. The understatement of the century. I could barely believe my eyes, but this fat chick was the girl I'd had a monumental crush on years ago. Seeing those beautiful green eyes and elements of that pretty face (I'd held to such a high standard) trapped somewhere inside that body felt wrong. I wished this was some cruel joke or prank, but as the seconds ticked by, I only came to accept what stood before me more. Part of me wanted to be blunt about the elephant in the room, but I opted to be polite, given it was Cam. "Did you change your hair? You used to always wear it in a bun." I asked, giving her a lifeline while attempting to provide her with another less embarrassing reason why I didn't recognize her.

"I did." Cam said, turning her head from side to side to give me a better view of her ponytail. "But You don't have to be polite. I know I've put on weight."

Thank god she said it. "Yeah... About that..." I said, trailing off, trying to understand the event that may have led to the rumination of Cam's body. "...What happened?"

Even though Cam had opened the door to talking about her weight, she was blushing at my question. "What happened? This." Cam held up her considerably large bag of food anxiously, letting out a nervous, forced laugh. "What can I say? I love food too much."

"That seems obvious." I blurted out, unable to filter myself. "Sorry, I don't know why I said that."

"No, it's okay." Cam smirked at my blunt statement, showing me a piece of a smile I hadn't seen in years and used to yearn for. "I understand what I look like. I just..." The tiny smile left her face, and she looked down, nervously biting her lip. "I've never been mistaken for Alana Lexington before. That's a new one. *sigh* I guess I should be taking that for a compliment... considering."

"Hey, I was just confused, is all." I tried to explain, taken aback by her pitifully confusing and self-deprecating comment.

Cam sighed and shook her head. "Well, I guess that's fine. It kinda explains why you've been ignoring me in class. If I'm gonna be honest, I thought you knew I got... heavier.. and given you were treating me like everyone else does these days..."

"I.." She had me there. Truthfully, I was very guilty of completely ignoring her all semester since I thought she'd been Alana this whole time. It made me feel a bit awkward that I'd had Cam (a person I used to practically worship) in my class for several weeks, and I didn't even acknowledge it. "It was an honest mistake, Cam. Seriously, I had no idea it was you, given how much you've... changed... and how long ago we saw each other. If I had known..."

Cam sighed. "I guess that's on me for not clearing things up sooner or at least re-introducing the new me to you. Maybe I just assumed someone would have told you, or you'd been following me on Instagram... not that I post much anymore anyway." Again, Cam nervously bit her lip and looked down at her feet, then regained her composure. "Wow, okay. So before now, you had no idea that I'd... filled out this much. It must be a shock for you... sorry about that."

"It's okay." I lied. None of this was okay. The girl that I had fantasized about hundreds of times, considering her to be the most beautiful and sexy creature in the world, had turned into a fat f*cking blimp. Yet, even though I was dying about it on the inside, I kept my cool. "I'll admit, it is kind of a shock... But I guess that's what I get for not having an Instagram or keeping current with campus gossip. Still boycotting social media after all these years, haha." I stated with a laugh. A stance that I had little interest in giving up.

"Well, I applaud you for maintaining your conviction." Cam warmly smiled in a way that weirdly gave me a longing nostalgia. There was a time when earning those smiles had been what I lived for. She continued. "I deleted my Facebook after my sisters tagged me in a few... unflattering photos, but I can't stay off of Instagram."

In Camryn's sister's defense (Melissa and Bellatrix, if I recall), seeing how fat Cam was, I couldn't think of a way to make a picture of her flattering. But I didn't dwell on that and felt a need to explain to Cam why I'd unintentionally been ignoring her. "Cam, I'm serious. If I'd have known it was you, I would've... said hey." I reiterated.

"Heh, it's okay." Cam waved her free hand dismissively. "I've gotten kind of used to being a bit more of a social outcast since my ex, Drake, dumped me." Something about the way she spoke about her ex sounded slightly pained.

"Yeah, I heard about that. Sorry." I apologized, offering my condolences.

I had heard toward the end of my Freshman year, several months after having hung out with Cam, that she and Drake Callister had broken up. Given I was in a bit of a short-term relationship with an unquenchable horny snobby equestrian-loving horse girl (with fantastic legs) from my dorm at the time, I didn't spend much energy emotionally investing in Cam's breakup. In fact, I actively avoided any conversation around said breakup, still trying hard to move on from my first college crush. A part of me had sincerely wanted to drop everything and try my luck again at the newly single Cam, but having been put so clearly in the friend zone still stung at that time in my life.

"It was years ago, don't worry about it." Cam said, trying to be dismissive but unable to mask that she hadn't completely moved on from it.

"What happened with you guys, if you don't mind me asking?" I asked. Given I hadn't indulged in the gossip around campus and now that I was over Cam as a romantic interest, I was curious.

A part of me found it odd that Cam was poorly masking an emotional reaction to a relationship that ended three years ago. One would have to imagine that whoever she dated after him would've helped her to move on. That always seemed to work for me.