chapter 1 (part 1)

"Ok, now that that's done, does anyone have anything else to bring up?"
An eight second silence followed. The English room, for once, was quiet - and with no nerds droning on. The room had been abuzz for the past hour or so, with student government officials conversing. Even if nothing changed, they spoke.
"Alright! Good meeting, everyone! We'll meet back here next Thursday, and don't forget about the dance on Wednesday. Thank you!" said Ben, the class president. He had the same outro every week, and at this point it was engraved into her brain.

Liv sighed, taking her hand off her cheek and standing up. Sweet relief. She grabbed her things and walked out of the room. Being vice president was the worst. Not as important as the president, but more important than secretary or whatever. You have to follow the president and do whatever he says, but nobody gives you recognition. At least the president wasn't an ass this year. Ben was a good guy. He never demanded her anything, and was always very respectful. The two had become fairly good friends as well. She gently ran her fingers through her brown hair, getting it out of her line of sight.

As she walked out of the entrance, someone on the House of Representatives stopped her from behind. It couldn't have been anyone better.
"So, are we going back to my place today? The science project, remember?" asked Emma, a close friend.
"Oh, right. Yeah, we can leave now if you want," Liv shrugged.
"Perfect!" Emma beamed. Her beam formed into a smirk. "I have to make a quick stop on the way, though."

Liv stared dejectedly out the window of Emma's Honda Civic. She had had a rough day at school today. Nothing particularly bad, especially compared to things she had to deal with on other days. A girl named Rachael and her cronies were making fun of her for her height, again.
"You know, it must be really hard being vice president, especially considering you can never reach the podium!" Rachael had cackled that day. And monkey see, monkey do, her mob cackled with her, as if it was the most humorous thing they had ever heard. A few of her minions tried making their own jokes, but they fell flat. It was a dog eat dog world in Rachael's "friend" group. She stood there, a petite 4'11", saying nothing. Liv turned and walked away briskly, holding back tears. Why could she never say anything? What would be the worst thing that could happen? The girl groaned.

"What's up with you today? You've been really quiet," Rachael inquired. She was right. Liv was usually a bubbly and chatty little thing. Today, not so much. She snapped back into reality, just then realizing where they were - a Sonic drive-thru.
"Gross. Why are we here? Sonic's food isn't even that good," pouted Liv.
"I'm not getting anything big, just a shake. Sure you don't want anything?" Emma questioned. Liv never was able to eat that much. She only weighed around 100 pounds due to her height. She always ate generally healthy, but definitely knew the value of a cheat day. It was hard to stay this way, especially through puberty with her appetite growing and everything, but self-control was a skill of hers. On the other hand, Emma stood 5'7". She was a black hole. Everything she ate just disappeared. And to God knows where. Liv was always envious of this, and wanted to indulge the way she did.
"No, I'm not getting anything, I'm not hungry," Liv groaned.
"Suit yourself!"

Ms. Black Hole pulled up to the pickup window, grabbing three bags and two drinks. She almost jerked her hands back, not realizing the glorious opportunity she was just presented.
"Th- thank you," Emma stammered. She pulled away. A smile shot out to each of her ears. "Liv, look! I got a ton of free food. Oh no.

The two girls sat at Emma's table, occupied with their work. Emma, as expected, was shoveling onion rings down her throat.
"Mmph... Liv, I don't think you get it." She swallowed. "It's sooooo good!" Emma licked the salt off of her fingers.
"I already told you..." Liv trailed off. She was interrupted by a massive rumble in her stomach. She paused for a few seconds, pondering. "Screw it, what's in the bag?"
"I knew you'd come along!" Emma peered into the bag of fast food. "Try this." She slid Liv a burger, wrapped in paper.
"Ooh..." Liv unwrapped it, revealing a triple cheeseburger. "I... don't know if I can eat this whole thing," she sorrowfully admitted. Across the table, a familiar smile, smug as ever, slid onto Liv's face.

"Well... why don't we make this interesting?" Emma smiled.
"Uh... what do you mean?"
"A deal. If you eat the whole thing, then... I'll do your math homework?" she challenged. Liv was very confused. What could Emma possibly gain from any of this? She eats a burger, and... Emma does her homework for her?
"Sure. That's a really good deal," Liv assured her friend. Unfortunately for Liv, Emma knew exactly what she was doing.

Liv brought the large sandwich to her eyes, to inspect it.
"Are you gonna make out with it or something? Just eat it!" Emma said, impatiently.
"I'm about to eat it! I'm just... looking at what's on it." Three beef patties, three slices of cheese, some lettuce, onion, and tomato, ketchup, and pickles. Yikes. This would not be easy. She slowly lowered it to her mouth. Liv struggled to get a bite in, due to it being so large. That or, her mouth was small. She knew the answer, but who would admit it? She caught Emma snickering in the corner of her eye, and gave her a glare. Liv proceeded to eat it, achieving the world's most minuscule bite. She chewed for a bit, a surprised look on her face. Liv swallowed.

"So, how is it?"
"It's incredible!" exclaimed Liv. "I haven't had fast food in such a long time!"
"I knew you'd like it," Emma said. Perfect. Liv began to devour the burger, with a newfound insatiable appetite. Had burgers always been this good? After eating so well for so long, this was a once in a blue moon occasion. The cheese blended with the beef as the pieces of the burger were chewed. Little by little, the sandwich disappeared. Emma watched her, knowing that the deal she made was everything she could have wanted. After every other bite, she would stop to comment about how well seasoned the meat was (as if it's the seasoning that makes it so good), and how 'bad' she was being. Eventually, it was all gone. Liv sat back in her chair, amazed.
"Was it worth it?" Emma asked her.
"Totally." She rested her hands on her middle. Her satisfactory smile quickly faded into a concerned look.

Liv groaned quietly. She felt like she was going to burst.
"My stomach huuurts..." Liv whined. Her noisy gut rumbled behind her whines as she rubbed it, attempting to subdue her pain. To no avail. As the cheeseburger may seem like a somewhat big meal to most people, it was magnified for Liv. For someone who ate like a rabbit for the past year, and is only a few inches above the minimum height for some rollercoasters, this was hell. Her flat belly had turned into a little bump. Emma watched as her friend, legs curled up to her chest, moaned in pain.
"I think I'm gonna be sick..." complained Liv.

"Ohh..." Emma got up from her chair and went over to her. "Let me help." She reached her hands out and put them onto her aching stomach. Emma used her fingers to press, and knead it like dough.
"Ugh!" the stuffed girl exclaimed. "That hurts!" Her taut middle was stretched and prodded by Emma. She felt something coming up through her throat. Uh oh. "Emma - stop, I'm... ohh..." Liv let out a large belch, very unfamiliarly to her body. Her face reddened like bacon in a pan, and she covered her mouth with her dainty hands. Emma stared at her for a second in shock, before proceeding to howl with laughter.
"HA HA! You're so red!"
"Shut up! It wasn't my fault!" Liv cried, embarrassed.
"Yeah, okay, okay..." Emma wiped a tear from her eye, before letting out a few small giggles. "You feel any better now?"
"Well... I guess," Liv said, relieved. Her stomach groaned. "I still think I'm full though." She used a napkin to wipe ketchup off her sweater.
"Whatever you say..." Emma shrugged.

Liv worked on their project, while Emma did Liv's math homework. She used one hand to input numbers into a calculator, and the other to input chicken fingers into her mouth. Liv took sight of a tall plastic cup with a top. She smacked her lips. Her mouth was dry. Today could be cheat day. Was today cheat day? It should be cheat day.
"Uh... Emma, can you pass me that shake over there?" Liv asked her friend, her sense of self-control defeated.
"Well well well, coming back for more?" she teased, flipping her black hair. "Here you go. Don't drink it too fast," giggled Emma. Was her plan working? Liv held the cup, straw pointed to her mouth. Hopefully this wouldn't be so filling. Bottoms up. She attempted to drink, but nothing was coming up. The chocolate liquid (term used loosely) was too thick. Oh well. She popped the lid, about to have her tastebuds graced with fake chocolate flavoring. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Liv already felt full, and she didn't think she needed anything else. She didn't think she could have anything else. Her insides felt like someone put a bowling ball inside of it. Emma eyed her, pausing her own eating.

"So are you going to drink it or not?" Emma asked, simpering.
"I... don't know," she conceitedly replied.
"Aw, sounds like someone needs help. Don't worry," Emma said coyly. She brought her chair next to Liv's.
"What are you... doing?" Liv asked, as Emma picked the cup up and put it up to the small girl's mouth.
"Just open your mouth, I'll do it for you." Oh no. Before she could deny her, the shake hit her tongue. After tasting it, she immediately put her guard down. Liv leaned back into her chair, as her ever-so-subtly manipulative friend poured the drink down her throat. The sweetness of the decadent chocolate made it impossible to stop. Her tongue lay