Chapter 1 - First Day Frenzy

“Welcome back returners, and for our new staff, welcome to Diamond Academy! For those who don’t know me, I am Mrs. Patricia Hanlow, the Vice Principal of this prestigious public school!”

Mrs. Hanlow giggled into the mic at her poor joke. Watching her, I bit the inside of my cheek as her double chin bobbed with each labored laugh.

If only laughing burnt calories, I thought to myself. I’m all for body positivity, but I was genuinely becoming concerned as her laughs turned into gasps for air.

“Anywho, I am so excited to start our annual training retreat! To briefly explain, this two-week period before the start of the school year is crucial for success! During this time, we have our veteran teachers give presentations that aim to give advice and ideas for the year, our administrators give boring but important lectures, and we have fun little workshops to facilitate community amongst everyone. Now before we get started, I would like to invite our new teachers to stand up and introduce themselves!”

My eyebrows raised and my eyes widened in shock. What is this, kindergarten? Why the hell are we introducing ourselves like we’re at summer camp?! Anxiously I rose from my dark blue seat, along with two other teachers peppered throughout the crowd. Luckily, the teacher who was only a few rows from the stage spoke first.
“Hi everyone!” They projected with a contagiously positive attitude. “My name is Katie, Katie Werner. I use she/her pronouns and I’ll be teaching English and Literature to the 7th and 8th graders. In my free time, I like to go hiking, parasailing, and do the occasional marathon! I’m looking forward to getting to know you all!” As she finished, she gave an energetic wave to everyone before taking her seat.

She seems nice, almost too nice. But I don’t want to be judgmental right off the bat, so I pushed that thought aside as the next teacher began to speak.

“Uhh, hey y’all! My name is Treyvon Parker; I’ll be the lead art teacher this year. I like to kick back and chill, I’ll try pretty much anything. So uh, yeah. Looking forward to the new year.”

I nodded my head as Treyvon sat down, then froze as everyone’s eyes turned to me. “Haha, guess it’s my turn?” Of course it is dummy, I mentally chastised myself as the stares seemingly intensified. “Haha..okay. My name is Jewel Sanders and I’ll be the life science teacher for grades 10 – 12. For fun, I like to read and watch movies, my favorite genre being romantic comedies. So yeah, that’s a little about me!”

I awkwardly smoothed my skirt before taking my seat. As everyone turned their attention back to Mrs. Hanlow, I impulsively shouted, “Oh – I’m also looking forward to meeting you all!”

A few forced chuckles sat in the air before Mrs. Hanlow attempted damage control for my painfully awkward introduction.

“Haha, well thank you Jewel, Treyvon, and Katie! Diamond Academy welcomes you with open arms!” with this, she spread her arms out wide, unintentionally shaking the padded fat of her upper arms that was bulging out of her cute yet ill-fitted collared shirt. “With that, we will kick off our first session!”

After multiple 1-hour sessions on academic integrity, “connecting with the culture”, and learning the Academy’s online platforms, we had finally entered the lunch break. Upon entering the cafeteria, I saw two long tables lined with food to be served buffet-style. One table held two platters of fried chicken, a tray of buttered biscuits, a large bowl of mashed potatoes, two bowls of fried rice, a tray of hot dogs, and a bowl of macaroni and cheese. The second table held all the desserts: a double chocolate cake, a platter of assorted cookies, fruit and cheese Danishes, and a bowl of candies. At the end of the tables were large coolers with various sodas.
While I stood at the cafeteria entrance gaping at the display, I was startled back to earth by a pudgy hand resting on my shoulder.

“Don’t be shy sugar, our sponsors like to treat the staff well!” Mrs. Hanlow said with a cheeky grin.

“Oh – hello Mrs. Hanlow!” For such a large woman, she is surprisingly stealthy. As I turned to face Mrs. Hanlow, I was able to truly appreciate the size of this woman. When she smiled, her eyes almost disappeared behind her puffy features. She contained large breasts – at least DD cups – that were fighting for escape. Her stomach was truly impressive. It stuck out far in front of her and folded into two. The lower hang of her stomach covered her pubic area and wobbled with each motion. Her legs closely resembled that of the Pillsbury dough boy, looking like sausages stuffed into caging.

“Oh sweetie, just call me Patricia! As long as the kids aren’t around, haha!” She lightly patted my back as she made her joke. Despite there being very little force exerted on her part, I stumbled upon contact, her fat nearly causing me to lose balance.

“Well thank you Mrs. Ha- I mean Patricia. I’ll probably just have a little bit, you know, gotta watch my weight!” I immediately cringed at my ignorant comment. Despite my insensitive words, Patricia didn’t bat an eye.

“Now Jewel, I don’t know what you are talking about. Some extra weight could do you some good, you’re practically wasting away!” Patricia grabbed my wrist for emphasis, holding it like a limp limb. “It’s also better if you grab extras. You didn’t hear this from me, but eating through the boring sessions is a good way to pass time!” She released my arm and began to turn towards the food. “I hope you take my advice! I didn’t become Vice Principal by accident you know!”

I furrowed my brows and opened my mouth to ask what she had meant by that comment, but Patricia had already set forth on her lunch expedition.

I looked down at my body to gauge what Patricia meant. My collar bone prominently stood out amongst my chest. My breasts were small but perky B cups hidden behind my loose button-up shirt. I wore a mid-thigh length pencil skirt that accentuated my small but present hourglass figure. My thighs were lean and held a considerable gap between them.

I like my body just the way it is, but free food never hurt anybody. I shrugged to myself and headed towards the buffet. On my plate, I placed two fried chicken thighs, a large spoonful of mac and cheese, and a heaping pile of mashed potatoes. I grabbed a sprite and sat down in the corner seat of a cafeteria table. I picked up one of the thighs and took a timid bite. The skin of the chicken had a perfect crunch. The meat was surprisingly juicy and flavorful. One bite turned into three. Before I knew it, I had cleaned off my first piece of chicken. I decided to move towards the mac and cheese next. Before I could have my first bite, a deep voice interrupted my groove.

“The macaroni and cheese is good, but my recipe still remains elite.”

I turned my attention from the oozing mac and cheese to the stranger sitting across from me. Deep brown eyes met mine. The man in front of me was giving Greek god. The white collared shirt outlined his broad shoulders. His scruffy grin was charming and mischievous.
Intrigued, I engaged with the man. “Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?”

His grin twitched as he gave his answer. “Well, it’s simple really. You see how in this mac and cheese, you can see strings of cheese that haven’t completely melted?” He motioned to my forkful which did indeed match his description. I nodded in acknowledgement, so he continued. “That was their first mistake. They used pre-shredded cheese. If you want silky smooth macaroni and cheese, you should use the blocks of cheese and shred it yourself. Then it’ll melt evenly and give you that cheesy goodness.” He threw his hand into the air like a chef in the movies.

I giggled at his exaggerated speech. “So, you’re either a good chef, or a mac and cheese enthusiast. Which is it?”

“Why can’t I be both?” He challenged with a cheeky wink.

“Alright, you got me there. So when are we going to be blessed with your mac and cheese Mr...”

“Gregory. You can just call me Gregory. My students know me as Mr. Mudson.” He pointed to his teacher identification badge to solidify his authenticity.

“Well Mr. Gregory, I look forward to seeing you at the Mac and Cheese Showdown” I joked coyly before taking a bite of my own meal. “Sorry to say, but you might have your work cut out for you if this is your competition!” Realizing I had spoken with a full mouth, I hastily covered my mouth with my hand and immediately began to blush.
Gregory let out a hearty laugh before responding.

“You underestimate me Ms. Jewel. I’ll leave you with your mediocre mac and cheese. Hopefully I’ll see you again so I can practice my mac and cheese elevator pitch.” With that, he stood from his seat and strolled out of the cafeteria.

What an odd guy, I thought to myself for a moment before diving back into my delicious meal. Before I knew it, I had cleared my plate and was heading back for seconds. In this second go around, I got more chicken but added two heaping spoonfuls of fried rice and a hot dog with ketchup. I sat back down and finished my plate with more gusto than before. After my last bite, I exhaled heavily and rested my hand on my stomach. A slight bulge presented itself. I was going to call it quits but then I remembered the dessert table.

“Well, Patricia did say our sponsors liked to take care of us,” and so with that reminder, I made me way over to fill my plate. I chose a heft slice of chocolate cake and a raspberry cream cheese Danish. Once seated, I went to work on my desserts. Each bite was painfully good yet painstakingly slow. Resilient to defeat, I pushed on through. Slowly yet steadily, I chewed through bites of rich cake, alternating with bites of the tart Danish to cut through the chocolate.
Amazingly, I managed to finish my desserts as the lunch period ended. Breathing was difficult, but the food was worth it. While struggling to catch my breath, I looked at the stragglers around me. At least I’m not the only one who overindulged today. Teachers and administrators alike slowly heaved themselves from their seats to head to the next session. I scanned the room for Patricia to see if she had also overdone the food, but she was nowhere in sight.

“Huh, whatever. Don’t wanna be late.” I placed the palms of my hands onto the table to hoist myself from my seat. My stomach still bulged slightly, but my loose top didn’t let it show. “Today was a fluke, I’ll be more disciplined tomorrow,” I reassured myself under my breath as I slowly headed towards the cafeteria exit. Not without grabbing another Danish for the boring session of course.