Chapter 5 - the gym

5.
As the weeks went by, Emily continued to watch the people around her grow. Her mother cooked huge meals, her friends went out to eat nearly everyday, even people on the street always seemed to be munching on a fatty snack. Emily found it incredibly hard to stick to her diet. She had to eat something and as soon as she began she could stop herself. The worst was the candy shop in town. It was a cache of chocolates, pastries, and even milkshakes. Emily had fallen in love with their fudge and would eat whole slices of it by herself. One strange thing about the candy shop she noticed was that one of its frequent patrons was managing to keep slim. Emily had never seen that woman before, but she was curious as to how she was avoiding the weight the rest of the town was gaining.

Midnight snacks became a frequent indulgence. Emily would stand in front of the pantry in a tank top and pajama pants, searching for something to fill her up before she went to sleep. "Too sugary, too fatty, man no wonder my parents have put on so much weight," she thought to herself. "All they've got are cookies and candy bars. I'll have to ask mom to get some healthier snacks the next time she's at the store." Emily grabbed a big chocolate bar and began to eat it. "Maybe it's just a little weight from moving in. But did they really give up on staying in shape this quickly after moving in? And it's not just my parents... Even Jessie's got love handles now." Emily frowned. "Something is going on with this town. I can't let it happen to me" She thought, grabbing two more chocolate bars to satisfy her hunger.

Emily's mom never bought anything healthy. She claimed she kept forgetting and would promise to get something next time. The second week, Emily moved onto bowls of ice cream each night. She would try to be content with just a cookie or two, but her stomach protested until she filled it with something more. By the third week, Emily had moved from midnight snacks to midnight meals. She stood in the dark kitchen, only illuminated by the pale blue light of the fridge she was in front of. She took another bite of the roll of cookie dough she had in her hand, and scratched an itch on her stomach. She felt soft skin. Emily looked down and saw that her tank top had begun to ride up, just a millimeter, exposing a tiny bit of fleshy midriff. Emily pulled up her shirt and squeezed a bit of her now pudgy midsection. A wash of shame went over her face. "I need to go to the gym tomorrow," she thought. She resolved to finally get herself back in shape. After a few more bites of cookie dough.

As it turned out, there was only one gym left in town. Emily got in with her mom's membership, something she hadn't used the whole time she'd live in Tubton. She made her way to the lockers rooms to change, and as she stepped in, she ran into a familiar face on an unfamiliar body. There, standing before her, was her Aunt Olive. Emily's jaw nearly dropped. She was wearing the same workout clothes Emily had seen her in a month ago, but now they were barely staying on her. Her shirt had effectively become a crop top, as her belly bulged its way out of the elastic and was hanging down over her waist. A ring of fat surrounded her hips, jiggling as she greeted Emily. Her shorts were torn on the sides and ripped from thigh chafing in the middle. Her legs had grown huge and she was obviously waddling. Even her arms had gotten thicker, and Emily realized Olive had had to cut the sleeves of her shirt off to get them through. Her double chin wobbled as she pushed a candy bar into her mouth.
"Oh, Emily!" She said. "It's so good to see you! Trying to work off some of that holiday weight huh?" Olive playfully poked the little starter belly on Emily with a chubby finger. Emily recoiled. Olive laughed.
"No need to be embarrassed. I think I've gotten a little chubby myself." She put a hand on her potbelly and jiggled it. She was not overly stuffed. This was all fat. "I'm just trying to get ahead of the Christmas weight. It's almost cookie baking season and I need to stay in shape." She took another bite of her chocolate bar.
"Are you eating candy right after your workout?" Emily said. Immediately she blushed, embarrassed that she had been so forward.
Olive just laughed. "It's just a little incentive reward. I did cardio for 15 whole minutes today! Twice as much as usual. Figured I deserved a little treat. Anyway, have a good work out!" She started to walk away, but her sunglasses slipped from their place on the top of her head. They clattered to the floor. Emily started to move down to get them, but Olive got there first. She bent down and Emily nearly gasped as she saw a rip form down her aunt's shorts. She was literally too fat for her clothes. Olive put the sunglasses over her eyes, smiled, and left.
Emily was mortified for her aunt. How could she summon the strength to walk around the gym like that? She could only imagine how everyone else looked at her. Then, as she rounded the corner, she saw something even more shocking. The whole gym was full of people just as bloated and chubby as her aunt. This legitimized something Emily had suspected for weeks now. Tubton was getting fatter.