Chapter 24 - Full Steam Ahead

Just for the sake of it, Sadie was eating. She’d gathering several of Greg’s snacks, mixed them in a bowl, and munched on them as she lay, length-wise, on the couch watching some movie whose title she didn’t know.

Ever since she’d weighed in, the shackles, such as they were, had come off. What was the point in hiding her activities when she’d literally gained 48 pounds in a year? Outside of pregnancy or a major health problem, that simply didn’t happen.

And so, Sadie inhaled her way through Christmas and New Years, going to drive-thru’s almost every night and trying to include heavy cream wherever possible.

With a little less than two weeks left of break, it was safe to say that Sadie planned to just sit around until it was over. Heck, she hadn’t even been able to see Trevor, what with the endless parade of visiting family and other events he described enduring. And it wasn’t like Daphne could entertain her either, as she hadn’t answered Sadie’s last couple texts.

But really, the biggest thing on Sadie’s mind came in the form of a question - “What’s next?”

158 pounds marked progress, but it was by no means the end of the road. When Sadie originally set out on this journey, her goal was obesity, which was still another 18 pounds away. So, definitively deciding to get fatter, she decided on the following:

1. 176 pounds, marking obesity
2. 185 pounds, marking the Freshman 50
3. 210 pounds, marking 50 pounds in her 2nd year and 100 pounds gained

At the rate she was going, in all honesty, 210 pounds might have been a little conservative for 365 more days of Sadie’s all-you-can-eat lifestyle, but a goal was a goal.

Just as Sadie was polishing off her snack bowl, Greg himself walking into the room. Giving Sadie a look she neither registered, nor would’ve understood, he sat beside her, asking, “Hey Kiddo, how’s the movie?”

“Oh hey, Greg”, she answered nonchalantly, briefly glancing in his direction, her burgeoning double chin cartoonishly exaggerated, “it’s alright, kind of an old one, I think, but it’s entertaining anyway”. Then, gesturing to the almost empty bowl beside her, asked, “Want some?”.

“That’s alright”, he replied, waving a hand, “I just wanted to see how track’s going. You and I haven’t been for a run since you’ve been back. Everything okay?”

Sadie groaned to herself, knowing that conversations like these, and especially with Greg, were inevitable. She didn’t quite have a handle yet on how to balance concerns over her transformation with the fact that she had no plans to improve upon her situation.

Settling on a direction, Sadie began with a slight laugh, saying, “Oh yeah, I guess we haven’t, that’s so weird. I guess I’ve just been taking it easy the past couple weeks - it was a crazy intense semester.”

“Hmm… I bet”, Greg replied slowly, “and the team, made friends with anybody yet?”

At this, Sadie lit up, saying, “Oh yeah, one girl for sure. And of course, I’ve got Trevor”

Smiling slightly, Greg responded with a nod, “And how’s he doing? I haven’t seen him around since you’ve been back”

“Oh he’s doing well. I think he really likes JTU, I haven’t made it over there yet, but that’s alright. Anyway, seems like he’s really opened up and gotten pretty social. But since we’ve been back, his family’s kept him super busy”.

“Aw, well good for him, but I guess that’s too bad for you”, smiled Greg as he stood up to leave. Sadie returned her eyes to the television as Greg departed, only for him to stop, turn, and ask, “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Sadie laughed and exclaimed, “Of course I do! Thanks Greg. I appreciate it”, as he left, while thinking excitedly to herself, “Yup, he can definitely tell…”