A Couple of Weeks After Quarantine
James shut his eyes tightly to the glaring sun, his head pounding. He was not positive but he was pretty sure he was still drunk from last night. After it was clear that he was not going to fall back asleep he disentangled himself from the mass of arms and legs that pinned him to the bed and padded to the restroom.
It was coming back into the bedroom that he noticed the reflection of his naked body in the full-length mirror. What he saw made him do a double take. Before the quarantine he had been an incredibly fit frat guy, with dark brown hair and chocolatey eyes that melted the hearts of his many nightly conquests.
But things had changed. The brown hair and eyes were still the same, but the fit frat guy had been replaced with a decidedly dumpier version. His muscles were still visible but coated in a layer of a pudge, his abs had faded into a muffin top, and love handles had replaced the v that had guided so many eager lips to the treasure below.
It was no mystery how it had happened, three months trapped inside had added gluttony to his already alcoholic tendencies. The combination of the endless food, booze, and not moving much was staring right back at him.
Of course, I am not the only one quarantine hit hard thought James. He glanced at the two naked men in his bed. One of them (Chad) was lying flat on his stomach which helped show off just how fleshy his backside and thighs were getting. And lying next to him, Joshâs hand was resting on what was clearly a burgeoning beer gut. And at the booze filled party last night, they were not the only three filling out their vineyard vines apparel more than they ever had before. Even his chapter president, who used to be a fitness nut, was nearly busting out of his button up. Plus, the party had definitely had more pigging out than usual.
At that very moment, James belly gave a deep rumble. Well thought James, itâs just one of those things. I will start working out harder, and pretty soon people will get ahold of themselves. He grabbed a warm beer from the case under his bed, popped it open and downed half of it in a gulp. Â
But he did not, and they did not.
A Couple of Months Later  Â
James sat on the sofa, the coffee table in front of him full of empty take out boxes and beer cans, a smoking blunt in an ashtray. A casual glance around the room and it was no mystery where all the food and alcohol had gone.
All trace of muscle had vanished from Jamesâ frame, buried under a thick layer of fat. His gut bulged over his boxers and his white undershirt would not go past his belly button. His lean face was now dominated by chubby cheeks and a stubbly double chin was emerging. He had transitioned from looking like a jock in bulking season, to a washed-up high school athlete.
As he sat there, James belched loudly as he reached into a box and pulled out a slice of pizza. He had originally been concerned about his steadily climbing weight, and his complete inability to reign in his appetite. But as time went on it was clear that not only were a lot of other people having the same problems, but most people were. And as the general population began to realize this, everybody, including James, just gave in.
Food intake in the United States was suddenly through the roof. James and his friends found themselves snacking more and more, until they ate pretty much all day. At first the health industry hung on, but pretty soon it was being replaced by new buffets. The idea of fit being the most attractive state for a personâs body was quickly abandoned for the simple fact that hardly any fit people were left. Â
The effects of these changes were visible across the nation. On opening day of football, the quarterbacks had looked more like lineman, and the lineman were so huge they could barely move. Celebrities no longer posted about their fitness routines on social media, but instead showed off their increasingly flabby bodies surrounded by food in pictures. Magazines now featured chubby models explaining how to get a dad bod like them, and the hot weather man on channel four was nearly busting out of his suit.
Just as James finished up his pizza his frequent lover Chad waddled through the door, his arms filled with fresh take out. While Jamesâ weight was evenly distributed, Chad was bottom heavy with monstrous thunder thighs and ass that would fit in almost nothing without his crack showing. Not that Chad tried very hard to cover it up. Â Â
âAny of those for me?â belched James. Chad smiled, causing his second chin to suddenly become more prominent, âYeah I thought I might share, donât want a handsome guy wasting away on me.â With that he handed a couple bags to James, plopped his own massive rear onto the sofa and dug in.Â
The buffet was filled with the sounds of smacking, slurping, and general pig like behavior. Not that any of this bothered James, since he was one of the loudest offenders. He was also one of the largest. Several years of his new lifestyle had transformed James into a morbidly obese pig. His gut surged almost to his knees, covering his immense thighs, his chocolatey eyes looked like they were almost buried in fat, and his chin simply melded into his fat chest. He was dressed in a pale blue dress shirt, the buttons close to popping under his loosely tied tie and his jacket had not buttoned in fifty pounds.
James finished off his plate, he had lost count of how many he had been shoving down, and glanced at his watch which just barley fit around his pudgy wrist. His two-hour lunch break was over and it was time to get back to work. He gestured to the chubby young waiter who waddled over and took his card. James sighed contently rubbing his stuffed gut and thinking that the best part of his well-paying office job was how often he could eat out.
When the waiter returned, he helped James heave his immense body from the two chairs he had been sitting on, and breathing heavily he waddled towards the door. James stepped onto the electric sidewalk and let it slide him along to work. These were a fairly recent development, as walking long distances became harder for the increasingly obese population.
He had to admit, the one thing that made him feel ashamed of his gargantuan size where the sidewalks. They seemed like the worldâs final total surrender to the new normal. This did not deeply upset James but it did make him mildly uncomfortable.
He decided that he could at least try the sidewalk and he stepped off the conveyer belt onto the shoulder left for people to get in and out of vehicles on. After a block he was drenched in sweat and heaving for breath, he stopped to recover gasping.
âHey, James is that you?â James whirled around to see an incredibly obese man (even by current standards) oozing out of a huge scooter and his dress clothes. It took him a moment to recognize the fat coated face as Alec, the president of his fraternity chapter back in undergrad.
âSorry man didnât recognize you at firstâ James replied giving Alec a playful pat on the shoulder that sent his whole-body quivering. âItâs ok man, people change fast these days.â Alec replied. They chatted for a little while about life, and James was shocked that the formerly fit frat president needed a scooter. He supposed he should not have been surprised they were a lot more common these days, and the one Alec was riding in had even been advertised on television by Chris Evans.
Eventually they said goodbye and James watched Alec scooter onto the conveyer and sail down the street like some fleshy jiggling vehicle. James turned back towards home and lumbered onto the conveyer belt sidewalk, âno shame in using this now, at least I am not big enough to need a mobility scooterâ he thought. But if he was being honest with himself, he knew it would not be long until he did need one. It would not be long until everyone needed one.
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