Percy, Terry and Matt look over at the elevator just as the ‘out of service’ light winks out.
“Hey, great!,” says Percy, “the light’s gone out - we can use the elevator!” He stabs his fat finger at the down button, and with a wheezy clank the elevator doors slide open.
“After you,” say Percy and Terry in concert to Matt. “After all, it’s your first day,” Terry adds, “and you probably won’t see the inside of this elevator again for years.”
“If you’re lucky, you’ll never have to see it again - by the time you get to be our size they’ll have it replaced,” Percy adds, as he follows Matt into the elevator.
As Matt enters the elevator, he sees the usual metal plaque that proclaims the elevator’s capacity. It used to say, ‘12 persons or 2000 pounds’, but somebody has painted over the ‘12' and painted a red ‘4' in its place.
Percy notices Matt looking up. “Yeah, somebody painted that over to ‘4', but even that’s not true,” says Percy, “‘cause four of us prefects would overload this elevator. We know because we’ve tried!”
“In fact, three of us are enough to overload it, if Percy and I are the first two,” adds Terry, winking. “Someday they’ll upgrade the elevators,” he adds, stepping in behind Matt and Percy. The elevator sinks an inch under his weight. “But not before we graduate, I expect.” Terry thumbs the button for “1" and the elevator lurches downwards, then begins to descend smoothly. It lurches equally to a halt, and when the doors open, it’s a couple of inches below level of the floor - not that Matt can see this, through the bulk of Terry, but he does notice the elevator rise a bit as Terry steps off.
Matt and Percy follow Terry off the elevator, and as the trio make their way slowly down the hallway towards the cafeteria, Matt asks Terry, “What did you mean, ‘The only diet you’ll see here is one to help you gain,’?”
“You mean, you don’t know what OSB is all about?” says Terry, in surprise.
“Well, I know it’s a school for fat boys - that’s obvious...” Matt begins, but Percy cuts him off.
“You don’t get it yet Matt, do you? OSB is not just a school for fat guys - it’s a school - THE school - for guys who want to get fatter. If your parents sent you here, they must expect you wan to get big - really big. Didn’t they say anything to you?”
“Not really,” replies Matt, furiously thinking. They really hadn’t said anything about what OSB would be like, except that he’d ‘fit in well’ and ‘be comfortable there’ - as the school had ‘good academics’ and produced ‘well-rounded students’. ‘Well-rounded students’?! Looking at Percy and Terry, you could say that again. It suddenly struck Matt that his parents must have known this would happen - in fact, probably wanted this to happen. His fat dad had always encouraged him to watch his weight, but every attempt at putting him on a diet had ended as soon as he was unhappy - which didn’t usually take long, as Matt liked to eat. His parents must INTEND him to get fatter, he suddenly realised, and they didn’t want this to happen in the brutal atmosphere of a school in New York City, where he would be teased, so they’d sent him here to this safe place. He remarked, after a long pause for thought, “I guess my parents must expect me to get fat.”
“Matt, if they’re paying OSB’s fees, they WANT you to get fat,” replied Percy. “This place ain’t cheap, unless you’re on scholarship?”
“Oh no,” replied Matt. “Dad wrote them a cheque.”
“Well, then he must want you to get fat!” remarked Terry. “Stick with us, and I’m sure you will.”
As the trio got to the cafeteria doors, they ...
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author
