Mindy's Weight Gain

Chapter 1 - First Day

"What room was it in again?"

My first day of university and I am already starting to talk to myself. I made my way through the crowded halls of Henwin University peering left and right with the slight hope that I would find the correct room and make it on time for my first class. 

"Ah, here it is, room 12-286!"

I walked through the doorway only to be greeted by a mostly empty classroom. A quick look at my schedule confirmed that the class started at 8:00 AM. A quick check with my phone revealed that it was 7:50 AM, making me actually early instead. After a long summer of doing pretty much nothing but sleeping in and watching youtube videos, it was difficult to get up almost four hours before my normal time of awakening this morning. An extra five minutes of sleep would have made my morning trial a little bit easier, so to see that time being wasted currently stung a little bit.

I sat at one of the ten desks in the classroom, which were arranged in a semi-circle facing the whiteboard. I waited for around seven minutes when a few students started to make their way in. Once the clock struck 8:00 AM the door was shut and my first class of university had officially begun.

"Good morning class. I am Mr. Fletcher and this is ARTE 101: Introduction to Art!"

Being primarily a business school, Henwin University was not known for its fine art programs. I didn't meet the credentials of most art schools so I had to take what I could get. With only nine other students in the classroom, it felt less like a class and more like a school club.

"Let's first go over the course syllabus"

A collective groan was heard from all of us. With the course syllabus already being handed out to us a month prior, the act of relaying the information to us a second time was more than redundant. It didn't help that Mr. Fletcher was insistent on reading every word of the syllabus, dragging the boring experience longer than it had to. 

After what seemed like an hour, Mr. Fletcher finally started to wrap things up.

"Now I just want to reinforce, phones should be kept on silent at all times and should NOT be a distraction. Now that we are finished that, let us do some ice-breaker activities!"

Another collective groan emerged from our class. As a non-people person, ice-breakers were the bane of my elementary self's existence. If only my past self knew that she would have to relive those experiences again. 

"Introduce yourself, give your name, age, and something unique about you! We will start with you Angel and go around the circle."

As soon as Mr. Fletcher finished his sentence, my mind was already racing. Something unique about myself? What on Earth is unique about me, and who cares? The foreboding dread only made me more and more anxious, until it was my turn in the spotlight. 

"My name is Mindy Dewart, I am nineteen, and something unique about me . . . I like to write poems?"

My statement was more a question than anything, and I began to think about what I had said. Poems? I haven't written poems since I was in grade 4, and those were just limericks and haikus! Also writing poems is unique? I guess the thousands of poets just don't exist! 

"Thank you, Jordan. Now that is all the time we have for class today. I hope you all have ordered the textbook as you will need to read to page 40 for Friday's class."

I realized that in my anxiety I had ignored all of the others introductions. So much for making new friends.

After I left the class, I looked for a place to sit. Upon finding a small table by a window, I took my laptop out of my backpack and powered it on.

"40 pages art textbook"

There I go talking to myself again. I set my reminder for 10:00 PM tonight before checking the rest of my schedule. With Henwin University's lackluster fine arts program, most classes were only available online as asynchronous classes. While easier travel-wise, online classes put a lot of responsibility on me to actually do the work and not just procrastinate my work further. 

My schedule looked relatively light, only requiring me to go into the university on Wednesdays and Fridays for ARTE 101. I am only going for a fine arts diploma, but I decided to spread out my course load over three years instead of two. I have a decent position at work, and if I wanted to get my diploma finished in two years I would have had to quit. 

After I finished some schoolwork for my other classes, I put my laptop away and started my way home. I lived in a small apartment not too far from the actual student residence. The rent was cheap, but the apartments themselves were cramped as a result. It was about a two-minute walk away from Henwin and only a ten-minute drive away from work. 

As I walked towards my apartment my grumbling stomach made me realized I skipped out on lunch. My breakfast for the morning only consisted of a handful of cheerios, a lighter meal from what I was used to during the summer. There was a small fast-food burger place beside my apartment building, so I decided to head inside to satisfy my hunger.

The restaurant was mostly empty, with it being closer to 1:00 PM. I looked up at the electronic screens and I couldn't make up my mind. The cashier started to do that awkward stare as he was waiting for me to make my decision. In my indecision, I just decided to order the standard meal.

"Hello, could I get a Big Mac'n combo, with a coke?"

"Sure, that will be 6 dollars. Your order number will be on your receipt."

I decided that a little treat for my first day would be an alright inclusion for my diet. I have a pretty thin waistline but I am always able to eat a lot of food. The blessing of a high metabolism lent me to a more sedentary lifestyle, with my days consisting of me sitting around watching videos. 

"Number 258, Big Mac'n combo?"

"Yes, that is mine."

"Thank you for buying at McBurger's."

I grabbed my meal and headed for my apartment. My room was on the sixth floor so I opted to take the elevator. My apartment consisted of a twin-sized bed, a microwave and stove, and a small table beside a window. The view of the city was nice but the loud highway in front of the building drowned out any warm feelings one could elicit from the view.

I sat at my stool and dug into the lunch I purchased. The Big Mac'n burger was never amazing, but it was a safe option for an okay burger. The fries were hard but I admired the unusual crunch that was uncommon with the standard McBurger softness that most expected out of their fries. The cola was refreshing, but I forgot to order without the ice for the umpteenth time in a row, leaving with less of the drink than I had wanted. The meal, while dense in calories, was never super filling, leaving me a little hungry for more. I decided just to wait until supper to grab something else to eat.

With my lunch finished I headed off to work. 

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Hello everyone! This is my first story so I hope you enjoy it. My main goal with this story is realism, so it will take a while to see some weight gain kick in. Any feedback or comments would be appreciated. I hope to release daily parts for the next few days so expect to see more soon. Thanks!