My name is Alexia, and my story is a little strange.
Afternoon light was beginning to shine through the window as I checked myself in the mirror. I'm a short girl, but my friends always told me I was pretty. A pair of light-wash jeans sat high on my waist, and a white t-shirt was artfully tucked in near the front to hide the little belly I'd gained over the summer. My short blonde hair was tied back into as much of a ponytail as I could manage, though the strands around my face always seemed to fall loose. I tucked them behind my hears and grabbed my phone before opening the bedroom door and pounding down the stairs.
"Bye mom!" I called as I threw a jacket over my shoulder.
"Where you off to?" She called from the kitchen, before poking her head around the corner.
"The movies," I said. "I'm going with Laura, I'll be back by seven."
"Alright, make sure she drives safe!"
Though I was well into my 20's, my mom was as protective of me as a mother can be. "I will," I called, then opened the door and stepped out into the cool late-summer evening.
Sure enough, Laura was waiting outside in her silver Chevy Malibu. She was a long-haired brunette, pretty, with a huge pair of round sunglasses perched on her strong nose.
"Alexia, I swear to god, if you make us late I'll kill you."
"I know," I said. The car door creaked a bit as I pulled it open. Inside, she had the air conditioner blasting, despite the coolness of the evening. "But you know life wouldn't be worth living without me."
The theater was busy. Not a good sign, as we were already running late. Inside, the warm air was heavy with popcorn butter and pretzels, making my stomach growl. "Laura, if you stand in line for the tickets, I'll grab us some snacks."
She sighed heavily. "But the snack line is so long. Can't we just skip it this time?"
"Are you kidding? You rush me here, whisking me away without dinner and you expect me to sit through a three hour movie? You won't be able to hear anything over my stomach growling.
"Fine," she said. "But be quick!"
I stood in line, and after what seemed like hours, I reached the counter. I had less than two minutes before the movie started, and I could see Laura standing, huffing indignantly, near our agreed meeting point.
"Hey, what can I get for you?"
"Can I get two large popcorns, four pretzels, four slices of pizza, two large sodas and two boxes of junior mints?" I asked.
I watched anxiously as the concessions guy scrambled around behind the counter, piling my order onto a tray. As soon as he handed it to me, I turned and walked as quickly as I could through the busy theater. Laura had since given up on me and left.
I called her names under my breath and picked up my pace, the drinks teetering precariously on the edge of my tray.
Then, suddenly, I felt an impact on my right side, and the drinks went flying, splattering all over the form if the young woman I'd bumbled into. She was pretty, and I cringed as I saw the dark, ice-cold soda dripping from her fluffy white jacket.
"Oh my god," I exclaimed. "I am so, so sorry. Are you okay?"
The young woman pouted, her plush lips puckering in anger. "Does it look like I'm okay?" She replied. "My jacket is ruined."
I set my tray on a nearby counter and began picking up the empty cup and scattered ice cubes. "I'm sorry, I uh, I'm really in a hurry. Can I pay for your coat? Maybe dry cleaning could get that out?"
"Oh, you'll pay for this alright." She sneered. She waved her delicate, long-nailed hands and the world around me tilted as a sudden wave of dizziness passed over me. I gripped the counter for stability.
"What did you—?" I stammered, but as suddenly as the dizziness came, it left me. I straightened, looked around. The woman was gone without a trace, and I was left standing next to a puddle of coke-soaked carpet.
I shook my head, grabbed the tray and hurried off towards the theater.
"Where were you?" Laura hissed when I finally sat myself next to her in the dark theater. The final advertisements were playing, warning the occupants to turn off their cell phones.
"I got snacks, get off my back" I said, setting the tray on my lap. "I got some for you, too."
She grabbed a bucket of popcorn, and put one finger in front of her lips, signaling me to be quiet as the movie began.
Just as I promised, and almost as if on queue, my stomach growled loudly. I blushed, and hurriedly began eating. The popcorn was so delicious and salty, and I followed it with sips of cold soda. Before I knew it, my fingers were scraping the bottom of the bucket. I wiped my hands and moved on to the pretzels. It felt so good to have food in my stomach, and soon enough I had polished the pretzels off as well.
I burped, doing my best to do it quietly, holding it in until a particularly loud part if the film. The pizza was hot and delicious, and I was halfway through them before I realized something felt off.
My pants felt incredibly tight. Embarrassed with myself, I wiped my hands and reached down, undoing the button. My belly popped out, spilling over the waistband of my jeans. My eyes widened - my belly was huge. Easy twice as large as it had been before I started eating. I ran my hand over the skin, it felt soft and pudgy, but distended from my eating.
It felt...good.
The softness of my growing belly was so satisfying. I bit my lip - I was still starving. My stomach growled.
I took a deep breath, calming my anxious and embarrassed mind. I had to eat. So I steadily worked my way through the rest of my snacks; the pizza, the chocolate, the soda. It was so good and by the end, I heaved a sigh of relief.
Then the movie was over. The lights came on, and the people around us began steadily filing out of the theater. Laura stood and I grabbed my coat, moving to follow suit. But when I tried to stand, I found that I couldn't.
My belly was huge, softly distended out in front of my in outrageous proportion. I reached my arms out, but I couldn't even wrap my arms around my gigantic stomach. My breasts had grown too, falling to either side and pressing uncomfortably against my shirt. My belly pressed painfully against the arms of the theater seat, and I was absolutely stuck.
"Alexia?" Laura cried. "What happened?"
"I- I don't know!" I stammered. Then it hit me - that woman I'd spilled soda on. She'd made me dizzy with a wave of her hand. Was it possible she was behind this? I heard the echo of her words, 'oh, you'll pay for this alright'.
Laura pressed my belly away and pulled up the arm of the chair, allowing me to heave myself to my feet. My belly spilled over my torn pants, nearly reaching my knees. My breasts were swollen and heavy. My cheeks blushed ferociously as the few people in the theater stopped and stared.
There was no way it was possible, but at the same time it was the only possibility. I'd been cursed.
But I wasn't sure I wanted to go back to normal.
