Luna knew nothing until the next morning, when she woke to the braying of the alarm. She rolled onto her side and let out a tired moan. She smacked her lips together and sat up.

The bed was soaked. Her blanket was bunched at her feet and saturated with what-she-didn't know. She moved, and found a wet spot beneath her. Aw, jeez, did she piss herself? She thought back to last night's dinner, where she ate far more than her fair share. She had never known overeating to induce bed-wetting, but hey, she wasn't a genius like Lisa.

Thankfully, Luan and the others had already gotten up and started their day, so she was able to shower, change into fresh clothes, and change her sheets without being bothered. If any of her siblings found out she peed the bed, she'd never live it down; they'd all be in a nursing home together somewhere and they'd still be making fun of her.

Downstairs, everyone was gathered around the table eating breakfast. As soon as the good smells of bacon and sausage reached her nose, a spasm of hunger so great that it almost made her double over like someone punched her in the stomach. A grimace of pain flashed across her face and she pressed her hand to her belly.

It was warm.

All at once, she felt it deep inside, like a bed of hot coals. It rumbled beneath her hand, and her chest bubbled with acid. For a terrible second, she thought she was going to throw up, but then it passed and she was ravenous. She grabbed a plate from the kitchen, sat between Lori and Leni, and started grabbing food from the serving trays. Her hands trembled lightly and her stomach growled, sending ripples of pain through her. She shoved a handful of bacon into her mouth, then a biscuit, eating directly from the tray and not even using her plate. She picked up a sausage, crammed it in, and followed it with a pancake, which she folded like a taco. She chewed with her mouth open, smacked her lips, and moaned in delight at how fucking good everything tasted. She knew that she was being a total pig, but she couldn't stop herself even if she cared, which she didn't. There was a big, empty hole in the pit of her stomach, and if she didn't fill it quickly, her body would fold in on itself and disappear.

Lori favored her with a disgusted sidelong glance and Luna was vaguely aware of everyone else staring at her with varying expressions of shock and horror. She swallowed and looked around the table. "What? I'm hungry."

"You could at least use your table manners," Lola sniffed.

"Yeah, even I'm not that much of a pig." Lana said,.

Luna opened her mouth to reply, but her stomach gave an urgent gurgle, and she went back to eating. She didn't stop until she was stuffed and every morsel of food was gone. For good measure, she picked up the greasy bacon plate and licked it clean. She had never cared much for meat juice, but damn, something about it really hit the spot right about now. Sitting back, she rested her hands on her stomach, let out a loud belch, and picked shreds of bacon and eggs from between her teeth with her thumb nail.

Man, that was a good meal. Though her family was kind of poor, they never went without anything to eat, so to her, food was a given. She rarely ever sat down and appreciated something the way she did now. The terrible hunger pains were gone and she felt satisfied in a way that she hardly ever did.

Now it was time for school.

Upstairs, she grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. She crackled with energy from her repast and felt like she could run circles around the earth Flash-style. She tumbled down the stairs, slid out the door like Tom Cruise in Risky Business, and jumped off the top step, sticking the landing perfectly. Lynn popped out of nowhere and pumped her fist. "Nice one."

Luna glowed so brightly that Lynn cringed and narrowed her eyes with a pained expression, "Thanks," she said. "I'm something of a sports star myself."

"Wanna race?" Lynn asked.

Luna opened her mouth to turn her down, since racing wasn't really her thing, but for some inexplicable reason…she felt like demolishing the jock. "Sure," she said…then took off like a shot. Lynn gave chase, but despite her more powerful leg muscles and many years of endurance training, she couldn't catch up. Every time Luna looked back, Lynn was a little farther behind. When they reached the front steps of the school, Luna stopped and waited. It took Lynn a full minute to catch up, and when she did, she bent, clutched her calves, and sucked great gulps of air.

For her part, Luna wasn't even winded.

"Damn," Lynn panted, "you're good."

Luna beamed. "Told you so."

With that, she went into the building.

The hall was packed with kids milling around and waiting for class to start, some horseplaying and others just talking. Luna went to her locker, opened it, and grabbed her book. She slammed it and started when Sam spoke. "Hey, Lune."

Luna's heart fluttered and she felt a strange little swishing in her stomach, as though it were trying to get away from the danger that Sam didn't pose. She laid one hand protectively on her midsection and silently calmed herself. The tempest in her guts quieted and she recovered. "Hey, babe," she said and kissed Sam's cheek. Something about the soft touch on Sam's lips on her cheek reminded her of -

A dream

-something. Did she dream last night? If so, she couldn't remember it.

"You look…different," Sam said, her brows furrowing. "Are you feeling okay?"

Luna frowned. "I feel fine. Why?"

"I dunno, you just look kinda…"

She shrugged.

"Kinda what?" Luna pressed.

"Bloated," Sam saud.

Luna blinked in surprise. She looked down at herself and ran her hands over her chest and stomach. "You're tripping," she said, "I look just like I always do."

Sam opened her mouth, but waved her hand instead. "It's nothing. Maybe I am tripping. Anyway -"

The bell rang.

Sighing, Sam said, "Just wanted to say hi."

They were in one class together but most of the day, they were apart, which was a strain on their relationship. They both wanted to see more of the other but that's just how it goes sometimes.

Oh well.

All that morning, Luna did her best to pay attention in class - she had to because she was this close to failing - but the terrible hunger pangs distracted her. Her stomach seized and roiled, and saliva filled her mouth, making it hard to focus on dumb stuff like math and science. A couple times, she faked needing to go to the bathroom so she could raid snacks out of the vending machine. She would rip the packages open with trembling fingers, stuff her face, and then worriedly wonder what the hell was wrong with her. She got hungry - everyone does - but this was bullshit.

At lunch, she scarfed down her food and licked her lips. Sam sat across from her looking concerned. "Something's up with you," Sam said. "Like…you look even bigger than you did this morning."

Luna rolled her eyes dismissively. Yeah, okay, maybe she was being a pig, but it was impossible to gain enough weight for it to be visible in only a few hours. "You know me," Luna joked, "I'm metal…heavy metal."

She laughed and looked at Sam's tray. "You gonna finish that?"

After lunch, Luna felt much better and went back to class with a little spring in her step. Things were looking up…for a while. Half way through her next class, her guts started to gurgle and the bitter taste of bile filled her mouth. Her gord rose and she was sure that she was going to spew green, pea-soup vomit on the girl sitting in front of her. She managed to keep it down. She felt better again for a while, then a wave of nausea crashed over her just as the last class of the day was wrapping up. At the ringing of the bell, she ran for the bathroom, shoving people out of the way and knocking over weaker freshmen. She slammed into one of the stalls, dropped to her knees, and bent over the toilet just as everything she had eaten that day - and it was a lot - came out in a hot, stinking rush. It splattered into the bowl and the edges of her vision strained, her head pounding with pain.

When she was finished, she rocked miserably back on her knees and let out a moan. Her stomach rumbled again, and she watched in stunned amazement as it began to swell and expand. Her shirt came untucked from her skirt and a band of pale flesh stuck out, stretch marks appearing as if by infernal magic. Her breath squeezed from her lungs and she scutteled back in fear as though she could escape the horror of her own body, stopping only when she bumped against the door. Her stomach gave a terrible rumble, quivered visibly, and then stilled.

For a long time, Luna stared down at herself with horrified amazement. "What the fuck?" she finally breathed.

Then she stopped caring because the hunger pangs were back.

At the end of the day, Lincoln shoved his books into his locker and joined the crush of humanity streaming through the main door. The day was warm and breezy, and the sun sat high in the bluish sky, its face seeming to smile upon him. Heyya, Linc, finally done with school? Awesome, let's play.

Thrusting his thumb through the strap of his backpack, he started down the sidewalk, a tune as light and airy as the afternoon on his lips. He met up with Clyde at the corner of Schoolhouse Rd and High St, and for a while they walked together and talked about their math homework. Lincoln was fairly good at math but Clyde was better, so he wanted to pick his brain a little. At Melton Street, Clyde turned right and went home while Lincoln continued onto the high school. Luan, Leni, and Lori waiting by the flagpole with Lucy, Lisa, Lola, and Lana, who got out of class fifteen minutes earlier than Lincoln did and thus had gotten a head start. He walked up, looked around, and asked, "Where's Luna?"

Lori made a sound of disgust. "Probably digging for food in the trashcan."

Uh…what?

As if in cosmic answer to his question, Luna came out the door and down the steps, a sandwich in each hand. She turned from one to the other, taking one bite and then another. Lincoln blinked in surprise, and his eyes darted to her stomach. When Luna left the house that morning, she looked, well, normal. Now, her stomach poked out from between her shirt and skirt like it was playing peekaboo. For a second, Lincoln only stared at her before realizing that she looked pregnant.

That was crazy, though. Even if she was, she wouldn't start showing in a couple hours. Also, she wouldn't start showing if she was just gaining weight. He didn't care how much someone ate, they don't literally inflate like a balloon over the course of a few hours. That shit might happen in weird, inflation-fetish fanfics, but this was real life. He tried to remember if she had actually looked normal that morning and couldn't. He didn't make it a point to keep track of his sisters' bodies. He loved his family and all, but he - like anyone else - had a habit of taking them for granted. They were kind of, you know, just there, like the lamp in the corner. They were part of the scenery and he didn't pay attention to small details. She could have been looking pudgy before school and he simply missed it.

Something about that prospect seemed like bull, but it made sense, nothing else did.

On the walk home, Luna happily finished her sandwich and cleaned her fingers with an obscene suxcking sound. Lori asked her what was up with her, and she just shrugged. "I'm just really hungry lately."

There was a strange and certain glow to her that Lincoln tried and failed to puzzle out, but there was also something in her eyes…a dark disquiet that told him she was afraid. When they got home, he went into her room, where he found her on her bunk, dipping Funyons in Cool Whip and strumming her guitar. A look of guilt crossed her face, as though he had caught her doing something wrong, and he felt sorry for her. "Hey," he said as casually as he could.

"Hey," she replied, "what's up?"

Lincoln shrugged and sat on the edge of Luan's bunk. He couldn't see her but he figured that was a good thing. It would make their conversation easier. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," she said too quickly. "Why?"

For a moment, Lincoln was quiet, mentally choosing his words very, very carefully. "You seem kind of…I don't know…like something's bothering you. And then there's, you know, your stomach. No offense, but you've put on weight since this morning, which isn't exactly natural."

"I've been putting on weight," she said. "I just stopped hiding it."

There was a hint of deception in her voice, but maybe he was imagining it. What reason would she have to lie? After all, didn't he himself say that it wasn't possible for someone to gain that much weight in a few short hours? He flashed back to the uncertain look in her eyes and frowned to himself. There was definitely something up, of that he was sure.

He tried unsuccessfully to get it out of her, but finally gave up. There's only so much you can do when someone doesn't want to open up to you. In the hallway, he bumped into Lynn. "What's up with her?" she asked.

Lincoln shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know. She won't tell me. She said she's been fat but I dunno about that."

"That's a crock," Lynn said. "She wasn't fat this morning when she dusted me in a race. She was quick."

Lincoln hummed.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Instead of going back to his room, he popped into Lisa's lab. The little scientist was perched in front of her computer and pecking at the keys. On the table next to her, an array of beakers bubbled with strange brews. Lincoln stood in the doorway for a minute waiting to be acknowledged, then coughed to get her attention. "I know you're there," she said. "What is it?"

"It's Luna," he said. "I'm sure you noticed her…condition."

"Yes," Lisa said, "she seems to have gained a little weight."

"In a very short amount of time."

Lisa turned to him and drummed her fingers on the keyboard. "Yes, it does seem to have happened rather quickly. I'm of the opinion that its simple water retention. That sometimes sneaks up on one with great speed. I'll give her a check shortly."

And that was that. Lincoln went to his room and shut the door.

Time would tell what was the matter with Luna. In the meanwhile, he had homework to do.

He hated homework to do.