Chapter Five

Three Days Later

3:15 PM, Lecture Hall #175

Durham sat in his usual spot, near the top of the terraced classroom. The other 701 Boys were sitting in the row below him. The teacher had finished the day's lesson, but the bell had not yet rung and they stuck there until it did. His roommates had zoned out and distracted themselves with their phones, as did most of the other students. Durham was nowhere near comfortable enough to join them, and not just because his sizable butt and belly were tightly squeezed into his chair.

After the wrestling match on Friday, Durham had decided to face the music and reveal his transformed self to the school. His roommates assured him that they had his back. The administrators had been able to quickly provide him with a plus-sized uniform, though it still felt a little snug while he was seated. His fellow students had initially reacted as he had expected: dumbfounded beyond all reason. While the majority had soon followed the example of the 701 Boys and accepted him, there were the inevitable exceptions.

Over the weekend, Durham had received at least a dozen anonymous messages on BeastBook…

YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT PART HIPPO?

DID YOU PISS OFF THE GOD OF BINGE-EATING OR SOMETHING?

IF YOU FELL IN A CANYON, YOU'D GET STUCK!

HOPE YOUR BED HAS SOME SUPPORT BEAMS

DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WE HAD WHALES AT SCHOOL

…and those were some of the nicer ones.

Worse than the insults, though, were the looks. No one had insulted him face-to-face, likely because his added girth made him more intimidating. Plenty, however, were bold enough to stare at him. From the dorms to the cafeteria to the library, the incredulous gaping from other students was far from scarce. Even now, Durham swore he noticed some glances from further down the terrace. He did his best to hide his discomfort, but traces of the feeling still showed on his face.

Above him, the bell rang. Below him, Jack stood up with a smile on his face. The other boys put their phones down, intuiting that the ever-chipper labrador was about to play the group leader. "Okay guys! Who's up for a gaming tournament?" he asked with his trademark exuberance. Collot stood up, "Throw in some salty snacks and I'm all for it." Legosi nodded, a smile pushing away his usual pensiveness. Voss leapt excitedly onto Collot's arm, and the sheepdog chuckled as he placed the miniscule fox on top of his head.

Miguno grinned approvingly but quickly sensed Durham's silence. The hyena turned in his chair to face the coyote. "You okay up there, big guy?" he said, trying to sound jovial. Durham's ears perked up, "Huh, what?" Miguno smirked at the coyote's obliviousness, "We're going to hang out; video games, junk food, usual guy's night stuff. You are coming, right?" Durham responded nervously, "Oh, yeah, yeah sure." He took a moment to gently slide his plump frame out of his chair, "But first I have to go run an errand. I'll meet you guys back at the room."

Miguno raised his eyebrow, "What kind of errand?" Durham awkwardly slung his backpack over his shoulder, "Oh it's nothing really. It won't take long at all." Miguno shrugged, "Ok then, see you in a bit." Jack led Miguno and the others out of the classroom, with Durham following close behind the group. Once in the hallway, Durham turned left while his roommates went right.

The coyote hurried down the corridor. He was still getting used to his extra weight, and he felt more and more winded the further he went. Eventually, Durham came to a set of double doors labeled: Gymnasium A-Boys' Locker Room Entrance. Spotting the mini bulletin board on the wall, Durham turned his attention to a bright blue flyer pinned in the center:

CHERRYTON SUMO TEAM
OPEN TRYOUTS AT THE GYM

TUESDAY- 3:30 PM

Durham pulled out his phone: the time was 3:21. He then took a deep breath and went through the doors. Passing by the rows of lockers, Durham saw the kind of students he was up against. A bison, a hippo, an elephant, and a wildebeest: all as big and bulky as him. The mawashis they were wearing made their girth all the more obvious. Durham refused to be discouraged.

He found an open spot on a wooden bench. Setting his bag down, he began to undress. Durham hated admitting it, but unzipping his trousers and releasing his gut felt pretty good. When he was down to his underwear, the coyote opened his backpack and pulled out an opaque plastic package. He had ordered it on Saturday, spurred on by his victory over Collot. It had only arrived this morning, and he had just barely been able to hide it from his roommates.

Durham used his teeth to tear open the sealed bag and then reached inside. When he pulled his arm back out, he held a black mawashi, plus-sized of course. Slipping out of his boxers, the coyote pulled his new garment up to his waist. He turned back around to see himself in the mirror. The mawashi hugged his humongous hips perfectly, much less constraining than his regular pants. Durham wasn't exactly comfortable with his reflection, but he certainly felt like a real wrestler.

Across the room, there was the sound of a door swinging open. Durham whirled around and saw the team's coach, a strapping brown bear wearing a red baseball cap and plain white tank top. "All right, boys, glad you could make it today," he said throatily, "Line up, so I can get a good look at you." Durham and the other contestants did as instructed, forming a row across the room.

The coach walked up and down the rank of hopefuls, fiddling with the whistle around his neck the whole time. The students did their best to look tough as he observed them. The coach broke his silence, "Well, you've all certainly got the bulk, but let's see if you've got the skills." He gestured for the prospective wrestlers to follow him as he turned back towards the gym doors. The contestants complied, with Durham bringing up the rear.

Room #701

One Hour Later

The 701 Boys were sitting in a semicircle around their entertainment center, each with a game controller clutched in their hands. All of them were barefoot and had changed into casual clothes. Scattered across the floor was a cornucopia of snacks; potato chips, pretzels, cheese puffs, tubs of dip and bottles of soda. The boys were engrossed in their game. Some were groaning in defeat, while the others were laughing at their opponents' frustrations.

Jack was in the center of the group. Proving his worth as a natural-born leader, the labrador was giving orders to those on his team:

"ATTACK FROM THE RIGHT…NO, MY RIGHT!"

"WE NEED MORE AMMO. LEGOSI, GO GET IT!"

"KEEP GOING, WE'VE GOT A HIGH SCORE TO PROTECT!"

The funny part was that, even while bossing people around, Jack still managed to sound like the nicest guy in the world.

Miguno was seated on Jack's far left, forming the semicircle's endpoint. His attention was divided, with one hand on the controller and the other in a bag of chips. As he munched on his salty snacks, the hyena glanced at his watch. He spoke with his mouth still half-full, "Man, what's taking Durham so long? It's not like him to miss out on good clean fun like this." Miguno finished chewing and washed it down with a swig of soda. Suddenly, there was the sound of the doorknob turning.

Miguno promptly chugged the rest of his soda, hiccuping as he tossed the empty bottle away. While the other boys continued gaming, he stood and strolled over to the door. As it creaked open, Miguno began speaking, "Geez, Dude, did you get lost?" As Durham's heavyset frame entered the room, Miguno spotted the black mawashi wrapped around his waistline. The hyena's eyes widened slightly, "You tried out, didn't you?" The other boys' ears perked up at that question. They paused the game and turned back to face their roommates.

All eyes were on Durham. "Yes, I did," he said with a coy smirk. The other boys leaned in as Miguno asked the obvious next question, "Well, how did it go?" Durham's smirk doubled in size, "I'll give you one guess." In a split second, the hyena was grinning like a Chesire cat. Before Durham even knew what was happening, Miguno had wrapped his arms around his neck. The other boys followed suit and turned it into a group hug. At first, Durham was caught off-guard by this outburst of brotherly love. That surprise quickly faded, and he reciprocated by squeezing the others tightly in his flabby arms.