Not on the Team
By Big Dave Hilll

Melissa's family was thin. Both her parents and her two brothers were skinny. As a family they were quite active, especially her brothers, who played a lot of sports, including on the high school football team. Melissa was active, too. She was on the senior girl's basketball team, and while only 5'5" (their tallest player was 6'1"), was their star player.

Melissa was not thin, however. Ever since she was a little toddler she was chubby, and despite her athleticism and being very fit, she was still a chunky girl. Her parents infrequently made an issue of it, especially her mother. Her older brother, Jeff, never mentioned it, but her younger brother did. Craig had given her the nicknames that stuck: Roly (short for "roly-poly") and Blubs (short for "blubber").

Even though she took some heat from her slender family, Melissa had no problem with her appearance or size. Neither did the rest of the basketball team. She certainly wasn't huge, she just had extra padding over her muscular frame. She had rounded cheeks, the beginning of a double chin, thick, strong thighs, and soft, padded arms that Craig called, "mushy muscles." Her breasts were fairly hefty, and her hips and buttocks were generous, but not overly for a girl of her size. Completely unconcerned with her weight, she never stepped on a scale.

"Hey, look at this, Blubs," Craig called from the basement, "it's a show for you."

Melissa walked down the stairs to see what her little brother was watching on television. It was a talk show, and she could read the subject along the bottom of the screen: "You're too fat to be wearing those clothes." The panel consisted of very overweight, scantily clad women.

"Very funny, twerp," she replied, "I can still kick your ass at basketball."

Craig laughed, and Melissa gently slapped the back of his head before she went back upstairs.

At the dinner table, Craig continued to good-naturedly joke with his sister about her weight. Melissa paid little attention, it didn't really get to her (she really could beat him at basketball, as she demonstrated frequently in games of one-on-one), but it bothered her mother.

"Pass the potatoes, if you're not going to eat all of them, that is," Craig asked Melissa.

"Now stop that Craig," their mother scolded, "you know Melissa has perfectly normal eating habits, so leave her alone."

Melissa and Craig just smiled at each other, amused that their mother wasn't in on the joke - this sort of thing happened every day in their household.

On the way home from a basketball practice after school, one cold, March evening, Melissa slipped on some ice. Her feet went completely out from under her, and she fell to her side, hitting the icy sidewalk. She swore under her breath, then struggled to her feet. She felt alright until she took that first step forward, and she came crashing to the ground again. This was followed quickly by another expletive.

After twenty long minutes of struggling to walk, Melissa was rescued, as her brother Jeff happened to drive by. He pulled over in his car and got out to help her.

"What happened, are you okay?" he asked as he helped her into the passenger seat.

"Yeah, I just slipped on the ice and buggered-up my ankle. My shin is killing me, too."

Dave drove her home, and on the advice of their father, they took her to the local emergency room. It turned out her ankle was broken and her leg was fractured in two place.

"Just from slipping on the ice?" Melissa said, amazed.

"Yes, well, it happens," replied the doctor. "Part of it is you're not getting enough calcium, your bones should be stronger than they are."

"Wow," was all Melissa could manage. She'd always thought of herself as completely fit and strong.

"Frankly, you're undernourished," added the doctor.

"What?" exclaimed her father. "Undernourished? She eats just like the rest of us, and, well, look at her - she's not wasting away or anything."

"Obviously she's not getting all the nutrients she needs," the doctor said.

Two weeks later, Melissa was just about ready to go nuts. She'd spent the previous couple of weeks at home with her brace on (doctor's orders), sitting in the basement in front of the TV. She was itching to get back to school, which she'd be allowed to do the following week, part-time at least. Just lounging around was nice for a couple of days, but two weeks later it was driving her nuts.

"Hey, there you are, vegging-out in front of the TV still," Craig called to her as he bounded down the stairs.

"Home from school already?" Melissa replied. "Don't you have some sort of detention or something to do after class?"

"Ha ha, very funny, Blubs. Man, I wish I could stay home from school like you."

"No you don't - it gets boring pretty fast. Plus I'm going to miss the rest of the basketball season."

"And the summer, too - how long do you have to have that on?"

Melissa massaged her thigh where the brace ended. Her feet were elevated, resting on a coffee table. "At least until the end of July, unless I heal real fast. The doctor has given mom and dad some special diet instructions, too, to make my bones stronger. I dunno, I just know it sucks."

"So you have to sit on your butt like that 'till August? Man, your behind is going to be so wide!" Craig said with a laugh.

"No, I'll be able to walk around a little by next week - that's just your wishful thinking, you just want to be able to beat me on the court. It's not going to happen, bro."

Melissa spent the following week hobbling around on her sore leg and crutches. She couldn't attend all of her classes, but she got her lesson work done either at school or at home. The basketball team really missed her, and her friends visited with her at home frequently enough that she didn't feel too lonely or left out.

At home, where she spent most of her time in lounging in the basement, her parents had started her new diet regime. In addition to the regular family meals, they had to supplement Melissa's diet with things the doctor had prescribed - lots of vegetables, dairy and some more meat (her iron was also low, they'd discovered). The whole family pampered her a bit, and her brothers felt sorry for her, knowing that she actually enjoyed attending school. Craig let up on his jokes a little (but not much), and Jeff tried to keep her company in the basement, playing cards with her.

Because of the added items to her diet, it took Melissa longer to finish her meals than the rest of the family. They were supportive, though, and usually stayed with her until she was done. Occasionally Craig would become impatient and start bugging her about how long it took her to finish.

"C'mon, Roly, strap on that feedbag and suck it down a little faster - why are you wasting all that time chewing," he said.

"Get lost," Melissa replied through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"Leave your sister alone, Craig, she has to finish."

Her mother looked at Melissa with a combination of tender compassion, and concern. Melissa just smiled back at her, her mouth full and cheeks puffed out.

"Tanks mum," she mumbled through the food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, dear," replied her mother.

School ended in June, and Melissa was again sitting in the basement most of the time. It was such a hassle to get around with her crutches that sitting in the basement was a huge relief. Besides, it was air conditioned down there, and the summer heat was in full effect outside. Melissa started taking to wearing sweat suits, as they were the right temperature for the basement, and comfortable. She had lots, so they became her summer uniform.

Melissa's mother brought her meals down to the basement during the day, as prescribed by her doctor. One day in early July, while bringing some lunch to Melissa, her mother noticed something - her daughter had a double chin. Not the little swelling she'd always had, but a prominent bulge.

"Honey, we should really think of something you can do for exercise while you're laid-up like this," she said as she delivered a plate of sandwiches and soup.

"It just hurts to put any weight on my leg," Melissa pleaded, "what can I do?"

Her mother thought about it for a few moments, but nothing came to mind. On their last visit to the doctor, Melissa had already been told she was excessively aggravating her injuries, and she should stay off of her feet.

"I don't know," her mother answered with a sigh, "but you eat up your lunch - we have to make sure you're strong and healthy by the end of the summer, so we'd best follow doctor's orders."

The days went on. Melissa grew accustomed to her new regime. It wasn't taking her as long to finish her supper, which pleased Craig because he didn't have to wait around for her. She found she was getting hungrier for the meals, too, and even started snacking during the day while watching the television.

Melissa started to become lazy enough that she'd sometimes nod off while sitting there in the basement.

"Hey Blubs," Craig said, startling his sister as she napped, "how's it going?"

"Fine," Melissa replied, and then yawned. "Can you pass me that bag of potato chips?"

"Sure," he said, and gave her the bag. "You'd better watch those, Roly-girl, you've got a double chin happening."

"So I've put on a little weight," Melissa retorted while stuffing chips into her mouth, "big deal. It's 'cause I'm stuck in here all the time. I'll work it off in basketball training in the Fall."

"Whatever you say, Blubs, just make sure you can still lift that behind off the couch!"

With that, Craig leapt up and ran up the stairs, laughing.

Melissa pulled up her sweatshirt and grabbed a roll of flesh that had developed around her waist. Yes, she had put on weight. But there wasn't a lot she could do about it now. It wasn't so bad, anyway. And she felt basically the same, so she was sure she'd be able to lose it easily enough once she was on the basketball court again.

What Melissa hadn't planned on was the continuing growth of her appetite. The longer she was confined to the basement, the greater her hunger grew. In addition to this, the doctor ordered her off her feet until the end of August, when they'd remove the brace for good.

Two weeks into August, Jeff and Melissa were watching television in the basement, when dinner was called. They got up, and Melissa followed Jeff upstairs (it took awhile with the brace on, but she managed alright). By the time Melissa entered the kitchen, everyone had sat down. Craig looked up from a newspaper to Melissa, and laughed out loud

"Blubs, look at that," he said and pointed at her middle, "you've outgrown your clothes!"

Melissa looked down and noticed her sweat-top failed to meet her pants. She tugged it down to cover the couple inches of flesh that were revealed, but it slid back up again the moment she let go. This made Craig laugh even harder.

"Shut up," was the best response she could come up with, her face turning pink.

"Leave your sister alone," their mother gently scolded.

Melissa hung her head, avoiding eye contact with anyone at the table. She noticed that her breasts and belly had both grown very noticeably, and felt embarrassed. She tried to suck in her stomach as much as she could, but it didn't do much.

"Eat up your dinner, darling," her father said encouragingly.

"I'm not hungry," Melissa replied crankily.

"You are on a strict diet," her mother said sternly, "you've got to finish your dinner."

"But it's making me fat!" Melissa exclaimed.

"It's not dinner that's making you blimp up, it's all the chips and cookies you're eating, Blubs," Craig chimed in. Melissa gave him an angry glance.

Eventually Melissa consented to eating her food. She was hungry, after all. Afterwards she hid down in the basement, depressed about her weight. Salt and vinegar chips and chocolate chip cookies helped to lift her spirits momentarily. She fell asleep early, amongst the empty bags and candy-bar wrappers.

The first of September came, and it was time for Melissa to see the doctor again and get permission to resume a normal, walking life. Melissa had felt so doleful the last few weeks, she'd given up caring that her clothes weren't fitting properly, or that her weight was still climbing. Her snacking had become her oasis, and while her parents and Craig frowned on this, her brother Jeff often brought her sweet goodies.

Melissa had grown so much that her belly was fully bared in her sweat suits. The seams in the legs and arms were practically ready to burst (and she had in fact torn the bottoms out of two pairs of pants, which she threw out so nobody else would find out). The sweat suits were being stretched to the max.

"My goodness, we are going to have to get you some new clothes before we can see the doctor," her mother said, somewhat sadly.

Because Melissa couldn't go out to try clothing on, her mother had to measure her and pick up some clothes. As she read out the measurements, her mother sounded either amazed or somber.

While left alone, Melissa went to her parents' bedroom and stood in front of their large wall-sized mirror. She hadn't spent much time really looking at herself while basically living in the basement, so her appearance even struck her as somewhat surprising. Her face was chubbier, especially her chin. Her breasts had grown quite large, filling out most of her sweatshirt on their own. She cupped them in her hands and gave them a squeeze - they were far more than a handful, the soft flesh oozing around her hands under the cotton garment.

Melissa's arms were think and round. She thought they looked very strong until she touched them, revealing the soft, yielding fat. Her stomach had grown into a soft, round beach-ball sized bulge that was completely uncovered by her skimpy clothes. Her belly button was like a deep, soft cavern. She patted the flesh and it shook and jiggled. She tried pulling her pants up higher, but it just wasn't possible. She turned to look at her backside. Her cheeks were large and soft to the touch. Her sweatpants looked like they were being held together by sheer willpower - they were near breaking. With every step and shifting of her weight, Melissa sent ripples moving through her butt.

Where she once had firm, strong, muscular thighs and calves, she now had larger, soft, blubbery limbs without definition. They felt like dough, nothing like they had felt to the touch at the start of the year. Her thighs rubbed together all the time now. They jiggled like they had lives of their own.

Melissa turned to face the mirror again and grabbed her belly like a basketball. She squeezed the soft flesh and rubbed her hands over it, massaging it.

"I am fat," she told her reflection, "I am really, really fat."

She shook her belly vigorously, watched it jiggle for a moment.

"In a couple of weeks, I'll have to really work this off."

A couple weeks passed, Melissa's brace came off and school started. She had new large-sized clothes that fit, and she was glad to be walking around again. She hadn't lost any weight, however, she'd only continued to gain. She found she tired easily, so she became pretty lazy. Her eating habits hadn't changed much, either. Some of her friends at school were amazed at her transformation from a chunky jock to obese loafer, others didn't react at all.

At home, Craig hounded his sister about her great girth relentlessly. Their mother merely mentioned Melissa's need to "do something about that weight." When her clothes started to become tighter, her mother would utter a stern, "tsk, tsk."

The basketball training sessions were just days away from starting when Melissa received a call at home from Coach Melvin.

"Melissa, I hope you're planning on joining the team again this year," Melvin said.

"You bet, sir. Can't wait," she replied.

"Good, good, see you on Thursday after class then."

"Sure. Oh, and Coach, I'm going to need a new uniform," Melissa added.

"No problem, Melissa, just check one out of the gym office."

Melissa got a new uniform and went to the first training meeting after school. Even the biggest uniform was tight on her, which made her feel a little embarrassed. The other girls on the team were amazed by Melissa's growth spurt. Some shied away from her, trying to be polite. Others joked with her. They all knew about her injury from the previous season.

"I've gotta work off all this extra fat," she said freely.

When the coach arrived, his expression showed that he was stunned. Everyone knew what was going through his mind: "My star player has ballooned up into a Sumo wrestler!" But this didn't deter Melissa, she was determined to retain her position in the team.

The team members had their weigh-in. Everyone was anxious to see what Melissa would weigh, except her. "It won't be that bad," she said, trying to convince herself that it looked like a lot, but would probably not be so much. When Melissa stepped on the scale, the Coach read off her measurement: "211 pounds."

Melissa's jaw dropped. A couple of girls snickered. The Coach looked uncomfortable. She never dreamed that she could weigh more than two hundred pounds!

The practice began, and soon the girls were dribbling up and down the court, shooting, jumping, passing the ball, and going through drills. Melissa was winded almost instantly. She had to take frequent breaks to catch her breath and get drinks of water. She couldn't believe how much she was sweating! As she ran along the court, her bulging breasts swayed and bounced violently, getting in her way. The heavy bounce of her stomach with each footfall made her feel sluggish. The other girls were running circles around her. Even her shooting suffered, as her jumps barely got her off the ground.

As the girls hit the showers, Coach Melvin took Melissa aside.

"Melissa, I hate to tell you this-"

"No need, Coach," Melissa interrupted, breathing heavily, "I know what you're going to say. I'm not on the team this year." She turned and started to walk toward the change room.

"Maybe," the Coach called after her, "maybe later on, when you're in better shape again?"

Melissa changed and retreated home, humiliated. At her house, Craig was shooting baskets in the driveway. She tried unsuccessfully to avoid him.

"Hey Blubs, wanna play?" he called to her.

"Not today," she replied through gritted teeth.

"Afraid you're too fat to beat me now, Blubs?" Craig called after her, but she ignored him and continued walking toward the house. "Hey, Blubs, there's a box of ice cream sandwiches in the freezer, why don't you go stuff your face with them?"

"Get lost!" she shouted at him, stung by the joke that crossed the line.

Melissa stomped into the house. She threw her gym bag across the hall and trudged into the kitchen. She looked around for something to snack on. Nothing caught her interest until she opened the freezer. There were the ice cream sandwiches that her brother had so cruelly used in his jibes. She grabbed the box and went into the basement.

Melissa was undisturbed until her mother went into the basement sometime later. Melissa was watching television, snacking on a bag of chips, the empty box of ice cream treats beside her. A pile of wrappers lay at her feet.

"Good grief, Melissa!" her mother shouted. "What are you doing?"

"I was hungry," Melissa replied without expression, still stuffing chips into her mouth.

"Melissa," her mother repeated, "what are you doing to yourself? You know you have a weight problem! You should be eating less junk food, not more!"

Melissa merely turned toward the television and continued munching.

"Look how fat you've become," her mother cried, trying to get a reaction. "If you keep shoveling this crap into your mouth, it won't be long before you won't even be able to get up those stairs! How do you expect to play basketball if you become a - a big fat couch potato?"

Melissa scowled at her mother. "I don't need to play basketball, and I don't have a problem with my weight - maybe you do, but I don't!"

Shocked, her mother stamped back upstairs. Melissa kept eating, but felt badly about giving her mother a hard time. So what if she was fat? She'd been taking heat from her family, especially Craig, forever about being a butterball. Now that she actually was "Roly Poly," what is the difference?

Getting back into shape, enough so that she could play basketball, seemed like such an uphill battle. She liked eating, too, she decided. All the stuff she wasn't supposed to. And she thought she was the same, attractive girl she'd always been - just with some extra padding.

It wasn't very comfortable around the kitchen table that night. Everyone had learned, somehow, that Melissa didn't make the team. They'd also found out about the exchanges she'd had with her mother and Craig. Even Craig was silent at the table this night.

Melissa, however, chowed down as usual. She acted like nothing had happened. She wasn't going to let them bring her down.

"Craig," she said, her mouth still full, "still want to play some B-Ball after dinner?"

"Sure," Craig replied, somewhat startled. He looked at the faces around the table. Everyone was surprised that she spoke at all, most of all to Craig.

"New rules," Melissa added with a smirk, "fat girls get a free free-throw for every point."

For the first time ever, Melissa lost to her brother in basketball. Badly, in fact. She was out of breath and sweating profusely by the time they were done, but the release of energy had made them both feel better.

"Wow, Blubs, I can't believe I finally beat you!" Craig exclaimed, putting an arm around his sister's shoulders.

"Don't get too big a head, look how fat I had to get for you to beat me," she said.

"Yeah, well, I'll take what I can get," he laughed, "so how long do you think it'll take to lose all this belly-jelly?" He poked her in the stomach, which was peeking out from under her T-shirt.

"I don't know if I can," she replied, "I don't know if I want to bother."

"Are you kidding? You like being a big, fat porker?"

"I'm not that big," she whined weakly, "and I don't really like it or dislike it. It just doesn't bug me, you know?"

"Okay, Blubs, if you don't mind being a blubber-ball, I guess that's your choice," he said, and returned to shooting baskets.

The school year continued, and Melissa graduated at a weight of 221 pounds. Some of her friends had abandoned her, while others remained loyal. But at the end of the year, everyone prepared to go to College. Melissa was anxious to go to away to College, if only to avoid the comments by people who knew her as an athlete, and continually told her, "I can't believe how big you are!" She'd also be glad to put some space between herself and Craig, with whom she had developed an understanding, yet he continued to make fun of her endlessly.

She went to a school and lived in residence there. By the time she returned to see her family at Christmas, she was already near to bursting out of her Fall clothes. They all sat down to a Christmas dinner together.

"How much do you weigh now, dear?" her mother asked, then added quickly, "If you don't mind me asking - "

"247 pounds," she said with a broad, proud smile, knowing her mother would hate it.

"How can you tell? You must not be able to see the scale when you stand on it," Craig said sarcastically, catching reprimanding glances from the rest of the group.

"I can't see it anymore - so I bought a talking scale."

Melissa shoveled a heaping spoonful of stuffing into her mouth, causing her cheeks to bulge out. She smiled at Craig, and he could only laugh in reply.