Chapter 1 - Stressful Morning

The morning sun streamed through the thin curtains of Ro’s small studio apartment, casting a warm glow on her cluttered desk and messy bed, where she laid. She slowly opened her eyes as her sight of the alarm clock unblurred to reveal the red digits blinking 8:45 AM. Her history class started in fifteen minutes and she knew her professor, Mr. Gilbert, was a stickler about being late. She had been shut out of his class before for being late and it was starting to affect her grade.

Ro jolted fully awake, panic immediately gripping her. "Shit," she muttered, scrambling out of bed. She had pulled another all-nighter, finishing up homework for other classes, and hadn't even heard the alarm. The realization ignited a familiar, unwelcome tension in her body.

She felt the initial tingling sensations spread throughout her body. "No, not now," she whispered, dashing into the bathroom. 

Ro looked in the mirror, her amber eyes were wide with panic but fatigued from lack of sleep. To match, the chaos of her wavy blonde shoulder-length hair that seemed as frazzled as she felt. Her pajamas were comfortably loose. A soft, faded band t-shirt and cotton shorts, but as stress seeped into every pore of her being, they began to shift on her body as she began to grow.

Rosalyn Foster, although her family and friends call her Ro, has an unusual condition, a family "gift" that felt more like a curse, and had been the subject of whispered family lore for generations. Passed down through the maternal line, it manifested during moments of stress, causing the person to physically expand. Her own mother struggled with the same affliction as did her grandmother. Ro remembers growing up watching her mother pay the bills and slightly growing in the process. Now Ro faces the same challenge her mother did.

She watched helplessly as her reflection grew incrementally larger. The t-shirt pulled tightly across her well sized breast and shoulders, the fabric stretching to accommodate her expanding form. Her shorts squeezed tight around her thick waist and thighs. Ro groaned in frustration. This was exactly what she dreaded. Not to mention, the physical manifestation of growing only added more stress on her.

Frantically trying to regain control, Ro splashed cold water on her face, hoping the chill would help calm her nerves. Water dripped down her cheeks as she grabbed her toothbrush and hastily applied toothpaste. But even as she brushed, her mind raced uncontrollably as she thought of getting shut out of her history class.

Despite the strategies and coping mechanisms, public incidents had been unavoidable for her. Ro remembered as a carefree kid, her curse never posed much of a problem until puberty as it definitely became more of a struggle. She never really fit in at school because of it and would be considered an outcast by many of her peers when she would have her stress induced growth spurt. The experiences would mortify her and haunt her to this day, which is why she always preferred to keep to herself.

"No, stay calm," Ro scolded herself, her voice tinged with a mix of desperation and frustration. She glanced down at her pajamas, which now barely contained her shifting form. The t-shirt, already stretched tight over her chest, making it ride up over her stomach. Simultaneously, the shorts pulled taut over her hips and butt, making it even harder to ignore her increased size.

Ro exhaled slowly in an attempt to quiet the turmoil inside. She decided that a shower might help soothe her frayed nerves and hopefully halt her unwanted growth. She tugged at the hem of her constricting t-shirt, struggling to pull it over her head and wiggled out her shorts as the fabric stubbornly clung to her enlarged form.

Once free from the confines of her pajamas, Ro stood fully naked in front of the mirror. Her tall, curvy physique was both a source of pride and a periodic burden given her condition. Standing 5’10”, when she wasn’t stressed, she possessed a naturally voluptuous figure marked by healthy breasts and sweeping curves that accentuated her hips. However, she had some slight lower belly fat, that she was not fawned of and blames it on a lack of exercise and a bad diet.

Stepping into the cramped space of the shower due to her increased size. Ro maneuvered carefully, managing her best to not knock over shampoo bottles as she was eye level with the shower head. The spray of warm water was comforting as it cascaded over her body, and slowly but surely she felt some of the tension begin to dissolve away under its warmth. She focused on calming thoughts, trying to reclaim some normalcy, but then she remembered she needed to keep moving if she didn’t want to be late.

"Crap," Ro muttered as she quickly turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Even though her growth had stopped, she was still half a foot taller than her usual height. She grabbed a towel and dried herself briskly, feeling the urgency of time slipping past.

Rushing to her closet, Ro was grateful for her foresight in keeping an assortment of stretchy, oversized clothes for such occasions. Swiftly, she slid into a pair of bra and panties though they pulled slightly at her hips and chest but they managed to accommodate her enlarged form relatively comfortably.

Next, she pulled out a loose blouse hoping it would suit her needs. However, as she tried to button it up, she realized with dismay that it was futile. The fabric strained across her chest, nowhere near close enough to consider fastening the buttons. 

Turning back to the closet in frustration, Ro’s eyes landed on an old faithful, a thick and woven sweater with plenty of give. She slipped it over her head and let out a sigh of relief when it draped over her figure comfortably without straining across any part. The sweater fell loosely around her frame gracefully hiding the curves of her body.

Ro pulled a pair of leggings from her drawer, grateful for stretchy fabric. She wriggled into them, feeling the material expand as it contoured around her thick thighs. However, as she attempted to pull them higher, she encountered resistance. Her hips and butt made it challenging to tug the leggings fully into place.

With a determined grimace, Ro maneuvered with some difficulty, shifting and pulling until the leggings finally nestled over her hips and settled snugly around her waist. The fabric stretched taut, outlining her curvaceous lower half in the process but it would have to do.

Once fully dressed, though not as seamlessly or comfortably as usual but happy she managed to find an outfit that worked. She then slipped on her white sneakers which were a size bigger just in case. Ro took a deep breath, trying to steady herself for what was turning out to be a highly stressful morning. She tied her unkempt hair back, grabbed her backpack and rushed out of her room to face the day ahead.

As she hastened down the corridor, her steps quickened into a brisk walk as she only had 5 minutes to make it to class. Ro's thoughts fluttered about being late, about the door to her classroom swinging shut right before her eyes. A constant, pressing fear.

Once outside, she crossed the street to the campus that greeted her with a stark contrast to her inner turmoil. The morning was indeed breathtakingly serene. Sunlight dappled through the leaves of old oak trees lining the walkways. Birds chirped melodically, filling the crisp air with song. Ro relished this moment as she walked, allowing the peace to seep into her bones.

Ro drew in a deep breath, trying to let the tranquility temper her nerves. The fresh air felt good in her lungs, mildly cooling her flushed skin. She could feel herself shrink back down to her normal size which was a huge relief for her.

Ro’s body finally relaxed as she ascended the steps to the history building with an urgent pace. However, lingering anxiety still clung to her, heightening as she neared the classroom.

Turning the corner, Ro caught sight of the open door to Mr. Gilbert’s classroom just as the clock's second hand threatened to seal her fate. She quickened her pace to a near sprint, clutching her backpack tightly as it bounced against her shoulders. As the small old professor’s hand reached for the door, preparing to close it, Roe slipped through the narrow opening in just a nick of time.

"Ah, Miss. Foster, cutting it close again I see.” Mr. Gilbert said with a snarky tone in his nasally voice as he held the door open for a moment before closing.

Ro nodded and whispered thank you, trying to stabilize her breathing. She hurried to her usual seat in the back, hoping her entrance hadn’t drawn too much attention from her classmates.

Ro pulled books out of her backpack as class started. Mr. Gilbert went through his usual boring and dry lecture for 50 minutes. The class dragged on for what felt like forever until only 10 minutes were left, Ro was half asleep when she heard the chalk screech across the blackboard, Mr. Gilbert's strokes forming the dreaded words ‘POP QUIZ’. The room buzzed with groans and hurried whispers as her classmates reacted, and Roe woke right up as panic bubbled up, and that familiar tingling sensation started crawling beneath her skin. Ro always hated sudden surprises like this. She could feel her body expanding and limbs elongate. “Son of a bitch." she whispered under her breath as her head inched higher.

The quiz sheets were handed out as Ro was handed the last one. The classroom was dead silent except for the scratching of pencil and the occasional rustle of paper. Ro hunched over her quiz, trying to breathe through her nose and not freak out. ‘Just focus’ she told herself, gripping her pencil a little tighter.

‘You paid attention somewhat through class. You got this!’

But each question blurred into the next, and the pressure sitting heavy on her chest didn’t budge. With every answer she forced out, the world seemed to get tighter around her. She could feel it happening slowly, steadily.

Her sweater clung a little more snugly with each passing minute. The stretchy fabric began to press against the soft swell of her body. Her leggings now strained across her thighs. The waistband pinched at her sides as her hips pushed against it.

The desk, feeling more and more like a toddler’s high chair. Her knees bumped up against the underside, and her thighs filled all the free space she had in the seat. She sat perfectly still, praying no one would notice how her body was subtly growing. Even her shoes felt tighter, her toes pressing up against the front.

‘Come on, Ro. Just a few more questions.’

The clock ticked down, and one by one, her classmates began to stand up, papers in hand, and shuffle toward the front to turn in their quizzes. Ro kept her head down, shrinking into herself despite the fact that her body was doing the opposite. She didn’t want anyone to see her like this.

When the last student left, the door clicked shut behind them, and silence settled over the room again. She exhaled, finally. The tension didn't disappear, but it eased just enough for her to stop.

Ro slowly rose from her seat, wincing as her knees bumped the desk. Her thighs had to wiggle free, and her longer legs didn’t make it any easier. She had to push against the desk just to stand up as she finally popped free.

Her sweater clung to her torso now, riding up slightly over her lower pooch, the fabric taut over her chest. The sleeves reveal her wrist now. Her leggings were doing their best, but the outline of her underwear was clearly visible now.

She tugged her sweater down, cheeks burning even though no one was around except Mr. Gilbert at his desk. She didn’t feel huge, just too big. It made her feel very awkward.

She waited another breath, seeing Mr. Gilbert was already grading the quizzes, not paying attention to the site before him. She grabbed her quiz and shuffled carefully to the front. Each step made her hips brush the sides of desks as she moved.

‘Just hand it in. Just get out.’

She slid the paper onto the professor’s desk, hoping to make a clean getaway but Mr. Gilbert glanced down at the quiz, then did a double take. His eyes traveled up from the paper and widened as they took in Ro’s noticeably larger frame. His mouth parted slightly, stunned, like he was about to say something but couldn’t find the words.

Ro’s cheeks burned as Mr. Gilbert stared at her. She quickly turned away, mumbling “Great, lecture today.” before making her awkward escape. Her steps were clumsy, her longer legs forcing bigger strides. At least her clothes had held up, mostly. She could feel her underwear bunching uncomfortably, wedging tighter as she walked. And to think this is just the start of her morning. A very stressful morning…

End of chapter 1