Big Show, The

Cindy checked her watch as she rushed for the big red doors of the gym. She could already hear the thumping of the bass from inside. That meant one thing...she was late yet again. She opened the doors slowly and peeked in to see if anyone would notice her arrival. Just as her head peered around the door the music stopped and all the girls turned to look at the door.

"Late again...as usual Cindy!" shouted Brooke, who was sitting in the bleachers observing the new dance routine. Cindy winced and quickly headed for the locker rooms to change, keeping her head down to avoid embarassment.

"Wait a second Cindy, here..the new uniforms," said Brooke as she tossed a colorful shrink wrapped bundle to Cindy. Cindy paused a second, raised her eyebrows, and rushed to the locker room. Inside she quickly broke into the package and examined the contents. It was the new uniforms the dance team had ordered last week. The team had decided on an entirely new look and one that stretched the very limits of the dress code for the school. The uniform appeared to be a shiny red spandex halter top with the school logo emblazoned upon it. The bottom was blue spandex pants with a matching white belt. Thick white mid-calf socks and new asic cheerleading shoes completed the package. Cindy grinned as she slipped into the uniform. It fit like a glove, skin-tight, exactly as she had wanted it to. Every curve was amplified by the tight shiny fabric and she loved it. She rushed back to the court and stopped by a mirror for a second to observe herself. Perfect.

After practice Jolie announced that she and several others were planning a party that night at her house for just the team members. Cindy was excited at the prospect since she was new to the team and had barely gotten to know the rest of the girls. This would be a perfect opportunity to bond with the others she thought and she hurried home to change and shower.

Later that night Cindy arrived at Jolie's house and knocked on the door. Erica answered it with a smile and invited her in. The rest of the girls were sitting around a table and appeared to be in the process of drinking themselves into a stupor. Some form of drinking game had just begun and Cindy was about to be the next victim she realized. Jolie explained through alcoholic giggles that her parents were away for the weekend and they had found not only a bottle of spiced rum but some Everclear as well. Hardly a dent had been made in the bottles and several of the girls were already red faced and rolling around on the floor giggling. Cindy wondered if she really wanted to participate in this little game.

"Hey, lets play I Never," shouted one girl. "Its where you tell if you did or didn't do something, or something like that, I think, maybe, um, I don't know."

"Ok, sure," said Jolie. "Don't guess it'd hurt anything."

"Ok, I um...never have I had sex....with more than one guy," said Jolie. Her confession was followed by giggles and a murmured "yeah right." She took a shot of the Everclear and rum and passed the glass to Brooke as her eyes began to glaze over and a silly grin crossed her face.

"Hmmm...never have I had sex with another woman," Brooke whispered as she turned the glass up and quaffed the liquor. She slammed the glass down and raised one eyebrow in a wicked gesture with an equally sly grin. The other girls stared at her in silence for a moment and then took their turns. They knew better. Brooke was lying.

It was soon Cindy's turn and by the time the glass had reached her she was already sufficiently tipsy. Her chubby cheeks had become rosy and the warmth had spread over her to such a degree that the entire world was absolutely wonderful like some great fuzzy bunny. She smiled a sincere smile and before taking her turn addressed her new best friends.

"I just want ya'll to know I love ya'll, ok?" she said in her Louisiana accent as she downed the shot. "Oh yeah..uh..I have never blown myself up like a ballon before..ha," she giggled as she passed the glass, smiling all the time with her big southern smile. A hush fell over the other girls and their eyes widened.

"What did you just say?" interrupted Brooke. Cindy, even in her drunken state realized that she had let her tongue slip. She reflexively covered her mouth and promptly quit smiling.

"Um...I..you know..haven't ever inflated..." she murmured as she puffed her cheeks to illustrate her point. Astonished looks came over the other girls as her statement sunk in. According to the rules of this sarcastic reversal game, Cindy was stating she could inflate.

"You mean you can blow up like a blimp?" questioned Erica. But as soon as the last word escaped her mouth the table was violently overturned with a loud hissing noise not unlike a lifeboat inflating. The girls fell backwards and screamed at the sudden disturbance but were suddenly calmed when they realized what had just happened. The lifeboat just happened to be Cindy. There she sat, round as a balloon. Her arms hung from her sides and she patted them against her a she turned her head to look around.

"See, like this here, " she stated calmly. The others were too overcome with shock to react but Brooke was soon the first to speak. She got up and walked over to Cindy, examining her as she circled around her. Cindy simply smiled and blinked her eyes. It then became obvious that Brooke's mind was at work. Her brow began to raise, signaling that mischevious deeds were brewing in her head like a storm on the horizon.

"Can you do this whenever you want?" she asked as she slowly ran her hand over Cindy's blimped body.

"Yeah, sure I can," replied Cindy. "I can get alot bigger too. See?" She suddenly began to expand again but at a slower rate. Miraculously her clothes stayed on but the skirt and silk shirt seemed strained to their limit. As she slowly began to fill the living room Brooke stood and watched with the others.

"Ladies, we're going to win the dance competition this year. Here's our special effect."

Cindy had no idea what was ahead for her.