“Have you always been fat, or did you gain a lot once you hit college?” Jason asks Robert.
“Well, I’ve always been fat, but I also gained a lot at college. Do you mean, is what you see here just my freshman 15 or have I put on more?” Robert replies, gesturing to his bountiful belly.

“Yeah, sort of,” Jason goes on. He pauses for a moment, then continues. “Do you mind me asking? Maybe you don’t like being called fat?”

“Heck no!” replies Robert, slapping his formidable gut with one hand, sending ripples rolling through the soft flesh. “I like being called fat - I know I’m a fat guy! Even as a little kid I was a chubby guy - but now I’m just FAT! ”

“I mean, I didn’t used to be a fat guy,” Jason begins. Emboldened by Robert’s humour and smile, he rambles. “I always thought I was just sort of stocky, but I’m the biggest frosh in my frat, and I like to eat, so the guys make me eat, and I know I’ve put on a few pounds, on my way to the freshman 15, only now I’ve decided I’d like to get bigger and I want to try for the college 50. You’re a sophomore, right? How big was your freshman 15? And what did you mean about ‘encouragement’?”

“Slow down,” begins Robert,“that’s a lot of questions. Yeah, I’m fat and I like it - I put on a lot more than just a freshman 15 last year. When I was a kid, my mum would even put me on diets - they didn’t work, in between them I ballooned - so being away from home last year I...