"Yeah, this place makes me want to get bigger," Matt affirms, "especially being around Todd all the time - he's so much bigger than I am... I see why they made us roomies!"

"Yes, Todd is a good chunk of niner - he reminds me of me when I was a 'minor niner'," Mr. McCrary replies. He turns his agile bulk to Todd and continues. "So, how big are you Todd? How much of an inspiration to Matt here?"

"502 when I weighed in the first day," Todd declared with satisfaction. "I think that's inspirational - a whole quarter ton. But being a roomie with Matt is good for me too."

"How so?"

"Well, have you seen him eat? He eats nearly as much as I do, and he's half my size. Plus, I wasn't really going to come and do much here in the weight room, but spotting for him - well, I can't let any guy so small out-lift me, can I? I was just going to kick back this year, enjoy my new quarter-ton status, but with Matt around, I'm thinking I need to get bigger - or at least hungrier and stronger."

"Bigger? How big are you thinking?"

"I don't know really; I put on 80 pounds last year, and I thought I'd take it easier this year, but maybe I need to shoot for 80 again, to keep ahead of Matt."

"Ever thought how big you want to be at graduation?"

"Well....