Filling up with giddiness, jitteriness, and about two and a half pounds of deep-fried sweetness, Twilight tried her best to steady herself. But it was simply useless.
 
Part of her felt ready. With a new style for herself, she was eager to seize the day. She had arrived at the café earlier than expected, so she ordered a few doughnuts just to liven things up a bit. “A dozen to eat now and another dozen to go,” she asked. She even splurged a bit with a couple of milkshakes.
 
However, another part of her felt anxious. With her massive obesity weighing her down, she just wanted this day to end. It hasn’t even been 10 minutes and she already ate through her first box before washing it down with a whole milkshake. At least she was able to spare herself the embarrassment of trying to sit on one of those stools, opting to simply ask a couple for their seat. “May I borrow that bench, please?”
 
Of course, it was no wonder why she was feeling so many mixed emotions. This was her first time getting to speak one-on-one with Rosette Nebula. Though they’ve spoken before at a social event, it wasn’t exactly the most convenient place to talk. Now with this meeting, Twilight was hopeful that they can get to know each other a little better.
 
Just as she was feeling a little more settled, Twilight perked up as soon as she saw a familiar face stepping out of a nearby taxi…
 

 
“So, long story short, this new undergraduate program will not only let students gain hands-on experience within their desired field, but it’ll also open up a wide variety of different career paths. In your case, as you are now double-majoring in both astrophysics and computer science, as well as minoring in education, I’d say you might have a bright future ahead of you,” Dr. Rosette Nebula said with a wink, looking rather pleased with her silly pun. “So, how does all that sound to you?”
 
Twilight stammered a bit before answering, whether it was due to still being nervous or overwhelmed, it was hard to tell. “Wow. There’s just so much. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I think it all sounds fantastic. But, I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
 
“I completely understand,” the young doctor smiled and nodded. “You know what? Since we’re through with my introductory pitch, how about I ask you a few questions first? That should ease the tension a bit.”
 
“Oh, of course.” Twilight agreed.
 
“Hmm, let’s see… What led you to decide on what you wanted to study?”
 
“Well, I guess my interest in all that started when…”  
But before Twilight could get a chance to elaborate further, one of the café servers popped in. “Here you are, ma’am. Tall latte with oat milk,“ the server stated as he placed the drink in front of Rosette.
 
“Oh, thank you.”
 
The server then turned his attention towards Twilight. “Oh, and your second order of a dozen doughnuts and a double-trenta strawberry shake will be out very shortly.”
 
“Oh, right. Uh, thank you,” Twilight awkwardly smiled as the server finally made his way back into the café. She then looked over to Rosette, who seemed to be keeping a straight face. “Sorry. I forgot I made a second order before you got here.”
 
“Oh, it’s… it’s fine,” the doctor said bluntly, trying to brush off the awkward scene.
 
“Anyway, like I was saying…” Twilight began again.
 
“Actually, if you don’t mind,” Rosette suddenly interrupted, “Can I ask a quick personal question?”
 
Taken aback by the odd request, Twilight simply nodded, “Um, sure.”
 
“Have you had a chance to get in touch with that nutritionist I recommended to you a while back? Or any other specialist, for that matter?”
 
“Oh, well…” Twilight was afraid she would ask this. She tried to find a way to explain the whole situation, but nothing was coming to her. She didn’t think it would come up like this. “About that…”
 
“I realize I’m being a little too forward right now, and I apologize for that.” Rosette continued, leaning back slightly as she crossed her arms. “It’s just that when I commented on your eating habits last time we met, I was worried I may have offended you.”
 
“Oh, no. You haven’t. It’s just…”
 
“I’m sorry. I know it’s none of my business, and I didn’t want to bring it up again. But seeing how much heavier you are and how much you’re still putting into your body,” Rosette explained, gesturing toward the empty box of the table. “I’m just genuinely concerned.”
 
“I know. But, it’s not what it looks like.”
 
“Well, it just looks to me like you’ve been eating excessively and putting on an extreme amount of weight.”
 
“Okay, so it is what it looks like.”
 
“Twilight, all this just can’t be from stress eating, can it?”
 
“No, no. It’s not.” Twilight tried to reassure her. “I’m sorry, but it’s just sort of difficult to explain.”
 
Rosette sighed. “Twilight, if there’s something going on, then I really think I need to know. Especially if you are going to be involved with my program. I’m sorry, but you have to tell me.”
 
Twilight didn’t seem like she had much of a choice. She knew she had to say something. “You see,” she began, “all this extra weight is not just because of my diet or anything like that. It’s actually because of ma…”
 
All of a sudden, a new idea came…
 
“My condition,” Twilight lied.
 
“Your… condition?” Rosette asked.
 
“Yes! A rare condition. A very, very rare condition that heavily affects my appetite, metabolism, fat storage, calorie intake, and other stuff like that,” Twilight quickly explained, hoping that the faster she spoke, the more believable she sounded.
 
“Oh, so something akin to hyperphagia?” The doctor questioned.
 
“Uh, yes! Exactly!” Twilight nodded, trying to come up with more fuel for the lie. “It’s a hyperphagic-metabolic condition that’s been making me gain all this weight. But I have been trying to keep it under control.”
 
“Here you are, ma’am.” Interrupting once again with impeccably ironic timing, the server returned with Twilight’s order. “A dozen doughnuts and a double-trenta strawberry shake,” he said, placing the box of sweets in front of her and handing her the milkshake before heading back inside. “Enjoy!”
 
Though Rosette said nothing upon seeing Twilight’s hefty order, her raised eyebrows were still quite telling.
 
“I know I may not look like it,” Twilight explained, “but health-wise, I really am doing fine. I just tend to eat a lot.”
 
Pausing for a moment, Rosette finally nodded and said, “Well, you do seem like you’ve been adjusting just fine.” She relaxed her posture a bit as she reached for her coffee. “I’ll take your word for it. And I’m sorry about all that. I just figured if we were going to start working together and getting to know each other, I wanted to establish some trust between us.”
 
“It’s fine,” Twilight replied, “I completely understand.”
 
“Great. Well, I’m glad we got that weight off our shoulders.” Rosette gave a relieved sigh before realizing what she just said. “Oh, I’m sorry! No pun intended,” she laughed.
 
Twilight chuckled back as she reached for another doughnut. “None taken.”