This wasn't the first time that I stepped into a McDonald's.
The first time that I did, I walked in as a naive man, like Adam at the Garden of Eden. The place had the smell of fry grease and grilled beef - one you would expect from any American restaurant around town.
Back then, I was still small. Skinny wasn't enough to describe me, I barely had a bump on my belly. I just turned 19, heading out of a Chinese household that still held out the belief of "natural" health. Of course, that meant that all of us were slim as sticks.
I stepped in the Golden Arched restaurant thinking that I wouldn't be affected by the meal I was about to eat. Like the forbidden fruit that it was, the Quarter Pounder with its thick, juicy patties was more than just attractive to my hungry self. And I saw those Americans with their huge beanbag bodies walk, shuffle or wheel themselves around with trays packed full of everything the restaurant offered.
Drones sent out huge bags full of greasy food and drinks. The kitchen in the back worked overtime with mechanized delivery machines, automated grills and fryers working overtime to deliver their customers' demands - and I was about to be one of them.
I meekly stepped forward to see the digital menu. I wasn't the best in English - it was my second language after all. The menu was simple. A dozen burgers, a few set numbers of nuggets, individual drinks and shakes, ice cream and the seasonal menu topping it all off.
I had only the quarter pounder in my mind. Chopped onions, a huge beef patty with a blanket of cheese, ketchup and mustard drizzled over it, sandwiched with toasted sesame buns.
Well, in hindsight, my first meal seemed tiny.
When I took a bite, it was like everything had changed. Fatty grease and meat juices flowed inside my mouth. Acidic ketchup and the spice from the mustard, the toasted buns that stayed in shape despite all the grease.
Then, there were the fries. A mixture of grease and salt over the soft starchy potato that was complemented almost perfectly with the sweet soda drink that I'd swore was way sweeter than in my homeland.
Whatever they had put in it, I got hooked the moment I took those bites.
Not even a day later, I double my order. Then, I tried the Big Mac. Three burgers. More fries to make sure I stay full. An XL shake soon afterwards. Sundae to finish the meal.
The bump that was my belly started to grow, and it creased around a week after I started my habits. My man-breasts appeared soon after, sagging down like a pair of water balloons. The oversized clothes that I bought began to grow snug on me.
Then, there were more of these forbidden fruits around me. Popeye's with their fried chicken, grease packed in whole buckets of chicken. Domino's with their huge pizzas that were as wide as my old self was. Kettle Chips. Twinkies. Porto' Pastries. M&M's. Krispy Kreme.
And I realized that the brands surrounded everyone, at every moment. Advertisements and sponsorships on YouTube alone could make me crave for food. I had to eat snacks during my classes - something that apparently was a normal occurrence around my friends.
Clothes got cheaper as I reached Large.
Seats were more comfortable as my butt got more saggy and undefined.
I had to rest more as I walked around the campus.
I no longer felt like I would fall through the toilet bowls.
Then, it hit me just around the end of my second semester. Well, it happened without fanfare, all because of an email.
To: stevenkong22012049.student.edu.us
