Inflata-Donut: The Squeaky Sleekness of a Poodle (Preview)

Melissa went to the refrigerator to retrieve the food, ready to start cooking. However, something made her pause before she even grabbed the handle. On the counter beside the fridge was a large white box. It was the kind she'd seen her roommates come home with before, the kind that you usually got at the grocery store to hold all of the baked good pastries you bought.

Curiously, she opened it up. There were two rows of six donuts each within. They were all the same, purple frosting with white sprinkles.

They would look delicious if they didn't seem a little off. Looking closer, Melissa could see that the frosting and sprinkles were imprinted into the donuts instead of spread and sprinkled over them. The texture looked so flat and oddly glossy in the light.

Are these edible? Melissa frowned. …Rachel got these, didn't she? Her blue-haired roommate always liked the strangest foods, especially when it came to eating them on her little web show. She probably got these from one of her friends or special contacts.

She started to close the box and get back to her cooking preparation. Her stomach protested with a loud growl. It even rumbled, something she felt very deep within her.

The woman rubbed her stomach, frowning more. Stupid hunger. She hated that feeling, and she hated that it put a thought in her head. It would take time to make her big breakfast, and she knew that her stomach would gripe for the whole duration.

Melissa looked back at the box and its donuts. They remained peculiar looking, but she couldn't help it. Temptation and want were growing fast.

Maybe just a bite… Melissa already hated that thought too. Just a bite and that'll shut my stomach up. She hated how she still was going to do it though. Rachel won't mind. If she does, it's her fault for leaving these out.

She took one of the donuts, holding it in her hand. It felt rubbery and odd, like clutching an inflated beach ball. Just the touch alone made her briefly reconsider doing this.

Yet, her stomach protested her cowardice and demanded satisfaction. It felt louder than before. Mrrmumph, better just do this now before… my fatter side comes out and does it.

Melissa took a bite, a bigger bite than she expected even. The moment she did, tension melted away. The donut tasted great. Inside of it was the usual fluffy, fried dough she would expect to find in any donut. Even taking a look for herself showed the usual donut insides.

Well, that's a relief. Melissa swallowed. Worried about nothin- Before she could go in for another bite, she noticed something. It was out of her sight when it was in the box and when she first held it, but turning the donut around, she found there was something attached to it.

There was a little nozzle just like the kind you’d find on a pool toy.

She was silent. She slowly reached a finger over and pressed it against the nozzle. It felt as rubbery as the rest of the donut. She pinched and pulled, tearing a chunk off and revealing the normal donut insides.

Okay. That's… not normal. It most certainly wasn't normal. There were many questions now pouring into her brain. What is going-

Pssssssssssssssssssssssst.

There was an odd sound. It was low, but it grew. It was strange, but it was familiar. She recognized it after a moment. It was the sound of an air canister filling a balloon.