Crossing her legs elegantly, Mary casually browsed through the contact list on her cell phone with a single manicured thumbnail. Two days since she'd last heard from Bhamini, and by now it was now obvious that the brown-skinned beauty had accomplished nothing except providing some lucky woman with an exceptionally filling meal.
 A slight frown creased Mary's red-glossed lips as she deleted her former friend's contact information with a few perfunctory taps of a finger. Mary had learned years ago not to become too attached to anyone she knew - her concern was not so much that Bhamini was gone as it was with her dwindling contact list. Of course, sometimes spending time and staying up to date with all of her girl-friends was an absolute chore, but she relied on them for safety and control, her true desires... and she wasn't afraid to admit it to herself.
 And so, Mary had been giving out so many ingratiating smiles for the past few days that she was getting a cramp in her facial muscles, and yet none of the promising predators in her classes seemed interested in joining her clique. Needless to say, Mary suspected that losing three friends in less than a week had something to do with that.
 The hell of it was that even though this little feud with Lin and Amanda was quite literally eating away at her social life, Mary couldn't quite bring herself to regret starting all this by trying to recruit Lin. On the contrary, she wished more than ever that she'd been able to get Lin on her side. She saw a little of herself in Lin... the lithe tomboyish girl was crude and unsophisticated, of course, but she had the same resourcefulness and charisma that had served Mary herself so well. Indeed, the curvaceous sophomore had found herself having dirty thoughts about that little minx, and not just the sort that ended with Lin stewing in her belly. Mary's back tensed slightly at the idea. She needed to work off some of this frustration and come back at this problem with a clear head, she decided.
 "...so, naturally I ended up here at Swallowbrook! Um, this has been really fun, by the way! I'm really glad we got the chance to hang out, Mary!" said the girl who had been sitting across from her. Mary had been dimly aware of her 'new friend' babbling away about herself and how much she loved 'Angry Pigs' or some such nonsensical computer game.
 Erica was her name, and Mary had originally sought her out in the belief that the shy raven-haired sophomore would be a valuable tech-savvy ally, but further investigation revealed that despite being emberassingly geeky, Erica was more of a technology enthusiast than an expert. Mary had quickly lost interest in the conversation once it became clear that Erica hadn't the slightest idea how to hack computers, tap phone lines, or perform any of the other feats that nerds were always good for in the movies.
 An awkward silence persisted as Mary slowly looked up and appraised Erica again, who was smiling back at Mary, eyes shining with enthusiasm from behind round, thick spectacles, so glad to have finally made a popular friend. There was a slight amount of potential for popularity there, Mary conceded.
 Erica had a sweet-but-naive fresh-faced look about her, with her black hair hanging over one shoulder in a single long braid. Although not particularly shown off by her choice of outfit (a black tee-shirt with some anime character on it and a modest denim skirt), the young woman had a nice figure with a perky, well-developed bust in spite of the fact that she wasn't a successful predator. She was a competent student and no doubt she took good notes in class, should Mary have need of them. But Erica lacked the savvy and killer instinct that was required to make it at Swallowbrook. She'd transferred in from another school - Mary doubted she'd have made it through freshman year alive.
 Mary folded her hands on the table. Well, since she'd already wasted hours of her valuable time getting to know this girl, she might as well take her in. Erica would be tractable and easily ordered around, at least, desperate for approval and protection as she was. If nothing else, Mary could always use another errand girl... particularly one who wasn't too ambitious on her own. "Mmm-hmm. Yes, that's fascinating." Mary said, finally returning Erica's smile. "I can tell we're going to be great friends.
 Erica gave her a toothy smile. "Squee!" Mary was a little embarrassed for her - she'd actually SAID 'squee'... "Ah ha ha, yes..." Mary said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. If she'd conducted this little 'interview' a week ago, Erica would be taking a trip down her throat right now. "Now, I understand it, you've had trouble with some fellow studnets harassing you before, perhaps even trying to come after you."
 Mary leaned forward confidently. "Well, I doubt you'll have those kind of problems now, because anyone who threatens you will have to deal with me. This school can be a harsh place, and it's important to stay together if you want to survive. Academically, socially, and, y'know, physically. What's good for our friends is good for us also, and we all do favors for one-another, right?"
 A look of comprehension entering her eyes, Erica nodded eagerly. "Oh, of course!" she said. "Well, um, there's a TA in our geology class who has been giving me a lot of trouble. You know, Minnie? I thought, maybe you could talk to her and get her to leave me alone?" Erica said, a little hesitantly.
 Smirking a little, Mary nodded. Well, at least winning Erica over had been easy - Minnie had already been on her list of potential meals. The idea that Erica had actually meant for Mary to talk to Minnie rather than using 'talk' ad a polite euphemism for 'devour' didn't really cross her mind. "Oh, is that so? Well then. Consider it done. I promise, she won't be giving you any more trouble. But since I'm going to be doing something for you, perhaps you would consider doing me a favor in return. I need you to go meet someone off campus and bring them here - simple as that, no more, no less. I'd go myself, but not only do I have a full schedule today, my car is in the shop... and besides, I'd like this to be discreet. You see..."
 Little did Mary know, on the other side of the food court, her latest nemesis had scheduled a little clandestine expedition of her own. Lin herself, with a blonde wig, a nondescript school uniform and a well-placed newspaper, had hidden herself in plain sight a few tables over. However, even though her rudimentarty 'disguise' was working, Lin was growing frustrated with her attempt at amateur espionage. She couldn't hear them over the ambient noise, and trying to read lips was getting her nowhere.
 Although Lin was tempted to just try and dispose of Mary right here and now as soon as she and Erica split up, the athletic young freshman was wary of something so direct. After all, Mary Prichard hadn't gotten to be a top predator for nothing... and even if Lin succeeded, she worried that Mary's friends in hgih places would find a way to punish her for it. What she needed was a way to catch Mary off guard, preferably with Amanda to back her up, somewhere nice and private.
 Slowly, Lin's furtive gaze drifted over to the full-figured girl Mary was sitting with. Lin had a couple of classes with her, but didn't know her personally... still, just looking at her, she seemed a lot less formidable than Julie Raeder, Mary's other main cohort. Lin smiled deviously as she buried her gaze in the newspaper and realized the possibility. If Erica was with Mary now, perhaps she could be 'persuaded' to fork over some of Mary's secrets.
-------------
 With a spring in her step, Erica walked the halls of Swallowbrook with newfound confidence. Pretty much every girl she knew was at least wary of Mary Prichard. Sure, it was common knowledge that several members of Mary's social circle had recently gotten themselves expelled by a couple of cheeky freshmen, putting a dent in Mary's predatory cachet, but she herself was still an intimidating prospect. And now, anyone who messed with Erica would have to deal with Mary too! It was a liberating thought for Erica. No more skulking and keeping her head down from now on! She was with the 'in' crowd now.
 And so, Erica decided to use her free time to find a nice, quiet spot in a student lounge and, for the first time in weeks, put her headphones on to listen to music as she studied, a luxury she had forgone for the sake of maintaining awareness. She cheerfully bobbed her head to the music as she casually skimmed a text for her 'Psycho-political Geo-historical women's studies' class. It was an easy 'A', but still, it didn't hurt to be prepared.
 But before Erica could get very far, she felt a firm pressure on her shoulder. Glancing over quizzically, she saw a hand grasping her insistently. As Erica's eyes wandered up to the hand's owner, she saw a trim, short-haired asian girl in a blue-and-white school uniform with a mischievous smirk on her face. Erica remembered seeing her once or twice, but didn't recognize her off-hand. The newly-confident sophomore disdainfully pulled out one of her earbuds with her pinky finger, raising an eyebrow at the newcomer and sniffing. "Um, could you not do that? I'm trying to read, here. Uh, maybe you had better leave before there's any trouble."
 Lin glanced around the small lounge. Aside from a chubby redhead dozing on a couch and a short, slightly-built girl scribbling on a comptuer tablet on the other side of the room, her and Erica had the room to themselves. "Sure," Lin said, "I've got a class to get to pretty soon. But First, I thought you might help me with something."
 Eria glared at Lin suspiciously from behind her coke-bottle lenses. "Jeez, vague much? Whatever it is, I'm not in the mood for it. And you had better not think about trying anything, because I'm totally BFFs with some very popular girls. So NYEH~" Erica stuck out her tongue rudely.
 Clenching the geek's shoulder tighter with her hand, Lin leaned in. "Well, that's good, because it's a friend of yours who I want to talk about. I think you know who I mean. Now, come on. There's just the two of us in here, practically. Nobody needs to know we even talked. So just tell me what Mary's next move is, and you can get back to listening to that stupid J-pop crap."
 Wrinkling her nose, Erica stared at Lin. "Waiiit a second... you're Ouyang Lin, aren't you? Well," Erica said in a huffy tone, "I don't see any point in doing favors for a girl who's going to be nothing but food soon. So, do me a favor and Gee-Tee-Eff-Oh."
 Lin pursed her lips, starting to grow annoyed. "Wow. Mary must have really lowered her standards if she's hanging around a dork like you. Fine, then, we'll do this the hard way." With a sharp yank, she pulled Erica to her feet, sending the book tumbling to the floor. Erica yelped with surprise, but then tensed and brought her foot up with surprising speed. Before Lin could react, she heard a soft thud and felt a sharp, stabbing pain as Erica kneed her right between the legs, in her most sensitive spot. "AHHhyouBITCH!" Lin whined, feeling tears forming in her eyes. If she hadn't been planning to go hard on Erica before, she definitely was now.
 Putting her entire body into the move, Lin followed her instincts and performed an unsophisticated yet effective throw, grasping Erica's waist with both hands and pushing with her shoulders. Erica squeaked as she found herself yanked off her feet and hurled backwards, landing right on top of the snoozing girl on the couch. "AAAHWHAT?!" the bystander sputtered as she awoke with a start, an unfamiliar girl suddenly on top of her. "Nuuu! Don't eat me!" the redhead cried, giving the still-disoriented Erica another strong push, this time knocking her to the ground, before scrambling awkwardly to her feet and fleeing the lounge.
 Before Erica could regain her footing, she felt her ankles being grasped by two strong hands before being yanked sharply upwards, leaving her upside down. "Hey! Let go!" she cried, trying to kick Lin's grip off.
 Lin decided she couldn't spare the time to strip Erica properly, so she just pulled the unfortunate girl's ankles up and straight into her mouth, sneakers and all. Lin almost gagged at the taste, and swallowed hurriedly to get past them. Fortunately, once the feet were in her throat, she was able to appreciate the soft skin of Erica's lower legs. Erica gasped in alarm. "Stop that!! Hey, somebody get her off of me! I'm popular now, damn it!" The sketching girl, the only one aside from Lin who could hear her, glanced over and simply shrugged before going back to drawing.
 Erica's skirt flipped up and slid down around her waist as she was lifted up and into Lin's eager mouth, exposing her white thong with 'My Cat is a Ninja' printed on it along with a cutesy black-clad cartoon cat. The eager freshman predator's hands slid down to squeeze Erica's creamy thighs, forcing her while simultaneously pressing her lips down to engulf the girl as quickly as possible. Erica soon found herself forced to bend her knees as her entire lower legs vanished into Lin's tight throat. She was in real trouble now, and her bravado disappeared. "Come on, let me go! Listen, I barely even know Mary, you're making a big mistake!"
 Still sore from Erica's well-aimed knee, Lin just knitted her brow and doubled down on swallowing Erica as fast as possible. Holding Erica upside down, Lin started to use the couch for leverage, forcing Erica's face against it to help force those supple thighs into her throat. With a loud gulp, Erica's shapely thighs were forced into Lin's hungry gullet, and the not-so-cocky-anymore sophomore felt half of her body encased in the tight, slippery confines of Lin's body even as her feet pushed past the sphincter into the stomach. Lin grabbed Erica's bouncy little ass and flipped the struggling girl rightside up again, positing Erica's upper body above her and tilting her head back.
 Growing dizzy from these constant reorientations, Erica discovered to her dismay that gravity was now helping her slide into Lin's belly on her own. One of the asian girl's hands slid up and over Erica's belly and grasped one of her swaying breasts as Lin's throat expanded to take in her prey's butt. Her earlier pain was almost forgotten as Lin luxuriated in the feel of those frantically squirming legs trying to push away from her greedy gullet, but only succeeding in sliding Erica deeper. Crying for help to an almost-empty room, Erica's hands pounded impotently on Lin's shoulders and the top of her head before Lin's hands lashed out and grabbed her wrists.
 "I don't even know anything!" Erica cried desperately, tears forming in her eyes. "You're doing this for nothing!" Lin noted that was demonstrably untrue: even if Erica really didn't know anything, she was proving to be a wonderfully fulfilling meal in her own right. Lin gently bit down on her prey's navel as she gulped down her hips. When she reached Erica's amply-endowed chest, Lin wobbled the struggling girl back and forth in her grip as she carefully worked her mouth over those soft, swaying mounds. Releasing one of Erica's wrists, Lin used a free hand to push down on the top of Erica's head. By now, her prey's lower body was already curling up inside of her, and Erica's lovely breasts made a huge lump in Lin's throat as they were forced down by the rippling tube of slick muscle. The enormous bulge in Lin's chest was moving down to her abdomen now, and only Erica's head was left, giving the victim one last look at her surroundings before she felt her face being pulled into the dark wetness.
 Erica squealed in terror one last time as she was completely pulled into Lin's mouth, leaving only her long black braid hanging from Lin's lips like an errand noodle, which she naturally slurped up. Tucking the braid into her mouth and swallowing heavily one last time, Lin felt her stomach bounce as Erica's full weight landed in it. Lin sighed lustily, tingling with satisfaction - it was wonderful to be able to indulge like this again. Cradling the immense belly that strained against her stretched uniform, Lin felt the contours of Erica's body wriggling and squirming inside of her. She felt the sudden urge to let out a satisfied burp, but resisted. After all, this wasn't just for fun. She still needed to complete her interrogation. Feeling something hard and cold tickling the back of her throat, Lin leaned over slightly to one side and spat forcefully. Erica's saliva-soaked glasses fell to the floor with a delicate clink.
 "AHHHHH!" A muffled cry of distress echoed through Lin's body as her stomach fought and protested, almost knocking her off her feet. "Mmm." Lin licked her finger ostentatiously. That was one of her greatest devourings yet. It was a shame Amanda hadn't been there to watch. "Alright, loser," Lin said with a nasty grin, patting her struggling midsection. "I've got to settle things with Mary, and one way or another, you're going to help. You can either give me some information, or you can help provide me with the calories I need. What's it going to be?"
 "Noo, I can't betray Mary!" the eaten girl moaned, trying to push the squishy, slippery walls of the chamber surrounding her away. "Listen, if you let me go, I'll - I c-can get her to forgive you and your friend for eating those other girls! You've got to believe me, she's really nice, I'm sure she'll want to make peace!"
 Lin just yawned, stretching her arms behind her back. "So you've made your decision then? Guess you'll be taking a one-way trip to my ass. That should send a message to Mary." Lin closed her eyes and squeezed the flailing morsel in her stomach with all her might, letting out a small burp and compressing Erica into a ball. The foul-smelling chamber gurgled ominously around Erica, taking notice of the supple piece of meat that had been offered to it.
 Her eyes bulging out, Erica shrieked as she felt hot, tingling fluid start to soak her body. She kicked and struggled, causing large bulges to appear momentarily on the surface of Lin's bulging belly, but the stomach contracted around her again, squeezing her mercilessly. "Nooo! I don't want to be digested!" she pleaded. "I'll tell you, I'll tell you! You win, okay? But you have to promise you'll spit me up and let me go unharmed!"
 Lin leaned forward and rested her elbows on her immense belly, pressing against the two lumps made by Erica's knees. "I'm listening. Better make it fast, my tummy is a lethal weapon! But if it's something good, I'll spit you up." Erica squirmed and tried to get away from the pool of acid forming around her. "Alright!" Erica said, gritting her teeth in discomfort and fear. "All I can tell you is about the one thing that Mary asked me to do! She told me to go and pick up her boyfriend from in town and bring him to the campus tonight! The address is on a slip of paper in my bookbag!"
 Raising both eyebrows, Lin was silent for a moment. "Really? Hmm..." she paused for a moment, the gears in her mind turning as Erica breathlessly awaited the verdict on whether her life would be spared. "That iiis interesting." Lin said playfully, smiling. "Maybe Miss Ice-queen has a soft spot after all? Or perhaps she's just hungry and in the mood for something different. Either way, that could be just the thing to lure Mary to where I want her. Okay Erica, as tasty as you were, I suppose that's good enough to get you off the hook for now."
 Erica sighed with relief even as the gurgling noises around her grew deeper and louder. "Oh thank goodness! Now hurry up and let me out of here before your stupid stomach kills me!" Lin sighed slightly as she looked at her squirming belly, soon to be reduced to nothing in by far the less pleasurable of the two possible ways. "Oookay..." Lin said with a note of disappointment before gulping down several large mouthfuls of air to make sure Erica didn't expire. "Now, this is slower than swallowing and it will take a few minutes, so just sit tight in there."
 Lin put her arms around her midsection and began to squeeze rhythmically... but just then, the predatory tomboy's phone started beeping insistently. "Oh crap!" Lin moaned dejectedly. "I spent too much time with this, I'm going to be late for sociology class!" She bit her lip and thought a moment.
 "What the hell are you waiting for?! Get me out of here!" a muffled whine came from Lin's stretched belly. All of a sudden, Erica found her tight fleshy prison start to bounce up and down, jostling her uncomfortably. "Hey!"
 "Sorry in there," Lin said sympathetically, "But I have to get to class and sign in, or else I'll get counted absent. The professor is a real hard-ass about that. But as soon as I get signed in, I'll take a bathroom break to go let you out, okay?" Lin said in as reassuring a voice as she could muster as she hustled to the classroom - fortunately, it wasn't too far. "My stomach acids aren't all that powerful, you'll be fine for a few minutes." Erica was speechless for a moment. "Marked absent..? I'm going to die in here, damn it! Let me out now!" But Lin's only response was to gulp down more air. Erica could already feel her skin tingling painfully - she could only hope that Lin would keep her word.
 As it so happened, Lin and her swaying belly made it in the door just on time. As soon as she signed in, Lin plopped down in her seat, eliciting a squeal of discomfort from Erica as acids splashed all over her. Lin felt herself getting a few curious glances from her classmates as they regarded her stretched belly, but this wouldn't be the first time this semester that someone had come to class with an unwilling guest stewing away inside them, and they soon lost interest. Lin gulped some more air, which Erica used to launch into another round of pleading. "Okay, you're signed in now, right?!" Erica asked anxiously as she squirmed away from the pool of acid, pressing her soft breasts against the elastic stomach wall. "Hurry up and go let me out! I'ts starting to burn in here!"
 "Sure, sure," Lin said, trying to appear attentive. "Just let me wait for a stopping point in the lecture, okay? I don't want to get the professor annoyed at me." Erica just whimpered, weakly pressing at the wet flesh surrounding her. As the professor started her droning lecture on a particularly obtuse topic, Lin started to feel suddenly fatigued - just like before, she always felt really tired after a meal, and especially after she'd been forced to carry it around some distance before being able to sit down. As she took notes, she tried to keep Erica in mind and waited for the professor to give them a short break, but soon she felt her eyelids growing heavy, and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her softly-squirming belly and taking an unplanned nap.
 "Hey! What's taking so long? Hurry up and get me out!" Erica whined. But, to her suddenly rising terror, she realized that Lin had stopped swallowing fresh air for her. What was worse, Lin's resting position had left her no room at all to squirm, and the churning belly was definitely starting to erode her skin away now. "Oh fuck!" Erica squealed in panic. "Wake up! Please, please wake up! You have to let me out! You... promised..."
 The fading, panicked protests from inside her belly drowned out by the soothing white noise of churns and gurgles, Lin unconsciously smiled and let out a tiny burp.
-----------------
 "...and that concludes today's lecture. Remember, the deadline for choosing the topic of your term paper is next week." The sudden chorus of chairs clattering against the floor as the students gathered their belongings and rose up to leave awakened Lin with a start. "Nnuh?" she murmured drowsily before her eyes suddenly popped wide open.
 "Oh shit, the girl! Hold on in there, I'm going now to get you out!" Lin looked down... and suddenly paled and gave a small gulp as she belatedly realized she'd slept through the entire 3-hour class, and the professor had been to absorbed in the lecture to notice. The huge, lumpy bulge which Lin had walked in with, hanging down almost to her knees, was tragically smaller after a few hours of dutiful work by her digestive system. She now had a soft, round dome in her abdomen, looking nine-months pregnant with twins.
 Lin felt a twang of guilt, solemnly picking up her bookbag (and Erica's) as she stood to leave. She felt like she ought to apologize to her belly, but it was much too late now. It wasn't the first time she'd eaten someone, but she had promised Erica that she would let her go if she cooperated.
 Sighing wistfully, Lin slowly shuffled back to the lounge. Nothing to do now but finish sleeping the unfortunate sophomore off. At least she'd save a little money by not having to buy lunch today. Settling down into a stuffed chair, Lin patted her belly a few more times as it churned and gradually reduced. The guilt she felt was not enough to prevent Lin from taking another short nap, and an hour or so later she stood awoke again to find her belly shrunken even further, the bulge having migrated down to her lower abdomen. Feeling a familiar tension, Lin hopped to her feet, avoiding the gaze of the other students in the room, and jogged to the nearest public restroom.
 Pushing her way into a bathroom stall, Lin waited until the woman who had been there before her finished up and left before she hiked hup her skirt, slid her panties down around her ankles and lowered her firm, round buttocks onto the cold white toilet seat. She sighed and rested her hands on her knees as her abdominal muscles squeezed. Well, it was a shame that a relatively innocent girl had gotten turned into shit by a careless mistake of hers, but it couldn't be helped now, and besides, it had felt just as wonderful as the last time.
 After several loud bursts of gas escaped from Lin's intestine, she grunted and felt a wide, heavy log push its way out of her backside. Hearing the loud splash, Lin blushed a little, glad there was no-one else in the restroom. For once, she understood why Amanda had been so shy about this aspect of predation. She decided to flush once before going on.
 As Lin closed her eyes and squeezed, a huge brown coil descended beneath her with surprising speed. Erica had been bustier than Maxine, but not as muscular, so she seemed to have gone through Lin's system even faster. Though it took Lin quite a few minutes of straining and pushing, and several more flushes, she finally managed to expell the last of her latest meal.
 Standing up with a sigh of relief, Lin gave her bottom a quick wipe before flushing the last load and sending off the last of Erica's new form. Not taunting nor mocking her prey, the tomboyish freshman just solemnly closed the toilet lid and pulled her underwear back up. As she walked out of the restroom, Lin perked up, suddenly realizing how to get her mind off of Erica's sad fate and show it hadn't been in vain. After all, if it meant removing that bitch Mary, who knows how many hapless girls might be saved in the future? Pulling out her cell, Lin pressed speed dial 2 and held it up to her ear.
 "Oh, hi Lin!" Amanda answered cheerfully on the other end. "I'm glad you called! I was starting to get a little worried, I mean, your last class was over an hour ago, and-" Lin just laughed softly. "Aww, don't worry about that. I was just taking care of a little something. But hey, I've got big news, and I think you're going to like it. A 'friend' gave me some interesting information about Mary, and I thought you might to have a little outing in the town tonight." Lin said playfully, hoping to arouse Amanda's interest.
 "What is it? Well, you see- uhh, hold on one sec Amy." Lin felt a sudden painful lump in her chest, and, covering the receiver on her phone, sprinted over to the nearest trash can. Bending over it, Lin felt something hard and foul-tasting rise in the back of her throat and gagged. Feeling almost like she was choking, Lin coughed and spat the offending object into the trash: a pair of acid-bleached sneakers. Looking over her shoulder guiltily, Lin made sure no-one was watching before bringing the phone back up. "Ahem, sorry about that. So, like I was saying, we're going to have some fun tonight..."