With nothing better to do, Harvey decided to waste time at the Library Walkway. It was a large open space adjacent to the university's library, which was the center of the campus. Students frequently crossed this area on their way between classes, and it was complimented with benches and shady trees which made it a nice place to rest.
"Harvey? Hey Harvey, over here!" Harvey heard an accented voice call from behind him. He turned around to see Gurpreet. What a coincidence. Harvey walked over to the waving Sikh bear. He had propped two tables in an "L" shape adjacent to the Library's wall, essentially creating a square with an opening at the side. With all the cooking utensils and devices that Gurpreet had brought with him, it looked like he was setting up some kind of food stand. "I could really use your help, Harvey. Can you set up this stand with me?" Normally Harvey would make some excuse to say no, but Gurpreet already saw Harvey's schedule, so he knew that Harvey had a large gap right now.
"Yeah, sure. I can help you out" Harvey admitted.
"Thank you! Here, come in" Gurpreet made room for Harvey to enter his table square. Gurpreet was hastily pulling materials out of a box labled "tabling supplies". "Here, lets lay down the table cloths." Gurpreet grabbed two orange table cloths with a white floral design and tossed one to Harvey. The table cloth landed on top of Harvey's head. Making contact with Harvey's patka, the table cloth folded and wrapped itself around Harvey's head, becoming a beautiful orange floral Gurmukhi Dastar turban. Harvey felt a wave of heat envelop him as his skin became a deep brown and all of his hair turned black. This was followed by a bloated feeling as Harvey watched his stomach grow. It was slow at first before exploding outward. Massive love handles wrapped around his body, swollen breasts sat atop his stomach, even his face was filling out with plump cheeks and a round chin. Then Harvey noticed he wasn't just getting fatter, he grew taller too. His new height rivaled Gurpreet's, and he was much fatter than the Sikh bear too! He wasn't just fat, he was massive. He thought he was going to explode out of his clothes, but strangely they were growing with him. His jeans were stretched tight by his thick thighs and the two globes in his rear. His shirt managed to stay loose despite his round belly hanging far in front of him. The shirt gained a graphic of a smiling milk carton wearing sunglasses, with the pun "'Sup Doodh" underneath. Harvey's mustache thickened, his beard grew thicker, wider than his face in a round shape and stretching below his neck. Finally, a pair of clear prescription aviator glasses appeared in front of Harvey's eyes, completing the transformation.
"Wha- what the? What's going on!?" Harvey exclaimed.
"We're running a bake sale as a fund raiser for the Sikh Student Coalition" Gurpreet answered, "but the guy who was suppose to do the actual cooking had to cancel. I'm so glad you were able to fill in at the last second, Harpinder. You're such a good cook" Gurpreet smiled and layed out his table cloth. "What a coincidence, your parna matches my table cloth! Hmm, no where did the other one go?"
"What are you talking about?" It seemed like Harvey's question had a completely different context in Gurpreet's mind. Did Gurpreet really not notice how Harvey had changed? "I'm not a chef, especially not with Punjabi food!"
"Don't be so modest, Harpinder" Gurpreet chuckled, "I've seen the lunches you've packed in your book bag. It seems you're an expect with even the most complicated dishes."
"Do you really not see anything wrong with me? I mean..." Harvey paused, looking down at his new form, "my stomach is huge"
"That's not wrong" Gurpreet patted his own belly, "A large stomach is proof you know what good food tastes like"
Gurpreet thought that Harvey was suppose to be like this, he even kept calling him "Harpinder". Harvey felt that he had to leave, he had to find a way to change back. He tried to exit, but he was currently sandwiched between the tables, the library, and Gurpreet. At his large size, he couldn't easily maneuver around Gurpreet, who was blocking the only exit. He tried, but ended up bumping his belly against Gurpreet's.
"Haha, easy there Harpinder. Here, allow me to pass you the ingredients." Gurpreet placed a few packages and utensils on Harvey's side of the table. It looked like escape wouldn't be possible unless Harvey could convince Gurpreet that he wasn't the person Gurpreet thought he was. Still, what was he suppose to do in he mean time? He didn't know how to make any of these dishes. And yet, Harvey's hands moved on auto pilot. Without needing to put any thought into it, he was creating a variety of delicious Punjabi treats. Once Gurpreet finished setting up the decor and collection bin, their stand was open for business.
Since the Library Walkway was a popular spot on campus, they had a steady flow of customers. It was mostly Indian students at first, but the stand's popularity quickly caught the eye of other students as well. Harvey kept busy, constantly making more treats to keep up with demand. Things were going so well, he was starting to forget he had been so troubled by his transformation earlier. He was even throwing out welcoming and thankful phrases such as "Aaooji aaooji" and "tuhada swagat hai" to people who stopped by their stand.
When things eventually slowed down, a group of Punjabi women approach the stand. "Hi Gurpreet. Who's your friend?" the first one asked.
"Hi Rupi, this is Harpinder. He's a new member of the Sikh Student Coalition. He just joined yesterday."
"Ah, now that you mention it he does look familiar. He was at yesterday's meeting, right?" Rupi said.
"Wow, this food looks so good" a second girl added, "Harpinder, did you make all of this?"
"It was nothing, really" Harvey bashfully rubbed the back of his turban and smiled "Would you like some?"
"Yes, please" she replied. Harvey filled plates for all of the girls in the group.
"Thank you, Harpinder. How much do we owe you?" Rupi asked.
"Don't worry about it, it's on the house" Harvey winked "And my friends call me Harp." The girls blushed and giggled to each other, thanking Harpinder before taking off. Harvey was glad that he still had his signature charm.
Gurpreet grinned, "Look at you 'Harp', so popular already" the two shared a laugh "Thank you for all your help today. This is probably the most profitable bake sale the Sikh Student Coalition has ever had" Gurpreet patted the collection bin "and by putting our name out here, I'm sure we've also attracted a few new members. I couldn't have done it without you."
"Of course. It's just like Professor Singh said, a Sikh should always help those in need" The two hugged each other, their belllies squishing against each other.
"I'm going to finish cleaning up here, why don't you take some well deserved rest?" Gurpreet said as he made room for Harvey to exit.
Harvey nodded and leisurely walked to the a restroom to wash his hands. Looking in the mirror, his turban unwrapped itself from his head, becoming a table cloth again. He also reverted back to his original form, a white man with an average build wearing a patka. He grabbed his head, feeling a bit woozy. "Did that really just happen?" Harvey asked himself. He remembered everything that happened at the bake sale, but it both felt like he was himself and wasn't himself at the same time. Harvey rationalize that he must of just imagined the transformation. He was just a regular white guy helping Gurpreet with his bake sale. As for the treats he was making... it must have been some simple american treat. There was no way he was making Punjabi food. Harvey placed the table cloth in his book bag so he could return it to Gurpreet later and exited the bathroom. He ended up passing by that same group of Punjabi women. "Hey Rupi" he said with a wink. The girls simply smiled and rolled their eyes.
"See you at the next meeting, Harv" Rupi said while they all walked away. That was odd, they all seemed so into him earlier. Why wasn't his charm working anymore? Oh well, Harvey looked at the time on his phone. He was trying to decide if he should head to class or if he still had time to go somewhere else.