Good Morning Famine

The Great Depression of the 1930s shrunk many healthy waists down to nothing and beyond, but only one single boy had the courage to turn it into a spectacular circus show that put some actual bread on his table.

This dusty room of a derelict house was what Jimmy Hoods called his bedroom. But once the sun hit his naked skin through the many holes between the wooden planks, it was time to take those rough cheap rags that served as his bedsheets at night, and transform them into his clothes for the day.

The only item on him that costed more than 2 cents was the black leather belt wrapped tight around the boy's small waist, a gift from the lady who gave him the whole idea of becoming the Wasp Boy. Since that day he tried to never take it off, specially at night as thieves these days would steal even so little...

After crawling out of his hole, Jim gave his body a good stretch in all kinds of directions, listening to the growling of his empty bowels. He tugged his hard belt one hole tighter and rolled his hips to adjust to the severe constriction.

His waistline felt quite numb, but the rest of his belly and his ribcage were giving him oddly pleasant sensations, as if to compensate for all the bad things in his life. If it weren't for this strange physical satisfaction, he probably wouldn't go this far in his training over the last weeks.

"But just standing there in the street with a belted waist and an outstretched hand will do you no good," he remembered his lady's words. "Try to dance and follow these sensations, let your own body guide you. When your dance is good enough, a person will approach you and mention the word 'contract', when you hear it jump with excitement and give them your prettiest smile as it's the codeword for the end of your misery!"

Jim started a little improvised dance, moving his hips this and that way, enjoying the feelings that he never knew existed before he started tight-belting. The little dance soon grew into quite a feast for the eyes, almost too good for this old ruined street.

But while his belly was rolling in sheer excitement, Jim's face was still shadowed by the thoughts of his poor fate. Little did the young fellow know, but on this very day he was about to finally hear his magic word, and soon become known under his new stage name: Gem, the Prince of Bellydancers!