Bellflower Part 18 (Patreon)

In this installment, insight into someone's past as they start to notice some changes!

Once again a little later than I was hoping, & honestly, I was also hoping to get some art up between the two chapters but that didn't really pan out either. I keep allotting time for myself but then through no fault of my own, my plans then seem to abruptly change. I'm hoping it's something that stops happening as summer seems to wind down now. Still, for the most part, I'm pretty content with this one, & hope you all enjoy.

I just wanted to throw this out there too. I mentioned it on twitter, & I might be overthinking it a little, but there are a few things in this that might be a little touchy. Specifically this chapter  is about Rachel, & her origin story of sorts (I honestly wasn't expecting her to get so many votes in the poll so far, but glad, because here's a bunch of her LoL). This chapter talks a lot about her relationship with her weight (& a bit with Holly) over the years prior to the events of the story. There's a brief mention of her attempting to starve herself briefly early on but overcoming it quickly & mostly accepting herself. There's some namecalling from her sister. And there are a couple of things I'm writing from her perspective, & she's not the most confident person in the world. All the way up to her shedding it while living in the city. I'm aiming to go fairly realistic & I feel like these things flesh her out a bit more realistically as a character. Still they might be a little much given the ultimate intention of it just being a WG story. 

If it's a little much, I'm sorry. I can promise you next chapter will be more of what we're used to, with Ladies Night: round 3. But still, I hope that maybe I am just overthinking this a little & that everyone's able to still enjoy.

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18

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It wasn’t like she ever even really hated being chubby. 

Even as a baby, from all the pictures she had seen of herself, she just had the fattest cheeks. And then? Over the course of most of her two & half or so decades she had spent on this planet? She honestly hadn’t really been anything but sort of chubby. Like there was some fluctuation, but we’re talking anywhere on the spectrum from plump to chubby to straight up pretty chunky. And usually? She was pretty firmly wedged right in that chubby column.

And okay, sure, maybe she did have that obligatory bout of self-consciousness that every chubby kid seems to get at some point. For Rachel, it struck at about age twelve. And it only even happened after she lent a hoodie to her “friend” on the walk to school one morning. It was chilly out. And Dana, who would later go on to be more of a member of Holly’s whole jock clique, complained she that she was cold. Out of the kindness of her heart, Rachel decided to wiggle out of her pullover hoodie celebrating some (don’t laugh) boy band she was super sweet on at the time. She offered it to the girl whom she, at the time, thought was her bestie. And while Dana gladly seemed to accept it at first, the petite brunette girl pulled it on only to find that out of some slight size disparity, it was just a little loose on her. But Dana proceeded to act as though she was practically swimming in the thing. From there, she seemed to think it would be a great idea to swing her arms around & sing “Little Girl in a Fat Girl Coat,” an on-the-nose inverse of the classic movie scene. The other kids all laughed. But not Rachel. She was absolutely mortified by the whole ordeal.

After that, she attempted about a week & a half of what she called “strict dieting.” But at the time, she was just a kid & doing something really dumb & dangerous, having only caught all of the pertinent public service announcements geared at teen girls well after the fact years later. And while it could’ve gotten out of hand & been pretty bad, her usually flaky mother, to her credit, luckily sussed out what was going on before it ever turned into something. She sat her down & leveled with her. And during that talk, she told Rachel that she was the shape she was through no fault of her own. That she had just been “blessed” with a fairly crappy metabolism. They seemed to run pretty common on her Mom’s side of the family, which helped explain some of her butterball cousins, honestly. And while it might’ve skipped her mother for the most part, Rachel wasn’t so lucky. For her grandmother, to paraphrase the way her mom seemed to put it “it’d take running a whole marathon to work off a granola bar,” adding that “she was just built that way.” And Rachel, it seemed, looked to be pretty much in the same boat, unfortunately. Her mother went on, pivoting a little more towards the idea that Rachel shouldn’t starve herself, just be more active. Like her sister. Which was about where Rachel began to check out.

Still, Rachel ended up hearing what she needed to hear. And while the news of bad genetics might have been a bit of a let down, ultimately? Rachel thought it was helpful for her in the long run. She couldn’t really change it, & for her? That was okay. Shortly thereafter, the whole thing seemed to just slip from her mind for the most part. She stopped worrying, & she just went about her life the way she had been up to that point. As a relatively happy, albeit slightly different, slightly anxious child. But when it came to the matter of her weight, she just sort of accepted her shape for what it was. Besides, at the end of the day? She kind of preferred just having a french fry every now & again. Because fries are actually pretty awesome.  

And sure, maybe not every piece of clothing she tried on fit her just right. But also she wasn’t prissy enough growing up to really care. At least back then. And yeah. Occasionally, from early on all the way up to senior year of high school, she would find herself in a situation where she’d be going about her business, only to have to deal with the odd “fat” comment  from some class bully or mean kid. But she was nimble enough with her words to usually get the last laugh in most exchanges, winning over any audience there to hear it, & often turning the aggressor into the butt of the joke by the end as comeuppance. At least in most cases. Her sister on the other hand? That was another story entirely. 

It was bad enough on its own that Holly, the golden child, looked the way she did. Tall, blonde, fit, frankly statuesque in comparison. Actually “blessed” when it came to genetic lottery, complete with a metabolism that at least functioned as least somewhat close to the way a metabolism was supposed to. But then? On top of all that? She would do all of these other things. And then just bring home another medal from some competition. Or trophy. Or ribbon. And their parents would seem to fawn over her. It was like they worshipped the ground she walked on & went out of their way to celebrate each & every one of her numerous achievements. And while a therapist would much later assure her she was “running her own race,” & just being unfair to herself, Rachel couldn’t help BUT compare herself to how she stacked up to of all that. Even before Holly ever opened her mouth.

It seemed like Rachel’s weight was often more on Holly’s mind than Rachel’s own. Given how much she seemed to broach it in conversation. Anywhere from passive aggressive things like “Wow, I wish I could just let myself get a large cone. And sprinkles.” while out for ice cream, or “You really thing you should opt for the combo?” as a bit of concern-trolling, all the way to times straight up calling her “Cow” or “Bovine” in the heat of sisterly arguments. Those seemed to be two of her common go-to’s. Though she wasn’t beyond throwing a “Whale” or “Blimp” at her once or twice. Whenever she was feeling hyperbolic. When Rachel brought some of these up to that same therapist, even they had to agree it was pretty cruel. But then they just chalked it all up to Holly being “a child,” which did nothing to help bring her any closure. At least not before… well… It’s just funny how that all seemed to work out, Rachel chuckled to herself now.

But fine. Other than whenever Holly would gave her flak, or that one time when she was twelve & Dana almost inadvertently gave her an eating disorder, Rachel had always been pretty comfortable with herself, & her body. For better or for worse. All things considered. In the grand scheme of things anyway.  She was fine with it, accepting that it was just who she was. That without becoming some totally craven gymfreak, working out like it was a part time job, her shitty metabolism would probably always get in her way of her being thin. And besides, it wasn’t like there weren’t occasionally times where she didn’t feel cute whenever she put forth the effort, as few & as far between as they were. Hell, she had still finagled a few boyfriends over the years without that much effort. Hell, she dated, lived with, & was engaged to Justin for years, & they first met in back college, when she was probably at her heaviest, what after the freshman fifteen & all that bullshit. She managed. And while calling her “happy” might have been a stretch, given her anxiety, & a whole myriad of other external factors, a few extra pounds here or there were never the things on her mind, making her unhappy.

But then there was that one day. 

It wasn’t like she could remember the date. The day as a whole didn’t go on to prove THAT memorable, honestly, & she couldn’t be bothered. But if her math was right, it had to be at least three & half, maybe four years ago at this point. And it all started with her alarm going off. The same one she still used to this day. Only her phone was a heck of a lot newer back then though. Without the elaborate spider web of cracks, chips, & dings across the screen she had probably grown a little too used to. 

She remembered begrudgingly having to get up at the asscrack of dawn, with the sky only just vaguely starting to lighten from an inbound sun. In the dim, pinkish blue light being cast mostly from the omnipresent storefronts across the street, she staggered towards the bathroom of their tiny apartment. As she did, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, muttered death upon everyone & thing, & frankly, just really hated the world in general, if only for the simple fact that she had to be awake. At the time, she had just started catching a few shifts at a new coffee shop that had just opened down the block, having finally landed a job as a barista. It was maybe a little cliche, but something she had been trying to land for a while. And for her sins? She finally got what she had asked for. The place ultimately shuttered almost as quickly, which sucked for the relatively decent folks that seemed to own the place. But it was fine by her, because honestly? She despised “first shift.” Waking up before the sun? Literally? For the birds!

Still, despite the foul mood, there was something about that morning though. In retrospect, the more she thought back on it, she had started blaming it on the light. Just the way it seemed to hit her. Why else would she have looked different than any other day? Like, she had to look at herself in the mirror everyday, right? At least she imagined she had to, coming or going in some capacity. But that one morning, for some reason seeing her reflection in the mirror? Something just seemed a little different about it. Like she suddenly had a slightly different perspective.

She first noticed it on her approach, staring into the mirror before even entering the bathroom. By her almost not being able to recognize her own silhouette. It seemed just a little too... narrow to be her. Or at least the chubby, old her she had always been used to. In fact, still in a sleepy stupor, she remembered getting the idea to do that cliche movie thing. The one from horror comedies, where characters wave their hands in front of them in a bit of random, stilted pantomime, to test & see if what they’re looking at is actually their reflection in a mirror? And not like a ghost or animatronic gorilla or something mimicking them? Lo & behold, things seemed to check out. The silhouette she was seeing was her alright. And the closer she seemed to get, the more she could make out her features in the dim glow of storefront light. 

Rachel remembered that very first full view of herself in the mirror with almost crystal clarity. With the drastically shorter, much more magenta hair she had been rocking at the time, swooped up messily over her then shaven sides from a bout of severe bedhead. But she remembered seeing her face staring back at her & just how... thin it seemed to look. Thin. For the first time ever in her entire life! At first, her anxiety made her wonder if she was sick. Dying? But other than having to being awake at such an ungodly hour? She felt fine. In fact, she felt good! No, she started to slowly realize, she had lost some chub!

And sure, perhaps objectively? It wasn’t like she was absolute skin & bones in any sort of objective sense. But it was like a lot of her pudge, the baby fat that stuck around well into her adulthood, that had seemed like it was never going to go anywhere? It seemed like it was finally disappearing. Like it had started to practically evaporate off of her. Mostly without her having even noticed. Probably on account of all of the walking, & sometimes biking she had been doing as of late, just by virtue of living in the big city. That had to be it! Just living there made her active. And thanks to late stage capitalism, while she never stopped buying fries, having a little less walking around money balancing her four or five odd jobs to fork over her share of the rent also meant she bought them just a little more sparingly. So between the combination, she must’ve started to thin out, without even having realized it!

And yeah, before, she remembered having to tighten some of her belts another notch here, or a few instances where t-shirts felt a little too baggy there. But she had just chalked it up to things stretching out in the wash. Or maybe even Justin borrowing the wrong shirt. Or one of his falling in with hers. But now? Seeing herself in that light? Realizing what was actually happening? She remembered the urges to murder were immediately forgotten as she was hit by something she was almost completely unfamiliar with: a boost of newfound confidence. 

She remembered that she couldn’t help but feel happy noticing her transformation. Ecstatic even. And impressed with herself, almost. In her mind, there was kind of a distinct difference between feeling “cute,” & feeling, dare she say it, “kind of hot.” She had to suppress a bit of a grin by biting her lip, as she shifted to her side to scope herself out in profile. She poked & prodded at herself, & spent eight of the fifteen minutes she had allotted herself to get ready just looking herself over as if it was for the first time.

It was crazy! She could see it in her neck & even her chin the clearest. What had once been a gentle slope from one to the other was becoming the slightest bit sharper, more angular. If she held her jaw a certain way, she could actually make out some of the stuff underneath, like muscles & bone, a first for her. She lifted up her tank top & used her new slimmer chin to keep it bunched up onto her chest. Her breasts might’ve lost a little bit of their bounce along the way. But she remembered noticing how her back had been just the slightest bit less sore in the days leading up. But what she really wanted to look at was her tummy, pushing her hands down past her chest along the surface of her skin. Her midsection was still just the slightest bit convex, but on the whole? Had started to flatten out pretty nicely. The bumpy bulgy bits were giving way, tightening. If she pressed, she could feel her abs underneath even! She was happy to see some of the flab in her upper arms disappearing. In fact, the only thing that really stuck out to her was her butt. And how much it still seemed to stick out. It seemed like the one hold out, a bit bigger than she would’ve hoped. Then again, even it felt just the slightest bit firmer. 

Her “oh shit” alarm went off. She had initially set it, meaning for it to act as a heads up. So she knew she should be leaving right now. But more often than not, it ended up acting as more of a backup or a contingency, usually because she slept pretty soundly past the first. That morning? While she might’ve been up, she lost way too much time gawking in the mirror. She was just too distracted. With herself. She remembered rushing to scrub her face, what she had originally went in to do. She ran to the closet & started trying to pick out something to wear. But desperately needed to take a trip to the laundromat, so her options were limited. But then she had a thought. 

She dug through to the back. She knew that’s where they’d be. Her “skinny” Jeans. Which also just happened to be skinny jeans, as far as the fit. Ones that she liked to wear all the time back in high school, but grew a little too chubby for during freshman year. She just never had the heart to ditch them, or the courage to try to squeeze herself into them again, thinking some day would come. She shook them out, the fabric a little stiff. Her legs seemed to slide right in. None of the struggle she remembered having in college, but almost easier than she remembered it being in High school. But now came the moment of truth. Was this “the day?” It almost felt Arthurian, as she grabbed both the zipper & the clasp, & started joining them at the center.

To her astonishment, they fit her better than they had ever fit. Even in High School. And while she still might’ve been a little displeased with her butt in the mirror, in the jeans? It somehow looked really good. Which seemed weird for her to admit, since it was about… her. At the same time, she couldn’t help but beam for a minute straight, before realizing she was going to be late. 

From there on out, Rachel continued to shed a few more pounds over the next few months. Without even really trying. “Skinny” would’ve perhaps been a little bit of a reach, but definitely not chubby. In having to shop for new clothes, she started going to thrift stores. She took pride in being able to hunt & find just the right look, whether it a little vintage, or kitschy. She would put together an outfit & first time feel happy with herself. That “prissiness” she lacked as a little girl suddenly started making a little sense. And it seemed like she was just getting used to the idea of finally, for the first time, caring, & sort of liking how she looked.

Why was that morning on Rachel’s mind right now? Because back in the present? This morning felt a bit like the polar opposite.

For one, she woke up feeling pretty good actually. Oddly, even though it was just a couch? She had come to the conclusion that sleeping here at Holly’s was somehow infinitely more comfortable than the crappy lump of a mattress she had back at her old place. And while her morning was getting started a bit on the earlier side, the sun was up well before her. So it seemed to quell most of her immediate urges to murder anybody. Well maybe other than Penny, but then would something like that even classify as a homicide really? 

As she slowly sat up, she realized Holly was up a little earlier, looking mostly ready, & sitting at her pub table. She looked to be eagerly waiting on Penny to fry her up some sort of omelette concoction or something. At least that’s what it smelled like to Rachel. And had to admit, she was pretty tempted herself. But she thought better of it, giving just a somewhat pleasant grunt & a wave before quickly staggering into the bathroom. As the automatic lights clicked on, she caught a glimpse of herself in the gigantic mirror. 

This time, she recognized herself immediately, almost as if it was somehow just a little more familiar to her. And in her shock, she froze. She was locked in a stare. Her eyes slowly scrolling up & down her body in the mirror, “surveying the damage” as it were. And suddenly, the mildly okay mood she had seemed to start the morning with started to take a bit of a nosedive. 

At this point, Even she couldn’t deny that there were a few changes. Even if she wanted to. There was certainly a difference. Substantial enough to notice. And sure, it might’ve been a bit of a stretch to even call her “chubby.” At least just yet, she sighed to herself, cynically. Or maybe realistically, all things considered, at the Bellflower anyway.

To an objective observer, a complete stranger? She probably might have seemed a little… “above average.” Even, dare she say it, “thicc.” Not “fat.” Not even “chubby.” But easily “well fed.” At least. Hell, maybe that was even a little too generous for herself. Maybe she was borderline “chubby.” It was hard to tell. For all she knew, Penny could’ve been playing some sort of trick on her. Like how Holly never even really seemed to realize she was gaining weight that whole time! Maybe this reflection she was looking at right now? Maybe it wasn’t a reflection at all, & perhaps some sort of real time deepfake, following her motions, & pasting her face onto an only moderately softer body when in reality she was already much, much fatte… No! She quickly realized she was being paranoid, & stopped working herself up to take a deep, calming breath. It was too early for any of that.

Slowly, she shed the tank top she had worn to bed. Unless Penny was somehow hacking her eyes? Looking down, the body she had seemed to more or less correspond with the visage reflecting back at her. Softer, & slightly thicker than she remembered it being up until very recently. Pulling her phone from the pocket & setting it on the counter, she continued to undress & went for the ratty track shorts next, having to balance on one leg for a second. It was awkward. Almost as though her center of gravity might’ve shifted just the slightest bit from where she remembered it. She kicked it off the last leg, letting it slip onto the floor, before returning to the view in the mirror.

Her hands slowly worked themselves down across her smooth skin, looking between both in the mirror & down at the source. It wasn’t like she was ever “cut,” even one day in her life, but any part of her that had ever come even remotely close to containing a shred of definition? Gone. This was occurring especially around what had been her fairly tight midsection, & extended further down into her hips & perpetually round butt. The whole region seemed to be forming a soft band around her. Almost every article of clothing she owned now started into cut into that softer part of her. it was becoming downright impossible to miss the very unmistakable “muffin.” And if she tried on any pants that were anything other than denim, unmistakable pantylines. She had been the slightest bit thicker in the thighs to begin with, even if only as another side effect of all that citywalking. But now? The past few days? Her old friend chubrub had seemed to start rearing its ugly head, as any gap she might’ve had going not only closed, but slammed shut. Even her boobs were feeling just a skosh heavier, pulling on her back & shoulders, & her forearms started to regain some of their old, distinct wobble back. On the one hand, she thought cataloguing these changes was important. Kind of like how she tried to gauge the changes in Holly. But now, seeing the same thing starting to happen to herself?

“Shower: On.” a mostly defeated Rachel huffed, needing to take her mind off things. At the same time, she also realized a shower probably wasn’t going to be enough to do that. 

“Temperature?” A more robotic, Penny-adjacent-but-not-quite-Penny voice seemed to ask.

“Warm...er. I don’t know.” She went on to whine in frustration. “Give me a knob, I’ll show you.” After a second, the shower kicked on at full blast. Rachel continued to stare at herself as slowly, the mirror started to fog, diffusing the image & softening her all the more. After seemingly just gotten used to being average, Rachel wasn’t all too eager to be swinging back in the other direction. The idea of outgrowing her wardrobe. Or not having her figure to lord over Holly in any sort of satisfying way. But then again, to her, being chubby wasn’t really the scary part. That was the time frame.

The worst part about all of this was that she had only gotten here two weeks ago! And granted, she wasn’t walking everywhere. Probably more than anybody else around here, but still not nearly as much as she had been. But still! This seemed like a little much. She was getting pretty soft. And that muffintop…? After just two weeks?! On top of that, the way she saw it, there was no excuse! Unlike the Hollys or the Courtneys out there, she was in the know… sort of. She saw what was going on. She met with Fran & Mikayla, & Marissa, who all tried to warn her. And she tried watching what she ate. To curb her cravings.  And for what…? Only to let her guard down for just a fraction of a second, & realize she devoured a whole pint of ice cream she’d found in the fridge?

She felt like she needed to find her own place soon. Somewhere well outside of Oakmont, far away from Penny & any sort of influence. Otherwise, she needed to start mentally preparing herself for the inevitability of chubbiness. AT LEAST.

“Are you absolutely sure about this?” Penny cooed in a concerned tone. But Courtney wouldn’t be deterred.

“P-p-positive…” The round girl managed, exerting a lot of energy to take one more heavy step into her bedroom.

“But Deidre seemed relatively understanding about you working from here.” Penny reasoned. Courtney managed another step. “I do not see any pressing appointments on your work schedule.” Walking was utterly exhausting for her, but at the same time, it felt a little good for Courtney to finally get off her ass. At the same time, she was honestly a little surprised, but pleased she still could. “It does not seem all that necessary…”

“I already texted Holly about a ride. Besides, I’ve been... cooped up here all week…” She landed on her bed with a thud & a few loud creaks, in front of her closet. “Ooooof.” She relieved. “It’ll be good… the change in scenery.” Her cheeks were rosy, & she tried to keep her tone chipper. It was a little easier, now that she was off her feet & sitting again. “Now can you help me pick out something to wear…? Please?” Before adding. “Oh & I may need you... to be my hands too a little bit…” She blushed. “In case I can’t… reach.”

“Yes, Miss Courtney.” A begrudging Penny seemed to oblige.

The shower was a little refreshing, but as she feared not enough to take Rachel’s mind off of things. At least the towel seemed to still wrap around her still. It was a small victory she was willing to acknowledge. 

“More?” it was muffled, but out in the kitchen area, Penny seemed to be asking Holly about her breakfast.

“MMMmmmHmmm.” Holly moaned loudly, before adding an eventual “Please!” probably after swallowing enough to actually talk. After a deep exhale, Rachel huffed to herself under her breath.

“Bovine.” Her eyes widened with intensity to punctuate it a little further before scrubbing a towel over her head to dry her maroon hair a little more.

On the counter next to her, Rachel’s phone shook with a notification of a new email. Through the condensation that had formed on the screen, she could see it was Dawn. She wiped the moisture away & jabbed at it with a finger. She wasn’t eager to get into a work mindset just yet today, but it was slightly better than fixating on her own fat ass. Besides, part of her was just slightly curious. It read:

Loved the samples you sent over last night! 

No notes from me! Minimal tweaks from Corporate, but mostly picayune branding nitpicks on their end. 

You’re really hitting it out of the park, kid! 

Keep it up!

Best, 

-D

At least things seemed to be going okay for her on the job front. Every time, it seemed like she would pull some weird scenario out of her ass when she needed some kind of blurb for Marulla. And to her, they were all goofy. Or embarrassing. Most she handed in not because she was proud of them, but only because she didn’t want to end up empty handed. And somehow still, they all seemed to land. Usually with minimal feedback from anybody at Marulla, which according to Trudy, seemed like a rarity. She was almost eager to see what else she could tackle. She just hoped neither of the other two brought in donuts. Or any other snacks. She needed to be stronger, dammit!

“Was weird to see you up so early,” Rachel nodded to Holly as she finally walked out of the bathroom, dressed & ready for work. She clasped an earring on, as her big sister took a big bite of what looked like Southwestern Omelette with all the fixin’s. It was the last bite she had remaining, but a pretty sizable one. Rachel helped she had timed this just right & they could get a move on before Penny tried to force anything else on either of them. Instead, she walked to the fridge to pour herself a glass of OJ. 

“Mmmph,” Holly dropped her fork & undid the cloth napkin Penny had set out for her. “Woke up starving for some reason.” Rachel rolled her eyes out of Holly’s view. She had a pretty good idea why. “Penny offered to make me a big breakfast. Start my day off right! Want some?!” Just pouring her own juice into her own cup seemed to weird out a pair of mechanical arms, that hung in the kitchen looking as though they didn’t know what to do with their hands. Rachel smirked as she turned to face her sister. Looking at the table, there seemed to be toast & hashbrowns too. Things Holly must’ve already cleared from her own plate. Still, as Rachel swigged on the juice, hoping it would be enough to hold her for now, Penny piped in.

“It would not be a bother to whip up just a little more, Miss Rachel. If you are interested?”

“No. Thanks.” She said, the “thanks” dripping in contempt. “I’m good.” She took another sip. “Besides, we need to be going shortly.”

“Just a minute.” Holly huffed, a thick arm frantically reaching for another slice of already buttered toast. She sounded cheerful this morning. Or at least more upbeat than she had been in recent days. “Mmmmm… Good news!” Her bite cutting through the crispy, buttery bread. Rachel’s eyes twitched, as she fought the temptation to grab her own. Not that one would kill her, but… No! She needed to watch herself! No toast! No carbs! Definitely no butter!

“What…?” Rachel asked, almost as if she didn’t realize Holly was waiting on her to prompt the conversation forward.

“Courtney!” Holly chewed. “She wanted a ride this morning!”

“Oh!” Rachel’s neck reared back. She wasn’t expecting anything to come of their plea over barbecued ribs. “To be honest, I wasn’t really…”

“Right?” Holly’s slacked grin persisted, but strategically seemed to cut off the pessimism about Courtney’s size. “And I guess that means she’s going to want to show up for Ladies Night tonight too!”

“Wait, what…?!” Rachel almost did a spit take on her last swig of orange juice.

“Andrea’s place, Regina’s on snacks.” Holly rolled her eyes. “Come on! You’re ON the group text after all!”

“I… didn’t realize it was Friday already.” Rachel clenched her eyes shut. She needed this like she needed a hole in the head.

“Hah!” Holly chortled, leaning in to stab at the hashbrowns with her fork. Her bulbous rear wiggled behind her. “Week goes fast now that you’re work, right?!”