Bellflower Part 25 (Patreon)

In this, our 25th installment, we check in on someone we haven't seen in a few. Meanwhile the friends' Ladies' Nights seem a bit... off lately. And Rachel is stunned running into a relatively new acquaintance again.

Sorry it was a bit later than I intended. It being 25, I wanted to make it a bit special & started adding things but then I suddenly got called away & didn't have the time I originally anticipated to do it. Still, there's a lot happening in this one & I think you guys will enjoy it as we see the returns of a couple different characters.

I have more art coming soon. Hopefully Friday! Until then, enjoy!

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25

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“Good Morning, Miss Courtney.” Penny chimed softly. It was very gentle, but enough to get her stirring.

“Mmmmmmmm. G’mern’n.” Courtney sleepily attempted to murmur as she very slowly awoke. Before opening her eyes, she was struck by something rather unpleasant. It was a most intense hunger pang! Like a punch in the gut! So strong, her face immediately squinched up with a flash of agony. She even let out a slight whimper. Soft, but sharp. “Ucchhh.”

“I imagine after your rest, you must be absolutely famished.” The AI reasoned. Courtney attempted to nod, but couldn’t, really. And not only because of just how groggy, or how hungry she was. The motion ended up being more of a very slight head bob. But in some ways, she knew she didn’t need to really make that much of an effort. Penny knew.

“Mmmmhmmm.” She did her best to affirm, her eyes still mostly shut & her face still holding in a bit of a pained expression in her brow & clenched eyes. In her stupor, she slowly processed just how “famished” was such a good word for it. She desperately needed to eat something. And quick!

“Well we should certainly look remedy that then, shouldn’t we?” The robot seemed to almost tease by stalling the slightest bit further. It might have been frustrating to the dark haired young woman if she didn’t hear the almost inaudible hydraulic hisses of Penny’s arms activating.

“Mmhmm.” Instead of protesting strongly, the girl attempted to nod again, taking a slightly more childish tone, as if almost trying to garner some pity. But her tummy let out a loud, hollow grumble, further reinforcing the idea. She opened her eyes a little more in reaction, but they didn’t seem all the way open. Or maybe just the room was too dark. Dim. Wait, was this even her condo? It didn’t seem quite so familiar. 

The air, while not too unpleasant, had something of an acrid... dankness to it. Slightly different than the even keel climate control her unit usually maintained. And it was just a touch too warm. Not enough to make her sweaty, but enough to give her skin something of a tacky feeling. On top of all that, Courtney couldn’t quite make out anything in terms of a wall, much less a familiar one, making the space feel almost a little… cavernous. But at the same time, she certainly didn’t remember ever going anywhere! And like, for her? To move, or even be moved someplace else? There’s no way she wouldn’t have noticed! Right?  No. She was thinking crazy. This was probably her place. It had to be! Her bedroom, maybe. She was probably just… confused. Or something. And that confusion? It was probably on account of just how hungry she was! That had to be it! She was so “absolutely famished,” to borrow a phrase, it was way, way too hard to even really think clearly.

Fortunately, it was at that very instant that two of the porcelain encased mechanical arms lowered a plate of the most amazing looking french toast Courtney had ever seen. Even in the dim light of this room, wherever. Holding on to it firmly from either side, the arms seemed to balance the dish about six inches away from her, keeping it at just about face level while two more helper arms dropped down, one with a fork & one with a knife.

“Mmmm-hm-hm-hm.” Courtney impatiently hummed an anticipatory little chuckle to herself. She couldn’t wait, & the fact that she wasn’t even going to have to go through the work of cutting it up herself only helped to make her feel that much more... pampered. Special, even. Not that like… she couldn’t do it herself, a thought in the back of her mind rationalized. She totally could! If she wanted to. But this? This was service! 

As Penny’s arms began to very efficiently cut a generous bite, Courtney started to open her mouth, & tilt her head back slightly. She couldn’t help but feel almost like a baby bird. The rich cinnamon aroma wafted through the gooey syrup, making her even more impatient. Her plump lips quivered as her head, again, bobbed slightly. Almost as if to try to get the already optimized motion of the machine hands to hurry up a little faster. And while the arms didn’t speed up any, the forkful was already in transit, on approach. Courtney tried to lean as close as she could, in order to help close the gap. But strangely, she could only really stretch her neck. From the shoulders down to her back? Everything felt a little bit heavy. Well… heavier at least. But still just like… trying to move it would be way too much work. Way more energy than she was looking to expend, especially this early. Even if she was impatient. Luckily, Penny’s movements were precise & deposited that first fork onto Courtney’s tongue even in the darkness, with surprising accuracy, causing a shiver of ecstasy to ripple through the girl’s entire body. Yes!

“There we go. I hope that is a little better for you.” 

“Hmmmmph.” Courtney’s lips curled into a smile as affirmation, but she tried to nod again, this time, more to just see if she could. But she hadn’t mustered much, feeling cheeks & chin press against shoulders before Penny cut her off with a cheerful response.

“That’s my girl!” Penny seemed to celebrate, coming in immediately with another forkful. “My beautifully growing girl.” 

Courtney accepted the next bite happily, but wasn’t entirely thrilled with the way Penny had tended to start teasing her with little jabs like that. “Her “growing girl,” or talking about how much she was “truly blossoming,” whatever that meant. Once or twice, she had even thought she heard her call her “Butterball,” which, if she was sure that’s what she heard, would’ve been disheartening to say the least. It all seemed to start around the time she had been greenlit for the upgrade program or whatever, whenever that was at this point. These subtle changes in her demeanor. But at the same time? Courtney also didn’t quite feel like she was in much of a position to call her out on it anymore. After all, she was always just so... so hungry. And as long as her Smart Home kept catering to that? Helped all the yummy food to keep making its way to her? Frankly, it didn’t matter that much. Hell, Penny could call her whatever she damn well pleased. Just not late for dinner, she thought, chortling softly to herself while chewing another large bite. 

Wait. Actually, you couldn’t even really do that, honestly, as “dinner” seemed to come to her more these days than her going to it. Wait. When had she last moved? And was this even dinner? Or Breakfast? It was french toast, sure. The cinnamon quickly reminded her of that much. But as a longtime, outspoken proponent of such concepts as “breakfast for dinner,” Courtney couldn’t quite tell, since she would get her AI to make her morning meals at all times of the day. Then again, Penny had said “good morning,” but for some reason, without seeing a window even, Courtney, for some reason, still had her doubts. It just wouldn’t be this dark. Unless it was real, real early morning, maybe? She was just so starving, she could hardly think straight. It was probably better to get more food in her instead of struggling like this. Another bite.

Whatever. At the end of the day, a meal was a meal, who cared what time it was, really? Especially when she was THIS hungry. She didn’t care. As long as Penny kept it coming. And thankfully? She did. Allowing Courtney to chew, very blissfully check out, & simply enjoy.

“So Courtney’s “in disposed.” Veronica’s… yeah. Excommunicated or... shitlisted or whatever.” Camille started finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“Oh c'mon. I wouldn’t say that,” Deidre muttered softly as an aside. But at the same time, no one in their core clique had really attempted to reach out in any sort of meaningful way. At work, things were kept cordial. Or at least cordial enough. But there was something of a tense subtext to those few “good morning” & “have a good night” platitudes they exchanged with Veronica, as everyone seemed to kind of keep her at arm’s length. And while the chip on her shoulder was clear, she seemingly went about her business all the same. Even while carrying something of a snooty, passive aggressive sneer.

“And now, no Rachel either?” Camille continued to ask, waving an arm towards an empty bit of couch next to herself. Her usually mousy voice seemed to harbor a little more oomph behind it this evening. She seemed to have the slightest bit more confidence in her own apartment, seeing as she was hosting this week’s gathering. But maybe, it might have also been on account that there were only the five of them this time around.

“Mm. No,” Holly managed while sipping from her wine glass. “She said she’d… try to make it... but...” She sheepishly let the sentence hang there, her eyes lowering slightly as her head shook.

“But…?” Andrea repeated, her neck sticking forward, not quite ready to let Holly just trail off.

“Yeah,” Regina joined. “But…?” She followed by taking a huge bite of pastry.

“i don't know if she'll... show." Holly admitted slowly. "You see, me & her? We had a… slight… falling out.”

“Sisters.” Deidre smirked before taking a bite of her own. It was her week to bring snacks. And being the boss, making the big bucks, she didn’t skimp, having bought out what seemed like everything the really good patisserie across Oakmont, the one that usually closed right & wrong when they were getting off work, had to offer.

“What did you do?” Camille chirped in a playfully accusatory tone towards the tall blonde. Holly appreciated that it was joking, & flashed a smirk but it faded almost as quick.

“I um… Don’t really want to get too into all of it.” Holly waved & cagily admitted before cramming a giant creampuff into her mouth, as if to further seal the truth. “But things? They’ve been a little… rocky between us lately.” She muttered with a full mouth. "I'll just say, lately? There’s maybe been some stuff I coulda… handled a little differently.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it!” Deidre insisted in her reassuring, matronly way. “I’m sure it’s… it’s fine. Or it will be fine, at least. In time.” But it became clear to the others that Holly wasn’t just being coy. She actually didn’t want to say much more as she reached for another creampuff.

“Well you can always vent if you need to.” Regina was sweet & did seem to mean it genuinely. But given how prone to gossip they all knew her to be? It also seemed maybe a bit unintentionally prying. Still, everyone else nodded in agreement too. Holly smirked with a look of gratitude, but let things fall back into silence again. 

The mood seemed… off. Somehow not as light as usual. No cackles of laughter. And after a relatively slow week around the office, there wasn’t much to even really discuss on that front. Maybe because Veronica was usually the one stirring up so much shit. At any rate, with nothing to really chat about, each girl focused a little more on their respective plates. And Holly in particular, maybe a little more than the others. As she sucked the powdered sugar & cream of that last puff off her fingers, she turned her attention to one of a smattering of brightly colored macarons. The first was a magenta, making her guess raspberry flavored as she clasped between her fingers. And she was not wrong. Sinking her teeth into it, she tried to fight off letting out a loud groan as it hit her tongue. It was so, so good!

“So what is Courtney’s deal…?” Camille asked bluntly, spilling into the empty space next to her a bit, getting a bit more comfortable. As she leaned, her top rode up slightly to expose a band of soft belly flesh around her middle. It took her a second to realize before she yanked to cover it.

“I tried... going over the other night.” Deidre said, after sucking down another creampuff herself. “Just to check on her. But her Penny just said she was “under the weather. And asleep at the time.” She took a sip of wine. “And I mean it was only about like seven. Not like I went over super late or anything.”

“That’s… odd.” Andrea muttered, sucking some frosting off her thumb.

“I got a text from her the other day.” Holly slowly offered. “Same deal. “Under the weather.” But she sounded good. Made it sound like she wanted to hang out soon. Over at her place I’m assuming. Since...” Broaching the topic made each girls’ eyes lower a little. It was hard to discuss.

“It’s… I don’t know.” Deidre sighed. “We all… saw her.” She nodded, admitting for the group. “Getting around? It must be so hard for her these days.”

“Yeah, I’ll say.” Camille snidely went under her breath before taking a sip of wine.

“But as her boss, I mean, she’s getting all her work done!” she shrugged her meaty shoulders. “If I wasn’t her friend & hadn’t noticed her… progression? From strictly just a business standpoint? She seems like she’s doing fine. Her works getting done & she hasn’t slacked from that standpoint any. Emails are getting answered. But as her friend, I just know that things are… just…” She trailed, looking at her plate again. She was going to need to make another trip over to load it up with some more goodies soon.

“I’m kind of beginning to think…?” Regina started a bit timidly. The others listened in a little eagerly, partially surprised by an airhead like her doing much “thinking” at all. “Maybe Veronica… had a point?”

“Well ‘Gina, hun?” Camille explained kind of assuredly. “Again. No one necessarily disagreed with what she was trying to say. Courtney was… how she was, & we could all see it. Plain as day. But Veronica? The way she just…”

“... It was  how she went about saying it.” Deidre finished on Camille’s behalf. Holly nodded in emphatic agreement, too busy snacking on another macaron. 

“Way, way too blunt.” Holly offered after some chewing. As flaky as she was, Regina seemed to understand & went back to focusing on her plate for a moment.

“We should’ve… acted sooner…” Andrea admitted, staring off before taking a sip of wine, acknowledging that she had been one of the ones who had downplayed it all along. Holly munched on yet another macaron.

“Are we still going to try an… intervention?” She asked while chewing.

“Can we even, at this point…?” Camille seemed to rationalize. “Seems like she’s always “under the weather.”

“It sounds like she’s maybe… embarrassed?” Andrea muttered again, trying to cross her thick legs out of force of habit. When they didn’t so easily, she instead tried to adjust to fold them underneath herself on the couch without trying to draw too much attention to herself.

“She shouldn’t be!” Regina insisted. “We’re her friends!”

“Uurrrrpppp.” Courtney softly burped, as Penny helped apply a cloth napkin to whisk away bits of excess syrup & stickiness from around her mouth. She couldn’t help but sheepish chuckle as her round cheeks got a little rosier. The french toast had definitely helped cheer her up a little, but even after what seemed like an awful lot? She was still… famished.

“And for dessert...” Penny seemed pleased to announce. A mechanical arm lowered a plate holding what looked like three cartoonishly large eclairs on it. Different from the bakery's, but maybe even just a little bit… better? Courtney cooed, before remembering & mumbling to herself.

“Br-breakfast… dessert…?” As if trying to laugh at the absurdity of the very notion. Not like she was going to say no! But also, she suddenly felt a strange feeling of deja vu. Like she had laughed at the absurdity of Penny asserting breakfast needed its own dessert before. Maybe multiple times. Was this… a thing they did…now? With some… increasing regularity? Somehow, it suddenly just felt a lot less novel to her. And that made an already confusing morning seem… slightly more confusing. God! What was going on? Her memory was just so foggy today! She felt like she was operating in a complete daze.

“Of course!” Penny interjected, calling her back. A pincher arm delicately pinched one of the eclairs between its fingers, applying just enough pressure to grasp it but not squeeze the cream out of both sides. Courtney watched, & happily awaited its arrival, but at the same time, couldn’t help but keep trying to process what she was thinking. This “of course” response from Penny seemed somehow both like her typical response & yet, in some way, new to her at the exact same time. She really wanted to explore this idea of deja vu, but the incessant hunger made it too hard to focus on anything other than the cream-packed eclair hovering perilously close to her lips at this point. Again, Courtney attempted to stretch her neck to meet it part way, opening wide to take a large chomp. Another wave of bliss struck her, causing a moan. As her eyes slowly fluttered back open from her reaction, she noticed another arm was busy picking the next one up off the plate, at the ready, even while she still had two thirds of the first to contend with. And behind that, as things faded into the dim shadows, she thought she saw the silhouette of another plate on approach, holding what looked like another three eclairs upon it.

Suddenly, that same faint, little voice, the one that had recognized the redundancy of her & Penny’s little “breakfast desert” exchange? It started to try & pipe up again. This time, it was as if it was trying to tell her something was wrong about all this. Trying to urge her to panic, for some reason. But for the life of her? She couldn’t quite put her finger on why, exactly. After all, she was just so hungry! And there seemed to be a lot more food on its way. Why worry?

“No, no. I get it.” Rachel sighed. 

It being a bit on in the evening? On a Friday, no less? She hadn’t quite prepared mentally for yet another rejection phone call regarding a place. But at this point, as beaten down as much as she had been by the entire process? She could hardly muster the anger any more. 

She was taking the news very plainly. Without raising her voice all that much. In fact, she spoke in hushed tones on the drone shuttle. After once again killing a bit more time at the office instead of Holly’s or worse, Ladies’ Night, she was on her way back home to the Bellflower. She tried not to attract too much attention, realizing it was probably rude to even take a call on the mostly quiet bus. She also realized that if Penny was “driving” she could more than likely intercept the whole exchange. She shifted in her seat & lowered her voice a little further, as the redhead across from her seemed to stare in her general direction. They weren’t angry looks. More like scanning glances. But Rachel wasn’t quite in the mood.

“No. Well whatever you dug up? It’s not me.” She tried not to air the dirty laundry, but still sort of embarrassed by the idea of some other fake, supposedly drug-addled, crime-doing Rachel out there besmirching her spotless record. 

The girl across from her tried to be a little less conspicuous about it, but was clearly staring at this point. Rachel shifted more, trying not to make eye contact. As if the phone call wasn’t already uncomfortable. 

“But if you’ve already rented it out..? Well… It’s… it is… it is what it is…” She continued with another sigh. “Okay. Yeah.” Her nod lilted into something a bit more sarcastic. “You have a good weekend as well.” She rasped through clenched teeth, exhausted. “Buh-bye.” She punctuated by pounding her thumb onto the end button as emphatically as she could, before drooping her face into her hands & moaning. That was the third one of the day. And while she made less noise now with each subsequent rejection, she wasn’t getting any more used to them. The idea of being stuck here? In Oakmont? With a crazy AI trying to fatten everybody up? That’s when she saw the curvy shadow of the girl across from her leaning in.

“Rachel, right?” the young woman’s voice was familiar, but mostly only because it had a bit of a unique accent. A drawl that didn’t seem to fit for Oakmont. Rachel turned to look up again. 

The girl leaning in was tall, with thick glasses, & flaming red hair coiled back into a bun, held further in place by a wrapped bandanna. There was something vaguely familiar about her, between the accent, the hair, the glasses. Her face seemed close to something familiar. But also not? Maybe… rounder than what she remembered it being, whoever this was. Hell, she was on a shuttle back to the Bellflower after all, so that would check out. Overall, the redhead was on the fairly chubby side, but by Bellflower standards? Something of a newbie. Still, this girl seemed maybe a bit thicker than her, even after the bad couple of weeks Rachel’d had. But this girl seemed to carry her weight a little more up in her chest & down into a round mound of belly poking forward. 

While the bus was in motion, the girl hoisted herself up to her feet & took a clumsy lateral stride across to the free spot next to Rachel in one of the sideways, aisle-facing seats. It wasn’t very graceful to start, but given her stagger, it seemed even more awkward than the girl had intended it to be. Almost like she wasn’t used to carrying herself & her top-heavy frame, narrowly avoiding landing on Rachel.

“Daphne…?” the redhead finally offered, once she realized she had landed in the seat. She went on to cite Rachel’s own words from when they first met. “Like the “Greek myth…?”

“And… not just the Scooby Doo character…?” Rachel squinted. Coming out of her dejected mood & trying to put on a more chipper expression, it was coming back to her slowly. Oh. Daphne. Oh! Oh wow. Daphne…!

“Right! We sat next to each other. Orientation…?” she continued, her smile deepening as she realized Rachel had remembered. But Rachel hadn’t remembered this Daphne. That’s why it was so hard to place her at first! It wasn’t the younger womanl she remembered characterizing as a “beanpole” when she first saw her. This Daphne had… some heft. Which was really offputting, given it hadn’t been more than a handful of weeks. “How’ve you been?” The redhead asked, unabashedly keeping her big smile

“Oh. You know…” Rachel winced, coming out of her thoughts while still trying to feign her own smile. She let it hang a beat before changing the subject slightly. “I take it you’re… enjoying life…?” she asked. And then fearing it might be taken the wrong way, she added “I mean the robotics department? Oakmont, in general…? The… Bell...flower…?”

“Oh man!” Daphne chuckled, leaning back in her seat a little. Unintentionally doing so arched her bust & belly just a little more prominently. Luckily she didn’t notice Rachel trying not to stare. “What’s NOT to love? Y’know, I was skeptical at first. Hearing the name Hailington & all. But things are… wow! So, so good!”

“I… can tell. You seem really…” Rachel muttered.

“Happy?” Daphne belted out. It worked for Rachel, but more importantly, it wasn’t something that could be misconstrued as calling the girl fat. Or at least… noticeably bigger. “I mean this neighborhood is so convenient. Back home, where I grew up? You’d have to drive hours to things we can all practically walk to! And best part is, we don’t even have to.” She waved at the shuttle they were sitting in. My job’s amazing! I mean we are truly working on the cuttin’ edge everyday! Everyone’s just so… so smart. That Mikayla especially! Once she warms up to you anyway. I think I’m almost there.” She paused to snicker. It took Rachel, still recovering from being caught so off guard that she had namedropped the only person she knew in Hailington’s robotic department the first time they met. “And at the end of the day? Or week even?” She corrected, acknowledging it was a Friday. “I get to go home & like… my condo is just… so, so cool!”

“Oh, yeah…?” Rachel tried to get in, feeling a bit beleaguered. 

“That Smart Home Tech? Penny?” Daphne got in a little close. Almost as if she didn’t want the “driver” hearing her talk about it. “It’s crazy! It’s like she… Ha! Listen to me! “She?” But yeah, it’s like Penny knows what I want before I even know I want it. So advanced! Truly inspiring piece of technology. In fact, it’s sort of got me inspired to start messing a bit with some code myself, if I’m being honest.”

“Wow!” Rachel bounced her brows, trying to stay interested. It was strange. The Daphne she remembered seemed really down to Earth, no bullshit. While she maybe didn’t seem completely immune, she had trouble believing the Texan she met would’ve fallen this hard for this whole… lifestyle & it’s… charms. To Rachel, it sounded almost like she was completely indoctrinated in it at this point. Hell, after that “before I even know I want it” line, Rachel felt safe in assuming that poor Daphne probably hadn’t even noticed how much she’d gained in just the span of just less than a month. But that’s when Rachel realized she hadn’t said anything herself after just “wow.” So Daphne filled the void, by changing the subject.

“If you don’t mind me askin’, everything alright?” she asked. Once again, Rachel snapped back to the conversation.

“Yeah! Why…?”
“Well I don’t mean to like… pry… but that phone call…?”

“Oh… Yeah.” Rachel took a deep sigh. “It’s… a whole thing. Looking for apartments.”

“You don’t… like it here…?” Daphne seemed a little taken back. Almost shocked, all but gasping at the prospect.

“Well I mean… I’m only at the Bellflower because I’m sleeping on my sister’s couch.” Rachel explained, as a diplomatic way of NOT answering Daphne’s question honestly. “And so it’s about time I kind of… got my own…”

“And you didn’t think to try the Bellflower?” Daphne interrupted with a laugh. It was a little condescending, maybe only because she seemed a little younger too. But almost as if the most obvious solution hadn’t even dawned on Rachel. “I mean it’s such a great place to live, I don’t know why anybody would ever want to go any place else after spending a night there!” Her tone stiffened. She sounded serious about that sentiment.

“I… I mean I’m not working on the latest & greatest. I just sling copy. I can’t afford…” Rachel tried to dismiss, still trying to maintain some level of pleasantry, but not wanting to “get into it.”

“You’d be surprised!” Daphne explained. “I mean I got mine through the company, if I’m being honest. But it was cheaper than you’d think. By a lot.”

“Through… Hailington…?” Rachel puzzled. Her tinfoil hat sense irked up slightly.

“That’s right.” Daphne nodded. “When I was moving up here. Helped me cover some of the cost while I get on my feet.”

“I… guess I… gotta look into that…” Rachel said, definitely not intending it in the way Daphne meant it.

“You really should!” The redhead chuckled, her chest heaving a little with the motion. “That way we can keep being neighbors!”

“More?” Penny asked simply.

“Muh…” Courtney struggled to answer while chewing. She took a huge gulp, while a mechanically applied cloth wiped her lips clean. Even with her mind in the clouds, answerly slowly, she tried to be polite. “More. Please.” When she was finally able to say it, it came across as something of a breathless mutter. She had been tearing through the pastries so quickly, she was almost forgetting to breath! She had lost track of how many she had already gone through. But it felt like a lot. At the same time, Penny’s offer to keep going was so... enticing. 

On some level, it was sort of worrying. How they didn’t seem to help all that much. How each eclair did very little to make her any less hungry. It was also a bit concerning just how immediate, almost automatic her answer to Penny’s question was. Like how the notion of saying “no thanks” didn’t even come into her mind. What was even weirder was how she was only just sort of starting to feel a bit full at this point. It had been a whole lot of eclairs after all. On top of a lot of French toast. But at the same time, how much she still needed more. Another eclair was was brought to her plump lips & dutifully, Courtney took a large, creamy bite.

“Mmmmmmmmm-mhhh.” She let out softly, savoring it for just a split second. Long enough as she could manage before bouncing her neck as far forward, ready for yet another bite.

“MMmmmmmmMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!”

There was suddenly a very loud moan. Not too unlike the ones she let out whenever Penny fed her something she really, really enjoyed. But this time? It hadn’t come from her. It had come from somewhere in the distance. But not from like… behind a wall. And suddenly, Courtney was even more confused, freezing mid bite, with her teeth halfway through the creamy pastry.

“Oh. No worries! That’s just one of your neighbors nearby.” Penny volunteered, noticing Courtney stopping. “ Miss Nadya’s also in the pilot program along with you.”

“N-N-Nadya…?” Courtney winced while chewing, still a little befuddled. Was that like… supposed to be a name? There was a very, very vague familiarity. From work…? Or one of her neighbors? Wait! Penny just said “neighbor.” Then again, most of her neighbors did work at Hailington after all. And she was… oh what’s it called…? Her memory today! It was sooo bad! HR, she remembered finally! Human Re-… yeah that or whatever. In charge of helping folks work there! That! Boy. It was like being so “absolutely famished” was almost turning her mind was into mush!

“Like you, she really seems to enjoy the upgrades we’ve offered her. She’s taken to them quite handily.” Penny went on. Courtney appreciated her trying to explain, but she had already sort of forgotten about who they were talking about, honestly. Mostly? She really just wanted that next eclair at this point. Immediately! And Penny was more than happy to oblige.

As she stepped off the elevator, her friend from orientation insisted that this time, they swapped contact details. And that they should hang & “get something to eat” some time soon. Rachel politely said sure to that & a bunch of other pleasantries as Daphne got off. But even mentioning getting food hit Rachel hard. She had been very strongly restricting her appetite all day, & she could hardly bear the suggestion at this point. In fact, she was downright starving. Hell, Ladies’ Night, even at Camille’s would probably be a terrible idea for her like this right now. She’d probably show up & stuff herself stupid until she couldn’t move. No. She had to avoid that. And going home? Alone with Penny? Not much better.

Then again, her run in with Daphne got her thinking for a second. For such a smart girl, it seemed terrible for Daphne to fall as hard as she did for this place. Maybe it wasn’t about being smart…? Then again, that reminded Rachel of something. Something Fran had mentioned recently. Something she should have probably done a little sooner, but just couldn’t muster the willpower to actually do. She leaned into hit a different floor on the elevator buttons. One that wasn’t the fourteenth floor.

A few minutes later, Rachel stepped up to a door with a gawdy, faux upcycled wreath with a cross on it before knocking. It didn’t just hiss open, the way doors usually did at the Bellflower. Meaning the occupant had to manually get up to answer it. Almost like Penny was trying to make it just that slightest bit harder for her. Still, Rachel thought she could hear stirring inside. She knocked again. Then footsteps. The door hissed only a part way open. 

Through the narrow opening, Veronica stared out with wide, eager eyes. She was the least put together Rachel had ever seen her. No makeup, her blonde hair twirled up into a messy top knot of a bun. She wore a maroon hoodie sweatshirt, dusted with crumbs & harboring a few grease stains it seemed like. As the last of Veronica’s excitement evaporated from her face, she popped the potato chip she was holding into her mouth & sighed & very bluntly gruffed.

“You’re not the pizza guy.”

“You got… pizza…on the way...?” Rachel winced.

“What do you want?” Her southern reared in subtly as she gave into frustration. It almost started to seem like she wasn’t mad at Rachel the same way she was at the rest of the group. Over the Courtney thing. No. It seemed like right now? She was mad at Rachel for tricking her into thinking it was the pizza guy & seeing her in such a schlubby state.

“I was… hoping we could maybe… chat.” Rachel struggled to spill. Veronica was so annoying. Three seconds alone with her was going to drive her nuts. She just knew it. But still? Fran had a point. Just because she was annoying didn’t mean she deserved the same fate as Courtney. 

“Ok,” Veronica eventually decided with a sigh. “But don’t tell anybody… you saw me like… like...”

“I won’t tell anybody I saw you, period! Trust me!” Rachel seemed happy to insist. Veronica opened the door further & the entrance wasn’t the only thing that had grown a bit wider. Rachel stammered for a second now that the door wasn’t blocking the full view. Unlike the others, she hadn’t laid eyes on the girl since she stormed out of their weekly gathering that time. And it seemed like she herself had spent every intervening moment eating. Hell, was it still an hourglass with that much gut poking out? Even under the baggy hoodie, it was hard to cover, as her curvy frame took a half step to the side, raising an arm towards the rest of her condo. Rachel very sheepishly nodded & stepped inside past her