Better, Brighter, Whiter Part 6 (Patreon)

Malcolm had certainly taken his time in delivering the girls’ schedules, Emefa thought as she stared at the envelope marked E. Knight. There was a momentary sigh and a rolling of eyes that she’d been perfecting ever since her arrival at Bright U. In fact, she’d only become aware of it after several of her new friends and even Malcolm had pointed it out several times after Emefa insisted that she didn’t do it any more than any one else. Even now she wanted to deny it, but having just noticed herself having done it in the privacy of her own home, she was having a harder and harder time disagreeing with the evidence. Still, she held the envelope in her hands, bouncing herself up and down in her plush, fluffy living room chair with her thick, chubby thighs as she stalled for more time before opening it.
She’d heard whispers around campus that Freshmen had a tendency to object to the classes they were given only to find later that the B.U. placement algorithm had somehow given them classes they both loved and excelled at later. The very thought made Emefa nervous. Black Excellence had always been a heavy burden that she consistently tried to carry, subscribing heavily to the idea that black women especially have a duty to succeed for their family, their communities, and for the image of all black people in America. The fear that her classes would end up being too hard or disagreeable right out of the gate was nerve-wracking to say the least, though she did take comfort in the knowledge that students reportedly hit their stride quickly and were usually successful long before midterms took place. With one deep, centering breath, she bit the bullet and forced herself to quickly rip open the envelope.
With her heart pounding in slow motion through her chest, she scanned the letter, missing most of it until she found her classes.
“Oh.” She said.
KNIGHT, EMILY.:
University Special Programs (B.B.W): 8 units
Diversity Studies: 3 units
Journalism: 4 units

“Well shit….” She mumbled to herself, raising her eyebrows in in surprise at how many units the school was giving her just for running the diversity program. She really only had to take two classes to be considered a full time student, and it was all free of charge. In fact, she and the other girls were receiving an allowance to be part of it.  She was suddenly happy. Giddy, in fact at the ease by which she was going to cruise through her first semester at an Ivy League university. Her brilliant smile stayed plastered to her face all through the evening and up until she started getting ready for bed, eager for morning to come so she could begin her real college journey.

(1)

*Beep….beep….beep…beep…beep….*
Emefa nearly had a heart attack when her alarm clock went off at 6:30AM. She hadn’t slept a wink, and even though she only had one class for the whole day and it started at noon, she still had to meet up with Katie for their morning run. She threw on some shorts and a decently fitting top that didn’t show off too much midriff and moved towards the door with a wicked craving for coffee, but nothing else. She denied herself the caffeine boost, but stared out of the window over the sink blankly, groaning almost the entire time as she did it. She wanted Starbucks really, REALLY bad, but through every ounce of her willpower restrained herself from indulging lest she sabotage her recent diet progress. She still enjoyed being thick and regularly advocated for plus size women, but the idea of moving out of the “curvy” category and into the “bbw” range was not something she was overly excited about.
Katie was waiting for her when she finally made it outside. While Emefa was still yawning and rubbing her eyes, the buxom redhead was already finishing her warmups and bouncing from side to side energetically. 

(2)

“Good mooooorniiiing.” Emefa singsonged with her signature finger wag of a hello. Not wanting to keep her friend waiting however, the ebony woman remained fairly quiet throughout her stretches, then counted out jumping jacks with only the quietest of whispers. She was almost done when the two of them heard a door slam followed by the fumbling of keys in the distance.

“Sorry! I’m coming! Don’t leave without me! Sorry!” Yelled Sofia as she jogged over with more difficulty than someone her size should have really had. She was thin enough, Emefa reasoned, but that girl had virtually no tone whatsoever. She and Keilani were still pretty heavy, but at least they had some actual strength underneath their fat. If anyone needed a run it was Sofia, skinny girl with nothing but jiggle.

(3)

The three of them jogged down the street with Katie and Emefa periodically having to slow down for Sofia who generally wasn’t much of a runner. Be that as it may, both women were sympathetic to her plight, as each of them were all just trying to keep their weight in check. It turned out that all of their families were full of obese men and women, and each of them were determined to not fall under the same curse as their relatives did.

“So can I ask a question?” Katie piped up, causing both girls to look her way.

“Not to pry or anything, but… is Sofia your real name or just something you like to be called? Because all your mailbox and contact info are listed under ‘Loida’”. 

Sofia kept jogging, but shrugged in a way that was only noticeable due to her hands flying up to her chin. “So…like….Loida is….my real….name…” She huffed, having a much harder time with her breathing than Katie was. “But…I hate that name….because my dad named me…after…a shoe….”

“Bitch, WHAT?” Emefa replied, her face twisted with moderate disgust and confusion as she ran.

“So…I was supposed…to be….a boy…But I wasn’t… So my parents….didn’t…have… a name. So….My dad named me….after the girl…who made his shoes….in Mexico…Loida. It’s ugly…and I hate it.” Sofia explained through tired breaths.

“So Sofia is like your chosen name then?” Emefa inquired, slowing down partially for her friend, but also partially because she was getting tired and Katie didn’t seem like she was going to slow down unless they did. 

“It’s my…middle name…I like it. Feels regal.” She huffed as the lot of them all slowed to a walking pace. While Emefa was thankful for the short reprieve, Katie looked restless and a little irritated, still jogging up and down in place in an attempt to keep her momentum up. 

With school in session, they’d noticed that there were many more Bright locals out. It was shocking to see so many plastic looking women all in one place. It was incredibly rare that they passed by a chubby person or even just a girl in a bra size below an E. The three of them stood out like sore thumbs, but at least now it was only every fourth or fifth person that looked at them like they were some kind of invasive species. While Katie usually responded by flipping them off or asking what they were looking at (often only to receive a stinging retort), Sofia simply turned up her nose and strutted past them like she was superior. Incidentally, they seemed to respond surprisingly well to that. One time, a girl had even cheered her on for shaking her soft toneless ass at a girl that shot her a dirty look as she walked by. Emefa however, was growing tired of being looked down on and made efforts to hide her body more when she went running.

They’d stopped after hitting the corner of the local plaza and were about ready to turn around and go home when Sofia had enthusiastically pointed over to a Starbucks and jumped up and down, suddenly full of energy.

“OH MY GOD YOU GUYS COULD WE GET COFFEE?!” She beamed, her gaze darting back and forth between the store and her friends.

“Girl, we just ran all that way and now you wanna put all them calories back?” Emefa questioned, actually more pained that she allowed to show on her face at the prospect of not getting coffee again.

“Are you serious?” Katie chimed in. “We’re all trying to LOSE weight, not gain it. Whatever happened to Fitness First?” She asked almost angrily, suppressing a giddy, almost queasy feeling in her stomach before it went away again.

“Umm, bitch, no.” Sofia responded sassily, her slight Mexican accent slipping in and one finger pointed straight up while she moved it around to emphasize her statement. “That whole fitness first diet cult shit is your thing and that’s all good, but I enjoy LIVING my life. You can go live in the woods and forage for berries if you want, but I’m supposed to be Soft, Sexy, and Spoiled my WHOOOLE life, and dammit, baby girl wants a ristretto so…I’mma get one.” She said, then walked off to the store, performing her trademarked ass wiggle as she marched away with her middle finger in the air.

 Emefa groaned loud enough for Katie to hear, and after the two made eye contact, Katie sighed sarcastically and pulled out her phone to examine her most recent selfie. She scrutinized her figure in the mirror, and found herself not completely hating what she saw. She still wanted to lose weight and update her style since her wardrobe had become smaller since moving away from home, but she was in a good place at the moment and decided not to deny herself the occasional treat.

"Fuck it, a latte won't kill me." She said, shrugging with a sarcastic smile on her face. She then waved for Emefa to follow, then jogged away to catch up with Sofia.

(4)

“Slow down, bitch, we’re coming.” Katie called out, clearly taking the whole thing in stride.

“Ohthankgod.” Emefa sighed heavily before rushing over herself, suddenly very wary of the bounce in her thighs, but craving too hard to cut the calories.
She entered last and jumped in line with her friends, much to the unstated irritation of several curvaceous blondes and their beefy boyfriends. The three had ordered and sat down, then Sofia and Katie almost instantly pulled out their phones and began either texting or scrolling. Emefa understood, as the compulsion to check her notifications WAS there, but she generally considered it rude to be on the phone when you were with company. Her eyes shifted back and forth between the two skinnyfat girls texting away obliviously while they waited for coffee. Sighing, Emefa opened up her phone and pulled up a Word document and began practicing her speech to the dean and his advisors.

“Oooooookay…..” She began, breathing deeply and closing her eyes before opening them up with a big smile. “Hi. My name is Emefa Kikelomo and I am the leader of the Better, Brighter, Whiter Project.”
There was a moment where she’d felt a sudden surge of nervousness that caused her breath to catch slightly in her chest, but by refocusing on herself on the importance of performing well, she was able to run through most of the speech just by memory.

“I have a caramel ristretto, a nonfat soy latte, and a caramel machiatto fooooooor…..Emily?” The young, fit teen at the counter called out into the crowd. Emefa got up and walked over, scowling at the barista the whole way.

“Emily?” He asked kindly upon her approach.
“It’s Emefa actually, but uhhmmmm…I don’t think I ever gave you my name. So why do you have it?” She said softly, but accusingly.

The barista stood there for a moment and stared at her blankly. “Uhhh….I don’t. If your name isn’t Emily, then this isn’t your order, which is probably explain why you heard me say Emily instead of Emefa.” 

“Don’t be a smartass. That IS my order and I’m registered as Emily Knight but I GO by Emefa.” She snapped, rolling her eyes bitchily at him.

Again, he stared at Emefa’s made up and admittedly pretty face, then allowed his eyes to wander around the room before returning to her. “….Uhh….No offense but like….Just being real for a second…ummm, how the fuck was I supposed to know that?”

His question stunned her. In that moment, she realized that she had just blown up on some guy for calling her the name written on the card she paid with. She felt stupid and embarrassed, opting to just grab the drinks and vanish with a tiny “Thank you” just before rushing away from the scene of her awkward Karen moment.

“Whooops.” Sofia said sarcastically, teasing Emefa for her embarrassing encounter while Katie tried to rationalize it. “No, like I’d get pissed off too if everyone straight up kept calling me the wrong name. It’s not your fault that they whitewashed your transcripts or whatever.”

Emefa once again looked down, twisting her lips to the side in defeated embarrassment before responding.

“Actually it is. I made a white-sounding copy of my transcripts and put them on my application to get in here. They found out, but let me stay and keep my scholarship as long as it remains under that name. Either that or be in trouble for falsifying records or whatever.” She explained.

Kate was much less vocal this time, having little reason now to say that Emefa wasn’t at fault. Instead, she decided to remain silent and wise.”

“Wait, so you lied to the school so you could cheat the application process, and now you’re mad because someone called you by the name YOU gave them? LAAAAAAAME!!!” She teased, lowering her vocal pitch several octaves to emphasize the lameness of Emefa’s pouting.

“Thanks, Sofia.” Emefa said, blank faced as she sucked unenthusiastically on her straw.  Sofia just smiled sweetly and innocently as she could, her sweet, doe eyes widened into those of a Hot Topic babydoll, sparkling in the sun.

(5)

Upon returning home, she changed out of her workout clothes and into something she felt would look cute, but still professional enough to make her look good in the eyes of those watching for slipups. She turned and looked in the mirror, appreciating the work she’d done with Katie and taking note of the level of tone her waist and butt now possessed. Her enjoyment was short lived however, as she caught sight of her plump, slightly dimpled legs billowing out slightly from the bottom of her tights and sighed.

(6)

“A few more months.” She said with discouraged optimism, then went back to her dresser to change into something less revealing.