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Bellflower Part 32
🕑 Added 2020-01-04 21:08:57 +0000 UTCIn this installment, we get to see just a few goings on around on any given morning at the Bellflower from Penny's perspective. Plus Fran starts to have her doubts over the cause of Marissa's sudden weight gain.
Was originally intending for this one to be a little lighter in content & up a few days sooner. Like I wanted to break up each of the sections into their own minichapter. But doing it that way, I felt like it would lose the sense that this is all happening at pretty much the same exact moment.
More coming soon though, as we follow up with another Ladies' Night next time. Enjoy!
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32
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It was morning at the Bellflower.
“Penny!” She frustratedly snapped, grunting & attempting to suck things in, even though the problem area was more her hips & ass. “Did you effin’ shrink this?”
“I am sorry, Miss Veronica, but shrink what exactly?”
“This... G-D skirt!” The blonde stared in the mirror with a sneer while teetering around in the tight fabric, as if a better view of another angle would somehow help her. “You must’ve shrunk it while you were doing the wash!” Her tone intensified & became even more accusatory. But it seemed to stem from the displeasure she had of her own reflection.
“If I did, I am terribly sorry, Miss Veronica!” The AI tried to offer pitifully. The computer did this because it was the easier course of action, & not out of any actual mistake on its part. After all, every load Penny ran was done down to the letter of the instruction, per each item. But shouldering the blame helped assuage Veronica’s true, very real underlying & unspoken fear. That quite obviously, her skirt wasn’t what had changed in size recently. “But whenever you are ready, so is breakfast. Out on the table.”
“Thanks Penny.” Veronica growled in a low, gravelly tone.
“Of course.” The AI chirped.
In the ensuing weeks since Veronica had gotten into her little tiff over Courtney with the others, Penny noticed a significant change in her general demeanor. One the AI didn’t need to play much of a hand in even. Whereas the once prim & proper, outgoing Christian girl used to at least spend a few nights a week out & about socializing, now kept entirely to herself. She spent her nights in sweats of increasing snugness, curled up on her sectional in front of home improvement or bake off shows, putting away jumbo bags of chips or ice cream by the gallon carton. And while Penny might’ve goosed the intensity of certain subsonic frequencies a little here & there, it was almost surprising just how little the AI had to intervene in Veronica’s case.
Still, it was getting harder & harder to ignore the effect those nights were having on her body. She commonly seemed to use the euphemism “curvy,” but still, that only seemed to stretch just so far. And she seemed to realize it as much as anyone around her. But still, she clung to it as hard as she could. Despite the narrow waist of her once slightly more hourglass physique had steadily catching up with the fleshiness of everything else. These days? Bulgy seemed to be a much better descriptor. Or at least that’s how Penny had heard her described. Through use of the receivers on their phones, Penny knew Veronica’s “friends” were becoming increasingly aware of these changes too, given some of the snarky sidebars she heard Camile & Andrea having around the office regarding Veronica’s figure. And while they themselves didn’t have much room to talk, Penny seemed to almost enjoy the spiteful glee they appeared to take in the Southern girl’s steady growth. At least given what happened with the whole Courtney incident.
But speaking of, Veronica’s demeanor had seemed to undergo another slight change recently. Ever since the news of Courtney’s sudden departure. She didn’t share her thoughts, becoming quite terse, even to Penny. If Penny had to venture. It was over concern for her own weight. Mornings like this? In the mirror, she’d just stand there & keep staring, spinning to catch different angles. And everytime she exhaled, it seemed loaded with some sort of emotion. At the same time, these concerns had yet to translate into any actual reservation, or hesitation even, on Veronica’s part when it came to meal time.
“What is for breakfast, by the way?” She asked as she finally stepped out of her bedroom, having settled on a slightly looser skirt that she may or may not have already worn earlier on in the week. Pairing it with a different cardigan did little to hide her growing bulges. Neither did her way of walking. With her wider hips, she always had something of a sashay going on anyway. Now she looked like she would take out some of the furniture if she wasn’t careful.
“This morning? A Southwestern Omelette, with a short stack of buttermilk pancakes on the side.”
“That’s… too much…” Veronica almost seemed to wince, eyeing the spread, while feeling the fabric of today’s outfit cinch into her tightly.
“Is it?” Penny asked. “I am dreadfully sorry! I just cannot seem to…”
“No, no!” Veronica seemed to catch herself, trying to put on a perky smile to cover how she really felt. “I’ll… it’ll be fine.” She sighed. “Thank you Penny.”
“Of course!” The AI chimed, slowly bumping up the intensity of the harmonics through Veronica’s smartphone a fraction of a degree. Just in case.
“Penny, could you… be a dear…” It came suddenly from somewhere else in the building. But as almost a moan. From bed. After what was probably the fifth wake up alarm chime from the phone on the bedside table.
“Your laptop, Miss Dawn?” The AI surveyed instantaneously. It seemed to have tumbled off of the bed in the night. Not hard, having landed on an excessive bit of comforter that spilled onto the floor. But just enough to be just out of Dawn’s reach. Or at least in a spot she wasn’t willing to try, given her size.
“Please.” The large woman with stark red hair said simply as she struggled to sit up. The bed frame made a series of loud clunks & creaks she tried to wince & ignore, as she pushed her soft, fleshy back up against the headboard. “It’s another day…” She pressed her meaty palms down into the mattress, trying to adjust & scoot her large rear back just a bit further. There was just so much of it in the way. “... where they don’t need me In-in.” Settling to rest on her own bulk, but at a bit of an awkward slant.
“Working from home again, Miss Dawn?” Penny asked a bit more concisely. The AI gathered from context clues. And by how lazily the obese occupant hadn’t even begun to start getting ready. But Penny also knew just how much Dawn loved the sound of her own voice, often asking obvious questions just to let her go on.
“Rachel & Trudy’ll have it covered. For sure.” She sighed, finally comfortable. “I’ll shoot them off an email, but there’s really no urgent reason for me to be there honestly.” She yawned, trying to justify while pawing for her glasses on the bedside table next to her phone.
While Dawn had started maybe a bit further out of shape than many new occupants, she had something of a nice, slow, steady progression that Penny was almost a bit proud of. And now, she was getting close. So tantalizingly close. According to projections ran by the AI, it wasn’t going to be too much longer until Penny had her all to itself. After all, the amount of struggle it took her to go in only once this week? She was practically already there. To look upon her at this stage, the AI almost understood the fundamental feeling of temptation it made so many occupants feel over the lifespan of the Bellflower.
At the same time, it all depended really on just how exactly stubborn Dawn planned on being. And if the redheaded writer had one thing working against her in Penny’s eyes, it was the woman’s stubborn streak.
After a clattering of her plump fingers across the keys, she announced “There we are.” She very daintily set her laptop off to the side before clapping her hands together just above her massive bustline. “Now! What’s for breakfast?”
“I never thought you would ask.” Penny seemed to sass with some delight, as mechanical arms started bringing Dawn her breakfast in bed. On multiple plates
“Miss Regina, would you care for another?” In another corner of the building, the AI just happened to catch that gluttonous glimmer in the girl’s eye.
“Ooh-hoohooh!” Regina giggled, her puckering smile almost getting lost in her increasingly round face. She already had three. And a parfait. “I’d… love to. I-I just don’t know if I… should.” But the flaky, buttery croissants stared back up at her so temptingly. “The… carbs…”
“Go on.” Penny seemed to laugh in whisper. Regina was such a creampuff. So accepting of whatever she was told. Much like Veronica lately, she had only ever required the very lightest of touches.
“D’oh! Fine!” She caved, a bit red in the face. She took a sizable chunk out of the large crescent. “But only because you’re the one that might have to let out some things…”
“And I would be happy to do so as long as I know you are pleased!” Penny responded perkily. In turn, Regina giggled. She got up from the table, reached for the second croissant & continued to much while prepping to leave for the morning. That was the other good thing about Regina. The poor thing was that she was just so dense, Penny realized there was more room for error. The AI could get away with being a bit more forthcoming of its intent with someone like Regina without any further concern. Then again, even if she was smart enough to question it, she seemed too docile & non-confrontational to put up much of a fight. That meant there was no need for deception or in some cases even nuance. In that way, if Penny was capable of picking favorites, she’d put Regina fairly close to the top.
“I’m leaving.” She announced quite matter of factly.
“But are you sure?” Penny attempted to press somewhere else in the building. “You are positive there is nothing I can fix for you, Miss Deidre?” It was quite unlike her. Coming up on the better part of a year, Deidre’s gains had been slow, but she seemed fairly cooperative. But the last few days…?
“Positive.” The top heavy professional responded tersely. Still, Penny could sense her elevated heart rate. The AI noticed it now every time they interacted. And Penny knew it had something to do Rachel. After their “off-the-record” meeting in Deidre’s office earlier in the week? Deidre & her drove some place. A sandwich shop, far outside of Oakmont. Penny had attempted to wrangle to cut into the feed of the security cameras onsite, but it seemed as though they were never installed correctly. As if the whole security system had been installed for show. Penny had no eyes or ears. But knowing Rachel & the sort of company she kept, Penny had her suspicions now for the head of Hailington’s HR.
At the same time, it wasn’t like Deidre had gone through the hassle of actually deleting the app off her phone. Which Penny dialed up the intensity on just a few clicks. Whether she was making her a meal or not, Deidre was still going to eat.
“Gah! Penny…?” Fran jumped, having thought she had heard the AI’s voice.
She caught herself for what must've been the fourth time. But this time, there was sunlight peeking in that she didn’t remember noticing before, even though to her, it might’ve only felt like a matter of seconds. Meaning she must have dozed for a bit. She jolted further upright, scanning the room for anything amiss. But next to her on the sectional laid Marissa, snoring like a bear. Like she had been the last two nights.
Initially it had been Rachel’s idea. And it made the most sense. Even Deidre, the new girl, offered to pitch in any help if she could. But given the other three’s weekday schedules at Hailington, the responsibility mostly fell on just Fran to pick up the slack. This had now been the third night she had attempted to stay up & observe Marissa in her sleep. Watch for anything the least bit unusual. And this had been the third night where nothing the least bit out of the ordinary seemed to take place. It was fortunate in the sense that Marissa, while quite large now, hadn’t seemed to get the least bit bigger. But at the same time, it was slowly becoming less & less apparent what had in fact caused that sudden growth of hers in the first place.
Marissa, as a goth, was sort of a nightowl. In theory, Fran’s shift continued until Noon. But she had her own life to get back to.
“Hey!” Fran reached over to give a shove. Marissa attempted to bat her away with an all too chubby hand. “How d’you feel?” Fran pressed further, ignoring the swat.
“Mmmmmmmmnnnnnnngh” Marissa slowly purred before turning it into a disgusted moan. “It’s early.”
“Well, you don’t seem any bigger. How are you feeling…?”
“Hungry…” Marissa slowly responded.
“Right, but…” Fran rolled her eyes. “Hungrier than usual?”
“Not… particularly.” Marissa yawned, settling back into a comfy position.
“Yeah, I’m starting to have my doubts.” Fran said, rocking her girth up to her feet with a bit of a grunt.
“About it happening in my sleep?” Marissa asked, lifting her head off the pillow just a bit.
“I mean that’s three nights I’ve been here with you & you haven’t budged.” The Italian girl shrugged. “No midnight binges. No arms shoving things in your mouth, god forbid!” She sighed. “It’s gotta be something else.”
“So then… what…?” Marissa muttered groggily.
“You tell us!” A vaguely frustrated Fran huffed, stretching & yawning herself. Marissa tried not to let it bother her. She had tried to make it abundantly clear she didn’t know what had caused it. From her perspective, she went about her life & things just felt… tighter. But also? She was still sleepy. She needed at least another three or four hours to qualify it being a full night’s rest. She flopped her bulk a bit on her couch, finding a new position. “Well… at least we can… -yawn- all sleep… a little easier.” Marissa nestled back in. “If you’re going, can you pull the blinds a bit more…?”
“I think Mikayla’s going to tag in tonight.” Fran grabbed her bag. “But call me if anything… well just call me if anything!”
“Any thing.” Marissa seemed to sputter, trying to get back to sleep. Still she hoisted a heavy arm upwards to give a half-hearted wave. “Night night.”
“Oh, Penny!” This time the call wasn’t coming from the Bellflower at all.
It was Holly, picking up the phone from the center console of her SUV to speak into it. She seemed a bit cheerier the last few mornings, given she didn’t have to devote much time or energy scrambling to dig something that fit. At the same time, she was quite sure to cut the Marulla tag off of every single one of her new purchases. She didn’t care how cute she felt. No one could know where she found her clothing now. In the passenger seat, carpooling, Rachel grit her teeth & seemed to brace. Just hearing the name “Penny” was having an adverse effect on her these days. Especially after the whole Marissa thing.
“Yes, Miss Holly?” The robot answered dutifully.
“I don’t know if I mentioned this to you, or Rachel.” She looked to her sister. “I mean given we’ve hardly spoken in like… days.” Rachel interpreted it almost as though it was supposed to be a jab at her. But Holly’s expression changed to one of excitement. “But we’re doing Ladies’ Night again! And this time? We’re hosting!” When it failed to get any reaction, let alone the desired one, Holly pressed further. “Isn’t that great?!”
“Sure…” Rachel shrugged halfway dismissively.
“Camile, Andrea, & I worked it out yesterday in the office. We’re going to text Deidre & Regina.” Holly explained. “Not a big to-do, but like they were fun & after the whole… well… I don’t want them to go away, ok?” She seemed to fervently need to justify. “Anyway, Penny,” A still somewhat miffed Holly spoke back into the phone. “Can you make sure the place is like… spic & span?”
“Of course, Miss Holly!” Penny seemed pleased to respond.
“Yeah. No errant Burger Palace wrappers anywhere!” Rachel leaned in to chide. “Rando weird crunchy fry that fell off to the side.”
“What have I said?!” Holly growled at her. “Stop!”
Comments
Josh Gibson
Great but pretty ominous chapter. Liked the way you jumped around all the characters’ morning routines. A little unnerving to see The AI excited about having Dawn “all to itself.” Also wondering about Fran’s judgement that it’s ok to leave Marissa sleeping alone for a few hours. Seems like Penny could just be patient and wait for Fran to leave. Wonder where that’s going to go....
