GITJ Post 410: Babysitting, p5 (Breakroom Interlude Two)

“So, Keeks…what are we doing tonight?” asked the tall and thin but strikingly shapely young woman as she came into the breakroom of Far Horizons Medical Associates.

Lakshmi Vallurupalli, Lead Medical Assistant, looked up from her phone to her new friend. Both girls were in blue scrubs, and mostly done with their work day.  “Hi Josie,” she smiled, watching Josie plunk down in the seat across the small table from her. Lakshmi had been re-watching a clip from one of the afternoon talk shows, suggested to her by a clinic patient earlier, an episode that had aired earlier this afternoon. She smiled wanly, and put the phone down. “Tonight? I cannot do anything tonight. Father says he wants me at home.”

“For real?” Josie answered, trying not to scoff too hard. She understood the pressures her friend felt, coming from a traditional household, and she tried to be sensitive. Even in today’s day and age, with the patriarchy quietly (or not so quietly) crumbling, some weird-ass traditions held on. But…still. “You have to turn that shit off. You’re twenty-four years old. And, besides…hasn’t your mom put him in his place already?”

To that, Lakshmi had to fight back a secret smile, and tried not to blush. ‘Put him in his place’…haha. Lakshmi had, just two nights ago, came into her parent’s bedroom to find her mother straddling her father’s naked body and shoving something in his mouth. Neither parent had seen her. Or at least, she certainly hoped they hadn’t. She had turned and stepped away quickly, but the image was now there, burned into her brain forever. She quietly blushed as she recalled it. Lakshmi respected her parents’ privacy enough to not say anything to anyone, even to her new best friend, but the memory did make her rethink her father’s demands. They seemed kind of silly, now. “Haha okay,” she answered, “You are right. I am a grown woman, I guess.”

“Yes you are and I’m taking this grown-woman out for shopping and an Amaretto Sour tonight,” Josie smiled. Though younger than Lakshmi by nearly three years, Josie felt like she’d taken the quiet, sheltered young woman under her wing in many ways. She was helping her blossom into a strong and confident person, no longer chained down by her conservative upbringing. Josie had taken her out on the town and allowed her to see a little more of the world. In return, Lakshmi had helped Josie grow and mature out of her own childish ways. Lakshmi was one of the first to treat her like an adult and respect her opinion instead of seeing her like the spoiled rich girl everyone thought she was. They were now good friends and they were helping each other become the leaders they would need to be. “You told me you needed a new dress to squeeze that grown-woman ass into tomorrow night, didn’t you?”

“I did, and - uh - I do,” Lakshmi smiled. She was looking forward to Friday’s grand-opening event, a party they’d be having in the new atrium, and she certainly did need something to wear. Her latest try-on attempts with what she already had in her closet had not gone well. Seams were torn, buttons popped. She was a ‘grown woman’ now, that was for sure. A growing woman, she thought, as she proudly felt her glutes beneath her. “Okay, yes, I need a dress.”

“Good. We’ll head to the mall, to Hera’s,” Josie said, glancing at the mug of what her friend had been drinking. It smelled good, like anise. She pulled out her own phone from her scrub pocket, checked her texts. Nothing interesting, just her mom. She put the phone face-down onto the table.

“So, how did study clinics go today?” Josie asked, “I missed it. Was over setting things up next door. Did you see Adrienne Aleppo?”

Josie knew Lakshmi really liked Adrienne Aleppo, and she sometimes couldn’t believe it herself: that this famous woman from many of the girls’ favorite shows was in their rinky-dink little clinic every week. Adrienne Aleppo was one of their study patients, coming into the office for her treatments. She was probably the biggest of a few minor celebrities that they saw regularly, and - though Josie herself was actually more impressed and enthralled by the several politicians that came to clinic - she knew Adrienne Aleppo left lots of the girls, Lakshmi included, feeling a little starstruck. How did she get time away from the Stinkers! house every week? Weren’t reality shows kinda strict that way? Whatever.

“Yes I did see her!” Lakshmi gushed, blushing again.

“Did you tell her we all watched this week’s episode?” Josie asked, indulgently.

“No, I did not,” Lakshmi replied, “but she told me all about it anyway.”

“She’s, like, ‘Queen of the House’ now, right?”

“Yeah, she is,” Lakshmi answered, suddenly leaning in closely across the table, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper and causing Josie to lean in as well, “Her boobs got really big.”

Josie laughed, and sat back up. “Oh my god Kiki why are you whispering? There’s no one here,” Josie giggled, “And, besides, big boobs aren’t really a secret any more.” Almost unconsciously, she felt herself sit up straighter, square her shoulders. Maybe she wasn’t as big as Shanette or Amelia or even Randi, but her own breasts had grown remarkably over these past couple months. They felt good on her chest, and she knew they were still growing.

“So who else did you see?” Josie asked. Having been out of clinic today made her miss some of the gossip many of the patients invariably came in with every week. She especially liked hearing about what Thalia Bates was doing with her father, and talking with some of the local businesswomen. She even liked chatting with Sheryl. “Ooo! I saw Rachel Keller!” Lakshmi offered brightly, “She is giving us all free memberships to her gym!”

“‘Big Body Gym’?” Josie asked, nodding, Josie really liked going to the gym these days, and many times went with Lakshmi to one of the corporate places near where they both lived. ‘Big Body Gym’, though, was closer to work, would be more convenient when they all moved in upstairs together, and was supposed to be one of the hot new places for girls who wanted to get big these days. And who didn’t want to get big? “That’s cool. Let’s go this weekend! You need bigger squat racks like they’ve got anyway.”

“Sure, yes,” Lakshmi continued, nodding, aware again of the massive mass of bulge and muscle upon which she now sat. She was proud of it; it had been growing nearly unchecked. “I also saw that Mary Jane person...”

“Oh, yeah.” 

“Yeah,” Lakshmi said, pausing for a moment. It was sort of an unspoken thing, mostly, what was happening to some of the people on this new treatment, the turns some of their personalities had taken. “Vida asked me to set up a psych evaluation for her next week, with one of the new therapists.”

“Yeah,” Josie agreed, “There’s something going wrong with that girl.” She could think of a few other people that could do with some therapy. There were a lot of them, in fact, and not just the patients on Product, but some of her coworkers as well. Maybe haha we should do a group session. “Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

Lakshmi paused again, thoughtfully. “Weird that it is the last day we will have the study here,” she posited, “Next week it will be in the new offices?

“Yeah very fancy,” Josie agreed, “I was helping set up supplies in some of the new exam rooms today. They didn’t let me into the Evolution wing. I wonder what’s going on back in there?”

“I dunno,” Lakshmi answered, “maybe it is still just being worked on?”

“Could be,” Josie replied, “though most of the construction equipment, all those trucks, have moved over to the new building, across the parking lot.”

“Yeah,” offered Lakshmi. “Time is just moving so fast. Everything is changing.

“Sheryl bought the new place only a month or so ago, right? Are we expanding again soon?”

Lakshmi shrugged, sipped her tea.

“Well, with whatever they’re doing, she doesn’t waste any time, that's for sure.”

Both girls paused, now. Lakshmi sipped on her tea again, didn’t say anything.

“They don’t tell us much huh?” Josie concluded.

“Not really.”

“Hey has anyone found Cindi yet?”

The two commiserated on their lost co-worker, Cynthia. Last she’d been seen was…wait? When was that? There was that really grainy security footage of her trashing Dr. J’s apartment over the weekend, but when was she last in the office? Was it today? Last week? Was it really Cici? And where was she? Neither girl had any new information.

“Soooooo…” Josie asked her friend, looking to change the topic, “what were you watching when I came in?”

“Alicia Ray, the newslady from Channel 5 was in clinic today for her treatment,” Lakshmi answered, “and told me about what happened on The Kathleen O’Connor Show’ this afternoon. She sent me this cl-“

“Omigod yes!!” Josie exclaimed, “we were all watching it on the other side earlier. The ladies from Nexifem?? Did you see what they were able to do to that guy???”

“Yes oh my god,” Lakshmi gushed, feeling her thighs warm and once more again the heavy strength of her new weight, “That was…insane. What does it mean?”

“It means the new government is going to have to figure out what to do with it,” Josie answered, “it’s so wicked expensive now but it could, like, change everything.”

“I…I know,” Lakshmi said.

“Imagine what that guy felt like? What he was thinking?” Josie posited, feeling herself getting excited as well.

“Alicia Ray says she’s going to try to get an interview with him,” Lakshmi added.

“Omigod that’d be so cool.” TV was getting good these days, for sure, as programmers had begun to know what people really wanted. The idea of seeing Alicia Ray sitting next to that guy? Omigod.   “Do you think that that could, like, happen to Dr. Jay?” Josie asked in a reverent tone, immediately taken by the thought.

“Oh no…could you just imagine?!” Lakshmi giggled lost in the moment.

“I can. All the things we could…Mellissa could do...do with him?”

Once more, Lakshmi had to pause and compose herself. She took a sip of her tea. “Know what else Alicia Ray asked me? If we knew anything about the news reports about those lawyers, that judge, the…murders last night.”

“Oh, uh, wow,” Josie answered, nodding. Her mind pulled away from Dr. J and started to race. Marisela. “Did Alicia know they’d all been here yesterday, those twerpy lawyers?”.

“I am not sure, I did not say anything,” Lakshmi replied. She leaned in again, and once more lowered her voice to a whisper. “It sounds like Marisela butchered them, Josie, in their homes.”

Yeah but didn’t they deserve it? Josie found herself thinking, surprising even herself. “W-were any of the guys married?” she asked, “Have families?”

“The old one, the judge was married,” Lakshmi answered, “Well, he was separated. They interviewed his wife on the news.”

“Oh wow, poor lady,” Josie offered, looking for some empathy inside herself…but finding something different.

“She did not seem too upset, as horrible as it looked like it was,” Lakshmi continued, “It sounded like he was abusive. She works at a nonprofit, a woman’s legal defense fund.”

“Are we going to, like, haha, need her services?”

“Do not joke about it I am worried,” Lakshmi said, “I actually talked to Marisela, just a little while ago.” She considered how she would say this. “So, the axe-throwing place we all went to last night?”

“Yeah that was fun.”

“Remember how Marisela snuck a couple axes into her bag?”

“Yeah?”

“An axe was found in one of the guys’ skulls, one of the lawyers’. It is in the police report.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah.”

“What did Marisela say?”

“She sounds a little nervous but she was also, like, laughing about it,” Lakshmi said. Both girls’ voices were now low. They knew the recording equipment in the room didn’t have the greatest audio. “I am a little worried about her. She…she is remembering her nights out more, and I think she is starting to…enjoy it.”

Oh my god tell me more, Josie found herself thinking.

“She described some horrible things, Josie,” Lakshmi continued, “she says she had the judge calling her by his wife’s name as she slowly disemboweled him.”

That sent a shiver down Josie’s spine and once again she found herself thinking surprising, and what should have been disturbing, thoughts: I wish I could have been there to watch.

“Her name, the wife’s name, was written on the wall in her husband’s blood,” Lakshmi explained, “They said that on TV, Alicia Ray told me.”

“Fuck. That’s kind of gruesome for the midday news, isn’t it?”

“Good ratings, Alicia said, anytime there is a new murder by The Harpy-”

“They’re still calling her that? Like some kind of serial killer?”

“....any time there is a new murder by The Harpy, everyone wants to see what she has done.”

“For real?!?” Josie blurted. Of course. People love their female-on-male violence these days. It was a dark thrill, popular with housewives looking for their ‘true crime’ fix.  Especially, I guess, if there are private parts being ripped off, Scary-Mary’s calling card.

“Also,” Lakshmi added, “Alicia told me the afternoon replay of Melissa’s interview got them really good ratings too.”

Speaking of what people really want. “Oh yeah?” Josie asked. That interview was good stuff. She kinda wanted to watch it again herself.

“Yeah you should look,” Lakshmi continued, “It has caused another new surge in Melissa’s online followers.” At that, Lakshmi paused. “Melissa told me it makes her bigger. She says she has grown like a whole inch just since last night, since the interview first aired.”

“Jesus.”

“Language.”

“Sorry. But- a whole inch in a day? Isn’t she worried?”

“Worried? No. She says she wants to be seven feet tall by Thanksgiving.”

“Oh my…oh my god haha,” Josie laughed, “where’s she gonna find shoes?” She was, for what it was worth, trying to make a joke. But there was something stirred inside her that was making her cheeks flush. She wanted, in that moment, to see Melissa, to get on her knees in front of her. “I-is she still here?”

“No,” Lakshmi answered, “She just left. Needed to go to Evolution. She wanted to get back home to Dr. J.”

Okay that’s probably good. “Okay that’s probably good. Before Randi eats him alive.”

“Haha yes.”

“But…shoes. That reminds me,” Josie said, picking up her phone once again, “I have to pick up some shoes Melissa had ordered from Hera’s when we’re out tonight.”

“Yes she ordered some for me, too,” Lakshmi added, standing up with her mug and turning towards the breakroom’s mini-kitchen counter. “Hey do you want any of this tea? Katarina made a pot and it’s still warm…”

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thanks to RiF for editing and feedback