chapter 9

Lucy was trying her best to handle the disaster on her hands; Valerie had failed to show up for the ad shoot and interviews, and the higher-ups in Tycorp were annoyed that their master plan was being delayed.
Not to mention that she had nothing that fitted her.
The filming crews were begining leaving and the reporters were getting annoyed. One, for the online fashion tips website 'Plus Size Problems was particularly impatient. Seeing an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, she approached her.
"Hiya, so our model couldn't make it, but we were wondering if you could do the ad instead." she said, trying to keep her anxiety to a minimum.
The reporter's expression eased. "I don't see why not, if you think I can do it." she replied.
After convincing the film crew to stay, they filmed the ad, with the reporter carrying out the required cariography and lines surprisingly well. But Lucy's keen businesswoman's mind was seeing something else. A protégé perhaps, or an assistant. Either way, she wanted her on her payroll for something.
She once approached her after the show, leaning against a wall.
"So," she began, "You seem pretty skilled"
The reporter chuckled as she pulled on her coat. "Yeah, acting was my thing back in high school, but I got into journalism eventually."
Lucy noticed a slight wince when she said 'journalism'. She almost smelled the doubt in her tone.
"Journalism? At 'Plus Size Problems'?" she said, looking at her guest pass, "Surely someone of your talent could aim higher than an online fashion tip website?"
The journalist looked away.
"Yeah, no. I don't have a lot of career options at the moment."
"You could join Big Beauty." Lucy replied.
"No, I'd be forfeiting my wages-"
"I'll double what you're owed and pay you twice per hour than what they would."
The reporter hesitated, before saying, "Okay sure, when do I start?"
"Tomorrow. You can come in any time around 12 noon. My office is on the top floor."
"Okay. Thanks Ms....?"
"Call me Lucy."

***

Valerie and Vera walked into Dunkin Donuts as they always did, and went up to the clerk manning the register.
"Baking soda" she whispered.
"Okay, lady, but the boss is kinda angry wit you." the clerk replied, "You better not do anything to make her angrier ,"
Indeed Lucy was waiting for her downstairs, a new face in behind her.
"So, where were you yesterday, Ms. Valerie?" she said, her eyes locking onto Valerie's.
"Uhh, sorry, I was, er, busy." she replied, obviously uncomfortable under Lucy's gaze.
"If you want any kind of future here in Big Beauty, you should take this more seriously. Now, I have places to be, so if you'll excuse me, I'm off back to work." she said, before stomping off, the new girl following behind.
"You know who that girl is?" Vera asked as they saw them ascend the stairs.
"No idea. Anyway, we should get going ourselves, that Christmas breakfast isn't going to eat itself."

The feeding club's breckfast was a sight to behold. There was more food in that one room than anywhere on that street (Which is saying something considering it was mostly cafes and restaurants). Bacon, eggs and sausages were added in bulk to everyone's plates. Valerie had a few pounds of food on her plate and a stick of butter melted in her hot chocolate. If someone was going to pass out in a food coma today, it was her.
When they finished, they did some shopping, mostly in the local Big Beauty store. While Valerie was commenting on how many Big Beauty bouquets were open, Vera knew that once Tycorp unleashed their age of gluttony, they'd be making massive profits through all of them. In fact, they saw some posters selling Tycorp-branded food supplements, which Vera knew where going to be full of calories. As they had another breakfast in Burger Queen, Vera couldn't help but notice how fat everybody was; women who weren't in their feeding club were pulling 250+ pounds. It was hard to find a woman who was less than 200 pounds heavy. Portion sizes had gone up too, with two small fries equating to an old three large fries.
Vera was wondering if Tycorp had already started its business venture, until she saw a digital poster featuring pop singer Darlene Fisher looking like she ate a clone of herself, her iconic polka-dot belly-top and suspenders looking like a sports bra. This was it; there was no turning back, not for a long while.

***

"So, according to the most recent census from our spies, 80% of the town's population is now considered obese." Lucy said, her own weight starting to balloon.
"Of course," her new protégé and assistant Michelle said, "That will be the new ideal."
"Naturally. Tycorp have moved around to other towns like Bay City and Stoneknoll island. Soon, the entire state will be under our thumb. No other companies can compete as we're the ones who own this playing field. Trust me, this is a new age. Say, could you pass me another croisant?"

***

After a hard day's work, Lucy returned home. Everything was going well, and it was high time for some feeding. Going down into her basement, she put in a new bag of Tycorp's nutrition paste into her feeding machine. Once again, she felt the pure pleasure of the paste filling her, the new Tycorp brand multiplying her happiness thrice fold, soon hoping she could outgrow Valerie.

The day after Christmas was a snowy one, and Vera and Valerie had no end of fun outside. They played around until their noses were cold and their bodies exhausted. Going down to the newsagent, they saw a newspaper headline reading, "Blue Forest Fattest Town in State?". Vera smiled, knowing that this was just the beginning of this age.