Belly Literary Universe (part 1)

Kelri's Gain Part 10: Battles Won, Battles Begun

The morning after, Kelri stepped on the scale. "Lets see the damages then."

She recorded the number in her planner. 11/15 - 151lbs. She scrunched her eyes and flipped to a reference chart and did some math on the page. "Am I overweight now?" She added another note next to her weight. BMI >25. She grabbed a handful of belly fat and jiggled it. "Yeah I am. I guess this is who I am. Ugh."

The mirror reflected the roundest empty stomached Kelri she had ever seen. What am i going to do? She thought to herself as she pat her belly. Well... Even if I start to lose this thing? I think it's time for some new clothes. She flipped through weeks worth of red marks in her planner. But - maybe I shouldn't assume I'm going to get smaller. At least not anytime soon.

The holiday season was approaching. Christmas decorations already covered the walls of the Hightown Megamall. While plenty of grocery stores and specialty shops existed all over the city, the Megamall met the consumeristic needs of a huger portion of the whole state. Any franchise worth visiting had major versions of their stores operating in it. Some franchises had multiple locations through the complex to capture as much business as possible.

Kelri wandered from clothes store to clothes store, picking out and trying on clothes. She picked out a few dresses. Long ones, so they wouldn't ride up over the course of a luxurious meal and expose things best not exposed in public. All the stores lacked properly fitting clothes. They either fit her body and were tragically ill equipped to deal with her belly, or they fit her belly and would in no way hold onto the rest of her body. Her mind brought her to stores that she passed a few times during the day. Maternity stores. She stood standing looking at the sign. No, this is weird. Do I really think any new weight is going to suddenly go somewhere else? Maternity clothes though? I need new clothes though. A bunch of them. These ones will fit. But those stretchy bands... And what do I say? I can just go it get stuff and leave. Or. I can just Lie and say I'm pregnant. They won't call me out even if they don't believe me. I could just be chubby and preparing for pregnancy. Well, I am chubby. Fuck it. I'm going.

With her head down she stalked into the shop past walls of nursing bras, breast pump parts and accessories, and baby shower supplies. She ducked into a side aisle with endless newborn onsies. One of the stone attendants bumped into her.

She was obviously pregnant and wearing store brand clothes. A long striped shirt jeans stretched to conform to her gravid form. Her dark blond hair was tied back in elegant pigtails and had a fake flower stuck in the back just before the hairband. "HI, is there something specific you're looking for? I'm Amanda by the way!"

Fuck. Just say no and move along. She poked at the floor with her foot. "Umm - I'm looking to get a bunch of new clothes."

"Well of course we have that here. How far along are you." She beamed.

"Oh I'm not exactly sure. Not that far along yet." She patted her stomach. Damn it. Leave it at that.

"Anything particular you're looking for? A style?"

"Well my mom said I was a big baby and that I should expect mine to be as well. I need things that have room for me to grow. You know. Over time. Uhh also. I don't like the stretchy bands, if possible. Don't like their look."

"I know what you mean. They really make it stand out that you're pregnant. As if the belly wasn't sign enough, right?" She waved her hand to reassure Kelri. She grabbed her hand and pulled her around. "We have plenty of low cut pants. Stretchy in other places of course. I know how cravings are haha. You might also want a belly binder or at least some nice sundresses."