"Come with me, he says. We can be famous, he says," Victoria grumbled as she pushed the brush over the aging concrete.
"2 weeks here and he disappears. Look where I end up, scooping crap," she stops to glance at a cage being rolled by. The zookeepers had closed off this half of the exhibits, letting management move a sick Siberian tiger into the medical center. Victoria leans on her brush, just watching. She catches glimpse of the ill creature, who looks upon her longingly.
She only smirked, shaking her head, "Stupid animal."
She slowly moved over to the aquatic section. Pushing the brush down the slope, beneath the stadium above, where the crowds were whistling, at no doubt, the noon showing of the dolphins. 8-5, six days a week. What a load. She was in a bad mood today, the bills had come. Bills that she could not pay from just cleaning up after tourists and scrubbing animal messes. She approaches one of the terrariums, setting that blasted broom to the side, to have a quick smoke. Her eyes turned though, spotting a dark object at the bottom of the tank.
"Oh no," she didn't light the cigarettes, picking up the radio that was attached to her belt, "Ernie, we have a dead otter in section 5." Static returned, but she knew he got it.
It took only minutes before everyone arrived. The manager, no doubt Ernie, was up front, tapping his foot.
"That was our last female, she was pregnant," he growled. He turns towards the shivering staff, "As soon as they dolphin arena clears out, I wanted it closed. Cancel the 1pm show. Get that otter out of there." Victoria was standing off to the side, just watching. All this hustle over a dead weasel.
"Victoria, Pam wants to see you," Ernie said, jerking her from her reverie. Victoria nods briskly, grabbing the broom and walking up the slope. Ernie watches her go then clapped his hands to get the other staff moving as well. Victoria knocks on the door of her employer.
She clears her throat, "Ma'am, you wanted to see me."
A cheerful voice replied, "Victoria, come in come in!" She did, sliding in and closing the door as quietly as she could. Pam was a tall woman, almost six feet. Never in the khakis, all the rest of them were forced to wear. Always in a black, striped dress that hugged her curvy body.
"Ernie told me about Penelope," she said, eyes almost in tears.
Victoria glances back and forth, "Penelope, ma'am?" Pam nods, rubbing perhaps fake tears from her eyes.
"The female otter, 3 weeks into her pregnancy," she sighs, pulling out some small, maybe advil, pills from inside her desk. Victoria watches, almost dazing again.
"Do me a favour, Vicky, had me that book there. With the red borders," Pam said, sitting down and turning her squeaky chair to pour some water into two triangular cups. When Victoria turned, she neglected to see her employer slipping some of those pills into one cup. They dissolved instantly. Victoria sets the book quietly on the desk and accepts the water. She chugs it back: must be 100 degrees outside. Khaki shorts are not as breezy as people say!
Pam smiles softly, almost sadly, "You were such a good employee," she responds, picking up the book. Were? Victoria thought, almost as if she was about to be fired. It was not her fault that stupid otter died!
Pam smiles and shakes her head, waving her hand as if it was nothing. Victoria relaxes some, taking that as a sign of dismissal. All she wanted her for, was to get the book down?
"Was that all, ma'am?" she said, a bit confused in the doorway.
Pam kept that odd smile, nodding, "Sorry for taking up so much of your time." Victoria blinks but closes the door.
Sudden pressure in her stomach, forces her hand to touch it, "Lunch is not settling good," she said softly.
She moves back to the storage closets, outside the main building, getting out the larger brush for the rhino and elephant cages. Their main part was inside, so she was able to slip on a loose pair of overalls and some rubber boots. Her stomach was gnarled now, gurgling loudly. She opened and closed the Staff door, unlocking the next to get into the rhino section. The rhinos were getting their weekly bath and were in the outside portion of their habitats. She was to clean the inside, during so. The tourists loved to gather and watch, seeing a rhino get its hide polished. Sounds like fun, she thought sarcastically.
Victoria started brushing, pushing the smelly dung across the concrete, into a drain. She pulled out the elastic hose, grumbling all the while. She sprayed back and forth, stopping only when she felt she was being stared at. She turns, spotting an adolescent elephant, reaching its trunk towards the ceiling β separate cage from her. She watches it for a moment, catching sight of its longing eyes. That same passion and almost depression the ill tiger had before. She shakes her head and continued cleaning, but only for a few moments.
Her stomach started ache, burn even. She rubbed it through the overalls, which now seemed a bit tighter her around her hips and waist. Not to mention, her boobs were hurting like crazy. Her period must be starting soon, she thought. In fact, her eyes bulged open, as she shifting her thighs. There was a moist feeling between her legs.
"Crap," she said. She finished scooping out the one rhino pin, and then got out. She took off the boots and almost struggled to pull down the overalls. Her stomach was bloated, pushing into the khaki top. She opened up her locker and pulled out a bag, before she slammed it shut.
Moving into the Employee bathroom, she diverted to the handicap stall. She widens her legs and looks down, to see the blood thickening through her khakis.
"Ugh! What could make this day any worse!" She opens up her bag and pulls out a fresh set of shorts, underwear, and a tampon. She strips down to her nudity, discovering when she tried to put the tampon in β there was such discomfort that she could not. She tosses it away and pulls up the backup pad. She situates such in her new panties, pulls them up, then the shorts.
To her dismay, her shorts struggled to button over her stomach. There was this gentle slope in her stomach. Swelling, even. She sucks her gut in, buttoning the pants and tightening her belt. She felt constrained, but held it anyway. She stuffs her dirty clothes into her bag and returns the bag to her locker. She picks up her brush and walks back towards the aquatic terrariums. She saw the big closed sign across the entrance to the otters. Ernie was standing there and she moved over,
"Closed? There are still 3 other otters in there," she says, "All you have to do is get the dead one ou..."
He interrupted her, "No more females. Zoo can't afford to get one. So we are tearing down their exhibit and separating the seals further, to place them. The two leopard seals will be in these cages. The river beds will be removed for enough room." He nods, glancing to Victoria. She had lost interest, nodding as well but starting to move off. When she turned, Ernie moved his hand in a gesture. The Closed sign was flipped over to reveal 'Coming Soon'.
Victoria strolled back towards the dolphin arena, starting to brush up the endless supply of trash. Everyday, the same thing. Her stomach gurgled and she sat down on one of the benches. She groans a bit, loosening her belt for relief. None. She unbuttons the top of her pants, to her surprise, her stomach moving out some. It was hanging over the top, in a pregnant sort of fashion. Oddly enough, she did not seem too alarmed,
"Great. Severe bloating, now I have to go the doctor," she tries to push it back in. No luck. Her stomach was not fat, but actually did feel pregnant. Hard and rounded fully, not rolls.
She glances around, spotting the Staff entrance to back stage. Again, she disappears behind scenes, pulling into one of the open locker rooms. She finds three set of khaki shorts. All disgusting and filthy but large. She sighs and removes her pants, putting on the others.
"Much better, Jim won't mind." She assumed they were his, or one other of the aquatic performers. She picks up her brush, only to feel the sudden urge of ravenous hunger.
Victoria shakes her head. She needed to lose weight. No, it would not submerge. She went to the hamburger stand but decided against it. The Sushi restaurant in the aquatic section caught her eye. Usually she hated fish, but for some reason, she yearned for it now. She bought a whole platter of such, inhaling it like she hadn't eaten in weeks. Her boob starts to sting again. She decides its best to clock out early. She puts away her broom and heads back to Pam's office.
"Ma'am," she said, knocking lightly.