Gloria darted out of the bathroom and began to scuttle down the narrow hallway when she felt a had grab her shoulder. She spun around on the spot and suddenly the realization clicked as new memories flooded into her mind. This was her mother, Joanna Bolstrum, and the hulking mass of muscle beyond her in the darkened 'master bedroom' of the single wide trailer was her father, Rob Bolstrum. But that couldn't be right, Rob Bolstrum was a bully at Shermer high, and Joanna was supposed to be Big Jon Ingerman, the ringleader of all the bullies.
'What is happening here!?' Gloria thought to herself.
"Wait. Carol, honey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I'm just tired, Your father just went to sleep, and the last thing either of us needs is for him to wake up" Joanna Bolstrum's voice was softer, quieter than it had been moments before. In a flash of emotions Gloria felt herself giving way to the flood of memories as she realized her name, along with everything else about her, was different. She wasn't Gloria Vanapolous anymore, she was Carol Bolstrum!
Carol turned to face her mother once more, and felt a enormous need to hug her. Large breasts pushed against large breasts as Gloria...Carol pulled her mother in close. The two women were of equal size, though Joanna was so much more curvier, even if years of hard living had dulled her once staggering beauty somewhat. She was where Carol got most of her physical attributes from, the large breasts, the strong Nordic features that poked through her father's genetics, the blonde of her strawberry blonde hair that would very easily cascade down her back if she ever let it.
"I'm sorry, mom" Carol whispered as she felt the comforting embrace of her long suffering mother, "This was just a pretty bad one. I feel terrible"
"I know, dear. But you've got to take others into account. After all, it's not you who has to fight with your father to keep him from doing stupid things until six in the morning" Joanna whispered back, releasing Carol from the embrace. "Come on, I'll fix you some breakfast before you head to school" Carol reached for something on her side of the door and pulled out a faded robe, sliding it over her bare shoulders and tying the not like it was second nature before gently sliding past Carol and moving down the hallway.
As Carol followed her mother down the narrow hallway and into the rest of the single wide trailer the Bolstrum family lived in, Gloria resurfaced, having been momentarily shoved 'below water' as the intense emotions of Carol had overwhelmed her personality. The trailer was, despite the bathroom's appearance, was remarkably clean. It wasn't filth free, but it was clear that the public part of the house was kept in a state of presentability. The floors were clean, and only the small coffee table that sat in front of the faded couch had six beer bottles on it.
"Can you get those for me, dear?" Her mom said as they passed the small mess, and suddenly Gloria flickered away for a moment as Carol stopped and dutifully collected the bottles, before following her mother into the kitchen.
"What would you like?" Joanna asked, as she opened the refridgerator door, revealing a somewhat small but non-expired selection of food. "I'm feeling like...eggs, okay"
"Okay, mom" Carol replied as she gently set the beer bottles on the tile counter and began to quietly slide them into the trash can. It was getting pretty full, she'd need to take care of it today. Finished with her task, Carol sat down at the small table that sat on the far wall of the kitchen as Gloria sparked back into being, her mind immediately slammed by an influx of new memories as she took in her new 'home'.
On the walls were dozens of pictures. Plenty of Joanna, in the prime of her life as a knockout beauty, as head cheerleader for Shermer high. Of her and her girlfriends cheering in uniform, graduation. Then the towering form of her father sliding into the frames as mom's high school cheerleader outfit became a college one before suddenly disappearing. Pictures of Joanna and Rob in clubs, of new friends, a wedding in which Joanna desperately tried to appear elegant in a thrift store dress and make up while Rob simply wore a suit that looked one size too small for him. Pictures of a priest, but no one else. Then of Joanna pregnant, a small blonde bundle wrapped in a blanket and too many pictures of Joanna and Carol doing things, with only a few featuring the entire small Bolstrum family.
Gloria, or rather Carol, knew that her mom had fallen for Rob Bolstrum as a freshman in college, one fateful night at a bar with her old cheerleading squad. He had been such a bad boy, so strong and muscular, unafraid of anything and those intense eyes. Joanna had made the mistake of hooking up with him, despite learning that he had barely made it out of high school and was known for being violent to those that crossed him. It had turned her own, and after a whirlwind romance in which Joanna suddenly found herself ostracized from both her old friends and new, and even worse, her family, she discovered she was pregnant. Unable to keep up with classes and finding herself on the bad side of her sorority, Joanna had dropped out of college, and shortly after had moved in here with Rob and his own mother, and the two of them despised each other.
Luckily, the problem had resolved itself as Joanna had talked Rob into getting his mother to move out into another trailer, even if it meant both of them had to take on jobs in order to pay two rent bills. But a few months later Rob's mother drank herself to death, ending the main problem in Joanna's life. After nine months, Carol had come into the world, and Joanna had wasted no time in being a mom, quitting her job despite Rob's loud, angry protests that always ended with the both of them at some level of intoxication, much like what had happened last night.
The sizzle of eggs brought Carol's attention back to the present as her mother slid a plate onto the table in front of her. The mass of edible yellow was followed by a slice of toast, a glass of water, and a quietly placed fork. Carol smiled up at her mom and began eating, easily hiding her disappointment at plain toast and water. And as always, her mother was able to read Carol like an open book.
"I know you like butter and milk but we can only stretch the money so far..." Joanna muttered sadly as she sat down across from Carol, "I'd get a job as well, but unfortunately your father's reputation, and the fact that I haven't worked since you were born, it's just so hard to find someone willing to hire an old cow like me"
Carol put her fork down and reached across the table, taking her mother's small hand into her own larger one. "Mom, you're beautiful! And smart! You just have to try!"
"Oh baby, but then who would take care of your father? I have to be here to wake him up, otherwise he'll miss his shift and then we'll all really be in trouble!" Joanna breathed a heavy sigh as she curled her fingers over Carol's. "No, we'll just have to make due. I was even thinking about cutting out TV service. It's all just fake news anyway. Be a few more dollars we can save, right?"
Carol felt her heart drop. She knew her mom loved TV. It was her one real outlet outside of homemaking. A new resolve filled her and maybe it was just the eggs, but Carol was filled with determination and resolve now. This woman had given birth to her, had given up EVERYTHING in her life, for Carol to exist. And putting up with her volatile dad...mom was right, they deserved to have some of the finer things in life other than the cramped shoebox they lived in.
"Mom" she began, "I'll find a job! I can help!" Carol exclaimed as her teal eyes glittered, "Let me help pay the rent! It'll be hard with cheerleading but I know I can do it!"
Joanna's face brightened for a moment, but then fell again, "Oh baby, you know you can't do both. You'd be making such a sacrifice..."
"I don't care! I don't really enjoy it anyway, being the captain is more planning than I thought it was going to be anyway. Let me do this mom. For you, okay?" Carol pleaded, her eyes on the verge of tears. After a few long moments, Joanna gave her daughter a weak smile and nodded.
"If you think that's for the best, honey" Joanna Bolstrum said, her voice sweet as honey to Carol's ears, "But first you need to eat so you can get to school!"
Beaming back at her mother, Carol quickly wolfed down the remainder of her breakfast and hurried to get around for the rest of the day. Gloria flickered back into being long enough to pick out a cute pink top and a pair of tight jeans before Carol engulfed her once more. Carol hated to lose cheerleading,after fighting so hard to get on it, and especially captain, but she owed her mother everything. It was the least she could do, and after all, it wasn't like she was going to be completely giving it up. She controlled the rumor mill at school, through force and manipulation, she would be able to stay socially relevant so long as she took down the right people.
She had to help her mom.
After getting ready for school, Carol bid her mother a teary farewell as she slid into the cab of the only vehicle the Bolstrum's owned: An old Chevy Cavalier, and took off for school.
'Yeah' she thought as she passed street after street, getting away from the skid row that was Shermer Fields trailer park, she could get anything she needed from her network. And if anyone crossed her or tried to make some power play while she was at work? Carol would simply crush them like she had crushed Tammy Ackterton. Now there was a target that Carol enjoyed harrasing in true Mean Girls style. She'd made the mousy little thing turn into a plump balloon in just under a year, she could-
Suddenly Carol's mind gave way to Gloria as she suddenly blurted out 'OMG TAMMY! AND BILL! THE STONE! I can fix this and be me again!"