"So how was Blackhouser? Heard it gets pretty cold up there." Maddie asked, taking another sip of her drink.


"It can." Mariah nodded. In the back of her mind, she felt bad for not being as engaged as she wanted to be, but she just couldn't get past Maddie's bestial appearance. It was such a glaring and inexplicable series of changes that Mariah had to resist gawking at Maddie, or bombarding her with questions about them. For a moment, Mariah’s eyes were fixed on Maddie’s plump, vast hips —er, maybe her flanks? No. She wasn’t an animal.— straining the seams of her shorts.


"And how were the classes, mmmoo?" Maddie asked.


"Fine- okay wait!" Mariah's head spun to her right to face Maddie. "Did, did you just say 'moo’? "


"Did I?" Maddie wondered, to which Mariah nodded her head vigorously. Something underneath Maddie’s blue hair twitched. "I guess it mmmust've slipped out or something. Anyways, yooou were saying?"


"Actually, I have a few more questions, if you don't mind." Mariah interjected. This seemed like a good chance for her to get some much-wanted answers.


"Go ahead." Maddie said, though there was the faintest hint of reluctance in her voice. Regardless, Mariah continued.


"So are you aware that you're part cow or something?"


"Yes. Is that all?"


"Well, how'd this happen to you?" Mariah asked.


Maddie gave out a nervous chuckle in response. "Geez, Mmmuh- Mariah, are all your questions gonna be about this?" Her ears twitched meekly. Regardless of Maddie's intentions, a poignant pause now loomed in the air.


Realizing she had accidentally hit a nerve, Mariah shoved aside her curiosity. "Sorry Maddie. It's just really odd how..." Mariah began to apologize, but stopped when she noticed she wasn't making Maddie feel any better. "Look, I don't think you're a freak-"


"Can we just not talk about it, moo?" Maddie interrupted flatly, managing a weak smile.


"Yeah, sure." Mariah agreed. A while passed before either one spoke up. "How about we watch some TV?"


"Sounds goooood." Maddie said, passing a remote to Mariah. It took them less than a minute to agree on what to watch, though this time it was due to their indifference rather than their camaraderie. Unfortunately, watching reruns of sitcoms past didn't do much to lighten the mood. The young women were silent for the most part, save for the occasional chit-chat.


A few episodes later, Mariah heard a quick, deep gurgle come from Maddie's direction. She looked over to Maddie, who was softly clutching her belly over her shirt. For a second, Mariah swore she saw Maddie’s belly lurch forward, but dismissed it the next second. Judging by Maddie's expression, it seemed like she was dealing with an upset stomach. However, she went from seeming nauseous to passing for pleasant when she caught Mariah's stare.


"I'm alright. My tummmmy's just feeling kind of fuoooOOOLL.” Maddie let out a loud moo. “Oooh, excuoose me.”


“No worries.” Mariah sighed reassuringly, feeling embarrassed for Maddie. Should she, though?


At the end of the next commercial break, Maddie huffed and tried to rub what she could reach of her belly, bloated and aching.


"Feeling worse?" Mariah asked, now feeling a bit concerned for Maddie. She glanced at her belly again and could see more of it from under the shirt, how could that be possible?


Maddie briefly looked at her before reluctantly nodding. "This is gonna sound weird, but could yooou leave? I need tooo take care of this by mmmyself." Maddie requested. "Sorry for cutting things short, moo, but I..."


"Do you um… Do you need help?" Mariah offered.


"NoooOOO thanks, moo, I've got this. Thanks, thooough."


"Are you sure? If it has something to with what I said earlier-" Mariah insisted.


"It doesn't. Mmmy tummy's just feeling a bit fuooll, that's all." Maddie repeated.


"Well, okay then." Mariah said. She began to go in for a hug, but stopped when she realized how difficult it would be to do so without squeezing something she shouldn't.


“Oh c’mere!” Maddie said with a smile, as if she had read Mariah's mind. Mariah took the invitation and leaned in for a side-hug. Mariah still felt kind of awkward, but she held that thought when she realized how warm and pillowy soft Maddie's body was, especially her cushiony mammaries. For a moment, Mariah felt the urge to snuggle up to Maddie, but that urge soon passed.


"It was great seeing you again." Mariah said as she stood up from the lumpy couch. "Take care."


"You toooo." Maddie said. "Maybe yoooou can come over again sometime soooon?"


"Yeah, I'll try. I have to get settled in first."


"Do yooou have a place to go? Mmmmuh…” Maddie asked, still absentmindedly rubbing her large, definitely growing belly. She looked like she was carrying twins!


"I'm thinking of staying at my parents' house for a while until I get something figured out." Mariah swore she heard Maddie stifle a pleasured moan.


"You can always stay here, mmmoooo, if you want."


"I'll have to see how things work out, but I'll keep that in mind." Mariah compromised. "Anyways, I gotta go. Catch you later."


"Okay, bye." Maddie waved as Mariah walked away. On the way to her car, Mariah felt a twinge of pity for Maddie, but she had to shrug it off. She could ponder over her visit with Maddie all day long and how it could have gone a bit better, but she wanted her parents to see her grinning ear to ear instead of being troubled by what-if scenarios. With that, Mariah input her parents' address in her phone and followed the directions.


________________






Needless to say, Mariah's parents were very surprised and excited at seeing their daughter again, and even more so when she told them she was moving into town. They talked for hours at the dinner table over some leftover casserole Mrs. Kinsley made earlier. Most of the time was spent asking Mariah about Blackhouser College, but the news, politics, and current events were brought up every now and then.


"So do you have a place to stay?" Mariah's father asked.


"Not really, no." Mariah answered before taking another bite of cheese casserole.


"Well, you can stay here as long as you need to." Mariah's mom offered. "Your old room's still as it was before you left."


"Thanks. Do you mind if I go ahead and go to bed?" Mariah asked. She had heard her parents' antique clock chime 10pm some time ago.


"Go right ahead." Mariah's father replied as he came in for a hug. "Good to have you back home, sweetie."


"Thanks, Dad." Mariah smiled, hugging him back. Mariah then went over to hug her mom. "Good night, Mom. Love you."


"Love you too, honey. Sleep well." Her mom replied.


________________






Mariah wished she could sleep well. However, her reoccurring thoughts about what happened with Maddie kept her awake. Over and over again, she regretted how she asked Maddie more questions about her appearance than how her life had been while she was away. Granted, those questions weren't uncalled for, but they certainly weren't tactful. In an attempt to make amends, Mariah decided to call up Maddie. It was 11 o' clock at night, so Mariah wasn't sure if Maddie would pick up, though it was worth a shot.


The dial tone stopped.


"Hellooo?” Maddie yawned.


"Hey Maddie, it's me. I was wondering if you were feeling better."


"Oh, yeah. I was just feeling full all of the sudden."


"Good to know. Do you think it was an upset stomach?"


"Well, there's something I need to tell you about that."


"What is it?" Mariah asked.


"Well, it's related to my… my whole ‘being a cow’…thing.” Maddie cringed at her stammering.


"Uh-huh..." Mariah nodded her head. There was silence on the other end. "Maddie, what's wrong?"


"I don't know if I should tell you." Maddie confessed. "I mean, I don't want to freak you out more than I already have."


"Maddie, I'm sorry for the way I acted. I was just surprised— worried, that's all. We're still friends."


Another pause.


"Okay, so you know that 'belly' that I have?"


"Yeah..."


"Well, it's actually an udder. It makes milk, and throughout the day it slowly fills up, getting bigger and…bigger as it gets full, moo. I would have taken care of it before you cammme over, but I happened to be producing mmmuh— mmooore than normal yesterday, so I was still quite full when you got here. I guess I just freaked out when it started to get too big for comfort, and I didn’t want you to feel awkward or—” Maddie rambled.


“Maddie, chill. You don’t have to explain.”


“Oh?”


“I mean, yeah. If we're going with the whole 'cow girl' thing, I guess it would be weird if you didn't make milk." Mariah tried to shrug over the phone. "Honestly, I'm just going along with this by now.”


"So you aren't bothered that I look like this?" Maddie asked with a speck of hope in her voice.


“Bothered? No. It's different, I'll admit, but it's not a deal breaker or anything like that. You’re my friend regardless of how you look.” Mariah said.


"Good to know." Maddie said. "So do you want to commme over again?"


"Um, sure thing. Does tomorrow at noon sound good?"


"Yeah, or any other time; I don't have much going on."


"Okay, see you then. Good night."


"Gooood night." Maddie repeated before hanging up.


Mariah hung up as well and sighed. She definitely felt better now that things were smoothed over with Maddie. With nothing else to worry about, Mariah went off to bed.


She dreamt of Maddie.