#2 Please Don't Drink The Venom... 🐼🐼🐼

"Pure perfection, not," Krista Cornellion said dejectedly as she tossed her navy blue pleated skirt into the back of her closet along with her white, butterfly-collar, button-down shirt with the Ashby Senior High School emblem embedded on it.

Krista's adopted mom, Miss Lydia (also known as Momma Dia), always told her that she was pure perfection. The fact that her size 7/8 uniform no longer fit was evidence that Momma Dia's statement was pure bull-corn crapola. Now that Krista was wearing a size 13/14, she felt uber-unattractive and bigger than a mansion because of her size.

Who would want to date her now? Krista thought to herself. She didn't fully understand her predicament; she always exercised and ate right, but the weight still wasn't budging.

"What does Momma Dia know about fluffy girl problems, anyway? She is Olive Oyl's size with a set of mini muffins, not a hot air balloon bottom like me," Krista said with a hint of defeat in her voice as she walked over to her vanity mirror, sat down on the pink plush stool in front of it, and frowned into it in frustration.

***

Due to her recent weight gain, Krista's anxiety had been higher than a roller coaster all day long, which prompted her to bite her fingernails down to the quick, something she hadn't done since she was nine and still living with her opioid-addicted birth mother, Paisley, and her mom's physically abusive boyfriend, Big Hal.

When Krista was younger, she witnessed her mother, Paisley, pop Blues (blue opioids) all day long like they were a batch of blueberries from Blueberry Muffin's blueberry patch. During that timeframe, Krista also suffered physical abuse at the hand of her mother's boyfriend. 

Krista knew why she was being targeted. One day she overheard Big Hal admit to Paisley that he was jealous of all of the extra quality time that Paisley spent with Krista. 

Fate eventually intervened on Krista's behalf. When she was nine years young, a school counselor picked up on her abuse, which resulted in an investigation that led to Krista being placed in foster care with Momma Dia.

Krista had finally felt safe for the first time in five years. The placement was such a great match for both parties that Momma Dia fought to and succeeded in adopting Krista when she was twelve, and Krista happily went from being an only child to having a cool older brother named Lucky.

Krista still had love for her birth mom, so she began praying daily that she would finally get the help that she so desperately needed.

Deep down Krista knew that her mother loved her, but Paisley was struggling with the guilt of allowing a malicious man like Big Hal into her & Krista's life. Big Hal was a menace and so cruel that he once forced Paisley at gunpoint to become a 'Midnight Ballerina' at the local gentleman's club for six months to bring extra money into the household. 

His rotten behavior didn't stop there. Big Hal also beat Krista & Paisley with a strap whenever he was having a bad day, which was at least five days per week. Paisley recently admitted to Krista that she hadn't broken up with Big Hal because she feared that she wouldn't be able to get anyone else because of her lupus condition & the prominent butterfly facial rash that often accompanied it. In addition to being insecure, Paisley had a habit of running from conflict and not standing up for herself with Big Hal.

To make matters worse, when Paisley was stressed, she would pop Blues, shut down emotionally, and then end up not feeding Krista until she came down, which was sometimes a couple of days.

Despite her poor choices, Krista held no contempt for her birth mother. Krista just wished that she would finally leave Big Hal, enter into rehab again, and not allow those little blue pills to be her puppeteer any longer. She also prayed that Paisley would give her life to Christ so that he could mold it into something beautiful. 

***

Krista was set to enter her 10th grade year in five days. She did not know how she would face her peers after gaining 30 lbs over the summer after being placed on prednisone to treat her newly diagnosed autoimmune disease.

Krista was so distraught about her weight gain that she decided to call her older brother Lucky, who was away at college in Savannah, GA, getting his teaching certification, to vent.

It was one a.m., Lucky's time. He was three hours ahead of her Mercer Island, Washington, time zone, but Krista knew her big bro to be a night owl like herself, so she knew that there was a 99.9% chance that Lucky would still be up when she called.

Lucky had proved to be a godsend to Krista. In addition to being Krista's protector, Lucky also had a special knack for making her feel better when she was down. Whether Krista made pep squad, had a date to the school dance, or wore Crocs didn't matter one iota to Lucky, like it did to her fickle classmates. Lucky was truly there for Krista through thick and thin, and she was grateful that he never treated her differently because she was adopted.

After saying a quick prayer for comfort, she did a few side stretches and then hit Lucky's cellphone line. Lucky answered on the first ring. She had been right about him still being up.

Krista wasn't surprised to hear Vivaldi playing loudly in the background. You see, Lucky had recently seen a report on TV that said that college students who regularly listen to classical music had higher grade point averages; therefore, Lucky had been a Chopin and Vivaldi stan ever since. 

Krista remembered Lucky mentioning that he found a lot of beauty in the classical music genre and that he found it very helpful for calming his anxiety, but Krista didn't share Lucky's opinion on classical music. She tried to listen to Lucky's classical music playlist one afternoon and ended up falling fast asleep halfway through it. As far as Krista was concerned, the sonic classics could disappear like Houdini, indefinitely, and she wouldn't raise a fist in protest. Krista was more of a hip hop/dance music girlie instead.

"Yo, what up Kris Kris?" Lucky asked jovially once he recognized Krista's voice.

"A whole lot broadie. My life is over, Lucky," Krista groaned into the phone. 

"What happened, lil sis? Do I need to put the Cornellion beatdown on someone?" Lucky asked flippantly with a chuckle.

"This is serious, Lucky. I am currently the laughingstock of Instagram. I just posted a summer vacay pic on my Insta and ten people straight up wrote "oink oink" in the comment section of my post, and one person had the audacity to ask me if they could be my Lamaze coach and if I was having twins or triplets. Isn't that vicious?"

"Also, I just weighed myself, and I recently gained 30 lbs over the summer from taking this stupid prednisone for my lupus. I just don't get the hate. I thought that I looked supercute in my peach sundress & matching peach clamshell sandals. My classmates were all so focused on my weight gain that they didn't even peep my new French braids or my new peach lipstick. I thought that I looked sun-kissed & happy in that pic. My birth mom used to always tell me that the color peach looked radiant on my butterscotch complexion. I guess not," Krista concluded with a sigh.

"WOW...ouch...that was cold! The first thing I want you to do, Krissy, is to take a deep breath & chillax. Don't let their ugly words poison your psyche, fam. Please don't drink the venom that those hating-butt snakes were spewing. Never ever let anyone body-shame you. No matter your size, love yourself. God makes no mistakes, and seasons in life change. Besides, if everyone was supposed to be slim, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords would have made them that way. God Almighty decided that some peeps would be fluffy and that some would be slender," Lucky answered compassionately.

"As for me, I don't discriminate. I date slender mamas and fluffy mamas. I see beauty in them both. Take your favorite animal, the panda, for example, Kris Kris; they are big in size and extremely beautiful!"

"Do you remember Auntie June from the family reunion in Tulsa? You know, the one that looks a lot like Queen Latifah. Well, she is a size 18 and a stunner. She used to tell the slow bros that rejected her for her size that they were missing out because at a size 18 she was a perfect size 6 times three, meaning that she was three times doper than a "regular-sized" woman. Auntie June is hilarious. She would always say that "Three Times A Lady" by the Commodores was her theme song because it described her to a T," Lucky added with enthusiasm.

"And look at my fiancee, Roonessa. She is a size 14, and she is bad to the bone. She is so beautiful inside and out that she makes me start stuttering sometimes," Lucky said with a chuckle.

Krista laughed so hard at Lucky's uplifting remarks that she almost choked on the pink Starburst that she was chewing on.

"And remember, Krista, you are being raised by Momma Dia, a dietician by trade, so you know better than most that the 'Health is Wealth' saying is more than just words. Being healthy is what is most important, not being a size 2. And truth be told, your diet is impeccable. And you get plenty of exercise each day from tennis and swimming. I was just telling Roonessa that I admire your dedication and work ethic in those areas. Honestly, I could stand to take a few notes from you," Lucky added.

"And now that I think about it. I hear that prednisone can put weight on you. I remember hearing Grammie Mae tell Auntie June that she gained 28 lbs when she was on it back in the early nineties for her ulcerative colitis."

"Just don't be stressing over what those birdbrain busters think. They have no real wisdom yet anyway. They haven't paid any real bills yet or even really lived life yet. I know I'm only twenty-three and still young, but I am on the road to owning the condo that I am currently living in, and I am old enough to have some life experience behind me. Besides, five years out of high school, their opinion won't even matter anymore anyway. You'll see one day," Lucky added confidently. 

"And please don't start becoming obsessed with your weight like some of those Hollywood celebrities. You know that soul singer Rita Hendrix with the blonde braids that you admire so much?

Well, she's been on Ozempic for six months, and I'm not trying to cap, but now she looks like the ghost of Ozempic past and an emaciated goldfish in the face. She should have just left what God gave her alone. She is still beautiful, but she was more beautiful before the Ozempic." 

"She was fearfully & wonderfully made by the Creator from the jump, and so are you. So please please please stay away from that Ozempic trap, baby girl. The next thing you know, you'll be walking around looking like the walking dead, and I don't know too many broadies that enjoy romancing zombies," Lucky said with a cackle.

At that remark, Krista accidentally spit out the pink lemonade that she was drinking onto her favorite peach & navy striped sweater. Fortunately, Krista didn't get any on the ankle-length khaki skirt that she was wearing; she hadn't done her laundry yet, and she certainly didn't want to walk around looking as if she wasn't potty-trained.

After excusing herself for a moment to wipe up her mess, Krista returned to the phone and said, "Big bro, I think you may be missing your calling; you definitely could make it as a standup comic if teaching history doesn't pan out."

 "Hahaha! Thanks for the vote of confidence, little sis! Well, I'd better scoot, fam. I have a test in the morning. Please don't hesitate to holler at me if you need anything," Lucky replied in an upbeat manner.

"I won't, big broski! Thanks for turning my gigantic frown upside down. You're the best!" Krista said happily.

"It's no problem, fam," Lucky replied earnestly. 

"You know what, big bro? I think I'll rep for the fluffy girls and start going by the nickname Big Pandy from now on. Whatchu think?" Krista asked jestingly while trying to suppress a giggle.

"On that note... it's time for this call to conclude. Good night," Lucky retorted jokingly as a huge smile the size of Texas spread across his walnut-brown face.