Alvin Summers

Age: 17, soon to be 18.

 

Bio: 5 feet 6 inches, 1.68m.

 

Description: A boy living a life that encapsulates what it means to be stepped on and looked down upon. At home, his step sister Wendy bullies him at every available opportunity. After years of being his Amazonian sister’s punching bag, he has withdrawn himself from society.

 His daily routine largely consists of cooking and cleaning for his family, going off to school and when he comes back, more of the former. Despite all this, he dreams of a day when he’ll be free from all a life of servitude. That day could be the day he leaves for college although he’ll need to be self-sufficient when it comes to money.

 

   He has a passion for astronomy and when he isn’t running from Wendy, he is running for track although the former hasn’t been explored too much due to his current problems.

 

Cassandra “ Cassie” Gissel

Age: 18

 

Height: 159 feet, 48.46m

 

Measurements: 34-23.5-34

 

Cup Size: 34C

 

Weight: 1265 tons,  1147 metric tons

 

Bio: If Alvin embodies the meaning of the word ‘Downtrodden’ then Cassie would appear to be its antonym. Being a blonde makes her a rarity amongst her fellow giants , her beauty alone could light up the darkest of rooms. That is, if you believe the descriptions given by her male admirers.

 

     As captain of the cheerleading team, a team that has won back to back state championships and being the girl boys want to be with and the girl every girls wants to be. Life could not be better for Cassie, or so it would seem.

 

 Even someone like Cassie has problems, some of them stemming from her past and some from the present.

 

Wendy Mathers

Age: 17

 

Height: 9 feet 4 inches, 2.84 m

 

Measurements: 34-24-34

 

Cup Size:  34A

 

Weight: 415 pounds, 188 kg

 

Bio: Alvin’s younger stepsister, his junior by a year, she moved in when Alvin was 10 and she was 9. Even then she already towered over him although things were not to get physical until later, after the passing of David Summers, her stepfather and Alvin’s father.

 

 Wendy takes great delight in picking on Alvin, whether for fun or simply because she needs someone to practice her wrestling moves on. A part of the wrestling team, she excels at it despite being considered small for an Amazon and is able to even bring down the twelve or thirteen footers. Because of this, she earned the nickname “ Wolverine”, not after the X-men character but after the animal, famed for its giant killing abilities.

 

  It would be easy to write off Wendy as a mere bully but people aren’t so simple, there are always insecurities at work, driving her choices.

 

Patricia Mathers

Age: 42

 

Height: 5 feet 6 inches,  1.68 m

 

Measurements: 36-27-35

 

Cup Size: 36C

 

Bio: Mother of Wendy and rather reluctantly, step mother to Alvin. She works at SilkTech, having been there for the last 15 years of her life since she graduated from college.

 

  She takes a very hands off approach when it comes to both of her children, preferring to let them have more independence than to micromanage each and every aspect of their lives. She loved Daniel very much and took his death rather hard, she even still thinks of him despite losing him eight years ago.

 

 She’s hardly spoken to Alvin, other than to make sure he keeps the house spotless and that the cooking is done properly, she feels little to no obligation to go beyond this. It hasn’t come back to bite her in any way so why change something if it ain’t broken?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The silence of the early morning was broken by a loud beeping coming from a phone located on a table next to a small one person bed. A hand shot out from under a blanket covered lump and brought the phone closer.

 

 Alvin Summers turned off the alarm and sat up straight, the blanket falling to his lap, his eyes stared at wall whilst still in the dark. He had to be up now, five thirty in the morning. His day started now and would only end at about ten at night when he would sleep.

 

 Rubbing his eyes, he got up and felt around for the door, not even bothering to turn the lights on. He wasn’t going to spend much time in it; he had chores to do.

 

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, it became easier for Alvin to navigate the dark hallway. He moved silently as his step sister, a year his junior was in the room next to his and Wendy Mathers was not a person Alvin wanted to upset. Being an Amazon gave her at least two feet on his tiny frame and Amazons were also muscular than the average man and Alvin was not your average man when it came to size, at five feet six inches he was below that little statistic.

 

 Feeling the cool metallic doorknob, Alvin slowly turned it and let himself into the bathroom. Flipping a switch, the lone bulb flickered into life, wavering between light and dark before settling on illuminating the room.

 

 Alvin looked up, squinting as his eyes adjusted and made a mental note to replace it or his step mother Patricia would nag him incessantly about letting the house apart. Alvin hated her long speeches but he put up with it as she was the one paying the bills and she at least didn’t beat him, unlike some of the less savoury characters in his life.

 

 He stood in front of the sink and picked out his toothbrush, it was the most worn of the trio of toothbrushes in a cup and proceeded to apply toothpaste to it. As he brushed his teeth, he stared at his own reflection. His gaze briefly glanced at his own arm, a large purple bruise on his forearm. It was a reminder of what would happen to him if he ever disappointed her. It didn’t hurt anymore, the physical pain was always there but he had become increasingly numb to her blows.

 

  It was in stark contrast to his life eight years ago, when his father was still alive. Back then, he wasn’t the family maid. Sure he had chores and all but they were reasonable. He didn’t have to clean the entire house by himself and he didn’t have to make breakfast for the whole family every day.

 

 

  “ Thirty days to go,” Alvin repeated to himself after he had rinsed his mouth free of any toothpaste. He would be much happier once he left, a fact that he kept repeating to himself.

 

 Ten minutes later, he was down in the kitchen, making breakfast for Wendy and Patricia. The four  eggs were sizzling on the pan and Alvin deftly used his spatula to shift them from the hot metal pan to a pair of plates, two for Wendy and one each for Alvin and Patricia in addition to the three he had already prepared.

 

  Alvin then reached to the right of the stove and threw on half a pound of bacon, wincing as some of the hot oil landed on the back of his hand. He paid it no attention, he had been through worse. A lot worse.

 

  He looked at the four beef patties he still had to cook, “ Damn it, if only we didn’t have an Amazon in the family.” Fortunately for him, Patricia was not an Amazon and nor was she a Titan. It made cooking a lot less tiring than it already was.

 

**************

 

 “ Good morning Alvin,” said a chirp female voice.

 

 Alvin looked up as he scrubbed the kitchen counter clean of any grease and saw his stepmother Patricia in the kitchen, helping herself to the food he had made. It was still warm, Alvin made sure of it as his stepmother was a woman of routine, always coming down at six-fifteen and eating whatever he had made.

 

  She sat down, her auburn hair was neat, Alvin had never seen her hair in a mess in the morning. She was in her nightie, something she had worn ever since she married his father David nine years ago.

 

“ Good morning Patricia,” Alvin replied politely and resumed scrubbing the kitchen counter. She never insisted Alvin call her Mom, Alvin was glad she hadn’t. He never really saw as a maternal figure.

 

  “ Mmm...this is better than what I expected from you. Well done Alvin, you really outdid yourself.” Alvin should have been happy to hear it but she said it as if he were lower than her.

 

  Of course its better, I’ve been cooking and cleaning for you and your daughter since I was twelve, I should be better.

 

 He kept that to himself, it would be a mistake to give her lip.

 

 Alvin heard hip hop music being played upstairs, a sign Wendy had woken up, her phone alarm usually played her favourite song of the moment. He didn’t bother to comment onher taste in music but Patrica did as she ate.

 

 “ Oh your stepsister, always late to rise and late to bed. Honestly, why can’t she be like you?”

 

Yes, why can’t she do the chores for once?

 

 “ I’m sure she’s busy, being on the wrestling team must take a lot out of her and I heard she has a mountain of homework to finish.” Alvin tried to defend Wendy but he honestly didn’t care what her own mother thought of her, whatever Patricia thought about her still elevated above him.

 

 Patricia chuckled as she wiped her mouth, “ Oh thats sweet of you, speaking up for her.” She picked up her plate and proceeded to place it in the sink, leaving it to Alvin to clean it up for her while she went out to get the morning paper, Patricia would loved . It wasn’t an usual occurrence. Alvin learned to live with it.

 

  Twenty minutes later as Alvin sat down and ate his lukewarm breakfast, he saw his step sister Wendy enter the kitchen, her black hair a mess, wearing a loose black cotton shirt and dark blue running shorts, her tanned midriff left bare. As she passed the doorframe, her head narrowly missed it, her slightly over nine foot frame just enough to avoid bumping her head against the solid wooden frame.

 

  Most Amazons were either voluptuous or toned but his step sister was very much in the middle when it came to body type, a fact she resented..

 

 She had some muscle but it wasn’t particularly toned, her bare midriff exposed toned abs but she not the four pack that was common amongst Amazons. Her chest and waist were not very curvy, something she worked hard to overcome. 

 

 “ Morning Wendy,” Alvin grunted.

 

 “ Good morning to you Alvin,” waving away his grumpy reply.

 

 Patricia glanced up from her newspaper and looked on disapprovingly at Wendy’s attire, her hair was unkempt and her face looked unwashed.

 

 “Wendy, you’re a girl. Try to at least act like one, I’m already dressed and ready for the day ahead while you look like you just stepped out of bed.”

 

 Wendy glanced at Patricia, the latter was very picky about personal grooming but luckily for Alvin, he met the standards she set.

 

 “ Mom thats exactly what it is, I really just got out of bed.” Wendy didn’t try to argue much, wolfing down the stack of meat on her plate.

 

 “ You’re growing into a woman, try to take good care of your appearance. A man could dress like a slob and have it easier than a woman who does the same thing,” Patrica rebutted, looking back at the newspaper. Her eyes fell on a large advertisement for a particular women’s group, the crisp green and white colours of it standing out like an oasis in a desert.

 

 “ Wendy, how was school?” Patricia asked her sweetly, starting what called her morning update. Patricia was often out of the house and only returned when both of them were asleep, Alvin assumed she was working but his father had left behind a small fortune so she wasn’t exactly working to make ends meet.

 

   “ Fine, more work and of course, more wrestling practice. Coach has us working extra hard to get first place this year or really just me since everyone else didn’t even make it to the last eight at state level.” Wendy’s mood brightened as she answered her mother, she was proud of what she had achieved on the wrestling team.

 

 “ That’s wonderful. What about you, Alvin?” Patricia joyfully noted as she  turned her attention towards him.

 

 Alvin swallowed the last of his breakfast, “ Getting closer to graduation, prom and finals are like a month away so I’ll just have to keep studying. Not to mention track is getting close to the end with the state heats coming.”

 

 “ Good, I hope you win. You mentioned that college scouts will be there?” Patricia enquired further.

 

 “ Yep. If I impress them then I’m hoping to get a scholarship, it’ll make college easier.”

 

 Patricia said nothing more, returning to the newspaper she had picked up. Alvin found it strange whenever he mentioned how he would pay for his college education Patricia would become silent on it, refusing to continue or like now, ending the conversation. Wouldn’t most parents be happy if their kids tried to ease their financial burden?

 

 “ I’m going to wash the dishes then I’ll get ready for school.”  Alvin announced, neither of the two women bothering to acknowledge his statement. With a shrug of his shoulders, he put his plate in the sink and began washing it.

 As he was about to leave the kitchen, Wendy stuck out her leg, causing Alvin to trip. He crashed to the floor and looked up at Wendy who simply shrugged her shoulders, feigning ignorance. He turned to Patricia who acted as if it never happened. She never noticed the bruises too he assumed, either that or condoned it by not acknowledging it at all.

 

An hour later, Alvin sat in the car, waiting for Wendy to come down. He had needed about half an hour to wash the dishes, bathe, change and make sure his bag was packed. Wendy took much longer and he had turned on the radio, shifting through the various stations but settling one playing a song by Charlotte Lang, a popular Titan singer and more recently, actress.  

 

 It was an upbeat tune and he bobbed along with the beat, Alvin enjoyed music that was invigorating, even if the lyrics were repetitive at times and lacked substance. He closed his eyes for the few minutes it was, opening them only when he heard a loud knock on the car window.

 

 “ Hey Alvin, open up,” Wendy asked him in an irritated tone.

 

 Alvin reached over to the other side and opened the door for her, sometimes wishing he could just drive off .  Wendy slipped in, Patricia had bought the car to replace the old one as it was too small for Wendy. She wore denim shorts, a simple white shirt as she buckled herself in.

 

 “ I don’t get why Mom always asks you more questions. Am I that uninteresting?” Wendy sounded a little hurt despite trying to across as annoyed.

 

 Alvin started the engine, a simple push of a button was all it took in 2023, gone were the days when you needed a key. Biometric locks were now commonplace and pushing a button could either start a car, change gear or switch it off.

 

 “ I don’t know. Honestly, sometimes I wonder why she gets so quiet every time I say the word scholarship?” Alvin replied as he back out of the driveway and drove towards school.

 

 " Alvin," Wendy had a mischievous glint in her eye, Alvin hated it when she had that look on her face, it usually spelled trouble for him.

 

" Yes sister dear?" He used his most saccharine voice, dissatisfied with Wendy switching topics without giving a damn about him.

 

" Try not to make it too easy for my friends I to push you around. We like a challenge," Wendy laughed at her sinister joke. Alvin shuddered as he remembered what she had done to him. Shoving him in a locker, using him as a punching bag, Wendy and her buddies were only limited by their imaginations.

 

 

 

Alvin sat alone in the bleachers, they were made for Titans but the other sizes were free to use them, no restrictions. That was often the case, Titans allowing their smaller friends to sit on their shoulders or laps to watch games despite there being seats for the smaller sizes but sometimes friends just want to watch games together.

Alvin was waiting for track practice to start and he would spend the hour leading up to it sitting in the stands and observing life as it unfolded, his attention fixated on one particular group of people. He was watching the cheerleaders practice, a variety of normal women, Amazons and Titans, the Titans being the most prominent in the group. His eyes briefly focused on their captain, a tall blonde Titan by the name of Cassie Gissel. Slim with long blonde hair she often kept in a ponytail and with a decent bust too, she made the cheerleading outfit,a  blue and white top and skirt with the school name written in gold cursive letters on the top look exquisite.

She was quite the sight; especially since blonde Titans were rare, most of them being brunettes. Nowadays brunettes were preferred by modeling agencies, but in high school? Cassie was a diamond amongst rubies to her fellow students.  

 Everyone knew Cassie, even a withdrawn, and introverted guy like Alvin knew of her, from the small snippets he overheard while in the cafeteria, or in the gossiping that you’d find in the classroom as students waited for their teachers to enter.

 He looked around but he found his gaze returning to Cassie, executing some complex formation with her fellow cheerleaders. She was wonderful to watch, her movement fluid, her body full of life and energy… something he wished he had. Then again she probably never had the problems he had to deal with, her life seemed so much more complete than his was…

“ Hey Alvin!” A voice called, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Alvin jerked his head up and turned in the direction of the voice and when he saw the source of it he looked up. All the way up as he locked eyes with Katharine, a Titan and fellow student of the school.  Katharine was a brunette like the average Titan but her looks were FAR from average.

With straight, dark brown hair that came straight past her shoulders, pale blue eyes and a flawless complexion, she was a stunner for sure.. Even though she was slightly less endowed than Cassie (her breasts were still bigger than his car though) she was still a beauty in her own right. She had good fashion sense too, her slim fit pants and thin blue blouse gave attention to the right areas. She had a bag slung over her shoulder and she sat next to him, setting her bag such that she would be between it and Alvin.

She was a year younger than him but that didn’t stop them from meeting and talking. They weren’t very close but Alvin found it easy to talk to her about most things. They didn’t hang out very often but they’d stop and chat whenever they bumped into each other .

Alvin and Katharine were in the Titan section of the stadium was open to all sizes and was often a popular hangout for students after school.  “ What are you staring at?” She asked him, following his line of sight. A bemused smile broke out across her lips as she saw the girls Alvin had been staring at.

“Oh, is someone staring at the cheerleaders?” She raised an eyebrow, but her smirk never vanished from her face.

“No, no I wasn’t!” Alvin shot out, getting on the defensive. Katharine chuckled as she watched his nervous form, the size of her finger.

“Why do you have to be so sensitive? I’m only playing around. You’re a guy, so obviously you would be attracted to the-“ Katharine looked back at the cheerleaders.

“sluts who make a mockery of female pride. Now, which one of the bimbos made your member stir?” Alvin could not help but look back at the blonde. Katharine saw her too.

“You wouldn’t be the first guy to want her.”

Alvin shook his head, she couldn’t have been more wrong.

“ She’s pretty but I’ve heard rumours of what she does to boys on dates with her. If you don’t do whatever she wants, literally whatever she wants… I’ve got enough trouble in my life to try and invite her in. Sounds like too much trouble for me.” Alvin explained, he didn’t need another giant beating down on him, Wendy was more than enough.

“ Oh? That isn’t what most boys would say. Most of them would take the risk, ask her out.” Katharine liked Alvin for things like this, he wasn’t most boys in their age group, he had more long term goals, surprising due to his gender to her, but pleasant all the same.

“ I’m not most boys. I don’t have time to deal with relationships, I need that scholarship. Patricia was very clear about how I’d have to make it on my own for college. The track meet is at the end of the month and I really need to impress those scouts. If not….” He felt more anxious as he thought about what would happen if he failed to get it. He had pinned all of his dreams on it.

“You could work your way through college,” Katharine suggested, trying to be helpful.

That was a solution he had been contemplating and it had its merits; Alvin was already used to a hard life, why not extend it a few more years?

He looked up at Katharine, the Titan girl meant well but he had hoped he’d have it easier once he got out from under his step family’s thumb. She was still interested in the conversation, while he was hoping the subject could be changed.

“ I could,” He had of course thought about this, but he had not liked the inevitable outcome.

He locked his fingers together, briefly twiddling his thumbs as he looked down at the concrete floor.

“ You know, I would have joined the astronomy club if I didn’t have to worry about money. It’s where I feel the most at home. They even asked but I had to turn them down. Still feels like a mistake.”

Katharine reached down from above and gently scooped up Alvin before depositing him on her thigh. Ever since he had met her, he had to learn that unlike most Titans, she simply picked him up whenever she felt like it.

“It’s too late to undo it. They’re smart people, I talked to a few of them; good place to be but if you want something meaningful, join my cause. I only just got in with Lindsey and if you joined then I’d have another friend with me. Plus we’re always on the lookout for men to join, it’d add some real weight to our cause.” She  said, hoping he’d accept her offer.

“What was its name again? Women’s Right? Is that it? He placed his hand on her thigh as he turned, it felt tense.

Katharine sighed. She muttered to herself about today’s youth.

  

He leaned forward, briefly looking at the cheerleaders who appeared to be doing one of their more inclusive routines where the Amazons and normals would use a Titan’s body as part of it. He lingered on it, Cassie was being use as the stage, it was rare for the captain to do that. Most captains would aim to stay in the limelight but Cassie was allowing her smaller squad mates a chance to shine.

Good leadership, he thought up to himself. Pretty succinct and straight to the point.  

Katharine was obviously upset and justifying herself when she noticed his heads were in the clouds. “ Oh Alvin…” Katharine sighed upon her realization that Alvin was once again staring at Cassie.

“ Should I bring you down to her? Let you two hit it off?” She asked. Using her hand to block his view of her, annoying him.

“ Alright, where were we?” He asked her, mildly annoyed.

“ Well, I was about to tell you off about your obliviousness, and tell you about a group that seeks to further humanity, and you don’t even know the movement is taking place, but I’ll let that slide as you were busy imagining what  Cassie’s knockers would feel like.”

“Sorry…”

“Watch the news once in a while, you will learn about the real world. You won’t always have your sister to look out for you.”

“ Lets just say I’d rather let the evil stepmother from Cinderella look out for me.” He ended it that way, no need to elaborate on his opinion of Wendy.

Katharine on the other hand was confused, she found Wendy to be a reasonable, yet somewhat brash girl. Her step brother of all people should have gotten along with her?

“ Why would you say that? I’ve seen how Wendy acts around her friends… is she troublesome at home?”

Alvin just shook his head, it was his fault for not telling someone but then again, he always felt like he didn’t have anyone to go to.

“ It’s within the family, lets keep it at that,” Alvin replied. Katharine was certainly not that person, she was too close to Wendy for that.

Both of them sat in silence. Alvin had never divulged such information to her before and she felt as if she were between a rock and a hard place. A spot she rarely found herself in, Katharine was a brilliant girl.

 “Alright we’ll leave it at that,” Katharine picked up on the rising levels of awkwardness. She didn’t want to push Alvin into something he didn’t like.

Alvin looked down and his heart sank like a stone as he saw Wendy and her friends, a mixture of Amazons and normals seated several rows down. They were laughing, enjoying themselves and worst of all, they could see him. Alvin had witnessed her friend Camilla looking up at him and pointing that fact out to Wendy. He looked back at Katharine, glad that since she didn’t know, Wendy probably wasn’t going to let her know now so as long as Katharine was him, he would have some protection from his step sister.

 Suddenly, a loud beep could be heard, coming from within Katharine’s pants pocket. He could feel himself vibrating and he realised what it was, Katharine’s phone was ringing.

‘ Sorry about that,” Katharine apologised while reaching into her pocket, her hand raising the ground around. Alvin moved to a less inclined part of her thigh.

Katharine looked at the screen, it was Lindsey and Katharine had guessed what she was calling about. She swiped the screen with her finger and answered the phone.

“ Hey Lindsey!” she said into the phone. Alvin thought of listening to the call but he was too far below to even hear it, he was just hoping that Katharine wouldn’t leave.

“ Oh right! I was just talking to Alvin and I must have lost track of the time. I’ll be right over, save me a seat next to you. Alright then, see you there! Bye!” Katharine ended the call and placed her phone back in her pocket, pushing it in with her thumb.

“ Time to get off, I have to go. School club and I’m almost late.” Katharine plucked him off her comforting thigh, and placed him back on the cold bleacher. He didn’t want this, she had to stay.

“ Can’t you stay a bit longer?” He pleaded while glancing down at Wendy, the very thought of being left alone to fend off that psycho and the hellspawn she called friends was unnerving.

“ No I can’t. You could come with me to the meeting if you want, then we can talk for a bit I guess.” Katharine sensed an opportunity and had extended her offer.

“ I...erm...well...you see...I don’t” Alvin stuttered, he didn’t want to go to her meeting. Going there would probably mean being stuck there forever and he had no intention of joining some political group.

Katharine could see the hesitation in his eyes, how he was fumbling his words and felt a sense of disappointment, it would be pointless to have him join and drop out. She’d try again when he felt more sure of it.

“ I won’t force you to join if you don’t want to. See you around,  goodbye!” She waved him goodbye and turned, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she walked off.

Alvin wanted to beat himself up for letting her go like that but he wouldn’t need to. Wendy would do it for him and as he looked down at the group of girls, he could see them coming closer with each step.

He knew what to do, what would happen if he messed it up. He leaned forward, tensed his legs and burst forward with all the speed and power he could muster. He didn’t care where he was going, he only wanted to get away. Unfortunately for him, a few voices behind him proved that his legs needed to move a lot faster.

 

Alvin ran, every cell in his body working as hard as it could to keep him going. He could hear them calling his name, loud and clear above the cacophony of noise but it only spurred him to quicken his pace, the sounds of their voices reminding him of what was at stake.

He knew what Wendy could do and how all of that got worse when she chose to do it with her cronies, each of them as sadistic as his step sister.  

 There was Camilla, an Amazon of course. At nine and a half feet tall she towered over her eight foot comrades.  She had black hair to her shoulders, and loved wearing tank tops to show off her physique. Not that any guy had any problem with that; there seemed to be two types of Amazon, one of which fit Camila’s description to the letter. Well built, thick, and muscular, but not ripped like the hulk, but sexy in a strong, well toned sort of way. She was descended from Venezuela. And her well endowed chest, skin tone, hips and four pack emphasized this.  She was also on the wrestling team with Wendy,a trait shared by most of Wendy’s friends.

 Then there was Serena, a normal girl of Welsh descent but even she was taller than Alvin, standing at five feet eleven inches. While she looked demure thanks to her willowy frame, strawberry blonde hair and green eyes, she had a black belt in jiu jitsu, skill enough to even immobilise an Amazon.

 Finally, Britney rounded up the gang that was in hot pursuit of Alvin. Slightly under eight feet and of Dutch descent, she could be described as the polar opposite of Camilla in physique. While Camilla was all muscle, Britney had a body a stripper would die for. Lustrous black hair, wide hips, big breasts, a tan you only got after hours at the beach and of course, teal eyes you could get lost in for hours if you ever gazed into them. None of that came at the cost of brute strength, she could still pummel a man; even the strongest man would struggle against a weak Amazon.

 So it was just Alvin’s luck to have this quartet of trouble chasing him. Alvin turned back briefly and saw Camilla shove a rather scrawny boy out of the way, his face impacting the steel locker hard.

 Crap, why can’t I be chased by Amazons who are in love with me instead of resenting me?

Wishful thinking on his part as he turned past a pair of Amazons chatting over some schoolwork, something he could have been doing if not for Wendy.

 The crowd was starting to thin as he ran, approaching the Titan section of the school. Alvin had been here once as he was getting some help from a Titan on the track team. Like last time, he could see the lockers up against the walls, rising up like the office buildings in town, grey and uniform. He paused and turned and much to his dismay, he could see Wendy, Camilla and Britney still running after him. The only reason he could even keep himself going was his track training and adrenaline, the latter failing to mask his fatigue with each second that passed, his limbs turning to lead with each step.

 “ God…” He muttere , panting heavily and willed his body to run, making a sharp left turn, hoping that his pursuer’s larger inertia would slow them down. He saw a Titan foot, covered up in some sort of faux fur boot and ran between it and its counterpart , narrowly avoiding being stepped on. He had risked death many times before although Wendy never put him in a hospital, she seemed to know how far she could hurt him before a line was crossed. This fact was neither comforting nor a relief to him.

Alvin ran through an open door, his options dwindling and was about to look back when something heavy collided with him. He hit the ground face first, the wind knocked out of him.

“ I got him!” Camilla yelled triumphantly, a grin plastered on her face, lined with a layer of perspiration from the running.

 Wendy and Britney slowed down before coming to a stop, both of them winded by the run. Unlike Alvin, the Amazons had to squeeze into cramped openings or when space was lacking, create their own by pushing and shoving.

 “ Get him up Camilla,” Wendy ordered.

 Alvin lifted by a pair of broad hands and placed back on his feet, his back sore from the fall. He turned and found himself facing  her crotch, Camilla’s shorts barely holding her curves together. If Camilla weren’t an amazon, he’d probably be staring straight into her cleavage but Camilla was not even the largest of the Amazons, no she and Wendy were one of the smaller ones.

 They could be big enough to make him look like a five year old when next to him. He suspected Wendy would love to belittle him that way, treat him like the child she imagined him to be.

  It was no mean feat for Camilla to lift Alvin, no different from a mother carrying her newborn child and she loved how she could make even the biggest man feel like a mere child in her presence.

  Camilla smiled briefly at Alvin before sending her knee straight into his chin, it was easy given how she had almost four feet on Alvin. The impact threw him back, jarring his senses , leaving him unable to block her next move. Camilla then pinned Alvin against a wall of metal, her forearm pressed against his chest. Alvin struggled against her, his wiggles were in vain as he barely moved her arm at all.

  That wasn’t even the worst part, deep down in him some part of his subconscious actually enjoyed being dominated the tent pole in his pants was evidence of that. He couldn’t help it, the sight of her breasts all scrunched up in her tank top as she dominated him, threatening to pop out of it was too much for him.

 “ Are you enjoying this?” Camilla  could scarcely contain her disbelief as she saw what Alvin was trying to conceal. She pushed her chest against him, constricting his ribcage but with her mounds grinding against him, Alvin’s member was defying all logic.

“ No...no….I’m not!” He squeaked, putting his arms against her shoulders and shoving her. Nothing. Not even a little budge from Camilla.

 Camilla chuckled at the sight before her, Alvin’s attempts at escaping weakening before he finally gave in, realising the futility of even trying. She then looked down at him.

 He spotted Wendy and Britney approaching him, the former looking very smug about the whole situation.

 “ Oh dear….someone actually enjoys being our bitch a little too much,” Wendy eyed his erection with a mixture of curiosity and disgust. Alvin tried to cross his legs to cover it but it had little effect, his erect member defying him.

 “ I’ll be sure to make a note of that. Next time your friend decides to show up during one of our playtimes I’ll deal with it myself. Get off him Camilla before he creams himself. You wouldn’t want his juice all over you.”

 Camilla alleviated the pressure on Alvin’s chest, her breasts no longer compacting his chest which made it easier to return his penis to a flaccid state although it was still a challenge when Camilla filled most of his vision.

 Just get it over and done with, it was a faint hope but Alvin was hoping for that. A quick session of torture and he could at least spend the next few hours recuperating rather than the long drawn out ones Wendy was growing more partial to in recent weeks.

  “ Now….why did you run? Your sister is very worried about you.” Wendy asked in a condescending tone, towering over Alvin like a malevolent god. She stroked his face with the back of her hand, her knuckles grazing his cheek.

 “ Bitch you know very well why.” Alvin spat at her he might be scared of her but with his back literally against the wall, there was only way one left: forward and he would make sure that he wouldn’t go down without putting up a fight, disregarding his earlier thought of a quick death.

 “ A little fight in you? I like that and no, I don’t know why. So why don’t you TELL me?” She leered at him, her soaked with sweat. All of them, including Alvin were drenched in their own sweat.

 “ Oh...I was late for something,” Alvin responded almost immediately, doing his best not to let his fear show. He suspected Wendy could smell fear and just maybe...she could detect movement too.

“ I doubt it. You’re in your track and field outfit, those shorts flaunting your toothpick legs. I don’t even know if your dick is big or are your legs so small it makes your two inches look like plenty.” she replied. Alvin looked down at his own pair of legs but found Camilla’s meaty arm in his way. Wendy loved to mock him for having the school’s smallest penis, he took solace in that it could never be corroborated and that it meant she acknowledged him as a man ,there were other times when even the latter was non-existent.

 “ Alright they might be but thats only because you have thunder thighs and mine happen to be well proportioned,” Alvin’s barb hitting Wendy hard.

 She slammed her hand against the wall, Alvin could have sworn she managed to leave a handprint on it as the metal bent ever so slightly.

 “ You’re surprisingly fast but not fast enough ‘brother’,” Alvin thought she was going to gag when she acknowledged him as a sibling.

 “ Britney, keep a look out and when Serena comes in, tell her to do the same. I don’t want to be caught in a Titan changing room with this little creep,” Alvin looked around, how had he not seen this? He was in a women’s changing room, how stupid could he get?

 “ Oh...did you just realise where you are?” Camilla scoffed at him.

“ Let me do the talking Camilla, he is my….brother through marriage so I’ll let you keep your hands clean. Now let him go. Alvin, don’t think that I’ll go easy on you just because we’re in school, I don’t hold back.”

 Camilla removed her forearm from his chest, Alvin felt relieved to have that weight off his chest and he moved forward but Wendy pushed him back with her hand. Alvin didn’t bother to try and resist, Camilla still hung around Wendy like a well trained dog awaiting its next orders.

Wendy leaned in and flexed her bicep when it was near Alvin’s head, the arm responding with a huge bulge. She expected a reaction from Alvin, a shiver, a shudder or a flinch from him but nothing came out, Alvin had become desensitised to her intimidation.

“ See this? This is what got me to second place in the state championships last season but this time...I’ll be first; but to be first I need practice. Maybe I should practice on you? You’re always willing to help me, you never say no at home and I think you need it, a reminder of your place,” Her voice bursting with rage, rage that Alvin often himself on the receiving end of.

“ No amount of practice can help you, you’ve neither Camilla’s muscle nor Britney’s body which is….enticing. You’re a shapeless underdeveloped girl, face it. You’ll forever be second best. Now fuck off and we can both get out of each other’s way. ” Alvin was pleased with himself but then he realised what he had said and what he had done.

He had crossed a line. Camilla gasped, eyes widened as she covered her mouth. Wendy’s eyes watered briefly and this would normally be when the beating started. Alvin prepared himself for the beatdown she’d dish out.

 “ Really?” Wendy wiped her eyes, cursing herself for having to do this in front of Alvin.

 “ Wendy….” Camilla chimed in. Wendy turned, her dark hair brushing against Alvin’s chest.

 “ What?” She asked, her voice buzzing with irritation.

 “ Alvin went too far and normally we’d beat him up but lets not have the little bastard dirty our hands. We’re in a Titan changing room so why not leave him here? Let those walking towers do the work for us.”

  Alvin was starting to get nervous, his palms beginning to sweat and his brow furrowed as he heard Camilla’s suggestion.

 “ I like it,” Wendy replied and turned back to her quarry, looking him straight in the eye. “ Alvin here is too used to my methods so we’ll let someone take over for a change. Camilla, do you still have the jump rope in your locker?”

 “ Still do, been in there since we came back from Easter,” Camilla answered.

 “ Good, go get it. We’re leaving him here. Take either Britney or Serena with you, I’ll stay with Alvin, we have plenty of time before the cheerleaders get back.” Wendy  pulled her arm back and punched Alvin in the gut, causing him to spray saliva as he gasped for air.

 “ Come on...don’t do this. I take back what I said,” Alvin wheezed.

 “ Too late, I’m going to enjoy this.”

 

It took about five minutes before Camilla returned with a ten foot jump rope, the cloth rope was a little worn in the middle and the wood was faded but it was in good condition.

  “ Alright, lets tie him up.” Wendy whistled a short tune that rose in pitch and in came Serena and Britney, both of them eager to tie up Alvin.

 Camilla grabbed his wrists and pushed them together, her vice like grip making it impossible for Alvin to wiggle out of. Camilla did the same to his ankles, she used her thick thighs as clamp on them, immobilising him.

“ Before we start, you better put a sock in it.” Wendy removed her left sneaker and then her sock, rolling it into a ball and held it close to his face, a strong sour smell emanating from it.

 “ Open up,” she commanded. Alvin shook his head, he wasn’t going to let her just put a sock in his mouth. Wendy had little time for this and delivered a kick to his groin. Alvin collapsed to the floor and while his mouth was open, Wendy stuffed the sock in.

 “ Try to spit out and there’ll be another kick to the balls for you.” Alvin complied, tears streaming down his face from the pain, his spirit crushed.

 

 While he was busy getting acquainted to Wendy’s foot taste,  Wendy and Serena tied him up, the room was quiet, occasionally some Titans could be heard discussing something but no one came in to help Alvin who lay on the linoleum floor and stared up into the ceiling. The fire in him that fueled his fightback extinguished, this was a new low for Wendy.

Once the last knot was secured, Wendy and her friends stared down at him, looking at him with no sympathy but with a sense of accomplishment.

 “ Good luck Alvin, you’ll need it but I guess it’ll be a dream come true when those walking mountains crush you under their breasts, use you as a butt plug. You know...the very sort of thing that gets you off, letting a big girl have her way with you. Goodbye you sick little shit.” Wendy said to him before waving goodbye. She had no regrets over leaving him here and why would she? He had made fun of her body.

 “ Come on girls, lets hit the mall. I need something chock full of carbs after this workout,” Wendy stated but in a merrier voice. All of the other girls agreed with her, ignoring Alvin who just lay there, wondering what lay ahead for him. He wouldn’t need to wait too long, his answer would come through the door.

 *********

  “ Okay girls, it’s a wrap. See you all tomorrow! ” Cassie was tired, panting with each breath, all those workouts still left her winded after three hours of practice. The girls waved goodbye to her, Cassie was well liked by all of the girls on the team, it was not an exaggeration as she made it a point to get know each and every member of the squad, no matter what their position was.

  “ Cassie,” Jamila called out to her while everyone had split up into their little cliques and went off to the locker rooms to wash up and change. The Lebanese girl was slightly shorter than Cassie by a couple of feet but on their scale it would hardly register. She had long brown frizzy hair, lightly tanned skin ,  mocha eyes and a slim body, toned like Cassie but Jamila was not as shapely as her.

 “ What’s up Ja?” Cassie used her nickname for her.

 “I wanted to know if you’re free to catch a movie later, Nadya will be there, she’s bringing her new boyfriend. He’s from the astronomy club.” she told Cassie, sounding surprised at what Nadya found.

 “ Really? Is it Josh? He’s supposed to be quite the catch, not that I ever noticed him,” Cassie replied as the two started off on a walk, careful where they placed their feet as there were still normals and Amazons on the field; it was one of those artificial ones made of Astroturf with the plastic grass and black granules that acted as a soil substitute.

 Jamila giggled and playfully slapped Cassie on the back, “ That’s because you spend all your time with them looking into the telescope, your butt jutting out and giving them the view of a lifetime!”

 Cassie blushed, “ It’s both flattering and a little creepy at the same time but I can’t help it if none of the boys in school can hold my attention for long, most of them just want to get into my pants,” she noted with disappointment.

 “ What about Liam from the football team? You guys were going out for three months and then nothing,” Jamila questioned her, Cassie had ceased to even talk about Liam recently, they were never even seen together.

  “ Oh come on Ja, you know why…” Cassie answered, irked by Jamila’s question. “ He tried to get to second base on our last date and at first I was taken aback because I never let any boy touch my puppies.  I felt a little miffed at what he did but what he said really got to me. He said he was doing what he and the other boys wanted and that was to feel my….” Cassie stopped, she didn’t want to continue, she was feeling down just talking about it .

 “ It’s okay, I get it. Liam is a douche and you got back at him right? Gave him your famous makeover?” She asked, looking pleased as she remembered the photos Cassie shared with him. She, Cassie and Nadya had a bomb just looking at all the photos she took of the exes that had crossed her.

 This did pick up her mood, Cassie looked back with a smile as they entered a long corridor, the changing room right at the end of it, failing to notice the oncoming Titan .

 “ Yeah I-” She bumped into someone, a tall pretty brunette.

 ‘ Sorry…” she said to the girls but Cassie pulled on her wrist to get a look at her

Katharine felt the tug and she looked back to see it was Cassie and another cheerleader whom she didn’t recognise.

 

 “ It’s okay. Hey I saw you today looking at us. Interested in joining the squad…” Cassie dismissed the bump as an accident, nothing more. Her eyes scrutinised Katharine and she beamed at her, “ you have the potential, you’ve got the looks and if you’ve got the-”

“ I’m sorry but I’d rather do something meaningful rather than be someone with the image of a whore,” she interjected, yanking her arm free of Cassie and walking off in a huff.

“ Wow...that was rude. What’s got her panties in a twist?” Cassie had an urge to drag that girl back and give her a piece of her mind.

 “ Don’t bother...I think she’s one of those girls who belong to that women’s group, I’ve heard about them and I wouldn’t even bother with her, lets just have a nice shower and then...movie time!” Jamila was acidic towards Katharine in her tone but progressed to a more soothing one.

 “ You’re right, lets go.” Cassie turned her back on Katharine and followed Jamila into the changing room.

**************

   Alvin was struggling to free himself but to no avail, Wendy and Serena’s knots were too tight for him to slip out of and his heart was in mouth when the first Titans, came in, four of them but none of them noticed him, their lockers were on the other side.

  At first he was grateful but then he realised the dilemma he was in; he could get caught and be seen as a pervert by the a Titan or remain hidden and probably unnoticed until someone found his decomposing corpse, tied up like a roast pig but substitute the apple with a pair of sweaty pungent socks. Then again he probably was a pervert, he else could he explain the erection he sported when Camilla was holding him down? Normal people didn’t get that.

  The ground shook as two more Titans entered, one of them sounding pissed.

“ I know you said to forget about that girl but honestly,who is she to judge us? Image of a whore? Do I look like one to you?” Cassie asked Jamila, enraged at Katharine’s judgment of her.

 Her steps were harder as she came closer and closer to him, her feet were slender but they could still crush the life out of him. Alvin believed it was the end and as the area around him darkened as Cassie’s left foot passed over him. He got a reprieve as it slammed down next to him, shaking the ground. Alvin managed to roll his body, shifting on to his back and look up,  he would have swallowed after looking straight up but he didn’t want to choke on his gag. He was now looking straight up Cassie’s skirt, a pair of cream white panties visible to him. He was no pervert but he did comprehend the magnitude of this, he was getting a sight most boys wanted but none could.

 Oh God why must this happen now, she’ll think I’m a voyeur or something!

Then he remembered, she couldn’t see him and Alvin was thankful she couldn’t, this would be the worst time to know he was there.

 “ Of course not Cass, she’s just jealous of you! You have brains , beauty and friends who love you! That girl will probably end up one as those crazy hags in the street or something! Yelling something about the world ending while looking and smelling like sewage!”

 Cassie turned to Jamila, the latter’s words were a balm for the wound Katharine inflicted on her.

 “ Yeah you’re right,” She bent down to turn the combination lock when Jamila let out a shrill scream.

 “ What is it?” she asked, stopping to look at her distressed friend.

Jamila pointed at a spot between Cassie’s legs, her hand trembling. “ There’s a guy down there, he’s peeking at your skirt!”

Cassie stepped back and was disgusted at she saw, a boy all tied up and getting the view of his life. This was the last straw and she glowered at him, reaching down to pick him up.

  Alvin felt her powerful slender fingers pick him up, her thumb pressing against his whilst her pointer finger supported his back, his ascension was slow but no less nerve wracking. He stopped rising once he was level with her face.

 “ You sick little pervert, I don’t even want to know what you led you to this. Just know that you picked a bad time for this.” Cassie’s fawn eyes burned with anger as they shot daggers at Alvin and he was shitting bricks as fingers larger than him squeezed his chest, causing him to cough with enough force to spit out the gag.

 “ You’re into bondage aren’t you? Oh god…” She looked sickened by what she saw, a masochistic pervert, those words hitting him like a ton of bricks. She then ripped the jump rope off him and Alvin breathed a huge sigh of relief but he still needed to explain everything to the Titans.

 “ Lets bring him to the principal, we’ll let her deal with him” Jamilla proposed Cassie held out a hand, she had an idea.

 “ No….I’ll handle this.” She turned back to Alvin who could finally speak.

“ Wait-” Cassie squeezed Alvin again, cutting off him before he could say anything.

 “ You don’t get to talk. You picked the worst time to get on my bad side.” She glowered at Alvin.

“ I’m still recovering from my last break up , some girl called me a prostitute on the way in from practice and to complete the set, I have you, the first person to skip all that courtship and romance and sneak into my pants so that he can get off on some warped fantasy of his. Guess what? I have a lot of anger to vent and you’ll be my little stress ball.” She gave Alvin another squeeze, this time on his groin, her thumb pressing down with enough force to turn his face red.

 Cassie smiled as she watched Alvin squirmed, “ It’s going to be a lot worse when I get home, this is just the beginning.” ,

Alvin shuddered at the thought of this. Wendy was bad enough but he had succeeded in crossing a Titan, one who literally had him in the palm of her hand. If crushing his crown jewels was an appetiser, the main course would be something you’d expect to find in the deepest circle of Hell.

 She unlocked her locker, pulled out her handbag. It was  a bright pink Luxom handbag. one of her favourite handbags. Given her status, Alvin was not surprised she owned one.Cassie then proceeded to unzip the bag and dropped Alvin inside.

“ Just let me-” Cassie ignored his pleas as she zipped it up.

“ I’ll deal with you later. I need a shower, it will give me some time to think of a punishment fit for something as inhuman as you.” Cassie left a little gap, to allow air inside, scant consolation for Alvin as he was now her prisoner.

 Alvin looked around, the inside of her bag was dark except for a small circle of light that came through and wondered whether he would ever lead a proper life. Of all the days he had suffered, the worst one was not even over.

 

 

Alvin looked up at the hole, that little hole was the only access he had to the outside world and as he squinted into the darkness, he could find no way to even climb his way out, the smooth walls of his prison left no chance.

 For now the bag was stationary, Alvin able to make out the dragging of feet across the floor and the occasional conversation although he wasn’t able to discern the exact words used. Since he was going to be Cassie’s prisoner for the next few hours, he decided to rummage through whatever was in the bag with him, learn more about his captor.

  Taking his first step into the dark, he bumped his knee against something jutting out. Giving his knee a little rub to ease the pain, he tried to drag it out but it wouldn’t move, he wasn’t strong enough.

 “ What the hell is this?” He asked himself, scratching his head. He groped around, feeling the object. It was rectangular and the size of a dinner table. He felt something raised, it seemed to be a button. Deciding to find out more, Alvin pressed down on it, needing to use his body weight just to push.

“ Gah!” He shouted as a white light flooded the space he was in. When his eyes had adjusted, Alvin saw it: he had stumbled upon Cassie’s phone. She used a Nokia-IBM model, the NIBM-4, the latest smartphone model from the company. Most Titans used their phones as the other brands rarely made phones scaled up for thems, the likes of Apple, Samsung and other major brands stuck to manufacturing phones for Amazons and normals.

 The phone itself was not remarkable but Cassie’s choice of picture for the lock screen was interesting. He couldn’t believe it but it had to be a picture of a younger Cassie in winter clothes. The girl in the picture looked shorter, with acne, her hair in pigtails and next to a woman he assumed was Cassie’s mother. She resembled an older version of Cassie and it seems Cassie inherited her beauty from her, she had similar face shape, cheekbones and while not as slim as Cassie was now, Alvin could tell she was a great beauty in her day. She and her mother had broad smiles on them.

 Alvin noticed a small man in Cassie’s hand, holding on to her thumb for support. Alvin could not make out his features but he knew Cassie had no siblings so he immediately assumed that the man was her father.

 “ Wow...puberty really did you a favour,” Alvin remarked as he stared at her pockmarked face and rather unremarkable body. If he had to guess, it would seem Cassie was about thirteen to fourteen years old.

  Alvin then noticed something odd, the background was something he did not expect a cheerleader to pose in front of. It was a large observatory, resembling a golf ball sans the indentations with a slit for a telescope to point out of.

Why would Cassie even enjoy that? She was a cheerleader, they were supposed to love manicures and pedicures, going to the mall, watching chick flicks and dating the jocks.

******

Alvin spent the next two hours searching in the dark, trying to learn more about the Titan that now decided his fate. It was difficult when his prison started to shake and sway more than a yacht in a freak storm. Alvin could hardly stand up and was forced to baby crawl his way around.

Apart from the phone, he found nothing that would divulge any further information on Cassie, no startling revelations although he did find a year’s supply of lip balm for him and his family, a pack of mints with each tablet the size of a hotdog and a purse he couldn’t open, the lock too heavy for him to lift.

After fifteen minutes of idleness, the zip began to open and Cassie peered inside as light flooded the once pitch dark handbag.

 “ Ah….you’re still here. Not that running would have helped you, I’d track you down the next day and bring you home with me.” She said to him rather curtly, she had no intention to show him any respect, not after what she thought he had done.

Cassie lowered her hand into the bag. Alvin didn’t resist, anything he did to fight would be irrelevant. He could outrun Amazons but against a Titan, he had little hope.

  “ At least you’re not struggling, most of the other boys struggled,” She said as she lifted him up, her hands acting like a crane.

 She deposited Alvin on the floor where she was sitting. She glowered at him but if she weren’t, she would have been a gorgeous girl simply wanting to spend time with Alvin. Alvin could smell her body wash, flowery with a hint of lavender. She wore a fitting white shirt that traced her curves well and a pair of loose shorts that fit her waist well. Cassie had let her down, a straight mane of blonde hair cascading past her shoulders. To put it simply, Alvin found her beauty breathtaking but her anger was what kept him on the edge.

 “ So...lets get your name before we start. JUST a name, you don’t talk unless I let you,” Cassie was firm and rather troubled by the sight of him.

“ Alvin,” he replied, looking her straight into the eye but trying not to shake too much, adopting the strategy he used with Wendy before, no expression of fear, face your maker without averting your eyes. This time he would have to think twice before saying anything like that to Cassie. She could probably take out Wendy and all of her friends with just her finger and they’d be powerless to even stop her.

“ That’s it? No last name Alvin or you too stupid to even remember?” Cassie spat out, spooking Alvin who realised how little a breathing room she was leaving him with.

 “Summers, my name is Alvin Summers,” he replied quickly. He doubt she would even know and as her eyebrows bent and her face scrunched up in thought proved him correct.

 “ No, I don’t know an Alvin Summers. I’ve never even heard of Alvin Summers. Do you even go to FDR High or did you sneak in to jerk off at the sight my panties?” She jabbed her finger into his chest and as he was thrown back a few metres, Alvin knew that she barely put any effort into it.

 Alvin sat up, a little disoriented from the blow but he was able to stand. He felt his ribs, none of them were broken or even cracked in anyway, the pain fading to a dull ache quickly.

  “ I do go to FDR, I’m on the track and field team. I wear their uniform and everything, ask Madeline, she is on the team.”

 Cassie squinted and she was able to make out what was indeed FDR’s track and field uniform, causing her to roll her eyes at her own mistake.

 “ So what you’ve got a uniform, anyone can get that. As for your alibi, are you referring to Madeline Wong?”

  Alvin nodded and got another jab to the chest, this one weaker than the previous  but still enough to push him to the wooden floor.

 “ No gestures!” She yelled, her voice like a hurricane, all encompassing and deafening.

 “ Yes, Madeline Wong. The only Titan on the team,” Alvin quickly rose to his feet, refusing to stay down, he would explain himself and she’d let him go.

“ I do remember a Madeline, she’s chinese so you might be right. Okay Alvin Summers, its time for your punishment.” Alvin could not believe it, she was not even going to let him explain what happened.

 “ Wait! Aren’t you going to let me explain my-” Alvin was thrown back a few feet by Cassie’s index finger slamming into his chest and knocking the wind out of him. He was both terrified and amazed by what had happened, Camilla and Wendy needed to do a bit of work just to do that but Cassie had achieved it through minimal effort and with great control.

 “ No,” Cassie then picked out some bottles of nail polish  and placed it by Alvin.

 “ You did the crime, now you’ll do the time,” she chuckled to herself over making a little rhyme.

Alvin had an idea of what was going to happen as he looked at Cassie’s toes, her toenails painted black. However, Cassie didn’t explain it but she took out her camera and took a picture of him.

 “ What was that for?” He was puzzled by her move, made little to no sense. Cassie giggled to herself whilst putting her phone away, shoving it into her back pocket where it rested against her curvaceous bottom.

 “ A before picture.” She answered before turning her attention back to him.

 “ Before what? What are you going to do to me?” Alvin didn’t want photographic evidence but it seemed he would be heading down that path.

 “ A lesson, split up into little sub lessons. Your first one will be to paint my toenails...Oh, lets see what I have here?” Cassie found herself unsure of what to do next or more specifically, what colour would suit her nails best? She looked at the bottles of polish she had laid at her feet; fuschia, azure and then a clear polish.

Cassie looked back at her toes and gave them a wiggle, ignoring Alvin as she pondered the next colour she’d put on. Nothing came to mind and she looked back at the bottles, her eyes lingering the longest on fuschia.

 “ Paint them fuschia while I get some work done,” Cassie used an authoritative tone, the same one she used on every date that used her to get bragging rights or tried to get fresh her.

She  reached for a large tablet and turned it on. Alvin recognised it, it was a tablet given to every Titan when they were in school. All their notes and assignments were uploaded on to it. Cassie then took out a grey stylus the length of her palm  from one side of the tablet and proceeded to start on her work.

“ Better get started Alvin, If I’m done with this page and you haven’t even done one foot then you’ll be in for a world of hurt.More than just me flicking your chest, it’ll look like a walk in the park compared to what’ll follow.”

 Alvin needed no invitation, quickly unscrewing the bottle. It was taxing on him to lift the brush off the bottle and it was a challenge making sure he didn’t let it fall to the ground. Eventually he was able to grasp the end like a sword and moved to Cassie’s big toe on her left foot. .

 Cassie hadn’t bothered to check on him and while he did consider escaping, he highly doubted he would even get to the front door before she caught him. With that out, he began to paint her toe, treating it as if it were a master piece. He made sure all of his strokes were in one direction, he wanted to leave no room for Cassie to criticise him and most likely dole out more beatings with her finger.

 After some time Cassie decided to check on Alvin, see if he had messed up her toes like all the other boys did.

“ Stop,” she commanded him just as he was about to start on another toe.

 For Alvin, that was a relief. His arms were starting to burn after what felt like an hour of applying nail polish to toe nails the size of laptops and weighed as much as a several men.

 “ Thank you,” Alvin replied, his answer soft and weakened from fatigue. He used the brush as a stick to prop himself up, he’d let his hands get nail polish on it if he could rest for a couple of minutes.

 “ Wow….” Cassie exclaimed , putting down her tablet and stylus to take a closer look. Alvin had done a good job, most of them would just swipe the brush across without caring but Alvin had taken the effort to have the lines going in one direction, covering all angles. She  was impressed and chuckled to herself but realised she couldn’t let Alvin know how impressed she was so she ceased all of that.

 He had covered about four toes, her little toe was the last one for her left. Cassie chose to keep any comments to herself for now, she’d let Alvin finish the rest.

“ Carry on. I’ll check again,” she said while sounding  very emotionless and apathetic. Deep down, it was a different story altogether.

  Alvin enjoyed his rest but he had hoped she would have told him to as he could tell she was impressed by his work. He couldn’t fight back now so he resumed his work while Cassie did schoolwork, now typing away at an English question.

 **********

 “ Are you done? I’ve finished my homework so if you’re not done with my nails…” She gave a smirk, “...it’ll be your first remedial class.” She finished although her little smirk vanished when she saw Alvin had turned her bare nails fuschia. While she should have been pleased he had done some excellent work, she cursed at the opportunity missed thanks to him.

 “ You...did….well….” How had he done this? No boy had ever succeeded on their first try before.

 “ I just do my best and hope it works out,” Alvin replied loudly and proudly.

 “ Oh wipe that smile off your face, there’s still the next lesson.” Cassie grumbled, in her opinion he had no right to be so pleased about anything.

“ Please….why not let me go? I’m not worth your trouble, you seem like a smart girl and a real looker too, why waste that combination on a little guy like me?” Alvin pleaded with her, opting for flattery while also pushing his own image down.

 Cassie remained silent but scooped him up in her hand, pressing him against her thigh  and when she was sure he  wouldn’t fall to the ground, she brought him over to a table in her room. Alvin noticed two tables, each of them separated by a gap large enough for a Titan or two to stand in comfortably.

 The smaller and narrower one had a some plastic boxes on it and a laptop, leafy green in colour with the screen down. Alvin didn’t know what was inside but Cassie was heading to that one. No, she was moving to the larger of the two tables.

 That one held the most peculiar item in the room: a dollhouse. Alvin had seen dollhouses before, Wendy used to own one before throwing it out when outgrew it but this was the first time he had seen one made for a Titan.

 It was made out of plastic, like most items were for Titans and it resembled your stereotypical suburban home.

  White picket fences, a  smooth green plastic surface that was supposed to represent grass but the manufacturers just painted it on rather than go through the process of adding texture to it. The actual building was made of plastic like the rest but it was a large two storey house, painted an off white colour with mahogany window frames, a chimney that rose out of the roof, completing the rhombus shape of the house. Alvin snuck a peek and could what looked like actual rooms although he couldn’t be sure.

 

  Cassie released him and Alvin fell about five feet to the table. He turned and when he looked back at her, she gave an impish smile.

 “ Aren’t you a bit old for dolls?” Alvin rubbed his back, he was losing count of how many times it had been hit today.

“ You’re never too old and besides, I outgrew dolls a long time ago. I moved on to people. People who don’t respect me, people who take advantage of my looks and trust to hurt me,” She wavered at her last point, Alvin could have sworn she whimpered but it was gone in a flash.

 Cassie reached down to the dollhouse and opened it, swinging the house open without giving any sort of warning to Alvin. He dodged and saw what were almost scale models of a living room and kitchen on the ground floor and two bedrooms on the upper floor.

 He noticed a pile of clothes on the floor. There was a baby outfit, a housewife one and of course, the cliched businessman outfit meant for the father.

Then  Alvin felt a push from Cassie as she nudged him forward. “ Time for you to be a doll. Put on the baby outfit.” Cassie instructed.

Alvin got it now, Cassie meant to use people as dolls! This is what she did to all of her bad dates, all of the boys whom she perceived to have wronged her and now, it was his turn to experience it.

 “ I won’t , this is just degrading and I can’t believe you do this to people! You-” He wasn’t going to let her do this, this was the line he would never cross.

 Cassie slammed her fist in front of Alvin, startling him. She pulled up a chair and sat down, furious at his tone.

 “ Either you put it on or I tear your clothes off and you’ll be going home naked. Your choice. 5…” Cassie’s voice raised in anger, anger at Alvin’s lack of basic respect.

 Alvin looked at baby outfit, it was pink and obviously meant for a girl, what with a bonnet and one piece outfit.

 “ 4…..3….” There was little time to lose and Alvin didn’t want to have to explain to what would be a very amused Wendy and far from amused Patricia why he had come home in a onesie made for infants.

 “ 2...Oh good. You’re putting it on,” Cassie stopped the countdown, her threat had worked.

“ God...this is…” He couldn’t finish, as the rough outfit passed over his body and rested on his shoulders, he felt as if he had a hit his nadir. Nothing else would compare to this. He wanted to cry but he wouldn’t give Cassie that satisfaction. He thought she was better than this, how she was a selfless altruistic person who cared but she was far worse than Wendy!

 “ Here,” he answered rather glumly, holding up his arms by his side to show it to Cassie. Cassie couldn’t care less about how Alvin felt, she was too caught up in her revenge mission.

“ Good….Now go into the kitchen and you should find a bottle of milk.Go get and…” She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone, Alvin knew where this was going. “ And…lets have some fun!”  Alvin expected her to take a snapshot of this moment but Cassie just placed the phone on the table.

 He skulked off into the artificial kitchen and it wasn’t hard for him to find the bottle. Once he stepped out of the house, the real torture began.

 Cassie treated Alvin as a baby, shoving him into a cot that was too small, cradling him and singing lullabies to him. Shoving him against her breast and taunting him with giving him what he wanted( ‘ You wanted it, now have all of it!’ ), patting his back hard to simulate clearing his airways and some he just blanked out of, unable to remember the exact details.

“ Alvin….” Cassie cooed in a sinister manner. Alvin faced her, wondering at which point did he lose all of his dignity, each act he was subjected to was worse than the last one.

Cassie waved her phone in front of him, “ One more picture and it’s all done. All you have to do is to put the bottle in your mouth and we’ll take that shot. Then you may go.” Cassie stated.

Alvin did as ordered and the monolithic phone rose up in front, Cassie wasting no time in taking the picture. He heard the click of the camera within  and once she lowered the phone, Alvin tossed the bottle aside, his morale at an all time low.

 “ Thank you Cassie,” he said, catching her by surprise.

 “What for?” She quizzed him, her session throwing a twist she did not expect.

“ For making me realise how worthless I truly am. For finally being the one to show how weak, pathetic and insignificant I am. Ever since my dad died eight years ago, my step mother made me-” Alvin’s weak and apathetic voice grew stronger as a fervor gripped him.

“ Okay, you don’t have to tell me your life-” Cassie was shocked by Alvin suddenly yelling at her. She was starting to regret her decision to take him home.

 “ - her slave. Her own Cinderella to cook and clean for her and that Amazon bitch Wendy who takes great delight in beating me, humiliating me. How do you think we met! She tried to give me one of our regular beats ups with her friends and I thought it would be wise to run! Stupid stupid me, having a great idea!” Alvin was growing delirious as the seconds went by, now Cassie was afraid of him. Perverts she could handle but insanity was something she was truly unprepared and ill equipped to handle. She began to back away from him but Alvin didn’t bother to stop, he merely continued.

 “ Then they catch me, tie me up and then you come in and your friend thinks I’m some sicko so you pick me up, embarrass me even more and after all this, I’m guessing you’ll put that photo-”

“ Stop stop!” Cassie wailed at Alvin, “ Why didnt you tell me you were innocent!”

If I knew, I’d have let you go, she thought to herself. She looked closer at Alvin, wide eyed and now pondering the very real possibility that she had erred, erred badly. On hindsight, she should not have asked Alvin that question.

 “ I did! I did! I tried to tell you, to explain everything you fucked up bimbo!” His breathing was becoming laboured as he got himself in a frenzy, “ You never listened! You treated me like a rag doll and then this!” He pointed at the costume and the bottle.

 “ You made me a baby! A big fucking baby! Go ahead and put it on Instagram then people will know me, at least now Alvin Summers will finally be famous and it won’t even be his own achievement! At least….I have...Oh God…” Alvin could take it no more, his reserves of rage exhausted and now he felt only sorrow.

 Alvin sat on the floor and cried, no words came out, just tears and bawling.

“ Hey…” Cassie came closer, she felt terrible, what had she done? She sat down and leaned but her mind was a blank, she didn’t know what to do with Alvin, he was just sobbing with no end in sight.

 “ I-I’m sorry...I should have….” She stopped herself, none of her reasons sounded remotely logical or calming.

“ You stay here, I’ve got to make a call. Don’t move!” Cassie said, she was starting to panic, she needed advice. She quickly unlocked her phone and called the first person she could think of.

While it rang, she left the room and closed the door, not wanting Alvin to listen in on her conversation.

************

 “ Don’t talk on your phone!” said someone in the cinema. Jamila was with Nadya, her fellow cheerleader watching a movie although she felt like a third wheel since Nadya had brought a date, this boy named Mark. With his chiselled features and packing a six pack, he was one of Nadya’s types.

 Nadya happened to be the type for a lot of boys, bluest of blue eyes, long dark hair that she never tied up in any way, tall and curvy, almost as curvy as an Amazon and with the right proportions too.

This being a Titan cinema, only Titans were allowed although the smaller sizes could buy a ticket to as proof of admission. Nadya had chosen not to let Mark even buy one, keeping him snuggled in her bra. Mark had no problems with it,

Jamila looked around in the semi-lit cinema, the only light coming from the screen, showing a romantic comedy starring Charlotte Lang, the plot was flimsy and the acting mediocre at best, the film mostly riding on Charlotte’s star power.

 “ I’m not even on it yet!” she said to herself as she fished the phone out from her pocket. Nadya looked at her annoyed by it, shooting her an icy stare with her cerulean eyes  for interrupting the movie.

“ What? It’s Cassie, it might be important! This movie is a turd fest, I don’t even know why you’d be upset over it.” She whispered indignantly.

 “ Just go outside and answer it for God’s sake!”Nadya snatched the phone off her and swiped it before returning it to Jamila, shoving it into her hand.

 “ Okay okay!” Jamila got up and quickly moved outside, actually glad to have a reason not to watch it.

 “ What happened?” Mark asked, sticking his whole body out of her bra, Nadya’s tank top exposing quite a bit of her chest.

 “ Get back in!” Nadya pushed him back into her cleavage, “ I don’t want to get caught!” She chided Mark for stepping out of his hiding spot.

**********

 “ You’ve got to help me!” Cassie said, growing more agitated and stressed at what she had done.

 “ What happened? Did you give that pervert the good old Cassie Gissel treatment?” Jamila chuckled as she anticipated viewing those pictures on her phone.

“ No!” Cassie shouted, catching Jamila off guard, the latter’s ears ringing.

“ I mean yes! The thing is, he’s innocent and now he’s in some sort of breakdown! What the hell do I do to calm him down!”

“ Okay…” Jamila was also at a loss for words, neither of the two had ever dealt with this.

“ Maybe just let him cry himself out, watch him and let him do that. Once that’s over, you can apologise to him, make it up to him in ways I’ll let you settle but you could flash him your boobs.”

“ It’ll do but I’m not showing him those. Unless it...no...definitely no flashing! Okay, sorry for interrupting your movie. Nadya sounded pissed,” Cassie had heard everything from the moment Nadya answered Jamila’s phone until the latter left the theater.

  

 “ No problem, I better get back inside and be a third wheel for Nadya, she brought a date this time,” Jamila complained to Cassie, it wasn’t the first time Nadya had shown up him unannounced with a boy when it was meant to be a girl’s night out.

 “ Ok, great! We’ll talk tomorrow!” Cassie hung up quickly and rushed back into the room. Alvin was still on the table crying and it at least comforted her to know that he hadn’t committed suicide.

 “ Alvin...please...let me apologise. I’ll make it up to you. Look, I’ll even delete the picture, no uploading it.” Cassie did as she said, holding the phone in front of his face and deleting the offensive picture. Alvin watched and his heart lifted as it left but he was still distraught.

“ What can you do to make it better?” He asked in between sobs, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of the costume.

 “ I...I...could listen to you. You could explain everything to me. I’ll do my best to help you.” Cassie was improvising, she had no clue how to fix this.

“ You already did, you removed the last vestiges of my dignity and now I’m free,” Alvin retorted.

 “ No...I’ll give it back. You’re a person, please let me in! Let me help you.”

In his head, Alvin wanted to kill Cassie, he wanted to make her suffer for everything she did to him but a small voice inside, the voice of reasoning within him also mentioned that she wasn’t truly at fault. She had overreacted and treated him unfairly but the true cause was his step sister, the devil in human form.

 The steady flow of tears began to slow before stopping and Alvin looked into Cassie’s eyes, all that hatred for him replaced by guilt and grief for what she had done to him.

 “ Ok...I’ll let you in. I’ll explain everything,” Alvin accepted her offer.

 “Wonderful, I’ll let you say what you need,” Cassie thanked her lucky stars, she wouldn’t have to do anything drastic to protect him from himself. There was no way of knowing what he would have done and if something horrible had happened to him, she would have been at a loss to do anything about it.

 

What followed next could not have been anymore different from what preceded it. Cassie quietly and gently placed Alvin on her mattress where she looked down in shame, barely able to . She barely said a word, only telling him her next move, too ashamed to even say more.

 “ Are you ready?” Cassie used a hushed voice, she could not believe how she had misread the situation. Why had she not allowed him to clear the air? All she had to do was say yes, one simple word and none of this would have happened. Yet she didn’t, she had channelled all of her frustrations, all of her rage onto him. Letting him tell his side of the story would be a small step in earning his forgiveness, something she wanted-nay- she needed.

 For Alvin, the answer was clear and although he wanted to get as far away from Cassie as he could, he didn’t exactly have a better place to go, his heart was not in the place he called home.

“ Alright...but you let me out after this, after I’m done. There really isn’t anything else you can do for me,” Alvin replied in a more cordial tone. He could tell that Cassie was feeling guilty and he could probably push her into doing almost anything he desired but he barely knew her and as such, he had no idea how far he could go. It would be best to not try his luck.

 “ Alvin,” Cassie began, her actions weighing down on her conscience, “ Not so fast. Just tell me your story and we’ll….” She dabbed her eye with her finger, removing a solitary tear drop that clung to her finger tip.

 “ We’ll take it from there. Is that fine with you?” Cassie hoped he would accept, shifting a bit of her hair behind her ear as Alvin stood in front of her, weighing his choices.

  “I-” Alvin began to suspect Cassie had no intention of ever letting him and as he tried to meet her gaze while she did her best to avoid his, he became sure of it.

“ I think that’s a good idea,” Alvin replied before telling Cassie his backstory.

Alvin’s story took about thirty minutes but both of them were in their own world and time flowed like molasses, mostly thanks to Alvin’s choice of describing each and every one of Wendy’s beatings, down to where she had hit his body and how long the bruise stained his epidermis an unsightly purple.

 Cassie tried to tell Alvin to stop but every time the words were on the tip of her tongue, she’d choke up and they would slip back down her throat. Unable to vocalise her thoughts, she had little choice but to listen.

 When Alvin finally finished the story, neither said a word for each was unsure of how the other would react. Eventually, it was Cassie who broke deadlock.

“ I’m sorry Alvin, I didn’t even stop to think about you, how you could have been a victim in all this too,” Cassie whimpered.

 “ You wouldn’t be the first,” Alvin hissed, he wished he could have just walked out of here but fate had made his tormentor a towering behemoth while he was just an average guy, he’d have a better chance of lifting a car than to even move one of Cassie’s fingers.

 His barb stung Cassie but she had no retort in mind, she deserved it and that was it.

 “ I-I know but...let me make it up to you,” Cassie pleaded, she wasn’t going to let Alvin walk out of here just like that.

 “ You could start by letting me go home, there’s no reason to keep me here now that you know I am no pervert,” Alvin folded his arms across his chest, his confidence powered by her guilt.

 Cassie shook her head gently and leaned in closer to Alvin, the scowl on his face, those eyes shooting daggers at her were clear to her. It would have been easy to just let him out but her conscience quickly killed that idea.

 “I can’t do that. You might think it’s the best but tomorrow, what happens? Wendy will just make you her punching bag again and it’ll never stop.”

“ I’ve lived that way for the last eight years, I won’t die if I go through another month of it,” Alvin sat down, arms still folded and his mind awash with anger.

 “ Let me help you, let me give you one month where you don’t even have to worry about Wendy or any bully. Alvin, this could be a chance for you to be free,” Cassie answered, she could force him into accepting but it would have achieved next to nothing in  her quest for redemption.

  “ How can I even trust you? One moment you’re pushing my head into the mud and now you’re pulling me out of it? What I am supposed to believe?” Alvin said, he honestly had no idea what to believe. It wasn’t the first time someone had offered to help him and neither was it the first time that someone had helped him up before pushing back down again.

 Cassie’s eyes shimmered, how could she ever get him to trust her in the next few minutes.

 “ I-I don’t know,” she replied before slumping against her bed’s headboard and covered her face with a pillow, how had she allowed herself to even consider this?. Alvin backed away slowly, expecting Cassie to cry, he had seen Wendy get into a similar pose whenever she felt down although he felt no pity for the latter.

“ Great, I’m trapped on a bed and the only person who can get me off has buried her head like an ostrich,” Alvin muttered.

After a good minute of watching Cassie’s still buried head in the pillow and  seeing no other way out without her help, he moved next to her foot, his work on his display as he glanced up at her toes, the nail polish reflecting his own visage right back at him.

 “ Cassie…” Alvin called out but she paid him no arttention. He tapped her foot but alas, no response came from her. Sighing, he slapped her foot before giving it a kick, a kick that registered.

 “ O-oh…” Cassie gasped as she placed her pillow on her lap.

 “ Okay, I get that you screwed up but lets face the facts. You aren’t the first person to screw me over and you won’t be the last person to try. If you want to help me maybe I should accept , you’re the first person who seems...sincere,” Alvin scratched the back of his head as he consoled Cassie, in his head he prayed to whichever god was out there that he wasn’t making a mistake.

  “And I think I shouldn’t refuse help,” Alvin concluded but as he saw Cassie’s face brighten,he knew he didn’t have to say anymore.

 “ Oh Alvin…” Cassie chortled while thanking her lucky stars, she needed a lot of luck to get through this.

“ I know you don’t trust me but I promise you that this is the moment when your life does a 180,” She briefly considered picking him and hugging him but her better judgement told her it would be too soon for that.

“Okay, maybe you could drop me off at home, I got homework to do and-Aw crap, I left it in school!” Alvin smacked his forehead. In his haste to get away from Wendy he had left his bag behind.

 Cassie could not help but express a little delight in this, an opportunity had finally opened up for her to use. As terrible it sounded , his little misfortune there brought the tiniest of smiles to her car sized lips.

 “ Oh don’t worry about that, I’ve got it covered,” Cassie took out her phone and waved it in front of him.

 “ Just tell me your class number and I’ll make a few calls, get an e-copy of it. It shouldn’t take too long,” Cassie suggested to Alvin.

 “ Really? I looked at it for a minute and those are some hard questions. You sure you’re up to it?”

 “I can handle it.  I may be a blonde cheerleader but my IQ isn’t my cup size,” Cassie assured him.

  It’s better than nothing, Alvin thought.

 “ Okay, take a crack it while I um...I’ll take a breather,” Alvin replied.

 Cassie grinned, “ Thank you,” she said as began to dial her phone, “ You’ll be surprised at what I can do and you won’t be disappointed.”

Alvin gave an acknowledging nod before lying down on the mattress. Cassie left him to his own devices while she waited for the call to get through to other side. Alvin closed his eyes and began to reflect on what had happened. It came quicker than he expected but he soon asleep, oblivious to what was going on around him.

************

  “ Damn it!” Cassie’s rang out across the room, waking Alvin who had been sleeping for the last hour and a half.

   His heart raced as her voice, normally controlled and set at a volume most non-Titans could handle without cupping their ear rocketed into something closer to a jackhammer in loudness. All Titans were required to attend etiquette classes from the moment  they could attend school where they would be taught the decorum expected of them when interacting with the smaller groups of humanity , volume control was a major component. While most of them were able to do so without any hassle, there was the occasional slip.

  Alvin did not know how long he had been out, his watch and phone were in his bag and Cassie did not keep a clock in her room so that was out of the question. He sat up and swivelled to face Cassie,  her back turned towards him and hunched over the same desk where she kept her dollhouse.

  Alvin watched as she tapped her stylus against the screen and grunted in frustration as she erased part of her working. Her hair, now tied up in a ponytail swished about as she attack the problem, trying her best not to disappoint the boy in her room.

 “ Aw come on!”  Cassie blasted at the tablet, it was no different from any of the other tablets owned by other Titans, a pearly white plastic rectangle with rounded edges complete with a matching stylus and earphones.

 “ Um…” Alvin started, sensing Cassie was in need of help.

 “ Maybe I could take a look at the problem?” He offered to Cassie.

 Cassie swung around on her swivel chair, she had not expected Alvin to be awake, the little teenager was out like a baby when left the room for a toilet break only minutes ago.

 “ Did I wake you?” She enquired apologetically, remembering her lapse in manners.

 

 Alvin nodded, Cassie blushed as she hung her head in shame.

 “ No need to feel bad about it, I shouldn’t be sleeping too much in the afternoon or else I’ll be up all night,” Alvin assured her. Cassie lurched forward, using her momentum to wheel herself towards him until she was within a hair’s breadth of the bed.

 “ I could use a little help with your homework. I know I am on the right track with this but math isn’t my strong suit! I’d rather be doing physics than crunching numbers,” Cassie moaned as Alvin climbed on to her flat palm.

 Cassie deposited him onto her thigh while she wheeled herself back to her little study table, Alvin having to grab on to her shorts for support lest he risk falling off her. Cassie then brought him up to the table, holding him in her hand whilst giving him a bird’s eye view of her work.

 Alvin scanned the equations after reading the question , a pixelated sea of letters and numbers twenty feet below him. It didn’t take him long to spot the error, it was a tiny but fatal mistake.

 “ Look,” Alvin pointed at a the second line on the screen, “ You put the exponential on the wrong side of the bracket, just put it inside and everything should be fine.”

 A warm breeze washed over him as Cassie sighed in relief, “ Thank you. I can be so careless.” Cassie quickly made the amendment before finishing the problem.   

 “ Hey, are you hungry?” Cassie inquired.

 Alvin hadn’t noticed until she asked, his stomach answering the question for him with a growl.

 Alvin patted it, “ I am but it can wait, I’ll get dinner at home,” he replied. Cassie wouldn’t accept it, her brow dipping as she detected his apprehension and she didn’t fault him, she’d do the same if she were in his shoes.

 “ It’s alright. My parents are in Paris on holiday so it’s just the two of us, I’ve got some leftovers from last night, you’re welcome to share it with me,” she proposed to him.

 Alvin wouldn’t have accepted but his stomach sent him another reminder. Cassie looked upon him with puppy dog eyes, two light brown pools that shimmered in the artificial lighting, pleading with him to say yes, a marked change from when they wanted to tear him apart.

 “ Oh alright,I guess I shouldn’t refuse help, I did say that didn’t I?” Alvin’s response perking up Cassie as she leapt off her seat, leaving him stranded.

 “ Great, I hope you like pasta!” She called out as she made a turn.

That’s dinner settled, hope she finishes my homework, Alvin thought to himself, now alone in a room that appeared to be the size of a cathedral to him.

Cassie returned, bearing a plate with a mountain of penne covered in a red sauce with a forest of leafy green arugula salad surrounding the pasta, panting from her run back up.

 “ I couldn’t get you any cutlery in your size so you’ll have to use your hands. Sorry,” Cassie set it down on the table while helping Alvin onto it.

 Titan food was no different from the foods eaten by the rest of the sizes, the only real difference was that they ate far more of it than the rest, the meteorites had only grown human women. Alvin grabbed a handful of arugula from the plate and shoved it into his mouth, intent on clearing a path to the pasta, the star of the meal, ignoring the splashes of sauce that stained his leg.

 “ Thanks, I really appreciate this,” Alvin said in between mouthfuls. Cassie said nothing but watched him for a minute or so, her head resting on one hand before resuming her work.

******

 “ Who made this?” Alvin gestured at the meatless pile of food which had barely shrunk despite his ferocious assault. Meat was a luxury for Titans, the sheer quantity needed made it a commodity only the wealthiest of Titans could afford and for those who couldn’t afford to eat it regularly, they had to make do with carbs and vegetables.

 “ My mom, she loves cooking,” Cassie switched off her tablet, she could always finish his homework later and her heart wasn’t completely into it, she felt compelled to entertain her former prisoner.

 “ Tell her I love it,” Alvin moved off the plate and sat in front of Cassie, feeling more comfortable with the Titan as time went by.

 “ Alvin, don’t think I’m a bad person because of what I did to you, I’m more than that,” Cassie folded her arms on top of each other and leaned closer to Alvin.

 “ I...I don’t really know you. I’ve heard about you but I’ve never met you. Not until today anyway, why were you so upset? I heard your voice on the way in, you weren’t exactly in a good mood.”

 “ I-It doesn’t matter why, I lashed out at you. You were small and defenseless and I made you my own punching bag, something to vent on and it’s wrong, wrong on so many levels,” Cassie answered without actually doing so.

 Alvin felt she was hiding something but he was unwilling to push her on it, he’d let her reveal that answer on her own accord.

“ Like I said before, I’m used to it but I’m not used to people being nice to me, it isn’t something I’ve gotten  much of in the latter half of my life. Thank you for being of the few people to show me kindness.”

 Cassie moved her finger, it was as long as Alvin was tall and matched him in width and brushed against  Alvin, a comforting stroke.

 “ I’ll make sure today isn’t a one off, the courtesy I’ve shown that is. Not the pain, it stops now,” Alvin loved the way she said it, like an ancient king making a decree.

 “ I hope so,” He paused, the overall mood was sombre and this wasn’t how he wanted to spend his evenings, he’d have hung out with Wendy if he wanted that.

 “ What’s that picture you’ve got on your lock screen? The girl with the acne and ponytails? Who is that?” Alvin asked with a grin. Cassie’s eyes widened before her cheeks glowed red.

“ You saw that? I-I…” Cassie giggled, she had been so foolish to leave her phone inside with him. Since he had seen it ,there was little reason to even hide it.

 “ That’s me.” Cassie announced to him.

 “ You look so...different so-”

“Ugly? Unattractive?” Cassie threw in a few words to fill in the blanks, part tease, part truth.

 “ Unique. That’s what I was looking for, I wouldn’t be able to connect the dots if I didn’t know it was you.” Alvin said with a good bit of tact.

 Cassie chuckled, “ Good one. I wasn’t always so pretty and that picture….” Cassie’s reminisced about her vacation in Switzerland at the age of 14, she’d never had a better one yet, skiing in the mountains, visiting observatories and having the time of her life with her parents.

 “ Was just before I went from ugly duckling to what you see here,” Cassie swivelled in her chair, Alvin didn’t need any hints to get what she was suggested, her toned and lithe body coveted by boys and girls alike.

 “ What about you?” Cassie probed, Alvin shook his head and smiled, “ I’ve pretty much looked like this since I was thirteen, just add a couple of extra inches and drop my voice about an octave or two away from that prepubescent squeak.”

 He gave a little spin of his own, amusing Cassie. “ Well you certainly beat thirteen year old me for sure,” she struggled to contain her own laughter, Alvin laughed along with her.

 “ Not that girls noticed me, my own doing of course. I didn’t want to be noticed, my anonymity was my invisibility cloak, didn’t need people to know what Wendy did to me.”

Offering her palm to him, Alvin clambered on  and braced himself as Cassie set him on her lap. “ Give me your number. If Wendy ever tries anything with you, give me a call. I’ll deal with her, maybe even give her a taste of her own medicine.” Her tone changed, the very thought of Wendy abusing Alvin disgusted her and honestly, it was both awe inspiring and terrifying at the same time to see Cassie like this, standing over him like a goddess threatening doomsday if her subjects were harmed.

  Alvin did so and Cassie sent a brief text to him, “ There. You now have my number and that little twerp won’t be a problem anymore.” As she set her phone down, it vibrated, a text coming through. Cassie scanned through the message and expressed a hint of surprise, “ Seems there’s a new boss at SilkTech, I like their dresses, my mom and I own a few of them and I can’t get enough of them.”

 “ My stepmother, Patricia, she works there. Been there for at least ten years. She never mentioned this. Not that ever she did talk about her life,” Alvin groaned as his family life came back to him, it often felt as he was lived with complete strangers although he wouldn’t mind if Wendy turned into that.

 ********

 “ Okay, this’ll be the place, my house is just a few units from here,  it’ll be a quick walk,” Alvin said to Cassie. After spending the last few hours chatting with Cassie, mostly about his family life and Cassie flitting between doing his homework and talking to him. Alvin did insist upon doing it himself but Cassie refused to even let him see it, raising the tablet high above him until he conceded. When it was time to go, Cassie insisted or rather forced Alvin to let her take him back. Seeing as he had no money to take any form of public transport, she didn’t have to do much to convince him.

 “ I’ll send the homework in an email, it’ll be easy,” Cassie said to him as she set Alvin down, crouched over him as he stepped off onto the Titan pavement. Her head blocked out the light of the half moon on the wane, projecting  the illusion that Cassie had a halo over her head.

  “ Thank you for that and...don’t beat yourself up over what happened earlier. I forgive you, I really do,” he added, it pained him to remember it but he wouldn’t hold a grudge against Cassie, she was an unwilling tool in all of this.

  “ You’re welcome, it’s really the least I could do. Remember, call me if Wendy even thinks a bad thought about you,” Cassie’s voice raised as she reminded Alvin about the helpline she made for him.

 “ I left my phone in school, it’s in my bag,” Alvin stated, suddenly recalling this spanner in the works of a fact.

 “ Ah…” Cassie’s mouth dropped.

“ You can get it tomorrow,” Cassie waved to him. “ Bye Alvin.”

“ Bye Cassie, hope to see you around,” Cassie stood up and walked off, Alvin briefly admiring the way her butt wiggled and hips sashayed with each step before remembering that he had to get off the Titan path quickly, accidents were bound to happen whenever a non-Titan strayed on to the walkway reserved for Titans.

 As he walked back to his house, a simple two storey building, the second floor was where all the bedrooms were, his load felt a lighter. On hindsight the trauma inflicted upon him by Cassie was less severe than it ought to be, Alvin hypothesising most of it was cancelled out by her offer to be his protector against Wendy, a guardian angel of sorts.

  “ Who would have thought, the eternal loner gets a protectress….” Alvin remarked in the dead silence of the night, not even the chirping of a cricket could be heard.

 Finally standing at his door, the lights were still on which Alvin found to be quite unusual as Patricia usually went to bed before eleven and it was now half past that. Wendy usually locked herself in her room ,doing whatever she did which meant a pitch dark living room, lit up only by the light of the street lamps.

 

 Alvin knocked and was surprised to find Patricia looking him in the eye, glaring at him with the intensity of the sun. She was dressed in her usual sleeping attire although today she chose some full length pyjamas, her preferred sleep wear whenever she had a bad day at the office. This of course, only exacerbated the current situation.

 “ Where were you! You never picked up your phone, never told Wendy and I that you’d be out. No dinner, I had to get some Chinese food from behind and you know how much I hate it!”

 Alvin calmly  wiped some spit off his cheek, Patricia’s tirade feeling limp and impotent.

 “ Sorry,” he glanced over Patricia and saw Wendy, pressed up against the living room couch, her body taking up the leathery seating, some of it peeling off due to Patricia’s refusal to repair or replace it. She was reading a book or was since she now spent more time looking at the show in front of her than the pages, a broad grin plastered on her.

 “ We had a long day at practice, coach wanted to make sure we got the drills right for the big track meet,” Alvin lied through his teeth.

 “ I see….well next time you tell us about it, then Wendy and I could have dinner elsewhere,” Patricia didn’t even wait for Alvin to reply before walking off, leaving Alvin and Wendy by themselves.

 Alvin went up the stairs, intent on ignoring Wendy although she had different ideas. As he cleared the top step, he felt a pair of hands shove him, slamming his chest against the  navy blue wall.

 “ Good, you didn’t tell mom about our little adventure,” Wendy’s warm breath on his neck as she exhaled.

 “ Whatever,’ Alvin shot back, trying his best to wiggle out but just like in the locker room, he couldn’t.

 “ You know...Cassie left you in pretty good shape, most of her “toys” come out crying like a little bitch but you…” Wendy flipped Alvin around, his back smacking against the wall, mirroring what his chest received.

 “ You’re fine.What did you do to her?” She eyed him with curiousity, how had he come out unscathed? Her fingers briefly released him as she tried to look for a crack, some sort of chink in what she assumed was a mere facade.

 Sensing his chance as Wendy’s grip on him weakened before finally feeling the release of her fingers, Alvin bolted and ran into his room, locking the door. Wendy did her best to catch him but Alvin always beat her in a sprint.

 He felt a hard knock and another then a finally smack before Wendy’s voice could be heard through the lacquered wood. “ You know what...you’re not worth the trouble. I’ll get you in the morning.”

 “ Well...looks like I’m safe for now,” Alvin fell back on his bed and wondered if tomorrow would actually bring any difference, he prayed that Cassie meant what she said.

 

 

“ Hey Alvin, so good to see you!” Cassie exclaimed with elation as she spotted Alvin walking to school with only the clothes on his back. Not wishing to lose any precious time, Cassie moved swiftly to close the gap between her and Alvin, thrilled to run into him so quickly after arriving on school property. The school was largely deserted, a sprinkling of students on the  premises from the schoolyard to the cafeteria, only the early birds were there, the majority of the cohort opting for more shuteye instead of getting the worm.

 

 Alvin looked up, tilting his head up as Cassie approached him. His surroundings darkened as her penumbra and then umbra descended upon him. Cassie had tied her hair up in a bun and gone for a plain looking white blouse and cocoa capris that hugged her toned legs, a pair of sporty sneakers, neon pink with long thick laces looping in and out of it  completing the set. She looked no less gargantuan than she did yesterday afternoon but this time her presence did not carry with it a sense of impending doom.

 

 “ Morning, Cassie. Surprised to see you in school so early,” Alvin replied.

 

 “ I could say the same to you. Are you always the early bird?” Cassie asked gently as she eased herself into a squatting position.

 

 “ Mostly but I need to get my bag.” Alvin stated.

 

Cassie knew why, clearly  remembering the events of yesterday.

 

  “ Oh right….” Cassie uttered mournfully , she had played a big part in that but she was adamant on playing a bigger role in making up for that snafu.

 

 “ Maybe I could help you with that? We’ve got time.” Cassie’s heart pumped a little quicker as she anticipated his answer, preferring if Alvin acquiesced to her request.

 

   “ Oh that would be nice, I could get it a lot faster if you helped.” Cassie felt better and laid her palm out for him to climb on. Once done, she raised her it up as if Alvin were on an elevator before depositing him on her shoulder, Alvin leaning against her neck , Cassie’s shoulder shoulder blade substituting for a bench. He could smell the body wash she used, an intoxicating aroma of peaches, teasing his nose with each breath he took.

 

 “ You’re not going to move too fast right?” Alvin asked her.

 

 “ Fast enough to get that bag and make it to class. By the way, all your homework from last night is done and I made sure Wendy didn’t get you into trouble, you should be fine with your teachers if they ask any questions,” Cassie answered in a chirpy manner, her nervousness giving way to  more pleasant emotions after Alvin reciprocated her offer of assistance.

   “ What did you do?” Alvin inquired, his body gently bobbing with each step Cassie she took.

 

 “ I made them an offer they couldn’t refuse,” Cassie and Alvin both chuckling.

 

 “I explained your situation without going into too much detail but that’s over now, you don’t have to be so concerned with it now,” She casually mentioned to Alvin as they made their way to the grandstand.

 

  As they passed through the Titan-sized entrance, the feeling of Alvin on her neck, his little body pressed against her neck, moving ever so gently with each breath she took reminded her of his plight. It didn’t take long for her to remember Alvin telling her about his sadistic stepsister and what she had done to make his life a living hell.

 

 “ Say, how about lunch together?”  It would certainly keep Alvin out of Wendy’s clutches, Cassie thought to herself. If she wanted to pick on little guys like Alvin, she’d give Wendy a taste of her own medicine.

 

 “J-just the two of us?” Alvin asked, a little taken aback by her question, it had become a habit of his to dine alone, his way of forming a protective cocoon to deflect attention. However, he could always make an exception.

 

 “ Only if my friends can’t make it but I doubt that’ll be the case.We should hang out more, get to know each other better, it would be great,” Cassie stressed each point, hoping to nudge Alvin to the right answer but she held back a little, afraid of pushing the little guy too much.

 

“ I’d love to meet your friends.”

 

Upon hearing this,  Cassie couldn’t  resist reaching back with her finger and gently patting Alvin, “ Thanks, you’ll love them and I promise they don’t bite. Well...Nadya once put a guy in her mouth,something about trying to take French kissing to a whole new level but you won’t get shoved into any mouths, I swear.” Cassie laughed to herself, amused by what had happened with Nadya and her now ex-boyfriend.

 

 “ That’ll be a first,” Alvin replied as they trudged off to the track.  

 

*****

“ What the-Are you seeing this Camilla?” Wendy nudged the drowsy Amazon on her shoulder, the latter responding with an affirmative grunt, gently pushing Wendy away before raising her head off the hardwood table, both of them were sitting out in the open air.

 

 “ Must you make so much noise? You already convinced me to be here at seven thirty when it’s a freaking ghost town, Serena and Britney don’t have to be here,” Camilla squinted, her eyelids like two lead weights, she regretted staying up for her one woman anime marathon the previous night.

 “ We’re all friends but you’re my BFF, remember when we got detention because you convinced me to help you get back at Bella Morton for calling you a chunky meat bag by shoving her in a locker?” Wendy did not turn to look back at her friend, she was too fixated on the conversation between Alvin and Cassie or at least their interactions, she couldn’t hear them.

 

 “ Yeah,” A grin materializing on Camilla’s face, her hazel eyes dancing with glee as she played back those memories. “ Its been six months but Bella still flinches every time we make eye contact,” Camilla purred.

 

 “ Well the three Saturdays we spent in detention weren’t that amazing but did I complain? No I did not, now take a look at what my shrimp of a step-bro is up to!” Wendy jabbed her pointer finger towards Alvin.

 

 Camilla grunted in response and looked, scrutinising as much as her sleep deprived brain would allow her to.

 

 She sighed, “ Whoop di doo Wend, Alvin’s got a girlfriend, good for him.” Camilla yawned and laid her head back down, this went unnoticed by Wendy as she witnessed Alvin climbing aboard Cassie’s hand.

 

“ It doesn’t make sense, we left him in the changing when Cassie and her pals would walk in, see him looking up their skirts and, they should freak out! Get mad because there’s a  pervert peeping at you and then she’ll torture him, like she did to all of those other guys!”

 

 All Wendy got for that was a acknowledging snore from Camilla.

 

“ Wake up already!” Wendy slapped Camilla’s bicep in frustration.

 *****

 

“ Yep...everything’s is as it should be,” Alvin felt relieved as he placed the last of his textbooks into his bag, no one had pilfered his bag or its contents although he was pretty sure few people would commit a felony to own his three year old smartphone, the plastic was peeling and some of the buttons were sluggish in response.

 

 “ That’s wonderful,” Cassie called out from above as she watched him pack his bag, slip his arms between the straps and when he was ready, climb aboard her hand.

 

 “ Hey, I saw you while you were practicing and I thought  your moves were interesting,” Alvin commented as Cassie gently raised her hand.

 

“ Interesting? Or is it because you thought they were sexy?” Cassie asked, a little smirk on her delicate face.

 

 “ Definitely interesting, you get the other one a lot?” Alvin laughed nervously.

 

 Cassie nodded , chuckling as she let Alvin settle back on to her shoulder, “ You have no idea, a lot of guys would come when I first made the team. Thankfully, it stopped, the catcalling really got to me after a while.”

 

 “ Sorry you had to go through that,” Alvin offered a consoling pat on her shoulder, unsure if she even felt it.

 

 “ It’s in the past now, I don’t get that anymore.” Cassie replied as she began moving back into the main wing of the school.

 

 “ That’s good. Anyway, I really liked the part where you let the smaller cheerleaders use your body as part of the act, I never saw anyone else do that before,” Alvin shifted a little as Cassie moved down the hallway, the morning sun’s rays casting wide beams of light through the clear glass panes.

 

 “ I came up with it or at least I convinced our captain at the time to allow it. That in itself should have been an achievement right there,” Cassie’s lips curled into a slight smirk, “ since Gail wasn’t the most open to new ideas, especially not from a someone who just joined the team.”

 

 “ I vaguely remember a Gail, was she that tall tanned redheaded Titan from a couple of years ago?” He did remember someone like that on the cheerleading team, he might even have had a crush on her, Alvin fell for more girls than he liked to admit to on a daily basis.

 

 “ You’ll have to be a little more specific with the details there, tall redhead Titan describes quite a few girls in school but yes, she was around when we first got into high school, she was cheer captain, pretty intimidating too, the girl had a real presence about her, you wouldn’t dare pick a fight with her,” Cassie said and although she took pride in what she had done, she felt a hard lump in her throat which she had to fight to swallow, surprised at how strongly she felt over what was supposed to be ancient history.

 

 “ But I managed to get through to her and when we did the routine you saw, it really took off and  we won our first state championship since 1996 when Hillary was in office. The best part came after that…” Cassie gently turned around a corner, she kept her strides small and controlled the turn well or Alvin would have gone airborne.

 

 “ What was that?” Alvin asked, Cassie stopped to greet another Titan before resuming their little trek to the schoolyard.

 

 “ I became captain even though I had only been with the squad for a year, they always gave it to a more senior cheerleader but I got it, mostly because of the routine I suggested, it really felt like winning the lottery,” Cassie gushed as she found a smaller set of doors, beyond which apart from scale, were no different from Cassie had on her side.

 

 “ That sounds like you made history right there,” Alvin said as Cassie bent her knees in front of the doors.

 

 “ Yep, So I’ll see you for lunch?” Cassie asked as Alvin stepped off, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

 

 “ Definitely,” Alvin replied as he waved goodbye while pushed through the doors, back to a part of school that suited someone his size. As the doors swung shut, he could not help but feel good about himself, an emotion nearly alien to him but who was he to complain, his life appeared to be on the up.  

****

 

 

  Alvin walked through the cafeteria doors and straight into the Normal/Amazon section, the Titan part was further down with their own amenities but the food was just as tasteless and unhealthy as theirs. There was no segregation between the Titans and the rest, that time had long since passed and any sizist incidents were usually confined to a particular town or state that had gained notoriety for such unsavoury issues.

 

 His morning classes had gone rather swimmingly, no one had ever bothered him and his homework had been graciously handled  by Cassie so it was smooth sailing all the way until recess.

 

 Remembering his lunch appointment with Cassie, he scanned the far end of the room ,where the Titans sat, his new friend being easy to spot, a blonde island in a sea of brunettes and ginger.

 

 Cassie didn’t notice Alvin and he couldn’t call her, his phone’s battery having long since run out of juice after being forced to spend the night in school so his only option was to go up to her and get her attention.

 

 “ Alvin…” Alvin’s body shivered in unison as his name was called, it was chilling and drawn out, in fact it was eerily similar  to  the previous morning.

 

Alvin didn’t need to guess who had called and he spun around to see Wendy, Camilla and Serena. Britney was conspicuously absent so he was glad to have one less bully to deal with.

 

“ Oh crap,” Alvin mouthed to himself but Wendy took notice of it and snapped her fingers and before he could move, Serena and Camilla had grabbed them by his arms with Wendy following, well aware of where he was going and whom he was going to.

 

 He tried to struggle, only his legs were but he could not kick out at them without losing balance so he quickly resorted to the next best thing.

“ Cass-” Alvin’s SOS call was cut off by Camilla’s hand clamping itself on Alvin’s lips like a facehugger, her vice like grip squeezing his cheekbones, A lvin swore they would break if she so much as increased the force on them. He was livid, everyone could see this but watched him as if it were a staged act, for their entertainment and a few even whipped out their phones to record this but none so much as raised a finger to help. Fortunately, someone did notice.

 

 Camilla and Serena slammed him against a wall, unaware of what was about to happen. Neither did Wendy.

 

 “ Okay shrimp, tell me what’s going on?” Wendy asked very curtly as she  stood toe to toe with him, the faint acidic scent of perspiration and deodorant wafting through the air around him, a rather common feature Wendy had thanks to her morning gym classes.

 

 “ With what?” Alvin fired back, he stopped himself from saying a few choice words, words that got him into more trouble than he deserved the previous day.

 

“ You and Cassie that’s what! When did you two become boyfriend and girlfriend?” She spoke softly, aware of the attention this was, a consequence she foresaw when she came up with this rather impromptu plan but her foresight overlooked what would happen next.

 

 “ We’re not-” A very dark shapely shadow fell over the group, alerting all of them to the person

looming over them. Turning their necks in an almost synchronised manner, the four of them saw Cassie, by herself, straddling several tables and to put it mildly, upset at what was taking place literally under her nose.

 

 “ So...you girls must be the ones Alvin told me about yesterday,” Her eyes narrowed as she got a good look at each one , each of the girls felt something in their stomach, a sense of impending doom washing over them, Amazons may have been powerful but a Titan was a fish too big for them to handle.

 

 “ I just have one question: Which one is Wendy?” Cassie didn’t have to say any more, a lone finger pointed at Wendy. Cassie’s eye followed the finger, chuffed she did not have to resort to more drastic measures. Wendy cursed Serena for ratting on her, her anonymity with Cassie evaporating almost instantly, her “loyal” friend was shaking as she pointed her finger at Wendy.

 

“ Ah...thank you,” Cassie politely and courteously addressed Serena before snatching up Wendy with none of the care and restraint she had with Alvin earlier in the morning.

 

“ The rest of you may go, I think neither of you want to join your little friend here  but..there’s always room for more,” Cassie said calmly.

 

Alvin soon found himself alone as Camilla and Serena sprinted off, not even looking up to check on their friend. Wendy saw that and for once, felt vulnerable, a feeling she had staved off for years.

 

 “ So,” Cassie turned her attention to Wendy, flipping her about and feeling her body with her long finger, the pads on her fingers pressing gently against her Amazonian physique as she assessed the worm she held.

 

 “ No curves, no muscle, you’re like nine feet of misshapen clay. Yet you have the gall to pick on Alvin, one of my closest and dearest friends,” Cassie’s voice reverberated through the entire room, a statement she intended for everyone to hear. This got quite a few students chatting and more phones being  used to record this, everyone wanted to get a piece of the action.

 

“ Y-you’re n-not so pretty yourself!” Wendy’s feeble stuttering attempt at a comeback was best left undone as Cassie let out a hearty laugh.

 

 “ Oh Wendy...we both know that it is far from true,” Cassie was done with her for now, she still had to check on Alvin who watched in a stunned silence, mouth slightly agape at how his newest friend had in minutes humiliated the biggest bully in his life. She secured Wendy by closing her fist around her, the little Amazon immobilised and helpless against a superior force.

 

 “ You okay?” She asked, a little concerned but she noted how his arms lacked any bruises and he had no trouble standing although she hadn’t ruled out any internal damage.

 

 “ I’m fine. You were...awesome?” Alvin couldn’t come up with anything else to say , he only wished he’d met her sooner.

 

 “Just glad you’re okay, need a ride to the table?”

 

“ Yeah, it’s a long walk.” Within seconds he found himself on Cassie’s flat palm, being walked to the table where he spotted two other Titans, silently watching everything unfold.

 

One of them was a  Titan with mocha skin, her frizzy red tinted hair the first thing Alvin noticed. Her brown eyes flitted between him and Wendy, whose head peeked out of her fist, paralyzed by fear. She wore a loose fitting sweater with the school logo emblazoned as well as the ubiquitous FDR colours of blue and white so he couldn’t a proper assessment of her figure but based on her arms and face, she was probably more voluptuous than Cassie.

 

 The other girl was much paler than her although Alvin didn’t need to look hard for her most prominent features, they were encased in fabric, the straps of her turquoise Luxom tank top the only that barred  them from jumping out and saying hello. Her eyes were a light shade of blue but she seemed more distant than her friend.

 

 “ Sorry girls, I’ll get the introductions going after I deal with the little pest,” Cassie jerked her head in Wendy’s direction as she let Alvin off, he waved at the two Titans who in turned waved back at him.

 

 “ Yesterday you shoved a sock in Alvin’s mouth, what’ll be a fair punishment for you?” Cassie pondered out loud as Cassie moved her fist about and eyed her with curiosity, she couldn’t do to her what she had rather erroneously inflicted on Alvin, it wasn’t the right setting.

 

 “ Socks, socks are worn with shoes, shoes are worn on feet and you made Alvin  taste...Aha!” Cassie uttered, having a little Eureka moment.

 

 “ No, please, don’t!” Wendy’s begging fell on deaf ears as the hand lowered, descending with an increasing acceleration until Wendy was just above Cassie’s sneakers, the Titan having slipped her foot out of them.

 

“ I’d move to the front if I were you,” Cassie said without any empathy for Wendy and let go of  her. Wendy fell about ten feet, the sneaker’s insole cushioning the fall.

 

 Wendy heeded Cassie’s advice as  her foot closed in on her, Wendy screaming and scrambling further into the shoe,  the foot cutting off all possible routes of escape.

 

 It was like running from a five headed hydra, Cassie’s sock covered foot squeezing and squirming as she forced it back in. With a jerk, she caught Wendy who was flung on top, pressed between the roof of the shoe and the ground which was now a Titan foot.

 

Out of courtesy, Cassie loosened the laces a little, she didn’t want Wendy asphyxiating inside.

 

Looking back up , Cassie could now devote her time to Alvin and her two closest friends.

 

 With her right arm, she gestured towards them, “ Alvin, meet Nadya and Jamila. Nadya and Jamila, meet Alvin,” she beamed down at Alvin as she said so, who despite being in very unfamiliar territory, didn’t quite mind the company he found himself in.  

 

 

 

 

“ So this is the Alvin Summers we’ve heard so much about” Jamila exclaimed, not so much surprised as she was sizing him up. Alvin could feel the red headed Titaness eyeing him, not with lust no, she did not have any carnal intentions with him.

 

 “ I remember you, you spotted me and said I was some sicko of a peeping Tom,” Alvin spoke frankly to the redhead. Jamila grinned sheepishly and giggled, her error still fresh in their minds.

 

 Her tongue brushed against the side of her cheek before she could give a decent answer, “ Oh that was a big snafu on my part, I’m sorry I called you that, probably should have thought why you’d be tied up in the first place.”  

 

 Alvin chuckled heartily, “ Yes, you definitely should have but no hard feelings to both of you, it’d take a lot more to keep me down than what Cassie through,” Alvin put in the utmost effort to keep his eyes fixed on Jamila’s eyes but they and his male mind conspired to peek at the rest of Jamila and once that was sated, glance at Nadya. Not that he could be faulted for having good taste in women and the decency to settle on more appropriate body parts when it was done.

 

 Like Cassie, Nadya and Jamila were incredibly fit thanks to cheerleading and  although each of their figures varied based on individual differences, it did not change the fact that all of them were very beautiful.

 

 “Ya know I thought he’d be taller,” Nadya interjected, looking at him with little interest.

 

 “ I don’t think a couple of inches is going to make a difference to you Nadya,” Alvin replied in a matter of fact way, which elicited a chuckle out of the dark haired Titan.

 

“ You’re right Al, it wouldn’t, does matter whether you’re six and a half feet or five and a half feet like you, you’d still be smaller than my finger but...” Nadya leaned in and examined Alvin, she found him to be physically unremarkable, short but probably not lacking in speed, “ Cassie said you are a decent guy, much better than the ones she used to mix with so Jamila and I will let you into our little group. I’m Nadya in case you hadn’t figured it out,” she said coldly to Alvin.

 

 “ Don’t judge Cassie too harshly, she’s actually a really wonderful person once you get to know her, after getting past the dollhouse antics, ” Nadya added. Cassie noted her little addition and playfully punched Nadya on her bicep, the latter grunting in shock and rubbing her arm after being caught by surprise.

 

 “ Aw come on Cass, you know it’s true!” Nadya smirked as she let her arm be, Cassie may have been able to throw a mean jab but Nadya knew how to take it, she’d been through a lot more than that.

 

 “ That may be the case but lets not remind Alvin of it. Sorry about Nadya, she can be a little tactless,” Cassie said , resting her head on her knuckles, sheepish due to her gal pals’ frankness.

 

“ So Alvin, tell us about your sister, I mean stepsister, the little troll that’s been taking a shit on your entire life,” Nadya shifted the attention towards Alvin although her eyes shifted towards Cassie as she thought about how Wendy was faring as Cassie’s little foot toy.

 

 “ It’s a long, tragic tale, it isn’t for the squeamish, you sure you’re up for it?” Alvin challenged Nadya, it was by no means a serious one , more of a playful jab.

 

 Nadya chuckled, “ Cassie I like this guy already, he’s already better than your last boyfriend, you better not let Alvin slip through your fingers.”

 

 Cassie rolled her eyes, scoffing at Nadya, “ Nadya would like to hear your story, just tell them what you told me.”

 

 “Gladly,” Alvin answered stoically.

 

**********

 

While Alvin regaled his new friends with tales of his hellish life, Wendy was living her own version of it. She pounded fruitlessly against the taut roof of her new prison, there was barely enough room to breathe, her chest pressed against Cassie’s foot.

 

 Each second brought with it a new movement or tick, Cassie tilting or bending her foot which sent the poor girl careening to wherever gravity dictated, the experience of which was akin to a being a ship tossed about by the sea. Wendy didn’t know whether Cassie was doing this to rub salt in her wounds or this was just a habit of hers. Then there was the small matter of temperature.

 

   Under normal circumstances the heat from a Titan’s body would be bearable for a smaller person  but in an area that was a claustrophobe’s worst nightmare, the trapped heat and humidity was unbearable. Wendy could even detect a faint acidic smell coming from Cassie’s sock. She had  gagged on it but had not regurgitated her last meal just yet, Cassie’s foot hygiene too impeccable for that.

 

Exacerbating things was Cassie’s penchant to swivel her feet or in this case, point them down and trace a little circle. Which was fine if not for the fact that it made all the blood rush to Wendy’s head ; she prayed Cassie would stop fidgeting.

 

 “ Damn it, this is not how it was supposed to be! I’m trapped in this bitch’s foot while that shrimp is up there swooning over a pair of walking titties!” Wendy slammed her fist down on Cassie just after the latter had her  foot flat on the ground. Given the space she had, the impact was negligible thanks to the rather , Wendy unsure if Cassie even felt it.

 

   Wendy felt powerless, she may not have been the biggest Amazon around but this was the most emasculated she’d ever felt. In school, most of the Amazons respected her and those that didn’t, stayed out of her way. It had been easy maintaining her position at the top, shake up a few people and once they infected the rest of the population with their fear of her, it was easy. Occasionally she had to get physical to get them back in line, repair the cracks in her reputation.

 

This time, she feared she would never get it back. Cassie had destroyed it by treating her like an insole, her put downs and manhandling had shattered the little facade she created for herself. She had to get it back but that wasn’t a guarantee anymore.

 

 “No”, Wendy thought to herself as she shuffled about to keep her blood circulating, it was a near insurmountable obstacle and in her mind, she knew who to pin it on.

 

 “ Alvin….” She growled, no one else could hear it except for her. She’d make him pay dearly although she did have to applaud him for manipulating Cassie into doing the dirty work for him.

 

“ Brilliant, you send a T-rex to take down a lion,” Wendy said to herself, surprised she actually felt impressed by him. That was the only rational explanation she could arrive at, why else would Cassie even stoop  to his level, to even consider that someone as insignificant as Alvin deserved to come close enough to touch a being like Cassie.

 

“ When I get out, there will be hell to pay,” She thought  as she lay still, waiting for Cassie or anyone really, to release her.

 

***************

 

 “ You never went to your stepmom, or a teacher for help?” Jamila asked, shocked at the explicit details. She poured over every inch of his body with her eyes, trying to spot the very bruises he described. She would find nothing, Wendy either a master at keeping it hidden or Alvin simply recovered flawlessly from beatings.

 

 “ They never help, do they Alvin?” Cassie interjected, her arms now folded.

 

 If they had, we wouldn’t be here, having this conversation , a thought she had mixed feelings about.

 

 “ No they don’t,” Alvin confirmed Cassie’s thoughts, “ I told a teacher and they,” he used a pair of air quotes here, “ ‘helped’ by telling off Wendy. It worked, for two seconds.”

 

 “ Don’t even get me started on Patricia, she couldn’t give a rat’s ass about me, other than the fact that she married my dad. Probably the only reason she keeps me around, she loves my old man too much to give me the boot.”

 

 “ We’re really sorry to hear that, so I am guessing Cassie was the first person you told about your problem?” Jamila pushed on, she was now resting her chin on the table. Nadya still maintained her distance.

 

 “ Yeah, she kind of left me  no choice there which makes all three of you the first people to know about it. And…oh my god this is so awkward but…” Alvin scratched his head as he realised what he was about to say would be very embarrassing.  

 

 “ I’ve never spoken to a Titan before,” he finished with a sheepish grin pasted on his face.

 

 “ What?” All three girls cried out in near unison.

 

 “ Not even a wave or friendly smile?”  Cassie asked, finding it very hard to believe what she just heard.

 

 “ Okay, there’s Katharine but even when we did talk, it wasn’t the most heartfelt of conversations Never had time or opportunity for it, it just happened,” Alvin answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

 

 “ Too shy?” Jamila hazarded a guess.

 

 Alvin shook his head, “ I never had the time. Between all that track practice, finals, being the Cinderella of my family, girls aren’t high on the list of things I have to do. By the way, what did Jamila, what did Cassie call you about?”

 

 “ You heard?” Cassie said incredulously. She made a mental note to herself to dial back on her volume level.  

 

  “ I did, the walls of your house aren’t exactly soundproof,” Alvin briefly turned back to address Cassie.

 

 “ I called because I was at a loss, you were kind of scary back there. Are you fine, no trauma or anything?”

 

 “ Yeah, no issues now. Guess I just needed to get it off my chest,” Alvin reassured Cassie, he actually did feel better after it.

 

 His words did assure Cassie but as she gazed down at her foot, noticing the little raised lump made by Wendy and judged that Wendy had been having it too easy so far.

 

 She pressed down on the lump and rubbed it vigorously, the pad of her thumb digging into Wendy’s back, she could feel her spine. Her lips curled up as she savoured the thought of delivering long overdue revenge to Alvin’s personal tormentor.

 

 Wendy’s struggles were pathetic, she squirmed in some futile attempt to get away from Cassie but there was nowhere to go.

 

 “ Alvin,” Cassie asked as she toyed with Wendy, “ Maybe you’d like to have a go at Wendy? I could hold her down, it won’t take too much effort, one finger is all I all need while you make her your own punching bag. What do you think?” Cassie tilted a head and offered her best smile.

 

  Alvin was tempted, it would be great but then Cassie never had to face Wendy and even then, what could an Amazon do to something as powerful as a Titan? Then there was the fact that he’d be hitting a member of the opposite sex and despite her physical superiority, it still rankled him to even consider smacking Wendy.

 

 “ No, I’ll pass, I can’t hit a girl,” Alvin said.

 

 “ Oh, a gentleman,” Nadya added, breaking her silence.

 

 “ That’ll get you very far with any girl.” She cooed. ‘ I wager between being pummeled by Wendy and being the studious boy you must be, you don’t get out much do you?”

 

 “ No, not much at all,” Alvin replied to Nadya.

 

   Cassie gave Alvin the thumbs up, “ I think I should follow your example, I barely scraped by the last test.”

 

 “ Right, you’re the only cheerleader I know with a grade point average over three point eight and you’re worried about your grades. Ja and I are hanging on only because you’re tutoring us and we pay you with food and other stuff that we can’t remember,” Nadya pointed out, a little jealous.

 

 “ Wow, you’re doing better than I am, guess I should be getting help from you,” Alvin replied, surprised that someone like Cassie had a brain to match her looks.

 

 “ Maybe you sho-OW!” Cassie yelped, a sudden sharp blast of pain emanating from her foot, the very same foot where she had trapped Wendy.

 

 In retaliation, Cassie gave Wendy a little flick on the back, or where she presumed her back would be. What was she doing down there, Cassie wondered. She could have sworn she felt teeth.

 

 “ Anyway Nadya, I could be better and you could too, even if you want to  be a model,” Cassie advised her.

 

 Nadya shook her head wistfully, “ Oh Cassie, there’s more to life than grades you know, I already got offers to go audition to be a model. Before you know it, my face will be plastered all over the papers and buildings and you’ll be buying something I got paid big bucks to wear.”

 

Cassie chuckled, “ I really hope you do better than me. I tried to get a job at Luxom and they rejected me, said there wasn’t ‘ a demand for blonde Titans at the moment’ ,” She deepened her voice in imitation of the man who delivered the news to her.

 

 Jamila lightly tugged at a lock of Cassie’s golden hair, “ There’s always hair dye. Maniere is having a discount on hair dyes and I think we can turn you into a stunning brunette in no time.”

 

 Cassie yanked her hair free of Jamila’s grasp, “ Ugh no! I like to keep things natural, dying my hair would be to descend to their level. I don’t need to model that badly. Nadya can do it, they won’t say no to a brunette so easily.”

 

 Cassie absentmindedly twirled several strands of her hair, promising herself to never change its colour, for better or for worse, she’d done a lot of that since she joined the squad.

 

 “ I’ll breeze through it, play the sexy Russian card, give them a pout,” Nadya pursed her lips, making them appear fuller. “ Then there’s the smoulder,” She threw in a little squint. Alvin felt his heart pulsate a little quicker, she was attractive before but this was another level of beauty.

 

“ Definitely working-” Cassie yelped, almost jumping out of her seat, the pain was similar but greater in magnitude. This time she knew what it was, Wendy was a biter.

 

 “ That little bitch,” Cassie was furious, she had expected punching and kicking from Wendy but biting?

 

 “ You’re lucky I don’t do the same to you, you little bitch,” Cassie gritted her teeth, if they so much as parted she knew she’d be shouting.

 

 She slapped the lump, Alvin winced as he saw it, it looked painful but an Amazon could take more of a pounding than any normal person could, their denser bones were built for it.

 

 “ You aren’t worried someone will report this to a teacher?” Alvin realised people could hear Cassie, not just students but he could have sworn a few teachers, normal and non-normal had witnessed it too.

 

 Cassie waved away his concerns, “ Most of the students don’t tattle on us but we’ve done our fair share of detention.”

 

Nadya giggled, “ More than fair I would say but if we go down, I promise that you won’t serve a single one,”

 

Sounds good, thought Alvin. He looked back down at Cassie’s foot from the edge of the table and in his mind, wondered how Wendy was faring. He’d need to thank Cassie for that.

 

 

 

 

Wendy tiptoed into the kitchen, her feet gliding across the white tiles of the kitchen as she snuck up on her brother, completely in his own world as he prepared dinner.

 

  Today would be a rather generic looking  spaghetti bolognaise but Alvin knew how to turn run of the mill dishes into something that approached divine. Wendy paused when she was just behind Alvin, failing to notice the shadow falling over him. She pulled her arms back before letting them spring forward into Alvin’s back.

 

 “ You think you’re really big eh punk!” Wendy’s voice blared from behind Alvin, followed by a sudden shove. Alvin toppled towards the hot stove but managed to use the counter to steady himself. His hands were inches from the metallic stove , relaying to his brain how lucky he was that he hadn’t landed slightly to the left or he’d be grilling human flesh.

 

“ What the hell Wendy?” Alvin let rip as he did a one eighty degree turn, his step sister glowering at him, her anger masking bluer emotions.He didn’t need to be a psychic to know why but even so, this was still pushing it when compared to what his sibling had done in the past.

 

 “ What else?” Wendy winced as she grabbed his shoulders with both hands, her muscles screaming at her to take it easy. She would give them that but only after she dealt with the source of her grouse.

 

 “ You humiliated me in front of the entire school. No, not you,” Wendy picked him up by the shoulders, her biceps flexing as his feet lost contact with the ground. Behind him, a pot of water began to boil, bubbles of dissolved air breaking through the surface.

 

 “ Your big bitch. Bet it felt good to watch? Wendy shook Alvin hard like a ragdoll, her body shaking as she thought of the ways she could hit back at Cassie. Since she declared Alvin a close friend, he’d make for a good appetizer before she took down Babezilla.

 

 “ I remember it very well,” Wendy grunted while starting to elucidate the events after lunch.

 

******

 The hallways were saturated with the laughter of the three Titans as they strode down, Alvin in tow as he sat on Cassie’s shoulder, his new friend telling them a funny joke. Alvin had began to feel more like he belonged to the group as they gobbled about everything and anything that cross their minds.

 

 The only person who wasn’t liking any of this was trapped in Cassie’s shoe. Wendy had felt the blows Cassie returned and once her captor went mobile, each reverberation from her footfalls made her lose hope in getting out. Either Cassie had conveniently forgotten about her or she had more planned once she got home.

 

  “ Cass, you forgot about Wendy,” Jamila tapped Cassie on her shoulder to remind her of the little girl in her shoe.

 

 “ Wha-oh right!” Cassie exclaimed, Wendy had slipped her mind. In part this was due to Wendy’s taciturn acceptance of her fate but also because she and her pals were so engrossed in their small talk, pushing Wendy out of sight and out of mind.

 

 Letting Alvin climb on to Jamila’s hand, she bent down and slid her foot out of her shoe before overturning the bus sized footwear, Wendy hitting the ground with a painful thud.

 

 “ Oh god…” She mouthed, having had the wind knocked out of her as her arms pushed her off the ground. Her clothes were soaked in her own perspiration, Cassie’s sock also bearing traces of Wendy’s sweat.

 

 Beads of perspiration cascaded down her cheeks, her ebony locks glued to her face.

 

 “ I’ll get you for this Cassie,” She wailed at her assailant, pointing a finger up at her.

 

Cassie just smirked and crossed her arms over her chest, “ Sorry, its kind of hard to take you so seriously from up here.” She was hardly threatened by Wendy and to make her point, trapped the girl under her big toe, the little appendage enough to overwhelm Wendy.

 

 “ I’ll let you go and I really hope this is the time I’ll see you like this,” Cassie said with a stern voice, removing her toe from Wendy. The latter got up and ran off  without turning back.

 

********

 

 “ Your girlfriend has some really rancid feet there, hope you can handle them or you guys will never hit it off,” Wendy’s noise wrinkled at the mere thought of it. Sour milk sprang to mind, as did stale sweat when she thought back to those moments.

 

 “ She’s just a friend, I don’t date girls whom I’ve known for less than forty eight hours,” Alvin rebutted her. Wendy pressed herself against Alvin.

 

 “ Whatever she is to you, it changes nothing. Unless she finds a way to squeeze herself under this roof, I’m in charge and this means, everything is still the same,” Wendy said but she felt uncomfortable even mentioning Cassie, the

 

 “ So, you better learn to take it like a man,” Wendy reinforced her point by slapping Alvin across the face. She wasn’t using all of her strength but it was enough to throw him to the floor. If she had done it any harder Alvin would probably have to deal with whiplash.

 

 “ I-I am dealing with it like a man. If I weren’t, you’d have some slap marks on your face too.”

 “ Oh really? You can’t even reach the top of the shelf without a stepladder and you’re talking about hitting moi?” Wendy said sarcastically, a little amused by his threat.

 

“ How about this?”  Wendy aimed a backhand at Alvin but he was ready for this and dodged it, Wendy acknowledging his action with a dismissive grunt.

 

 “ So much for being a man,” She huffed.

 

 “ I’m man enough to evade your oversized paws,” Alvin shot back.

 

 “ Okay, I’ve had enough of this. Call me when you’re done with making dinner, Cinderalvin,” Wendy stormed off in a huff.

 

 Her feet stamped the floor as she barged upstairs, stumbling briefly but emotionally, the little trip hurt her a lot more than it should have. Getting to her feet, she tumbled into her room before flinging herself at her bed, head buried in a pillow where the softest of sobs began to emit.

 

*****

 Patricia reclined against the ubiquitous office chair, its blue felt exterior fitting snugly against her body’s natural shape while her boss, a ten and a half foot Amazon by the name of Lucy sat across the glass desk , keyboard embedded into it with the monitor sitting nicely on top of it.

 

Lucy was a blonde green eyed caucasian woman two years older than Patricia and despite the odd wrinkle, revealing the onset of middle age, she’d kept herself in tip top condition with her uniform wrapping itself nicely around her curvaceous body. She’d combined it with her business acumen to rise up relatively quickly but the recent upheaval had put paid to any plans she had of making it to the next rank before forty five.

 

Harvey Johnson was easier to play to, as long as the man had his ego stroked and the ventures made enough cash to keep the company afloat, you were more or less guaranteed secure employment. Linda Beaumont would be different, most of the sweeping changes being made to SilkTech or as it had been rechristened, Bonheur. Lucy felt the new name was both ostentatious and unnecessary. Other changes, less cosmetic and more harrowing had to be carried out by middle management.

 

 “ Patricia,” Lucy cooed as she beamed down at her subordinate. Patricia was a bag of nerves at this point, she had seen her coworkers being given the pink slip, all because of this need to reorganise Bonheur into a healthier company, one that wasn’t up to its neck in debt.

 

“ You’ve heard the rumours? I’ve heard a few but with all that’s been happening ,” She stopped to pour herself a drink of ice cold water from a pitcher.  

“   It’s so difficult to keep track of it. Anyway, what have you heard?” Lucy asked, not so much a direct question as it was a  probe into what people at Patricia’s level heard.

 

 “ Nothing really out of the ordinary,” Patricia shrugged.

 

 “ Mostly retrenchments and reshuffling although I heard Abe from finance was supposed to take your place while you were booted out on to the street,” Patricia remarked, drawing a chuckle from Lucy. That one she had heard off the grapevine herself but there was no grain of truth of there, the man himself got the sack while she was promised further employment. In her opinion he deserved it too, the company’s finances were in the toilet when Harvey was in charge and he’d played no part in trying to keep the place afloat.

 

“ Biggest laugh I got was when that model tried to step on her boss after he axed her. From what I heard, he wet himself although they still don’t know if its from fear or excitement since the girl, Sierra or something went commando when she tried to do it,” Both women laughed heartily.

 “ I’d tell you more Lucy but I think we both know why we’re here. Linda-I mean, Ms. Beaumont wants to throw out the deadwood and get this place ship shape again, which means firing people,” Patricia slashed through the banter, getting straight to the point.

 

Lucy turned serious, clearing her throat loudly and leaning in closer.

 

“I’ll be frank. You’re being fired,” Lucy announced, no punches pulled nor did she beat around the bush.

 

 Patricia felt the world grow cold, she’d given the last seventeen years of her life to the company. She’d survived greater scandals than this, the ignominy of a former CEO embezzling billions of dollars in 2008 to the product recalls of 2014, nearly bankrupting the company but Harvey  had steered it to safety. He may have been a philanderer but he did have a mind for business.

 

 “ You must be joking, SilkTech has survived worse! You were there when it happened and- and you’re firing me over this!” Patricia stood up, aghast at how easily she’d been discarded.

 

“ I am a senior manager, you can’t just throw me out like some stale piece of bread, I’m an asset to this company!” Patricia railed against the perceived injustice of this while Lucy watched, her pokerface on. She had seen worse, much worse than verbal abuse and when it escalated beyond words, she was glad she had a size advantage.

 

“ Calm down Patricia,” Lucy herself stood up, the five feet she had over her subordinate shutting her up.

 

“ I don’t want this to get any messier than it has to be, I hate firing people but…” Her fingers tapped on the glass table, nails rattling against the clear material while she composed herself, formulating what to say next.

 

“ It has to be done. The decision to terminate your employment wasn’t mine, I’d have kept you and fired someone more expendable,” Lucy sighed, her cheeks flushed with colour. It never got easier, no matter how often she’d done it, more so when she had to be the bearer of bad news to a friend of hers.

 

 “ How? How did they choose me? Me! I’ve been one of your best employees, the results don’t lie!” Patricia got agitated, beating her hand against her chest as she demanded an answer.

 

 Lucy sighed, it really hurt to see her friend like this but the decision was final, she wouldn’t be able to reverse it. She wondered if Patricia ought to know the truth but decided there would be no point in hiding the truth.

 

 “ Your department designed the chips we tagged on to the Luxom dresses and while I admire the little devil you made, Linda was less than enthused about it. She personally made this one, you and most of the key players are being removed so it isn’t personal, Linda doesn’t even know you.”

 

 Patricia grabbed Lucy’s hand, gripping it hard, “ Please, you got to keep me, I’m a single mother.”

 

The Amazon retracted her hand, “ Please...I’d rather not do it like this,” Lucy said and helped Patricia up.

 

 “ If it helps, Linda has agreed to give all of those affected by the retrenchments double the severance pay stipulated,” Lucy said, her blue eyes swollen with grief.

 

 “ T-that is mighty generous of her, suppose I should kiss her finger or something,” Patricia spat as she composed herself for the walk out. Her hair was messy and since she was lacking a comb, Patricia used her hand to push it back against her head, returning it to a much neater formation.

 

 “ I’ll be going now,” Patricia said. She walked out, as cool as when she went in but below, her body sore from her dismissal but that was the least of her issues.

 

*****

 

Alvin’s phone buzzed excitedly, interrupting the steady stream of jazz flowing into his eardrum. He grasped it and slid his pointer finger across. His eyes fluttered as he read the message, from Cassie.

 

It was a brief but simple message: How was your day? She even threw in a little smiling emoji  to convey her emotions.

 

 He knew exactly what to say, she only needed to know the turn of events after they said goodbye for the day. He typed it out, the pitter patter of the touchscreen stabbing through the music.

 

Once Alvin sent it, he expected a measured response from Cassie so when the phone buzzed but this time with his chosen ringtone, a series of bells, overrode his tunes, he withdrew his earphones and answered.

 

 “ Alvin, are you ok? You hurt?” Cassie asked, sounding agitated and if he didn’t know better, also sounding miffed.

 

 “ I’m fine although if I misjudged that catch, I’d probably be serving my stepfamily my flesh, well done,” He added a laugh into it, wanting to try and placate Cassie.

 

 “ No!” Cassie’s voice rang. Alvin thanked his lucky stars he wasn’t in the same room as Cassie, she probably would have blown his eardrums out  if he was.

 

“She can’t do things like that and get away with it,” Cassie grumbled.

 

 Alvin didn’t disagree with Cassie but Wendy’s rung in his ears, Cassie couldn’t protect him twenty four  seven. In school Cassie was the queen bee but in the confines of his own house, not even a grub.

 

 “ What can you do?” Alvin asked, praying for  a solution. She was the first ray of hope in his life and he wasn’t about to slam the door on her.

 

 “ I have ways Alvin,” Cassie replied while twirling a lock of her hair.

 

 “ Just don’t hurt Wendy too much, I don’t want you getting into trouble over me, I don’t think I’m worth it. It’s not like she’s  Al-Karabar or something” Alvin cautioned her, leaning forward until he was splayed out on bed, arms and legs everywhere.

 

Cassie giggled on the other end, the static crackling as she did so.

 

 “ Oh you’re right, she isn’t a murderer but she came very close today, remember that.Gosh this is depressing, lets talk about something less bleak. Are you free tomorrow?” Cassie purred into the phone.

 

 “ I have track practice and after that, I got to make dinner for Wendy and Patricia,” Alvin replied instantly. It had become his standard reply, he didn’t need to make up excuses when he had concrete reasons not to go.

 

 Alvin thought he heard a sigh, the gentle exhalation of air from Cassie’s lungs but he couldn’t be sure as the line fell silent.

 

 “ That’s fine, your family is important. Anyway, you enjoy the rest of your evening okay? I’ll see you around. Bye Alvin,” Cassie hung up before Alvin could say his part.

 

 She threw her phone against her pillow before burying her head in it. She had failed to get Wendy off her back, the bitch even dared to fight back. She felt some tenderness about Alvin’s track practice, she hadn’t been to one since she broke up with Eric.

 

 “ Well, guess I should drop by, pay Alvin a visit,” She said to herself. Yeah, it sounded great and she’d need to take it up a notch if she wanted to free him from what she dubbed a very oppressive regime.

 

 

 

 Cassie gripped both straps of her bag, slung over her shoulder as she traversed from one end of the school to the other. Her mind was preoccupied with Alvin, how Wendy had disregarded her threats and proceeded to maim Alvin. It could have been worse but she reasoned  it was no excuse for Wendy’s actions.

 The afternoon sun beat down on her relentlessly, the spring air feeling more like a summer heat but this was a shortcut to the school track from her lab session. She could never understand why the Titan science labs had to be built in one corner of the compound, exposing every Titan to the elements whenever she had to use the place. She had of course asked a teacher but all she got from him was “ Can’t have tonnes of chemicals in the same building as amazons and normals.”

 She didn’t appreciate his attitude either, treating the question as an insult to his intelligence and answered her question in the most condescending manner possible. Although the incident was over a year ago, the incident still rankled her but that rude little man had never been assigned a class she had since.

 Nevertheless, she was feeling upbeat about seeing Alvin again. Even if it meant exposing her sun kissed skin to the unrelenting afternoon sun, she’d risk it. Most of the student body didn’t share her sentiments, retreating to the cooler confines of the classroom.

  The sound of laughter broke her concentration, Cassie’s slender neck twisting to her left. What she saw made her seethe with rage. There was Wendy, head thrown back as she guffawed at Camilla’s joke.

 Cassie’s hands become clenched at the mere sight of them, subconsciously cracking her knuckles as she considered the thought of getting a little payback on behalf of Alvin. Would she have time?

 Cassie glanced at her phone, deftly grabbing it from her back pocket. Her tongue clicked as she the liquid crystal screen displayed the scant amount of time she had before she’d be too late for track practice.

  Still, it didn’t mean she had to pass up such an opportunity. It would be perfect, none of them even noticed her and if Cassie got herself into a chase, her longer gait would more than compensate for any headstart Wendy had.

Screw it, I can be a little late for Alvin, she thought to herself s as she bounded towards Wendy, her legs executing the  order before she even made it conscious.

*******

 

 “Shit!” Wendy and Camilla exclaimed together as they fled from the advancing form of Cassie.

 Cassie was impossible not to notice once she charged at them, her deafening  threat to string up Wendy had caught their attention. Unwilling to let Cassie close the gap, they took flight, against a foe whose finger could pin and crush them with ease.

  Her shadow had already engulfed them in darkness, Cassie’s umbra shadowing covering them no matter how much they willed themselves to accelerate.

 “ It’s pointless to run little Wendy, I know what you did to Alvin!” Cassie thundered. She reached down to grasp Wendy but the missed, her fingers brushing against Wendy’s maroon top.

 The brush with death only spurred Wendy on but now only a Titan arm’s length away from Cassie and with her legs saturated with lactic acid, her body had reached its bursting point.

 Then, Wendy felt her legs crumple as Cassie’s fingers slammed into her spine, pinning her to the floor. Cassie chuckled as she stood over the pair , Camilla frozen with fear. Her mind blanked as she watched Cassie once again demonstrate the futility of fighting her.

 “ Stop! What the hell have I done to you, you oversized bitch!!!” Wendy cried as Cassie tugged Wendy by the fabric of her top. Her hands dug into the soil, holding on to tufts of grass as she expended whatever energy she had left, pulling out handfuls of dirt as both plant and Amazon lost out to the unstoppable force acting on them.

 “ You know what you did!” Cassie snapped at her. Both girls contemplated what to do next, Wendy praying for a quick one while Cassie deliberated on the most painful punishment she could inflict.

 After spacing out, Camilla finally snapped back to reality upon hearing Cassie’s words and leapt to Wendy’s rescue, punching Cassie’s pointer finger as hard as she could, her jabs like the sting from a bee.

“ Ow!” Cassie yelped, her finger starting to sport deep purple blotches from where Camilla’s blows had land. An Amazon may be weaker than a Titan but they had the muscle power  to bruise and even crack a Titan’s bones in the most extreme cases.

 Cassie flicked her thumb at Camilla, catching her in the stomach and sending her flying back on to the pavement, where she lay still, conscious but with the wind knocked out of her sails.

  With that settled, Cassie wasted no time in stuffing Wendy into a side compartment of her bag, the polyester walls containing her.  Wendy landed on top of a beaten green stress ball as large as she was before Cassie zipped up the roof of her new prison.

  

 “ Don’t feel too bad Camilla, that’s your name right?” Cassie addressed the defeated girl.

 Camilla glowered wordlessly  at Cassie as she lay prone on her back.

 “ I’ve got nothing against you but your friend on the other hand…” She gave the bag a vigorous shake, the bag rattling as her books, phone and stationary banged against each other. Somewhere inside, Wendy was getting tossed about like a tugboat in a hurricane. Cassie relished that thought.

  “ I’ve got a bone to pick with her,” Cassie flipped her bag over and slotted her arm through the slot, all of her moves overly dramatic.

 ***********

   Wendy tumbled out of the compartment, her body hitting the ceramic floor hard. She no time to catch her breath as Cassie set her bag against the door.

  FDR High was one of the few schools  that had a handicapped stall for Titans, distinct from the main lavatories. It was perfect for Titans who were in need of it and here, it was the perfect place for Cassie’s plan.

 This particular stall was well-maintained, a blessing for both girls. The floor and wall tiles were enamel white and opposite the cistern was the sink, complete with a mirror encompassed by coal black mildew but that was filthy as it got.

 “ I’d take a  deep breath if I were you,” Cassie advised Wendy as she sat down on the porcelain throne. Titan facilities were no different from their smaller counterparts, most of just a scaled up version to handle the strains of the Titan physique but most of the materials were far more advanced than the standard set used in construction.

 Cassie untied one of her sneakers and set it aside while she removed her sock. Wendy was trying to crawl away, inching forward on her hands and knees but Cassie kept her within her peripherals. There was no where for her to run..

 “ Where do you think you’re going?”

Cassie held her sock in one hand and leaned forward. It was almost too easy, Cassie thought as she pulled Wendy by her legs.

 “ Let me go!” Wendy tried to kick out at Cassie but found her legs clamped shut by her captor’s fingers.

 “ Not yet,” Cassie answered sternly.

She held Wendy twenty feet above her sock, one hundred and twenty feet if you added Cassie’s natural elevation.

 It was high enough to make the Amazon teen squeamish but low enough to survive a misaligned fall . Wendy expected a sudden drop soon enough, she knew where this was going. Yet for a while, Cassie did nothing but observe Wendy’s struggles, as if expected something to happen.

 Wendy was too distraught for to notice this but as the seconds ticked by and Cassie hadn’t let go of her, she too picked up on the oddity of the situation.

 “ What are you-AAAAHHHH!!!!” Cassie suddenly released her and Wendy fell until Cassie’s sock safety net caught her.

  “ Sorry, I shouldn’t delay this. I’ve got places to be and you’ve got a lesson you need to learn,” Cassie rambled as she closed the opening of the sock.

 “ I don’t know if you can hear me but if you can, kick my sock,” Cassie instructed. She didn’t expect anything but a quick prod from the inside said enough for her.

 “ Good.”

“ I heard what you did to Alvin.”

Cassie gave the sock a little jerk, it spun in a hundred and two degree arc before falling back to its equilibrium position, as gravity intended for it to be.

 “ If he had been less dextrous, I think he would be in the ER, all thanks to you.”

Cassie jerked harder and the sock did a vertical one hundred and eighty. This time, Cassie could hear muffled screams through the cotton.

 “ I want you to know that I don’t enjoy this. But it has to be done, for your good and for Alvin. ”

The sock remained still and silent.

“ When I saw you and Camilla, I thought of letting you be but it worries me how you treat your brother. He’ll be dead before graduation if you keep this up.”

Cassie dropped the sock and just before it hit the ground, she grabbed its mouth. It stretched slightly as Wendy’s inertia caused a tiny sag at the bottom.

“ So I am going to give you your punishment now and we’ll both be done,” Cassie said as she began to spin the sock horizontally. She imagined it as simply another baton to rotate or ribbon to twirl, a far more tranquil thought. Cassie controlled its spin, keeping it slow and comfortable, no faster than the average carousel.

 She spun silently but found the silence too eerie. She considered taunting Wendy but it would have contradicted her stand on the issue.

 “ I’ll let you in on a little secret,” Cassie started, her reflection staring right back at her as she began her story.

 “ When I was young, I wanted to be an astronaut. Why? I loved the idea of flying off into space, going to exotic worlds within our star system.I thought I would be the first to meet an alien, didn’t matter where it came from. The Moon, Mars, even Titan would be fine,” Cassie gushed.

 As she spoke, she began to lose focus on the object in her hand but quickly imparted enough energy to keep the momentum constant. Still, no noise from within. Cassie wasn’t bothered by it,she didn’t care if Wendy chose to suffer in silence or wail the whole way.

  “ Then a friend told me they didn’t send Titans into space, it was too expensive to build a ship big enough to fit a Titan.”

 Cassie snorted derisively, “ I wished that I knew sooner. I was thirteen when I found out.”

 She spun  faster, the sock’s velocity now beyond the realm of carousel.  

 “ I did all the training a kid could do, even sitting on the roundabout at the playground and letting my friends spin me around until I got too nearly puked,” Cassie stopped, the memory eliciting a chuckle from her previously stone faced expression.

 Like the roundabout, Wendy and her prison now moved as fast as one. Like the younger Cassie, she also felt a need to regurgitate her last meal.

“ Although I tried my best to recreate a centrifuge, it doesn’t even come close to the real thing. Not even if I spin you really hard.”

 True to her word, Cassie went full throttle, the sock revolving on its axis in seconds while she rambled on, spinning like the interior of a washing machine.

 “ I’m serious Wendy, the g-forces you’re feeling are nothing compared to what the crew of Apollo 11 got. Most men and women would faint after 5Gs but you’re an Amazon, you could probably take at least 8, maybe even 11 or 12 without training.”

Cassie stopped spinning the sock, not because she thought Wendy had had enough but she needed to go.

 Opening the sock, she overturned it and caught Wendy as she tumbled out, the latter dazed and confused from her spin cycle.

*******

 Wendy hadn’t the faintest idea what was going on when Cassie began her monologue. She didn’t care about her hopes and dream but it was a surprise to learn that someone like Cassie harboured a fairy tale like dream.

 She did know that Cassie’s fetid sock was already stomach churning enough. Making it surprising that Cassie owned the smelliest pair of feet Wendy knew of. Either through coincidence or out of spite, Wendy seemed to only get this when Cassie’s feet were ripe.

  When the sock began its revolution, she began to understand where it was going but she vowed not to scream, Cassie would probably want that. A moment of weakness, before she was accustomed to the movement of her prison was the only concession she made.

 Not even she was pressed the walls of the sock, her nose receiving the full power of Cassie’s perspiration and g forces strong enough to restrict Wendy’s own breathing did Wendy cry out for an end to the pain.

 The end did come and when she found herself in Cassie’s arm and being let down, she took it as dignified as she could. Her stumbling around, as if she were walking on jelly dampened the effect she wanted but she was determined to finish it.

******

 “ I hope you learned your lesson,” Cassie said as she got up and walked ahead of Wendy. Wendy wasn’t going anywhere unless Cassie opened the door for her.

 “ Just….stay...out...of my life,” Wendy answered through gritted teeth, her hair a tangled mess from the sock spin and her brain still adjusting to a world that revolved much more slowly than before.

 “ I promise you that the day you stop picking on Alvin, I’ll leave you alone. Unless you want to be friends,” Cassie promised her.

 While she couldn’t see herself walking hand in hand with Wendy, especially after what she knew of her, she would not rule the possibility of a redeemed Wendy befriending her.

“ Whatever,” Wendy muttered under her breath as she stumbled out like a drunkard, away from Cassie.

 Cassie didn’t bother to check on Wendy after that, she was risking the chance to watch Alvin’s track practice if she didn’t leave now.  

 

 

 

  The clear droplet of perspiration swung back and forth precariously, clinging on  to Alvin’s smooth chin. It had spent the last two and a half minutes hanging on as Alvin sprinted up and down the track, the hundred metres being his forte.

 

 “ Take five!” Coach Marcia Reuss blew on her whistle, the tracksuited twelve foot Amazon ushering her charges into the shade. A former national sprinter who never made the cut for the Olympics team, she had gone straight into coaching after a spate of injuries forced her into early retirement.

 

 Now she coached Roosevelt High’s Men’s and Amazon’s track teams.

 

 Alvin was hunched over, muscles saturated with lactic acid. His calves felt tight from his exertions, the price he paid for putting more effort than he usually did, in part because someone was watching him.

 

 “ Alvin! Come on, don’t make us wait!” Coach Reuss barked.

 

 Alvin gave her the thumbs up and jogged in, glad to be out of the searing heat.

 

 He turned back and gave a knowing smile at his audience of one. Cassie turned away, trying her best to hide her embarrassed grin.

 

 Alvin had noticed her the moment she entered the grandstand, inconspicuity not something a Titan had in abundance. He tried to avoid staring at her, to keep himself focused on practice but every turn he made only put her back in his line of sight.

 

 Not to mention, others had noticed her presence. Everyone in school knew who Cassie was and her hook up with Alvin had sent the rumour mill into overdrive. Alvin had heard it scraps of it through toilet talk, locker room gossip.

 

   Most of it was just the by-product of an overactive imagination, Alvin having quite a good laugh when a Titan said rather loudly she thought he was Cassie’s newly discovered brother. A guy in Alvin’s class said Alvin had to be her new boyfriend since it was common knowledge Cassie had ended things with Josh, the star quarterback.

 

  He found it  amusing that none of them had the common sense to suggest the two were just friends.

 

 “ Well done Summers, you seem...lighter today,” Alvin nodded his head as Reuss brought him back to reality. Reuss’ stern expression and weathered complexion normally instilled fear in all of her students but she today she was far more hospitable towards Alvin. Compliments were rare but as her lips twisted into a smile, all of them were convinced they had seen it all. A smile from Reuss was almost mythical.

 

 She gave him a pat on the back with her clipboard, most people used tablets but she eschewed modern technology in favour of more traditional tools.

 

 “ Well done Summers,” Kelvin Thorne  jumped down a step, his voice dropping several octaves, his imitation of Reuss’ voice. His crew cut glistened with sweat , some of it landing on Alvin’s own hair during the jump.

 

 Kelvin had a boyish face, the kind that could send a girl’s fluttering with a playful wink or two. A strong frame thanks to his Anglo-Saxon heritage and a pair of turquoise eyes a girl could get lost in for days made him quite the hunk amongst the ladies.

 

“ Nothing much Kev, just put in a hundred and twenty percent, that’s all,” Alvin replied softly, his eyes trained on Cassie. Her head was bowed, Alvin guessed she was checking her email. Just as well, there was nothing  to be gained from watching an empty track.

 

 “ Ah…” Kelvin’s eyes and mouth opened as like Katharine before, he knew who Alvin was looking at.

 

“ You like Cassie , the holy grail of Roosevelt High.”

 His deduction wasn’t only heard by Alvin, his fellow trackmate Timothy Cluney.

 

 He was a mix of Irish and Spanish, the latter giving him the healthy glow his Irish side couldn’t. He wasn’t much taller than Alvin but the most surprising fact about him was his girth.

 

 Timothy was arguably the fat kid of the track team but despite having a gut , he could outrun ninety five percent of the guys. It was one of the mysteries Reuss and most of the team were trying to answer, how could a five foot ten, hundred and sixty pound guy pull that off?

 

 “ Oh boy…” Timothy’s breaths came deep and quickly, his dark hair a mess.

 

“ I’ve heard things about you and Cassie, any of it true?” Timothy and Kelvin surrounded Alvin.

 

 “ What have you heard?” Alvin asked as he squeezed his bottle, squirting water on to his tongue.

 

 Timothy shrugged and laughed, “ Just that Cassie got a new squeeze.”

 

 “ What’s he look like?” Alvin feigned ignorance.

 

 “ He’s five foot five, has a bitch of a stepsister , runs fast,” Timothy rattled off a list of descriptions.

 

 “ I didn’t know it was you Timothy,” Alvin replied.

 

“ Nah, Cassie couldn’t lift his fat ass,” Kelvin interjected. He got a gentle shove from Timothy for that.

 

 “ As I was saying...everyone is talking about the cafeteria incident. Seems out of nowhere, you managed to make friends with the the school’s ‘IT’ girl. Got into her pants yet?”

 

 Alvin shook his head, typical crude talk from Timothy. That was what endeared him to the group, apart from his speed.

 

“ Not planning to, she’s a friend and I don’t sleep with friends so easily,” He said. He looked back at Cassie , her attention  on her phone.

 

“ Oh right…” Both boys gave him a knowing look plus a nudge and a wink.

 

 “ You would be a tool if you didn’t try to bone Cassie, that girl is too good to pass up,” Timothy almost licked his lips.

 

 “ I think you need dinner, Cassie Gissel is not just a piece of meat to chew on. She’s Mjolnir, only those who are worthy may wield her…” He said dreamily.

 

 “ You and your comic books. Calling her your ‘Moon’ didn’t help, got tongue tied as soon as she asked if you were calling her fat. So Al-”

 

Alvin’s bag began to vibrate. He knew what it was, pulling out his phone. Good timing too, Cassie was on the other end.

 

 “ Hey Alvin! Surprise!” Cassie greeted him, sounding extra perky. She threw in a wave from the other end of the stadium. That got everyone staring at him, causing Alvin’s cheeks to turn a deep shade of red.

 

 “ Hey…” He waved back.

 

“ You done yet?” Cassie trembled like an excited child, Alvin didn’t know why but he wanted to find out more.

 

“Oh not quite, probably twenty more minutes of training,” Alvin’s eyes darted around, he could hear everyone whispering , his name and Cassie’s mentioned in tandem.

 

 “ Alright everyone, back to the track! Summers, say goodbye to your girlfriend and lets get a move on!”

 

Coach Reuss’ gruff instructions broke the light hearted tone created by Cassie’s call , everyone trudging down for the finale of the training session.

 

 “ Alright, I got to go.”

 

 Alvin said goodbye amidst a sea of giggles, Kelvin and Timothy in particular losing their minds, guffawing and laughing on their way down.

******

 

By the time track ended, Alvin had been subjected to more jibes about Cassie, none of it malicious, just some good natured fun. He didn’t mind, which drew out even more jokes.

 

 Cassie strode over the moment Reuss blew a single long note on her whistle.

 

  Alvin stopped and stared at Cassie as she came over. A few other boys had the same idea, seeing a lot of green over Alvin getting all the attention from her.

 

 All of them-Alvin included- were captivated her gait. It was like poetry in motion, the graceful swing of her hips with each step like the swing a of hypnotist’s pendulum, entrancing all who laid eyes on her.

 

   “ Hey Al,  do you mind having dinner with me?” Cassie asked, one arm on her hip. Timothy groaned loudly, Cassie turned back but the heartbroken teenager just buried his head in his arms, Kelvin leading him away with the promise of something even better than Cassie.

 

 “ Can’t, got to cook for Wendy and Patricia, those two will kill me if I don’t have a warm meal ready for them by sundown.”

 

 Alvin shrugged his shoulders, conceding defeat.

 

Cassie didn’t show any disappointment , her forehead wrinkled as she thought up a plan. Which she managed to.

 

 “ Give Wendy a call, tell her you’re eating dinner with me and I’d love it if she were to give you some time off.”

 

 It was a strange request but Alvin did as she suggested. He wasn’t entirely sure of it but at the mere mention of Cassie’s name, Wendy swallowed hard. He wanted to dig deeper but Wendy quickly agreed to it, rushed out a goodbye and then hung up.

 

Cassie  shrugged her shoulders when asked , clicking her tongue.

 

 “ So…” She twirled a clump of her golden mane with her finger.

 

“ I take it your evening is open?”

 

*****

 

After a very quick and thorough shower, Cassie brought Alvin to the mall.

 

Most of the buildings were scaled up for both Titans and their smaller ilk to enjoy although not all of the shops had the same level of accessibility. That was up to the shop owners themselves.

 

Cassie took Alvin to a cosy little cafe, one that could fit Titans. Not all restaurants did so, many of the smaller eateries unable to afford the overheads of a large shop space and the mountains of ingredients needed.

 

Lucky for Cassie, she found one she could afford.

 

“ I’ve never been to Soros’ Salads before, “ Alvin looked up and down the place, examining the decor as a pretty ginger Titan got Alvin a table and chair for him. All of which would be placed on Titan sized furniture for convenience.

 

After some decisive ordering off the menu, the waitress brought them their food. Cassie going for a standard Caesar salad. Alvin felt more carnivorous , going for their chicken special.

 

 “ It’s a neat little joint, the owner’s a Titan and she told me how she wanted to open a place Titans could enjoy,” She said in between mouthfuls of crunchy lettuce.

 

“ It’s feels so snug. I actually feel right at home, even if I don’t stay in a place the size of a warehouse.”

 

Cassie chuckled, “ Comes with the territory.”

 

 “ How’d you know Wendy would say yes?”

 

Cassie just winked.

 

“ I bumped into her on the way here  and I was really up front about what she could and could not do to you. She understood,” Cassie mentioned it casually with a wave of her stainless steel fork.

 

“ I won’t ask for the details, just going to say thanks,” Alvin smiled to himself.

 

 “ No need to thank me, it’s the least I could do for a friend.”

 

 Alvin raised his glass of water  up, “ To friends.”

 

 He urged Cassie to do the same.

 

Cassie tittered, her bus sized glass leaning precariously over him as she mimicked his actions.

 

The clinking of glasses before Alvin downed his glass.

 

“ I still can’t believe I’m the first person to do something about Wendy.”

 

Alvin shook his head  sheepishly, he had forgotten about another girl.

 

 “ Not quite,” He gave a toothless smile.

 

“ There was another girl, a Titan like you. Just as pretty, maybe a little more.”

 

Cassie’s eyes danced with curiosity, almost everyone who knew her said she was the best looking Titan they knew, celebrities not included. Who was this mystery girl?

 

“ Oooh...who is she?” Cassie had to know, her insides ached from not knowing.  

 

*******

 

 Alvin hurried through the streets. It was taking a painstakingly long amount of time for him to dash in between so many other men. He did however take care to avoid the countless Amazon’s who also walked, who would most surely be pissed if he shit on their day.

He took a chance, and burst to the Titan sidewalk. Someone shouted for him to refrain from doing so, but he had rounded a corner, and was-

A high heel narrowly missed him, and planted firmly next to him. He yelped in fright, and fell on his ass, staring up at the Titan.

He was shocked. He had been expecting a reasonable looking Titan, with jet black hair, who was most likely on her phone, not paying attention.  But instead, his eyes gazed up at a pair of tanned, shapely legs, unhindered as the Titan was wearing a pair of jean shorts, which might as well have doubled as underwear. Then, a crisp, white crop top covered a large bosom, and revealed a flat, toned stomach. Her face was well featured, but her eyes were covered with sunglasses. Her deep brown hair was perfected by bright, vibrant purple dye at the end.

Did he have to mention she was wearing a pair of amazing, open toed pair of platforms?

“What the-?” She exclaimed, stepping away from Alvin so her shoe was not so close to him. She removed her sunglasses, to get a better look at him. She raised an eyebrow.

“You do realize this is a Titan’s only sidewalk, right?” She asked.

Alvin was lost for words. She frowned.

“I’m sorry, do you speak English?” She asked.

Alvin got his wits back, upon her demeanor changing.

“Yeah! I mean, look, I’m really sorry, but I’m sort of, well, my sister’s chasing me.” Alvin admitted, a tad humiliated when he realized he had said the dumbest thing possible to who appeared to be a supermodel.

“I’m assuming she’s an Amazon.” She said, knowingly.

“How did you know? She could have been a Titan.”

“I can see her jogging from here.”

Alvin got up, and dusted himself off. He realized his peril.

“Look, I have to run, if she asks, just tell her you did not see me?” He begged.

“Sure thing, I’ll tell her you went… some… other way. There is a metro you could take back to the suburbs, you know.” She advised.

Alvin’s eyes lit up.

“Thanks! If I ever see you again, I owe you, he said, taking off.”

The woman raised an eyebrow.

“My name’s Lira, by the way….” She said to herself. She turned around and kept walking, she had job hunting to do.

 

******

 

“Lira….” Cassie rapped her knuckles against chin, trying to put a face to the name.

 

“ Nope, nothing. Not a clue who this Lira is but she seems nice,” Cassie pulled herself closer to Alvin.

 

 “ Anyway, how long were you watching track?” Alvin steered the conversation from mystery Titans to high school athletics.

 

“ Since you saw me. God I suck at being sneaky, was hoping you would take at least an hour to to notice your newest fan,” Cassie chuckled bashfully.

 

 “ Fan?” Alvin’s cheeks turning a shade of rouge.

Cassie nodded, “ You’re good and I noticed you got a little faster after you saw me.”

 That rouge became closer to maroon, Alvin chuckling to himself.  So, she noticed. How she had picked up on that was a surprise, she could still outpace him just by walking. To her it was probably like watching a snail go full throttle.

 

 “ I had to, can’t disappoint my fan,” He puffed his chest out proudly, this was a real ego boost.

 

 “ Mmm...that’s so thoughtful of you. Guess this means you’ll be doing the big track meet at the end of the month?”

 

 She hoped he would, another chance to see him in action. Her little detour with Wendy had cost her precious moments with her pal.

 “ Yep but I still got the semi-final and McKinley High is just scary. They have this guy who’s so fast everyone thinks he is an Amazon.”

“ I’ve heard of that guy. Want me to take care of him?” Cassie joked, cracking her knuckles.

“ Thanks but I’d like to beat him by myself.”

 

  Cassie smiled. Despite their calamitous first encounter, she had found Alvin to be easy to talk to. He was sincere, had a confidence about him most of the guys his age lacked and most importantly, he made eye contact with her.

 Nearly every boy she met seemed to develop neck problems within minutes. Gravity would become a challenge for their necks and they’d tilt down until they glimpsed her chest. Cassie couldn’t fault their taste, she knew very well the peaks she had were quite eye catching but what she could criticise  was the lack of discretion.

   None of that with Alvin.

“ If I win the final, I’ll be sure to thank you in my speech when I’m tearing up the track in college. Ah yes, that’ll  be the life. Star athlete by day, stargazer by night.”

 Cassie choked on water, spraying Alvin with gallons of the clear liquid as she forced all of it out. She was more taken aback by what she heard.Stargazer? Alvin? Of all people?

“ Sorry,” She reached for her napkin, offering to dry him off.

 “ It’s okay,” Alvin used his napkin to wipe his face, the rest of him would have to let evaporation do the drying.

 

 “ I’m so sorry, I just didn’t peg you for an astronomy guy.” Cassie really wanted to wipe Alvin dry, she was usually more mindful when it came to dinner etiquette.

 

“ Neither did I expect you to be one but your lock screen says otherwise,” His smile grew in wattage and size as Cassie’s heart dropped.

 

“ Touche little guy. Next time I won’t stash you with my phone, too many secrets on that piece of plastic,”

 

Alvin chuckled, “ I think its cool , there’s really more to you than meets the eye.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

“What are we going to do?” Wendy asked, a storm cloud over her head, scowling as she watched her friends ogle over the latest popstar of the hour. She had bigger problems but they seemed to sit in Camilla’s room-more like a shrine dedicated to every K-pop man in the business-  ogling them than help her.

 Each of the girls were spread out over Camilla’s eighteen foot long bed. Bedsheets, blankets and pillowcases were adorned with Korean men Wendy could not recognise, every season seemed to bring with it a new group and Wendy didn’t bother to keep up with it.

Right now, Camilla was sitting against the headboard with Serena while Britney and Wendy faced them, a smorgasbord of dog eared magazines being poured over by Wendy’s friends.

 Serena turned her head , looking over her shoulder at the sourpussed Amazon and sighed, her friend had been this way for the last few days.

 “ Is it about Cassie?”

“Of course it is!” She snapped at her, nearly biting Serena’s head off.

 “That titanic Barbie wannabe has been ruining my life!” She  crossed her arms , the group taking it as their cue to address the angry Amazon.

 Both girls had been exchanging fire lately, Wendy doing her best to make Alvin’s life hell but almost like clockwork, Cassie would be on her ass the next day doling out some creative punishment. Her last one involved Cassie placing Wendy over her knee and spanking her like some errant child, something about being treated like one if she was going to behave one.

Her bottom was still sore from that but it was nothing compared to the bruise her pride was nursing.

“ Come on Wend , can’t we enjoy this quiet moment alone?” Serena asked while tying her long golden hair into a ponytail. She only did that when things got tense.

 “ Can’t,” Wendy’s voice dropped to a less aggravating tone, after she noticed Serena tying her hair.

 “ As your friends we’ll stand by you but lets come up with something, something to get back at Cassie,” Camilla edged closer to Wendy, anticipating the ideas that would come from her.

Wendy smiled at the three despite Britney’s silence on the matter so far. It warmed her heart to see them sticking by her in the face of overwhelming odds.

 “ I love you girls, we’ve been through hell and worse together. Now, lets come up with a plan and we can go back to drooling over your Korean hunks.”

   They would, not Wendy. She wasn’t affected by the K-wave so  She’d probably get a kick of annoying them by getting all the names wrong and asking which was the gay one.

“ Okay, who wants to go first?” Wendy rubbed her hands with glee, their brainstorming sessions always led to great solutions.

 “I should point out we’re going up against the most popular Titan in school,” Camilla raised her hand as if she were in class.

 “Good point Camilla. However, we’re also the most popular girls in our level so the gap is smaller than you think.”

 Wendy acted like a teacher praising her student while an idea walked itself right in. She’d bounce it off the girls and smoothen out the edges.

“ Since we know Cassie is popular, we shall take that from her.” She smiled slyly , a cunning plan on the tip of her tongue.

 “ We shall spread vicious lies about her, make the crowd turn on her.”

“ What would we spread?” Serena chimed in, hoping Wendy would have something.

She was a little disappointed when Wendy shrugged her shoulders, “ I don’t really have an idea now, was hoping you guys would. All I got was to tell everyone Cassie has a dick. Not a very big one but a tiny  little one, maybe the size of her thumb.”

She held out her thumb, trying to visualise it on the Titan.

 “ Cassie would make it work for her,” Britney answered from the back of the group.

 “How?” Wendy snorted, very miffed about  Britney finding flaws in her plan. It was common for Britney to play the critic in the group, what made it even more frustrating was that most of it was correct.

“ She just does, don’t ask me how. I’m not Cassie Gissel and I never will be. If you want proof, remember the time it got really windy at a game and the cheerleaders were out to rally the football team.”

 Everyone  else shook their head at her vague and unspecific descriptions.

“Nevermind, I’ll carry on. It was a year ago and there was this huge gust that came in and lifted the skirts the Titans out there. Now, most of them covered in time but Cassie was a little slow and it revealed her knickers of the day.”

 She stopped, they had to remember now, everyone was talking about it for a month after that.

“ I...remember a little,” Camilla said while she held her thumb and forefinger slightly apart.

“ Oh damn it you couldn’t forget it because almost every girl  was wearing pink frilly panties for months after! Every guy had that image burned into his memory and she had tons of boys of commenting on how great she looked,” Serena exclaimed.

 “ Okay but those were panties and Cassie made it work because she’s hot and sexy. But…” She grinned maniacally.

 “ No girl can recover from a dick rumour. What’s the point of being so pretty when you got a dong where your cooch should be? Just ask Michelle Porter after I told her crush Aaron she took a week off to remove her 2 inch pecker,” Wendy rebutted proudly while Serena and Camilla guffawed by the side.

 Britney shook her head, “ This is different. Michelle was always a weirdo, Cassie isn’t. You got to give it a shred of truth before it will stick.

 

    “What do you suggest? Beat her up? Her finger could beat me,” Wendy said.

  Britney rejected it with a slow shake of her head.

“ I suggest you either come up with a good story to destroy her with or…” She stopped, her other idea would not be as well received.

 “ Call a truce. That’s it.”

The resounding groans and angered shouts that followed were exactly what followed.

She held her hands just below her chin in mock surrender, “ Hey its the only thing left to do when you’re fighting an opponent who has you outgunned and outsmarted. Anyone else got a better plan? Please, say your piece.”

 With that, Britney went back to flipping through a magazine, irked by their failure to see her point.

 Camilla and Serena looked at her if she had betrayed them, the two girls knew they could come up with something better.

 “ How’s this for better? We fight! We’re fighters, we can push her into a corner. Take everything she has worked for. We’ll do it by digging up all the dirt we can get on her and release it all over the Internet. Then she won’t even dare to show her face in school which leaves Alvin all on his own. Then you can go back to making his life hell!”

Camilla laughed, almost cackled at her own brilliance.

“ Great idea,” Britney sarcastically clapped.

“If you want to get yourself killed. You never take everything away from someone, people can do crazy things if they think they’ve got nothing left to lose,” She put the magazine in one corner, she’d need to them convince the three why this was stupid.

 “ Cassie could easily do to us what did to Wendy. Or worse, humiliate us like she does to each of her dates,” Britney cautioned the group with this plan.

  That fact completely flew over Camilla who still had her own plan in mind.

 “ She won’t, we’ll break her,” She said; overly confident in her own plan.

 “And if you don’t?” Britney asked.

 “ We won’t, we will succeed,” Camilla flatly reiterated her point.

 “Cam, you may be one of the biggest Amazons but not even you can look big next to a Titan. Lets face it Wendy, you got to make peace with Cassie. Better yet, make up with Alvin.”

Wendy’s mouth opened , gasping at her gall, didn’t she know who her mortal enemy was? And here she was, suggesting she just extend the olive branch to him and get all chummy with him.

“ Don’t look so surprised, if you thought it through you would realise...you lose every time you fight her,” Britney’s voice sounding particularly ominous.

 Wendy blocked out the squabbling between Britney and the other girls, Britney’s chilling revelation replaying itself over and over in her head.

 Was it true? She tried to find a loophole, something she could use to counter Britney’s damning statement.

  No matter how much she strained her brain, it would break her out of the corner she had been trapped in. All of it resulted in Cassie hauling her up by her feet and dishing out pain.

“Y-you’re right,” Wendy muttered but it was drowned out by the wails and bellows from her friends.

 “Quit your yapping! I know what to do!” She hollered at them. All froze, Wendy yelling was never good but this one lacked the raged filled volume they had come to expect. For one, she didn’t have a wild crazy look in her eyes and she had not balled up her fists.

 “I’ll make peace with Cassie.”

Saying those words made her feel like she was passing out a kidney stone but she felt better just doing it.

“ Good,” Britney congratulated , a relieved smile on her face.

 “ Okay, if that’s is what you want to do,” Serena said. Camilla just nodded and grunted in approval.

 “If I make peace with Cassie, she’ll lay off me but…” She saw a better option but to do it would be selling her soul, to go against everything she had done in the last decade.

 “ Britney, that won’t last forever will it? I have to-I have to-I have,” She smacked Camilla’s bedside stand, the wooden creaking from the force of her palm. Why was it so damn difficult to say it?

 A hard immovable lump seemed to be in her throat , forming a plug over which her thoughts could not be made into words.

 “ Get Alvin to forgive you?” Britney finished for her.

 Damn she knows, Wendy thought. Those were the exact words.

“Yeah, get him to call off his bitch.”

“Why do you hate Alvin?” Serena inquired, green eyes trained on Wendy.

Wendy laughed, why did she hate Alvin? Admittedly,she’d never stopped to consider she just did that.

 “ It’s complicated,” She lied. It was simpler than she thought.

 “Better figure it out because you got to win him over,” Serena replied frankly, not quite believing her but knowing better than to probe too deep into Wendy’s life.

 “ I know what to say.First I got to get a ceasefire from Cassie,” Wendy said. She would ad-lib it if need be, if it worked for late homework she could use it on  the blonde bimbo.

“ Don’t you find it strange that she’s so devoted to him? It’s like she owes him for something,” Camilla rubbed her chin in a bid to understand Cassie’s obsession with Alvin.

“ Even stranger that Alvin himself hasn’t exploited that,” Britney said ,adding more food for thought .

“What do you mean? He uses it to make poor little Wendy’s life hell,” Serena pointed at Wendy.

“ Not that hellish,” She said, it could be a lot worse. She had experienced far worse things, long before she even knew Alvin existed.

 “ No, that’s Alvin defending himself. What I mean is that he has the most popular girl in school addicted to him and he hasn’t used for personal gains. She could be his sex buddy, his attack and his chaffeur all rolled into. Yet, she’s just a friend with all that untapped potential?”

“ Maybe he’s a nice guy who doesn’t take advantage of girls like that?” Camilla suggested.

 

“Which kind of means we all owe him an apology if Wendy is going to do that,” She added, guilt seeping into her conscience.

Wendy could see them, feeling guilty, Camilla had brought it out. Long faces full of remorse , they wanted to queue to him. As the instigator of it all, she’d have to set an example. The question was, would it be enough.

“ Look, don’t feel so bad. If we got the wrong guy then its all on me. You girls won’t need to feel bad at all,” She tried her best to ease their minds about it.

“ I’ll go meet Cassie, she’s not that hard to find. We’ll talk and then I’ll settle things with Alvin, shouldn’t be too hard. Then we’ll get our old lives back,” She did her utmost to sound like it was a well thought plan but she had too many ifs in the plan.

Still, it was the best she had.

“ Good luck Wend,” was the answer from each of them.

“ Thanks girls,” She accepted each, feeling like a soldier about to sacrifice herself.

“Now,” She said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

“Which is the gay guy in 4PM again?”

The exasperated groan from Serena ,Britney’s insistence all of them were heterosexual guys and Camilla’s dainty chuckles broke the solemn atmosphere Wendy created. She loved her friends, they were the closest thing she had to a family in many years. She would never let them worry about her , she’d fix her own problems. Although there were many painful memories for Alvin to get over, one of them coming to mind…..

******

“Come on Wendy, this is not funny!” Alvin tried his best to chase his fifteen year old step sister but her height advantage made it impossible to reach his phone. He happened to be talking to a very pretty and interesting girl from his home room class before Wendy snatched it out of his phone.

 “ Take it from me you little squirt!” Wendy squealed in delight, bringing him closer to where she wanted him.

 Try as he might, Alvin couldn’t reach her outstretched arm on his toes. Jumping didn’t make it better, his legs were built for lateral movement , not vertical movement.

 “ Please Wendy, I need to call her back! It’s important, I’ll do anything!”

Wendy grinned, he had said the magic words.

“Anything?” She asked in a sinister tone, extending the words. It was getting easier too, this one took only ten minutes of him jumping and begging like a dog before he finally caved.

“Yes!” He cried out, his eyes watering from the futility of it all.

“Okay,” Wendy said as she set his phone on top of the kitchen cabinets.

She spread her arms out, almost daring him to come at her.

“Pin me you little worm and the phone is yours,” She giggled at his wide eyed look, at least he was smart enough to know what a sisyphean task that would be.

“L-look I can’t do that-”

“But you said anything Al, this is what you got! Now do it or I delete all the contacts from your phone!”

 Alvin hung his head as he wondered why he allowed her to dictate terms like this.She was his little sister, she was supposed to respect him!

His nostrils flared as he decided he’d show her , show her not to mess with him.

He leaned forward, resting on the balls of feet , positioned like a lion about to strike.

“Take this!” He leapt forward and caught Wendy on the chest, wiping the smile off her face as she fell to the ground, knocking the wind out of her. He was stronger than he looked.

 “ A little fight in you; I like that!”

 Wendy relished any opportunity to wrestle, Alvin was her favourite warm up routine. Initially it was a walkover but the boy had began to channel his rage into these ‘sessions’ which only made it more fun for her, she got to humiliate him longer.

Her arms easily pushed him off her while he struggled like a fish flailing on dry land. Plenty of fight but no end result, she’d have to move fast before he tired out, the fun was in feeling his resistance.

Quickly, she turned him on his back while he tried to crawl away. She pulled him back, Alvin’s nails counting for nothing as he tried to hold on to something.

“Let me go!” He kicked out at her but Wendy had it all under control. She was getting a good rush of adrenaline from this but she’d have to end it soon, Alvin never had the stamina to last the full fifteen rounds with her.

 “Finish him!” Wendy called out as she locked his arms using her elbows, his legs following suit as her knees wrapped around them.

 After a while, she let him go, slightly winded but enjoying the whole thing.

“Ok you got your fun! Now give me my phone!” Alvin had a few bruises from where she had held him back but none more than his pride.

  “A deal’s a deal and for being such a good sport…” She unlocked his phone and scrolled through his contacts, highlighting a list of names.

 “I’ll only delete your contact list from A to J,” She pressed a button and poof! All of it was wiped from the phone.

“ Here you go!”

She giggled to herself as she tossed the phone, their kitchen wrestling certainly the highlight of her day.

*****

Wendy swallowed, this was not a good memory. She hoped Alvin had forgotten or even forgiven her for that, regardless of her transgressions in the kitchen and outside of it.

 

 

“Cassie! Cassie!” Wendy widened her strides to catch up with the Titan, her chest tight from her run through the hallway. This was like chasing Alvin all over again except her target was far larger and easier to keep track of. Even so, having to dodge the feet of other Titans wasn’t helping her cause one bit.

 

 Cassie stopped mid stride and turned back, her heel raised forty five degrees off the ground.  She looked back at Wendy with her lips curled into a surprised O shape, both straps of her bag over her shoulder.

 

“Wendy?” Cassie turned back, taken aback by the sight of Wendy coming to her. The feeling she had was the same feeling you got when the person you hate calls out your name and then tries to talk to you.

 

 Cassie thought about just ignoring her, turning around and walking off, there was no way Wendy’s stubby legs could keep up with her. However, she was keen to know why Wendy would even consider approaching her. However if  she had lost her mind, then Cassie needed to know that Alvin now lived with a lunatic and therefore needed to be made aware of that.  

 

“ Oh Wendy, it's strange to see you here,” She watched as Wendy came to a stop just under her shadow. She leaned in, wanting to make the size difference clearer to her; in case she wanted to try something funny.

 

 “ I know. The girl who bullies your friend now comes to you, wanting to talk. Doesn’t get much stranger than that?” Wendy chuckled but to Cassie, it could have been an act and she didn’t even shift from her serious expression, brows turned down as she turned up the pressure on Wendy.

 

 “ It doesn’t, now what do you want?” Wendy could tell what she was trying to do  and while her technique lacked subtlety , her size compensated for that deficit.

 

 “I want to talk.About our disagreement,” Wendy looked on with hopeful eyes.

 

 “ There is no disagreement between us,” Cassie glared at her, unwavering in her stance. She shifted a little closer.

 

“ Our relationship is fine as it is, there’s no need to change it. You’re right  where you should be,” She stepped even closer. Wendy knew this game, using your size to scare the other. A common trick but it was working. She didn’t move, to do so would concede everything.

 

 “ I mean a truce,” Wendy’s lip quivered as Cassie’s statuesque form moved ever closer.

 

 Cassie’s lip curled into a smile, “ I am not interested in one, the current arrangement suits me.”

 

 She stopped and slowly lowered herself to the ground, bending her knees slowly. Wendy wanted to run, this was too much but she held  on, until Cassie’s jean covered knees touched down.

 

 “Now, what do you have that could interest me? After all, I kind of enjoy our friendship. Its a fair one too, you receive what you give. You’re like a little stress ball!” She giggled.

 

Wendy began to feel she was hinting at something, that Cassie was directing it elsewhere. But where?

 

 “ I don’t want it to continue. I don’t want to keep looking over my shoulder, hoping my next beating isn’t a few steps away. It hurts,” Wendy tried again but Cassie looked apathetic over her plea.

 

 “ But Wendy, you taught me that. You taught me that the bigger girl gets to decide that. Are you saying its unfair?” Cassie grabbed Wendy and slowly stood up until Wendy was at face level.

 

Wendy tried to struggle but Cassie’s grip had her locked down.Panic began to set in, what did Cassie want to hear?

 

 “ No, its not fair! I just want Alvin to forgive me! Is that too much to ask for?”

 

 Cassie’s brows arched up, surprised to hear it. Still, she knew Wendy was one slippery eel, Alvin had told her about numerous times when she promised a truce only to renege on it whenever it felt convenient.

 

“ No, but why should I trust you? I know you don’t keep promises. Why now? Because I’m around? Because I’m too big for you? Is that it?” She was almost yelling ,getting a few stares from other Titans as they passed by.

 

 “ Yes! But I mean it this time!” Wendy cried out.

 

 Cassie lipsticked coat lips curled into a smile, “ Then why do you come to me for help? Go and tell your brother this, I’m not the one you need to win over.”

 

Wendy  tried pulling her arms out but Cassie just tightened her grip.

 

 “ Because I don’t think I can do it on my own, I might be in too deep. You’re like Alvin’s best friend and I know you care a lot about him or else we wouldn’t be here! Damn you’re strong for a thin girl!” She wheezed and tried but it wasn’t enough to even extract herself.

 

 Cassie brought Wendy closer to her lips, pursed and ready to move.

 

“ If you ever hurt him again, I will show you the meaning of pain,” Her lips seemed to move slowly, like treacle but Wendy was relieved Cassie wasn’t going to shove her inside of them.

 

 “ Point taken, now can we talk in a more private place? My personal life isn’t supposed to be broadcasted to the entire school,” Cassie relaxed her grip which gave Wendy an idea.

 

   “ Sure, I know a place,”  Cassie’s tone remained as chilling as it was before. Wendy pushed against her fingers which caused them to open up, a mistake as she now plummeted to the ground.

 

“ Shit!” Wendy thought this would be it before Cassie grabbed her arm, her thumb and forefinger keeping Wendy from hitting the ground. From the look of shock, Wendy could tell she never saw it going.

 

“Idiot,” She remarked from the side of her mouth as she resumed her iron grip on Wendy.

 

  Wendy half expected the toilet to rear its ugly head again but when Cassie went into an empty classroom, her heart could rest easy.

 

 Cassie placed Wendy on a table forcefully, the latter tumbling down. Wendy stood up, dusting herself off  while Cassie pulled herself a seat, arms resting on the thick plastic table.

 

 “Okay, lets hear it.”

 

 Wendy shot her an annoyed look for the drop.

 

“No matter how much you think it, I’m a not monster. At least, I didn’t start out as one, no ever becomes one just like that,” Wendy snapped her finger.

 

 “Okay,” Cassie scrutinised every part of Wendy, looking for a hint of deception. So far, from her quivering lip to her eyes, two dark pools of remorse, felt sincere.

 

 Wendy sighed, “ The truth is, Alvin and his dad Daniel were the best thing that could have happened to me. My mom and my real dad never planned on having me. I was an accident, the by product of a broken condom during their college days.”

 

 “ Oh, your mom was a single parent?” Cassie perked her head up, she hadn’t expected this from Wendy.

 

 Wendy shook her head, “ That would have been better.”

 

  “Mom was so far behind in her classes that she dropped out altogether to get a job while dad studied. She liked to remind me of this, how I held back her career while she had to get a job at Luxom.  Not the main company like now, we lived in Boston so that was out. . She had to work as a retail assistant in one of their stores, doing double shifts and all sorts of odd hours,” Wendy noted bitterly, tears forming.

 

“ It would have been fine if Dad had held up his end but he had no intention of ever being a good parent. He didn’t even want to be a parent, said mom should have aborted me but my mother , though she wasn’t a practicing Catholic, believed in it enough to keep me alive,” Wendy started to cry, her tears wearing away at Cassie’s harsh exterior. The bully she saw was dissolving right in front of her.

 

“ Mom didn’t like that he would go out, party and come back reeking of cheap alcohol. Problem was that Dad turned out to be a wifebeater. Eventually she learned to keep quiet but not before he cut her with a broken bottle after disappearing for a few days without even telling her.”

 

“What happened?’ Cassie asked, feeling guilt well up in her.

 

“He didn’t show up as usual, ragged and stinking up the place with his beer breath. After three days, came back and asked if she missed him. Mom got into a rage but Dad was stronger,” Wendy  swallowed the lump in her throat.

“Mom spent a few days in the hospital for that while I, only four years old had to make sure I didn’t starve. I was young but I knew this could be better,” Wendy bent her head low as she cried, she felt ashamed that out of all people, it was Cassie who had to hear it first. She had never revealed this to anyone outside the family . Not even Alvin knew about this, Patricia had sworn Daniel to secrecy.

 

 “ Mom said she was beautiful and so was dad but having me wrecked it all. He was like a modern day Adonis and while she wasn’t Helen of Troy, people in college envied them. Dad eventually looked more like a pig than Adonis, his beer gut and unemployed shtick got old fast and while Mom still had some feelings for him, she usually tried not to get a beating from him.”

 

 “Wendy,” Cassie lowered her voice to a consoling whisper. She reached into her bag and pulled out a queen sized tissue.

 

 “Wendy, wipe yourself off. Please,” Cassie asked sweetly. Wendy tore off a small piece and wiped her eyes and nose, sniffling loudly.

 

 “ Thank you Cassie, it’s the first nice thing you’ve done for me,” She blew her nose and placed it on the floor.

 

 “ I’d like to continue, if that’s fine with you,”  Wendy asked.

 

 Cassie nodded and using her finger, lifted Wendy’s chin up so she could look her in the eye. Wendy no longer saw anger or hatred written on Cassie, this was something new: Sympathy and a touch of...empathy? No, Wendy thought. Impossible, Cassie was supposed to be some goddess, no way she could ever understand her.

 

 Still, it was a big improvement from the previous moments.

 

 “ Take all the time you need, I want to hear everything.”

 

 “Okay, where was I? Oh right, Mom getting beaten. It continued until I was about six  and one night, Dad hit me when I tried to shield Mom. I was a little taller than her but Dad hit me so hard I hit my head on a cabinet.”

 

 Wendy pushed back her hair, revealing a two inch curved scar just under her left ear. Cassie tried her best to see it but from all that squinting and tilting to get a better angle, Wendy knew she couldn’t see it. Still, her effort counted for something.

 

 “ You don’t have to try if you can’t see it. It’s small but it was a souvenir from dad, the first time and last time he ever hit me. A few days later, Mum got a call from the police, saying he collided with a truck.

 

‘Died on impact since the brakes weren’t working. Mum said she meant to bring it to  the auto shop to get it fixed but he insisted on taking it out to get his beer. It was the second best thing to happen to us.”

 

As Wendy finished this dark chapter, a thin relieved smile began to cross her lips.

 

“ Because of that we moved out of Boston and while looking for an apartment, Mom met Daniel , raising Alvin by himself because his mother dumped him. For the first time in my life, I was happy, Mum actually smiled again. She was always this bile spewing woman with Dad but Daniel brought out her real persona,” Wendy chuckled.

 

“Best part was Alvin. You think he’s pretty cool but when I first met him, he was Boy of the Year. He was about waist high to me but he was so confident, so full of life while I was this waifish thing who would yelp whenever he raised his hand. He taught me not to be afraid of men, not anymore.

 

‘ Biggest change was Mom. She went back to college, paid for by Daniel and although she needed eighteen months, completed her course in only twelve. After that, she got a job at Luxom where she still is now,”

 

Cassie smiled along, this definitely sounded like Alvin.

 

“ Sorry but what happened? This sounds like the well adjusted family you deserve,” Cassie meant it. She just couldn’t understand why it all went bad after that.

 

 “ Fate,” Wendy spat.

 

 “Or bad luck. It’s funny how when something good happens you call it fate but bad? Misfortune. Just like how my dad died in accident, Daniel died when a drunk driver beat a red light and ran him over,” Wendy laughed mirthlessly at the irony of it all.

 

 “I’m sorry,” Cassie uttered in disbelief, Wendy’s luck was as if she had crossed a swarm of black cats on Friday the thirteenth.

 

 Wendy shook her head,” Don’t be. I was only eleven when he went and after that, it was like a darkness settled over the family. Mom became more and more reclusive as the years went by , she only ever came out to give us our allowance or to tell us off when we’d gotten a bad report card.”

 

 She blew out air from her puffed cheeks, the worst was yet to come.

 

“Cassie, you were right in the canteen when you told me I was a muscleless and flat Amazon,” Wendy held out her arms to give Cassie a good look. Her midriff baring top and skirt did show off her figure. Cassie bit her lip, embarrassed about this.

 

“No, I was wrong,” Cassie shook her head.

 

“I was mad. Mad at you for getting Alvin and I into that monumental snafu but really mad that I never stopped to consider that Alvin was innocent.”

 

 “Thanks but when you’re growing up and all the other Amazons were getting their curves and muscle, you feel left out. This is me after working my butt off to gain muscle tone or even curves. I guess its the years of malnourishment with Dad that got me in the end. I’m not even eight feet tall for Christ’s sake!”

 

 “ Is that why you picked on Alvin? Because you thought you were ugly?” Cassie wasn’t sure whether to pity or push her down.

 

 “ That is half the answer but it was because I got bullied for being as curvy as a plank. There was this big thirteen footer named Trixie who had these huge jugs,” Wendy held out her arms a good eight inches or so from her chest, Cassie’s eyes widening in surprise.

 

“ And a butt that even J Lo would say was too much and she’s a Titan. She thought it would be fun to pick on a shrimp like me. Every time I walked past her, she’d lift like a set of weights and pretend I was too easy for her. I tried to fight back but I was half her size, it wasn’t a contest,” Wendy rubbed her cheek, a reminder of past injuries.

 

 “ How does Alvin factor into this?” Cassie enquired.

 

 “ One day I came home and to this day I don’t know why he even said it but now I think about it, it was probably a joke. A badly timed joke but nothing malicious now that I think about it,” She chuckled at her own foolishness.

 

“He said I could afford to go braless after he overheard me telling Mom I needed a new bra and I thought he was implying I was too flat to ever need one. So I gave him a backhand and he was shocked. Worse...it felt good. I felt powerful. Whatever Trixie dished out to me, I had an outlet.”

 

Cassie’s mouth hung agape, horrified at she heard.

 

 “What happened to Trixie?”

 

“She transferred out in eighth grade when her mother got a promotion.Didn’t ask where she went, just glad she wasn’t near me,” Wendy shrugged her shoulders.

 

“ So why didn’t you stop? The source of your pain was gone, there was no longer a reason to pick on your poor stepbrother.”

 

Wendy’s eyes watered again at the thought of why she persisted.

 

“Because I got addicted to it. I had power and I didn’t want to let go. After Trixie left, I made up new reasons. Alvin did better than me in a test, he got a smack. He didn’t fold my clothes, another smack. Yes, I made him my servant but so did Mom. I’m not proud of it,” She gushed as she weeped , it was all coming back to her now.

 

“The list kept me growing and it wasn’t because he pissed me off. Sometimes I just did it for kicks,” Wendy tore another piece of tissue and wiped her face.

 

“ I’m sorry it came to this, that I needed you to show me how wrong I was. I wish I could have stopped myself but I wasn’t strong enough,” Wendy held up her arms, the very arms she used to beat her former best friend. Now that she thought about it, she turned into her father. The thought was horrifying, turning herself into that monster was exactly what she didn’t want to become.

 

“I-I am my own father,” She admitted weakly.

 

“No Wendy, you’re not. You’re better than him. You know why? Because you knew when to stop, your Dad didn’t and it killed him. The fact you came here, to confess is why you’re not him,” Cassie said with rousing conviction.

 

 “ But why are you telling me this? You should be telling your story to Alvin.”

 

“I don’t know if he has it in him to forgive the girl who gave him hell for five years. Could I ask you for one thing?” Wendy dried her eyes, now red from sobbing.

 

“Ask away.”

 

“ If Alvin refuses it, please talk to him. He’ll listen to you, his guardian angel.” Cassie’s cheeks burned red at the very mention of that.

 

“I’m no angel, just a good friend,” She answered.

 

“ Which is exactly what he needed,” Wendy said.

 

Cassie reached out and pulled Wendy close to her chest,embracing her in a hug. Wendy could smell daffodils, this was definitely better than her stale toes. If this was what her boyfriend smelled while pressed against her bosom, she could see the appeal. Her body heat, the heady aroma of her body wash and Cassie’s embrace made for a place a man could spend hours in.

 

“ Wendy, I will help you; and I’m sorry. I thought you were a demon but you’re just a very damaged person, crying out for help. If you want to mend bridges with Alvin, I will assist but let me make a suggestion?” She pulled Wendy out , the latter a little dismayed to be pulled free.

 

“ What is it?”

 

“You and your mom made him do chores. Help him with them, I bet you’ve never held a broom or mop before. If you do, he might just see how much you mean it,” She suggested.

 

Wendy nodded heartily, “ That’s brilliant! Cassie, you’re as perfect as they say you are!”

 

She chuckled as sweeter tears poured from her eyes but Cassie didn’t seem too pleased with it.

 

“ Don’t believe everything people say, I’m not perfect. I have flaws , just like everyone else.”

 

Wendy laughed hard, “ I guess having no flaws can count as one.”

 

“ Ha, they’re there. I just keep them hidden in my closet. You’re pretty strong to be able to force my hand open,” Cassie opened and closed her fingers, some residual pain from the incident.

 

“ I had to put my back into it, Camilla would have opened it easily,” Wendy grinned.

 

“She is twice your size but you’re not weak. Just think things through next time, you nearly became a Jackson Pollock painting,” Wendy’s grin drooped.

 

 

 

Wendy prepped herself the night before, talking to herself in the mirror and when Patricia yelled at her to stop talking to herself , she continued in a much softer voice. She had scripted her lines, as if it were a scene from a play. She committed to those lines to memory before letting herself sleep at five to five in the morning.

On paper, approaching Alvin should have been the easiest part. In reality, that proved to be a task that got Wendy paralyzed with fear. Her palms would start to sweat, her breathing became shallow as she got closer and finally, her legs would shut down ,leaving her with the mobility of a tree.

  She’d watch as Alvin turned a corner or head in to a classroom, her body only working again once he was out of sight.

This wasn’t her only attempt to try it in school, doing it at home was an idea too terrifying to even try. She feared he would explode and incur Patricia’s wrath, her mother was a force nature when set off, best to do it away from her.

Even after working up the confidence to do it, she soon realised another problem: Alvin had a surprisingly active social life. Every time she got close, a bunch of guys would surround him and start up a conversation. Other times Cassie would swoop and grab him, giving her a friendly wave or smile if she spied Wendy nearby, alluding to  their deal.

It happened so often she once punched a locker in frustration, leaving a fist shaped dent while swearing so loudly other Titans would look down from their great heights to see a little Amazon losing it.

 Eventually, she made the breakthrough, finding Alvin all by himself in the hallway with no friends or Titan to take him from her. While he took some books out from his locker Wendy thought it would be the perfect time to make her move.She crept towards him, the grey locker door blocking Alvin’s view but upon closing it, he got a scare when he saw Wendy so close to him.

 “ Okay Wendy, just to let you know, I got Cassie on speed dial!” Alvin held up his phone and sure enough, Cassie’s name and number were on its screen.

“No don’t,” Wendy said, keeping her hands down and away from Alvin, both knew how much suffering those hands of her had dealt.

 “ Tell me what you want before I press the button,” Alvin’s body was shaking as he held his finger over the lime green call button.

Wendy back away a couple of steps, only stopping when Alvin lowered his arm although his hand was still hovering over the button, like a sniper with his hand over the trigger.

“ I just want to talk,” Wendy leaned back against the wall. She thought about telling him how pointless it was to call Cassie but if that made him feel secure, she’d give it to him. He might have flipped out if  he found out Cassie wouldn’t be there to shield him from her.

 “About what?” Alvin asked, stepping back slightly, he felt too close to her.

“About the way I’ve been treating you and how...sorry I am,” Wendy averted her eyes, guilty over what she did.

She waited for Alvin to answer, hoping he’d believe her.

“Oh you want to talk about that do you? Like the I don’t know, thousands of times before!” Alvin advanced on Wendy, showing more cojones than he ever did in any of their confrontations before that.

 Wendy tried to back away but could not move, her legs freezing up at a very inconvenient moment. Right now, for the first time, she felt scared. Alvin, despite his lack of size, his gnashing teeth and furious glare gave him the ferocity of a velociraptor. Before that it was usually closer to that of a chihuahua.

 “No I mean it!” Wendy said, her voice breaking. If she weren’t serious about this, she’d give Alvin props for being able to knock her off her stride.

 Alvin drew a long breath, all of that pent up anger, years of taking shit from Wendy bubbling to the surface.

 “ And you think one word is going to make up for all the crap you did to me?”

“W-well, I-I don’t r-really know Alvin, I only planned up to here,”She pushed her fingers together as Alvin turned up the heat on her.

 “Really? You planned?” He snorted with derision.

“No wait, you do, only you could plan things like making me wrestle for my phone and then delete half my contacts as some sort of joke. That was planned wasn’t it? Wasn’t it!” He exploded with white hot rage.

Wendy’s face sank a few levels, he had remembered and boy was he pissed. He might even have cried for a bit too if her memory served her well.

“Not the deleting part, that wasn’t...planned,” Wendy mewled. She moved forward and perhaps recognising the fact that he was still the smaller person, Alvin gave her room. Good thing too, Wendy thought. Knocking him down might lead to some unwanted one on one time with Cassie.

“ But you did plan the rest didn’t you?” Alvin asked.

Wendy nodded, like a child being caught by its parents for breaking a vase.

Alvin looked away, too mad for words. People stared at them but no one lifted a finger to separate them. Alvin didn’t care, nobody lifted a finger to help him anyway. Why should Wendy be any different?

  “You showed me,” He jabbed his finger at her.

 “That you are a cold , calculating demon. Which is why I think you’re setting up something. If not, then…” His eyes widened as a revelation came to him as his lips pulled themselves into a thin, toothless smile.

“You’re here because you are afraid of Cassie aren’t you?”

“No I’m not,” Wendy replied. She wasn’t wrong but she wasn’t one hundred percent correct          either.

 “Don’t lie, you got off on being this big all powerful bully for years. You could have ended it anytime but to do it after Cassie came, we both know why. Guess its true, the big do step on the small,” he chastised her cynically.

 Wendy didn’t know what to say, just staring back , trying to come up with a good line. Anything, to change his mind. When it became clear she couldn’t, Alvin left, without even saying goodbye.

Wendy watched him leave but she wasn’t done yet. She had extended the olive branch and he responded with machine gun fire.

If not for her change of heart, she would have pounded him for it, she thought. Which was exactly why she was in this tight situation, she told herself. All these years of making Alvin her human  punching bag had hardened his heart towards her. She resolved to try again, the next time she saw him.

 Which happened to be at home, Wendy having arrived home earlier for some alone time. She had planned to postpone her attempt at redemption but when she heard his voice, full of laughter and merriment as he stepped through the door; she thought she would chance it.

 Patricia may have been home as well but she was taking a shower. A typical shower for her lasted at least half an hour so Wendy had time.

 She didn’t know why but she found herself brushing her thick ebony locks with her favourite amber comb. Every little bit counts, she thought to herself before rushing out of her room and heading down stairs.

   She found him in the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of rather pale OJ from a carton of that was probably just past its expiration date.

“ Hey,” Wendy greeted him in her most delicate and pleasant voice, an octave lower than her normal shrill teenage girl voice.

Alvin quickly drank his OJ as if it were a shot of whiskey, Wendy admitted she hadn’t seen anyone down that much liquid in under eight seconds.

“ Now what?” He wiped his mouth clean of any excess juice, moving away from her but stopped as he realised Wendy was blocking the exit. He was trapped, like all the other times she hunted him for sport.

“ I meant what I said back in school,” Wendy assumed a stronger tone, it might help quell the fire within Alvin long enough to get her message through.

 “ I am truly sorry for everything I did, from deleting your contacts to,” She pointed at the stove.

“ Nearly burning your hand off.”

Alvin looked at the stove and back at her and without even pausing to think answered her, “No.”

Wendy held up a single non-central finger, “All I need is one chance. One chance to show that I could be that wonderful little sister to your super cool big brother. Remember those days Alvin?”

It struck a chord with him, Alvin’s brain taking him back to an era where he wasn’t the modern day Cinderella. He could remember it too. Time seemed to stop as he remembered Wendy, not the mean spirited bitch of today but a bright eyed nine year old, always too shy to ask for something.

 It made him feel...needed. A solitary tear pushed itself out of his left eye, rolling down the contours of his face before hitting the ground with an imperceptible splash. He sniffled before wiping it away, remembering who was in front of him.

 “ I don’t, I only remember the pain,” He lied through his teeth but it was easier than acknowledging the truth.

“Now,” He pointed to the side, “Get out of my way or I’ll kick up a fuss.”

“You know Mom doesn’t appreciate that, she hates to see us fight.  You’ll also get in trouble,” She said in a cautious tone.

Alvin nodded, “ I know but lets face it, I can handle being on the receiving end. You’ve proved to me you can’t.”

 “Fine, go and do whatever you want,” Wendy threw up her arms in defeat before letting him pass. She watched him head up the stairs to his own room, wondering what would she have to do to get his attention.

In his room, Alvin felt uneasy. He had nearly fallen for her trick there. She had dug deep and found a part of him he kept buried, hidden from the world because to expose it was far more painful.

  How, he wondered, had she become so cunning? Wendy was good at making the most of her muscles but the one between her ears? Not enough to pull off a Machiavellian stunt like this.

He needed help, he thought. A second opinion. He reached for his phone and went straight to his contact list.

Cassie’s name appeared first, thanks to her parent’s impeccable taste in names. He also had her on speed dial, in case of Wendy.

 He dialled her number and waited, clicking his tongue against his own teeth while her bubblegum ringtone played.

 “Oh hello Alvin,” Cassie exclaimed, surprised by his call.

“Am I interrupting something?” He sat up and pressed a pillow against his chest.

A bit of static on the other end as he heard what sounded like objects being moved around.

“Not at all, not at all! Just surprised by your call, that’s all.”

Alvin smiled, he loved hearing her voice. The red mist that hung around him moments before blown away by just being in a conversation with her.

“ Listen, I think we have a problem with Wendy. She has been acting very...odd.”

“Oh,” Cassie said, feigning surprise.

“Yeah,” He scratched the back of his head, his go to routine whenever things got awkward.

“She’s acting like she’s sorry and all, claiming she feels really bad about how she’s treated me. As if I would believe that!” He laughed, then laughed even harder over how ridiculous Wendy’s trick was. As if he was that gullible.

 He stopped when he realised Cassie wasn’t saying anything but things were getting tense. He didn’t know why but he waited for Cassie to say something. Eventually she did, in a soft hush tone, similar to the one she used during his first trip to her house.

“  Hey , you want to go to the planetarium tomorrow? Its Saturday so you should be free right?”

How random, Alvin thought. But he wasn’t going to pass up a trip to his favourite building in the city, especially since he hadn’t been there in years. Probably added Pluto again too , he thought, remembering how in 2020 the IAU had declared it a planet again.

“Okay.I’ll see you there. After I make breakfast for my mistresses,” He said mockingly.

“Okay Alvin. Have a nice day,” Alvin could almost feel her smile on the other hand, warming him.

“ Thank you Cassie, you too.”

 

 

“Alvin, where do you think you’re going?” Alvin  relaxed his grip over the doorknob, swearing silently over his ill luck. From Wendy’s strange words to this, and he knew where this was going whenever Patricia was around on weekends.

 

“Out, to see some friends,” He braced himself for the unavoidable veto from Patricia.

 

“No, I need you around.Help me carry my shopping bags.”

 

Bingo, there it was. Alvin looked her straight in the eye, he had enough shit to deal with than to be Patricia’s slave at the mall. However, he couldn’t break her hold over him, a simple shift of her eyebrows and drop of her lip and his heart would be filled with dread.

 

“Today?”

 

“If not then when?” Patricia barked, his stupid remark grating on her nerves.

 

“Oh al-”

 

“I’ll do it mom!” Wendy chirped, Alvin turning to see her bounding down the stairs, chest heaving from that sudden acceleration.

 

“I’m fine with Alvin dear, you go and enjoy yourself today,” Patricia maintained eye contact. God, Alvin thought. This woman could have a long career in  interrogation, he was starting to break out in cold sweat.

 

 “ Come on Mum,” Wendy stood between the two normals.

 

 “Alvin’s a boy, he doesn’t know anything about fashion,” She demurred.

 

Patricia nodded as she looked at Wendy’s toned arms, obviously capable of carrying a heavier load, the point was made clear.

 

 “Alright , you come. Alvin, go and do whatever it is you were going to do,” Patricia waved him away.

 

Wendy mouthed ‘go’ to Alvin before giving a playful wink. Alvin mouthed ‘thanks’ before leaving , mighty relieved to be spared a torturous day at the mall.

 

******

“Hey Alvin,” Cassie spotted him as he strode into the Terrestrial Wing housing the four rocky planets.Alvin saw her and rather surprisingly, Jamila tagging along for the trip, she hadn’t told him about company.

 

 “Hey there,” Alvin grimaced as he looked at Cassie’s outfit, a black jacket on top of a plain white top and blue shorts. The jacket drew attention away from her svelte form, its surface decorated with images of galaxies and stars, bright and garish.

 

 “You like?” She giggled, doing a little twirl while Jamila covered her face, hoping no one would recognise her.

 

“It-it’s eye catching,” Alvin said, there wasn’t a better way to put it.

 

“I know, my mom got it for me when I was 13. Worn it ever since,” Cassie reached forward and picked up Alvin.

 

 “Even though Nadya and I keep telling her to throw it out. It is an eye sore,” Jamila folded her arms , looking uneasily at the jacket.

 

 “ A lot of boys say it brings out my eyes,” Cassie shot back with a mischievous grin.

 

Jamila chuckled, “ You have amber eyes, putrid purple doesn’t go with that.”

 

“ Not that your eyes aren’t interesting at all but why the Blackwood Planetarium? How did you know about my favourite place?” Alvin asked as he swung his over Cassie’s shoulder, enjoying his perch while the three of them walked around.

 

 Cassie turned to Alvin as they walked about the exhibits, most of it showing Titan sized models of planets and plaques displaying words both sizes could read.

 

 “ It’s mine too, I sorta guessed you might like it. You did mention you wanted to be an astronomer and what wannabe astronomer wouldn’t spend hours at the famous Blackwood Planetarium?”

 

 Jamila had fallen behind and quickly followed up as they went past a slightly off colour Uranus, its methane green faded from wear and tear.

 

 “Why is it famous again?” Jamila  asked. In truth, she liked having another star fanatic around Cassie, it would spare her and Nadya trips here.

 

 “Because,” Cassie stopped and did a one eighty turn, “ It-”

 

“-has one of the few fragments of Leighton’s Meteor for public view , named after Johannes Leighton , the man who discovered it.” Alvin proudly finished for her.

“ Wow,” Cassie grinned, finally someone who not only shared her interests but knew as much as her.

 

“ Public view? Where’s the rest of it?”

 

Alvin tried to answer but Cassie playfully blocked that move with her thumb, “ I’ll take this one.

The original meteor was a loose clump of rocks that crashed into Earth, spreading itself over a large area as our blue planet’s gravity forced the asteroid apart. We’re not too sure how much of it has been found but even now, new pieces still get auctioned off to the highest bidder. One just traded for five million dollars and it's only the size of a man’s head.Bought by some guy out in the mid-west.”

 

Jamila whistled, “ That’s one expensive rock.”

 

“The rock here is only one of three in the world not in private hands,” Cassie finished.

 

“ Anyway, Alvin, I heard what you told me yesterday. Mind if we talk about that?’ Cassie asked him as she found a bench in front of the Neptune exhibit, she and Jamila quickly sitting.

 

“ Sure, I’m worried about Wendy. This looks some sick joke by her. Good thing I’m smart enough not to fall for that,” He tapped himself on the nose, contented with his handling of the matter.

 

 Cassie’s own expression didn’t reflect that , she looked worried. Which came as a surprise to Alvin, she ought to have been proud he held off Wendy all on his own.

 

“ I think you should accept her apology.”

 

Alvin’s mouth dropped, Jamila was composed as she watched the two of them.

 

“ Come on Cassie, this is not April Fools is it?” He fidgeted about as he waited for Cassie to reveal it was all one very lame joke.

 

“ No, I mean it. The biggest bully in your life wants to own up and apologise, you should take it.” She picked up Alvin and placed him on her cupped hands, it would be easier to talk to him instead of turning her neck at some odd angle.

 

“ Wendy doesn’t know the pain I felt. I’ll consider it if she could feel the pain, know what its like to have someone bigger than you push you until you’re on the floor, broken,” He curled his fingers into two fists, the idea of forgiving his stepsister rankled his heart.

 

“ You still have to let her in, Wendy can’t start until you invite her inside,” Cassie began to worry for Alvin, he was radiating pure rage. She couldn’t imagine how the smaller and more damaged Wendy could handle this.

 

 “ No, not until she is thrown into the same pit I was flung into, to feel worthless and stepped on everyday. I want to see her suffer,” he said.

 

Cassie leaned in, her face forming a ceiling over Alvin.

 

“ Hey, your tormentor wants to mend bridges. Not all of us are so lucky,” Cassie tried her best to speak with as much civility as she could but Alvin’s bitterness wasn’t making that easy.

 

“ Why are you even siding with her? She hurt you too so you should be on my side, holding her down while I punch” He spat out, giving her the wild eye.

 

 Cassie inhaled deeply, chest expanding before letting out a measured breath, air flying past Alvin.

 

“ Where does that much hate come from?”

 

Alvin wanted to answer, to let her know how Wendy had made him feel but  his mouth clammed up, vocal chords stubbornly refusing his orders as pride held him back.

 

“ It’s none of your business,” He looked away.

 

“ It is when it concerns one of my friends.I can help you, if you let me,” Cassie whispered.

 

“ No, its big. I’ve been carrying demons too big, even for you,” Alvin pushed her away. His eyes became wet with tears, as every one of Wendy’s little sessions came back to him. Damn, second time I cry in front of Cassie, he thought as he tried to block her view of the mess he was making, hands over face as he cried into them.

 

I’m so fucking weak.

 

“ Oh, erm, lets go somewhere quieter and more secluded,” She made no motion to calm him down but covered him with her hands, honouring his actions.

 

It didn’t take long but Cassie and Jamila found a handicapped toilet all three of them could squeeze into. Cassie set him on the sink.

 

 “ I do a lot of heart to heart sessions in here,” Cassie thought  while Jamila handed Alvin a piece of toilet paper.

 

Alvin wiped his eyes, “ Sorry you had to see that b-but its hard to relive those moments; moments when as a man, you’re made to feel like something less, like a dog,” He said bitterly.

 

“ Women may be bigger but that doesn’t mean millennia of machismo goes away, we still like to feel strong. Do you know how it feels to have that taken from you every day by a girl you treated so well? To have her repay you with nothing but beatings and mockery?”  The question may have been rhetoric but both girls sat in stunned silence, only Jamila managed to shake her head.

 

 “ No you wouldn’t, both of you won the genetic sweepstakes. You got to be living skyscrapers, unbreakable,” He sounded almost like he was chastising them.

 

  “ Living the perfect life while I,” He jabbed a finger into his chest, harder than he realised as he winced from it.

 

“While I have to pick up scraps. You want me to let go but I can’t, there’s too much baggage. I thought you would at least give me that Cassie, coming from someone who has led a perfect life.”

 

 Something about that set Cassie off, grasping the sink, displeased with his flippant remark. She wanted to snap but held back but not soon enough, her displeasure evident.

 

“My life hasn’t been perfect Alvin, I’ve had my fair share of problems. Not to mention this isn’t about me, it is about you. The hardest part of recovery is always the first step and I know you’re a magnanimous person; be the bigger man and accept it.”

 

 “ Not today, not for her. I’d forgive you or Jamila for almost anything because we’re friends but not that devil child.”

 

 Cassie huffed, “ Trust me , its much better to let go now before it eats away at you,”

 

This latest push only made it worse, making Alvin go supernova.

 

“ There you go again , foisting your beliefs on to me. This isn’t physical where your tons of muscle could move a house, this is mental and you can’t force me to do it. Seriously, do you even understand us mortals? What could you have experienced dear goddess? A broken nail, latte too cold? Perhaps your date was too ugly? Your-” His condescending tone pushed Cassie too far.

 

Cassie slammed her fist on to the sink, rattling it and throwing Alvin off balance. Now he wasn’t angry but he was afraid.

 

“How dare you! Don’t you ever call me that!” She rose to her full height, a sense of deja vu hit Alvin, that first encounter coming back.

 

“I-I,” Her breaths came in deeper and slower as she seethed with anger. How dare he?

 

 “I am not perfect. I make mistakes too, we met the worst way possible didn’t we?” Alvin remained quiet, he wasn’t mad anymore, he was fearful for himself. He kept glancing back at Jamila who had remained passive in this exchange.

 

“Why aren’t you talking now? Scared of me because I’m a Titan? Didn’t stop you before you-” Jamila pulled Cassie back, concerned where this would go.

 

 “ Stop it Cass, he’s scared shitless right now,” Cassie glared at Jamila, like a panther being held back from its prey but she could see the point, instantly relaxing.

 

“ Sorry Alvin, I lost it. You touched on something sensitive, something that still hurts,” Cassie moved to sit on the bowl, aghast at how she had flipped over this.

 

 “ What happened?” Alvin asked, Jamila came closer to console Cassie, who was just as distraught as Alvin was.

 

“ My childhood,” Cassie replied curtly.

 

Her childhood? Alvin could not believe his ears, she had to have been divine, someone so attractive and intelligent couldn’t have had it hard?

 

It took him a while but he remembered, that picture, the picture of Cassie with her parents. She wasn’t the goddess he saw but just a nerdy girl who needed to cut back on sugar.

 

“ I-I didn’t know,” He hung his head in defeat; she had tried to help and he had bitten her for it.What an awful friend he was.

 

“ It’s not your fault, only Nadya and I really know it,” Cassie held up her hand and Jamila stopped talking.

 

“ I’ll tell him. As Jamila was saying, only she and Nadya are privy to that. I made sure of it because I’m still haunted by those memories. Some of it after I turned into the girl you see right now.”

 “How?”

 

 Cassie looked straight into Alvin, “ You might want to sit down for this, it’s a pretty long and difficult journey.”

Alvin sat on the edge of the sink as told.

 

“ Remember when you said Titans were invincible, how no one could hurt us?”

 

“Yes,” Alvin replied.

 

Cassie looked at him, wishing he were right.

 

“You’re not completely off but we can be hurt.”

 

“By what?” Alvin felt the need to ask but Cassie’s ‘Isn’t it obvious’ expression made him feel the irrelevance of the question.

 

Cassie just pointed to Jamila, “ Another Titan.”

 

 

 

 

“Jamila? She did it?” Alvin said, unable to hide his own suspension of disbelief.

 

“No, she means a Titan used to be her own Wendy,” Jamila replied, surprised by Alvin’s misunderstanding.

 

Cassie had her head hung low, looking up and nodded, “ She’s right. Alvin, do you really think I have the perfect life?”

 

 Alvin answered quickly, without taking a moment to ponder, “ What’s not perfect? You’re tall, beautiful and a very intelligent girl from a loving family. Most people would kill for that kind of life.”

 

Cassie smiled but Alvin could see the sorrow within those eyes, filling up with her.

 

“ Maybe now but always. My parents always loved me, that was clear but…” She fished out her phone and showed him her lock screen to remind him of a very different period of her life.

 

Alvin, in his own mist covered rant had forgotten ugly duckling Cassie. “ Well, you still seem happy, couldn’t be too bad could it?”

 

Cassie sniffed loudly, shaking her head as if Alvin couldn’t be more wrong, “People called me Train Tracks Cassie, because I had braces and they  thought it was funny to make fun of me for it”

 

She chuckled, almost nostalgic about the past, odd since most people wouldn’t hark for a time when they got picked on.

 

‘But they never did it for long, I managed to find a way to blend in and soon only I remembered the moniker they gave me.”

 

“ Then one summer this girl,” She tapped her phone screen, her nails clicking and clacking against the screen, “ grew 30 feet, gained two cup sizes, lost her puppy fat  and when she came to school ,everyone wanted to know who the pretty freshman was.”

 

  “ Okay, then that creates the Cassie we see here?” Alvin asked with hope.

 

   “Not quite Alvin,” Cassie answered.

 

 “But I thought I was free of the bullying because you never see the beautiful person as the victim. Boy was I wrong,” Cassie let out an anguished laugh.

 

 “ Who would pick on you? You’re the queen of FDR high, you could probably get yourself carried in a sedan if you asked,” Alvin replied.

 

 “ Not quite,” Jamila said as she came closer, standing by Alvin.  

“ I might be,” Cassie smiled weakly although she hated the thought of being the school queen.

 

“ Before this though, I had to deal with Gail.”

 

“Gail Winters? The cheerleading captain? Isn’t she gone?” Gail Winters was a name nearly everyone knew, a very prominent and outgoing girl loved by all..

 

 A little lump formed within Cassie , the mere mention of her name filled her mind with uneasiness at best, panic at worst. She had worked hard to keep that down, buried it so deep only she and a select few would remember. Now here she was, plunging her hands into the darkness and pulling out the very demons she fought to keep down.

 

 “Long gone but I still remember her,” Cassie’s eyes hazy with gloom.

 

 “You don’t have to talk about it if it still hurts,” Alvin moved along the sink , as close as he could get to his friend. He couldn’t reach out and touch, the gap between them was too large for that but he sat as close as he could.

 

 “ I do actually. It hurts me to hear you think of me as this perfect girl,” Cassie’s voice was heavy with disappointment and sorrow as she locked her fingers together.

 

“ I’m sorry but you carry that persona so well, the aura you give off suggests all that,” Alvin replied, his attempt at lifting her up barely taking flight.

 

“ Which is why I need you to hear it from me,” Cassie paused as painful memories dived in and out of her consciousness.

 

“It started back when I just joined the cheerleading squad,”

 

**********

 

3 years ago, 2020

 

 Cassie tugged at her teal Adidas sports bra in the changing room, unaccustomed to how much skin it revealed. She had issues over the whole outfit, a pair of matching shorts which showed most of her pale legs.

 

  She had been one of the earliest to arrive and change but after looking at herself in the mirror, found it hard to even step outside in such clothes. Why had Gail even requested for it? It was so discomforting to attract attention this way, she could imagine boys undressing her with their eyes if they so much as glanced at her.

 

 “ Hey newbie, you okay?” Cassie turned to see a ginger tanned blue eyed girl, slightly shorter than her  in a fuschia sports bra and green shorts, a strong clash of colours.

 

“Just not used to showing so much skin,” Cassie answered timidly.

 

“Really? You?” Her new acquaintance shot back, skeptical over this.

 

Cassie nodded, “ I only just got into the swing of things, sports bras and shorts are new to me,” she smiled sheepishly.

 

 The redhead extended her hand, offering Cassie a handshake which she accepted, “ Well Miss ‘Just got into the swing of things’ I’m Jamila and we better get going or we’ll be late.”

 

 “Well I’m Cassie,” She replied as they went down the corridor and out on to the field, the afternoon sun. From what she could see, all the new girls were dressed the same as she was, a rainbow of sports bra and shorts all across while the senior girls were standing across them in the white and  blue uniforms, likely discussing the quality of the new girls.

 

 At least the Titan seniors were, the Amazons and normals were huddling together in a corner and having their own separate group talk but less enthusiastic than . Cassie counted about twelve of them compared to

 

 Cassie and Nadya took their seats with the other Titans, ten of them in total while a smaller group of Amazons and normals sat in front of them, noticeably less than the senior group which had far more of the smaller sizes.

 

   “ Ah, thanks for being late,” A tall green eyed brunette Titan stepped out from the senior group, indicating towards Jamila and Cassie.

 

“Sorry,” Cassie whimpered.

 

“Don’t do it again,” She glowered but quickly switched back to a more sunnier disposition.

 

Everyone there knew who she was, Gail Winters needed no introduction. She didn’t bother with one anyway.

 

“So,” She beamed at the new girls while the other stood behind her.

 

“Congratulations on being picked. I don’t need to tell you the privilege of being a cheerleader but you have to  earn your uniform,” She explained, Cassie finally understanding why she was in such skimpy exercise outfits.

 

“Now, get up for warm ups,” clapping her hands.

 

*******

“Sounds alright to me. Where’s Nadya, you only brought up Jamila?”

 

“Nadya came along later but that’s not the point,”Jamila replied.

 

“What do you know about Gail?” Cassie asked Alvin.

 

Alvin honestly knew very little, his position on the valence shell of the social circle meant he picked up very little.Even so, he had picked up a little information on her.

 

“Just that everyone loved her. The standard ‘ girls want to be her, guys want to be with her’ thing going on, does that sound like Gail?”

 

 Cassie nodded but it didn’t seem like Alvin had gotten it right, there was more to it.

 

“On a good day, Gail is like that cool motivational speaker you think is too good to be true. On a bad day, you know it isn’t true. Gail was and probably still is a demon in angel robes.”

 

*******

 

6 weeks after making the team

 

“Nadya, Tessa, Taylor and Cassie will form the base while Jamila and Carrie act as support for me, the tip of our pyramid,” Gail finished off a lengthy detailed plan involving a lot of cartwheels in the lead up to the pyramid.

 

 “I have a question Gail,” Cassie raised her hand studiously. All the seniors, especially the non-Titan side looked at her with wide-eyed, slack jawed shock. Cassie felt uneasy, as if she had crossed some imaginary taboo line.

 

 “ I’m sorry?” Gail shot her a look of disbelief, darker emotions bubbling with the captain.

 

“ A question,” Cassie timidly put down her hand.

 

“Okay, ask it,” Gail’s blood simmering now. As Cassie spoke, each word only intensified the heat.

 

  “Your plan is good but maybe we should find a way to include the smaller girls. It’s a good plan but we couldn’t we use everybody we have?” She answered with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

 

 “Why would I do that?” Gail asked, walking over to Cassie deathly calm, like a shark closing on its prey.

“ B-because,” Cassie stood up, feeling the danger in the air.

 

“ You have all these Amazon and normal girls, it would be a shame if we didn’t utilise them to the fullest. I know we’re big enough as Titans but you didn’t just pick Titans,” Gail stopped just a few feet away from Cassie. While Gail came up to Cassie’s nose, she had a real commanding aura about her; an aura that could bridge any difference in height.

 

“ So you’re saying, I shouldn’t have these girls here?” Gail paused, Cassie knew she was being baited but knowing it didn’t save her from falling into the trap.

 

“No no , I-just thought- ah!” She screamed as Gail grabbed her by the ponytail and yanked down. Cassie tried to pull free but she didn’t think her roots would hold ,her only option was to fall to her knees.

 

 “ Look at you, I haven’t even decided if you should wear the blue and white yet here you are, telling me what to do,” Gail ignored Cassie pleas to stop, something about the pain and how sorry she was.

 

Letting go, Cassie thought it was over but Gail pushed it further by grabbing and twisting Cassie’s nipple then pulling hard on the nub.

 

 “Gail! P-please stop!” Cassie’s eyes watered , what had she done to deserve it? Worse, why was no one jumping in to stop this?

 

“Fine,” Gail released her grip on Cassie, letting her fall by her side.

 

Cassie rubbed her sore breast while Gail issued her warning.

 

“Never question me Gissel. You’re nothing right now and if you get in my way, you’ll be nothing as long as you call yourself a cheerleader or student here. Got it?”

 

Cassie nodded, never had she felt more ashamed of herself.

 

*******

“That’s horrible!” Alvin was at a serious loss for words.

 

“ Why didn’t you help her? You could have stopped Gail?” Alvin asked Jamila who looked on guiltily.

 

“ You never saw Gail. She has a way with people, paralyzing them with fear,” Jamila said.

 

Cassie looked up, “ That was not the last time either, Gail made me her personal target for questioning her.”

 

*******

2  weeks after the suggestion

 

“God damn it Gissel!” Gail deftly picked herself off the ground,  left arm bruised but the real salt in the wound was Cassie’s failure to even hold up the pyramid well.

 

Cassie got up and backed away instinctively.

 

“Sorry Gail, I didn’t mean it!” She repeated to her as Gail advanced on her.

 

Cassie was sent reeling to the ground as Gail slapped her with all the strength she could muster, Gail on her the moment she got up.

 

“ You’re sorry? Now it's just a little purple bruise but tomorrow? Can I count on you not to hurt me or the rest of us?” She gestured at the other girls, scared stiff and not doing anything help. Shaking from slap, Cassie glanced at them before turning back to Gail.

 

 “ P-please its an accident,” She whimpered, hand against cheek, cradling it to ease the pain.

 

 “ Accident…” Gail spat at her, a glob of clear spit hitting Cassie on the forehead.

 

  Cassie recoiled in disgust, wiping it off but the damage was done as she crumpled to the floor in a crying heap.

 

“Take five everyone,” Gail said as she looked at Cassie without feeling any pity or remorse,just disappointment.

 

******

 

“You never told anyone? Not even an adult?” Alvin asked.

 

“ You said it yourself Alvin, what good did it do? I did tell them but Gail’s father knew people on the school board. They turned a blind eye to it, the school didn’t need a scandal on their hand,” Cassie’s stomach churned uneasily.

 

 “ So what did you do?”

 

 “She quit,” Jamila said, not proudly but frankly.

 

 “But I don’t blame her for it, I’d do the same too,” She  added on.

 

“If only Gail made it easy. Getting out was horrible. She just had to find a way to twist the knife in even further,” Cassie scoffed.

*******

6 weeks after the suggestion

 

“So Gissel, what brings you here?” Gail hadn’t expected Cassie to approach her, not alone and in public for sure, doing it in the canteen with all of her friends here was just asking for another serving of humiliation. She thought if Cassie were gutsy enough to try, she’d do it in a more private setting.

 

 “ I-I just want to tell you that I quit. You won’t have to see me at cheerleading again,” Cassie wasn’t sure if she was loud enough to hear but as Gail chewed the mushy meal served to her, that is all she could hear. Everyone of Gail’s friends just watched the standoff between the two.

 

 Gail stopped chewing and swallowing, giving Cassie a slow sardonic clap while her friends laughed awkwardly.

 

“ Finally realised you weren’t good enough eh? Can’t say I’m surprised, you lasted longer than I give a scaly girl like you,” Gail took great pleasure in watching this unfold, the look of pure unadulterated shock on Cassie’s mug.

 

“ Yeah I know all about your days as an ugly duckling,” She got out her phone and a few swipes and presses, she got to the the picture she wanted: a picture of Cassie from the middle school yearbook.

 

“ Train Tracks Cassie right? Should have stayed with those bookworms. You may look alright now but girl ,you’re no cheerleader. Who are you trying to fool?” Gail laughed hard, watching Cassie swallow everything she did, the look of pain and anguish, the desire to hit back but knowing she full well couldn’t even work up the courage to do it.

 

 What she did do, was to turn her back to Gail and company , walking off with her head hung in shame. She did however, fire a parting a shot.

 

“Break a leg Gail, break a leg.”

 

******

 

 “But you’re here, cheerleading captain and de facto head of the student body. What happened?” Alvin enquired, something didn’t add up.

 

 Cassie smiled a little, lips curled at a gentle incline.

 

“ She literally did what I told her to do: break a leg. I didn’t know about it until,” he gestured at Jamila who chuckled heartily.

 

 “I told her, I felt bad about what happened to her.”

 

*******

4 months after quitting

 

“Stop dragging me,I don’t want to be here!” The blue eyed brunette tugged at Jamila, trying to break free of her grip on her forearm but Jamila wasn’t about to relent. All she got was a hush from the librarian, insisting she keep her voice down.

 

 “ Cassie, you still remember me?” Cassie looked up from her book, a dog eared copy of Parallel Worlds by Michio Kaku, it was expensive as sheets of car sized paper went but she got it made and better yet, got him to sign it for her, the signature large enough for her to make out in clear detail.

 

“Hi Jamila, sorry we don’t talk much. I haven’t seen you since I left the team.Who is your friend?” Cassie knew where she had seen the other girl, a hanger on with Gail’s entourage although she was in the same year as the other two.

 

 “ Nadya,” She said in between grunts while trying to free herself but failing.

 

“Damn , you’re strong for a little girl,” Nadya wheezed before giving up.

 

“ She’s here to tell you some good news, maybe even wonderful news if you really like it,” Jamila and Nadya sat opposite Cassie who watched them curiouser than the proverbial cat.

 

 “ Why can’t you tell her? It doesn’t matter who does it,” Nadya said as Jamila let go of her.She thought of bolting but Jamila would have caught her anyway.

 

“ Because you’re her crony that’s why!” Jamila chided her.

 

 Nadya rolled her eyes hard, “ Like you never pretended to be with her?”

 

Cassie watched the exchange, bemused but wondering where things were going with it.” Sorry but what did you want to tell me?”

 

Jamila pushed Nadya, egging her on.

 

“Gail broke her leg. She went skiing in winter and took a bad turn, crashed into some big conifers and twist her knee really bad. Basically, she won’t be cheering for the remainder of her school year,”

 

“Good for her,” Cassie said without even skipping a beat, no tell tale signs of joy or schadenfreude.

 

“ We want you back, join us Cassie,” Jamila offered.

 

“I thought you all hated me?” Cassie was very puzzled by this, shamed all throughout her time there and now they wanted her in ? Sounded like a very elaborate hoax to her.

 

“ We didn’t. Your idea, using the smaller girls as part of the act had a lot of people rooting for you but the problem was we all assumed Gail to be some hugely popular girl until Nadya here let slip she thought Gail was a-”

 

 “-bitch-” Nadya summed up her thoughts on Gail in one word.

 

Jamila nodded, “ That led to this one heart to heart where we just poured out our thoughts , telling what we hated about her. Then it led to you and how badly you were treated for your idea and we realised how great it was ,the Amazons and normals said they wanted you in and then suddenly we had this vote and you’re back!”

 

She said it giddy with excitement.

 

 “How do I know this isn’t a joke?”

 

Nadya took out her phone and showed Cassie  a picture of Gail on crutches, “ It’s legit, trust me.”

 

“I’ll give it a try but if I suspect you’re all pulling my leg, I’ll never come back.”

 

*****

 

“And as the rest as they say is history?”

 

Cassie shook her head , “I couldn’t resist seeing her one last time.”

 

“To stick it to her?”

 

Cassie chuckled but not out of joy, there was something else within it.

 

“I did.”

 

*****

3 weeks after returning

“Wow, when I said break a leg, I thought you would ignore it like my other suggestion.”

 

Gail looked up from her seat, grabbing her crutch ,extremely displeased to even see Cassie, all decked in the white and blue uniform, something she could once wear.

 

“ What do you want Gissel? Come here to gloat?”

 

Cassie nodded, “ Correct. I just came here to see the sorry state you’re in , heard most of your brown nosers left you and I see it's true. You’re all alone.”

 

“ Okay, time for you to go,” Gail said but Cassie was having none of that, she was going to enjoy the reversal of power.

 

“ I also came to update you on your former team. We’re a much happier and more united one since we let the smaller girls have a bigger part in our routines AND dropped the whole ‘you can’t wear the uniform until you’re worthy’ routine either.”

 

Gail snorted, “ Congratulations brat, you’re doing well. Now leave me alone, I got to catch up on some schoolwork.”

 

 Cassie didn’t move.

 

“ What, you want me to apologise? Offer some heartfelt explanation because I treated you like crap because when I was little, my mom didn’t love me enough? Grow up little girl, this is who I am!Nothing else to add.Now shoo!” She waved  Cassie away, bitter and defeated despite the outburst.

 

If she thought Cassie would back off, Cassie did. But first, she reared back and spat a huge wet glob of spit right on Gail’s eye.

 

“ Fuck!” Gail cursed as reached for a tissue to wipe off the disgusting fluid.

 

“ You bitch,” Gail yelled but Cassie had already turned and walked off, content with her final act.

 

******

 

“ Yet you don’t want me to let Wendy squirm?” Alvin could spot the hypocrisy easily.

 

“ I can see why but it felt hollow. I thought it would be enough but it didn’t feel like much after awhile and I didn’t like what I did. It felt wrong. I should have just let her be, move on with my life.”

 

Alvin wasn’t convinced, “ No I think its fine. You gave her what she deserved.Wendy can burn for all I care.”

 

Cassie sighed, she knew what she could do and what was beyond her reach.

 

“ I can’t force you to forgive her but I can advise you. I kind of want you to patch things up because she is your sister no matter how much you try to avoid it and because I’m an only child; I just find the idea of having a sibling so cool , someone to look out for you and be your friend. Just give it some thought?”

 

Cassie looked at him hopefully, Alvin said nothing but nodded. She took it as a sign of progress, that was enough for her.

 

At home, Alvin found Wendy in front of the television, watching her favourite anime Suska Oni, based off a manga set in a pugilistic world based off the mythology of the Far East.

 

“ I like Tephra, she’s a real badass,” He commented on the scene as he plopped himself down on the worn out couch next to her, their sides almost touching. It was closest he had ever willingly been with her.

 

“ So do I, being able to control fire and lava is just so cool,” Wendy said without thinking. When she did think,  she realised who she was talking to.

 

 She looked at him, shocked he was even sitting next to her. Alvin looked up at her , equally silent. He tried to find the words to say but it was hard to say it to Wendy, to let it all go.

 

“ I can’t forget everything you did to me, too much pain and suffering to just forget. However,” That gave Wendy hope, a knot in her stomach loosening.

 

“ I am willing to let you try. Let you make it up to me. I don’t know how long it will take or how much it’ll require but I am open to it. If you’re fine with it.”

 

Wendy pulled him close, embracing her stepbrother in the first warm hug she had ever given him in years. She sniffled and even shed a few happy tears but it was here, she finally got herself the chance to be redeemed.

 

Alvin briefly struggled as he instinctively fought off the urge to resist, reminding himself Cassie was not trying to crush him.

 

“ I won’t disappoint you. In fact,” She said as an idea came in, letting go of Alvin.

 

“ Lets start with your unrequited feelings for Cassie.”

 

“What?” Alvin exclaimed.

 

 

Those words caught him completely off guard. Had he heard Wendy right? She wanted to play matchmaker and set him up with Cassie? That was...a little much for her right now. He had to stop it.

“Where’s Patricia?” Alvin hoped to divert Wendy’s attention away from his love life and to something less awkward.

 “Upstairs but I don’t really care, ” Wendy replied, rubbing her sore biceps.

“ She made me carry a ton of shopping bags,” She groaned as she receded into the couch.

“You’re a big girl, you can carry those bags,” Alvin patted her sore bicep, eliciting a pained moan from Wendy.

“Don’t, it still hurts. You’re lucky you got Cassie, that girl will carry all of her stuff, yours too if she has to,” Wendy distanced herself from Alvin, wary of more pressure on her arms, they needed some rest time. Inside, she was rather pleased about her redirecting of the topics, Alvin was not going to wiggle his way out of this one.

 “ We’re friends.Nothing else, ” Alvin grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the television, crossing his arms while still holding the remote.

  Wendy gave him a knowing look, skeptical about the whole statement, “ Yeah right. She’s a hot nerdy girl with a heart of gold. She also spends a lot of time with you, often calling you and put yours truly through hell whenever I picked on you.”

 She inched closer and gave him a pat on his shoulder, “ Ya know that’s not true Alvin. You do, I can see it in you. The only thing we need to confirm is if Cassie feels the same about you.”

 “ She sees me as a friend, nothing else,”Alvin reiterated his point, hoping Wendy would stop. At least she didn’t have him in a headlock or anyone of her jiujitsu moves. That would have a lot worse than this.

 “ I don’t think so. You had to have thought of dating her at least once didn’t you? I haven’t heard a of a boy who didn’t want her before.” Wendy shoved her face in to Alvin’s personal space, her soft smile annoying him.

 “Okay,” Alvin pushed her face away, chuckling as Wendy withdrew to a more socially acceptable distance.

 “ There were a few times I thought it would be nice to date her,” he admitted sheepishly.

Wendy’s smile grew several sizes at his admission, “ I thought so!”

Alvin sighed, nothing he did would throw her off. All it did was reaffirm her decision to be his wingwoman, whether he consented or not.

  “ We’re just friends. Men can be friends with beautiful women, it isn’t a new thing!”

  “No,” She slowly shook her head, hand on his shoulder.

 “You need to watch more tv, Harry and Sally disagree with your argument big bro.”

  “Why not bring up Cinderella too? I could get asked to go to the ball,” Alvin wore a deadpan look but his attempt at sarcasm fell flat as Wendy merely laughed it off.

“That would be perfect!” She imagined Alvin and Cassie going to prom , the envy of the school as they became the power couple everyone would look up to. She had to make it happen, there wasn’t enough time.

 “ Okay you got to lay off the fairytales,” He felt her forehead with the back of his palm.

 “Or I fear you’ll come down with a case of delusionitis, the mental condition where you believe fairy tales to be real.”

Wendy took his hand away from her forehead, clicking her tongue in irritation, “ Don’t believe me? Take note of how you behave around Cassie and I mean really observe. You’ll be surprised.”

“I-” His reply was cut short by a howl of despair from upstairs, both turning their heads together. Alvin considered going up to check on Patricia but as he got up,Wendy pulled on his arm, stopping him from what she thought was a suicide mission.

Alvin silently agreed and sat back down.

******

Up in her room,  Patricia threw a crumpled stack of bills on top of a larger heap, the spoils of her retail therapy. The white smooth bill landed on top, rolling down its brethren before coming to a stop at the base of the heap.

 “ How did I spend so much?” She asked herself rhetorically, clutching letters from several credit companies.

    She looked around her room, bags upon bags of expensive designer from every major clothing brand( except for Bonheur) as well as designer bags and footwear from the same companies. Most the clothes were untouched, Patricia didn’t need them and looking at the accumulated bill of over fifty grand, she didn’t have the moolah to pay for these wants.

She rapped her knuckles against her forehead repeatedly, all sorts of self inflicted insults swirling in her head.

“Patricia you dolt,” She curled up into a ball. Being jobless was taxing enough but now she had drained the family’s coffers.

 The sound of laughter from her children downstairs did little to cheer her up, only making her wish that she could be as carefree as those two. They didn’t seem to have any problems of their own. Instead it all fell to her, the sole breadwinner for the last twenty of her life to keep things together.

 “No, stop feeling so bad about yourself Pat, get on your feet and do something!” She picked up her phone and scrolled through her contacts for the one person she knew to call when money problems came around.

Allen Gambol, the family accountant who handled all of her finances ever since she got together with Daniel could probably pull something out of the hat for; or else she would have our own personal financial nadir.

  One press of a button was all it took to call him, a rather bland and rough electronic ringtone filling her ear canal. It annoyed her but she put up with it in the hopes of getting through. Then the ringtone left, replaced by Allen’s voice.

 “ Patricia, it seems like forever since I heard your lovely voice, how long has it been?” He said.

 I don’t know, maybe 6 years , Patricia thought. He hadn’t changed for sure, the man was still sweeter than a [sugar factory.

 “ Too long Allen but really, its only been two months,” She said, buttering him up. She wasn’t proud but she had done worse things before. Using a few honeyed words on a man she tolerated on the best of days would be a piece of cake.

  “ So how can I be of assistance?” Allen replied, sweetly.

“I need you to go through my finances, might have to make a few cuts here and there,” Patricia chewed on her thumbnail as she waited for his reply.

 “ Sure. Let me check my planner,” Allen grabbed his thick hardback planner and leafed through it, looking for an opening. He moved through hundreds of dog eared, annotated with brightly coloured notepaper before finding one, hidden in a page he erroneously believed to be full. .

 “ I can see you on the following Monday,” He responded.

“No, no it has to be sooner. It’s really bad,” Patricia barked.

“Look Pat, it is the best I can do. You can’t expect me to ignore my other clients?”

“But we’ve had you for ten years,” She grew more exasperated, almost pleading with him.

“If it's really as awful as you make it sound, I suggest finding someone else until I can take a look at it. That is all I can do for now,” He answered gently.

“ Alright,” Patricia terminated the call without even waiting for a goodbye.

*********

Alvin once again waited at the spacious, sparsely populated Titan bleachers, racking his brains over a chemistry problem that had been bugging him for a while. Everyone now and then he’d be pulled from the world of chemical compounds and equations because of the shouts and cries from the cheerleaders below.

  “ Oh Alvin, how predictable,” Alvin looked up from his revision to see Wendy walking up the steps of the Titan bleachers to him.

 “What?” Alvin tried to mask his intentions but the red in his cheeks revealed another agenda.

Wendy pointed to the field , Alvin following the direction of her finger which ended straight at the cheerleaders, Cassie right there front and centre briefing them about what must have been very important routines.

 “Oh that,” Alvin said while beginning to feel hot under the collar.

“ Caught you red handed,” She stood over him, his reaction vindicating her theory.

“Now I have a reason for me being so close to Cassie- I mean cheerleaders because well...you know that Cassie and I are...so close and...she invited me to watch- I mean hang around to wait for her to finish before we go out- I mean study together,” Alvin stumbled and fumbled while all Wendy had to do was to enjoy the show.

 “ I see,” She smirked and sat in front of Alvin.

  “ So you get to do your…” Wendy took a quick peek at his open book, “Advanced chemistry while making some of your own every time Cassie’s skirt flies up.”

 “Hey she invited me, I didn’t initiate at all.”

Wendy gave a devilish grin and gracefully folded her arms, biceps bulging as she sat.

“ I’m sure it was so hard to refuse her that you broke and got trapped here! Oh my, what a horrible predicament to be in!” She clasped her cheeks in faux horror.

  “Hey no need to mock, she’s a really wonderful friend,” Alvin shook his head as he resumed tackling the arduous chemistry questions.

 “ I’m not,” She covered those questions, prompting Alvin to focus on her again.

“I just find it so amusing you have the cheerleading squad’s finest throwing them yourself at your feet and you bury your head in a book,” She grabbed the book from Alvin who looked like a baby who had his prized pacifier yanked from between his lips.

 “ Hey!” He wailed, trying to get it back but Wendy held it above him , chuckling. It felt so similar to the old regime but neither of them felt too sour, Wendy chuckling benignly. Alvin stood on his knees to extend his reach, Wendy dropping her arm and relaxing her grip.

 Alvin snatched it back, gingerly setting it on his lap and resuming his

 “ I just want you to see the beauty in front of you,” Wendy  cooed, shifting her Amazonian frame next to Alvin.

   “You’re not gay are you?” She asked with trepidation, Alvin didn’t ever give off a homosexual vibe but her gaydar wasn’t the most attuned to the orientation of others.

  Alvin’s lip curled up, befuddled by how far Wendy had missed her mark; there wasn’t any evidence to suggest that.

 “ Nope, definitely not gay,” Alvin emphasised.

 *******

 “Alvin, are you paying attention?” Cassie asked, not pissed by his aloofness throughout the entire but amused by the vacant expression he was giving.

  She moved to brush something off her cheek, she assumed that’s what he was staring at, or was it on the cheek as her king sized mattress of a hand switched sides?

“Sorry Cassie. Got distracted, ” He mumbled as her question only just registered to him.

Besides him, Nadya and Jamila just watched the little show unfold, very amused by Alvin’s blank stare. The duo exchanged knowing glances, sniggering to themselves whenever the pair weren’t looking and sending texts to each other giving a running commentary of events to each other.

Alvin and Cassie didn’t notice or if they did, neither of them bothered with the pair’s silly antics.

“Well it is getting late, ” Cassie tapped her phone’s circular plastic home button, flashing the lock screen and time, fifteen to nine; late to still be in school.

“ No I can still go on,” Alvin insisted, flustered by his own lack of focus. Why was he staring at Cassie so hard that it made lose track of the happenings around him?

 “What were the laws enacted by Joan Corneille in 1954? ” She asked, the subject having moved on from chemistry to modern history.

 Alvin groaned, the Civil Rights movement was all did for high school history. Corneillean laws were a particular part he didn’t like but it had become mandatory as part of State education.

 “ Lets see,” He tapped his chin.

“ Mostly about segregating Titans from the rest of the sizes?” He answered , hoping his answer was correct.

 Cassie shook her head, displeased by his response.

 “ What else? Give more details,  your SAT is not going to reward you for such general mediocre answers.”

 Alvin shook his head as if he were clearing it of clutter, teaching Corneille’s impact on size relations was made mandatory as part of an effort to prevent a history from repeating itself.

 “So sorry , I’m so distracted,” Alvin wiped his face with his palm.

“ She....segregated Titans by putting them all in forced communities away from the other sizes? Allowed them to only do menial work?” Alvin treaded carefully, the issue still rankled many Titans despite it over three quarters of a century having passed since the storm lifted.

 “ Correct,” Cassie nodded.

Alvin blew a puff of oxygen depleted air out from his cheeks , relieved he had gotten it right. Still though, why was he so distracted? By Cassie of all things? It was a thought that tapped itself into his mind over and over like a needle weaving a thread through his mind.

It was a point he couldn’t get over or through for the rest of the session.

******

Afterwards, Alvin got home, the entire house dark except for the kitchen light. Strange, Alvin thought since well,he spent the most time inside it. Wendy and Patricia only made the occasional foray into it and usually it was for food. Cooking and cleaning was a realm inhabited solely by Alvin.

 So it was a surprise to see Wendy sitting by the kitchen counter, digging into a salad bowl sized tub of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Macadamia; her favourite flavour. She slid her shiny stainless steel spoon, scaled up for an Amazon out of her mouth, with only a smidgen of ice cream clinging to it.

 She noticed Alvin and clumsily pulled the tub back towards her, nearly dropping it on to her lap.

 “ Ben and Jerry’s?” She pointed her spoon at him, offering him a share of it.

 “ No thanks,” He held up his hand, amused by what he saw. Alvin moved to the counter and sat across her, looking at the ice cream and his step sister, a little bit of it on her lip.

 “ Not a fan of macadamia, I prefer vanilla,” Alvin looked away. He couldn’t believe it but Wendy was right, he had something going on with Cassie. It was there, he hadn’t noticed it until now but why now ?

  

Wendy noticed his conundrum and eagerly moved in, knowing very well what it was.

 “ So…” She drawled.

“I take it I’m right, you do have the hots for Cassie?”

Alvin nodded, “ So it would seem.”

“ Then why are you so down?” She effortlessly slid the tub towards him, not bothering with his preference for plainer flavours.

 Alvin felt the chill of the dairy product and looked back towards Wendy, pondering her point.

“I don’t know,” He threw his arms up, ceding to Wendy.

 “ Maybe it's because I just don’t know what to do from here? I usually know the next step, even if  it hurts to take it.”

Wendy leaned across and grasped his cheeks, “ I’ll help you. I promise. For now though, do nothing.”

 “ But shouldn’t I y-you know...check if I’m right? See if Cassie really likes me too?” Alvin asked, Wendy chuckling at his naivety.

 “ This is not a science experiment dear brother, you’re a guy so leave it be. As a Titan, Cassie will do the chasing so sit back.”

Alvin wasn’t convinced but he was a noob in the field of romance.

“ So you want me to do nothing?”

Wendy nodded gingerly.

“ Nothing at all?”

Wendy repeated her nod.

“ Just like that and Cassie will come to me?”

“Yes, now stop asking questions. Just report what she does to me and we’ll take it from there.”

 

Cassie and Jamila strode through the school gates , the Titan path free of any human traffic on a  dewy morning. Cassie chewed on a piece of strawberry flavoured gum while Jamila had her iPod plugged into a piece of bubblegum pop music, humming along.

 “ Ja, you ever notice how strange Alvin has been acting?” Cassie asked Jamila but her voice failed to penetrate the barrier of pop music set up by her iPod.

 Cassie shook her head, rolling her eyes, this was nothing new from her friend who enjoyed turning up the volume until it was just her and the singer of the moment.

 Which was easy enough to get through, Cassie wrapping a portion of the wire around her finger before yanking it out, the in ear phones disconnecting from Jamila’s ear canal cleanly and drawing a yelp of protest from the ginger Titan.

 “What was that for?” Jamila rubbed her ear, a little tender from the yank.

 “I need your opinion,” Cassie said, pleased she got her friend’s attention while Jamila had a scowl put on. As quick as she was to anger with Cassie, that same emotion faded fast as she chuckled, this was nothing less than she expected from Cassie or Nadya when she was around.

 “On?” Jamila asked, Cassie was usually sure of herself. So if she opened her mouth to ask for another’s thoughts on a subject, then it was worth tuning in to.

“Alvin,” Cassie sighed as they came to a bench, the two Titans sitting opposite each other.

 “ He’s been acting strange,” Cassie grew more worried as she voiced her concerns, part of her believed she was imagining it but the other the part wondered if it was real and should that prove to be correct, what then?

  “ I don’t know how to put it but he just stares at me whenever I talk , like something out of this world happened and he’s seeing it for the first time,” Cassie not too sure if that even made sense.

  “Oooh...that thing,” Jamila giggled uncontrollably.

 “What thing?” Cassie was all at sea, confounded by Jamila’s response.

 “ Oh you don’t see it?” Jamila covered her mouth with her hand, laughing even more as she thought about the previous night.

 “  See what?” Cassie dragged her words out, wondering what Jamila was hinting at.

 “ Alvin’s a rare type of guy, he’s...a good listener.”

“Oh come on!” Cassie set her hand on Jamila’s shoulder, needing to know the answer.

“ Okay okay,” Jamila lightly patted Cassie’s hand, shooting the look you gave your friend when they couldn’t tell you were joking and took things a little more seriously than you thought.

 “ Alvin is a good listener but it seems you’ve caught another boy using your womanly charms.”

 “How? I wasn’t even trying,” Cassie shot back, aghast at Jamila’s allegations.

  Jamila was pretty sure this was the same Cassie she knew, the same Cassie who at the flutter of an eyelash or flash of flesh could hypnotise boys like sirens to a sailor; she just didn’t expect such a clueless response from her.

 “ You don’t need to try, just show up. Honestly I thought Alvin was gay for a moment. Maybe he’s just a little dense.”

 “He’s not gay! I’ve seen him turn his head whenever a pretty girl walks past,” Cassie scoffed at Jamila’s poor gaydar.

 Jamila waved her hands to assuade Cassie she’d got it wrong, “ My gaydar is fine but you’re right, he does that a lot. He also does it even more when you show up. Whenever we come in , he always looks straight at you. Not me, Nads or the other girls. Like an eagle zooming in on its prey. It’s like he only has eyes for you.”

Cassie seemed to go quiet, retreating a little as she looked away from Jamila and at her clear polished fingernails. Jamila knew the drill, Cassie was too stunned for words so she was processing everything , not checking for dirt or nicks.

 “ If he likes me though, should I go after him?”

 Jamila looked at her, as if the answer were right in front of Cassie.

“Only if you like him just as much,” She replied.

Cassie laughed nervously, “ Oh that is…”

Her mind flashed through the moments she had with him. They had the worst start she could imagine, that locker room meeting but it had gotten better since then, now the best of friends after she helped him with his personal problems. Plus they had plenty of common and he wasn’t like the rest. Oh god, she realised, eyes widening and a short gasp escaping from her lips.

 “ Alvin, he’s nothing like Josh who wanted to get inside my panties or Edward, you remember Edward right?”

Jamila nodded, chuckling with mirth, “ How could I forget? The social climber. That boy had an unhealthy obsession with Snapchat and Instagram, every date was like…”

She mimicked taking out a phone, smiling goofily  into it while taking a selfie and then uploading it to his page.

 Cassie laughed hard at this,her abdominals aching from it, “ Oh that’s spot on! Took me a while to figure out he was treating me like a trophy wife but too wimpy to even kiss me. Weird but it can’t beat Josh who tried to bang me on the first date.”

 “Well you’ve known Alvin for a month and he’s nothing like your legion of exes. Just be sure its not a charity case here,” Jamila’s face looking all solemn.

 “ What do you mean?” Cassie asked again, Jamila went from excited teenager to worried older sister, that was the expression she had on her face.

 “ You helped him because you felt guilty over the snafu in school so are you going to date him because you feel pity?”

 Cassie shook her head, “No that’s awful! I would never do that to anyone, especially a friend,” she pressed on the word friend, emphasising her point to Jamila.

 Jamila acknowledged it as her brain suddenly threw up an idea, completely spontaneous but she knew its brilliance from the moment the spotlight within shone on it.

“Ask him to go to the dance,” She said without hesitation, it could not go wrong.

 “ That’s genius!” Cassie ecstatically high fived Jamila for that, “ I’ll do it after the track meet tomorrow, he’ll be so pumped up after his win that he will accept!”

*******

 The Next Day….

*******

Wendy sat on Cassie’s shirt covered shoulder, her feet dangling just above her collarbone.

“ Are you always this nervous when you watch him run?” Cassie’s sucked in air forcefully, her chest expanding to accommodate the latest intake as she held it for seconds before releasing it, her chest deflating.

 “ Hey this is the first time I ever watched his games, we weren’t the most supportive brother and sister until literally yesterday,” Wendy shrugged.

“ Oh right.”

Cassie squinted from her seat at the top of the gallery, they would have gotten a place closer but Wendy had overslept. By the time she got here, most of the good seats were taken and they had to settle for something far from the crowd, Wendy apologising to Cassie repeatedly on the way up.

 Despite that, it wasn’t a total letdown as she managed to spot the team, the FDR team’s cobalt sleeveless tops and cream white shorts standing out from the tartan track, Alvin’s team using the scaled down track on the inside of the larger Titan track, the Titan track was aquamarine so as to prevent any mishaps. Close by was the rival team for the final, Bass High in their gold and green outfits. Completing the lineup was the Amazon umpire and her two male assistants.  

   “All the best Alvin!” Cassie shouted from the heavens above, a lone figure looking straight her  before offering his best smile and wave.

 It was a little confidence boost for him and he needed it, he had spent the last few tumultuous months training exclusively for the 100 metre dash, a one man performance. He had trained despite Wendy’s beatings along with the late nights cooking and cleaning for them. He subsisted on an average of four to five hours of sleep on most days and he was amazed by how his body hadn’t crashed on him yet.

  So when coach Reuss said Alvin had to shift from hundred metre dash to the four by four hundred relay, he sensed a disaster in the making. He had insisted he could but when James Erikson who was their star relay runner fractured his ankle with a day to go, Plan B was whatever Reuss could pull together from the rest of the team.

 “Hey buddy, no pressure. We got this far and that’s saying a lot for our school,” Kelvin sat next to him, kneading his palms together. Everyone was a bag of nerves, FDR’s track team usually finished either in the middle of the league or at the bottom; being in the top two on the final day was the equivalent of discovering a new continent.

 “Yeah, just win our school’s first ever track and field trophy. No pressure,” He chuckled to Kelvin.

 “None at all,” He stood up as Reuss called for the hundred metre dash runners to take their positions, Kelvin being Alvin’s replacement during the reshuffle.

  Alvin watched silently from the bench, fingers clasped together as they took their positions. He never prayed much but today he did, a perfect game. Bass High were a constant on the track scene, their second places finished owing to their deficiencies than the victor’s strengths.

  Thinking about how good they were was unsettling, their ability to churn out athletes year in year out to not only win the championship but actually get college scholarships gave the school an aura of invincibility.

  “I could do with that scholarship,” He whispered to himself. Big finals like these would draw talent scouts here like flies to honey.

Alvin’s  palms grew sweaty from dwelling on their strength, the pale centres glistening with sweat. He realised the consequences of this, dropping the baton would kill their hopes and pushed such demoralising thoughts away from him, better to focus on the positive.

 Positives like the roar of the home fans cheering him on, one fan in particular. Cassie calling out his name was the highlight of his morning so far , her perky attitude was the boost he needed.

That radiant smile, all for him too, even Scrooge’s icy heart would melt at the sight of those pearly whites.

 He already was melting in his thoughts, the mere mention or glimpse of Cassie enough to put a smile on his face, he could lose himself in those eyes of hers.

 The sudden blast from the Amazon umpire’s starting pistol shook Alvin out of his little daydream as he watched Kelvin burst down the line ahead of his counterpart, a well muscled but still lean blonde fellow.

“Go Kelvin!” He used all the power his vocal cords had to cheer his friend, adding to the din already created by the FDR supporters, beating the Bass contingent in both numbers and noise level; the latter were mewing kittens compared to the thundering lions of FDR.

  His opponent realised it, widening his strides, heart pumping furiously as the wind whipped past him.

 Kelvin continued his run , barely slowing down but trying his best to kick it up another gear as his foe gained on him.

 “Damn it, can’t lose the opening race,” he grunted as he pushed his legs harder, what was only seconds to the audience felt like hours to him as his lactic acid laden legs pushed themselves.

 The finishing line was in sight, the long paper line and camera set up for the finish as the Bassian  chased him like a cheetah at full speed.

 From his peripherals, Kelvin saw a blue blur racing alongside him as the paper tape broke. The audience fell silent as the umpire raced to her assistants, consulting both of them.

“What’s going on?” Wendy asked Cassie.

 “I think it's a close finish, no one can tell. Guess its down to the camera,” Cassie replied, heart in her mouth. She wanted Alvin to win, if he was happy then she would be too.

 Cassie was right as the umpire consulted the camera , bent over while analyzing the image for several seconds before she stood erect and went over to the two runners; both of them shaking hands and all smiles as they made small talk.

 Both peered up at the athletic brunette in her early thirties as she offered both a warm smile, both knowing the decision had been made.

 “ Congratulations FDR, you win the 100 metre dash,” she said to Kelvin who pumped his fist up in the air , jumping for joy as the announcer read the result, her assistant having relayed the verdict to him.

 “Wooo!!!” Cassie clapped for Kelvin, Wendy jumping on Cassie’s shoulder blade and hugging Cassie’s cheek.

“This will make Alvin’s job easier,” Wendy said in between jumps and cheers.

It wouldn’t be the only close call, FDR and Bass trading blows as Bass won the next event, only to have FDR do the same. It was a cycle that repeated itself until it came to the final event, the four by four hundred relay as the tie breaker, each school having taken five events.

   Alvin did not say a word as he waited on the sidelines with his fellow runners.

  All up to me now, he thought. History in the making , that was what he and the school were facing today. Win and he would be immortalised then everyone would know his name. Lose, a grim thought he realised but Alvin tended to account for all scenarios. Lose and they’d remember his name too but for all the wrong reasons.

  He wouldn’t let that happen, that much he knew as the first runners took their positions, a chromatic baton in each of their hands, FDR getting a bright metallic green while Bass opted for a blue version of it. FDR’s runner, a clean shaven lanky African American guy by the name of Jamal gripped his tightly, like a beggar clutching a fresh baguette.

  Both boys leaned forward, brows and shirt always moist with perspiration as the umpire readied the starting pistol , finger on the trigger.

 “3....2...1…” Her finger pressed down and off it went, the first runners off their marks. Alvin’s heart thumped loudly as he prayed for a long head start, the last thing he wanted was having to chase down his opposite number.

 Alvin didn’t mean to stare but that guy ran like Usain Bolt if he was a white American teenager, Alvin suspected mixed ancestry due to his tanned skin but Caucasian looking bone structure. Everyone had heard of his prowess, every track record at Bass broken by him; it was just  Alvin’s good fortune to be put up against him.

  Jamal ran like a gazelle, graceful as he rounded the corner, his Bass opponent trailing behind to the delight of the crowd who only encouraged Jamal’s performance. Jamal took it all in, adding fuel to the fire as he increased the gap for he know the speedster Alvin would be up against. Reuss had made it clear they needed a big gap if they were to win.

  Jamal turned the last corner and up stepped his replacement Timothy, the Bass crowd laughing at their next guy, even the Bass runners were surprised.

 “You get em Timothy!” Alvin cheered him on, Timothy turned to the crowd and patted his belly which drew peals of laughter from the crowd.

 “Hey fatty don’t forget the race you have to run!” Jamal barked from behind, Timothy turning back,  letting out a surprised gasp before getting into an early run just as Jamal eagerly pushed the baton into his hands.

   Watching Timothy run at full speed was less like a horse galloping but a hippo trotting. Hilarious until you learn that hippos can achieve a top speed of 30 miles an hour. Timothy couldn’t run at 30 miles an hour but he could move that bulk better than most guys his size could; and that was enough to carry him past the second leg, stomping down the track ahead of his counterpart who was still trying to make up the distance from Jamal’s stellar showing.

 When Timothy passed the baton to the next man in the chain, a pale skinny guy by the name of Clarence who at the very least maintained the gap Jamal made and Timothy sustained.

 Alvin’s thigh muscle tensed as he stepped on to the track, readying himself for the handover. His team mates had done their part and it was now up to him. He rubbed his palms as Clarence round the corner, Alvin jogging on the spot to build up momentum going.

 He switched from that stationary jog , moving slow but building up speed as he heard what he assumed was Clarence coming down, the FDR fans ecstatic as they smelt the win, their first in history.

 Alvin smelt it too as Clarence shouted his name, Alvin racing forward. He should have waited as Clarence’s proved too far for Alvin’s shorter arms and the baton slipped out of his hand and clanging on to the floor.

 The crowd fell silent, shocked by what had happened. Alvin too as he felt a thousand pair of eyes staring right at him, his mistake being replayed in each of their heads , his brain concluding he had cost them the game.

 He didn’t believe that.

 “Fuck,” He gasped as he reached out for the baton, aware of what was to come. Bass’ own runner was finishing his lap as he grappled for it, his own nerves betraying him at this point.

He could feel the race slipping from him as he stumbled around for it, people would crucify him for this, his butter fingers costing him the race. No, he thought. He’d finish it, FDR’s underdog story would have the happy ending it deserves.

 He grasped it hard and took off, glimpsing the white Bolt speeding towards him. Alvin pushed him into maximum gear, throwing out all plans of taking it steady and conserving his energy for the final stretch as panic set in; he would not be the fall guy, he did not need a new set of people to laugh at him for this, not after the last set switched to his side.

 His body worked hard while he sped down the length of track, legs pushed to the maximum as his strides lengthened, his opponent behind and gaining ground. Alvin expected that, that was the whole reason for this gap so he’d have room for that.

 Alvin loved a good underdog story and occasionally he would turn to movies for it and now was as good as a time as any to imagine he was in one of them. What better movie than Rocky IV? Yes, Alvin thought. He could definitely see himself as Stallone’s Rocky Balboa, the everyday man both of them were fighting against Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago, that was what his opponent projected: machine-like efficiency, no room for human error.

 To complete the Rocky feel, he hummed Eye of the Tiger, both of his eyes focused on finishing the race.

  

“Risin up, back on the street,”  He sang out loud as he turned sharply, his own Drago close behind.

 He let out a chuckle, Drago tough? He faced down Wendy and her posse and lived to tell the tale, a teenage boy would be nothing as the rest of the song played in his head.

  “Hear that Drago? You’re nothing!” He shouted back to him, his opponent about thirty feet but gaining, puzzled by Alvin’s outburst.

 Alvin sped up as he expended the last of his reserves and it was no surprise he crossed the finishing line to the roaring approval of the crowd; he was the player who scored the winning touchdown, the winning goal with the last kick of the game.

 All of his team mates lost their shit as they swarmed Alvin, hosting their sweaty comrade high with the baton still in his hand while Coach Reuss clapped enthusiastically, the biggest compliment they had ever gotten from her.

Alvin, for all his efforts couldn’t believe it but he didn’t care, the dopamine flooding his brain and the fatigue from running were enough for him to run with it for now.

High up, Cassie stood up from her seat and made her way down. She had something important to ask and she wanted it as soon as she could.

 “ Maybe we should wait for them to be done?” Wendy said as Cassie bit her lip in anticipation of the question.

 “ I would love to but these boys can really celebrate…” She turned to Wendy who frowned at her, telling her to back off.

 “ I guess I can wait a few minutes,” Cassie whistled as she moved back to her seat.

******
 

“To Alvin, the boy who fucked up but fucked right!” Kelvin raised a plastic cup here in honour of their friend.

 “Alvin!” His name was chanted and grunted by the rest of the team, now showering after spraying each other with the team’s Gatorade after a very boisterous award ceremony where Timothy nearly dropped the twenty five pound trophy on the floor.

 Alvin, sat in a pool of his own sweat, smiling gently while  soaking up all the accolades. He had never heard this before but Wendy and more importantly, Cassie had eased him into this; to be praised and feel welcomed. Not since Daniel had he felt such a surge of bliss, he had a rapport with his track mates but affairs at home always dampened the benefits of it.

 “ Alvin, your sister is looking for you,” Timothy called out to Alvin , the former sticking his head into the changing having showered some time ago.

 “ Oh, what does she want?” Alvin asked rhetorically as he headed outside to find Wendy waiting for him.

 “I’d hug you bro but you look and smell like my sock after wrestling,” Wendy’s nose crinkled at the sight of him.

  “Sorry but victory smells like this,” Alvin spread his arms to give Wendy a good look at his drenched look.

 She chuckled but pressed her nostrils together with her fingers, “ Could you bathe quickly? Cassie wants to see you, it’s important.”

“Oh man , I better hurry!” Alvin scurried into the bathroom.

 “Yeah and you aren’t crushing on her,” Wendy shook her head , a big grin plastered on her face from his reaction.

 Minutes later, Alvin followed Wendy back to the stands where Cassie stood at the base of it, her Titan form casting a shadow which Alvin and Wendy occupied for the shade. She had her fingers crossed together as she waited anxiously for him to come, one question weighing on her all this while.

  “ Congratulations on the win Alvin, you made history,” Cassie beamed down at him.

  “Thanks, it was great seeing you there, cheering me on. It really helped,” Alvin laughed.

 Cassie blushed, “Just here to support you.”

 “Thanks for that, never had any of my friends or family watch me at track before,” Alvin replies. Cassie felt her heart grow several sizes, only now realising the magnitude of her decision.

“ Well I’ll be sure to watch you do other stuff too. Like maybe at the school dance?” Cassie bit her tongue, that came out wrong. She didn’t want to watch him dance!

 “I’d go but it's a silly school thing and really, no one has asked me yet,” Alvin said as Cassie lowered herself, her face hanging over the two, two tranquil amber pools staring down at him.

 “ Okay then. Alvin, would you go to the dance with me? I’d love it if you went,” Cassie let the words flow, she hoped he’d say yes. Never before had she ever felt so excited over asking someone out, none of those other boys could make her feel the same way.

 “ That’s one less reason to not go. Since I’m free that night, I can go. Sure, I’ll go,” He replied. Yeah, he thought; it felt right to be at the dance with her. No, it felt more than right , it would be a most excellent decision for him.

 

 

 

 

Alvin leaned against Wendy, the two siblings watching Suska Oni together on an evening where neither had reason to be outside. Alvin’s head was against her shoulder, Wendy shifting her body downwards to avoid having Alvin under her armpit.

 

Alvin sighed contentedly, looking up at his sister and feeling chuffed about the day’s events. His crush had asked him out and he won the big race all within minutes of each other, his life was on the up, overall it was pure ecstacy.

 

Feeling his sister’s bicep press against the back of his skull, Alvin felt proud of the fact he did not flinch from the contact. He had alwas felt queasy around Wendy , every innocent hand gesture of hers made him raise his shoulders in  anticipation of a backhander across the face or pummelling on the chest.

 

No more, he smiled up at Wendy who reciprocated the gesture, no need to be afraid of his family.

 

Both turned their heads as characters yelled out attack names and sent colourful blasts of energy from their palms at each other, the energy colliding and exploding in an epileptic seizure of explosions.

 

 “ Awww..” Alvin guffawed as their favourite characters clashed on screen , the show cutting to a commercial for Bonheur’s latest line of lingerie.

 

  “ I forgot to ask, how was I?” Alvin angled his head up at Wendy, looking down wondering what he was referring to.

 

 “I mean during the race .You and Cassie were sitting so far up, could you see my winning run?” Alvin said, clearing up the confusion on Wendy’s part.

 

 Wendy chuckled , hand over her mouth to stifle her grin.

 

 “I saw everything, from start to finish. So did Cassie. I know because I nearly fell off her shoulder when she jumped up to celebrate,” Wendy grimacing over that instance.

 

 Alvin chuckled, “ Good. Cassie celebrating, not you nearly falling.”

 

“ At least you get to go to a dance. You’ll definitely get prom king, everyone will know your name and every girl will want to ask you out. But…” She wrapped an arm around his body, buzzing with excitement.

 

 “ Cassie was too quick for them.”

 

 Alvin shrugged but was so caught up with lapping up Wendy’s praise that neither of them noticed Patricia coming down the stairs, famished from her day’s activities. She looked disapprovingly at her children, it wasn’t fair that they got to frolic and enjoy themselves while she slogged at a company with no sense of gratitude.

 

 Her stomach rumbled, Patricia sighing as she placed her hand against her vacuous gut.

 

 “Alvin,” She glanced at the couch using her peripheral vision, not even bothering to make eye contact.

 

 Alvin turned back to see his stepmother in her baggy black shirt and maroon shorts, hair all messy. He guessed she just napped although it would have been strange since he thought she had work, it was a weekday after all and Bonheur’s working hours never let her out before nightfall.

 

 “I need a meal. Now. As for you what I want-” She commanded Alvin the way she and until recently, her daughter had for years: like a maid. Not even making eye contact with him, her supercilious voice coming from up above on her high horse.

 

 Alvin stood up in obedience but Wendy abruptly pulled him back to couch, Alvin’s butt landing with a thud as his sister stood up without even saying a word.

 

 “Wendy I need to-” Wendy put her finger to her lips, demanding he be quiet. Demanded the operative word here because she was bristling as she faced Patricia.

 

 “Mom, that’s not the way to talk to Alvin,” She corrected Patricia.

 

 “What?” Patricia shot back, aghast at her daughter’s act of defiance.

 

 “I said you shouldn’t talk to him like that. He’s family.”

 

 “Wendy I am your mother and the head of this house. I’ll talk to Alvin or you whichever way I like.”

 

 Wendy shook her head in disgust, adamant in standing her ground. “All the more you should be good to him, to us. We’re your children and that should mean something.”

 

 “It does,” Patricia growled, Wendy’s impunity catching her by surprise. She never objected to Alvin’s treatment before, not once had she raised this issue. Wendy always played along with whatever decree she passed.

 

 “ And the fact that I clothe , feed and provide a roof over your heads,” Patricia gestured towards the ceiling with both of her hands while laying down the law.

 

 “ Gives me quite a bit of power. So its very upsetting to me when my dedication to my children is questioned, even if I didn’t plan for them.”

 

 “ Sorry Wend-”

 

 “Alvin, quiet,” Wendy hissed at him, Alvin clamped his trap shut at that, the standoff between mother and daughter going on for longer than Alvin was comfortable. He had never believed he’d see the day that Wendy would stand up for him but she could have afforded to choose battles she could win.

 

 “ You should be like your brother,” Patricia nodded approvingly towards Alvin.

 

“Following orders without question.”

 

Wendy shook her vehemently, disturbed by what she expected him- no them - to do.

 

“ Only a bitch would-”

 

“WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?” Patricia shouted , her hazel eyes spread open from the explosion of rage.

 

Alvin recoiled, making himself even smaller as he sunk behind the couch; he looked up at Wendy who only maintained her steely resolution in the face of her oppressive mother.

 

 “ You heard me. I call it like I see it,” Wendy replied. Alvin swore he could hear someone whistling, impressed by her bravado.

 

  “ Really?” Patricia snorted, “ Bet you think you’re a guardian angel, with wings and halo right now. Young lady, I’ll throw you out if you do not apologise right now!”

 

 She stabbed her finger downwards in anger.

 

 “ No,” Wendy replied, slowly with her lips pushed into an O shape for dramatic effect. Alvin wanted to say something and as he did, he remembered what Wendy had done, pushed him away from the confrontation like a bodyguard taking a bullet. It was touching but he didn’t want her losing all this for him. He wasn’t worth that much.

 

 “Fine,” Patricia threw her arms up, preparing to follow through.

 

 “ As of right now, you’re no longer part of this household and you are no longer my daughter.”

 

The sentence hit Wendy , wounding her as she expected but not enough to floor her. Her legs wobbled from the impact but she managed to stand as her pale bottom lip quivered.

 

 “ A lot of balls to kick your only flesh and blood out. Where was that when the monster you made me call Dad was around? I’m twice his size but you never lifted a finger to defend yourself,” Wendy’s eyes shimmered woefully as she remained in the room.

 

 “ Why are you still here?” Patricia asked, not an ounce of maternal love in her words.

 

From her eye, Wendy sniffled as tears streamed down. She lumbered towards Patricia, Alvin expecting something dramatic but when Wendy went straight past, turning her body to avoid a collision, his heart sunk. His stepsister was now homeless.

 

 “You can come out from behind the couch; I’m still hungry,” Patricia said from the corner of her mouth.

 

 

 “Look, she’s your daughter,” Alvin stepped in as he heard the slamming of a door. He swallowed, unable to imagine what Wendy had to be going through.

 

“ She wasn’t behaving like one. I’ll give you...” Patricia took her phone out from the back of her shorts and glanced at the digital clock face.

 

 “ Ten minutes to do whatever you want. Say your goodbyes and cook me something warm and hearty.” Patricia went to the kitchen and sat on one of the mahogany stools, waiting for her meal.

 

 Alvin stepped towards the kitchen but several loud thumps from above told him he should be with someone else.

 

******

 Wendy tossed a tangerine tank top into her teal suitcase, the container having little wheels at the bottom like all the other suitcases on the market.

 

 Her tank top landed inside with a messy flop like the rest, she had not bothered with organising it and why would she? It didn’t matter, she thought as she threw more of her clothes into the messy heap.

 

 Wendy paused, her brown pupils brimming with tears as she wiped with a flick of her finger before resuming the packing, more and more clothes and essentials being thrown inside. She made sure to pack some school stuff too, she still had a year to go.

 

 A loud knock on the door made her turn, Wendy seeing Alvin in the doorway but not bothering to look for too long, she wasn’t in the mood to entertain him. She had gotten herself kicked out for defending him and the moment she left, Patricia would step all over him.

 

She expected Alvin to say something, a couple of comforting words or even throw his two cents into the mix but he stood there while she packed. Wendy wasn’t one to initiate conversation when she felt down, she left that to the other parties around her.

 

  Alvin stood in the doorway while his sister packed, mind racing as he tried to come up with something to say. Everytime he did, he found himself wondering if that was appropriate to say.

What did you tell someone who’d been given the boot by their own parent? Logically Wendy should be crushed but all she did was pack, the odd sniffle from her revealing her true emotional state.

 

 “ You just going to stand there or are you going to cook that woman something?” Wendy broke the silence  but she didn’t look at Alvin. Alvin pursed his lips in thought while stepping inside, picking up a top Wendy had in the corner of her room.

 

 “Neither.  I think you should just apologise, she’s your mother; she’ll definitely take you back. You have nowhere to go, just hunker down and bear with it until you’re done with high school.”

 

 Wendy glanced tearfully, a mournful smile on her.

 

 “ Ya know, I really admire you for putting up with all this. And more, you had to endure me. But you did. I’m not as strong as you,I can’t do it. Apologising to her would be a bridge too far for me.”

 

She wiped another tear from her, the teardrop collecting itself on her fingertip before being pressed into top as she wiped her finger.

 

 “ Alvin I’ll be fine, don’t you worry about me. I’ve got plenty of friends who will take me.  You just get downstairs and keep your head down okay?”

 

 Wendy slammed her luggage shut and zipped it up. Alvin thought the whole thing must have weight forty pounds but watching her lift it, it could have been filled with air for it took no effort on her part to do so.

 

 “ Goodbye Alvin, you take care of yourself,” Wendy grasped his chin before leaning in for a big hug. Alvin felt her beefy shoulders pressed against his leaner ones, the warmth of her body permeating all around him.

 

Alvin wrapped his arms around her but was unable to fully circle Wendy’s torso and meet at the back so he settled for as much as he could. His own eyes begun to water, the thought of losing her, once the embodiment of his nightmares made corporeal but now a more benevolent person was too much.

 

“ I-I’ll miss you,” Alvin sputtered as Wendy began to cry.

 

“ It’s crazy, you probably wanted me out of here for ages but once we get along, it happened,” Wendy grasped Alvin’s bicep and squeezed it gently. If she hadn’t seen the light, she’d be downstairs using him whatever way she deemed fit. Not on the streets.

 

“ I’ll see you in school,” Alvin said. That was all he could say and do as Wendy left. He wanted to pull her back in , lock her door and force Patricia to let her in but he didn’t have enough power over both of them to pull it off.

 

 It just left him looking at worn floorboards, pondering his next move but the slamming of the front door and Patricia clearing her throat told him it was time.

 

“On my way down Patricia!” Alvin called out to the kitchen in his most respectful voice. He held the bannister as he trudged down the stairs, miserable but it was all he could do. Or was it?

 

 His foot stepped on the penultimate step, the stair creaking like a dormouse. There was one option. It was crazy, probably stupid but it was worth doing. He only had weeks left, it could work for him but it was all he could do to help Wendy.

 

*******

 

Wendy sat at the bus stop, rifling through the list of contacts she had on her phone.  She remembered telling Alvin what she was going to do and she remembered how simple the plan was when she was doing so.

 

She settled on Britney, the first name on her list of friends to call, her thumb floating over the green call button. One press but she hesitated, fearing what her friends would think if they found out she got thrown out of her house.

 

But then, who else could she turn to? All she had in her inner circle were Britney, Camilla and Serena.  Beyond that, a bunch of boys and girls she felt awkward asking for the time. It was just the four of them.

 

 “Wendy!”

 

 Wendy turned in the direction of the voice and in the street lamp lit streets saw Alvin, dragging his bulging suitcase behind and waving at Wendy who had gone from feeling morose to...something better than that. She didn’t know what to feel seeing Alvin evict himself for her.

  Wendy stood up so quickly she knocked over her own suitcase; the bag falling to the concrete pavement with a  resounding thump.

 

 “Alvin, you shouldn’t have. You really should have not left her for me,” Wendy said as she picked up her suitcase and set it right side up.

 

 “Hey I can’t leave my sister behind ,” Alvin forced out a smile. It was easier than Wendy believed, choosing a side in this family spat.

 

“ You should have. We’re homeless until one of the girls takes us in,” Wendy turned back to her phone, hoping for some courage to press the button. She didn’t want him here although companionship did make her feel a little bigger and that she welcomed.

 

 “ If you really can’t get someone, I got enough money for a motel while we work out something less expensive,” Alvin smiled at her. Wendy felt awful though, having Alvin by her side. She could only imagine the scene at home, Patricia shouting and screaming at him. How he came out of it all smiles and no tears was a mystery to her.

 

 Wendy shook her head, “ Here’s hoping one of the girls takes us in.”

With that, Wendy hit dial on her phone, praying that Britney would say yes.

 

 “I understand Serena, it’s okay we’ll find some place else,” Wendy hung up without even looking at her phone; her spirits laid low by Serena’s rejection. Alvin watched from the side, his brow furrowing as she called each member of her inner circle and made their situation clear: They were now homeless and she was asking her dear friends to provide them with a room until that situation was resolved.

 

 Wendy locked her phone and raised her arm, enraged by their refusal to even consider it. Britney had hung up after several awkward seconds of her babbling on about not even having space for herself. Camilla had sympathised with her but also rejected her and Serena had plainly said no, explaining that her parents simply would not allow it.

 

   Wendy’s rage bubbled within her, she wanted to strike out, punch and kick at something. She wanted to make her rage known, to vocalise the anger within. After all she had been through with them, they had shunned her like a leper when she needed them the most. They might as well have plunged a dagger into her back, it wouldn’t be any less painful.

 

 “ Idiots, all of them!” Wendy shouted into the night, startling a couple walking their chihuahua across the street from her. Said couple increased the distance between themselves and the irate Wendy.

 

 “ Hey,” Alvin laid his hand on her back as Wendy whimpered in response. He had not seen her so down before , seeing the people she held dear push her away was like a punch to the solar plexus.

 

 “ We still have that motel. I’ll take the floor,” Alvin took out his phone as Wendy let out a pained scream, the hair on the back of his neck rising in response.

 

“It’s just that I expected them to help me, help us,” Wendy pointed at the two of them, feeling she’d let down Alvin again.

 

 “ But they came up with such bullshit excuses. How can they not have space? Camilla has a guest bedroom for God’s sakes! I’ve been in it and its spacious enough for two of us. Too bad none of them are Titans or-” Wendy stopped, her mind realising she had overlooked one important detail.

 

 She turned to Alvin, a knowing smirk on her face. Alvin looked at her, clueless as he searched for the address of a nearby motel on his phone.

 

“ Stop searching and call Cassie,” She said to him.

 

Alvin shrugged, “ Sure, I guess she would know a motel or two-”

Wendy huffed and puffed, he had to be doing this on purpose, no one could be so dense.

 

“No, call her and tell her we’re homeless! She’ll take us , she’s a Titan and there’s enough space for us to play Tom and Jerry in! We could fit an entire neighbourhood inside her room with room to spare! It is perfect.”

Wendy thought he would be elated, pumped up to live with the girl he had amorous feelings but Alvin only looked like she asked him to try his first joint, squeamish and reluctant to even make a move. Which is more or less how she figured he would react if he ever had some marijuana shoved in his face.

 

“I can’t , it would be imposing on her. She’s a dear friend and it would be very weird to live with my crush!”

 

Wendy grabbed Alvin and shook him while she fired her own hurried and exasperated reply.

 

“ Not when we need a place to stay! Just ask her and we’ll go from there. If no then lets find a motel. If yes, great! You can play Romeo and Juliet together!”

 

 Alvin’s body shook like a limp doll as he nodded, the message finally drilled into him by Wendy.

 

 “Okay! I’ll call her and we’ll see what happens but you got to stop shaking me!” Alvin said and Wendy promptly stopped, not wishing to prolong her state of homelessness.

 

 Alvin promptly dialled for Cassie the moment he felt his land legs take over. Cassie seemed to be expecting his call , answering a microsecond after her ringtone was heard.Alvin having no time to even listen to her pop ringtone.

 

 “Hello?” Alvin said into his receiver.

 

 “Alvin? What’s up?” Cassie sounded confused and concerned over Alvin’s sudden call.

 

“Cassie, Wendy and I got kicked out of the house and we-”

 

“I’ll give you my address, you just hang on a sec. I’ll come pick you up,” Cassie ended his rushed explanation with her equally rushed and mind blowing offer, without even being asked. Alvin wasn’t sure if he had heard correctly, was she just offering her house without even thinking?

 

 “ Thank you but we’ll find our way there. You sure its fine? Your parents will be okay with it?”

 

Cassie’s side went quiet, Alvin assuming Cassie had taken this chance to reflect on what she had done. Wendy watched, heart in mouth and fist clenched as she wasn’t pleased with Alvin questioning her offer of lodgings.

 

 “ Please let us stay,” she whispered, her hands pressed against her lips.

 

  Alvin’s darted to Alvin and then back to staring at an arbitrary point across the street which was a patch of poorly lit grass.

 

 “ Okay you can come. I’ll be waiting for you. See you Alvin,” Cassie ended the call with a sweet coo, Alvin’s heart racing as he heard her sweet goodbye.

 

 “I take it as a yes?”

 

 Alvin nodded slowly , pleased as Wendy did a silent fist pump in joy.

 

 Neither of them would have to spend the night in some crappy motel thanks to Cassie’s goodwill. Which only made Wendy feel ten times more terrible than she already was.

*******

 

 “So,” Alvin looked up at Cassie as they sat on her two hundred foot long study table, the latter just glad to have them here. He detected the familiar aroma of lavender body wash emanating from her sun kissed skin as she sat in her teal plastic chair pulled out from her study table. Alvin spotted her stylus and tablet in one corner while they occupied the middle.

 

“ I hope we didn’t take you away from anything?”

 

“No you didn’t and I am sorry to hear about what your mother did. Maybe I could…” She hinted at something softly, looking at Wendy who had gone quiet since she picked them up at the bus stop. Wendy wasn’t even making eye contact with her, her overcast face pointed low.

 

“ No,” Wendy spoke, dragging out the monosyllable word. She angled her head up at Cassie, tucking stray strands of hairs behind her ear.

 

 “ Don’t,” she shook her head, feeling embarrassed by this. Standing in Cassie’s room only made the idea feel stupid; and to think she thought it was a eureka moment.

 

 “Alvin and I will deal with my mother,” She maintained her aloof gaze steadily.

 

 “Okay,” Cassie dropped the issue without so much as a heartbeat, shifting towards the chirpier Alvin.

 

“ I’m just glad you two didn’t wait too long before calling me. Just what Patricia was thinking, throwing her own children out?” Cassie huffed,the tendons of her hands shifting as she clenched them.

 

It was only because Wendy had told her not to intervene that Patricia didn’t have to face her. She’d break several laws in the process but it was nothing compared to the abuse she inflicted on Alvin and Wendy. It would be worth it, if only the two of them would green light her revenge plan.

 

“Clearly she wasn’t,” Wendy answered as cool as a cucumber. Neither of them needed to feel any outburst of negativity now, they were enjoying each other’s company and Wendy was the odd woman out.

 

  “ Ahem yes,” Cassie coughed as she leaned in her angelic face in to Alvin and Wendy, detecting Wendy’s uneasiness. She had an idea why and she also had a solution ready.

 

 “ You guys can stay for as long as you want. No need to feel guilty about anything,” She eyed Wendy who noticed Cassie’s not too subtle gesture.

 

 “Don’t suppose you planned out where we will be sleeping?” Alvin looked for some semblance of a bed somewhere but spotted nothing close to one.

 

 Cassie’s left eye appeared to glint as a toothy grin transfixed itself on to her face, as if she had just discovered something entirely unknown to the world.

 

 “ I got just the thing,” She pointed at the far end of the table where her dollhouse lay. Alvin swallowed nervously, Cassie’s childhood plaything bringing up a painful memory from more recent times.

 

 “ Oh that thing, thought I’d never see it again,” Alvin said with a stuttering laugh.

 

“It’s still bigger than my house. No different from when I last saw it,” Alvin laughed a strange and , Wendy’s eyebrow arched itself as she wondered what exactly had come over Alvin.

 

 Alvin saw past memories rearing themselves, the sight of the dollhouse making him uneasy with images of him standing in a baby outfit, white diaper around his waist and Cassie laughing at him. The thought of it made him shudder, a nervous twitch in his eyebrow before Cassie’s voice broke the dollhouse’s spell over him.

 

 “Both of you can stay in here but I told my dad you might be bunking with me,” Cassie smiled sheepishly , remembering why Alvin was so hesitant. She felt a twinge of guilt in her stomach, realising the foolishness of her idea.

 

 “ It’s your choice and I think you should bunk with my dad if you’re not comfortable living in a girl’s toy.”

 

   “Okay, much less awkward,” Alvin answered , relieved he didn’t have to stay in that demented dollhouse.  

 

   The creak of a door opening had all three of them turning their heads in the direction of it, Wendy and Alvin realising Cassie had guests over.

 

 “ I thought you said we weren’t interrupting anything?” Wendy asked, skeptical over Cassie’s previous claim.

 

 Cassie shook her head, still all smiles.

 

 “ My parents must be back from their dinner date. Don’t worry, I told them about you guys and they said yes!” She pressed her palm against the table, beckoning them to climb on.

 

 The three teenagers stepped out of Cassie’s room together where Cassie’s parents were in the living room ,her Titan mother Karen taking off her high heels while her father Paul sat on her shoulder.

 

“ Hi Mom! Hi Dad!” She greeted them with jubilation.

 

  Karen was a blonde Titan of average height , in contrast to Cassie’s statuesque body, Alvin noting that Karen only came up to Cassie’s nose. She had hazel eyes, coupled with sleek golden streaks of hair tied into a bun, looking like an older version of Cassie and despite Alvin knowing she had to be middle aged, she could pass for an older .  Both were dressed for their date, Karen in an indigo cocktail dress that showed her a slim figure and Paul in a black tuxedo , his white undershirt protruding outwards from a slight belly.

 

 “Hello Cassie and you guys must be Alvin and Wendy,” Karen smiled warmly down at them, Paul waving from above. Paul looked his age, Alvin guessing it to be in his early fifties due to the wrinkles on his face and plentiful grey hair adorning his scalp.

 

 “ Let's talk in the living room,” Paul said.

 

  The Gissel living room was like any Titan living room , a larger version of the normal living rooms but the Gissels had made it their own with plenty of family pictures on the cabinets that lined the walls and even a massive Titan sized portrait of the family was hung up on the wall, Cassie sitting while Karen stood behind with Paul standing on her shoulder.

 

   Also, the entire room was ringed with a series of walkways for smaller sizes to walk around without fear of being stepped on by their Titan brethren, painted a faint shade of magenta to match the walls; which gave off a very feminine touch to the house. Unsurprising when two out of its three residents were Titans.

 “ Hello Mr. and Mrs. Gissel, I’m Alvin and this is my sister Wendy,” Alvin looked up to them with the same warmth as Karen had after all of them were seated comfortably in a pair of red velvet couches, both large enough to fit six Titans together. Cassie had deposited Alvin and Wendy on to her soft thigh as Karen did the same with Paul.

 

 Paul and Karen were seated across the teenagers, their backs facing a hundred foot LCD television screen mounted to the wall   

 

“Hello,” Wendy replied, trying to keep up the facade of happiness she put up as evidenced by her own weak smile. She threw in a generic wave of her hand to throw them off even more. It seemed to be working, no one even asked about her mood.

 

  “ Ah so we finally get to meet Alvin, the boy Cassie won’t stop talking about,” Paul chuckled, he had to be at least six feet tall but his voice wasn’t deep but leaned towards the higher end of the pitch range.

 

 “ Daddy please!” Cassie’s cheeks flushed themselves red, it was the same for Alvin who blushed at the remark.

 

 “ Oh my…” Wendy laughed at the two, there was definitely something going on there.

 

“ She does does she?” Alvin managed to say something while Cassie wiggled her foot, biting her lip as she watched her father’s bombshell statement ramp up the tension in the room.

 

 “ Oh plenty, I think we know everything you two have done. Its almost like listening to  a reenactment. So many details,” Paul added.

 

 “ It’s so great to hear about it, especially after her last boyfriend really hurt her,” Karen shot Alvin a look that said not to mess with Cassie’s heart or mama bear will have to pay him a visit. Chilling when it came from any mother but Titans always had that edge when it came to intimidation.

 

 “ She mentioned him a few times and he sounds like a real jerk.”

 

 “Oh more than that, anyone who breaks my little girl’s heart like that is worse than that,”  Karen pointed at him with her thumb.

 

 “ Can’t imagine why people would do that. Anyway, just want to say thank you for letting Wendy and I stay here,” Alvin replied while Wendy assumed the role of an observer.

 

 “ You’re welcome to stay for as long as you need.Cassie explained everything to us so we’re sorry to hear about your mother. You made the right decision coming here, instead of staying in a hotel or a seedy motel” Karen replied.

 

 “Heh,” Alvin guffawed.

 

 “That was our back up plan but lucky for us, we did call Cassie,” Alvin glanced up and mouthed a thank you to his best friend.

 

  The five of them continued to chat for the next couple of hours, Alvin in particular enjoying his conversations with Karen and Paul, the latter teasing Cassie for how quickly she accepted. It felt great to be in a family setting that didn’t have an evil stepmother at all. Cassie’s family were a tightly bonded unit, unlike his and to be a part of it was simply divine.

 

 Eventually they had to end their conversations as everyone needed to go to bed, Karen occupying a lone bed while Paul’s own room was built in the walls of Karen’s own, access to it was controlled by a .

 Alvin followed him in Karen’s hand while Cassie brought Wendy to her room for what he assumed would be girl talk. Paul changed while Cassie brought Alvin his luggage since he would be spending his nights here.

 

 “ So this is where you sleep?” Alvin asked as he set up a sleeping bag next to Paul’s bed, Paul lending him a fluffy pillow.

 

 “Only when we’re not staying up,” Paul winked at Alvin who got the rather graphic hint clear. He decided to go down that line of conversation.

 

 “ So Cassie talks about me a lot does she?” Alvin laid gently into the pillow and staring up at the bluish white ceiling as Paul climbed on to his bed, just enough for one person to sleep on.

 

 “ Yes she does. Said she thought you were in her words, ‘kind of cute’ ,” Paul’s answer sent Alvin sitting up, looking straight at Paul who chuckled heartily at Alvin’s reaction.

 

 “ Oh,” Alvin shifted to a calmer display, “ Did she say anything else?”

 

 Paul nodded, bemused by Alvin’s reaction.

 

 “ She thought it was wonderful to be friends with a someone who shares her loves for astronomy. Well good night sir, thanks again for letting Wendy and I stay here,” He added as Alvin laid his head on his pillow once more.

 

 “You’re welcome Alvin and just to be clear,” his jovial tone shifted to a more serious one.

 

 “ You seem to like Cassie as more than a friend. Don’t you treat her like tissue paper or you’ll be staring down the barrel of a twelve gauge shotgun. You don’t seem like the type but you can never tell…”

 

 Alvin didn’t expect that to come from Paul, not after that long and cheery talk the five of them had or at least four of them contributed to.

 

  “ No no sir, I never meant that,” Alvin replied as he practically jumped to a standing position to defend himself, waving his hands to emphasise his point.

 

 Paul looked at him, smiled and then broke into a laugh.

 

“I’m joking, don’t take it so seriously! If she does she pursue you, be a gentleman.”

 

 “Wait,” Alvin breathed a sigh of relief but confused by Paul’s answer.

 

“Shouldn’t you be telling me not to date your daughter?”

 

 Paul shrugged his shoulders, “ I generally let my daughter choose who to date, she’s a big girl. No need to worry about some pig forcing himself on her.”

 

“Good point, she’s pretty big.”

 

********

 

 Wendy looked out of her bedroom window, the solid plastic frame reminding her she was living in a girl’s dollhouse. That was how bad it had gotten,forced to live off Cassie in her toy like some pet. At least Cassie had tried to be nice about it, a face full of smiles. Her parents were good people to be around, much better than the wolves she grew up with. Another reason not to be here.

 

  Wendy looked down, brushing her finger against the plastic, her whole had been one mistake after the other. Being nice got her into shit and acting like a bitch didn’t exactly improve anything. If anything, it led all her to this, feeling empty and with nothing to cling on to.

 

A loud, booming closing of the door made her turn, Wendy guessing Cassie was probably back from passing Alvin his things. The steady thumping from Cassie’s footfalls said as much, it was done , Cassie probably going to switch the lights off and she could sleep. So caught up in her own thoughts Wendy was that she failed to see what was coming next.

 

   “Boo!” Wendy flung herself back while screaming her lungs out, Cassie’s hazel iris staring right at her. She fell on her bed, the plain white mattress a little hard for her liking but she didn’t expect  world class bedding from Mattel.

 Outside, Cassie’s resounding laugh reverberating around the room, her peppermint scented breath wafting through the window.

 

 “You could have given me a heart attack!” Wendy shouted out the window, Cassie looking down cheekily, please with her prank.

 

“ Sorry bout it but I just had to try, never had someone sleepover in there before,” She pouted and Wendy rolled her eyes.

 

 “ You want to talk a bit before we sleep? Its been awhile since I had a sleepover,” She twisted on the spot, her coral blue silk nightie pressed tight against her body. Wendy guessed this would be a sight every boy in school wanted to be see. Also to spend a night in the same room as her.

 

 “Okay, we could talk a bit,” Wendy raised her hand cautiously, “ But not until sunrise. We have school tomorrow.”

 

 Cassie nodded obediently as she scooped up Wendy and brought her Amazon friend to her softer football field length bed. She lay on her side, nightie straining against her chest with her legs curled up behind her.

 

 “ So what do you want to talk about? And do you always dress like you’re expecting Prince Charming?”

 

 Cassie giggled, fingers pressed against her lips as she tittered.

 

 “ Oh this,” She gently tugged on her nightie, “ Something my mum and I picked out when I started to fill out as my sweet sixteen present. Its just for me really, glad you liked it.”

 

 Even now, just by being herself she could make an insect like Wendy feel so worthless, Wendy thought to herself. She wasn’t even trying and already Wendy felt like the shapeless little cockroach she was.

 

   She looked down at her own baggy shorts and shirt, nothing compared to what Cassie wore right now. If fairytales were real, all of the princess had to be envious of what Cassie wore.

 

 “ Yeah its really regal,” Wendy added.

 

 “Is there something wrong?” Cassie shifted the talk as she noted Wendy’s long face.

 

 Wendy shook her head, like a child denying any talk of wrongdoing to a parent. No one needed to know this, her latest fubar should not hold Alvin back.

 

“ No, its fine. You’re really amazing, just by saying yes to Alvin and me.”

 

“No need to thank me, its what friends would do. I am sure you would do the same if your house could fit me.”

“It wouldn’t even be worthy of you,” Wendy mumbled.

 

Cassie patted Wendy on her back, her log sized finger gently thumping against Wendy’s spine. Wendy guessed this was some attempt to perk her up but Cassie could have done it forever and it wouldn’t have removed the dark cloud over her.

 

 “ I’m fine Cassie, I really am,” Wendy said to her, not really keen to talk about anything. She just wanted to be alone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Cassie stood in her room, rubbing her sand crusted eyes as she stood over her dollhouse in the pitch blackness of her bedroom. Why she had to have her sleep interrupted was a mystery until her fatigue addled brain put two and two together.

 

She had tried to ignore it, willing her ears and mind to push out the anguished cries that turned her sweet dollhouse into a haunted house whenever those howls came from forth. Eventually she had to give in and investigate. Either that or spend the remainder of her sleeping time with her pillow pressed over her head, teeth gritted and hoping for the storm to pass. After what felt like an hour, it didn’t even sound like it.

 

 Cassie knew what or more precisely, who was making the sound. Wendy was crying and although this wasn’t the first time Cassie had heard her cry, this was different. Whereas her first one was the result of Cassie’s intimidation, this had no discernable cause.

 

 Taking a deep breath as she prepared herself for what would come, Cassie announced her arrival with a gentle knock on the roof.

 

 “ Wendy, are you ok?”

 

 “Go away Cassie! This doesn’t concern you!” Wendy sniffled loudly, inhaling stalactites of mucus and wiping her tears on her drenched makeshift felt blanket, one of many dollhouse accessories. Bad enough to be crying in a dollhouse, worse to have Cassie find out about it. Wendy blamed herself for that, not being to muffle her own crying.

 

   “ Yes it does, you’re a friend and that’s what I’m here for,” Cassie knocked again, Wendy not even responding to it.

 

 “ No, some things aren’t for you to help.”

 Cassie didn’t take no for an answer and if Wendy would not come out, she would come to Wendy. Easy enough when Wendy lived in a dollhouse Cassie owned, a dollhouse that could be opened up like a book.

 

 Feeling the house with her car sized hands, Cassie groped for a long straight groove distinct from the shallow and smooth plastic exterior. Her polished and filed nail dragged along until she felt a little gap. She let out a satisfied gasp before slowly opening the house as if it were an antiquated book, revealing Wendy.

 

 Even this did not deter Wendy, diving beneath the covers to avoid Cassie but the Titan girl had it all figured out. She simply grasped the bed frame with her fingers and pulled it before lifting the blanket off. What was left was Wendy , crying and covering her face.

 

 “No! I don’t need you to console me! My life is screwed as it is!”

 

 “Wendy,” Cassie’s stomach was all knotted up from seeing her friend like this, a complete mess.

 

 “What’s wrong?” Cassie asked. The mood in the room ever since they went to bed had been overcast, Cassie forced to abandon the girl talk after Wendy torpedoed  it with a string of one word answers.

 

 Cassie didn’t blame her for that, the poor girl had much to feel aggrieved about.

 

 Wendy got off her bed, moving into the pale moon square portion of the table, light streaming in from the window. She clutched her stomach, it wasn’t hurting but she just felt a need to do so.

 

 “ What’s wrong?” Wendy looked up, her face a total mess. Bloodshot eyes, a runny nose that still ran as she looked at Cassie, masked by the dark, still standing over but not for long as Cassie sat in her chair, bringing her tanned forearms into the light.

 

 “ Everything!” Wendy shouted, it felt exhilarating to get that out. She seemed to be the only one feeling a loss here. Kicked out by her own mother and forced to live in a dollhouse while Alvin and Cassie got to move in together, it was like meeting the in-laws. Everyone won, except for Wendy who had to wind up homeless with nothing.

 

 “ You! You and your perfect family, that’s what’s wrong!” Wendy violently kicked out at the bed, the plastic accessory moving forward a few inches, the unfortunate bed bearing the brunt of her physical venting. Verbally it was a different target altogether.

 

  “ You’re all so happy and sweet to each other and I can’t take all that sugary shit right now! I need to be alone,” She said, feeling sickened by all of it.

 

 “Oh Wendy,” Cassie eyed her with sympathy, worried by what she saw. How had she missed it? She had nothing but condolences for their situation but she should have known that Wendy would take it harder than Alvin. Alvin never ever gave the impression he even got along with Patricia.  Wendy though, that was different.Bad as she may be, Patricia was still her mother and there should have been some sort of bond.

 

“What can I do to help?” She wished there was something she could, Wendy to her had been through enough hardship to last several lifetimes.  She deserved better.

 

 Wendy, feeling a sense of uneasiness in her stomach walked to the bed and slumped down, back supported by it.

 

  She quietly buried her face in her palms as Cassie loomed above, waiting for an answer.

 

 “I don’t know,” She answered , feeling defeated .Defeated by everything she had come across so far.

 

 “I don’t think you can Cassie,” She looked up at her, her cheeks stained by her tears.

 

  “We can talk, we can always do that.”

 Wendy chuckled mirthlessly, they did that a lot. In her eyes, a lot of talk but little action. Nothing would come out of it.

 

 “Yeah, we certainly can,” She nodded dejectedly.

 

 “ About what though? How my life has been a series of failures? How I’ve hit rock bottom?”

 “ You’re no failure, you just got unlucky. That’s all Wendy.”

 

 “Really?” Wendy clenched her fist as if to crush an imaginary egg in her hand. What did Cassie know about failure? Her life was nothing but success.

 

 “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about mine. My life would make Cinderella’s look like a paradise.”

 

 Wendy clenched and slowly unclenched her fists repeatedly, imagining that egg again. There was so little she wanted to talk about right now but she just needed to get something off her chest.

 

“Lets talk about yours Cassie, lets hear about that A you got on your last test or your last date.”

 

“ Lets not. Yours is just as interesting as mine, if you can look beyond what you’re seeing right now.” Especially not her last date, Cassie thought to herself. The last said about that, the better.

 “Really? You mean it?

 

 “Yes,” Cassie replied, almost as if she were begging Wendy to see her view.

 

 “ Name something I did right.”

 “ You stood up for Alvin. The old screwed up Wendy would never have done that.You’d have sided with your mother.”

 

“Bah!” Wendy flippantly waved her at arm at Cassie, dismissing her point.

 

 “ Look where that got me. I’m a hobo because of one stupid moment and I don’t even know if I’ll stay this nice to him if you’re not around.”

 

 “Okay, you’re not a hobo. You’re living in my room.And no one said doing the right thing was easy. You’ll get used to it.”

 

 Cassie leaned in to Wendy, looking down at her like a benevolent queen looking upon her weary subject.

 

 “ And you’ll be good to Alvin even when I’m not around. I have faith in you and you should have some faith in yourself too.”

    “ What if I never go home? You can’t want me here forever, I’ll be a burden to your parents. I should go back and beg to be let in. Probably bring Alvin too since my mom can’t cook. Probably looked at the pots and pans like its some weird alien device. ”

  Cassie slowly extended her hand and brushed her finger against Wendy tenderly, hoping that act would give her some comfort.

 

   “ We’ll work something out and no, you’re not a burden and you’re not begging that hag for anything.”

 

  “You say that now but a week later and you might change your mind.I don’t have a job or life, I’m just a girl with plenty of baggage.”

 She shot Cassie a guilty look, her knees pressed against her chest , arms wrapped around them in an attempt to feel some solace.

 

 Cassie wasn’t going to let that be the end of the discussion.

 “Come on Wendy Mathers, you’re an amazing girl. You’ve made it so far and to throw all of that away right now would be stupid. Why would you want to let your mother have the satisfaction of knowing she beat you?”

 “Yeah, I wouldn’t. I’d rather she come crying to me. For once,” Wendy chuckled to herself, that little piece of schadenfreude soothing her jaded self. Ironic, the thought of Patricia standing over and cackling like some witch actually made her want to stand and fight. It didn’t matter to Wendy.

 

 “For once I’d love to see her know how much hurt she has caused me.” Wendy slowly moved off her butt, rising up.

 

“To know that she is not the only victim out there.” Now she standing, Cassie watching her proudly like a flower spreading its petals.

“Acting like the world is against her, pushing her down. No ,Mom, you’re wrong! ”

 

 Wendy stood up with the fire burning bright in her eyes , staring at Cassie.

 

 “Thank you Cassie, that was quite a pep talk. No wonder you are cheerleader captain.”

 

 Cassie giggled, “ That’s one reason.”

 

  Cassie grinned and scooped up Wendy, the latter sitting right in the middle of her cupped hands.

 

“ That’s a lot better from you,” Cassie exhaled heavily, feeling a little maternal right now.

 

 “Hey, you can sleep next to me on the table. I’ll get the bed and you can just curl up inside?” She titled her head to the side, playfully pleading with Wendy to accept.

 

 Wendy nodded.

 

 “Ok.”

 

 Placing the little bed complete with bedsheet, on her bed, both girls climbed inside their own. Cassie lay on her side and got as close as she got to her bedside table, looking over at Wendy who did the same.

 

“You want to have that girl talk now? To make up for the one I screwed up a few hours ago?” Wendy asked, she didn’t what they could talk about but she imagined it would be different from the conversation Wendy had with her girls.

 

 “ I’d love to but…”

 

 Cassie yawned, loudly with her mouth hanging open as her sculpted hand came up to cover the sight of her gaping maw.

 

 “ Sorry, that was rude but maybe tomorrow night.”

 

 “ Okay sure. Good night Cassie.”

 

 Wendy threw her blanket over her and turned away from Cassie.

 

 “Good night Wendy, stay strong.”

 

 “Thanks.”

Wendy felt a hard lump in her throat as she went off to sleep, like a baby this time.  

 

**************

   The next afternoon saw Patricia at her appointment with Allen, the Summer’s long time accountant, her last meeting with him taking place several years ago as Daniel took her there in the midst of his losing battle with cancer.

 

  “ Welcome back Patricia, it's been too long since we last met,” the lanky pale curly ginger haired man grasped her hand and shook it firmly.

 

  “ It definitely has but I need help. You’ve seen my papers, how bad is it?” Patricia could have sworn she saw a light go out in Allen’s eyes there, those dark portholes to his soul flickering as he sat in his generic plastic office chair, chosen by the firm  because the manufacturer claimed it was ergonomic and their logistic department thought it was cheap enough to get the greenlight from finance.

 

 Allen  tapped his fingers repeatedly against a stack of papers in a caterpillar motion while preparing himself for the deluge of bad news he had to deliver.

 

“ I wish I could say I had seen worse finances and I could say that but really, this cuts it pretty close. You’ve got no job, no source of income since then and you spent fifty grand on luxury items that you can’t pay off.”

 Patricia held up her hand as if to  stop him, still keeping her cool with a thin smile on her lips.

 

“ No need to tell me how bad it is, you and I both know that. Just tell me how I can fix it.”

 

 Allen chuckled, realising only now how bad things truly were. She came to him like this was a leaky faucet to repair. Good Lord things were even worse than he thought.

 

 “I can’t fix this other than to tell you to get a job and start working it off. I’m not some magic genie you bring out whenever you need a quick fix.”

 

He sat in his chair flabbergasted by Patricia’s financial harakiri, this had to be deliberate but he couldn’t think of a reason why a single middle class parent would even consider doing it.

 

“ You’ve handled the family’s money, did Daniel leave anything to me? Something that I didn’t know about at all?”

 

   Allen shook his head slowly, letting Patricia down but there was nothing he could do.

 

 “ Nothing, he told you everything when you were there during the amendment of his will. Everything you were supposed to get was given to you during the reading of the will. Nothing else.”

 

He stood up, ready to show her the way out since the meeting was done. Didn’t even take ten minutes but he would at least get a tidy sum for it, even if that was his hourly rate.

 

 “ Nothing I’m afraid. Good thing Alvin is going to be eighteen soon and then you can access his trust fund. Plenty of money there.”

 

 He extended his hand forward for a farewell handshake but was lefting hanging by Patricia’s girlish squeal of joy, “ That is what I’m looking for!”

 

 She slammed her palm down on the trouble proudly, assuming it would be in her hands. It took only a moment for clarity to breakthrough and remind her of the problem with that idea.

 

 “ Glad I could help.” Allen adjusted his tie and coughing once.

 

 “ Good thing too. Seventy five thousand dollars will more than pay off your debts and good thing too or your kids would be homeless.”

 He shuddered, head vibrating with his lips flapping about.

 

 “ A thought I can’t even stomach. Can’t imagine how a mother like you must feel if that ever happened. Your kids living on the streets without a roof over their head. Awful, just awful.”

 

“Yeah it is,” Patricia answered as she quickly shifted the conversation back to the trust fund.

 

 “Could I access it now? Maybe pay it off before Alvin turns eighteen in about two weeks? You know what they  say, best to strike while the iron is hot.”

 

 Allen shook his head again, kiboshing that idea.

 

 “Daniel was very clear about it, only Alvin could access it. Unless he died before coming of age then it goes straight to you. But we wouldn’t want that happen would we?”

 

 “Are you sure? I want to see the will” Patricia retorted, there had to be a loophole somewhere.

 

 Allen took out his white Samsung Galaxy Tab Twelve, named for being the twelfth member of its line and also for having a twelve inch screen. He opened a folder and found a pdf file of the will, opening it. He scrolled down, pinching the screen with his finger as the paragraph he wanted came into view before passing it over to Patricia who was peeved by this blockage.

 

She read the paragraph, then read it again. She scrutinized every word and punctuation within but it held up tighter than a mermaid’s brassiere. Patricia needed Alvin or she’d lose everything when the repo men came around.

 

“Thank you,” She handed the tablet before shaking Allen’s hand.She left before he could say his own goodbye. Patricia didn’t care for that as she broke into a brisk walk, her 3 inches stilettos clicking against the parquet flooring.

 

She needed to go home and find her money or lose everything she had.

 

 

 

Finding Alvin proved to be a more Herculean task  than Patricia anticipated when she realised she didn’t know the name of Alvin’s school;  A quick check from an old report card told her enough, Patricia also noting how much of a nerd Alvin was since his report card was full of A’s and low on B’s.

 She assumed he hadn’t changed school since that would require her consent but Patricia wouldn’t rule it out either, thinking a rival school may have poached the little bookworm. Alvin had an unhealthy level of self-sustainability about him and it was the kind of thing that always unsettled Patricia.

Then she had to work out his school time which was a small challenge in itself.Patricia knew when he went to school but convincing the little twerp to come back was not going to be easy. She’d have to guess his schedule now since he didn’t have to cook her dinner. Patricia gripped her stomach at the thought of his dinners, at least they didn’t give her diarrhea.

  That part she did miss, her tastebuds had yet to recover from the gulch she made the other night, the same night she vowed to eat takeout until the problem was fixed. Her anus would be equally grateful after she misread the expiration on some pasta.The solution would be getting Alvin to come back and reverse this mistake. Wendy could come if she wanted to,Patricia would let her in if she chose to accept her offer.

  Once that was settled, Patricia went down to his school and surreptitiously waited outside for Alvin, her cover story being that she was here to pick up her children. She only had to wait until three in the afternoon when the loud ringing of the school bell announced the end of another trying day.

  As teenagers of all sizes streamed out, Patricia squinted as she looked for Alvin. She had to continuously move about  as Amazons and the occasional Titan blocked her view but she persisted.

  “Oh come on Alvin, lets go to the mall!”

  Patricia turned her head all the way up , seeing Alvin perched on the shoulder of a pretty blonde Titan. She tensed as she looked at the tanned perky girl, a million questions on her mind.

 How did Alvin know her? Who was she? Were they dating? How could a scrawny little bookworm like him snag her if they were?

 The girl moved closer, not even noticing Patricia before walking out with Alvin in tow.

Patricia quickly realised she was in her path, the Titan’s bus sized feet coming closer with each step and she’d soon be squished. The girl wasn’t looking down , she seemed too engrossed with Alvin to pull that off.

  Patricia backed up against the school wire fencing as she wondered how much she knew of Alvin’s life was a lie, what was the little bastard from her?

 The girl’s foot landed just feet from her before passing harmlessly overhead, Patricia swallowing her spit before looking up. She got a glimpse of the girl’s tight butt flexing and jiggling with each step.

“I got to get him alone, that girl will be my undoing,” Patricia said to herself as she backed away slowly. There was no telling what would happen if Alvin saw her right now but she had to retreat and rethink her plan.

******

  “This is going to be a really special birthday for me,” Alvin remarked to Cassie as they vegged out in front of her television, thrice as long as your standard cineplex screen.  Both were tired after a long day of lessons and as the mercury climbed with summer on the horizon, so did their energy levels, none of them inclined to do anything productive with their evenings .

“Oh right its your eighteenth, how are you going to spend it?”

 Alvin turned his head up to Cassie, a long way up since he was seated on her lap, Wendy absent from this as she was at the mall with her friends.

 Alvin shrugged, he had no plans, not now and not ever. His birthday had not been observed since his father passed and if Wendy ever acknowledged it, there was always some mean prank attached to it.

 “Probably with you and just glad no one is going to throw cake in my face.”

“ When is it again?”

“May 25.”

Cassie’s eyebrows convexed up in surprise, she had that date earmarked.

 “That’s the same day as prom. You plan on going to prom?” Cassie stretched her slender legs out, cracking her joints from hours of sitting.

 Alvin shook his head, “No. I never saw the point in it. Clapping for people whom you barely know, winning a popularity contest. Not my thing. I should be with people who care.”

 “What if I went? What if I were up for prom queen? Would you come?”

 “Of course.” Alvin didn’t hesitate, the answer was just waiting to pounce once he heard Cassie’s question.

 Which in turn brought a warm gooey feeling to Cassie, she had him right where she wanted him. It was time to press her advantage.

 

  “ In that case, would you be my prom date?”

  “Oh you’re going?”

Cassie nodded, chuckling to herself.

“ Yes silly I am going, I don’t have a choice. I’ve been nominated for prom queen so I definitely have to show up,” She chirped.

 “Oh right, to collect your tiara and wand.”

“Scepter,” Cassie interjected to correct Alvin’s misstep.

 “Now, will you be my prom date?”

Alvin nodded, “ I would love to. Could meet people before I graduate, let people meet the track hero.”

 He struck a heroic pose, chest puffed head and neck turned up forty five degrees, much to the satisfaction of Cassie.

 “My little hero…” She blew a little kiss at Alvin, who obliged by catching it like a baseball.

  “ Oh dear…” Alvin muttered as he realised something, Cassie too high on endorphins to notice as she laid back to watch television.

 To go to prom meant dressing well and that necessitated some sort of formal attire to ensure he could at least match what ever outfit Cassie wore. She made everything, even a nightie look regal.He knew because he spied her walking around in that thigh high piece and despite moving with the grace of a zombie in her early morning stupor, still managed to do the outfit justice.  Looking like a princess, he thought to himself during that fleeting moment.

 

 However, Alvin didn’t have anything that could come close to accomplishing that. Which meant a clandestine trip to the mall, away from Cassie to pull that off.

What a task, he thought while looking up at his prom date.

************

 “Sorry Wendy, we really wanted to let you stay but then your brother would have to sleep on the streets,” Camilla apologised for the umpteenth time as the gang, present and accounted for treated Wendy to Starbucks; their custom for whenever one of them got screwed pretty badly.

“ Girls,” Wendy rubbed her temples as she sipped a now lukewarm matcha latte, the rest of the girls had ordered other caffeine laden drinks to sip as they made amends with their friend.

 “ I forgive you. It was a very sudden request and none of you had time to prepare for it. Its fine and besides, Cassie is the only girl I know with enough space for me and him.”

 The mood within the group changed at the very mention of Wendy’s new abode, Britney in particular edging closer to Wendy as she tried to get more information from her.

 “What’s Cassie like? Is she as cool as she is in school.”

 She was let down by Wendy’s limp shrug of her shoulder.

“ The same as always, except she doesn’t use me as a stress ball like she used to.”

 “ Which means the coolest girl ever,” Britney said, going gaga at the thought of rooming with Cassie.

 “It’s not as cool as you think it is, I live in her dollhouse. Makes me feel small but I can’t really complain about anything else. Her parents make me right at home, Alvin gets to snuggle with her. Hell he’s probably making out with her right now, she’s always so sunny around him. Plus she’s always looking for an excuse to pick him up, or to just touch him. I just try not to be in the same room or I’ll die of diabetes”

 Wendy chuckled, breaking into a smile and even laughing.

 “ You should have seen it when Alvin…” Her voice trailed off as she no longer was in the mood to even continue. Standing just outside Starbucks was Patricia and she had found her.

 “Nevermind,” Wendy smacked the table in frustration. Her friends looked in the same direction as her but none of them saw what Wendy did.

 “What?” Britney asked her , concerned about her friend’s sudden mood change but Wendy got up without saying a thing, teeth gritted and ready to settle the problem.

“ My Mom,” Wendy said as she resigned herself to having another evening ruined by her.

 Each of them stood up, intent on defending Wendy but she held up her hand to stop that notion from passing, choosing to do this one alone.

 Plus she didn’t want to make a scene, she liked the mall and being embarrassed by her own mother would scupper any long term patronising of it.

 “What do you want...Mum.”

 Wendy could taste the bile as she addressed Patricia, her wounds still fresh from the betrayal.

“I’m looking for Alvin.”

“Then call him or something, go look for him at school? Or have you forgotten which school he goes to? FYI,same as mine.” Wendy pointed at herself sarcastically.

  “No I’m here for his address or really his girlfriend’s one since I’m assuming he’s her new toy. What about you? Where are you staying?”

 “Thanks for asking, how thoughtful of you but I’m staying with Alvin’s girlfriend. Unlike you, she actually gives a shit about me and Alvin.” Wendy snapped at her.

Wendy expected Patricia to make a mountain out of this, wail and shake her fist while her nostrils like a bull preparing for a charge. Strangely, she didn’t try to gore her defiant daughter. Wendy stood her ground, Patricia could do a lot of things before this but with so little left, a line had to be drawn.

 “ Ok but just tell me where he is, I really need to talk to him.”

 “Really?” Wendy set a hand on her hip, her eyes flooded with white hot anger. She didn’t care about her own flesh and blood at all but she wanted Alvin. Probably to make him her servant, Wendy guessed. Alvin was good at chores and cooking so it made sense to have him around, Patricia left their last house fit for pigs.

 “ Why don’t you tell me your message and I’ll pass it to him for you. Alvin’s not exactly inclined to talk to you after you threw him out.”

 To her delight, Patricia reacted to that, almost striking her daughter but reminded herself where she was. Wendy watched her arm twitch violently as she exerted some restraint.

 “ No, its very important. You have to let me talk to him!” Patricia huffed. This would be so much easier if I hadn’t thrown her out, she thought. Only now it seemed she had made a huge mistake in kicking Wendy out, that had only emboldened her.

“ Honestly mother , you’re not going to find her house without my help; don’t even ask again because I won’t give it unless you’ve come to offer an apology.”

 Wendy turned away but Patricia grabbed her hand, intent on extending this ‘talk’.

  Wendy looked back at her incorrigible parent, shaking her head wistfully.

 “No, don’t bother. You lost it the moment you threw me out.” She pulled back and freed her hand from Patricia’s slimy grip.

 Patricia shouted something to Wendy and she guessed a lot of people turned to look at her but she didn’t care, Patricia could drop right now and she wouldn’t turn back.

*******

“So, what’s happened since I left? Cassie proposed to you yet?”

Alvin stuck his head above the open fridge door, a donut in his mouth as he helped himself to a midnight snack, his head illuminated by the white light from the fridge.

 “ Haha no. Cassie only asked me to prom.” Alvin shut the door just in time as Wendy hurled herself at Alvin, embracing him in a warm hug. The force of which nearly turned his donut into a gooey mess.

 “Wonderful but I got some bad news bro. Mom found me at Starbucks.”

 “She came to apologise didn’t she?”

  “I wish but she said she wanted to see you.” Wendy let go of Alvin who proceeded to eat it while he delved into Patricia's sudden reappearance.

 “ What for?”

 “I don’t know what and I didn’t care to ask any more, she probably wants you to be her slave. Cook and clean until you’re in the grave.”

 Alvin chuckle, “She’ll be back. Surprised she never bothered to look for me at school or even call me. Does she even know how to use a phone?”

 “I don’t know, she hardly knows us but I told her Cassie was your girlfriend. Seems she knows that.”

 Alvin didn’t want that, his evil stepmother laying siege to Cassie’s house. Patricia was not good at nurture but she certainly knew how to destroy; his childhood was evidence of her immense talents.

 “ She didn’t follow you home did she?”

  “No but she tried. Threw her off when I took another bus to get back so we’re safe. Cassie won’t get to see our family’s crazy side too much. Not that it matters, she’s cool with you even with me around.”

 Wendy chuckled as she ruffled Alvin’s hair as he finished the last of his donut. He could be cute when he got all worried, his little button nose all scrunched up. Probably do it around Cassie more and she’d pepper his face with kisses and after that, do something more than kiss if she were that kind of girl.

“ Okay I’m going to look over my shoulder more. Last thing I need right now…” Alvin skulked off towards his bedroom, shaking his head and mumbling to himself about setting Cassie on Patricia. If she was half as scary to her as she was to him and Wendy, Patricia would have the evil scared out of her.

 

 

 

 Alvin had been having a good day so far, Cassie had carried him and Wendy  to school, all three having a lively chat. Wendy seemed distracted but Alvin assumed it was because of their discussion but she still managed to crack a smile every now and then. As for Cassie, Alvin didn’t need to be a genius to discern her mood.

  She seemed to relish having Alvin under the same roof as her and was all smiles on the way to school as they discussed what they were going to do after the final bell. If she didn’t have a crush on him then he didn’t know what was she feeling. Asking him to the prom was also a pretty big hint but he didn’t want to miss out on the little details.

 All in all, a pretty great morning and as Alvin stood by the Titan path with Wendy by his side, he had no reason to expect it to change. He was of course, wrong.

  He spotted her, at the back , her stern uncaring face as she walked towards, a homing missile locked onto its target. Alvin froze, grabbing Wendy’s forearm.

  “ Shit, she’s found us. Lets go before it's too late,” Alvin said up to her.

 “But we’re meeting her by the Titan path.Who found you?” Wendy responded.

  Alvin pointed at her, finger shuddering at the sight of his stepmother. Wendy followed his finger and saw what he had seen. Unlike him though, she didn’t quite fear it, she had enough of that.

 “  We’re not running. She knows our schedule and unless you want to transfer schools, stay.”

  “Okay but damn it,” Alvin sighed.

“I didn’t want it to turn ugly so quickly. I was just getting popular…”

    “Let it get ugly. You’ve got me here in case she wants to try anything funny.” Alvin gripped her wrist even tighter as they remained motionless.

  “I finally found you two and let me tell you, it's been so hard!”

 “Right Mum,” Cassie sneered.

 “You didn’t even know which school your kids were in. Did you even know the district or  state we were in?”

 Patricia appeared to ignore Wendy’s jibe but Alvin noted she seemed more vulnerable up close, she lacked the authoritative stature she had days before when she expelled Wendy from her house. She looked at them with a look of expectancy, like she wanted them to give her something.

 “ Of course I do but you know, the house has been really empty ever since you two left. It would be nice if you two came back.”

 She even forced a smile but it was like having the devil smile at you, you’d never be comfortable with it.

  “I don’t believe you,” Alvin spoke up. Patricia chuckled uneasily, she had expected this to be much easier. They should have been a wreck by now, not standing tall against her. What had she missed?

 “ Come on Alvin, my favourite son…” She reached out to stroke his head  lovingly. Alvin shivered and instinctively pulled himself away. Luckily, his stomach was empty or he’d have painted the pavement.

 “ Oh come on Patricia, you know that’s a lie. You made me cook and clean like Cinderella ever since you got the house. I’m going to bet the house is a pigsty right-”

“Shush!” Patricia pressed her finger against his lips, Wendy growing incensed with the farce that was her mother.

 “ Don’t say it so loudly! And it's not slavery, it's chores. Every kid does it.”

 “Really? Every kid cleans the whole house by themselves? I should be glad neither of us are Titans or Alvin would have died just trying to clean one of our rooms,” Wendy joined in.

 “I wasn’t talking to you,” Patricia snapped back at her. There we go, Wendy thought. There’s the woman she called mother. It was only a matter of time before the uglier side of her came out.

“ Come on Alvin, your birthday is coming and it would be awful if you turned eighteen away from your family.”

 “Wow, you actually knew my birthday. So why didn’t you celebrate it?”

   “Oh just come bac-” Patricia grabbed Alvin’s wrist just as a shadow fell over them. All of them looked up, past a pair of bus sized cyan Adidas running shoes to skinny jeans that hugged her toned legs and to a midriff baring white top and straight into the porthole sized eyes of Cassie.

  Cassie looked down at the sight before her, she had wanted to wave to them but then she saw the tense standoff between her friends and this middle aged woman. Odd, she thought, she had not seen her before.

 “What’s going on here?”

 Wendy sighed, relieved that Cassie was here. Patricia wouldn’t trying anything now, she thought.

 Patricia recognised her, she was the Titan who nearly stepped on her. Now she was trying to butt in on what she deemed to be a family dispute.

 “Nothing you need concern yourself with little girl,” She said curtly.

 “This is a family affair.”

 “Oh,” Cassie gasped, “ You must be Alvin’s mother, I mean stepmother.”

 “Why yes-”

Patricia screamed as Cassie’s finger enveloped her, four fleshy tentacles as Cassie pressed her thumb against her mouth, dampening her voice.

 With that settled, Cassie looked down, perhaps feeling she owed them an explanation.

 “ Sorry about that but I’ll be back, no time to explain!”

 Cassie ran back to the Titan wing of school, leaving Alvin and Wendy alone again, once again waiting for her.

 “That was… awkward,” Wendy said to Alvin. Deep down though, she sensed what Patricia was going to get and if personal experience was anything to go by, this would be good. Sadly she wouldn’t be getting front row seats for this.

“ Maybe I should...” Alvin took a step forward but Wendy stopped him with a hand over his chest, mouthing ‘no’ to him.

 “ Let this play out, we’ll see where it goes.”

 “I don’t want Cassie to go too far with this, what if she breaks her?” Alvin protested, unbelievable as he realised he was defending a morally bankrupt woman.

 “ She won’t, trust me. Cassie is a very smart girl and she’ll push that woman in just in the right direction.” Wendy made a mental note to thank Cassie, she was somehow bringing the family together although she’d probably say the same if she had just dumped Patricia into a trash can.

*****

 When Cassie finally released Patricia, it was in the stalls of the toilet, dropping Patricia on to her table sized palm.

 “What is the meaning of this? You can’t just pick me up like that! What happened to your TET training?”

  Cassie raised her hand , startling Patricia who raised her hands as a protective shield from her. She lowered when Cassie scratched her nose, eyes focused on her as she pondered what to do.

 “I know my TET training, I graduated top of my class. I’m here to talk about how you treat your children. Believe me I don’t enjoy this at all but from what I hear, you’re a real piece of work.”

 “From who? Alvin? Of course he would say that. He never liked me.”

  “Not after the way you treated him, I’m surprised if anyone even likes you now,” Cassie buzzed with intent as she cradled the miniscule adult in her hand. She had sympathised over his lack of a proper parent, even had offer of an intervention turned down but seeing him being pushed like that had been the last straw. She would let her get away with it, even if Alvin didn’t agree with her. He would see the benefit of one last intervention.

 “ What is it you anyway? What do you get out of all sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong?”

  Cassie raised her palm, slowly and steadily  as TET had taught her.

 “Everything, your children are my friends and I’m  appalled by what you’re doing. I want to know, what’ll happen if they go back to you?” Cassie asked, softly and worried by Patricia’s refusal to acknowledge her missteps. She couldn’t but feel Patricia was hiding something from her, from Alvin.

 

 “ I take them off your hands, lift some of that weight off you. You don’t need to burdened by two extra mouths at this stage. Especially with those two brats.”

 Cassie gulped, she really didn’t want to do this. Well she did at first but she told herself to remain civil, give Patricia a chance . She was an adult and adults were supposed to be mature and open to logic, even if they were a degenerate like Patricia.

 “ Okay that’s it,” Cassie closed her palm, trapping Patricia like a fly in a Venus flytrap. She struggled but the Titan didn’t heed her cry for help, she had other things planned for her. She turned gently and faced the toilet seat before opening her palm, tilting it forward and letting Patricia roll off.

  Patricia cried for help as she tumbled down Cassie’s smooth milky palm, falling over the edge. Cassie looked on with indifference to her pleas but when all looked lost,  she pinched Patricia’s forearm between her fingers, holding over the toilet bowl.

 “I tried to play nice but you kept pushing and pushing, look where that got you.”

 Patricia kicked out at Cassie but her tiny legs hardly moved in comparison to Cassie.

 “ Kicking me won’t work, the only way you get out of this is if you play along and give me what I want. Then you can go back to Alvin,” Cassie said softly and sadly, understanding why Wendy became such a messed up child. She really wanted to hug her right now, an abusive father and wastrel mother had wrecked her childhood.

 “ I’ll have you arrested for harassing a normal! You know the law, you can get up to ten years for this! But if you let me go now, I’ll forget it ever happened,” Patricia threatened to her, smirking as she could see that look on Cassie’s face. The look that said she knew very well the repercussions of this and extrapolating from that line of thought, it was time to pack up.

 “ And I’ll have you arrested for parental negligence and child abuse.You’re not the only one who can play this game.”

 She playfully shook Patricia about like she were a set of keys, jingling about.

 “ Okay okay! I get you can threaten me! You really love Alvin don’t you? Why don’t you marry him or something?”

 “That’s between me and Alvin, not you. But let's talk about you. You were so sure about kicking out Wendy and I am damn sure you didn’t even go after Alvin when he followed her. So why are you here? What’s changed since then?”

 “Nothing big, I had a change of heart. I just want my children back. Maternal feelings, what can you do?”

 “ Lies,” Cassie seethed and lowered Patricia, bending her knees as the smooth metallic pool rushed up, Patricia now just several feet above the rim.

 “ You and I know that’s bullshit. You don’t grow a conscience just like that.” She snapped her fingers, producing a loud sharp crack, startling Patricia whose arm had begun to ache from being dangled.

 “ Why so cynical? You’re too young for that. Trust in people for once.”

 Cassie snorted, lowering Patricia below the rim and stopping when Patricia thought she’d go all the way.

 “ You’re going to get soaked in pisswater if you keep this up. The truth, or you’ll be treading water while I do my business.”

 Patricia inhaled and regretted it,the pungent ammonia stained walls burning the hairs within her nostrils. Immediately she tried to protect them with her free hand but it did little to alleviate the foul stench of Titan urine.

 “ Yeah it stinks doesn’t it? Reminds me of your attitude, ” Cassie asked from above, barely flinching from the smell.

  “ It can go away if you tell me what made you change your mind. I’m not a sadist, I don’t enjoy doing this. I just want answers.”

 Cassie meant it, she just hoped Patricia understood it.

 Patricia on the other hand, remained mum on the matter, staying silent but really, it should have been simple. Cassie knew it and anyone with half a brain could see it, why couldn’t she see it?

 “Fine,” Patricia shot out.

 “ I’ll tell you. I need money and Alvin’s got it.”

 “How much?” Cassie raised Patricia up, until she was above the acrid toilet bowl and back into the fresher air around Cassie’s hand. Patricia massaged her arm, aching and slighty reddish from where Cassie had gripped her. Any longer and she swore it would have been pulled out of its socket.

 “ What do you mean Alvin has money?”

 “Look,” Patricia snapped, cracking her knuckles.

 “I owe about fifty thousand to the credit companies and if I don’t pay it off, the house and everything that is nailed down will be taken by the bank. Alvin’s father left me a little trust fund, only he can use it and that’s when he turns 18. Now let's go back, I already told you why.”

 “Ok. We’ll take this to your kids,” Cassie nodded in agreement.

“Just promise me its the truth or else we’ll go for round two.”

“It is,” Patricia looked over the edge, back down at the rancid toilet seat. She really didn’t want to go back down.

******

“ Ah you’re back,” Wendy was grinning from ear to ear as Cassie set Patricia down. To her delight, Patricia looked worse for the wear although she couldn’t understand why she smelled like piss.

 “ Okay, tell them what you told me. The truth, one lie and you’re coming with me.”

 Patricia and nodded solemnly, Alvin rather impressed by what he saw. For as long as he could remember, nobody had put Patricia in place and now Cassie had.

 Patricia faced her children while Cassie squatted just behind them, maintaining her watch over the group. The former  took a deep breath and said what needed to be said, faster than she anticipated but it worked.

 “ Alvin, you have a trust fund of seventy five thousand dollars ready for you to use. Daniel wanted to use it for college but I owe money. Fifty thousand in credit card debt. I need it or we’ll lose everything.”

 “What the fu-what could you spend so much money on?” Wendy ripped into Patricia, how is it she could owe so much?

 “I’m also jobless, SilkTech fired me several weeks ago and that's why I need your help Alvin.”

 “Huh, no wonder you got home before we did, you didn’t get the an early shift like you told us!” Wendy felt disgusted by her lies, why did her mother have to conceal all this from her? From them?

“Hmm…” Alvin pondered.

“You’re an awful person Patricia. You made me clean the house all by myself, cook for you like a slave and then you throw your own daughter out and now want me to come back home because you messed up again.”

 “Something like that,” she replied, feeling the earth shake as Cassie shifted her foot, her thighs bulging as tons of muscle and flesh shifted her weight to a more comfortable position.

  “I’ll do it-” He stopped as Patricia came forward hugging him. It felt off, just like the head stroking and Alvin shoved her back.

 Patricia came forward again but Alvin held up his hand, stopping her.

 “ But not for you. For Wendy,for myself and so you don’t lose the house which my father bought. I have conditions as well because if I’m handing over fifty thousand there’s going to be a few changes around here,” Alvin insisted. Patricia nodded meekly, the ball having left her court a long time ago.

 “ One, you’re getting a job. You need to support Wendy while she’s in high school, I’ll be in college so don’t count on me to be the main breadwinner for this household. Two, ALL of us will do chores. Not just me or Wendy. You too. Three, you’re going to be a much better person. If you throw out Wendy or abuse her like you did to me, I’ll report this to the cops.”

 “But can’t I discipline her? I am her mother and that is my role.”

 “Oh finally, you’ll admit you’re a mother,” Wendy responded, arms folded over chest.

“Good,” Alvin exclaimed.

“You can do that but anything like what you did to Wendy when she stood up for me and it's over for you. You can forget about even living in my house.Got it?”

“Crystal clear. What time will you be back?”

Alvin walked up to her and looked her straight in the eye, she seemed to be sincere with her concern. More surprisingly though, he had never seen her so fearful. Her eyelid twitched as she maintained eye contact and her ankles felt weak for her body trembled. She had her back against the wall and everyone here knew it.

 “ After my birthday, you don’t need the money right now do you?”

 Patricia shook her head furtively.

“ Okay, you just keep the house in one piece until I get back. Then we’ll settle all of this when I am eighteen.”

“ Anything, as long as it pays my debt.”

 “Alright, see you in a week or so,” Alvin waved as he and Wendy climbed on to Cassie’s palm, feeling as right as rain about all this.

 

 

“I’m so happy you got your house back,” Cassie pressed her fingers against lips, overwhelmed by the events.Thinking back to Patricia, she wasn’t quite sure what possessed her to do what she did. She really could have gone to jail for that if a police report was made, she knew the law’s harsh stance on Titan’s abusing their size and the social stigma that came with being convicted of abuse. If Patricia had called her bluff, the game would have been up and Alvin would have been homeless, likely indefinitely.

 “I’m just happy she finally got put in her place,” Wendy answered as the two sat on Cassie’s lap, the latter herself reclining on a couch. Alvin quietly nodded, enjoying the sight of his step sister smiling. He hadn’t seen that since Wendy’s one eighty on him. It felt satisfying to see her at least rewarded for the proper change of heart.

 “ You should still have thrown her out though,” Cassie said to Alvin.

 I wish I could, he thought.

“Can’t, she is still the only person capable of supporting us.I’ll be going to college and we all know how much moolah they bring in.” He turned to Cassie, a bemused smirk as he eyed her.

 “ What did you tell her? What did you say that changed her mind so quickly?”   He was curious, personal experience told him Cassie was a very persuasive girl. Had she done the same to Patricia? He wouldn’t complain if she did, no he would actually pat her on her back if she did.

 Cassie shrugged her shoulders,  “ I just told her what needed to be said, that’s all.”

 Alvin knew there was more but he could sense Cassie’s reluctance to elaborate so he dropped it. After all, morale was high and it would be pointless to start any arguments now.

 “ So, you’re moving back in after your birthday. Which means you get to turn 18 in this house. What were your other birthdays like?”

 “Mostly getting ignored and having it treated as any other day,” Alvin replied while glancing at Wendy, waves of a more bitter past flashing before his eyes.

 “Sorry, this will be different,” Wendy answered, feeling rather ashamed of her role in it.

 “All is forgiven Wendy,” Alvin assured her. She had more than proven that, getting kicked out of the house for him. If there was one thing he regretted, it was that all this had happened too late. Wendy and Alvin had enough similarities to get along but in less than month, he would have graduated. Three months after that and it would be college for him, leaving Wendy alone with Patricia. That wasn’t something he’d wish on her, not after what he had seen of her. Currently though, she appeared to be cowed by the threat of police action for her crime. He would have to work out some sort of long term contingency plan but for now, he’d enjoy the rest of his time as Cassie’s housemate.

 “ What did you normally do to him on his birthday?”

 The denim ground beneath them shifted as Cassie sat up, looking down at both with them. She focused on Wendy more although there was none of the anger she initially viewed her with, her question was more of a curious query.

 “ What I normally did to him? A good one for him would probably be-”

 “Wendy forgetting it. Which happened a few times and that was as good as it got; but that’s ancient history. I’ll be showering and doing some studying after that,” Alvin said as Cassie instinctively picked him and placed him on the ground. Titan dwellings were often outfitted with stairs that led up towards normal rooms so they wouldn’t require Titan assistance for everything.

 “ Oh Alvin!” Cassie called out to him.

 He turned back , wondering why Cassie had done so. Had she forgotten something?

 “Are you allergic to anything?Like nuts or lactose intolerant?”

 “Just secrets,” Alvin playfully winked at Cassie before resuming his walk.

 Wendy knew something was up between the now, smirking at the Titan. She was definitely planning something, the girl couldn’t hide a secret well.

“Well Cass, I got a question to ask you. Not here though, it's...girl stuff.” She threw in a cheeky wink and getting a little annoyed look from Cassie; the message having gotten through.

 “ Alright, let's go to my room,” Cassie scooped up Wendy and brought the Amazon to her room, the teasing obvious to her.

 “Okay,” Cassie said as she set Wendy on her study table, sitting in her study chair to face Wendy. .

  “What do you need to talk about?”

  “ The birthday cake for Alvin, you’re obviously getting one.”

“Yeah I am,” Cassie replied, not even trying to hide it from her.It would be better to actually keep her in on this, seeing as she knew the most about Alvin.

 “ That alone will make it a hit, the only cake he got was never eaten,” Wendy remembered his 16th birthday which ended with her slamming a chocolate cupcake straight into his face. It was funny then, not so much now.

“Okay then we got to make his eighteenth the best one yet. Not just a cake, I plan on confessing to him then, before the dance.It’s the same day, you think he’ll accept?” Cassie bared a little teeth, a bundle of nerves over her plans.

Wendy nodded, of course he would. Alvin echoed Cassie’s feelings, she’d rather Cassie grab Alvin, announce her feelings and seal it with a kiss.

 “ He’ll say yes, even if you just wish him happy birthday.”

 Cassie shook her head, that would have been the bare and unacceptable minimum.

 “ No way. We got to make it perfect , starting with the cake. He has to like it.” Cassie pulled her tablet close to her, opening up a bookmarked website that sold baked goods ,cakes being one of their specialities. She had settled on a few  but needed a second opinion on them.

 “Wow, you did your research,” Wendy rubbed her chin, amazed at the selection she saw.

 “First one, a red velvet cake with vanilla frosting,” Cassie lightly tapped a picture, bringing up the radiant red of the cake.

 “Alvin likes black forest cake, it's his favourite. If you want to get into his pants, give him one.”

 “I don’t want to get into his pants. Wendy…” Cassie held that last syllable to reflect her displeasure.

 “ Oh ri-aight…” Wendy rolled her eyes.

“You don’t want sex him up ever, I know eventually you guys are going to do it. Just maybe not on his birthday, even if that will make it one to remember. Hope you went for sex class, wouldn’t want to crush him during it.”

 “ I did go for those classes , aced it. Anyway, how did we go from cake to sex?” Cassie pursed her lips, although she was more surprised at how Wendy had even initiated this discussion. She was after all, his sister, even if they weren’t linked by blood, there ought to have been some sort of sibling bond.

 “ I just...know things,” Wendy replied, throwing in a cheeky wink and smile.

 “Anyway...so his favourite is black forest? How sure are you?”

 “Very sure. When his dad, my stepdad , was still around he had it every year for his birthday. The look on his face, you’d think the prettiest girl in school  had kissed him,”  Wendy answered.

 Wendy shot Cassie another knowing look, the latter trying her best not to feel the tease.

“ He won’t be thinking about that on his birthday,” Cassie said as her lips pulled themselves into a slight grin.

 “ Sounds like a lot of surprises for him. You sure his brain can handle all of it?”

 Cassie nodded, “ Of course, Alvin’s a smart guy and I’ve got it all planned out. Even the parts where I need a good wing woman like you.”

 Wendy chuckled, of course she had planned it out. It was what she expected from a girl likely to be crowned valedictorian.

  “Aye aye captain,” She saluted Cassie who chuckled lightly.

 “What’s the plan?”

 “Well phase one was to get a dress. That’s settled.” Cassie stood up and opened her cupboard where she pulled out a red figure hugging dress, pressing it against her body.

 “Wadya think?”

  Wendy whistled at the sight of it, strapless and designed to tease a little decolletage but covered enough of her to retain some class.

 “ Yeah...you’ll knock him out with that one. Is the material even organic?” Wendy asked, Cassie’s family weren’t filthy rich but from what she’d seen, they were most likely upper middle class Titans.

“ There’s some cashmere in it but it's not one hundred percent organic. Not without mortgaging the house anyway,” Cassie replied quickly as she stashed the dress back inside a cupboard before closing it.

She ambled back to Wendy, sitting in the chair before getting to phase two.

“Phase two,” she trilled while holding up two fingers.

“Is to get Alvin his cake. Since you said black forest is his favourite, then we’ll get him that. I’m getting a normal sized cake for him, I think it's only appropriate he get a slice of cake that won’t flatten him.”

“That’ll be quite the birthday. Crush confesses then boom!” Wendy slammed her fist into her open palm.

 “Crush’s cake crushes him,” Wendy laughed at the image in his head, Alvin flattened by a slice of cake the size of a school bus, legs sticking out from the cake like the Wicked Witch of the East.

“Worst birthday ever. He’ll thinking that if it ever happened. Anyway I’m going down to the cake shop tomorrow, you can come if you like.”

 “I can do that, should be fun to pick out a cake. You going to put a message on it?”

Cassie shrugged her shoulders hopefully, “ Was going to tell him in words. Since I’m getting a normal sized cake, you’ll have to hold it for me. On top of your other duties.”

 “What other duties? Buttering him up for you?” Wendy asked, a little excited at this. None of the girls ever asked her to do this, the reason being boys their age always kept clear of the wrestling quartet. Fear outweighed flirtation every time. This, with Alvin and Cassie was a pleasant fresh breeze.

 “No, you can talk about me like you’ve always done.”

 “Calling you a bitch?”

 “Seems you need to go back in the sock…” Cassie growled, Wendy giggling girlishly.

“ Anytime princess. Anytime. Okay on the day itself , you need me to drag him home? Leave him in here for you to strut your stuff?”

Cassie tilted her head to the side, her hair following suit.

 

“ We’ll have a quick celebration, I’ll declare my undying love for Alvin after a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ and then it's off to prom where I’ll be queen and he’ll probably king.”

 “Aww…”Wendy interlocked her fingers together, pressing them against her cheek while cooing, somewhat sarcastically but she would have been sincerely happy to see him win prom king.

 

 “ Be sure to take pictures, I want to see them when you guys get back.”

 “You’re not going?” Cassie had expected to see Wendy there.

 Wendy shook her head, it didn’t make sense to go.

 “I’ll go next year, this isn’t my time. You kids have fun now, don’t do anything you’ll regret in the morning.”

 

The cool air conditioned shop air was saturated with the aroma of freshly baked pastries; a little too more  Cassie and Wendy’s would have liked. It made the bakery feel overly stuffy and poor ventilated. Despite being inundated by the smell of freshly baked goods, both were in good spirits for the day.

 Wendy sat perched on Cassie’s shoulder blade while the Titan addressed the Titan woman at the counter. Alvin had excused himself, claiming he needed to be somewhere. Neither of the girls had followed up his question , it negated having to come up with a cover story for their clandestine cake shop visit.

 “ So, how can I help you miss?” The Titan at the counter asked.

 She was a petite brunette with a young man in his twenties sitting on her shoulder, closer to the woman’s neck than Wendy did. Both wore maroon aprons on top of a pair of blue jeans and non-matching tops, giving the impression of wearing some sort of work uniform.

 “ I’m looking for a cake,” Cassie glanced down at the cakes on display. Most of them were very colorful, plenty of cream on the the top and some even had little pieces of colourful fruit on top. Not the mascherino types, these were the real deal.

“A cake for a friend,” Cassie added, Wendy smirking.

“More than a friend, you gotta understand that. She wants to go from friend to girlfriend, with this cake. It's a birthday cake and it’ll seal the deal.”

 “I assume it's for a boy then. We do make cakes for the non-Titan customers, so it's not too much  for us smaller ones.” The young man smiled at Wendy , seemingly directing the words more to her than Cassie. He had a slim but toned physique as Wendy noted, likely from all that baking.

 “Oh this is exciting!” the Titan spoke up, gleefully clapping her hands together. She did love a little romantic subplot to any customer who came to the shop.

 “We have a wide range of cakes, our angel cake sells like hot cakes!” The woman took out a large tablet and flipped to the appropriate page on the menu, this one displaying the white as snow angel cake she had been promoting.

 

“I don’t see it,” Cassie glanced sideways and she was right, there wasn’t a single one available. Nothing resembling the spongy cake, layered with white frosting.  

  “It sells like hotcakes, if you’ll forgive the pun,”she chuckled at her own joke.Cassie gave a polite smile in return.

 “ We have it on our menu,” she continued as she picked up a tablet on the counter and flipped to the relevant page, the billboard sized screen displaying a variety of cakes, Cassie zooming in on the angel cake, decadently white and full of frosting. A strange image came to mind, that of Alvin standing on the cake while Cassie lowered her lips on to him, pressing him into the cake where the snow white frosting proceeded to engulf him.

She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, Wendy’s brow creased as she wondered what was running through Cassie’s thoughts.

 “ I like it but it's not his favourite,” she replied as she deftly flipped through the pages with a flick of her fingers but also trying to push that ridiculous image of Alvin out of her mind.

  “Ah you know his favourite?” the man asked further.

 Cassie nodded, “ We do. It's black forest cake; do you have it?”

The Titan nodded, “ We do, we certainly do!”

She eased the tablet away from Cassie and navigated to the right page, it was just a couple of scrolls away from where Cassie had stopped. Cassie instantly recognised for what it was, the maraschino cherries on top, surrounded by pale cream and curls of chocolates decorating the surface.

“This one,” she tapped the screen of the tablet, the woman nodding and taking the tablet from her.

“You made a good choice, it's a popular item. One of our best in fact,” she added with a healthy dollop of conviction.

“Both the Titan and man sized ones,” the man added.

“Fortunately both of us are equally good at making cakes, not something most of the mixed size bakeries get right,” he laughed.

“You came to the right place. Would like you it to be customised?” the woman asked, a little too late as what came next would interrupt the whole process.

 At that moment, Wendy’s phone began to ring.

“Oh, it's Alvin. Odd…” She smiled at the group, a little embarrassed to have interrupted the conversation.

 “Hello bro, what’s up?” Wendy asked gleefully.

Her gleeful disposition sank like a stone when she heard what was coming through. It may have sounded like something out a very cliched teen movie but it was real and she was unlucky  enough to have it happen to her.

 “I’ll be there, just give me a couple of minutes to find the place,” she laughed harder than she ought to, piling on the awkward feeling all around.

When she finally hung up, Cassie gave her a very puzzled look.

“What’s wrong?”

Wendy sighed, this would not be believable at all.

“Alvin’s little thing? The one he had to go to? Remember that?”

Cassie nodded, of course she remembered.She remembered not thinking too much about it at the time but now that Wendy brought it up, was there more to it?

“Alvin’s here at the mall, seems he wants to consult me over fashion. I’m not sure why me but I got to make a slight detour,” she said as she broke the news.

“Oh he’s clever!” Cassie guffawed, clearly not sharing Wendy’s sentiments about the whole thing.

“Go on then!” She set Wendy on the ground but kept herself crouched down. It was considered rude for a Titan to address someone of a smaller size standing up although the younger generation tended not to follow it. Even so, it  was taught to every Titan during their T.E.T. years.

“ You go to Alvin and help him with whatever he needs your help in and I’ll stay here. Lets hope he doesn’t figure this out or there goes our surprise.”

 “Okie,” Wendy answered, not thrilled about the sudden appearance of Alvin again. He was sneakier than she gave him credit for, giving his dear sister and future girlfriend such a hard time.

Wendy burst out of the shop, walking quickly with long and quick strides as she traversed through the Brobdingnagian walkways of the Titan section of the mall. As always, she kept to the paths designated for the smaller folk. Easy to tell because they were demarcated by parallel thick red lines painted onto the floor.

Wendy jostled past waves of nameless women, men and Amazons as she looked for the store going by the name of Ted’s Tuxes. She figured a store with such a striking name ought to have stood out but she was completely wrong, the store was as hard to find as the proverbial needle in a haystack.

 She wondered about the normal sections as lost as a penguin in the Amazon, odd considering this was the same mall that she spent a good portion of her teenage years at. She comforted herself with the thought that at no point until now was there ever a need to go into a shop selling only men’s wear and for prom. She wasn’t playing wing woman until now, why would she ever need to help Alvin with picking clothes?

After what seemed to be one too many turns around the savannah of a shopping centre, she finally found it, the signage having blown enough of the LEDs to render at least half of it out of order.

  “ Ugh, it's going to be a squeeze,” Wendy groaned, rather disappointed in Alvin’s choice. In addition to out of order signs, it looked cluttered with various clothes strewn about to suggest whoever was in charge was not doing a good job when it came to organisation. Given that it was already half the size of the other units, she was not expecting anything fantastic.

Still, to turn around would arouse Alvin’s suspicions so she had to bear with Alvin and whoever else was inside.

 “ Ah, nice to see you here young lady!” A raspy elderly sounding voice greeted her as she entered the store.  Wendy spotted the source of it, an elderly man. From his leathery wrinkled face and raspy voice, she guessed him to be at least

 “ Oh um...hello there,” Wendy answered apprehensively to the old man who returned with an assuring smile.

 “You must be his sister.”

“I am,” Wendy said with some distance, she wasn’t used to such small talk when shopping.

 “Where is he?”

 “Changing,” the shopkeeper answered and pointed at the changing room at the back of the cluttered shop. It wasn’t much, a small semi-circular area surrounded by what looked like an opaque cyan shower curtain.

Right on cue, the screen was pulled back as Alvin stepped out , in his latest suit.

“ That was fast,” Alvin said as he adjusted the suit.

 “ I happened to be in the mall, was about to go into Starbucks when you rang.” Wendy eyed his outfit choice, her gag reflex triggering. She lurched forward slightly , turning her eyes away.

“What, you don’t like it?’ Alvin asked.

“ No offense sir,” Wendy addressed the shopkeeper who smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s fine, fashion is a subjective subject after all,” he assured her no offence was taken by him.

“Al, baby blue is not your colour. Neither are frills suited for you, you’re going to a dance with the most popular girl in school. So you got to match her and trust me, you’ll love Cassie’s dress.”

 Alvin turned and looked in the mirror, wondering why he didn’t see it. An all baby blue suit, white frilly undershirt that protruded beneath the vest over, he could picture Cassie sticking her tongue out in disgust if he wore this.

“Okay let's change it. I have a back up choice,” Alvin suggested as he went back inside the changing room.

 “ Its nice to see siblings getting along,” the elderly gentleman commented, gently smiling at Wendy.

 Wendy nodded, it was indeed nice not to fight everyday.

 “ We didn’t always see eye to eye but thankfully we both outgrew it,” Wendy answered as the curtain rustled slowly, pulled back again as Alvin stepped out in an equally garish purple outfit.

“How is it?” Alvin asked but with Wendy obviously suppressing a laugh, the answer was clear.

“Trying to kill Batman with that costume?”

“Okay I get it!” He threw his arms up in a huff, this solo fashion venture was clearly backfiring.

“ Oh don’t be so worried, you’re a guy. Leave the dressing up to us girls. Try a simple black and white,” Wendy suggested.

“That’s...boring though isn’t it? Every guy does that and it's kind of blending in. Why blend in now? I think I could handle the attention.”

Wendy shook her head at the typical guy answer.

“You’ll get plenty of attention when you’re seen in Cassie’s company, you don’t need to even try for that one. Now…” Wendy turned to the shopkeeper.

“ Do you have anything more conventional? The traditional black and white tux?”

He nodded, “ I got just the thing.”

He hobbled ever, his age showing in his slowed gait but he managed it well enough, reaching the wall of suits. Flipping through each article like it were a book page, he quickly found what he was looking for.

Alvin’s brows leapt up as he saw it and he quickly moved to get the suit from him.

“Thank you, it’ll just take a minute,” Alvin smiled at the two of them, quietly pleased he had the common sense to consult a female for fashion advice.

Just as he drew the curtain shut, Wendy’s phone rang. Good timing too, as Wendy soon discovered why it was best for her to take this call surreptitiously. The screen identified Cassie as the caller.

“Hello Cass,” Wendy cupped her hand over her mouth, lest she risk Alvin overhearing this.

“ Hey Wendy,” Cassie answered, as chipper as ever.

“I have some ideas for the cake but I’ll need a second opinion before we can settle it.”

“Oh that’s fast, you already picked it out?”

She glanced at the dressing room, phrasing her sentences as vaguely as possible. She would not be the one to leak it to Alvin. Let the shopkeeper do it, she thought, anyone but her.

“Yes, so if it's not too much of a hassle, could you come over and take a quick look,” Cassie asked. For some reason Wendy imagined Cassie twirling a lock of hair around her finger as she said. That would probably get most boys to carry out her orders, Wendy thought.

“ Oh it's an emergency you say?” Wendy listened, Cassie was a tad too specific over what she needed her for. She couldn’t afford to talk in here anymore.

“You really need me there?” Good, she thought, set the plan in motion.

“Okay, I’ll see you there,” Wendy hung up. She was almost done with Alvin, a quick run over to the bakery and then this would be done too. Alvin would be none the wiser about this little ruse either.

“ Sorry Alvin, I need to go to the ladies real quick. I’ll be back asap,” she called out. Would Alvin buy it?

 “ Okay!” Alvin replied instantly, Wendy quickly exiting the shop upon hearing that. She had very little time.

When Alvin finally came out, Wendy was gone as she had told him. It was just him and the shopkeeper to get his opinion.

“How do I look?” Alvin asked, spreading his arms just a little bit while in the black and white tuxedo suit. He hoped this would be the one, the suit that would fit them. He liked it, having looked at himself in the full length body mirror for a longer period of time than he had ever looked into the mirror before this. The question is whether Wendy or right now, the shopkeeper would like it.

“ You look fantastic, your prom date will be swooning at the sight of you,” he replied, giving a wizened smile.

 “Thank you, I guess my sister was right,” he replied as walked around the shop, testing the suit. It would have been awful to be stuck in a rigid, tight outfit for hours, not even being with Cassie could alleviate that.

“ I was telling her earlier it's wonderful to see the two of you get along so well.I had a brother and we...fought a lot,” the old man reminisced about his younger days. He didn’t seem upset about it, Alvin noticed.  

“Same thing here,it was only after a while that we grew up and made peace. Its so much better now,” Alvin tugged at the sleeve, straightening out the suit as he further scrutinised it for any flaws in the structure.

“After we patched things up in the last few weeks.”

“What?” The old man’s face fell in surprise, he had expected a happier and longer lasting relationship based on the pleasantries exchanged by the pair.

“I know,” Alvin chuckled. Of course he would be surprised, it was rare to see people make up so fast. He told himself it was a good thing, it just meant that Wendy and him had moved on for the better.

*********

“Well I’m back,” Wendy huffed as she slowed to a stop after a full speed dash to the bakery.

“Great, does Alvin suspect anything?” Cassie asked as she gently scooped up her co-conspirator, placing her on the counter where among other things was the tablet with the two bakery staff present on the other side.

“ Nope, not a clue but I may have just saved your date from a fashion faux pas,” Wendy announced proudly. Wendy looked over the tablet where a crude sketch of what she assumed to be Alvin’s birthday cake was displayed.

 “ So what is it you wanted to ask?” Wendy looked towards Cassie who glanced back at her before gripping the stylus and tapping a few icons on the screen.

 “I think it's not an issue if we just put a simple happy birthday in red frosting on top of it right?”

Wendy nodded, that was hopefully not the only reason why she called her all the way here.

“ I just am not too sure over what to put. Should it be ‘Happy 18th Birthday Alvin’ or something else? Something we haven’t thought about?” Cassie nibbled on her thumbnail as she thought about something to put on the cake, a phrase or anything that would inspire him.

“Keep it simple,we don’t have to go for something profound.”

“No, it has to stand out. It must resonate,” Cassie clacked her fingers against the counter trying to think of a word.

“ It will,” Wendy reasoned, “ Need I remind you that this is the first birthday party he is having in years and it is coming from the girl he is crushing on right now? Just put what you suggested on the cake. It’ll mean the world to him.”

 “She has a point,” the man spoke up as Cassie pondered Wendy’s words.

 “I’ll second that,” the Titan woman added.

 “ I see your point Wendy, okay. We’ll put that in. Red should be the colour, it only seems right on a cake where the colours are mainly white, red and brown,” Cassie confirmed the decision as she added the final inputs to the cake design.

“Thank you,” the Titan woman replied as she took the tablet back.

“Just leave your contact details with us, we’ll give you a call when the cake is ready to be collected.”

“Will do,” Cassie said as she passed her phone number to her.

“I’ll be heading back, Alvin must be wondering what’s taking so long,”

“Just tell him it's lady business and he’ll accept it,” Cassie advised her as she placed Wendy on the ground.  

“ Already planning on that,” Wendy laughed as she ran back to the shop.

Cassie watched her dash out of the shop before turning towards the man and Titan at the counter, all smiles as she thought about what they had done. So clandestine, yet to her it would be worth the trouble to see Alvin smile.

*******

“What took you so long?” Alvin quizzed Wendy as she ran back, looking quite out of breath from wherever she had been.

“Lady business,” she answered.

“So why are you panting? It’s that tiring-”

He was stopped by the shopkeeper tapping him on the shoulder, “ Son, I learnt it's best not to question a woman about such intimate things.”

Alvin’s brow creased as he wondered what meant but he got the message and abandoned that line of questioning.

“Sorry about,” he apologised to Wendy who accepted it with a gentle nod.

“Apology accepted big brother and boy do you look fantastic. I’m sure any girl with a brain cell would be hard pressed to think otherwise!” She grinned.

“ Great,” Alvin turned to the elderly gentleman, glad he had found the suit.

“ We’ll take this one,” he said proudly.

 

 

“Are you ready?” Cassie’s voice called out from beyond the ivory coloured bathroom door.

 

“Just a bit more,” Alvin hollered back as adjusted his bow. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt like a bag of nerves over his dressing. The track meet sprung to mind, the weight of an entire school on his shoulders came to mind. Compared to now, it felt like a feather.

 

“I don’t want to look ugly at prom.”

 

“Doubt it, you’ve never had a bad day,” Cassie shot back, flattering Alvin instantly.

 

Alvin stood in the bathroom, designed for non-Titans as he put on the rented tuxedo Wendy was with Cassie and he hadn’t expected to see the girls until they were ready and being girls, that would probably be more than the hour they had estimated for him. Which is why he  was frankly shocked at how quick Cassie had been to get ready. She was the one waiting impatiently? That was a first for girls anywhere.

 

He looked at himself in the half length mirror, smiling contently to himself. The spectre of Patricia loomed over him for tomorrow he would return to his old home; where his evil stepmother awaited him. It was comforting to know that she wouldn’t be trying any of her old tricks on him, she was in debt and he was her lifeline. She needed him  a lot more than he needed of her. Hopefully she remembered that fact.

 

Fortunately he didn’t have to think about that for now, there were plenty of wonderful things to distract him from such unpleasantries.  

 

He turned gingerly towards the door and held on to it and almost jumped out, full of excitement and vigour for the dance.

 

He stood at the railings of the walkway that led to the toilet, level with Cassie’s waist. She wore a scarlet dress that clung to her lithe figure, showing just about enough cleavage to keep it classy. The mere hint of it was not missed by Alvin whose heart rate spiked upon glimpsing these peaks.

 

Cassie twisted and struck a pose in front of Alvin, hands on her hips and feeling chuffed about things. Everything until now was set up for him, she told herself. He was turning eighteen and she would not let the day pass without giving him a good time.

 

“ Doesn’t someone look good! Mmmm….” Cassie said in a tone normally reserved for food.

 

She plucked him off the walkway and held him close to her lips where air pouring out from her nostrils glided through Alvin’s hair.

 

“ You look even better up close. Has anyone ever told you that?” Cassie chuckled. Alvin couldn’t help but do the same. Both looked into each other’s eye, hearts a flutter. Was this the moment? Alvin hoped so, Cassie had lifted him so close to those fleshy cushions that he just wanted it done now.

 

“Up close is where you’ll see the pimples and flaws on my face,” Alvin teased.

 

“I don’t see it,” Cassie countered. Her tongue was peeking out from her lips like a turtle head before sliding back inside. She didn’t need that for what she had in mind. However if she and Alvin wanted to do something post-dance, she knew how to incorporate some tongue action.

 

“ A handsome, intelligent and compassionate eighteen year old man,” she spoke slowly to savour the moment, time seemed to flow like molasses for the two lovebirds.

 

Alvin’s heartbeat quickened as she paused, lower lip bit as she weighed up her options. She could do it here, in the privacy of her own home or if she were keen, in the

 

 “Deserves to celebrate his birthday with his closest friends, family and...girlfriend.”

 

Cassie took the plunge and pulled Alvin into her waiting lips. They obliged her as Alvin was engulfed by them, his face and chest being worked by Cassie’s passionate kiss. Cassie moaned a little.

 

For Alvin, the rise up told him enough and he pressed his lips against Cassie’s chin to reciprocate. It was nowhere close to the physical magnitude that Cassie brought as a Titan but he had hunch she knew. Her plush pink lips massaged him and right now, Alvin could feeling a part him growing stiff.

 

 “ OOOOHHHH…” Cassie moaned as she continued to kiss, slowly as she savoured the moment. You only got one first kiss with a person and she knew it well enough, Alvin was going to get the best she could deliver.

 

 Alvin tried his best to match up to what he thought Cassie would get but he never got the chance to ‘hone’ his craft here. It was a side effect that came with being forever single but no more. From the sounds Cassie made though, he knew he was doing something right as they locked lips for what felt like an eternity.

 

When Cassie finally did lift her head to end their maiden kiss, Alvin was high on love.

 

“Happy birthday Alvin,” she wished him cordially.

 

“ Oh it already is,” Alvin said droopily. He expected cake but this easily made up for years of mediocre birthdays.In fact, this was easily his favourite one. Even someone pouring pig’s blood on him at prom wouldn’t change that.

 

Cassie chuckled and carried him over to her table where the next part was waiting for them in the form of an impatient Wendy carrying a birthday cake with a solitary candle.

 

“ Don’t tell me,” she tapped her foot looking a little irritable in the face.

 

“You guys kissed?”

 

The sudden , near synchronised flushing of pale Caucasian cheeks from both parties told her everything.

 

“ Left me here for a good ten minutes. I’m still surprised you haven’t sucked Alvin’s face off.”

 

“Well…”she looked up at them. While they had snogged like a pair of lovebirds or however lovebirds showed affection, she was left hanging with a cake in her hands. She knew what to tell them.

 

Her scowl shifted as she said the words on her mind, the very words they deserved to hear.

 

“Congratulations! And a happy birthday Al!”

 

She set the cake down on a smaller table where Alvin soon joined her once Cassie let him down.

 

“So...how was it?” she asked Alvin as Cassie and him took a seat. He was still blushing and his face seemed to have a reflective sheen to it. Wendy thought she detected a hint of mint on him even though he never used mint scented cologne. In fact, Alvin never used any form of cologne or deodorant at all.

 

“ A gentleman never kisses and tells,” Alvin smiled to her.

 

“Oh you can tell her,” Cassie chipped in.

 

“I’m not used to this,” Alvin answered as Wendy lit the candle with a tiny neon lighter. It wasn’t made for an Amazon but fortunately, Wendy was able to work it well enough.

 

“Usually the girl gets mad if her guy starts describing their intimate times,” he looked apprehensively at the two girls. Wendy shrugged her shoulders and looked back sans the apprehension Alvin had.

 

“ I won’t but-” Cassie started but to her amazement, Alvin actually followed through.

 

“  You were heavenly, like an angel blessing a weary pilgrim. A hint of sweetness with just the right dash of romance to make it a classic,” Alvin imitated a wine connoisseurs mannerisms and speech as he delivered his review.

 

“ Well played!” Cassie guffawed, her laughter a delight to his ears.

 

“ Okay...I’m just happy both of you found love in each other,” Wendy rolled her eyes at the corniness of it all. To think, this had flown under the radar after so many years of living under one roof.

 

 The two girls then proceeded to do a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ to Alvin who grinned goofily from ear to ear as the girls sang.

 

“Make a wish,” Wendy reminded him as he leaned towards the cake with his lips puckered.

 

 Alvin thought about a wish, something he wanted to have. Right now, there wasn’t much to ask for; he already had plenty. Alvin thought about Wendy, watching him with great anticipation. She had been the devil to him for so long but right now, she treated him like a brother she loved. That was good enough.

 

He looked up at Cassie, sitting as close as to them as she could. Her dress formed a bright red backdrop for the little party . She started as an antagonist, morphed into his best friend and finally, evolved into his girlfriend. She was attractive, never mind that she the most popular girl at school; she had what most people would call inner beauty to match her appearance. That he knew from what she had done for him.

 

 With all that, he knew what to wish for. He puffed his cheeks and blew gently.

 

The candle was extinguished swiftly, smoke from the charred wick floating up as per the laws of physics while Alvin gripped the plastic cake knife and proceeded to cut a slice for Wendy.

 

“ I’ll pass on the cake if that’s alright with you.I doubt I could even taste something smaller than my fingernail,” Cassie spoke to Alvin with an impish smile.

 

“I could throw it into your mouth,” Alvin counter offered but Cassie put that idea down with a definitive shake of her head.

 

“ So uncivilized. Not today anyway, you two should enjoy the cake.”

 

So they did, each eating about two slices and leaving about two fifths of the cake left.

 

“It's wonderful, both of you chose a very good cake,” Alvin wiped his cake stained lips with a napkin provided by Wendy.

 

“ Should we go to prom now? Or should we be fashionably late?” Alvin asked both of them, partly rhetorical in nature.

 

“ Umm...no harm being punctual,” Cassie answered as she stood up.

 

“Guess this is it, the point of no return for you two,” Wendy commented  brazenly.

 

“ Give your sissy a hug before you go Al,” Wendy extended her meaty arms out to him lovingly.

 

Alvin didn’t hesitate to take her up on the offer,they’d gone past the second guessing each other phase of their relationship already. Despite coming up to her hip, he was able to firmly hug his step sister lovingly.

 

Wendy had to bend over to do so but it wasn’t awkward at all, right now it just felt natural.

 

As for Cassie, it was like looking at a Hallmark card; sentimental but in all the right places.

 

Once Alvin let go of  Wendy and climbed up on Cassie’s palm as she placed him on her shoulder for safety.

 

“You can still come, the gym is big enough for the three of us,” Cassie offered Wendy a chance to follow them.

 

“Nah,” Wendy waved it away politely.

 

“I’d hate to be a third wheel here. You guys need to be together without me butting in. Prom night is couples night!” She said eagerly.

 

“I’ll binge watch Suska Oni until you guys come back or I fall asleep; whichever comes first!”

 

**********

 

 Prom at FDR High always took place in the school gymnasium unless it coincided with some major milestone in the school’s lifetime. This was not one of those years so the mixed gymnasium, made for students of all sizes was decorated just for prom.

 

 The area had been segregated into Titan and non-Titan areas for safety, thick lines of white tape marking out which zones were which under the powerful radiant lights of the gymnasium. Important as Titans could unwittingly crush a smaller person underneath their foot if they did not watch; and people rarely did while caught up in the fervor of prom.

 

The walls were decorated in blue and white , as expected of the school.

 

It was supposed to be bustling with everyone minding their own business but that ceased as Cassie strode in confidently with Alvin sitting on her shoulder.It was like a fairytale ball, every other person in the room stopping to stare at the beautiful princess, an invisible hand turning their heads at that exact moment. All that could be heard was the slow dance music no one was bobbing to right now.

 

Alvin saw all of them, Titan and non-Titan alike staring at them, as if they were  a strange sight. He could even spot a few people pointing and mumbling to their friends, gawking at them.

 

“ Hmm...do you have something on your face?” Alvin leaned towards Cassie’s ear.

 

“No, they’re just surprised about my prom date. Usually everyone knows but I only told a few people this time,” Cassie smiled politely at everyone. Fortunately she spotted Nadya and Jamila in a corner and casually sauntered over to them; getting stared at was hardly daunting for her.

 

“ Wow….” Jamila squeaked as she embraced Cassie. Unlike her, Jamila appeared to have no date for the evening.

 

“ Yeah...wow,” Cassie repeated, quite amused by the reception they got.

 

“You really know how-OW- to -make-” Nadya stuttered as she clamped her legs together as if she needed to pee. She gently tapped her groin, her breaths coming in short while she took in deep, slow breaths to ease herself.

 

“An entrance,” Nadya exhaled breathily, blowing a stray strand of dark hair back into its place.

 

“I have to ask you Nads, for his safety,” Cassie eyed the statuesque Titan, the former only coming up to Nadya’s nose.

 

“You sure he can breathe in there?”

 

Nadya nodded, “ I’m not wearing the most fitting pair today,” she smiled knowingly Alvin who blushed and nodded back at her.

 

“Who is the lucky guy?” he asked her, not entirely sure of Nadya’s taste in men.

 

“ Someone from the track team. Fat boy who moves like a cheetah. He asked me out a day ago, said he didn’t have a date and I said yes. So here we are, or at least I am. He’s busying enjoying the sights of the Russian forest.”

 

“Aren’t you?” She gave her cooch another pat for emphasis.

 

“Try not to fall over while dancing,” Jamila cautioned her, Nadya rolling her eyes at that. She had never once fallen while  dancing.

 

 “Hey Jamila, where’s your date?” Alvin asked, suddenly noticing Jamila wasn’t with anyone.

 

Jamila shrugged her shoulders, “ Don’t know, guess I haven’t met him yet. No seriously, I just didn’t feel like bringing a boy along. Got plenty of time for that.”

 

“You have a point,” Alvin commented. Cassie soon shifted the conversation back to Nadya’s crotch companion and their prom plans.

 

“ I’ll take my boyfriend here and dance away from you,” Cassie pushed Nadya back slightly who chuckled.

 

 “Don’t hurt her Al, or you’ll have us to deal with.” She blew Alvin a kiss.

 

“Got it, wouldn’t even dream of hurting Cassie,” he replied, the message gotten through.

 

By now, almost everyone had returned back to their own conversations instead of staring at Cassie and Alvin; it was a pity then that one person hadn’t stopped. He would sip from a flask he surreptitiously brought to the dance, getting steadily more inebriated as the clock ticked. Unfortunately for Alvin, he was six feet tall, captain of the football team and rather displeased Alvin was with his ex-girlfriend. The only consolation was that his time hadn’t come, at least not yet.However, he was close to it.

 

“ You know how to dance?” Cassie placed Alvin in her cupped hands, gently swaying to the club music.

 

 “ I can dance, just not very good at it,” he replied. Alvin never really practiced, until now he couldn’t imagine a scenario where he actually had to swing.

 

“ That makes this a lot easier,” Cassie grinned and pressed Alvin’s entire body against her chest. The base of her palm was tilted just enough to prevent Alvin from falling off while the natural curve of her bosom did the rest. Thankfully Cassie was just curvy enough for this pose to work.

 

“ This makes being a shitty dancer worth it,” Alvin cried out, his voice muffled by Cassie’s palm.

 

“ Oh yes,” Cassie answered, just about understanding him.

 

This was one of the less risque ways of dancing intimately with a non-Titan. Other methods would include utilizing the natural cleavage of the Titan to hold the smaller partner in place while she jigged and that was just the tip of the iceberg; there were plenty of spots on a Titan’s body when it came to holding a person down. Cassie just didn’t want to escalate things so quickly, she wasn’t that kind of Titan who would stuff her date down her top on their first date just to let him get second base.

 

Alvin could feel Cassie’s body heat radiating all around, the overpowering scent of her lemongrass shower gel mixing with her natural smell intoxicating to him. Resting against her mounds was simply perfect; he was right at that sweet spot where her dress made way for flesh. In his ears he could hear her heart, pulsating more frequently than it ought to have been but given the circumstances, Alvin knew why. His arms were embracing her mounds to complete the sensory overload. If he had to choose one position for the rest of his life, this would be a good candidate.

 

They danced, oblivious to the rest of the world. All around them were mixed sized couples dancing, most of them adopting a similar dance pose. There were even a few Titan-Titan couples together. All bobbing along slowly as they enjoyed the company of their dates.

 

 At one point Cassie had to suppress a laugh when Nadya’s partner made her bump into Jamila who was dancing with a random boy.The sudden shove nearly caused the redhead to crush a small table as she tried . Thankfully her foot landed several feet to the right of anything breakable.

 

Jamila smacked Nadya on the back of her head for that as Cassie watched Nadya get told off. She was just relieved not to have been around for that, an angry Jamila was a force to be reckoned with.

 

 Eventually even the dances had to come to a pause as the principal, a middle aged brunette Titan by the name of Eleanor came up carrying an envelope. Next to her was a younger brunette Titan girl carrying a little tray on which were two crowns, one Titan sized and one normal. There was a collective murmur from the crowd upon the larger of the two crowns being revealed, everyone knew who that would go to.

 

Cassie looked up, pulling Alvin away.

 

“So soon?” Alvin asked.

 

“ Yeah, I got a crown to wear. I’ll need to get it alone but I’ll be right back once it's done.”

“Of course my queen,” Alvin bowed to her jokingly.

 

“ Now that deserves a-”

 

Cassie was interrupted by the principal, speaking through a microphone in her hand.

 

“ Good evening seniors of FDR High,” she spoke with a strong sense of decorum. Principal Eleanor Reese never let her hair down while she was on the job, that kind of thing would have been unprofessional.

 

“ I can see you’re all enjoying yourselves so I’ll keep this short. The time has come for the school to crown its newest Prom King and Prom Queen!”

 

She paused just in time for a barrage of cheers and whistles ringing out from the crowd, all eager to see the coronation happen.

 

Eleanor opened it, pulling out a single card upon which two names were written.

 

“ Our Prom King for 2023 will be…..” She dragged it to create tension, as she had seen on numerous reality shows.

 

“.....Liam Eastwood!”

 

As before, there were plenty of cheers, particularly from his boorish friends as a drunk looking Liam was ushered on to the stage, where he was picked up by Eleanor who noted the obvious inebriated look. Not wanting to spoil it, she faked a congratulatory smile as he was picked up and placed on the tray where his golden, round crown with the archetypal rounded spikes was placed on his head.

 

“Congratulations Liam.” Liam pumped his fists in the air, running through the motions. All this while he kept his gaze on Cassie who rolled her eyes at his drunken behaviour ; it was so typical of him to get drunk like this.What she did not notice was Liam staring at a particular person on her; had she seen that then Cassie would done a few things differently.

 

“ Now for your queen…” Eleanor could hear a few names being shouted by various girls but there was only one name that was shouted more than the others.

 

“ Your Prom Queen for 2023 is…..Cassie Gissel!”

 

Cheers rang out, far louder than what Liam got as Cassie hurried on up the stage where a matching crown was placed on top of her head.

 

There was the unsavoury matter of having to hold Liam in her hand while the school photographer snapped photos but she put on her best stiff upper lip while holding the little turd.

 

“ Hey Cass, wadya say we go back to- hic!” Liam’s voice slurred as Cassie looked on with disgust.

 

She wasted no time in putting him down but suddenly her throat felt parched.Without telling Alvin, she hurried off to the drinks table but there she was held up by Nadya and Jamila who were busy congratulating her.

 

This meant Alvin was alone.

 

He didn’t know what was coming until he spotted Liam right in front, madder than the Hulk on a bad day.

 

“You…” he jabbed a meaty finger into Alvin’s chest.

 

“Yeah?” Alvin stepped back, sidestepping him but Liam advanced on him.

 

“ You took her from me,” Liam grabbed Alvin’s vest and hauled him in, Alvin tried to break out but Liam had him in his grasp.

 

“I’m the football captain , you’re just a guy who knows to run. Girls don’t like runners, they like a man who can fight; someone who is gorgeous and who at least is in her league. You don’t deserve her.” Alvin feared he would turn violent in his uninhibited state. Again, no one gave a damn and Cassie was too far away to help.

 

“Look...Liam is it? I think Cassie mentioned you. She dumped you and now she is with me. I understand why you’re pissed about losing her, I would be too if I let someone like her slip through my fingers,” Alvin said calmly and slowly to avoid aggravating the enraged beast.

 

“ You gotta move on, there are other girls out there.You look good, you could have anyone. We just got to respect Cassie’s decis-” Alvin was close to the end but Liam wouldn’t have it, throwing a punch right into Alvin’s face.

 

His blow connected instantly and knocked Alvin off his feet and he landed on the ground.

 

“Oh come on!” Alvin touched his nose, wincing at the mere touch. It was wet too, Alvin guessed it was both broken and bleeding from it and Liam was not done.

 

He yelled something incomprehensible as he threw a football tackle in but Alvin was able to dodge that.

 

“ You coward! Come back and-” He yelped the last bit as a hand grabbed him off the ground, only stopping when Liam was looking right into the furious visage of Principal Eleanor, her piercing blue eyes burning bright with anger and disgust.

 

“ I was willing to overlook you coming in drunk Mr. Eastwood but this? Assaulting another student? No, this I cannot allow” her stern voice rattled his chest.

 

“ I don’t give a-” Eleanor’s fist closed up around him as she silenced his attempt at a poorly thought out rebuttal.

 

“ Sorry Alvin, I should have removed him when I saw how drunk he was. I’ll get the school nurse in,” she smiled sweetly at him.

 

“No problem, maybe get Cassie over here,” he groaned with his head titled back. Last thing he needed was blood stains on the tuxedo; that would take forever to get off.

 

 “She isn’t hard to spot, look for the prettiest girl in school wearing a crown,” Alvin wheezed. What a night, he thought.

While the punch hurt, Alvin was relieved to know that his nose would recover quickly and he wouldn’t be disfigured for life. The school nurse had assured him that much. Alvin accepted it as he and Cassie moved to a quieter spot. Nadya and Jamila wanted to follow but Cassie had insisted on this being a couple’s moment.

 

“ That asshole!” Her fist slammed against the wooden structure which creaked upon being hit.

 

“ I should have been there. He was such a worm today, we haven’t been dating for months and he had the cheek to ask me out and then attack my boyfriend!”

 

“ I’d love to see what you’d have done to him,” Alvin consoled her lightly, he could see the worry in her eyes.

 

 “I’d have flicked him off you like the piece of dirt he is! Oh how dare. He is just lucky Principal Reese got to him before I did,” Cassie huffed, folding her arms against her chest.

 

“Totally different from what Wendy would do, she’d be a bit more violent. Probably use a wrestling move or two on him,” Alvin joked. He didn’t want one man’s stupid decision to spoil their evening. Cassie just seemed to taking it worse than him and he was on the receiving end of a punch.

 

 “ I’m just thankful Principal Reese got there in time. How long did she take?” Alvin thought he saw tears forming but Cassie blinked and when these eyes opened again, they were clear again.

“Oh don’t beat yourself up,” Alvin felt the plaster on his nose bridge. It was time to stop this woeful talk and move back to more pleasant.

 

“ I’m in one piece. Maybe a little uglier but it's still been a great day. Just promise me there aren’t any more exes like that out there.”

 

Cassie  pulled him off her lap and gave him a kiss on the head, “There aren’t. Liam is the only one who acts like a gorilla when things that don’t go his way.”

She kissed him again, gentler given his injury  as they locked eyes.

 

“You’re definitely not uglier; even now you’re the cutest of all the guys I dated. Obviously the smartest , you wouldn’t make a Uranus joke like Liam did for weeks.”

 

“I hear it's pretty nice this time of the year, we should visit.”

 

Alvin couldn’t resist as Cassie groaned, overestimating him.

 

“OKAY, you can make that joke,” she laughed earnestly.

 

“ That’s the last time you’ll hear it, I don’t want to have the comic intelligence of an ape.”

 

“Speaking of apes, tomorrow you’re moving back in with Patricia. You want me to be there? Just in case your evil stepmother tries anything funny,” Cassie asked.

 

“ Wendy can handle her but you’re welcome to come, it’ll be great,” Alvin replied. After everything that happened, moving back into his old home seemed strangely more palatable.

 

 

Wendy slammed her luggage shut, breathing a very relieved sigh. She had meant to pack the night before but told herself she had time; Suska Oni wouldn’t take long. She gave herself a goal of packing every single article of clothing into her suitcase after one season but  one season turned into another and it ended with her passed out in front of her laptop, only nudged awake by Cassie at about two in the morning. By then it was too late to actually do it so she just washed up and went back to bed.

So it  was only done at seven thirty in the morning and Wendy was still sleep deprived, as seen by the bags under her eyes. Cassie was up too, not wishing to be late for Alvin’s return home.

Going back should have been something to be excited about but while she wasn’t dreading it, there was a big emotional hole in her chest. She’d have to face Patricia again and while the woman had been put in her place, Wendy still wasn’t keen to see her again. Something about the extreme parental negligence coupled with the fact that they were linked by blood made Wendy uncomfortable with the whole arrangement.

 She considered moving in permanently with Cassie but with college on the horizon for her and also for Alvin, that meant actually living with Cassie’s parents. They were good people, perhaps the kind of parents she ought to have gotten but she felt it would have been a burden on them to support, especially when she actually had options to consider before this; their acceptance of her and Alvin was already a big deal to her.

 “ Something bothering you?” Cassie asked, standing over Wendy, her hip lightly brushing against the edge of the table.

 “Just thinking about how all of this is over. Us being roomies and me having to see that….woman,” she nearly gagged at having to mention Patricia.

 “ Living under one roof with her will be a blast,” Wendy huffed as she lifted the suitcase.

 Cassie extended a hand out as Wendy climbed on, feeling concerned for her friend.

“ I am sure she’ll treat you better,” Cassie assured Wendy.

“If not you can always report her for throwing you out. You at least have that over her,” she further reminded Wendy as they passed through the living room where Alvin was. He at least looked enthusiastic for their return home.

 “ That I do. Lets hope I never have to use it, I’d hate to throw my own mother in jail; even if after all the crap she’s pulled,” Wendy said as Alvin climbed on, his own suitcase filled to the brim with his clothes and other possessions.

 “ Let me give you a hand with that,” Wendy said as she took Alvin’s luggage.

“Thanks Wendy.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied.

“Ready?” Cassie looked down at them over the swells of her chest which rose and fell with each breath.

“I’ll miss this place, plenty of good memories here. First kiss…” Alvin gushed. He would have said it felt like yesterday but it was literally yesterday that he shared his first ever lip lock with Cassie. To say it now would have been overly cheesy.

“ And what else?” Cassie probed further.

“ You know what else but I think we shouldn’t act like its the end of an era. No, this is just the beginning!”

That was more directed at Wendy than Cassie, the former perking up when she heard this.

“ The beginning of the end. I don’t know how I’ll manage with you two at college gaining knowledge. You better teach me how to clean the house soon or it’ll be a pig sty when you come home,” Wendy joked.

 “ Damn I nearly forgot. Right now I’m imagining Patricia living in her own filth,” Alvin shuddered at that thought. Being the only person who ever did chores in that house, he wasn’t sure if Patricia even knew the difference between a mop and a broom.

 “She can’t be that bad when it comes to chore can she?” Cassie’s brow shot up, skeptical over the pair’s claims.

 “ I can vouch for that. I once saw her scrubbing the floor with a toilet brush,” Wendy gagged at the mental imagery of Patricia doing house cleaning. It felt so unnatural.

 “ Then we better get going, you might not even have a house left!” Cassie said jokingly as she placed the pair on her shoulders.

**********

“It's still there. Whatever she messed can’t be too bad right? ” Cassie commented as she placed Alvin and Wendy on the pavement just outside the house. Alvin’s walkway came with a Titan section, good for today or else Cassie would have been prohibited from even entering his neighbourhood. It was never a guarantee that Titans could enter any area, the lack of a Titan path often meant they had to avoid the area or risk severe penalties if caught. It usually came in the form of a hefty fine or jail time if there was any harm done to the neighbourhood and its denizens.

“ Yeah it is but Patricia isn’t,” Alvin scratched his head, wondering where Patricia was. He had remembered to text her the night before, reminding her to open the door. She had promised him in an almost scared tone she would be waiting for him at nine o’clock sharp. It was ten past nine and she was not even there.

“ She must have overslept,” Wendy tsked at that thought. She couldn’t even wake up on time, no wonder she got fired from her job. On the other hand, she wasn’t too surprised by this, she had known Patricia to oversleep more often than she ought to; even when she was still working at Bonheur.

“ I’ll call her, she might have forgotten that she’s a parent,” Wendy slipped out her phone and reluctantly dialled Patricia’s number.

 She waited impatiently for her mother to pick up, every passing second further evidence of how little cared about their return. Odd when she was depending on Alvin’s money to keep herself afloat but then very little she did now made sense to Wendy.

 “Oh come on,” Wendy tapped her foot repeatedly against the cracked pavement, sounding very displeased by Patricia’s tardiness.

 “ Hello?” A tired voice spoke on the other end.

 “Hello mother, aren’t you forgetting something?”

  “Oh crap!” Patricia suddenly remembered as she hung up.

  “She’ll be down soon,” Wendy said to the others, miffed by Patricia’s irresponsible behaviour.

    Patricia did show up about six minutes from Wendy’s call, her hair wild from a lack of combing and very large bags under her eyes. She completed the fresh out of bed look with a bright pink robe as she strode lazily to the pavement to meet the trio.

  “ I am…” She stopped as she looked at the tanned pillars that were Cassie’s legs, then craned her neck up towards the Titan who simply offered her friendliest smile. She meant it too, the events of the past weren’t weighing on her mind at the moment.

Patricia took a step back, their last encounter weighing on her mind at the moment. She didn’t understand why they brought their attack bitch, was it to scare her? They already got what they wanted; or did they plan to have Cassie smash the house in for shits and giggle?

 “...sorry,” Patricia swallowed loudly at the sight of Cassie.

“ Don’t mind me, I just thought I’d accompany my dear friends for their homecoming. You don’t have to worry too much, just doing typical girlfriend stuff,” Cassie waved down at her in a friendly manner.

 “Oh,” Patricia glanced at Alvin and then back at Cassie. They were a couple? It made sense, Patricia thought. Why she had to endure that horrid session with her two weeks ago. It was all so clear to now, the giant bimbo was in love with her loser stepson.

“That’s wonderful,” Patricia cranked out a smile as she embraced Alvin with a cold and unpassionate hug.

 She did the same to Wendy who tensed up despite Patricia only coming to her hip,the insincerity of it was overwhelming.  

 “ It is, Cassie took us in and what a blessing in disguise it was! Gave us the time we needed together,” he touched Cassie’s bare ankle and patted it.

 “ How wonderful,” Patricia answered dully.

  “ I suppose I should thank for looking after the little ones.”

  “No need for that but now that Alvin and I together, expect to see more of me around. I’ll be keeping him close to my heart and that means I’ll be dropping him off and picking him up for dates. Don’t be surprised if you see me around the neighbourhood and if you do, you can always come up to say hi. I love to get to know my boyfriend’s parents more.”

Patricia looked straight up at Cassie, who wasn’t even bothering to kneel down when addressing a non-Titan like her. It felt rude but Patricia knew what she was playing at. It was so obvious a person living under a rock could tell what was going on.

 “ I-I look forward to it. You’ll be welcome here any time. Just don’t expect me to invite you inside for drinks. We don’t have a house big enough for you.”

Cassie glanced over at the house, it hardly came up to her knees by her estimates. Down below, Wendy rolled her eyes at Patricia’s attempt at banter. She considered telling off Patricia but held back from it.

  Cassie chuckled heartily, throwing her head back.

 “Good point but I am sure you could always come over to mine. Plenty of space there.”

  “ We’ll see,” Patricia answered pointedly before repeating her reply once more.

  “Anyway I think I’ll take over from here. I think the kids have a lot of unpacking to do.”

 “ That we do but maybe we could meet up later? For lunch or even dinner depending on how things go?” Alvin asked Cassie.

 “ Alright, keep me posted guys. And Alvin…” Cassie blew him a kiss, which he of course he caught with both hands.

  “ Love you,” she said before turning away. Alvin watched her walk off, her house sized buttocks jiggling with each step. She may have been a cheerleader with a toned body but her bum still had a decent amount of curves on it.

  “ I see you like big butts,” Patricia commented.

  “ Yeah I like what I see,” Alvin replied cheekily as they set off for the house, Wendy carrying both suitcases. They did so silently, the only sound coming from the jangling of keys as Patricia took them out from her robes to unlock the door. Neither party had much to say to each other beyond the bare minimum.

  “Welcome home,” she breathed heavily as her children shuffled past her. Wendy headed straight upstairs for her room.

  Alvin stopped a few steps in, looking around for signs of damage in the area. He inspected the walls and furniture for signs of damage. To his relief, they were just dusty. Very dusty but it was something he could fix with a good amount of housecleaning.

 “ Glad to see you kept the house in one piece. It's not the disaster zone I imagined it would be,” Alvin said to Patricia.

 “Oh please, I know how to maintain a house,” Patricia snarled at him.

  “ It's dusty but we’ll get it clean. All of us,” Alvin reminded her of her new position. She would not lord over him anymore, those days were long gone.

 “ Yes yes of course,” Patricia growled as she went to the living room before plopping down in a sofa. Alvin watched her turn the television on before he went back up. He had plenty of unpacking to do.

 Climbing up the stairs, he saw his room door, Wendy’s was just down the hallway where he could hear grunts which he assumed to be her unpacking and folding her clothes.

“ Is my suitcase in my room?” He called out to Wendy.

 “Yep,” Wendy hollered back.

  “ Awesome,” Alvin replied as he turned the doorknob and went back to his room for the first time since leaving.

  He took in a deep breath, the air was musty but it wasn’t repulsive. His bed was as it was, neatly folded and his messy study table was untouched from the moment he left. Alvin threw himself on to his bed, it felt a lot more comfortable than he remembered. Not as hard as before, a lot softer and welcoming than before.

 “ Feels good to be home,” he said to himself as he just lay there, just looking up at the plain ceiling. For the first time since his father’s passing, his heart was now where his home was.

   

 

 

High school graduations are a strange affair. A largely ceremonial end to the teenage phase of a person’s life where one’s achievements are laid out and then celebrated with your closest friends; to be looked back at as the best time of your life many years later.

 

 FDR’s graduation ceremonies always took place out in the open and the school’s own football field was used to house the event with a makeshift stage made for the annual event. It was reusable which was always appealing when it came to balancing the school’s budget.

 

With that, Alvin ought to have known better when it came to his own graduation. His life in high school had been rather unremarkable until the last few months when Cassie entered his life. He remembered being a solitary person , not even a wallflower was an apt description.

 

  Prom marked his first and last school event and if not for his heroics at the track final, most of the school would not even known he existed. He knew few people beyond Wendy’s and her quartet, his track team and finally, Cassie and her inner circle. These were the people who knew him but only Wendy and Cassie knew him best of all. They had seen him at his highest and lowest and that was all he needed right now for graduation ,being with the two girls.

 

 “ Mum didn’t want to come. Actually, I don’t even think she knows you’re graduating,” Wendy said in an apologetic tone. Alvin chuckled mirthlessly. Of course she didn’t or rather wouldn’t come for this. She had no emotional investment in his life at all. Why bother showing up for this after all that?

 

 It didn’t bother him much, Patricia would probably rain on his parade with her stormy demeanour as it was. All he needed was Wendy who was eyeing him since Alvin was now in his bright blue graduation robes. They were a little long for him, dragging against the floor but it didn’t matter.

 

 “ It suits you,” Wendy remarked with one finger on her chin, gauging his fashion sense.

 

 “This thing? It itches.” As if right on cue, Alvin moved to scratch an itch on his outer thigh. These robes were always loaned to the student for their graduation. It certainly beat buying them for the exorbitant price of one hundred dollars; no point splurging so much for something you’d only use once.

 

 “ Heh, next year will be my turn to wear these scratchy things,” she rubbed her hand against his the sleeve, noting its rough texture. She had done tied her back in a simple ponytail while wearing a sleeveless dress that showed off her toned and slightly muscular arms.

  “ Have you seen Cassie? Or even my track buddies” Alvin looked around for them, expecting to show up. He had come earlier than the expected time but even so, there had to be at least a few of them around.

 

 “ Hey Alvin!” Alvin turned in the direction of the loud and boisterous voice to see Kelvin back. His crew cut had lost the neat look it had a month prior, his blonde hair drooping down the sides of his head. Behind him were Timothy, sporting a broad grin on his face as the two boys surrounded him.

 

 “ Hey Wendy,” Kelvin flashed his winning smile at her. She smiled back at him, offering a polite greeting in response. They didn’t talk much although she had seen him looking every now and then. She didn’t mind, he was attractive.

 

 “ You look good, been working out?”

 

   “Yeah I have, got to keep in shape for wrestling or the bigger girls will flatten you,” Wendy chuckled, flexing her right bicep. It bulged out a fair bit, doubling in size which took Kelvin by surprise.

 

“ Wow…” That was all he could say. She may have been nine feet tall but that was still on the smaller side for Amazons as they could do up to fifteen feet. Even then there were rumours of larger ones as there was this myth going around about an eighteen foot Amazon in Russia working as an enforcer for the Russian mafia.

 

 “ Say, I don’t have plans for dinner. Perhaps you and I could have dinner together?”

 

 Alvin mouthed ‘wow’ to Timothy who gave him a knowing look as they watched Kelvin flirting with Wendy.

 

 “ I…” Wendy glanced at Alvin, forgetting her own brother was right there. This was very ballsy from him, most boys wouldn’t do this when a girl’s brother was there, especially not the sister of his friend. Alvin nodded, he didn’t have anything against Kelvin plus his    

 

“ I think that’s a good idea,” Wendy accepted his dinner date quickly.

 

 “ So this is it huh? The end of the line for us?” Timothy asked the two boys.

 

  “ I can’t say I know if it's the end of it or the start of something new. It feels alright though, being here with you guys,” Wendy said as she looked down at all three of them.

 

 “ Hah, maybe you are right. It's about being with the people you love. We should get to our seats soon, maybe sit close to the front so Cassie can see us.”

 

“ Aww…..” Timothy lightly nudged Alvin’s cheek with his knuckle.

 

 “ Of course we’ll make sure your hot valedictorian girlfriend can see you. What are bros for?”

 

 *********

 

  Cassie paced around backstage nervously, mumbling her speech to herself as her parents sat with her, her father Paul sitting between Karen’s legs where the fabric of her dress formed a little concave hammock for him.

 

 “ Don’t worry dear, you’ll be fine. Everyone knows you didn’t have enough time to write a speech. I think you’re actually .” Both he and Karen chuckled, Cassie giving a little smile as proof she had heard her father’s attempt at dialing back on the tension.

 

 “ I don’t want to slip up or actually slip and fall when they ask me to give the speech,” Cassie answered back, her mind only dwelling on her valedictorian. SATs she could handle, she had revised for them so many times she was practically reciting the answers during the exam itself.

 

Valedictorian was something else entirely as an admin error meant she was only given two hours notice instead of the standard seventy two hours. It was an open secret who would be getting it but Cassie was never the type to count unhatched chickens , putting off writing off any speech until the school actually informed her of it.

 

   She continued pacing , her feet making the occasional screech as her converse sneakers scraped against the wooden floor. She had already spent two hours in the bathroom getting ready, a good ten minutes spent trying every shade of lipstick she owned before she settled on a deep rouge.

 

  Having put so much thought into her personal hygiene, she wasn’t going to let something like a lack of a speech get to her.

 

 “ You’ll be fine Cassandra. You don’t have to make a long winding speech , sometimes a brief speech will be good enough. Especially if you have nothing much to say.”

 

  “ I...I could do that,” Cassie smiled appreciatively at Karen for the advice.

 

  She looked back at her pad where a couple of paragraphs had been hastily typed out. Her finger hovered over the backspace button before gently tapping it repeatedly before she changed her mind; she held it down and watched as the words disappeared to leave a white blank space.

 

 “ I can do better than that, I’ll wing it,” Cassie said to her parents.

 

  “ Don’t tell us,” Paul said quickly. He smiled proudly at Cassie, she had given them every reason to feel so on this day. Never one to give them a lot of trouble,she stayed in school and was too cool for drugs. She circumvented the terrible teenage years and used her drive and intelligence to achieve academic excellence on top of her feats with the cheerleading team. It helped that Cassie never let them know about her own problems but given how things turned out, she wasn't wrong to do so.

*************

 

 “ Sorry,” Wendy said to the annoyed parents and students as she shuffled past them. Her muscular thighs brushed against them, the stadium’s non-Titan section flooded with students and their families.

 

 She was annoyed with having to squeeze through the crowd but also due to sudden influx of people about half an hour before the event started, turning a vacuous still  stadium into a can of sardines. Why everyone decided to synchronise their arrival times was a total conundrum to her, it just made it a hot sweaty mess of things, worse when summer was upon them.

 

 “ I cannot believe the crowd here, I’m sitting with a Titan next time,” Wendy grumbled to Alvin.

 

  “ Maybe Katharine would let me sit with her when she graduates,” she referred to Alvin’s acquaintance.

 

  Alvin chuckled mirthfully, “ It's your graduation next year, you can sit wherever you want.”

 

  Wendy wanted to answer but at that moment, Principal Eleanor stepped on to the makeshift stage. She tapped the microphone twice, producing two deep booms emitted by the sound system. If anyone wasn’t giving their full attention to the stage, they were now. Her deep blue eyes scanned the audience, a thin smile on her lips as she saw each and every of her senior students.

 

 She greeted the audience, pouring praise on the achievements of the cohort, the standard words used at every graduation. It wasn’t empty praise, this was not a gang of delinquents or thugs. Eleanor was not one to sugar coat or hold back on criticism, she always cut straight to the point.

 

Alvin listened, half his mind on the speech while the other half scanned the Titan side for Cassie, they were supposed to head back to her place for some chill time after this.

 

  He expected his principal’s speech to last at least another five minutes before he got to hear from his favourite person. To his surprise though, she brought it to a close eighty seconds later.

 

 “ Now before we commence with the cap throwing , let's hear a few words from this year’s valedictorian, Cassandra Gissel!”

 

The entire student seemed to spring to life, clapping and cheering ecstatically as Cassie strode out from the back of the stage, giving a little wave to her peers in appreciation of the cheers.

 

 “Thank you,” she said to Principal Eleanor who nodded politely. Cassie turned back to the crowd, speaking into the thin microphone.

 

 “ So here we are, all of us finally wearing these stuffy robes.” A few jolly laughs could be heard among the crowd.

 

  “ It's the end of high school but it's not the end for us. It's the beginning of a long journey; a journey I hope we’ll embark on together. From college to the office and beyond, we’re going on an adventure. Where we’ll end up no one knows but I know that it’ll be something you will want to tell your grandkids about when you’re old and wrinkled.”

 

Cassie stopped to breathe, very pleased with her performance so far. She hadn’t stuttered, mispronounced or slipped up so far. Still, she didn’t want to keep people waiting too long. Looking at their half asleep and impatient faces, they wanted to celebrate now and not a moment later. She decided she would give it to them.

 

“I’m not going to give a lecture , don’t you worry. Just remember these words: Wherever life takes us from here, know that it's the greatest adventure you’ll ever go on!”

 

She pumped her fist in the air and right on cue, hundreds of senior students stood up and threw their caps in the air, celebrating the end of their high school journey.

 

Over at Alvin’s side, he hugged Wendy’s hips, embracing his sister lovingly like a brother.

 

 “ Aww…” Wendy cooed as she returned the hug.

 

 “ Congratulations on surviving high school,”she complimented him..

 

“ I’ll miss you in college, you’re the only person in the house I can talk to right now.”

 

 Alvin let go of Wendy, looking up at her, a little concerned but he had faith things would turn out okay.

 

 “ Give yourself some time, you definitely won’t be BFFs with your mother so soon. Besides, I’m going to Tannhauser and it's about 30 minutes by bus. Less if Cassie walks me there.”

 Wendy chuckled, “ Heard you gave up a scholarship at Princeton just to be with your lovebird.”

 

 “ Actually I still got one, Tannhauser never offered me one because they didn’t think I’d accept. So I’ll still be on a sports scholarship in the end.”

 

 Wendy laughed, trust Alvin to come up with a solution that always worked out in the end.

 

  “ Let’s go find Cassie before her fans swarm her.”

 

*****************

 

“Cassie, this is my cousin Katerina. She’s Russian, old Russian. ” Nadya said with more enthusiasm than Cassie was accustomed to.

 

 After her speech, Cassie had excused herself to go and see Nadya and bask in the warmth of their graduation. She hadn’t expected one of her enigmatic family members to actually be present.

 

 Cassie directed her eyes at the slim, beautiful Russian woman standing before her. Not quite as tall as Nadya who loomed over the other Titans she was a couple of feet shorter than Cassie. Still above the average height for a Titan. Even so, she projected a presence that could dominate even the largest of Titans. Cassie was further impressed by Katerina’s clothes, a creamy silk blouse that seemed so delicate it could tear at the slightest mishap and an off white skirt that stopped just above her knees. All of the complemented her glowing complexion along with her amber eyes and hair.

 

 Katerina smiled back at Cassie, “ Good morning Cassie.” Cassie noted her Russian accent but not your average one, this one was not as strong and had an aristocratic tone to it.

 

 Cassie shook her hand, feeling the firm but controlled grip. The woman was definitely Old Russian, the kind that could trace her roots back to Russian nobility.Judging by how she carried herself, she was likely to be a Russian noble. She was aware that Nadya’s mother had ties but all that seemed so distant. Katerina brought all of that here.

 

 “ What brings you all the way here to America?” Cassie asked. Come to think of it, she had never exactly seen Nadya’s maternal side before. Nadya never talked about them apart from a brief mention after her annual vacation in Russia.

 

 “ Business mostly but I couldn’t resist dropping by to visit my favourite cousin’s graduation. I’m told it's a milestone in the life of an American teenager,” she said in a very refined and controlled manner.

 

 Yep, Cassie thought to herself, this woman probably knew the Tsarina. Hell, she could probably be the Tsarina.

 

  “Yeah it is,” she tittered.

 

   “ Hey girls!” Alvin’s voice suddenly entered the conversation. The three Titan women looked down at their feet, Alvin and Wendy both there.

 

   Cassie nearly jumped back, surprised to see her boyfriend and his sister right there.

 

 “Goodness Al, you scared me!” Cassie placed a hand over her chest to steady her pulsing heart.She picked up Alvin and Wendy as social etiquette demanded smaller sizes be at least chest level when in a conversations with Titans.

 

 “ Sorry about that. Hi Nadya and you are….” He fell silent as he saw Katerina. Like Cassie, he felt her presence as her eyes  focused on him. She wasn’t shooting daggers at him but her gaze could stop monsters in their tracks if she ever chose to engage one in a staring contest.

 

“ Katerina,” she replied swiftly.

 

“ I’m Alvin and this is my sister Wendy.” Wendy gave a  wave and friendly smile.

 

 “ Alvin’s my boyfriend. He and I will be studying at Tannhauser this fall,” Cassie interjected. Katerina seemed to be surprised by this but also impressed by the comment.

 

 “ Good school, I’d consider sending my children there if I were a mother. I wish Nadya were there since I’m due to give a few lectures in the fall.”

 

She leaned in towards Alvin, Alvin watching her sultry lips as they parted, her voice having a captivating aspect he found rather lovely.

 

“ Perhaps we may bump into each other there. Don’t be shy to say hello, I’ve heard plenty of you two from Nadya. We could have coffee or something like that,” Katerina said, not concerned about the minutia of any possible socialising with them.

 

 As these types of conversations go, the three of them soon said their goodbyes to Nadya and Katerina before moving off out of the school and back to Cassie’s house for relaxation. However, at least one of them was still fixated on Nadya’s family, Cassie in particular.

 

 She was still thinking about it when they were in her room and sitting at her desk.

 

 “ You think she’s one of those women with titles, palaces and gets to go to balls every year?”

 

 “ Yeah,” Wendy nodded. She hadn’t said much but she could tell Katerina was no ordinary woman.

 

 “ You should marry Nadya if you and Alvin don’t work out. Then you can be Cassie, Duchess of New York!” Wendy shouted, pretending to hold a scepter and commanding people.

 

 “ I’d totally support that but only if you let me come over and be your secret lover,” Alvin added to Wendy’s idea.

 

 “ I’ll remember to invite you to our wedding,” Cassie said sarcastically before breaking out into laughter.

 

“ Anyway, let's not talk about mysterious Russian women, we have a whole day ahead of us. Things are just getting started….”

 

 Just as well Cassie and company were all looking forward to the future filled with hope and optimism because over at Alvin’s place, Patricia was currently confused and unaware of what had happened.

 

 “ Alvin? Wendy?” She called out to them as she sat in the kitchen, looking around for some sign of life in the house. Where had they gone, she wondered to herself. It was summer, they were supposed to be off from school and at home sleeping in or generally lazing about somewhere.

 

She scratched her head, looking down at her bathrobe as she called out again.Where had those two gone?

“Oh well, back to sleep,” she decided as she trudged out of the kitchen and back to the bedroom. Job hunting was for weekday Patricia, not weekend Patricia.

 

***********

Author’s note: This takes place a few months after the rest of this chapter, in case you’re wondering when it happens.

 

************

 

“It’s finally here!” Jamila held the package she received proudly over her head in an over the top pose.

 

 “ It's just a book,” Nadya replied, her usual surly self when around her friends.

 

“ You’re not from the Middle East so of course it's just a book,” said Olivia, Jamila’s cousin and older than her by about seven years. She was a little taller than her, a couple of inches compared in a relative sense.

 

 Nadya shook her head at Olivia, having come over for a short stayover with Jamila. She was also from Lebanon but was much fairer than Jamila who seemed to keep a regular tan going.

Her eyes were a slightly darker brown than that of Jamila’s, her black hair straight and fell neatly down the side of her head , ending just above the small of her back. Clean cut and organised unlike Jamila’s frizzier hair.

 

 “ This is a classic,” Jamila continued as she set the package down, wrapped in brown wrapping paper with a string to tied in a simple knot.She pulled away at it, revealing a paperback book, large words written on the cover which was a rich shade of blue.

 

 “ Updated to fit the times. You know how it's like over there? It's not like here, over there women call the shots and this ancient tale has been given a new coat of paint,” Jamila thrust it into Nadya’s arms.

 

 She held it, admiring the gold lettering on the front.

 

 “ One Thousand and One Nights? I read about it, some author decided to rewrite everything. Now the women are Titans , it's like a gender reversal. Is it any good?” Nadya’s nose scrunched up. She wasn’t fond of fairy tales, which is what she thought of the book. She liked darker fare, ones where magic and goodness didn’t win for the stupid reason that good always triumphs.

 

“ Sacrilegious!” Olivia huffed before whispering something to Jamila in Arabic, something which Nadya did not understand. Jamila whispered something back to her before they both giggled like a pair of twelve year olds.

 

 “ What?” she asked, hoping it wasn’t something bad.

 

 “Let us read it to you,show you the magic of Arabia,” Olivia suggested as they pulled Nadya towards the couch. Nadya didn’t resist, she had no excuse to be elsewhere. Cassie was out seeing her cousin who had some man trouble and as for Alvin? He was apparently with her although what good he could do was beyond her.

 

 “ I guess it can’t hurt. There better be a graphic sex scene inside or no one will enjoy it,” Nadya half joked.

 

 “ I’m not spoiling anything,” Jamila answered as she flipped to the first page before reading aloud.

 

“Once upon a time in the kingdom of…”