Tess

Tess put down the phone and looked over at Samira. “That was definitely very weird,” she commented, brow furled as she tried to make sense of Janine’s call.

Sam nodded, dark hair bouncing slightly. “Why did she call, did she say what she wanted or something?”

Tess shook her head, “She didn’t say, other than how you doing tonight and see you tomorrow, weird right?” she asked, befuddled by the call from out of nowhere.

Frowning Sam, got up and padded across the room and flopped onto her back beside Tess on top of the bed. “It’s is definitely out of character for her, unless it’s some type of ploy,” she suggested, making an evil face and glaring at Tess.

Tess giggled.

A light bulb went on in Sam’s head, “What if, and hear me out, what if Tom got away from her and she was calling to check up on you to see if you had a hand in it and would answer or not,” she postulated.

“You think?” Tess asked, frowning, mind exploring multiple explanations.

“Why else would she call like that, you know, like out of blue and basically say ‘See you tomorrow’, right?” Sam queried.

The expression on Tess’s face changed from bewildered to concerned, “What if something happened to Tom and she was calling but balked at telling me at the last minute? Oh my god,” she said, bringing a thumbnail to her lips in worry.

Sam put a hand on Tess’s knee, “I think if something happened to Tom, she would just call and say he escaped and she doesn’t know where he is, that’s what I think,” she reassured.

“Oh god I hope you’re right,” Tess said, still nibbling at the nail. “I hope Tom is okay.”

“Call her back and ask her straight out,” Sam encouraged. “I want to talk to my brother and make sure he’s okay.”

Tess looked at her cell phone a moment then nodded. Picking up the phone she brought up the call log and tapped Janine’s number. The call went through to voicemail, she disconnected the call.

“Not answering?” Sam asked.

Tess shook her head from side to side. “We both know she’s right there, it’s frustrating,” growled Tess tossing her phone onto the bed on the side opposite Sam.

“Yeah, I think if something happened to Tom, either she wouldn’t call, or if she did, she would say he ran away and doesn’t know where he is,” Sam opined, nodding her head.

“She said she was thinking about eating him, like swallowing him whole,” Tess stated.

Sam frowned, “That doesn’t bode well,” she commented.

“Right? Who would do that?”

Sam rolled her head from side to side, “There is a certain fascination with the concept, the ultimate union I suppose,” she explained.

Tess scoffed, “Hannibal Lecter like fascination.”

Sam laughed, “I’ll have a little Tommy with a nice chianti and some fava beans,” she said.

Shaking her head, “I think Janine is probably crazy,” Tess said.

“And your little brother lives in her underpants,” Sam added, giggling, “What about this whole conversation doesn’t sound a little bit loopy?”

Tess chuckled slightly and shook her head.

Sam rolled onto her side to face Tess and propped her head up with her arm, “Wait a minute, you said Tom was shrunk at your home. If that’s the case, how did you get him from there to here?” she asked.

Tess cleared her throat and coughed into her hand, “I smuggled him in my bra,” she said.

“Did you just say what I thought you said?” Sam asked, grinning.

Tess nodded.

Sitting up, Sam raised her hands in a defensive position, “Okay, now imagine for a moment, it’s not your brother, what was it like to have him there?”

“But it was my brother mashed in against my boob,” she replied.

“Come on, just try and see it from an objective point of view. You had a tiny little person nestled away in your bra, what was it like?” she asked, dark eyes full of curiosity.

“I don’t know, different I guess. He was being his usual annoying self and fiddling with my nipple,” Tess relayed.

“The bastard,” Sam said admonished playfully.

“What about you, what do you think it would be like to have someone stashed away in your bra, or your underpants?” Tess challenged.

Sam laughed and fell back to the bed, “I think it would be kind of exciting, having a little man all snuggled in against my vajayjay, every little twitch or move teasing me, little lips pleasing me,” she chuckled, putting her hands on her hips and gyrating them a little.

“Sure, maybe if it wasn’t your brother,” Tess stated, brows pulled down.

“Tom isn’t my brother,” Sam giggled, eyes afire.

“Pfft,” Tess noised.

“Hey, what was the email from your grandfather?” Sam asked, Tess grateful for the change in direction of the conversation.

“He told me to call Harrison Kinsley, but I don’t have his direct number and his office says he’s unavailable until later next week,” she replied.

“Did you tell them who you were?”

“No, grandfather was all cloak and dagger like so I thought it best to not leave my name,” Tess explained.

“I guess, if you invented a machine that could shrink people, you would probably want to keep it hush-hush too,” she said. “What do you want to do about Janine?”

“I think our only realistic option is to pull her aside tomorrow at school,” Tess said.

Sam frowned, “If she has Tom stuck in her panties, how are we supposed to get to him before she does something that might hurt him?” she asked.

Tess shook her head, dark hair moving from side to side, “I’m not sure, but we’ve got a night to figure something out.”

Sam nodded.