The next couple of hours were hell.

Marisa did her best to keep Diego above her toes instead of suffocating under them, but nothing could be done to lower the humidity. Her foot stink sealed off fresh air, and the thin coat of sweat around her toes made it easy for his body to slip between her big and second toe. When she started walking, he gripped to her damp cotton and kept his body from falling deep and kept a steady seat on her toenails while class was in session. His rare moments of fresh air came under Nadine and Heather’s supervision. They kept their promises and checked on him during class periods. Heather cracked jokes about his size. Nadine chewed her gum loud and obnoxious, reminding him what would happen for misbehavior.

Diego made sure to burn this moment into his memory. He used to think Nadine would be a cool person to date, but after she tantalized his miniscule frame over her mouth, revenge took over. How dare she make him feel small? Both her and Heather were going to get what’s coming to them. He just needed a better guardian. Marisa was kind, but she was clearly unable to help him make change.  If he was going to get back to his size, he needed help from his real friends.

And he knew just the person.

After eight period ended, Nadine isolated Marisa one last time to check on her reckless prisoner. Marisa dragged out her dirty socked foot and pulled a sticky, smelly Diego out. Nadine smiled upon his arrival, blowing out her gum. It was red this time.

“I hope you learned your lesson from this, mini man.” Nadine said. “Tell me so.”

Diego tried his best to hide his anger. “…Yes, ma’am.”

“Ma’am?” She couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t tell me I broke you already? I thought you were tougher than that.” Diego had more to say, but Marisa pulled him back and stuffed him in her left pocket. Stool was there and stood far back from the smelly teen.

“Never bring them back here.” Nadine poked her red-painted nails against Marisa’s chest. “Bring them back, and you’ll see how it looks from their end. Understand?”

“Yeah…” Marisa nodded.

“Good.” She smiled and walked away. Marisa started to walk towards the bus, and Diego tried his best not to listen, but her restrained sobs proved difficult to hold back.

*******

Sitting on the shelf of Marisa’s bed, Diego and Stool were waiting for lunch. After they got back from an exhausting trip to school, Marisa cleaned Diego’s entire body with a bar of soap. He felt humiliated having to rely on her to clean himself, but he didn’t bother fighting it. After witnessing the level of giant authority with his own eyes, it wasn’t in his best interests to make her feel smaller than she already was. At least until they ate something.

After eliminating her foot stink off him, she set them in her room, free of the glass, and told them to wait while she looked through her old childhood dolls for something of their size, and brought them half a ham sandwich. Stool ate his fill with no problem, but Diego couldn’t enjoy the food without thinking about his treatment so far.

“Can you believe that bitch?” He complained.

“I can.” Stool said. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“You did have my back. Thanks.” He picked at the crust of the toasted bread. “Man, who the fuck do they think they are?”

“I think its best to call them our giantesses. Or Masters.”

“Are you seriously giving up?”

“I mean…what do you suppose we do? We’re one inch tall. You almost got eaten trying to talk your way out of this. We can’t do this on our own, and you keep forgetting how lucky we are.”

“You call this lucky?” Diego made aware their situation. They were eating a giant sandwich in one of their classmate’s room, being one-fourth the size of a barbie doll. Marisa came into her room again with a bottle cap filled with water. She set it right beside their jar glass.

“Is the sandwich good? Do you need anything else?”

“Can you cut the crust off this sandwich?” Diego said.

She smiled. “Sure thing.” She picked up the plate and left their conversation again.

“We couldn’t be anymore lucky.” Stool repeated. “Can you imagine if we got stuck with Nadine? Or even worse: Heather.”

“Her?” Diego snorted. “She’s nothing more than a wet blanket on the inside. She probably acts tough around Nadine, but on her own, she’s nothing.”

“…Wow. You really don’t know anyone at our school, do you?”

“Shut up.”

Marisa comes back with their sandwich with the darkened crust shaved off. Diego easily tugged out a piece and chewed the ham mid-thought. “I-is it better, Diego?”

“Marisa, we need to talk strategy.” He changed subjects.

“Strategy?”

“I think I have a way to get us back to normal. Tomorrow at school, take me—”

“Oh no, we’re not doing that again.”

“What? Why not?”

“I gave you your chance, and you saw what happened. Now I’m under their radar, and if I screw up again, they might take you away from me. I can’t let that happen.”

“I agree.” Stool nodded. “You’ve been really good to us, Marisa.”

“Stop being so calm about this!” Diego snapped at Stool, who was sitting by the bottle cap, cupping water into his mouth. He turned at Marisa’s worried face. “You can’t keep us like this! This is wrong, Marisa. Wrong.”

“I know, Diego, but what do you want me to do?”

“Do you know Victoria Kym?” Marisa gave it a though before shaking her head. “She’s my friend in the debate team, and she can help us.”

“How?”

“Her mom’s a cop.” Marisa and Stool were both attentive now. “Yeah. See where I’m going with this? If we can get to her, maybe we can get her mom to help. Maybe bringing in the police might scare Nadine and Heather to unshrink us.”

“I’m sorry, but no.” Marisa said.

“Why not?” Diego’s temper escaped his lips. “Do you really want to be responsible if one of use gets stepped on? Maybe one day, you’ll forget where we are and probably, I don’t know, sit on us by accident or something. Is that how we die, Marisa? Like a couple of bugs?”

Marisa didn’t say anything, but the beads of tears in her eyes said enough. She picked up the remains of the sandwich and walked out of the room again. Diego threw out his hands in annoyance and looked at Stool.

“How is she not getting this?” He asked. “It’s a good plan, right?”

 “You have no chill, dude.” Stool said. “If you want her help, stop attacking her and try to see it from her point of view.”

“We don’t have time, though!” Diego sat at the edge of the shelf, waiting for Marisa to come back. Her point of view? From her perspective, she was still regular sized. How about seeing it from his point of fucking view? Then everyone would stop being afraid and actually do something.

Marisa eventually returned with her face pale red and cheeks wet. “Diego, I think we should have a talk. Just…you and me.”

“Why?”

“Stool, do you mind waiting in the jar for a bit?”

“Not at all.” Stool got up on his legs and waited for Marisa’s plump fingers to pick him up and carry him back inside their glass home.

She laid out her palm for Diego to jump on, but he refused. “You want to talk more about this plan, right? If you really want me to listen, come with me and we’ll talk about it more.”

“Where are we going?” Diego asked.

“To the living room.”

Diego carried a good amount of hesitation before jumping on her hand and followed her out the room. He made sure to map out her house within his mind in the off chance he needed to run, and he was lucky it was a small house. Only one floor, with this small hallway having two more rooms. Right across was another room like hers, and the bathroom was on their left. She turned right and entered the small living room, planting her body on the black leather couch.

She put him next to her, inches away from her bare legs and navy-blue cotton shorts. Her giant ass smothered the cushion, and if he wasn’t careful, could easily slip right under her. He had to back up just to look past her massive thighs and find her face.

“Are you good?” She asked.

“Why are we here?” Diego complained. Her face flicked to a frown, and Stool’s advice crawled up his shoulder. “I mean, I’m not complaining. This is just…a pretty nice place.”

Her smile returned. “Thanks, Diego.” She claps her hands against her leg in tune to the ticking of the wall clock near the front door. Time was moving forward, unlike this conversation. Did she bring him out to sit on the couch? What was going on?”

“Diego, um…” Her face was blushing red. “Do you really want to turn back to normal?”

Diego felt the need to scream his argument but repressed it with a deep sigh. “Yes, Marisa. I want to grow back to normal.”

“A-are you sure…?”

“Why are you fighting me on this? Do you want me to stay like this?”

Marissa looked away, and Diego noticed the blush intensify.

“You’re always watching us at volleyball practice.” She said in a weak whisper. “I know it probably wasn’t because of me, but I…liked you there. Then you started to show up at our games, cheering us on…it was nice having an audience. I think…no, I know it made me play better.”

Cheering Nadine on, he corrected. His memory wasn’t wiped far enough to forget about his stalkerish game visits, watching Nadine’s body spike a ball to victory. Their volleyball team wasn’t as recognized as football, so the bleachers were usually empty. Of course, he would stand out as one of the few who wasn’t related or friends with anyone from the team. He was just a pervert, and just one girl took notice of his habits. But she didn’t sound upset. Just the opposite.

“What are you trying to say, Marisa…?” His voice felt weak, and his body joined in that stunned feeling when Marisa stopped beating the bush. The thin folds of her stomach fat stacked on top of one another when she leaned over his tiny body. Her black hair fell over excited eyes, and she zoomed in close until he could feel the hot winds blowing out of her nostrils. Her breath was hot and heavy.

“I like you, Diego.” She couldn’t control her desperation. “I just want you to be safe. I promise that I won’t let anything happen to you or Stool, so please don’t try anything dangerous. And m-maybe…” The passion in her eyes lowered for a bit. “Maybe…if you behave, we can have fun.”

“F-fun?” Diego said.

Marisa didn’t answer. She leaned in closer, lips puckered and shadowing his body. Before they had the chance to taste his skin, her face turned red as she feared the front door opening. Instinctively, she grabbed Diego’s body and pushed him between her legs.

“Marisa!” He yelled. In response, her thick thighs squeezed him while one massive finger push him downward. The heavy scent of musky coconut consumed his senses, and his face flushed red when he collided against the center of her warm shorts. He kept one hand against her muffled lips, but that made the situation worse. She confessed her feelings and thirsty body to him, and now he was trapped. Being so close, she probably couldn’t contain the excitement of her crush fighting against her. He was suffocating against her big finger and vagina. If nothing happened soon, he might actually die from her lust.

“Marissa, what did I say about dirty dishes?” Diego could hear the heavy accent of another woman, most likely her mom. “You’re not five anymore. Come over here and clean this up!”

“Si, mama.” Diego felt Marisa rise from her seat, applying more pressure between her legs. He noticed he was peeking out the other end and struggled one last time to land on the couch again. She felt his presence gone and turned towards the cushion.

“Today, mija…” Her mom commanded.

The last thing Diego saw from Marisa was her angry face pointing at the nearest space between the cushions. She walked away before he could understand what she was saying and stood in awe to the next giant that came into view. She looked as big as Marisa; they shared similar facial features too, aside from the wrinkles surrounding her eyes and a thin mouth line. She wore a grey business suit with dress pants to match. Her black hair was wrapped in a bun until she unraveled it all by the tug of her scrunchie.

Diego slightly waved, but Marisa’s mom didn’t pay no mind to him. He was too insignificant to care about, and she continued to drop her keys, phone and wallet on the small coffee table. What he saw next was her ass bent over, ready to take a seat. Diego connected Marisa’s final piece of advice and raced towards the space between the cushions. He barely ducked inside before her left buttcheek closed off any means to escape.

Her body heat raised the temperature of his prison, and Diego sank further down thanks to her weight sinking the cushions. He felt thankful for the warning; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to think clearly while fighting against her sweaty butt that’s probably aching for comfort.

“How was school?” Marissa’s mom spoke from above. It came as a muffle to Diego. He couldn’t even hear Marisa’s response from the other side of the room. “…You’re getting a little bigger. More than last year. I better not hear you skip out on P.E.”

“I’m not…” Marisa’s voice was returning to the couch.

“How about volleyball? Are you still on the team?”

“Yes.”

“Come here.” Diego felt the vibrations of the left cushion being tapped. “Sit and talk with mama for a bit.”

Diego’s eyes stung from the ceiling light hitting him from above. Marisa’s mom lifted her ass cheek for a brief second and allowed the shrunken teen to see again. He caught Marisa’s chubby face looking back at him with such worry before taking her seat. The inner springs creaked from the added weight, which gave Diego the idea to try and find a different escape route, but he was soon distracted by her mom’s new position. She lifted her butt in order to bend her leg back and stick her smelly nylon-covered toes into his hiding spot. Her round buttcheek darkened his world again, and not only was he trapped with the heat, but the ripe stench of sweaty feet added to his demise.

Why is it always the damn feet?! Diego thought in anguish.

Marisa and her mom continued a conversation about weight loss and much needed exercise, while Diego avoided the long toenails that tried to scrape his body. He was reaching the end of his limited space, while Marisa’s mom barely pointed her toes to their full length. His back was against the wall, and all he could do was play dead and let her big, fat toe poke his naked chest. He had just gotten cleaned up from the last punishment. Now he felt a little sad knowing that this was all he was now.

Just some tiny being living in the couch and only the unaware graze of a mom’s foot noticing him. Marisa was suddenly in love with him, so he couldn’t count on her to look at the situation with a clear head. He needed to find a way back to school. He needed Victoria’s help; even if it meant getting it on his own.

For the next five minutes, Diego stayed still to Marisa’s mom’s curious toes. At one point, all her toes invaded his personal space and squeezed the life out of his greased-up face. His nose knew nothing but the smell of hot feet, and when it felt like he was finally about to be tugged out and discovered, he was ready to run.

Instead, her toes immediately forgot about him and pulled out. Her entire body rose, and the weight of the couch was lifted. Diego feared he was caught but felt relieved when Marisa pulled him out of the couch.

 “Oh my god, Diego!” She cried. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

“No…” Diego sat on her palm, but he buried his head in his hands.

“Oh…I’m so sorry.  My mom would have killed you if she saw you. She really doesn’t like bugs, and tries to keep everything clean.”

“Just take me back to your room.”

“O-okay.” Marisa brought Diego close to her face and smelled him. “I’ll clean you up again once she finishes taking her shower.”

Diego didn’t answer. He stayed quiet on the ride back to Marisa’s room.

He had enough for one day.