Three pounding thuds tore me out of my slumber, and the rattling of a glass pane bounced around in my skull.  I tried to squeeze my eyelids shut, but there was already light pouring in through the broken windows and onto my face.  “Oh, My little worshippers!” Gina boomed in a sing-song voice.  “It’s time for Me to issue My divine decree, so get your asses into the courtyard now!”

I wanted to roll back over and make her come get me, but right then Roni passed by the doorway.  “Hey, c’mon dude,” she said, stepping into my room.  “You know she wants you out there.  Don’t make her come get you.”  One of her strong hands seized my shoulder, and with a quick yank she had pulled me out of bed.  I landed on the floor with a crash, but Roni held her grip and had me back on my feet quickly.

Roni walked behind me as we walked, practically shoving me in front of her while we made our way over to the others.  She brought us to our usual spot front and center in front of Gina, the giantess beaming down at her assembled tiny captives.  We stood still for a few minutes while the human skyscraper looked us over before she slapped her hand on the roof, bringing us all to attention.

“Will My boy toy please step forward?” she said, looking directly at me.  Damn, Gina had put me on the spot.  I started taking a step forward, and a firm shove from Roni sent me stumbling several steps away from the group.  So this was how she wanted to end it?  Use me for her pleasure, then annihilate me front of everyone?  She always had a touch for the theatrical.

“Now, listen carefully and do exactly as I say.  Roni, Akane, and Liz.  Come forward and stand directly in front of My boy toy, as close as possible, facing him.”  The three complied, and in a few seconds I was face to chest with Roni, with the other two close enough I could barely raise my arms without bumping into them.  All of them were looking down at me, but I couldn’t read anything in their enigmatic expressions.  “Place your hands on your hips and spread your feet.”  Again the trio immediately followed her order, and Roni and Akane smirked.  They must have had some idea what was next.

“Now watch and learn the lessons well, My faithful.”  Gina had returned to addressing the assembly as a whole, promising to let us know what this was all about very soon.  “If you believe in Me and follow My teachings, you will grow mighty and strong.  Deny My powers, however, and you will wither and dwindle beneath My gaze.”  She snapped her fingers, sending a loud crack through the air.

The wall of women in front of me began to stretch upward.  They closed ranks, and I was unable to see anything aside from the barrier in front of me as it continued to loom larger.  In no time I was level with Roni’s waist, then with the others.  Another snap rang out and the began growing again, much more rapidly this time.  I blinked and I was below Roni’s shorts, with my view quickly running down her thighs.  It continued until I was looking up at her knees, and roughly level with the knees of the other two: my chin was just above the top of Akane’s black socks.

“With this I anoint Roni, Akane, and Liz as My high priestesses, and cast My boy toy down into a stature more fitting of his new role.  The rest I leave to My new clergy, for whom I will raise a new palace when I return today.”  Gina surveyed her assembled shrunken prisoners, clearly visible above and behind the indomitable wall, beaming at yet another of my humiliations.  She took a step back, turned, and with two long strides passed the threshold and shut the door behind her.

The trio stood proudly above me, relishing their new positions.  I wanted to back away, to run from them before they could do anything more than menace me, but I was rooted to the spot.  My legs refused to move no matter how much I told them to get me away from there.  Roni’s legs tensed, causing me to flinch backward, though all she did was smirk down at me.  “Okay Roni, before you do anything rash, let’s –“

“Quiet,” she interrupted, her size-bolstered voice infused with confidence.  “We were friends.  Kind of.  But Gina anointed us and showed everyone how wicked you are, so things have to change.  For starters, you’re going to call me Veronica from now on.”

“But Roni –“

“Wrong!  It’s Veronica!”

“But R- Veronica,” I quickly corrected myself, “don’t you see what Gina’s doing?  She’s just found a new way to humiliate me, she doesn’t give two shits about your loyalty or service!”

“Sounds like sour grapes,” Roni replied, grinning.  “You got complacent and lost Her favor, and you’re trying to drag me down with you.”

“How can you believe Gina’s a goddess?” I protested.  “You know she isn’t, she’s the one who cost you your whole future!  If it weren’t for her you’d be off at college instead of temporary ruler of a glorified fish tank.”

“I’ll let this small-minded outburst pass, but be mindful of your blasphemy in the future.  I can do much worse than make you call me by my real name.”  She lifted her leg high and I braced myself for a kick to the head.  Luckily it never came, and the sole of her shoe didn’t even graze my head when she stepped over me.  Roni lingered for a moment with me between her legs before raising her other one and guiding it over my shoulder, then walking toward the throng of her new flock.

Briefly I watched Roni bathe in their admiration, wondering how long she could keep up the act of worshipping Gina, before I turned to gaze out the unobstructed glass wall.  My attention was taken before it got there though, stolen by dark eyes peering at me above two pale humps.  I stood entranced, looking up at Akane towering over me even while squatting.  She stared back, her expression hidden behind her knees while she studied me.

Finally she giggled, breaking the silence.  “My, how the tables have turned,” Akane began.  “Just yesterday you were the most powerful person in this box, and now you’re the weakest!”  She cackled and reached forward, poking me in the nose with her pointer finger before I could get out of the way of her long arm.  “You’re even cuter now though, and since you’ve been humbled you should be less of an asshole, too.” 

Akane placed her hands on her knees and pressed up until she was standing at her full height.  While she loomed over me I resisted the urge to look up her pleated skirt, doing my best to focus on her eyes.  The grin remained on her face as she stood there, making me intensely aware of how the power dynamics had changed.  “I just know we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other now,” she said, then stepped away, exaggerating her hips while she went to join Roni.

“Hey.”  All I wanted was a few minutes to myself, but fall from grace had made me more popular than ever.  I turned to the voice, expecting to see Liz ready to get her licks in, but was instead met with skin-tight denim clinging to a crotch.  I looked up the gray V-neck to a pair of green eyes looking down at me from beneath some chestnut bangs.  “When I said I thought you’d be taller the other day, I didn’t…” she trailed off.

“Oh, hey Vanessa,” I said, fighting the urge to look down at the floor.  “Are you here to taunt me, too?”

“What?  No!” Vanessa replied, taken aback by the very suggestion.  “I just thought you could use a friend, and since you helped me out I figured I should do the same.”

“Well, thanks,” I said.  “Right now I just need to be alone though, this is a lot to take in.”

Vanessa knelt so that we could be face to face.  “Look, I know how you feel, but that’s not the answer.  You’re not alone, and you don’t have to be.  Go ahead and try me, it’ll feel good to get it off your chest.”

I sighed.  “Sure, I’ll give it a shot.  I guess the biggest issue I have with it is…”  A pair of powerful legs came to a stop behind Vanessa, and I looked up to see Liz looking down at us disdainfully, arms crossed under her breasts.

“Is the twerp bothering you?” Liz’s powerful voice demanded before Vanessa could entreat me to continue.

“No, I’m talking to him.  He’s my friend.”

Liz stepped around her and placed the sole of her enormous brown flat against my chest.  With a forceful shove she pushed me back, knocking me to the ground so hard I slid into the glass pane where I stopped with a thud.  “Leave her alone!” she shouted.  “You’re not good enough to talk to her or anyone else beyond groveling, heathen!”  She turned back to Vanessa and continued, much more gently, “I’m sorry about that, he hasn’t learned his place yet.  I’ll keep an eye on you, and if I see him talking to you again I’ll deal with him much more harshly.”  Her huge hand grabbed Vanessa by the shoulder and pulled her away while all she could do was give me a helpless look.

Gina set her lunch tray down on the table she always took, where the other students knew to leave her alone or risk facing her wrath.  She pulled out her chair and was about to sit down when a voice grabbed her attention.  “Hey, Gina!”  With a groan the amazon turned to see Kristie coming toward her, with a boy about half her size struggling to keep up.  “So, what do you think?”

“Of what?” Gina replied, pretending not to notice the munchkin trailing behind her.  “Is that a new outfit?  It looks great on you!”

“Thanks, it is!” Kristie answered.  “But I meant my new boyfriend.”  She gestured to the boy gawping up at her, then pointed at Gina.  “Alex, this is my best friend, Gina.  Gina, Alex.”  The boy gave a timid wave up at Gina, then went back to trying to hide behind Kristie.

“Oh, we’ve met before.”  Gina took two steps forward so that she was almost on top of Alex and could look straight down at him.  “Alex and I were almost inseparable growing up, weren’t we?”  She winked at the small man, certain she still intimidated him.

“Y-yeah, I guess you could say that,” he stammered, craning his neck back to look at Gina towering over him.  “W-we were in a lot of the s-same classes, u-until a few years ago.”

Gina regarded her puny classmate with a smirk.  He was even more pathetic than she remembered, not even reaching the bottom of her shorts unless he stood on the very tips of his toes.  The way he cowered from her made it clear that he remembered more than he was letting on about her, too.  She had many fond memories of tormenting him with Shelby, with one of them pinning him down while the other towered over him, mocking him for whatever they figured would bother him that day.  It occurred to her that if they tried that now they might very well crush him, which only intrigued her further.

“Kristie told you about the sleepover at my house tonight, right?”  Alex gulped loud enough for Gina to hear, then nodded.  “And you’ll be there like a good little boyfriend?”  He nodded again, this time without the exaggerated gulp.  “Good!  I look forward to reliving old times with you.”  The two of them shared an uncomfortable silence: Alex was much less excited by the idea than Gina.

Kristie saw Shelby’s towering figure enter the cafeteria on the opposite side and decided to wrap it up.  “Alex, why don’t you go have lunch with your friends?  We have a lot to talk about, what with the sleepover tonight and all, and I don’t want you to be bored.  I’ll be by to pick you up before it though, ‘kay?”  He practically stumbled away, eager to get away from Gina.

“You said he was short,” Gina began, not even waiting for him to get out of earshot, “but he’s like the shortest guy in the class.  He’s practically a midget.”  She leaned in close and excitedly added, “You did good, girl!”

Enormous shoes slapping against tile heralded Shelby’s arrival.  “Hey, what’s going on?” the auburn-haired bully asked, oblivious to the departure of Kristie’s diminutive boyfriend.

Gina took a moment, thinking about how best to phrase this.  “So, you remember our old friend Alex?”

“Yeah, how could I forget?”

“Well, it turns out Kristie’s dating him!”

“No way!”

“Way!  And he’s gonna be at the party tonight!  You’re bringing a guy too, right?”

“Of course!”  Shelby ran her hands down her long body as though presenting herself.  “Like any guy could resist this.  He’s not quite as short as Alex is, but then again who is?”

Gina nodded enthusiastically.  There weren’t even any girls at the school shorter than him, and for good reason.  “Glad to hear it.  I’ll make sure Julie and Ashley are bringing their boyfriends too so that we can all have fun tonight.”  Tonight would be the first time Gina managed to get all of her friends – not coincidentally, the starting lineup of the basketball team – under her roof since both her sisters had left for college, and so the first chance to share her greatest pleasure with them.

“Yeah, I hope so,” Shelby said.  “Look, can we just fucking eat?  I got held up and I’m fucking starving.”  She went to get food and Gina sat at their reserved table, propping her feet up in the opposite chair to keep her knees from bumping against the table.

The door flew inward, sending me toppling back from surprise.  Gina usually came home excited, but today she was on the verge of bursting with energy.  “Hello, My tiny worshippers!” she bellowed, loud enough that I had to clutch my ears.  “How are you all doing today?”  She strode toward the terrarium, carefully cradling her bag instead of tossing it on the ground like most other days.  “I trust My boy toy is well?”

Roni moved so that she stood astride me, giving me no choice but to look at her towering over me.  “He is, My Goddess,” she shouted so that the delusional megalomaniac outside could hear her.  “Your high priestesses have made sure no one so much as laid a finger on him while You were gone.”  Semantically she was right; Liz’s huge foot nearly shattering my ribs didn’t count as a finger.

“Good!  Just keep him in one piece for a little longer, I need him for tonight.  And as a reward for your dedication, I’ll make good on My promise from this morning.”  Gina’s hand plunged into her bag, and when she withdrew it she was clutching a house by the roof.  With little difficulty she lifted the lid on the side of the terrarium opposite the old, run-down house, and carefully set the new one down against the wall.  “Now My most deserving followers will have a fitting abode, with accessories to match.”

The new house was easily twice the size of the old one, with four great columns evenly spaced along the façade.  It was immaculate, as though it really had been formed out of Gina’s mind.  I knew better though, and this was beyond even her significant powers.  The only thing I couldn’t explain was the quick turn-around.  Fulda had spent months designing and building the house I had spent the past six years in, and there was simply no way Gina went through the same amount of effort.  If I didn’t know better, I’d say she shrank an entire house herself just for this.

Roni knelt before what she had recently decided was her goddess, barely missing crushing my foot with her kneecap.  “Thank you, My Goddess,” she declared, somehow keeping the words from turning to ash in her mouth.  “We shall strive daily in our service to You to prove that we are worthy of Your gifts.”  She grabbed my hand as she stood, forcing me to rise along with her.

She looked down at me, jubilation in place of the scorn I expected.  “As for you, you little heathen,” she began, “I can think of nothing better for your rehabilitation than living in the shadow of our magnificent Gina’s most devout.”  Roni set off for her new house, practically dragging me along as I struggled to keep up with her tremendous strides.  I caught Vanessa’s gaze while I was being led in front of the crowd, but all she could do was look on in despair at me being forced into the service of a trio of sycophants.

Gina dropped her bag with a dull thud and stepped away from the terrarium, eager to begin preparations for that night.