Day 1. John was seriously weighing the pros and cons of being trapped under a foot or an ass all day versus being stuck in his new cubicle. Time was definitely passing more slowly that was for sure. After a brief introduction, he had been handed a memo and was told to spend the rest of the day making an in-depth inventory database spreadsheet for a local livestock management company that focused on blah blah blah… Take the worst parts of country life and cubicle culture and John was right smack in the middle of it. The only silver lining in this situation was another new hire, Tatiana. He found himself tongue-tied around her but from the small amount of small talk he could muster he had found out she was 23, from Southern California, and he hated to see her go but loved to watch her leave. John’s experiences certainly hadn’t put him off a perfect ass and she definitely had one. She couldn’t be taller than 5’1 but had a beautifully proportioned body and a wonderfully exotic look about her. He guessed she was some southeastern Asian heritage, with large dark eyes, caramel colored skin, and straight black hair tied in a masterful bun to keep it out of her eyes. She had a face with subtly sharp lines that highlighted her high cheekbones. When she was focusing on something intently, she would unconsciously bite her bottom lip. John promised himself that he would work up the courage to ask her out soon.
The workday ended like it had begun, not with a bang but with the metronome of a ticking clock. John worked his way out of the building and began to walk home, wondering what kind of psychosexual adventure Kate and Emma had in for him today.
“Hello? Kate? Emma? Anyone home?” He called out, entering the house and looking around. The house seemed deserted, no sounds of activity came from the living room nor the girls’ rooms. John headed towards his room but he stopped as he saw a note laying on the kitchen table.
It was scrawled in the shaky handwriting of a child, probably Emma, John thought. “John we r playing hide and seek. Come find us!”
Well, alright, John reasoned, this is a much more normal game. “Alright, I’ll play,” he said, projecting his voice, “but no tricks!”
He started towards Kate’s room, inching the door open and peering inside. Nothing out of the ordinary here. The bed had been left messy after she had left for school in a hurry, the comforter was draped over the side, hiding underneath. Quietly, John walked up to the bed, trying hard not to make a sound. Bending down, he could hear the stifled giggling of someone desperately trying to keep quiet but failing.
“Gotcha!” he cried, ripping the sheet away from the bed. He was met with a screech of surprise as he revealed Emma underneath.
“You found me!” She laughed and scrambled out from under the bed, “but you’ll never find Kate!”
“Oh yeah? How about you give me a hint then?”
“Nuh-uh, that would be cheeeating” she teased out her last words as she ran out into the living room.
John decided to look upstairs. The second story of the house was small, just two doors: one leading to Gloria’s room and the other a bathroom. A pull-door leading to the attic lay directly above him. John ventured into Gloria’s room. It was a tidy affair with a neutral colored design scheme, lots of light blues. A queen size bed stood in the center of the room with an ornate wooden nightstand next to it. A large dresser stood across from the bed, to the right of a walk-in closet. Across from John was a private door leading to the bathroom. All was quiet, no mysterious lumps, no telltale signs of someone hiding. John figured the walk-in closet was the most likely place to start. Gloria kept this space very neat too. Color coordinated athletic wear lined one side of the small room, with heavier winter gear on the other side. There was a small section of fancy dresses and John glimpsed something black and lacy hiding behind a revealing red dress. A smaller dresser held her socks and undergarments. There was only one place he couldn’t see, directly behind the dresses. Cautiously, he pushed the clothing aside – flash! He should’ve seen that one coming.
Groggy, John came to to a gentle, rhythmic jostling. He was surrounded by tight, coarse fabric on all sides with a solid wall flexing and pressing against him in time with the rhythmic motion. He realized he must be in someone’s pocket. “You guys really have to give me some warning” he said to no one in particular. With nothing to do but wait, he got as comfortable as he could and settled in for the ride. Eventually, a hand reached in and engulfed him. The fingers smelled starchy, like she had just been handling bread. John glimpsed nails painted a dark blue, it must be Kate then, Emma wasn’t old enough to be into that stuff. He was placed on the kitchen counter, watching giantess Kate bustle around, making herself a sandwich.
“Did you like your first day of work, John?”
The question caught him off guard, “what? Oh, I guess yeah. Not bad.”
“Ya think that’s what you’re gonna do until you get old?”
“I sure fucking hope not, oops, sorry.” He covered his mouth, he didn’t want to be a bad influence.
Kate laughed, “it’s ok, mom doesn’t like it when we swear but she’s still working and it’s just me here. Emma left to go to a friend’s house after I shrunk you.”
“Why did you shrink me?”
“I just wanted to, I like having a tiny guy that… you know… I actually like. You’re fun, John.”
“Well thanks… I guess.”
“I know you’re not happy about Johnny, but he was just so mean. No one misses him you know. I bet even his parents are glad he’s gone.”
“Look Kate, you’re old enough to know how I feel. At some point you’ll have to let him go. Besides, how do you think this will affect Emma? If she thinks she can just shrink people she doesn’t like and force them to lick her feet, or eat them, she won’t develop normally.”
“I dunno John, remember I shrunk my dad and fed him to her. Unless you’re saying that I’m not normal.” Kate had finished making her snack, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and was sitting in front of him. She took a bite and chewed loudly. John could trace the lump of food down her throat as she swallowed. “Does that make you nervous, John?” She caught him staring at her mouth.
He had to tread carefully, it was bad enough being tiny, let alone being at the mercy of a temperamental teenager. “I trust you, even if you shrink me I know you won’t hurt me.”
“Good, I’m glad you trust me.” She smiled, taking another bite. A thin fleck of spit escaped her lips, hanging from her bottom lip before breaking and falling to the floor below. “Because I want to ask you something.”
“What?” John said apprehensively, the dream from the night before still rattling around in his mind.
“Well…” She blushed, clearly she had rehearsed this in her head but actually saying it was embarrassing. “if you end up hating your job… Why don’t you live here with us? With me and Emma? You won’t be like Johnny. We’ll shrink you down to play and hide you but we won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to.” Her cheeks were red and she couldn’t look him in the eye. Yup, definitely embarrassed.
“Oh boy, Kate, uh, no, I mean, geez, what do you want me to say here? I almost got crushed by your mom yesterday, you know? I don’t think that would be good for any of us.” John tried to stay diplomatic but was too caught off-guard to know what to say.
Her lips pointed down, but that was the only emotion she showed. “I’m smarter than you think John, I’m almost in high school.” John hoped she didn’t see him stifling back laughter at that comment. “I bet you liked it, right? Being trapped against her like that.” She leaned in closer, her breath blew John’s hair back as she talked. He could smell the lingering scent of peanut butter heavy on her breath.
“Kate, that’s not something we should be-”
“I know what boys like, Johnny made that very clear to me.”
“Look Johnny is a creep ok, but trust me I would much rather see the world at normal size.”
“Hmph, well you’re going to be living here for a long time, we’ll see if your mind changes. You’ll have to choose eventually John – give in or go home.”
“What did you say?” John had forgotten the dread he felt during the dream but it came rushing back full force. Kate smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. She stood up, reminding John just how much bigger than him she was. Her shirt was so thin John could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra, then chided himself for noticing that.
“Well I’ll be in my room if you need me. Don’t worry I’ll change you back before mom gets home.” With that she turned and strode away.
“Kate? Hey! Don’t leave me up here!” John called after her, but it was no use. Either she didn’t hear him or chose not to turn around. She certainly kept him guessing that was for sure. Not feeling up to dealing with the complicated thoughts bouncing around in his head, John turned his attention to escaping the counter. He had to admit, the challenge of such an ordinary action turned daring stunt at his size made him more excited than anything at his actual job did. That didn’t mean he liked being tiny though, right? Definitely not. Definitely, probably, not.