Several weeks later Jenna paused while getting ready for school. She looked at the mark that was even with the top of her head now and read the text beside it. “Jenna, age 8 – 5’0.” It took great effort to fight back tears when she thought about it. As a fully-grown adult she was no taller than herself at eight years old.
Jenna’s mom came into the room just as she finished fixing her earrings. “Come on, you’re going to be late!” she chided her daughter.
Jenna looked up at her mom in bewilderment. Did she even notice that she was half a head taller than her formerly-towering daughter now? “I don’t want to go to school today,” she protested.
“Oh? Why not?”
“Can’t you see?” Jenna shouted up at her mother. “I’m puny now! Everyone else is taller than me and I can’t take it!”
“Honey, I wasn’t much taller than you at your age,” her mother explained. “That’s just how tall you are, and if anyone makes fun of you for it that’s their problem.”
“But you didn’t shrink five feet in a year!”
“Maybe I didn’t, but you’re still going to school,” she replied sternly.
“Can’t I go see Doctor K instead?” Jenna complained. “She said if I needed to see her I just need to call.”
“Dear, Doctor Kaplan is on vacation for the next month. I’ll make you an appointment for when she gets back.” Jenna looked crestfallen. “Now get your bag and get in the car, we’re going.”
Jenna had been trying to keep a low profile at school. She traded in her denim skirts and tight tees for baggy sweatpants and a hoodie, and did her best not to stand still next to anyone. At lunch she ate alone, and had taken to arriving early and lingering after class so that she could avoid notice. If she had to keep going to school she was going to make it as painless as possible.
That morning, while trying to weave through the crowd to get to her first class, she bumped into someone. Jenna excused herself and tried to slip away, but a familiar voice stopped her. “Jenna!” Maddie called. “I haven’t seen you in weeks, I thought you moved!”
Jenna looked up at her friend. It was just a couple inches, but at this height it made a big difference. “Oh, hey Maddie.” She was much less excited than her friend. “You’ve… grown.”
Maddie looked down at her. “Yeah, I guess I did. Come on, stand up straight and let’s compare!” Jenna groaned, but did not want to disappoint her friend. She stood straight as a pole in front of her friend while Maddie did the same, then slid a hand forward from the top of her head. It easily cleared Jenna’s, then she spread her fingers to close the gap. When she showed it, her fingers were at least three inches apart.
“Huh, I don’t feel like I’ve grown that much,” she said, looking at Jenna in confusion. “Seems like not long ago you were towering over me.”
“Well, an inch here and there adds up,” Jenna offered neutrally. “Here in a couple months I bet you’ll be so tall you’ll barely be able to see me.”
“If I outgrew you I guess anything’s possible!” Maddie checked her watch. “Oh, I gotta get going. Don’t be such a stranger in the future!”
“Yeah, sure,” Jenna replied as her friend departed. She watched her friend leave, fondly remembering when she barely came up to her butt. Now she fully expected the roles to be reversed and then some. What would she say when she didn’t even come up to Maddie’s ankles? Would she maintain the fiction that her friend must be a hundred feet tall, or would she figure it out on her own?
Jenna moved to continue on her path but got a face full of black denim. She looked up to see a familiar face smirking down at her. Terrified, Jenna tried to back away and blend into the crowd, but ran into another solid wall. Quickly she turned and saw that she was face to chest with an impressive rack, and a glance up confirmed it was Shelby.
“Hello down there, little one!” Gina began, relishing the sight of Jenna trapped between Shelby and herself. “Still waiting on that growth spurt, huh?” She giggled at her own joke while Jenna futilely worked for an escape.
“It’s coming any day now, right?” Shelby chimed in. “Some day next week we’ll all look up in awe at the giantess that sprung out of your pitiful form?”
“Please, just leave me alone,” Jenna asked while trying to slip out between the two of them. “I don’t want any trouble.”
“Wait, hold on Shelby,” Gina said, leaning forward so that she loomed over Jenna. “I think it’s finally happening!” Her arms shot forward and grabbed Jenna by the armpits. “She’s growing!” Effortlessly Gina lifted the diminutive woman from the floor until her head nearly bumped against the ceiling. “Wow, look her go, she’s really towering over us now!”
“Hey! Let me go!” Jenna shrieked while she kicked her legs at empty air.
“It really happened, everyone!” Gina shouted, addressing the hall. “Jenna’s growing into a giantess! Everyone, get out of the way so she doesn’t crush you when she keeps getting bigger!”
“This isn’t funny!” Jenna squealed. “Let go of me!”
Gina grinned. “Okay,” she said, and released her grip. Jenna raced to the floor and hit it hard, then collapsed in a pile at Gina’s feet. She looked up and groaned while Gina struck a pose. “You should get used to that view,” Gina said, then jabbed her in the ribs with the toe of her shoe. “That’ll be permanent soon.” Then she stepped over the prone girl and continued on her way, laughing about Jenna’s misfortune.