Charlie didn’t really know what to expect when he knocked on Morgan’s front door. They’d been close friends for most of their young lives, yet here she was on a random Saturday morning, sending strange text messages asking him to come by so she could “show him something for the first time,” which was puzzling, because Charlie and Morgan had already been friends with benefits since last year. Plus an “I’m totally serious” message, and Charlie had to get over there as fast as possible.
The door swung open, and there stood his beautiful bestie: tall, almost lanky, yet svelte and tan as ever, with her shimmering chestnut hair and piercing hazel eyes; she wore a scant aquamarine blouse and thigh-baring skirt, along with her favorite purple sneakers and colorful socks. Morgan had always been a free spirit, and her mismatched clothes and playful personality only enhanced Charlie’s adoration for her.
“Hey, Chuck,” she said cheerfully, using her preferred nickname for him, which both of them knew Charlie hated. “How’s life?”
“Uhh… not bad. I mean, you invited me over, right? What’s up?”
“Oh yes. I have something to show you. C’mon in. It’s just up in my bedroom.” Morgan curled a beckoning finger and winked, which was all the encouragement Charlie needed.
Now assuming this to just be a clever ploy for a romp in the sheets, Charlie went along and followed Morgan up the stairs. Only when they entered her room, and he saw what appeared to be a fully set Monopoly board arranged on the carpet, did his confusion return.
“Sit,” she instructed, dropping to the floor and crossing her elegant bare runner’s legs pretzel-style. Charlie followed suit, studying the board; he wasn’t that familiar with Monopoly, but upon closer examination, there did appear to be several strange differences from the traditional game.
“What is this?”
“It’s… the real me.”
“The game is you?”
“No, no. The game is just how I’m going to show it to you. To make it easier to understand, and to show you that nothing’s changed between us. That I… still care about you a lot, Chuck, and that there’s only room for us to grow after this. Well, actually, “grow” might be the wrong word to use on both of us, but…”
“Sorry, Morg, but can you please just-”
“I know, I sound crazy, so here’s the basics,” Morgan said, taking a deep breath and lacing her fingers together in faux-prayer. Those hazel eyes stared straight through Charlie. “I have… powers. Like, the magic kind. Like the things we used to read in storybooks. I can make, change, and do just about anything, but up until now, I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone else. Even… you, my best friend, my… anyway, the point is, I can come clean now.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry about it. It’ll make sense soon. And it’ll be fun, I promise,” Morgan said. She waved a hand over the board, causing a mysterious light to emanate from her palm. “Just please, trust me, Chuck. It’s me. Roll the dice, and take your turn.”
Trembling, Charlie gulped down his reservations and focused on his best friend’s face: the person he might very well be starting to fall for. He had no idea what the hell she was talking about, nor how she’d just pulled off that illusion, but he could hear the pleading conviction in her voice. He could have faith in her long enough to see where this was headed, couldn’t he? The young man took up the dice, rolled, and the game commenced.
Despite his inexperience with the rules, Charlie followed along, as if by instinct. He was too nervous to ask Morgan any new questions, but she was as smiley and warm as ever as she did the same, each of them claiming their first few properties around the board. Eventually, though, Charlie ran into trouble, and owed money to the game-bank he didn’t have.
Before he could ask for the protocol, he experienced a bizarre sensation overtaking his insides, squirmy and uncertain. Morgan’s expression barely hid her glee. A second later, Charlie felt as though he’d been shoved several inches closer to the carpet at least, even though he was still sitting upright. His eyeline now rested noticeably below Morgan’s, and her grin widened as she stared him down.
“W-What… what’s g-going on. How…”
“Don’t freak out, Chuck. Everything’s going to be okay. We’re just playing a… special kind of Monopoly. When we lose game money, we also lose… something else. In your case, it will be inches off your body!”
“How?”
“I told you before. Magic,” Morgan purred. “Now buck up. You didn’t lose much there. But if you shrink down to only one inch, you lose, so better get your head in the game.”
Bewildered, but now emboldened by the drive to keep his remaining height, Charlie took up the dice again. Another few turns flashed by. Eventually, with some slight strategizing, he ensured Morgan came up short for her next turn. Curious to witness the effect for himself, Charlie was surprised when the gorgeous brunette sorceress began untying her shoelaces, with no physical change in sight.
“What are you looking at, perv?” she teased, then winked again. “Just kidding. Stare away, if it pleases you. We’re here to have fun. Even if you look kinda silly at five-foot-two or whatever you are now. Seriously, I have to be at least six inches taller now.”
“Why are you-”
“Oh, I didn’t say I would shrink when I lost money. Just you. I’m going to lose something else instead. And if I lose all of this… certain something… then you’d win.”
Blinking, Charlie worked out the math as his friend popped the sneaker off her socked foot, wriggling her toes through the cottony barrier, and set it back on the floor. She smiled, and gave her neckline a casual tug. This could prove to be interesting after all. Now more energized than he ever was before, Charlie proceeded with the intent of not merely maintaining his own height, but taking Morgan’s Monopoly money to ensure she lost more clothes.