“I need your help with something but you can’t tell anyone!”

James was halfway through the door, blocked by his short, blonde roommate.

“Look, Krys, can’t it wait till I’ve had a minute to relax? I’ve been working all day, for crying out loud…”

“Nope! I’m not letting you in until you agree to help me!”

Watching the girl spreading her arms and legs out in an X in the doorframe, James took a deep breath as he mulled over his options. He might be able to muscle through the door, but he’d been rooming with Krystal for three years now. He knew that whatever she needed, she’d be plaguing him until she got it. If he agreed to it now, she might just let him put it off for a few hours.

“Alright, alright, I’ll help you! Just let me in already! I’ve got to eat before I do anything…”

“Yay! Thanks, J! I knew I could count on you!” Krystal couldn’t help jumping around a little bit as she removed herself from the door. “Tell you what, since you were kind enough to help me, I’ll get you something to eat! Just relax on the couch. I’ll have it out in a few.”

“Wow, really? You HATE cooking… Just what the hell kind of favor did you rope me into?” 

“It’s a surprise! And the food’s more for my sake than yours. You'll be much more bearable on a full stomach.”

James shouted his thanks as she bounced out of the room towards the kitchen, before settling himself on the couch. Taking a moment to rest his eyes, he briefly remembered a strange encounter he had on the way home. He had been walking down the street, when a crowd of people gathering around an old woman stopped him short. Despite trying to force his way through with as little offense as possible, he accidentally shoulder-checked a large man in the crowd. After apologizing profusely, the man made it clear he didn’t take the gesture too kindly. Fortunately, before James could get his face pounded in, the old woman called out to break up the commotion, asking James to step forward. As it turned out, the reason she had drawn such a crowd was due to her profession as a palm reader. Judging by the crowd, she must have been pretty accurate with her predictions. Yanking his hand down to her level, she started scanning the lines of his palm. After a few moments, her mouth curled into a wry grin, and she spoke.

“Watch out for falling mountains, boy.”

At this moment, the large man James had bumped into decided he wasn’t going to let some dilapidated woman get in the way of his revenge. As he stepped forward, he caught a toe on the curb, and toppled forward… directly on top of James. As he tried to extricate himself the pile of meat on top of him, the old woman leaned over James and spoke again: “That’ll be five dollars, please.”

As he remembered the crowd laughing over the accuracy of the prediction, James was snapped back into the present by a series of rapid footsteps heading his way. 

“It’s ready!”

Krystal practically threw the plate onto his lap. It seemed to be small meat chunks covered in some kind of marinara sauce. Or was that just ketchup?

“C’mon, c’mon! The sooner you finish, the sooner we can get started!”

“Alright, chill! I’m eating! Could you please tell me what I’m doing, now?”

With a childish giggle, Krystal replied “Not until the plate’s empty! You’re going to need all the energy you can get.”

Giving her a suspicious glare, James stuffed the rest of the dish into his mouth, and (somewhat painfully) swallowed it all in a show of irritation. He cocked an eyebrow, and Krystal started to speak.

“Okay… first of all, don’t be mad. It’s just going to be for a couple of hours, and then everything’s going to be normal again, I promise.”

“...Until what’s going to be normal again?” James didn’t get a response from his roommate, who was looking uncharacteristically shy. 

“Welllllll… Do you remember that new cabaret cafe thing that just opened up? Inconsequentia?”

“Uhm… yeah, it’s that place with the new ‘size changing’ gimmick, right? Where the staff pretends you’re a few inches tall?”

“Yeah! I mean, kind of. Buuuuuut, more importantly… Can you guess who totally nailed her job interview there this morning?” Krystal leaned over James, a beaming grin nearly splitting her face, “Because she happens to be really excited about it!”

For some reason, James felt strangely intimidated by the relatively small woman looming over him. He swallowed the unexplainable lump in his throat. “That’s great, Krys! I’m really happy for you! But, uh… What’s this got to do with the favor you need from me?”

“Well, I’m… kind of nervous. I start next week, but I was hoping to get some practice in before I show up for my first shift. And that’s where you come in! I just need someone to help me brush up my people skills so I don’t look like a total dork!

The man on the couch breathed a small sigh of relief. “Oh. Well, if that’s all, I’d have been happy to help! You didn’t have to ambush me at the door… So, a few hours of practice, and then you stop treating me like a customer? Everything goes back to normal?”

“Yeah! There’s just… one teeny-tiny little detail… The novelty of Inconsequentia isn’t that the staff pretends that the customers are small. It’s that… Well… Here. Why don’t you stand up for a second?”

A little confused, James pulled himself off the couch. As he stood next to Krystal, he looked directly into her shoulder… which was odd, since he was used to looking down at the top of her head. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, as he noticed his field of view slowly moving lower and lower down her arm.

“...Krys? What’s going on?”