When Theo thought about it, really, It was his own fault.

He hadn’t even applied to Olympia Interplanetary University. Hell, he had barely heard of the planet Alcmene, somewhere near the rim.

They offered Theo a full ride for engineering, two years into his schooling. All this despite his notably inconsistent grades. Certainly it seemed too good to be true, but apparently the school was for real. They were producing heavy duty work there, planes, ships, even space stations. It was perfect. He just needed housing.

His financial aid paperwork came back late and it put him in a terrible position. All the dorms were snapped up. With six weeks until fall semester, everything was taken except the ridiculously expensive luxury dorms.

He was wondering how long he could sleep in the library, cleaning with handi-wipes, when they called him about the wait list.

Two spaces had come available. One bed opened up in a six person dorm on the edge of campus. He'd have to share a ten by fourteen bedroom.

The other one was just past the other edge of campus, even further out than the other. It was set off in his own area, like a miniature campus of its own.

When he saw the size of the private room, for almost the same price as the other, he though it was a misprint: Thirty by forty feet. How was that possible?

“I had to double check this slot, it's not usually open to a male,” the young woman from the housing desk told Theo. “And it's in the Atlasian Village, all slots are first come first serve for citizens of Atlasia. Their female student backed out.”

“So my roommates would be female?”

“Yes. Two Atlasian female roommates. They opened up the room for all genders. Are you okay with that? Do you know anything about Atlasians?”

Theo didn't know anything. He believed Atlasia was a manufacturing base out past the rim. That was it.

“Sure, just never met one in person.”

She laughed, and said, “Yeah. They're just... on the statuesque side.”

“Yeah,” Theo replied, chuckling dumbly.

In hindsight, she was probably trying to be funny.

He arrived on a Wednesday. He first noticed them at the at Burgess Station, a small spaceport on the surface of Alcmene.

He saw what he assumed were basketball players, these two very tall young guys going through customs. Way past seven feet, both of them. He passed by then at baggage claim closer up. They didn't even look related, one a blond white guy, the other looked middle eastern.

Shit, he thought. He was eye level with their stomachs.

It wasn't until he saw another group of the giants, at least five of them, a couple topping eight feet, that he became suspicious.

Theo boarded the crowded campus shuttle. It was two hours to campus. When no one was paying attention he asked the driver, “Have you seen these super tall guys around the spaceport?”

The driver looked like an upper class student to Theo. “You mean the Atlasians?”

“Oh. That's... wow.”

“Oh, you never seen Atlasians before?”

“No. I mean sure, of course,” Theo said. Which was true, and he had heard they were somewhat tall. “Just not close up. I'm actually, I'm moving into the Atlasian Village though.”

The driver-student just whistled long. “Couldn’t do it.”

“Why not?”

“Just... I don't need to be a tough guy or anything but I hate to walk into a room where everyone could toss me around like a volleyball.”

Theo got it. He's seen only a few, and his gut reaction was to be intimidated. At the same time, people were just people, right?Theo said,”I actually have two female roommates though, so I'm not too worried about that.”

Theo saw the driver tilt his head slightly then looked at him quizzically. Looked at him just long enough Theo was about to point him back out to the road he was driving on.

The driver chuckled, and chuckled louder, shaking his head at some private joke. “Oh, man. Wish I could be there to watch this.”

Theo reached campus at ten at night. It was pretty vacant still, with five days until the start of the fall semester. He was impressed at the size and grandeur of it up close.

The library was six stories and the size of a shopping mall. The computer lab was the size of his high school. The athletics complex was a suburb of its own.

The Atlasian village was like that. An isolated suburb in a valley. It was quiet when he reached it, near midnight. Theo had his backpack over his shoulder, and his motorized luggage cart following behind. It was hugely overloaded, at least two hundred fifty pounds on a hundred fifty weight capacity. One of the wheels was starting to hang up, and he'd have to stop, push it to get it unstuck.

He could hear a concert or something like it happening in the distance, with music he didn't recognize.

When he reached the dorms, he was impressed with the design. They were newly built, and each took up the space of a full city block. They were strong-looking, with conspicuous steel and reinforcements. At the same time, they managed to be simple and clean.

There was a huge park toward the middle. Theo saw a couple of boys, tall as the others, tossing a frisbee u see the street lamps.

He had reached his dorm, which was even taller than most others he saw, across from the park. A flash of long hair caught his eye, and he responded to the deeply male instinct of being drawn to a hair flip. Curly, blonde, long. A girl was sitting with a book, her back against a tree. She had noticed him. She was looking at him across a distance Theo wasn't sure of.

He froze for just a moment. It struck him as strange, a woman looking at him and continuing to look at him. Was it interest? They were far enough away he couldn't tell what she looked like. But she seemed close, at the same time.

He turned away and walked to front door of the dorm. The doors were over ten feet high, inset In a glass structure over twenty feet high. Theo realized after a moment that the glass structure was actually an even bigger set of doors, with a release bar just above the top of the main set.

The bar for the main doors was chin high, but Theo found it locked. The buzzer was just above his head on the right. He pressed it, and waited.

He looked back at the girl across the way, who had gone back to her book. She looked back up and he reflexively looked away.

Why?

He heard movement and saw the towering shadow approaching the door. It opened slowly, and a huge figure loomed over him.

“Hey,” came the voice two feet above him. It was bright, friendly, guileless. “Can I help you?”

Theo looked up at the man. Blonde haired, white, looked like a surfer type. Theo gestured to the backpack and the motorized cart behind him. “I’m actually moving in?”

He looked puzzled, but moved out of the way to let Theo pass.

“I don't wanna give the impression we’re discriminatory or racist or anything,” he said, laughing. “The facilities are specialized for Atlasians, because, you know... low ceilings everywhere. These rooms are at a premium for us.”

"Cool," Theo said. "Thought you might have a thing against Afro Latinos."

"Uh huh," the guy said.  He didn't seem to get the joke.

The ceilings were sky high. He'd though it to be two stories, even as high as a ceiling for eight foot residents needed to be, but it was just one floor, over two stories high.

They entered the lobby. The man arrived at a reception window. He went through a door into the office, leaving Theo on the other side. The bottom edge of the window was just below his chin, but the window went all the way up, from his vantage point.

“Oh,” the man said, looking at a computer screen. “Theodore Ramirez?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I’m Luc.” He had a strange look in his face, like he didn't quite believe it. He turned, opened a cabinet behind him and came out with a small package. “You're with Camille and Roxanne this year?”

“You know them?”

The towering student chuckled. “Camille knows everybody. And Roxanne,” his eyes widened dramatically for a moment. “is hard not to notice.”

Theo opened the package. There was a keycard, some forms, and a small fob. “What's this for?”

“The side door is heavy, this activates the automatic door.”

Theo figured the other residents had no issues with the doors being heavy. He looked up at the huge windows and said, “Luc, can I ask you something?”

“Certainly.”

Theo asked in matter of fact manner, now acutely aware the men around him would see him as small and weak, “How big do you guys get?”

It didn't phase the giant surfer. He knew some variation of the question was coming. “I’ve met a couple of guys about two point eight meters.” Luc shrugged.

Theo did the math. Two point eight meters was past nine feet. There was some Atlasian guy running around over nine feet tall. And Theo’s last couple years of college was going to be spent around guys like that. That was gonna mess with his ego.

Theo didn't put much stock in being macho... but say a nine foot tall guy gets fresh with your girl right in front of you... Seriously, what’s the move?

Okay. This didn't have to be a death sentence. He was in the Atlasian Village. It was a small amount of land for a campus this size. There were four hundred thousand students here. And until Theo had arrived in the Village, he hadn't seen many eight foot students.

Only one Atlasian female at all, so far. He found that strange. He'd seen a dozen or so males, one female. But it was still nearly a week before the start of classes.

Theo had not talked to his roommates by phone or chat. He had, however, looked through the student directory to find photos. He found the student photo of Camille. She looked Asian, perhaps a Pacific Islander. She had straight Blonde Hair, and even in the one, simple photo she radiated confidence. There was no photo on file for Roxanne.

He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Two female roommates, at least one of them hot. Especially as now, he pictured them over seven feet in height. It did explain why two knockouts were okay letting some strange guy move on with them. He probably wasn't much of a threat, physically.

He had been thinking attractive roommates would have really hot friends. Now, he was thinking as a little dude he’d have to fight like hell to avoid friend zones. But there was a strategy for that, he was sure. If they tended to overlook him, they might not see him coming. And Theo felt his game was quite deadly at close range.

It whatever was here because he needed a room. He had a huge room, two tall beautiful roommates. Anything beyond that, just a happy accident.

He made his way down the hall, seeing the towering doors all around him. He turned the corner toward his apartment and heard the motorized cart miss the turn, push itself into the wall. The bad wheel had given out, come loose from its mooring. When he tried to pull it, a second wheel broke loose.

“Shit,” He said in the empty hall. He wasn't going to drag this down the hall. He was all the way at the end, and the cart outweighed him by a great deal. He was already aching from the journey.

And the journey in a place like this was not like a normal hall. This hallway was about two football fields, American football fields, long. He grabbed his backpack and started walking.

The door to his dorm apartment was different. The other doors were all crazy, obscenely tall and solid. His door had a smaller door, only seven and a half feet high, set on the larger standard door on the hinge side.

The inside was vast. It felt like walking into a warehouse, with the wide space and ceilings well over 20 feet high. There was one closed bedroom door to the left, another on the back wall to the right. Then a small open lanai.

The furniture was much too big for him. The arm of the couch was even with the top of his head. The seat cushions reached his mid chest.

Then there was a smaller couch, his size, sitting on a three foot riser.

“A booster seat,” he said to himself, and laughed. Then he shuddered. Man, he did not want to be seen sitting in that.

Theo wandered over to the kitchen, wondering how he was supposed to cook on a eight foot stove?

For that matter, he was wondering, how would an eight foot tall person use it? It didn't make sense.

He turned to go to find his room, at the back of the apartment, when he heard a click from the door on the left.

He turned back, looked up and readied himself to meet a seven foot or even taller, female roommate. He willed himself not to be dumbstruck.

This would be awkward. Luc had bordered on threatening, just from his size alone. And he had been nothing but accommodating. Totally nice guy. What if she was as tall as he was, and less friendly?

No matter how pretty this girl was, this was where Theo was going to live. And he didn't want to come off like a creep.

But with his eye trained at about seven feet, he waited to see a face... the beautiful and exotic Camille, or the unseen Roxanne. But he didn't see a face.

He saw a rib cage. A narrow, slender rib cage disappearing into a pink half tee.

At seven feet.

The figure shifted, and the outrageously long legs, in gray sweatpants, carried the girl... the Girl? forward. Closer. He looked up, and up.

Holy fuck.

And up a little more…

Seven feet above the floor, Theo was looking at the area between a girl’s belly button and her rib cage. Toned abs, basically.

“Hey!” he heard her say. He wasn’t ready to look up. This was wild. Something deep and animalistic in his brain was getting nervous.

The toned abs started moving toward him, and Theo’s hind brain started trying to get his attention. It didn’t like him standing there as this huge creature approached him so quickly.

He found himself taking a step back, then a second one, trying to adjust his perspective. Until she had moved toward him, Theo had for a moment started to wonder if maybe this was some elaborate practical joke.

He thought it was a college humor thing, he was being punked. Maybe he didn’t even have female roommates.

Maybe he didn’t even have real housing.

Wow, man. That wasn’t funny, that was fucked up. You can’t do that to a man’s life just for a joke.

Then her bare feet moved across the floor, carrying the towering figure quickly and fluidly toward him. Animatronics didn’t do that.

Her shadow surrounded him, engulfed him. Holograms didn’t cast solid shadows.

Theo was considering the possibility that the most advanced robot in the galaxy stood in front of him. A billion dollar automaton that smelled faintly of cherries and coconut soap. For the sake of a childish prank?

Okay. His theory was not holding up. But what was the option? That there were eleven foot females walking around in the wild here? Wasn’t that even a crazier alternative on Occam’s razor?

She was observing him. She seemed to be intrigued by him, looking at him like he was an interesting animal she saw sitting on a flower.

He dropped his eyes to her bare feet on the floor. He slid his eyes up the sweatpants to the tied string pink string riding low across her hip. That was a few inches above his eye level, a few inches below her belly button.

Then he looked quickly up to the pretty, pleasant face that seemed to hover between him and the ceiling. There had to be well over ten feet of her. She was lean, with light curves to her figure. She had long light brown hair, straight and flat. She looked Asian, or perhaps Pacific Islander equivalent back on Earth.

“Are you Theodore?” Her voice was incongruously high and delicate.

He tried not to stare, but he was flustered and disoriented. He was confused by what he was seeing. The energy in her face, the imperfection and uncertainty in her body language. This was an actual girl.

This was actually… really happening.

Luc had seemed crazy tall to Theo. All the Atlasian guys looked super tall, like the biggest basketball players and tight ends he’d ever seen, machines of power and efficiency. This girl was something slightly different, something beyond “tall.” Something else altogether.

He found himself staring at the belly button half a foot above his head. It was moving in and out as she breathed. He heard a distant voice above him say, “Are you okay?”

Theo shook himself out of it. “Yeah,” he said but the word fell out hard. “I'm Theo. You're Camille?”

She tipped her head back and laughed from way, way above him. And Theo heard something awkward and innocent about her voice. She said, “Cami’s my big sister. I'm just sixteen!” she was blushing. “I'm just visiting is all. Before classes start, because I'm thinking of going here?”

“Oh.” Her voice went up at the end, like it had been a question. He saw it now, that slightly unsure posture. She was extremely pretty, and she suspected she was extremely pretty. But her body language, the way she moved, said she wasn't sure yet.

“Cami is at the concert so she’ll be home later? Roxanne just left Atlasia this morning so it’ll be a couple of days.”

“Sure,” he said, wanting to make small talk, so he wouldn't seem like an idiot. His brain was not cooperating.

“Oh,” she straightened suddenly, and took a quick step toward him. Theo might have jumped when she did. It was a quick, minor adjustment in stance from a human so tall it was to his understanding, not close to possible. She extended her hand. “If you need anything, I'm Gen.” She leaned down.

“Theo,” he smiled up at her, extended his hand in response as she leaned down just a bit more. His hind brain resisted, tried to make Theo move. It had clearly marked this pretty girl as some kind of superior predator.

He felt absolutely tiny, standing there in her long, dark shadow. Tiny like a lost child, unsure of a stranger. Her hand was long, slender, and his fingers only went just over halfway across her palm. She curled just two of her fingers to enclose his.

She didn't quite close it, though. Theo could feel it, this high school age girl being overly gentle. In her mind, it was possible that her passive muscle tension could hurt him.

He smiled up at her, from the darkness she was casting in front of her. He said, “It’s okay, I won't break.”

And she laughed. Her hand relaxed, closed on his just a bit more securely.

It was a bluff, though. Theo kind of understood that he might very well break if pressed. He was acutely aware that he would only be able to remove his hand if she allowed it.

She did. She straightened way up and asked, “Are you hungry or thirsty maybe? It’s a long trip from the spaceport to here.”

Theo shook his head, his mouth and brain still not quite cooperating.

She waited a few moments, and asked “Can I help with your bag?”

“I got it,” he finally said, looking back over his shoulder. He pointed down the hall at a door. “This one isn't that heavy. Is that my room?”

“Yeah, I think so,” she said. She was so tall it was like he was standing in a well. But her voice, as delicate as it was, carried quite nicely. What did the giant surfer boy say? Over nine feet? Gen was much more than a hair over that.

He was walking down the hallway, the ten foot wide hallway, and looked back at her. She was watching him, but turned to go when he looked back at her.

Now Theo wondered about these high, high ceilings and tall, tall doors.

His door was like the front door. A smaller door for the teensy little earth guy who wasn't even a full six feet.

He closed his door and sat there with his back to it. He exhaled loud and long. He hadn’t even ealize he’d been holding his breath.

Holy shit.

The eight footers walking around had been jarring, but he'd met seven footers. Eight footers were known to exist on earth.

Ten plus footers? And female? When did that happen? Where did that even come from in the human genome?

This was going to be distinctly weird. He was already through the looking glass. He just went from a college student of average size and strength to a guy sweet, shy sixteen year old girls are afraid they might break.

He really was wondering about this planet, Atlasia. He'd heard of it only vaguely, through his studies as an engineering student. Their big thing was a manufacturing industry for the larger space vessels. He was on their turf now, and he knew nothing.

It was definitely his own fault.

He went over to his bed, which was about a foot too high, and near ten feet in length. He flopped onto it, and rolled onto his back. The mattress was strange. It was too thick, and too soft, and the most wonderfully luxurious surface he’d ever laid his body on. He stared at the ceiling some twenty feet away, thinking he should call his mother. Then Renny. No, actually, forget Renny. Renny would ask about his roommates.

“They hot? They like that latin heat?” and it would only get more infantile from there. Theo was sober and serious today, he didn’t really want that conversation yet. Even if he didn’t have to explain, Well, Renny, I think they could rip my arms out of the sockets like a wookiee.

That wouldn’t stop Renny anyway. He’d insinuate that just meant wilder sex.

No, Renny, I’m serious. Like twelve feet tall and solid. She’d literally crush me.

And Renny would start singing “My Pony” off key.

Theo felt the bed pulling him into dreamland, and he forced himself up and out of it.

He pulled himself together and walked out into the apartment. The floor was so spacious, it almost felt like a shopping mall.

He looked over to the door Gen was behind. It was mostly closed, but he could see her feet again from his vantage point. They were bopping along with a cormy pop song, the kind sixteen year old girls of all sizes were always into.

He had to go get his bag now, and he wasn’t sure how he’d do it. It was a two hundred pound plus bag with two bad wheels. It felt a little odd to ask a high school girl to help him with it. Would that make a good impression? No, he'd find a way. He'd ask for a hand truck.

Then again, how big would that be?

Theo opened the small inner door of the apartment, and stepped out into the empty hallway. There were faint whispers of increasing activity. Sounds of movement were echoing around, and he saw shadows being cast on frosted windows toward the lobby. Huge, huge shadows, even for these people. The light sources must be really low.

Theo approached the end of his hallway, and turned toward the bigger hallway. He heard two voices, a male and a female.

The cart was still there. Luc was standing a few yards behind it, looking at the ceiling. Luc didn't seem quite as mind-bogglingly huge to him now.

Theo had caught his attention, and the giant turned from the ceiling to him. “Oh. There he is. Is there a problem with your cart?”

“Yeah, two of the wheels locked up. I was coming to figure it out. I might just take a few things at a time-“

Theo felt a slight sense of disorientation for a moment. He thought the room was spinning, then saw no, it was just one wall. The wall was moving behind Luc, up over his shoulder. Then, he realized it was a curtain. No... It was cloth, a huge blanket. shifting past a woman’s thighs.

Luc looked away from Theo back toward the ceiling, and Theo followed his gaze up, past the thighs.

His hind brain out and out panicked this time. This time, seven feet wasn’t even quite as high as her hip. Ten feet was still below her breasts, which were significantly fuller than her high school age sister.

Theo heard his hindbrain pipe up more aggresively, saying, “you gotta be fucking kidding me.” Theo was already taking a step back, still disoriented, and the floor came up and slammed up under his ass.

“Whoa, hey,” Luc shouted, quickly moving to check on him. He dropped to a knee.

“No, I’m okay, just… slipped,” Theo said, waving him away. Luc shrugged and stood back up.

Theo's eyes kept moving higher until he found Camille’s face and shoulder length blonde hair. She smiled, and put her huge hand over her mouth to cover her amusement. Or rather, to pretend to cover her amusement. Theo wasn’t sure she cared if he saw her laughing.

Theo noticed in the distance, people starting to show up. Men and women, returning apparently from the concert.

Camille tossed the blanket over her shoulder and took a step closer. That one step was enough to swallow Theo in her shadow.

Theo jumped to get to his feet. People were coming in, and Theo had a horrible image in his head of Camille picking him up off the ground, then holding him in the air like he was a puppy. No question she could do it.

Holy hell, that’s how massive she was.

“Hey, I'm Theo,” he said quickly, still trying to get to his feet and realizing he was going to have to take another step back to see her face. Looking straight ahead, his eye level was her thighs. Low on her thighs.

Her smooth and curvy, well muscled thighs. Her knee was chest high to him.

“Camille,” she said with a mirthful head nod. “Enchantee, man.”

She reached out two fingers instead of her whole hand, and Theo realized he was supposed to shake it.

This was a different half handshake. She didn’t move to grasp his hand, she just let him grasp hers. Thing is, when he tried to shake the two fingers, they didn’t really budge. Like, at all.

“How was the concert?” he asked.

She smiled. “Pretty, pretty, pretty good.”He was placing the accent they had for the first time. It was definitely a French variant, somewhere between the original accent and the Haitian version.

Theo nodded up at her, trying to ignore the fact that her knees were level with his chest, and her chest would have been level with the roof of the house he grew up in.

“Very good. I was just saying hi to your little sister.”

“You know, you don't have to yell at all, I can hear you.”

“Am I yelling?”

She nodded, still smiling.

He couldn't help it. It was like speaking to someone on a balcony. Except her balcony was made by God. He had been generous.

Camille gestured to his baggage cart. “This is yours?”

“Yeah. Wheel had an issue, I can handle it.”

She said, “Let me get this.”

He reacted sharply, “No! I can get it.” She looked at him suspiciously. He tried to sound more mellow. “I’m just gonna unhook the straps and...”

Camille bent at the knees, dropped down, down, until she was sitting on her heels. She was still taller than Luc, who was in fact a giant anywhere but here, standing to her right. Theo couldn't stop himself from reflexively taking another step backward.

In a way, it as even more intimidating than standing to full height. Now all of that mass was compacted. This massive being was looking into his eyes from only a few feet away.

“I understand. Guys are like that all over. You don’t want to look weak or feel helpless, especially in front of girls,” she laughed. “I get that.”

It was disarming and frightening all at once. This massive, beautiful creature cut past everything to get his thoughts into the open. She’d given him the power. He chuckled. It was so cool of her. It relaxed him.

“Yeah,” he confirmed, looking at the ground, embarrassed. He shook it head. “That’s way more accurate than I’m comfortable admitting.”

She smiled, saying “Yeah, I get it, Theo, I do.” She stood up, still looking down at him.

Camille took a step to the other side of Theo to his cart. She slipped one big hand underneath it, and lifted. She stood up, balancing the overloaded motorized cart with one hand, supporting it in the middle, like a server might hold a tray with a couple of glasses of water.

Camille said to Theo, “You’re gonna have to get over that particular hangup pretty quick.” Then she turned to Luc and continued talking casually. “You want me to ask about that class for you?”

Somehow, after that friendly exchange, Theo couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed. She stood there, making small talk with a guy two feet taller than Theo and still didn't reach her waist, while holding his cart like it was nothing.

Theo felt his first encounter with his real life giant roommate could have gone much better.. He leaned his back against a wall watching her casually hold his broken luggage cart, which certainly outweight him by a hundred pounds.. It wasn't exactly despair, but it was a reassessment.

Three times on this trip, he’d had his whole concept of the limits of the human body completely readjusted. First, the tall, friendly but intimidating guys. Then first Atlasian girl he sees is still in high school, and her belly button was above his head.

Above his head!

Now a college girl who could knee him in the chest without lifting her toe off the ground.

He saw them all coming in, and he got it. It was clear. When Luc said the tallest guy he knew was nine feet, he hadn't been lying. Looking around at the ten or fifteen males milling around the hall and in the lobby, he'd have put them all under nine feet.

But with the girls, Camille and five or six others he saw, every one of them far exceeded ten feet. Gen was just about the smallest he’d seen, in fact.

So Atlasian females were actually taller. Much, much taller in fact. Their males at about waist height seemed the norm for them. It felt like irony, or poetry or... something.

Maybe that changed things. He wouldn't so much be seen as feeble and unmanly. Women from the core would still see him as no worse than average. But here, if he altered his thinking, being smaller than these females was actually normal to them.

It was better than nothing, anyway.

“You okay?” Camille asked him, pulling him out of his thoughts as she approached.

“Sure,” he said.

She walked up ahead. She was wearing form fitting green shorts, reaching into her pocket. The muscle she carried on her thighs was amazing. Her quads seemed to jump out of her skin with every step.

And the globes of her butt, which were two feet above Theo’s head, was straining the fabric even without her rifling for her keys.

He was practically at a full jog just to keep up with her strides at first, but he noticed she slowed down.

She casually switched the overloaded cart to her other hand as she neared their door. She stopped.

Theo saw her huge form twist, and he looked up to see her her eyes peeking down at him over her shoulder. She asked him, “You got your key? I think I left mine in the apartment.”

Theo reached into his pocket and pulled it right out, held it straight up toward her.

“Can you open it? That only opens the smaller door, I would think. But then, you can open the big door from the inside.”

He was eager to help. Theo told himself it was because he wanted to make a good impression on a new roommate. It wasn't because she was, conservatively, a nine out of ten. And it wasn't because deep in the back of his mind he was terrified of what this giant stranger might be like if she was particularly unhappy with him.

He got the door open and went through into the oversized living room. He closed his small door, stepped back, and asked himself how he was going to turn that lock, and that doorknob.

Like she was reading his mind, she asked, “Hey, my bad Theo, can you even reach it?”

“Yeah, I can reach it,” he yelled. By that, he meant the if he stood on his tiptoes, his fingers could graze the bottom edge of the lock. Turning it was something else.. but hey, she hadn't asked him that.

The knob was not so bad. It was a few inches above his head. He reached to turn the lock in the center. It wasn't easy. He wasn't expecting to have to muscle it, but it was geared for Atlasian females.

Once he got that, he was kinda stuck. He pulled off his belt, and threw it across the thinner end where the knob met the door. He grabbed the loose end, put it through the buckle, and used it to pull himself up.

Camille yelled from the other side, “Just get Gen to come open it.”

Theo paused with he feet halfway up, straining against the belt. “I got it, hold on.”

He managed to get one arm around the knob, then both arms. He swung his feet up to get on top of the knob. Twice he missed it, and nearly went tumbling to the floor below.

“Listen, Theo, if you hurt yourself trying to open a door, I'm gonna be really upset with you. And I'm gonna feel really bad.”

“Keep your pants on!” He yelled. He got one arm barred precariously around the knob. It was a lot bigger than a doorknob on earth, but that only made it about eight inches across.

“What did you say about my pants?”

This time, he whipped his feet up, got them wedged against the slender bar of the deadbolt knob. He got it to slowly start to move, holding on for dear life so he didn't go flying off the knob to injure himself on the floor. And piss off a bombshell well over double his height.

He got it vertical, then past it and it got easier. Here we go, he thought. It finally got easier, and he heard the deadbolt slide open.

He felt the knob twist. Oh shit.

The door swung open quickly. His instinct was to hold on to the knob, which might have been a mistake. Gravity pulled him off balance, and the attachment to the door yanked him briefly perpendicular before he lost his grip. His momentum carried him airborne, spinning wildly into the hallway, and he was going to fall the seven feet to the floor.

His ribs hit something solid, knocking the wind out of him. Then he was suspended in space and in time, for a long moment trying to take a breath.

Camille had him in her free arm. She pulled him up against the right side of her torso, and he wasn't going anywhere at that point. When she had caught him in mid air against her forearm, it hadn't moved a millimeter. It was like hitting a padded steel girder.

Camille said, “Okay. I'm stumped. How did you do that?”

Theo said “A magician never tells.” It came out like a croak. He was trying to inhale and not halfway succeeding.

Theo heard the door to the bedroom open. From his vantage point he couldn't see Gen, but heard her ask, “Oh! Is he okay?”

Camille asked him as she carried him in one arm and the huge luggage cart in the other, “You okay? Did you hurt yourself? Am I hurting you?” He shook his head no, but she was squeezing just tightly enough to keep the air out of his lungs.

He heard Gen come around saying “I got him.” Camille loosened her grip and Gen got him under the arms and lifted, taking him off her. She held him up off the ground as he finally got a breath. He looked up at the pretty young girl’s face and saw genuine concern. “Ohmigahd,” she said with an exaggerated affectation. “He's sooooooo light!”

Then she lifted him higher, up above her eyeline and off her body, looking at him with a pouty, worried expression.

Just like he was a puppy.

Her face shifted from a pout to a smile, and she batted her eyes at no one in particular. It was incredibly girly for someone over ten feet tall. Theo had never thought of himself as having fragile masculinity, but the moment cut his male ego deeper than he'd ever though possible.

“Going to have to get over that,” Camille had told him.

Theo got his bearings a bit. Camille was behind him now, in the interior hallway walking toward his room.

He kept from kicking his feet in the air, like a child. He instead tried to stretch his feet to the ground by use of sheer will. He was staring into the face of a high school girl, recognizing that his attempt was entirely unsuccessful.

“Put him down Gen, you just wanted an excuse to pick him up,” he heard the even bigger one say.

“I'm just making sure he's okay,” Gen said, starting to lower him.

“I know you, Genevieve,” Camille said.

Mercifully for Theo’s self image, he started to descend. Gen’s face rose above his again, then her shoulders, her chest her ribs, her belly button, the tie on the waist of her sweats... The tips of his feet touched the floor, but not his heels. Gen held him there, suspended, until he looked straight up at her and told her, “I’m okay. Let me down.”

Then, she released him. It was total control. There was nothing he could have done to get back to the ground but to ask her to allow it.

She stood back to her full height, satisfied, smiling at him from five feet up.

And she was the little one.

As a reminder, Camille returned, leaning over Camille’s shoulder. She had about four feet on her younger sister. That was nine feet on Theo. They were both so far above him, Theo felt like a baby in a crib.

“Watch him. This shorty is crafty.” Camille pronounced the word like “shawty.”

“I’ve been told,” Theo said. “Never been called ‘shawty’ before, though.”

“Don't take that the wrong way,” Camille said, walking into the kitchen. “It's just slang, you know, for a cute boy.”

“Cute, I have been called quite often.”

Camille laughed. “I bet you have.”

“Lived with my grandmother every summer, she’d tell me over and over. That’s how I got my rep.”

Camille laughed again, a hearty laugh this time. Theo saw she had put his heavy, broken motorized cart down in front of his door.

Between the luggage and the cart itself, it had to be over three hundred pounds. And she carried that thing in one hand, for like five minutes.

He was still looking at it when a huge shadow fell over him. Camille had been kind enough to stand about ten feet back, but he still had to crane his neck a bit.

“Let me ask you something,” she started. She was holding a bottled water, and offered it to him. He took it.

It was basically a two liter bottle, with a widened mouth, it struck him as a perfect compromise, something they both could use. Theo tipped it back.

“When you first arrived here at the Village... “ Camille trailed off. He look was bemused, knowing.

“I had no idea.”

She laughed hard, the joyous sound rolling through the space and shaking his bones. He shrugged, and offered the bottle back to her with both hands. She took it with three fingers.

“When you fell on your ass, I kind of figured.”

“That's not fair, I was just trying to look up far enough to see you.”

“What was it you said?” And Camille dropped down again, reducing herself to about eight feet tall. “Gotta be kidding me?”

“Wait, that was out loud? I thought that was internal monologue. I meant, you gotta be kidding me, my roommate couldn't possibly be this lovely. How could I get this lucky?”

“That part is true. At first it was girls only, then we opened it up to guys, but no one on campus since there is a real perv factor around here.”

Theo chuckled. Then he thought about it. “Hold on, so what if they were pervs? They couldn't exactly push themselves on you.”

“See, that's short sighted. They could still get compromising pictures, make us feel uncomfortable, or just piss us off to the point we lose control... Roxanne is already on thin ice.”

“Wait... Thin ice? What thin ice?” Theo did not like the sound of that.

“So you were not curious about the girls you were moving in with?”

“There are a hundred and sixty-two human settlements out in the galaxy. I figure people are all the same.”

“Do you still think that?”

“I haven't seen anything to make me think otherwise at this point.”

Camille smiled. She turned and walked away. He could feel Camille’s steps through the solid floor.

Theo lowered his head, and started rubbing the back of his neck. It was gonna be sore tomorrow from all the looking up. Damn.

Definitely his own fault.

Not that he would have thrown out his chance at decent housing, but at least he would have made less of an ass of himself.

Then, there was the shower. The shower was a bit of an adventure. Like the door, it was rigged so he could operate it. But the nozzle was ten feet above his head. When he turned it on, it was a deluge. He also couldn't reach to change the angle. He was gonna have to get a fix for this soon. The last thing he needed was a shower that created anxiety.

Theo stepped out of his room into the apartment. It was a little after ten. He found Gen watching TV, laying on the couch.

She sat up when she saw him.

“Good morning, Genevieve,” he said to the high school girl.

She waved. “Did you get your room set up? Do you need anything?”

Theo preferred to bring the shower situation to Camille, so he told her “I’m all set, thanks.”

But when he stepped into the kitchen, and the counters were eight feet high, she asked, “Can I make you coffee?” That, he was okay with.

Actually, since she was a mere ten feet and change, she had to stand on stools to get into place, too. But unlike Theo, who was still sore and groggy, she was much more appropriate to handling a three gallon coffee pot at the moment.

Gen stood up and it happened again, that disorientation that you get when your eyes don't quite believe it. And as his eyes followed her all the way up, a mild pain shot through the back of his neck.

Theo noticed a step stool in the corner of the kitchen, by the pantry. It was a little bigger than ideal. There was maybe sixteen inches between steps.

He put his hand under the back and tried to lift. It was heavy. It was made to support women who weighed God knows how much... A thousand pounds? More? But he could move it just enough. It might work for some of these “little” issues he was running into.

“You want it black?” Gen asked him.

“I like cream, I could take or leave sugar.”

She served him the coffee in a shot glass. Which was a fair approximation of coffee cup size, perhaps a little deeper. My God, Theo thought, the liquor these women must put away.

Gen said, “I want to ask you something. But I don't want Camille to know I asked.”

Theo looked up at Gen. He could see she was a bit embarrassed but undeterred. “Why do you want to hide it from your sister?”

“Because it's kinda stupid, and not my business. And maybe it'll make you self conscious.”

“Are you going to ask me how tall I am?”

“I mean, technically I haven't asked yet so if you told me on your own...”

Theo sighed, and rubbed his neck.

“Never mind, Theo. It's stupid.”

“No, it's just curiosity. I understand, it's just strange to meet a bunch of pretty girls and they're just fascinated by how incredibly small I am.”

He looked up at Gen, and she was smiling. She was actually blushing. Theo felt he was sending the wrong vibe. “Honestly I'm dying to know myself, how tall you are.”

Gen said, “I’m three twenty two, maybe

Twenty three.”

“Three twenty three what?”

“Centis. Centimeters.”

He looked up at her. He had always seen two meters as really tall. The sixteen year old girl was three and a quarter meters tall.

Sixteen. Three meters, and another quarter on top of that. That was about ten feet, seven inches. He saw there was some pride there. He shook his head.

“I'm still growing, obviously.” She shrugged and said something under her breath. “Bee Gee, Gee Bee.”

“Just... wow.” He took his giant shot glass and walked to the couches. He climbed up the riser and sat down with the little guy sized couch.

Gen followed him, sitting in the riser below him. “No fair, Theo, come on.”

Theo sighed again. It was weird to be embarrassed about it. He wasn't even really short. But to tell one of these giantesses... He did the math in his head. “Five feet, ten inches. That's one seventy eight.”

She put her hand to her mouth, smiling. He thought for a minute she might laugh, which would probably make him mad. “And that's it, right? Not even growing another centimeter?”

“Not significantly, no. I mean how much longer do you expect to grow?”

“We’ll, boys where I’m from, they get big early, like thirteen, but they're done growing by sixteen or seventeen. Girls only start the real growth about fifteen, that’s when I got my jump. We grow all the way through our mid twenties. Grow a lot.”

“Good God...You're almost double my height already. And you're gonna keep growing another decade?”

“Cami is over four fifty. She’s in her three jump. A jump is what we call the growth spurts a girl gets, she’s finishing her third.”

Camille was just finishing a growth spurt? It was insane. It's not like he hadn't expected it. But the numbers still amazed him.

“But, Roxanne?” Gen said, with a dramatic flourish... “Oh, my God, Roxanne...”

“Roxanne?” The voice came from behind them. Camille was up. She came out of her bedroom with a top that was too small for her curves, and hung away from her smooth belly. Her hips flared out so wide it very nearly looked like double her waist. That was how she was built, sweeping curves. Her knees seemed small compared to the thick quads that swelled out as big as Theo's shoulders. Above that was the beautiful face, looking less than happy.

Gen stood up, moving away from Theo. “We were just talking.”

Theo jumped in, “Hey I’m sorry, but I was just curious. It's stupid, but midget that I am,” Theo chuckled self effacingly , “I was really curious about just how tall you guys are. I shouldn't have asked.”

Camille looked at him. He could see suspicion on her face. “I understand how you'd be curious. I just don't want her to scare you about Roxanne since they do that whole frenemy thing.”

Gen said “I like Roxanne!”

Camille waved a finger at her sister. “When she was shorter than you, you loved Roxanne. Now sometimes, your envy gets to you.”

“Oh, whatever.”

“It’s my fault Camille,” He stood up, and hopped off the riser. “This is still new, I'm adjusting.” He looked over at Gen, who was hopeful that his attempt to take the blame would work.

He approached Camille. His brain started sending out alarms as he got closer. About twelve feet away, his feet refused to take him directly in front of her.

The vaguely annoyed giantess took two steps toward him and he experienced a sudden vertigo. He audibly heard himself gulp. It was so loud he was thinking she heard it too. But he fought backing up.

If she was really angry, there was absolutely zero he could do to defend himself here. She wasn't just strong like a person, this woman was strong like construction equipment.

Theo asked, “What do you mean ‘scare me’ about Roxanne?”

Camille said, “Well, Roxanne is big. Really big, at least for her age. Already way taller than I am, only one jump so far.”

“She's just. Seven. Teen.” Gen chimed in, showing just how impressed she herself was by Roxanne’s size. There was more than a little envy in her voice. “Her jump lasted like two years.”

“It wasn’t two years,” Camille mused, “ but it was supposedly the all time record.”

“She was teeny three years ago. Like not much taller than you.” Gen sounded like she was pleading God for some sense of fairness. “Now they call her ‘Kaiju’.”

Teeny, she says, not much taller than you.

Theo chuckled. The smallest was double is height. The tallest was nicknamed Kaiju, like the giant city destroying monsters in n old Japanese movies. And they were all. Still. Getting. Bigger.

Theo asked Camille on impulse, “If you grow until your mid twenties... how tall is your mother?”

“Mom?” Gen answered. She looked at Camille, thoughtful for a moment. “Five ninety seven, right?”

Camille nodded in agreement.

“Holy shit,” Theo put his head in his hands and shook it. “I'm just imagining my mom at twenty feet tall. I don’t think I’m sleeping tonight.”

“Mom could throw me around the yard and the other four of us together wouldn't even slow her down. I’m barely as tall as her boobs. Thing is, my mom, she's full grown. Roxanne is already closing in on that size with a lot of growing in front of her.”

Gem snorted. “Like, way in front of her.”

“Alright, Gen. Lay off her, Roxanne will be here in a couple of days, I don't want to die trying to pull her off you.”

“C’mon Cami. She’s my best friend.”

Camille sighed, dropped her head like she was exhausted. She turned to look at Theo.

“You and I need to get breakfast. I know a place.”

A warm late summer morning in the Atlasian village was alive with giants. Not empty streets with the occasional tall guy wandering alone, but vibrant, filled with these towering figures Theo dreaded being somewhere in the dating pool as his competition. The women came in smaller numbers, but probably had a significant edge in total body mass.

They weren’t all as lushly built as Camille. Some were slender, some were quite thick, some bordered on muscle bound. But they were mostly athletic, mostly leaned toward busty, and most started at about twelve feet and only got bigger from there.

In fact, there was logo or acronym he noticed setting on the girls’ tee shirts. The fourth time he saw it he asked Camille about it.

“What is BGGB stand for?”

Camille smiled down at him. “That’s the Atlasian girl motto. Or Maxim or whatever. This thing we say. Just Atlasian girls, now. Don’t say it yourself, it sounds offensive coming from outsiders. Even the boys don’t say it.”

“Okay,” he said, deciding not to ask again. But now he was twice as curious.

Walking next to Camille was surreal. Her skin was the most gorgeous hint-of-caramel, smooth as any he’d ever seen, and all he was seeing at this vantage point was the massive expanse stretched right over the sweeping muscles of her thighs and calves. Her knee was chest high, verging on throat high. Hips two feet above him at their widest. Waist completely out of reach, he doubted he could reach it standing on a chair. Her face was just... way up there.

Theo was not the only short guy walking around the Atlasian village, but he was the only one walking around with Camille Guillaume. That seemed to draw some attention.

She seemed to be asking for it that day. She called out to a couple sitting under a tree in the park. They eagerly waved back. The guy was sitting in his girlfriend’s lap. He was pretty sure the guy was Atlasian, which would have made him an eight footer.

Camille was walking particularly slow, so he didn't have to hurry his stride. Her knees were chest level to him in her thin sandals. He could see every muscle working under the skin of her diamond shaped calves. They seemed to be as big as he was, all by themselves. He fought the strong urge to reach out and touch them.

It was about three blocks, big blocks, to the downtown area, and it seemed almost everyone knew Camille though it was obvious she didn't really know them.

“Cam!” one guy said, running over. Camille waved politely, and he reminded her he was “Frank, from Psych 350?"

Camille looked down at him. “Yeah,” she said. She didn’t say it with conviction.

"We talked at the concert last night.” He was a head taller than Luc, over two feet taller than Theo, and muscle bound. He was still just below waist high to Camille, tops. “There's a real tight local band, Fountaineer, gonna play at The Shine Saturday?”

“Yeah, I heard about that. I was excited but my roomie’s coming my back in a couple of days. I gotta see what she's up for... but If we go, I'll definitely come find you.”

“Yeah, do that. We’ll buy you guys a drink.”

“I’ll hold you to that, and I don't drink the cheap stuff,” she said.

“Great,” the guy said, and started to step around her, started to accelerate, and almost directly into, or over, Theo. It happened fast. Theo was expecting him to go one way, and his momentum was going to put him directly in the giant’s path. Guy had to weigh close to half a ton.

Camille’s right hand came out, her palm against Frank’s chest, slowing him with enough force Theo heard him grunt as the air left his lungs.

That was the first time Frank actually looked down, and saw Theo.

“Careful, Frank!” Camille said.

“Oh,” Frank said with surprise. Then he said, “Oh,” again, this time with disappointment.

“This is our roommate, Theo. Any of you guys runs him over, me and Roxanne both gonna be pissed.” She said it with a smile and a chuckle, but she didn't sound like she was joking.

The way Frank apologized, he didn't think so either. Before yesterday, he would have been by far the biggest human being Theo had ever seen. He was cowed by Camille. Theo was pretty sure she could have put him on the ground with the one hand.

Theo resolved to never be late with his share of the bills.

After Frank hurried off, Camille turned to Theo. She reached down to take Theo’s hand. “I want you to touch me more.”

Theo’s eyebrows went way up.

She squatted low, at least low for her. She was about Frank's height at that point, which put her at about eight and a half feet.

Wow.

She put his hand against the warm, supple skin of her thigh. “I know you people are prudes, right, but when you're walking next to me? Just put your hand on my thigh whenever.” She patted his hand against her thigh a few times. “ If you need to get my attention, or just to make sure I know exactly where you are so I don’t knock you over. Okay?”

She stood, and Theo kept his hand there as long as he could. The thigh rose until the spot he was touching slipped above his reach.

Just... Damn. She was so enormous.

They got a table outside, where it was nearly empty. As he figured, the tables were high. He'd been alarmed when Camille asked for a booster seat, but it was very much necessary. Luckily it fit under the table, instead of having a tray in the front like a toddler. Still felt wrong.

He looked up at her. It was not a bad seat from his position. He was always having to back up, or at some strange angle. Finally he got to see the girl he saw on the online photo, and... wow.

Her skin was golden brown, her blonde hair tied back. She was made up, but casual. Full lips and exotic Asian features. Stunning, and bigger than life. Full, firm breasts that jiggled just enough that he couldn't not notice every she made a slight move.

Camille said, “You're staring at my tits?”

He was embarrassed. Theo was glad his skin was dark and didn't blush easily. He could feel it in his ears. But she seemed more idly curious than angry. He said, “You kind of take up a lot of my field of view in general.” She cocked her head sardonically. “Okay, yeah, I mean. I'm a straight college guy and they're twice the size of my head. What am I gonna do?”

“Hey, guys like boobs, I can dig it. Even most girls kinda do, at least a little. They're fun. I actually always felt I was on the smallish side, but probably not to you, huh?”

“Definitely not to me.”

“Great. A boob man,” she mumbled. “That could present a problem.”

“I didn't mean disrespect here, I mean obviously...”

“No, it's fine, you can check out my boobs. I'm not shy.” She looked down at her breasts, cupped them in her shirt. Full round slopes formed and pushed up toward her collarbone. “Small, but I sure like ‘em.”

Small, she said. To Theo, he judged them as more than a handful. And her hands took an awful lot to fill. He realized he was staring again. So did she.

“Hey...” she said, like she was just starting a thought.

She took her right hand off her right breast, let it fall. Theo watched it bounce. And bounce, and bounce. She leaned forward, still holding up the left one. Her right hand held straight and vertical, she stretched it all the way across a table that could have held Theo first car with room to spare. He had a moment where his body started to react again at the sight of this apex predator reaching for him. He resisted.

She touched the side of her hand solemnly to his left shoulder then to his right. As if she were knighting him. She pulled the hand back and released her other breast.

“You now have... PERMISSION...” she emphasized the last word, “to stare at my tits.” She waved a finger at him. “These rights are non transferable, and do not include touching... unless otherwise notified. Gonna be honest here, Theo, it's just easier for me if I can let the girls breathe when I walk around the apartment sometimes.”

“I certainly have no objections.” Theo said. Then he changed his tone to something more serious. “I hope you're not mad at Gen, I really was curious.”

Camille smiled. “You're brave. I like how you're standing up for my sister. You're full of shit, though.”

Theo sighed. “So why'd you want to come here?”

“I needed to talk to you alone... so I can set expectations, maybe we can even get some basic ground rules.”

This was important, Theo thought.  He tried to think if he had any rules of his own. “Sure, like what?”

“I want you to lean on us. Me and Roxanne, even Gen when she's around. Because big girls can get aggressive when they want. And you are not going to be able to put up a fight. You’re just not. Not even with weapons.

Theo bit back his ego, because near as he could tell, she was right.

"Me, Roxanne, we’re all like your big sisters...”

Sisters, she said, with those boobs still looking back at him. Again, Theo’s impulse was to protest. But he held back.

“...even though I think we're all younger than you. But the point is, if anyone screws with you, we’re the ones to handle it. If you ever feel unsafe or unsure, call one of us. I promise I'm here to keep you safe, we won't hurt you.”

“Okay,” Theo said, still struggling with the idea of calling his hot female roommates for safety. “Well, thanks.”

“My... one caveat... is this. My sixteen year old sister has a crush on you. If you take advantage of that, the deal is off and I will... most definitely... hurt you.”

Theo’s heart skipped three beats and his eyes went wide. “Of course not!”

“I want you to try to be on your toes with all these girls here. And the occasional guy. They can be dangerous to you. But I don't want you to ever, ever be afraid of me or Roxanne, Theo. Unless you touch Gen, then, yes, you should be absolutely terrified. I don’t even want to think of how badly I’d...”

A cold shiver went up Theo’s spine and back down. His mouth worked for a long moment without sound. “I.. I-I j-just turned twenty-one. I-I don't have interest in high school girls.” He sounded like he was pleading.

“Great! Then we're good,” She smiled, flippantly. She took a sip of her coffee, and made a face. She reached for the sugar. “I just didn't want any misunderstanding. I feel like to you, Gen might not look that young. Since grown earth women are built pre-pubescent to me.”

Theo thought it might be a joke, and flashed a smile.

“Yeah, I had this run-in with a girl as a teenager. I was thirteen, developed this huge crush on my friend’s sister. Thought she was our age, found out she was like still nine. It was crazy. She was so tall for a nine-year-old.”

Camille turned her head a little, furrowed her brow. Eyeing him from the side. He realized he was not helping his case.

“No, it was the age where girls were taller and she was too, so I assumed... I just... I was really embarrassed and I refused to talk to her the rest of the summer. My point is that I really have a thing about not dating girls who seem young.”

“Yeah.” Camille was still eyeing Theo with real concern. “So obviously, Gen could overpower you, physically. Girls are crazy at that age so I can't say definitively that won't happen. I'm going to trust a twenty-one year old to figure a way out of it. Right? That's fair I think.”

He sat up straight, and said as clearly as he was able, “Listen, Camille, I'm not going to try to hook up with any teenage girls.” He jabbed the table for emphasis.

“I’m really only concerned bout the one. So... don't be jumpy. Bang anyone else you want. Just not Gen. Or her twin brother if he ever comes here. Don't want to seem sexist.”

Theo realized he was a little out of breath. The server, a bald black man at a mere seven feet tall, dropped off glasses of water, two different sizes. Theo gulped half of his down.

“Yeah well. I can promise you I'm equally interested in your younger brother and sister...”

Camille tossed her spoon into her cup of coffee, shaking her head. “Theo...”

“That means zero, okay? Zero.” He was babbling. And trying to be funny, which only made for more babbling.

“Okay. In fairness I’d probably be saying this if she was eighteen. She’s still my little sister.”

He had to regain his cool. “She has a twin?”

Camille sighed. “Gaspard and Genevieve. That’s why she’s visiting. They needed some time apart.” She laughed now, and brushed her blonde hair back. “There really can't be anything worse then being the male half of an Atlasian set of Twins.”

Theo wasn't sure what she meant.“Because she's bigger?” Surely their cultural norms accounted for that.

“Actually, he’s bigger, until the age of, like, fifteen. Until a girl gets her first growth spurt, we’re just like girls on earth. Guys are a lot bigger, stronger. And, they're dicks. Gaspard and Genevieve are extremely close, but they fight and compete and argue like crazy. And Gaspard always won. Atlasian guys are terrible at that age. But that's nothing compared to how bad girls get once they get through hat first growth spurt. When he hit two meters, Gen was only about one sixty. When he was two thirty, she was two oh five. But by the time he hits two forty five, fifteen more centis? By that time, Gen’s closing in on three hundred, her muscle structure levels up, and she’s just getting started. That’s how the cycle is. Just like that, he’ll never compete with her again on any physical level. He’s at an impossible disadvantage that will get bigger every single day for ten years. And she is SO physically aggressive with him.

“8How aggressive? She hits him?”

“She doesn't have to. He can't push back. Can't move her, can't outrun her. He's not even the sharp twin. But yeah, I think she gets rough some way.”

Theo stared at Camille blankly. “That's so disappointing. Doesn't seem like her.”

“Remember when she was holding you in the air and you wanted to be put down?”

Theo nodded. He remembered it. It was maybe half a minute she had him in the air over her. He felt completely helpless, and probably was. Then, an inch from the ground, she stopped until he gave an acknowledgment, that it was up to her, not up to him. That might drive a guy mad every day. Especially knowing it's not stopping, because she was tied to him for life. And she was only going to get bigger. And bigger. And bigger some more.

Ten years of explosive growth, and the poor guy was only a year in with Gen. And even the towering creature in front of him was only halfway through.

“Twins are a weird dynamic,” Camille said. “Volatile. Now, she’s also crazy overprotective of him, which makes me happy. Girls at school can't get within ten feet of him without Gen in their face. Even Roxanne, after she got her growth spurt. Obviously, Gaspard doesn't appreciate that as much as I do. But hey, I know he's safe when she's around.”

Theo said, “Well, if she's as protective as you are, he’ll live forever. Likely with his virginity intact.”

Camille laughed. “Yeah, well, maybe I deserved that.”

The server returned, with the food. Camille had incorporated his order into hers, which made sense. He wanted a couple of eggs, couple of sausages and toast. She ordered ten pounds of eggs, eight pounds of sausage, two loaves of toast, and to his delight, a gallon of grits.

Theo was thinking about the twin brother. Theo didn't have a sister himself. He had a bigger cousin, he loved him but fought with a lot when he was a kid. Those fights sucked. But God love him, Rennie wasn't too bright.

Theo said to Camille, “So Gaspard can't fight back, can't push her off him, can't outrun her.”

She shook her head. “No, those days are gone for good.”

“You know what works, you point the other direction.” Theo pointed over Camille’s shoulder. He widened his eyes. “Then you say ‘behind you!’ And when they look, you run.”

Camille regarded him calmly. She looked over her shoulder, then back at Theo. “I don't think that would work.”

Theo said, “It works. The first time, anyway.”

Camille ignored that.  She said, "Let me ask one of those stupid getting-to-know-you questions.”

“Shoot,” Theo said.

“How much do you weigh?”

He chuckled. Once again, it was that feeling that his answer was going to embarrass him. “One sixty-five,” Theo said.

“Kilos?” She asked.

He shook his head head. “Pounds. That's seventy seven kilos.”

She only said, “Hunh.” Like his answer was intriguing. But there was a twinkle in her eye.

“Just say it. Whatever you’re thinking.”

He saw the smirk come to the surface, as Camille’s brow furrowed. “It's just that... there's a bar down the street, serves a seventy five kilo steak.” She looked at him waiting for a response, nodding her head as Theo searched for something to say.

Camille continued, “If you can eat it in one sitting, your meal is free.”

“Well. That's a bit disturbing.”

“Yeah, that’s why I didn't just say it.”

“Thanks,” Theo said. “So, Cami...”

Camille paused with her fork holding a half pound of pork over her plate. Her eyes slowly tracked up to Theo’s face.

“I- I mean, Camille,” he corrected. It frustrated him how easily she could intimidate him at her size. “How much do you weigh?”

“Okay, well...” she paused.

“Is that something I can't ask a woman still?”

“Why not? Shit, you earthers got so many hang ups. No, I was worried you don't want to know. When you guys estimate it, you way, way undershoot it. Then you freak when you hear it.”

“Okay, that only makes me want to hear it more.”

She laughed again. “Oh my God, you really are cute. Seriously, be careful of strange big girls. You kind of worry me.”

It was a real compliment coming from this gorgeous woman, and it felt really good. For a moment, he forgot he was sitting in a booster seat and still having to look up to make eye contact.

“I notice you didn't tell me your weight though.”

She winced. “And you’re sharp, too.” She grabbed her huge spoon, picking up a huge mound of eggs. “In pounds. Two thousand six hundred.”

Theo blinked. He wasn't gonna freak. No reason to freak. He blinked again. “You weigh two thousand, six hundred pounds.”

She said, “Two thousand, six hundred and twenty one pounds.” She nodded, and stuffed the pile of eggs in her mouth. She seemed to think about it as she chewed. She swallowed loudly. “Two thousand six hundred twenty one and a half.” Theo was still searching for something to say. She loaded up a fork with a mound of sausage bigger than his fist, and wolfed it down. “Two thousand, six hundred and twenty THREE.”

Theo offered to get the check, but Camille refused him decisively. “We are the most expensive creatures in the galaxy. And we know it. You saw how much I ate. Like half your body weight. You're really sweet, but you're biting off more than you can chew.”

He figured that was true. The cost of the specialized dorm, any transportation, cooling costs, all of that on top of the food required to fuel someone fifteen times his weight.

Well over a literal ton, Camille weighed. The thought occurred to Theo that the combined weight of those boobs she thought were small was probably like forty or fifty pounds.

All that mass took a lot of resources, and a lot of maintenance.

Camille and Theo were on the way out the door, and Theo was regretting he wasn't looking into her face anymore. He enjoyed talking to her. She was smart, funny, and incredible to look at. She was verging on out of his league, even if she was his own size.

As great as it was to have those calves and those thighs filling his line of sight, he couldn't see as much what she was thinking. But the way her muscles moved and flexed so full and cleanly, they had a certain language of their own.

He read the language a bit too slowly, as she stepped one leg directly in front of him.

He heard her say, “Careful.”

He saw her body tense too late. He slammed into her hamstring face first. It was exactly like when he ran into a tree as a kid. He had wrapped his arm around it by reflex, then held on to keep from falling. Her thigh was smooth, and bigger around than the tree, so he wasn't completely successful this time. He fell to his knees, trying to refill his lungs.

A thick woman’s voice laughed above him. “Oh, sorry, Camille. I didn't see him. Sorry little guy.”

Camille bent at the knees a little, reached down to touch his back as he stood and steady him.

She said, “You alright?”

He nodded, straightening against the fingers of her hand.

She moved her fingers to his chin. “Look at me Theo.”

It was definitely a pain having to look so far up every time he wanted to talk to her. She was smiling down with some concern.

Over her shoulder was a woman with long blonde hair, pale skin, but African features. She was pretty, feminine, and a lot bigger than Camille. Nearly a head taller, broader across the shoulders, bigger curves.

The guy Camille had stopped easily was a monster. Knowing what Camille weighed, this woman would be close to two tons. It would have been like getting run over by a bus. It made sense Camille had to use her whole body to stop the woman’s momentum.

Theo still couldn't fully process how big Camille was. The second woman made him dizzy just to look at.

Theo said, “I’m good, Camille.” Then he looked at the mind-bogglingly huge other woman and waved up at her. “I’m fine, tougher than I look.”

She said to Camille while looking down at Theo with a look of wonder, “He is both itty and bitty. So cute though.” She leaned down for a closer look, making Theo’s eyes widen. Then she looked back at Camille and asked her, “Can I pick him up?”

Theo stepped back from the both of them in alarm, waving to get their attention. “Hey! I’m right here, talk to me. And I’d rather you not, if that's okay.”

She stood back up straight, looking down at him from what seemed like the other side of a ravine.

“Cute and sassy,” she said, smiling. Not exactly intimidated by his raised voice.

Camille smiled broadly, saying, “Diane, this is Theo, our new roommate. Straight from the Carolinas.”

“American earther, nice. Hey, is Roxanne Back this year?”

“She is.”

“Damn. Lost a bet.”

Camille laughed, then said, “Fuck you, Diane. She's a lot tougher than you think.”

Diane grimaced and said, “God, I hope not. I don't think she likes me. I don't want any of that smoke.” She looked at Theo. “He’s just your roommate? Thats all?”

Camille said, “Roommates. I've known him about twelve hours.”

Diane looked satisfied. She stepped around Camille, in front of Theo, and squatted down. It gave Theo a sense of vertigo. He inhaled sharply. Squatting, she was still easily over nine feet tall. “Ask her for my number if you want someone fun to show you around. Or just come by.” She touched a finger very gently to his chest. Theo inhaled sharply again. He realized his lungs were already full, and he was getting dizzy. He was hyperventilating. He couldn't quite stop it.

“You be good now, Shawty.” She stood up. “Tell Roxanne I asked about her. Please don't mention the bet thing.” She was gone. Theo could feel the ground shake with every step.

Camille touched his back again, pushing him to lean against her leg. She said to Theo, “Yeah, we're really gonna have to keep an eye on you.”

Theo sighed. He looked up, stepped back, and said, “I do know how to take care of myself a little bit.”

Camille looked down, and said “Come here.” She stepped off the paved walkway onto the grass. Theo noticed how deep her feet sank into the earth with every step. These women had to be really easy to track in the wilderness.

Camille turned toward him, lowering her massive weight to his level, her forearm resting on her knee. She motioned him closer.

“I sense a trick,” Theo said. He stopped about ten feet away, just out of reach.

Her face was still higher than his. She laughed. “Right there is fine. So here is what I want you to do. I want you to try to get away from me.”

Theo frowned. He wasn't sure he liked this game.

“Just turn and run. Like you need to escape.”

Theo put his hands on his hips and glared at her.

“Humor me, little guy.”

He rolled his eyes and turned, started to run.

“Stop,” she said.

Theo turned back. “Seriously?” He walked a couple of steps back toward her, but he was close to 12 feet away now.

“Theo, I’m doing you a favor. Don't give me that lazy, half hearted run. I want you to take off. Hard as you can.”

“This is stupid. Really stupid.”

Camille sighed. She rolled her eyes tilting her head back. “Theo, I'm just trying to show you something.“

“Yeah but do we really...” Theo stopped in mid-sentence. He inhaled sharply, and his eyes went wide, looking past Camille's shoulder. “Oh shit!” He pointed, and Camille turned quickly to see.

That was when Theo took off. He sank his hips, planted his right foot in the dirt, pushed off and twisted the opposite direction from Camille.

He was briefly a receiver in high school, before finding out he couldn't catch. A cornerback until he decided he didn't like tackling. He could run, though.

It was a clean move, and Theo was leaning hard as he planted his second step. This was the acceleration. His body fell into balance in a single direction and his left thigh strained to increase his momentum.

He spotted a convenience store across the street. He’d break for that, cut behind it, look for higher ground.

Theo launched forward, slamming his right leg back into the turf, starting to feel the beginning of the breeze as he neared full—

A large hand snaked under his arm as it swung forward. Theo knew what was coming. He slammed into it hard, his body rolling forward over it as it tilted. Theo was staring at the ground, his torso just about parallel with it, when the grass and dirt he had been standing on suddenly launched away from his feet. Then the world spun for a moment.

His upper back hit hard against her shoulder, his butt much softer against her breast. He was catching his breath.

She was laughing hard, and held up against her it felt like an earthquake.

Camille took only one extra step to slow her momentum, than she was back at a leisurely pace. Like nothing had happened.

She had been distracted, twelve feet away. Crouching at a dead stop. He hadn't gotten four steps.

He looked at the convenience store so far away.

And looking around, these giants were not paying particular attention. Not checking on him to see if he was safe, if this beautiful behemoth of a woman was hurting him.

She was still laughing. “Oh God, that was awesome!”

He turned his head up to her, as she looked at him. Their faces were inches away from each other.

She beamed at him. “ ‘Over there’! You are a riot, man. Told you it wouldn't work though.”

She smelled really nice. A little heavy on the perfume, perhaps. Her hair felt good, tousled a bit and laying across his right shoulder. Her skin was incredibly smooth, a perfect deep tan.

He drank it in for a moment, remembered himself. He looked at her, a little angry. He pulled at her fingers, which were squeezing air out of him, and he felt he soften her grip.

“Not exactly a fair contest,” he huffed.

She shook her head ruefully. “No. Not at all.” Then she flashed a smile. She said, “You’re actually pretty fast. You did better than I thought. You almost got a fourth step on me.”

“Hardy har.”

She looked confused. “Who is Hardy Har?”

In addition to their completely impossible size, they moved like lightning. If he’d been within her reach he wouldn't have gotten a single step.

Theo lifted his head. Things looked more familiar to him, and less familiar. Suddenly he wasn't in a hole, looking up at the world. But the pecan tree to his left seemed low. The grass seemed so far away.

He looked at his shoes dangling, a few feet away. And Camille’s sandals, which stretched the long distance to the ground, sunk three inches deep.

Theo shook his head. It was completely unbelievable. “How... are all of you... this... BIG???”

She chuckled. “Bee Gee Gee Bee.”

Theo threw up his hands. “But what is that?” He asked.

Camille put her hands on his waist and lowered him. They went fully around him,

Camille sighed and gave a rueful, indecisive groan. “Just research Atlasian Gene Crimes.”

“Genetic Engineering? Oh my God. I mean, of course.”

“It's touchy subject, so let's not talk about this right now.” And she started walking away. “Come on. Unless you want to be carried.”

He hurried behind her. She didn't slow down for him this time.

Aaaaand of COURSE the Atlasian Gene Crime Accord was in response to a failed project funded by white supremacists.  Who else?

To Theo, he felt the self-described “failure”of this project was clearly in the eye of the beholder.

Almost three hundred years ago, The Atlas Foundation had bought a majority stake in the failed mining settlement RZ-49, away from the  eye of the Earth Conglomeration, and immediately began experimenting to create a White Superman. A generation later, subjects were averaging four inches taller, thirty pounds lighter, and so pale they were sunburned when they went out in the daytime.  Also, almost all subjects, males and females, suffered from pattern baldness that started at eight years old.

Theo found that hilarious.

There was a purging after that. Less funny.

A breakaway group of scientists had found a way to sequence genes that made traits of size and strength dominant, and they had success.  Extraordinary success.  But they found that the more they emphasized “purity” in the genes, the less successful they were.

The guys running the project only found out about it a decade later, when the males we're starting to average two meters.  Many were furious. A few decided to work on the Superman now, and the White later.

A hundred years after that, there was a completely diverse, genetically mixed population of differing sexual orientations and identities where adult males were maxing out at an average of over two and a half meters and women averaged just over two meters on the renamed planet Atlasia. Likewise, the scientists on the project had become more and more diverse as they found smaller obstacles that required precise expertise to solve.

That was when the sanctions started. There were a lot of ties between the organizations of that era, and the white supremacists organizations who had started the whole thing a century before. Some of the people involved claimed they had come to understand the evils of genetic engineering.  Detractors were pretty sure they just didn't like the wild mix of genes that were becoming the “supermen” they had asked for.

Out in the rim, there were still a great deal of imports required, terraforming machinery, soil purification. So the money for the genetic engineering dried up quickly.

There was not a lot of resistance, because two hundred years of genetic engineering had borne significant fruit.  Atlasian subjects were the biggest, strongest by weight, and most physically resistant to injury, defects or disease of all known

human variants. There didn't appear to be much more to gain from continuing the “failed project” because growth of the males had tailed off. The gene selection process was already programmed into the genes, and had already maxed out on male size and strength.

But as time would tell, that was not the case for Atlasian females.

The Atlasian Gene Crime Accord removed sanctions but created a unique quarantine that declared their genetic material as akin to a virus.

Theo thought that was a bit harsh.

Having read up that far, he was curious enough to ask a few questions, but it did seem to be a touchy subject. In all honesty, he had figured out by now how easy it was for Camille to go from inviting to intimidating.

No way around it.  A twenty six hundred pound woman who moved like lightning was just scary. If he wasn't going to push through the question, he probably should let it lie.

Theo was standing on the middle cushion of the couch in the living room.  He had decided to be rebellious, and picked the regular couch instead of the “little guy” couch on the risers. His feet didn't make much of a dent in the cushions.  It felt to his feet like thick astroturf.

Theo turned the TV on. He took a seat on the edge, thinking about what he had learned about Atlasians. He was going ask Camille one question about the Gene Crimes.

That would be a small growth point in their relationship.  One question that might bug Camille, to show he wasn't a tiny, cowardly pushover.

He liked her a lot.  He got along well with her.  And he had trouble taking his eyes off her. But he was going to have to get the nerve to stand up to her, even knowing he would be a rag doll if she got her hands on him.

He shuddered at just the thought alone. Camille was so powerful. Then there was Diane. That one kept popping up in his mind. As intimidating as Camille was, Diane was another level.

It was such a strange feeling.  Diane was pretty, in a truly exotic way.  She was buxom to the extreme, a bigger, curvier girl filled with confidence.

But when she stepped toward him, looking down, he wanted to run. He feet had shuffled involuntarily, like a quarterback with happy feet. It had crept up from intimidation and nervousness into full on fear.

It was intensely sexy. Was that weird?He was sure that was weird.  Damned if he didn't halfway want to look her up.

These Atlasian women.  The size. The power.  The boobs. He was out of his depth, and she was the most extreme example of that yet. If he was a rag doll to Camille, what was he to Diane?

But what did she say about Roxanne? “I don't want any part of that.”

Holy shit. What could make a two ton human being say that? Diane was an absolute monster. What could give her pause?

Oh, yeah.  Of course. Godzilla.  Kaiju.

He sat on the edge of the couch, flipping through channels. He went through several Core sitcoms, a few Earth classics, then settled on some Atlasian sitcom set in a manufacturing plant.  In it, some young guy was trying to work the line with women more than twice his size.  He had a crush on one, The tallest one. It was an episode about a Christmas party.

A Christmas Party.  Talk about your timeless Tropes. It also wasn't very funny. Or maybe he was missing the cultural touchstones that made the use of rampant ill-conceived subterfuge  to trick a slow-witted suitor funny.

The silliness was getting to be too much to take when he heard the door open to Camille’s room.  He was looking back over the edge of the couch, to see if someone would come into view.

That was when Theo saw about half a ton of high school girl falling out of the sky toward him.  She had vaulted with one hand over the back, before realizing he was sitting there.

She yelled “Ooh!” As she caught sight of him below her. Theo dove off the couch cushion, choosing the five foot plus fall to the floor over having his mother read of a death so embarrassing, his family would probably just tell people he overdosed on heroin to save face.

She landed sideways on the couch and even with the padding, Theo was sure he felt the vibration under him.

Gen put her feet on the floor,  distraught. “Oh!  Theo, I'm so sorry!  I didn't see you there!  I thought you sat on the other one!”

Theo had rolled under the coffee table, and was rubbing bruised ribs. He looked up at her as he pulled himself from under the table and when he saw her face, he knew right then that he was in for trouble.

He actually started to reverse himself, back under the coffee table, when she reached forward, grabbed both of his arms.  He resisted, or tried.

“I’m okay, I got it,” he protested.  It didn't stop her from pulling him out, picking him up, placing him right back where he was on the couch, but now up against her lower ribs, as she reclined.

It was maddening how effortless it was.  He grabbed at her arm to pull it away, and for a long second it didn't move. Just way too strong for him. He wondered what would happen if she decided to just not let him go.

“Gen,” he said, “What are you doing?  Let go.”

“What?” She asked.  He looked at her with a serious expression and she relented. It was a relief. Camille was on the other side of the door, and she had been very clear. Crystal, in fact. He could hear her talking on the phone through the cracked door.

Theo pulled himself forward, for maybe a foot of separation from physical contact.

He asked Gen, “Who’s she talking to? Your brother?”

She scoffed. “Little jerk.  Before my one jump, he was mean to me all the time. Now he runs to her when I don't do what he wants.”

Theo watched a few moments of the unfunny TV show, then said. “He’s still your twin brother, I mean that's a special bond.  I get angry with my cousin sometimes, but...”

Gen sat up suddenly, which took her from his lower left to his upper right. She settled in, leaning forward, which took her somewhat in front of him.  “I look out for him. I take the blame for his stuff so mom and dad don’t come down on him. I keep him out of trouble at school.”

“I’m just saying don't stay mad. Be mad, sure, but don't stay mad. Don't push him around.  I mean,” he shrugged and looked up at her gesturing wide. “He’s got to be intimidated by you already.”

She looked back over her shoulder, and laughed. “Oh, my God, he’s not.  I'm still so little.”

Little?

She must have seen the look on his face, and laughed again.  “Not to you!” She looked down past the edge of the couch toward the floor below, saying, “Look.”

Her feet were dangling below, albeit a good distance closer to the floor than his own. Theo said "Wow.  Guess it was made for full-grown women, not tiny little eleven footers.”

Gen missed the sarcasm. “Not full grown, but college age.”

Theo said, “You’re pretty big to him.”

She smiled, and said “I’m like a total giant to you, I bet.”

“You're close to double my height.”

“Five or six months, and I will be. Double.” She pulled up her leg onto the couch, squared her shoulders to him.

It was fine, and comfortable, until she leaned forward and said, “You’re being so nice.  I thought you didn't like me.” Leaning forward, with her chest at eye level.  Theo was trying to look up into her face, looking for any sign of mischief, and he couldn't find it.

But they were there, too full to be small,  too perky to be so big. Pushing out just enough against the bra underneath fabric to make themselves known.  Too full, too perky and too eye level to not notice.  But he could put it out of his mind.  For his morality, his self-image, and especially his health.

“Where did you just go?” She asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You were quiet for like fifteen seconds. A slow, knowing smirk broke through the innocence of Gen’s face.  It chilled Theo.

Then she yelled with a huge grin, “You were just looking at my boobs!”

Theo had always figured men were not as subtle as they liked to believe.  That women generally noticed when they looked at women's breasts but were just too polite, or too tired, to keep calling it out every time. Apparently, not these women. A man’s line of sight so much as grazed a titty and they were all over it.

Theo jumped to his feet on the couch, making him just a bit taller than Gen. Somehow it made her no less intimidating.

He looked toward Camille’s open door.  She wasn't coming.

Gen was looking down at her own chest, proud of herself but seemingly puzzled. She had the nerve to cup them, push them up so the twin orbs under her skin bulged into visibility in the v-neck of her pink striped tee shirt. She pushed one up, then the other.  Back and forth, judging them skeptically for herself.

Theo looked into her face and said “Oh, please don't do that.” He wished he hadn't said it.  She looked at him with a really mischievous smile. She was enjoying this.

Theo heard Camille raise her voice on the phone in the other room. He whispered to Gen, “I don't know how you guys can keep acting so humble when your tossing me around like a frisbee.”

Gen whispered, “Don’t be like that.  It’s sweet you even noticed.”

“It’s not sweet, it’s an involuntary reflex. And it’s creepy.  Gen, if some grown ass man stares at your body...”

“Did Camille say something to you? You keep looking at that door.”

She didn't look concerned so much as she looked like she was trying to look concerned. She wasn't buying the threat.  And it was beyond the fact that Theo was standing on the surface she was sitting on just to look her in the eye. Of course Theo himself wasn't a threat.

The fact was, she was already well beyond the size, or even the potential size, of every single male Homo sapiens variant in the galaxy. Every one of them. No matter how old. No matter what cybernetic enhancements or gene therapies or bootleg medications. No Homo sapiens variant could get even half as big as an Atlasian female.

The thought hit Theo hard, and reset just how dangerous this newly huge girl would be.

Every single human male she met, including Theo, she would be able to break in half. It was going to be hard to get Gen to see how she could be exploited. It was even less of a concern for her than an overgrown fifteen year old boy on earth who gets an offer to bang his social sciences teacher.

He had to find a way to back her down.

“Your sister let me know she was concerned, and that I should not flirt or return flirting with you.”

Gen threw back her head in a silent laugh.

“Size isn't everything.  There’s emotional maturity.  I get it, I was young too.  I thought I knew it all,”  Theo said.

“I remember her being sooo much wilder when she was my age! I barely go out with boys!”

“Boys your own age, you're on even ground, they can't take advantage of your youth like an older man could.”

She sat up, looked down her nose at Theo and said, “Are you trying to take advantage of me, Theodore?”

This was going downhill. He said, “I’m gonna go to my room.”

“Can I see it?” She said.

Theo glared at her. “See ...what?”

She laughed that high girly laugh, the one that seemed so strange considering her stature. “Your room!”  Then she looked him up and down like she wanted to change her answer.

A long chill went up and down Theo’s spine. 

There was a light squeak from a hinge, and a low series of rumbles from the floor.  Camille came out of the bed room, asking them, “See what?”

Theo said, “Retro shows from earth.  These shows remind me of old goofy sitcoms.”

Camille said, “Gaspard says Roxanne came by before she went to the spaceport.”

Gen looked perturbed.  She said, “Why did she go over there?  I think she likes him likes him.”

Camille shook her head, and covered the receiver.  “Roxanne met him when he was just a dick, she still can't see really see past it.” Camille pointed at Gen.  “Before you became the dick.”

Gen flipped her big sister the bird, as Camille walked back into the room. She yelled after her, “He’s scared of me, but he hangs with Godzilla?”

The door closed behind Camille.  Gen slowly turned back to face Theo.  A smile crept onto her face.

Theo gulped.  It was a long, loud gulp, it seemed to take a full minute to get it down, and Gen definitely heard it. She chuckled lightly and looked up and down the length of Theo’s body again. His knees started to weaken.

When Theo started to run, it was too late.  Gen moved incomprehensibly fast.  She leapt forward, and her shadow swallowed him instantly. He fell backward reflexively, mesmerized, reaching out futilely to dull the impact of her weight.

Theo wasn't sure where the line was between being consumed in complete darkness and simply being unconscious.  He thought he might have crossed it for a moment.

There was a moment of nothingness, then confusion, then panic.  She was on top of him, impossible to move.  It took him a moment to realize it couldn't have been her full weight, but she was so solid.  She was young, almost no body fat.  It was like she was a pile of steel girders laying on top of him. The couch had seemed relatively stiff to stand on, but now he was pressed almost fully into it.

She was muttering something about taking advantage and laughing.  He couldn't quite hear it.  Maybe it was funny if he could have heard it.  And if he wasn't waiting for his ribs to start breaking.

He felt the stiff fabric and wire of her bra around his head, sweeping left and right uncomfortably. His right arm was trapped against his chest, his left weakly pushing against her side.

She was slender, for an eleven foot tall being, so he was able to find air to his right. It wasn't as helpful as it would seem, since there wasn't enough space for air in his compressed rib cage.

She put her elbows up under her and lifted just enough that he could breathe and hear what she was saying.

“I'm just a helpless teenager and I need someone to save me!  Bad old Theodore!  No fair, taking advantage of me!”

He was gasping for air, and able to pull his arm free, but she was still laying a lot of weight on him.

“Theo? Okay okay,” she said, sounding a little alarmed all of a sudden after getting a look at how shaken he looked.  She sat up, pulling him up with her.  Theo’s head rolled around limp on his shoulders as he tried to focus his eyes. 

“Oh!” Gen said suddenly her head turning to behind the couch.  Theo heard Camille’s melodic voice.

No, no. No.  He groggily tried to hide himself back in the couch, and Gen followed his lead. She pushed him down, then stretched out to cover him.

This time when her weight came down, he realized just how gentle she was the first time.  The pressure on his body was insane. She was talking to her sister while Theo was swallowed under her, and it felt like every slight movement she made pushed a bit of air from his lungs that he was unable to get back.  His ribs were going to break soon, he knew it. All the air was gone, and he felt like his breakfast was being forced up.  He couldn't take this.

He heard Camille’s voice from seemingly miles away, asking what was going on out here?

He heard Gen explaining she was just watching TV and she was talking out loud about the show.  Then she said Theo was in his room. They started arguing about Gaspard again, and Gen was trying to agree, kept agreeing so she would go before seeing her.  Camille kept pressing, extending the conversation as Theo started to see flashes of light under her bulk that couldn't be real.  Theo tried to retain his consciousness, and failed.

Gen had claimed he was the his room, and he was.  So maybe she wasn't lying. Maybe he was mistaken when he heard her say it, and thought he was trapped under her on the couch. That was his first thought as he came to, in his own bed. He was as sore as he'd ever been. He was wondering if maybe he even had a concussion.

It was dark.  He could only barely make out the ceiling by the dim light diffused through the blinds.  The ceiling was also over twenty feet away from him, so it wasn't easy to focus on it.

His clothes and shoes were still on.  His phone still in his pocket. Two pillows tucked under his head. He was already starting to feel the dull throb distantly in his bones. God, she was so heavy.

He felt around in his pocket, and found his phone. Still in his pocket.  Screen miraculously intact.  He could feel a bruise forming where the hard plastic had compacted against his flesh.

He looked at it.   A couple of messages from his mom.  He had not talked to her since he had landed.  He was even more disoriented now, so he wasn't sure what to say to her.  And he wasn't sure now that this as working.

About twenty-four hours previous, he had met Gen.  Just the sight of her alone had shown him all his presumptions about the possibilities of human potential were completely naive.

Now he was shaken, both physically and mentally, by the same high school girl. The smallest Atlasian woman he had seen to this point. This wasn't what Theo was up against.  He was up against much bigger, much stronger, including a roommate he had yet to meet, but whose name alone seemed to rattle anyone who had seen her.

As cool as Camille was, and Gen didn't seem a bad girl, the size and power was not to be taken lightly at all. It was kind of a thrill, he had thought at first, an invigorating contradiction.  These beautiful, buxom women who stood over twice his height and could lift cars while doing a hair flip, or a sexy pose.

But the problem was, as he had been shown thoroughly, their power was damn near absolute.  And absolute power...

Bigger.  Stronger.  Faster.  Even moreso every day.  How do you convince someone like that to take you seriously?

Theo decided to get out of bed.  He was sitting there in the dark when he saw it. Laying on a blanket in his bedroom.  Gen. She was still there.

This was his worst nightmare at the moment. Camille could not have been more clear. He stood up, his heart starting to pound in his chest.

Should he wake her up and try to make her go?  His only other alternatives were to go get Camille, or to climb out the window right now, and head back to the airport.  Buy his ticket back to earth, forget about this college thing.  Maybe go drive a truck or something.

“Gen,” he whispered from across the vast  bedroom. She was laying next to the bathroom door about 15 feet away. “Gen!” He said again.

She was sound asleep and soundless. He was so not wanting to go near her. He had to.  Now.  Any minute, maybe Camille is looking for her.  Calls her phone, hears it ring in his room. No.

Theo stood, walked over toward her.  He stopped halfway there, working up his nerve.  He took three more steps, and cautiously pushed against her shoulder with his fingers.  She still didn't move.  Crap.

She was scary to him at the moment. How would he make her leave? What if she wouldn't go? Escaping her was off the table if that happened.

He arrived at option three. He pulled his computer desk chair over to the window. This was such a disappointing resolution, but it was the safest. The moment Camille was aware of this situation, he was essentially an invalid.  He wouldn't be safe on this planet at that point, let alone this apartment.

The window sill was over seven feet high.  It had a narrow lip.  Once he grasped the edge, he would have to pull himself up, the unlock it. That's where he  got stuck, trying to pull himself up. The chair rolled lazily beyond his reach.  His feet had traction, but his arms didn't.  So he'd start to skip further away toward falling whenever he tried to get high enough to find a way to reposition.

He finally heard Gen stir after five minutes of futile straining.

“What are you doing?” She said, as Theo struggled wordlessly.  He gave up, dropping to the floor.  She got to her feet then, and it sent fear through Theo. The darkness made her seem even bigger. What would she do?

“I can't have you in here, Gen.  please, you have to go.”

She was quiet for a moment, Theo holding his breath.  He could see she was hurt. But she nodded and said ,”Okay.”

Theo rushed for the door, unlocking the  outer one. He felt terrible that Gen was upset, but his life was at stake here.  Or at least his mobility and self sufficiency. He was also still scared of what types of things Gen saw as funny.  He rushed through the small door ahead of her, to keep his distance.

He ran into the hallway trying to soften his steps.  He moved cautiously toward the living room. He turned back to the door as she opened it, and that's when the hallway went dark.

This was the story of Theo Ramirez, he thought. Not even a small break. He turned to the colossal figure, the giant Asian blonde bombshell stepping into the hall.

Theo saw Camille filling the hallway, fifteen feet of curv s and a face hidden in shadow.

He decided to step toward her, tell her what was happening and get her to stop being a bitch.

The words came out sounding suspiciously like a sad exasperated whimper of “Oh, please, no”.

He had nothing.

His eyes went to the floor and had to steady himself against the wall. His knees wanted to buckle, and he decided to let them. He couldn't look up this time.  He couldn't look up at Camille's ridiculously massive and powerful body and expect to stay sane. His heartbeat was already filling his throat.  The fear had rolled on top of him, and was sitting on him with all its weight, much like Gen had earlier.

Somewhere way above, he heard a voice say, “Theo? Theo?”  He couldn't tell whose voice it was, his head as so clouded.

“I told her what happened,” Gen said from somewhere above him. “I told her it was my fault.”

“Theo, man, relax. I can hear your heart rate right now. If you think I'm gonna hurt you, I'm not.”

“Hear my what?”

They had both stopped moving from either direction. He looked over to Camille, who had both hands up. He turned to Gen, who had her hands gripping each other in front of her.

Gen said, “Were you just trying to escape out the window?”

Theo sighed. No way to go x plain that.  It was really embarrassing. “Yeah. I woke up with you in my bedroom and I don't even remember how I got there. Don't know if I could get you to leave.  Thought I was done.”  He turned to look up at Camille. “You can hear my heart rate?”

Camille ignored it and said, “We took you in there. Gen was freaked out, maybe worse than you are. She thought she killed you for a minute.” Camille threw her head back, looking at the ceiling eight or so feet above her. I probably shouldn't have let her sleep in there, but she was really upset and worried about you.”

Theo looked over at Gen.  He couldn't see her well but he could see her putting her hand to her face.  Then he could hear her crying. The squeaky, ragged breaths coming from deep inside.  Trying not to, but failing.

It seemed totally out of place and totally normal at the same time.  He got up and went to Gen.  “Hey,” he said, not sure how to follow up. Normally he’d hug a girl in this situation, but at the moment he was staring up past her belly button to see her face, contorted in pain, trying to turn away from him.

“Uh hey...” He reached up to place his hands on her forearms, raising himself on tiptoes. “Could you... pick me up?”

She hesitated, then leaned down, grasping him around the ribs.  He managed not to grimace from the soreness, but he was glad no ribs showed any sign of a break.

She had him up high, holding his weight easily.  He could see the tears glistening now, closeup.

He reached out to put his arms around her neck and embraced her as tightly as he could.  “It’s okay,” he kept saying. “I'm gonna be fine.”

“I'm so sorry,” was her answer over and over. She hugged him tightly, just tightly enough. He could breathe fine, his bruises weren't complaining, and he felt stable against her.

“Hey,” Theo dropped his voice to a whisper, “the joke was actually kinda funny.”

Gen laughed.  He could feel her cheek muscles pull back in a smile.

He felt Camille approach behind him, and he was nearly swallowed in the darkness between them.  He looked up to see her kissing Gen on the top of her head. Camille put her arms around the both of them.

Theo definitely noticed that she wasn't wearing a bra.  Her huge, soft breasts spread across his entire back.  Theo decided to get on the ground before his body… reacted.  While still being held aloft by sixteen year old Gen. All it took was a release of his embrace around her neck.  

Then he leaned to one side while looking at the floor. She reacted to the cue. Perfect.

His feet touched the ground and Theo was satisfied.  No hesitation or worry about his lack of control.  He looked straight up as the two giantesses embraced above him.

It was still new to him, humbling to look.  Two women taller than houses, both still growing, both stronger than any ten men he’d ever met, and both beautiful.

Camille said, “ Do you want to make popcorn?” As they broke their embrace and moved past him toward the living room. Gen was pretty eager.  He could see the bounce in her step and it made him smile.

He turned to head back to his room but Camille called out to him.  “Theo!”  And he stood in front of his door, watching her silhouette rise higher and higher in his field of view until she blocked everything.

“What?”

She dropped to one knee, with a vague faraway smile, looking down at him like they were meeting for the first time. He was staring back up at her, as imposing as ever, but less full on intimidating now.

Theo said, “I had a question I wanted to ask.”

“Shoot.”

It didn't feel right.  This was not the moment to ask weird personal questions about her race’s history. But it wasn't intimidation making him change his mind.  And that was progress.

Theo asked, “How much does she actually weigh?”

Camille shrugged. “Four hundred,maybe four oh five. That's in kilos.”  She eyed him and said. “I feel like that's not what you wet gonna ask.”  

Theo shrugged.  “I was curious.”

She dropped the other knee and sat directly on the floor, leaning against the wall. She folded her legs next to her. And she was still way taller than he was. “Come watch a movie with us,” she said.

“I would, but I want to lay down a while.” Theo rubbed his lower back.  Seemed like there was some strain back there.

“We’ll do it in my room. We’ll all get in bed, watch a movie.  You can help pick.”

Theo felt there was something he was missing here. He had become ultra-alert around Camille. Her extreme physical presence gave him incentive to pay really close attention to her words, her moods. There was an intensity, a warmth in her voice that made his heart race. It was too direct for flirting, but she was definitely looking at him like a cat maybe watching a fat, slow bird.  Theo said,”You, and me, and your... baby sister?”

“It’s laying in bed watching a movie. Cuddling up with friends. We’re pretty big on touching, as a culture.”

Theo thought the idea of laying of bed with Camille was even more enticing than it was scary.  Heck, the little one had nearly crushed him. But she was such a wonder to look at, and to touch.

“I'm trying not to do something stupid.” She looked down, and he saw something he hadn't seen in the twenty four odd hours since they had met: vulnerability.

“I watched you do something awesome for my baby sister when she didn't deserve it, but she needed it.” She shook her head. “If you go to bed now, I’ll be knocking on your door as soon as Gen falls asleep.”

Okay, it was way past flirting. Theo stammered for a moment. “Wait, you're telling me if I go to my room you're gonna come by later... and I'm supposed to choose watching a movie over that?”

“Listen.  You are super cute.  And you got a slow burn sexy thing going.”

Theo was starting to feel warm.  He was aware of his heartbeat, which was moving into his throat. Or possibly his pants.

 “But the problem is, this isn't lust, it's real affection. Probably won't go away as easily.”

“How is laying in bed with you gonna be better?”

“That's no big deal.  We’re a really physical group, culturally. That's why we all want to pick you up.  It's not seriously sexual.  Flirtatious, sometimes. As long as I can have Gen as our unwitting Chaperone, we’ll be fine. One of us stays in that room, nothing stupid will happen.”

“You know I could still just say no, too, right?” Theo mused. “If you came to my room, I could still do the mature thing, or whatever.  And say no.”

Her expression was blank as she said, “No you couldn't.”

Theo laughed. “Oh I don't get a say so?”

“Well, I outweigh you by well over a ton, and more importantly, I have tits. I think you'd be at a disadvantage.”

Theo frowned a bit, chewing on what she said. It was a problematic way of looking at male sexuality, that straight men always said yes to a as pretty girl.  Being that women were so much bigger and stronger where she was from, that was.  Dangerous way to dismiss consent. Even more problematic because it was almost inarguably accurate as far as males were concerned.

But she had told him all of this for a reason.  She had really opened up, and given him a choice. In fact, she was forcing him to make the choice.

Going back to his room would be one statement. If she came back to his room and he opened the door, they would probably be beyond talking.

She had let him know there was an emotional component, which probably meant an implied amount of commitment.  That was a really bad idea, considering they just became roommates a day previous.  And even though they really liked each other, they didn't really know each other.

If things went poorly, and he made some the mistakes he made at least once in his relationship history? He pictured a fifteen foot tall version of Keandra Riley, raging at him after they had left that ill-fated house party five years ago. He shuddered so visibly that Camille asked, “Are you cold?”

By choosing to watch the movie, he was making a more prudent decision.  Less dangerous. And from what he could tell, it wasn't shutting the door to sex, or even a relationship, down the line. But would it be cowardly?

He hated being read by subtext.

He took two steps and jumped straight up. He got his hand on the back of her neck, but not enough to find purchase. He felt her huge, very warm hands on his back, holding him in up, pushing him into place. She laughed. The look of complete surprise on her face was a thrill.

He went in for a kiss.

There was an element of awkwardness  based on the sheer size of her mouth.  Her lips were pulling back into a smile, and for just a moment, Theo thought he might have to kiss her front teeth. Would that be kinda sexy or really not sexy? No way to get lip lock that way. Her teeth were  over an inch square.

Damn, she was big.

She leaned back just a bit, which Theo found encouraging. When he lips came together, time stopped.  He felt her hand, one covering his whole upper back and pushing him forward. The other was covering, his whole ass, with room to cup both cheeks at once.

The power he felt in her hands, and the heat from her chest, threatened to overwhelm his senses.  She was enveloping Theo from all sides at once, surrounding him.

Then her lips pulled tight to form a light lock on his face. There was a wave of panic that passed through him quickly, and he was starting to get used to those around her. The skin of his face pulled lightly toward the vacuum she was making with her mouth, before she loosened it. He felt a light sensation, a breeze wrapping his cheeks.  The coolness of the residual moisture from the lips felt like the water of a cool lake lapping at his skin.

Then she pulled back, with the surprise she'd suppressed during what felt like a single hour long kiss.

“Gen is right over there.”

Theo said,  “ Listen, I just wanted to establish, early on in our friendship, that I am never going to be your brother.  If I get stuck in some kind of friend zone and realize I don’t wanna be, okay.  That’s fine. But brother? No ma’am.  Gen can be my sister, I always wanted a little sister. But I ain’t gonna be your brother.”

She smiled. “Friend, then?”

Theo noticed she was still holding him up. He said, “I'm just not voluntarily waiving my right for a lewd attempt on your honor at a later date.”

“Lewd attempt, huh?” Camille let him drop.  He hit the floor, managing to maintain his balance. Then he looked up at Camille, who stood, slowly rising  to her towering, dizzying, frightening full height, eight feet directly above him.

He could barely see the top half of her face on the other side of the projection of her bosom. She said, “Well...  You come at the queen, you better not miss.”

And she was gone.

Theo found himself standing on the bed, with Camille to his left,  Gen to his right. They were both waving him to a spot between them at the head of the bed.

He wouldn’t have pictured this as the beginning of a movie night, but… okay.

The bed was huge, even for the two towers laying on it. They had their backs against the bed board, and Theo was thinking he probably could have fit his whole childhood bedroom at the foot of this mattress below Camille’s feet.

In a burst of inspiration, he took off running toward a spot them.  When he was even with Camille’s toes he jumped hard. The springiness of the bed cut into his power.

His butt hit the bed at Camille’s hip, just short of the pillow. He trampolined high, and Camille snatched him out of the air. She pulled him toward her, and he knew what she was about to do.

He stammered “Hold up, wait wait wait...” just before Camille launched him about twelve feet up with a very big grin and a very small effort.

“One!” She said.

It seemed like forever he was in the air, flailing his limbs, knowing she was going to do it again. He had no clue how he could stop her.

He heard her start to laugh as he descended.  Her hands cushioned him as he hit, letting him get just low enough that his torso hit her breasts.  He felt it, saw the ripple spread across her chest. It distracted him enough that he didn't even try to stop her this time, then she launched him higher. It still took little effort, but she seemed to be trying not up throw him too hard.

“Two!”

Still, some sixteen feet above the bed, Theo was fully aware she could throw him much,much higher. 

Camille started whistling a circus tune, the one about the flying trapeze. He twisted around as he came down, the wall at the head of the bed just out of arm’s length.

As she caught him, ready to launch him yet again, he reached out with one hand, to grab her shirt. But her insane reflexes came through.  She stopped his momentum, her arms bent halfway.

She taunted him, let his fingers barely graze her shirt, just out of reach, thwarting a desperate attempt to grasp the material and maybe keep him from flying upward. His arms were just so much shorter.

She said, “Only two minutes in my bed and you're trying to cop a feel?”

She laughed and launched him again.

“You enjoying this?” Theo yelled as he rocketed up.

He heard her laugh. “Hey, I just saved you...” she said. 

Theo’s body went up, rotating to face the ceiling. 

“... from dislocating your shoulder...” Camille continued, “...by trying to grab my top.”

Gen said, “Tell her to stop,” from somewhere beneath him, her voice mixing with Camille’s.

“...Tiny Ted.” Camille finished.

He couldn't believe how close he was to the ceiling. He was above the blade for the ceiling fans as his upward momentum slowed.

Plus she was calling him “Ted.”

He put one palm flat against the twenty four foot ceiling before he started to drop.

The good news was that she couldn't throw him any higher unless she wanted to bounce him off the ceiling. The bad news was, she was perfectly capable of bouncing him off the ceiling.  She was probably capable of putting him straight through it.  But the most frustrating part was that this was so effortless for her, he bet she could do it for hours. Her voice didn't change with the effort of throwing him, but he heard the drop in tone as he moved rapidly away from her, like when a train passed by.

He was fucked.

“Gen!” He yelled over her as he fell, “Little help?” He was falling from such a height, it felt like forever. The acceleration on the way down had become seriously unnerving. He found himself trying to take deep breaths so his body didn’t panic.

Gen started moving, but too late, he saw her getting up from her space on the bed.

He landed in Camille’s hands again.

“C’mon, Camille!” He yelled, as she slowed his fall.

Camille said, “okay, Theo, don't rush me.  Four!”And she threw him skyward yet again.

This time instead of a disturbingly long trip through the air, he felt something wrap around his waist and bring him to an abrupt stop.  It wasn't an entirely unpleasant sensation, feeling light pops in his back from the sudden stop.

He felt the falling sensation for just a moment, then Gen landed on the floor with him.  She had him around the waist with both arms, like he might fly toward the ceiling again if she let go. Her head was against his stomach and chest.

Theo said loudly to Camille, “Are you finished?  Are you done?”

“You’re such a dick,” Gen said to her sister. Theo was glad at least the little one was on his side now.

“It's supposed to be five,” Camille said. “Here, give him back.”

“Belay that order,” Theo said to Gen.

Gen said,  “Say ‘no’ or ‘stop’.”

Theo was puzzled as the said,”Stop. What?”

“To her, not to me. Just say no, or stop.”

Theo looked over at Camille, whose long, solidly built arms were still reaching for him hungrily. She was motioning closer  over and over with her hands.

Theo said, “Stop.”

And Camille sat back, crossed her arms, and made to pout.

“A safe word?  Really?”

Camille said, “Just consent, Theo. Safe words are more obscure, random. Like ‘cheese sandwich’ or something.”

“But I already said to stop, right?”

Camille and Gen said “No,” together.

Camille said, “Closest you came was, ‘Wait.’  ‘Wait’ isn't definitive.”

Gen said, “‘Hold up’ won't do it either.”

Camille’s eyes lit up as Gen turned to get back on the bed.  Camille said, “But the way the game goes, if you stop me before I get to five, I win.“

“What game?” Theo said.  Gen reached the edge of the bed and he stepped back onto it tentatively. He stood there, staring at Camille, waiting for a move. And knowing it would come too fast for him to get away anyway.

“We play a game with guys,” Camille said, “At parties, or whatever.”

Gen was grabbing a bowl of popcorn.  She corrected her sister. “Parties in high school. You're too big for it. And oh my God, he is way, way too small.”

Camille said, “A girl throws a guy in the air, five times. Then five more, then five more. A guy gets tired or scared from getting thrown in the air tells her to stop, then she wins. Or a girl’s arms get tired, can't get him up high, and he wins.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Theo asked, “Why do guys agree to play that game?”

Camille seemed to think about it. “Hm. I guess they don’t.” It was like she never thought about it. “But that’s why the safe word. I guess.” 

Gen said, “It’s a messed up game.  I won’t let girls do Gaspard like that.”

Theo said, “I think I did pretty well, considering.” He walked to his space between the two giantesses, still standing.

Camille made an exaggerated pitying expression. “Aww.  A moral victory. That's cute.”

“I didn't even know we were playing a game,” Theo protested. “How am I gonna lose?”

“He’s just too little,” Gen said. “You coulda thrown him like that all night.  Even I coulda done it.”

“Hey, come on.” Theo said, “I'm not that little.”  There wasn't a lot of conviction in his voice.  Gen looked at him intently, and his eyes went wide when she moved toward him like she was going to prove she could throw him around just as easily. She stopped when Theo reacted, smiling and pointing at him with a silent “gotcha” after she had proven her point.

Camille said, “I had two handicaps. I was in a sitting position, and I had to be careful he didn't hit the ceiling.”

Theo looked straight at Camille and pointed at her.  He said, “I need you to promise me you will never... EVER try to do that outside.”

“Oh, outside I could get you going up maybe forty feet.”

“Seriously, Camille.”

 “I wouldn't throw you that high though. I'm not gonna be ‘that girl’.” Camille leaned over to Theo, putting her huge, beautiful, intimidating face right in front of his and said, “Like your girlfriend, Diane. Getting guys sixty feet in the air.”

Gen inhaled dramatically, putting her flat palm against her chest. “You met Diane?”

Theo shrugged at Gen.  “Didn't meet her so much as I nearly got stepped on by her.”

Camille halfway sang the words “Diane was into Theo...”

“Oh my God!” Gen said, like she was disgusted. “Do you think she's pretty?”

Theo definitely thought she was very, very pretty.  “She’s okay. I mean, all you big girls seem put together pretty well.”

Gen said, “That's just because you've never seen boobs before.  You're from earth.”

Theo looked at both of them incredulously.  “We have boobs on earth.  We invented boobs on earth.”

Camille disagreed. “I give you credit for the idea, but really?  You guys think a D-Cup is huge.”

Gen glared angrily at her sister and said, “Hey!  I’m almost a D-cup!”

Camille said, “And you're pretty much an ironing board.”

Gen grabbed a pillow Theo perceived as a large beanbag chair, and swatted at her sister with laughter in her voice. “They’re barely bigger than mine!  You ain’t got Roxanne boobs!”

“What’s that...” Theo stopped mid thought, thinking better of it. He had the most contradictory mental picture of this girl.

Camille responded with a pillow of her own, hitting her nine hundred pound little sister hard enough she nearly fell off the bed.

Theo continued to feel his honor was on the line somehow in this “no boobs on Earth” conversation.  But he felt it would be a lot easier, or safer, to focus on calming these two playful colossi.

It was certainly every young mans fantasy to end up caught in the middle of a bedroom pillow fight between pretty girls. But nothing about that fantasy in Theo’s mind involved three thousand pound women or a pillow big and heavy enough to knock a man into a deep coma.

“Y'all got any light, fluffy pillows for this?  Maybe something full of feathers?”

Gen looked at Theo like he was crazy.  “Why would pillows have feathers?”

“Trust me, it's a thing.”

Theo made it to the head of the bed without getting thrown into the ceiling or brained by a pillow.  Gen was sitting up,  legs crossed on the bed. Camille was curled up in a way that pointed her head at the hundred inch TV screen on the wall.

“Sit down, relax.  We’re done playing.,” Camille said.

Theo looked around, and slowly sat. He sank into a valley between two titans. He felt so, so tiny.

Gen smiled at him and said, “You are so, so tiny.  And nervous.  It’s so adorable.”

Camille said “I’ll admit, it’s little bit sexy.”

Theo quivered for a moment, looking at Camille.  “Well, it's better than tiny and creepy.”

Camille said, “We'll, you're a little bit creepy. Dating nine year olds.”

Gen’s head spun toward Theo. “What?” She eyed him like some freaky bug she found in the z shower.  It was not a good feeling, being within arm’s length of someone that much bigger than he was with kind that look directed his way.  Theo readjusted his spot on the bed away from her, and his back hit Camille’s bust. His whole, entire back.

Theo leaned forward so as not to piss off a second giantess. He waved a corrective finger at Gen, and said, “No, no.  I was twelve when that happened and I thought she was my age at least.”

“Said she was taller than him,” Camille said.

Gen laughed at the idea, no doubt imagining it would be hard to get any shorter.

They went through a catalogue of movies, all the way back to before space travel.  He knew a lot about old movies, from back in the twentieth century even.  He mentioned to Gen that she kind of resembled an actress named Ziyi Zhang. Camille asked for an actress that resembled her, and it was harder.  She resembled her sister but her features were a bit more European. He came up with a giant blonde Kristin Kreuk, and thought wow, that was really close, the more he looked at her.

They settled on a comedy romance, about a guy who was still in love with a girl from high school decades after a failed prom date.

It was disgusting, and funny.

They were watching the prom date go wrong, hilariously so.  Camille’s laughter was fresh and bright, and filled the whole room. Theo exchanged a smile with her, still sitting just in front of her chest. 

Camille's body curled around him, her head propped up on Theo’s left, but her torso curving around him. Her breasts were hard to ignore, in constant, subtle but lively movement over his left shoulder.  Her hips were to his right, and her legs extended down the bed In front of him.

Camille said, “what are you looking at?” With a wry smile. Her whole right side rose above him like a curvy mountain range. Her shoulders and hips were wider than he was tall while sitting, and she wasn't the least bit fat.  She was on the lean side of athletic. And she was still that wide. Theo was beginning to understand this intimidation factor was not going away.

She must have seen something in his face because she said, “You don't have to be so tense. Lean back if you want, it’s fine.” “We’re big on contact. I want you to get used to us.”

And when he hesitated, she gently reached her right arm around him and pulled him right up against her. His back was against her trim, toned stomach.  Her waist was narrow enough that his head could lean back on top of it. Her breasts were against his right side, with gravity pulling the bulk of them down far enough that they didn't swallow his shoulder. Her warmth spread through him, and he could feel her heartbeat in his own body. It was profound.

Camille said, “You're safe, Theo.  Relax.” She shook her head sincerely. “No more playing around.”

Theo said, “I'm surrounded by two tons of girl. It's like being Rennie’s wingman all over again.”

The girls looked at him quietly. Camille asked, “Just how many girls are we talking?”

“Just the one,” Theo said. Both of them looked puzzled, then in turn, they turned away disinterested.

“I was... making a joke about the girls he set me up with being really... never mind.”

He lay there against her, feeling her heartbeat, feeling himself rise and fall a she breathed. He jostled when she laughed. He started to fall in sync with her and her rhythms for no other reason than the fact that they dominated his own.

Gen fell asleep first, curling up to surround him opposite Camille and laying a heavy arm across him.  Then Camille put an arm across him, pushing him into her bosom. He wasn’t sure he could move Camille’s arm, but luckily it was long enough that the weight was on the bed and not himself.

“Can I ask you something?” Camille just looked at him sleepily. “Should I worry about Roxanne?  Seems like she has some kind of a ‘thing’ with everyone.”

Camille snuggled into her pillow, mumbling.     Something something  “sweetheart just kind of a” something something “round hole.” Something something “Just a kid, what do they expect?.”

Theo said.  “Yeah. I get it.  Maybe a picture?”

Camille said “No. She is NOT camera-friendly.”

Theo thought about that. “Yikes,” he muttered.

Camille mumbled something “Competitive bitches though.”  Something something “five meter genius who can literally bend steel...” Something something “stay big mad.” Then she said it again, “ Big. Mad.”

Then she started snoring.

When she fell asleep too, he could barely see the television, deep in the ravine between them.  He thought it might be better, at least smarter, to go back to his room.  He couldn’t make himself leave the warmth, and the sweet scent.

Not to mention that his whole back was surrounded by breast.

He lay there feeling his body rise and fall with her breathing, wondering how he would even describe the feeling.  If Camille were a girl from down the street, five five and one twenty, and still got this sensation lying next to her... he might consider it love. 

That thought helped Theo decide. He had to go back to his room. This was a great feeling he never would have imagined, sleeping between these two giantesses. They were beautiful, friendly, smelled great and he felt  like he was drunk just laying between them. Really drunk, like he suddenly was invincible or untouchable as long as Camille was next to him. No way she would return that sentiment so easily.

Theo laid in his own bed, feeling cold and alone and vaguely unprotected.  It was an illusion, he knew, based at least partially in the novelty.

This was gonna be a long and dangerous semester.

Theo got back to the Village before sunset, now with some new reference points to consider.  While there still weren’t a lot of Atlasian females making their way to the main campus, there were a lot more showing up in the Village. There seemed to be three times as many as there were just two days previous.

Coreys and Earthers were fewer, but not exactly rare to see walking around. They would give each other a head nod in acknowledgment of their mutual shortness, then move on.

The local residents responded largely with apathy.  Theo noticed mild annoyance directed toward a group of three coreys, guys, who seemed to be sightseeing.  Walking around by himself, he didn’t get many bad looks.

His concern that exceptionally tall women would treat him with disdain, that definitely did not bear fruit. So, yay.  Yay for him.

Not that they were all over him, but he noticed a number of them checking him out, giving him the up-down. Looking at his face, down to his feet, and back up.

Theo wasn’t a heart-throb. He did pretty well by picking his spots, but he was no ladykiller. He found it hard to believe these girls were any more impressed than girls back home. What he thought was happening is that they had the physicality to be direct.

Back on earth, women still had to maintain at least some sense of caution dealing with men.  Couldn’t come on too strong and find out some loser took it like a blank check on her person. Here among the Atlasians, no man alive presented a physical threat.

Ain’t no fun when the rabbit got the gun, as Renny would say.

Big Girls Get Bigger. Theo was starting to get a sense of it. They got bigger like it was their job, and they took their jobs seriously.

Theo now figured Camille was only a little above average height, at least in the Village.  She was... twenty-one?  Maybe? His guess was that Diane was a couple of years older, a Senior.

He grabbed a couple of sodas from the convenience store down the street... the same one next to the park where Camille had done her “demonstration.”

He came out of there and started his way back to the dorm.  He started to think he’d gotten off more than he could chew, with about four gallons of soda on a ten minute walk.

He noticed the three coreys, two white one black, trying to approach two local girls. It was clear they were local because they were about ten feet seated on benches, one girl black and the other brown.  It was an interesting visual, two of the coreys craning their necks and going up and down on tiptoes as each tried to speak.  Theo wondered if he did that without realizing it.

The girls were definitely not into it. One looked like she was struggling to stay polite, and the other was amused by her friend’s annoyance.

The third guy was a couple of steps back, looking like he was thinking this was a mistake.

Then something happened that made an impression.  The one who was talking pulled his phone, like he was trying to get a number or take a photo. The mood changed immediately.  The annoyed girl stood, the failed suitor barely to her mid thigh, and the situation got real. One of his own friends actually knocked the phone out of his hand, and started to drag him away.

Then Theo got run over by what he assumed was a truck.

The soda went flying and his backpack hit him in the face. He landed on his side, his face scraping the reinforced concrete.

“Whoah. You okay, brother?” A male voice said.  Male voice, explaining why he was actually still conscious and able to move.

He managed to roll over as he felt a hands on his arms.  There were three towering dude-shaped blurs standing over him. The hands helped him to his feet, though that was only enough to make him sternum high.

Theo had been distracted, and wandered into their path.  But not much, he’d still been avoidable. It was the case of two bodies not paying close enough attention. But they would have had to look down to see him, so Theo decided it was on him.

“That’s my fault, sorry,” Theo said.

Two of the men tried to take the blame, but the third got a tiny bit pissy. “No problem.  Just watch where you’re going, you’ll get stepped on around here.”

That annoyed Theo, a lot. “Thanks for the advice, maybe keep an eye forward yourself.”

And the huge pissy blur in the middle said, “Excuse me Corey?”

The other Atlasians were trying to leave, telllng him, “it’s not a big deal, man.”

Theo’s vision was starting to clear, two of the three guys seeming annoyed by the third.  He wasn’t sure which of these three eight plus footers ran over him.

He wasn’t going to trash talk, but he wasn’t going to be talked down to.

Well, okay, literally he would be talked down to... but he wasn’t going to let it be figurative too.

“Take it down a notch, tough guy.  I live here, too.”

Now it was the big guy’s turn to be annoyed.

“Really? Atlasian housing at a premium and some hobbit gets it?”

Theo would later wonder how the hell he had the audacity to step right toward the four or five hundred pound local boy and egg him on. “Who in the fuck think you talking to?”

Theo’s vision was clear enough to see the smug grin form on the face almost two feet above his own.

Theo internally tried to find his sense of reason.  They were eight feet tall, and there were three of them. He needed to be afraid.  He needed to run.

But he wouldn’t be able to live with it. He decided that yes, he would accept any forthcoming and possibly life-altering beating, and make any behavioral adjustments at a later date.

Then Theo saw the condescending cat-with-a-canary smile evaporate. The angry Atlasian’s gaze turned up from Theo, to a much higher point of interest.

“What the hell is this?” Theo heard from above as a shadow fell across both him and the pissy giant. He didn’t bother looking over his shoulder. He looked straight up, and saw Gen, looking really, really angry.

She stepped right past Theo, to stand in front of the Atlasian guys.  Theo saw them get really nervous.  He was suddenly nervous himself.

“You have a problem with him? You talk to me about it.”

One of the three eight footers just turned and hurried away.  Not running, exactly, but something more urgent than walking.

The  pissy one wasn’t projecting anger anymore.  He had a pained smile, trying to seem friendly, a man walking on eggshells.

“It’s no problem, I just didn’t see him:”

Gen said, “Excuse me? Hold on. If you did not see him, that is definitely a problem.  You are a problem.  You need to watch where you are going.”

Theo turned and tried to get in front of her.  It wasn’t helpful.  He wasn’t quite chest high to these guys, but he was barely belt high to Gen. He reached up to put his palms out to stop her, but he was comically undersized with zero leverage. He found himself hanging from her hip with both hands gripping the top edge of her jeans. He wasn’t sure she even noticed his weight.

“Hold on, Gen, it’s okay...” he was saying, but not with much conviction.

The guy who was pissy thirty maybe forty seconds ago said, “It’s my fault, sweetheart. My mistake, I get it, we get it better then anybody.  Big fan of, you know, being careful and watching your surroundings.” Sounding eager to help.

“It’s not like you can’t relate to being

at a size disadvantage,” she said, folding her arms across her chest, just above their eye levels.

“Right,” the (newly) eager guy said, nodding. Then he quickly ran over to where Theo’s sodas had landed.  He picked them up, ran back over.  He brushed The bag off with his hand, and handed it to Theo. He looked up at Gen.

Gen waved dismissively at both of them.  “Get out of my face.”

He nodded, still smiling.  “Again, sorry.”  Then he turned to go.  He paused to look at Theo and said, “Sorry, man, my bad.” Them they were gone.

Gen said, “You alright, Theo?”

He realized he was still holding on to her belt line, and let go. “Take it down a notch okay? Wow.” His heels touched the ground. Theo hadn’t noticed he was on tiptoes.

“What?” She looked surprised at his reaction. “We gotta look out for you. We promised your mom.”

“Great,” Theo said, rolling his eyes. “Three guys at least twice my size, you just look at them funny and they’re all shitting their pants.”

She shrugged, then smirked a tiny bit. “Yeah, people kinda think sixteen year old girls are crazy. So...”

That tracked, from what Theo saw.  It was universal.  Sixteen year old boys were morons, sixteen year old girls were crazy. He figured on Earth, they threw tantrums, but on Atlasia, they probably threw cars.

The guy has called her “sweetheart.”  It was out of place, to Theo’s ears. He wondered if it had a different connotation. When did he just hear that word?

Oh yeah.  Camille said Roxanne was a “sweetheart” something something.  Same meaning but... some colloquial significance maybe?

Gen asked him, “Can I carry that bag? Looks like it’s heavy for you.”

“Please.” He nodded, pushing it toward her.  He was looking forward to getting back some feeling in his shoulder.

Theo reached the dorm and let Gen go in ahead, figuring he’d check on local mail and deliveries, of course all from the university. He got a couple of access cards and a small unlabeled package.

He pocketed the paper envelopes and access cards, and took the package in his hand.  He found the tabs to open it, and found a small, almost paper thin metal square with nodes and wired staring back at him from inside a plastic sheath.

The package said “Guardian.” It was a safety and access implant. It would keep track of his location, monitor basic health, and even allow for access to certain locations and simple transactions.

Self installation at that.

He looked more closely. What was this supposed to be?

He was about to leave the mail room when he found himself facing the shins of a real behemoth, and flattened himself against a wall.

“Watch it, pipsqueak,” she said from somewhere above him. It struck Theo as distantly amusing, this high and girlish voice calling him “pipsqueak.”

 He didn’t even bother looking up, just seeing ragged denim and the biggest Converse sneakers he’d ever seen. Her knees were distinctly above his head this time, so easily over triple his height.

Theo just kept himself pasted to the wall, his hands up to let her by, grumbling under her breath.

Theo looked up as she passed. All he saw a bulky backpack and a hoodie. Big Girls were pretty body conscious even for college girls, but this one looked like some eccentric cloth-based Batman villain.

Luc was at the desk, standing next to the thigh of a woman who Theo thought looked like Nia Long if she lived on a weight rack.

Theo approached Luc. For whatever reason, Theo wanted his insight. “Hey Luc.”

“Ramirez. How are you finding the Village?” He struck Theo as the kind of guy who called other men by their last name only if he liked them.  It was pleasant.

“Well,” he said, trying to find a simple way to put it, “At times I’m not sure I’m tall enough for this ride.”

Luc smiled down at him across the desk and said, “I feel like that’s a clever remark but I don’t quite get the reference.”

Theo held up the box with the implant. “What are these?”

“Oh,” Luc said, “They recommend that for all students.  Especially the ones who come to the Atlasian Village.  It’s supposed to make people feel safer.”

“For coming to the Village you mean?”

“I mean we’re a big motivator I guess,” he laughed. “But all over, really.”

“So... do you wear one? Or is it just for little people?”

“I don’t have one, just because it feels intrusive, and I don’t want people to find me on a map with a directory search. Lot of people feel different.”

“Like who?”

“Oh,” Luc had a look of surprise, and shrugged. “Like nearly every girl coming from the core. They think it keeps them a lot safer.”

“Really? They hang out here a lot?”

The Nia Long lookalike piped up. She was looking at him like he was slow to catch on.  He supposed he was. “Not safer from us, man,” she said. “Safer from you.”

It hit Theo hard to hear that. Luc was right, it felt like an intrusion.  But that was a male, who had at least until recently felt pretty secure in his day to day safety. It was the theory of freedom, vs. the reality of his personal safety.

Nia Long had made a good point.  Luc introduced her as Sara.

Luc assured Theo it was not a huge deal, that some Atlasians had them, even some of their females.  After all, a senior was often two meters or more taller than a freshman.

“Dude, should I just get a gun?” Theo said half joking.

Sara laughed derisively. Luc said, “Oh, they’d kill you.” He said it casually, factually, without missing a beat. 

Sara turned toward them. “Okay. American earther, right?  American earthers are always with the guns.” She shook her head.

Luc leaned down, put his hands on the counter and looked Theo in the eyes. “A handgun is seriously not going to stop any Atlasian woman over the age of fifteen. Really.”  Then he held up a finger, highlighting his point. “But check it out: Guns are still considered lethal weapons.. right? So you use a gun, anything she does to you will still... legally... qualify as self defense. So yeah, they’ll kill you. Just on principle, they’d kill you.”

Sara stood full height, way, way up above the both of them. Luc’s two plus foot height difference seemed to damn near disappear for Theo.  It suddenly felt like he had one head on Theo instead of three.

Sara looked down at Theo almost pityingly.  “If you pull a teeny tiny handgun on... this?” She stepped back and spread her hands to show her vast, steely, curvy figure. “What do you think happens next, Timmy?”

He stared up at her, fully twice Luc’s height. A head taller than Camille, he guessed. She was dressed in green leggings and a sports bra. Her deltoids were the size of beer kegs. He didn’t correct her on his name.

“Oh, It’ll hurt,” Sara said chuckling humorlessly, “Might need more than a bandage.  Maybe an ointment.  Be like a bee sting.  What’s that guy say in the movies? The Yankee cop with the craggy face and the big gun?” She leaned over the desk, and Theo was looking straight up. There was nearly ten feet between their faces.  Sara sucked her teeth and said, “Oh yeah.  He asks people ‘So do you feel lucky?’” She blew a derisive sigh through her lips. She left the desk, walking out into the lobby.  Luc and Theo watched her go.

Luc went back to filing papers, shaking his head pityingly at Theo. “Kill you.”

Theo sat there in front of the desk for a moment.  That size, that strength, that speed, and on top of that... “They’re fucking bulletproof too?” Theo threw up his hands.

Luc rolled his head left , then right, considering that.  “Well, bullets can’t seem to get past the muscle and bone to hit anything vital. And the heart is another muscle. And hey man, you don’t even want to know what adrenalin does to Big Girls. Holy shit. So insane. Seriously, safer to just give her some tequila, then some cocaine and a bump of pcp. Then, what you do after she’s wired as hell and paranoid, you call her the c-word, tell her she’s gained weight, and maybe, I dunno, maybe say you got her little sister pregnant. That’s gonna be about the same result as shooting her.”

“Holy shit,” Theo said.

Luc said, “Yep.  Welcome to our world, earther.”

Theo was getting good about keeping his head on a swivel to avoid being hit by vastly larger strangers. Walking down the hallway to the room he shared was different. It was quieter, so he found himself looking at the security implant as he approached his own door.

There was something there, in front of the door. He looked up. Then further up.

A living pile of fabric fourteen feet high, working in front of his door. He looked down and saw the bottom of those converse, and recognized this was the one who had pushed past him in the lobby. And, holy shit, she was kneeling. Fourteen feet kneeling, rummaging through a bag twice Theo’s size.

All of a sudden, she stopped. The hood at the top of the mass turned, enough to peer over her shoulder.

So this was her.  The same girl who called him “pipsqueak,” like a Popeye cartoon.

Roxanne.

On one knee, pink and gray sweats swallowed the girl’s hips at Theo’s eye level. It hung from shoulders that would have been on the second floor a lot of places back on earth. It was topped by a hood the size of a large beanbag chair.

Theo opened his mouth to introduce himself to the hulking mass of cloth when he heard her say, “What do you want, Pee Wee?” Just like that. In that high, girly voice. First thing she said to him.

Theo said, “I’m... the new roommate.” She had turned to see him over her shoulder, and he was getting nervous again. “I live here.”

She looked away, started rummaging again. “Yeah, I don’t think so,” she said. Then she sat on the floor, putting the bag in her lap, continuing to look.  Like the conversation was clearly done.

He reminded himself she was barely older than Gen, and Gen was a “sweetheart”, right?

But that same Gen had left him unconscious the previous night and only an hour ago had terrified three college age men, each over eight feet tall.

This girl was roughly Gen’s height sitting on the floor.

Theo spoke up again.  “You’re Roxanne, right?  You must be Roxanne. I’m Theodore.”

She didn’t look up. She said, “Hello, Theodore. Maybe you should find Alvin and Simon.  The other two Chipmunks.”

Theo said “Wow,” in a whisper. He was thrown off his game.  She wasn’t even hiding a little bit of her contempt here. He didn’t know what to say.  Was she sitting out here just to block him from getting back in?

He thought to walk past her, but her reach would definitely clear the far edge of the door.  One hand would be plenty.  No way he’d get past her, and the situation would likely worsen.

“I don’t understand, I was sure you... Camille acted like... we... can we just get Camille?” Theo could feel his heart rate start to rise. He realized she could probably hear it, and that made it rise some more.

Almost like she reacted to his heart rate, she said “How about you go back to your hollow tree and keep making those fucking cookies?”

What the fuck.  Insulting him on purpose.  For sport. What was he going to do? Insult her back? She was trying to intimidate him, and it was fucking working.  He couldn’t afford to have it work, but it was working.  Theo gritted his teeth, rubbed his head nervously.

She stopped moving again , and Theo found himself stepping back.  She said, “Take off, perv.”

Theo stopped.  He forced himself to step forward. “Perv? It’s my apartment!”

She looked up, locked eyes with Theo. All he could see was her huge brown eyes and black curls hanging out of the hood covering her head. She was wearing a gaiter mask covering everything else.  In the back of his mind he found it puzzling but a question for another time.  She started moving toward him, and Theo freaked out a little. 

She didn’t move far.  She just leaned forward from her seated position inspecting hm. Then she shook her head, silently.  Her eyes looked off to the side like she was trying to figure something out.

“No way,” she said, mostly to herself. “We tried to get a girl from the core since last year but... they couldn’t get past...”

She bit her lip, and looked back up at Theo.  Theo tucked the location implant he was looking over under his arm, and reached in his pocket for his phone. He pulled out his phone, just wanting the simple resolution. He said, “I’m going to call Camille.”

Faster than he knew what happened, her huge sprawling fingers had locked around both fists with the phone smashed between them.  His knees buckled as she leaned over him, glaring down at him. There was something wild in those eyes. Anger, betrayal, and a clear confidence that she was in control.

No argument on that point from Theo.

“It’s a phone!” Theo stammered, thinking by reflex, maybe she thought it was a gun. He felt his knees buckling from the torque in her wrist putting him off balance. His whole world was her fist in that moment, as she lifted it up higher, pulling him up to his tiptoes. He was trying to stay in touch with the floor, like some deep misguided instinct telling him that if his feet could touch the floor, he was still in control.

Talk about living up to her reputation.

Then she lifted.  He rocketed away from the floor, then stopped. Theo’s momentum carried him up several feet even after she stopped pulling him upward. Gravity caught him, pulled it back down.  Now he was swinging back and forth helplessly, his feet kicking in the air.

Time seemed to freeze. She was regarding him calmly, the mass of sweatshirt  seemingly everywhere. The fist with his hands and his phone was only level with her nose. Theo looked down just to confirm... yep, she was still on her knees. Her hand wasn’t shaking from the effort, either. If anything, Theo got a sense he was almost imperceptibly rising and falling... because she was simply breathing.

This was way past his experience with Camille. Camille could toss him around like her muscle memory was doing it on its own. To this girl, this seventeen year old girl, he was nothing. She was so strong, he was like a figment of her imagination.

She was looking at him like she was deciding something. Whatever happened, Theo knew he could not do one damn thing to stop her. He was trying to release the phone, to push it out of his hands. She wasn’t hurting him, but her grip was tight enough that his muscles were barely working.

Roxanne squeezed her eyes shut, and blew out a deep breath.  Theo felt his thick hair move in the breeze.

“I’ll go,”’Theo said. “I’ll go, I’ll leave, okay?”He was looking up to her face. He finally managed to push the phone through his fingers with his thumb. It fell past Theos eyes, and he followed it down to see her free hand catch it down beyond his toes.

She abruptly placed him on the floor, half-dropping and half-shoving him. Theo stumbled backwards.

She was staring into the center of her palm.  It’s where the phone was, but Theo couldn’t see it from below. He was going to have to give her the code. That was totally against his principles, but he knew he would give in when she asked him for it. 

Roxanne dropped her huge palm low, opening it for Theo to take the phone back. Theo relaxed for a microsecond before taking the phone.  Then he started thinking about what was next.  Where could he stay?

 Theo backed up and was about to turn to go.  She stopped him. “Nope. Stop right there. We’re not done, are we?”

Roxanne shifted her weight over him and started to rise. And rise. Past Camille’s height, past Diane’s. Up.  Up. It felt like she finished standing, then somehow stretched up for another two feet. Theo’s heart was dropping with every completely excessive inch.

Her head stopped just past the edge of the insanely high door frame. She pulled off the hood, and curly black locks longer than Theo was tall tumbled out. She stared down icily at him from that enormous height.

Some dam of cool composure burst open at that point with Theo, and he yelled loudly toward the door, his voice cracking a little.  “Camille!?  Little help out here?” Looking straight up to see this woman’s face for context clues as to his safety was making him light-headed. His fight-or-flight response was kicking in.

Fight-or-flight. Right. Nothing that could happen here fit any available definition of a “fight.”

 Roxanne put the palm of her hand calmly down toward him in the universal sign for “pipe down” and Theo shut up. She sighed, pulling at her sweatshirt hanging around her hips.

“I shouldn’t have grabbed you.,” she muttered, like she was saying it to herself.  “Gen’s coming to the door,” she said more clearly. So you...” she paused and laughed a chillingly unhumorous laugh to herself, “...really better be confident with what I hear next.”

Oh man, that sounded bad. Suddenly,  Theo wasn’t confident. What if he was in the wrong hall? He was first floor, right? What was the room number again? He looked up, and she was still staring him down.

Oh, Lord.