The Life of a Giant

The city of Tectelphia, located in Maryland, only a few hours away from Washington, Capital, was not your average city. And this was not by choice.

Given the option, the people living there would want to be normal, and for the most part they already were. Tectelphia contained office buildings, a factory here and there, the subways, buses, and trains, a man with a saxophone playing a lonely tune for pocket change, it was almost your average American city. It was also a city, not surprisingly, that favored seafood and had many 'beach' and 'ocean' themed restaurants to keep the people full of fish. So, in that retrospect, it was almost your average Maryland city too. The people were average too. Crime happened, police chased the ones responsible, reporting the successes and keeping the failures under lower profile. The inner city schools aren't that great, and the cars cause pollution problems.

There was a suburb outside of the city to the southeast. There the schools were a bit better. One of the schools, an elementary, rebuilt its playground not too long ago. Something happened there awhile back, and not many of the locals like to talk about it. It was an accident, one that caused a lot of trauma to some of the children there. Took out a lot of the playground equipment too. If you were to walk up to the school yard, the marks of the accident are still visible in the grass. The houses are modest and average, most of them ranch house style. There's a Jewish Community Center here, where people go to work out, swim, play basket ball, or indoor tennis and soccer. The Library's down the block and for those interested in track, the high school's got the track field around the football field. It keeps the people busy. On the other side of the suburbs there's the shopping center, with a grocery story, a few restaurants, a comic book store, a GAP, and a movie theater that was just finished two years ago.

Northeast are the beaches, along with the docks. Boats come and go on one end, families and children play on the other. The boats out on the water are usually shrimp boats. The sandy beaches run along to the northwest of Tectelphia, where some rocky cliffs form. They used to be used as a Lover's Lookout to gaze at the moon's reflection on the big blue at night, but that was a long time ago. Not many people from Tectelphia go there anymore. Occupants of the beaches and the dock workers also make sure to keep away from that stretch f

Southwest from Tectelphia is the Saint Almo's Fields. A large open field of grass. The highway into Tectelphia runs along side it. Nobody goes into the fields. It's actually against the law in Tectelphia to go into the fields. And for good reason.

Most new comers to the city are often perplexed (and greatly irritated) by the road system. There are several roads blocked off that only pedestrians can use, and they have to remain on the sidewalk. Instead of making a simple turn onto the street that would more quickly get you to your destination, you had to go around, continuing driving until you could either find another route or find a parking place and walk on the closed road's sidewalk. If you did that, you'd probably assume that the roads were under construction. A quick walked down them showed cracks and other wear and tear. However, you'd then wonder why there are no men in orange, waving signs, or loud machines as they ground into the street. Nothing was bothering them, making you wonder why they were closed and no one repairing them. Then, you'd ask, probably some waitress while at lunch, what the deal was. She'd turn red, grin nervously, laughing a little.

Then, she'd tell you that some giants lived nearby.

After hearing this, you'd probably nod your head. You should have guessed as much. You've heard of giants, no doubt, during your live. You're not sure what you think about them, but, as far as your concerned, as long as what they do doesn't interfere with you, then everything is fine. You'd probably think of Jennifer Stark, that one giant lady with the black hair and the business suit. She appeared on TV every now and then, talking about things going on with the giants. She seemed like a woman who had everything together, despite having her hands full, and that was good. In ways, you think that the American Government could learn from the giants. She was some sort of representative for the Giants. Apparently, she's been in contact with the President himself, and that's pretty impressive.

You know a lot of people have mixed feelings about the giants. Some don't really care about them, and if they want to live their lives, let 'em. Others are a little more afraid, willing to let them go about their giant lives, but wanting them far away from the general, normal sized, population. Then, there were some who spoke out against them, calling all giants a menace and a threat to the well being of the human race. To them, the giants were monsters and needed to be expelled from society. Other, more radical ones called for their annihilation. Of course, none of them were willing to actually confront the gants themselves with this. You never saw a group of people with picket signs outside the homes of the giants, located in Saint Almo's Fields around Tectelphia.

Staying in Tectelphia, you'll probably hear about Raymond Bradson, the man who married the giant woman who caused that incident back at the elementary school playground. The woman, then Valerie Swanson, was a young girl and had occasionally played around with the children. Giant people are homeschooled (at least according to Ms. Stark), so they don't go to school, but Valerie Swanson liked to play with other “normal” children at the playground. But, at one point, she didn't come around the playground for a long time. About two weeks she disappeared from it, despite always coming every day. Then, finally, when she came back, she kicks a car into the playground, wrecking the equipment and injuring several children. By some stroke of luck on Valerie Swanson's part, nobody was killed. Back in those days, Ms. Stark wasn't around. So, too afraid to confront the giantess, the parents sued the school, just wanting somebody to pay. Eventually, the playground was rebuilt and the school limped on. A few people still point to this event to remind people of the dangers of giant people. Valerie Swanson disappeared from the public view for awhile. It wasn't until she was around twenty-one (twelve years after the incident) that she slowly reappeared, taking long strolls, keeping a respectable distance from the city, now wearing glasses. Two years later, she me Raymond Bradson. One year after that, they were married and she took his last name. They still are, three years more. Some point to Mr. Bradson as a sign that giants and normal sized people can live peacefully.

Then, you'd hear about Lorraine Pruess, a blonde giant woman who appeared at some point between Valerie Bradson's accident and her return to the outside world. She was always dressed elegantly and was quite attractive. Occasionally, she strolled the city, humming some classical music under her breath, every now and then stopping in front of a tinted skyscraper to peer at her reflection and apply make up, putting on a show for the people inside. She wasn't really liked by the construction crews, though, due to her ditzy clumsiness. She caused accidents, broke things, stepped on things. But, she was more fortunate than Valerie Bradson, for she had never even hurt anybody. There were rumors that Jennifer Stark (who was called the Giant Relations Person on TV) was losing patience with her as well.

Finally, you'd hear about the boy. Some kid named Trent Berlinger. He was the only Giant male around Tectelphia. He kept to himself for the most part. Folks didn't see him as much as Ms. Pruess or Mrs. Bradson after she came back out to the world. He was younger than the women, about eighteen, seemed shy and reserved. People occasionally pointed to him as a sign of how harmless giant people were. That kid didn't seem like he'd harm a fly (if he knew they existed and wasn't giant). When he did come out he usually stayed away from city. On the occasions that he entered city limits, his behavior was odd. He seemed like he was watching something, but nobody really knew what though. He would hang around one position, peeking around a building for a little bit before quickly walking away, his face red. He was an odd one, but he stayed away, and that sat with a lot of people fine.

You might then, inquire about Jennifer Stark. She lived around Tectelphia (though her work was international), so the locals knew more about her than anybody. Out of all the giants, she caused the least damage, setting an example to the rest. The air of professionalism arose from her, the kind of person who walked erect with their hands behind their back. She was proper (or whatever that was for a giant person) and was dressed professionally, usually in a woman's, black business suit and slacks, a red bowtie in her hair, and a scarf in the place of a tie under the collar of her white dress shirt, her hands covered in leather gloves. She was wells spoken, from what you've seen on TV, and based of her dealings with normal sized people, apparently skilled with making the task of conversing with a giant person a little more comfortable.

After that, tales of the Metal Man might begin to surface in the conversation. You've heard of him too. His last name was Brokers, his first name was either Garth or Darth. Seen him even, along side Jennifer Stark every now and then. Heck, he's even made appearance, according to the papers, in other countries. Nobody's quite sure what happened to him, but some say he was involved with in an accident that rendered his body essentially useless. But, instead of remaining a vegetable, he was taken in by the giants and then, several years later, he reappeared. He was always a big man (a mini giant, some people in town joked) but now he was much more intimidating, his arms and legs now metal, much stronger than he used to be. And he had to be. He was now the Cop of the Giants, according to Jennifer Stark. And a normal sized man who could pull that off was not to be fucked with.

Some question might come into your head during the discussion, and you might ask how a giant person lives. Not many people have all the answers, but a lot of them know that they don't really eat. They drink something. A few people may tell you how they've seen the giants drinking out of some bottle every now and again. Judging by the look on their faces, it isn't something that they really looked forward to. They might have a restroom to do their business in, but no one really knows (and they don't really want to). Their homes are quite large, but, somehow, they don't seem to affect the local cost of running things. There are rumors by some of the Anti-Giant lobbyists that the giant people were somehow more advanced technologically wise than the general population, building structures that supported themselves, without aid from the general population's resources. The Government refused to make a comment about it, but...the Metal Man was also used as an example. There was talk that he had been in a relationship with a giant woman before becoming the Metal Man. The giants had taken him in at one point, and he came back with metal limbs...

For a long time, Tectelphia, as well as other cities in America, dealt with giant people. They didn't always appear on TV, they, for them most part, kept to themselves, while the general population went on their business, trading goods, living their lives, going to war, whatever. The giants stayed out of the way in conflicts and the general population was fine with that worldwide. The relationship between giant and normal persons was strained, had always been, but were maintaining a peaceful existence. A few people noted that the strain wasn't really the fault of the giant people. They would tell you that the giants were actually quite friendly and welcoming. But, these people were few and easy to ignore.

As you thought about these things, you'd wonder about the life a giant. You'd wonder how things look from their point of view. What were they're hobbies? How smart were they? Were they anything like normal people? Did they have a preference for when elections came? Were they even allowed to vote? Did they pay taxes? Do they sometimes lie in bed and wonder what will happen to them when they die? Are some of them Christian? Atheist? Buddhist? Do they smile at the sunrise and watch the sunsets? Did some of them dream of squishing every player on the Yankees team underfoot? Did they like the Yankees? Did they watch any sports team?

What was it like living the live of a giant?

Raymond Bradson awoke that morning in a jungle of his wife's sandy blonde hair. It happened.

He woke up in a few different places every morning. Usually it was buried in his wife's hair, which was long during the night, when she slept, the only time it wasn't done in a ponytail. Other times, he would wake up half buried under her cheek, one foot caught in her lips, another time smushed up against a closed eye, and then, a few occasions, he would find his upper body lodged up her nose. The massive pillow was soft enough to keep him from being squished, thankfully, and he was usually able to crawl out from his position (except when he was up her nose, he needed help then). He wouldn't change his sleeping arrangement for the world. To wrap oneself in a beautiful woman's hair and sleep next to her charming face, it was one of the less discovered joys of life. Most people didn't like getting anywhere near this close to a giant. It made him an oddity in Tectelphia, that was for sure, not that that bothered him.

Once he was out of the jungle of hair, he looked at his wife's face. Valerie was still sleeping like a baby, breathing long and slow. Raymond smiled at her and made his way closer to her. He went up to her nose, being careful to avoid her nostrils, and ran a hand along the hard surface. Then, he reached the eyes and the two feet lashes. Raymond leaned forward and gently kissed the closed lid before him and then took hold of a handful of the lashes. He gave a small tug.

“Val...” He called. “Wake up sweet heart...”

No movement.

“Valerie...” He tried again. “You in there, hon? Wake up...”

The eyelid tightened a little. Valerie uttered a disturbed moan.

“Come on, Val!” Raymond called. He glanced at his watch (he never took it off). “It's almost ten! The baseball game starts in an hour and a half! Come on! Shake a leg!”

Movement down the bed. Raymond looked and saw his wife raising one of her legs through the blanket. It swung left and right rapidly for a moment and then rested down agan.

“There...” Valerie yawned. “Now go away...”

“Very cute, Valerie.” Raymond said, grinning, giving another tug on her eyelashes. “Come on! Don't you want to see the game too?”

“Maybe after ten more minutes...” Val replied, her eye peeking open finally.

“Denied!” Raymond cried. “Now get a move on! I can't reach the Little Guy Shelf from here!”

“Alright, alright, Mr. Bossy,” Valerie replied, a small smile on her face.

A hand appeared and Raymond held up one of his arms. Valerie gently took hold of her husband's arm and lifted him off the pillow and raised him to the Little Guy Shelf, where she dropped him. The Little Guy Shelf was an all encompassing shelving unit that went, nonstop, around the interior of the house. It had furniture on some stretches of it, such as a couch in the living room stretch, the toilet and bathtube in the restroom, a stove and kitchen table in the kitchen, etc. It was meant to give a place for the smaller visitors of the house to be more comfortable. They were up away from the feet and didn't have to use the giant's furniture.

Once her husband was deposited on the shelf, Valerie Bradson laid her head back down on the pillow. Raymond noticed this.

“Hey! Lazy bones! Get your butt up and moving!” He called, grinning.

“No thanks,” Valerie called back. “My butt is fine where it is.”

“Don't make me come back down there...” Raymond called.

“How are you going to do that?” Valerie asked, looking up at him. “It's a pretty far jump for you on that shelf...”

“I can make it,” Ray said. “You don't know it, but I practice day in and day out with rigorous tests of endurance. I leap off this shelf all the time to test my freefalling skills. You don't know because I do it when you're not around, so that I'll surprise you with my...”

“Alright, I'm getting up!” Valerie interrupted, rolling her eyes, a smile on her face. “Just stop feeding me bull...”

“Aw, come on! I was getting to the good part!” Raymond protested, teasingly.

Valerie got up and stretched. She reached for her glasses on the nightstand and slipped them on. She then took the band and tied up her hair into her trademark ponytail. Then, she changed out of her pajamas into a white blouse and jeans, along with a pair of low heel shoes. Raymond got into a flannel shirt and jeans. Valerie always poked fun at him for looking like a lumberjack with his flannel shirts and full beard. Raymond used to work as a cable guy, before marrying his wife. With her being a hundred and fifty feet tall, and being someone who had been remarkably lonely before their marriage, attending to her essentially was his job.

The two of them then headed off to the kitchen. Raymond got a ride on Valerie's shoulder, as he so often did to get around, holding on to a long strand of her hair to avoid falling off. She let Raymond off on the shelf in the kitchen and opened her fridge...the only appliance she had, because a giant person had no use for a stove or an oven, a microwave, or even a sink. What Valerie took out was a large, uninteresting plastic bottle. She looked at it for a second and then sighed, twisting the cap off. Raymond watched as this happened.

“Well...” She said. “Down the hatch.”

She drank the fluid quickly in three gulps. When she lowered her arm, a slight grimace was on her face and she shook her head as if a spasm of dislike coursed through her.

“Bleh,” She stuck out her tongue, making a face.

“That bad, huh?” Raymond asked.

“It's....not that bad.” Valerie said, disposing of the bottle. “It's...just not very good, either.”

“Well, at least it keeps you from having to grind bones to make bread. I hear that takes a long time!” Raymond teased.

“I hear it's impossible,” Valerie replied, smiling a little.

Raymond went on to cook his breakfast, some bacon and scrambled eggs. As he was making it, he turned around, after hearing a loud whoosh of wind, and saw Valerie looking down at his food with a look of deep longing. Raymond felt sorry for her and it made him wish that she didn't have to be subjected to watching him eat all the great amounts of food that normals sized people had while she was forced to drink liquid crap all her life. Never before had she been able to taste anything that he had. Once, just to favor her, he purchased tons and tons of Campbell's Tomato Soup and heated it over a fire outside just so she could have a sample of something new. But...for the most part, almost everything in the culinary world lay beyond her reach.

“You gonna save any of that for me?” She asked, a sad smile on her lips.

“I would if I could, sweetheart.” Raymond replied, sympathetically.

Val nodded sadly and sat down at her table. When Raymond was done cooking, he sat next to her...or next to her head, on his position on the Little Guy Shelf.

“So...who are the 'Terriers' playing, anyway?” Valerie asked, curiously.

“They'll be losing to the team known as the 'Baltimore Orioles'.” Raymond replied, swallowing some eggs.

“Are they any good?” Val asked. “The Orioles?”

“Nope, not really,” Ray shook his head. “Which makes this loss all the sadder.”

The Tectelphia Terriers had not had a good season for twenty years, according to Raymond. Valerie had no idea how the ratings and the ranks of the baseball world worked, but she understood the simple fact that they lost most of their games each baseball season. She didn't consider herself a fan of the Terriers, but Raymond was a loyal follower, one of the people who stayed with the team, remembering the times when they had actual been a challenge on the field. They had never really been the most amazing team. A team from a city called 'Tectelphia', they really weren't supposed to be.

“Do you think we should pay for me?” Valerie asked. “I feel a little like a cheat if I just watch by peering over the top of the stadium. All those other people had to pay to watch the game. I should too.”

“Ah, don't worry about it,” Raymond replied. “I've got tickets. Got 'em from my old man. Besides, you've never had a problem with just looking over the top before. It's not your fault that you were born with that advantage. You know how many loyal baseball fans would kill for that?”

“I guess...” Valerie smiled a little. “It is kind of convenient, isn't it? I just wish it was a little easier for me to actually see the ball. I usually have to watch that big screen to even know what's happening.”

“Well, we deal with what we're given,” Ray said, simply, picking up his now empty plate. He rinsed it off and placed it in the sink. “You ready?”

Valerie held out a hand. “Ready,” She said, brightening.

Raymond Bradson jumped onto his wife's hand and was placed onto her shoulder. He wrapped himself in the longer strands of her hair.

“Very well then!” He cried mightily. “Then...ONWARD! To Tectelphia, and beyooond! Go!”

Valerie rolled her eyes, smiling.

“I'm going, Raymond,” She said. “Keep you pants on.”

“Pants are for the weak!” Raymond cried.

“Oh, boy...” Valerie rolled her eyes again. Her smile never faded.

While Valerie Bradson was drinking her “breakfast”, Lorraine Pruess, another one of the giants, who though of herself as a very classy woman, was already on her way to Tectelphia for a nice stroll in the city.

If things went her way, she'd go into the city at night, when things were really fascinating. The buildings were illuminated like stars and the whole place felt alive. It would never be like New York City (which she had been to twice), but it had it's own charms that she loved. All cities did. Unfortunately, Jennifer Stark, the Giant Relations Person (who wasn't very nice, in Ms. Pruess' humble opinion) said that going into city late at night was a no-no, so Lorraine never got to enjoy it. It was just silly, really. How did Jennifer expect to bridge the gap between tiny and tall if all she was going to do was place restrictions on the two of them so that they never met! It just seemed counter productive, but whatever.

Lorraine, her large tan purse in hand, was walking near the highway, a little closer than Ms. Stark would have liked. She was wearing her high heels, and the ground near the pavement of the road was a little more suited for her shoes. The fields were sometimes muddy and got grass all over them. The cars below all came to a screeching halt as the giant woman thundered past them, her footfalls shaking the vehicles and their occupants like cans of spray paint. Lorraine didn't really pay the commotion below any mind. She typically never did. Jennifer always raved about how dangerous she was to the smaller people, and Lorraine understood her concerns, naturally, but, she had never hurt anybody during all her years. Sure, there were some accidents caused along the way (no one was perfect) but no one had been injured. Lorraine had a good feeling that before she decided to make herself the Giant Relations Person, Jennifer Stark had caused her share of accidents with the small people as well. What gave her the right to get on people's case about it was anybody's guess.

She approached the tall city buildings. That was another nice thing about Tectelphia, and other cities in general. For once there were structures that were your size (though she could never fit inside them in a million years) or at least matched your height. It made going to the city all that more fun. The only thing that was a little annoying was the care that she had to use to navigate the labyrinth of skyscrapers. At the same time, however, it was good to keep such a beautiful and humble city like Tectelphia intact. That, and the little normal folks probably would be a little sour if they're city was slightly wrecked.

Lorraine walked around the edge of the city until she saw one of the the closed roads. These were routs of the giant people and the almighty Ms. Stark decreed that people of massive size shall only walk down these roads. You had to step over traffic, but it was nothing to worry about. There were occasionally normal sized people on the sidewalks, but they usually got out of the way, running inside. Ms. Pruess aligned herself with the road and began to walk straight down it.

…

The Tectelphia News Station was preparing to broadcast the morning news, and the crew was buzzing around like bees. The show began in about twenty minutes, and, like before every showtime, it seemed things weren't going to get done in time. Assistants were literally running back and forth, people were yelling at each other, and everyone seemed on edge. Just another day at the office, as the old saying went.

The Head Anchor was a young fellow with the catchy name, Jake Blake. He had been giving Tectelphia's news for years and the city had watched him go from a simple field reporter all, sitting sometimes near the danger, sometimes around the community events, and occasionally just interviewing somebody, to being the big man behind the desk. It had been a long struggle, with a few other competitors going for it, but, in the end, luck favored him, and he got the seat. He had been the Head for about three years now, and that was great.

It was difficult being a field reporter in Tectelphia, especially when there were giants living nearby. The closed roads made it difficult to get to the right location, slowing things down, and, worse, sometimes the giants WERE the news. In which case, it was required that you go out and get coverage of them as they walked down the streets, bigger than life and most everything else in the city. Jake had never really enjoyed the danger of being put in the path of the footsteps of a giant person. Especially the blonde one who was always wrecking things.

“Hey, Blake!” Lyle, an assistant working for Jake, called. “You're on in ten minutes!”

Jake merely raised a hand to show that he had understood. He didn't need to think about the giants, for he was pretty sure that they were not showing up on the news, today. Usually, if there was any mention of a giant person, it was that Giant Relations Person, Jennifer Stark or Starlet, Jake never could remember. He sat behind the Anchor desk and muttered a few tongue twisters as an exercise. He never enjoyed getting tongue tied and screwing up his speech during showtime and he had found that repeating “she sells sea shell down by the sea shore” was a good way to prevent that from...

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a slight tremor ripple through his chair and into his body. He froze.

Another one followed. This one slightly stronger. Then another, and another. Each one quaking the building a little more with every tremor. People began to stagger and assistants tried to hold onto the camera equipment to avoid them tipping over. Jake held onto his desk to avoid his chair rolling him across the room. His first random thought told him that an earthquake was occurring, but he knew better. They all did.

Jake Blake, Tectelphia's Head Anchor, turned his head to the big window to the left of the studio stage.

A massive brown eye stared back at him and he shivered.

…

Lorraine Pruess leaned forward, peering into the Tectelphia News Station, curious if she could catch a glimpse of the News going live or see Jake Blake, the news guy on TV. To her delight, the man himself was seated right before her line of vision through the window. She offered him a friendly smile and wave. Jake Blake offered a weak return wave, but Lorraine was pleased all the same, brightening at the recognition.

The giant blonde began to straighten to head on her way when she noticed some of the large satellite dishes on the top of the roof. Curious (and perhaps a bit playful) she raised up a finger to touch one. She had no idea what the gadgets did, but they looked so bizarre and almost futuristic somehow, making them quite impressive. Her finger touched the metallic surface and she began to turn it a little (noticing that it could in fact turn) when a loud snap sounded, causing her to jump a little, instinctively removing her finger from the device. The moment that she did, the large satellite dish disconnected from its base, bounced off the roof, and plummeted to the ground with a smash. Lorraine's hand immediately went to her chest in surprise and stepped away, her purse lightly tapping the building behind her, breaking several windows and sending a few bricks raining down below.

“Whoops,” She uttered to herself, looking down at the satellite between her feet.

She bent down, her knees folding a street lamp in half, and picked up the dish. Standing back up, she tried to put the device back on the ceiling of the news station. For a good five minutes, she struggled to put the dish on the base, twisting it, pushing it, and whatever else she thought. The satellite merely ended up more wrecked and broken in her working fingers and the base was ruined from her attempts. Eventually, she accidentally dropped the device again, where it shattered completely on the ground below. Seeing this, she quickly walked away, whistling innocently, using her blonde locks to cover her blush.

…
“What the hell happened?” Jake Blake called out.

“The power went out!” Lyle, the assistant, called.

Jake sighed and pinched his sinus in annoyance.

“I can see that, Lyle,” He replied. “What happened?”

“I'm not really, sure,” Lyle replied. “But one of the camera guys says that he thought he saw the big satellite dish fall off the roof past a window he was looking out. I guess that giant blonde lady snapped it off.”

Jake Blake sighed again. Naturally. It was ALWAYS the blonde woman.

“Is somebody working on it?” He called, feeling the giants quaking footsteps fade away.

“Uh....no,” Lyle replied. “I just looked out the window. The satellite dish is down on the street. It's really smashed. I mean REALLY smashed. You should actually come see it, Jake. It looks kind of unreal.”

“God damn it!” The Studio Director barked, coming out of the sound room. “Somebody get me a phone. I need to call some contractors to get the damn roof fixed. Also, somebody, you!” He pointed at Lyle. “You're an assistant, right?”

“Yes, sir,” Lyle replied, wisely.

“Find me Jennifer Stark's number,” The Director instructed. “Need to...need to call her too, I guess. Uh...why don't you call her, boy? Now that I think about it, I'll be busy with the contractors and such...”

The Director was suddenly nervous and uneasy.

“But...I think she would want to talk to you, sir,” Lyle said. “I mean...you ARE the one in charge, and all that.”

“.....yes, yes, I...I suppose, you're right.” The Director replied, sighing, rubbing his neck. “Just, just get me her number okay? Just...go.”

Lyle and the Director left to do their business. Jake Blake sat behind the desk in the dark for a little bit.

“Wait, what am I supposed to do?” He asked aloud to anyone listening.

Nobody replied to him...

…

Lorraine stepped over an intersection of traffic, the cars below stopping, waiting for her to pass. The pedestrians either ran for cover in one of the buildings or froze at the sight of such a large person walking by. Either way, the blonde giant didn't really seem to pay them any attention, merely taking in the sights with a smile on her lips.

As she was going along, she happened by a tall skyscraper. Her reflection shone in the tinted windows and she stopped, glancing at herself. She was about to continue, approving her looks, when she noticed that she had forgotten to apply her lipstick this morning. She stood in front of the 'mirror' and reached into her purse and found her lip stick. She opened it and raised it to her lips.

…

The meeting in the office building met an sudden interruption when a giant strayed in front of their window. For a few moments, a pair of boulder sized eyes peered in. They showed no recognition of them, so apparently the giant couldn't see through the tinted windows outside. All the occupants of the meeting room froze as the blinking wonders took up their entire window

Then, after a few moments, they disappeared, then briefly reappeared, then were gone again. They were replaced by a massive nose, a large whoosh of air rattling the windows, and then a mouth came into view. It was still for only a moment and then it opened, revealing the cavern that lie within. A large exhale from the giant was heard and the windows immediately fogged a little. A smell of peppermint flowed into the room, as well...

…

Lorraine smiled at herself when her making up was done, and she replaced the container back into her purse. She gave herself another once over and then carried on, accidentally stepping on an old abandoned mailbox that had been left on the giant people's path. It flattened immediately and got stuck to her sole. She didn't notice it until about two blocks down. She scraped it over with her finger nail and deposited it in a dumpster and then headed further into downtown, humming to herself.

There was only one male giant around Techtelphia. His name was Trent Berlinger.

He showed up in the area last, after Lorraine, Jennifer, and Valerie, and he was also the one the citizens of the city knew the least about. He kept to himself, more than most of the giant people, staying away in his home as if he was afraid that the world was too much for even a person of his size could handle. His home was near the Bradsons house, which was good since Trent felt more comfortable around Valerie than the others. Lorraine was very pretty, and Trent always had trouble speaking to pretty women, no matter how tall they were. Jennifer had never been too harsh to Trent, but he was often intimidated by her, and most especially Garth Brokers, the Metal Man who worked for her. Valerie, on the other hand, was warm and welcoming, probably the friendliest person that he had ever met. Her husband, Raymond, was also a great guy, and something of a father figure to him. So, Trent, whenever he did venture out of his home, often visited the Bradsons and had 'dinner' with them.

But, for now, Trent Berlinger sat alone in his 'kitchen', looking out the window. Earlier, he had seen Lorraine Pruess walking towards the city of Tectelphia in the distance. The eighteen year old giant blushed just at the sight of her, but he was glad that she wasn't here to see it. When people saw him get all nervous, it just made the conversation more difficult. It was why he always acted on his best behavior when out and about around Tectelphia, because the very last thing that he wanted was to be called to Jennifer Stark's office when she wasn't going to be happy with him. Oh, boy, how unpleasant that would be! So far, he'd only been to Jennifer's office twice, the first due to him not knowing about the Giant Only roads in Tectelphia's streets and trying to use the general population's paths, and another for his elbow breaking windows of a tall buidling. Both times, Jennifer had spoken softly to him, but he knew that she wasn't a woman who would always be soft if the message wasn't getting across and he quickly adjusted his behavior. So, far, he had not been called back since, a very good thing.

The giant looked down at the bottle in his hand and sighed.

“One...two...three!” He called.

He quickly downed the bottle in four swallows and grimaced as it went down. It was nice to have something to keep you full and healthy, but the stuff could some work in the flavor department. Lorraine had once actually complained to Jennifer about it, who had merely shrugged and said there was nothing she could do about it. He tossed the bottle away and looked out the window again. He was thinking about her, again.

Once upon a time, soon after arriving near Tectelphia's borders, Trent Berlinger had been invited by Valerie and her husband to join them at a little 'hangout' that the two of them had out on the northwest part of the city. Trent, thankful that people were welcoming to him, had eagerly gone along. The hangout had been a cliff over looking the Atlantic, right next to the beaches. According to Mrs. Bradson, it was where she and her husband first met. In Trent's opinion, it was a perfect place for that. They had gone during a sunset, and the boy had to admit that it was quite beautiful. The great blue was sparkling like the world's biggest jewel, the waves calm and soothing, it was just the perfect place for love to brew. With that thought, it was ironic that during that trip Trent would see the girl of his dreams.

Across the beaches from where he was, Trent Berlinger saw a young girl with her family. Her hair was short and brunette and she looked to be just his age. She was stretched out on a beach towel, her folks nearby, looking out across the big blue as he had been doing. The woman seemed to be lost in thought, as she regarded the mighty expanse of the Atlantic. She was so beautiful. She was normal sized, though, he knew that, but that didn't matter! Raymond Bradson was normal sized and he was married to a giant woman! Why couldn't the vice versa work for him? Surely it could. All he had to do was go introduce himself, and...

Oh, god...

Being a giant, Trent knew the reaction that the normal sized people using gave off to folks his size. They screamed, they ran, they usually wanted nothing to do with him. What if....what if this girl here was just like that? Raymond wasn't like that, but, he was probably just a special case. Trent had never met anyone as open to giant people than Raymond, except maybe for Garth Brokers, but Trent didn't know that man too well, and actually wanted to keep it that way. If he were to go over there, she would get scared and scream. He didn't know how he would react to that. He wasn't sure that he could handle it. What was he going to do when the girl of his dreams screamed at him like he was some kind of flesh eating monster from the Black Lagoon? No. He couldn't just walk up to her. That was insane! Him? Walk up to her? She probably wouldn't even be interested in him anyway! Of course not. A girl like that? Yeah, right!

Trent had jumped when he felt the nudge.

“So...what are we looking at?” Valeire had asked, trying to see where he was gazing.

“N..nothing!” Trent had gone red immediately. “I...I...uh...”

“Oh...are you looking at one of the girls over there?” Valerie had teased. Raymond had chuckled.

“No!” Trent immediately got defensive. “Of course not! Why...why would you think that?”

“Well, then, what are you looking at?” Valerie challenged.

Trent hadn't been able to answer that question and just clammed up. Valerie laughed, and gave the boy a hug and took the pressure off of him by changing the subject a few minutes later. Trent later looked to see that the girl was gone. He had been sad. He hoped that his loud defenses of himself against Valerie Bradson hadn't scared her off. The love of his life...and he'd never see her again. How depressing.

But...luck had been on his side.

A few weeks later, when he ventured out of the house again, she was at the park. And he had seen her. When he had, he was so overwhelmed that he quickly hurried back to his home before she could even so much as look at him, let alone notice his stares. In his haste, he had accidentally broken windows with his elbow, and a few hours later, Garth Brokers came to him, informing him that Jennifer Stark, the Giant Relations Person wanted to see him. When he came to see Jennifer, he at first tried to make up a story on the spot, but she wasn't fooled and asked for the truth. He then told her about the girl and what had happened. Jennifer had been silent for a little bit, and then, softly, told Trent that she understood his emotions, but asked him to keep them under control to avoid causing anymore damage to Tectelphia's buildings. Trent had nodded and then he had been allowed to leave.

Then, the next day, he went out of his house the next day and headed for the park. Again, the girl was there, sitting on a bench near a little pond. Trent had stood, hidden behind a building, looking at her, wanting to approach, but too afraid to see what would happen to try it. He stood there for so long that Garth eventually flew up and told him to move along before he started blocking pedestrians and traffic. He quickly went home, embarrassed.

But the girl continued to appear at the park. Some days she wasn't there, but a lot of times she was. It seemed to be a special place to her, and Trent was, on one hand, praising his luck of discovering this, and on the other, cursing it. Knowing where the girl went during the day made it all the easier for him to potentially approach, removed all excuses for putting it off, made it difficult for him to ignore. Each day that he didn't made him feel like a failure and he sometimes wished that she had just disappeared, feeling that only one day's regret would be better than many months of it. He looked out the window now, knowing that the girl would be there. Would today be the day where he would stop being such a coward? Or would he add just one more regret on the building pile of them?

There was a knock at the door.

Trent turned away from the window and looked at the door curiously for a moment. Then, he went up to see who it was. On his doorstep was Valerie Bradson, her husband on her shoulder, wrapped in some of her hair. She smiled at him, pushing her glasses up her nose as he opened the door.

“Hey, Trent,” She said, warmly.

“Oh, hello Valerie. Mr. Bradson.” Trent replied, bowing a little to the two of them. “How are you two?”

“We're doing well, thank you,” Valerie replied. “We were just heading into Tectelphia to go to the baseball game today, and I thought about you and wondered if you wanted to come with us.”

Trent smiled at the invitation. The Bradsons were always nice to him. He was glad that they were his neighbors here.

“Sure.” Trent replied. “Is...is that okay with you, Mr. Bradson?”

“Sure!” Raymond told him. “The more the merrier! And we're gonna need all the merry we can get when the 'Terriers' get their butts kicked today!”

“Well...thank you,” Trent said, grinning. “I'd be more than happy to go with you. Thank you for inviting me.”

“Don't mention it,” Valerie replied, smiling. “We wouldn't want you to gather dust in their by yourself.”

Trent grinned sheepishly at that. She was right, really. He had been spending a lot of time in his home alone as of late and it would be good for him to get some fresh air. He came out of the door and locked it behind him and then he followed Valerie and Raymond towards Tectelphia. He wasn't sure what baseball was. Was that sport where the normal sized people whacked a ball back and forth over a net, or the one where they hit the white ball into a hole with a club? He couldn't remember. Keeping track of all the sports that the normal sized folks had was difficult.

“Hey...Valerie?” He asked.

“Yeah?” Mrs. Bradson turned her head to him.

“Which one is baseball again?”

“Oh, it's the one where they hit a white ball,” Valerie told him. “And then they run around the white bases. Hence the name, and all.”

“Oh, yeah!” Trent replied, now remembering. The bases of course! Duh! “Then, which one is the one with the yellow ball and the net?”

“That's tennis!” Raymond called.

“Right, okay!” Trent said, nodding. “What about the one with the white ball and the holes?”

“Golf?” Valerie asked, looking at Raymond.

“Yep, that's it.” Raymond nodded.

“Okay, now I get it!” Trent said happily. “I'll try to remember that.” He paused. “Uh...Mr. Bradson?”

“Yeah?” Ray asked.

“Uh...what are the rules to baseball?”

Raymond laughed. “Don't worry Trent,” He said amicably. “I'll explain it to you as it happens, alright?”

“Sure,” Trent replied, smiling.

They all continued down the road, heading for Tectelphia.

The Giant Relations Person sat in her office, working on her computer.

Computers were a challenge to build at giant size, but necessary. The internet was a giant's best friend, allowing them to communicate and interact with the normal sized world that had never before been possible. And anything that could allow that was grand in the eyes of Jennifer Stark, who had met all kinds of reactions from government officials that she'd met. It was kind of funny. She remembered seeing campaign from some of them, showing how tough they'd be in office or whatever, yet, the moment they laid an eye on her in person, some of them, quite literally, screamed like a little girl. Some of them just ran like mad, some of them tried to hide, some of them actually got down on their knees and begged. That last one was the most awkward and embarrassing to work with. One man had actually offered to make her his goddess if she just let him life. At each of these moments, Jennifer had to wait for them to recollect themselves until they were sane enough for her to speak to and tell them that she wasn't going to hurt them.

Jennifer's occupation was simple, in concept, though, while much harder in practice. If you were a normal sized man and giants were causing trouble? You talked to Jennifer Stark. If you needed to alert the giant people, you told Jennifer Stark. If you had any concerns about giant people, you talked to Jennifer Stark. If you were a giant who was acting up, you dealt with Jennifer Stark. If you continued to act up, you then dealt with Garth Brokers. What had began as a simple job to communicate better with the normal sized people had become her becoming the leader and the law of the giant people. Some giants, like Lorraine, didn't really see the need for that nor understood why Jennifer even deserved the position. Most, however, accepted her. The giants had never really been organized with real structure before, and that was something that Jennifer brought. She introduced some ways to teach giant children how to navigate through cities and buildings, implemented rule, and established Garth, the Metal Man, as the enforcer of the rules. Thanks to Jennifer, damages caused by giants had gone down drastically, and relations between giant and normal improved greatly.

Garth was especially useful. While Jennifer couldn't go everywhere, like across oceans, Garth could and faster than most. He had been rebuilt with hovering technology and was capable of flying high speeds. He was able to spread her rule over continents and anywhere. Jennifer had gotten other giants from other nations to begin to work under her, so that when she needed a message sent, she had French assistants able to communicate to French giants and so on. All of them reported back to her and let her know if anything needed to be done or if any giant was acting up. So far, aside from the occasional stumble, things had gone very well with little damage.

A sound emitted and Jennifer looked up from her work. She spotted Garth Brokers flying up towards her.

“Well, hello Garth,” She greeted him.

“Morning,” He replied. “Just here to punch in.”

“Good, good,” Jennifer replied, going back to her work.

Garth went over and punched in and then came flying back.

“Lorraine's in the city today,” He reported. “I also saw Valerie and Trent walking towards the city too. It looks like all three of them have plans in Tectelphia today.”

“Well, as long as they don't cause trouble, then they're allowed to be in the city.” Jennifer replied, not looking up.

She wasn't too worried about them all being in the city. Valerie and Trent knew how to behave and very rarely caused problems. Valerie she had only had to deal with once, and Trent only twice. Lorraine, on the hand, was the problem child. She did a lot of little things mostly. She was careless. She broke things, scared the general population, and was just more of a nuisance. Jennifer had lost count of how many times she had Lorraine Pruess in her office, and the two of them argued frequently. Lorraine frequently questioned why Jennifer was the 'boss lady' and often appealed to the fact that she, Jennifer, must have had her share of accidents and therefore had no right to get onto her. Jennifer would then reply, again, that she had earned her position as the Giant Relations Person, and that her performance as a well-behaved giant was not the issue, they were talking about Lorraine Pruess, not Jennifer Stark. She was a trouble maker, and she gave Jennifer migraines.

“Any trouble going on the political front?” Garth asked.

“Well, Beckard is still speaking out,” Jennifer replied. “But, he's not really causing any trouble for now.”

George Beckard was a Texas Senator in congress, and an outspoken Anti-Giant lobbyist. He called all giants a menace, pointing out at damages they've caused, the threat they posed. 'What if they decided to attack?' he would ask. 'What are we all gonna do then?' Of course, Jennifer had assured him and several others that no such attack was being planned and that no giant had EVER attacked a normal sized population, despite popular myth and legend. He had gained supporters, but, fortunately, for the time being, he wasn't causing major issues. Raymond refused to take him seriously at all, referring to him as that 'fat country bumpkin'. Valerie had written to him, trying to change his mind, but got no response. The man claimed that he was protecting the general population from the giants, but, having spoke to him a few times, Jennifer had a sense that there was something else at work. Something else causing his dislike for the giant people, though she couldn't place her finger on it.

“That ol' farmboy?” Garth asked, gruffily. “Hah! He's only where he is today cause his father was a rich oilman.”

“Maybe so,” Jennifer replied. “But, regardless of how he got there, he's still a senator. So, we need to make sure that he doesn't cause any problems.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Garth nodded. “As long as he doesn't try anything smart. I don't trust people like him. He may sound like a hillbilly, but he's actually got a brain. Never know what he's up to.”

“Well, only way to find out.” The Giant Relations Person said. “Wait and see and try to be ready for it.”

“Yeah.” Garth replied simply. “I'll be off. I gotta a city to patrol.”

“Take care,” Jennifer replied as Garth flew out of the office.

The Giant Relations Person checked her calendar. Later today, she was scheduled to met with Terry Trayor, mayor of Tectelphia. It probably wouldn't be a fun meeting. Trayor was immensely afraid of her, often attempting to send secretaries and interns out to deal with her. Unfortunately for him, none of them were willing to see her themselves, and he would eventually be forced to go out there and see her personally. He would often agree with everything Jennifer said, though she was sure he was barely listening to half of it, as if he was willing to do anything to be set free. It was difficult to work with him. Beckard may be an enemy, but at least he had one redeeming quality, he wasn't afraid of the giants. He was one of the few normal sized people that Jennifer could have an actual conversation with.

All the fear of the giant people...it was why Jennifer had become what she was today. It started off with a simple wish, that people, of any size, could get along. Like all of the giants, she didn't like people being afraid of her and being separated from other human beings. So, she tried to reach out, she tried to speak to people. She paid attention to every incident that occurred that involved giant people and she would then contact those involved and try to settle things. Eventually, word around the Government that one of the giants was actively working with them spread, and some important people began to make regular contact with Jennifer. She began to discuss with them, through E-mails, and eventually, worked up enough trust to meet with them personally. The Government began to see her as someone that they could use to communicate with the giant people, and many officials, even the president himself, stayed in touch with her. All of this built up and Jennifer eventually began calling herself the Giant Relations Person. She had noticed there was little organization among the giant people and saw to it that there was, and, for the most part, things had been better because of her, so many giants, while intimidated by her, were grateful for what she had done.

She went back to work, continuing undisturbed for quite sometime. A few hours later, she would get a call on her special one way phone (something that no other giant had). It would be from the Tectelphia News Station...

Valerie, Raymond, and Trent came up to Tectelphia, Mrs. Bradson in the lead, with her husband on her shoulder, and Berlinger right behind her. They walked to one of the Giants Only Roads and headed towards the baseball center in the heart of Tectelphia.

“Do you think Ms. Pruess is going to watch the game too?” Trent asked as they made their way into the city.

“She never said anything about it to me,” Valerie replied, looking back to him. “Why?”

“I saw her walking into the city before you two showed up,” Trent answered.

“I don't think Lorraine even knows what baseball is,” Raymond laughed.

“No, she does,” Valerie corrected him. “She knows that there is a thing called baseball....but I think that's as far as it goes. She doesn't pay attention to sports.”

“Neither do I,” Trent shrugged.

“I thought supporting the Giants, just to be funny,” Valerie chuckled. “But they're a baseball team in New York, not in Tectelphia.”

“The Giants don't play baseball, Val,” Raymond said. “They're a football team.”

“.....football?” Valerie and Trent asked.

“Nevermind.” Raymond laughed.

The baseball stadium was filling up with loyal fans of the two less-than-mediocre teams playing there, the Terriers and the Orioles. Two teams that haven't had a good season in more than eight years. Nevertheless, the fans were excited and supportive for their respective teams. There was friendly trash talking amongst the players and it was all good fun. At least for this game. Had it been the New York Yankees, a fight or two might have broken out, and the trash talk may not have been so friendly. But, that was for another day. The people from Baltimore were a little on edge as they entered Tectelphia. They had learned why a number of the roads were closed. A good number of them hadn't met a giant person up close or in the flesh at all, so many of them kept checking their surroundings, not wanting to end up under a foot.

So, their surprise when a giant blonde woman came out from the buildings was understandable. A lot of them screamed and began to run just on instinct. Lorraine Pruess was just passing-by on her stroll, but she noticed the activity of the stadium and glanced at it in mild curiosity. Despite what they thought, Valerie and Raymond were both wrong, Lorraine knew more about baseball than they gave her credit. She knew enough about it to know that it held her attention for not very long. Sports weren't her thing, at all. But, the activity was enough for her to peek over the tops of the stadium, shrug and then continue on her way, her footfalls shaking the fans in their seats. The citizens of Tectelphia, a little more seasoned with such experiences, didn't panic, and merely held onto their seats. The folks from Baltimore did panic at first, but, when they discovered that they were the only ones frenzied they eventually calmed down. The intercoms blared with reassurances that everything was fine and the people could go back to their seats.

Just as the people sat back down, the ground began shaking again. They looked up to again, expecting to see the blonde woman again, passing through, but instead saw another woman wearing glasses, her sandy blonde hair done in a ponytail, followed by some young guy with short brown hair. Now there were two of them, and the Baltimore fans went ballistic again. Valerie knelt down before the the ticket booths and placed her husband down, who walked up to the teens, who were cowering behind the glass.

“These two giants are with me.” He said motioning to them. “I have a ticket for me and the wife there. I'd like one for the gentleman, please.”

One of the teens, a red head with pimples on his face, was able to move and go about his duties and took Raymond's money and then handed him the ticket. Ray thanked him, and then the teen watched as the giant with the ponytail picked up her husband and stood back up. Good God...she was REALLY tall. Valerie and Trent lightly stepped over the parking lots until they got to an empty one (left specifically that way for just such an occasion) and then sat and looked over the rim. There was a heavy sense of awkwardness for the fans in the stadium. They knew that the giants were there, their faces hung over like the sun, but there was nothing they could do. Even the players of the team were a little nervous, their managers urging them to ignore the giants and focus on the game. The Terrier's manager went as far as even saying...

“Those Orioles ain't ever seen those giants in person before! They're all psyched out right now. The perfect chance for us to pull out a win!”

Valerie and Trent didn't mind at all the situation. To them, it felt good just to be around the normal sized folks and watch their little games. It made them feel welcomed and normal. It made them feel good.

“Okay, Trent,” Raymond began. He pointed. “You see those white bases on the field?”

“Yeah!” Trent nodded.

“There are those three outer ones and then the one at the bottom.” Raymond explained. “Both teams go on the field. One stands out on the field, with one player on that mound as the pitcher. The pitcher's job is to throw the ball. The other team lines up and takes turns standing on home base to hit the ball. The point is to hit the ball as far as you can, preferably over the heads of the players and out of the boundaries of the game. You want to hit the ball and get to bases and work your way back to home, that base at the bottom there. If you hit the ball and the other team catches it, you're out and you have to go back and wait to hit again. Each base has a player on it, kind of like their guarding it. If the other players haven't caught the ball without it touching the ground, then you want to run as fast as you can to one of the bases without the other team touching you with the ball. If you don't get to first plate before the first baseman touches it with the ball, you're out. You still with me?”

“Uh.......I think,” Trent replied.

Valerie laughed. “Don't worry, you'll get it when it happens. It's kind of confusing to just hear about. When you see it going on, it'll make much more sense.”

“Okay, if you say so, Valerie,” Trent replied, smiling.

…

Lorraine Pruess had no idea that the Bradsons and Trent were in the city, otherwise she might have stayed at the stadium just to be with friends. But, they had eluded her, and she continued her walk through Tectelphia.

One of her favorite hobbies, though it was heavily scorned by Jennifer Stark, was to peek through the windows of the buildings in Tectelphia. Each new building that she looked through was like a book, each one telling a different story. It was best when they didn't notice her doing it, but, even still, it didn't matter much. It was perhaps a little impolite to do such a thing, but she was always so curious as to what went on in the buildings, what the normal sized population was up to in them. She'd been caught doing it a few times by Jennifer, but she didn't care what that grouch said about it. She wasn't hurting anybody, or even damaging anything. And it wasn't as if she was spying on people in the shower (now that would be rude) or something.

So, she stepped towards another skyscraper and peered through, cupping her eyes to cut off the sunlight. Inside the first building were a bunch of little offices. Raymond had once told her that these little offices were called 'cubes' or something that like. He also said that they were incredibly boring and the people who worked in them often lived dull lives. And Lorraine could see why. They were indeed boring and the colors were gray and flat and jut screamed uninteresting. She frowned to herself and thought the 'cubes' should be colorful and lively. At least then, things would be fun....or at least a little more than they were now.

When the people in there noticed her, she moved on to the next building. This one was an apartment building, and she had to kneel down to look through it, the hem of her dress getting caught on a chainlink fence. The first room she peered through was an empty living room. It was decorated in a southern style though, with cowhead skulls, cowhide on the walls, a tan couch, a table with hide on it. Lorraine frowned, not finding any of it particularly nice and stepped over and peered through the next window. This one had a modern decoration to it, all of the furniture was black and white and sleek. Lorraine though this one was much better, but though, at the same time, that it missed some classical things to give it an old world charm along with it as well. During her peeking, a man came out of another room, saw her, and fled back into the room.

Lorraine stood up, tugging her dress free from the fence and continued down the street. In the distance, she saw an innercity school. It was on a road that she couldn't step on, being used by the general population of normal sized people. Not only that, but, Jennifer expressively forbade Valerie, her, and Trent, from going near a school or any learning institution of the normal people. The Giant Relations Person was not about to even allow the possibility of giants causing damage to the schools. Any of them going near it would be in big trouble with Ms. Stark if they didn't follow that directive. Unfortunately, this made the schools that more interesting and Lorraine longed to peer into it. Raymond had offered to take pictures for her, but that wouldn't do. What were pictures when it was right there and you could go and see for yourself. Lorraine had begged Jennifer to make a special exception just once, but she wouldn't budge.

She immediately turned away from the school, fighting the urge to ignore Jennifer's directive and take a quick peek. The school's administration wouldn't be quiet about it, no doubt, then Garth would come for her, and then back to Jennifer's office for another argument. The last time she had been there, Jennifer had alluded her to a pubescent teenager who refused to follow directions. That was completely unfair. Was it so bad that she wanted to know more about the smaller people? Was it so bad that she was curious? Wasn't it Jennifer's job to encourage such behavior? To encourage such good interest in the normal people? Right now, it looked like the only thing Jennifer seemed interested in doing was keeping the two separated. Don't go there, don't do this, don't do that, stay away from this and that, all of those were large components of Jennifer's rules. Lorraine had almost lost her patience and asked what on Earth they COULD do. But, Jennifer had Garth, who, while he was an alright guy (or so Valerie said), he was frightening and you didn't want to push him too far.

Valerie always said that Jennifer was just doing what she thought was best and just wanted to make sure everyone was safe. Lorraine got that, but safe and sound was only half the problem. There was still the connection that had to be made. People were still afraid. People still didn't like them. People still avoided them. Yeah, a giant person could enter a city without hurting people now, thanks to Jennifer Stark, but what about the rest of the problem? What was she actually doing about RELATIONS? Lorraine called Jennifer the “Safety Director” occasionally, stating that Jennifer wasn't doing a dang thing about Relations. Ms. Stark knew of this and often replied that people had to feel safe around the giant people before the connections could be made. Jennifer said that her going to meet people and everything else that she was doing was her way of working on the Relations problem. Every face to face meeting she had with a normal sized person was a little more progress. Not to mention that Valerie and Raymond's marriage also was a big help. Then, Jennifer would then say that if Lorraine was so eager to make such connections, nothing was stopping her as long as she followed the rules and didn't break Tectelphia in the process!

Another thing Lorraine didn't particularly like about Jennifer was that she was often cold in her ways of dealing with rule 'infractions'. She never lightened up, she was never any fun, she was too stuffy and all business and never showed a human side. Valerie tried to correct this view, having invited Jennifer to her home several times and had seen the Relations Person show a more unguarded side, but Lorraine didn't hear a word of it. Valerie would often sigh and think to herself how the Lorraine and Jennifer would bicker until the end of time. Trent just stayed away from the entire thing, not wanting to get stuck in the middle of it.

Lorraine Pruess continued down the street of Tectelphia, looking in a few more buildings. At one point, she found a car one of the Giant Only roads. Eager, she picked it up and looked into, turning it around in her fingers, examining it all over. Eventually, it slipped from her grasp and plummeted to the concrete, causing several to run away in fear. Lorraine quickly walked away, yet again whistling innocently. An hour later, the owner and his family, new to Tectelphia, returned to find their van utterly destroyed.

Not long after...Jennifer Stark would hear about it.

…

Trent was starting to get the baseball game a little more. Valerie was right. What Raymond had explained to him eventually started to come together as he watched it happen before him on the field. The Terriers actually managed to score a few points in the first few innings.

“Runs, Trent,” Raymond had corrected him. “They're called runs in Baseball.”

Whenever the Terriers scored, Ray let out a loud cheer. Valerie just smiled, and clapped quietly, not wanting to frighten the smaller people with loud noises. Trent followed Valerie's example and just clapped. At one point he made the mistake of clapping when the other team, the Orioles, scored. Raymond had gotten onto him, while Valerie held back giggles that were so strong that tears eventually flowed from her eyes.

“No clapping for the other team,” Raymond told him. “You 'boo' when the other team scores. Remember, you're rooting for the Terriers!”

“Raymond,” Valerie said. “Why don't you let him choose who he wants to support.”

“I am,” Raymond replied. “I'm just saying that it'd better be the Terriers.” He winked at Trent. Valerie rolled her eyes, smiling.

Trent was having a good time with the Bradsons and was glad that they had invited him. Valerie was glad just to be outside and amongst the normal people. Like Jennifer, a life long dream of hers was the unification of giant and normal folks, and both getting along with each other. Raymond was just glad to see the Terriers actually putting up a decent fight. To make this day better though, they'd better get a win. If they did that, he would be a happy man.

The three of them sat and watched the game, as the teams switched sides, entering the sixth inning.

Like any city, Tectelphia had its streetside musicians that played for change. A few of them made a decent amount of money doing it, at least enough to pay the rent at their apartment and keep themselves fed, even if barely. There were saxophones, flutes, guitarists, banjoos, all kinds of instruments to fill the streets. Tectelphia also had a violinist, who got a few more dollars than most street musicians. And for good reason: he was blind.

Charles Anders was a peculiar young man. He didn't wear the greatest attire, clearly fitting the image of the lower class, and, where ever he went, he went bare foot. Whether or not he was too poor to own shoes or he just chose not to wear them was something the people of his apartment complex wondered. He didn't wear “blind” sunglasses, either, his useless eyes seeming to move on their own in all directions. He also had no guide stick, or dog to navigate with. Instead, he relied on the bow of his violin to feel around town. Indeed, he was quite the stranger to many people.

But...he played magnificently.

His works were moving and heartfelt. He sang occasionally during his playing, his voice matched his songs, and it gathered many to his spot. His visual condition garnered great sympathy, and people paid him a little extra (though that still was barely enough to get by). Not a lot of people knew much about him. Those who lived near him knew that he never had guests into his home, nor asking anyone to read to him a letter from a relative. Where he came from was even a mystery. He was an agreeable young man, that was for sure, but nobody really reached out for him. Nobody invited him into their home for dinner, nobody offered to assist him, though he never asked. For a blind person, he seemed incredibly independent and capable, being able to find his way around town with only the bow of his violin.

And, this day was no different. He came out of his apartment and guided himself around the city of Tectelphia, using his bow to feel his environment. People politely stepped out of his way as he went past, giving him a queer look as they went on their way, and occasionally watched to make sure that he wouldn't wander into a busy street. But, Charles was beyond such a simple mistake. He never strayed off the sidewalk when out and about. He knew it was important, of course, especially in Tectelphia, where some streets were occupied by the Giants. On those roads, he kept as close to the walls of the buildings as possible, not wanting to end up under a giant foot.

Charles had always wished he could see, of course, but, when he thought of the giants, his curiosity always grew. He had not always been blind, an accident had rendered him such, and he was aware of what the standard human being looked like. To see that same thing, but blown up to epic proportions...it had to be quite the sight to behold. He knew the troubles of living blind, but, living as a giant, to avoid destroying and stepping on things and people, not to mention convincing the legions of people that you had no intention to go and do such acts...it must be difficult for them.

As if on cue from this line of thinking, he felt the ground tremble. From earlier sounds, he knew that he had not wandered onto one of the giant's roads, but he must be near one. He heard some people begin to get nervous. He knew that people might begin to start running in fear and during that they would push him aside in their frenzy. So, Charles got against the wall and leaned against it to stay out of the way of panic.

…

Lorraine's eye was caught by a smaller building, which was a bank with a large front window, and eagerly stepped towards it. She was much too tall however, and had crouch down to get a better look. However, that still wasn't enough to really see inside. So, the giant blonde got down on all fours and brought her eyes down to the building, her hair draping across the street. She didn't notice it, but the hem of her skirt got caught on an electric sign. The weight of the cloth snapped the sign's support and it swung down the building, broke a window, and then finally fell onto a car, smashing it's front window. The bank was on the edge of a normal sized person's road, and her long blonde hair overturned cars, mailboxes, and a few people got caught in it, getting dragged for a few feet before freeing themselves.

The giant woman didn't really notice as she satisfied her curiosity. The people inside the bank immediately fled into bathroom as the massive brown eyes dropped into view. Some actually leaped over the teller counters. Some tried to use this moment of pandemonium to steal some greenbacks from behind the desks. Lorraine didn't really see this, for she had finally noticed that her skirt had been caught on something. Freeing herself, she stood back up, brushing herself off and continued on her way, the cars bouncing as they went.

A good bit of money was stolen from the bank, a hole in the wall of the building across the street was formed, and a few cars were now on their sides. Fortunately, her luck true, Lorraine's visit caused no injuries.

Of course, this didn't stop word of it from reaching the Giant Relations Person's ears.

…

Charles Anders felt the fading quakes as the giant person left. Judging by a sweet fragrance in the air, picked up by his heightened sense of smell, the blind violinist could only surmise that the passive giant was a woman. What she had just done, he would never know, but it had made quite a ruckus down the street. Not wanting to get in the way of the police department, no doubt on their way, Charles made an about face, and headed the other direction.

He went on till he eventually found the Park. There, he took a seat on one of the benches, and began to play his trusty violin, and singing about rainy days in the city.

…

Another hour passed, and the Terriers had, as predicted, lost to the Baltimore Orioles. They had put up a good fight, though, and Raymond was at least happy with that, though he pouted on Valerie's shoulder after she stood up from the game. Mrs. Bradson and Trent, having sat in awkward positions the whole time, hung around the stadium for a little bit, stretching their legs.

“So...did we win?” Trent asked, curiously.

“No...” Raymond pouted.

“Well, they did give it the old college try,” Valerie said.

Raymond didn't reply. He only stood with his arms crossed, staring at the stadium with a hot look.

“Well, thanks again for taking me,” Trent said, bowing a little toward Valerie. “I had a lot of fun.”

“Oh, it was no problem,” Valerie smiled. “You know you're always welcome at our home.”

“Stupid...Orioles,” Ray grouched.

“Oh, Raymond, let it go,” Val said. “It's just a game.”

“It's not just a game, Val,” Raymond replied. “The Terriers have let us down for ages. We can't even beat the Orioles and they're one of the worst teams in the entire league!”

“Well...there's always next time?” Valerie offered.

“No better time than now...” Raymond groaned.

Valerie only shrugged.

“So, are you guys doing anything else?” Trent asked, hopefully. He liked being with the Bradsons. They were an interesting pair and it was fun to be with them.

“Um...I don't really know,” Valerie replied. “I don't really have anything else planned so...”

“Valerie! Trent!” A voice from behind sounded.

The two of them turned and beheld Lorraine Pruess standing on the other side of the stadium. As she came around to them, Trent immediately blushed. He hoped the blone wouldn't notice.

“Oh, hello Lorraine,” Valerie greeted, smiling at her friend. “I didn't know you were in the city.”

“Nor I about you,” Ms. Pruess replied, hugging her. “And good afternoon to you too, Mr. Berlinger.” She gave Trent a friendly wink. Trent blushed more, and bowed a little, still hiding his face. “So, what are you two up to?”

“Us, three, actually.” Valerie corrected her.

“Hi Lorraine!” Raymond waved to her.

“Oh, hi there, Raymond. I didn't see you there,” Ms. Pruess said teasingly.

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” Ray winked at her.

“We were just watching the Terriers play,” Valerie told the blonde.

“The Terriers?” Lorraine asked, puzzled. Valerie pointed at the stadium. “Oh, right, THOSE Terriers!”

“What other terriers do you know?” Raymond asked under his breath.

“Well, how'd they do?” Lorraine asked.

“They lost,” Val replied simply.

“Oh, well, that's to bad,” Ms. Pruess said, clearly not caring. She looked up. “On the bright side, I can't think of a more lovely day to lose a baseball game than today. It's just simply gorgeous out, don't you think?”

“Sure is,” Trent opined, just wanting to say something instead of being dead weight.

“You know,” Lorraine continued. “I was thinking of taking a stroll to the beach and look out at the ocean. Do you two want to accompany me?”

“Raymond?” Valerie asked.

“Sure, sure,” Raymond replied, grinning. “I guess, we could all use the beach...especially after a loss at a game to one of the worst teams in baseball...”

“Oh, you'll live,” Val said. She turned back to the blonde. “Okay, Lorraine, I guess we're coming with you.”

“Et u, Trent?” Lorraine asked, smiling at the boy. “Do you care to join us?”

“Huh? Oh! Uh...” Trent stumbled. “I...yeah, of...of course!”

“Fabulous!” Lorraine brightened. “Well, then, I guess we should get going. Don't want to waste any daylight!”

The blonde turned and set off, her swinging purse coming dangerously close to smashing a building nearby like a wrecking ball, causing Valerie's heart to stop for a second. Fortunately, it missed and Lorraine continued on without causing a problem. Sighing in relief, Mrs. Bradson went after her, Trent Berlinger following behind.

The beaches of Tectelphia were both for play and for work, with both tourists and shrimp boats filling the waters. It wasn't as impressive as some of the white sand beaches in California, this was not a resort, but, it served the citizens of the city well enough. The giants occasionally used the beaches as well, though they sat on a cliff on the very far end of it. Some of the men more neutral towards the massive people often hoped to catch one of the women in bikinis, though it had yet to happen.

It was quite humorous when Valerie, Lorraine, and Trent arrived on the scene. It was like the opposite reaction of a person yelling “shark”, with everybody instead hurrying to the water to avoid being stepped on by the towering figures, even some of the lifeguards. Trent and Valerie observed this. Valerie sighed, sadly, while Trent looked embarrassed. Lorraine Pruess, on the other hand, was looking out, over the normal sized people, at the ocean.

“Isn't it just marvelous, Trent?” She asked, turning to the boy. “Doesn't it just take your breath away?”

“S...sure, Ms. Pruess...” Trent replied, nervously. He didn't look at her when he said. He was still blushing.

Valerie smiled out towards the big blue. It was a comforting sight to see something so beautiful that was soooo much bigger than she was. She had spent a lot of time sitting on that cliff on the far side of the beach, looking out at the Atlantic. Most of these times, she thought about how she wished that the general population of the world would view Giants in the way that they looked at the ocean. When they went to the beach, they regarded the big blue with a sense of beauty. It was the largest thing on this earth, yet it didn't scare them. They brought their families to it, got their lives from it, built homes near it so that they may spend their days looking at it. Untold thousands had gone off to brave it, and explore it. Like any human, many secrets and stories laid beneath its dark depths, and it told them, like an old man, to the next generation, which would do the same to the following. No one was afraid of the size of the ocean. Why could they not view giants like they did with the big blue sea?

“A penny for your thoughts, Val?” Raymond spoke into her ear. “You been awful quiet.”

“Oh, I'm just thinking,” Valerie replied.

“Don't let them get to you,” Ray continued. “Not all of them are running. Look.”

He pointed and Valerie saw that indeed some of them had remained. But...

“Raymond...I only see two people standing there.”

“Hey, that's a sign of progress!” Raymond replied. “Each person that doesn't run is another step in the right direction!”

Valerie shook her head, but smiled. He was right, in a sense. There was probably a time when ALL of them would have been fleeing into the water right now. Lorraine, still, seemed completely oblivious to the whole matter, eagerly asking Trent his opinion on the beauty that laid before him and if he thought it would be a good enough painting to be found in a museum. The boy struggled to answer every question, not being able to find his voice, shuffling his feet and staring at the ground, but Lorraine's high spirits were unaffected by it. While Ms. Pruess' oblivious was a little troublesome (especially when it actually got her in trouble) it was very heart warming. Valerie, herself, almost wished that she could be as cheerful as her some days. For Lorraine, there was no enduring tension between her and the general population, making her outlook on life a lot more bright. Mrs. Bradson always hoped, but she saw the people running away from her and was always saddened by it. But, despite that, she knew that she had Raymond, and that made everything okay.

She followed Lorraine and Trent, her lover on her shoulder, listening to her friends talk.

…

Terry Trayor, the Mayor of Tectelphia, was a wreck at the moment.

He had felt the ground tremor, he had heard some sirens, he had actually seen some of the...giants...outside of his window. They had come into the city again, and that meant he was going to have to deal with them. And if there was anything that Mayor Trayor hated...it was just that.

There had once been a day where the Mayor would have thought he was a tough man, a brave leader of his city where he proudly grew up and had worked in all of his life. He was the kind of mayor who would cut down crime and make the streets safe. He would run the city well, and do everything in his power to balance budgets, increase education, and fix all the ills of Tectelphia. He had stood strong when Tectelphia had been hit by a powerful hurricane, rendering a good portion of the city to wreckage back in nineteen eighty nine, not hesitating to work hard on getting Tectelphia back on her feet. He had thought that the citizens looked up to him and were grateful that he had proven himself to be a very capable leader. He had felt like any man would, after doing a job quite well, filled with satisfaction and content.

But, that all changed when he met Jennifer Stark. The damn Giant Relations Person.

As the mayor, he had knew of the giants. But, back in those days, they had stayed away from the city more, usually only hanging around the borders, without actually entering. But, nowadays, they came around much more, with their towering bodies, their quaking footsteps, and their unholy strength. It hadn't been so bad at first. Mayor Trayor found himself shivering when they walked near his office, but he had never been in their way and had intended for it to stay that way. However, one day, he got a E-mail from Jennifer Stark. After his initial surprise that giant people could even SEND an E-mail, he was more shocked (not to mention horrified) that this Stark woman wanted to meet him in person.

Terry Trayor considered that the moment when he manliness left him forever.

He tried to get out of it. Oh, how he tried. First attempting to keep rescheduling it so that it would never actually happen, something that failed quickly when Jennifer politely asked him stop (it hadn't been tough to catch on to the ploy). Then, he tried to send somebody else in his place, but nobody was brave enough, all of them rebuking him with comments along the lines of “You do it! You're the MAYOR!” With those words, Trayor began to feel that he was letting his city down and was afraid that he was losing his image of the 'fearless' leader. So, he finally decided to meet Ms. Stark. He did it for the city of Tectelphia.

It didn't go well.

He had always known that the giants were tall, but he knew that in the way that he knew ice was cold. It was just an obvious fact that everyone knew, but he didn't understand it in a way that a person from the Antarctica would. They knew ice was cold and they fully understood just how cold it was. Terry Trayor had not understood just how tall the giants were.

Jennifer Stark, of Giant Relations, was a living, breathing tower. Her eyes were larger than windows of a church, her arms over a longer than the length of a football field. Her feet were like houses, her legs like trunks of massive trees, the buttons of her jacket like manhole covers but wider, her breathing sounded like a massive pump. Everything shook with each move she made, the innocent shuffle of her feet rattled cars and windows, and fell a person or two. To behold her before him, this massive behemoth, it made Mayor Trayor's knees tremble and lock.

She had been polite enough, but that only made things worse. She offered to place him on the top of a skyscraper, so that they might talk “face to face”, instead of him having to look up to her like an ant. He had agreed, after having to catch his breath for a while, but instead of letting him climb up the building by the stairs inside, she extended a hand and, with quite politely, offered him a ride. Terry, not about to say no, obliged. It was the most demeaning feeling that he had ever encountered. He felt like a mere pet (a hamster perhaps) as he climbed onto the giant fingers of the woman. As she lifted him up off the ground, he saw that she was smiling at him, and he felt like he was a child's doll and almost expected her to say that they were about to have a tea party with all the other dolls. To be manhandled like this, to be so small...it made him feel weak, like he wasn't in control. He felt afraid and that made him feel unworthy of being the mayor. Being on top of the building was only more unpleasant. Those giant, hazel eyes, piercing into him, his puny reflection clear in the great dark pupils, as they fixated on him. The voice, though she was clearly speaking softly, boomed and was authoritative and clear. It was like she was calling the shots, usurping his power from him.

The Giant Relations Person had told Mayor Trayor about herself, what she did, explained who the other giants were, and then, finally, how he could contact her. This, more than anything that day, horrified the man. He was going to be seeing more of her. Repeat performances of being held in her hands, being carried around by her like a toy. Oh, no, no no. He didn't want that. But, what everything worse was he knew that there was nothing that he could about it. Jennifer Stark had explained that she had been in contact with the top, the President himself, and if he was letting her do this, then all Mayor Trayor could do was resign if he didn't like it. And he had thought about doing just that, adding onto the horrible experience. He felt as if his image was ruined. He had gone from the Capable Mayor, to some sham of a man, who no longer even wanted his office.

He had met her more since then. And no matter how many times he saw her, he just couldn't get over it. He had even dreamed about it. In one dream, he was at home, standing in front of his full length mirror, tying his tie for work. He turned and called to his wife. She came in and he turn and see a stiff version of his wife, her face frozen in a unpleasant, too cheery smile, her dress hard and unmoving, her limps completely in a fashion that made Trayor think of the Vitruvian Man. When she spoke, her mouth didn't move and she jumped between one stiff foot to the next, like an excited boy who had no control of his knees. It was at this point that he would notice the massive fingers holding his wife and looked up to see Ms. Jennifer Stark, her hazel eyes delightfully staring down at him. He then realized that he couldn't move and saw that he too was in the Relations Person's grip. Ms. Stark would bring them husband and wife together, imitating smooching sounds as their stone set face tapped each other. Then, the Giant Relations Person would lift him out of the house (the roof was gone) and placed him into the car. Then, lifting that up, she spun around gaily, making “vroom, vroom” noises. At some point, in her playing, she got too wound up, and the car slipped from her fingers. It was when he heard the hard crash of the plastic car that he awoke in a panic.

Today, he sat in his office, the police sirens at the bank reaching his ears. The blonde giantess, whose name he couldn't remember, had been out and about. She was a trouble maker, it seemed, and, like Jennifer, Mayor Trayor wasn't a big fan. He knew of the other giants. The one with the ponytail and glasses seemed safe enough now, he had never had problems with her, though he did know that she was connected to an incident in the suburbs many years ago that didn't end well. The other one, that young guy, kept to himself and usually didn't come out unless he was with one of the others. But because of the blonde, he saw more of the Giant Relations Person than he would have liked, and he knew that it would be only a matter of time today before he was informed that that particular giant woman would be on his metaphorical door step...

…

Lorraine, Trent, and Valerie all sat at their special cliff, looking out on the beach. They had talked for a long time about whatever they fancied, Raymond had reminded Valerie of the day they met. Trent had kept an eye out for his special someone, hoping to catch another glimpse of her today. Valerie had noticed and asked him if he was looking at the girls again. Though he quickly tried to end the subject, Lorraine's interest had been brought on and she asked if Trent had a crush on someone. The poor boy blushed a deep red, confessing the truth for everyone to see, causing Lorraine to tease him which only made him more uncomfortable. He gave Valerie a quick glare, who shrugged innocently at him. But, she changed the subject simply enough by asking Lorraine if she had done anything to her hair.

They remained their for an hour or so, when Lorraine got bored and announced that they should go somewhere else.

“I don't know, Lorraine,” Valerie said, as they got up from the cliff. “I think Raymond and I should be heading home.”

“Yes,” Trent said, not wanting to find himself in another awkward position. “It is getting late.”

“Oh, but we still have time before Jennifer's silly curfew,” Lorraine protested. “And we really don't spend that much time together. Oh, come now, it will be so nice to be with the two of you for just a little longer, don't you think?”

“Well...” Trent tried.

“Oh, Trent, don't tell me you'd rather being doing anything else than be with me?” Ms. Pruess stopped him.

She was teasing, of course, but that defeated the boy well enough, regardless, resigning him to stay with the woman. Valerie, knowing that Trent would want her to stay too, looked at Raymond, who merely shrugged. He didn't really want to stay out that long either, but Lorraine was difficult to say no to.

“Alright, Lorraine,” Valerie gave in, smiling wanly. “I guess we have some time to spare.”

“Oh, wonderful!” Lorraine brightened. “Well, then, let's not waste anytime! There are sights to see! Things to do! Things to...”

“Stop right there, Lorraine Pruess!” A gruff voice called. All three giants stopped dead in their tracks.

They turned and saw him flying up to them. The Metal Man, Garth Brokers. He soared around Trent and Valerie and came to a stop right before Lorraine's big brown eyes. With a flick of his wrist he whisked off his sunglasses and stared at the woman, who had a few hundred tons on him, in the eyes, calmly.

“Oh...hi, Garth.” Lorraine said to him, a little timidly. “How are you on this glamorous day?”

“I'm fine. I've been looking for you,” Garth Brokers replied.

“For me?” The blonde said, sheepishly. “Oh, I'm flattered...”

“Jennifer wants you in her office.” The Metal Man cut her off. “Now.”

“Oh, my goodness...” Lorraine sighed. She actually seemed to regain herself a little. “What does she want now? I haven't done anything wrong today.”

“Obviously you have or I wouldn't be here, would I?” Garth replied calmly. “I don't know what you did. I'm just supposed to bring you to here. So, let's get going.”

“Oh, can't this foolishness wait?” Lorraine complained. “Me, Valerie, and Trent were about to go out for some fun and I'm...”

“I said 'now', Lorraine.” Garth told her.

“Oh, well, if you insist.” Lorraine said, immediately losing herself again.

The two of them began to head off when Valerie stepped in their path.

“Uh...excuse me, Garth,” She said timidly. “What exactly did Lorraine do? I mean, I've been with her and I...”

“That's none of your business, Valerie,” Garth said. “Step aside.”

Valerie stepped aside and the two of them went on, Lorraine following the Metal Man through the city. Mrs. Bradson and Trent watched them go and then looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

“Well, I guess so much for that then.” Trent said unsurely.

“Don't count on it,” Valerie replied. “Once she's done with her 'meeting' she'll just come gather us again. We already said yes to her, and if we try to ditch her, she'll just come find us again later.”

“So...what do we do now?” Trent asked.

“We wait, my dear Trent,” Valerie smiled. “We wait.”

“Hey, who wants to go to the park?” Raymond suggested. “It'd be better than standing here in the middle of the city. Might even be a special someone there, eh, Trent?”

“Come on, Mr. Bradson!” Trent complained. “Make him stop, Valerie!”

“Oh, he never listens to me,” Valerie chuckled, patting the boy on the shoulder. “Besides, I wouldn't dare contradict the truth...”

“But it's not true!” Trent rebuked them, blushing. “I swear!”

“Aw, but I was going to put in a few good words for you!” Raymond teased.

Trent slumped forward, defeated. Valerie giggled and gave him a hug and then, with an arm around him, lead him in the direction of the Tectelphia Park.

Lorraine followed Garth out of the city and onto St. Almo's Fields. Garth occasionally kept turning his head around to make sure that the blonde was still following her, but he knew he didn't have too. He could easily catch her if she decided to leave. And she knew that.

“Garth, what did I do wrong?” Lorraine asked. “I honestly don't have any idea.”

“I already told you,” Brokers replied. “I don't know. All I know is that Jennifer Stark told me to fetch you and I'm doing just that. Don't ask that question again.”

The two of them went on silently. Fortunately, the Giant Relations Person's office was close, so Lorraine didn't have to endure the awkwardness for too long. The Metal Man lead her inside and to the first room on the right. Jennifer Stark was sitting at her desk, apparently writing something. Garth flew over Ms. Pruess' head and went out to a different room. For a moment, the blonde stood there, silently, and then, sighed and sat down in the sole chair in front of the desk.

“Well, well,” Jennifer Stark said, without looking up from her work. “If it isn't Lorraine Pruess. Back in my office, yet again.”

“And a fine, 'how do you do' to you, too,” Lorraine said, bitterly.

“Don't give me sass,” Jennifer said, looking up at her very sternly. “Believe me, I'm not happy about this meeting either. I have quite a lot of things that I'd rather be doing than constantly having to bring you here in my office.”

“Then why do you insist on bringing me here?” The blonde asked.

“Because you refuse to behave yourself!” The Giant Relations Person snapped. “If you, for once in your life, actually listened to me, we wouldn't have these little 'meetings' of ours and everyone would be happy. Unfortunately, you seem to prefer to cause trouble.”

Lorraine only turned her nose up, indignantly.

“Honestly, Lorraine,” Jennifer continued. “You're the only one that has a problem with me. Valerie and Trent all do as I ask of them, and both of them seem to be quite happy with the way I operate things. I can't even begin to comprehend the amount of times you've been in here, but I could probably count the number of times that those two have been called here, combined at that, on one hand.”

“Your point being?” Lorraine asked.

“When they do what I ask, they don't get in trouble.” The Relations Person said. “I don't think I'm asking a lot of you. It's only a few simple things, and...”

“A few!?” Ms. Pruess protested. “You have restrictions on everything! Where we can go, when we can go, what we can look at, what we can't look at. You don't even let us go to events being held at Tectelphia! No New Year's Eve parties in downtown, no seeing parades. You keep separating us from the people and then you expect the relationships to just fix themselves.”

“Because it's dangerous!” Jennifer snapped, emphasizing 'dangerous' with a fist pound to her desk. “Do you have any idea how many people attend those things? Hundreds and thousands! Good grief, Lorraine, do you know how many of them might get hurt if you three were to accidentally slip up?”

“Well, I'm glad you have faith in us,” Lorraine sighed.

“Don't give me that.” Ms. Stark said. “You don't understand. I'm not going to put an untold amount of lives at risk just so you can watch a parade. You have a TV in your home, you can watch it there.”

“You're locking us up, Jennifer,” Lorraine replied. “A lot of us giants want to live WITH the normal people. But, thanks to you, we can't do that. We're separated from them and that enforces this notion that we HAVE to be separated.”

“Open you eyes, Lorraine!” Jennifer said, disbelievingly. “Do you know how tall you are?”

Lorraine was quiet.

“Answer me, that was a serious question.”

“Of course I do,” Ms. Pruess said, annoyed. “I'm a hundred and fifty feet. By their standards anyway. I'm five ten according to our scale.”

“That's correct,” Jennifer nodded. “Now, considering that the average person is around five ten feet, and the average size of a building in Tectelphia is about 135 feet, there's a problem. You're a giant, Lorraine! Just like I am, and just like Valerie is and just like Trent is. Like it or not, you are different than the general population. A wrong move can put hundreds of lives at risk. You might, heaven forbid, step on somebody, or knock over a building at your size. Therefore, there is good reason why I must do some 'separating', a word you love to use.”

“I get all of that, Jennifer,” Lorraine said. “But, the problem is keeping us away isn't going to change anything. We need exposure, we need interaction, we need people to know us. If you keep us at bay people won't know us PERSONALLY and they'll just think that we're some dangerous freaks. Once they get to actually know us they won't think that and things will change. I know it and you know it. You're way of doing things won't change anything!”

“It will and it has,” Ms. Stark countered. “Only a few years ago, you couldn't even enter Tectelphia to go on your little 'strolls', because there was no path to 'stroll' down. Thanks to my efforts, there is such a thing, now, and, more over, people are actually okay with it. Not nearly as much as I'd like them to be, but at least every 'stroll' you take doesn't result in them calling the military. As used to be the case. Face it, no matter how much you don't like it, my way works. Your way will be counter productive when things start to get broken. I don't know how much damage you alone have caused.”

“Oh, please, I don't do that badly,” Lorraine pouted.

“Really?” Jennifer asked, bitterly. “Then perhaps you'd like to tell me why you decided to shear off a satellite dish from a rooftop today?”

“What in the world is a 'satellite dish'?” Lorraine asked. “I didn't touch any 'dishes' today,”

“Those appliances on the roof of the Tectelphia News Station, Lorriane,” Jennifer explained, impatiently.

“Ah, those.” Lorraine understood. “Oh, please, that was just an accident.”

“An accident costing a pretty penny.” The Giant Relations Person said.

“Penny?” The blonde asked. “Who's 'Penny'?”

“Nevermind,” Jennifer said, exasperated. “The point is that your little 'accident' cost a lot of money and could have hurt somebody. A satellite dish is quite large and one falling from the height that it did could have easily killed somebody.”

“Well, it didn't, did it?” Lorraine said.

“Whether it did, or didn't, is not the point and you know that!” Ms. Stark snapped. “The mere fact that it could is all that matters.”

“Well, it was just one of them,” Ms. Pruess said. “I doubt it matters THAT much. They have so many, I'm sure one of them will work.”

“Then,” Jennifer moved on. “We have an incident with a family van.”

“Van? What van?” Lorraine asked, confused.

“A family reported to the police that their new white van was completely destroyed,” The Relations Person explained. “An investigation revealed several witnesses claiming that a giant blonde in a black knee dress and white blouse had picked it up and threw it to the ground.”

“I most certainly did not!” Lorraine protested. “It slipped from my hand! It was an accident!”

“Oh? Had another one, have we?”

“I...I...” Ms. Pruess tried to make a come back.

“Why did you even pick it up?” Jennifer asked. “You know that you are not to touch something like a car.”

“But, it was on a Giant Only street!” Lorraine pointed out. “I just assumed it was empty!”

“Oh, so you didn't bother to check if anybody was in it, then?” Ms. Stark asked.

“I...I didn't say that...” Lorraine shifted in her seat, uncomfortable.

“Well...did you?” Jennifer pressed.

“I...well, no, but...”

“But what?”

“It...it was on one of our streets...”

“So that means that you can just pick random things up?” Ms. Stark asked. “If you see a police car there, would you just pick that up? What about a construction vehicle? Did that van being on one of 'our' streets mean that it belonged to you.”

“Well, why was it there then!?” Lorraine cried, frustrated. “The people know not to drive on our streets!”

“For your information,” Jennifer said. “The family was just visiting a relative. That means, they WERE NOT from Tectelphia and didn't know.”

Lorraine slumped in her chair.

“You see what I mean?” The Giant Relations Person said. “Do you see what you do? You just assume things. All the time you just 'assume', and every time you do it bites my in the butt! Because I'm the one that has to deal with the fallout! Every mistake you make makes me look bad, makes people more afraid, makes my job harder, which, obviously, makes me frustrated, and when I get frustrated, I get irritable. You 'accidents' cause me a lot of problems, and I have to clean up your messes, and you never show me any damn respect and that's why I'm so short with you all of the time! Because you never listen!”

Lorraine only continued to slump.

“How many times have I told you not to go peeking through window, hm?” Jennifer asked.

“I don't know,” Lorraine said.

“I don't either,” Ms. Stark replied. “But it's been a lot of times. Yet, you continue to do it. And, today, it just so happened to result in a bank being robbed.”

“What?”

“Yes, the bank you bothered was robbed,” The Giant Relations Person explained. “Thanks to your little diversion, a few citizens were able to steal from the cash drawers. Not to mention a building across the street now has a gaping hole in it thanks to your carelessness.”

Lorraine was silent.

“Why?” Jennifer asked. “At least tell me why you insist on blatantly disregarding me. I deserve that much.”

“I just wanted to know what was in it,” Ms. Pruess said. “There's so much about their lives that fascinate me, Jennifer. All of those sights. There's a beautiful theater in Tectelphia and I'm simply dying to know what the inside of it looks. Each building is different and something new to behold. Their lives are so much different from ours, their homes so much different from ours. I just want to know what their world is like. Is that so bad?”

“Raymond, to my knowledge, has offered to take pictures for you,” Jennifer said.

“But that's not enough!” Lorraine said. “It's one thing to see a picture, but quite another to see it for yourself! What would you say to somebody who's never seen a sunset? Would you just some them some measly picture or would you show them the real thing?”

“Look, I'm sorry,” Ms. Stark said. “But that will have to do. I can't have you continue peeking into buildings. Especially when it results in robberies and damages to buildings. You have to be very careful in Tectelphia, and it's not a place for you to get down on your hands and knees to peer into a window. Your hair alone caused damage to several cars when it turned them all on their sides.”

Lorraine slumped again.

“Now, I'm running out of patience,” Jennifer continued. “In fact, I think it's safe to say I have lost my patience. I'm done with all of these meetings we keep having. You get your act together or I'm putting you under house arrest.”

Ms. Pruess mumbled bitterly to herself at this. There was one special function with every house of a giant person. They were all linked back to a special software on Jennifer Stark's terminal in her office. If you acted up, Garth would arrive and put you in your house. Then, the Giant Relations Person would activate the lock down of the house, sealing the doors and windows, trapping the giant person in their house. The giant person was also forced to wear ankle bracelet on their leg. If they broke out of the perimeter (if they could break out, the windows were reinforced and the doors strong) a shock would go through them. In addition to shutting down the muscles in their legs, it hurt plenty. Not only that, but breaching the house set off an alarm built into Garth's internal system, causing him to arrive shortly after. If you were good, you could still have visitors. If you caused trouble, no one was allowed to see you. Such measures had rarely been implemented, fortunately. Lorraine Pruess had, in fact, been placed under house arrest for a week once. It had been utterly boring and dreadful. Visits from Valerie and Raymond had helped, but had still been horrible. During the episode, Lorraine couldn't help but wonder who would put Jennifer under house arrest if she were to act up? Valerie had suggested that, in that case, Garth would probably implement it on her.

“I'm giving you one more chance.” Jennifer said. “I suggest you take it. No more peeking in buildings, no more picking up things that aren't yours, no more touching things that aren't yours.”

Lorraine sighed. What's the point of going to the city then, she thought, incredulously.

“Now, we're done. If you don't mind, I have work to do,” Jennifer finished.

Without a word, Lorraine Pruess stood up and sulked out of the room. Garth escorted her to the door.

“This goes without saying,” He said to her. “But I'll be watching you to make sure that you behave. Don't let me catch you causing trouble, or there'll be trouble. Understand?”

“Y...yes, of course, Garth,” Lorraine said, nervously.

“I don't like having to be the 'bad guy',” Garth continued. “But, Ms. Stark's rules are there for a reason, and I, as well as many of the giants, think they're necessary and as long as that's the case, I WILL enforce them. So, just do what she asks and there won't be any issue, comprende?”

“Uh huh,” Lorraine nodded, timidly.

“Good,” Garth said. “Then have a good day.”

The Metal Man again flew over her head and over towards the city. Lorraine watched him leave and then sighed deeply as if all of the hope in life had been drained out of her. What was the whole point in going to the city if you couldn't look at things or touch things? Where was the experience? Jennifer may as well just ban her from Tectelphia all together, though she'd be damned if she was going to slip her the idea.

Then, she remembered Trent and Valerie. They had agreed to accompany her for the night. With that thought, Lorraine's spirits lifted again. She was going to have fun with them, no matter what. She wasn't going to let Jennifer Stark ruin her good evening, oh no.

So, the blonde walked back towards Tectelphia, wondering where her two friends had gone off to.

Charles Anders, the blind musician, was on his way back to the Tectelphia Park, where he had been playing his old violin all morning. He had managed to make some money, and, after asking somebody, learned that it was about twenty five dollars. So, poking around the city with his bow, he wandered around, sniffing for a restaurant. He knew he wouldn't be able to buy much, but anything was better than nothing. Fortunately, only a few blocks away from the park, he happened upon a hotdog stand, and was able to purchase two hotdogs and a soda. It was a very good lunch, all things considering. As he had eaten it, he felt the ground tremble again. Some of the giants had passed by, almost causing him to drop some of his food. Not that it would have mattered. Food was still food, and he had spent good money on it, and a little dirt from the sidewalks wasn't going to stop him.

After lunch, he tapped his bow around, making his way back to the park. While on his way, he heard some people running down the street, blazing past him. Must be because of the giants again. People always got freaked out when they were around. Charles didn't real mind them, though. For giant people, they were pretty good at not reducing Tectelphia to rubble, and that had to be quite difficult to pull off. It did speak to their character, though. For giant people, they were awful considerate to put so much effort into not destroying things. But, nevertheless, a lot of the other people still ran away from them as if they were monsters.

Eventually, his bow found the iron gates of the park. Poking a little more, he made his way through the gates and his bare feet touched the soft grass. He continued through, hoping to find a tree that would give him shade. It was a little warm out today, and he was going to be out here for awhile, so he'd need a nice cool place to sit.

Not just a couple of seconds after this thought, he felt the sun's rays being cut off from him and a cool breeze blew across him. He felt around for the tree trunk, but, strangely, he had a hard time finding it. Instead, his hands found something sort of soft and warm. He poked at whatever it was with his bow, trying to figure out what it was. He knew he was at the park, he could smell the little lake that was in the center. What was....oh, whatever. It was probably nothing.

He sat down and leaned against the mysterious thing, enjoying it's warmth and soft feel. Then, he raised his violin and bow to his chin. He heard sounds nearby, like someone walking nearby him...

“Hello, ladies and gentlemen!” He called. “I'm Charles Anders, and I would like to play the violin for all of you! Does anybody out there have any requests?”

A moment of silence followed. Charles began to wander if anyone was here. There had been a small crowd before lunch, but a giant had passed by just a few moments ago, maybe causing some of them to flee for their homes. He was about to sigh at not being able to have an audience to play for, when...

“Uh...I don't know many violin songs...” A man's voice. “But, I guess...do you know “The Devil Came Down to Georgia? That's a violin song, right?”

Charles Anders brightened immediately.

“Well, sure, sir,” He said, looking towards the man's voice. “I don't know the words, but I know the melody. Alright! So, The Devil Came Down to Georgia, as requested by...”

“Bradson, Raymond Bradson,” The man replied. Charles heard a grin in his voice and that made him smile.

Eagerly he began to play. He went through the entire song, flawlessly. He was able to mimic the Devil's playing piece by piece, missing only the band of demons. Then, he played the little boy's response, without missing a beat. He got really into it (you had to playing this song), getting up to his feet. When the whole thing was done, he bowed. He wasn't sure if he was even facing the man, but, that didn't stop him. He heard the man applaud.

Then, there was a loud noise that shook his body. It was very similar to the man's clapping...only...louder...

“Whooo!” The Bradson man exclaimed. “That was pretty fine! Wasn't it, Val?”

“It sure was.”

The voice that replied was a woman's. It was soft, but a slight boom accompanied it. There was then the sound of movement. Along with that, the ground trembled...

“Yeah, that was really great.”

Another voice, this one male. Like the woman's it was loud. A sensation began to come across Charles' skin. He became aware of a sense of heat, that of a presence, on him. Only, it was larger, much larger than it usually was. A steady whooshing and fwooshing of air sounded above him. He began to wander about that soft wall that he had encountered. He knew the giants, of course but...

“Thank you!” He called, graciously. A bit of nervousness in his voice. “I'm glad everyone enjoyed it!”

“Thank you for playing for us,” The woman's voice. “Most don't for people like me and Trent here.”

“Nope, not at all.” The other loud voice. This one was clearly younger than the woman, but the tone of his voice was as loud as hers. “Thank you, very much, sir.”

“Well, sir...uh, Bradson,” Charles said. “Is there another song you would like for me to play?”

“Uh...well, sure I suppose but...” He stopped. “I'm over here, bud.”

“Oh, yes,” Anders laughed, turning towards the man's voice. “Sorry about that! Happens all the time, unfortunately. You see, I'm blind, sir. I can't see at all! Doesn't keep me from playing the violin, fortunately.”

There was a moment's pause.

“I'm sorry...you're blind, you said?” The man asked.

“Yes, sir.” Charles answered. “It's alright though. I get by just well on my own. No need to worry about me.”

“Oh, I'm...I'm sure you do,” The man continued. “It's just...well, there are some different people in your audience right now...”

“Oh?” Charles asked. He already knew as much. “Am I in the presence of some of the giants?”

“Yes...” The giant woman replied shyly. “I...I hope you're not afraid of us. I really did like hearing you play.”

“It's okay.” Anders replied.

But, honestly, he was a little intimidated. Though he was blind, he understood the concept of giant people. He couldn't see them, and he had no idea just how big they were. Somehow, that felt a bit more frightening than actually being able to behold them. Like most people in Tectelphia, he had no personal experience with the giant people. He knew them and he was cautious to not wind up under one of their shoes, but he had never dreamed of actually sitting down and engaging in a conversation with one of them. However, despite the nervousness, he was fascinated by this opportunity. Most people were a little awkward around him, showing constant sympathy that he was blind. Now, he was in the presence of the giants, whose lives were a bit more difficult than having to wander around blind.

“So...do you still want to play for us?” The woman asked.

“Sure!” The blind man replied. “Do you have any requests, Ms....?”

“Valerie.” The woman replied kindly. “Valerie Bradson.”

“Are you two related?” Charles asked, curious, looking back towards the man.

“Oh, sort of.” Valerie Bradson said. “He's just my husband.”

“Aw...no honorable mention?” Raymond said, acting to be sad.

“Oh, you know I love you, you goof.” Valerie replied, giggling.

“Are a lot of giants married?” Anders asked, his curiosity growing.

“Well...no, not really,” Valerie Bradson replied.

“You're the only married couple I know,” The other giant said. “Oh, I'm Trent Berlinger, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you!” The violinist said. “I'm Charles Anders.”

“Oh!” Valerie said. “Do you know the song, “Birdhouse in your Soul?”

“Sure do!” Anders replied. “It's a great song! Is that what you want me to play?”

“Yes, absolutely!” Valerie Bradson said, delightfully.

With that, Charles began to play. He knew the words to this one and actually began to sing as he went. A quarter through, Mrs. Bradson joined him, followed by Raymond, and then, finally, nervously, Trent Berlinger. Charles was surprised by Valerie's singing voice. Raymond was off-key and not much of a singer, Trent was on key, but also not vocally pleasant, though better than Mr. Bradson. Valerie, however, had the voice of an angel and Charles loved singing with her.

As the small group of them sang, the giant voices of Trent and Valerie echoed across the city. Many people passing-by stopped and peeked in to see what was going on. They saw two of the giants singing, that blind violinist playing to them. All of them seemed to be enjoying themselves, and the citizens of Tectelphia paused at this. They had never seen one of the giants sing, let along engage with a normal sized person in such a way. They almost seemed...normal, as their voices rang for all to hear. Some of those who had fled the park when the giants first arrived, now slowly and cautiously made their way back, trying to gauge if it was safe. A few of those who weren't afraid of the giants, actually joined in on the song (or at least those who were familiar with it).

For once, giant and normal person were together in a moment of peace and comfort.

Up from above, Garth Brokers observed this. He recorded some of it and then, when he felt as if he had enough, he flew out of the city.

Senator George Beckard was sitting in his office when he heard about the giants walking around Tectelphia again. He wasn't pleased with the news of course. It wasn't the people or the buildings that held his concern, it was the mere fact that those giant behemoths were allowed to go near an American city at all.

There had been a time, a good few years ago, where a nice line existed between giant people and normal American citizens. If one of those towering goons came across your property, a simple phone call to the authorities was enough for the army to eventually show up and restore order. The giants would quickly be driven off, and everyone was happy again. America had her cities again, and those damn, clumsy giants would be safely on the other side of the “line”, where they belonged.

But then, one of them, Jennifer Stark, started communicating through E-mails to the congress and even the president himself. When the giant had first started sending messages, George had read them all, and ended each of them with a good, gut busting laugh. What was written was hilarious and absolutely nonsensical. They had all been emotional little “essays” from the voice of Ms. Stark, all voicing her opinion on the giants and her reflections on the separation between Americans and giant people. Beckard had honestly felt sorry for the giant. Did she really think that anything she said would have any ever lasting effect? Nobody was dumb enough to listen to a giant. They were towering wrecking balls and nothing good had ever come from them. One of them had demolished a playground in her youth, causing several innocent American children to become forever handicapped, their poor lives forever taken away from them. One of them, a sweet little girl, had wanted to be a ballerina, but her hopes and dreams were crushed under the foot of one of those colossal vermin. Beckard had interviewed this little when beginning his propaganda against the giants. He took an excellent photo of her tearful face and made a caption that read “They crushed my dreams. Keep the giants away from me!” Needless to say that this little number got him some good support. Several members of congress began speaking their concerns, and George knew that it was curtains for Jennifer Stark. Nice try, giant, better luck next time.

But, then...something had happened.

Stark didn't give up. She continued sending E-mails, she continued speaking, she continued being a pain in the ass. At first, Beckard hadn't been too concerned. He kept pointing towards his little girl victim and reminding everyone about the dangers of the giants. They caused damage and they were a threat the American Life, and, therefore, not to be trusted. There was no way that giants and normal sized people could live together, and there was no reason that they even should. A few members of congress dared to oppose him, speaking that, despite everything, the giants WERE human beings, and they questioned the ethics of whether it was right to subdue their freedoms.

“They are not human,” George had replied. “They are giants. The difference here is in height. It may be a silly example, but if fairies happened to exist, well, they look like humans. They have hands, limps, and can speak English, but would that make Tinkerbell human? No. Of course not. But, even if we do classify them as human, there is still one thing that cannot be disputed: we cannot afford them. These giants break things, hurt people, and disrupt our way of life. Not only that, but how would we keep them healthy? Keep them fed? How? We couldn't. Even if we wanted to do it, we couldn't.”

“So what do we do about them?” The congressman who had challenged him, asked. “Are you proposing that we get rid of them?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.” George had replied. “It's either them or us. We either wait for them to drain our natural resources.”

The congress had gone quiet, but Beckard knew that they knew he was right. Of course he was right. And even if more of them had disagreed, they wouldn't have spoken out anyway. George Beckard was a leader of the Senate and none of them would dare oppose him. And none of them had.

The only person who had...was Jennifer Stark.

He had exchanged some heated E-mails with her. If she was going to swim in shark infested waters, he was going to make sure that she wasn't going to go without getting bit. As long as the giants had no way to solve the problems that they posed to the general population of Americans, then they would never go anywhere within the Senate or the House.

But then, she made an appearance amongst the House and the Senate. In his first public appearance since his apparent accident, the Metal Man, Garth Brokers, showed up on Capital Hill, with some kind of strange blue device that looked like some kind of glowing bowl. When it powered up, an image appeared. It was none other than Jennifer Stark, only that she wasn't gigantic. This...hologram, if that's what it was...allowed her to speak to everyone on Capital Hill. She addressed everything that George Beckard had said about her and the giants. It was horrible. She acted as if she was one of them. How was he supposed to remind everyone of what she was if she was able to undermine it with the aid of some newfangled device?

It was of no consequence, she could still be taken down, no matter how tall she was or wasn't. He went against her, debated with her. He knew what he needed to say, because he knew what she didn't have. She didn't have answers. She didn't have methods of how her people could not cause danger and fear. She had nothing.

Or so he had thought.

When he pressed her with it...a look came onto her face. She grinned, and her holographic eyes seemed to brighten. Suddenly, he knew what had happened. She had wanted him to ask, wanted him to press. It had been a trap. The moment he had asked, she began began proposing things. She had given thought to all the problems that the giants could potentially cause. The things that she suggested were insane, but the other members of Congress were listening, were sympathizing even. But the worst was that they were trusting her. She was organizing all of the giants behind her and they appeared to be following her. The giants had something they'd never had before, a leader. They'd never gotten organized before, and now that this Jennifer Stark was doing it, the members of Congress were excited as if they were establishing relations with an Alien race. Talks of diplomacy and unity amongst Americans and giants.

There was no stopping all of them. Pretty soon even the president was interested in this new giant. He met with her in the same way that she met the Congress, with the aid of the Metal Man and his blue device. Not long after, Jennifer Stark was being dubbed the “Giant Relations Person”. When George Beckard had gotten the E-mail from higher ups about this, this new position that had been bestowed upon the giant, he realized his fears. They were taking her seriously. They had let a giant into the American government. They had given her power. She had managed to one up him, George Beckard. She had won.

It didn't stop him from speaking out against her, but it was not as before. The giant had played a neat trick on them. She had used a device to convince them that she was one of them. That she was just like any American. But, that wouldn't work against George Beckard, oh, no. No matter how many people she turned over, he would never forget what she was. She was a giant, and nothing would change that. If she thought she was going to meet with him, in the flesh instead of that goddamn holograph, and make him, George Beckard, a leading Senator of Congress, look up to her and have her manhandle him like a little doll for her to play with, then she was out of her mind. Nobody looked down on George Beckard. He was over six foot and he had served bravely in the military, something that had looked quite well on his campaign to get into the Senate. He was a man to be feared, one that even the giants would be afraid of. He hated them. Had experienced one not too long before joining the Senate. The one with ponytail and the glasses, the one who had caused the incident at the playground, the Bradson woman. The way she had stepped over him, without any recognition of who he was, the sheer size of her...he had felt diminished and and unimportant, lost in the giant's dust. It was a feeling that a man such as George Beckard did not, should not, ever need to feel.

But he'd get even with them. It wouldn't be hard. All he needed was one big goof from them. One slip on their feet, one collapsed building, or just a few deaths under their feet, and all the members of Congress would turn back to him, like the Messiah, to tell them what to do to fix the problem. Then, maybe, they'd listen to the truth of getting rid of them. Once and for all. Unfortunately, Stark ran a tight ship. Damages by the giants had gone down dramatically since she'd taken command. Deaths had always been minimal, hardly existent even, but now they seemed to be completely abolished, even with the behemoths walking in city streets. So far, Jennifer Starks propositions...had worked. But, Beckard knew that it was a ticking time bomb. The blonde woman, Lorraine something, would be the one who ruined the good “Giant Relations Person”. Of that, there could be no doubt.

So, George Beckard sat in his office, writing as the news played on a television across the room. He was making a log of what damages had been done by the blonde today. Never know when it could be used as ammunition.
…

Jennifer Stark, the Giant Relations Person, was taking a break from her work, glancing out the window towards Tectelphia. One of the plastic bottles was in her right hand, which was dressed in an elegant leather glove. The city seemed peaceful right now, and she was glad. Every moment that it stood after a day of Lorraine's “strolls” was another day of success.

Stark smiled to herself, until her eyes returned to the bottle in her hand. She sighed deeply, and then unscrewed the cap. She down the fluid into three swallows and grimaced as it slid thickly down her throat and into her gullet. As she disposed of the bottle, she remembered the one thing that her and Lorraine agreed on. The fluid in the bottles was, indeed, unpleasant. At least that was one thing the two of them saw eye to eye on.

Jennifer turned and was headed back to her desk when she heard Garth Broker flying in.

“Jennifer,” He greeted.

“Hello, Garth,” Ms. Stark said. “I take it that Lorraine is left peacefully.”

“Naturally,” The Metal Man nodded. “But I have something I want to show you.”

“Oh?” Jennifer asked, inquisitively, raising an eyebrow.

Garth turned to a large blank spot in the wall and lifted his arm. From it a beam shot out and it spread across the plaster. As Jennifer watched, something came across the projection. A vision of Valerie Bradson and Trent Berlinger at the Tectelphia Park, apparently singing some song. The video then zoomed in on what appeared to be a violinist, providing the melody to the tune that they were singing. But, most importantly, there were a few of the citizens of the city with them, singing along and even a number of them dancing. Jennifer Stark smiled at this scene. This little moment of peace between normal sized people and giants made everything that she did worth while. Garth, for the first time in awhile, grinned.

“I just thought that you might you want to see this,” He said.

Jennifer nodded gratefully, touched at the scene.

“Yes,” She said. “Thank you, Garth.”

“No problem,” Garth said. “I'm glad that those two are able to co-exist with the people of Tectelphia peacefully.”

“Yeah,” Jennifer said. “It's what I've always worked for. Maybe, soon, this will be a more common occurrence.”

“I'm sure it will,” Garth nodded.

He took off, leaving Jennifer Stark's office. The Giant Relations Person sighed contently and the sat back down at her desk, feeling a bit more motivated than she had before that little showing.

There was a round of applause when Charles Anders, Valerie Bradson, and Trent Berlinger finished the final line of the song that they had been singing. It was small, and slightly nervous, but it was there, and that made the giants feel better.

“Thank you!” The blind violinist cried happily, not even noticing when Raymond turned him around to actually face the crowd. “Does anybody else have a suggestion?”

Some people cried out song titles, while others just watched as the scenario unfolded. A cursory glance around the park would reveal many people holding up cellphones, recording the occasion. Many of these doing this had merely heard of the giants, but hadn't actually had the experience of being near any of them. To these folks, it was quite surreal and awe inspiring to see such immense human beings, sitting casually in the Tectelphia Park as if they were any other citizen.

Trent was having a particularly good time, as well. It wasn't too surprising. He always had a good time with the Bradsons. What had been a small shock was how good Valerie was at singing. Trent had never been a singer, had probably only sang out loud twice, but Mrs. Bradson had the voice of an angel, making himself and Raymond seem like mutes when compared to her. The sight of all of the normal sized people made him feel great, too. He felt normal and accepted amongst them and that was something that the giants always strove for. His eyes took in the groups with great pleasure, scanning them all to fit the event into his memory.

That's when he saw her.

She had apparently just entered through the gates of the opposite side of the park, standing right before it, her head tilted curiously, wondering what was going on. Trent went stiff, a cold sweat going over him, his face flushing red. The love of his life had now decided to grace the park with her presence, and in front of all of these people, and, not only that, the Bradsons! He quickly turned his head towards Valerie. She was smiling down at the crowd as they suggested songs to Ray and Charles, the blind man. She had not yet seen his face, and he knew he better try to hide it. It was pretty easy for people to see the look on his face, when it was the size of a billboard to them! He tried to collect his cool. As long as things stayed the way they...

“Valerie! Trent!” A voice called, pleasantly.

Trent Berlinger actually groaned a little to himself as he turned towards the voice. Lorraine Pruess was approaching them, waving at them. Trent felt his face go even more red and to sweat. Why did she have to show up now? Couldn't Ms. Stark chew her out for just a little longer, until he could think of an excuse to bail for his house and hide under his cover!?

“Hi Lorraine,” Valerie greeted. “How was your...meeting?”

“Don't get me started on that,” Lorraine sighed. “She threatened me with house arrest! Just because of a few accidents she thinks that I need to be locked away for long weeks of dreadful boredom! I mean, honestly, I...”

She glanced around the park at the crowd and noticed the crowd that had gathered. A lot of them had backed away when the towering blonde came along. Fortunately, they didn't completely evacuate the park, but kept a distance. Valerie was privately relieved. Lorraine wasn't always the most observant, often frightening the normal sized people. It was probably a good thing that she had just come from Jennifer's office, otherwise she may not have been so careful.

“Oh!” She said, sounding hopeful. “Is there something going on?”

“Sort of...” Valerie replied. “We were just singing songs with a new friend.”

She gestured towards the blind violinist, who was standing near Raymond. Intrigued, Lorraine knelt down and picked up the musician in her fingers. Immediately, Valerie tensed. It was against Jennifer's rules to pick people up without prior consent. The Giant Relations Person was very stern about this rule and violating it was enough to get you placed under house arrest alone. If Garth happened to fly by, Lorraine would be in a world of trouble. There was also the major problem of the man not being able to see. The violinist was also blind...something Lorraine most definitely didn't know.

“Charmed to make your acquaintance, sir,” Lorraine greeted, bringing the man up to her eyes. “I'm Lorraine Pruess.”

“Uh...I'm...Charles.” Anders replied. “Charles Anders.”

The musician was a little more than worried. He had no idea what was happening. Judging by the fleshy surface, he could only assume that he had been picked up by the new giant and was now sitting in the palm of her hand. He voice was coming from behind him and he turned to face it. While he couldn't see it, he sensed the presence of a looming, massive face in front of him, something that would be humungous to behold. He didn't dare to move, not knowing how high up he was and where her hand ended.

“Uh...Lorraine...” Valerie said timidly.

“Oh! Is that a violin in your hands,” Lorraine exclaimed, her eyes lighting up like a pinball machine. “Can you play?”


“O...of course, I guess.” Charles answered.

“...Lorraine.” Valerie again.

“Marvelous!” Ms. Pruess was overjoyed, bouncing up and down. Her hand bobbled, causing the musician to roll. “Do you think you can play something from Ba...”

“Lorraine!” Valerie snapped, causing some of the crowd to run.

“What?” The blonde asked, surprised.

“Put. Him. Down.” Mrs. Bradson said, speaking through gritted teeth, her eyes timid and wide.

Lorraine quickly obeyed, placing Charles down by her feet, where Raymond quickly collected him and brought him back over to his wife. Ms. Pruess looked at Valerie.

“What was all that?” Lorraine asked, her hands going to her hips.

“You know you can't pick people up without asking them first.” Valerie scolded. “What if Garth had seen?”

Lorraine went pale at the thought.

“Oh...right, right, of course,” She said quickly. “How foolish of me. I...I'm sorry, Mr. Anders.”

“No, it...it's okay,” Charles replied, a little disoriented. He couldn't see her, but her voice sounded sincere. “We're just singing some songs. Would you care to join us?”

“Absolutely!” Lorraine replied, brightening all over again. She took a seat next to Valerie. “I haven't sang in a long time, so my cords might be a bit rusty but....Trent? Are you okay?”

Trent Berlinger hadn't been paying attention to anything that had happened in the last five minutes. He was staring at the girl of his dreams, who was standing across the pond. She was distracted by Lorraine and Valerie's antics, giving him some time to admire her from a far. She was wearing a beautiful coat and some simple jeans. Her hair had grown out a little, now reaching her shoulders. He turned red as he imagined himself walking up to her and introducing himself.

Valerie nudged him. “Trent.” She addressed him.

“Huh? What? Nothing! Absolutely nothing!” He said quickly.

Valerie and Lorraine stared at him, the blonde looking bewildered. Trent glanced around. All eyes, giant and normal sized, were on him. Even HERS. He met her eyes as looked across the pond. Suddenly, there was a big silence in Tectelphia Park. Trent slowly looked back towards Valerie, and was horrified to see the grin on her face. Lorraine continued to look completely confused.

“What's on your mind, Trent?” Valerie asked, teasing.

“Nothing! My mind is completely blank!” Trent went on the defensive.

“Blank? What...?” Lorraine asked, puzzled.

“That's right, Lorraine!” Trent said quickly. “Blank as a sheet. Hey! Let's talk about something else. The weather! Where's that two inches of snow that we were promised?”

“It's summer...” Lorraine said, now completely baffled.

“Well, no one told me!” Trent said loudly. “I was promised snow! Can you believe the weather people in this town. How can they make such a mistake? It's CLEARLY summer!”

“Trent...” Valerie said, still grinning. “You're blushing...”

“No, I'm not!” Trent protested. “It's hot outside! I'm am dressed for cold weather! After all, it was supposed to snow in my mind!”

“You're wearing a t-shirt, Trent,” Valerie replied. “And shorts.”

“I am?” Trent said. “You're right! I am! Isn't that funny? You know what else is funny? Knock knock jokes. Hey, Lorraine. Knock knock!”

“Uh...what?” Lorraine replied, now looking worried.

“Orange you glad I didn't say 'banana'?” Trent said, then guffawing loudly.

“....huh?” Ms. Pruess was holding her head as if it would explode.

“Hey, Mr. Bradson!” Trent went on. “How many giants does it take to screw in a light bulb?”

“Two,” Raymond asked. “One was supposed to do it. But he was too busy falling in love with a cute girl, so another had to do it.”

“HAHAHAHA!” Trent bellowed, causing some of the crowd to run. “That's a good one, Mr. Bradson. But the answer was zero. Because giants can't change lightbulbs!”

“....that's not funny,” Lorraine said quietly, despite Trent laughing.

“Hey, I've got a joke,” Valerie said. “How many girls does it take to make Trent Berlinger blush?”

“Koookakooooo!” Trent said, trying to override Valerie.

“One,” Valerie went on. “That girl over...”

“Hey! Let's stop talking!” Trent interrupted. “Isn't it your birthday, Mr. Anders?”

“No...” Charles replied.

“Happy birthday to you!” Trent went on, sweating. “Happy birthday to you! You live in a zoo. Something something something! Happy birthday! Whoo!”

Valerie was whispering something to Lorraine. A smile came onto the blonde's face.

“Hey! It's impolite to whisper!” Trent cried. “Don't make me call Jennifer! You'll be under house arrest!”

“Oh, Trent, I didn't know you were in love...” Lorraine began. “That's so charming...”

“Hey! Whoa!” Trent said, laughing way too loudly. “I am a single man, ladies. I am a bachelor to the end! I have things I want to do before...”

“Getting married?” Raymond offered.

“No! I'm not thinking about that!” Trent cried. “You have no proof! None! I call upon the mercy of the co...”

“A-HEEM!” A voice sharply reported.

All three giant heads turned. Jennifer Stark was standing behind them, Garth Brokers floating above next to her head. Lorraine turned her nose up the other way, Valerie slumped, and Trent went purple. Berlinger shivered as her eyes fell on him.

“Trent, when I can hear you from my office, you're far too loud.” Jennifer said sternly.

“I'm...I'm sorry, Jennifer.” Trent sniffed.

“Do you know how damaging loud noises can be to the normal population?”

“...no.” Trent replied.

“Very.” Stark told him. “I hope for your sake that no eardrums were burst.”

“Oh, you know that didn't happen,” Lorraine said.

“I don't want to hear it from you,” Jennifer snapped. “You're on thin ice as it is.” She looked at the three of them. “I think you all have had enough fun for one day. No more city for you three today. Please get out of Tectelphia's borders. Garth, if you would please escort them.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Garth nodded. “Alright! You heard her! Get moving.”

“Oh, now how is this fair?” Lorraine pouted. “We didn't do any...”

“Get moving, Ms. Pruess,” Garth said again.

Lorraine went silent and quickly obeyed, as did Trent and Valerie, who picked up her husband.

“Raymond, you can stay, if you'd like,” Jennifer said to him. “I didn't mean to force you to go anywhere.”

“Yeah, well, I go where my wife goes,” Raymond replied, tying himself with Valerie's hair, while on her shoulder.

“I assumed you would,” Jennifer nodded.

“What about you?” Lorraine challenged. “Are you leaving the city or are you just ruining our day?”

“I have to met with the mayor, thank you very much!” Jennifer snapped. “On account of your 'accidents' today. Thanks to you, I have even more work to do than I did earlier. So, thank you, Lorraine Pruess, for ruining MY day.”

“Okaaay,” Valerie grabbed Lorraine's arm. “We're leaving, we're leaving.”

“Thank you,” Jennifer said, her hands going behind her back. “Good night.”

Garth and three giants went down the road and soon were out of the boundaries of the city. Jennifer stood where she was for a moment, breathing deeply to get her emotions under control. Lorraine was working her last nerve and she had had to actually restrain her arm from reaching out and slapping her for her little comment. Jennifer had actually had other things she had wanted to do this evening, but thanks to Ms. Pruess, she now had to go around and examine the damages of Tectelphia that she had caused. Lorraine caused Jennifer so much irritation, was it any wonder why she was so grouchy all the time.

When she felt more calm, Jennifer continued down the street. Charles Anders, realizing that his giant friends were now gone, sadly felt his way out of the park. Behind him, a young woman followed. One with short brunette hair and wearing a cute jacket. She came up to the musician and tapped his shoulder.

“Excuse me, sir,” She asked. “May I talk to you?”

“Huh? Oh, sure,” Charles said, turning to face the voice. “What can I do for you, ma'am?”

“I was...just wondering if you knew the names of those giants?” The woman asked.

“Oh...you don't know?” Charles asked.

“I know who they are...” The girl said. “I don't know their actual names.”

“Well...I know one was named Valerie Bradson,” Charles said. “The other woman was Lorraine Prowss or something, then was a Trent Ber...Berlinger, I think it was.”

“Okay, thank you...” The girl said.

She quickly walked off, leaving the musician alone on the curb. He merely shrugged and continued on his way.

...



Mayor Terry Trayor of Tectelphia was just hanging up the phone when he thought he heard the ground shake again.

He had heard the giants singing in the park earlier. As surprised as he was to admit it to himself, one of them was especially good at singing. To think that some of the giants actually had an enjoyable talent that didn't include wrecking the city. Then, he had seen the trouble maker, the blonde giant, pass by his office window. A few minutes later, a new giant voice was booming as loud as it could about knock knock jokes, laughing loudly like a lunatic.

After that...he had heard Stark's voice.

For a moment, he had actually been glad that the Giant Relation Person had arrived. The Berlinger boy had been causing a huge ruckus down at the Tectelphia Park (his voice had actually rattled his windows to the verge of cracking and shattering), and he was relieved when he was finally silenced. But...then he realized that the Giant Relations Person was nearby and that might mean that she was coming for him. He did not want to see her right now. He was exhausted and not mentally prepared for looking up at that woman, seeing those massive eyes on him as he stood in a giant hand as she carried him around the city. The mayor seized the phone and made some quick calls that needed to be made, wrote some final notes, and then tried to bail out of the office. He wasn't sure where he was going to go, but as long as Ms. Stark didn't get here before he could leave, Terry could get out of having to deal with her.

And just as he hung up the phone, pictures on his office wall rattled. Quickly, he grabbed his belongings and leapt out of his chair, feeling the quakes get more powerful. As he began to cross to the doors, another massive tremor went through the room and he collapsed to his feet. His briefcase spilled open and the papers scattered on the ground. Shoving them back in, the man began to hobble towards the exit when another quake toppled him yet again. The light coming in from the big window to the left was blocked. Mayor Trayor gulped and looked.

He screamed when he saw the massive hazel eye, the pupil slightly dilated, peering in at him. The eyelashes gently brushed the glass as it blinked. The mayor, hardly aware of his doing it, got to his feet and scrambled back towards his desk and jumped over it, spilling everything that was on it, and quickly hide in the space beneath it.

Jennifer Stark sighed softly to herself as she witnessed this. Does he every stop to think about how that might make me feel, she thought to herself, it's not my fault that this is how I have to communicate. She raised a hand, dressed elegantly in a leather glove, and gently tapped her finger against the glass, aware of her strength.

“Mayor Trayor?” She asked, calmly and coaxingly. “It's me. Jennifer Stark. Can you please come out from there? I need to speak with you...”

The Mayor stayed where he was. This woman was going to ruin whatever was left of his reputation as the big man of the city. She was telling the world that Terry Trayor was cowering like a middle school student did from a bully and he hated it. But, he couldn't help it. That giant face, with its giant, moving features...it was just too much for him to comprehend. No living creature on land should be that big! Especially one that was a human being!

Jennifer sighed again.

“Mayor Trayor...” She said, sounding a little pleading. “I know you're there. Please, please come out.”

Trayor slowly raised his head from behind the desk. His face met Jennifer's eye. Trying desperately to regain some of his dignity, he went to the center of the room, wanting to stride over as big as life, like the mayor should be. But, unfortunately, Jennifer Stark was ten times bigger than life, and his stride turned into a shambling, cowering shuffle, and he stood before the eye, his legs wobbling like a gradeschooler who was about to be punished.

“I just need to go over some of the damages of the city with you,” Jennifer explained, patiently. “If you could please come to the roof, I'd be more than happy to escort you.”

Escort him, she says. More like carry him across the city in her hands like a little bitty doll. She didn't seem to fully understand just how demeaning it was to the average man to feel so small, so insignificant. It just didn't feel right. He was the mayor, for god's sake! She should be looking up to him, not the other way around! Ms. Stark unbent and suddenly Trayor was faced with the manhole cover sized buttons of the giant's jacket.

He made his way up to the roof, sulking nervously all the way. When he reached the top of the building, the Giant Relations Person was waiting for him. She was taller than the christing building, her bust (that is, a view from her shoulders up) was all that was visible. One hand was lightly planted on the ceiling, one of the fingers tapping patiently. It was, without a doubt, one of the creepiest sights he had seen. That massive hand, dressed in a black leather glove, draped over a large portion of the roof, the bus sized fingers spread out across. It looked like a fucking spider, another thing that Mayor Trayor was quietly afraid of.

Despite knowing that it would do nothing, Jennifer put a warm smile on her lips.

“Hello, Mr. Trayor,” She said, respectfully and politely. “How are you?”

Those eyes. That smile. He didn't like her face. She looked like an eager young child, who was thinking of what to do with her new toy. His mind kept flashing images of her reaching out and plucking him up with the fingers of her spider hand and begin throwing him up and down into the air for fun. The thought made his legs wobble again.

“Ms. Stark....” He finally found his voice. It sounded rusty and unlike him. “It's....it's...” He wanted to say 'It's good to see you,' but that was patently false. “What...can....whatdoyouwant?” He rushed the words out.

“Lorraine Pruess caused more damage to the city again,” She said, apologetically. “But, you don't need to worry about that. I have spoken with her, and if she does anything else to the city, she'll be under lock down in her home for awhile. In the meantime, I'd like to go over the damages with you. Just so you can be aware of what's going on.”

“Oh...” Mayor Trayor said. And, tragically, that was all he could say.

Jennifer waited for a moment, waiting to see if the Mayor would be able to continue. When it became apparent that he would (and couldn't).

“So, I'd like to get started,” She said. “It's late and I'm sure you'd like to go home. If we go now, it shouldn't take long.”

Then, she did what he knew she would eventually do. The hand that had been laying on top of the roof flipped over on its back and was extended towards him, the fingers flattening, and the tips of them stopping in front of his feet. Mayor Trayor looked at this for a moment and then slowly looked up towards the giant face.

“Ms. Stark...” He began. “Is...is it really necessary for you to........carry me? I...It would be...no trouble for me to drive...or...anything...”

“Mr. Trayor,” Jennifer replied patiently. “I know that you're not completely comfortable with my carrying you, but it is the fastest way around the city. That...and, well, if you were to drive you'd be on the ground at my feet...”

Terry grimaced at that. The only thing worse than being carried would be being squashed like he was nothing but a little bug. Christ, why do she have to be so goddam tall!?

“Please...” The Giant Relations Person coaxed. “You've rode on my hand before. It's a lot safer than it looks. You know that Raymond Bradson has been riding on his wife's shoulder for the past three years and they've yet to have an accident. Giants have become quite accustomed to handling people smaller than they are. So, there really is no reason to be worried...”

Mayor Trayor was barely listening to this. He didn't really care. That Bradson man was a lunatic, plain and simple. He had no idea who in the right mind would marry a person who was a hundred times his size? What kind of relationship did the two of them have? Arguing with a wife was already on a “pick your battles” basis. Terry couldn't imagine how much more difficult it would be if the woman in question was the size of the Empire State Building. Even more, what kind of sex life did they have? Did they even have one? How was Raymond Bradson supposed to live in a house that was owned by a giant person that was furnished with a giant's things? How did he get around?

“Mayor Trayor...” Jennifer Stark coaxed further. “If you would...”

Terry Trayor took a deep breath. He lifted a foot and guided it forward until it was lowered onto the leathery surface of the glove, his shoe sinking into the material as he added his weight. Pretty soon, he stood on the tips of the middle and ring fingers of Jennifer's right hand. He began to make his way towards the palm, walking across the fingers. One of them twitched a little as he walked across it, causing him to almost lose his balance and fall.

“Sorry,” Jennifer apologized, trying to keep her fingers still.

The mayor finally made it to the palm of her hand, which was near the size of a baseball field. He felt incredibly small and he refused to look up into the looming face. When he was in position, Jennifer carefully lifted her hand off the roof. Her left hand up and ready in case the man should fall, The Giant Relations Person stepped away from the Mayor's Office.

“Alright,” The woman said calmly. “Let's get going then, shall we?”

The Mayor groaned. Jennifer began to walk. The Mayor's office was near a road that was used by the normal population and she had to step over it to get back onto the streets she could use. The citizens got scared as she did this and, naturally, some ran away screaming for their lives. Jennifer was used to this by now, to the point where she tried to tune it out. Despite her frequent exposure to the screams of the smaller folks, she still sighed inwardly whenever she heard it. The sound was a depressing reminder that the normal people were still needlessly afraid of the giants, something that she, Jennifer, had strove to fix when she began her work as the Giant Relations Person.

Terry Trayor wanted to try and glance down to see what kind of reaction his citizens were having to this behemoth walking in their midst, but didn't dare approach the edges of Ms. Stark's hand. He was on an unstable surface as it was. All it took was for the giant's mind to wander and forget he was there and she would accidentally drop him. But, with nothing he could do about that, he sat down and tried to grab as much of the leather material of the glove as he could. It was something to hold onto.

The two of them went deeper into town as they began their “work” together.

After being escorted off Tectelphia's limits by Garth Brokers, the other three giants made their way back to St. Almo's Fields. Trent Berlinger, eager to leave before they brought up his love interest yet again, quickly excused himself and headed home. Valerie, her husband, and Lorraine continued towards the Bradson home. Neither Raymond nor Val were particularly excited about Ms. Pruess following them. When she was annoyed or mad about something, she had a tendency to talk to you about it whether you really wanted to hear it or not. And, right now, she was plenty mad.

“Can you BELIEVE her!?” She griped as the trio entered the Bradson home. As soon as they were in, Lorraine placed her purse down near the door and sat down on the couch. Valerie sighed softly and sat down next to her, her husband still on her shoulder, sitting on her collar bone like a bench. “I mean, honestly! What gives her the right to just kick us out of the city this early? We have another two hours before our 'curfew'!”

“Well...Trent was being sort of loud,” Valerie reminded her.

“Oh, he was just being goofy,” Lorraine dismissed it. “It's so rare that we get a group of the normal people to hang around us like that! So Trent may have gotten a little emotional, so what? He is a pretty emotional young man after all...”

“Yeah, but...” Valerie tried.

“And!” Lorraine overrode her. “She can kick us out of the city, but she's still in there! How is fair to remove us from the city when she could cause just as much damage as the rest of us?”

“Because she's the Giant Relations Person,” Valerie shrugged.

“Right!” Loraine pouted. “She's just that. She's not the 'Giant Dictator'. The only thing we need her for is to keep in contact with the important people of the normal population. That's it! We don't need her telling us where we can and cannot go or punishing us for things she deems wrong, because I don't know who passed away and made her the 'Queen' of everything.”

“Well, you have to admit...” Valerie said. “Things were a little disorganized before Jennifer came along with Garth...”

“Oh, please, Valerie!” Lorraine rolled her eyes. “Don't tell me you believe that? In what way were things 'disorganized'? Everyone had homes, we had our...food, there weren't THAT many damages going on. We were fine before Jennifer showed up and we'd be fine without her!”

“But Jennifer made the damages go down pretty much to non-existence,” Valerie pointed out, trying to be fair. “Plus, we're now allowed to go into Tectelphia and other cities. There's something you couldn't do before. Also, people aren't as scared as before. Now, we can walk around without armed forces eventually showing to send us away. I mean, let's be honest, Jennifer's made things better. Sure, her rules can be strict, but if she's making things better for everyone in the long run, then, don't the ends justify the means?”

“Well...” Lorraine paused. She tried to think of something to come back to that. “I...”

“I mean, I know she's harsh sometimes,” Mrs. Bradson said. “But, if she's only like that because she genuinely cares about the normal people and their perception of us, than isn't it understandable?”

Lorraine said nothing.

“I think you're too harsh on her,” Valerie went on. “Try to put yourself in her shoes. She has to watch over everyone and that includes people outside the states. Sure, she has some people working for her in other countries, but, still, she does a lot and I think she does deserve a lot of respect from all of the other giants.”

“Plus...” Raymond spoke up. “She wed me and Val, which makes her alright in my book.”

Ms. Pruess said more nothing.

“Just give her a break, Lorraine,” Valerie said. “I'm sure if you try to work with her the problems you two face will eventually go away and you two might even come out as friends.”

“That'd be the day,” Lorraine sighed. She stood up. “Well, I should get going. It is getting late and I should be heading home.”

“Well, alright,” Valerie sighed. “Bye Lorraine.”

“Goodnight, Valerie,” Ms. Pruess replied softly.

She left and Raymond and Valerie Bradson sat where they were, Val on the couch, Ray on her shoulder. They sat there in the quiet for some time before finally turning on the TV.

…

There was a great deal of controversy surrounding the giant people. This was to be expected. Some people were alright with the towering figures, declaring them merely big humans who had every right that the average person had. To this group, the giants should be embraced. These open minded individuals were a minority. Then, of course, there were those who believed the giants to be a threat to all mankind and progress on Earth. They pointed to over population, lack of resources, among other things as reasons to why the giants had to be dealt with, either by elimination or other means. Most of this group was comprised people who feared the gigantic citizens and they had fallen from prominence over the years, especially after Jennifer Stark had taken over and gotten things organized and people became more aware of the life of a giant. These actions led to the rise of people who were opening up but were still skeptical and afraid. This, currently, was the largest group of the controversy. People have all kinds of views about the giants.

And it would not surprise some that there was another selection of individuals who had developed something of a particular liking for the giant people. Kirk Rogers was one of these.

Growing in the later half of the nineteen fifties, Mr. Rogers, the son of a wealthy “captain of industry” oil man who had rose to prosperity during the war, had been infatuated with the women of the giants for as long as he could remember. He had met one in New Mexico during his youth when he had been a pilot in the Air Force. The sheer size of her, the majesty of her stature, her brunette hair flowing in the wind like a giant flag. She was a breath taking tower of stunning radiance. He had met her through chance, she happened to step over his car, but he eventually was able to meet with her and the two of them had a brief relationship, signaling the beginning of Kirk Roger's affair with giant women.

Kirk was always a smooth talker, it was a proud trait that he had gotten from his father. He felt that he could woo any woman no matter her size. The problem wasn't the talking to them (no matter how big she is, a woman is a woman, and weren't they all the same?), the difficulties of course laid with the interaction. A giant woman had giant needs, of course. A lesser man would probably have given up with trying to solve such momentous difficulties, but Kirk Rogers was a rich man, and he had connections. The giants had always built their own things for their own use, staying out of the way of the general public as they did it. Kirk merely called up some of the giant “builders” and was able to pay for a giant house of his own. This baffled the giants, but this was before Jennifer Stark was the Giant Relations Person, and that was good. Had she been around at the time, Kirk most likely would have failed.

But, Mr. Rogers was able to get his own massive house, not too far away from his mansion near the border line of Maryland and West Virginia. He spent a great amount of time chasing giant skirts, taking them to his home and having his way with them. They were just like any average woman, you complimented them enough, talked the right way and suddenly they were eating out of the palm of your hand. Ah, those had been the grand days of his youth and middle age. However...old age was coming down on him now, as the Twenty First Century went along. He was no longer the spry young lover that he had been. He still had the family fortune and he still had the giant home, but the affairs were now much farther in between, and he mostly lived in seclusion these days, a legend that eventually fell from the minds of the newer generation. Jennifer Stark eventually came into her position as the Giant Relations Person and learned of Kirk's giant home. She had made small contacts with Kirk, who refused to give up his giant estate until he was dead. It was pride and the fact that it was a symbol of his glory days.

His old age drove him to misery, as he found himself in a very similar situation to Trent Berlinger, except that it was backwards. He knew of the giants around Tectelphia, of course. He didn't really care for Jennifer Stark, that one was a little too independent for his tastes. Trent Berlinger might as well not even exist, and Valerie Bradson was too average, and Kirk wasn't into women with glasses. But...the last one, the blonde, Lorraine Pruess, took his breath away. Being from a prestigious family, Kirk fancied himself a man of higher tastes. He could tell that Ms. Pruess apparently felt the same about herself, and he admired her greatly for it. Her walk and dress and, hell, her general appearance was just remarkably elegant and graceful. She embodied everything that a woman should be in Kirk's mind: charming, beautiful, elegant, graceful, civilized, heavenly scented, well dressed, well mannered, and exquisitely cultured. He knew from the very moment that he saw her that he had to have her. But...he couldn't. She was young, fresh, full of life, which was coming to an end for Kirk. She was too good for him now...utterly beyond his reach. It was if her presence was time mocking him, teasing him with things that he no longer was able to handle.

All he could do these days was look. It was a free country and there was nothing wrong with him looking. But, he didn't like it. He felt that he was quickly becoming a creepy old man, who tried to get a look up a young woman's skirt, and, ashamedly, Kirk had done so to Ms. Pruess. He hated himself for it, but he couldn't resist the temptation. It made him feel even more old, even further away from what he had once been. It was this that he feared would drive him to madness.

But...perhaps there was still hope.

Money had always come through for Kirk Rogers before. He believed that with enough financing, a man could make anything that he wanted come true. Kirk had learned a great deal of engineering from his father, and had always gotten a top notch education in the sciences. He had the money, he even had the expertise (though he hated calling himself a scientist, it wasn't an interesting enough title). During the past few month, he spent many months planning and formulating ways to reverse the course of his life. Man had always been able to change their fate, always able to twist things around to suit them better. It would not be different for someone like Kirk Rogers.

So...Mr. Rogers remained in his mansion, working diligently and alone, trying to change his own fate and begin again. It would be soon, he felt. All he needed was time....

And some money, of course...