Jennifer Mills trudged out from the stock room. She checked the inventory seven times to be sure, but there were still a number of capri pants and tank tops missing. She checked seven times because if they really were missing, she needed to ask her coworkers about it.

Jen hated confrontation. She waited until the last possible minute on Friday afternoon to tackle the case of the missing clothing.

Her 4’11” stature and thin frame didn’t exactly make her an intimidating figure. Her voice pitched when flustered and she always stumbled over her words. A lifetime of being ignored at best, actively being bullied for her size and timidity at worst, had destroyed Jen’s confidence.

She peeked at the inventory list on her tablet for an eighth time to make sure. Three pants and four tops that should be there weren’t.

Jen took a deep breath and ducked into one of the changing rooms. “Be confident. Be cool. Be brave.” She stood for another second, staring at herself in the mirror. Straight brown hair fell around a round-ish face to her shoulders. Soft features held brown eyes, blush already rising on her cheeks.

Jen pushed up on her toes, clad in tan flats. “Be big.”

Out from the dressing room she went. She started with the cashiers, waiting until they finished their transactions and all customers were out of earshot. None had any info on the missing clothes. Next were the store floor attendants, if someone was acting suspicious, surely one of them would have noticed. None had. Jen hadn’t exactly pressed the issue with any of her coworkers, short questions offered in small, shaky voice.

There was one more person to ask. The most dreaded coworker of all.

Monica Keller. She was tall, she was beautiful and she was the boss’s daughter. Monica was nineteen, sort of went to the local community college, and her mom, Diana was the store manager. She hired her daughter, against some kind of nepotism law, Jen was sure. Diana wasn’t a bad boss, she treated Jen well enough. Her daughter, however, was a fucking nightmare.

“There’s so many losers on that app and I get messages from like all of them.” Monica held a top up against herself and posed in front of a mirror. She didn’t so much “work” at the store, but float around, chatting with friends, trying on the merchandise and trying to look busy when her mom showed up.

“You just ignore them, right?” Her friend asked.

“Fuck no.” Monica was disgusted by the very question. Her friend flinched. “Some 5’10” nerd doesn’t deserve to messages me and they need to know it.”

“You’re so mean,” her friend half-giggled.

“Excuse me, Monica,” Jen peered over the edge of her tablet. Even pushed up on her toes, Jen’s head just barely crested Monica’s shoulder.

“I’m honest.” Monica picked up another top, ignoring Jen. She grinned. “Maybe a little mean too.”

“Can I ask you a couple questions?” Jen persisted. “There’s some missing inventory and I...”

“What about this one?” Monica held the shirt up to her friend that was white with wide blue and orange stripes.

“...actually that style is one of the missing ones and...”

“What the fuck did you say?” Monica’s attention snapped toward Jen in a instant.

Jen stumbled back into a rack of shirts, face turning a immediately bright red. “I um there’s missing shirts and-”

“You’re accusing me of stealing them?” Monica loomed over Jen as she shrank back into the veil of stylish but affordable shirts.

“No! Of course not!” Jen’s voice pitched, fumbling fingers almost dropped the tablet. “I’m just-“

“You’re just calling me a thief, when you’ve obviously just fucked up your own job!” Monica bent over so she and Jen were face to face. “You know who I am right?”

Jen lifted the tablet over her face to shield herself from Monica’s rage. She swallowed hard, tears filling her eyes. So much for being confident. Or brave. Or big. “I-I’m sorry to bother you.”

“And don’t ever bother me again, you little nobody.” Monica jammed a finger into Jen’s face. “Got it?”

“Yes.” Jen shrank further away from Monica, ducking beneath the clothing rack.

Jen skulked back to the store room. “What is wrong with you?” She plopped, slump shouldered onto a cardboard box of clothes, her weight barely denting it. Her feet dangled a couple inches above the floor. She clutched her tablet with tiny, trembling hands. She caved so quickly and so easily as soon a Monica challenged her.

“Why can’t you just grow up and be confident?” She asked herself, but already knew the answer. She was small and weak and timid and that’s just they way things were. Jen was a cowardly, little nobody.

She logged back into the inventory software and marked the missing clothes as found.

***

Jen was curled up in her pajamas on the sofa, watching TV, when her roommate Annie also came home from work too.

Annie chucked her bag across the room and crashed onto the couch next to Jen. Annie stretched and yawned, Jen smelled the aroma of coffee wafting off her uniform. “Busy day.” She glanced at Jen and smiled. “How was yours?”

Jen shrugged. “Kinda bad.”

Annie’s eyebrow arched. “Kinda bad?”

Jen squirmed. She and Annie we’re best friends - she was Jen’s only friend really - and they shared everything, but it was still embarrassing to confess she was bullied at work. Again.

“Monica Keller,” Jen said softly.

“You let the brat boss you around again?” Annie sat up on the couch, tucking her legs beneath her and faced Jen. “Isn’t she like sixteen or something?”

“She’s nineteen.”

“You’re twenty-five!”

Jen demurred. “She’s scary.”

“You want me to kick her ass?” Annie flexed her bicep. Annie wasn’t quite as tall as Monica, but definitely buffer. When she wasn’t busting her ass at the coffee shop, she was busting it at the gym. She was still huge compared to Jen, who in addition to her meager height, had little muscle definition to speak of. Jen only managed the store’s inventory, never actually moved any of it.

“No!” Jen yelped. “I’ll get fired and you’ll go to jail! We barely make rent on both our incomes now!” She curled herself up tighter and smaller. “I’m tired of being being so anxious all the time. I’m tired of being walked all over because of my size. I don’t want to feel this way anymore,” Jen said softy.

Annie scooted across the couch and wrapped her arms around Jen. “And you shouldn’t have to. Quit that shitty job. We’ll figure something out.”

Jen closed her eyes and sighed. “I can’t. We need the money.” She felt safe in Annie’s strong arms. She want to stay there forever and not face the world outside her embrace ever again.

Jen’s heart thudded in her chest. A soft warmth bloomed between her thighs.

Jen never shared her true feelings with Annie. One secret she still held. The truth was, Jen only felt big when she was with Annie. She felt like she was swelling just then, filling out her baggy pajamas, warm skin shifting against fuzzy fabric as her heart pounded faster, the heat between her legs reaching a unbearable pitch.

“Ow!” Annie suddenly pulled away from Jen, rubbing her jaw. “Dude, did you just headbutt my chin?”

Jen rubbed the top of her head too. “I didn’t mean to.” She tugged down the bottom of her pajama top, which felt a little more snug than a moment ago and shuffled her butt against the couch, trying to dislodge an unexpected wedgie. “Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing,” Annie scolded her. “If you’re not going to quit, you gotta stand up to that girl.” Annie placed her strong hands on Jen’s shoulders. Annie’s hands were so large compared to Jen’s tiny body, her thumbs almost met at the center of Jen’s sternum. “Monday. We’ve got the whole weekend to prepare.”

More like a whole weekend to worry herself sick about it, Jen thought.

“You’re coming of the gym with me tomorrow too!” Annie stood with her hands on her hips. “No more excuses! I can’t make you taller, but I can make to stronger!”

Jen want to try and get in shape, but was also terrified of going to the gym. All the big strong people casting their judgment on tiny, frail Jen. They knew she didn’t belong there and she knew it too. “... but I-“

“No buts!” Annie pulled Jen off the couch by the shoulders. “We’re doing it!”

The top of Jen’s head was just about level with Annie’s chin. She smoothed her pajama top back down, which was riding up again for some reason. Jen looked up at her friend’s green eyes gleaming with confidence and excitement.

Jen groaned. She wanted to argue with Annie, but knew she would just to go along with her in the end. Why even bother? Hopefully the gym wouldn’t be very busy on a Saturday morning.

Jen’s toes scrunched as she finished lacing her sneakers. They were a little tighter than she remembered, not that she’d broken them in at all. Jenn never worked out, a relentless metabolism rendered her waifish, no matter what she ate.

She stretched her toes, pushing them against the front of the sneakers. Jen’s feet were the only part of her larger than average for someone her stature - a monumental Size 6. Shoes were one of the few parts of her wardrobe not purchased from the petite, or even kids, sections.

Jen peered around the locker room, unable to resist comparing herself to the other women. Apparently all the most absurdly fit and beautiful people came to the gym on Saturday morning.

Dread mounted as Jen watched the tall, athletic figures in form fitting tops and leggings around her. The short and slim Jen never felt so out of place in her oversized black shorts and baggy pink t-shirt with BEAST MODE in big block letters across the front. Annie bought it last time she dragged Jen to the gym. Jen didn’t find it quite as hilarious as Annie, but it was the only workout shirt she owned.

“Ready?” Annie stood at the locker room exit. Her thick thighs and glutes were packed into tight leggings and a cutoff shirt put her toned arms on full display.

“If I’m not, can we go home?” Jen’s eyes trailed a rack of bronzed abs passing by.

“Nope.” Annie grabbed Jen’s hand and pulled her up like she weighed nothing. “If you hate it that much, I promise I’ll never ask again.”

“Okay.” Jen offered best faux-excited smile.

“Cool shirt, by the way.” Annie grinned.

Jen groaned and followed Annie out to the main gym area, filled the ambient sound of sneakers pounding treadmills and weights clanging against each other in rhythmic succession. The air was stale with the faint smell of sweat and self imposed accountability.

“Heather!” Annie waved to another woman as they approached.

Heather was a bit shorter and a bit leaner than Annie. Her dark skin beaded with sweat and darker hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. She leaned against some intimidating looking machine, taking the last sips of a water bottle. “Hey Annie!” She looked down to meet Jen. “You must be Jen! Annie’s talks about you all the time!”

Blush raced to Jen’s cheeks. “She does?”

“Oh. my. god. That shirt!” Heather voice rose like she was speaking to a child. Literally talking down to Jen. “You are so adorable!”

Jen folded her arms across her chest and stared down at her sneakers. The outlines of her toes emerged as she wiggled them. “Thanks,” she muttered.

“I finally convinced Jen to join me again,” Annie said. “She’s a little apprehensive, but I hope she’ll come around.”

“That’s awesome!” Heather clasped her hands together. “Exercise is great for you mental health! A healthy and active body is an important factor to reducing stress!”

Jen’s stomach clenched and skin prickled. Did this Heather know about Jen’s insecurities and anxieties? Or was she just making a general comment? “Good to know,” she said to the floor. God her shoes were so tight. Tighter even than when she first put them on.

“Good luck!” Heather said with an excited thumbs up. “The only thing stopping you is not starting at all!”

“How does Heather know about my anxiety?” Jen said softly, glancing up at Annie as they went further into the gym.

“Heather’s a therapist,” Annie said. “Since you refuse to see one, I’ve been picking her brain a little.”

“I can’t afford a therapist, even if I needed one.” Jen hated the idea of opening herself up to a stranger, especially one being paid to listen. No one but Annie would care about her problems unless they were paid to pretend they did. And the very idea of exposing herself like that was absolutely terrifying.

“Heather offered to see you once for free,” Annie said. “Might be worth it just to get some suggestions on managing your anxiety.”

It hurt Jen knowing she confided in Annie about her many fears and insecurities only for Annie to turn around and tell someone else. Even if she meant well. Not that Jen would confront Annie about it, she would just push her hurt down and pretend everything was fine.

“I’m only trying to help.” Annie said with a tone of genuine concern. “I just want to figure out some way to make you feel better.”

Jen forced a smile. “I’m not mad,” she said, even though she kinda was. “Thank you for trying.”

“Alright, enough talking. Let’s get down to business.” Annie and Jen stopped at a pair of benches and a rack of dumbbells. Annie picked up two of the smallest ones and put them down at Jen’s feet. “These are five pounds each.”

Jen scanned the gym for people watching. Everyone seemed engaged in their own workouts, but Jen knew soon they’d all be staring at her, judging as she struggled to lift even the most meager weights, snickering at the small, pathetic woman trying desperately to make herself bigger.

Annie sat on the bench next to Jen. “We’ll start easy. Five reps.” Annie lay back and lifted two weights much larger than Jen’s with both arms and touched them above her chest. “Just like that.” Annie put the weights down and stood over Jen. “I’ll spot you.”

Jen lay down with her arms dangling off the bench. She looked up at Annie, towering in all her buff glory, giving Jen her most confident “you got this” look.

Jen grab the weights. Five reps. She pulled them up, gritting her teeth. Slowly her trembling arms rose with the weights, until they touched just above her chest. Jen let out an audible gasp of relief.

“Nice job!” Annie cheered. “Let them down slowly. Only four more to go!”

Jen gradually let the weights settle on the floor and pulled them back up again.

And again.

And again.

Jen’s whole body quaked by the final rep, her BEAST MODE shirt completely soaked through. Her heart galloped so quickly it was going burst from her chest, her arms shuddered with more pain than she had ever felt before.

“Fucking get it girl!” Annie hollered. “You’re almost there!”

Jen touched the weight over her chest and promptly dropped them with a loud enough clang, howling her most daintily triumphant howl.

“Sorry, sorry.” Annie waved off the other gym goers who looked over. “She’s new.”

Jen sat up on the bench, sweat dripping down her face, arms like jelly, hands trembling at her knees. Her whole body shuddered with each ragged breath.

She did it.

Jen’s body felt different even after just that little bit of exercise. Sure everything hurt and she felt like she was going to die, but she felt empowered. Stronger! And... bigger? Her shirt was a little tighter around her chest and shoulders, everything felt just slightly smaller. Probably just the sweat making the clothes cling to her body.

“You crushed it!” Annie cheered. “You’re a natural!” Annie raised her hand. “Give me a high five!”

Jen rose and gave Annie’s hand a halfhearted clap. “Can we go...” Jen took another gasping breath. “...home now?”

Annie didn’t reply.

Jen glanced up at Annie stared down at her. She felt an anxious flutter. “What?”

“You’re taller,” Annie said flatly.

Jen let out a nervous little half snort, half chuckle. “I guess it’s working already!” She flexed her still nonexistent biceps.

“I’m not joking.” Annie placed her hand flat on top of Jen’s head and slowly moved it level with her face. “Look. Your head usually only reaches my chin. It’s level with my nose now.”

“C’mon Annie, stop it.” Tears pricked Jen’s eyes. All of the pride of completing the reps vanished in a instant. She shuffled her feet, looking down at the pronounced outline of her toes through the sneaker fabric. She noticed one of the laces had snapped and lay across the gym floor. “It’s not funny. Please don’t joke about me getting taller when you know how self conscious I am about my height.”

“I’m really not joking, Jen.” Annie’s tone matched the seriousness of her words. She stepped closer to Jen so they were only a couple inches apart. “Look.”

Jen did. She saw Annie’s mouth directly in her line of vision. For first time she didn’t have to look up to see her friend speak.

Jen’s eyes widened as Annie’s lips parted and said the words.

“Dude. You grew.”

“Please check again.” Jen pressed her socked feet down and pushed her back flush against the wall.

“I already measured you three times,” Annie said. “It’s not going to change.”

“Please!”

“Alright, alright.” Annie bent down and tucked the end of a tape measure under Jen’s heel. “Your feet stink, by the way.”

After discovering Jen sprouted up a few inches, she and Annie bailed from the gym back home. Jen hadn’t bothered to shower or even change out of her sweaty workout clothes. She just peeled off the busted sneakers and asked Annie to measure her.

Annie pulled the tape up to the top of Jen’s brunette head. “Told you. Same is before. You’re 5’3” now.”

Jen stood silent for a moment, processing the information. “People just don’t randomly grow four inches in their mid twenties.”

“Except that’s exactly what’s happened.” Annie let the tape snap back into its container. “Maybe you’re like a late bloomer or whatever. Check the internet, I bet you’ll find other people who’ve had a late growth spurt like this.”

Jen pulled out her phone, chewing her lip as she scrolled through the results. She found a few random stories about adults having late growth spurts, mostly men, a couple famous basketball players among them.

“Maybe your puberty glands or whatever are messed up,” Annie continued. “That’s a thing, right?”

Jen’s fingers tapped furiously, distress mounting on her face. “There’s something about gigantism...” More tapping. “...and a tumor on your pituitary gland..” She jammed the phone into Annie face. “...and this says it’s fatal!” Jen screeched. “Am I going to die?”

Annie squinted, examining Jen’s hasty research. “Nah, that gigantism thing causes all sorts of deformities and stuff. You’re still the right-“ Annie traced a narrow rectangle in the air with her hands. “Jen-Shape. Just magnified.”

Jen slumped against the wall, searching medical diagnosis websites, each dire result ratcheting her anxiety up to a greater degree.

“Put that away or you’ll give yourself a heart attack.” Annie pushed Jen’s phone back into her pocket. “Try being positive for once. You wanted to be taller for as long as we’ve known each other, now you are! You’re not sick or in pain or anything right?”

Jen clutched the phone in her pocket, resisting the urge to pull it back out and diagnose herself with some horrific mutation. “No,” she said softly. “I feel fine.” She felt better than fine, her body was still humming from the morning’s workout. Beneath the dread of being inflicted with a terminal illness, she was excited about the prospect of being a little bit taller.

“Then don’t worry so much. It’s only a few inches.” Annie gently placed her hand on Jen’s head. “Even a couple more wouldn’t be terrible. Wouldn’t it be awesome if you were like 5’6”?” Annie’s hand rose up so it was level with the top of her own blonde curls. “Or even 5’8” like me?”

Jen face went flush at the thought of standing eye to eye with Annie. She always looked up to Annie - literally and figuratively. If they were the same height, or even close, maybe Jen could finally overcome her fears and tell Annie how she really felt. She was nauseous even thinking about it, so maybe not.

“I think you should take a long shower and relax.” Annie said. “Worrying yourself sick about a tumor won’t change anything.”

Jen sighed. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Good!” Annie gave her a thumbs up. “I have some errands I was going to run after the gym. I’ll get something for dinner and some cheap champagne. Five reps and three inches! Thats cause to celebrate!” Annie held up her hand for a high five.

Jen slapped it gently, noticing she didn’t have to push up on her toes to reach Annie’s hand.

***

After a shower, Jen slipped into an oversized shirt and underwear settled into the couch. She couldn’t stop thinking about Annie and her being the same size. She imagined them snuggled together on that same couch. Jen was nuzzling the back of Annie’s neck, their hands locked at each other’s waists, legs entwined.

Jen gave a quick look around, just to make sure Annie wasn’t home. She shimmied up her shirt and slipped one hand into her underwear.

She touched herself tenderly, knees rubbing together as she adjusted herself to the perfect position. Heat rushed from her belly to her cheeks and a few soft moans slipped her lips.

Jen imagined herself growing beyond the boundaries of Annie’s body. Thin fingers lengthening, her hand swelling around Annie’s. Jen’s feet pushed past the end of the couch, toes wiggled as they flirted with the lamp on their end table. As her size overtook Annie, Jen rested her cheek on the top of Annie’s head. She was bigger than Annie. Bigger than Monica even. And getting bigger still.

As terrifying as her growth was in real life, she didn’t want it to stop in her fantasy. All her adult life Jen’s mind was cluttered with daydreams of her being taller than her peers, not a giant or anything crazy like that, just a little bigger than at least one other person in her life. It happening for real now was scary... but like Annie said, what harm was a few inches?

Imaginary Annie shifted her arms, she was so cute - smaller than Jen had ever been to her. Jen pulled her closer as Annie scooter up to meet Jen’s face. She tilted her head up, curly mess of hair brushing against Jen’s cheek. Annie kissed Jen, lips soft and sweet and small.

Jen let out a constrained gasp as she climaxed. She pulled her shirt down and folded her hands on her belly. A faint and warm buzz lingered there, even after she had finished and began drifting to contented sleep.

***

Jen was awakened by the sound of keys jangling and bags rustling in the kitchen.

She rolled off the couch, adjusting her panties, which were digging into her butt. After a big stretchy yawn, Jen tugged down her night shirt as she stood. Where earlier it fell to her knees, now it clung to her thighs. Jen shimmied her hips as she tried to pull it down more, but the shirt hugged her like a second kin. Jen grumbled and shuffled toward the kitchen.

A crown of blonde hair bobbed past her down the hallway, just below Jen’s sight line. She frozen where she stood and rubbed her eyes. Surely she hadn’t seen what she just saw.

The blonde head bobbed backward until it stopped in front of Jen. She held a breath and slowly lowered her gaze.

Annie stared up at her, mouth agape. It was as if they switched bodies, Annie’s head just reaching the level of Jen’s nose.

What actually happened was even more terrifying for Jen. She had grown again and judging by her comparison to Annie, was almost six feet tall.

A broad grin changed the expression on Annie’s face from astonishment to glee. “Dude.” Annie placed her hands on Jen’s shoulders and pushed up so they were eye to eye. “You. Are. Huge.”

Panic had already taken command of Jen’s body at the sight of Annie looking up at her. Her body was numb, brain blanked. She tired to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. Jen gazed straight ahead into the green gleam of Annie’s eyes, a moment she had dreamed of for so long, and felt nothing but dread.

Jen slipped her shoulders free from Annie’s grip, bolted for the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

She stood in the dark on the brink of hyperventilation. A trembling hand traced the bathroom wall in search of the light switch. Her finger hovered there. “Okay. You need to see yourself,” Jen whispered. “But don’t freak out. Don’t freak out.” She screwed her eyes shut. “Okay?” The tip of her finger applied the slightest bit of pressure to the switch. “Okay.”

Jen flipped the light on.

Her eyes creaked open, the bleary vision of her newly enhanced size coming to focus in the bathroom mirror.

She was huge, as Annie proclaimed. Her shirt was taut across her meager curves hugging narrow hips and coming down to just mid thigh. Her small breasts kept their same proportions, but magnified with the rest of her. The subtle swell stretched her shirt, the outline of her nipples visible, pushed up against the fabric. A cartoon smiley face printed on the front with the words GOOD VIBES beneath looked almost as distressed as Jen herself.

Jen stepped up the mirror. Her expanded bare feet slapped against the linoleum and echoed in the enclosed bathroom. She bent over, wrapping her hands around the sink. She looked feral, eyes wild and bloodshot, hair all matted up to one side from falling asleep on the couch.

She turned on the faucet, handle noticeably small in her enlarged hand. Jen splashed water on her face and looked back up. She was now about a foot taller than the day before. Nothing she found on the Internet spoke to a growth spurt of that magnitude. Had it been trigger by the workout this morning? Had it have been...

Jen’s cheeks redden in the mirror. She slid a hand down her stomach’s flat expanse, leaving it to linger over her crotch. The fantasy of growing bigger than Annie flashed in Jen’s mind. “No.” She pulled her hand away. “That doesn’t make sense.” She sighed. “Not that any of this makes sense.”

The door creaked open and Annie’s head peeked in. “You okay?”

Jen spun around and quickly slapped her hands over her breasts. “Please knock next time!” she said in a way too loud voice.

“Sorry.” Annie smirked. “Is not like you don’t walk around here without a bra all the time though.”

“Not in anything this tight and... “Jen folded her arms across her chest. She slumped her shoulders, trying constrict her new size as much as possible. “...revealing.” She plopped down onto the toilet with a whimper and scrunched her toes against the cool floor.

Annie entered the bathroom and crouched in front of Jen. “So are you okay?” She rubbed her forehead. “That’s a dumb question.”

“No, it’s fine,” Jen said. “I don’t know if I’m okay, that’s the scariest part. I have no idea what’s happening to me or why.” Jen tugged at the end of her shirt. “I’m not sure how to feel about any of this.”

“How do you feel about burritos and that cheap champagne you like?” Annie asked, looking up at Jen with an encouraging l smile.

Jen smiled back softly. “Burritos and champagne. We’re so classy.”

“You know it.” Annie stood, taking Jen’s hands, which were just a smidge larger. Jen’s narrow short-nailed fingers wrapped almost completely around the back of Annie’s palm. “C’mon, let’s find something that will fit you better.” She tried to pull Jen up to her feet, but for the first time Jen had to help, the resistance of Jen’s weight too much for Annie to pull up on her own.

***

The shirt Annie picked out fit Jen well enough, the size difference between them wasn’t so great a regular t-shirt would fit that differently. Same with the pajama pants. Jen’s own pajamas would likely rise above her ankles with her new height, but Annie’s we’re just right.

An absolutely ravenous Jen attacked her burrito. She hadn’t eaten anything since Annie forced a gross protein bar on her before the gym. Her growth spurt probably burned up all of those calories anyway. Jen gobbled down down a third of the burrito in two bites.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked up at Annie staring across the table. “What?”

Annie shrugged. “Just watching you murder that burrito.”

Jen took a slightly smaller bite. “Please stop.”

Annie poured champagne into two plastic wine glasses and place one in front of Jen.

“I don’t know if I should.” Jen eyed the champagne. “What if it causes another, uh, reaction?”

“Nah,” Annie said before taking a big swig of her own. “I think the workout this morning triggered your...” Annie pressed her palms together and slowly pulled them apart until they were about a foot away. “And the extra boost this afternoon was from leftover adrenaline? Maybe the full effect has a delayed reaction.”

Jen rubbed her thighs together under the table, staring into the depths of her burrito. “Maybe.” She took another bite, bigger than the last. “Probably.”

“So if physical exertion made you bigger, maybe something relaxing will make you shrink.” Annie took another sip of champagne. “The gym has yoga classes on Sunday mornings. It’ll be good for you anxiety in general, but maybe we can get you back down a few inches.”

“I can’t go to the gym a foot taller the next day.” Jen clutched her burrito with both hands, squeezing some beans and guac to our the top. “It’ll be so embarrassing.”

“First, it’s the gym. Everyone’s so involved with themselves, they probably won’t even remember you,” Annie said. “Second, who gives a shit if they stare at or talk about you? They should. You look amazing. Own this big new body of yours and don’t apologize for it.”

That was easy of Annie to say. She never had trouble drawing attention with the blonde and buff and beautiful body. Jen went unnoticed almost all of her life, and for the most part she liked it that way. She dreamed of being bigger to help gain confidence, but she didn’t want a ton of extra attention. She just wanted to be an ordinary, average sized woman.

There was only one person’s attention Jen truly sought. “You really think I look amazing?”

“Fuck yeah, girl. You’ve always had this adorably mousy thing going on. Now it’s just bigger and everyone else will notice.”

Jen squeezed her thighs together, warmth rising to her belly. “But what I don’t stop growing?” She whispered into her burrito.

“If you don’t stop growing eventually your body will be too heavy and crush itself. It’s physics or whatever,” Annie said as a matter of fact. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll figure something out before then”

Jen whimpered and stuffed the remaining burrito into her mouth.

Jen and Annie returned to the gym the next morning. Jen borrow a pair of yoga pants from her friend, which fit perfectly to her new elongated, but still skinny legs. None of Jen’s shoes came remotely close to fitting. She was mortified just comparing the new size of her feet to old shoes. She borrowed a pair of Annie’s slides. They were comfy enough, but still a somewhat tight and Jen’s toes poked out a little over their fronts.

Jen was relieved she hadn’t grow any more overnight. She didn’t sleep much either, mind racing with terrifying thoughts of what might happen if she continued growing. Steamy visions of her and Annie spooning on the couch were replaced with gruesome images of her body transforming into a hulking, misshapen mass and being crushed by her own monstrous size. Jen envisioned herself becoming an actual giant, growing so large their home couldn’t contain her rapidly expanding form, poor Annie trapped and screaming for help as the house collapsed around her.

A rational person in a normal circumstance could brush those nightmare scenarios off as impossible, of course. But an anxiety riddled Jen was hardly a rational person and her growing a foot taller in a single day was definitely not a normal circumstance.

Annie was proven right about one thing, no one at the gym seemed to recognize Jen, or care that she was a foot taller than the previous day if they did. She was only 5’10” or so. Not freakishly tall by normal human standards, just by formerly 4’11” Jen standards.

Still, Jen walked with her shoulders slumped, try not to look as tall as she had become. She had to catch herself walking behind Annie, unaccustomed to such long strides, Jen almost passed her friend a couple times.

The yoga studio was a sauna. Literally. A steaming haze filled the room and stuck to Jen’s skin. “It’s so hot in here,” she said, fanning warm air back into her face.

“Thats why they call it Hot Yoga. The stress will ooze right out your pores,” Annie said, wiggling her fingers in the soupy air.

Jen’s lip curled. “Gross.”

“Alright everyone, let’s get started,” the instructor announced from the front of the studio.

There were about a dozen people in the class. Jen couldn’t help smiling, noticing she was the tallest person in the room. Jen was a good four or five inches taller than the woman to her right, who just a day ago would have towered over Jen. She sidled over a little closer to see their size difference more pronounced. A bit of excitement tingled Jen’s belly seeing how much taller she was than her classmate.

The woman noticed Jen and raised her eyebrows as if to politely ask what the fuck she was doing. Jen offered and awkward smile and wave back. She sidled back over next to Annie.

Maybe it was just the room’s oppressive humidity getting to her head already, but Jen was buzzy at the fact someone noticed her so easily. No one ever noticed her before. She dreaded possibility of being seen at her enhanced size, but little moments of attention felt nice, like she had finally stepped out into the world after being locked away in a tiny cage all her life.

“I’ll stand in front of you,” Annie said, unrolling her yoga mat. “It might help to follow along with me instead of the instructor if you get lost.”

“Sure.” Jen unfurled her own mat. She slipped out of the slides and her feet sunk into the soft foam as she stood on it.

The class started off easy - the first pose was just bending over at the waist and touching your toes. Jen wasn’t super limber, but was able to do it without much strain. It wasn’t like her legs had gotten any longer compared to the rest of her, she was still the same proportions as 4’11” Jen, just scaled up.

Jen glanced up mid-pose and was met with the peach shaped outline of Annie’s toned butt right in her face. Sweat trickle down Jen’s temples as the heat on her face intensified, like someone has ratcheted up the studio thermostat.

The rest of the class went fine, none of the positions were terribly challenging, though Jen teetered on one foot a couple times, almost tipping forward into Annie’s backside. The whole experience wasn’t very relaxing either. No breathing excises could ease Jen’s stress of keeping the right positions in place and the sight of Annie’s body flexing and stretching in so many wonderful ways right in front of her.

“What did I tell you? All that pressure just sweat right out!” Annie said after class ended.

“I don’t know.” Jen wiped her brow with her shirt. “I don’t think it helped, I’m just really hot and sweaty now.” Her whole body felt like it was overheating, every strand of clothing a wet, clingy mess. “I need to jump in the shower and cool off before we head home.”

“Good call,” Annie said. “Don’t need to stink up the car anymore either.”

***

Jen pressed her hand on the tile wall as cool water washed over her. As the water beaded off her skin, a hot throbbing still lay in her heart and her loins. It felt like she had absorbed all of the heat from the class into her own body. Her other hand slide down slick skin and rested on her inner thigh. Her hand clenched to a fist and she closed her eyes.

Jen felt something else besides the thrumming heat. It felt like the wall was moving against her hand. Jen opened one eye. It wasn’t the wall moving, it was her hand. Her palm expanded wider, taking up more and more of the tile square, encroaching the others around it. Her finger lengthened and thickened, her once dainty hands looking so large she could palm a basketball.

The last two times Jen grew she didn’t notice because the spurt was so small or was asleep during the transformation. This time she actually saw herself getting bigger. She felt her body changing and expanding, like her senses were heightened during the process.

Jen wore the slides into the shower - she was not going barefoot in a public bathroom. The shoes tightened around her widening soles, digging into the tops of her feet. Her toes elongated, stretching further over their edge. She could curl them down and press them against the wet shower floor if she wanted.

Jen looked up, head rising higher and higher in comparison to the shower head. Inch by inch she stretched taller until she was looking just over top the shower head, water raining down against her sternum and the slight swell of her breasts.

Jen gazed down the narrow length of her body to her huge feet, barely contained by the slides. Just a day ago she would have need the aid of a step-stool to see from this vantage.

“Oh no.”

Jen shut the water off and peeked out from behind the shower curtain. No one else was in the locker room. She wrapped herself in a towel that barely covered her torso and crotch and rushed over to Annie’s locker.

Jen pulled the slides off, they left a red band across the tops of her enlarged feet from the tightness. She was able to shimmy into the yoga pants, now even tighter than before. Jen pull them up to her waist, which caused them to end just above her calves. The shirt she borrowed from Annie only reached her belly button, leaving most of her pale and flat midriff exposed.

Jen plopped onto a bench, slumping over to cover her newly enhanced height. She stared at her foot pressed flat to the ground next to a discarded slide. Her big toe extended a good inch past the front of the slide, her longer second toe even further. Jen slid her feet beneath the bench and waited for Annie.

A few women came in and out of the locker room, none paying particular notice to Jen, who remained hunched over on the bench, before Annie re-emerged from the shower.

“Feel better?” Annie asked, toweling her hair dry. She didn’t seem to notice any change in Jen sitting down.

“It happened again,” Jen said softly to the floor. Jen rose, watching Annie’s eyes rise with her. Jen’s stomach sank Annie’s face descended further and further away. Whereas this morning Jen and Annie we close to the same height, only a couple inches difference, Annie’s head just crested the line of Jen’s shoulders as she reached her full height.

Jen shifted nervously, watching the entrance to the locker room. “We need to go.”

Annie hastily got dressed. Luckily the gym exit was right by the locker room so they were able to escape without anyone noticing Jen’s increased stature.

Jen stuffed herself into the passenger seat of Annie’s car. She had to tuck her knees up against the dashboard to fit, straining the yoga pants to their absolute limit. She noticed Annie scowling at her bare feet.

“Did you leave my slides in there?”

Jen curled her toes and tucked her chin to her knees. “They got too small...”

Wow! Almost 10K views so far! Hope you’re all enjoying the story!

Annie stood on her toes, reaching the tape measure all the way up to the top of Jen’s head.

Jen held a breath, fingers clutching each other, awaiting the results.

“Six feet four inches.” Annie gaped at the tape. “Almost a foot and a half taller in two days.” She looked up at her increasingly enlarged friend. “This is amazing.”

Amazing was not the adjective Jen would have chose. Amazingly scary, perhaps.

Annie held her hand up. “Let’s compare. Your’s used to be way tiny next to mine, I bet it’s the total opposite now!”

Jen stuffed her hands into the top of her already overstuffed yoga pants. A little tingle inside her wanted to see how much bigger she was than Annie, but embarrassment over her sudden growth overwhelm it. “You aren’t taking this very seriously.”

Annie shrugged. “Let’s go to the doctor then. Urgent care’s probably open, or we can go to the emergency room. Growing into a giant seems like a pretty big emergency.” She winked. “Get it?”

“I’m not growing into a giant!” Jen blurted out loud enough that Annie flinched. She was immediately stricken with regret. Jen shrank down against the wall so she was eye to eye with Annie. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Annie put her arms around Jen’s neck and hugged her. “I know you’re scared.”

“I don’t want to go to the hospital,” Jen said. “I mean, I kinda do, but we can’t afford a huge medical bill and...” she drifted off for a second. There was a big dollop of hypochondria on top of all Jen’s other anxieties. “what if they find something strange? What if they want to do all theses tests and want to see what’s inside that made me grow like this and...”

“Then we won’t go,” Annie said into Jen’s ear. “We’ll get through this, you and me.”

It was always just the two of them, Annie always there for Jen - comforting for her anxieties and protecting her when she was bullied. Jen felt a little more guilty every time, like she owed Annie something, like her friendship wasn’t repayment enough. Even now, even though Jen was bigger, Annie was still the one protecting her and not the other way around. It made Jen feel smaller than ever.

“Okay.” Jen said softly.

“We need to get you new clothes, though.” Annie’s socked foot nudged Jen’s bare one. “You can’t go to work without any shoes.”

“I can’t go back to work like this!” Jen slid down the wall and curled her knees up to chest. “How will I explain this to everyone?”

“You don’t have to explain anything.” Annie pointed a finger up at Jen. “You just have to confront that brat and make her fess up to the missing clothes. She probably treats everyone else there like shit too. Your coworkers will love you for finally putting her in her place.”

“Just because I’m taller doesn’t mean I can force her to confess,” Jen said. Getting taller didn’t miraculously cure her fear of confrontation either. Her size didn’t give her any real advantage over Monica. It’s not like they were going to brawl in the middle and even if they did, Jen didn’t know how to fight, Monica would probably kick her ass anyway. Monica still wielded the power of privilege over Jen, and no growth spurt would take that from her. “Her mom is still the manager and she can get me fired like nothing.”

“You said your boss is a reasonable woman, right? You have a legitimate concern about the missing clothes.”

“Yeah, but-“ Jen started.

“But nothing,” Annie cut her off. “I gave you the comfy love, now it’s time for the tough love. I don’t care if you’re four feet tall or forty, it’s time to stand up for yourself.”

“Everyone’s going to notice my height and it’ll be a big scene and I’m sure Monica is just going to blow me off again and...” Jen sighed. “Maybe I can find a new job working from home. Not having to leave the house again would really be nice.”

“Nope.” Annie shook her head. “I’m not letting you become a recluse. You’re getting new clothes, you’re going to work and you’re telling that brat what’s what.”

“Can you just get them for me,” Jen said sheepishly. “I’ll wear whatever.”

Annie rolled her eyes. “Alright.” She pulled the tape measure out a little and let it snap back. “But I’ll need to take some measurements first.”

Jen squirmed. “Just get long dresses or something, I’m sure they’ll fit fine.”

“Your feet.” Annie pointed to them.

“What?”

“Your feet,” Annie repeated. “I have to measure them at least.”

Jen folded her arms over her chest. She reluctantly pushed her leg out to Annie, sole presented for her inspection.

Annie extended the tape measure, longer and longer, for what seemed like an eternity to Jen, until it reached the tip of her big toe. Annie’s eyes and grin widened. “Twelve and a half inches.”

Jen’s feet had basically doubled in size since the growth spurts started.

“Probably have to get sandals.” Annie gave the arch of Jen’s sole a gentle tickle with the tips of her fingers. “I don’t think they make flats this big.”

Jen jerked her foot back, heat pounding and cheeks ablaze. “Sorry. They’re sensitive.”

“All of you is sensitive.” Annie scooted up against the wall beside Jen. “Regardless of how much more of you there is.” She rested her head on Jen’s shoulder. “And that’s why I love you.”

***

Jen crawled into bed later that night. The frame groaned in protest of her increased weight. Laying flat on her back, her bare feet pushed out past the edge of the bed a good few inches. She rolled to her side and curled up to fit her whole body under the sheets.

One more growth spurt and she’s be sleeping on the floor. And the spurt after that? And the next one? Would she be too big to fit in her bedroom anymore? Too big to fit in the house? The little weedy yard they shared with the other tenants of their complex wouldn’t be big enough after long. Her landlord would be so pissed.

A small part of Jen’s anxiety was held at bay by the fact she was still within the realm of normal human height. 6’4” was pushing the limit for a woman. What was next? Eight feet? Then twelve? What if her rate of growth accelerated? What if each spurt compounded on the last?

What if Jen did actually grow into giant?

“Don’t even think it,” she whispered into the dark. “You’re not growing into a giant. This is going to stop soon.” She said to assure herself, while at the same moment opening her phone to search the web for more information about adult growth spurts and the associated genetic disorders.

Soft light illuminated her face in the dark as she scrolled. The phone was so small in her enlarged hand, her thumb was almost as long as the whole screen.

After going through all the same results she had already seen, Jen tried something else. She typed in the words “Giant Woman”. The first result was the poster from an old movie - a woman in a makeshift bikini astride a highway. She was huge and powerful, imposing her enormity on the tiny city below. A small car rested in her hand. It was about the same size as the phone in Jen’s.

Jen pushed the phone off and shoved it under her pillow. “You’re not growing into a giant,” she repeated, curling herself up tighter under the sheets.

Sorry for the delay folks! Hope this one’s worth the wait!

Jen stared at herself in the mirror of one of the changing rooms. It felt cramped, wall close and the little bench just wide enough to fit her expanded butt.

Annie ran out to the store the previous night and got Jen a few long dresses like she asked. They would have dragged across the floor on Old Jen’s frame, but draped just below the knees of New Jen. She chose one with a muted floral print, hoping not to stand out at work. The dress well enough around her slight frame, had she been curvier she’d probably be busting out of it.

And speaking of busting - the Size 13 sandals Annie got Jen were already hurting her feet. They were way less comfy than the slides, the unyielding faux-leather straps dug into the tops of Jen’s feet. She took them off to sneak around the store, but now mercilessly hugged her feet.

Jen snuck into work earlier that morning, crouching as she moved between racks of clothing, ducking behind each until the coast was clear. Somehow Jen made it to the dressing rooms unnoticed. Maybe luck was finally on her side.

“Be confident. Be cool. Be brave.” Jen said to her reflection. She looked like the same Jen who stood at that same mirror just days ago. Except that Jen’s standing eye-line would have meet the current Jen’s sitting down.

“Be big.” Jen stood, rising taller than the top of the mirror. If she pushed up on her toes, she’d easily see over the top of the dressing room door. She was big. And didn’t need to get any bigger.

Jen clenched trembling hands into a fists at her hips. “Go.” She said to herself. She went. Out of the dressing room and into the store. She didn’t have to go far, Monica was loitering around nearby the dressing rooms casually browsing a rack of pants.

Jen approached from behind. The change in size between them caught Jen’s breath - just two days ago Monica was a foot taller than her, now Jen could look down at the top of Monica’s platinum blonde head. Jen smirked at brunette roots starting to grow out.

“Monica,” Jen started. “I wanted talk to you about those missing clothes again.”

“I already told I don’t know anything about that,” Monica said, beginning to turn around. “And told you never talk to me again you little...” Monica trailed off as she stared straight away at the tip of Jen’s nose.

Monica tilted her head up slowly until her eyes met Jen’s.

“I know what know you said.” The words came quickly, stumbling out of Jen’s mouth. Her heart raced. Anxiety mixed with exhilaration surged through Jen. She was still terrified to confront Monica but excited by the look of shock on her face at the change in Jen’s size. “But I wanted to ask again-“

“What the fuck happened to you?” Monica burst into laughter.

The excitement was immediately expelled from Jen, pushed out by a rush of embarrassment. “Nothing,” she sputtered. “About those clothes-“

“Nothing my ass!” Monica pushed up on her toes and measured her head against Jen’s. “You turned from a little weirdo to a giant freak over the weekend!”

“No, I... it’s just that...”

“Cynthia! Emma!” Monica yelled to two of their coworkers nearby. “Look what happened to that weird little nerd girl!” She pointed a finger right in the center of Jen’s forehead. “She turned into a fucking giant!”

“I’m not a giant.” Jen said softly. She folded her arms over her chest and shrank down, slumping her shoulders as the others approached.

“Jen, you’re huge!” One of the other coworkers - Cynthia - said. “What happened to you?”

“I don’t know... I mean nothing happened... I just...” Jen stepped back from them toward the dressing rooms. This had all come completely undone in a matter of seconds. Jen couldn’t even muster the courage to continue with her questioning of Monica again. Bigger or not, she still came apart at the slightest bit of confrontation. “Nevermind. Forget it.”

Jen turned, stumbling a bit over her enlarged feet. She grabbed a shelving display, almost pulling it down in the process of steadying herself.

“Timber!” Monica hollered as Jen hurried back to the dressing rooms.

***

Mortified by her confrontation with Monica, and petrified of coming in contact with her coworkers again, Jen spent the rest of the day hiding the the storage room.

She sat on a box of clothes with her head in her hands. The same box which barely registered her weight a couple days ago, now sagged under her enlarged body. She couldn’t stay back there forever, eventually someone was going to find her and she’d actually have to go and do her job. Jen didn’t know how she was going to survive out there. 5’8” would have been fine, maybe even six feet even, enough to not be looked down on by everyone, but still normal sized. But this was too much.

Jen was too much.

Monica was right - Jen was freakishly big now and lightning rod for attention of all the wrong kind.

“Hey, can you help me out?” A voice said, breaking Jen train of thought.

Jen looked up, it was her other coworker, Emma, standing in front of a row of tall shelves. She was pretty short, not as short as Jen had been, but probably around 5’3”. “Me?” Jen pointed to herself.

“Yeah.” Emma pointed to a box on the top shelf. “I can’t find the stepstool, but you’re probably tall enough to reach.”

“Um... probably.” Jen rose to her feet, towering over Emma. The smaller girl’s head just reached Jen’s shoulder. Jen reached up and grabbed the box, not even needing to push up on her toes. It was so small and light in her hands. She would have barely been able to lift it from the floor just days ago.

Jen placed the box in Emma’s arms, whose knees buckled a little at the weight.

“Thanks, Jen,” Emma said, backing her way out of the storage room. She paused for a second. “I hope Monica doesn’t get away with stealing those clothes,” she said. “I’ve got your back if you need it.”

Jen smiled back. “Thanks, Emma.”

As soon as Emma left, someone else entered the storage room. It was the boss - Monica’s mother and the store manager Diana Keller. “There you are.” Diana seemed completely unfazed by Jen’s size change. She scrolled through something on her tablet. “It’s come to my attention that some items went missing from inventory last week.” She glanced up from the tablet at Jen. “Did you know about this?”

“Yes.” Jen said softly.

“My records show the missing items were checked into inventory late Friday.” Diana tapped the pad. “Only one other person has access to change those records besides me.” Her gaze didn’t break from Jen. “You know how this looks, right?”

“I didn’t steal anything!” Jen burst into tears. The overwhelming everything from the past few days just broke through her emotional breakers. “I marked them found because I was too scared to accuse anyone else of stealing them.”

“This is a fireable offense, Jen.”

“I know. Please, I’m so so sorry.” Jen blubbered. She took a few steps toward Diana, who while didn’t take a full step I retreat, did lean back and raise her gaze to meet Jen towering height. “I really need this job.” Jen clasped her hands in plea. “Please. Please. Please”

Diane tapped her pad again. “You’ve been a fine employee outside of this incident, so I’m willing to give you another chance. But I’ll be double checking your inventory counts.”

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Keller!” As she watched Diana exited the storeroom, a new emotion entered Jen.

Anger.

Jen rubbed the remaining tears away and went out into the store. Monica was by the registers, just standing there on her phone while a line of customers formed.

Jen stormed up to Monica. “Why?” Her face was hot, body trembling.

“Why what?” Monica said without looking up.

“Why are you trying to get me fired?”

Monica shrugged, still looking down at her phone.

“What did I ever do to you anyway?” Jen asked. “Why are you so mean to me?”

Monica didn’t even bother a shrug in response.

Something in Jen just snapped then. She grabbed the phone out of Monica’s hands without any resistance, a surely impossible feat just days ago. “Look at me when I’m talking, you.. you..” her fist tightened around the phone. “You fucking brat!” Jen hurled the phone to the ground and stomped it with her enormous sandaled foot.

Monica did finally look at her, then to the phone, then back up at Jen. “Oh you so fired now, you giant freak. And you’re going to buy me a new phone too!” Monica shoved past Jen toward her Mom’s office.

Jen lifted her foot, saw the smashed phone and was flooded immediately with regret. She reached out toward Monica. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to...” A twinge of electricity tickled Jen’s belly and spread through her body. Frightening familiar but not entirely unwelcome - that savagely sensual pulse in her groin. Jen’s fingers tingled and continued to extend outward. They grew longer, stretching for Monica as she disappeared amongst the clothing racks.

The new dress tightened around Jen’s body, clinging to her slight curves. Her thighs pushed out, still thin, but widening in scale with with rest of her body. Her dress slowly rose up past her knees as her whole body stretched taller and taller. It teared open at the seams on each side as her thighs and butt became too wide to contain. Jen desperately tired to tug her dress down, but only made it worse. The tears split completely up to her waist exposing her pale white thighs, the back of her dress now a flap that just barely cover her butt cheeks.

The top the dress further constrained Jen shoulders and chest, short sleeves hiked up and tore away she grew broader and thicker. Her still proportionally small breasts filled the front of the dress shrinking around her body. She went braless, since Annie was unsure what size would fit Jen’s magnified frame. Her nipples were flush to the silky fabric, hard and sensitive as her body was alight with an overwhelming mix of emotions. She tried the pull the dress looser with lengthening fingers, but her body would not cooperate, pressing against and stretching the fabric without mercy.

Popping sounds drew Jen’s attention to the floor. The straps of her sandals had broken open, giving relief her growing feet. Her toes spilled out over the edge of diminishing sandals, heels stretching out in the other direction. Her sandals were completely overwhelmed in a matter of moments, her feet stretching longer and longer as the floor descended further away. The sensation of the sandal shrinking beneath her foot, sinking into the softness of her sole as her body’s weight increased was strange and scary and stimulating all at once. Jen’s feet kept expanding, her heel beginning to overtake Monica’s busted phone as well, crunched under her mounting mass.

Jen looked up and saw her coworkers and the customers all starting at her. Not a single one was taller that her bust line. And half of them had their phones up, recording Jen and the aftermath of her largest growth spurt yet.

Jen stared down as coworkers and customers encircled her, she was like a mountain peak among rolling hills - literally everyone in the store looked up in awe of the woman who just grew about two feet taller in front of them.

“Please put your phones away,” Jen said softly. She folded her arms across her chest, trying to cover up breasts poking through her skin tight dress. Judging by her perspective compared everyone around her, she had to be about 8 feet tall, far taller than she could have possibly imagined just days ago.

“Please.” Jen took a long step toward the nearest customer recording her. Jen’s shredded skit hiked up and further exposed her butt as her thickened thighs threatened to tear the whole dress in half. Her bare foot landed with a heavy thud, and the customer retreated a couple steps, eyes widening at the giant approaching Jen.

“Sorry.” The customer stuffed her phone back in her bag. Jen didn’t mean to scare her, Jen was just as scared as anyone, but her sheer size and imposing height was intimidating alone. No one had ever been intimidated by Old Jen. Who would be scared of a slight woman under five feet tall with zero self confidence? But Eight Foot Jen? Growing Eight Foot Jen? Who wouldn’t be?

“Thank you,” Jen said with a smiled she hoped was friendly, but more likely just awkward. She watched the others put their phones away as well, eyes still locked on Jen, waiting for her next action.

An honest smile quirked Jen’s lips. She had stood up to Monica and put her in her place. She asked these people to do something and they obeyed her immediately. This was what she wanted, right? People to notice her? To listen to her? She didn’t want people to fear her, though. Jen had been so tormented, so trapped by fear her entire life, she never wanted to inflict that kind of pain on anyone else.

Jen’s eyes locked with Emma, the coworker she helped in the storeroom. Emma must have noticed Jen’s quick smile, because she was smiling back herself. She gave Jen and short nod, as if to say you got this.

“And then she took my phone and smashed it!” A screeching voice came from behind Jen. Monica marches out from the back with her mother in tow, the former red-eyed, cheeks flush with tears. She stormed up to Jen, completely unfazed by her latest growth spurt.

Monica pointed up at Jen extending her arm all the way to reach. Jen had to tilt her head down, chin almost touching her sternum to see Monica’s face beneath the slight sight swell of her breasts. Jen was a good two feet taller than Monica, far taller that Monica had ever been compared to her.

“You owe me a new phone, giant freak!” Monica wailed. “You’re a monster! Mom! Fire her! Call the cops, she’s going break something else! Or worse!”

Jen flinched. “Don’t say that.” She glanced around at the others, still staring at her. “I’m not a freak or a monster. I don’t know why this happening to me, but I promise I won’t hurt anyone.”

“Bullshit!” Monica screamed. “You all saw her! She went crazy and smashed my phone! Now she’s even bigger! She’s gonna be big enough to step on a person soon! She’ll be able to smash a whole car or something!”

Jen blanched. “I would never! And I won’t get that big!” Surely she wouldn’t. Jen glanced down a Monica’s smashed phone by her expanded feet. A whole person beneath her once tiny foot? A car in crushed in her hand like on that movie poster? It was impossible. Wasn’t it? Jen’s heart raced. Even though she wasn’t growing again, the store felt like it was shrinking down around her. Why couldn’t she get that big? Eight feet should have been an impossibility, and yet here she was. Was there a limit to how big she could get? A person underfoot? A car? A building? A city?

Jen gulped back sickness in her throat. She had to get out of there.

Jen looked past Monica to her mother. “I’m sorry for causing a scene, Mrs. Keller.” She pushed Monica aside with ease, one hand moving her out of the way like she was a child.

An audible gasp emanated from the rest of her coworkers and customers as Jen stepped toward them. Each step made a heavy slap against the concrete store floor and her coworkers and customers parted to make way as Jen approached. Jen cheeks were ablaze as they stared up at her tattered clothes and exposed body. “Sorry for scaring anyone too.”

Jen ducked slightly to avoid banging her head on the store’s entrance. She went out into the mall where she was greeted with more stares. Luckily it was still morning and mostly empty, but the few people there were enthralled by the eight foot woman emerging from the store.

She picked up her paced. Faster steps fostered louder ones, her bare feet thudded against the mall floor and she was almost at a sprint to the exit. Widening strides further destroyed her already wrecked dress, the people behind her got a full view of her pale butt as the tattered dress flap rose with each step. Jen pushes the front down with her hand in an attempt to avoid similar exposure of her crotch.

The mall doors flew open as Jen pushed with increased strength. She gazed out into the parking lot from her much higher vantage. “Where is my-“ Jen’s stomach sank deeper. In her haste she forgot to grab her bag with keys, phone, wallet and just about everything else she owned. She glanced back at the mall doors. She couldn’t go back. She couldn’t face everyone again with their ogling stares and fearful faces. She couldn’t handle being called a monster by Monica again.

“You probably can’t even drive safely at this size,” she tired to rationalize with herself. She didn’t have a phone to call Annie to come get her either. She was stuck. Jen turned back to the parking lot. “Maybe I can just walk home. It’s only a few miles I think. Annie can pick up my stuff when she gets home.”

“Hey.” A voice somewhere below Jen said. She looked down to her right and saw Emma lifting Jen’s bag up to her. “You forgot this.” Jen hadn’t even noticed her leaving the mall.

Jen took the bag, the strap was so small in her hand, it weighed so little to her now. She smiled down at Emma, who was absolutely diminutive compared to her. Emma’s frizzy haired head just reached Jen’s navel. And to think Jen had been even shorter than her just days ago!

“Thanks, Emma.” Jen rifled around in the bag and pulled out her keys. They were so small in her hand, each finger - even her pinkie - were almost twice as long as the car key, her middle finger just a smidge longer.

“I haven’t taken my break yet. I can drive you and your car home, if you want,” Emma offered.

Jen thought for a moment. She could call Annie, or have Emma call her, imagining how cumbersome it would likely be for Jen with her huge fingers and comparatively tiny phone. She always called Annie for help, always relied on her to bail Jen out of any jam. Not this time. “That would be so great.” Jen’s fingers dropped the keys into Emma’s waiting palm. “I hope I can squeeze in the back seat.”

Jen and Emma made it to the car, an aging compact sedan that Jen absolutely towered over. Jen pulled the back passengers side door open as gently as possible and crouched down to gauge the space inside. Emma was already pulling the front seats as forward as they went.

Jen shimmied her way into the back seat, shoving her long legs in first, bare feet pressed against the other door. She shuffled her shoulders through, ducking her head as she slipped in. She tucked her knees up, soles of her feet pressed against one door, dirty toe prints making impressions on the window. Her was head pressed precariously against the roof. Jen felt that if she even breathed too deep, her body would explode out of the car, but she fit. Just as long as she didn’t grow again.

Emma peeked back at her in the rear view mirror. “You good?”

“Good enough.”

***

Jen and Emma stood in the by the door of Jen’s apartment. Jen had to duck to get in and her top of her head almost grazed the ceiling.

“You were awesome back there.” Emma looked up at Jen with an expression she rarely saw. Admiration. “Monica deserves to get put in her place.”

Jen smiled and averted her eyes from Emma’s glowing face. “Thanks, but I’m probably getting fired as we speak.”

“Who cares, you’re better than that job. Bigger that it!” Emma said with a broad grin.

Jen offered a strained smile back. “I don’t think my roommate would like having to cover the rent all by herself. I really should probably call her, actually.” Jen plucked her phone out of the bag, the whole device fit comfortably in her palm. There were over a dozen missed calls and unread messages from Annie.

The most recent message said: “dude you’re going viral”

Below was link to a video with the title “NSFW GIANT GIRL GOES CRAZY AT STORE”. The thumbnail picture was of Jen screaming at Monica right before she smashed her phone. Panic gripped her. The look on her face was terrifying - red and wide eyed, mouth contorted with rage, veins in her neck bugling. Jen didn’t know that kind of anger existed inside her. And she hated it. Guilt over how scary she must have seemed to everyone at the store and now everyone who saw the video online.

She pressed one huge, shaking finger to the link and opened the video. “No.” Jen whispered as she saw the view count. Over 2,000 in the last hour alone.

Jen’s big secret wasn’t so secret anymore.