Natalie took a deep breath and headed back toward the kitchen, but she was no longer in the mood to finish her snack. She had a lot of frustration built up that she felt she needed to let out. She suddenly remembered the tiny man in her sock upstairs. She smiled as she realized that he would be the perfect tool to release her frustration on. “Aubreigh, honey, I think I’m going to go lay down for a little bit, I have a terrible headache.”

“But it’s only 6:30,” Aubreigh said.

“I know,” Natale responded, “but I’ll be back down later, I’ll be back.”

“Okay mom, sounds good,” Aubreigh said, smiling at her.

Natalie went upstairs, leaving Aubreigh and her tiny friends and siblings to themselves. Kelly and the six other tinies were hard at work on Aubreigh’s feet, nearly all the nails were smoothed out and the ridges were softened. It was a surreal sight to see all of them crawling and working around her toes. She felt bad at first, especially when she thought about what it might smell like for them. But she had to admit, it did feel amazing, and the job was looking fantastic. Aubreigh still couldn’t believe she was letting this happen, but Kelly was doing a really fantastic job, especially at managing the others. Aubreigh couldn’t remember a time when the skin around her toenails looked so pristine. 

Aubreigh noticed the somber tone down below. She wanted to address what had just happened with her mom, but she couldn’t think of the right words to say. She thought about it for a few minutes, not saying anything in the meantime. She just sat there in silence as her tiny friends and siblings worked. 

Finally, Kelly spoke up. “Okay Aubreigh, we’re all done with prep on your toes before paint is applied. The only other thing to do is your soles and heels.”

“My soles and heels?” Aubreigh asked.

“Yeah, we also service your heels as well, and remove any dead, dry, or cracked skin,” Kelly explained.

“But my heels aren’t dry, or cracked,” Aubreigh said.

“Maybe not from your vantage point, Aubreigh,” Kelly said, “but there is still a lot we can do to spruce them up. But we usually have a special platform for people to put their feet on. So maybe, would you mind laying on your stomach for us instead?”

“Um, sure, whatever helps you out,” Aubreigh said, sipping the last of her wine. The thought to protest what she felt was an unnecessary task didn’t really cross her mind. She just did whatever Kelly asked of her. Aubreigh stood up and knelt down to the floor, making sure that her tiny friends were out of the way. She grabbed a pillow from the couch and laid down on her stomach, resting her head on the pillow. “This good?”

“Yeah, perfect,” Kelly said, standing before the titanic teen’s upturned soles.

“What are we supposed to do now?” Thomas asked, standing before his sister’s toes, looking up at the vast terrain of her sole.

“Well, if you and Nate could go to her heels, me and the girls will bring you the tools we need to use,” Kelly said. It was hard work filing and smoothing out someone's heels, and Kelly wanted the guys to do it since they were much stronger.

“Well, I guess we’re not out of the woods yet,” Thomas said, shaking his head at the absurdity of having to climb his sister’s soles.” He was still in a somber mood after having watched his mom crush his game console, but Nate had been working the whole time to cheer him up and take his mind off his mother. 

Nate appealed to Thomas’s competitive nature and jabbed him in the arm. “Come on,” he said, “I’ll race ya to the top.” Nate ran toward Aubreigh’s right sole and started climbing over the giant toes.

“Oh, you’re on!” Thomas said, snapping back to life. He ran to his sister’s left sole and hopped up and over her massive toes. Nate had an obvious head start on Thomas and was already crawling on the soft skin of Aubreigh’s sole. The one nice thing about this was that, since his sister was laying on her stomach, there were lots of soft wrinkles created on her normally silky-smooth soles, so there were lots of footholds for them. 

“Oh, that feels so crazy weird!” Aubreigh said, flinching reflexively, causing Nate to tumble down and land between two of Aubreigh’s toes. He quickly pulled himself out and got back onto her sole. He looked over at Aubreigh’s other foot and saw that Thomas had made it up to where he was before he had fallen down.

“Sucks to be you!” Thomas yelled over as he crawled up his sister’s sole, quickly finding solid footing in her wrinkles.

“What happened, is everything okay back there?” Aubreigh asked, shifting uncomfortably. The two boys on her soles fell down into the wrinkles, grabbing on so they didn’t tumble back down to her toes.

“Yes!” Kelly called. “Everything is fine, just try not to move!”

“Oh, sorry!” Aubreigh called out. The tiny movements on her feet tickled but she powered through it, staying as still as possible for them. Kelly started to think that this wasn’t a good idea as the tiny boys kept crawling and climbing higher and higher until they reached Aubreigh’s heels. The wrinkles in her sole were no longer a source of help because her heels were smooth and round. Having fallen once already, Nate was a little more cautious, deciding to army crawl to the top instead of dashing for it like Thomas did. 

When Thomas made it to the top of Aubreigh’s heel, he pumped his fists in victory as Nate was still trying to work his way up. “Hey, that’s not fair!” he yelled. “Your sister intervened!”

“That’s what you get for taking a head start,” Thomas laughed, “and you still lost!”

“Whatever…,” Nate said, making his last few moves toward the top. 

“How do they look, guys?” Kelly asked. The two boys looked around, realizing for the first time how high Aubreigh’s heels were in the air, if they fell off, it would be at least a 20ft drop to the floor.

“Honestly, they look fine,” Thomas said.

“Yeah, nice and smooth, super soft,” Nate added. “There are no cracks or dry skin or anything.”

“So, do we even have to do anything up here, or what?” Thomas asked.

Kelly turned toward the other girls. “Listen, I think it’s too dangerous for us to bring tools up there. But if I don’t do everything in the package that Mrs. Beaumont ordered, I don’t know if she’ll pay me.”

“But she’s not even here right now,” Carmen said, stating the obvious.

“Right,” Kelly nodded, “so maybe we can make Aubreigh just think we did it. If we all go up there and massage her feet a little bit, I don’t think she’ll be able to tell the difference.”

“Why don’t we just tell Aubreigh it’s too dangerous,” Chloe said, gesturing up to the vast soles, “she’ll understand. She won’t say anything to Mrs. Beaumont about it.”

“I just can’t take that risk guys,” Kelly said, “I have a lot riding on this.”

“And you’re willing to take a risk on Aubreigh not being able to tell a difference between a massage and smoothing her skin?”

“Yeah,” Kelly said, “that’s actually one thing we do a lot, most of our clients can’t tell the difference anyways.”

“Man…,” Chloe snorted with laughter, “I’m really regretting you coming over...”

“I know…,” Kelly grimaced, “sorry about that. But please know, I really appreciate it.”

“Yeah, it’s okay,” Carmen said, “let’s just get this over with.”

The girls, including Kelly, crawled over Aubreigh’s toes and set to work massaging the vast expanse of soft flesh. 

“What’s going on guys?” Nate asked.

“We’re massaging Aubreigh’s feet, what does it look like?” Chloe said, pressing her hands into her giant friend’s sole.

“This day just keeps getting worse and worse…,” Thomas said.

“I’m sorry about your Nintendo Micro, man,” Nate said.

“It’s okay,” Thomas said. “I just realized that it will actually be more fuel against her for when we tell our dad. And besides, he’ll get us a new one.”

“Do you think he will believe you?”

“Pretty hard to argue against a smashed Nintendo Micro, dude,” Thomas responded confidently. “So that will lend credibility to all the other stories.”

“Yeah…,” Nate sighed, “I guess you’re right.”

For the next two minutes, the tiny teenagers worked hard to massage the vast soles of the teenage girl. They pressed their little arms into her wrinkles and even jumped up and down to get to her muscles underneath her skin. “Mmmm,” Aubreigh moaned, “I don’t know what you guys are doing back there, but it feels fantastic. I’m really surprised. I’m glad you talked me into this, Kelly…”

Chloe climbed up Aubreigh’s sole toward her boyfriend. “I bet your crush on Aubreigh is coming in handy now, isn’t it?”

“No…,” Nate scoffed. “I don’t wanna be around her feet at all. I’m just doing this because I don’t wanna make Aubreigh or Mrs. Beaumont upset.”

“Yeah…,” Chloe said, “it makes me wonder if this is what Mrs. Beaumont had in mind when she asked Ben to try and convince us to help Aubreigh out tonight. Like, did she think we should encourage her to GET a pedicure from a tiny? Or was she thinking that there was a chance that we might have to help GIVE the pedicure?”

“I don’t know…,” Nate sighed, laughing. “I don’t even think Ben understood what was going on…”

“I hope he’s okay out there…,” Chloe said.

“Okay guys, time to come down now,” Kelly yelled out loud. “It’s time to put the paint on her toes and call it done.”

“What?” Aubreigh asked, “time for paint you said?”

“No, wait!” Kelly said, before falling down as Aubreigh shifted. “Not yet, Aubreigh!”

Aubreigh couldn’t hear her tiny voice anymore and started getting up. The tiny people scurried down Aubreigh’s soles as fast as they could, tripping over her wrinkles and rolling down to her toes. The colossal teenager flipped over and sat up. Her heels firmly planted on the ground and her toes were hovering in the air. She expected to see her tiny siblings and friends at a safe distance, but they were writhing on the floor between her feet, catching their bearings, having spilled out from her toes when she started rotating.

“What happened?” Aubreigh asked, in a panic.

“You turned over before we were ready,” Kelly said, standing up.

That’s when Aubreigh noticed her tiny brother holding on to her toe for dear life. She raised her eyebrows in surprise and quickly put her hand under him. “It’s okay little bro, I got you,” she said. He let go and fell right into his sister's giant palm. She gently set him down on the floor by her feet with the others.

“Aubreigh, what the hell is wrong with you?!” he scolded her, looking up at her colossal face.

Aubreigh rolled her eyes and shoved Thomas down with her toes. “Shhh!” she said, closing her eyes and holding a crooked finger up to her mouth, “I’ve had enough of you for one night, Thomas.”

“Aubreigh?” Thomas whimpered, looking up at his titanic sister. What was she doing, he wondered.

“Now Kelly,” Aubreigh said, pausing and putting her hands together as she tried to think of the words to say. “What do we need to do to help you finish up?”

The tiny teens on the floor couldn’t believe what was happening. Why wasn’t Aubreigh asking about the close call? Why wasn’t she seeing if they were all okay? And why in the world was Aubreigh talking so funny.

“I just need to put the paint on,” Kelly said, looking around. “But I can’t find the spacers anywhere, there should have been more bags. There were some inflatable spacers with this stuff.”

“Why don’t you just use them?” Aubreigh asked.

“Use what?” Kelly asked, confused.

“Them,” Aubreigh said again, gesturing toward the floor.

“Them?” Kelly asked in shock, looking around at the others.

“Yeah,” Aubreigh said, closing her eyes and licking her dry lips. “I read an article or something one time and…” Aubreigh paused to stretch and yawn, “it said that sometimes, some people will use tinies for spacers...um… like, for their toes.”

“Oh my god,” Julia said, “I think Aubreigh is drunk or something!”

“But she’s only had one glass of wine, and it’s not even empty yet!” Nate said in disbelief.

“Aubreigh is a super light-weight,” Thomas said, “and she almost never drinks because this is how she gets. She’s fuckin toasted right now.”

Kelly spoke up to the sloshed teenager. “Aubreigh, I can’t use your friends or brother and sister as toe spacers, that wouldn’t be okay.”

“What wouldn’t be okay?” Aubreigh asked, scrunching her face as if she were confused by Kelly’s words.

“Using your friends and siblings as toe spacers!” she shouted back up to her.

“Use my friends and siblings as toe spacers?” Aubreigh asked, slurring her words. “That…” she said, pausing, “sounds like a FANTASTIC idea!” She raised her eyes and smiled. “You know, I’ve actually read about people using… um, you little people, the tinies, for stuff like that.” Aubreigh shook her head disapprovingly, “I think that is totally MEAN! bUT luckiLY…” she yawned again, “I am nice and will not be mean to you...” She covered her mouth and started giggling as her face started to turn flush.

“Aubreigh, I don’t think that’s necessary, besides I don’t think we need them because your toes and toenails are so well shaped,” Kelly interjected again, “So I don’t think that’s fair to these guys.”

“Nuh, nuh, uh...” Aubreigh said, raising her eyes and holding her finger up to shush the tiny, “I’m the boss! So THAT means… you have to do whatever I sss-shay…” 

“Aubreigh, sis,” Thomas said, “you’re not thinking clearly. You would never do this!”

Aubreigh scrunched her face and frowned her lips. She moved her toes over her tiny brother and set them down on him, smushing him against the floor. “I told you,” she said as he squirmed and wiggled under her toes, “I’ve had enough of you, little bro…, you’re always so mean to me and mom.”

“Aubreigghgh…” he coughed, “-that ish rediculoush!”

“If the rest of you don’t wanna end up like my little brother here,” she yawned and smiled, “then you need to do what I say, cuz I’m the boss, right Kelly?”

“Right,” Kelly said, fearful of what might happen if she disagreed again. She couldn’t say she was surprised. Seeing Aubreigh Beaumont like this was eye opening to her. She realized that deep down, Aubreigh must have some demons that she was suppressing. It just seemed as if Aubreigh had a better handle on hers than most. That is, unless she had been drinking. “Guys, I’m sorry, I don’t know what else to do,” Kelly said apologetically.

“I hate my life,” Carmen said, walking over toward the giant girl’s fourth and pinky toe, wedging herself deep in between them. Aubreigh spread her toes and let her tiny friend wiggle in. Once again, after Carmen took the lead, the rest followed suit. They were tired and depressed, but they were counting on all this being over soon.

“Come onnnn,” Aubreigh said, yawning, “don’t be ssshy now… get in between all my toes... I don’t want any paint… any shkin on the pant… er, any paint on the shkin...” Her speaking was getting worse, but the tinies still complied with her commands. They weren’t sure what the drunken Aubreigh was capable of, and they didn’t want to find out either. 

Carmen was between Aubreigh’s pinky and fourth toes, Chloe was between her fourth and third toes, and Nate was stationed between her third and second toes. No one needed between her big and second toes since there was more than enough room. And as Kelly had pointed out earlier, there was really no need for any of them at all, but they were trying to appease the giant teenage girl.

Sofia and Julia walked over to her other foot still pinning Thomas down. Aubreigh smiled and lifted her foot, releasing her brother from the hot prison under her sweaty toes. As soon as he stood up, she spread her toes and thrust her foot forward, catching him between her middle toes. She snorted with laughter at the surprised look on his tiny face. Sofia crawled in between the giant’s pinky and fourth toes while Julia forced herself between her giant sister’s second and third toes.

Kelly quickly got the applicator and dipped it into the paint, trying not to waste any time. Aubreigh scrunched her toes together, eliciting gasps and shrieks from the tinies between them.

“Ooops… sorry guys,” she mumbled. Toe after toe, Kelly painted the nails of the giantess. She couldn’t believe that her and Aubreigh were roughly the same age, but here she was, having to serve her. She got depressed just thinking about it, but she tried not to let that slow her down. The faster she could get done, the sooner she could get paid and get out of here.

“Aubreigh, you have to hold still!” Kelly yelled as Aubreigh scrunched her toes again, squeezing her tiny friends and siblings. The giant girl threw Kelly off balance with the awkward applicator each time she squeezed, scrunched, or flexed her toes.

“Shorry…,” Aubreigh whispered with sleepy eyes, “all you little tinies keep tickling me…”

“I’m almost done, Aub,” Kelly sighed, “I’m on your last toe now…”

Kelly didn’t get a response from the teenager, so she just kept working. After a few more minutes, she finished the last stroke and stepped back to look at her work. And honestly, aside from the tiny people wedged between the giant teen’s toes, Kelly was really happy with everything.

“Aubreigh,” she said, “everything is done! Just be careful as they dry!” Kelly looked up at the titaness of a girl sitting on the couch. Her eyes were closed completely now, and drool was starting to creep out from her lips. “Aubreigh?” she asked. The only response she got was the sound of snoring from her.

“She’s asleep!” Carmen yelled. “Come on, let’s get out while we can.”

“I’m stuck!” yelled Chloe.

“I can’t get out either!” Sophia cried.

“Hold on, I’m coming,” Kelly said, walking up to one of them. She grabbed their arms and pulled as hard as she could, even leveraging herself against the colossal toes.

“Ah! You’re going to tear me apart!” Carmen said.

“For fucks sake!” Thomas yelled. “We’re stuck! Stuck between my sister’s giant fucking toes!”

“Hold on,” Kelly said, ‘let me try to get a better angle.”

But before she could say anything else, Aubreigh slumped over on the couch, laying on her arm. She moaned as she repositioned to get more comfortable. In the process, she lifted her legs up and set one on the arm of the couch and the other on the coffee table. The tiny people stuck between her toes screamed in unison as her foot flew through the air. Kelly was lost, she didn’t know what to do. 

 The giant teenager’s right foot was resting on the coffee table with her toes sticking upward. If the tinies could escape, they could probably crawl down her foot to safety, but the issue would be wedging themselves free in the first place. But Aubreigh’s left foot, however, was hanging out over the arm of the couch, if any of the tinies fell out now, they would likely fall to their deaths. 

Kelly was unsure what to do and was thinking of a game plan when she heard the familiar sound booming of footsteps coming down the stairs. She turned around to see a much more relaxed Natalie Beaumont standing at the base of the stairs. She had a dreamy look on her face as she approached Kelly’s diminutive form.

“So…,” Natalie chuckled, “what happened here, Kelly?” She looked around the floor at the tools spread everywhere and then at her sleeping daughter. “She passed out, huh?” Natalie laughed. “That must mean you did a good job. Well, let’s see how well you did, shall we?” 

Natalie looked at her daughter's feet, her bare soles facing her, and noticed movement. Natalie paused and her eyes grew wide. “What in the world?” Natalie said as she burst into laughter. She completely disregarded the tiny girl on the floor and walked over toward Aubreigh’s feet to inspect a little closer. 

Her foot came down dangerously close to Kelly, nearly stepping on her, but the giant woman paid no notice. Natalie’s step, however, did crush many of the tools and equipment into oblivion, which of course, she didn’t notice either. Kelly briefly panicked and wondered what she would tell the resort about the destroyed equipment.

With a smile on her face, Natalie laughed in shock in awe as she watched the tiny teenagers wiggling and squirming between her daughter’s toes. “Oh my god! You guys! Whatever are you doing there!”

“Aubreigh made us be her toe spacers for Kelly!” Thomas yelled up to his mom. “But she fell asleep, can you please let us out now?”

“This was Aubreigh’s idea?” Natalie scoffed. “Well, I’m certainly glad to see you’re listening to your sister and working along with the others, Thomas.”

“Can you let us out now, please?” he asked again desperately.

“Oh, no can do,” Natalie said, wincing. “You see guys, the paint is still drying and if I take you out now, then it might smudge on her toes. And we wouldn’t want that would we?” Natalie snickered to herself and stood back up to her full height. “Just hang tight for now. I just came down to get Benjamin and bring him inside.”

“What about me, Mrs. Beaumont?” the tiny girl at her feet asked.

“Ah, yes,” Natalie said, smiling, “about you…”

***

Back outside, Ben was depressed. The thrilling experience of being belittled and dismissed by Mrs. Beaumont had faded away. All that was left was the humiliating feeling of defeat. His heart had sunk into his stomach as he spent most of his time outside trying to think of what he did to upset the giant woman so badly that she would treat him in such a humiliating way. He had been outside for close to an hour and was starting to think that no one was coming back for him. He didn’t understand why. Surely, the others would have told Aubreigh about him. Right?

“Hello?” said a voice from the end of the driveway. Ben looked over to see the sight of another tiny woman coming up toward him and the closed door.

“Um, hello?” Ben called out to her. “Can I help you?”

“This is Condo number 333, correct,” she asked, “for Beaumont?”

“Yeah?” Ben said.

“I’m looking for my daughter, Kelly Chen,” the woman said. “Is she inside?”