Angie gazed around the room in wonder.  Giant furniture was connected by a series of makeshift ladders and tubes of every size imaginable.  It almost looked like a McDonalds play place blown up to incredible proportions.  Angie explored around, just for a moment forgetting the anxiety and fear she had felt since being taken.

Not looking where she was going, she ended up colliding with Faith as she turned the corner.  Faith winced and fell to the floor, clutching her injured leg that Angie had just run head first into.  Angie knew that she had to have been only a little bigger than two inches tall to fit in the locket, and had guessed that Faith was around a foot tall.  But it hadn’t really set in until she was looking up to see Faith’s face even as she was sitting down just how large the size disparity was between the two.  Angie marveled at how tall Faith was until reality crept in to remind her that it was just her that was pathetically small.

Faith gave a disapproving glare to Angie as she massaged her injured leg.  Angie moved over to help, but Faith pulled away.

“I think you’ve done quite enough.  Get some sleep.  We’re both going to need to be up early in the morning, because we both have exams tomorrow.  If you want to do well, you should get some rest.”

Not only did Angie feel bad about accidentally hurting Faith, but the direness of her situation hit her like a ton of bricks.  Tomorrow would be the day she would have to prove herself, or face whatever punishment Duncan would dole out.

Faith stood up and walked over to the bed on the other side of the room.  She reached up over the top of the bed and struggled to pull herself up.   With much grunting and heaving, she finally got onto the mattress as Angie approached the ladder up.  For once, Angie was happy that she was as small as she was so she could climb the ladder.  The second she put her hand of the first rung, Faith looked down from overhead.

“This is my spot.”

It was clear to Angie that Faith was in no mood to share her space after Angie bumped her.  And it was clear to Faith that Angie didn’t want to pick a fight with somebody five times her size, since Angie backed off.  Looking around for something besides the hardwood flooring to sleep on, Angie noticed the dresser adjacent to the nightstand had its top drawer open.  There was even a plastic tube leading in and out of the drawer.  She figured there must be at least some clothes she could use as a makeshift bed.

Angie made the long ascent up the ladder.  Angie wasn’t athletic by any stretch of the imagination, but the fear of plummeting to the floor drove her to push forward.  She found her stamina drained and her will fading, but finally she reached the top.  She felt elated to have pushed through and gotten all the way up.  As she reached the tube, Faith finally noticed where Angie was and stood up on the bed trying her best to stay balanced.

“Angie!  You shouldn’t be up there!  That’s where Emily sleeps!”

Angie felt a little foolish.  Looking back, it was pretty obvious that this drawer wouldn’t be set up this way unless somebody was already using it.  But she didn’t have the energy to make it back down the ladder.  The fall from the top was intimidating, and she didn’t know what to do.  The top of the dresser was even more uncomfortable than the floorboards, and she was starting to panic about how high up she was.  Looking over the edge to the ground, her foot slipped and she fell into the drawer.

Angie got up and held her nose.  The air was so rancid that it was hard to breath.  Looking around, Emily had made very economic use of the living space inside the drawer.  In one corner, she had a pile of dirty socks which she seemed to have fashioned into a bed.  

In the next corner sat an empty bottle cap filled with a bit of water.  Angie wondered if Emily kept it around in case she was thirsty, but as she got closer, it became obvious that this was an improvised latrine.  It hadn’t even occurred to Angie that this would be a problem at her size, but she realized that if she was going to continue being this size, it would need to be something she needed to address.

The third corner of the room contained a few pictures of Duncan, a small crusty sock bunched up into a cushion, and a few ripped up tissues.  Angie was pretty sure she knew what that was about, and decided not to investigate any further

The final corner of the room was dedicated to Emily’s wardrobe with a small hand mirror.  It seems that the outfit she was wearing earlier wasn’t her only one, as she had made herself garments in a variety of sizes and colors.  Angie was in awe of Emily’s craftsmanship, even holding up a few in the mirror to see how they would look on her.  That is until one piece in particular caught her eye.  It was a smooth red skirt with pleating, but what really struck Angie was its size.  Holding it up, Angie tried to wrap the skirt around her pinky, but it was even too small to fit around her pinky at her size.  Angie had been assaulted with feelings of helplessness and hopelessness since she arrived.  But looking at this diminutive skirt made her realize how much worse her situation could, and probably would, become.

While Angie was lost in thought, she suddenly heard the noise of something coming through the tube.  Emily popped down the chute smiling and made her way to the bed.  She jumped into her bed, only to see Angie on the other side of the drawer.  Emily’s relaxed smile turned into a fuming glower as she stormed over to Angie.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here!?!”

“I … I’m sorry, I … I fell, I … I’m sorr-”

“Bullshit!  It’s bad enough that I have to share Duncan’s time with that lanky, emo slut and the dumb bitch that’s licking lint from the bottom of his boot!  Now you think you can walk around like you own the place just because Duncan wants you for one fucking class!?  Not likely, bitch!  I’ve been with Duncan since high school.  We understand each other like nobody else in the world can.  And you really think you can just take my place in this house from me!?!  That Duncan would ever see you the way he sees me!?!”

Angie was flabbergasted.  She didn’t know why Emily saw her as a threat and why she was taking this all so personally.  She wanted to say something but her nerves got the better of her.  It wasn’t as though Emily would really have listened anyway.

“As if!  Why would Duncan want a fat little piggy like you when he can have me?  I’ve always made myself pretty for him, I helped him pass enough classes to get into the college of his dreams, I’ve kept everything neat and tidy for him, and I’m even there for him when he wants to vent his anger on my body!  We were made for each other, and an ugly, chunky little whore like you isn’t going to stop our relationship!”

Angie looked at her naked body in the hand mirror.  She didn’t even like looking at herself clothed.  Having a full view of her imperfections combined with Emily’s scathing words was all too much for Angie.  She started to cry.

“And one more thing.  Don’t you even think of messing up tomorrow’s test like that braindead bimbo Paige did!  Because I’ve been with Duncan through a lot, and I’ve seen him dole out plenty of gruesome punishments that I’d be more than happy to remind him of.  I’ve made sure sluts like you have had horrific deaths before and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again!”

Angie couldn’t control herself.  She scrambled up the tube and ran away from Emily in tears.  Back on top of the dresser, she still couldn’t get down the ladder and didn’t want to return to the drawer.  Faith was already fast asleep.  Still sobbing, she laid down on the rough wooden surface of the dresser and got whatever uneasy sleep she could.