Eraser shavings fell to the ground, I blew them from my page. A low shot of Maxine stared back at me, I hadn’t stopped thinking about being shrunken by her since Friday. I tried my best to capture her features, down to the most minute detail, adding stylistic flair where appropriate. It was lunchtime on Wednesday and I hadn’t seen her all week, my withdrawals drew me to depict her enlarged form in my notebook.

I squinted against the bright sun, enjoying the cool breeze against my face, I sat on a bench in a park a few minutes from school, the place I spent most of my lunches. Why would I sit alone in the cafeteria if I could be alone here. Looking back at my page, I continued to shade Maxine’s hair.

“Yah!”

Large hands suddenly gripped my shoulders and I let out an embarrassing squeal. Without thinking, I scrambled to cover up the portrait I had drawn, I might shrivel up and die if someone saw what I had sketched.

“I finally found you,” Maxine’s voice said from behind, “I was wondering why I never see you at lunch,” she continued as she plopped onto the bench, her thigh touched mine, clearly outsizing it.

My heart was about to leap out of my chest, “umm, hey,” I said, desperately covering up my page, this was not for her eyes.

“Whatcha drawing?” She asked, her blue eyes open and curious.

“Nothing,” I said far too quickly.

Maxine pouted, “c’mon, show me.”

“No, really, it’s-“ the book was snatched out of my hands, “hey!”

Oh no, no, no. This can’t be happening. My face screwed up as I watched her gaze flicker over the image. It wasn’t exactly a lewd drawing, but she was clearly the subject, the subject who was hovering her foot over a city. She’s gonna think I’m obsessed.

“Did you seriously draw me as a giant?” She turned to me with a massive smirk.

“Yeah…” there was no point in lying now, “I did.” In all honesty, I was more distraught than she was about the whole situation, she didn’t look bothered in the slightest, if anything she looked almost proud.

“I’m gonna assume you liked being tiny then,” she said.

Clever assumption Maxine. I burned my eyes against the sun, hoping some higher being would smite me from this situation. “I guess so,” I strained to admit.

“Interesting,” she said sitting back, looking pleased with herself, “I think it’s pretty fitting.” What did she mean by that?

Before I could protest, the stomach churning feeling of shrinking overcame me. I dwindled in my seat next to Maxine, the metal bench became a plateau of cast iron. Taking a moment to ground myself, I gazed at the towering plush wall of her jean covered thigh. She lifted the leg closest to me, revealing the compressed hamstring and one of her thickly built ass cheeks. I only had a split second to stare as the dark blue wall slammed back down.

I was swooped up between her finger and thumb and brought to her trademark smirk, “I hope I don’t have to convince you to come to the final this Friday,” she boomed, the words had a low baritone quality at such close proximity.

“N-no, I was planning on being there,” I squeaked out. I was telling the truth, but if I wasn’t, I’m sure she’d have no trouble convincing me now.

“Good, cause my feet are gonna need some love after I win,” her cocky bravado was shining bright. Maxine glanced upwards and put a finger to her cheek, amidst her thoughts she continued, “maybe I’ll shrink the other team too, have a little group of you guys rubbin’ away.”

I gulped, the thought of Maxine’s lumbering soles towering over a small crowd of people, their stench consuming the atmosphere as we cowered below. She’d be lounging back, cooing at the tiny hands along her heels, as we struggle to ease her muscle aches. I shook my head clear of those thoughts, desperate not to awaken my arousal further. Maxine was right, I really did like being tiny.

“Easy there, pixie,” she said, her face loomed closer, “you think I can’t see your little blushing face?”

I knew this attitude was a façade, but hell, if it wasn’t convincing.

“I can’t exactly hide it, can I?” I was beginning to feel more comfortable with the situation, compared to the first time at least. It still got my adrenaline pumping to be completely and utterly under her grip though.

“Wow, someone’s feeling snappy today,” she laughed. Maxine’s attention dipped, to what I could only assume to be her phone, she groaned, “lunch is almost over, you wanna ride or walk?”

“Ride?” I asked.

“Yeah, in my pocket,” she said.

Now that sounds interesting, “let’s try that.”

Maxine lowered me to her pocket, pulling it aside slightly, she let me crawl in. Releasing the fabric, the rim snapped under my arms and secured me firmly against the bulging muscle of her leg. This was what my mind had been lingering to in moments of boredom, the feeling of pure insignificance against a single part of Maxine’s giant body.

“I’ll be taking this as payment,” she ripped the drawing from my notebook. A horrible deed, my masterpiece wasn’t finished.

We didn’t get to talk much on the way back to school, I’m not so sure my voice would’ve reached her ears. The rhythmic booms that echoed each step didn’t help my case either. I was repeatedly jostled around, my arms were beginning to tire from holding on so tight. A small price to pay for such an extravagant ride.

***

It was Friday night, the rest of the week had gone painstakingly slow, at least every moment that wasn’t spent with Maxine. Those moments seemed to go by in a flash and I’d be left craving more. Now was the night I’ve been looking forward to, Maxine’s grand final. Our suburban school versus one of the inner-city ones, we were the underdogs, this was the only team that had given us trouble. Also quick update, I have become an expert on our women’s basketball team.

Tonight was an away game, the venue; an excessive gymnasium that dwarfed our own. I arrived early, not wanting to suffer from the horrors of bad seating. I sat a row back from the front, the stands around me began to fill with our school colours, the opposite stands were a sea of gold and blue.

The atmosphere was electric as the tip off loomed closer, excited chatter and the occasional banter thrown between schools. I felt on edge, I was nervous for Maxine, this was a big game. If she was serious about getting a scholarship in America she would need to show up tonight.

There they were. One by one the athletes ran out, both teams looked ready to go. Maxine came out last, she had a serious look on her face, this was the first time I’ve seen her wearing a headband. The team began to warm up, passing the ball around and doing lay up lines. My eyes didn’t linger on many of the girls, some of which I knew the names of now, they were set for Maxine and Maxine only. Somehow she made the typically unflattering basketball jersey fit to her body in a way that satisfied me immensely.

Warm up was over, both teams had sent their five out, the population of the gym waited in suspense for the referee. I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat, anticipating that first whistle. I shifted focus to Maxine, she was fidgeting in her place, raring to go. I could tell she was locked in.

The game began, it was fast. It soon became clear that the inner-city girls were good, not only were the individual players skilled but they operated under an efficient system. It was different for us, the girls usually played well together, but at times it was Maxine that would bail them out, without her healthy point injections they tended to struggle. Which was an alarming revelation to have, considering she just missed her sixth field goal attempt.

The opposition was fierce, it was starting to look like we couldn’t keep up, the score differential  consistently worsening throughout the second quarter, Maxine had hit a couple shots, but ultimately looked cold. The frustration clearly getting to her, an audible groan could be heard once or twice after her misses. Loud klaxons signalled the end of the first half.

Maxine would be kicking herself, while she liked to put on an arrogant façade for me, I knew she would only be blaming herself for this performance. The team disappeared into the change rooms for the half-time break, they trailed by 15 points. I spent the next ten minutes scrolling on my phone and eavesdropping on conversations around me, my peers were distressed, what would their support mean if it amounted to nothing at the end of the season. An airhorn signalled the beginning of the end.

Out they walked, evidently drilling their coaches inspiring speech deep into their mind. I locked eyes with Maxine, for a second they softened and I saw the beginnings of a smile before they quickly dashed away. She was focussed, you got this Maxine. The girls gathered in a circle, and with a deafening battle cry, took their place on the court.

There was a fire lit under our team, they were bringing it back, and to the relief of the supporters, the charge was being led by Maxine. It started with a clean three and a few cuts inside, she was feeling it again, her latest shot a circus layup past a defender. Seeing her body, as large as it was, soar so effortlessly through the air was a testament to her talent. She had brought the game within a matter of points.

I cheered each time we scored, particularly for Maxine, I had even begun to have small talk with the guys next to me, any worry of social interaction thrown out the window as we bonded over the prospect of winning the whole competition.

The opposition came out swinging in the fourth, they couldn’t miss, drilling shots from far and close. If not for Maxine’s sudden burst of energy they would’ve run away with it. The score was ramping up, both teams easily outscoring their first half numbers. At painstaking pace, the minutes ticked down, ticking closer to the final buzzer. Maxine was drenched in hard work, barely taking a moment to recover since her hot streak commenced. Yet, with only two minutes left of play, there was no time to rest. She had a game to win.

Shots from either side were beginning to ring out of the hoop, fatigue and panic set in as any shot could turn the tide of momentum. The teams began to trade fouls and free throws until seconds remained, with no more fouls to give and no more timeouts to take, the inner-city team led by only a single point. The stadium was alive with desperate cheers and yelling, both seas of supporters on their feet, eager to not miss a millisecond of gameplay. I could hardly believe the spectacle.

My hands covered the lower half of my face, my eyes wide, we had the final possession. An inbound pass to the point guard, she dribbled up the court eyeing the clock the whole way, this would have to be timed perfectly. She shot a pass to Maxine, who matched up her opponent. With a jab step, she dribbled inside, the defender was no slouch and pushed her towards the baseline.

There were five seconds left.

The incredibly sparse time left urged Maxine into action, on a whim she spun and jumped off her heel, throwing the defender as she leaned back in the air, her arms propped into a shooting pose. Time stopped momentarily, the ball left her flicked out hand and soared through the air. The audience of dropped jaws scrutinised the path of travel.

Bang.

A moment of silence passed before we realised what happened, we erupted into a roaring cacophony of cheers, overwhelming the deafening buzzer that signalled the end. Bodies all around me exploded into celebrations, the guys next to me pulled me in their circle as we jumped about. I couldn’t believe it, she had just hit a fadeaway buzzer beater to win the final. Let’s fucking go Maxine.

On the court, the girls swarmed Maxine, leaping on her back, and showered her with hugs. They chanted school songs, forgetting the pleasantries expected from the winning team. For once in my schooling life, I felt that school pride. Though it was mostly rooted in my awe of Maxine, I couldn’t wait to speak to her.

***

The celebrations had mostly died down, tears of joy and relief had been shed. I lost track of time while caught up in all the commotion, most people had already exited the stadium, yet I stood at the base of the bleachers. Earlier in the day, Maxine had told me to wait for her after the game, and I was eagerly anticipating her arrival.

“Hello, are you Alistair?” said a gentle voice.

I spun to face a lady with curly dirty blonde hair and weirdly familiar facial features, she was around my height. “Hi, yes, that’s me,” who was this mystery woman.

“It’s lovely to meet you, I’m Heather, Maxine’s mother,” she said with a soft smile, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Okay, I probably should’ve been able to garner that from her appearance, wait did she say she’s heard a lot about me? “Oh, it’s nice to meet you too,” I said, at a loss for further small talk topics. Luckily for me, our common interest came barrelling towards us.

“Aliiiii!” Maxine shouted as she crashed into me, her powerful arms wrapped around my body and lifted me onto my tiptoes, “ohmygod, didyouseethat?” She was speaking faster than usual.

“I couldn’t believe it, that was genuinely incredible,” I grinned, forgetting about her mother standing a few metres away, I couldn’t help but feed off Maxine’s infinite energy and I truly was ecstatic for her.

“I know, I know, holy shit, my brain is buzzing I’m so excited,” she spat.

I laughed at her expression, I almost forgot that I was currently being compressed against her sweaty body, her odour would cling to these clothes until I washed them.

She finally caught her breath, “sorry, I really gotta get back to the team, but I wanted to let you know that we’re having a party tomorrow night at Victoria’s house,” she said.

“Oh, really?” I asked, a pang of anxiety struck.

Maxine gripped my shoulders, “I’ll see you there?”

I took a few moments to think, not sure if I could pull that off on such short notice. As if a gift from the gods, all that I had witnessed tonight bear gift of an epiphany. If I truly wanted something with Maxine I couldn’t keep avoiding interactions with her, especially now that there was no excuse to attend her games

I took a deep breath, “yeah, yeah sure. I’ll be there.”

Her sapphire eyes glimmered, she pulled me into another hug, I could tell she was on a high like no other.

“Where’s my thanks?” Heather asked with her arms wide.

Maxine chuckled as she went from enveloping me in her body to her mothers, their tight embrace was heart-warming, “thanks for coming tonight, I almost blew it huh.”

“Yeah, I was about to leave after the first half,” she joked.

The two women pulled away from each other and burst into laughter.

“Okay, I really gotta go now guys, I’ll see you both later,” she shouted over her shoulder as she ran back to the change rooms.

“That girl is something else,” I heard Heather mutter to herself.

That she is Heather, that she is.