The bass thumped through the street, I gawked as groups of teens streamed into the lit up double storey house. I checked my phone, it was only a quarter past eight and it already looks packed. Maxine had unfortunately forgot to mention the magnitude of this event, there had to have been upwards of 200 people here, and that was all I could tell from the front.

I feel sick, like I should just go home. What if I can’t find Maxine? I’m not well equipped enough for this, even Peter doesn’t go to parties of this size. Agh, I shouldn’t have smoked before I came, my anxiety is going nuts.

Regardless, I needed to settle on a decision, I’ve been standing out here like an idiot for thirty minutes.

By some stroke of luck, I spotted a few of the guys I sat next to at the grand final making their way towards the entrance. It’s now or never. I jogged up to them and said my greetings, which they returned. At least I had some kind of familiarity before entering.

Once inside, my eyes widened, crammed in every corner of the room were people dressed head to toe in a variety of clothing, some eccentric, some fancy, some casual. I was somewhere in the middle, a beige button up and black pants. While awkwardly hanging around the group I came in with, I scanned the room for Maxine. There were so many bodies it was impossible to make anyone out, the pounding thump that travelled through the floorboards overwhelmed my senses.

There were people cutting up lines on the dining table, some clearly off their head already, others were smoking in the living room, a shoddily crafted Gatorade bottle sat across from them. Am I in some kind of TV show, what kind of high school party was this?

Silently, I slipped away from the discussion, not a clue what the topic was. I did my best to stroll through the party as casually as possible not eyeing up any of the sketchy looking dudes. Sipping on one of the beers I stole from my fridge, I scrutinised every tall blonde girl available.

That’s when I locked eyes with Maxine, I didn’t recognise her at first. She broke off from the duo she spoke to, a grin plastered over her face. Her hair was straightened but curled outwards at the ends giving her a cute bob. For the first time I saw her in clothes that weren’t activewear, a white sleeveless top and navy cut off pants, her white Air Force 1’s stomped their way towards me.

“Hey Maxine,” I smiled, though her advance didn’t falter. She gave me what could be described as a bear hug, thanks to both her size and strength, I felt a drop from her drink spill against my back.

“Come meet my friends,” she gripped my wrist and drunkenly pulled me towards the two girls she spoke to before. Even if I wanted to there was no breaking free from this hold.

“This is Jessica,” she pointed to a brunette who was a similar height to her own, “and this is Victoria,” her finger swerved upwards at a towering redhead, she had a couple inches on Maxine. I’d seen both these girls on the court before, but I’d never had a chance to properly appreciate their height until now, especially since it had been boosted by thick soled boots and heels. It was no secret that I wasn’t blessed in the genetics department, I stood at eye level to their shoulders and even lower on Victoria.

Doing my best to speak over an ABBA song, I greeted them both. They leaned down to hug me and I got on my tiptoes to level the playing field, let’s hope nobody saw that.

“There’s a lot of people here tonight,” I said over the volume of the music.

“My parents are away,” Victoria leaned in closer so her voice could be heard, “so I just invited as many people as I could.” Maxine and Jessica erupted into laughter.

“Plus, we’re champions baby!” Maxine shouted as she shoved her cup into the air. The other two followed. In honour of peer pressure, so did I. Jessica manifested a bottle of Vodka from her bag and proclaimed that we do shots.

Pour after pour and I was struggling to keep up with the tall women around me, we’d already downed three and they were going for another one. I shook my head to signal I was done.

“Nooo, Ali, have another,” Maxine grabbed my arm and her friends egged her on.

“Okay, last one,” my own speech was starting to slur in line with the girls. With a final gulp they all cheered, oh the things I do to fit in.

Letting the alcohol set in, we went outside to chat, since we could barely understand each other over the music. Victoria’s backyard was huge, it looked like it backed onto a golf course of some description. Compared to inside, there were huge speakers and a swarm of people bouncing around an undercover area to a variety of certified tunes.

With glazed over eyes I tuned out of the conversation. Watching the mass of bodies move, I said, “we should go dance.”

“Wait, have this first,” Maxine handed me a balled-up piece of paper.

“What is it?” I questioned, rotating it in my fingers.

“It’s a cap,” said Victoria, “Jessica’s sister got ‘em for us. Max told us to get an extra one for you.”

Peter’s words rang through my thoughts, act like you’ve been there before. What a great role model he was. “Oh, cool. Thanks,” I said as we threw them into our mouths.

The rest of the party was a blur, all I can remember was a brief thirty minutes where I felt nauseous before everything descended into positive chaos. I couldn’t tell you how long we spent dancing, though I assume it was a while considering the thick sheen of sweat that coated our skin. We started in a group of four but eventually devolved into the mass of people, Maxine and I danced with strangers for what felt like hours, momentarily breaking from their circles to let ourselves go. Whether it was screaming lyrics in each other’s face or seeing how high we could jump, I didn’t care, I was having the time of my life.

As a song came to a close, I noticed a strange shift in the mood of the party, my ears were ringing so I couldn’t make out the commotion, but I could see the worried look on everyone’s face. Bodies were moving, frantically in all directions. Maxine and I stopped and looked around confused. The music paused and the panicked shouting finally gained a voice.

“Police!”

My brain could hardly comprehend the situation, I gazed upon the hundreds of people packed into the backyard all scrambling to leave, not to mention the hundred that would be crammed in the house. A moment of clarity struck as I considered the noise being blasted into the neighbourhood at what was probably an unforgivable hour.

“Let’s go,” Maxine pushed my back and I stumbled forward, “come on,” she ran ahead of me.

“Wait, but surely the cops cant-“

“Come on!” She shouted, absorbing my arm into hers as she pulled me along.

We hopped the fence and ran into the night, striding across dark green turf towards our freedom. Shouts and yells filled the night’s atmosphere as us and many others put the party further in the distance. Adrenaline coursed through me, I felt like I was running at hyper speed. However, that myth was quickly dispelled as I watched Maxine tear on ahead.

The number of escapees around us dwindled as they fled down their own paths, the light from the house was no longer visible, only the moonlight lit up the trimmed grass. Our sprint slowed to a jog, then to a walk, the only noise our panted breathing and the occasional hoot.

“I think I’m gonna have a heart attack,” I huffed, hands on my knees.

Maxine erupted into hysterics, landing on the grass with her limbs and hair splayed out, “what the fuck just happened.”

“Victoria’s probably screwed, hey,” I said looking back in the direction we came from.

“She’s gonna kill me for not sticking around,” Maxine groaned.

I sat on the grass next to her, “oh well, what can you do.” Suddenly, I remembered the joint Peter rolled for me, luckily it hadn’t been crushed in my pocket. I tapped her on the shoulder, “hey, look what I got.”

“The party lives on,” the blonde half-heartedly threw her fist in the air and woo’d into the midnight sky.

We lit up and laid under the stars, passing the joint back and forth as we recounted the events of the night. Our heads rest close to each other, the warmth of our bodies creating a cosy cocoon on the desolate golf course. Into the night we continued to ramble on about any topic that came to mind, my jaw was starting to tire from the constant chatter.

Silence settled on our conversation, only the sound of our breathing could be heard over the tranquillity.

“Why’d you never properly ask about how I can shrink people?” Maxine said, rolling on her side towards me.

I shrugged, “I don’t know, I didn’t really know what to think of it.”

Maxine’s brow raised, a faux gasp, “are you serious? You have to admit it’s crazy, right?”

“Well…” She did have a point, why had I never asked about this incredible talent she had. I burst into laughter at my obliviousness , “no, no, you’re right, honestly I don’t know why I never asked. I guess I was just nervous.”

“Psh, you’re always nervous,” she snorted.

”Hey!” I nudged her shoulder (she wasn’t wrong though).

Another beat of silence.

“Well, can I ask you a question now?” I asked.

“Sure,” she replied.

“Why’d you start talking to me?” This time, I turned to face her, genuinely intrigued by her answer.

“Uh,” I’d never seen Maxine struggle with a question before, a slight blush appeared on her face. “I just thought you were cute, I guess.”

“Riiight, you waited until halfway through our final year to finally talk to me,” I scoffed.

She rolled her eyes. “You are pretty hard to talk to.”

“Well I’m sorry if my angst intimidated you,” I said. We both giggled.

Our gaze locked. God, her eyes. I could drown in her iris, it was entrancing. The minute twitch of her pupil under the moonlight. Her hand caressed my side, gently pulling me closer. Our faces leaned in, eyes shutting closed as our lips made touch.

Sparks rattled down my spine, an intensely euphoric feeling overcame me as our tongues waged war. My hands reached to her face as she pulled me snug against her larger body. Her fingers turned to nails as she gripped me tighter. This was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. If only it could last a lifetime.

Am I shrinking?