"Whatcha doin'?" Rica asked. Rica, Flora, and Vikki sat down on Nick's bed.
"I'm building a voice amplifier that will enable shrunken people to be heard after they're shrunk. There's no guarantee that normal-sized people will be able to hear us, ya know!"
"Are you settled on the fact that you're getting shrunk?" Flora asked. "It sounds like you've given up."
"I haven't given up, it's just that I need to be prepared for the eventuality that it might happen. It doesn't hurt to be prepared!"
"Does anyone want a drink?" Flora asked her friends.
Rica and Vikki both said yes, and Vikki agreed to help Flora in the kitchen. Rica stayed behind with Nick.
"You know, I've been thinking," said Rica as she walked over and put her arm around Nick, "these are the last couple of days that you're going to be normal-sized, and after Friday night you'll be shrunk forever! Just maybe you might want to get close to someone in your last days. I'm here for you."
"You're acting like I'm dying or something, Rica!" said Nick.
"Do you like me?" Rica asked.
"Yeah, you're kinda hot," said Nick. "You're kind of on the burly side without being actually fat, and I like that in a chick."
"Make out with me and imagine you're a centimeter tall and you're inside my mouth," said Rica.
"I guess I could use a break from my work," said Nick, and he put down his screwdriver and held Rica in his arms and kissed her. They started making out pretty furiously when Flora re-entered the bedroom with Vikki, carrying the glasses of soda.
"Hey!" said Flora, "You can't make out with my friends, Nick!"
The two stopped making out as Flora handed them their drinks.
"Do you want a relationship?" Rica asked. "I don't mean with me right now, I just mean in general. It doesn't seem like you have had a girlfriend in all the time you've been living here with Flora and her grandparents."
"I go to school at Long Beach City College, so I don't have time for a relationship. It takes two and a half hours on the bus to get there in the morning, and two and a half hours to get back. All my free time is spent studying, even on weekends."
"What are you studying there?" Rica asked.
"Electrical technology," said Nick. "I'm studying to get my certificate so I can become an electrician's apprentice."
"Why didn't you do that when you were in your 20s?" Rica asked. "Aren't you 39 now?"
"Yeah," Nick replied, "I got put on probation for the first time when I was 19 in San Luis Obispo county for breaking an antique store window when I was pissed off one night. Ever since then, I've been on a roller coaster ride I couldn't get off of; I eventually went to prison, and because I have a mental illness, I eventually ended up in the Conrep program for five years. I just got caught in vicious cycle of breaking the law and getting locked up, over and over again."
"What's the Conrep program?" Rica asked.
"It stands for the Conditional Release Program," said Nick. "It's for people who get released from a state mental hospital. I was locked up in Atascadero State Hospital for two and a half years. It's not like parole, where you get off after three years of good behavior, with Conrep, you might never graduate from the program! I know of two or three guys who have been in that program for over twenty years!"
"How did you get out of that program?" Rica asked.
"There are five levels, one being at the bottom and five being at the top. I got promoted to the fourth level because my Aunt Irene, Flora's grandmother, agreed to let me come live with her. The day she drove up to San Luis to get me, I got promoted to the fifth level, and less than a year later I graduated from the program." Nick got back to working on his voice amplifier.
"It sounds like you really owe your Aunt Irene a lot," said Rica.
"I couldn't have gotten out of Conrep without her. I would really do anything to help Aunt Irene and Uncle Roland. If it wasn't for them, I'd still be stuck in that Conrep house in San Luis going to those mindless Socialization groups three times a week."
"Nick, have you thought about who you'd like to take care of you after you're shrunk? I know Flora will look after you, but don't you want to hook up with someone who is more of a, you know, girlfriend?"
"It's a toss-up between you and Sharky's sister Soledad," said Nick. "Both of you are cute, and you both seem to like me. Heck, maybe the two of you can share me and switch off with me every other day!"
Flora threw a pillow at Nick. "Nick, she's trying to be serious! Quit kidding around!"
"It's okay, Flora!" said Rica, then she turned her attention back on Nick. "It's going to be fun dominating you when you're shrunk, Nick! What kind of stuff do you want to do with me when you're shrunk? What if I accidentally swallowed you?"
"I don't know," said Nick, "but you'd all better stock up on syrup of ipecac, in case any shrunken people get swallowed! That's the stuff that makes you puke if you swallow poison!"
"I'll be sure to buy some, Nick!" said Vikki. "Thanks for reminding us!"
"How would you like to experience a thigh-quake, Nick?" said Rica. "I mean, after you're shrunk, of course. If you'd like to experience that, I'll provide the thighs!"
"Nick," said Flora, "no matter what happens to you, I'll make sure you're okay after you're shrunk!"
"Aunt Irene and Uncle Roland already talked to me about this," said Nick. "The three of you are going to loook after me!"
"You don't really want to be looked after by them, do you?" Flora asked. "They're old, and all they would do is keep you around the house all day. I'll take you to parties with Rica and Vikki, and I'll let you have a social life."
"We can even find you a girlfriend who is the same size as you!" said Vikki.
"Thanks Flora, thanks Vikki, I appreciate that!" said Nick.
Just then, Nick's phone rang. Nick answered it.
"Hi, Mom! Oh really?" Nick put the phone down for a moment and spoke to Flora, "My Mom isn't getting shrunk, even though she's half-white and half Native American!"
"Why not?" Flora asked.
"Because she was married to my dad at one time, and he's half-Mexican, and children were produced in that relationship."
Nick resumed talking to his mom on the phone.
"No mom, I'm staying with Aunt Irene, Uncle Roland, and my cousin Flora, but thanks for offering. I'll keep you in mind!"
After Nick hung up, he said: "She always only talks to me only for a minute or two because she says the reception is bad in Bishop, then she says she has to hang up. She wants me to come live with her when I'm shrunk. I need to go for a walk and clear my head."
Nick got up and left. He walked to Sharky's house, not too far away from his Aunt and Uncle's house. When he came to the door and rang the doorbell, Sharky's younger sister Soledad answered.
"Hi Nick, come on in!" said Soledad.
Nick sauntered in as Soledad shot a prize-winning smile at him.
"Sharky!" said Soledad. "Your friend Nicky Vasquez is here!"
Sharky entered a few moments later. "Guess what, fool? I got a sponsor now! I'm turning pro! There's a picture of me in a surfing magazine! You wanna check it out?"
"Yeah, I'm game!" said Nick.
"Shouldn't you be careful about saying that?" said Soledad. "You don't have a full-size transponder card, so isn't that like saying you're up for grabs?"
Nick and Sharky stopped and turned around to listen to Soledad's reasoning.
"Don't listen to her, she's just trying to screw with your head!" said Sharky. "She's been on a natural high ever since she discovered that she's gonna have access to miniaturized people she can boss around. Remember when I told you she should be a prison guard? Come to my room and check me out in this magazine!"
Nick followed Sharky to his bedroom, and Sharky pulled out the magazine. "It's an article about six new surfers who are turning pro this year! I'm one of them!"
Nick looked at the photo of Sharky in the magazine and said, "But are your sponsors Mexican?"
"I don't know. Why do you want to know that?" Sharky asked.
"Because after Friday night if you're sponsors aren't at least half-Mexican, they're geting shrunk down to ant-size!"
"That would really suck to think all my hard work was for nothing!" said Sharky. "To come this far, only to have it taken away from me!"
Sharky threw down the magazine onto his bed and sat down.
"I came over to ask you for your advice," said Nick.
"About what?" Sharky asked.
"My mom is staying normal-sized, and I'm getting shrunk down to a centimeter tall. She wants to know if I want to come live with her in Bishop after I'm shrunk."
"Personally, if you want my opinion," said Sharky, "I think you should stay with your cousin Flora, I know she's your family, but she's got some hot friends, and you're not going to want to be stuck with your family for the rest of your life. At least with Flora you can let her turn you over to her friends once in a while so you can get some kind of action! Do you see where I'm coming from?"
The door to Sharky's bedroom was ajar, and Soledad was there listening.
"You could always stay with me, Nicky!" said Soledad. "I'd take good care of you!"
"Soledad," said Sharky, "Nick is a grown man, why do you insist on calling him Nicky?"
"Because he's cute!" said Soledad.
"I was talking to my cousin's friend Rica Luna," said Nick to Soledad, "and I was thinking maybe I could alternate between you and her taking care of me for a couple of days at a time. What do you think of that?"
"We could definitely work something out!" said Soledad, as she walked into the bedroom and sat down near Nick.
"I just want to keep my options open!" said Nick.
"Do you want to make out?" Soledad asked.
"I can't make out with you, you're Sharky's little sister!" said Nick.
"I don't care!" said Sharky. "She almost nineteen now, and she's a student in college, so I can't really run her life for her. As long as she's eighteen, that's all that matters! Would you two like me to leave you alone?"
"Yes!" said Soledad, and Sharky left the room.
Soledad threw her arms around Nick. "I really like you, especially knowing that you're gonna be shrunk by Friday night!"
"Why does it make a difference if I get shrunk?" Nick asked.
"I just like the idea of owning shrunken people, I always have!" said Soledad.
"You want to hear something weird? Nick asked.
"What?" Soledad replied.
"It's always been my fantasy to be miniaturized and conquered by some hot chick! I've never told anyone this before!"
"You're secret is safe with me!" said Soledad. "So at the park when we got our transponder cards you were just faking it when you acted like you were mad that you're getting shrunk?"
"Yeah," said Nick, "I think it's cool that I'm geting shrunk, but I'm kind of scared, too. I've fantasized about getting shrunk since I was a little kid, but I always imagined this as a choice, I never thought I'd get forced into it!"
"Tell me more about why you like this fantasy!" said Soledad.
"I just always wanted to be dominated by some hot chick!" said Nick. "What about you? Tell me why you always wanted to be in control of people who were shrunk!"
"I don't know what to say," said Soledad. "I've just always wanted to be in control. To rule an army! To conquer a civilization! To be worshipped as a goddess!"
"Okay, okay!" said Nick. "I get the idea!"
Soledad held him in her arms and kissed him.
To Be Continued!