The secretary informed both girls that, at Mr. Knightley's suggestion, both of their remaining final exams that day would be rescheduled to be completed later that week in detention. She gave an odd look at Caitlin, who started to fidget at the attention, before Nicole thanked the secretary and shoved Caitlin out the door, letting it shut before turning to Caitlin.

"I said 'play stupid and follow my lead' you weirdo," Nicole chided. "Not 'fake an orgasm and give the principal blue balls.' But hey, we're out of there, so I guess I can't complain."

Caitlin was a bit irritated by Nicole's taking the day's events in stride. Caitlin had made a scene in the hallway, turned advanced painting into foxy boxing, and played out some kind of B-movie sci-fi porno scene in the principal's office, all in a span of just under three hours. The two girls made an unusual pair walking alongside each other, though Caitlin noticed that she was getting majority of the stares: a combination of lust, curiosity, and wonder. Then again, she knew that if she were in anyone else's shoes, she'd be staring too.

Caitlin hobbled along barefoot, carrying her sandals in one hand. She estimated that she was slightly taller than she had been with the two-inch sandals, but couldn't really gauge for sure. Her jeans, the cuffs of which only reached the top of her ankles, gripped her legs so tightly they showed no wrinkles and more closely resembled bodypaint than denim. She wore her splattered paint shirt, since her Abercrombie shirt would have put the entirety of her midriff on display. She self-consciously hugged her backpack to her chest, hiding the fact that she had discarded her bra which was beyond undersized at this point.

"So…" Nicole began. "I guess you'll be blaming this on me."

"Why would I blame this on you?" Caitlin stared straight forward, walking briskly and forcing Nicole to nearly run to keep up.

Nicole chuckled. "What? Are you telling me you haven't figured it out yet?"

"Figured what out?"

"Your…um…unique predicament."

"What about it?"

Nicole looked expectantly at her towering companion. "Come on. It's almost poetic."

Caitlin, who had been staring straight forward at the exit she was nearly running toward, looked down at Nicole, but abruptly looked forward again, unnerved by how far below her Nicole currently strode. She tossed her bookbag behind her, feeling a bit awkward clutching it to her chest.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Nicole waited a bit, then laughed. "Nothing. Nothing at all. You always did suck at critical analysis, after all."

Caitlin was not in the mood for guessing games. "Whatever," she growled, and quickened her pace to the car. She could feel her the raucous motion of her unbound breasts underneath her t-shirt, and she attempted to step a little smoother. It changed motion of her bouncing, but didn't minimize it. She was so involved with her body's extraneous movement, that she had all but forgotten her companion who was now at least a few strides behind her.

"Hey Landry," Nicole shouted, having given up trying to keep up. Caitlin didn't answer.
"Call me sometime."

The request caught Caitlin by surprise, and she was torn between turning and replying or just ignoring her. This indecision, coupled with her unfamiliarity with her height, caused her to stumble slightly, which hurt her bare feet. Nicole snickered loudly, and Caitlin, much to her own surprise, actually smiled.

"Get your shit together first," Nicole shouted. "Ain't nothing funnier than a tall girl falling on her ass." Caitlin did her best to salvage her pride before flipping Nicole the bird and continuing to the student parking lot.

While she had formerly been preoccupied with self-consciousness and the whole morning ordeal, for the first time Caitlin found herself taking in the new view at "five-foot twelve" (as she had heard a teammate on the JV girls basketball team put it). She hadn't realized how much of a difference a few extra inches would make. As she exited the building and approached her car, she hadn't seen a single female student or teacher who matched her height. She had even walked past a number of male and female classmates whom had formerly seemed tall a month ago, that she now looked down at. Equally remarkable was the fact that various male figures who always seemed so towering in the past were now at eye level or only slightly higher. Even J.J. Jackson, the school 6'3" star wide-receiver seemed only slightly tall, rather than the imposing giant he had always seemed like in the past.Hell, she thought, with a good pair of heels…

In addition to her higher perspective, Caitlin also made note of a number of male students who stopped to ogle her striking height, lithe body, and prominent breasts which visibly swayed and bobbed with her long strides. Caitlin caught the stares out of the corner of her eyes, which, considering her attire, kind of surprised her. With her paint-splattered t-shirt, tousled hair, lack of a bra, and bare feet, she more resembled a derelict hippie then her normal fashion-conscious self. As she approached her mother's car, she caught her reflection in the side glass. The girl looking back at her was unquestionably still her, though she had little in common with who she had been only a few weeks ago.

Her reflection captivated her. Her dark bangs hung into her eyes, and the striking contrast between her blue eyes and dark hair highlighedt the prominent features of her face. Her reflection stopped just under her breasts, which certainly explained the stares she was getting. If her hair initially turned heads, the small shirt hugging the contours of her body certainly kept people staring. While not able to see them in the reflection of the car window (or, notably, beyond the prominent forward protrusion of her chest) the recent lengthening of her legs and uncomfortable constriction of her pants made the visual appeal of everything between her waist and ankles pretty obvious.

Caitlin was getting sick of thinking. The day's events had left her drained. While she wanted to get off of campus, she didn't want to go home. The Uncomfortable compression of her thighs and the uninhibited swaying of her chest brought her clothing issue to the front of her mind. She ran through her options again, and realized that, once again, if she intended to go somewhere no one would know her, it would mean another trip to the Northshore strip mall. Caitlin unlocked her door, and slid into the drivers seat. She fidgeted in the front seat for a bit before grudgingly letting the seat back a bit to accommodate her extra new inches. As she left campus behind, and headed toward Northshore, she figured that, with the day she had, she was due for a little caffeinated consolation.

*****

As the bell for class ended yet another final exam period, a gaggle of girls congregated to share the latest gossip. Alexis and Maureen listened intently as word of the art class ordeal spread like wildfire around the campus.

"So apparently Caitlin and Nicole Ryder got in some crazy fight in their art final, and Caitlin totally decked the punker bitch. Then they apparently went crazy and Mr. Knightley and, like, six other guys had to break them up."

"I heard she showed her tits!" A male voice added, in passing, receiving icy glares from the gathered girls. He headed on his way, before being joined by a number of other guys interested in his version story.

"Anyways," the girl continued. "They both totally got busted, but apparently they did something to Principal Gray too, because he went home early. Kelly Orstead says he looked seriously messed up leaving campus an hour ago."

"Nicole probably bit him!" Another girl chimed in, joined by a chorus of agreement.

"Shit," Maureen said aloud. "I can't believe Caitlin would do that."

"I know, right?" Another girl replied. "Then again, didn't she get in a fight last year during a volleyball game?"

" No, you're thinking of Candice Mitchell."

"Wait, then I don't know who you're talking about. Is Caitlin a cheerleader?"

Another girl shook her head. "No, no, no. You're thinking of Katie. I think Caitlin is the redhead who's dating Richard Towle."

"You're thinking of Kevin Lowry. Richard Towle is gay remember?"

"NO!" Maureen suddenly blurted, drawing all eyes to her. "What do you mean, 'who is she!?!' Caitlin! Have you seen her lately?"

"Yeah, I did her hair over the weekend." Alexis chimed in happily. "Doesn't she have great boobs?" The girls rolled their eyes, except for Maureen of course.

"Yes! And she didn't a month ago. The girl grew half a foot in the last month. She's, like, almost six feet tall." Maureen was exasperated, the other girls weren't sure what to make of it.

"I think I'd know if there was another six foot girl around." A tall girl in the group huffed. "There's only so many girls on the basketball team." 

"She's not on the basketball team! A month ago she was 5'4," A week ago she was 5'9", and this morning she was almost six feet tall in heels. She has blonde hair…"

"Black hair," Alex corrected.

"Black hair," Maureen continued, blue eyes, takes art classes, and has huge boobs!" Maureen was nearly shouting, and Alexis nodded gleefully at the mention of boobs. "Do none of you know who Caitlin Landry is?"

"Almost six feet tall in heels?" A new voice spoke up from behind Maureen. "My ass."

Maureen whirled around to face a bruised, paint-splattered, but smiling Nicole Ryder. "Yes," Maureen maintained. "I saw her this morning."

"Bullshit," Nicole chuckled. "I saw her two minutes ago. Ain't nothing almost about her. And she sure as hell doesn't need the heels." Nicole then waltzed off, leaving behind a confused group of girls and a gaping Maureen. After a few seconds, Alexis chimed in.

"I wonder if her b…"

"Oh, shut up." Maureen cut her off, grabbing her arm and tugging her toward the student parking lot.