The contestants filed out of the compound and into the afternoon sun. Carla spread her arms in freedom, relishing her newly regained size. Behind her walked Andy and Marie. Andy was watching Carla with a fixed awe as she moved her giant body gracefully, yet he felt a weight sinking in his stomach. He was starting to feel as though he really did not do the right thing.
Hailey walked a few feet away from Carla, Jerry tredding closely at her feet. He was a little worried that Hailey was going to be angry with him for voting for Vera over her in the challenge. Jerry stood by his vote, though. Vera’s need to be bigger was greater than Hailey, and frankly, Vera would make a better counterweight to Carla than Hailey.
Paul and Vera walked a few feet behind, arm in arm. Vera knew that while Paul though he was escorting her, Vera was actually helping comfort him in the wake of his shrinking. Paul’s eyes darted back and forth between Carla and Hailey and she swore she could feel a slight tremour in his hand.
Behind them all walked Dave. He was still the smallest and now only that blasted Jerry was his size. Dave knew from the moment the rules were announced that he stood no change, though he appreciated the support of the Carla-Marie-Andy alliance. He felt, though, that they were more interested in keeping Vera down than in helping him.
They entered the house. Carla immediately claimed a chair for herself, as well as the remote control for the television. It was no accident that the chair she took had been Paul’s favorite. She was going to set her territory.
Paul was a bit sulky and the chair didn’t help any. He told Vera he needed some time by himself and went off to his room to do push-ups. Everything in the room was so large to him, and he could feel his larger-than-life self-perception cracking as he exersized on the floor.
Vera wasn’t too upset about the present situation. True, it would have been better if she and Paul were the full-sized leaders, but at least they were full-sized. Carla might be the leader now but she didn’t have much backing. Vera was sure that Carla’s reign would not last much longer.
Vera spotted Jerry and walked over to him. Jerry smiled up at the woman who was twice his size and said, “Hi!”
“Hi Jerry,” Said Vera. She kneeled down to get to Jerry’s eye level, and said, “Jerry, you voted for me twice today. Once when Dave challanged me, and once when I challanged Hailey. I just want to know…why did you do it?”
“It seemed like the right thing to do.” Jerry said. “You didn’t want to be smaller and I couldn’t see any reason to make any of the others big.”
“Is that all?” Vera asked, a confused look on her face.
“I think so,” Said Jerry. “Why?”
“I just…wanted to say thank you, I guess.” Vera said. “You’ve been very kind. I want to let you know that if you needed a favor, help in a competition or something, I’ll be there for you.”
“Okay, thanks!” Said Jerry, smiling appreciatively. Vera ruffled his hair as if he were a small child, then stood upright and walked away. Jerry felt satisfied
“Ahem.” Jerry turned around and found himself looking at the huge ivory legs of Hailey, who was staring down at him from tremendous height. He was a mere doll to her and he was at her complete mercy.
“A word with you.” Said Hailey. She reached down and grabbed Jerry around the waste with a single hand and lifted him to her face. Her face alone was about half his height and her mouth was wider than her head.
“You know I should be mad at you for voting against me,” Said Hailey, poking him in the stomach with the index finger of her other hand.
“But…you’re not?” Jerry ventured hopefully.
“I won’t be,” Hailey said. “If you promise me you won’t do it again. And you stay faithful to me, okay?”
“Alright.” Jerry said. “That I can do.”
“Hey, I really can’t be mad at someone the size of my forearm!” Hailey said, now cradeling Jerry lovingly. “Besides, it’s not as though your vote changed anything. Now, would you like to do some exploring?”
“I’d love to.” Said Jerry, his senses taking over as Hailey cradled him. She carried him off into one of the bedrooms and they proceeded to have one adventerous afternoon.
Elsewhere in the room, Andy was trying to figure out how to approach Carla. She was watching TV from her chair and so far had not payed him any mind. Marie had been in her lap a few minutes ago and they chatted about things not relating to him. Andy could not help but thinking; Marie is the same size as me, and there Carla is cuddling and playing with her! His imagination was turning him on. But Marie had slipped away a moment ago, and Andy felt his time was now.
Andy walked up to the chair slowly, Carla’s long, slender legs facing him. Bracing himself, he moved to put his hand on Carla’s leg and said, “Hi, Carla,”
“Stop,” Said Carla, putting up her enormous hand a foot in front of Andy’s face. “Don’t touch me or come any closer.”
Andy didn’t know what to say, but Carla spoke first. “What were you thinking when you put down my name instead of yours for the challenge?” Carla asked. Her voice was not overty angry but there was distinct dissaproval in it.
“I didn’t think she would read it like that.” Andy said. “I just wanted to help you. Look, I’m sorry.”
“It was pretty embarassing.” Carla said. “Now everyone knows about us.”
“I’m sorry,” Andy repeated, a sinking feeling within him. “Does this mean…”
“I won’t have anything to do with you until at least the next competition.” Carla said. “And after that I’ll take you back if I want to.”
Andy felt his chances slipping away. “But,” he protested, “What about our sizes, what if they change?”
“I have spoken.” Carla said. “There’s no good arguing with me because I won’t change my mind. Come over here.” Carla motioned to the right side of the armchair. Andy quickly complied.
“You know that when you voted for me, you publicly announced that your biggest priority was not winning.” Carla whispered, though her whisper carried the weight of a shout to Andy, “You declaired you are supporting me rather than yourself. You know what that makes you: mine.”
A shiver of excitement ran down Andy’s spine. Carla continued: “Your loyalty is to me now, so you are obligated to vote and compete in ways that are in my best interest. But you must be more careful about it, because if you make your allegance too obvious people will notice, and you will be punished by further distance from me. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Andy said, looking at Carla with a sence of awe and admiration. He was completely taken and what was more, Carla knew it too. She wasn’t going to let his offense slide off easily though. Perhaps she could turn it to her advantage later…
“Now be off.” Carla said. “You know what I expect at eight.” Andy scampered off, looking for something else to do, but found it very hard to concentrate on anything with powerful anticipation taking over his mind.
Marie had had a brief chat with Vera after she talked to Carla. She wanted to see how Vera was doing and talking to her was easy now that they were both the same size again. Marie assured Vera there was no hard feelings for Vera’s voting against Marie, and Vera thanked Marie for not challanging her.
She had talked to her giantess friend Carla, her same-size aquantance Vera, so she decided to look for someone small to talk to. The thought of the two little men made her giggle. In her mind small people were so cute, and she would never do anything to hurt one of them.
Marie spotted Dave sitting alone doing nothing in particular. He looked very small indeed, sitting in a very condensed position as it was. She felt sorry for Dave; he had had rotten luck this entire competition so far, and no one seemed to really care about him. Marie thought it was important that he didn’t feel so awful, so she approached him and started talking.
“So how’s it going?” Asked Marie, her voice friendly but concerned.
“Oh, just peachy,” Said Dale, sarcasticly. “I’ve been small this entire time, there’s no hope of growing unless by pure chance, and to top it off, I haven’t had a shower in a few days.”
“Why not?” Marie asked.
“Because I can’t reach the faucet to turn it on!” Said a humiliated Dave, throwing his arms out wide.
“I can help with that.” Marie said. “I’m tall enough to reach it.”
For a moment Dale thought about it. He really didn’t want to accept help from anyone else, but he also didn’t want to go on stinking and Marie seemed like a genuine girl. Her large eyes were almost gleaming with a wish to help him as she leaned down over him.
“Okay,” Dale said.
Marie smiled. “Great! Grab a towel and meet me in the right bathroom!” With that, Marie scampered off. Dale felt nervous and a little embarrass by letting Marie help him start the water like a little child, but at this point he had little choice. Besides, he was getting along well with Marie and perhaps she could be of help to him in the future.
Dale walked back to his room and grabbed a towel. Marie was waiting for him outside the bathroom looking at her little charge with a smile. She turned the head-level doorknob and pushed open the bathroom door. Marie stepped in, saying to Dale “Come on in, don’t be shy!”
Shy was not a word often used to discribe Dale, but when it involved a woman who was to his perspective ten feet tall and over seven hundered pounds he could be somewhat reserved. But he followed her in anyway and soon they stood inside the smallish bathroom near the tub. The tub was low enough that Marie could have stepped over it, albiet with some difficulty. It came up to Dale’s shoulders, though, and he would have to hoiste himself over to get in.
“I’m going to turn on the water,” Said Marie, stepping carefully over the tub’s edge. Walking up to the spout she pulled the lever and water started splattering into the tub. Marie stood and felt it for a few seconds, then stepped back out of the tub and headed for the door. For a moment Dale was confused—wasn’t she going to switch it to shower mode?
“The temperature should be about right.” Said Marie. She reached the door, but instead of going out of it she shut it with her inside, locking them in together. Instantly a forboding feeling struck Dale deep in the gut.
“What are you doing?” Dale asked as Marie walked back towards him.
“I just thought I’d join you.” Marie said. “I didn’t have a shower when I was quarter-sized either, so I thought I’d grab a bath with you.”
Marie started to pull off her shirt, and Dale was dumbfounded. What was going on? Was this girl really going to strip naked and get into a bath with a man she had only knnown a few days? If they had been the same size this could have been a bad move for her, but because she was so much bigger than him the concern was on his end—what exactly did the giantess want from him?
Marie tossed her shirt onto the floor and then unclipped her bra. Her breasts breathed slightly with their new-found freedom, and they certianly weren’t as small as Dale might have once thought. He was in awe by them, so large and so high off the ground.
“Well, aren’t you going to take off your clothes?” Marie asked—almost stearnly—as she unzipped her pants. Dale didn’t want to disobay Marie and removed his shirt immediately. He thought after Hailey he would be able to avoid these kinds of encounteres with larger women, but here he was less than twenty-four hours later getting into a bath with Marie.
Dale was clumsily trying to undo his pants when Marie had removed her own leaving her competely naked. Dale tried not to stare, but he found it impossible to ignore the expanse of feminine beauty before him illuminated in the substantial bathroom light. All the lines and curves were in place, and underneith a flat chest a V-shaped bush made way to a vulva that was about his eye level and enormous. He had gone through all this with Hailey but doing it with Marie was like starting from the beginning all over again. Something about the quality of the light, or the strangeness or suddenness of the situation, or perhaps the innocence—or at least precieved innocence—of the girl made this special and different, feeling very diffferent feelings than he had felt with Hailey.
Marie herself appeared totally nonplussed by the situation. She stood naked before Dale like it was the most normal thing in the world, patiently waiting for him to take off his pants and underware. She didn’t seem nervous or even aroused, as if there was nothing particularly sexual about it.
Dale finished stripping, feeling exceptionally vaunerable with his unflattering erection frighteningy visible dispite his embarrasment. Marie noticed it of course, but laughed it off, feeling a kind of giddy pleasure at being able to embarrasss the little man so much.
“Here we go,” Said Marie, bending down her arms to pick up Dale. This was the part which he had been dreading. Her arms, huge and smooth, wrapped around him and he was effortlessly picked up. So much of his naked flesh was touching Marie that his body screamed in sensation. Marie had him pressed against her chest, his head on her shoulder and her left breast pressing into his chest. His erection was rubbing very obviously on her lower ribs, and his left foot was hanging over the top of her bush. Her body was warm, soft, and extremely sensuous.
With Dale in her arms Marie stepped over the edge of the tub and into the bath. The drain had been closed and the bath was gathering water. So far it had reached three inches deep—that was a little past Marie’s ankles, and a little bit below Dale’s needs.
“I thought we’d take a bath, It’d be easier for us.” Marie said.
“Where are you from?” Dale asked, at a loss to explain her behavior.
“I was brought up part of the time on a nudist colony.” Said Marie. “In my late teens I did childcare at one, watching preschoolers mostly. We used to bathe them in tubs like this. To me you’re child-sized, so it felt this was the most sensible thing to do.”
Well, this ceritanly explained Marie’s comfort with nudity in front of him and a little of her out front behavior, but even given that context Dale still felt it was strange that she would make he—a grown man—go through this same ritual as little kids even though he saw it as very sexual. Of course, the answer had to be Marie just enjoyed playing with him.
Marie sat down, placing Dale within her lap. His head was resting on one of her pillow-like breasts and he was sure his butt wasn’t far from her privates. Her arms were still wrapped around him. Marie’s body and the ever-rising warm water formed a perfect cucoon around the little man. Dale felt extremely embarrased at how increadibly aroused this whole situation made him feel.
They sat there until Marie became satisfied with the water level at about eight inches high. Of course, this was knee level to her and waiste level to Dale. She stood up, droplets of water raining on Dale from the upper parts of her body, and walked over to the tap. At normal size she would have easily just turned it off with her foot, but at half-size she had to stand up to reach it. Also, in normal circumstances with little kids she would almost never be in the tub with them.
Dale waded in the water around him. This was more like a swimming pool than a bathtub, he thought, as at his scale it was the size of a small one a person might have in their back yard. The water stirred as Marie moved past him to sit down in the spot she had just been. The water rose a little as she sat.
“Well, it’s time to get you clean.” Marie said, smiling at the short man wading haplessly around the tub. “I can guarintee you that this will be the best personal cleaning you’ve gotten in a long time, maybe forever.”
Marie splashed water on Dale. It was just a small flick of the wrist to her but it was a substantial amount of liquid to him. She reached around him and splashed him from the back, making sure his chest and back were adequately wetted down.
Marie then grabbed a bar of soap that was sitting on the edge of the tub. Ordinarily it would have been a small bar of travel soap, but to Marie it was about the same size as a normal bar. She wiped her hands on the bar until they were good and lathered with soap suds. She then put the bar of soap down and started rubbing her soapy hands along Dale’s body.
There was something to be said about wet, soapy hands on naked flesh at normal size, but that was nothing as compared to what it felt like at a smaller size. Marie’s hands covered a great distance each and they were able to exert pressure and delicateness at the same time. The heels of Marie’s hands pressed against Dale’s back while the fingers pressed against the front, creating a soothing massage-like effect.
Marie flipped Dale effortlessly around in the waste-deep water and did the same thing in reverse. She covered the entirety of Dale’s back in less than a minute with astounding thuroughness. Her fingers went up to his next, where they scrubbed it clean, then slid down his back to grasp his butt cheaks, rubbing them clean. This made Dale shudder, expecially as her hands covered his entire butt.
But it didn’t stop there. Marie’s fingers wiped under his waste between his legs, just touching the private parts barely. Then Maire touched the parts themselves. Dale’s pieces were miniscule to her and it only took her a second, but to Dale it was one of the most shocking and sensual touches he had ever felt, causing him to noticeably shiver in the water.
Marie leaned Dale back in the water, using her right hand to balance her back and her left hand to apply a new coating of soap to his left leg. Up and down her fingers went, tracing the appendage that was thinner than her arm and only a foot and a half long to her. She rubbed Dale’s cute little feet—smaller than the palm of her hand, and even rubbed between every toe. She did the same for his right leg.
To finish up, she then wiped his little arms, and had special fun playing with his tiny hands inside her large ones. Finally, with two hands of fingertips covered in new soap, she scrubbed at Dale’s scalp. She easily covered his head all at once as it was much smaller than a real child’s head. The scrubbing was intense and nearly pushed Dale back down into a sitting position in the water.
“Breathe out through your nose!” Said Marie, taking Dale out of his standing position and dunking him completely under the water. Marie raised Dale back up, water dripping from his head. Marie wiped some of the soap off of Dale before dunking him again. She held him down for three seconds before bringing him up. Wiping the water away from his hair and his eyes, Marie had finished her cleaning.
As Marie drew Dale back to her chest, Dale found himself in a world of ecstasy. He would never admit it to Marie or to anyone else, but in those last few minutes he had received the most extensive pampering and care he could remember in his entire life. Marie’s gentle but forceful rubs had sent him into a quasi-meditative state, and his mind reflected back to a time, perhaps imagined, where all his infantile needs were being taken care of. He felt a strange outpouring of affection and attachment to Marie and wanted nothing more than to be near her. His wish was granted as she pulled him backwards into herself, his head cradled by her breasts.
Marie could sense Dale’s affection in a way. The way Dale nuzzled his head in her breasts made her feel a strong feeling of fulfillment, of being a protector. She felt so good at being able to make Dale feel this way. She stroked his front gently as he rested on her, dropping into a reduced state of meditative consciousness.
They sat there several minutes enjoying the sensations. Dale must have drifted in and out a few times, but after a little bit the water was starting to cool down just enough that it no longer gave him the sensation of being a womb.
Marie felt Dale fidget on her lap a little and said, “Well, aren’t you going to clean me?”
“Huh?” Said Dale, coming to.
“Would you like to wash me?” Marie said. Dale moved off from Marie and looked at her. There was certainly a lot of surface area to cover.
“You would let me?” Dale asked.
“Why not.” Marie said with a smile. “We’re here; we might as well have some fun. Besides, you’re not a child. You can touch me!”
Dale couldn’t help but smile with anticipation. He moved over to the bar of soap and rubbed his hands in it until they were thickly lathered. He walked over to Marie, who was sitting in the water patiently, and started rubbing it on her shoulders. They were a vast expanse, bigger than even the largest football player with pads appeared. Dale found it hard to believe that this was a relatively small girl, but to her she was enormous and he could only cover small portions of her shoulders at a time.
Marie was patient, letting the little man rub her shoulders as she sat, moving gently with the rhythm. Dale used up all the soap on his hands and went back to the bar to refill them. He now was rubbing Marie’s chest, getting lower and lower. Marie was making no objections, so Dale moved his hands onto her breasts and started rubbing them.
“Mmm, that feels so nice,” Said Marie, closing her eyes. Marie’s breasts were soft and flexible under his hands, the skin heavenly smooth. They were not big in the absolute sense but to Dale they were immense, both wide and tall, enough flesh to satisfy everyone. His hands rubbed and gently squeezed Marie’s breasts with a gentle rhythm as Marie hummed contentedly with her eyes closed. To her the feeling of Dale’s little hands on her breasts was wonderful.
Dale felt he had to move on, so he started rubbing Marie’s extensive flat stomach. There was no way he was going to get to everything, and he was only getting selected places. But Marie didn’t expect him too. Dale could feel Marie’s stomach muscles under her skin.
“Okay, that’s good enough.” Marie said after a few minutes. Dale stopped and took a step back. Marie reached forward and pulled Dale forward again, hugging him to her chest.
“Oh, Dale, you’re such a sweetie.” Marie said. “I think the others have the wrong idea about you. You’re really alright.”
“Thank you.” Said Dale, his mouth squished upon one of Marie’s newly-washed breasts.
“If you ever wanted to spend time, while we were here,” Marie said. “Feel free to ask me.”
Dale was starting to think he genuinely wanted to. He had been initially embarrassed and humiliated by Marie’s babying of him, but after a while he began to feel a kind of attraction to the girl, or if he dared to say it, love. Even though he wouldn’t touch Hailey with a ten-foot pole, the idea of giantess Marie caring for him wasn’t so embarrassing anymore.
“Well, let’s rinse off,” Said Marie, standing up to her full towering height and showering Dale with soapy water. She moved to the front of the tub and opened the drain. The water made a gurgling sound as it started to exit the tub, and Dale felt a gentle tug around him. For a moment he had a wild thought of going down the drain, but he understood that even though he was small he was still far too large to fit down the shower drain.
When the water was down to only a couple of inches Marie turned on the shower. The cool water splattered down all around Dale, showering him with harsh droplets. He stood up, feeling the water strike him. Being smaller, and adding to the fact that the drops had longer to fall before they got to him, the shower was a bit rougher than he was used to.
Marie stood in the spray, most of it missing her but much of it hitting her, washing the soap off of her body. Deciding to shampoo her hair, she reached over to pick up the bottle that had fortunately shrunk with the rest of her luggage. She spread it throughout her hair and rubbed it in. Dale would have loved to have been a part of this, but as he watched Marie scrub her hair far above his reach he understood that it probably wouldn’t be practical.
Dale stood in one of the lesser sprays of water, rinsing off all the soap as Marie shampooed her hair next to him. When Marie finished shampooing her hair she actually picked up Dale, holding him into the spray and making sure he was adequately rinsed off. Finally finished and holding Dale in one arm, Marie turned off the water with the other.
For a moment Marie stood holding Dale as the water dripped off of them. It was a warm afternoon so they didn’t have to worry much about cold air. After a few minutes Marie reached down and picked up Dale’s towel. Perching Dale on the side of the tub she proceeded to rigorously dry him off. No water droplet was safe as Marie dried his front, back, head, and between his legs. Dale felt thoroughly and utterly dried off.
Marie took her own towel and dried herself off. Of course, her much longer hair would stay moist for a little while, but not too long in the dry air. She wrapped her hair in a towel, then went to retrieve her robe that was hanging on the wall. She put the robe on, covering her body in the white fabric.
“Well,” Marie said to Dale, who had climbed off of the tub. “I recommend you go out first. I don’t want the others to think there’s anything fishy going on. And remember, if you wanted to do anything later, just ask.”
“Thank you.” Dale said, fastening his towel around his waist. “It’s been a great time. I—I have to say I didn’t know it would be so good.”
Marie smiled almost timidly at the compliment. “Thanks.” Marie said. The two of them walked closer to the door, looking at each other. Abruptly, Marie bent down and took Dale’s face in her large hands and planted a kiss across his lips (and the surrounding area). She straightened herself up leaving Dale feeling dazzled and tingly.
“See you later sweetie,” Said Marie, opening the door for him. Dale walked out into the slightly cooler air of the hallway making for his room. He couldn’t believe what an amazing experience that had been. He didn’t doubt that he’d be paying Marie a visit later on.
Meanwhile, Paul had decided that it would be too much like Dave to sit and sulk in his room and not face the bigger people. He was manly enough to deal with it, even if he was no physical match for Carla or Hailey.
When he entered the living room he noticed immediately that only one of the two giantesses were out. Hailey was still in the bedroom with Jerry. In fact the only other people still out besides Carla were Andy and Vera, the latter two of which were talking on the ground.
Paul walked over to join them. They greated him as he approached.
“Hey,” Paul said, sitting down.
“Hope you don’t mind a little fraternizing with the enemy!” Vera said, motioning to Andy.
“Andy, nah,” Said Paul. “You’re not a bad guy.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Andy said. “No hard feelings, right?”
“It’s just a game,” Paul said. “A very disturbed and messed-up game if you ask me, but still a game.”
“It’s still hard to believe.” Said Vera. “We’re three feet tall, just under. We weight twenty pounds or less!”
“I’d think this was trickery if it wasn’t so convincing.” Paul said, looking around at the overlarge furniture.
“This is crazy.” Andy said, his eyes wandering around and invariably falling on Carla, who was now reading a magazine.
“Why aren’t you over there with Carla?” Paul asked. “Is she mad at you?”
“Uh, yeah, a little.” Andy said. “Over the…you know what at the last competition.”
“Do you really not want to win?” Paul asked.
“I was being chivelrous,” Andy said, “It was pretty stupid though.”
“That’s okay,” Said Paul. “It shows good charicter.”
“I guess.” Andy said, eager to change the subject. “So what do you think tonight is going to be like?”
“I don’t know,” Paul said. “Maybe another physical competition.”
“I don’t think so,” Said Vera. “There wasn’t one last season.”
“But the last competition wasn’t the same as last season, and there was only one on this day.” Paul said.
“I’m still pretty sure there won’t be one.” Vera said. “I think it’ll be another vote.”
“I hope not.” Paul said. Vera reached for Paul’s hand and he grabbed hers.
Andy felt like he was intruding on something so he stood up and said, “I’ll see you around, guys.”
“See ya,” Said Paul, as Andy walked off in search of something else to do. As Andy walked out of sight, Paul and Vera drew closer together.
“How are you doing?” Paul asked.
“The question is how are you doing?” Vera asked, smiling.
“I guess I can’t get past you.” Paul said. “I’m fine, really. It’s just a bit scary, I’ll admit it. We prepared for a lot of thing in the navy, but never anything like this.”
“They don’t prepare you for this anywhere,” Vera said. “No one ever thought shrinking was possible.”
“Only nine people knew about it before us.” Paul said.
“Plus the producers and whoever else was involved.” Vera said.
“I wonder how many people are involved in this.” Paul said. “There must be a whole compliment of scientests on this. Gee, I feel like a guinee pig now.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Vera said. “Remember that bloke from the old season, Bill, who kept going on about a consperacy, but it all went to nothing?”
“Yeah,” Said Paul. “I’m not worried about anything like that. I’m just going to be worried about the people bigger than us.”
“Well,” Vera said. “As long as one of us is large things we’ll be fine.”
“Yes, so that means a good outcome on the competition, whatever it’s going to be,” Said Paul.
A few minutes later Carla decided that she would prepare dinner. Knowing that Hailey would be to preoccupied and uninterested anyway Carla took it upon herself to make the meal. She decided on chicken, potatoes, and steamed vegetables. Before long, the smell of the food began filling the little house.
Slowly, the members of the house started filing in to dinner. First came full-sized Hailey carrying little Jerry, both of whom looked slightly disheveled. Next Marie emerged from her room and Dave from his. Marie offered Dave a spot on her lap and Carla was surprised to see that he accepted without hesitation.
Paul, Vera, and Andy made it to the table and they all started eating. Carla and Hailey both had seconds, but barely anyone else was making much progress. She had mistakenly given everyone else half-portions, when in fact they only would be eating one-eighth their normal amount.
“What’s the matter Paul, not hungry?” Asked Carla, motioning to Paul’s half-finished dinner. Paul had eaten as much as double his size would have, but now he was too full to go on. Paul knew Carla had caught him trying to make up for his shortcommings, and he glared at her.
“So what do you think the competition is going to be like?” little Jerry said, trying to break the tension pathetically from his spot on Hailey’s lap.
“It’s going to be another vote I bet.” Marie said. She appeared to be the only one interested in the topic. “Or possibly a random drawling.”
The dinner was mostly quiet, and people dispersed pretty quickly after the meal was done. Hailey stayed behind to help Carla with the dishes. Andy and Marie went off to talk. Jerry wanted to talk to Dave, the other person his size, but when he tried to approach Dave Dave just walked away. This made Jerry remember the vote he cast against Dave, the vote that kept him at his size to protect Vera. Jerry still stood by that vote, but he still felt a little sorry for Dave. Jerry decided to go talk to Vera and Paul instead.
As Andy and Marie chatted little Dave joined them. Marie placed Dave in her lap, cuddling and playing with Dave just like Carla had done with her hours before. Andy couldn’t help but be jealous of Dave, who closed his eyes and looked happier than he had in the entire game so far.
They generally gravitated to the television set as night fell outside, watching shows and waiting for Betty’s inevitable arrival. Dave and Jerry knew that they could go nowhere but up, while Carla and Hailey had everything to loose. The others could go either way.
Just as expected there was a sharp rap on the door at percicely eight o’clock. Carla got up and answered it right away. Sure enough, it was Betty. The others crouded around eager to hear what the hostess has to say.