Every Tuesday, a group of five students “affectionately” referred to by the school as “The Brain Trust” met in room 205 after school. There, they discussed topics such as potential projects, theoretical physics, and what to eat afterwards. Normal student stuff. However, Lincoln Rhea, the group’s smartest, most senior member brought in something he figured the others would enjoy.

“I call it ‘The shrink ray,’” he beamed, a wide smile on his face. He adjusted his glasses, setting them back on the bridge of his nose. The others seemed not too impressed with his invention, a sleek futuristic ray gun that appeared as if it came out of a toy store rather than a budding scientist’s lab.

“Real original dude,” Trevor hummed. He walked over to his fellow Trust member, taking the gun and staring straight into the barrel. “So you order this off the back of a comic book or something?”

Lincoln scowled and swiped the ray gun back. “It’s not a joke, man. I mean it!”

Simone, who sat in the teacher’s chair, her feet kicked up on the desk, spoke up in a sing song voice. “The square-cube law says it’s impossible.”

“Square-cube can suck these balls,” Lincoln shot back, an air of pride in his voice.

“Would I lie to you guys?”

Claire looked up from her phone and blew a lock of blonde hair from her face. “You tried to convince us that Pluto was reinstated as a planet last week.”

“Come on,” Lincoln scratched at the back of his neck. “I’m serious this time.”

“Then shrink us,” Trevor pressed, calling his friend’s bluff.

*****

Dana Taylor was not having a good day. She had missed breakfast after hitting snooze one too many times, and the AV club had her come in for lunch to fix the projector’s settings in Mr. Calhoun’s class. She found it rather difficult to focus throughout the day with her rumbling stomach. However, once the final bell rang, she bolted towards the student store to grab something to eat before meeting with the Brain Trust.

As it turned out, the entire student body wanted to grab a bite as well. She let out a low groan, clutching her gut as the line inched slowly. She just hoped the others wouldn’t scold her for showing up so late.

*****

“Dude, what the shit?!” Trevor rushed his friend, who stood a few feet away from him. He tackled him to the ground, grabbing the collar of Lincoln’s shirt. “Change us back!”

Pushing his aggressive friend to the side, Lincoln reached for the gun, and he was a bit disturbed that he couldn’t locate it. However, it didn’t take him long to find it, considering it was now towering over him. He ran to the trigger and pressed against it, but the trigger did not budge. 

“C-crap!” Lincoln yelped. He turned to face Trevor, who was much angrier than before. 

“What do you mean crap?” Trevor huffed, quoting his friend. 

“I-I can’t get it to work!”

The two worked together, running into the plastic trigger. Once again, it didn’t even move slightly. 

“What are we gonna do?” Trevor asked. 

Lincoln racked his brain, searching for a solution. “Dana!” He yelled, suddenlyremembering the tardy member of their group. “She’s not here yet. We can get her to help us.”  

“How do we know she ain’t ditchin’?”

“Guys? Hellooo?” The voice echoed throughout the room, catching the attention of all the shrunken teenagers.

“Speak of the devil,” Trevor muttered under his breath.

Dana had expected the eyes of the others to close in on her the moment she entered the room. However, she was surprised to find that no one was even in the room.

Carrying her bag of chips and soda in one hand, she entered the room. She let out a disgruntled sigh. Normally, she’d stay here and get a ride home from her friend on the volleyball team as the meetings with her friends and the practice ended at roughly the same time. However, since it seemed that everyone was a no-show, she would just have to hang out and wait.

Not too long after entering the room, she noticed the ray gun sitting on the floor. She bent over and grabbed it before inspecting the device.

“Has to be one of Link’s Star Trek toys or something,” she said, unenthused. She aimed it at the wall, staring down the sights before pulling the trigger. The ray gun whined but otherwise did nothing. Disappointed, she stared down the barrel of the gun, checking to see if it was jammed. It wasn’t. Giving up, she made her way towards the teacher’s desk and sat down, setting her snacks on the table. Bored, she spun the ray gun around her finger until she got tired of messing with the toy.

Down below, Dana’s movements were much less playful to the shrunken duo. They jumped out the way of her incoming footfall, rolling to the side as a wall of black foam descended inches behind them. Their hearts pounding, they stared up at their massive friend.

“Dana!” Trevor yelled, jumping to his feet. “We’re down here!”

“She can’t hear you,” Lincoln spoke up as he slowly stood up to join his friend. “We’re too small.”

Trevor groaned before he began running over towards Dana’s sandal. “We have to do something.” He stopped just short of the wall, finding imperfections in the material that he could use as handholds for climbing. “Come on, Link. We’re getting her attention.”

“Yeah… I’m not looking to die,” he said, turning around and making his way towards the ray gun he had built. “I’m gonna try something smarter.”

“Suit yourself,” Trevor spat, already halfway up the sandal. 

Lincoln began to climb onto the shrink ray, climbing into a hole that housed a screw. He stretched out his arms, holding himself tightly against the walls as it shook around him. As he had suspected, Dana had picked up the ray gun. Although, he did underestimate how much everything would shake once she began to wave the gun around. His stomach twisted, and he did everything  he could to hold down his lunch.

Back on the sandal, Trevor managed to climb to the top. He rolled onto the surface, taking his time to recapture his breath. Still, he considered himself lucky that Dana hadn’t moved yet. The last thing he wanted was to be kicked off the sandal by an errant movement or worse: roll beneath the giantess’ massive toes. As if on cue, Dana’s digits wiggled idly, almost taunting him. He steeled his nerves, figuring that now wasn’t the time to get to nervous. 

He stared up at his giant friend, looking for a path upwards. So far, his best shot was to climb the plastic thong between her big and second toes. From there, he’d climb her leggings, her shirt, and hopefully if things didn’t get wrong, he’d reach her ear. All while Lincoln was still trapped on the floor. He smirked to himself, somewhat stoked to have another thing to lord over Lincoln after they survived.

Stopping just short of the thong, Trevor finally noticed the smell. He pinched his nose, trying to ignore the stale stench of sweat and foam. He made a mental note to tell Dana to wash her feet once he returned to normal. Gripping the base of the strap, Trevor began the second leg of his climb, taking slow breaths through his mouth to stave off the smell. It worked, marginally.

And then Dana started walking. 

Trevor gripped the plastic thong harder, his nails sinking into the material.  His legs lost purchase, and he quickly began to slip down the length he had already climbed. Hitting the ground, his legs crumpled beneath him, and he let out a sharp yelp as a shock of pain registered in his ankle. Instinctively, he began to nurse his foot, failing to notice Dana’s toes looming directly over him.

Dana’s toe’s bore down on the shrunken boy, kneading him into foam with each step. They hungrily clawed at him, attempting to scoop him up and squeeze him between the fleshy digits.  They acted upon their own self interest, toying with something that felt good to play with all while Dana’s mind was focused on finding a place to sit down.

*****

Simone Baker’s stomach dropped as she watched Dana enter the room. There was something surreal about seeing the shortest member of the Brain Trust stand taller than any building on Earth. It seemed completely unreal how fast Dana moved despite her size. Awestruck, the shrunken girl kept watching as Dana bent over to pick up the shrink ray where Lincoln and Trevor used to be standing. She forced the thought from her head that the two might have been stepped on. Had she been given more time, she would have mourned the two, but she was more focused on her own survival once she noticed Dana approach Simone’s chair. 

She winced once she realized that Dana had now began to appropriate her chair. Terrified, she screamed out her friend’s name in a last ditch attempt to get the giant’s attention. It didn’t work, and a mountain sized rear began to fall at an alarming rate. There was nothing she could do to protect herself other than hold her hands up in defense, which obviously did nothing.

The chair let out a puff of air as Dana sat. She never got to sit on the teacher’s padded chair given that Simone always claimed ownership the moment they stepped inside. It was just not a big deal to challenge her for the chair, so Dana never bothered. Still, she couldn’t help but grind her rear into the seat in an attempt to get comfortable. She kicked her feet up and leaned back, focusing all her weight into the seat.

For the shrunken girl trapped on the seat, that specific series of actions might has well been done out of spite. All of Dana’s movements to get comfortable led to to the entirety of her weight being focused on Simone. The tiny girl struggled in an attempt to get felt by the giantess.  As much as she didn’t want to admit it, her struggles went in vain as her movements were muffled by the black legging’s Dana wore.

Up top on the table, things were beginning to swing in a positive direction. Trevor had managed to pry himself from her foot. He forced his way out from the bottom of her second toe and dropped to the top of the desk. Exhausted both physically and mentally, Trevor stood up, meeting face to face with Lincoln, who had cheeky smile on his face.

“How’d you get here?” Trevor huffed, puffing up his chest.

“I hitched a ride,” Lincoln answered, gesturing towards the ray gun. “You?”

“Same,” he said, not willing to delve any further details. “So what now, boy genius?”

Lincoln shrugged. “Same as before, we get her attention.”

“And how do we do that?”

Lincoln pointed towards the bag of chips Dana had just opened.

*****

Aside from nearly being crushed by her cellphone, Claire had experienced the least abuse from their giant friend.  Removed from the action, all Claire could do was watch as Dana trampled over the two boys in their group and then proceeded to sit on Simone’s chair, with her friend most likely caught under her. She panicked for a moment, racking her brain for something to do.

It didn’t take long for her to notice her giant cellphone sitting in front of her. 

“Oh, duh,” she hummed. “Cell phones are a thing.”

She climbed her way up the cellphone, which was twice as twice as thick as she was tall. She used the charging port as a foothold, eventually scaling the phone. She stomped on top of her phone’s home button, the screen lighting up in response. She used both her hands to swipe the screen, unlocking her phone. With a renewed sense of urgency, she opened up her texting app, jumping across the screen to compose a message.

*****

“This is a shit plan,” Trevor said, gripping onto the edge of a potato chip. 

“If it’s so bad, why are you going with it?” Lincoln shot back, holding on as well.

Trevor shrugged. “It beats nothing.”

“Exactly.”

The two waited in silence, too stressed out to bicker any longer. They tried to ignore the obvious risk in riding a potato chip towards her face. As time went on, Dana’s fingers curled over them, seemingly taunting them by picking up chips surrounding the two, getting dangerously close to lifting them up into the air. 

“This is so stupid,” Trevor said under his breath. He held onto the chip tighter, unsure if it was unsettling or reassuring that it didn’t break under the pressure.

“Buckle up,” Lincoln spoke up, nudging Trevor with his shoulder. “It’s go time.”

Dana grabbed the chip the two shrunken students were on and brought it towards her mouth. Her attention was on her cell phone as she browsed her timeline on Twitter, scrolling down idly while half reading her friend’s posts. She licked her lips, cleaning up a bit of crumbs that had clung around her mouth while she sloppily ate.

While Trevor and Lincoln would have considered a girl licking her lips to be attractive, context meant everything this time around. The simple action of wetting her lips was enough to send chills down the spines of the two shrunken students. The fleshy muscle slowly dragged its way across the plush expanse of Dana’s bottom lip, leaving behind a trail of spit. Then, as quickly as it appeared, it vanished behind the curtain of flesh.
Dana’s mouth opened, engulfing the two in a wave of hot air. The two coughed and gagged at the stagnant air that reeked of a combination of potato chips and soda, Dana’s only meal the entire day. Strands of saliva hung from the roof of her mouth, getting thinner the more her lips parted, eventually tearing. Inside, the tongue appeared again, making it’s presence known as it writhed, almost beckoning the two to enter its domain.

As the two were lifted, they screamed out Dana’s name, straining their voices. There was an implicit agreement to jump the moment it was deemed hopeless. However, neither were willing to cave, playing a game of chicken against each other, the stakes being a trip through Dana’s digestive tract and a humiliating death. Dana’s top row of teeth hunger over the diminutive duo, threatening to come down on them at any moment.

The two realized they were too late to jump. They shut their eyes, too frightened to do anything else. At best, they could hope for one of Dana’s teeth ending their lives quickly.

And then Dana’s phone buzzed.

The sudden shaking in her hand startled her, causing her to drop the potato chip that was once destined to be shoveled into her mouth. She ignored it as it tumbled down towards her lap. Checking her phone, Dana read the flurry of messages from Claire.

Claire: Stop moving

Claire: listen and trust me

Claire: Link shrunk us

Claire: I’m on my phone on desk

Dana: Don’t be an ass

There was a slight pause before Dana’s phone vibrated again.

Claire: I’m serious

Claire: Check my phone 

Claire: Just check it nerd

Sighing, Dana read over the messages again. She figured it was some sort of elaborate prank from the others. She’d check for the phone and the others would pop out and scare her. Sighing, she stood up from her seat and wiped the crumbs from her thigh. She figured checking for the phone wouldn’t be too much of a hassle. 

She walked over to the desk where Claire usually sat. Sure enough, her cellphone sat on the seat. She leaned forward, getting a closer look. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the texting app was open. Even weirder, it seemed that the messages seemed to type by itself.

Dana scrunched her nose, looking down at the screen again. She leaned in even closer, finding the source of the typing. True to her word, Claire had shrunken and had been texting her for help. The shrunken girl had to fight the urge to let out a startled yelp.

“C-Claire?” Dana asked. “Is that you?”

Claire: Told ya so

Claire: >:P

Cautious, Dana held her fingers out, plucking the tiny girl from the phone using her index finger and thumb. She made sure to grab her by the back of her hoodie before depositing Claire onto her palm.

“A-Are you okay?” she asked, her eyes still wide.

“I’m fine,” Claire answered, “but you should really check on the others. 

Somehow, Dana’s eyes widened even more. “Wait… where are they?”

Claire shrugged. “Last time I checked, Simone was on the chair you sat on, and Trevor and Link were on the floor.”

Dana’s stomach dropped. “Did I… sit on her?”

“Almost certainly.”

Dana cringed. “Of course I did.”

Sighing, Dana made her way back towards the desk she had sat on, inadvertently torturing her friends. She checked the seat, finding three specks on the center, standing out against the dark blue seat while bobbing up and down. Once she got a closer look, she recognized the rest of her friends, who were all no doubt scarred for life.

She held her hand out and watched as they climbed up one by one. Once they were all situated on her palm, she raised them all to her face. 

“H-hey guys,” Dana said sheepishly, forcing a smile. “What’s up?”

Simone crossed her arms. “You need to go on a diet.”

“Aw, rude,” Claire hummed. “Don’t listen to her. You’re beautiful, Dana.”

“I’m sorry for sitting on you…” Dana squeaked, nearly cramping under her friend’s stare.

“Never mind that,” Lincoln cut in. “Dana, can you turn us back to normal?”

Dana nodded. “Yeah, just tell me how.”

With careful instruction, Dana began to handle the shrink ray on the desk. Adjusting the settings, she pointed it at the others, who all lined up on the table. A bright flash filled the room as the Brain Trust slowly began to regain their original sizes. Cheers and hollers followed as they all jumped off from the desk. It was all over now.

“Do you guys just want to call it a day?” Trevor suggested.

“Yup.”

“Yeah.”

“Ditto.”

“Sure…” Dana spoke up. “Hey, any of you guys want to grab something to eat? I’m still really hungry.”

At that comment, Lincoln and Trevor’s faces paled. They glanced at each other before slowly backing away from Dana.

“No thanks,” Lincoln answered, reaching for the shrink ray. “I’m going to dismantle this and burn the blueprints.”r32;“And I’ve got… laundry,” Trevor excused. 
Without another word the two bolted out of the room.

“What’s gotten into them?” Dana asked.
Chuckling, Claire wrapped her arm around Dana’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about them. Let’s just get some food in you. You wanna come with, Simone?”

Simone shrugged. “Why not? I’ll fill Dana in on what went down between the boys.”