Jackie stood in the living room, well in advance of the party’s start, waiting for her friends.  She had chosen to go with a stereotypical witch’s costume this year, complete with a pointed hat and dress with a slit running up the entire length of her right leg.  A sexy witch, of course.  Lackadaisically she stirred the cauldron of witch’s cauldron where the table normally was, knowing that it would contribute nothing.  This brew was for their special guests only.  No one she really gave a shit about would be drinking from it.

The first person down the stairs was Fulda, her long, wavy auburn hair hanging loose behind her shoulders with a gold leaf olive branch on her crown.  For her costume, she had chosen the white sheet of a bed much too small for her, cinched at the shoulder with a gold ring and leaving most of her legs and chest exposed so she could show off her bronzed skin.  Her enormous brown suede boots trudged over to Jackie until she stood beside her, looking down with her intense blue eyes.  “A witch, huh?” she asked.  “Can’t say I’m surprised with all those nerd books you read.”

“And what’re you supposed to be?” Jackie shot back, shoving a lock of pink hair under her hat.  “Because to me, it looks like you just took the titan’s outfit from the monster manual and made it slutty.”

“Yeah, you got me,” Fulda admitted, throwing up her arms.  Jackie had spent a lot more time on her costume, working to sew on special brass buttons and a pair of matching, gold-embroidered black flats, while she had just thrown something together at the last minute.  “I’ve been reading your nerd shit too and thought I’d look hot as a titaness.  Can you blame me?”

Jackie licked the tip of her finger and touched it to Fulda’s exposed shoulder, making an exaggerated hissing sound with her tongue.  “Yeah, I’ll say.  Those pathetic adventurers are gonna regret they ever challenged you.”  With her pale skin it was easy to tell she was blushing, and her turquoise eyes were narrowed up at the towering woman beside her.  “Don’t count magic out before it gets a chance to shine though.  These potions are going to do quite a number on the party, I think.”  She stirred the cauldron again with a concerted effort, making triple sure the reagents were all mixed together.

Before Fulda could respond, tremendous footsteps coming down the stairs interrupted her.  They turned to see an enormous, solidly built blond turn at the base of the stairs and come toward them.  She had on purple parachute pants with sequins decorating the edges, and great red shoes with curled toes, also covered in sequins, smacking the ground as she walked.  Her midriff was left totally exposed by her top, which was essentially just a decorated bra, and her hair was done up in a long, loose ponytail, with blue eyeshadow accentuating her eyes.

“And what are you supposed to be, Helen?” Jackie challenged.  She was jealous that other people might outshine her costume despite putting in much less work.

“Isn’t it obvious?” the blond replied.  Though she dwarfed Jackie, the bigger fish here was Fulda.  “I’m a genie!  I grant people’s wishes, but in the most literal way possible.  A perfect fit for this party, I imagine.”

Before any of them could call her out another series of footfalls came down the stairs, and they suddenly had another target.  Li’s long, straight black hair went down past her shoulder blades, and her shiny black high heels clicked as she walked.  Tall black stockings came halfway up her thighs, and a plaid tartan skirt left several inches of space between them.  Her plain white shirt was buttoned so it left some of her cleavage exposed, cut so it was tight against her curves.  She was wearing thick, round spectacles with fake lenses, playing up the angle with her Hello Kitty satchel.

“You’re supposed to be in a costume, Li,” Fulda admonished her.  “This is the same shit you wear every day!”

“Is it?” the Asian woman shot back coyly.  “Because my shirt is tighter, my skirt is shorter, and I would never wear heels like these outside of a special occasion.”  The six-inch boost they gave her put her on par with Helen.  “Guys like Asian schoolgirls, you’ve been on the internet.  I think you’re just worried that I’ll be getting all the attention and you’ll be left with scraps.”

Fulda scoffed, but before she would reply someone came in through the front door.  A pale, rail-thin woman with raven black hair clipped against the back of her head and dark blue eyes walked into the living room, her suede black flats contoured magnificently around her long feet.  She was leggy, emphasized by her black stockings and navy-blue skirt that came about halfway down her thighs.  Her black shirt was surprisingly conservative for a costume party, leaving only her collar bone exposed, and a loose white lab coat ran down to her wrists and knees.  Thin, wire-frame glasses rested on her nose, but she actually needed them, proven when she pushed them up with an unpolished fingernail.

“Who the hell is this?” Helen challenged the newcomer, glaring down at her.  Gamma parties had strictly been an insider affair until now, outside of their special guests.

“Don’t worry about it, she’s cool,” Fulda reassured the woman dressed as a genie.  “This is Lana, I’ve had a few classes with her.”  Lana waved sheepishly to the women watching her approach, then went to grab a cup from beside Jackie.

“No!  You don’t want any of that,” Jackie shouted, slapping her hand away.  She took a moment to gain her composure and added, “You should get something better, this is hooch.  We’ve got liquor in the kitchen and plenty of mixers, so please, help yourself to anything in there.  You’re our guest, after all!”  Lana seemed a little confused but satisfied, and wandered off toward the kitchen.

On her way to the kitchen Lana squeezed past the last member of the Gamma gang on her way to meet the others.  Olga’s knee-high calf-skin boots thudded on the hard wood floor, her creamy thighs bouncing with each step.  White strings trailed from tight, cut-off jean shorts, and the tail of her blue and black plaid shirt was cinched around her bosom, making her modest assets seem much larger and displaying her flat tummy to the world.  Her wavy blond hair was pulled into two pigtails, and her crimson lipstick was immaculate.  When she saw the others, her gray eyes darted between all of them and the bubbling cauldron in the middle.

“How’s the brew coming along, Jackie?” she asked, stepping toward the smoking rim.  Olga had a vested interest in it, since she had synthesized most of the active reagent herself.  If it wasn’t mixing well, or even worse didn’t work, she’d have to go back to the drawing board.

“Hold your horses, cowgirl,” Jackie teased, giving the cauldron another churn.  “It’ll be ready when they get here, don’t worry.  You should know better than everyone else that you can’t rush magic.”

“You’re doing chemistry right now, not magic,” Olga corrected her with a glare.

“All the same to me.”  Jackie’s cheerful response was calculated perfectly to annoy Olga, who growled in response.  She had tried explaining concepts from her coursework to the free-spirited nerd many times, but nothing seemed to stick.  Everything that took more than a minute to understand was written off as “magic,” like Jackie legitimately considered her a wizard.  It was especially frustrating since without a doubt Jackie was smart enough to understand it, and at this point she had to be fucking with her.

When Olga stormed off, Jackie had to look down so the wide brim of her hat hid her smile.  It was so easy to piss her off she almost felt bad about it.  She bit her lip and gripped the wooden stick tighter, pressing her pink nails into her palm.  If the witch’s brew didn’t need her constant attention, she’d have to go keep pushing her.

“I’ll go get you a drink so you can be ready when we start,” Fulda offered, putting a strong hand on Jackie’s shoulder.  Then she squared her shoulders and took long, ponderous strides to the kitchen, looking even more the role of a titaness.  She spent time playing the part, slowly turning her head from side to side as she walked down the hallway like she was surveying a vast kingdom at her feet.  By the time she arrived she legitimately felt like a colossus and was surprised to see a gaggle of women almost as tall as her.

They all made their drinks as strong as possible without making them grimace: their parties were always more fun if they were toasty by the time the fun started.  The girls joked around and talked while mixing their cocktails, taking a sip between laughing and catty remarks.  Appropriately, there was a strong party atmosphere among them, and they were getting themselves ready for their particular brand of flirting – little more than a mixture of mean jabs and intimidation, if you asked anyone else.

Everyone except Lana.  She was standing outside the circle by herself, back leaning against the corner formed by the counter.  Every so often she took a sip from her cup while watching the group, trying to figure out whether she should get involved.  Her hand subconsciously moved toward the silver clasp of her small dark blue purse before she caught herself, trying to keep her phone out of her hand for a change.  Though she wasn’t terribly social she was trying to reach out and make herself more available, but these girls seemed too tightly knit.

Fulda noticed her off to the side and went over to her, leaning her hip against the counter.  She took a drink and looked down at what would be a beanpole to most people, cleared her throat, and asked, “You here to have fun, or just be a dork in a different place?”

Lana looked up at her sheepishly and took a second to order her thoughts before speaking.  “I’m having fun.”  Her voice was soft and mousy, not at all what you’d expect from a woman over six feet tall.  “I like people watching.”  Although she was telling the truth, Fulda was not convinced.  At least, she wasn’t satisfied by the answer.

“You’ll do plenty of people watching tonight, I promise,” she replied with a broad smile.  “Come on, get involved!  None of us bite.  Except Li.”  Fulda put a strong arm on her back and gently, yet firmly, pushed her toward the others.  They shifted a little to accommodate the newcomer, and she settled in between Olga and Helen.

“Um, hi,” Lana said, giving them another timid wave.  She blushed a little and looked at the floor bashfully, then continued, “I’m Lana.  It’s nice to meet you all.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen you around!” Helen practically shouted in comparison.  “You’re hot, in like a sexy librarian kind of way.  Take those glasses off and let your hair down and I bet you’re a goddess.”

“Thanks, but I need my glasses to…”

 “And your costume is real cute,” Olga cut in.  “It’s got a sense of style and leaves just the right amount to the imagination.”

“I really just put a lab coat on over my outfit, this was very last minute for me.”  With every compliment she got more embarrassed.  Lana was not only unaccustomed to being the center of attention, she actively avoided it.

“And your bone structure is remarkable,” Li stated, taking a step forward so the click of her heel on the tile punctuated the statement.  She took a second to look down at Lana, relishing every inch she was taller even though it was her shoes that gave her an advantage.  “You look fragile, like a bird.”  Lana looked particularly uncomfortable after that, though it was business as usual with Li.

Before Lana could respond there was a loud knock at the door.  “Our first guests are here!” Fulda exclaimed, bouncing with excitement.  “Helen, you run this drink in to Jackie, I’ll make sure they’re given a proper welcome.”  She handed the cup to the would-be genie and giddily rushed toward the door.  The first encounter was always so satisfying.

Fulda took a moment to calm down and get composed, squaring herself in the doorway.  She did not quite fit under it, and almost filled the frame with her sturdy build.  Slowly she drew the door toward her, revealing the eager guests a couple at a time.  Her impassive gaze swept over them, each at least a foot shorter than her, and she felt gigantic looking down at them two steps below.  “You may enter,” she declared, then stepped to the side so they had to pass beneath her arm.

It was a smaller crowd than they usually invited, though they were the same in stature.  For the most part, their costumes were low-effort and slapped together, when they bothered with one at all.  Hardly a tragedy, or even unexpected: everyone knew Halloween parties were flimsy excuses to drink and get up to mischief, whatever that might mean to them.  Fortunately, they did not need to be herded, since the low, steady trap music beat was a clear guide to the party.

When they were all in the living room Fulda came up behind them, blocking the hallway.  There was no need to trap them, though, since their eyes were already having trouble deciding which of the women to look at.  After they stood there dumbfounded for several seconds, Jackie beckoned wide with a thin arm and proclaimed, “Come, little ones, take a sample of my potion!  You’ll find it’s quite potent, and a cure for whatever problems you may have.”

The guests hurried forward to grab a cup, then took their fill by plunging it deep into the cauldron.  It was surprisingly sweet and went down easy, with only a slight aftertaste no one could quite place.  While they drank deeply the women sized them up, trying to decide which ones to take.  Over the past few parties they had developed a “feel” for their type, and with only a dozen each of them recognized at least two.  Lana was left out of this, but with such a selection she would be satisfied with the scraps.

Through charm, wit, or force, each of the Gammas peeled a pair of men away from the center with them.  The remaining two, not wanting to be seen as losers off by themselves, spotted Lana and made their way toward her.  While the others engaged in hearty and boisterous conversation Lana was practically hiding in the shadows, watching it all happen while nervously clutching her cup in front of her with both hands.  She was startled when the pair approached her, not used to being actively sought out, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she glanced down and saw two men looking up at her.

They forced small talk for a while, making sure they had enough of the potion in them for it to work.  There was only so much that could be said, and they’d heard just about every variation possible.  At the very least it was a chance for them to talk about themselves, far and away their favorite topics.  Their quarry listened attentively, none with an inkling that the impossible was about to happen.

Finally, after about fifteen minutes of faking the college courtship ritual, Jackie determined enough time had passed.  She spread her arms wide, and her turquoise eyes briefly flashed gold when she shouted, “Man to bug!”  Jets of ethereal blue light shot between each of the Gammas, forming a pentagram, and a loud, rising tone drowned out all conversation.  When it all subsided, the men had all disappeared.

Unless, of course, you knew where to look.  At the feet of each woman stood a pair of man-shaped bugs who were quite shocked by their new size.  None of them even came up to the toes of their shoes now, and all they could do was look up in silence at the woman who had chosen them.  This was no accident, however, and each man found a pair of enormous eyes staring back from atop the monolith he had just been chatting up.  For the women, the fun had just begun.