In hindsight, Todd shouldn’t have been so engrossed with texting his friend Connor that he ignored his surroundings and thus disregarded his safety. It was over their first day at college, discussing the usual nerves and excitement at meeting their college cohort. Connor went to a different college, on the West Coast like Todd but his was in Arizona while Todd was in California. Both boys had moved into their dorms and got through orientation just before the term started and now Todd was heading down to the main campus to do a little exploring.
Todd loved to explore the world around him. Back home he would often take a bus ride through the city, get off at a stop he’d never stopped before and go for a walk. Sometimes he would take a left when he would normally go right and find himself in a side of town he didn’t even realise existed.The places he explored weren’t always safe and on more than one occasion he could have fallen victim to a violent crime but luck seemed to be on his side. Hence he never had a reason to reconsider this hobby of his.
He intended to do the same until something large slammed into him as he passed the big college fountain. Todd didn’t have time to react, his eyes were glued to his phone and he only knew something was up when he had been hit. The impact was enough to send him flying into the fountain, the knee deep waters submerging his body as he lay prone. Todd was dazed, swallowing water in his panic as he quickly sat up. His eyes were shut as water entered them, and he did not see the large being in front of him lift him from the fountain. Under water, Todd could not hear anything. Instinctively he tried to flush the water of his ears,tilting his head side to side all the while a muffled voice spoke to him. When his eyes were flushed and his ears were cleared, he opened his ears and nearly passed out at the sight before him.
It was Jade; Jade Erikson the billionaire heiress! Todd knew her, and he guessed everyone with access to a television or Internet did. Her mother Jessica was a celebrity giantess, a regular on the red carpet and Jade had followed in her mother’s footsteps. Todd didn’t really follow either of their on screen careers with much interest, he just knew she existed and apparently she was at his college.
Todd also realised, judging by the soft surface he was sitting on, he was in the palm of her hand. “Y-you’re-” Todd stuttered, his ash brown hair matted and clinging to his face. All he could see was a face as large as the Statue of Liberty’s own staring back at him, her tanned cheeks flushed with colour. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her dark brown eyes apologetic for being the object he had collided with. “I’m sorry. Um, are you alright?” She asked, speaking with an accent that seemed to be a fusion of British and American. “I-I am. I think,” Todd answered politely. He reached for his phone, only to realise he hadn’t put it in his pocket and it was probably in the fountain. “Crap!” He exclaimed, looking over the edge of Jade’s fingers.
“What?” Jade asked as her eyes scanned the ground. “My my phone. One moment I’m walking, then I bump into you and it's gone. God I hope it's not in the fountain,” Todd sounded worried, his perfect morning had gone south faster than geese escaping winter. “Um…” Jade scanned the floor, searching for his phone. “You know, you’re really massive compared to the phone. I must be like the size of a grain of-”
“Found it!” Jade squealed in delight and bent her knees to pick it up, scaring Todd who nearly lost his balance. “No you’ll damage it. I can pick it up, my hands are small enough to get it,” Todd said as he realised how odd it must have been to tell a girl he had small hands. He watched as Jade used her fingernail to pick up what he assumed was his phone. She raised her hand with grace and held it in front of Todd where he found his phone, resting on the underside of her what was an apparently manicured fingernail. “I know your hands are, but…” Jade giggled, “I am very careful with my hands. I can hold an egg between my fingers without every cracking it.”
Todd smiled at her remark as he tested his phone. Apart from a crack in the metal casing, it appeared to be fine, even the phone itself wasn’t too affected by the collision as he flipped through the apps he frequently used. After confirming it was still functional he took off his bag, unzipped it and rifled through his items. “Thank God for waterproofing,” he mumbled to himself as he confirmed
“Um thank you. I’m Todd.” “I’m Jade,” she replied. “I know, I’ve seen your face plastered on like, everything,”Todd answered. Jade chuckled, “Ah right. Do you need to go back to your place? To change?” Jade asked, remembering that Todd was still soaked.
“Yeah, if you just let me down I can-” Jade didn’t do that as she started to walk off. “I can get you there faster. Just tell me where and I will get you over. It is the least I could do after knocking you over.” Jade apologised again. “Normally I am quite observant of my surroundings,” she remarked after Todd gave her directions. To her credit, she was fast, and it was quite the sight for him to see her bounding towards his hostel. It was also the reaction of the people around her, looking up at this titaness of a girl covering hundreds of feet with every step. When she reached his hostel, she crouched down by the building. Despite being five stories tall, it was barely knee height to her. “Hey, could you let me in through that window? That one right there?” Todd pointed straight at it, he had forgotten to close it. “ Sneaking in eh?” Jade teased. “Sort of but it’s not everyday a giant girl carries you to your room,” Todd smiled sheepishly. “Yeah it is not. Unless you want to hang out more often,” Jade suggested to him as he climbed through the window.
“Sure,” Todd replied as he grabbed his lime green towel. “Maybe we could meet for dinner?” Dinner would be good, Todd thought. He knew a place nearby. “I would love that. Maybe you could even tell me a thing or two about this place. I was supposed to go for orientation but I had to go to Milan for a fashion show,” Jade accepted. “You can come to my place. It would be better, more privacy.”Jade suggested. “Plus I can cook for you. Unless you don’t like soups and stews,” Jade added. “Yeah it’ll be great,” Todd said. Guess he would show her that place another time.”Now if you’ll excuse me,I have to take a shower,” Todd chuckled as he closed the bathroom door.
Jade sighed as she sat down outside of his window. Goodness, she thought. How could she have hurt a person like that? She was normally very careful. Thankfully he wasn’t upset about it; even better that he accepted her offer of dinner. From what she could tell, he stood about 5 feet 9 inches tall, based on her own estimations. Most people were approximately the size of her thumb, but she was able to perceive the relatively microscopic inches that made up the differences in human height. He had a baby face, somewhat kind looking and if she had to use a word to describe him, it was cute.
She set her backpack, large enough to carry a blue whale down and brought out her tablet. Looking for the e-book app, she opened it and proceeded to continue the novel she had started. Even while she read,she could still hear the sounds of the dorms. People getting up, brushing their teeth,showering, chatting with roommates and so on.Jade could hear them. It was part of having a super soldier for a mother, Jade thought. She wasn’t just large, her senses were greatly enhanced. Enhanced to the point that right now, Jade could pick out Todd’s voice in the shower, as he sang what she thought was an Ed Sheeran song. Maybe, he seemed to be mumbling the words. By now she had lost interest in her novel and was more interested in listening to Todd through several inches of concrete. She smiled to herself; it was certainly wrong to eavesdrop but with her abilities, it couldn’t be helped. It came with territory and Jade could at least she tried not to eavesdrop, unless it was a particularly dramatic conversation then she had to listen.
Jade glanced at the time on her tablet’s display, noting she still had enough time to make it to class. She knew where her classroom, there was only one which could accommodate a person of her stature. It was about a minute’s walk from Todd’s place, a timing she had derived based on how her knowledge of the college layout. Perhaps Todd would let her walk him back to his classroom? She hoped he would, despite the little accident. She could not tell if he was pissed or not, but based on his voice tones and his heartbeat, she concluded that he was not too upset. Her thoughts on the incident were interrupted by the door to Todd’s dorm bathroom opening, and she instinctively peered in to check on her new friend.
Todd had slipped his pants on in the shower but realised he had forgotten to take his shirt in with him. No problem, he thought to himself, he would simply step outside and take it. He had stepped out, drying his hair with his towel minding his own business when he felt he was being watched. Instinctively he turned and saw Jade looking right through the window, staring at him. She spotted him looking back at her. She noticed him looking back and immediately turned away. Todd thought he could see her eyes widened as she turned away but he couldn’t be sure. Whatever, he thought, maybe she was just checking to see if he was done. He thought no further of the matter as he went to his closet and picked out a shirt to wear.
Goodness, Jade thought as she hid her face behind the tablet. She didn’t expect Todd to catch her staring at his topless body, his surprisingly chiseled abs display prominently. Her cheeks were flushed a rosy red. She had seen similar features with the male models she regularly worked with on assignment but not on a boy she presumed was part of the average population. She hoped he didn’t think she was a creep. “Jade, I’m ready,” she heard Todd say. Taking a deep breath, she composed herself and calmly addressed Todd, trying not to fixate too much on his shirtless body. “Right, I’ll carry you to class. Where is your class?” Jade asked as she set her palm outside of his window. Todd climbed on to her palm, Jade raising her hand to a comfortable position before setting off. “I have a lecture at the Business building. I’m doing a degree in Business Management,”Todd stated. “Oh,” Jade replied without looking at him. “I know where that is. Hey, I am also doing a business course. Business Administration.”
“Oh great! Then we should have some common modules together,” Todd stated with some excitement in his voice. “I hope so,”Jade glanced at him with a thin smile on her lips. “Later on, maybe you could come over to my place at about 7,” Jade said, reminding Todd of the earlier agreement to meet up. “7 is good. I’ll see you there. Maybe I’ll also see you on campus.” “You probably will, I am rather easy to spot,” Jade joked, eliciting chuckles from both of them.