Size Worries extended preview

Size Worries.

Cathy shook her head as she entered the office. “Where did all of these people come from?”

Her boss turned towards her and smiled. “Oh, there you are. Cathy, I would like you to meet our new hires.” He pointed at the half a dozen people talking and drinking at the far end of the room. “Great, isn’t it?”

Cathy shook her head, causing her long dark hair to sway back and forth. “I guess.”

She sighed.  Why do we need so many people? I was just getting used to working alone.  She gulped.  And why do they all have to be so damn tall?  Cathy blinked her blue eyes.  For once, I wish I met someone that wasn’t so much taller than me.

“Hey, Cathy, are you alright?”

She shook her head. “Oh yes. I am fine.” She smiled. “Just fine. Glad we could hire some new blood around here.” Cathy nodded her head. “Should help with filling out some of those weird things that Fredrick wants us to make.”

He slowly nodded his bald head. “Right. Well happy you feel that way as they are your responsibility.”

Her eyes went wide. “Wait, what?” She threw her arms to the side. “I have enough on my hands trying to make these damn products for Fredricks Fancy that can and can’t shrink people.” She shook her head. “I don’t even understand what I should be working on such stupid cereal brands still. Why is Fredrick concerned if we make people smaller?”

“Hey, that isn’t your concern. Your concern is to make people shrink, so get to it.” He turned around. “We here at Fredricks Fancy just do what Fredrick wants. We don’t ask why Fredrick wants us to cause others to change in size. I mean, it pays well, so why complain.” He sighed. “Just do your job Cathy and get them trained and ready.” He walked off. “Ok, everyone, listen to Cathy and learn well. Welcome to Fredericks Fancy.”

Cathy slid her hands into her pockets and walked forward as her boss ducked out of the room. “Hello, everyone, and welcome.”

One of the new employees glanced at her. “Who are you?”

Cathy took a deep breath. “I am going to be showing you how to make the special Fredricks Fancy cereal that we are known for.” She smiled.

He turned towards her and crossed his arms. “What? I came here because I was told this place experiments with size changing. That sounds cool. I don’t want to be some weird food-making person.”

Cathy raised an eyebrow.  This kid can’t be serious.  She cleared her throat. “There is serious work that we do here umm. . .”

“Andrew.”

“Right. I don’t think you should have just come here if your only intention is to work on size-changing properties that may or may not exist.”

He laughed. “Oh, come now. That shit is all over the news. Giant ladies on a boat. Giant lady advertising for a store. Giant. . .”

Cathy held up her hands. “Ok, I get it. Strange things happen, but why do you think Fredricks Fancy has anything to do with this?”

He held up a flyer.  Fredricks Fancy. We make our products for a better future of growth and prosperity.  Andrew pointed at the words. “It is right here in writing. Can’t you see it?”

She rolled her eyes. “I think you are a bit nuts.” She turned around. “Look, can we get started.”

Another man walked up to them. “Hey, what is going on?”

Andrew shrugged his shoulders. “Just about how this company is trying to cover up changing people in size.”

“Enough.” Cathy threw up her arms and walked towards the door. “There is nothing that is being covered up here. I need to get some things out of the next room for your training session. I will be right back.”

She walked through the door and slammed it behind her. “God.” Cathy shook her head. “What is with these people.” She made her way over to the storage room. “I can’t believe that I am supposed to train a bunch of people who think this company is only about altering people’s size.” She sighed as she picked up a few pamphlets. “I mean, sure, it does happen, but that isn’t anything these people need to know about.” Cathy shuddered. “I still can’t believe that the company has been experimenting with size-changing technology, so why would I tell people who might be gone tomorrow about this.”

Cathy noticed a vial on the ground. “What is this?” She picked it up. “It is one of the shrinking vials from the experimental department. How did this get here?”

“Hey, where did you get off to Cathy? Can you hurry back so we can get our work started?”

She gripped the bottle in her hands.  If they want to know about this company’s size-changing policies so bad, I will show it to them. Besides, I am sick and tired of people being so much taller than me. Why oh why does everyone have to be fucking a foot or more taller than me. It isn’t fair.  She looked at the bottle.  It is time that they knew what being small really meant.  Cathy giggled and slid the vial into her pocket.

Cathy walked back into the assembly room. “Ok, is everyone ready to get to work.”

Andrew smirked and crossed his arms. “Well, it’s about time. Are you going to spill the beans now?”

A young lady scratched at her head, her blonde bangs falling in front of her face. “What beans?”

Andrew laughed. “That this company has been dabbling in size-changing products.”

The lady scoffed. “You are crazy.”

Cathy slammed her hand onto a nearby desk. “Look, can everyone shut up and listen to me. I have never done any training, but I thought I would start things off with a bit of a party.”

Cheers went up from the small crowd. “Party?”

“That sounds great.”

Cathy smirked wickedly. “I know it does. Now I don’t have too much on me as this training session was sprung on me at the last moment, but I can start things off with some beer, and while you drink that, I can go get some snacks.”

Andrew smiled. “Sounds great. Sure we can drink at work?”

Cathy turned around and walked over to the refrigerator. “Oh, don’t worry. You won’t have enough to get drunk.” She opened the door and pulled some drinks out. “Besides, it is non-alcoholic.” She began to fill up some plastic cups with the fizzy beverage; as she did so, she poured drops of the shrinking compound into the drinks. “Ok, here you are.” She took a few steps back and hid the vial in her pocket. “I will go get the snacks.”

Andrew raised the cup to his lisp. “Well, I do have to say this is starting off swimmingly.” He began to sip away at the beverage.

Cathy giggled as she walked towards the front of the room.  I am glad you all think so, as, in a few moments, things won’t be going as well.

***

One of the young ladies suddenly fell into a chair. “I kind of feel weird.”

“What is wrong, Quin?” Andrew asked.

“I don’t know. Everything just feels so tight.”

“I feel that way as well.”

“Me too.”

They all began to sit down. Andrew shook his head and looked over at Quin. “Hey, I think we should go ask Cathy what was in that beer she gave us.”

Quin nodded her head. “Yes.” She groaned. “I will try and find her.”

Andrew shook his head. “No.” He sighed. “You shouldn’t move.”

She stood up. “We all feel the same way. I will just put up with it and... Ughhh.”

She put her hand on the table as the constricting feeling intensified. Suddenly, the table grew in size, and her clothing felt heavy. “What in the world?” Her hand slipped off the table, and she fell out of her shoes and onto the ground. “Ouff.” As Quin pushed herself up, she shrank more and more into her clothes, and her pants slid right off her body. She tried to grab onto her shirt, but it quickly became too massive for her and crushed her. “Someone help.”

When her body finally stopped shrinking, she took a deep breath. “Can anyone hear me?” She heard a loud crash and fell to the floor. “Oh god, what was that?” Quin pushed up on her shirt. “I wish I could see what was outside my fucking work uniform.”

She began to crawl her way through the tangled mess of her shirt sleeve. “How did this thing get so fumbled up. I just fell onto the ground. Or am I really that small?” Eventually, she found her way to the edge of her shirt sleeve and pulled herself out into the light and freedom. “Finally.” She looked up. “Now, can someone help me? Hello?” Quin looked around only to see furniture and searing hot lights above her. “Where did everyone go. You would think at my size, I would be able to see everyone. I need to get a better vantage point to find out what happened.”

She climbed up the side of her shirt and gasped. “Oh my god.” She was surrounded by a sea of clothing. “Everyone has shrunk.” She ran her hands through her hair. “What in the world has happened here?”

***

Cathy pushed the door open and clasped her hands together as she entered the room. “Perfect, it worked.” She carefully walked over and picked up the tiny woman standing on the pile of clothing. “Though I was expecting the clothing to stay on everyone.”

Quin thrashed about in Cathy’s hands. “What did you do to me and the others. Put me down.”

Cathy laughed and gently touched Quin on her stomach. “Ohh, in good time.” She laughed. “You are so cute at that size. I wonder. . .” She tapped her free hand on her chin. “I will wait until I see the others.”

She threw Quin into her pocket. “Hey!”

Cathy turned her attention to the other clothing piles. “This worked better than I could have hoped.

“Let me out of here. I will call the human resources department on you. Hey.”

Cathy tapped the side of her pocket. “Stay quiet, will you. I could just shove you into a bottle, but I am being nice.” Cathy giggled. “Oh, it feels so good to say that.” She shivered in glee. “I should get the others and get out of here.”

She quickly dug the others out of the confines of their clothing. “Ugh, Andrew.”

She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Why weren’t you wearing underwear?”

He covered his body. “Hey, I didn’t know anyone would be shrinking me. What is wrong with you?” He covered the lower half of his body. “You think shrinking people to show how the business works is funny?”

Cathy smiled. “Well, yes, it is cute.” She lowered her voice and brought her head in close. “But don’t tell anyone, but I shrank you because I wanted to.” His eyes went wide. “Not that you will be able to anyways. You will be small and tiny forever.” She giggled. “No longer able to be taller than me.”

“Wait, what? Why does that matter?”

She tossed him up into the air. “I am sick and tired of people having to be so much taller than me. Just once, I wish I could walk into the room and be the tallest in there.” She caught him and wrapped her hand around him like a doll. “But no, I had to be cursed this way,” Cathy smirked. “But no more. I have you and the others to help me stay this way.”

She looked at her pocket full of tiny little people. “Ugh. I need to find another place to keep you.”

Andrew sighed happily. “Perfect. You will have to put me down, and I can just—

“Oh, I know.” Cathy walked over and grabbed her purse. “You and the others I have yet to grab can go in here.” She tapped him on the head. “Just stay out of my stuff. I have everything in there the way that I like it. Understand.”

Andrew shook his head. “Yes. I get it.  Ughhh.” He groaned. “Damn it, all your finger hurts. Please don’t do that again.”

She threw him into her purse. “Then be a good boy and do what I said.” She set her bag down and looked around. “Now, there should be a few more trainees around here.” Cathy began to throw the clothing about. “Now come out, come out wherever you are. I won’t hurt you. I promise.”

Cathy noticed a small figure scurry towards the door. “Hey now. Where do you think you are going?” She shook her head and slowly walked towards the entrance of the room.

“Even if that door was unlocked, it would be too big for you to open, you know.”

A small voice squeaked from below. “Let me out of here. I didn’t sign up for this.”

Cathy bent over to see a small man hiding behind a table leg alongside a woman with short red hair. “Well, I didn’t sign up for training a bunch of people, so I think we are even.” She reached out and grabbed them.

The young man hit the side of her fist. “Let go of us.”

“Charles don’t make things any worse than they have to be. We are already less than a foot tall, and you are mouthing off to the giant lady?”

“Tina, I know what I am doing.” He blew his wavy blue hair to the side. “Just let me handle this.”

“I don’t need you to handle anything for me. I just met you and can get out of this mess on my own.”

Cathy slammed her foot onto the floor. “Just stop. I can’t stand the two of you arguing like this. You sound like my damn brother and sister. Sheshh.” She walked over to her purse. “If you don’t act better, I might sell you to a doll company to get rid of you.”

“See what you did, Tina? She is going to sell us.”