Confronting Fredrick part 1

Confronting Fredrick.

In the parking lot at the Jenny Downs Department store where I worked, I tried to load my vehicle, my grey Jenny Downs uniform soaking in the sunlight. I had gone shopping after work in an attempt to save gas and see my boyfriend Matt at work.

He worked at one of the stores in the mall. We had met while trying to escape from my own nightmare of a boss Gregory. It had been the first week on the job. I had been trying to get a small break. Gregory’s zero-tolerance made me want to vomit.

As I finished loading my groceries, I could hear Matt come up to me. “Hey.”

He was still in his blue and grey uniform.

I put the last bag of eggs, yogurt, and lettuce into the vehicle. The tiny black bug was filled to the brim. “Hey, Matt.

Your shift is already over?” Usually, his shift started as I was just getting out of work. It made getting together very difficult.

“My boss left early.”

I scratched at my head as I closed the trunk of my car. “Really?

That is-“The wind picked up, blowing my hair in front of my eyes. Despite the cool breeze, it was aggravating to be blinded every few minutes. “Damit all.”

Matt just laughed at me. “Maybe you should think about trimming those bangs of yours.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I like my hair as it is. The wind can just help give it personality.”

Matt chuckled, his green eyes flashing as they blinked.

“I guess you can look at it that way.

Come here. I wanted to show you something.”

I walked over as Matt pulled out his phone. “I thought you might want to see this. You remember that Fredrick person you are always going on and on about.”

I nodded my head. “Yes, what about him.”

“Well, he is on the news.”

I looked down at the phone as he brought up a video.

There was a man in a brown suit and a well-trimmed beard standing in front of an assembly of small vendors.

“We will be here in the park, showcasing many of our new entrepreneurs and their inventive new ideas. From food to tech, the new wave of the future is here. Come on down to Anthem’s New Beginnings and see what these talented people have to offer.”

The well-dressed newsman moved to the nearest stand. I instantly recognized the man behind the counter with jars of blue liquid for sale.  Fredrick.

”You, sir. Do you mind telling the people, channel 13, what you have for sale?”

The man looked a bit flushed to be on camera, adjusting his cheap-looking suit.  “Sure. This is my latest creation. A limited-time offer of Fredrick’s Fancy Honey Minted Tea. As with all my products, it is garmented to help-“

The newsman cut him off.  “Sounds fantastic. Let’s move on to the next vendor, shall we?”

I grabbed the phone out of Matt’s hands. “When was this?”

He looked a bit surprised. “It was just a few minutes ago.”

The park was about a five-minute drive from where we were at.  I could finally expose that charlatan for everything he has done to me.  “Thanks for telling me, Matt.” I opened the car door and tried to get in before Matt grabbed my arm.

“Hey, don’t rush off. I thought we could grab something to eat.”

I stared at him. I didn’t want to lose my chance to deal with Fredrick, but I also didn’t want to miss out on spending time with Mathew. “How about we go down to the show grounds and find something new and inventive to try.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You aren’t just saying this so you can sneak off on me?”

I waved my hands in front of my face. “I promise.”

Matt didn’t look that convinced. He knew me a bit too well. I mean, I had shown up at his apartment on our third date with a neck longer than my whole body, and Matt had still agreed to go out with me. I hadn’t’ told him of all my size bending adventures yet, but he suspected as much the way I talked on and on about Fredrick.  I wonder what he would say about the time I turned into a bunny when my relatives came to visit.

He put his gentle hand on my shoulder. “Ok, we can go for a few minutes. Then I actually want to take you out to a legitimate restaurant, ok. Make it something special.”

I smiled. “Ok. There isn’t any room in my car, so meet you there?”

He looked at my vehicle. “When are you going to get a new car? I doubt your neighbor is going to let you borrow that bug forever.”

I shrugged. “Matters on if I can ever get a raise working for that horrid boss of mine. Things have been a bit worse lately.”

“How so?”

“Eh, he just expects more of me.” I didn’t want to go into it. It was related to the time I had shrunk at work. He ended up forcing me to grow again to increase his sales.  Gregory is such a jerk.

Matt gave a slight smile. “Well, I guess I will meet you there then. Wait for me by the statue of general Temerson.”

“Sure.” Hopefully, I could get there and deal with Fredrick before Matt arrived. He was always a bit slow at moving through town.

I started up my car’s engine and slowly backed out of my parking space. I had to come to an abrupt halt as some jerk sped past me, almost clipping the rear of my vehicle. I slammed down on the horn in response.  Some people.

After the threat was over, I took a more careful look behind me, pulling out once more. I then proceeded to drive out onto the street.

The drive-over gave me time to think about what I would say if I did see Fredrick. I had so much on my mind.  Do you know what your products are doing? Do you know you shrunk me? That you made me grow into a giant twice? Did you test your products to see that they are safe?

In fact, I wanted to get down to that park before anyone else sampled his honey. No telling the damage he could be doing. I tapped my finger on the steering wheel, wishing for the grey truck ahead of me to move faster, its army of stickers and dark windows blocking my view of what was beyond it.  Why do people think it’s a good idea to deface their vehicles like that? How can they see when driving?

I turned the radio into the event at the park so I could hear the current news. If Fredrick’s products were going to cause a scene, I was going to know about it.

Sadly though, they were on a commercial break, talking about a big blowout deal over at Paterson’s Car World where all used cars must go this week.  Hmm, maybe that is something I should check out later.

When I arrived at the park, I had to circle the area to find a place to park.

Saying it was crowded was an understatement. Just driving around, I could spot hundreds of people walking about the pathways, sitting on benches, and just having a good time.  This is way more people than last year.

Wonder why they are all here.

I eventually gave up parking on the street and found a parking ramp to park at. Even then, I had to drive all the way to the top to find a spot. From there, I could see over the town and also spot the mall at which I worked.

Just before I turned off my vehicle, the radio turned back to the event.  “And we are back. Later tonight, we will be having a concert hosted by-“. I turned it off, no longer interested.

At least no one has tried his products yet. I am not too late.

I got out of my car and locked the door. My only worry was that I still had my groceries in the car, and someone might break into it, but I doubted anyone would walk fifteen flights of a car ramp to try it.

I rushed down the car ramp. I counted at least four other unlucky souls that had made it to the parking ramp after me and now had to find a parking spot somewhere else.

I even thought I saw Matt. As funny as that would be, I didn’t want him to be stuck too long looking for a spot.

When I finally reached the bottom, I pulled out my credit card to leave the garage. They had a security officer waiting to literally tackle people who thought they could just park their car and not pay for their time and put them in a mini jail until the real cops arrived. He took his job a bit too seriously, sitting in the corner reading his magazine with his sunglasses.

I went up to the a.t.m. machine and slid my card in.

A small railroad-like gate opened ahead of me as a card slid out with a number on it. I took the number and my credit card and ran. I could feel the eerie stare of the security guard boring into me, and it creeped me out.

I ran across the street and into the park. I was ready to find and deal with Fredrick.

That was going to be an issue, though, with how crowded the park was. It wasn’t just people, but vendors were all over the place. Already a young lady with a straw hat was trying to get my attention.

“Miss.”

“I am sorry, but I am looking for a particular vendor.”

The woman reached across the counter, grabbing my arm, her tan skin looking a tad burnt in places. “Now look, I am tired of people walking by my stand. Buy some goddam apples.”

I held up my hands defensively. “Ok, ok.” I looked over her goods, and I could see the reason why she had been passed up. Most of her products looked shriveled up or rotten.

I have to get out of here without making a scene.

I picked up the closest apple to me. “How much?”

“Four dollars. Quite a bargain for a dashing person as yourself.”

I pulled out the cash and handed it to her.

“Here.”

As I turned and walked away, she called out to me.

“Tell everyone you know. Catharine is the name. Best produce grower in the world right here.”

Right.

All the crooks seem to be here today.

When I was out of sight, I dropped the disgusting piece of fruit into a trash can.  Four bucks to avoid having a volatile vendor trying to rip my arms off. Hope it was worth it.

I took a moment to look around, spotting the man I was looking for.

There was a small crowd standing by his small blue table cloth booth. Fredrick was widely gesturing his arms about as he moved from side to side, a bottle of honey in his hands. I rushed over, ready to put an end to this madness.

Before I could, a rather tall and burly man moved in front of me, his leather jacket stung as I ran into the back of it.

“Hey, look where you are going.”

I shook my head as I looked up. “Me?” I thought about my next words carefully as I saw his muscles. He looked like he had been taking steroids and could break me in half. “Sorry, I guess I wasn’t looking.”

He narrowed his dark blue eyes at me.

“Whatever,” before turning around and heading up to the same place I was walking to.

Great, another complication.

I stood up and headed for Fredrick’s booth. I could now hear him yammering on. “People, people. My products are not miracle workers. Though some of my customers may claim them to be.”

The crowd laughed with him.

“Now I have been yammering on for too long. Who wants to try this new and wondrous product?”

I spoke as loud as I could. “Why don’t you tell them how wondrous it really is?”

All eyes went to me. Fredrick looked at me, a bit confused. “I just did. I don’t really need help selling my own stock, Miss.”

I stepped forward. “I mean, how about you tell them the side effects of your Fancy Fredrick’s products.”

He starched at his brown hair. “I don’t really know what you are talking about.

My Fredrick’s Fancy products don’t have any side effects or any that of a negative.”

“Then why did one of your products cause me to grow?”

All I received were blank stares. Fredrick stepped down and walked towards me, putting his hand onto my shoulder. “Miss, I think whatever delusions you have had can’t be traced to my products. Just because you read the label that promotes bone growth doesn’t mean you are actually growing. Maybe you should talk to a doctor or something.”

I pushed him away from me. “I am not crazy. Give me a sample, and I will show you what your products do to people.”

He adjusted his cheap-looking suit before saying, “I don’t think I should let someone like-“

I had already pushed past him and grabbed the nearest jar, unscrewing the lid and drinking from the container.  I am going to show these people.  But as I took a few gulps, I felt someone grab at the collar of my neck and pull. Fredrick’s voice rose up above the crowd. “Give me a few minutes’ people. This poor lady clearly needs some help, so I am going backstage to call for someone to deal with her and will be right back out.”

He whispered right into my ear. “Come along quietly before you make a scene, Sarah.”

His voice was a lot colder than it had been a second ago. It made me comply.

Fredrick brought me into an enclosed area where he kept his supplies. He looked around a moment before speaking. “How much do I need to pay you to just go away?”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“I am here to expose you and how your products have made my body change in size and sometimes even form.”

He narrowed his beady little eyes. “Look, it is a rare side effect, like an allergic reaction. It wasn’t supposed to happen to humans’

“Wait, what?”

“I am not going to go into this.”

I could feel my body start to tingle; the honey I had eaten was beginning to affect my body. Fredrick looked at me. “I can tell by the way you are squinting that you are starting to experience a reaction to my product. I can’t let anyone know about this.”

“What are you going to do?”

The world around me started to become larger.

Fredrick stepped forward. “Well, thankfully, you are shrinking, so I can easily keep this under wraps for now. “ I gulped as I quickly shrank down, my head in line with his torso.

“It is a bit fascinating. Too bad. Maybe in another lifetime, I could have studied this. But you are dead set on exposing me.” He patted my head like I was a child. “Enjoy your time being tiny. I have a show to run.”

I tried to stop him, but I was already half my average height. All I managed to do was grab at his legs. “I won’t let you.”

He looked down at my diminishing form. “You are but three feet tall and shrinking.

How do you think you can do anything?”

I looked up at him, now only up to his knee. “I can still yell for help.”

He bent down, his hands clamping around my mouth.

At my size, though, his hands wrapped around my head. “I can’t have that.” As I became smaller, he forced me into his hands. “If you won’t corporate, then I will just have to keep you here.”

When I was but a few inches tall, he picked me up.

He then walked over and unscrewed a bottle on an empty honey jar, and dropped me inside. “Settle down in there. I will be back in a bit to figure out what to do about you. Take that time to maybe stop trying to ruin me and accept that this is just a natural part of your life.”

I tried to crawl my way out of the bottle, but I couldn’t get any traction on the glass walls. It didn’t matter; I wouldn’t have been able to make it out before he screwed the cap on. Afterward, he set the bottle on a table and put a cloth over so no one would be able to see me. I sat down, frustrated after my world had gone dark.

This hadn’t gone at all how I planned it: allergic reaction, my ass.  I tapped my hands on the side of the glass.  What am I going to do now? Matt is going to be so upset when he figures out I ditched him in favor of this and got myself shrunk and trapped in a bottle.

Why do I do these things?

Time seemed to stretch by. I thought about what Fredrick said, that I was having some reaction to his products.

How did he know this? Did he test this on animals or something and make one change in size?  Well, at least I now know it is Fredrick’s Fancy products doing this to me. Hmm, maybe I could sample one to my advantage one day if I get out of this bottle.

Grow to thirty feet tall and get to work faster.

Ugh, what am I saying?  Why was I thinking about taking more of these products? I never knew what could happen. I didn’t even know what was going to me happen this time.

I stood up and started pacing around the base of the bottle.  What am I going to do, though? I need to find a way out of here. I can’t just wait for Fredrick to come back. Nor can I wait for my body to start growing again to my usual size. I remember what happened when I was trapped inside my car. I don’t like growing in tight spaces.  I looked around.  Even if I could get to the top, the lid is sealed, and I am too small to unscrew the cap.

The idea hit me.  Maybe though, I can try and push the bottle over.

I tried to push against the curved edge of the bottle, finding I could force it to wobble a bit. But no matter how much I tried, I was unable to get my prison to tip over.

Undeterred, I backed up until my back was against the glass. Then I ran full force slamming into the bottle, causing it to rock back and forth.

Not wanting to lose my chance, I rammed into the opposite wall trying to increase the momentum until finally, I was sent plummeting downward, crashing onto the floor.

Luckily the bottle only broke into three major pieces, the lid, the section I had landed on, and the upper half. The cloth that had been covering the jar a moment ago lay a few feet ahead of me, the wind carrying it away after I had toppled off the table.

Standing up, I looked around.  Surly, Fredrick or someone would have heard that. I should get out of here before someone comes to investigate. But where am I going to go? I am only an inch high. I can’t leave; someone is sure to step on me. Maybe breaking out of the bottle wasn’t the best idea, after all.

I shook my head.  What am I thinking? Waiting for Fredrick to come back isn’t an option. He will just put me back where I was.

I started walking, just picking a direction. I kept having to push blades of grass aside. I never expected to see the day where I was almost as tall as someone’s lawn.

It took me a good four minutes to reach the edge of the tent. There I had a new problem. I didn’t have the strength to pull up on the flaps, and it looked like it would take me a few minutes to walk around. So I flattened myself against the earth and wormed my way under. Thankfully the ground was soft, and digging through it was easy.

Once on the other side, I found myself where I had started, looking up at Fredrick and his audience. He was handing out some jars of honey at the moment, and I couldn’t hear what anyone was saying. It seemed, though, that my rant had done little to affect his business. I crossed my arms, frustrated. “Well, that was a waste of my time.”

Suddenly I saw a familiar face walk up to Fredrick’s booth. It was Matt.

From where I was standing, I couldn’t hear what he was saying.  Oh no. He knew I would come here. If he sees me like this, he will flip. I have to do something.

But what could I do? I had already shrunk. There was nothing I could do but wait out the effects, which could take minutes or hours.

I don’t have that time.

I needed to know what they were saying. And to see that, I had to get up onto that table that looked like a skyscraper. I walked over to the nearest metal tree trunk and tried to think about how I would scale the thing.   I don’t have to climb that high, as I can hear Matt and Fredrick yammering on barely from down here.

But I still need to get high enough to discern what they are saying.

I tried to bear hug the leg of the table, but I could barely get my hands to meet on the other side. I needed something to help wrap around, like a rubber band. I slumped against the iron bar, thinking of what I could use to ascend.

Then it struck me as I looked at Fredrick.  His shoelaces.

I walked over and climbed up onto his shoe. Then while he was distracted with Matt, I pulled at his laces. Thankfully they were worn and quickly pulled free. I was happy it was quick because the smell was atrocious. I almost fell backward, trying to get off his shoe and away from what smelled like rotten eggs.

Now though acquiring the makeshift rope, I could try and pull myself up. I walked back to the table and tried to throw the lace at one of the overhang arches.

It took me a few tries, but I was able to toss it over. I then pulled it down snugly and tied one end to the pole and the other around my waist.

I then started my ascent.

Getting traction with my feet wasn’t easy. Over and over again, I would slip down. Sweat was pouring down my face, but I couldn’t give up. I had to know what was going on. I kept at it, and eventually, I made it to a cross-section of beams. I laid down, exhausted.  Rock climbing would have been easier than this.

At least I could finally hear them talking above me, even though I couldn’t see them through the plastic. Matt’s voice boomed. “Are you she isn’t here?”

“I told you. Your girlfriend came here, bought a product and left. What is so hard to believe?”

“I know, Sarah. She has some weird fixation with you and is around here somewhere.”

“Look, I don’t know what to tell you. Now unless you want to buy a product-”

“I am not very interested in honey, and I know Sarah wouldn’t be either.”

“Well, if you change your mind.”

“I am going to go and check around. I will be back here if I can’t find her.”

I could hear Matt walk away. After he did so, Fredrick continued to talk. “Your girlfriend is having a little problem at the moment. I can’t really show her to you until that is resolved. It wouldn’t be ethical.” He laughed.

I narrowed my eyes. I needed to do something as I couldn’t have Matt just search for me all day.  But who knows how long I am going to be stuck like this. There is no way I can catch up to him at this size.

The thought that came to my mind wasn’t that appealing.  If I want a chance a speeding up my growth, maybe I should find more of the Fredrick’s Fancy honey and see if it will cause me to grow.

I almost wanted to slap myself. Having more Fredrick’s Fancy product would mean anything could happen to me. Yes, I might grow, but I could also continue to shrink. I looked at myself.  I can’t afford to get any smaller.  But I could also transform like I did when my relatives were over. I just don’t know how my body will handle such things.

But I have to do something. I sighed, knowing full well that this would probably end up being more trouble than it was worth. I continued to climb up the table. I no longer had the shoelace; it was tied down near the ground. I didn’t need it, though, as I was walking on intersecting pipes. The real trouble was getting on top of the table. Just reaching for the edge would require a leap of faith. But if I wanted to get at the Fredrick’s Fancy Honey again, I was going to have to do it.

I started to rock back and forth on my heels; there was no room for a running start. I then leaped off. Miraculously I was able to grasp the edge of the table. As I tried to pull myself up through the breeze picked up. It was to my advantage as it helped to swing me on top.

There I was greeted by awkward stares and an angry-looking Fredrick. “How the hell did you get out?” He said under his breath.

I had forgotten about trying to expose him, so this was a bonus. But instead of crying out to the people, I just ran to an open jar of honey.

Fredrick tried to stop me, but I managed to slip under his slamming fist before trying to pull myself on top of the jar.

Again Fredrick tried to stop me.

All he managed to do was knock the jar I was trying to get in over.

“Stop!”

I wasn’t listening, only eating away at the honey.

As I took handfuls and stuffed them into my mouth, I could see Matt walking up. His expression on his face was in pure shock. “Sarah?”

I stepped away from the jar and walked up to Matt.

“I can explain.”

He bent over so his face was eye level with my body.

“I told you not to deal with this, and what happens? You became so small that I could fit you in my wallet.”

The other people are starting to stare at us.

Fredrick seems to not want anything to do with this and starts to back away. “Matt I…”

“I want a promise right now that we are going to salvage what time we have left and try and have a good time. And this is the last time you are ever going to change sizes on me.”

I started to feel really odd. I held my hand over my stomach. Matt reached down and picked me up before saying. “Sarah, I want you to promise me that this is the last time.”

I looked Matt in his giant eyes and said, “Matt put me down. I am about to grow.” I groaned.

“And it feels like I am going to be doing a lot of it.”