Reus Village, Chapter 11 (Complete) (Patreon)

Hey guys! Here's the full chapter 11, all done! Sorry it took me a bit longer to finish than I anticipated -- it ended up being longer than I planned. But I'm really happy with it, and I hope you enjoy reading it! <3

The other updates (art short story, In Her Keeping, The Shrink, The Well) should be posted steadily over the next few days. Next week's updates will include Kink Island and the return of The Landmark Resort! Lots of fun stuff coming up! <3

Chapter 11

The next few weeks seemed to fly by in a kind of fever dream for Lauren as she settled into the thrilling, hectic, disorienting life of Reus Village.  Ever since her intense make-out session with Michelle, the two of them had started behaving like a couple, even though they hadn’t really talked about their intimacy openly.  The physical and emotional attraction just spoke for itself.  The two of them held hands all the time, with Lauren often sitting in Michelle’s lap during meals.  As the larger and more outwardly dominant partner, Michelle had gotten into the habit of playfully groping Lauren’s “little” breasts out of the blue, a habit that Lauren pretended to resent, but which, of course, she actually enjoyed immensely.  It was all the sexier in Lauren’s mind, because, in the act of groping her, Michelle often called attention to how loose Lauren’s dresses were, sometimes even causing “nip slips” without even meaning to.

“Heyyy watch it!” Lauren complained once at lunch in the Lavender compound, making a show of trying to swat Michelle’s comparatively-huge hand away, as her way-too-loose blue dress slipped so far down her shoulder that her breast came out, “What’re you trying to do, strip me down naked!?”

“Uh…yeah, maybe,” Michelle giggled, teasing her finger around Lauren’s erect nipple for a moment before trying to drape the loose dress back over her shoulder, “And anyway, how can you blame me for copping a feel, when you’re the one who dresses like a slut?”

“I…ME!?” Lauren burst out, her eyes going wide as she tried, without much success, to keep her quivering smile down, “This is literally the smallest dress they had in the entire village!  It’s not my fault if I’m so…uh…so…”

“Tiny?” suggested Michelle helpfully, bouncing Lauren on her knee as she grinned across the table at Jennifer, “Huh?  That’s the right word, isn’t it?  Right, Jenny?”

“Ugh, you two are just too much,” Jennifer sighed, rolling her eyes, even as she privately enjoyed the dynamic between her two smaller roommates.  She wasn’t in the least jealous that they had, for all intents and purposes, become a couple – her energy was on a different wavelength, one that was slightly older and more mature, one that, in its own complicated way, was perfectly complimented by Nancy’s affectionate and almost-obsessive attention.

“But she does have a point, Lauren,” Jennifer added with a little smirk, “I mean…compared to the two of us, you’re still pretty tiny.”

“I had a growth spurt the other day, though!” Lauren protested, sticking out her chin as she put her hands on her hips, still nestled in Michelle’s lap.

“Ooooooh a growth spurrrrtttt, she says!” Michelle laughed, her eyes going wide as she looked down at Lauren, “What’re you now?  10’3?”

“I’m…10’4…ACTUALLY,” Lauren huffed.

“Mmmmm ten-foot-FOUR!” Michelle exclaimed, with great exaggeration in her voice, “Wowwwww that’s so biggggggg, Lauren!  At that pace, you’ll catch up to Jenny in, what…about three years or so?”

“Don’t even try and pretend like that’s true,” Lauren shot back, squirming around in Michelle’s lap, her oversized pantyhose making her struggles all the more comical, “Jillian said that my initial growth trajectory looked on the high end, actually…and that I should be all the way up to 15 feet within 6 months!”

“Well in the meantime,” Michelle grinned, “If you’re curious how it actually feels to be 15 feet tall, all you gotta do is ask me!  Sittin’ pretty at 15’1, baby!”

“No, really?” Lauren said sarcastically, “I hadn’t heard!”

She, Michelle, and Jennifer all shared a laugh around the table.  Of course, it had been no secret that Michelle had experienced an unusually intense growth spurt a week before, which shot her all the way up from 14’2 to 14’11, and, after a few “aftershocks” in the ensuing days, she had reached 15’1, nearly a foot taller than she had been the week before.  All of this was in line with the medical team’s expectations for her growth, since Michelle was expected to leave the Lavender Compound in the next couple years, breeze through the Jade Compound, which housed those between 18 and 22 feet, and at least land in the Scarlet Compound (the home of those between 22 and 28 feet), perhaps even graduating to the Burgundy Compound, which housed everyone 28’0 and above.  

The thought of Michelle leaving was unbearable for Lauren, even though she was confident that their relationship would continue, no matter where they were living.  And, in any case, it wasn’t like Lauren was just going to sit there and not continue to grow.  She had another meeting with Jillian, the nurse in charge of her medical team, later on today, during which she would hear about the long-term prospects for her growth.  Lauren was hoping that she’d at least grow up to 22’0, even though she relished her current role as the smallest resident at Reus.  She figured that 22’0 was a nice compromise – big enough to fend for herself, but small enough where she could still feel dwarfed by the real giants.  It would be the perfect balance.  

Michelle knew all about her size fetishes now; after their makeout session the week before, Lauren had talked in-depth with her about it, confiding how aroused she was by feeling so small in rooms, in furniture, in clothes, and in shoes that were all way, way too big for her.  Michelle had said that she understood, and that, in a way, she shared the fetish…except with her there was a little twist to it.  Michelle was aroused by the idea of wearing loose clothes too, except her fantasy was to literally grow INTO these clothes, until they were too tight.  

“But it all makes total sense, see?” Michelle had smiled down to Lauren, as she twirled her huge finger around in the loose strap of Lauren’s dress, “You’re a sub…but with that spunky “brat” energy – whereas I’m a dom…with a chip on her shoulder, who wants to prove everyone wrong and grow GIGANTIC, stretching out those clothes everyone told me were too big!”

“Y-yeah…” Lauren had breathed, her cheeks flushing hot just at Michelle’s words (the finger in the loose dress strap probably had something to do with it too), “I, uh…that makes sense.”

Now, in the present, the three Lavender Compound roommates were still laughing, with Jennifer cutting in humorously:

“But even if you ARE over 15’0 tall now, Michelle…you actually look SMALLER than you did last week!”

“Huh!?  What’d you mean??” Michelle demanded, putting her fists down on the table, on either side of Lauren, who stared at them, mesmerized by their size.

“Oh gee, I don’t know,” Jennifer replied, matching the general humorous, sarcastic mood, as she leaned across the table, doing her best to project the power of her own 16’8 frame, “Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you keep STEALING MY CLOTHES.  They make you look tiny, you know.”

Lauren had to admit that Jennifer was right – just as her own loose dress made her look a lot smaller than she actually was, the fact that Michelle had started stealing Jennifer’s clothes made her look smaller too.  Right now, she was wearing an oversized golden dress, a rich, bright color that suited her fiery personality…but the dress itself was so big that, like Lauren’s, it was almost slipping off her shoulders.

“How many times is she going to complain about that?” whispered Michelle to Lauren, before raising her voice across the table: “They do NOT make me look tiny – they just…uhh…you know…they show…um, they show all the progress that I still have to make!”

“Uh-huh,” Jennifer chuckled, “Right.  Sure.  The progress you have to make.  Judging by how loose those spaghetti straps are, I’d say you have a ways to go, sister.”

“Just you wait,” Michelle said defiantly, “In another few days I’ll be taller than you, and THEN we’ll see just how loose this dress is then!”

“Another few days?” Jennifer asked, actually serious now, “Did they really say you were going to grow that quickly?”

“They…uh, okay not EXACTLY,” admitted Michelle, “But still, they said I was due for another spurt sometime in the next few weeks, so…you know…why not in a few days?  Hell, why not TODAY, for all I know?”

She bounced Lauren playfully on her knee, something that Lauren simultaneously hated and loved at the same time – it still felt like a bit of a condescending move on Michelle’s part to do something like that, but she also couldn’t deny that it was sooooo, so hot too.  She was literally 10’4, and getting bounced around on Michelle’s knee like a little kid.  

“That exciting for you, little girl?” Michelle teased in Lauren’s ear, “The thought of biggggg, THICK Michelle growing so huge that she just FILLS OUT Jennifer’s dresses, right before your very eyes!?”

Lauren could feel her cheeks getting hot as Michelle really laid into the teasing, and it certainly didn’t help that being bounced around like this called attention to the fact that BOTH of them were wearing dresses that were way too big for them.  Imagining Michelle having yet another growth spurt, and her already-curvy body burgeoning and growing even more, filling out Jennifer’s loose clothes…well…it was almost more than Lauren could take.  If she had been alone with Michelle, she might have simply given in and leaned back, angling her mouth up to make out.  But since Jennifer was there, and since it was the middle of the morning, and since Lauren had a full schedule ahead that day, it was easier to play the “bratty sub” and pitch a fit.

“Will you QUIT treating me like a…a little doll!?” she complained, trying to swat Michelle’s teasing hand away from her breast (which was nearly exposed again at this point), “I-I’ve…I’ve got things to do today!”

“Oh of COURSE!” laughed Michelle, finally slowing down her bouncing knee as she continued to play with the loose dress around Lauren’s chest, “Little Miss Loosey-Goosey has a packed schedule.  So, what, you can’t wait for Jillian to tell you that you’re gonna top out at 15’0?”

“I’m gonna be a lot bigger than THAT,” Lauren shot back emphatically, crossing her arms huffily across her chest.  She hated (and loved) that this crabby body language made her feel even smaller, sitting there in Michelle’s lap.

“I actually think she’s right, Michelle,” Jennifer chimed in from across the table, a wistful smile on her face, “Not really sure why, but I just feel like you’re both going to end up outgrowing me.”

“Well obviously I’M gonna outgrow you,” Michelle chuckled.  A few seconds of silence ensued, and Lauren sensed, from the way Jennifer was smiling, that Michelle was close to striking a nerve.  Michelle seemed to understand, and the next moment she had abruptly set Lauren down on the table, legs dangling off the end, hopped off her chair (which was still too high for her), come around the table, and wrapped her arms around Jennifer’s midsection.  For an instant, Lauren could see a flash of annoyance in Jennifer’s face, as if Michelle’s visible contrition was an invitation for her to let out some frustration, but whatever negative energy was there, it quickly dissipated.  She reached down and patted Michelle’s forearm, which was wrapped around her waist.

“Sorry Jenny,” Michelle murmured, “I’m just excited about getting bigger, is all…not trying to make you feel bad…”

“I know,” Jennifer replied softly, still patting Michelle’s forearm (which looked quite small in comparison to her), “I know…you can’t help it.”

Lauren watched from across the table as her two roommates embraced.  She had only been at Reus for a couple weeks, but already she had lived with the two of them long enough to understand what was going on.  Jennifer had been 16’8 for quite some time – a couple years, in fact – and she wasn’t expected to grow any larger.  She had an ambivalent relationship with her stalled growth.  On one hand, she didn’t have an insatiable urge to get bigger like Michelle (or Roxy, or a few others) did, but on the other hand, she had seen many of her old roommates literally outgrow her, and outgrow the Lavender Compound altogether.  Lauren could already tell that Jennifer had a deep-seated fear of loneliness; she was worried that Michelle and Lauren and anyone else who came through the Lavender Compound would grow past her, “graduate” to the bigger compounds, and forget about her.  And sometimes, in Michelle’s more animated moments, she forgot how sensitive Jennifer could be.  But even though she could be arrogant and abrasive and indiscreet, Michelle was always quick to recognize her errors, and make up for them in a genuine and compassionate way.  

“But you know what you CAN help?” added Jennifer, brightening up as she seized Michelle’s arms with her huge hands and pried them off her waist, “Keeping your tiny hands OFF my clothes!  Look at this…you’re barely even able to wear this dress without it falling off you!”

“Okay, wow, all right, you wanna go there!?” Michelle exclaimed, quickly pulling away from Jennifer, correctly sensing that they had transitioned back into playful banter, “Here, lemme show you what I’m working with here…”

Standing in the middle of the kitchen now, Michelle began hastily undressing, which was quite easy, since Jennifer’s golden dress was already halfway falling off anyway.  Lauren glanced across the table at Jennifer, and they made eye contact, grinning at each other.  There was no doubt that, in living with Michelle, there was never really a dull moment.  

“Oh come on,” Jennifer giggled, rolling her eyes as she looked back over at Michelle, who was now standing naked in the kitchen, except for her black panties, which fit snugly over her ample curves, “You don’t have to do this to prove a –”

“No no no!” Michelle interrupted energetically, putting her hands up, “You want me to wear my own clothes!  I get it!  Now lemme just show you what that looks like now.”

“Ughhh we’ve been throughhhhh this,” Jennifer sighed, clearly enjoying her role as the jaded roommate who’s “had it up to here” with her spunky friend, but Michelle had already stomped into the hallway, towards her room.  A few seconds later she came back with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, both articles of clothing that had fit her perfectly a couple weeks before. 

“So you want me to wear my own clothes, huh?” Michelle asked, dropping the jeans to the floor while she threw her t-shirt over her head.  Lauren had already seen what Michelle looked like in her old clothes, but that didn’t stop her eyes popping as she watched the enormous t-shirt (which would have been huge and billowy on her) rapidly fill up.  Michelle pulled and tugged it down over her big breasts, gritting her teeth as she stared purposefully straight at Jennifer.  In no time, the t-shirt was completely taut, barely even managing to cover Michelle’s breasts.  The t-shirt which had fit her perfectly a couple weeks before now looked like a comically undersized crop top.  

“Looks…alright, actually,” Jennifer quipped, again making eye contact with Lauren as they both snickered.

“Oh!  Yeah…sure,” Michelle nodded with exaggeration, putting her hands on her hips, “It looks like a ridiculously tiny shirt now, but as soon as I try and reach up for anything, like I ALWAYS have to do around here…”

She reached up towards the ceiling (which she wasn’t close to being able to touch), and the next moment, a series of audible rips and tears sounded out into the air.  The t-shirt, which had already been stretched to its breaking point, had torn in several places – right around the left breast, down the right sleeve, and down the front of her chest, so that her big cleavage suddenly came bounding up towards her chin, rapidly expanding out the initial tear into a full-fledged gash.  Turning again toward Jennifer, Michelle spread her arms out wide.

“Does it still look…how did you put it before…does it still look ALRIGHT to you, Jenny!?” she demanded.

“Actually looks a little better than before,” Jennifer giggled along with Lauren.

“No – yeah, okay…” Michelle nodded again, gaining still more energy, “I’m not even done yet.  Let’s get these jeans on, huh?  These jeans that FIT me, of course!”

Jennifer and Lauren continued to smirk and giggle amongst themselves as they watched Michelle thread her bare feet through the legs of her jeans, jiggling them around with some difficulty until they came out the other end.  Then, making eye contact with the two of them, as if to say ‘watch this,’ Michelle abruptly yanked the jeans up her legs…well, at least, as far as they could possibly go.  Her calves quickly filled up the roomiest segment of the upper jeans, and they just barely managed to clear her knees before they came to a sudden halt.  Michelle tugged and tugged on them, making a show of pulling with all her might, until the jeans began to fray and split down the sides.

“Okay, okay!” laughed Jennifer, holding up her hands, “You made your point…geez…”

“What’re you talking about?” Michelle asked, obstinately sarcastic as she looked from her roommate to her jeans, “What point!?  I’m just showing you how amazingly my old clothes fit me, since you won’t let me wear any of yours.  See, look!  I can get around just fine!”

She set tottering off around the kitchen, having to awkwardly shuffle her feet in short little motions to keep from toppling over.  All of this just made her roommates laugh harder, even as Lauren privately marveled at just how much Michelle had grown in such a short amount of time.  

‘Those clothes fit her perfectly when she was 14 feet tall,’ Lauren thought to herself, watching Michelle reach out to grab the counter before she face-planted into the kitchen floor, ‘And now she can’t even get them on properly…if I was wearing them, they’d be so loose on me it’d be like wearing a blanket.’

“All right!  Look…” Jennifer said, getting up from her seat and coming over to help steady Michelle in the midst of her ridiculous display, “Obviously your old clothes don’t fit…we get that.”

“So you’re finally saying that I can wear some of your clothes…?” Michelle suggested hopefully, raising her eyebrows up at Jennifer, who still towered over her growing roommate by nearly 2 feet.

“I’m saying,” Jennifer replied, putting her hand on Michelle’s shoulder (covering it completely), “That you can wear some of my clothes…while we go shopping for some NEW ones for you.”

Michelle grinned over at Lauren and raised her arms in the air, doing a little dance in the kitchen while Jennifer continued to keep a steadying hand on Michelle’s shoulder, while rolling her eyes.  

“Yesssss!” Michelle burst out joyously, “That’s all I really wanted to hear!  Come shopping with us, Lauren!  Not that you’re gonna find anything to wear that’ll fit you, but we’ve been meaning to show you around town and everything, so this’ll be perfect!”

“Oh but…but I have those appointments!” Lauren replied, feeling very disappointed.  The thought of going into town with Michelle and Jennifer, especially to watch them shop for new clothing for Michelle, was very exciting, even if it was a bit intimidating, since they were sure to run into a lot of the much bigger residents.  

“Pssssh, please,” Michelle retorted, waving her hand, “We’ll wait here for you until you’re done.  It’s not like they’re gonna take all day!”

“Yeah, the appointments shouldn’t be longer than an hour each,” Jennifer added, “And we’ll be waiting here for you when you get back!”

Lauren opened her mouth, but then found that she didn’t exactly know what to say.  The last couple weeks had been an absolute whirlwind – coming to Reus, being exposed to the shock of the sheer sizes of everyone around her, integrating more into the village, becoming close with her roommates, being waaaaay, way too short and small for everything, enjoying a budding romance with Michelle, being subjected to all these tests and analyses from the doctors – it all just seemed so insane that it was almost surreal, and it was easy for Lauren to feel like she was getting lost in the midst of everything.  But Michelle and Jennifer seemed to understand her position (both physical and mental) perfectly…and they did, since they had more or less been through the same things as she had, years before.  Whenever Lauren felt an incoming, irrational sense of panic, or disappointment, or some other negative emotion, they were always there to catch her, to slow her down, to make her feel better, to remind her that she wasn’t alone.  

A car horn suddenly honked outside.

“Aha, perfect timing!” Michelle grinned, shimmying over to Lauren in her ridiculous jeans, picking her up, and giving her a quick peck on the cheek before ushering towards the door, “That’ll be Jillian, here to pick you up.  Go on, slip on those sandals…haha I know you’ve “grown” a little, but they’re still waaaaay too big for your feet – have a nice meeting!  We’ll be waiting for you…very impatiently…can’t tell you how long I’ve been trying to get Jenny to take us shopping.”

Thirty seconds later, Lauren was stumbling out of the Lavender Compound, her oversized blue dress slipping off her shoulders, and her feet clomping awkwardly down the wooden stairs in Michelle’s old hand-me-down sandals.  Jillian, the nice nurse that Lauren had met on her first day, was waiting for her in a car, a car specifically designed to hold people up to 18 feet tall.  At 6’3, Jillian was huge as far as “normal” women went, but she looked so comically-undersized from Lauren’s perspective that, once Lauren sat in the front seat and buckled her seatbelt, she did a triple-take at Jillian without even realizing it.

“S-sorry…!” Lauren stammered out a moment later, “I–I didn’t mean to look at you like that, but…”

“Oh don’t worry, dear, don’t worry!” Jillian laughed (even her voice sounded tiny in Lauren’s ears), “I can tell that you’ve already gotten used to being the “tiny one,” so it must be a little topsy-turvy in your mind to be the “giant” again!”

“Yeah, just…just a little,” Lauren murmured as they drove away to the medical center.  The next hour was taken up with a whole routine of measurements and tests, which were all so novel to Lauren that they seemed to go by in the blink of an eye.  She was 10’4, having grown a couple inches already in the two weeks since she had first arrived, and had gained 28 lbs, which made her 547 lbs now.  

“I gained…TWENTY EIGHT POUNDS!?” she blinked, not quite believing the number.  The “Lauren” from previous years would have been horrified…and yet, she felt like she actually looked better than she ever had: strong and solid, yet still very curvy and feminine.  

“Mhm!” smiled Jillian, nodding, “And you’ll be gaining more, trust me…a LOT more.  Mark my words.”

“Well…how much more?” asked Lauren, as she hopped up onto the huge chair, failing twice before she succeeded.  The chair was the smallest that Jillian’s office had, designed for 12-footers, not 10-footers like Lauren.  

“So here’s what I can say right now,” Jillian replied, consulting the series of papers that she had laid out on her desk, “Your baseline evaluations and bone-age scans show that your endocrine activity is accelerating rather than stabilizing…no surprises there, really…which means that you're looking at a series of rapid, unpredictable growth spurts over the next couple of years rather than a gradual incline.”

“Is that…normal?” asked Lauren uncertainly, swinging her feet from her oversized chair, unable to avoid feeling anxious.

“VERY normal,” Jillian replied warmly, smiling, “I know it can be a bit dizzying and nerve-wracking to hear all this, but your systems all seem to be functioning quite well, so all the news is good news!”

“That’s…okay, that’s good to hear,” said Lauren, feeling encouraged by Jillian’s warm, genuine smile.  

“Now as far as the actual sizes we’re talking about,” Jillian continued, looking at the papers, “Based on your current cellular turnover and epiphyseal activity, our clinical projections indicate you will clear 15 feet relatively soon – probably within the next one or two years – with your trajectory ultimately leveling off somewhere between 18 and 22 feet within the next five to ten years.”

Lauren sat there, letting those words sink in.  The initial thrill of hearing that her growth trajectory landed in her mental “sweet spot” felt good enough, but it was also just discombobulating to imagine getting THAT much bigger.  She was “only” 10’4 now…and there was a real probability that she was going to get more than TWICE as big!?  

“I know it’s a lot to take in, sweetie,” Jillian said kindly, “But rest assured, we'll be closely monitoring your joint load, cardiovascular adaptation, metabolic demands…really, everything, every step of the way to keep you comfortable as your body navigates this next phase.”

Lauren continued to think in silence for a few moments before blurting out, without quite knowing why:

“How big is Michelle supposed to get?”

“Michelle?” grinned Jillian, raising her eyebrows, “Why don’t you ask her yourself?  She’s always looking for an excuse to tell someone.”

“How big am I supposed to get!?” Michelle laughed, half an hour later, as she sat on one of the huge, oversized rocking chairs on the Lavender Compound porch, with Lauren perched on her lap, “Oh god, I mean…they’re expecting me to hit 20 feet in a few months.”

“A few…months!?” Lauren repeated, her eyes widening.

“Uh-huh,” chuckled Michelle, her hand around Lauren’s shoulder, “And in half a year, maybe a little longer, they expect me to be around 22 feet…could be bigger…eventually topping out over 25, though personally I feel like it’s gonna be a LOT more than that.”

“Why do you feel that?” Lauren asked, still mesmerized by the speed of Michelle’s projected growth. 

“Eh…instinct,” Michelle shrugged, “And anyway, once their projections go over 25 feet, they get a lot more murky.  They still don’t understand how all the REALLY big ones work.”

“They don’t?” asked Lauren.

“God no,” Michelle laughed, “I mean, they projected that Nicole would top out at 26 feet a few years ago, and…well, you’ve seen her.  Freakin’ girl’s gonna hit 40 feet here in a couple weeks, probably.  Kayley’s not far behind either – they projected she’d stop at 28 feet.  They’re still flying blind when it comes to us GIANTS…even if their predictions for midgets like you usually pan out.”

“Hey!  22 feet isn’t “midget” territory, alright,” Lauren protested.  Privately, though, the thought of an enormous Michelle dwarfing her at that size was…exciting to say the least.

“Tell that to me when I’m 40 feet tall,” smirked Michelle, as Jennifer came out on the porch, clapping her hands.

“All right!  You two ready to go?” she asked, “Go shopping, tour the town a little, and then…maybe stop by the bar at the end?”

“Ooooo I was gonna suggest that!” Michelle exclaimed, abruptly getting up and setting Lauren down on the porch between the two of them, “Since Lauren can’t really go anywhere without us…safety issue for you, Lauren, no offense…this is the perfect time to show her everything!  Oh man, the bar!  It’s sooooo fun.  You’re in for a treat!”

“I…uh, I can’t wait!” smiled Lauren, even as her mind did backflips trying to imagine what on earth a BAR in Reus Village actually looked like, and how it even worked.  

“How was your appointment with Dr. Lamont?” Jennifer asked a few minutes later, as the three of them walked along the designated Lavender path, towards town, “You mentioned everything with Jillian but I didn’t hear you mention the second appointment.”

“Oh…yeah, well, uh…my appointment with Lamont got moved back a couple days,” Lauren replied, “Something about another one of his clients running overtime…some sort of emergency, apparently.”

“Hope it’s not Mary,” Michelle said, glancing quickly up at Jennifer, as the two of them shared knowing looks, “Probably is, though.”

“Poor girl,” Jennifer sighed, “She’s been having a hard time recently.”

“Mary?” Lauren asked, “I don’t think I’ve met her yet.”

“You haven’t,” Michelle replied, “She’s been keeping to herself for the last few months.  Had a hyper-intense spurt about half a year ago and…she’s just been struggling to deal with it, mentally.”

“18 to 26 feet in the span of 6 months,” said Jennifer, shaking her head, “Pretty intense.  Some people deal with it better than others.  It’s not all sunshine and roses here…”

The three of them walked in silence for about half a minute, before Michelle piped up:

“She’ll get through it.  I know she will…Mary’s sensitive, but when it gets down to it I think she’s a tough cookie – anyway, let’s lighten up a little.  I’m about to finally get some clothes that FIT me!”

Lauren looked over at Michelle and smiled.  She certainly did look a little ridiculous – she was decked out in more of Jennifer’s clothes, wearing a cute turquoise shirt, a skirt, some stockings, and a pair of Jennifer’s flats.  The shirt was so big that it was nearly sliding off her shoulders, and her skirt was sagging off her hips.  The stockings weren’t any better, all bunched up at the knees, and around her feet, which were so dwarfed by Jennifer’s huge flats that they kept sliding off the heels of her stocking-d feet with each step.  She was only able to keep her outfit together by walking with comical deliberateness, and by literally holding onto her shirt and skirt to make sure neither slipped off completely.  Lauren wasn’t in a much better position, still wearing her blue dress, and having to walk with the same clomping deliberateness to keep her oversized flats on her feet as well.  Jennifer was the only one who was wearing clothes and shoes that actually fit.  

“God, I hope we don’t run into Roxy,” muttered Michelle, as they rounded the bend, right before the Reus valley opened up beneath them, “Psssh even if we do, and she gives us shit, I don’t care.  I’ll throw my shoe at her.”

“You’ll keep MY shoes to yourself,” Jennifer replied, as Lauren saw the whole valley spread itself out beneath them.  Far down below, she could see slow, huge shapes moving.

‘It’s them,’ she thought, with a strange, nervous thrill, ‘It’s all the giants…just…walking around town…!’  

Before long, in every way, she would be among them.