The Perfect RoommateChapter 1Mark had begun his search for a new apartment 2 months ago. He wasn't havingmuch luck, though. Either the places were too small or the rent was too high.
One day, in a casual conversation, a friend of his, Patsy, mentioned that sheknew a friend, Julie, who was looking for a roommate and maybe he should checkit out. Now, Mark had no intentions of having a roommate, much less a femaleroommate, but he was getting desperate so he agreed to at least take a look atthe place.
From the outside the place didn't look too bad. Obviously, a very old house butkept up nicely. He could hear footsteps shortly after ringing the doorbell.
Patsy's friends were usually overweight and kind of dumpy so Mark wasn'texpecting anything much in the way of looks. As the door slowly opened, however,the smiling face of a surprisingly cute woman greeted Mark. She wasn't a'knockout' but had nice features. Blonde, 5'10,' slender and dressed like she'djust come from working out at a gym or something. She wasn't muscular but wasdefinitely in shape.
'Hi, Mark?,' she said, breaking his trance.
'Umm, yeah, hi, you must be Julie.,' he finally said.
'Nice to meet you. Come on in and I'll show you around the place,' she repliedas she led him inside.
During the course of the meeting, Mark found out a few things about Julie. Shewas just coming out of a long, bad relationship with someone named Don. That iswhy she was looking for a roommate in the first place. She said she needed abreak from 'living with a rat for a boyfriend'. Julie was the type of woman whotook all the blame for the bad things in a relationship. And up until now, nomatter how badly Don treated her, she had always gone back.
Obviously, she was still hurting from the breakup. She owned an art gallerydowntown and had flexible working hours. Occasionally she had to entertain artclients at the house, but this would usually be during regular working hours.
And the one thing she definitely wanted to do was 'take charge of her own life'again.
The more Mark thought about it over the next few days, the more he started tothink that this might not be a bad situation after all. A totally platonicenvironment with an attractive woman sounded much better than living with somemessy guy. So Mark decided to give it a try and called Julie back and told herabout his decision.
'Great,' she said, 'I really have a good feeling about this. You seem like sucha nice guy. I think you'll make a wonderful roommate.'Feeling like he had to reply, Mark said, 'Me too, I think this is going to workout good for both of us.'One thing Mark noticed right away about Julie was that she had some very uniquefriends. One was named Kelly, and she worked at a cosmetic research laboratory.
She was always bringing Julie the latest in cosmetic technology. She was justone of those people who thought that every new makeup idea was revolutionary andeveryone had to try it. And she didn't take 'No' for an answer. He and Kellydidn't get along that well. The latest development was a product that wassupposed to reduce cellulite. Now, Julie didn't have much fat on her but wasalways complaining about her thighs so when Kelly brought the liquid 'miracle'over, she just put it in the refrigerator thinking that maybe she would try itlater. Apparently this stuff could spoil and to remind herself of that, Kellyused an empty milk carton as a container for the stuff. Supposedly, the stufflooked like milk and it would last as long as milk would without spoiling.
The next morning, when Mark woke up, he decided to make himself a cup of coffee.
He wasn't home when Kelly brought the carton of 'stuff' over and when he lookedin the refrigerator to find some milk for his coffee, he was relieved to find acarton of good wholesome milk.
'Nothing like milk in coffee,' he thought as he poured a generous amount intohis coffee. Boy, was he ever right this time.
Chapter 2That evening, while Mark and Julie were watching the evening news. Mark noticedhow Julie always removed her shoes and placed her feet on the sofa. She alwaysdid this during the news. During the commercials, Mark looked at Julie's feetand noticed that they were relatively normal feet for a woman. No scars ormarks, but soft and delicate. And she always kept her toenails painted. Just ashe was staring, Mark began to feel a little achy. And as Julie turned to ask himwhat was the matter, Mark stood up and bent over holding his stomach.
'Julie, I think I'm going to be sick,' was the last thing Mark remembered sayingbefore the room started spinning and he fell to his knees. He began to crawlaround and for some strange reason he felt like his clothes were slipping off ashe moved. He had visions of Julie's face with a horrified look on it butcouldn't distinguish between hallucination and fantasy. Finally, he passed outfor what was probably a couple of minutes.
Julie was completely in a state of shock over what she just witnessed. Oneminute she was sitting next to him talking about the news and the next she waswatching him shrink and crawl out of his clothes in front of her. He had passedout about a yard from her foot and appeared to be about 8" tall. Her firstthought was that he might be dead. But just as she was about to get up, shenoticed some slight movement.
The first thing Mark noticed was that he was completely naked. 'Oh great! Nowwhat have I done,' he thought. 'Julie must think I'm some kind of idiot.' As hestood up to regain his composure and look for his clothes, he noticed whatappeared to be one of Julie's red high heels. But it was so big. Just as hethought he must be imagining things, he heard a sound and turned only to bestaring directly at Julie's foot. Only now her foot was huge. There was nothing'soft and delicate' about it now, it was immense. This couldn't be possible. Ashe followed the leg upward he noticed a gigantic billboard Face with a confusedlook staring down at him. Somehow, he had to get control of himself. Could itreally be Julie, had she grown or had he shrunk down to the size of her Foot?Since everything else seemed huge, it must be him that shrunk.
Julie broke the silence, 'Mark, are you OK, what happened?''I don't know.' he said, 'What's going on?'Julie leaned a little closer, 'Don't be afraid.''Don't be afraid' he thought. There he was standing nude in front of a giganticwoman. How could he not be afraid. Without realizing it, Julie moved her footcloser to Mark when she tried to get a closer look and he backed awayimmediately.
'Oh, I'm sorry,' she said, 'its just a little hard to hear you.''It's ok, you just look so big,' he answered, trying not to show the terror hefelt inside.
'Well, it looks like I am pretty big compared to you,' she replied, trying toease the tension. 'Sorry,' she said, realizing that Mark didn't think the jokewas funny. 'It's just so unbelievable, looking at you so small. I'm seeing itbut I don't believe my eyes.'Without thinking, Mark blurted out, 'How do you think I feel, I'm the one whoshrunk!' Realizing the tone of his voice, he stopped himself saying calmly, 'I'msorry Julie, I know it's not your fault, but what am I going to do now? I can'tstay like this.'They both just stared at each other for a minute. Neither one could believe whatthey were seeing.
Chapter 3It suddenly occurred to Mark that he was totally naked and Julie had never seenhim nude before. He immediately looked for something to cover himself with anddecided to stand behind Julie's high-heeled shoe for lack of anything better.
As serious of a situation as it was, Julie could hardly hold back a giggle asshe watched a full-grown man try to hide his manhood behind her shoe.
Mark could see that Julie was holding back a laugh that only made him feel moreembarrassed. As best as he could tell, judging from her 3" heels, he figured hisheight to be about 7" or 8".
Julie broke the uncomfortable silence by saying, 'Mark, don't be embarrassed.
I've seen men naked before. Granted, none standing behind my shoe trying tohide.' This time, the tension was relieved somewhat.
Mark looked up at Julie and simply said, 'Julie, what the hell happened to me?And how am I going to get back to normal?'Julie just looked pitifully down at Mark and said gently, 'I know it must beterrifying to you right now but there must be some explanation for this.'As Julie spoke, her Toes flexed a little without her realizing it, onlyaccentuating the situation. She probably didn't know it then, but any movementright now, only reinforced the fact that Julie was a colossal giantess and Markwas a tiny man. As he looked around the room the reality of the situation wassetting in. Julie could tell by looking at him that he was frightened andworried, but couldn't think of anything to say.
Finally, she said, 'Mark, is there anything I can do for you right now.'He replied, 'I think I just need to rest.' At that point, they were boththinking about how he would be able to climb into bed. 'But how am I going toget into bed?'Julie was afraid to touch him for fear that she might hurt him so she suggested,'If you like, you can just climb into my shoe there, and I can carry you to yourroom.'As absurd as it sounded, it was the most logical thing he could think of at thetime.
'OK,' he answered and climbed carefully into her shoe, laying back like it was arecliner.
When Julie saw this she took the cue and moved closer to him. As she approached,Mark stiffened a little at the sight of a Giantess approaching him and her giantHand extending toward him. As the Hand grabbed the shoe, Mark shut his eyes,afraid of what would happen.
Julie could see the tension, and tried to reassure him, 'Don't worry, Mark, I'mnot going to hurt you.'The phrase, 'I'm not going to hurt you' rang out in his head as he could feelhimself picked up and carried through the house. It sounded like some kind ofransom note from a movie, 'Just relax, nobody will get hurt'.
After what seemed like a magic carpet ride, he felt himself being lowered andfinally coming to rest. He opened his eyes, and recognized his footballfield-sizedbed.
'I'll check on you in the morning,' Julie said.
He replied, 'Thanks' and within minutes after Julie shut the door he fell asleepfrom exhaustion.
Chapter 4As Julie lay back in her own bed she thought about how she should act aroundMark at his new size. She would have to be extra careful around him not to scarehim and she would have to take care of him for at least a few days. Whatever hashappened to him is bound to wear off, she thought. People just don't shrink. Shefigured that she could watch over him the next few days and see what happens. Itcouldn't be that bad. Besides, she could afford take a little time off from theart gallery.
Just before he fell asleep, as Mark tried to remain calm, resting on hiscolossal bed, he wondered what Julie must be thinking. He wondered if she wouldtry to help him or abandon him now. He was totally dependent on her, at leastfor now. He tried to maintain some feelings of independence but was totallyhumiliated at the thought of having someone take care of him.
He awoke to the loudest telephone ring that he had ever heard. After a fewminutes, he was determined to get out of bed by himself and was quite proud ofhimself as he slid down the sheets to the ground. As he was admiring his greataccomplishment, he heard a knock at the bedroom door.
'Mark?,' Julie said softly.
Wanting to show off his achievement, he yelled, 'Come in!'As the door opened two huge Feet stepped into the room. 'Hey, I was just comingto see if you needed any help to get out of bed...but I guess I'm too late,'Julie said in a congratulatory manner. 'Here, I brought you this in case youwere cold,' Julie said as she showed him a handkerchief and let it drop to theground.
'Thanks,' he said and fashioned a toga around himself.
'Need a lift to the den?' she asked.
As he looked over to her shoe that was still there from the last night, hereplied, 'Sure, I guess, no sense walking when I have my own magic carpet.'Julie giggled, 'Oh just get in and enjoy the ride. I don't plan on being yourpersonal taxi all the time, you know?'He got inside and braced himself on the rims of the shoe as Julie bent down andgrabbed the toe and heel of her shoe and raised it up to her face. A slightmusky scent from her shoe reached her nose, and she apologized, 'Oh, Mark, I'msorry, I didn't realize my shoe smelled. You should have said something.''Don't worry, it doesn't bother me.,' he replied.
'I could never be so polite, if I were in your position,' she admitted while shecarried him into the den.
As Julie set the shoe down on the coffee table, he said, 'Well, Julie, I justdon't want to be any trouble, you're the only one who can help me right now. Youwill help me, won't you?'Julie knelt down in front of him and got within a foot of his little body,pointing her giant Finger at him, 'Now look, I don't want to hear any of thatkind of talk, you hear? Whatever happened to you has got to wear off in a fewdays. People don't just shrink without a reason. OK?'Looking up at the beautiful billboard sized Face and perfectly manicuredfingernail in his face, he said, 'And what if it doesn't?''Let's just take it one day at a time.' she said.
Chapter 5During the next few days, Julie waited on her little roommate hand and foot.
Whenever he asked for something, she got it for him. She served him meals andcarried him in her shoe wherever he needed to go. She felt sorry for him.
Mark appreciated all of the attention from Julie but couldn't help taking herkindness a little for granted. 'After all,' he thought, 'I'm the victim here andbesides, she seems to be enjoying it.' Once he even made her fill the sink fourtimes before he liked the temperature enough to get in and take a bath.
Julie continued to put up with all of his demands because she felt sympathy, butwhat she didn't realize about herself was that even though she felt sorry forhim, she was getting a little tired of being his maid. She was supposed to betaking charge of her own life, not someone else's. This was supposed to bewearing off by now.
Just as she was thinking about this, she heard a tiny voice, 'Julie, move yourfoot, its blocking the TV.'Without thinking, she snapped back, 'Why don't you move over?!?'Mark froze, looking up at her stern expression, which immediately softened.
'Oh, I'm sorry, Mark, it's just that this whole thing has been a little harderthan I expected.'Mark had never heard Julie use that tone of voice with him before and it sent achill down his spine. He answered nervously, 'It's OK, I understand.' He noticedthat she still hadn't moved her foot so he got up and moved over.
She continued, 'Maybe it would be better if you were under professional careuntil this thing wears off. I mean, I worry about you all day. I'm afraid tomove because I might step on you. And I have to go back to work soon.''No, please Julie, don't do that to me.' he shouted, 'Like you said, it's sureto wear off soon, I'll be alright here while you're at work, don't worry...'Just then, the phone rang, interrupting them. Julie answered the phone lookingdown at him the whole time. 'Hello?,' she asked.
Feeling uncomfortable, Mark climbed down the sofa to the floor. Normally, hewould ask Julie to help him but he was getting a little scared now.
'Oh hi Kelly. Yeah, I still have it. Why do you want me to throw it away, Ithought it was some kind of 'miracle'.' Her face went pale as she moved thereceiver away from her mouth.
Mark could hear Kelly yelling 'Julie?' through the receiver. He didn't know whathe disliked more, Kelly's loud mouth or forceful personality.
Finally Julie answered Kelly, 'Yeah, I'm still here. Get over here! Right now!'Julie demanded as she hung up the phone.
'Why did you tell her to come over here!?' he demanded, 'I don't want....''Mark!' She interrupted, 'she may be the only person that can help you.''What do you mean? She doesn't even like me.' He was confused.
Kelly only lived a few blocks away, and before Julie got a chance to answer him,Kelly was knocking at the door. Her Feet hit the floor in front of him as he ranto hide behind a chair.
'Julie, what's the deal? Are you alright?,' Kelly asked.
'Just look!,' she replied.
'At what? Are you sure you're OK?'Julie turned around and saw that Mark had hidden. 'Mark, come out from behindthe chair. She's not going to hurt you.,' Julie reassured him.
Kelly's eyes lit up as she watched Mark come into view wearing his handkerchieftoga. There he was, standing in front of two giant women, one of whom who wouldjust as soon squash him where he stands. But if she could help him, he had totake the chance.
'Holy shit! Julie,' Kelly said as she raised her hand to her mouth, 'You musthave drank the whole carton.'Mark snapped back, 'Well at least I wasn't stupid enough to put it in a milkcarton in the first place!'Kelly put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow looking down at him, 'Wellat least I'm not the one who's small enough to fit inside a milk carton.'Embarrassed, Mark looked down from her Face. In front of him were two sets ofFeet, each as large as himself. This only reinforced her words. He never felt sohumiliated in his life than at that moment. His anger was growing toward Kelly,as well.
'Alright, stop it you two. Kelly, you said this has happened before to labanimal. How did you make them normal again?''Well, I was about to tell you, before you hung up on me, that the effects atthis point in the product's development, are irreversible.''WHAT!' he screamed and began charging Kelly's open-toed sandal out of sheeranger, He began pounding on her foot with all his strength yelling, 'You bitch!You did this to me! You'd better find some way to make me normal again, orelse!'Kelly shook her Foot, sending Mark sprawling across the floor yelling, 'Or else,what? You going to beat my feet to a pulp?''Kelly!,' Julie intervened, 'Can't you see he's scared out of his mind?''I can see that,' she replied, 'and he'd better stay away from my feet if hedoesn't want to end up under them. I don't feel sorry for him. You know all menare the same. You just broke up with one, remember? Mark's no different.'Mark just lay on the ground face down, covering his ears.
'Go back to my bedroom, Kelly, you're only frightening him more.' Julie toldher, thinking that at least she would leave Mark alone.
'Oh, alright,' Kelly agreed and walked right past Mark, pausing a few seconds asher foot came down inches from his head.
Mark could smell Kelly's Feet when she stopped, realizing how close she had comeand lay completely still.
'Go on Kelly,' Julie said firmly as she got up and walked over to him. She kneltdown beside Mark and said softly, 'I'm going to talk to her in my room.
Unfortunately, she's your only hope right now, and I'm going to make sure thatshe doesn't 'blow' this off.'Without lifting his head, he replied, 'Thanks Julie, I'll be alright in aminute.'With that, she went into her room, wondering what she could possibly say tosomeone like Kelly to make her understand. She had known Kelly for years andknew that she could be very stubborn at times. She had to try at least.
Julie entered her bedroom closing the door behind her. Kelly was sitting on theedge of the bed. Ever since they had met, she could read Julie like a book. Itwas one of the reasons she liked being friends with her. It gave her a sense ofconfidence and power over Julie. It was about time that she taught Juliesomething about power and control. After all, Kelly was the one who convincedJulie to break up with Don. Now that she was out of the relationship, Kelly hadto convince her to stay out by showing her how to be a strong, independentwoman. And little Mark would make an ideal teaching aid.
'You should be ashamed of yourself, Kelly, scaring him like that,' Julie said,trying to set the tone of the conversation.
'Oh, he'll be alright,' Kelly replied, 'He's a big boy.' She giggled a little.
'Well, I guess he's not that big right now.''This isn't funny, Kelly. How would you like to be 8" tall in a world ofgiants?''Ooo, I wouldn't last long, dear, especially around bitches like me.' Kellygiggled again at her own words.
'Kelly, this is serious. Please, you have to try to get an antidote for this.
Surely, the lab must have something?''That's just it, Julie. That's what I've been trying to tell you. There is noantidote. Dr. Slone is working on one to test on the lab animals, but face it,Mark is going to be that way for a long time.'Both women paused for a moment. Julie hung her head slightly, thinking that ifMark stayed with her, she could take care of him. She'd have to find a way toaccept her role as his caretaker. After all, she felt partly to blame for hispredicament.
Kelly could tell exactly what Julie was thinking. She had a similar conversationabout Don not long ago. Obviously, Don was not 8" tall, but the end result wasthe same. This time Kelly wasn't going to let her fall back into her pattern.
'Can I ask you something, Julie?''Sure, Kelly,' Julie answered knowing from the tone of the question that she wasin for a lecture.
'Why do you feel like you have to be totally responsible for any man in yourlife?' She paused, 'I'll bet you're blaming yourself right now for Mark. Am Iright?''Well, it was my lotion that he drank.''Listen to yourself, will you? What happened out there was an accident. And youwant to make it your fault. You did the same thing with Don.'Kelly's last words stung Julie. She did not want to get into a situation likeshe was with Don. 'What can I do, though, Kelly. He's so helpless.''Well, for starter, you can stop thinking of him as a victim. He is a little manwho happens to be living in your house.''He is paying half the rent you know?,' Julie added.
'Umm, I don't think he is going to be contributing financially for a while.
Which is all the more reason that you have to take charge of this situation andset up some strict rules. He can help out around here...''Oh, Kelly,' Julie interrupted, 'what could he do?''I'm serious, Julie, you'll just have to be a little creative. The questionshouldn't be will he contribute, but how will he contribute. Think about itJulie. You're going to be a pretty important woman in his life and you deservesome respect. Remember, you're the one in control here and he has to know that.'Kelly's words were sinking in. 'take charge,' 'deserve,' 'respect,' 'incontrol'. All the things she was trying to get back into her life. Kelly couldtell she was getting through to Julie. 'You didn't ask to be put in thissituation, did you?''No. But neither did he.''Right! So there's no reason why you should feel like you have to center yourlifestyle around him. If anything, he should be catering to you! He should bewilling to do anything he can for you even though it will never equal what youwill be doing for him.''I guess you're right Kelly. I need to be in control of my own life now and Markwill have to adapt to that. But I know he's going to resist.''That's why you have to have strict rules and penalties for disobedience. He hasto know that when you say something, you mean it. In case you didn't notice, hewasn't much resistance to my foot out there.' Both women giggled.
'Thanks Kelly, what would I do without a friend like you?'With that, both women hugged and walked back out into the den where Mark hadrecomposed himself and was sitting on the floor in front of the couch.
While Julie opened the front door, Kelly bent over to pick up her purse whichwas on the sofa above Mark, and whispered just loud enough so he could hear, 'Ifyou ever try anything like that with me again, I'll break you in half.' Shestood up, glanced down at Mark and winked, 'Bye now.''Well, what did she say?' asked Mark, anxiously.
'Mark, I'm sorry, they're working on one but there's just nothing she can doright now.''Well you seem pretty calm about the whole situation!' he snapped, 'I'm the onewho is 8" tall, remember?''Mark!,' she said sternly, 'I don't want to argue about this right now. I'mtired, and I just want to go to bed. You should get some rest too. We have a lotto discuss tomorrow.'Chapter 6Julie woke up early the next day, and while Mark slept, she decided it would besafe to run a few errands. She left a note for him on his 'magic carpet' shoe.
She stopped at the drugstore and went to the section where they have samplesizes of lotions, perfumes, nail polishes, etc. She could easily grab 5 or 6 ofeach item in her hand at a time and took a handful of each. Her next stop wasthe toy store where she bought a few Ken Doll outfits and some doll-sizedfurniture and silverware. Her last stop was the pet store. She was looking forsome kind of cage with a very secure lock on it. The store manager was confusedstating that most animals don't require such strong locks. Still, he showed herthe only one he had and she bought it. All the time she was out, she keptreplaying the conversation with Kelly. Kelly was right this time. She had totake control of the situation. And as much as she wanted to deny it, the lessshe thought of Mark as a victim, the more she looked forward to her new role inhis life.
When Mark woke up he lay back wondering what Julie wanted to discuss. He climbedout of bed and saw a piece of paper on the Shoe. The letters were huge, 'Had torun a few errands.''A few errands,' he thought. She had never left him alone to run errands.
Something was different about Julie since last night.
Just then, he heard the front door open and what sounded like packages beingbrought in. He could hear her shoes coming down the hall and past his door. Theymade the sound of a bass drum at a parade. Steadily growing louder as theyapproached, and softer as they left, in perfect rhythm. After a few moments, heheard her walking back toward his room and he could tell she had taken her shoesoff because the 'drums' were much more muffled. They stopped outside his door.
The door eased open and her Foot stepped in. She pushed the door open when shesaw him and she was completely visible in the doorway.
'Oh good you're awake,' she said looking down at him. 'Here, I bought youthese,' she said as she knelt down and laid out a doll outfit in front of him.
'Thanks,' he replied, 'it'll be a nice change.' That wasn't all that was goingto change.
'After you get dressed, come out into the den. We need to talk about a couple ofthings.'Before he could suggest that she carry him in her Shoe, she turned and walkedout of the room. The 'drums' continued down the hall. As he got dressed henoticed that the clothes were a little big and stiff but they would do. Curiousabout what Julie wanted to talk about, he began running down the hall into theden.
As he entered the den he couldn't help but notice how attractive Julie lookedstanding there. She was barefoot, wearing shorts and a tight fitting T-shirt.
She sat on the couch just as he entered the room and crossed her legs.
'Come over here,' she said. She watched him as he got closer wondering how sheshould start the conversation. He stood next to her by the sofa, with the Soleof her Foot inches from his head, bouncing slightly in a nervous kind of way.
'Should I get up on the coffee table so you can hear me?,' he asked.
'That's probably a good idea.,' she agreed, and he began climbing the makeshiftstairs that Julie had made for him from empty shoeboxes the day before.
There was a moment of silence as they both stared at each other. Julie's eyesmoved down Mark's tiny body and back up as their eyes locked. Mark wondered whatwas so different about the way Julie was looking at him. It was almost as if shewas eyeing a painting or a small statue, instead of a person.
'Why are you looking at me like that?' Mark asked nervously.
'Oh.....nothing.....I guess I'm still amazed at this whole situation.,' shereplied, 'I mean, one day you're my roommate, and the next....''Hey, I'm still you're roommate? Right?,' he interrupted.
'Well, you have to admit, its not exactly the same.''No, I guess it isn't.,' Mark groaned as he hung his head slightly.
'And I think that since this could last for a little while, we have to discusssome 'rules of the house,' for lack of a better term.'Mark looked up into Julie's face to see if she was joking, but was met with afirm stare. 'Rules of the house?,' he said, surprised.
'If this is going to work, we have to set some rules.,' she reaffirmed, as shemoved closer to the coffee table where he was standing. 'This is a bigadjustment for both of us and we have to make some changes around here.'Mark was slightly intimidated by her movement toward him but held his ground.
'What do you mean? I'm the one who shrunk, in case you haven't noticed.,' heyelled defensively, 'Why do things have to change?'Remembering what Kelly told her about backing down, she pointed her finger athim and said firmly, 'The first rule is that you will not speak to me in thattone of voice. Understand?'Mark swallowed hard. He could feel both fear and frustration building up insideof him and remained silent, as her Finger was inches from his face.
'I said,' she reaffirmed, raising her voice 'Do you understand?'After a short pause, 'Yes,' he replied reluctantly, not wanting to press thesituation any further.
Realizing that she had made her point, Julie moved her hand away from himslowly, feeling for the first time, in a long time, a sense of control. She hadnever had this feeling when she was with Don, but it was one that she had longedfor. Continuing with the same confident tone of voice, she continued, 'Rulenumber 2. I'm going to decide on some chores for you to do around here. SinceI'm taking full care of you and paying all the expenses, I expect you to do yourfair share.''But, Julie....,' Mark interrupted.
'Don't 'but Julie' me,' she continued, her voice easily overpowering his.
'There's lot's of things you can do for me around here.''Like?''Oh, we'll get to that soon enough.' Julie was now in total command of theconversation, and she was really starting to enjoy her new found confidence. Itwas not like her to be so authoritative, but the feeling of control wasintoxicating for someone who had been starved of it for so long.
All Mark could do was stand there, unable to think of any words to say. Juliewas now looking down at him a little more smugly than before. This only made theanger and frustration build inside him. 'Anything else?,' he snapped.
'Actually, there is.,' she maintained her calm. After all, it was clear who wasin command. 'It's the most important rule of all. Since I am in charge of yourpersonal protection and well being, whenever I make a decision on something,it's final. When I ask you to do something, I expect you to do it immediatelywithout question. I will have zero tolerance for disobedience on this rule. Doyou understand this? Because it's very important that you do. Breaking this rulewill mean punishment.'This was all Mark could take. Her Finger was once again pointing, inches fromhis face and he backed away a few steps in defiance.
'Who do you think you are, making all these rules and punishments!?,' he yelled,pointing up at her Face.
This began to anger Julie. He wasn't listening to a word she was saying. She satback on the sofa, crossed her arms, and placed her foot on the edge of thecoffee table so that the ball of her Foot and Toes hung over. 'I'm the one incharge,' she replied with a little aggravation in her voice.
Her Toes were directly in front of him, taunting him, but he continued, evenangrier than before, 'I don't have to listen to you!''Oh, but I think you do.' she snapped sarcastically. Julie was growing veryimpatient with Mark now. She placed her Foot directly next to him on the tableand pointed it straight up. His head was even with her big Toe. 'In case you'veforgotten, I don't think you're in a position to challenge me.'Mark felt a chill run down his spine as her Foot approached him. It was soclose, he could smell the perspiration from it. Noticing that his head wasbarely taller than her big Toe, his frustration got the best of him.
'This is bullshit!,' he yelled.
'That's it!,' she barked as her foot slid off the table and made a heavy 'thump'on the floor. She stood up and without giving it another thought, she reacheddown and picked Mark up in her hand and brought him to her face.
Mark was petrified as her Hand swooped down and grabbed him. Julie had neverdirectly handled him before like this. It was always through indirect means. Hewished he hadn't made that last statement but it was too late. Her grip wastight. She held him in her right hand and pointed at him with the index fingerif her left hand.
'I thought I told you not to speak to me that way!' Her gaze was more seriousthan Mark had ever seen it.
In an act of total frustration and humiliation at his current position, heslammed his fists down on her Thumb that crossed his chest, 'I don't have tolisten to you! Put me down!,' he yelled at the top of his lungs.
Her dominance over him at this moment was as obvious as it was fulfilling. Shewas holding him at chest level now and looking down her nose at him. She flippedher hair back with her free hand and shook her head, 'You just don't get it, doyou? I'm standing here holding you in my hand arguing with you, (why, I don'thave a clue) about who's in charge.' She paused a moment to let the words sinkin. 'Now, I think you need some time to cool off. And I'm tired of talking.'With that, Julie walked over to the dining room table and held him up as shebent over to grab the cage. Mark's eyes grew wide as he saw the cage placed onthe table and began to squirm. Instinctively, Julie tightened her grip untilMark was unable to move and he began yelling.
'Hey!, what do you think you're doing!? I don't want to go in there!'Julie ignored his questions and unfastened the latch and opened the door to thecage. She brought him up close to her Face. 'When you can learn to show me alittle respect, I'll think about letting you out.'Mark began pleading, 'Please Julie! Don't put me in there!'His begging did not phase Julie. All she could think about was how 'right' Kellywas about taking charge of the situation. His begging only reinforced how 'incharge' she was. She turned him sideways slightly so he would fit through thedoor and released her grip as he landed on a small pillow that she had placed onthe bottom of the cage. Mark immediately got up and ran toward the door but herHand was too quick and before he even got close, Julie was refastening thelatch. His hands were on the bars as if he was in a jail cell.
'Let me out of here, now!'Julie leaned over and brought her Face within inches of his. 'You think aboutwhat I told you. And when you're ready to accept the situation, you can comeout. I'm going to bed.'He watched as she reached down an picked up something else. He stepped back intotal shock as she placed a cover over the cage and turned out the lights. Helistened in darkness as the 'drums' faded into the distance followed by a slamof her bedroom door. As he lay back in disbelief of what had just transpired, hecouldn't help regret the day he decided to move in with Julie.
Meanwhile, Julie was thinking how lucky she was to get this rare chance toregain her self-esteem.
Within minutes, they were both asleep, each in the others thoughts, only fordrastically different reasons.
Chapter 7The next morning, Mark awoke on the pillow covered by the towel that Julie hadleft for him as a blanket. The cage cover was removed and he could hear Julie inthe kitchen. As she walked passed the cage, he kicked one of the bars, trying toget her attention. She continued without looking down once. This angered Markbecause he knew she was ignoring him.
'Julie!' he yelled, 'Julie! Damn it, you can't just ignore me! Let me out ofhere!'As Julie left the kitchen, she heard a small rattle from the cage. She figuredhe must have hit a bar or something, obviously trying to get her attention. Hewould have to do better than that, she thought. She continued past the cage intothe den, pretending not to hear him. From the den, she heard him yell. She couldhear his frustration in the tone of his voice. She stayed in the den a littlelonger, knowing this only added to his anger, but also knowing that itdemonstrated her control. Finally, after a couple of minutes, she walked over tothe cage as if she had heard nothing he said, and leaned over.
'Good morning,' she said.
'Let me out of here!' he replied, and immediately added, 'please, Julie, I can'ttake it in here any longer.' The look of anger mixed with fear in his expressionindicated that he was close to his breaking point.
'Do you have something that you want to tell me first?' she asked, pushing alittle further.
Knowing what she meant but trying drastically not to give in, he replied, 'Whatdo you mean?''Oh well, I guess you're not ready to come out yet then.,' Julie stated firmlyand turned as if she was going back to the kitchen.
This infuriated Mark. 'She had no right to keep him in a cage,' he thought. Buthe was desperate to get out. He would go crazy if he stayed in the cage anotherminute. 'Wait!,' he yelled in desperation.
'Yes?,' Julie answered as she turned and approached the cage. Her Face movedwithin inches of the cage causing Mark to take a few steps back so that he couldsee her whole face.
'OK, I've been thinking,' he said trying to sound sincere. He didn't want tomake her mad before she let him out. 'You're right. You should be in charge.''And why should I be in charge?' she continued.
'Because... because, you are responsible for me.' That sounded so lame to hearhimself say that. But it seemed to satisfy her.
'Good, and what else?''Umm... I'm sorry for getting angry with you last night. It won't happen again.''Very good. Keep going.'Julie was enjoying this and Mark could tell. He had to keep it up though, hewasn't out yet. He paused for a moment, thinking.
'When you tell me to do something I will do it without asking questions.''And what happens if you disobey me or break any of the rules that are set?'With all the self-control he could muster he answered reluctantly, 'You willpunish me.'With that, they both stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.
Julie's sense of satisfaction was matched only by Mark's feelings ofhumiliation.
'Well, it looks like you've learned your lesson,' she smiled as she unlocked thecage and opened the door. 'Now don't you wish you would have listened to me inthe first place?' she asked, not expecting an anwer.
He remained silent, hoping she would leave the door open and just walk away.
Instead, she leaned over, staring directly into the door of the cage at him, hersmiling Face surrounding the doorway.
'Well, come on out, before I change my mind,' she said playfully as she beganslowly closing the cage door with her Finger.
Mark was in no mood to play after being humiliated, but he couldn't risk beingtrapped, so he quickly climbed out of the cage and stood on the table. Juliereached down and placed her hand, palm up, on the table next to him.
'Need a lift?' she asked, still smiling down at him. She was more into thiswhole 'shrinking thing' now than she ever could have imagined. Before, she justfelt sympathy for Mark because he had shrunk and wanted to try to make thingscomfortable for him. She had slipped into that 'caretaker' role that was sofamiliar. That was back when it was only supposed to last only a few days. Butnow, she saw it as a whole new way to regain her self-confidence, self esteem,and the control over her own life that she so desperately was seeking. Sherealized that having Mark around at his size, she would be able to take morerisks than she ever would with a full-grown man. For her, risk taking wasessential to turning her life around and that had priority over anything elseright now, including restoring Mark's size. Besides, there was nothing she coulddo about that right now. She was beginning to think that fate had intervened andthat maybe she shouldn't question 'why' so much as take advantage of the uniqueopportunity.
Mark looked up at Julie who was apparently lost in some private thought. Hereally didn't have much choice from this height.
'OK, I guess it is a little high for me,' Mark replied.
'Hop on,' she said as she wiggled her Fingers slightly.
Mark stared at the giant Hand that lay in front of him. The Fingers, slightlycurled, were at least as long as his arms, and the Palm was more than big enoughfor him to sit comfortably. He was reluctant though. Somehow, voluntarilyallowing her to handle him made him feel very vulnerable. It was different whenshe grabbed him the night before because he had no choice. She used to use ashoe or a box when he first shrunk, but now it seemed like she was getting morecomfortable with direct contact. He figured he would have to get used to it fromnow on. He would have to trust her.
Slowly he approached the Hand, put one knee on the edge of the Hand and crawledup. He turned and sat on the giant Palm with his legs hanging off, nervouslyawaiting the next move.
Julie watched Mark's hesitation from above. She purposely didn't say anything,wanting the decision to be completely his. It was obvious that he was havingtrouble with the idea of her holding him. She watched intently as he slowlyapproached her hand and climbed on. A wave of contentment hit Julie as she felthis knee touch her skin. She felt a tingling sensation as he repositionedhimself on her hand. Julie curled her fingers toward him and moved her thumbover so that he could grab it if he lost his balance.
Mark flinched a bit as the giant Fingers moved toward him and the Thumb crossedin front of him. Then he realized what she was doing. He placed one hand on herThumb and the other on her middle Finger near her fingernail.
Seeing that he was ready, Julie slowly lifted her hand off of the table, feelingMark tighten his grip on her fingers. As Mark felt himself lifted off the table,his feet dangled over the side of her Hand. He could feel himself slip slightlyfrom the moisture on Julie's Palm and gripped Julie's Fingers as tightly as hecould. Looking down through her Fingers he could see her bare Feet, which meanthe was no longer over the desk. This made him feel slightly uneasy. Trying torelax, he noticed that her Hand was softer that he expected but not as stable ashe would have liked. So, in order to prevent himself from looking down, helooked up at Julie, who was focusing all of her concentration on him.
It was exciting to Julie to have a little man sitting on her hand as she liftedhim up through the air. She was careful not to tip her hand, but the excitementmade it hard to keep a steady hand. Her palms were starting to sweat a little aswell, making it hard for Mark to balance himself.
'Don't worry,' she reassured him, 'I've got you.'Before setting him down on the floor, she raised him up to her face, eye level.
Mark, expecting to be lowered was caught off guard when Julie instead raised himup to her Face. He momentarily lost his balance and grabbed her Thumb with bothhands for support. Julie grinned a little as he grabbed her thumb, realizingthat she startled him. It reminded her of just how 'in control' she was.
'I don't want us to become enemies, you know. It's natural for you to be alittle afraid of me since I'm so much bigger than you, but I really want us totry to make the best of the situation, OK? My goal is not to punish you all thetime, but I will if I have to, alright? Do we understand each other betternow?,' Julie asked, sounding almost like a parent.
'Yes, Julie,' he replied, half-heartedly.
'Good.' The words were enough for her as she gently lowered him to the floor.
Mark moved to the edge of her Palm and tried to step off her Hand. Julie movedher hand away a second too soon and sent Mark tumbling. He landed square on topof her bare Foot and rolled off the side, instinctively trying to hold on toanything he could grab.
'Oh! Are you alright?,' she asked as she kneeled down and covered her mouth withone hand.
'Yeah,' he answered, more aggravated than hurt, 'I'm OK.''I guess I have a little to learn too about handling someone so small,' she saidplayfully, realizing how strange it felt to have a man's entire body slam intoher foot and only feel a small bump.
Her whole attitude of him having to 'learn' to listen to her, and her idea thathe had to adapt to her way of thinking angered him. But in his presentsituation, what choice did he really have. If he listens, she's nice to him. Ifhe disobeys her, she punishes him. What a life. His total existence had beenreduced to angering or pleasing a Giantess. His freedom was totally taken fromhim, except that for which she allowed him.
Chapter 8It was Saturday and Julie did not have to work. She left Mark alone to go take ashower. As the water flowed down her body, she thought about how she had all dayto spend with the 'little man' who lived in her house. She found herself moreand more thinking of Mark as a little man rather than a roommate. She couldn'thelp thinking about how Kelly was so right about the whole situation. Thingswere much more manageable and, although she wouldn't fully admit it yet,enjoyable now that some rules have been established. Underneath it all, shehoped that once Mark accepted the situation, their relationship could getstronger. She didn't want to always scold him but realized that it wasnecessary, at least for now. At the moment, however, the taste of power wasstronger than her concern for Mark and while she knew that would probablychange, it didn't stop her from wanting to act on it.
As she was drying herself off from her shower, she began thinking of waysthat he could 'help out' around the house. Then she remembered the 'samples'that she had bought the other day and how it was time for more risk taking.
Mark heard the 'drums' approaching again. He turned around to find Julieentering the room wearing a bathrobe, a towel around her head and carrying asmall bag and another towel. She had no makeup on, and while she was not uglywithout it, she definitely had that 'no-makeup' appearance. She walked past him,sat down on the couch, spread the towel out under her Feet and placed the bagnext to them. She took a deep breath before calling Mark over. As much as shefelt in charge, this still seemed awkward for her. She wasn't used to being incontrol of a relationship of any kind and knew that her nervousness was due toher past patterns of dealing with men in general. Looking down at Mark's size ashe approached her foot helped relieve the tension that she felt. He posedabsolutely no threat to her physically, and the contrast in size was making iteasy for her to overcome her emotional barriers. She could hear Kelly's voice inher head telling her to 'be creative' about the chores she gives him. Fromabove, he appeared to be staring at her foot and she lifted them slightly to gethis attention. After she did this, Mark lifted his head, their eyes met and shespoke.
Mark was curious to see what she was going to do with the towel and otherthings when she called him and he could feel Julie staring at him as he walkedover to her. It felt very uncomfortable, so he kept his head down until he stooddirectly in front of her Feet. He stood there a moment, looking at the tops ofher Feet and noticing how smooth they looked even at their immense size. Hiseyes followed the bone structure of the Foot slowly down to the Toes where henoticed that the nail polish was chipping on most of them. He remembered thatbefore he shrank, Julie always applied fresh toe nail polish after taking ashower. She was so faithful about it even though she seemed to hate doing it. Ashe stared at them, all five Toes lifted off the towel in unison and returned torest gently in front of him. He could feel a slight tingling in his legs as shedid this. Realizing that he had been staring, he lifted his head and looked upat her giant Face.
'Mark, remember we talked about chores and you doing your fair share aroundhere?,' she asked with a little shyness in her voice.
'Yeah, but we never decided on what they would be,' he answered as he beganto understand what was about to happen.
'Well, I've found something that you can do for me that would really help meout a lot,' she continued, pausing, 'Being kind of tall for a woman makes ithard for me to paint my toenails the way I like them to look. So, I was thinkingthat you could be in charge of keeping my feet looking pretty. You know, nailpolish, lotion, perfume, that kind of stuff. What do you say?' She tried to keepa light, positive tone in her voice.
'You want me to be your 'footslave'? You can't be serious?' he asked indisbelief.
Julie giggled at his question. 'Oh, I wouldn't think of it like that. Thinkof it as... a project.' Her voice then turned more business-like. 'You get toinspect them, schedule when things need to be done to them, and most important,you get to see the results of your work firsthand.''No way Julie,' Mark answered, stepping back holding his hands up toemphasize his response. 'I don't mind helping out, but this is going to far.'Slightly amused at Mark's attempt to argue with her, she found that the moreMark rebelled against doing what she said, the more she wanted him to do it. Ifhe had acted more casually about it instead of totally refusing, she might havethought of something else. She moved her foot so that her big toe was directlyin front of him.
'Mark, I don't remember saying that this was open for discussion. I'vealready made the decision.'Realizing that she was serious, he hung his head, weighing the options ofagreeing or disobeying. He knew the result of disobeying and shuddered at thethought of the same or even worse punishment. He saw her Foot move closer tohim, accenting how small he was. Her Big Toe was easily as big as his head.
Feeling totally humiliated, he reluctantly agreed, 'Alright, you win.' At leastthey were clean, he thought.
'That's better,' she said smiling and as gently as possible, touched his legwith her toe. Mark couldn't move out of the way quickly enough before her Toetouched his leg. He barely kept his balance and looked up angrily to see Juliecovering a giggle with her Hand.
'Hey! That's not funny,' he yelled.
'Sorry,' she said insincerely, 'I was just playing.''Well, not so rough, OK?'Realizing she had won this battle completely, she decided to stop teasing himand placed her foot back on the towel. Mark's 'giving in' made her feel more incontrol and totally eased the nervousness that she felt before. It was gettingeasier for her to be firm on her decisions with Mark. It felt so good to her tofinally be in control of a situation involving a man, no matter what size hewas.
She reached down and opened one of the sample sizes of skin lotion andsqueezed a pile next to her foot. Mark watched in silence as Julie squeezed apile of what appeared to be lotion near her Ankle. Her Fingers lightly squeezedas the lotion oozed out. A nervous sensation arose in his stomach as he watchedher freshly manicured fingers effortlessly squeeze the bottle, one which hecould barely pick up. She placed the plastic bottle next to her Heel. The bottlelooked to be about as high his knees. He had never seen such a huge bottle oflotion. But as Julie's Fingers released the bottle, he noticed that it was onlyhalf as big as her index Finger and it was apparent how small the bottle reallywas and therefore, how small he really was. As the Fingers let go of the bottleand rose out of view, all that was left in front of him was a gigantic Foot on ahuge towel with a pile of thick lotion next to it.
Julie lifted her Toes a bit as she spoke, 'You can start with this.'Mark stood silent in amazement of the situation that was before him.
'Hello?,' Julie boomed from above, 'Anybody there?'Julie's thunderous voice broke his trance. 'Umm... sorry. What do you want meto do?' he replied staring up at her as if he actually didn't know what it wasthat she wanted.
It was obvious that he was trying to stall and she said with a raisedeyebrow, 'figure it out.' Julie leaned back and stared up at the ceilingawaiting the first touch of the little hands. Surprising herself, she felt alittle lightheaded from the anticipation.
Realizing that his stall tactics were useless, Mark approached the pile oflotion slowly. He shrugged and stuck his hand into the pile and walked over tothe instep of her right Foot. He paused a moment and then touched the top of herFoot with the lotion. Her Foot jumped slightly frightening him but he continuedto apply the lotion like he was applying wax to a car. After a few strokes, hebegan using both hands.
As the little hands made contact with her foot, Julie flinched slightly. Itwas a release of the built up tension. She felt him stop for a moment andcontinue. She didn't look down because she didn't want to interrupt him. Hislittle hands felt so invigorating. The sense of control, of being in controlonly added to that. A slight smile appeared displaying her satisfaction.
'Mmm... that feels good,' Julie whispered from above.
As he glanced up at Julie's Face, he could see that she was smiling eventhough she leaned her Head back. His feelings at the moment were confusing. Onepart of him was angry that she was getting so much pleasure from his work andanother part of him was happy that she approved of his work. Anger was expected,but any kind of happiness was totally unexpected. Could it be that just thoughtof pleasing any woman this big was so challenging? Or was it the fact that atsuch a small size he could still make a difference? All he knew was that hecontinued to apply the lotion with eagerness partly out of fear of punishmentand partly out of desire for approval.
Her Foot was flat on the towel and as he applied the lotion, he worked hisway up to her Toes. Once there, he was presented with a new situation. Hethought about it as he covered her big Toe with the lotion. The first problemwas that he was running out of lotion so he tapped on her Toe as he yelled,'Hey! I need more lotion!'Totally entranced by this time but feeling a slight tap on her toe, sherealized what he was saying and beamed down smiling at him, 'No problem. There'splenty more.'The Fingers lowered into view and picked up the lotion bottle. Mark watchedas the bottle moved overhead and a deposit, much larger than the first, wassqueezed in front of her Foot. 'That should hold you for a while.' Then thebottle was placed behind her Foot and the Fingers rose up out of site again.
Now he had to deal with the second problem. He knew that she would probablywant him to get between her Toes but he was afraid because she mightaccidentally crush his hands. He looked up and started to ask something butnoticed her Eyes were closed and decided to just proceed cautiously. As hebrushed the inside of her big Toe, he heard a soft moan from above. He used bothhands to get the entire area between her big Toe and second Toe. It feltincredibly soft, especially for the size of her Foot, where he applied thelotion. He was caught off guard, noticing that her second Toe was slightlylonger than her big Toe when her Toes flinched slightly, causing him to jumpbackwards by reflex and land squarely in the pile of lotion. It instantlycovered most of his body as he slid backward through the pile.
Feeling the slight bump on her toe, Julie looked down and couldn't help butfind the situation amusing and covered her mouth as she laughed. 'Oh, I'm sosorry, are you OK?,' she said, sounding insincere as she spoke through a giggle.
Feeling embarrassed, he snapped, 'I'm fine but you could be a little morecareful, OK?,' as he climbed out of the pile.
Feeling totally satisfied at the moment and not wanting to argue, Juliereplied, 'I'll try,' as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes fullyintent on having him continue.
It aggravated him that she took the situation so lightly but somehow feltcompelled to continue. He had never had such mixed emotions before. So, stillcovered on lotion, he lay across her Toes and rolled off, covering her Toes withlotion and continued rubbing the lotion until all parts of her Toes werecovered. It was hard to get his hand between her fourth and pinky Toe. But withhis hand covered in lotion, he was able to slip in. He continued down the otherside of her Foot until the top of her Foot was completely covered. As hecompleted her Ankle, he stood back and admired his work. 'One down,' he thought.
Julie felt him trying to get his hand between her toes. She thought abouttrying to spread them to make it a little easier but was enjoying feeling himtry. Once successful he continued to her ankle. She felt him pause and realizedthat he must be finished with the top of her foot. He had done such a good job,she wasn't ready for him to be finished so she positioned her foot so that herheel was on the towel and her toes were pointed upward exposing her sole. Shewaited a few seconds, then wiggled her toes signaling for him to continue.
Just as he was about to move to the other Foot, he froze as he saw the Footmove into a position where the Toes were just about at the same level as hishead. Realizing that she meant for him to continue on her Soles, he thoughtabout the risk of being partially under her Soles as he applied the lotion andthe consequences of her lowering her Foot 'accidentally'. She wiggled her Toes,obviously ready for him, and he figured that if he trusted her not to crush himin her Hand when she was angry the day before, than he could trust her now. Sheflexed her Foot, pointing her Toes upward, to make her Sole smoother so that hecould apply the lotion. Getting the underside of her Toes and balls of her Footwas easy because they were close to eye level. As he worked his way down,though, he had to get on his knees to get the middle of her Sole. Once on hisknees, he could feel the skin on her Sole relax and wrinkle indicating that shehad relaxed her Foot. This made applying the lotion a little harder because hehad to work it into the wrinkles of her Sole. With just a little more to go, hehad to lie on his back to get the last part of her Heel. Staring up at her Solebrought a sharp sense of fear, realizing that a wrong move now on Julie's partcould mean the end of his tiny existence. Not wanting to find out if his fearswould be validated, he quickly applied the last of the lotion and slid out fromunder her Foot. Stepping backward, breathing heavy, he felt somewhat satisfiedthat he had done a good job. However, just as he was catching his breath, he sawthe other Foot into position and he realized that he was only half finished.
