Zeke reached for the doorknob, twisted it, pulled the door open, and there she was—the only person who could have made this situation any more absurd.

 

At 6’1" and 250 pounds, Victoria Vasquez-Calhoun was a goddess of Mexican-American curves. She stood with one hand on her hip, wavy shoulder-length black hair cascading over the low-cut white Ventus tank top that was doing heroic work to contain her prodigious breasts. Matching green booty shorts hugged her door-busting hips and thunder thighs so snugly the seams looked ready to surrender. Her full lips were painted a deep berry red, and those deep brown eyes widened for half a second before settling into something that looked far more like mild annoyance than shock.

 

Max’s mind reeled as he stared up at the towering woman who had taken over his life four years ago. He had first met Victoria a few weeks into his freshman year of high school. That was when his dad announced that his new wife and her daughter, Izzy, would be moving in with them. Lupe wouldn't enter the picture until a little while later, but the two of them proved far more than he could handle on their own. Naturally, the idea of suddenly having a former plus-size model as a stepmom—and a girl his age who’d inherited every bit of her mom’s showstopping looks and heavy-duty curves as a stepsister—had been a lot for Max’s hormone-addled adolescent mind to process. Still, he’d done his best to respect his dad’s decision—and for a while, things had been more or less normal. At least until Max’s dad got a new job that required him to relocate overseas, leaving his new stepmom as the sole authority figure in the house.

 

The next few years were a crash course in Victoria’s patented brand of smothering: She picked out his clothes like he was a toddler, cooked every meal, chauffeured him everywhere, and shadowed him at every school event. Apparently, Max couldn’t be trusted to tie his own shoes, let alone make a single decision without her approval. Maybe she thought she was helping him crawl out of his loser shell, but all it did was grind his self-esteem into a fine powder. And the constant comparisons to Izzy—who somehow managed to be her favorite despite racking up detentions and police car rides like they were Girl Scout badges—just made it worse.

 

By the time college apps rolled around, Max’s only real goal was escape. That was half of what had drawn him to Ventus: six hours south, far enough that Victoria couldn’t just show up unannounced and start rearranging his sock drawer. And while the last month hadn’t exactly been a movie, it had been more freedom than he’d ever had before—even if it had mostly amounted to a nonstop anime, video game and microwaved ramen binge. Now, though, sandwiched between his stepmom and her even bigger, even more overbearing mother, Max had a sinking feeling that his short-lived taste of independence was about to get stomped out.

 

“Zeke,” said Victoria, smooth and low. “Nice to see you again. You heading out?”

 

Zeke’s glassy eyes lit up with that same half-flirty, half-stoned grin he turned on whenever he brought a girl back to the room. “Yeah, Mrs. V—Victoria, I mean. Gotta hit the library… or something.” He gave her a lazy once-over that made Max’s tiny stomach twist with pure, impotent rage. “Catch you later?”

 

“Maybe.” Victoria offered a polite, knowing little smile, the kind that said she was used to college boys hitting on her and found it mildly amusing. “Have fun, Zeke.”

 

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving the three of them alone.

 

Victoria’s gaze dropped straight to the tiny naked speck cradled in her mother’s palm. For a split-second, her expression softened—relief flickering across those round cheeks—before it settled back into that calm, almost bored maternal authority Max knew far too well. “Oh, thank God. You found him… where was he?

 

“In the common room, on the coffee table.” Lupe lifted Max a little higher so Victoria could get a better look. “We were just about to have a little talk.”

 

“I had a feeling something like this would happen eventually," Victoria sighed, eyes full of that pitying affection that somehow made everything worse, and returned her attention to her stepson. "Max, our Max, left to his own devices, six hours away? It was only a matter of time before he got himself into real trouble. Frankly, I’m just relieved it wasn’t anything worse.”

 

Max’s voice finally cracked out, high and squeaky and frantic. “Victoria?! Why—why aren’t you freaking out?! I’m three inches tall! This is insane! You should be screaming, calling an ambulance! How are you both just… standing there like this is normal?!”

 

Victoria stepped fully into the room, closing the door behind her. The faint scent of her perfume—something warm and spicy with a hint of vanilla—rolled over him, mixing with Lupe’s rosewater and the lingering weed smoke. She crouched down slowly, bringing her enormous face level with her stepson.

 

“Oh, Max,” she cooed, shifting into the same tone she’d given him whenever Izzy told her he'd gotten rejected by a girl at school. She shared a quick, knowing look with Lupe over his tiny head. "You really don't know what's going on, do you?"

 

Max stared up at her, heart hammering. “What… what are you talking about? Victoria, please—”

 

“Sorry, sweetie. I’m sure you’re confused.” Victoria’s voice stayed gentle, almost soothing. “Maybe this stuff isn’t as popular as it used to be when I was your age.”

 

By this point, Max was holding back the urge to scream with frustration. “What stuff?”

 

“Shrinking serum. Someone must have dosed you. It was all over the place when I was modeling. Although back then, it was mostly a party drug…” she shared another knowing look with Lupe. “And, well, I know you’re not a big party guy.”

 

“I was last night,” Max huffed, crossing his arms. “So… someone did this to me?”

 

“That’s usually how it happens.” Victoria chuckled, clearly not convinced that her stepson was telling the truth. “Didn’t I tell you to always watch your drink?”

 

“Well, yeah…” Max hesitated, waiting for what he assumed to be the logical follow-up to this kind of revelation. “So… how do I get back to normal?”

 

“Well, sweetie, that’s the thing.” Victoria’s face softened. “Shrinking serum… It’s permanent.”

 

The words hit like a sledgehammer to the gut. Max’s knees buckled. He let out a wail that was little more than a piercing, desperate squeak, thrashing violently in Lupe’s cleavage and trying to scramble up her bra strap. “No! I need to get out of here! A cure! There has to be a way back! You’re lying!” He collapsed, chest heaving, already slick with panic sweat.

 

Devastation hit in waves. But through the panic, one stupid thought cut through: his Steam library. Hundreds of games. Years of progress. He’d just bought the new Dark Souls DLC. Now he’d never even reach the keyboard again. The fact that this was what he was mourning, on top of everything else, just made him feel even more pathetic.

 

“You’re sure we can’t take him in and check, mija?” Lupe stroked her thumb gently along Max’s bare back. “That's what they had us do, the one time I saw this happen back in Queens. There's a hospital up the road.”

 

“It’d just get his hopes up for no reason, Mamá.” Victoria shook her head. “Once you shrink… Well…”

 

Her full lips pressed into a thin, white line. She wasn’t looking at Max; her eyes were fixed on the far wall, seeing something only she could. A sudden, violent tremor ran through her enormous frame, quickly suppressed. She took a breath, so deep and shaky it made her chest swell and momentarily crack her calm exterior.

 

“I’m really sorry, Max. But it really isn’t the end of the world. We’ll get through this. The same way we always get through everything.” She reached out and brushed one enormous fingertip across his chest in what she clearly thought was a comforting gesture. “Together.”

 

Max wanted to scream, or puke, or both. College, freedom, the life he’d barely started—gone. Just like that. Forever. His voice broke. “Why… why is Lupe even here? I didn’t—”

 

Victoria straightened up slightly, her monumental chest shifting with the motion. “Because I invited her up here. Your abuelo Juan’s down in Mexico visiting some old friends from the union anyway, so I thought it would be a nice surprise—your favorite abuela coming to check on her favorite grandson during his first semester.” She gave Lupe a small smile. “Looks like the timing worked out perfectly.”

 

“You can say that again.” Lupe chuckled softly. “Don’t worry, mijo. Abuela’s here now. And we’re going to take very, very good care of you.”

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April 14
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