Due Dilligence
The Shrinking Virus- Collaberotica Version
Chapter 15
Noelle glanced down at her phone, frowning. Google Maps was telling her her destination - 8485 Woodfield Drive - was directly on her right. But when she looked up through the window, all she could see was a gargantuan Cape Cod-style home fit for a Norm - not the miniature house she was supposed to meet her client at.
Noelle pulled her miniature car near the curb. Parking in Norm neighborhoods always made her nervous. She was always terrified that a Norm driver might crunch her miniature car right beneath its mighty treads as it drove down the sidewalk. She had her car painted bright poppy red so that it stood out and didn't blend in to the pavement, hoping any Norms driving by couldn't help but notice her tiny car.
Noelle opened up the email she'd received from her prospective client. She checked the details again. She was to meet her client, a young woman named Grace Watson, at 8485 Woodfield Drive to discuss selling. "Oh, damn it!" she hissed between her teeth. Now that she'd double-checked the email, she realized there was no indication of the house's size - or the client's size, either. Noelle should have checked. Perhaps she got a little complacent. She'd worked hard these last fourteen years to build up a clientele of tinies needing places to live away from Norms. She just assumed everybody who wanted to hire her was a tiny, too.
Noelle drummed her fingers on the wheel. She didn't want to leave. She supposed it was possible Grace was a Tiny... or perhaps Grace contacted her on behalf of another Tiny client? Noelle wasn't sure. She wished she'd done her homework before arriving.
"Just drive away... email Grace and reschedule if it was a simple misunderstanding" she said to herself. Her heart wanted her to go. But... the money offered was good. Noelle bit her lip and decided the risk might be worth it. True, Norms were known to snatch tinies up, never to be seen in public again, but, Noelle reasoned, this seemed like a nice, wealthy neighborhood. Surely, the residents here were professional, courteous, and kind?
She made up her mind. She'd go in. At the very least, if there was some kind of a misunderstanding, she could simply part ways with Grace. No harm, no foul. Right?
She got out of her car and glanced around anxiously. The neighborhood seemed... quiet. It was a Wendesday, so she supposed most people were away at school or at work. But the quiet filled her with a bit of unease. She slammed her tiny car door shut with a little thump. She hopped up onto the curb and trotted over to the driveway. At her size, the walk up to the front door would take a few minutes. She glanced at the time on her phone. She might be a few minutes late. She hoped Grace wouldn't mind.
Her mind began to wander as she trekked up the long driveway. Noelle, like many Tinies, was roughly doll-sized. She was just under eight inches tall, to be precise - standing at around 1/8 of her original height of 5'6", give or take a few millimeters. She'd been this height since she was 19 years old, and was one of the lucky ones. One of her best friends stayed normal through the initial wave of shrinking and took care of her, protecting her and helping her as she made her way through school and established herself as a realtor. The world wasn't always a safe place, but she'd made it far during her twenty years as a Tiny. But she'd never been to a Norm house unattended before.
She gazed out at the lawn to her left. At first glance, it seemed like the average suburban lawn. Trimmed and neat. Now that she was nearing the top of the driveway, however, she noticed a huge longboard, flipped over in the grass near the sidewalk leading to the front door. She stopped and examined it for a second. It stood up to almost her waist. Noelle surmised she could easily lay across the width of the board with much room to spare. The length was many, many times her height. She imaged the gigantic Norm rider slamming their foot down on it to flip it, and then-
No, no. Best not to think about it, Noelle thought. Flashes of stomping legs, speeding boards, and being sent on terrifying rides on the giant board gave Noelle a shiver down her spine. Maybe she should turn back...
Noelle pressed on, making her way up to the door after another minute of walking. She tired to peer in to the windows as she walked up, but, due to her height, all she could see were the ceilings. The lights were on. Someone was home and expecting her. This reassured her, somewhat.
She quickly ascended the stone step and approached the front door. She felt the rough stone stick to her black tights as she climbed up over it, which annoyed her. At least they weren't torn. She pondered how to knock and let Grace know she was here, and fixed her appearance as she did so. She smoothed her bangs and her long, straight brown hair and brushed dust and dirt off her little black cardigan and skirt. She dressed formally for this meeting, even wearing her good heels. It occurred to her she should have picked something a little easier to run in, just in case.
She put her hands on her hips and considered how she should ring the doorbell. She certainly wouldn't be able to climb up the door to get to it. There didn't appear to be any sort of Tiny-friendly way of ringing it, either. She approached the giant door, her miniature heels clicking against the pavement as she stepped on to a large welcome mat. She knocked on the door.
"I doubt they could hear that..." she muttered. She tried knocking again, harder. Her knuckles stung from the force she put into it. She waited for a moment. No response.
She glanced to the left of the door. There were some glass sidelights running up and down the length of the doorframe. Noelle couldn't see into them - they were covered by a decorative shirred curtains - but, she could tell there were lights on in the house. She wondered if knocking on them might make a louder sound than the heavy wooden door.
She rapped her knuckles on the lowest glass pane - which was about Noelle's height - a few times. She paused for a moment, straining her ears to listen if any footsteps were approaching the door. She knocked again, much harder and longer than before, and strained her ears.
She heard booming footsteps through the other side of the door. Someone was coming - quickly. And whoever they were, they had to be a Norm.
Noelle scurried away from the window and to the center of the welcome mat. She exhaled sharply, relaxing her shoulders, and clasped her hands together. She strained her neck, preparing to meet the gaze of the Norm behind the door.
Whatever confidence Noelle had mustered up vanished almost immediately as the door opened. A tall Norm woman, dressed in business attire, stared down at her blankly. She looked like she maybe a decade older than Noelle, maybe a decade and a half.
"I'm here for Grace?" Noelle said meekly, as if it were a question. She felt her lip quiver. She hadn't been this close to a Norm stranger in a long, long time. The gigantic woman intimidated her.
The Norm woman sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with one hand, and balled her fist with the other. "Damn kid" she muttered. Before Noelle could act on her instinct to run, the Norm woman bent down and grabbed her in a firm embrace in her right hand. Manicured fingers gripped Noelle's waist tightly, squeezing her thighs together. She felt the giant woman's thumb squeeze her left arm against her torso uncomfortably.
Noelle felt herself swing through the air as the giant woman dropped her arm by her side and marched through the house. Noelle's vision blurred as she was swung through the air, occasionally, smacking into the giant woman's thigh as she tried to loosen the giant's grip. This was not going to plan.
The Norm woman marched up to a closed door and swung it open with a bang.
"Grace McKenzie Watson!" the norm woman said in a scolding tone. She put both her hands on her hips, causing Noelle to hang out of her fist awkwardly at a horizontal angle. "I found this on the front porch, knocking to come inside" she said, lifting Noelle up and holding her out in front of her like an unwanted puppy. "I see you have no plans on putting away your old childish things. I can't stop you from buying up these little toy-people. But you're 19 years old. At least have the courtesy to put them away when you're done playing with them." the Norm woman yelled.
Noelle found herself staring at a young blonde woman - Grace, she presumed - who was laying on her bed, kicking her legs back as she read a book. She was dressed in old torn jeans and a Taylor Swift t-shirt. Grace's face went from confused at her mother's yelling to hiding a smile. Noelle quickly figured out what was going on - Grace lured her here to keep her as a plaything. She must not have expected her mom to intercept her new toy first.
"Ok, ok, mom, fine." Grace said, sitting up. She closed the book and set it on a flat trunk at the foot of her bed. "I must have forgot to take that one in with me. They've got minds of their own, you know. Sometimes they run around and get into trouble."
The Norm woman marched over to Grace, dangling Noelle in front of her. "Don't let me see you leave your toys out again, young lady. You're too old for them, anyway. Next time I find one it's either going in the trash or the donation bin at Goodwill. And you'd better get started either filling out job applications or college applications. If you don't have something to do by August, I'll take all of your little toys away, got it?" she said, threateningly. Grace nodded, feigning a somber look on her face.
The woman opened her fist and dropped Noelle into Grace's waiting palms, eliciting a little yelp from Noelle. The giant woman then turned and stomped off. When she closed the door, Grace's face broke out into an excited smile.
"That was easier than I thought it would be!" she said, excitedly to the miniature woman sitting in her palms.
Noelle pulled her miniature car near the curb. Parking in Norm neighborhoods always made her nervous. She was always terrified that a Norm driver might crunch her miniature car right beneath its mighty treads as it drove down the sidewalk. She had her car painted bright poppy red so that it stood out and didn't blend in to the pavement, hoping any Norms driving by couldn't help but notice her tiny car.
Noelle opened up the email she'd received from her prospective client. She checked the details again. She was to meet her client, a young woman named Grace Watson, at 8485 Woodfield Drive to discuss selling. "Oh, damn it!" she hissed between her teeth. Now that she'd double-checked the email, she realized there was no indication of the house's size - or the client's size, either. Noelle should have checked. Perhaps she got a little complacent. She'd worked hard these last fourteen years to build up a clientele of tinies needing places to live away from Norms. She just assumed everybody who wanted to hire her was a tiny, too.
Noelle drummed her fingers on the wheel. She didn't want to leave. She supposed it was possible Grace was a Tiny... or perhaps Grace contacted her on behalf of another Tiny client? Noelle wasn't sure. She wished she'd done her homework before arriving.
"Just drive away... email Grace and reschedule if it was a simple misunderstanding" she said to herself. Her heart wanted her to go. But... the money offered was good. Noelle bit her lip and decided the risk might be worth it. True, Norms were known to snatch tinies up, never to be seen in public again, but, Noelle reasoned, this seemed like a nice, wealthy neighborhood. Surely, the residents here were professional, courteous, and kind?
She made up her mind. She'd go in. At the very least, if there was some kind of a misunderstanding, she could simply part ways with Grace. No harm, no foul. Right?
She got out of her car and glanced around anxiously. The neighborhood seemed... quiet. It was a Wendesday, so she supposed most people were away at school or at work. But the quiet filled her with a bit of unease. She slammed her tiny car door shut with a little thump. She hopped up onto the curb and trotted over to the driveway. At her size, the walk up to the front door would take a few minutes. She glanced at the time on her phone. She might be a few minutes late. She hoped Grace wouldn't mind.
Her mind began to wander as she trekked up the long driveway. Noelle, like many Tinies, was roughly doll-sized. She was just under eight inches tall, to be precise - standing at around 1/8 of her original height of 5'6", give or take a few millimeters. She'd been this height since she was 19 years old, and was one of the lucky ones. One of her best friends stayed normal through the initial wave of shrinking and took care of her, protecting her and helping her as she made her way through school and established herself as a realtor. The world wasn't always a safe place, but she'd made it far during her twenty years as a Tiny. But she'd never been to a Norm house unattended before.
She gazed out at the lawn to her left. At first glance, it seemed like the average suburban lawn. Trimmed and neat. Now that she was nearing the top of the driveway, however, she noticed a huge longboard, flipped over in the grass near the sidewalk leading to the front door. She stopped and examined it for a second. It stood up to almost her waist. Noelle surmised she could easily lay across the width of the board with much room to spare. The length was many, many times her height. She imaged the gigantic Norm rider slamming their foot down on it to flip it, and then-
No, no. Best not to think about it, Noelle thought. Flashes of stomping legs, speeding boards, and being sent on terrifying rides on the giant board gave Noelle a shiver down her spine. Maybe she should turn back...
Noelle pressed on, making her way up to the door after another minute of walking. She tired to peer in to the windows as she walked up, but, due to her height, all she could see were the ceilings. The lights were on. Someone was home and expecting her. This reassured her, somewhat.
She quickly ascended the stone step and approached the front door. She felt the rough stone stick to her black tights as she climbed up over it, which annoyed her. At least they weren't torn. She pondered how to knock and let Grace know she was here, and fixed her appearance as she did so. She smoothed her bangs and her long, straight brown hair and brushed dust and dirt off her little black cardigan and skirt. She dressed formally for this meeting, even wearing her good heels. It occurred to her she should have picked something a little easier to run in, just in case.
She put her hands on her hips and considered how she should ring the doorbell. She certainly wouldn't be able to climb up the door to get to it. There didn't appear to be any sort of Tiny-friendly way of ringing it, either. She approached the giant door, her miniature heels clicking against the pavement as she stepped on to a large welcome mat. She knocked on the door.
"I doubt they could hear that..." she muttered. She tried knocking again, harder. Her knuckles stung from the force she put into it. She waited for a moment. No response.
She glanced to the left of the door. There were some glass sidelights running up and down the length of the doorframe. Noelle couldn't see into them - they were covered by a decorative shirred curtains - but, she could tell there were lights on in the house. She wondered if knocking on them might make a louder sound than the heavy wooden door.
She rapped her knuckles on the lowest glass pane - which was about Noelle's height - a few times. She paused for a moment, straining her ears to listen if any footsteps were approaching the door. She knocked again, much harder and longer than before, and strained her ears.
She heard booming footsteps through the other side of the door. Someone was coming - quickly. And whoever they were, they had to be a Norm.
Noelle scurried away from the window and to the center of the welcome mat. She exhaled sharply, relaxing her shoulders, and clasped her hands together. She strained her neck, preparing to meet the gaze of the Norm behind the door.
Whatever confidence Noelle had mustered up vanished almost immediately as the door opened. A tall Norm woman, dressed in business attire, stared down at her blankly. She looked like she maybe a decade older than Noelle, maybe a decade and a half.
"I'm here for Grace?" Noelle said meekly, as if it were a question. She felt her lip quiver. She hadn't been this close to a Norm stranger in a long, long time. The gigantic woman intimidated her.
The Norm woman sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with one hand, and balled her fist with the other. "Damn kid" she muttered. Before Noelle could act on her instinct to run, the Norm woman bent down and grabbed her in a firm embrace in her right hand. Manicured fingers gripped Noelle's waist tightly, squeezing her thighs together. She felt the giant woman's thumb squeeze her left arm against her torso uncomfortably.
Noelle felt herself swing through the air as the giant woman dropped her arm by her side and marched through the house. Noelle's vision blurred as she was swung through the air, occasionally, smacking into the giant woman's thigh as she tried to loosen the giant's grip. This was not going to plan.
The Norm woman marched up to a closed door and swung it open with a bang.
"Grace McKenzie Watson!" the norm woman said in a scolding tone. She put both her hands on her hips, causing Noelle to hang out of her fist awkwardly at a horizontal angle. "I found this on the front porch, knocking to come inside" she said, lifting Noelle up and holding her out in front of her like an unwanted puppy. "I see you have no plans on putting away your old childish things. I can't stop you from buying up these little toy-people. But you're 19 years old. At least have the courtesy to put them away when you're done playing with them." the Norm woman yelled.
Noelle found herself staring at a young blonde woman - Grace, she presumed - who was laying on her bed, kicking her legs back as she read a book. She was dressed in old torn jeans and a Taylor Swift t-shirt. Grace's face went from confused at her mother's yelling to hiding a smile. Noelle quickly figured out what was going on - Grace lured her here to keep her as a plaything. She must not have expected her mom to intercept her new toy first.
"Ok, ok, mom, fine." Grace said, sitting up. She closed the book and set it on a flat trunk at the foot of her bed. "I must have forgot to take that one in with me. They've got minds of their own, you know. Sometimes they run around and get into trouble."
The Norm woman marched over to Grace, dangling Noelle in front of her. "Don't let me see you leave your toys out again, young lady. You're too old for them, anyway. Next time I find one it's either going in the trash or the donation bin at Goodwill. And you'd better get started either filling out job applications or college applications. If you don't have something to do by August, I'll take all of your little toys away, got it?" she said, threateningly. Grace nodded, feigning a somber look on her face.
The woman opened her fist and dropped Noelle into Grace's waiting palms, eliciting a little yelp from Noelle. The giant woman then turned and stomped off. When she closed the door, Grace's face broke out into an excited smile.
"That was easier than I thought it would be!" she said, excitedly to the miniature woman sitting in her palms.
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June 3, 2023
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