Just cleaned it up a bit and did some editing. It is unfinished, as is normal for me, but I figured I ought to share. Chapter One
“You promise this isn't gonna backfire on us in some spectacular way?”
“Promise.”
“Ugh..... fine.”
Rumi sighed, and, reaching into her pocket, pulled out a small plastic bottle. They looked at it for a moment, the implications of what they were about to do just now setting in.
“Maybe,” Rumi said quietly, “maybe this isn't such a good idea.”
Autumn was silent. Then she pushed her glasses up.
“Let's do it!” she said determinedly.
They performed their secret handshake, and their plot began.
~~~~~~~
Sitting at one of the small lobby tables was a woman of roughly thirty-two, with honey-blond hair done in a single long braid that fell over her shoulder. She was tall, dressed in a crisp business suit with dark tights and black high heels. She was currently typing aggressively into her laptop, a briefcase at her feet.
“She's right there,” Autumn said. “Kristen Lane. The executive from Atlas Tech. My sister's boss.”
“So I just walk up and give this to her?” Rumi said, running over the plan again in her mind.
“Yeah, just like we practiced,” Autumn said, all business. “Just give her the drink, watch her take a sip, leave. I'll be right behind you with a clipboard, taking notes.”
“W-What if it doesn't work?”
“Rumi, look at me. The bathroom serum has worked for eight years running. It's probably the only good thing my brother's ever invented. It will work now.”
“Why do I have to do it?”
“Because you're the social one! That's our whole thing, I'm the smart, cute, awkward one, you're the hot, popular, trendy one!”
“It's just.... this is risky, okay?”
“How is it risky? It's not like you're gonna drink the serum, are you?”
It took a few minutes, but soon Rumi and Autumn were walking down the wide staircase, a hot cup of coffee in Rumi's left hand.
“Um..... M-Miss Lane?” Rumi asked shyly. The executive looked up, and offered a neat, sociable smile.
“Yes?” she asked. “How can I help you?”
“Um....”
Rumi glanced back at Autumn, who was trying to appear relaxed but was squeezing the sides of her clipboard in a rather un-relaxed manner.
“Um..... hi. I'm Harumi Powell, and my friend is Autumn Hawthorne. You might know her older sister, Summer?”
Miss Lane glanced at Autumn, and then at the coffee in Rumi's hand.
“Yes?”
“Um.... well.... we just wanted you to try out this new coffee we've developed at the, the, um, s-student-run cafeteria. Me and Autumn are collecting data from the adults.”
Miss Lane raised an eyebrow. “I don't see anyone else with this coffee.”
“Um.... it's our last one!”
There was an awkward silence.
Then the executive said:
“Okay then..... what flavor is it?”
“Cinnamon,” Autumn called.
“Berry,” Rumi said at the same time.
They looked at each other in frustration for a moment.
“Um..... Cinnamon berry!” Rumi said, smiling nervously.
There was another awkward silence.
“Um.... okay....” Miss Lane finally said, taking the coffee from Rumi's hands. “Sounds delicious!”
The girls glanced at each other as she blew the drink, and gave it a light sip. She smacked her lips lightly as she tasted it.
“Tastes lighter than I'd have thought,” she said. “Almost lemony.”
The girls looked at each other exasperatedly, but to their relief, the executive followed up with, “But it's good! Thanks for the free coffee, girls!”
“You're welcome!” both girls said.
They stood there for a moment. The girls were positive that Miss Lane felt just as awkward as they did.
“Well....” the executive said, closing her laptop and getting to her feet. “I should get going.... um.... see you around, girls! I'll say hi to Summer for you.... Autumn, right?”
Autumn nodded mutely.
The girls watched as she packed her things up. They tensed up, for a moment it looked like she wasn't headed to the bathroom.... but then she turned and entered the all-too familiar chamber.
The girls let out a sigh of relief.
“Come on, come on,” Autumn said, excited now that the hard part was over. “Get your phone out!”
Rumi pulled her phone out, and opened the app. The Rescale App logo appeared for a second, then a message appeared on the screen.
“Scanning subject.”
Another second passed, and a 2D diagram suddenly appeared of a female body. A small box appeared beside the diagram, with several lines of information:
Subject Sex: Female
Subject Height: 5'8''
Subject Weight: 134 lbs
There were a couple of other bits of information (heart rate, brain waves, temperature, and the like) and prompts (Autumn told Rumi to switch the measurements to the metric system, but she refused). Directly below the diagram was a big button with the word “RESCALE” in big white letters.
“What do I do?” Rumi asked nervously.
“It says it'll shrink her to a little over two percent of her current height,” Autumn said quietly. “She'll be what, two inches?”
They were silent for a moment. Then they both shrugged.
“What the heck,” Rumi said, and she pressed the button.