Bobby and his best friend Martin were conspiring by the Venn Machine.  They’d headed there after school, because Bobby had discovered just last weekend that he could finally use the Venn Machines, and wanted to play an epic prank on his sister.

Vanessa had been born ten months before Bobby, January versus November, which left them in the same grade and sharing half their classes.  She had been using the Venn Machines for the past two years, lording it over Bobby by coming home with cat ears, or golden eyes.  Once she came home as the spitting image of one of the women on his favourite TV shows.  Their parents had been quite indulgent about it, only insisting that she follow the school rules about being ‘mostly human’ during the day.  They figured if the Venn Machines knew she was mature enough, she could do as she pleased... as long as her grades stayed good.

Bobby was fed up with all that, and wanted his vengeance.

Martin sighed as he looked down at the gym shoes Bobby was holding.  “You understand that the Venn Machine will size these to fit you, right?  You’ve got size 11 feet, hers are size 8.  The only way this will work is if I turn you into your sister for a bit.  You can change back once we set the shoes aside.”

Bobby made a face.  “I have to be a girl?”

“Who’s the one planning an ‘epic prank’ here?  You’re going to need to make sacrifices.”

Bobby sighed, and nodded.  “Okay, okay.  You’re sure?”

“Very.  Get those shoelaces tied, then we can start.  You figure sixteen hours is right?”

Bobby nodded and started tying his sister’s shoelaces to each other.  “We both have gym second period tomorrow.”

Martin frowned, then shrugged.  “If you say so.”

Martin set the Venn Machine for two thirds of a day, then gestured his friend inside.  “After you.  Don’t touch anything, okay?”

Martin took a few minutes to tweak the image on the other side of the booth.  “Not a perfect match on the shoes, but it’ll do.  Ready to be your sister?”

“Aw hell no.  But do it anyway.”

Bobby stumbled out of the Venn Machine a minute later.  “Why am I wearing heels?”

“Sorry.  I was focussed on the gym shoes.  Hand ‘em over and we can change you back.”

Bobby did so eagerly, but when they turned back to the Venn Machine they found three couples lined up to use it.  Bobby waited through the line with growing impatience.  “This feels weird.”

Martin snickered.  “First Venn always does.  You’ll get used to it.”

“Don’t wanna get used to being a girl.”

Martin’s snickering continued until they got to the front of the line.  He told Bobby how to change himself back, and soon Bobby was male once more.  They left the mall, and Martin drove Bobby back home.

The next day at school, Bobby watched his sister avidly throughout their shared gym class, but nothing happened.  He compared notes with Martin afterward, who simply asked, “What’s twenty four minus sixteen?”

Bobby thought about that for a bit.  “Eight.  Your point is?”

“Gym class was six hours earlier in the day than when we venned her shoes.  They changed back before school, doofus.”

Bobby grumbled and cursed the need for math.  “Fine.  I’ll get her next time.”

The next time consisted of painting rubber cement onto the bottom of Vanessa’s gym shoes, then venning them back to normal once more.  This time they made the change just before dinnertime.  Bobby calculated the time difference three times, to make sure he had it right.

Unfortunately, the glue had dried by the time the shoes changed back, so the only visible result was some extra marks on the floor of the gym.  Bobby noticed them, nobody else did.

The following week, Bobby and Martin returned to the Venn Machine.  Bobby had pilfered a pair of his sister’s panties, and had an even more nefarious plan than before.  They’d visited Bobby’s home after school, and he’d retrieved his loot and a small bag of ice.

“You do realize the clothing fit issue is still a problem, right?” asked Martin as they stepped into the Venn Machine.

Bobby sighed.  “Yeah.  Hit me, I know the drill.  A few minutes as a girl isn’t that big a price to pay.  This is going to be epic.”  He poured the ice into the panties, and held them in his hands, ice slowly melting and dripping while Martin worked.  “Hurry it up, okay?  My hands are freezing.”

Martin tapped the button, and Bobby’s hands suddenly held a very normal looking pair of panties, and no ice.  “Whiner.  C’mon, we’ll get you reset in a jiffy.”

They only had to wait for one couple this time.  A couple of girls from their class wandered by while they were waiting, and waved.  Bobby tried to ignore them, and got elbowed by Martin for his troubles.  “C’mon, they were just being friendly.  You look like her, don’t act suspicious and nobody will know.”

Bobby rolled his eyes.  “They will if they hear me talk.”

“You could work on that.  Try to talk nicer.”

Bobby grumbled and groused until the Venn Machine opened once more.  This time, only one person got out.  On the other side, there was just a bra, that was soon scooped up and carried away.  Bobby boggled.  “They can do that?”

“Uh, yeah.  They can turn you into anything at all.  Have you even bothered to skim VennWiki?”

“I figured you’d tell me what I need to know.”

“Oy.  It wouldn’t kill you to do some reading, you know.”

Bobby dropped the panties in Martin’s hands, and hopped into the machine to reset back to normal once more.  “I’ve been fine so far.”

The next morning Bobby was very much not fine.  Just as the history class he shared with Martin and Vanessa was starting, he was suddenly drenched in ice-water.  Bobby yelped loudly, and had to dash to the bathroom among much hilarity from his classmates.

Martin grinned at him on his return.  “How’s the prank war going?”

“Oh shut up.  I’ll get her next time.”

Bobby’s next plan had to wait until the day before the next big game.  His sister was (of course) a cheerleader, and that meant she would be wearing a specific outfit at an easily known time after school was out on Friday.  So he got Martin to drive him home right after school on Thursday, and snagged his sister’s cheer outfit.  He also grabbed a large bucket, that they filled with water in one of the mall bathrooms.  Bobby got Martin to change him into Vanessa once more.  Thankfully, for once there was no line, and Bobby got back in with the cheer outfit and bucket.  Under Martin’s bemused gaze, Bobby stripped and put on the cheer outfit.

Once he was done Martin started clapping.  “Thanks for the show.”

Bobby snickered.  “Hey, at least you got something out of it for once.”

“Hardly once.  You’re serious about this?”

“Set it up.”

Martin shrugged, and tapped the interface once.  The bucket disappeared from his view.  “Done.  Hit it.”  He saw Bobby lift an invisible bucket over his head, followed by a loud splash and cursing about just how cold the water was.  Martin took one moment to admire how certain aspects of Martin’s borrowed anatomy got quite pointy despite no visible source of cold, then hit the button.

“Okay, wise guy.  Now what?  Did you bring a spare set of clothes so you can change out of these?  Or were you planning to streak the mall as your sister?”

“Tempting... but no.  My gym clothes are in my backpack, that’ll do I guess.”

It wasn’t until Bobby was changing in the bathroom that he noticed that Vanessa’s cheer top looked wrong.  After he was dressed he stormed out to show it to Martin.  “What’s with this, anyway?  Her top is all squiggly, it’s supposed to have the Panthers logo.”

“You need to read VennWiki again.  Anything with text or icons on it gets messed up.  Take it with you when you reset yourself back to normal.”

“When I what?”  Bobby looked down, then did a double-take.  “Shit, I’m still Vanessa.  How’d I miss that?”

Martin laughed and slapped his leg.  “Forgot you were a girl?  That’s priceless.  It’s pretty easy to get used to just about any body.  Try not to start thinking like a girl, though.”

Bobby’s look of alarm set off more laughter.  “That can happen?”

Martin nodded, taking a few wheezes to get his breath back.  “Yeah.  If you feel around in your head, there’s a copy of Vanessa in there that’ll run the body for you.  Just... relax and go with the flow.”

“Are you serious?” asked Bobby, incredulously.  “No!”  He made his way to the Venn Machine, only to have to stand huffily in line while two other couples used it.

Martin’s grin got wider when he saw how Bobby was standing, and how he was picking at his ill-fitting shirt.  Just before Bobby got to the Venn Machine, Martin sidled up.  “Looking scruffy there, Vanessa.”

“Oh please, this is all Bobby’s fault...”  Bobby’s eyes went very wide.  “Hey!”

“Told ya.”

Bobby scrambled into the Venn Machine as soon as it opened, and was soon back to his normal masculine self.  He muttered all the way out of the mall.

“You’d learn a lot by being her, you know,” said Martin conversationally.  “I spent a couple weekends as a girl when I first found I could use the Venn Machines.  There are upsides.”

Bobby stopped cold.  “You... what?”

“Hey, don’t get me wrong, I prefer being a guy.  It’s just... don’t reject it out of hand, okay?  You can do that now.  If you like being a girl, I won’t think any less of you.  A couple of the new girls in our grade didn’t move here, if you catch my drift.”

“What?  Who?”

Martin chuckled.  “Hey, if you haven’t figured it out, I’m not going to tell.  The school board streamlined the paperwork last year, it’s being treated about the same as a name change.  Half an hour at the office, tops.”

Bobby shook his head truculently.  “No.  No way.”

“Just saying, you seemed happy as a girl.  I’m not saying you should try being Vanessa, but you could find something that works for you.  Or just go to school with a monkey tail, whatever.”

Bobby cracked a grin at that.  “I should... except Vanessa doesn’t know I can venn yet.  I don’t want to give up the element of surprise.”

Martin nodded sagely.  “Yeah, because she hasn’t seen any of this coming yet.  Or going, for that matter.”  He snickered.

“This time for sure.”

During the game, Bobby and Martin sat together and watched their Panthers basketball team do its best to run up the score against the rival Elks.  Both teams had a mascot on the sidelines that was venned into a fuzzy approximation of their totem animal.  After an incident the previous year, claws, teeth, and antlers had to be blunted.

At halftime, Bobby checked the Venn Timer app on his phone, and counted down the last few seconds.  Suddenly he was wearing two sets of clothes, neither of which were damp.  He cheered, then looked up to see his sister high-kicking without a care in the world.  “I don’t get it.  Shouldn’t she be soaked?”

“It’s been a day.  Maybe the clothes dried out?  Look on the bright side.”

“What possible bright side could you be seeing?” groused Bobby.

“You’re not soaked this time.”

Bobby chuckled weakly.  “Yeah, I guess.  Next time for sure.”

“Bobby...”

“We need something where we have better control.  Maybe if we put something in her purse that’d change back to...”

“What, like a bunch of bugs?” asked Martin.

Bobby shook his head.  “Tried that once already, a few years back.  She just dumped them out on my bed.  Didn’t get the slightest squeak out of her.  Bugs don’t bother her.  I think she found it funny.”

“Huh.  Snakes?”

“That seems like an awful thing to do to a snake.  Oh, I know!  Eggs.”

“Eggs?”

“I’m sure we can find a rotten, stinky egg somewhere, and venn it into a button.”

Martin shook his head.  “This is going to end in tears.”

He still went along with the plan, the following Monday.  Even with its shell intact, the egg Bobby had acquired reeked of sulphur, and Martin insisted that Bobby put it in a sealed bag before he was allowed into Martin’s car.  And then put that bag in another one, just in case.

Inside the Venn Machine, Bobby opened the bag then held up the egg.  “Button time.”

“What girl keeps a button in her purse?  Should be something like a nail file.”

“Sure, man, whatev... AUGH!  It broke!  Do it do it quick!”

Bobby coughed as he exited the Venn Machine.  “God, that was nasty.”  He tossed the now useless bags into the trash, and handed the file over to his friend.

“You should probably revert, and clean up,” cautioned Martin.  “If any of it got on you...”

Bobby made a face.  “Let me have a breather first.”

Martin’s concerns proved correct.  While there wasn’t much egg on Bobby’s hands, there was more than enough to make him emerge in an unbearable stinking cloud.

Bobby had to spend an hour in the washroom scrubbing before Martin pronounced him clean enough to ride in his car.

The next day, Bobby watched eagerly in history class.  He even spotted his sister filing her nails before class started, and his heart filled with glee expecting the chaos to come.  To his great disappointment, nothing happened.  No stink cloud.  Nothing.

Bobby was still shaking his head when he met with Martin at lunch.  “I triple checked the timer.  We did it right.  What happened?”

“Maybe Vanessa noticed the nail file and got suspicious about there being two in her purse.  You did remember to sneak it in, right?  There isn’t a mess waiting for you in your bedroom?”

Bobby paled at the thought, then shook his head.  “I’m sure I put it in.”

“I guess she’s more paranoid than you thought.  Can’t imagine why...”

Bobby snickered.  “Damn it.  Something has to work.  I have an even better idea for the next one.  I wonder where I can find a big enough firecracker...  We could venn it into her pen.”

“Dude.  You could hurt someone that way.”

Bobby winced, then shook his head.  “Can’t hurt her.  Her hair isn’t bleached blonde, it’s venn blonde.  Seriously.  She can turn into anything, and she uses it for... her hair.”

Martin chuckled softly.  “She doesn’t need to use it for anything else.”

Bobby looked at him sharply.  “What?”

“Sorry.  You let me have a good look at her goods when you changed clothes in the Venn Machine.  She’s hot.  You cannot deny it.”

That set off another round of grumbling from Bobby.

Several days later, they were once again conspiring near the Venn Machine.  Bobby showed his latest acquisition to Martin.  He’d taped a firecracker to his sister’s favourite pen.  The firecracker was longer than the pen, and twice as thick.  Martin boggled at the sight of it.  “Seriously, Bobby.  That could take a hand off.  You’re insane.”

“No, it’s okay.  You just need to venn me first, so I’m safe.  Then we venn the firecracker and pen together, with the firecracker lit.”

“Right.  Simply venn a burning firecracker.  What could possibly go wrong?” Martin rolled his eyes, but gamely tagged along to the Venn Machine even so.

“Hey!” protested Bobby after the first change.  “I didn’t say turn me into a girl again...”

Martin shrugged.  “Had to be sure you were changed, right?”

Bobby grumbled his way through the line, but Martin noticed the grumbling tailing off after a couple minutes.  “Enjoying the looks?” asked Martin with a smirk.

Bobby nodded idly, gaze wandering to the people walking by once more.  Martin’s smirk widened when he saw that Bobby’s gaze was sneaking to some of the cute guys walking by.  And Bobby was briefly transfixed when two guys emerged from the Venn Machine with iridescent scales, long flowing hair, and little more than loincloths for clothing.

“Wipe off that drool,” chided Martin gently as he set up the Venn Machine.

Bobby started guiltily, then stepped inside the machine.  He cheered up when he discovered his lighter still worked.  “Ready on your end?”

“Light it up.”

There was a loud fizz from Bobby’side, followed by cries of “Go go go!”

A moment later Bobby’s bouncing chest heaved with his great sigh of relief.  “Made it.  Good job.  Let’s get out of here.”

They were outside the mall before Martin’s snickering grew so loud that it clued Bobby in as to what he’d forgotten.  What she had forgotten, that is...

History class the next morning was tense.  Martin and Bobby were both braced for the reversion of the pen and its explosive companion.  Their tension seemed to have infected Vanessa as well, if her posture was anything to go by, but she was soon busy taking notes.

Partway through the class Vanessa cursed.  Taped to her pen was the blackened remnants of a cardboard cylinder.  That wasn’t what had drawn her ire, however.  All the notes she’d taken since the start of class had become a tracery of ash.  It all blew off the page with the slightest gesture.

Bobby sighed.  Then allowed the tiniest of smiles to cross his face.  A win, if a tiny one.

After class, Vanessa stopped Martin.  “Hey, can I borrow your notes for this class?  Mine got corrupted.”  She glanced over at Bobby, who was doing his best to look innocent.

“Anything for you,” agreed Martin.  He clicked his binder open, and handed over a few sheets.

After Vanessa had headed off, Bobby rounded on his friend.  “What was that about?”

“Being nice to your sister because I’m a decent human being?  Is that wrong now?” asked Martin with a broad smile on his face.

“You’re trying to get in her pants.  Damn it man, what the hell?  She’s my sister!”

“And hot, and great at video games... remember when we all used to play, before she got so busy with cheerleading?”

Bobby studied his friend’s face.  “It’s like I don’t even know you...”

“Think, Bobby.  Wouldn’t you like to find a girl who likes the stuff you do?”

Bobby snorted.  “Yeah, like that’s going to happen.”

After school, Bobby met up with Martin.  “We need a new plan.”

Martin rolled his eyes.  “Give it up, already.  You can venn, have fun with it.  Living well is the best revenge.”

“Hell with that.  I want actual revenge,” gritted Bobby, clenching his fists.  He shook one of them in Vanessa’s general direction, then unclenched them with a sigh.  “But I have no idea how.”

“We could venn you into something to scare her.  Maybe a little version of you that can sneak into her room and rustle about like a mouse?”

Bobby stared at Martin, a flush growing on his cheeks.  “Why would you even suggest such a thing?  She’d tower over me like a... a giantess.”  The last word came out as an expression of awe.

“Sounds good to me,” said Martin with a grin.

“If you think so how about I venn you tiny instead.  Easier for me to sneak you into her room than the other way around, right?”

Martin hesitated for a time, then slowly nodded.  “You’re sure you wouldn’t mind me running around in her room like that?”

“I don’t care what you do, as long as you make her scream.”

Martin snorted, then faked a coughing fit.  “Sure, man.  I’ll do my best.”

“Now?”

“This weekend,” promised Martin.  “I’ll tell Mom I’m staying the night at your place.”

*** *** ***

Martin clung to the back of Bobby’s pant leg.  He was, as best he could tell, about five inches tall.  He waited while Bobby interrupted his sister’s studies.  While they were talking he bailed off of Bobby’s leg and scrambled under Vanessa’s bed.  He discovered that while the rest of her room was as tidy as always, out of sight was out of mind where she was concerned.  There were legions of dust bunnies hiding behind a bewildering array of house-sized boxes.  Once his eyes adapted to the darkness caused by her bed skirt, he was able to read the writing on the side of the boxes.  Most were shoeboxes, but way in the back was one labelled “games”.  He managed to pry the top up, and found a treasure trove of old cartridges inside, stacked on top of Vanessa’s old handheld.

Martin wriggled into the box, then fumbled around in the dark until he found the power button for the game system.  It beeped softly as it powered up.

“What was that?”  Vanessa’s voice boomed through the room, or it did to Martin’s tiny ears.  He quickly powered the console off, then fought his way back out of the box.  Time for the main event.  Vanessa was already a little paranoid, so it didn’t take much to get her attention.  Punching random shoeboxes got a little squeak out of her each time.  After a half dozen squeaks, she stomped over to the bed and looked under it.  Martin hid behind a shoebox until she went back to her desk.

Martin waited for ten minutes or so, until Vanessa seemed engrossed in her reading once more.  Then he stealthily made his way out from under the bed, doing his best to move as silently as a mouse.  He made it to the base of her chair, and stared up at her in awe.  Her loose shirt draped open at the side, and he realized after staring up it for a time that there was no bra underneath the shirt...

Vanessa shifted in her seat, leaning the other way and closing the gap under her shirt.  Martin considered moving to the other side of the chair, but instead pressed on to his goal – her sock-clad foot.

Martin got within touching distance without event. Then he hugged Vanessa’s big toe tight, eliciting an ear-piercing scream.

Across the hall, Bobby grinned. Victory at last.

Martin tumbled away from Vanessa’s foot just in time to dodge the flailing kick that followed the screech.  He scrambled out from under her desk, drawing another shout as she spotted his scurrying form.  Dashing toward the bed got him out of sight and back to safety before she got out of the chair.

Vanessa was not willing to let it go at that.  She lay down on her stomach to peer under the bed, and started dragging out shoebox after shoebox.  Martin darted from hiding place to hiding place, finally cowering behind the very last box, the one with Vanessa’s games.

When pulling the last box away revealed her prey, Vanessa’s other hand darted forward and snatched Martin up before he could react.  Clutched in her hand he squirmed as she got up and perched on the edge of her bed.

“What do we have here?” asked Vanesa softly, staring down at the tiny person in her hand.

Martin stopped struggling, and tried to answer, but all that came out was a wheezing gasp.  Her grip kept him from drawing more than a scrap of breath.  He gave her his best pleading look, and the terrifying grip loosened.  Martin sucked in a few breaths, then tried a smile.  “Hi Vanessa.”

Vanessa blinked as she recognized the squeaky voice.  “Is that really you, Martin?”

Martin nodded.

“Bobby put you up to this, huh?  Hopefully he’ll take the win and end this before I have to declare war.”

“Well...” admitted Martin.  “This one was more my idea.”

“Do tell.  You scared the life out of me!  I should...”  She grinned down at him.  “I wonder if there’s a jar and lid in the recycling.  Punch a few holes, and I’d have my own private cheering section as I studied.”

“It’s Saturday night, why are you studying at all?” asked Martin.

“Gotta keep the grades up or...”  Vanessa winced.  “Still, I suppose you’re right.  One night off won’t kill my grades.  So what should I do with you?”

Martin pointed at the box on the floor.  Vanessa shook her head.  “No more hide and seek.  Oh, wait, that’s my...”  She set Martin down beside her on the bed and picked up the box.  “I’d forgotten about these.  I wonder if it still has power.”

At the beep of the unit starting, Vanessa glared down at Martin once more.  “That was you too!  I heard it.  How long were you under there?”

“Not long enough to play anything.  Got any co-op games?”

Vanessa giggled.  “What, sit you in my lap and ... how would that even work?”

“Dunno, but I’m game.”

Vanessa dug out a racing game they’d both enjoyed, and asked Martin if he had his own unit with him so they could play head to head.  Martin laughed, and patted his pants.  He didn’t even have pockets.  Instead, they took turns, trying to beat each other’s time on one track after another.  Martin couldn’t handle the throttle and steering at the same time, so Vanessa held the button down while Martin worked the joystick to steer.  His small size made the joystick seem much more sensitive, and he soon got so good at it that he was beating Vanessa’s times easily.

Partway through another race, Vanessa leaned a little further forward, and flipped the hem of her shirt over Martin’s head, blocking his view of the game.

“Hey!” protested Martin.  Then he looked up.  “No, wait, this is good.”

“Pervert,” giggled Vanessa.

“No, perfect.  As in, yours are absolutely so.”

Vanessa pulled her shirt off.  “You really think so?”

“From down here?  They’re beyond magnificent,” Martin enthused sincerely.

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” giggled Vanessa, pulling up the waistband of her yoga pants and panties together.  She sat up straighter, sending Martin tumbling and flailing right into the pocket she’d created.

It was Martin’s turn to squeak in surprise.  “Hey, moving a bit fast...  Wait, there’s... nothing here.”  He stared at the smooth expanse of flesh between Vanessa’s legs, then reached out to pat it softly.  “How do you even pee?”

Vanessa blushed, and scooped him out again.  “Sorry, got caught up in the moment.  Short story, I’m grounded and this is part of the deal.”

Martin hugged Vanessa’s hand, then turned to sit in the bowl of her hands and look up into her face.  “That’s... kinda weird.  It’s a good look on you, though.  Smooth and clean.”

Vanessa’s blush deepened.  “You really think so?  I look like a Barbie doll.”

“Nah, you’re way prettier,” said Martin without thinking.

Vanessa smushed him up against her breasts in a giant hug.  “You really think so?”

Martin couldn’t answer, and when she lowered her hands he looked dazed.  He held up a hand, thumb up, to show his approval.  That got more giggles.

“Are you... happy like this?” he asked.

Vanessa sighed, and started to shake her head.  “Well, not until tonight.  This was fun.  Think I can talk Bobby into shrinking you again next weekend?  Mid-term exams are next week, and if I do well on the report card that’ll follow, I’ll be allowed to use the Venn Machines again.  So the weekend after that, you can turn me into anything you want.”

Martin blinked up at her.  “You... what?  What do you want to be?”

Vanessa bit her lip.  “Sooo many things.  That’s how I got in trouble in the first place.  Trusted the wrong guy, got turned into a ...” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “sex toy.  He decided he liked me that way, and I would have been stuck for a month if Daddy hadn’t tracked him down and demanded me back.  Missed some exams, trashed my grades, and... yeah.”

“And the missing bits?” asked Martin after Vanessa’s gaze went distant.

“Oh.  Daddy offered to Venn me to something I could live with for a while.  I wanted something that’d be okay for a few months, so I went with pretty hair, and blue eyes.”

“I’d been wondering about that.  They were brown before, right?”

Vanessa nodded, and smiled down at him.  “You noticed!  So few guys do.”

“And the bits?”

“Daddy correctly figured that boys were why my grades had already started plummeting.  If we’re going to date, I’ll need to keep my grades up.”

“D... date?” asked Martin.  “I mean yeah, that sounds great!”

Vanessa giggled.  “You’ve seen me naked, and dating makes you nervous?”

“Surprised.  Didn’t think you’d go for a runt like me.”

Vanessa leaned in close and bumped him with her nose.  “You’re awfully cute this small.  How about some turnabout, you’ve seen me naked, so...”

Martin struggled with his clothes for a minute, then started laughing.  “They don’t come off.  I think they’re part of me like this.  I’m a doll, too.”  He patted his crotch.  “Nothing down there either.”

“Well.  That’ll keep certain distractions at bay.  How long are you venned for?”

“All weekend.”

Vanessa squealed happily.  “I can keep you all weekend?”

“Well... I’d like to be home Sunday night.”

“I’ll let you ‘escape’,” Vanessa made air quotes with the hands still cupping Martin, “back to Bobby’s room on Sunday, then.”  Vanessa glanced over at the video game, then back to her desk.  “Going to be mostly studying, though.  I can’t fail now!”

Martin agreed to be her little study buddy for the weekend.  His encouragement (and math skills) helped her along immensely.  They still played some video games, with Martin encouraging Vanessa to “reward” herself for progress, especially after she aced a practice test.

The next week was mostly quiet, everyone was too busy with mid-term exams and studying to get up to much.

On report card day, Vanessa ran up to Martin and hugged him tight.  “All A’s!  I aced everything!  Daddy’ll be so happy, and...”

Bobby was staring at the two of them.  “How long?”

Vanessa tried to backpedal, but found Martin’s arm around her waist holding her close.  She liked the feel of it, so leaned against him while they turned to face her brother.

“Ever since the shrinking incident,” said Martin.  “Though the scream was legit.”

Bobby sighed softly.  “Ah.  Well, that’s something, I guess.”

“And I warned her about the exploding pen.  And the egg.”

“Awww!” protested Bobby.  “Why’d you go do that.”

Martin wrinkled his nose.  “Self defence.  I was in that class too.  It was bad enough in the mall getting just the remnants of it.”

“What about the cheer outfit?”

Vanessa looked puzzled.  “What’d you do?”

“The game against the Elks.  It was supposed to be soaking wet,” explained Martin.

Vanessa giggled.  “I’d wondered why my outfit suddenly felt fresh and clean halfway through the game.”

Martin laughed along with her.  “Yeah, I figured the day it spent venned gave it lots of time to dry.”

Bobby pouted.  “Tried so many things.”

Vanessa eyed him grimly.  “That means I owe you payback for... um...”

“He already nailed himself with most of the stunts,” said Martin.  “Remember when he ran out of the classroom, mysteriously drenched?  Icewater.  And he got doused with rotten egg.  You’re already way ahead.”

Vanessa smiled.  “Oh.  Hm.  I suppose that means I should let him venn me into something as a sort of truce gesture.  Friday, eight hours.  You’ll be with us, right, Martin?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

*** *** ***

Bobby stared at his sister in the other side of the Venn Machine.  “I... uh...”

Vanessa giggled.  “Come on.  You have to have something you’ve always wanted to do to me.”

“Yeah, but...  I mean...  This seems too easy.”

Vanessa shrugged.  “I could just bail, and you get nothing.  Come on, little brother.  Free shot at me, no hit-backs.  You’ll never get another chance like this.”

“I am not little!” protested Bobby.  Then his eyes went wide.  “Ooooh.”  He tapped the interface.  Then again.  And a few more times.  

Vanessa watched with a growing grin.  “Something good?”

“Yep.”  Bobby tapped the green circle, and suddenly Vanessa was staring up at him.  She had to look up to see his knee...

Martin grinned and crouched down in front of her when the door finally opened.  Vanessa held up her arms as if to say “pick me up”, and Martin obliged.  He cupped his hands gently around her and lifted her up to his face.

Vanessa stared into his eyes in wonder.  “You’re so big...”

“Want to go play video games?” chuckled Martin softly.

“Sure!”

Bobby shook his head as he watched the two of them.  “You’re enjoying this.”

“Yup,” agreed Martin.  “This is going to be a fun evening.  Tell your Dad I’ll have her home by eight, okay?”

“Is this a date?”

Martin and Vanessa both nodded with big grins on their faces.  Bobby just rolled his eyes and walked off.

*** *** ***

The next Monday, Bobby watched morosely as Martin sat with his sister.  He was dragged out of his funk by a sweet female voice asking, “is this seat taken?”

Bobby startled so badly he dropped his spoon into the goop the cafeteria laughingly claimed was macaroni and cheese.  “I... uh...  Ellen?”

Ellen’s cheeks dimpled as she smiled at him. “You remembered my name!”

Bobby chuckled weakly.  “You’re the shortest girl in class by half a foot.  You’re pretty memorable.”  He waved to the seat opposite him.  “You can have Martin’s spot, he’s... occupied.”

Ellen scooted around the table and sat beside Bobby instead.  Bobby boggled at her anew.  “What?”

Ellen giggled.  “Your sister told me an innnteresting story about what you’ve been up to, shrinking people in the Venn Machine...”

Bobby blushed, making Ellen giggle even louder.  “Oooh.  So she was right.”

Bobby sputtered, then turned to eat his lunch and tried to force the blush to fade.  It didn’t work.  Worse, as he finished his “mac and cheese”, Ellen pulled out a little white paper bag, and shook out a jelly baby.  She dropped it into his pudding.

“Oh dear,” she sighed.  “It looks like a tiny person is stuck in your dessert.  Whatever will you do?”

Bobby’s blush brightened, and he turned to stammer protests at Ellen.  She shook out another jelly baby, and dropped it into her own pudding.  She scooped up a bite of pudding with the candy atop it, and lifted it to her lips.  “Or is this more the view you want?”

Ellen lapped the pudding from around the candy, then used her lips to gently pluck it from the spoon.  She turned to Bobby and used her tongue to tease the candy in her open mouth, then tilted her head back and swallowed.  A finger traced the candy’s course down her throat.

“Cat got your tongue, Bobby?” Ellen, asked, eyes sparkling.

Bobby was staring at her throat, transfixed.  “Why are you doing this?” he squeaked.

Eileen giggled.  “Your sister told me an interesting story.  One that I,” she pitched her voice softer, but made it sound much more urgent.  “Really, really liked.”  Eileen patted his hand.  “Meet me at the Venn Machine after school.”

Bobby blinked.  “Okay.”

*** **** ***

The next day, Martin found Bobby standing at his locker, staring into it with a dreamy look on his face.  Martin chuckled softly.  “Something on your mind?”

Bobby started, and looked over to his friend guiltily.  “I... uh...”

“So.  Did Vanessa get you back?”

Bobby grinned goofily.  “And how.”

“You don’t look upset.”

Ellen slipped under Bobby’s arm, snuggling up against him, then went up on tiptoe to get a kiss.  “Hey sweet thing.  Same again tonight?”

“Can you make me a whole bag this time?”

Ellen squealed happily.  “Yep!  Though for Friday I have... other ideas.  I wonder how tall the Venn Machine could make me.”

Martin chuckled.  “Some revenge.  You two have fun, now.”  As he turned to walk away he found Vanessa standing behind him.

“Fun, you were saying?” asked Vanessa with a grin.  “Two giantesses are more fun than one...”

Bobby shot Martin a worried look.  “I think we’ve created monsters.”

“Beautiful ones,” added Martin, to big grins from the girls.  “This is going to be awesome.”