Sarah is finally looking to get a new car after outgrowing her last one quite literality months ago.  But one last hurdle awaits when she starts shrinking at the dealership.  This is story number 16 in the series.

Shrinking Car Deal.

I stared out the window of the bus, tapping my finger on my right knee. Things were not going my way. I was on my way to the car dealership at the other end of town to purchase a car; the only thing was I was supposed to have been there four days ago. My friend, Carien, had an issue a few days ago that led me to a sudden transformation while helping her. To make matters worse, my neighbors' car, which I had been loaning, needed to be towed after the night, which was the last straw, and he took his vehicle back.

I would have been on my way to buy a new vehicle the next day, even despite the issues with Carien and the strange rabbit transformation, but I just didn’t have the money. I had to wait for Callen to call back about some royalty payment for my giantess growth presentation. The Fredricks Fancy company wasn’t thrilled about giving me money this early but I had said that if they didn’t give me the cash, I might walk out on our business deal and maybe grow and mess with one of their facilities in the process. I was desperate for the deal to go my way.

After some negotiations, the company gave me a taste of what I wanted. Callen told me they would pay me twenty percent of previous earnings of the commercials gains that I had been in for the last three months. At first, I thought Callen was ripping me off, but then I found out that I would receive a good seven thousand dollars. I have to wonder just how much money they are making off me, but I could worry about that another day. As long as they paid me, I would be fine for the time being.

Thanks to the drama, I had to wait until now to buy a new vehicle, and I had to take public transportation to do so. I looked around at the others I shared the dingy vessel with. There was an elderly couple that was sound asleep near the front of the vehicle, a group of teens near the back that I hoped by the tattoos and jacket signs were not in one of the local gangs, and a security officer for the mall I used to work at sitting across from me. I didn’t recognize the officer, who had reddish hair, pale skin and could barely fit into his black and white uniform as he chowed down onto a piece of pizza. He caught me looking at him and said, “You have a problem, lady?”

I held up my hands. “Oh no, I am fine.”

He took another cheesy bite. “Then stop starring. I am too much of a man for you to handle.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Why else would you be checking me out?”

I rolled my eyes and looked back out the window.  Creep.

Spring was around the corner. Snow still covered the ground, but the temperature was slated to rise over the next few days, freeing my town from the yearly freeze. I would be happy to enjoy my time in the spring weather, going for runs, fixing up my house, and maybe even going on that first date I promised Carien. Hell, I would just settle for the warmer weather, so when I had to do my time with the Fredricks Fancy gigs, I wouldn’t have to be freezing. Last thing I want would be to grow or shrink for them in subzero temps.

The bus came to a stop, the driver calling out, “East Wellington Street. End of the line.”

Everyone stood up and made their way to the front. As I made my way to my feet, one of the teens from the back bumped into me, knocked me down. The young lady looked at me, saying, “Hey, look where you are going, you old Betty.”

I looked up at her but held my tongue as her friends all stared at me, daring me to respond. They eventually laughed and continued on.

I brushed myself off and then stood up, making my way to the front of the bus. After waiting for everyone else to get off, I paid the ten-dollar fee before stepping off the bus. After I stepped out, the door shut, and the vehicle chugged off, leaving me in a small cloud of smog.

“I hope I never have to take the bus again.” I shook my head, coughing. “Now to get to the dealership.”

I looked down the street to see Penny’s Auto Lot, the only car dealership in town. We were not lucky enough to have some big-name car companies like Rotor set up shop. I could barely find my home town Gallensburg on the map. Even though Penny’s wasn’t a big-name retailer, her dealership wasn’t just a used car lot, so there was that.

I made my way to the entrance of the auto lot. The snow had been plowed off the road and sidewalk, so there was only a bit of slush lying around. As I entered the parking lot, I could see an assortment of minivans, pick-up trucks, cars, and even a solar-powered golf cart. “Who would buy that thing?”

As I neared the main building, a one-story brick building with glass walls overlooking the road. I could see that the lobby only had two people inside, Matt and Tess. I came to a halt right before the doorway.  What are they doing here?

Matt threw his arms around as if he was yelling his head off, tearing out what little of his black hair he had left. I could only imagine what was being said inside. Matt was becoming more and more of a loose cannon, and I was happy that I dumped him when I did.

He suddenly turned around and headed for the entrance, throwing the glass door open. Matt could not slam it as there was a built-in device to slow the door to prevent the glass from shattering. He shook his head, looking at the ground as he passed me, brushing against my shoulder.

“Watch where you are going. Hey, wait, oh no, not you.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t have time for you today, Matt.”

He opened his mouth, looked to the side, and then closed it as he shook his head. “You are not worth it today.” He turned around and walked off. “Next time Collinsworth.”

I sighed.  I hope there isn’t a next time.

I turned around and headed inside the store. I was greeted by a pleasant breeze on the back of my neck. In the corner of the room was a fake palm tree that still had charismas ornaments on it and a table with brownies next to it. As I walked into the center of the room, Tess walked up to me. She was wearing a red and white Penny’s Auto Lot Uniform over her pale skin and some blue dress pants.

“Welcome to Penny’s Auto Lot. Can I help you get the car of your dreams today?” She looked at me in the eyes. “Sarah?”

“Hello, Tess. What are you doing here?”

She smiled. “I was recently hired on by Penny. She needed some extra hands as she is expanding the business. There is going to be two new Penny’s Auto Lot’s in neighboring towns by the end of June. If I play my cards right, I could own this store.”

“Good for you.”

She crossed her arms. “Ya. It is better than my old job at Wrap Happy.”

“I didn’t know you worked there.”

She shrugged. “I did to get by. We do what we have to.” She ran her hands through her black hair, moving, shifting it from her right shoulder to her left. “What are you doing these days? You don’t come to the Dungeon Delvers Group anymore.”

“I have just been busy. I have been meaning to go back, but between being fired from one job and taking up another, I just keep forgetting.”

“You were fired from Jenny Downs? Well, Gregory was a jerk, so no loss there. Who are you working for now?”

I sighed. “Fredricks Fancy.”

Tess bent over laughing, her hair covering her face. She stood up, parting her head as she said, “I am not surprised the person Carien shrunk at that gaming night would get a job with Fredricks Fancy. I guess those commercials don’t have special effects either, but you actually grow like that?”

“Look, can I just buy a car?”

Tess smiled. “Sure. Let’s go outside and take a look at our selection of vehicles, shall we?”

As Tess headed for the door, my body started to tingle. I took a deep breath in.  Oh no, not now.

Tess turned around and looked at me. “Are you ok?”

I smiled. “Just peachy.” I squinted as my skin felt like it was constricting. I knew what that meant; I was about to start shrinking. But why? I hadn’t had any Fredricks Fancy products. This is the third time this has happened. Something was wrong, very wrong.

Tess waved me over. “Well, come on. We don’t have all day.” She turned around and headed out the door.

Ok, Sarah, you can do this, you can buy a car despite the fact you are shrinking.

Maybe it will just be a foot or two. That won’t be that bad, right?

I followed Tess out the door, my body slowly shrinking with every step. Even though the height loss was minimal, I would be in a world of giants in just a few minutes if things kept up. As I shrunk, Tess showed off the auto lots collection of vehicles, oblivious to my situation.

“Here at Penny’s Auto Lot, we pride ourselves on having the best selection of new and used cars. No need to head out of town and to the big-name retailers; oh no, no, we have it all here.”

I chucked as my head passed down below her shoulders. “Tess, you don’t have to use your speech on me.”

She didn’t look behind her as she spoke, “No expectations, not even for friends. Now let’s move on with the tour.” She took me towards a line of small, sleek cars near the front of the lot. “These cars are all new, made by Teloteck. Eco-friendly and great gas mileage. The only downside is that they don’t have the best crash rating.” She tapped her hand on the side of the nearest blue frame. “I wouldn’t trust my life in one of these things if I were you.”

I sighed.  She sure can talk when she needs to. What happened to the quiet person I remember from the Dungeon Delvers group? But I guess you need to talk fast to sell cars.

I noticed that I wasn’t shrinking at the moment.  Maybe I lucked out, and I only had to shrink a foot today.

Tess started walking away. “Let’s check out the other vehicles, shall we?”

“Ok.”

As I started to follow her again, I began to shrink again.  Crap.  I took a moment to stand still and noticed that my height didn’t move, but I shrunk the moment I took a step.  Well, isn’t this swell?

“Over here, we have the Rotor models. They are not as slick and shiny as the others, you won’t be winning any beauty contests, but they will get you that bang for your buck at the pump. The best mileage on the lot. And you will be snug as a bug inside one of these babies.”

Tess ran her fingers off the closest vehicle's red and white frame. “Only thing is they aren’t the best for the environment. Rotor isn’t known for being up to date on such things.”

“I would like to buy one of them.”

She turned around. “But I haven’t even shown you the. . .” She looked down at me, trying not to snicker. “You can’t help yourself from shrinking when I see you can you?”

“I am only about two feet smaller. It isn’t a big deal.”

Tess crossed her arms. “Well, you know you have to test drive, right? Why would you shrink on me if you wanted to buy a car?”

“Shrink on you? What does that mean? Never mind, don’t answer that. Look, I didn’t do this on purpose. I don’t know what is going on. Some weird things have been happening lately.”

“Sarah, last time you came to the Dungeon Delvers group, you had a twelve-foot long neck. I think stuff like this is normal.”

I shrugged. “I mean before, I would have a Fredricks Fancy product, and that would be the cause. Now things seem to be happening on their own, and I don’t know why.”

“Well, I don’t have those answers for you. I can only help you buy a car today.”

“Ok. Can we do the test drive now?”

She straightened her jacket. “I don’t want to risk it with you becoming tiny and all.”

“I am only shrinking when I take a step. I think if we do the test drive now and I buy—“I pointed at the vehicle Tess was standing by, “This car, I will be fine.”

She crossed her arms, narrowing her green eyes at me. “Are you sure that vehicle will be fine, or are you just saying that because you are becoming smaller and want to get this deal over with? Also, can you prove that you are just shrinking when you take a step? That sounds a bit outlandish. I would think if I started shrinking, I would do it all at once and be done with it.”

“By that logic, then shouldn’t I be fine to go on the test drive?”

Tess scratched her chin. “I guess so. Look, just prove that you are shrinking when you walk, and we will go from there.”

I sighed and took a step forward, feeling my skin constrict as my surrounding became slightly larger. Tess snickered before saying, “Well, at that rate you are descending, I would say you might be able to do the test drive.” She tossed me the keys. They bounced out of one hand and into another, and I juggled them for a few moments, taking precious steps trying to grab them, shrinking even more.  At least my clothing shrinks with me when this occurs, or this would be horrible.

I held the keys in my hand and walked over to the car. Tess opened the driver-side door for me, and I climbed inside. As I sat in the driver’s seat, I could really see the difference in my size, my feet couldn’t reach the pedals anymore, and I could barely see over the steering wheel. Tess looked in from outside and said, “Ya, this isn’t going to work. I don’t want to be pulled over by a cop for letting my daughter drive a car.”

“Ok, then what are we going to do?”

“Walk into the office and purchase the vehicle if you want it?”

I checked out the interior of the car; it had an electronic dash and multiple fans. I loved the padding on the seats and the cup holders. Still, though, I would want to see how the vehicle was on the road. I looked at Tess, “Get me some boxes or something so I can reach the pedals. I am still taking this thing for a test drive before I buy it.”

“But.”

“No buts. You want a sale, right.”

Tess sighed. “Fine. But if you shrink anymore, I am throwing you like a doll into the back seat. No arguments.”

“Deal.”

Tess closed the door and headed for the main building. I arched my back, trying to see over the steering wheel. This wasn’t my best idea, but I wasn’t going to let my shrinking body get in the way of buying this car or getting a bad deal. I had a size-changing experience ruin one car already, and I wasn’t going to let that happen again no matter what.

Tess returned a few minutes later with the requested materials; she even came with a cushion for me to sit on to better see the road. As she tied the boxes to my feet, she said, “I hope you know what you are doing, Sarah.”

“It will be fine, Tess. It isn’t like I am outgrowing my car again.”

“Wait, what? What is it you do in your free time exactly? Do you need size-changing insurance or something?”

I reached to put the key in and start the engine. “Umm, let’s go. You don’t want to know.”

“Before we actually get started, let’s just go around the block. It is bad enough I am letting a child-size person drive.”

I pulled the car out onto the street. “Ya, I get it.”

Despite the short drive, the car handled excellently. I couldn’t wait to try it out at my average height. Tess was biting her nails during the entire test drive, a second away from taking the wheel away from me.

After a short six minutes, we were back at the dealership, and I pulled back in. Tess breathed a sigh of relief as I shut off the engine. “We made it.”

“Ya. It was fun driving at this size.”

Tess looked at me with wide eyes. “Are you crazy?”

“I mean, it was unique. That is the right word. Unique.”

“Let’s head inside and get you this car, shall we?” She stepped out. “If my boss was here, she would have a fit over all of this.”

I jumped out of the car and shut the door behind me, sliding the car keys into my pocket. I then made my way towards the building where I had met Tess to finish the purchase. Now I had a problem. Even though I was shrinking at the same rate, I had to take more steps just to keep up with Tess. My world was shrinking rapidly now, and by the time I reached the glass door, I was only a foot high. Tess turned around looking for me and her voice, now a megaphone, scrammed, “Sarah? Where did you go? This isn’t the time for hide and seek.”

“Down here.”

“Oh my. You are shrinking fast.”

I shivered. “Look, can we go inside. I am freezing. The loss of height has made the temperature even worse to deal with.”

Tess bent down and picked me up. “Of course, but I am not going to risk you shrinking anymore on the way inside. Otherwise, you will be too small to sign the documents.”

Tess slid me into her breast pocket and walked inside. To my dismay, there was another customer inside the store.  Great, and I was hoping that only Tess would know about this little mishap today.  As I squinted my eyes, I recognized the pudgy security guard from the bus.  Great, not this creep.

The officer stood up, dusting himself off as Tess entered the building.

“Oh good. And here, I thought no one worked here anymore. Is that a doll in your pocket?”

Tess shook her head. “No, of course not. Sarah.”

I went limp, not wanting to deal with the man. “Hey, this isn’t funny. She is much more lively than this, I promise.”

“Ya, right. Look, I just want that golf cart you have.”

“That isn’t mine to sell. My boss already has a buyer coming in for it in a few days.

Can I interest you in another vehicle?”

“No. I need something that I can drive inside and outside of the mall.” He narrowed his eyes. “Hey, I recognized that doll. It is that dame that hit on me from the bus. What is going on here?”

Unable to hold in a sneeze, I jerked around in Tess’s pocket, almost falling to my doom. I then looked up at the officer and said, “Hello, nice to meet you again.”

He took one wide-eyed look at me before saying, “Umm, hello.” He looked at Tess. “What is going on? Just what do you do around here?”

I didn’t give Tess a chance to speak. “She shrunk me. Run before it’s too late.”

Tess looked at me. “What are you doing?”

The officer pulled up his pants. “I would say you got what is coming to you, turning me down and all. It is karma. So, can we talk about getting me that golf kart and coming back to my place after your shift? We can drop the doll in the trash.”

“You have got to be kidding,” Tess said.

“What?” The officer seemed confused by the statement.

Tess walked over to the door and opened it. “I am in the middle of a sale. Go wait outside until I am done.”

“Hey, it’s cold out there. Do you know what time of year it is?”

“Get out!”

He waved his hands as he walked away, saying, “Ok, ok, lady. Don’t lose your temper.”

After he left the building, Tess walked towards a nearby table and set me on the desk. “Try not to take any more steps. If you need to move, I can pick you up. You can shrink more after we finish this deal.” She paused. “Also, next time you know someone is that much of a creep, just tell me. I don’t want this place to get a bad reputation because people think we are going to shrink them.”

I scratched at the back of my head. “I just reacted back there.”

Tess smiled. “I will get the paperwork.”

I looked around, making sure not to move my feet and shrink any further.  It looks like despite my troubles today, I will still be getting this car.  I scratched at my chin.  But how am I going to get home after this? Will I stop shrinking at some point? I have to, right? I hate not knowing what is going on. I need to get to the bottom of why I am just changing with no rhyme or reason.

I looked out the window to see the officer shivering just outside the door.  I can’t believe I never met him while working at Jenny Downs. I would have thought I would have remembered someone like him working at the mall. Still, I am glad I was never graced with his presence until now.

Tess arrived with a pen and a pile of documents. “Here it is. On the top is the insurance papers, and the bottom is the document you need to sign to purchase the Estelon Rotor 2020.” She flipped through the papers for me. “It is all standard contract stuff.”

“Well, slow down so I can read the text.”

“I just don’t want to leave the other customer waiting out in the cold too long. He may have been a bit creepy, but I am not going to turn down a sale.”

“Ok, next page.” Tess flipped to the next page of the contract. “I just want to make sure I know what I am getting in to.” I steadily read through the contract, taking a good five minutes to read through the fifteen pages. I then looked up at Tess and said, “Ok, lay the last page out for me, and I can sign this.”

She set the pen down next to me. “Perfect.”

I slowly picked up the pen, steadily shrinking in the process as I took small steps just to get my footing. I gulped as the contraption became heavier in my hands by the second. “Come on.” Mustering my strength, I was able to hold the pen upright and start to sign my name. I had to do so quickly as at my size; I had to walk my way across the paper as I signed, shrinking even further. By the time I was finished, I was just a few inches high, unable to hold the pen anymore.

Tess quickly grabbed the sleek black stick just as it was about to fall on top of me.

Afterward, I sat down, exhausted. “I am glad that is over with.”

Tess bent down, so her gigantic face was next to me. “What are you going to do now?”

I laid back. “Wait until I grow too normal, I guess. I am not going to risk shrinking down even further.”

“Can you speak up? I can’t hear you.”

I sat up and yelled. “I am not going anywhere while I am still shrinking with any step as I don’t want to become so small that I am the size of a dust spec.”

Tess waved her hands. “Ok, I get it. But you can’t stay here.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

She picked me up between two fingers and carried me over to the fake palm tree in the corner of the room. She then tied me up in one of the leaves. “There, you will be safe there until you return to your normal size. Just don’t make a peep until my shift is over, or I will make you walk and shrink more. I don’t want you to scare any more customers away.” She walked away.

I crossed my arms. This was just great. I finally had a new car, but I was stuck at the dealership too small to use it or even get out the door.  When I do eventually grow back to my normal size, one thing is for certain I am going to great lengths to avoid out growing a car again. I don’t want to have to go through this ever again.