CHAPTER 2: Reaching New Heights
When Sabrina came home, she entered through the front – just as Zelda was walking into the kitchen, her back to her niece, to pick up the ringing phone. "Oh, hello, Horace," she said. "Have you discovered anything?" The conversation quickly entered the incredibly technical, and Zelda, unaware Sabrina had arrived, became engrossed in the phone discussion.
Meanwhile, Sabrina decided to relax right off the bat. Not long after entering, she pointed at herself, zapping out of her blouse, jeans and sneakers and into a white two-piece swimsuit she had bought the week before, one demure enough to win her aunts' approval. Sabrina knew the suit would look particularly good on her once she developed a tan – something she planned to do in the backyard right away, along with reading the first chapter of "Gulliver's Travels."
Then she saw the clear liquid in a cup on the dining room table. "Probably one of those flavored sparkling waters Aunt Zelda's always buying at the supermarket," her niece thought. "I'm sure she won't mind if I take a sip before I go outside."
So she did, placing the cup to her lips and drinking just a little. Sabrina couldn't quite pin down the flavor – some sort of tropical fruit – but found it very satisfying before she put it down. Meanwhile she heard Zelda continue talking on the phone, remembering her earlier phone conversation and how her aunt said it was "amazing to watch our niece grow before our very eyes." Now what was that gift she promised?
While she wondered, Sabrina noticed a sense of ease engulf her body, but seconds later felt a completely different sensation – things seemed strained in both halves of her swimsuit. She looked down, and the top was more form-fitting, definitely accentuating her adolescent curves, while she feared what might happen to the tighter bottom were she to sit down.
Sabrina then looked up, and the parameters of the dining room appeared somewhat different. The ceiling seemed slightly closer; a glance at the bookshelf revealed she was at eye level with the top row of books, not the second row. Even the copy of "Gulliver's Travels" she was holding felt slightly smaller and lighter. What's going on here, she wondered. The answer became obvious within seconds: she had grown, apparently proportionally.
Out of modesty, she pointed at herself, saying softly, "Make my swimsuit grow with me," and it did, regaining the more comfortable shape of before. She still couldn't understand why this was happening, until she again recalled Zelda's line about growing before her eyes. This was obviously her aunts' gift for a good report card – magically making her taller! Growth was an unusual gift, she conceded, but over the past year, as she began her life as a witch, the unusual had become commonplace.
A month or so ago, things had literally gone the other way for Sabrina, when she disobeyed her aunts' orders in a failed attempt to attend a concert in Boston rather than re-do a school assignment. She was subsequently grounded for the weekend, and out of guilt shrank to about six inches due to low self-esteem. Fortunately, the aunts told some tales of their own past mistakes, and after only a few hours their niece, her confidence restored, not only regained her full size but successfully re-did her project. Over the next few weeks, her classwork had been virtually perfect.
"This change in me must be a reward," the now-statuesque Sabrina thought, looking over her considerably longer legs. "But just how tall am I?"
She pointed, and the answer flashed in front of her: "6 feet tall," it read, and she noticed a strand of blonde hair floating directly above the sign.
"Oh, I get it," she said with a grin. "A hair over six foot." The sign instantaneously changed to "Correct!" and disappeared.
Wow, Sabrina thought to herself, I've shot up by more than nine inches. But how am I going to explain this? Perhaps the aunts can add a perception spell for a while so people will think I'm shorter, or maybe simply stay put around the house so no one will see me until school starts in September. Growth spurts do happen over the summer, though this one is rather extreme.
Sabrina heard Aunt Zelda continue her phone conversation, which she didn't want to disrupt. Especially since a mortal was probably on the other line.
The suddenly six-foot teenage witch contemplated the ramifications of her new, enhanced stature. She had read somewhere that tall men tended to have higher salaries than their shorter male counterparts, but wasn't sure whether that applied to women as well. She wondered if Harvey would be uncomfortable with a girlfriend slightly taller than he was – then remembered that one of his neighbors and good friends was Nancy Evans, the 6-foot-1 senior-to-be who played basketball and volleyball for Westbridge. No, they weren't romantically involved, but on the other hand he never called her "beanpole" or "nine-foot Nancy," as some of his jock friends callously did.
Harvey will be cool with my height, Sabrina hoped. And fortunately, I won't be the tallest girl in school, nor should my growth make everyone think I've somehow turned into an athlete.
Sabrina was especially looking forward to meeting Libby that fall, when for the first time she would look down at the previously slightly taller cheerleader. She could hardly wait to see Libby's reaction to her new size; she'd probably be speechless – and intimidated to boot. Were Sabrina still at her old height, this would be the equivalent of scaling Libby down to about 4-foot-10 or so...and also far easier to explain than shrinking her through magic. How delicious.
Clothes for her new enlarged body might be a problem at first, but her aunts each stood 5-foot-8, not exactly petite, and occasionally patronized a tall women's shop in downtown Boston; Sabrina was glad she had never accompanied them there, so the employees would consequently be unaware of her former short stature. Not only could she shop there now, but perhaps she could even make a little extra money with occasional modeling assignments. And because of the proportional growth, she was more sturdily built than the typical slender six-foot woman – and thus would probably be a stunning sight on the beach.
All things considered, it's going to be great to be tall, Sabrina thought. Once Aunt Zelda comes in here, I will thank her for this wonderful gift.
Just then, she felt something brush against the back of her leg. Her suspicions were confirmed when she looked down and saw Salem, who had changed his mind about sleeping.
"You seem...different," the cat told her. "Can't put my paw on it. Did you change bubble bath scents?"
"No, Salem, I'm taller. Six foot, in fact," Sabrina replied. "It's a gift from my aunts for good grades."
"And if you're valedictorian two years from now, are you going to be transformed into a center in that new WNBA?" Salem shot back. "This would be a bizarre present, even from them." He moved a foot or two away, then stared up to evaluate her altered form; seeing it he became as incredulous as a feline could get. "You are taller. Supermodels, fear your latest competition!"
"I don't know if I would have made myself quite this tall – I mean, reaching 5-8 or 5-9 would've been fine – but I've been short for my age all my life. Heck, I was under five feet tall until the start of ninth grade," Sabrina recalled. "They used to call me 'half-pint' and other mean things. That's in the past."
"Sister, you are now in charge of changing light bulbs around the house," Salem quipped. "Also, I suggest you lay off the high heels if you know you'll be visiting a place with ceiling fans."
"Make all the tall jokes you want, cat. I'm a big girl now." Sabrina instantly realized the absurdity of the second sentence, so it was no surprise when she and Salem simultaneously added, "In more ways than one." The six-foot witch smiled down at him.
She overheard Zelda talking on the phone, then heard her say the word "Bye" and hang up. Sabrina was all set to enter the kitchen, but changed her mind and instead simply yelled, "Aunt Zelda, I'm home."
"I'll be with you shortly," Zelda said, pointing upstairs to zap the boombox out of her closet and onto the kitchen table. In a few seconds, she'd surprise Sabrina with her gift.
Meanwhile, her niece decided to stand behind the dining room table...but before she did, she took another sip of the fruit-flavored water. It was so satisfying, a second sip turned into a gulp a few seconds later, and the glass was half-full when she finally put it down. If Aunt Zelda complains, Sabrina thought, I'll buy her a bottle next time I go to the store.
The aunt entered the dining room holding the CD player in her arms, but there in front of her was a Sabrina who seemed at about her eye level, maybe even a bit above – and Zelda was wearing heels. "Did you dig out Hilda's old platform shoes?" she said with a grin, recalling disco days.
"What?" a confused Sabrina said, stepping from behind the table to show she was barefoot. "You mean this," pointing to her taller body, "isn't a gift from you and Aunt Hilda?"
"Gift?" Zelda said, trying to figure out why she was now actually staring up to her niece.
"You know, when you said I was growing before your very eyes. I thought that was a hint."
"Why would we do that?" a confused Zelda said. She then saw the cup on the table; half its contents were gone. She stared at that for about a second, then heard Sabrina scream.
"What's happening to me?"
The last time she'd said that to Zelda was in the spring, when she was rapidly shrinking while sitting on a kitchen chair. A glance now showed the opposite was taking place, albeit at a much slower pace; Sabrina was now more than a head taller than her aunt, about six and a half feet in height, and if anything, her growth was accelerating. Fortunately for her, that earlier spell was apparently still in effect, as her swimsuit was enlarging at an identical rate.
"Did you," Zelda said, pointing at the cup, even though this didn't make sense for her – not after neither she nor Horace had changed from ingesting its contents. Sabrina, now close to seven feet, nodded fearfully. Everything was diminishing around her, and the ceiling loomed ever closer.
"I don't understand!" the growing witch said.
"Run to the alcove near the stairs before you hit your head!" Zelda cried, and her niece, now taking far longer strides, heeded her advice. Sabrina reached the alcove, now the only place in the house where she could stand erect, only seconds before she reached eight feet – and she was still growing.
"I'm so much larger!" Sabrina cried. "This can't be."
About 15 seconds later, her growth finally ceased, and Aunt Zelda, now about navel-high to her niece, came closer. "How tall am I?" the young witch wondered, repeating her earlier magic; this time the sign read "10 feet, 5 3/8 inches" before gradually fading into nothingness.
"I'm twice my height!" Sabrina cried, looking at the "Gulliver's Travels" she still held in her hand; now it seemed as tiny as a small notebook.
"One teenage witch, now in the giant economy size," Salem quipped, drawing a stern look from the young colossus.
"You shouldn't have drunk that formula," said Zelda, who now felt positively puny compared to her towering niece. "But it's my fault for leaving it out there on the table."
"Formula? You mean that wasn't flavored water?" Sabrina said incredulously.
"No – it was the plant growth formula. I've been working on. But I accidentally ingested some, and so did the mortal professor I'm teaming up with, and neither of us got any bigger."
"But I'm not like either of you – I'm half-mortal!" Sabrina replied. "It must have a different effect on me...a vastly different effect, if you'll forgive the pun. Can you restore me?"
"I don't have an antidote, nor can I use magic to reverse this." Zelda sighed. "But now it's apparent that if this formula is released to the public, all half-witches consuming altered food will become giants. We can't let that happen. I've got to get that formula back from Dr. Mumford – but how will I explain the reason to halt the project?"
"I realize you have to do that, Aunt Zelda," Sabrina pleaded as she looked at the aunt she now dwarfed, "but can you please bring me back to my old self while you're at it – even if that old self is only 5-3?"
"I'll work all summer to shrink you back to normal," Zelda said.
Sabrina was going to respond when an opened door was heard near the kitchen. "I'm back from New Hampshire, everybody!" a female voice cheerfully said, a voice recognized to everyone's relief as Sabrina's aunt Hilda. She walked into the living room and saw the bizarre scene near the alcove.
"Well, what have we here – a giant teen in a two-piece swimsuit. Just another day at the Spellmans. Or did she say 'supersize me' at a fast-food place?"
"Very funny," sister Zelda answered brusquely.
"I'm trying to recall the last time I felt ten feet tall – I'm pretty sure it came before photography was invented," Hilda said. "These days, there are safer ways for a witch to show her pride."
"I accidentally consumed some of Aunt Zelda's plant growth formula," Sabrina said.
"And no, it wasn't after she said 'I feel like a spinach salad,' despite the rumors you may have heard," Salem added.
"Apparently the formula only makes half-mortals like Sabrina grow," Zelda explained to her sister. "In a bizarre way, it's good this change happened now, before it was produced in mass quantities."
"Me, the unwitting guinea pig," Sabrina said, groaning. "I'm sure Aunt Zelda will find an antidote before I start school in the fall." She briefly considered the options available to her in the meantime...and really, there weren't any.
"I'll just stay in the house, relax, and catch up on my tan in the back," she continued. "I mean, we do have those 15-foot-tall hedges completely surrounding the yard, right?" They were designed that way to keep potentially nosy neighbors from noticing any magic at the Spellman residence; Hilda had come up with the idea after watching a few "Bewitched" episodes.
"Uh, earth to Sabrina," Hilda said, craning her neck up to see her niece's face. "You'll be visible from aircraft! Suppose a pilot looks down and sees a teen girl who's twice the size of her surroundings? Wouldn't that arouse suspicion? You're going to have to stay indoors." Zelda nodded.
"You mean she won't be able to rescue me if I'm stuck up a tree?" Salem said, sighing.
"Don't worry about the ceilings, Sabrina," Zelda added. "Late tonight when nobody's noticing, I'll magically raise the ceilings a few feet to give you some room to maneuver. The Westbridge zoning board will never know the difference. Plus, we'll reinforce the floors to secure your added weight and bulk." Her double-sized niece grimaced at Zelda's choice of words.
"Very good," Sabrina said softly, staring down at her aunts; to her, they now seemed as small as kindergarten students. "I guess I better get used to this."
"C'mon, cheer up," Hilda said, zapping a basketball into Sabrina's enormous right hand and a backboard and net at about the huge teen's eye level. "You can work on your dunking skills all summer."
If I'm still like this by September, Libby will have the last laugh, Sabrina thought. I will, indeed, be a freak. She imagined the ignominy of having to crawl through the school halls, with her immense size scaring everyone – including Harvey.
Just then, Sabrina noticed a sensation running through her body, similar to something she had earlier felt. A glance about her confirmed her worst fears – she was growing yet again.
Zelda took command, racing upstairs and grabbing her niece's enlarging hand, nearly tripping over the dropped basketball. "To the linen closet and the Other Realm, before you're too big to fit!" she cried.
Sabrina, still clutching her seemingly shrinking book, followed her aunt's instructions and climbed up the stairs; the two entered the linen closet in the nick of time with Hilda, close behind them, shutting the closet door to clinch their entrance to the Other Realm.
"Whew!" she told Salem, who had tagged along behind her. "Not a second to spare for them."
"Just as well, Hildy," the cat retorted. "With Sabrina's growth, can you imagine what our food bill would be?"