CHAPTER 3: Tall, Yet Tiny
In seconds, Sabrina found herself in a field, evidently still growing...and growing...because Aunt Zelda, standing beside her, was now at her thigh level...then at her kneecaps...then at her ankles. Finally, Sabrina's growth sensations stopped, and she kneeled down to better converse with her much smaller aunt.
"How could this have happened again? I didn't drink anything," the teen giantess said. "By the way, I'm shivering in this swimsuit." She pointed at herself, and the swimsuit became a red skirt with matching jacket and flats – no need for high heels at this height -- a silver-gray sweater, and sheer suntan hose.
"Tell me exactly how you consumed the formula earlier," Zelda replied; feeling a trifle chilled herself, she magically added a burgundy jacket to her blue dress.
"Well, I had a little sip to start – I guess that was what made me reach six foot – then a few minutes later, just before you came in, I had another, bigger sip, followed by a gulp."
"Then that explains your most recent growth spurt. The other one, which enlarged you to ten feet, had to kick in before the third spurt could begin." She saw her niece nod her gigantic head in sorrow.
"So that's how I came to be what I am now, Goliath in pantyhose. But just how big am I?" Sabrina said, getting ready to point for the answer, but Zelda beat her to it. The flashing board read, "52 feet, 1 and 15/16 inches," then faded away like Lewis Carroll's Cheshire cat.
"Ten times bigger, I see," Zelda said.
"Question 2: Where am I?" Sabrina asked.
"I can answer that, but first, hand me your book," her aunt replied. Sabrina had nearly forgotten the seemingly tiny book, now resting comfortably in the palm of her hand – which she carefully lowered to let Zelda retrieve it. Sabrina resisted the temptation to pull Zelda onto her outstretched palm with one of her enormous fingers.
"Okay, give me some room," said Zelda, clutching the book. Her niece drew away, and Zelda began to grow herself – taller, and taller, and taller, like Sabrina in perfect proportion. The book also became bigger and bigger.
Finally, Zelda stopped growing, and asked Sabrina to stand up. She did, and was stunned to discover not only was her aunt again taller than her, but much taller. In fact, she didn't even reach Zelda's shoulders.
"Is this some kind of a joke?" Sabrina said. "Are you mocking me by becoming so much bigger?"
"No, no, nothing like that," Zelda answered. "You mentioned you're reading 'Gulliver's Travels' this summer, right?"
"Yes. But what does that have to do with this?"
"Plenty. Let's open the book to the table of contents," Zelda said, holding the book between herself and Sabrina, who noticed it seemed somewhat bigger to her than when she was handed it earlier in the day. "There it is – 'Part II: A Voyage To Brobdingnag.' "
"Uh, Aunt Zelda, that's literature, fiction. We're in the Other Realm."
Zelda smiled. "Fiction? Turn around." Sabrina did just that, and saw in the distance a building, with a sign in front: "BROBDINGNAG CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL."
"You mean, this place, whatever it is, actually exists?" Sabrina shook her head in disbelief.
"That's right," her aunt said. "It's part of the Other Realm. Swift accidentally wound up here about 300 years ago, but since we were able to convince him that his visit was a dream, when he returned to the Mortal Realm he converted it into a satirical book."
"But why would I be comfortable here at this size, and why would you want to become even bigger than I am?"
"You're familiar with Lilliput?"
Sabrina nodded. "Sure – tiny people, Gulliver tied down, all that. I've seen the cartoons."
"Well, Brobdingnag is like that, but in the other direction," her aunt explained. "While everything in Lilliput is one-twelfth human scale, everything in Brobdingnag is–"
"Twelve times – and I'm only ten times bigger." Sabrina sighed. "So I'm over 50 feet tall, but am small again, five-sixths scale. Another irony. Can I bring myself up to their level?"
Zelda shook her head. "Until the antidote is found, you can't use magic to alter your size in either direction."
Sabrina sighed in frustration. "And you're now, what, 68 feet?"
"Actually, slightly over 70 in heels. Sorry," Zelda said, "but this seemed like the most sensible place in the Other Realm to send you while I try to solve your condition."
"But it's so cold here."
"The seasons are reversed in Brobdingnag...it's like Australia in June," Zelda said. "Actually, it's kind of a nice place. I've spent some time here."
"Were you a giant?" Sabrina asked. "I mean, at normal size here you might have been stepped on."
"It was in a graduate student exchange program back in the 1920s, and yes, I became a giant for a few months while studying for a semester at Brobdingnag State. I jokingly called myself the world's tallest flapper." Zelda smiled in recollection. "I made some good friends here – almost married a guy and stayed, in fact. There are worse places you could be. Brobdingnagians are very friendly folk."
"You almost married a giant? You've never mentioned that."
Her aunt nodded. "I cared for him very much, but had we married I would've had to stay big, aside from occasional brief trips to the Mortal Realm where I could temporarily shrink back to my old size. And Other Realm family reunions can be a hassle when you're 12 times larger than everyone else." She paused. "Anyway, enough about me. Let's enroll you in high school."
"Is this a boarding school? Do they have dormitories?" Sabrina asked.
"We'll get to that later."
As they strolled toward the school, Sabrina thought of how her life would have changed if Zelda had married and settled down in Brobdingnag. She might have met Zelda a few times when she was scaled down to visit the Mortal Realm, but those visits would have been few and few between. And how would she have reacted upon gaining witch powers, and discovering that one of her aunts was normally as tall as a six-story building?
They entered the school, and Sabrina was overwhelmed. While it resembled a North American high school, everything about it seemed roughly 20 percent bigger – the lockers, the doors, even the occasional student who passed by in the empty halls. "Class must be in session now," she thought.
"The office is this way," Zelda said, pointing to the left. Sabrina caught a glimpse of the school trophy case – "BCHS REDWOODS," a sign read – and noticed the school's colors of red and silver matched the clothes she was wearing. "How fortuitous," she said to herself with a smile.
They entered the office, and Zelda walked up to the desk. "I wish to enroll my niece," she told the receptionist.
"Very good," she nodded. "Let me bring you in to see the principal." They followed her into the heart of the office, and the receptionist knocked on the principal's door. "A new student and her aunt are here for you, sir," she said.
"Send them in to sit down," he replied, and Sabrina noted Zelda suddenly had a strange look on her face.
A few seconds after Sabrina and Zelda sat down, the principal emerged from his walk-in closet. "Sorry for the delay," he said, "but I–." He stopped his sentence upon seeing Zelda, who did a double-take of her own.
"What's this about?" Sabrina said, but inside she guessed the answer.
"Zelda Spellman!" he said.
"Clifton Smallwood!" she replied.
They hugged, then kissed over his desk, as Sabrina mused over the irony of a giant named Smallwood. This was evidently the man Zelda almost married.
"Long time no see," the principal said. "Of all the high schools in the Other Realm, you had to come into this one. I can't believe it – it's been so long, and you like this. Have you finally come around to accept the idea of what we call 'living large'?"
"No, Clifton," Zelda said with a shake of her head. "I've simply enlarged in order to enroll my niece, Sabrina," who sat in her seat and noticed her feet barely touched the floor.
"So one of your siblings is now in Brobdingnag? I wish I'd known – I'd have invited them over for dinner, along with this little girl of theirs."
"Actually, I'm more of a well, big girl – though you may not think so -- and not of my own volition," Sabrina told the principal. "I live in the Mortal Realm, something went wrong with one of Aunt Zelda's scientific projects, and I outgrew things there."
Zelda nodded. "I want Sabrina to go to school here until I can find a way to restore her. You'll like her – she's an excellent student." She put her arm around her niece. "I really feel bad for her, because her summer vacation had just started."
Clifton smiled. "In the 37 years I've been principal here," a number that surprised Sabrina, since the man didn't look anything beyond his forties, "we haven't had many transfer students, and I don't recall any from the Mortal Realm. Those few witches from there who do enlarge themselves normally tend to be of college age – like one sweetie I knew over at State back in '24." Zelda grinned.
Sabrina saw the ring on his finger. "So you are married now, Mr. Smallwood."
"Was," he said. "Jeanette and I divorced a year ago, after I learned she was cheating on me."
Zelda stared at Sabrina as if to say, if you're going to play matchmaker, forget it.
He handed Sabrina a 20-page booklet. "We're getting ready to dismiss students for the day. Here are the courses we offer – most are similar to what you'll find in the Mortal Realm. Look at it overnight, choose what you want to take, and we'll arrange a schedule tomorrow."
Sabrina looked it over. Math, science, literature, Brobdingnagian history...that last one might come in handy for a report on "Gulliver's Travels"...
"Meanwhile, I can show you and Zelda around the school," Mr. Smallwood told Sabrina. "We're generally considered the best high school in Brobdingnag, although some at East Brob High and Northside Tech might disagree."
Sabrina looked up from the booklet and smiled at the principal. "I don't know how long I'll be here, but I think while I am I'll enjoy it," she said. Actually, she wished she could be back in the Mortal Realm enjoying her first summer as a witch at either 5-foot-3 or six foot even, instead of being the Brobdingnagian equivalent of just over 4-foot-4, but she didn't want to disappoint him.
They left his office and entered the hallway just as the final bell rang. Students hurried out of their classrooms and swarmed to their respective lockers; while most were engrossed in preparing to go home, a few noticed the diminutive teen giantess.
"Look at the little girl – and I do mean little!" one boy derisively said.
"Hey, half-gallon," another cracked.
This reminded Sabrina of her first day at Westbridge, when Libby was taunting her and the new witch turned the cheerleader into a pineapple. Seething again, Sabrina discreetly pointed at the pair – "I'll cut them down to size," she thought – but nothing happened to them.
Zelda noticed, excused herself to the principal, and rushed Sabrina into the nearest empty room. "What were you doing?" she demanded of her niece.
"They were calling me names for being so small – I can't believe I'm using that adjective, when I'm over 52 feet! -- so I wanted to give them a taste of their own medicine and shrink them down to my level. But they stayed the same. Has my magic worn off?"
"No, no, no, and you know better not to use your powers like that," Zelda said. "I guess I neglected to mention that anyone born in Brobdingnag is immune to shrinking magic. They're big, they stay big. Had I married Clifton, none of our children could have visited the Mortal Realm, because unlike me, they couldn't get any smaller."
"I'm sorry. Anyway, let's get back to the tour." Once they reentered the hall, they found Mr. Smallwood lecturing to the two boys, then sending them on their way.
"They should never have treated you like that," the principal told Sabrina. "So I laid down the law to them before they went off to–"
"Football practice?" Sabrina interjected, even though she wasn't sure it was football season here.
"No. The science club."
Sabrina rolled her eyes at that incongruity. This school's science club apparently wasn't like the studious one at Westbridge, a club Libby once described as "geeks unlimited."
"We have a lot to offer here," the principal said. "Let's peek inside the gym over there. We have a game tonight – our girls' basketball season opener."
"What an appropriate game for giants to play," Sabrina said, drawing a wry look from Zelda.
The gym was being set up, with custodians pulling out bleachers and a few boys playing a pickup game on the floor. As Sabrina walked with Zelda and Mr. Smallwood on the sideline underneath the basket, a ball almost hit her; she reflexively ducked.
"Watch out, midget!" one of the players yelled. Sabrina clenched her fists. Then someone else spoke.
"That wasn't nice," a girl said. Sabrina turned around and saw it came from a blonde in a cheerleader outfit who then walked over to her while Zelda and the principal continued to the bleachers and sat down. By Brobdingnagian standards, she didn't seem very tall, but she nonetheless towered over Sabrina.
"I'm really sorry for that," the cheerleader said, holding out her hand in friendship.
Am I being set up for someone's joke, Sabrina wondered. I mean, this girl could be the Libby of Brobdingnag; she is a cheerleader, after all. But I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.
"My name is Marcie Long, and I head the varsity cheerleading squad here at Central."
"I'm Sabrina Spellman," she replied. "I'm new here." Sabrina internally chuckled over the name "Long" for a Brobdingnagian.
"I see you're wearing red and silver, showing that school spirit. Going to cheer on our girls tonight?" Already Sabrina considered that promising, because Libby would never cheer at a girls' event at Westbridge, haughtily calling it a duty for the second-string squad.
"Well, I wasn't planning to. And the colors are only a coincidence."
"It should be fun. We're playing Southside." Marcie smiled. "You can be our guest. We'll save you a second-row seat, just above where we sit."
"You're not patronizing me for being so small, are you? I mean, I'm barely over 52 feet." Sabrina found the juxtaposition of sentences rather amusing.
"No – I just didn't like seeing you made fun of like that," the cheerleader said. "And at 61 feet, 3 inches, I'm on the short side myself." She looked at her watch; it was 4:30. "Well, we still have some time before the game starts at seven. I'm going to study, grab a bite and we'll see you at 6:45, okay?"
"Yeah, sure," Sabrina replied. A cheerleader who studies? How un-Libby.
She walked over to Zelda and Mr. Smallwood. "Looks like you made a friend out there," her aunt said.
"Well, we'll see. She invited me to the game tonight."
The principal smiled. "Marcie is a great young lady. In addition to being head cheerleader, her grades are excellent, she works on behalf of several local charities and in the spring she's the starting catcher on our softball team."
Zelda nodded. "Sabrina hasn't had good relationships with cheerleaders, so excuse her if she seems a bit wary."
"You needn't worry here," he said. "I know some cheerleaders tend to be status-seekers, but that isn't the case at Central."
Zelda smiled. "Go to the game. Make some friends." Sabrina sensed her aunt was saying that to prepare her for a worst-case scenario – spending the rest of her life in Brobdingnag if no antidote could be found.
"Oh, all right," Sabrina answered, "but only if you two stay for the game too." She still had a terrible fear the cheerleaders would try to do something to humiliate her.
"I'd be here anyway on behalf of the school to make sure things go smoothly," Mr. Smallwood said. "And Zelda, I would hope you'd stay on behalf of your niece."
"Well, I'm not really into team sports," she answered, "but if it makes Sabrina feel at home, then fine."
The principal nodded. "We have some time before the game starts, so why don't you two join me for dinner? There's a nice restaurant down the street."
"But we have to find lodging for Sabrina."
"The restaurant is part of a hotel," he said, "and I'm sure while there, we can arrange for her an inexpensive long-term rate. You'll have to pay for it, of course."
"Unless it's exorbitant, I can take care of it with my credit card," Zelda replied.
Sabrina smiled. "And I promise not to splurge on room service, Aunt Zelda."
"Very good," her aunt said. "Let's go."
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At the hotel, a room was reserved with an open-ended rate, although the clerk initially thought Sabrina was a child rather than a teenager due to her small size. "No, she's a new student over at the high school," Zelda explained. "She has to stay here while her parents are away." And technically, that wasn't a lie – her parents were away in the Mortal Realm, but Zelda didn't mention they had already divorced.
Before going to dinner, Sabrina, her aunt and the principal examined the room, which had a nice view of the Brobdingnag business district. Sabrina was distressed to see the showerhead was too high for her to reach.
The dinner was delicious, and Sabrina – again frustrated her feet could not reach the floor while sitting in the booth -- listened to Zelda and the principal tell stories about their lives as college students nearly three-quarters of a century before. "Remember the Charleston contest you won, Zelly?" he said.
Zelda shrugged her shoulders. "I was pretty lithe back then, believe it or not," she told her niece. "Now about all the exercise I get is from playing the occasional game of tennis – that is, when Hilda's not stealing my racket from me. And you should've seen Clifton in a raccoon coat! Ah, the roaring twenties."
Upon exiting the restaurant, Sabrina noted it was now dark, even though it was only 6:15 p.m. A far cry from summer.
The teams were warming up, Central in red and silver and Southside in dark blue and light blue, as Sabrina entered the gym with her aunt and the principal. A few seconds later, Marcie noticed her and waved her over to where she was sitting in the bleachers.
"We sit in the front row, you can sit in the second," the cheerleader said. "Just trying to give you a big Central welcome."
"Are all the cheerleaders as nice as you?" Sabrina had to doubt it. Certainly at least one of them was as obnoxious as Libby.
Marcie smiled. "I like to think so. And in fact, here comes the rest of the squad. They were working on some routines in the hall." She pointed, and Sabrina looked.
Coming towards them were six cheerleaders, like Marcie clad in red dresses with red and silver pompoms, except for one. There was a good reason -- that cheerleader was a boy, wearing a red sweater and silver slacks.
"You have male cheerleaders?" Sabrina asked. That wasn't the case at Westbridge, nor at most if not all high schools in the Mortal Realm. Colleges, yes, but not high schools.
"Sure. He's enthusiastic and talented. Want to meet him?"
"Well..." Scary thoughts scampered through her head...what would a male version of Libby be like?
"Hey, Marcie," he said. "Who's this new girl you're talking to?"
Marcie turned to him. "Scott, meet Sabrina Spellman – she just enrolled here. Sabrina, this is Scott LeGrand."
He isn't that bad-looking, Sabrina thought. Rather slight as teen boys go, but that doesn't mean anything. There are quite a few guys at Westbridge more handsome than Harvey, but am I attracted to them? No.
"Welcome to Central," he said with a smile.
"We don't have male cheerleaders where I come from," Sabrina replied, "so seeing you is a bit of a shock."
Scott laughed. "It's a lot of fun cheering the teams on and getting people in the stands excited."
"That's right," said Marcie. "Oh, and look...here comes our team out for warmups!"
The Central girls' basketball team took the court to the cheers of a few hundred fans, and to Sabrina they seemed tall even by Brobdingnagian standards. But as they coolly made most of their practice shots, it was evident to her that these players had athleticism as well as stature.
"Three of our returning starters are at least 70 feet tall and they should dominate the boards," Scott said. "We have a good chance to win the league championship this year."
"Very good," Sabrina said, uneasily looking at her aunt and the principal conversing near the gym entrance. Zelda winked in encouragement.
From the opening tipoff, Central completely outclassed the visitors from Southside, and Sabrina chatted with the cheerleaders throughout the game. Not only were they enthusiastic – as cheerleaders should be – but they seemed to genuinely like her. In no way were they condescending. For her part, Sabrina sidestepped questions about her background, reluctant to let on that she was actually a far smaller person exiled from the Mortal Realm.
In the fourth quarter, with Central up by more than 20 points, Marcie turned to Sabrina. "How would you like to join us on the floor for a cheer at the next time out? I mean, you are in school colors."
"I, uh, don't know," she replied. "I'm really not a cheerleader. And are you trying to make me the cheer squad mascot because I'm so small?"
At Westbridge, young girls of seven or eight occasionally put on miniature outfits and cheered on the sidelines with Libby and company. Yep, get to them early, Sabrina thought at the time.
"No," Scott told her. "This will be just a one-shot, I promise. We're doing a 'Let's Go Central' cheer – simplest one in the book."
"Oh, all right." Sure, it wasn't something Sabrina would normally do, but they seemed so nice about it.
When the time out came, Sabrina got up, walked down two rows to the floor, and was given a red and silver pompom by Marcie. "After I say ready, we'll do 'Let's Go Central' and clap five times," she said. "Got it?' Sabrina nodded.
Sabrina, substantially smaller than the cheerleaders, joined in on the chant and clap, much to Zelda's bemusement.
When the game ended, Sabrina met Zelda underneath the basket. "It looks like you had a fun time tonight," the aunt said, a twinkle in her eye.
"If you ever tell anyone in the Mortal Realm that I was a cheerleader–"
"Just like I was planning to tell them that you are 52 feet tall," Zelda replied. "My lips are sealed. Let's go back to the hotel. I think we need to talk a little bit."
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In the hotel room, Zelda left Sabrina some Brobdingnagian currency to bide her over and cover expenses, as well as her burgundy jacket, magically resized for Sabrina's smaller proportions. At the same time, Sabrina added a foot or so to the heels of the shoes she was wearing, so she wouldn't seem quite so tiny compared to her fellow students.
"I realize this isn't going to be easy, especially after you were planning to enjoy your summer back home, but at the same time I know how resilient you are," the aunt said. "And I trust you will keep out of trouble."
Her niece nodded. "I wish I could be more enthusiastic about this – except for school, it's almost like a vacation – but I hate how I got here."
"I have every reason to believe you won't be here for long."
Sabrina shook her head. "I wish I could go home."
Zelda smiled in sympathy. "I know, but we both know what would happen if you did." She pointed at the large mirror above the drawer, which magically changed into a movie screen, then pointed again; an anchorman at a desk appeared on-screen.
"Aunt Zelda, I think I know where this is going," Sabrina said in exasperation as Zelda paused the video.
"It's just to remind you," the aunt said, and the video resumed.
"Our top story tonight is in Westbridge," the newscaster said in his authoritative tones, "where local authorities are trying to figure out what to do with a teenage girl who has mysteriously grown to an incredible height." Footage on-screen showed a colossal Sabrina, clad in two bedsheets, walking through Westbridge's downtown district, gingerly trying to avoid causing damage to buildings, cars or people. "Help me!" she cried in between thundering footfalls.
"Why I am dressed like that?" Sabrina asked of her on-screen alter ego. "If those bedsheets were any smaller, it'd look like a white bikini."
"How would we explain having clothes grow with you?" Zelda answered.
"A girl identified as Sabrina Spellman, a junior-to-be at Westbridge High School, is now more than 50 feet tall," the anchorman said. "While she apparently means no malice, her mammoth form is causing residents to flee in fear. Friends and relatives are stunned."
Hilda was being interviewed. "I am speechless – I am without speech," she said before hurriedly leaving.
Harvey Kinkle next faced the camera and shook his head. "Sabrina's a great gal, and I know she means no harm. I suppose she had more of a growth spurt this summer than anyone anticipated."
Then it was Libby Chessler's turn. "In some ways, I feel responsible for this unfortunate situation," she told the reporter. That brought a sympathetic smile to the viewing Sabrina – but it quickly turned into a frown when Libby added smugly, "I guess her being called a freak so often made this a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Sabrina seethed. "Oh, I'd like to–"
Zelda smiled. "I know, but remember, you're much bigger and stronger than she is now."
"True."
Footage returned to the giant Sabrina, now looming above residential neighborhoods and confused as ever. Zelda pointed and the video fast-forwarded to a scene where Sabrina, now in a green, ladylike one-piece outfit, stood at Westbridge's main intersection, standing slightly taller than a five-story building. A crowd was roped off some distance away, and Sabrina stared into a top-story balcony where Westbridge's mayor emerged, even at this level still having to look upward to the towering teen.
"Miss Spellman took some getting used to following her remarkable growth," he said, "but now we realize the true stature of her goodness, and recognize her as our local treasure." The young giantess blushed as the mayor continued speaking. "As our way of saying thank you, the city of Westbridge has agreed to build Sabrina a house, with items and features proportioned to her magnificent size." There was applause.
The viewing Sabrina smiled. "How sweet," she softly said. "It's nice to see they appreciate me."
"Wait, there's more," Zelda cautioned; her knowledge of human nature made her well aware of what would happen next.
The mayor continued. "We intend to make Sabrina the symbol of our fair city. She will be used in commercials and brochures to promote travel here, and daily tours will be conducted of her enormous house. It will make Westbridge famous from far and near, known as the home of the world's most beautiful giant."
Watching her on-screen self extend her colossal pinky finger in handshake mode to graciously accept this honor from a man she dwarfed, Sabrina was incredulous. "You mean, I'd become some sort of...commodity? A tourist attraction?" she asked her aunt.
Zelda nodded. "In exchange for the house, yes."
Sabrina shook her head. "Shut it off – you made your point. Until I can be restored to my old size, I stay here."
"There's just no other way," her aunt said, pointing to turn the video off and reverting the screen back to a mirror. "And Brobdingnag is a comfortable place where you can live relatively normally."
"Way too big there, a bit too small here," Sabrina said with a sigh.
"You'll be fine," Zelda said, glancing at her watch. "It's getting late, and I'd better be getting home. Don't worry – I'll be dropping by every now and then, and I'll work to find an antidote for you. Take care." She pointed at herself, then disappeared.
"Aunt Zelda!" Sabrina said a split-second later. "You forgot to–"