Standing in front of his locker, Liam heard Pris behind him.
“Are you avoiding me?”
“What?”
“You were talking to Tommy like I wasn’t even there …”
“Are you jealous of Tommy?”
“Yeah, I am.”
Pris punched Liam on the shoulder. He did not mind her being physical since she was a still just a girl. But if she became a T-Girl that would really hurt.
“What’s the deal with you two?” Pris asked Liam.
“Okay, okay … let’s first find some other place to talk before Tommy finds us. It is getting complicated.”
At the decadent mall a half mile away, Liam told Pris about the conversation he had yesterday with Tommy. Tommy was now aware that they both knew about his 'T-Kinks'. Pris seemed more concerned about finding something to eat; he bought a soda can whereas Pris bought a full meal.
“Really? A steak? Didn’t you just eat with us today?” asked Liam.
“I’m hungry. What else can I do?”
Pris attacked the beef first. Liam watched her munching on it, already cutting another piece. She was indeed hungry, eating it as if it was the richest piece of beef she had ever tasted. Liam could no longer avoid the elephant in the room; it was literally sitting right next to him. He had no alternative but to ask.
“So, how does it feel to become one of the first Amazons in town?”
Pris stopped munching.
“Oh shit. I wasn’t ready to talk about it …”
“Yeah, right. How long has it been since you first started suspecting it? Why didn’t you tell me? Does your family know? Won’t they flip out over it? It is a big fucking deal, Pris …”
“Is that why you were avoiding me in class today?"
"I wasn't avoiding you ... I just don't know what to say. You look different, your face is getting ..."
Liam was about to say Pris was getting prettier by the day, but he stopped himself.
"I didn’t ask for it, Liam. I didn’t even want it. But yeah, here we are. I’m going to be a 'Super-Duper Amazon' and who knows when I will stop growing. Are you scared of that? Are you going to flee? To treat me like a freak?”
“Holy shit, Pris! You have been thinking a lot about it, haven’t you?”
“Of course I have. At first I hoped that it was psychological, just my mind playing tricks on me. But look at this …”
Pris lifted the rim of her hoodie, revealing distinctive abdominal muscles. She covered it back up fast to avoid any attention. Liam saw shame in her face, so he tried to fix it.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. No one has the right to judge you,” he said and saw her face sadden even more. She appeared to be losing her appetite. So Liam decided to try another approach.
“I thought you would be above all that, that you didn't care what other people thought about you,” said Liam.
Pris raised her expressive eyebrows.
“At the very least, I’ll be physically above anyone else,” she said, resuming her eating.
“It’ll suck to sit behind you in the theater.”
Using a napkin to clean her lips, Pris wondered aloud.
“I’ll live in a world of pocketsize people… midget theaters, midget school, midget buses, midget hotels with midget beds… a midget home.”
"Midget friends..." Liam said.
"You'll never be a midget to me."