Getting very worried by all the stares, Mitch and David decided to hide and thus rushed into the first store they saw that appeared empty. It was the nearest they could find too.
It turned out it was the “Victor’s Secret” store, and if as adults David and Mitch loved to look discreetly at the dummies and hot girls from “Victoria’s Secret”, this one was a lot less interesting in their eyes. It contained boxers and fine underwear for men solely, as well as countless robes and pyjamas for lounging around but these were way too large and with too fine fabrics or ridiculous patterns to be of any interest to them, either as adults or as kids. They slipped amongst the displays of fat and muscular dummies until they reached the back of the store where they hid amongst boxes and abandoned dummies. They crouched, finally feeling lucky. The muscular, relatively lean man at the counter had been busy with a customer and so they had escaped his notice.
“We have to get back to our world. And to our proper size,” whispered Mitch.
“But how? We attract too much attention. And we can’t go around in these too-big clothes,” answered David.
“The elevator!” whispered excitedly Mitch. “If we take it again, we must have a chance at leaving this crazy place! We might regain our proper age too!”
“Good,” mumbled David. “Sounds like a plan. Because I’m starting to think about video games and candy non-stop.”
“Oh, you too, uh?”
“Yep,” growled David. “We better get out fast before we start to really think like damn twelve-year-olds.”
“Can I come too?” said a hushed voice a few boxes away, making them jump.
They turned and were startled to see not only another kid, but what was more, a girl! They had seen none so far and she looked no more than eight, if that.
“What… Who are you? What are you doing here?” said Mitch.
“An obese jerk took away my best friend but I managed to follow him. Then I landed here and seeing only guys, I hid. I think it’s been an hour or so. My friend shrunk because of a sort of perfume the obese asshole made him smell. I… I think it affected me too.”
“You think?” sneered Mitch uncharitably.
“We were security guards and got trapped in an elevator after two men, including an enormous guy like outside, vanished. We got smaller and ended up here too.”
“You think taking the elevator might bring us back to our own world?” asked the girl.
“Worth a shot,” said David.
“But… I can’t leave without my friend. He’s my best friend. That overfed jerk made him into a stupid kid. I cannot leave him with this god-awful slob!”
“Well, stay here if you want to. We’ll wait until the mall’s about to close and go to the elevator. If you don't want to come, fine. You can stay.”
David was being plain mean but he didn’t care. Girls were so incredibly stupid anyway. Why were older guys obsessed with them he had no idea. Mitch wanted to say something to her and make her feel better but stopped. David was right and he did not want to argue with his pal. Girls weren’t worth it anyway. And she started crying silently, which was annoying like hell too.
Except after about twenty or thirty minutes, the store owner entered the backroom. The three kids made sure to hide out of sight but the man simply closed and ominously locked the door. He then bent over the boxes and with a wide smile said:
“Hide-and-seek’s over. I win. Get out now. You too, girl. I’m sure some daddy will be overjoyed at having you instead of a boy for a change to play doll to dress up.”