Amy looked different. Somehow. Lina couldn't quite figure out what it was. As she continued staring at Amy, Amy's eyes darted around. "Uh...why are you looking at me like that?"
Sorry, Lina said, relaxing her gaze. "I just thought...you looked different."
"You know," Amy said in a disturbed tone. "I was thinking the same thing about you. But I can't figure out..."
"...What it is." Lina finished the sentence as Amy spoke it. "Wait, hang on. We're staring eye to eye!"
Amy gave Lina a funny look, but a wave of realization quickly swept over her face. "You're right! You've always been a few inches shorter than me!"
Lina gave a little smirk. All their lives, Amy seemed to have a lead on Lina in the height department. Now a secret desire Lina had kept inside and paid little attention to suddenly burst free. "You're getting shorter!" She couldn't contain her selfish excitement. A part of her knew she was never really jealous of Amy's height, but right now seeing something impossible happen made her believe that all of her wildest dreams could somehow come true.
Amy was taken aback by Lina's sudden exclamation, and crossed her arms. "You're happy about this?" The idea that some magical force was messing with her body made her feel somewhat violated.
Lina's grin quickly faded. "No...well, some part of me is. You've always been taller than me, Amy, I guess I just couldn't help but feel excited that we're finally the same height." She looked again. "Oh."
"Yeah, 'oh.'" Amy noticed it too. They weren't eye level anymore, but this time it was Lina who was the tall one by at least an inch. "So how do we find out how much shorter I'm going to get?"
Lina couldn't think of any other option. "We have to go back to the store. They'll be able to tell us what this collar is supposed to do, and probably how to fix it. Come on." She walked out of the kitchen before Amy could protest, and Amy had to skip a couple times to avoid being pulled over by the collar. When they reached the front door, Lina went to grab the knob but her hand hit the door instead. She did a double take, wondering where the knob was. Sure enough, it was still there, but not exactly where she was used to it. It seemed lower now. "Um...Amy?" She turned to her friend, who appeared to have already dropped another inch in height. "I don't think you're the only one changing."
Amy understood. She had already noticed Lina's tucked-in shirt was mysteriously pulled almost all the way out of her pants, and overall her clothes looked a size too small. "You're getting taller."
Lina guessed that Amy had lost about six inches comparred to her. So that must mean she has only gotten three inches shorter, while Lina got three inches taller. "It's like your height is being given to me," Lina mused. "This collar must be come kind of equalizer."
"I wouldn't say we're all that 'equal,'" Amy said crossly. "Let's just get back to the store! We don't know how much worse this is going to get."