Sonya was really enjoying herself at that party. She didn't care why it felt so good to be slowly dwindling in size, but whatever it was, she was having more fun than anyone around her could have expected.
It was two minutes to midnight, and Sonya was a mere 4'7". She had even taken the risk of shortening her platforms down to three inches. The sleeves she had made their sparkly party top look like a sparkly straightjacket. She stood in the back of the crowd gathered in Kevin's backyard and quietly ripped another layer off her skirt. Then she felt her bracelet slip off her wrist. She chuckled at the novelty of her oversized clothing and bent over to pick it up. Kevin had a few trash bins set up around the yard, and she tossed her skirt's severed hem into it.
"Sonya!"
Sonya whipped around and saw her friend Jody. She hadn't seen Jody much in the past year, having devoted most of her time to Derek. She still considered Jody her best friend, but Jody had gotten in several arguments with her over how attached she was to her boyfriend. Sometimes, Sonya was glad to see her. Right now, though, was clearly not one of those times. Jody was in the neighborhood of five feet tall, and thus Sonya's height was no doubt about to become the keystone of their conversation. Sonya wished she had kept her platforms at a foot high.
"Hey, Jody," she replied weakly as she peered around the crowd for Derek. Wasn't he supposed to be keeping her close with the leash?
It took a second for Sonya to realize Jody wasn't talking to her. She stopped looking for Derek and met her scrutinizing eyes.
"What?" Sonya asked in a mocking manner that implied Jody was glaring rudely.
"Sorry," Jody said, shaking off her expression. "I just...I guess I shouldn't have had that last beer. You look shorter than me!"
Jody started chuckling nervously, and Sonya laughed along with her. "You know, it's funny because you look taller than me too! It's like those beer goggled in Health class!"
Jody kept chuckling and took a few more sips of her punch. "I don't see your boyfriend around."
"Why don't you ever call him Derek?" Sonya asked. As if she didn't already know.
"As if you don't already know," Jody spat. "I got the message you left on my answering machine yesterday."
"I didn't leave a message," Sonya said, confused.
"That's right," Jody said, glaring again. "Do you remember when the last time you called me even WAS? I'll tell you. September."
"Look, it's our senior year, I've got a lot of things going on. So does Derek."
"So do I, but I still manage to hang out with all MY friends. Except you, who's attached to her boyfriend like a dog." Then she saw the leash dangling from Sonya's neck. "Oh jeez, I didn't even mean it literally!" She grabbed onto the leash and shook it in front of Sonya's face. "Was this your idea or his?"
"Mine, and that's for Derek and Derek alone," Sonya said icily as she grabbed the leash back from Jody.
Jody opened her mouth to say something else, but a whoosh and a flash ascending into the night interrupted. Several other rockets launched quickly after, and fireworks filled the sky.