On the way to the shoe department, Ty noticed all of the shocked stares his friend Jake was getting. This was
the first time he'd made someone so unusually big and let other people notice; and were they noticing!
Jake blushed and mumbled shyly as several girls - and a few boys - casually slipped him papers with their
phone numbers on them. Ty grinned at seeing his friend, who could probably tear walls down at that size, turn
so red.
"I get it, already." Jake grumbled as they both plopped down on benches by the shoe racks. "I'm big. And
what's with those sales girls staring at me like they've never seen me before? I've practically been living
in a clothing store for the last year."
Huffing, Jake winced when his deep breaths caused a visible tear to rip his t-shirt at the collar.
"I guess we both need new shirts, too." He said ruefully. "Oh, shut up." He grinned and shoved Ty playfully
when he saw his friend laughing at him.
"I wonder if they have any purple pants..." Ty rubbed his chin in mock thought.
"NO Hulk jokes!" Jake protested, fighting to give Ty a stern, scary expression.
"Or Jake smash?" Ty asked innocently, sending both boys into peals of laughter.
"Can I help you two?" An older clerk asked, drawn over by all the noise. She quickly looked their feet over
and snorted.
"You," she pointed at Ty with a friendly scolding expression, "should know better than to try wearing last
year's shoes at your age. I'm surprised your toes haven't turned blue."
Ty casually considered wishing his toes blue, then thought better of it.
"And you..." she growled lowly at Jake before beaming and actually pinching his cheek. "Good seeing you
Jake." She laughed at his expression. "At least your shoes lasted a few months this time. Maybe you're
slowing down."
"I hope so." Jake said, smiling. "It'd be nice to actually wear out a few things, instead of blowing them
up."
"Bite your tongue!" The older woman clucked playfully as she unlocked a nearby closed cabinet and pulled out
an extremely large shoe box. "You should see my bonus checks this year; I should give you a percentage! Take
these, would you dear?" she asked Jake. "We ordered ahead for the next size last month, when your parents
called. Can't have our new mascot going around barefoot!"
While his friend tried on his new shoes, Ty watched the saleswoman bring over a board with some sliders on it
and set it on the floor in front of him.
"My name's Glinda." She told him kindly, then laughed. "My parents both loved the 'Wizard of Oz'. And I
can't tell you how many times I've heard the 'tap your shoes' line in my lifetime."
Grinning, Ty followed the woman's instructions as she had him slip off his small sandals and put his foot on
the board. With easy, professional motions, Glinda manipulated the sliders and jotted down a few numbers.
"Eleven wide." She declared, giving Ty a wink. "Finally an easy customer. We actually MAKE your size."
"Hey!" Jake protested weakly as Glinda wandered off.
Ty decided he loved this store; if only because it seemed like his last wish had made Jake a regular, and lots
of the staff seemed to like teasing him.
Maybe, he thought, he could do a little teasing of his own.
"I wish that whenever Glinda brings me a pair of shoes to try, my feet will get bigger or smaller so they
don't fit right." Ty wished quietly. He could always turn the wish off after a few tries.
And not a moment too soon; Glinda was back with a pair of Elevens in the size Ty had requested. Immediately,
Ty felt an odd tingle in his feet. Looking down, he watched his toes seem to stretch out across the floor,
going from the shorter toes he was used to to the long, skinny ones he saw on some people's feet.
"Try these on, dear." The nice sales lady ordered as she turned to ask Jake some questions about how his
shoes fit.
Grinning, Ty slipped into the new sandals, only to feel the tips of his toes slip over the front and touch the
carpet before his heals had gotten past the back. Seeing him stop, Glinda quickly put his foot back down and
remeasured.
"Thirteen regular." She muttered, her eyebrows knitting in confusion. "I could have sworn your foot was
lined up correctly..."
Shrugging, Ty watched in amusement as Glinda picked up the pair and hurried off.
"Thirteen, huh?" Jake asked, putting his old pair of shoes in the box and hopping up to bounce his feet a
little. "That's pretty big." He commented casually, smirking.
Ty snorted as he looked over at his friend's shoes; he could probably stand on top of those with his heels at
Jake's ankles, and his toes still wouldn't be close to the ends; Jake's HANDS could probably fill a size
thirteen shoe!
"Right..." Ty answered sarcastically as he felt his feet start to tingle again. This time, he watched as they
got both shorter and narrower, shrinking past the size he walked in with, though still easily bigger than they
were when he woke up that morning.
Glinda was almost beside herself.
"I am SO sorry." She apologized picking up the sandals as Ty's feet swam around in them.
"I don't understand it," she muttered, as she carefully lined Ty's foot up and held it in place. "I've been
doing this for YEARS."
Taking pity on the poor woman, Ty decided to just end his fun early and wished his feet back to normal.
Sighing as he felt them stretch out over the cool wooden board, Ty made sure that Glinda and Jake didn't
notice or care about the change.
With a nod, Glinda went off and came back at record speed; she was clearly trying to make up for her mistakes.
"There you go, dear." She passed over the box. "Eleven and a half wide."
"Huh?" Ty asked, blinking. He quickly thought back. "I thought I was an eleven."
"Is that what your newest shoes are?" Glinda asked as she got up. "I'd better go get you a new pair of those
as well; if you want them that is. They might not be pinching yet, but having properly sized shoes is
especially important when your feet are still growing."
"Uh, yeah." Ty answered, distracted. The sandals fit perfectly. That meant if Glinda HAD measured correctly
the first time, his feet had grown while he was sitting there!
Taking their purchases, both boys stood and thanked Glinda for her time.
"It was no trouble dears." She smiled and gave Jake another pinch. She had to really reach up. "See you
soon, hon. Don't dent the door on your way out."
Jake just mumbled something in reply. Ty grinned.