Chapter 6
Julie woke up
early the next day, and while Mark slept, she decided it would be safe to run a
few errands. She left a
note for him on his “magic carpet” shoe. She stopped at the drugstore and went
to the section where they have sample sizes of lotions, perfumes, nail
polishes, etc. She could
easily grab 5 or 6 of each item in her hand at a time and took a handful of
each. Her next stop was the
toy store where she bought a few Ken Doll outfits and some doll-sized furniture
and silverware. Her last
stop was the pet store. She
was looking for some kind of cage with a very secure lock on it. The store manager was confused stating
that most animals don’t require such strong locks. Still, he showed her the only one he
had and she bought it. All
the time she was out, she kept replaying the conversation with Kelly. Kelly was right this time. She had to take control of the
situation. And as much as
she wanted to deny it, the less she thought of Mark as a victim, the more she
looked forward to her new role in his life.
When Mark woke
up he lay back wondering what Julie wanted to discuss. He climbed out of bed and saw a piece
of paper on the Shoe. The
letters were huge, “Had to run a few errands.” ‘A few errands’, he thought. She had never left him alone to run
errands. Something was
different about Julie since last night. Just
then, he heard the front door open and what sounded like packages being brought
in. He could hear her shoes
coming down the hall and past his door. They
made the sound of a bass drum at a parade. Steadily growing louder as they
approached, and softer as they left, in perfect rhythm. After a few moments, he heard her
walking back toward his room and he could tell she had taken her shoes off
because the “drums” were much more muffled. They stopped outside his door. The door eased open and her Foot
stepped in. She pushed the
door open when she saw him and she was completely visible in the doorway. “Oh good you’re awake”, she said
looking down at him. “Here,
I bought you these”, she said as she knelt down and laid out a doll outfit in
front of him. “Thanks”, he replied, “it’ll be a nice change.” That wasn’t all that was going to
change. “After you get
dressed, come out into the den. We
need to talk about a couple of things.” Before
he could suggest that she carry him in her Shoe, she turned and walked out of
the room. The “drums”
continued down the hall. As
he got dressed he noticed that the clothes were a little big and stiff but they
would do. Curious about
what Julie wanted to talk about, he began running down the hall into the
den. As he entered the den
he couldn’t help but notice how attractive Julie looked standing there. She was barefoot, wearing shorts and a
tight fitting T-shirt. She
sat on the couch just as he entered the room and crossed her legs. “Come
over here”, she said. She
watched him as he got closer wondering how she should start the
conversation. He stood next
to her by the sofa, with the Sole of her Foot inches from his head, bouncing
slightly in a nervous kind of way. “Should
I get up on the coffee table so you can hear me?”, he asked. “That’s probably a good idea.”, she
agreed, and he began climbing the makeshift stairs that Julie had made for him
from empty shoeboxes the day before.
There was a
moment of silence as they both stared at each other. Julie’s eyes moved down Mark’s tiny
body and back up as their eyes locked. Mark
wondered what was so different about the way Julie was looking at him. It was almost as if she was eyeing a
painting or a small statue, instead of a person. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Mark asked nervously. “Oh.....nothing.....I
guess I’m still amazed at this whole situation.”, she replied, “I mean, one day
you’re my roommate, and the next....
“Hey, I’m
still you’re roommate? Right?”,
he interrupted.
“Well, you
have to admit, its not exactly the same.”
“No, I guess
it isn’t.”, Mark groaned as he hung his head slightly.
“And I think
that since this could last for a little while, we have to discuss some ‘rules
of the house’, for lack of a better term.”
Mark looked up
into Julie’s face to see if she was joking, but was met with a firm
stare. “Rules of the
house?”, he said, surprised.
“If this is
going to work, we have to set some rules.”, she reaffirmed, as she moved closer
to the coffee table where he was standing. “This is a big adjustment for both of
us and we have to make some changes around here.”
Mark was
slightly intimidated by her movement toward him but held his ground. “What do
you mean? I’m the one who
shrunk, in case you haven’t noticed.”, he yelled defensively, “Why do things
have to change?”
Remembering
what Kelly told her about backing down, she pointed her finger at him and said
firmly, “The first rule is that you will not speak to me in that tone of
voice. Understand?”
Mark swallowed
hard. He could feel both fear and frustration building up inside of him and
remained silent, as her Finger was inches from his face.
“I said”, she reaffirmed,
raising her voice “Do you understand?”
After a short
pause, “Yes”, he replied reluctantly, not wanting to press the situation any
further.
Realizing that
she had made her point, Julie moved her hand away from him slowly, feeling for
the first time, in a long time, a sense of control. She had never had this feeling when
she was with Don, but it was one that she had longed for. Continuing with the same confident
tone of voice, she continued, “Rule number 2. I’m going to decide on some chores for
you to do around here. Since
I’m taking full care of you and paying all the expenses, I expect you
to do your fair share.”
“But,
Julie....”, Mark interrupted.
“Don’t ‘but
Julie’ me”, she continued, her voice easily overpowering his. “There’s lot’s of things you can do
for me around here.”
“Like?”
“Oh, we’ll get
to that soon enough.” Julie
was now in total command of the conversation, and she was really starting to
enjoy her new found confidence. It
was not like her to be so authoritative, but the feeling of control was
intoxicating for someone who had been starved of it for so long.
All Mark could
do was stand there, unable to think of any words to say. Julie was now looking down at him a
little more smugly than before. This
only made the anger and frustration build inside him. “Anything else?”, he snapped.
“Actually,
there is.”, she maintained her calm. After
all, it was clear who was in command. “It’s
the most important rule of all. Since
I am in charge of your personal protection and well being, whenever I make a
decision on something, it’s final. When
I ask you to do something, I expect you to do it immediately without
question. I will have zero
tolerance for disobedience on this rule. Do you understand this? Because it’s very important that you
do. Breaking this rule will
mean punishment.”
This was all
Mark could take. Her Finger
was once again pointing, inches from his face and he backed away a few steps in
defiance. “Who do you think
you are, making all these rules and punishments!?”, he yelled, pointing up at
her Face.
This began to
anger Julie. He wasn’t
listening to a word she was saying. She
sat back on the sofa, crossed her arms, and placed her foot on the edge of the
coffee table so that the ball of her Foot and Toes hung over. “I’m the one in charge”, she replied
with a little aggravation in her voice.
Her Toes were
directly in front of him, taunting him, but he continued, even angrier than
before, “I don’t have to
listen to you!”
“Oh, but I
think you do.” she snapped sarcastically. Julie was growing very impatient with
Mark now. She placed her
Foot directly next to him on the table and pointed it straight up. His head was even with her big
Toe. “In case you’ve
forgotten, I don’t think you’re in a position to challenge me.”
Mark felt a
chill run down his spine as her Foot approached him. It was so close, he could smell the
perspiration from it. Noticing
that his head was barely taller than her big Toe, his frustration got the best
of him. “This is bullshit!”, he yelled.
“That’s it!”,
she barked as her foot slid off the table and made a heavy “thump” on the
floor. She stood up and
without giving it another thought, she reached down and picked Mark up in her
hand and brought him to her face.
Mark was
petrified as her Hand swooped down and grabbed him. Julie had never directly handled him
before like this. It was
always through indirect means. He
wished he hadn’t made that last statement but it was too late. Her grip was tight.
She held him
in her right hand and pointed at him with the index finger if her left
hand. “I thought I told you
not to speak to me that way!” Her
gaze was more serious than Mark had ever seen it. In an act of total frustration and
humiliation at his current position, he slammed his fists down on her Thumb
that crossed his chest, “I don’t have to listen to you! Put me down!”, he yelled at the top of
his lungs.
Her
dominance over him at this moment was as obvious as it was fulfilling. She was holding him at chest level now
and looking down her nose at him. She
flipped her hair back with her free hand and shook her head, “You just don’t
get it, do you? I’m
standing here holding you in my hand arguing with you, (why, I don’t have a
clue) about who’s in charge.” She
paused a moment to let the words sink in. “Now, I think you need some time to
cool off. And I’m
tired of talking.” With
that, Julie walked over to the dining room table and held him up as she bent
over to grab the cage. Mark’s
eyes grew wide as he saw the cage placed on the table and began to
squirm. Instinctively,
Julie tightened her grip until Mark was unable to move and he began yelling,
“Hey!, what do you think you’re doing!? I
don’t want to go in there!” Julie
ignored his questions and unfastened the latch and opened the door to the
cage. She brought him up
close to her Face. “When
you can learn to show me a little respect, I’ll think about letting you
out.” Mark began pleading,
“Please Julie! Don’t put me in there!” His
begging did not phase Julie. All
she could think about was how “right” Kelly was about taking charge of the
situation. His begging only
reinforced how “in charge” she was. She
turned him sideways slightly so he would fit through the door and released her
grip as he landed on a small pillow that she had placed on the bottom of the
cage. Mark immediately got
up and ran toward the door but her Hand was too quick and before he even got
close, Julie was refastening the latch. His
hands were on the bars as if he was in a jail cell. “Let me out of here, now!”
Julie leaned
over and brought her Face within inches of his. “You think about what I told
you. And when you’re ready
to accept the situation, you can come out. I’m going to bed.” He watched as she reached down an
picked up something else. He
stepped back in total shock as she placed a cover over the cage and turned out
the lights. He listened in
darkness as the “drums” faded into the distance followed by a slam of her
bedroom door. As he lay
back in disbelief of what had just transpired, he couldn’t help regret the day
he decided to move in with Julie. Meanwhile,
Julie was thinking how lucky she was to get this rare chance to regain her
self-esteem. Within
minutes, they were both asleep, each in the others thoughts, only for
drastically different reasons.
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