At night, Hallie's neighborhood playground would become a tranquil sea. Bathed in blacks and dark blues and a tint of orange from the distant streetlamp, the sand made a placid sea where no sailor's mast could catch wind. The gentle rustle of tree leaves was the subtle rumble of the ocean below. Among the islands of playground equipment jutting out of this sea, Hallie sat alone, knees draw up to her chest and looking up at the stars. She waited, still as the islands around her, and filled herself with her surroundings. A far-off whine of a car engine. A raccoon poking through underbrush. Sneaker steps grinding on sand.
Hallie raised her head. It was Sam, pajama-clad and wearing tennis shoes without socks. She slipped a backpack from her shoulders and flashed her boyish smile before bending over to catch her breath. She shook the sweat from her short hair and made eye contact again.
"Hey..."
"... hey..."
Silence. The space between the two stood for a while until Sam crossed it. "You're a bit bigger now, aren't you? You really are just gonna keep growing."
Hallie hesitated. "Yeah." As she was in this position, Hallie's eyes were about level with the top of the tallest playground equipment. A couple weeks ago, the last time they had been together, Sam nearly reached her waist. Now her knees towered over her.
The smaller girl sat down next to Hallie and leaned against her. Neither said anything until Sam chuckled. "I'm really digging your duds."
"This is all I have that fits anymore." She replied simply. Her bland hoodie and sweatpants were a loose fit even for her. "They say I'll probably outgrow them before the end of the week."
"...are you really leaving tonight? For C-Pass?"
"They're coming to pick me up anytime now."
"I see... and then you'll finally get to be among your own kind."
Hal tensed. "My own kind?"
"I'm kidding! I'm kidding." Sam tugged at her arm, and Hallie let her pull her hand into her lap. Slowly she drew her tiny fingers down the lines in her palm. "I've missed you."
Hallie pulled her hand back. "Sam, don't-"
"You look good with long hair, you know." Sam's smile caught her off guard. Hallie's hair stretched straight all the way to the ground and pooled there. It was an unnaturally vibrant auburn, glossy and smooth to the touch.
"I hate it."
"Of course you would... so why don't you cut it?"
"I'm growing really fast now. I'd have to cut it every other day. It's too much."
Sam stood up and walked away. "Right. Actually I prefer you with shorter hair too. In fact," and here she stooped to extract a pair of styling scissors from her backpack, "I came prepared for a bit of a sending off gift." Hallie laughed, and Sam bristled. "Don't laugh! I really want to do this for you. At least you can leave looking how you want."
"How I want..." Hallie sobered a bit. "Okay, sure. How do you want to do this?"
"Hmm... how about you sit over there?" After a bit of directing, Sam found herself sitting on top of the wall on the tallest slide, scissors in hand and her backpack of supplies dangling on her foot. Hallie was sitting straight up, her back to Sam. She felt Sam run a preparatory hand through her hair.
"Wow, this is so smooth and thick, do I even need to use the spray bottle?" She mused to herself. Hallie felt a tug on her scalp and heard a small snip. "Good god, I hope these scissors can handle this."
"Did you take your dad's scissors without asking?"
"Like he'd say no." After a moment of deliberation, Sam begin her routine. Tiny hands combed through her hair and gathered it back, amassing it all into a ponytail. "...'s heavy..." she muttered. "I thought your hair was crazy before, but this is something. Pretty sure I know people who'd murder someone to get this kind of hair."
"It's part of the growth process. Your complexion improves, your body matures, you become your 'best possible self'." She paused. "I don't like it."
"What's wrong with it?" Sam struggled to put a wrap around the bundle of hair she had locked under an arm.
"It just doesn't feel like me. I look at the mirror, and I don't see myself. I see what I've become, but it's not me. It's like-"
"Hold still, I'm gonna try to cut through all this." Sam put the scissors up against the large ponytail. She was clearly underequipped for the task, but she started sawing through the bundle. The scissor blades would close halfway, some strands would drop, and she'd relax the scissors before trying again. After a solid minute of muffled curses and effort, a large pool of hair laid at Hallie's butt. Sam pulled off the wrap and let her hair fan out naturally.
"You didn't put down a tarp or something to catch the hair?"
"Oh, uh..." Sam laughed. "someone will take care of it. Don't worry about it. You're a giantess now, you're practically VIP."
Hallie frowned, but let her continue. Each snip of the scissors ticked like the second hand of a clock. At some point a large flatbed truck had pulled up along the road and shut off its headlights, choosing to be a silent spectator. Eventually, after a quick survey and a grunt of approval, Sam dug a large hand mirror out of her backpack and handed it to Hallie. It was comically small between her fingers. "Sorry, this is the biggest one I could find."
It was like peeping through a keyhole, but it sufficed. Her hair was in a short bob, surprisingly similar to what it used to be. She caught a glance of her own genuine smile. "It looks good. Thank you Sam." In the mirror, she could see the Sam gazing down at her. The smaller girl ran a hand through her hair and lightly across the top of her ear. Hallie shivered. "Sam..."
"You're gonna need someone to keep your hair short."
"Sam, I can't-"
"Take me with you, Hal."
Hallie scooted around to face Sam. She was unusually serious, no trace of doubt in her expression. She traced the side of Sam's face with a free finger, and leaned in for a kiss. Her eyes were half closed when she felt a pair of small hands press against her face.
"You're always like this! Like you could kiss your problems away..." Sam continued pushing, but to Hallie it was such a miniscule resistance. "I'm serious. Take me with you."
She finally pulled back, but wouldn't look Sam in the eyes. "Sam... I would if I could, I really would."
"Well, that's a relief then. Go ahead and sign me on as a support individual." Hallie fidgeted, her eyes still diverted. "You really think I'm dumb, don't you? Like I wouldn't go through all the rules for this place you're going to? All you have to do is ask them, and we can stay together. So why won't you?"
"Sam, it wouldn't be right... I don't want you to throw away what you have just for me... if you were in my shoes, you'd understand..."
"If I were in your shoes," Sam spoke in cold tones, "I'd never abandon you. I'd never just stop talking to you for weeks and leave you wondering if I'd already left!"
"Sam..."
"...I want to be with you. I don't need anything else."
"It might seem like that now, but you still have a future. You can still have a future that's yours."
Sam scoffed "Maybe not... you know those college applications I told you about? I never actually mailed them out."
"What?!" Hallie immediately rose to standing. The sudden rise of her friend to her full height, coupled with her looming glower, sent a wave of vertigo and fear down Sam. "What are you thinking? You can't give up on yourself like that!"
"I'm not giving up on anything! This is me chasing what I want!" Sam rallied back, "And what about you? I thought you wanted to be a teacher! Aren't you giving up on yourself?"
"...I don't have a choice."
"Why not!? You're a giantess! You're huge! You can do what you want and other people just have to get out of your way!"
Hallie's face softened and she didn't say anything for a bit. She sat back down. "Hey Sam, did I ever tell you how much I eat these days?"
"How much you eat?"
"It's kind of embarrassing... it's around 350 pounds of food everyday. And the number just goes up the bigger I get... Where do you think I get the food from? How much does it cost?"
No answer. Hallie continued. "Did you know that before the government stepped in, all girls who started growing like this died of starvation? Every one of them. Well, unless they took their own life... And that's just food. There's also water, shelter, clothes. There's no way someone like me could live on their own. I'm completely dependent."
"Hal..."
"And they say I have to go to C-Pass. So I'm going. At least I can find out some way to pay society back for supporting me." She reached an arm out to Sam, her thumb stroking her head. "I can't live a normal life anymore, but you can. I don't want to take that away from you."
Sam grabbed the thumb in both hands. "What's wrong with an abnormal life? I want to help you. You look so sad now, even before you stopped talking to me. I want to be there with you."
"Being with you made life bearable. Wonderful, actually. I wish I had never started growing... I hope you understand someday."
Hallie tried to pull her hand away, but couldn't without dragging the small girl off the slide. "Hal, don't go. Don't leave me behind."
"I have to."
"Where's your luggage? Aren't you moving? You can't leave without your stuff."
"What would I take?" Hallie smiled. "I already outgrew all my things long ago, and they'll supply me with clothes and stuff there."
"Please take me with you."
"I love you Sam." Hallie kissed the raised index finger of her free hand and bopped Sam on the forehead with it. Sam loosened her grip and suddenly Hallie was up and walking back to the truck.
"So you're just giving up!?" She nearly toppled off the top of the slide with the force of those words. "You won't even try. You won't even try!" Hallie climbed onto the flatbed, and the truck came to life. She laid down, resting on arm on the truck cabin as support, and wiped her eyes. She gave a sad smile to Sam, and mouthed a voiceless 'take care of yourself'.
"At least try!"
And then, the truck was gone, and Sam was alone.
"At least try..." She said, breaking the silence of the night. She screamed. "Just try! Why won't you try! You coward, at least fucking try!"
After spilling out her heart, all she could do was collect her things and run as hard as she could, run until her lungs burned. Behind her, the quiet sea of the night playground remained unperturbed, with one less island than before.