Responsibilities

Part 1

Finally, the day had come. It was only the second week of summer vacation. I was going to college next year, and I wanted this one to be the best summer vacation I could ever have. My parents played right into this trap when they decided to leave me in charge for two weeks while they visited relatives in another state. I had two whole weeks to be the man of the house, to be the boss. Of course, I didn't have much plans of staying home. During the day it would be partying with my friends. At night, it would be resting at home. I wouldn't be staying out too late since my brother would still be home.

He was fourteen. Our four year age difference never stopped us from having fun together or hanging out. And even now, with me going to college and him going to be a sophomore in high school, I still didn't stop spending time with him. Adam, my brother, was like a best bud to me. We would ride bikes together, skateboard, play video games, go to the movies; everything I did with my guy friends I would do with my brother. Sometimes he even hung out with me and them, and the guys never minded.

Me and Adam were pretty different for brothers. I was the nerd while he was the punk, I guess you could say. We both had short, thick brown hair and dark brown eyes. I was very skinny and 5'9" with glasses and usually button up shirts. I was into video games, computers and watching TV. I hardly liked playing actual sports, though I did sometimes find time to pass the football with Adam or play a game of one on one with him.

Adam, on the other hand, was slightly toned; had a more solid body and stood only 5'3". He was lucky in that he didn't wear glasses and actually knew what looking cool meant. He wore jeans or shorts mostly, a stylish t-shirt from one of the cool stores, and skater shoes. He loved to skate. He also enjoyed basketball and baseball a lot. Even though he was six inches shorter than me, he almost always won. I liked to remind him I was taller, just in little ways. I did this because I figured soon enough he would be taller. He wore a size 10.5 shoe. I on the other hand only wore a size 9 shoe. In fact, Adam would probably be a size 11 in a few months, and I figured he would eventually grow into his shoe size, and become taller than me soon enough.

That night at supper my parents went over everything on the list they made for me and my brother. It was quite boring to sit there and listen. I was an adult, I knew what I was doing. Adam and I had never been in serious trouble before, so we weren't bad kids. I guess that's why my parents did trust us, even if they still acted like I was a kid.

After supper I was laying on my bed reading a new book I just bought. I saw Adam walk by to his room and I called to him. "So what are your plans for the next two weeks?" I asked.

"Hanging out with you," he said with a smile and then continued to his room. I shrugged it off. I figured he knew I wasn't gonna spend the whole time home with him. Besides, he had plenty of friends, more than me, so I doubt he would be home a lot either.

The next day my brother and I were hanging out in the living room at about 11am. Our parents were upstairs getting their bags together. They would be going to the airport any minute now, and I was counting down the time until freedom. Adam was sitting in a chair while I was laying on the couch. We had on some performance on the Comedy Central since the mornings tended to have nothing else on.

Finally my mom and dad appeared on the stairs carrying their bags. Mom made her way towards us as dad stood at the door. She kissed us on the foreheads and reminded me the list was on the fridge.

"There's plenty of food, and we left enough money for you to buy more when needed. Don't just spend it on pizza, now. We left the car keys and gas money. Don't be going for long, usless rides. You two have legs and bikes, anyways."

"Yes, mom," we said.

"There's lasagna for tonight. There's also some chicken and beef stew for the following nights. Don't forget to mow the grass, vacuum the house, and keep your rooms clean. And don't be playing video games all day. The weather will be nice so I want you to spend sometime in the sun. It will do you good."

"We will," we said in unison again.

"Let's go, honey," my dad said before my mom could say anymore. Good old dad, always had faith in his boys. "Josh is a grown man, now, and he and Adam are responsible. We have nothing to worry about."

My mom sighed. "You're right. They grow up too fast." Mom always got a little teary-eyed when dad called me a grown man. It usually just gave me a big smile to be reminded that I was a grownup.

"Be careful, and mind your brother, Adam," my mom said as she opened the door.

"Enjoy your summer, guys, and behave," my dad said as he waved to us and then left the house.

Me and my brother just sat there, watching the TV. We heard the car pull away and drive down the street. We turned to each other, high-fived, and let out a big sigh of relief. We continued to watch TV for another hour or so. Then Adam got to his feet.

"I'm gonna go skateboarding," he said as he grabbed his board.

"Make sure you're back for supper time," I said. "And don't go losing your keys like last time."

"Whatever," he said in his thingyy tone and then closed the door behind him. I liked to tease him like any good brother teases a younger sibling.

I decided I would just stay home and enjoy the quiet. I went back up to my room to read my book some more. I started to notice the sky outside growing darker, so I decided to check the time. 5:34pm. Adam should be home soon for supper. Thankfully he wore a watch and did have the brains to check it. I decided I should start heating up the lasagna.

The meal was almost ready when I heard the front door open. Adam walked into the kitchen, his skin still wet with sweat. He must've gone to the park and met up with some friends. "I'm starving," he said as he grabbed the bottle of Sprite from the fridge and placed it on the table. He grabbed a glass and almost filled it. In two gulps the glass was empty and he refilled it.

"Just in time," I said as I placed the hot dish of lasagna on the table. I had already set up our own places, so we immediately started to eat.

Halfway through the meal I noticed Adam was wearing some sort of necklace. It was new. "What's that?" I asked, referring to the necklace.

"Huh?" he said, looking up from his plate.

"Where'd you get the necklace?"

"Oh," he began as he placed his fork down. "I saw it in the window of the occult shop near the park." He reached into the top of his shirt and pulled out the pendant on the plain black string. It was a beautiful metal carving, almost celtic, with three red stones in it. I just stared at it. At least it was cool looking.

"Oh, brother," I said as I rolled my eyes. "What powers does it supposely have?" Adam liked the occult shop. He loved the supernatural, though he wasn't a real believer. He liked it in the fiction sense. Adam had bought a few things from the store that had cool powers in his opinion, though he thankfully never believed what they said. So far he had a ring which he never wore, a small pack of sixteen cards with some sort of runes and dark pictures on them, a statue of what looked like a snake and an eagle fighting, a coin with strange engravings, and now this pendant.

He just shrugged and went back to eating. "Not like they are real. They're just cool," he said between bites.

"Yeah, at least you don't believe them," I said as I finished my meal. "I wonder where that lady at the occult store gets that stuff anyways." Adam shrugged as he cleared the table and went up to his room. I read more of my book before I locked up the house for the night. I went by Adam's room as he was laying his bed listening to his music.

"Night, Adam," I said to him.

"Night, Josh," he replied. I went back to my room and changed into my pajamas. Man was I tired. Who would've thought reading would take so much out of someone. I laid down and fell asleep with no problem.

Part 2

My bed stretched out around me. The pillows in front of me looked like giant, solid clouds. I turned around to see my sheet was a giant wrinkled hill of red. I examined my surroundings more, looking at the walls of my room. They were like giant cliffs of yellow and brown wallpaper rising around me. I could see my bookshelf was now a skyscraper, and my nightstand looked like an office building.

I looked down and noticed my pajamas had shrunk with me. I continued to look around the room and take every detail in. My TV was like a movie screen. Actually, it was much bigger. My sneakers were larger than trucks, and my computer was a giant machine probably bigger than a factory. I guessed, by the looks of things, that I was about two inches tall.

"What the..." I began before I heard it. Well, before I felt it. The ground slowly shook, not enough for me to have noticed it if I was regular size, but now I could sense the tremors around me. I could hear it too, a soft, consistant thudding. I thought for a minute before I realized what it was. Adam.

Not even a second after I came to the conclusion was he standing in my doorway. Wow, he was huge. He was like a young titan or something. He had on the same shirt from yesterday, his boxers, and socks. He had to have just woken up a little earlier. He walked into my room, straight for my bed, his footsteps shaking my world gently.

"Adam!" I called up to him waving my arms. I didn't think he would've guessed my predicament, but his eyes quickly shifted to me, and when they did, they were lit up with surprise.

"Whoa," he said, his voice, just about changed by puberty, echoing like a deep roar. I didn't know what to do. Adam moved onto my bed, his huge body sitting indian style in front of me. Even still he towered over me like a mountain. His eyes just kept staring at me, lit up with shock and maybe some other stuff.

"Adam! You have to get help! I don't know how this happened!" I called to him, slowly walking towards him.

"What?" he asked in his normal tone, a little louder than my comfort level.

"How I shrank! I don't know how it happened! Call Aunt Deb, or Cousin Will!"

"There's no need, Josh," he said. I wasn't sure what he meant until I saw his smile form. "I know how you shrunk."

"You... you do?" I gulped with surprise and fear. Had he...?

He then reached into his shirt and pulled out the pendant again. "One out of five items isn't bad."

"You mean..."

"It worked. It does have magical powers, amazingly. Who would've thought. I sure didn't... at first."

"It shrinks things?" I almost could feel the tears building up. Why would Adam do this?

"Yeah. And people too, as you and I can both see."

"Am I..." I began as I fought back the tears. "Am I stuck like this?"

"No, it's reversible," Adam said. I let out a sigh of relief. "It shrinks things and can grow them back to their normal size."

"Well, then grow me back, Adam! We know it works, now."

"Eventually," Adam said.

"What? Eventually?!"

"I told ya, Josh," he said with his carefree, thingyy smile, "my plans for the two weeks were hanging out with you. I bet you didn't believe me."

"You're gonna keep me like this for two weeks? I thought you liked me as a brother!"

"Of course I do, little guy," he said as he reached for me. I was filled with panic. The size of his hand was amazing, horrifying too. His fingers were longer than me, his palm as big as a bed. I wanted to run, I could've tried, but where would I have gone? How far would I outrun my brother? I inevitably let him pick me up.

It was amazing, being held in a human hand. This must be what frogs and hamsters feel like. Of course, I was human, even if my appearance hinted on leprechaun or elf or something like that. Adam had a nice grip, not too tight, but not too loose. His fingers curled around me, leaving only my head poking above the top. I saw Adam's body grow as he drew me closer. He finally released me unsuspectedly, and I fell on the outstretched palm of his left hand. I stared up at my younger brother Adam. I couldn't believe he was the same person. It was almost unreal.

"I couldn't have asked for a cooler brother," he said finally and then beamed his best smile. He was honest, I could tell, but I was still quite confused why he would shrink me. "I guess I'm in charge now. Don't worry, your big brother will take good care of you. We can still play basketball. We just might have to be on the same team." I wasn't sure what he meant by that, but by his laugh I knew it wasn't good news for me.

"I have to admit," I started, figuring I had no reason to lie, "that it is sort of cool to be this size. I'm just still shocked. I can't believe it really happened." I have to admit, it was cool to see Adam as a giant. He was perfect for the role. He had that cute, innocent look, but inside he was quite the prankster with that youthful thingyy attitude. I trusted my brother, though. "I guess I'm now your responsibility, and not the other way around." I laughed to myself.

I sat in Adam's hand some more as we both took in our new perspectives. It would take some time to get used to Adam as a giant, to get used to my once normal world as a land fit for titans. I bet it would take Adam some time to get used to me being two inches or so, too. Although I think he was enjoying this a lot more than he expected to. Imagine how awesome it would be to have your older brother in the palm of your hand.

"I guess it's time to start your first day as my little brother," he said as he closed his fist around me. I was concealed in darkness, in the giant hand of my brother. There was just enough room for me to curl up safely. I could feel him standing up and walking, his footsteps lightly vibrating through his body and his arm swinging by his sides. "Let's have some breakfast," he said as he proceeded to the kitchen.

Part 3

After he gathered the ingredients, he started to mix the pancake batter in a bowl. I watched as he furiously stirred the gooey mixture with a wooden sthingy, making funny faces while he did so. He was putting on a show for me, and I got to watch it on the big screen. Adam always liked to goof around and make people smile or laugh. He did it with his family and his friends, even strangers. It usually always worked, though he wasn't a stand up comedian or anything.

The frying pan was already heating up as he finished mixing. He started to pour the batter on the pan carefully, making sure not to spill too much at once. He made four good size pancakes, and then put the bowl back down. With the spatula, he carefully guarded the monstrous foods from the fire below. He was talking to me, saying some funny stuff about pancakes being delicate creatures or something, but I was too overwhelmed at his size still to listen. I had unconsciously walked towards him the whole time, almost falling off the table edge when I got to it. His backside towered over me, the stove and counter not too far away from the table.

When the first four pancakes were down, he flipped them off the pan and into a plate. Then he started to make some more. Another four pancakes were carefully watched and flipped off the frying pan before the danger became too much. This time they landed on a paper plate. He took the other plate of pancakes and walked over to the table. He placed them down next to me. "Dig in!" he said with a laugh. I let out a chuckle.

I watched as he walked to the fridge and grabbed the maple syrup and orange juice. He poured himself a giant class of juice, a glass that looked like a giant pool to me, only taller instead of wider. That was placed down to my other side along with the bottle of maple syrup. He then grabbed a fork, a knife, and some napkins before he sat himself down at the table and prepared to eat. Once he poured the maple syrup over the pancakes and cut them up a bit, he smiled and said "Mmmmm," again before he took his first bite.

Those pancakes were huge, like UFOs to me. The stack was maybe my height, but they were as wide as a room each. I couldn't believe this was just a meal to Adam. I watched as he took the first bite, a piece of pancake about my size going into his mouth. With ease he chewed it up and swallowed, quickly moving on to the next and the next. I was scared knowing how insignificant I was compared to him. I still trusted him, but I was getting more uneasy with each bite. What if he secretly hated me? What if he did this to torture me? What if I never got back to my original height?

"Aren't you going to eat?" he asked as he slid a piece of pancake closer to me. It stopped at the edge of the plate. I hadn't realized he put it aside for me until now. It didn't have maple syrup on it, which was good since I would have to eat it with my hands.

"Uh, yeah," I said as I sat down and started to take bites from it. It was delicious. The piece was far too big for me though, so I only got to eat a little bit of it, but enough for me to be stuffed.

"Done?" Adam asked. I nodded. Then I watched his fork head my way. I was scared at first, but I sighed as it picked up my piece of pancake and shoved it into my brother's mouth. He chewed it up quickly. Then he dropped some orange juice into the plate for me to drink from before he downed his glass. I did so, and afterwards Adam put the plate and stuff in the sink.

"I need to take a shower," he said before he picked me up and carried me to the bathroom. Once there he placed me on the counter of the sink. "You can take a bath," he suggested as he turned the water in the sink on. He got it to a nice temperature and closed the drain. Once there was a good amount for me (I didn't need much) he shut the faucet off. "Don't take too long," he said as he turned the water to the shower on. He got undressed and walked in. I too got undressed and slid down into the sink water.

I heard him turn the water off and that was my cue that my bath was over. I climbed out and dried myself on a face cloth nearby. When I was done putting my clothes on I saw Adam step out of the shower with his towel around his waist. He quickly snatched me up in his hand and carried me to his bedroom. There I was dropped on his bed while I got dressed. Once he had a pair of brown shorts and a yellow t-shirt on, he walked over and sat on the bed next to me, his giant legs crossed indian style before me with his huge feet on each end.

"What should we do today?" he asked. Somehow I didn't believe that I had a say in it.

Part 4

It happened with a sudden giant sigh. I knew he did it on purpose, but he wasn't looking at me. The shirt and skin underneath me shook violently. I tumbled down the shirt but managed to stay on his stomach. He did this a few time, each time slightly smiling more even if he wasn't watching. When the show came back on (I really wasn't paying attention to the stupid sci-fi show he was watching) he would stop and ignore me, but once commercials came back my ride continued.

Next he made a point to laugh at any funny commercials that came on. Not a small chuckle or funny giggle, but a deep, belly shaking laugh that would send me bouncing like I was on a trampoline. This continued with the jokes in the show. Thankfully it wasn't a comedy, but I am sure my brother would save that for this evening. His stomach would ripple under me, heaving and dropping with each laugh. I found myself freefalling shortly before I was smacked by his shirt and muscles underneath it, then it would continue in a face pace.

Then during the next break Adam took to tapping his stomach. He did so with his three fingers in a rhythmatic beat. It was like he was drumming on a giant drum. This didn't bother me for the first ten seconds, but then I realized his hand was moving. The tapping fingers grew closer. I walked away from them, but they just followed. All the while Adam was still watching TV. He didn't need to see where I was going because he could feel me. They seemed to pick up pace, growing closer and closer. They were almost ontop of me, and I was afraid he might accidently hurt me, but luckily the show came back on and his hand disappeared, resigned to hanging beside the couch.

During the final commercial break, Adam thought of the best torture for me. I knew it was coming when I saw the sly grin on his face. I couldn't dodge his giant hand as it came for me. It was just too big and scary. I didn't know where to run. I thought he was going to pick me up at first, but he just set it on top of me, forcing me to lay under it. Then he started to roll me around on his stomach. It was weird. Luckily the shirt was under me or it would be weirder. He did this for the whole commercial break. Not too fast or hard, but enough that I got dizzy. I didn't know whether to sigh or put my head between my knees when he stopped.

With the morning already gone, it was time for lunch. Time goes by fast when you're a playtoy to your giant brother. Without a word he picked me up and carried me to the kitchen. I watched him make a huge sandwich with ham and salami, cheese and lettuce, and three pieces of bread. Adam sure could eat. I guess he still had a lot of growing to do. He gave me a piece which was more than enough and I ate it contently. It took me twice as long to get stuffed as it did for Adam to inhale that monster of a sandwich.

"Let's play some video games," Adam said. Like I had a choice. Again he picked me up and carried me to our destination. I was getting used to being held in his hand, but it still was uneasy to see it come towards me. He placed me on the coffee table and set up the X-Box. We played Halo.

Let me tell you how hard it is to play video games when you're smaller than the controller. To me, the controller is like a small boat that I stand on. A weird shaped boat, but you get the picture. The buttons on it are like footrests, round and colorful. I have to press down with all my might to hit a button, and sometimes even that doesn't work. The two joysticks are like small tables. They are actually easy to move, but sometimes I forget to ease them back to the center and they end up pushing me around when they straighten themselves out.

Put these elements together, and you get one hard gaming experience. To movie I have to push the left joystick around. That's easy enough. But then if I want to look around I have to run to the other joystick and push that around. And then if I want to jump I have to actually jump onto a button the size of a pillow and push it down. The same if I want to climb into a vehicle or switch weapons. Then if I want to shoot, I have to dangle over the back of the controller and press a button around my height in length. Sometimes Adam would help me out and take over the moving while I looked around and shot the bad guys, but he mostly liked to watch me struggle to play.

Adam would laugh outloud as I tried to play. Atleast I was amusing to him. Sure it was at my own humiliation, but he was my brother and we were used to laughing at eachother. At least I wasn't playing this with him and his friends. But that made me think. Was Adam planning on showing me to others? He never said anything about it either way. What if I became the pathetic entertainment to a bunch of high school freshman? I was worried about the thought, but I still had some faith in my brother.

After we were done playing video games, Adam decided it was supper time. He warmed up a huge dinner of meatloaf, potatos, and peas. He watched contently as I examined the pea. Once it was cool enough to hold I brought it up to my head. It was bigger than my head! He got a real kick out of that and started to call me Pea-Brain during the meal. Thankfully it was a shortlived nickname. Adam ate enough meatloaf and potatoes to fill the living room!

When he was done he let out a good belch, obvioiusly directing it towards me as he bent his head down. The sound was like a foghorn, and the smell of meatloaf washed over me in a gross and unwanting way. I shivered slightly, both disgusted by his actions and scared of how pathetic I knew I was compared to him.

We watched sitcoms for the rest of the night, and I found myself being bounced around on Adam's stomach. He laughed extra hard at many of the jokes, and I was occasionally thrown to the couch with the tremendous earthquakes that he caused. He would pick me back up again and drop me onto his short, and then start laughing some more. He enjoyed this a lot, and while it was sort of fun like a trampoline to me, it got old very quickly.

When this was done we retired to bed. Well, Adam retired to his bed. He put me on one of his sweatshirts that was left on the ground and told me "Good night." It was warm and very comfortable, but the smell of sweat and Adam I assumed was evident, and it took a while to get used to it. I was just glad he didn't find somewhere worse to put me. I eventually drifted off into sleep and waited for the next day.

to be continued