It was the early afternoon by the time Alice rolled out of bed the following day. Whereas Lou had diligently washed up, gone to sleep and rose early for her morning classes, Alice whittled away the hours watching Netflix, updating her blog and had even got caught up in a Skype chat, arguing with a bunch of Australians about different cat breeds. Lou had already finished up college for the day, and was sat on the couch reading a magazine by the time Alice’s dishevelled form appeared in the doorway.

“Oh, you’re alive. I was just about to go and poke you with a stick,” Lou proclaimed.

“Shut up,” Alice muttered. It was the full extent of her wit at this time of day.

Lou watched her shamble over to the refrigerator, pull out a carton of juice, swig from it and channel her inner truck driver through the medium of belch.

“You are a foul creature,” she noted, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

In truth, her overall evaluation was far more positive, although she would never admit it. Alice was tall, long-legged and very well proportioned. She had thick, blonde hair that cascaded down her neck and past her shoulders (though in its current state more closely resembled a cross between a lion’s mane and a bird’s nest) and large, crystal blue eyes that gave her an authoritative and sometimes icy stare. A pair of high cheekbones, long nose and a set of red, natural pouty lips rounded out the rest of the features on her long, elegant face. Lou was impressed by the fact that Alice could rise from bed in the morning and still look so captivating, even if at times she also felt the stirring of a somewhat uglier emotion.

“So, what’s on the agenda for you today? Are you going to pretend to look for a job, or are there some cat videos on the internet you still haven’t seen yet?” Lou teased.

Alice flung herself down onto the couch next to her, weighed up a few possible retorts in her mind, then articulated the most impressive one – an aggressive grunt.

It had been just over six months since Alice’s parents had completely cut her off. She had never admitted what the major offence was that caused the rift, and not even subtle prying could ring any information out of her. Based on her childish behaviour and general tendency to annoy anyone within range, Lou had a few working theories on the topic.

Fortunately, Alice’s parents happened to be wealthy New England real estate developers, and the perks of disownment had left her with a fully paid off apartment, car and an undisclosed sum of money that, judging from her spending habits over the past few months, was by no means small. If they were hoping to rid her of her Princess Syndrome, they had gone about it in a very strange way, Lou thought.

All things considered, Lou considered herself lucky. She had arrived in town with a modest budget and expected to live a frugal existence over the coming years. The prospect of house-hunting was daunting to her, and most of the places within her price range seemed questionable at best. The first one she checked out had a very nice pair of drapes in the living room, but a few too many used needles laying around for her liking; the second came with its own washer and dryer, but no lock on the bedroom door. When Alice gave her a tour of lucky apartment number three – a spacious residence in the city centre with high ceilings, lavishly decorated interior and a fully furnished bedroom with an en suite bathroom – she was sure there had been some mistake with the price. Alice had evidently not inherited her parents’ business acumen.

The only downside was the slob who threatened to kick her out every time she took the television remote in the evening or finished the last of the cereal, but who also grew quiet when reminded of who cleaned the kitchen and kept living areas in an orderly state. Both reserved their right to complain (and reserved it frequently), but there was little animosity behind their words and neither wanted to upset the symbiosis that kept the household running smoothly.

“Lou, what do you do all day in school?” Alice asked, poking a table leg with her foot.

“Attend lectures, take notes, sometimes study in the library if I haven’t been drained by that point. Why?”

“Just curious.”

“No, really, why? I’ve been here over four months now and this is the first time you’ve ever asked me about school.”

School had started up a couple of months back, but it hadn’t had a huge impact on Alice, aside from the fact that instead of bringing free donuts home from her part-time job, Lou now brought home stress and homework.

“I was just thinking about your, you know…thingy,” she replied.

“I hope you’re not talking about my cooch.”

“Gross, no.” Alice flicked her on the arm. “I’m talking about your ability.”

She had known about it for a while now. Lou had initially considered keeping it a total secret from her, but the burden of hiding it for such a long time and the fear of Alice’s unpredictable reaction to accidentally discovering it one day had convinced her to be open and honest from early on. Besides, she enjoyed confiding in Alice, despite their differences.

Her response had, at first, been predictable; quips, funny stares and general disbelief. When Lou presented the tiny form of what appeared to be a college age boy from her pocket as evidence, Alice froze mid-sentence, gawked, squinted, then gawked some more. She had been rendered speechless, and that was by no means an easy thing to accomplish. The point at which reality diverted from Lou’s internal script was when Alice’s shock soon turned to fascination, and Lou thought she saw something unnervingly predatory in her gaze. The helpless boy in the giant female palm had not elicited much sympathy from Alice, but instead led to a barrage of excited questions about this unbelievable ability her new lodger possessed. They had even played with him after Alice had finished her length interrogation. It did not end well for him.

Most surprisingly of all was that Lou found it entirely unnecessarily to fall back on any threats or what fate would befall Alice if she went to the Police. The conversation had gone far more smoothly than expected, and she had ended up sharing not only a secret with her new roommate, but apparently also a passion. The only difficult part had been getting through to Alice that no, she could not keep the little demonstration; no, she would not be getting her own tiny pet; no, she could not learn how to do what Lou just did…

As it turns out, declining the wishes of someone who is physically larger than you and used to getting their own way is not easy.

“What about my ability? I didn’t pick it up in school y’know.”

“No, it’s just that I mean, why do you even bother to go to school? You get up five days a week for class, bust your ass off studying for these exams…what’s the point?” Alice turned to face her. “You’ve got this amazing ability that almost no one else has, the sort of thing that could make you some serious money, and yet you spend your time reading medicine books and stuff.”

Lou put down her magazine. She had gotten used to the questions over these past months, but this was a new line of enquiry.

“Well, first of all, believe it or not, I do actually enjoy what I study. It’s hard, but I enjoy the challenge and working towards something, it gives me direction and a sense of purpose,” she paused, but Alice offered nothing in return. “Secondly, I know what you’re alluding to when you mention ‘making money’, and it’s a terrible idea.”

“Why?”

“Because the moment I sell a tiny person, they’re out of my control. You’d get thrown in the nut house if you went to the Police with nothing but wild claims about my ability to shrink people, but think about what would happen if someone had physical, tangible evidence, what would happen if someone turned up to the authorities with a tiny, shrunken person in hand. That would cause me and my family a whole world of trouble.”

“Oh.” Alice sunk back into the couch. “That hadn’t occurred to me.”

“Mmm,” Lou sighed. “We have our fun, but I have to be careful.”

“Is this the reason why you won’t let me have a pet?”

“Partially,” Lou admitted, picking her magazine back up.

“What do you mean ‘partially’?”

“I mean, you wouldn’t feed it, and it’d die.”

“Bitch.”

It was starting to get dark early in the evenings.

Alice was standing by the balcony door, looking down on the busy street below with a mug of cocoa in hand. She had brushed her hair and put on a pair of shorts, but that was probably about as good as it was going to get without leaving the house.

“Alright, I’m out,” Lou appeared in the doorway. “Time to hit the books in a place where people don’t scoot around in their underwear all day.”

She hardly needed to announce it. Alice recognised the tell-tale signs of Lou in study mode: hair tied back in a bun, the focused look, her well-worn pair of mid-calf boots, the minimal but perfectly applied make up and satchel of books slung over her shoulder. She had spent some time trying on a few different outfits Alice had encouraged her to buy, but ultimately fallen back on the familiar and comfortable. It worked for her.

Much to her irritation, Lou was not a tall person, and did not stand out quite as much as her roommate. Her brunette hair was not quite as thick and her cheekbones not quite as high, though they did have a terrible habit of flushing bright pink at the slightest hint of heat. She had a serious look about her that was accentuated by a pair of glasses she usually wore to combat myopia, and a small mouth that did not smile often. Though attractive in her own right, Lou drew an unfavourable comparison of herself against Alice, failing to notice the jealous looks the latter occasionally cast at her petite form and generous bust.

“You’re heading to the library at 6pm?”

“Midterms are coming. Besides, it gets quiet around this time and I like having the building mostly to myself.”

Yup, she’s an odd one, Alice concluded.

“When are you coming back?” she asked, eyes locked on the little people below.

“If I’m lucky, never. Otherwise, probably a couple of hours. I’m not feeling it tonight, but I need to squeeze at least an hour or two of hard study out of myself this evening.”

Lou had been spending more and more of her evenings in the library recently, in attempt to allay her pathological fear of ‘falling behind’. It was great news for Alice, who got to splay her long body across the couch and watch whatever she wanted - until she realised that half the fun came from fighting over what to watch and smugly reminding the lodger who owned the couch and the TV and the apartment. She detested the cold that had kept her increasingly housebound lately, and the evenings had begun to get boring. Lou’s earlier words about having a “sense of purpose” were also ringing in her ears a little.

“Have fun,” she uttered.

“If you’re good, and promise not to shit up the apartment when I’m gone, I’ll bring you back something nice.”

“Noodles?”

“Sure, if that’s what you want to name him.”

It took a few moments to sink in.

“Wait, are you serious?” Alice asked.

“Yes, but you know the rules,” Lou replied. She was a whole head shorter than Alice and couldn’t command as much authority, but she had given no ground on this subject. “No, you absolutely cannot keep him, this is for tonight only. Yes, you have to clean up the mess. No, you cannot take him outside of the apartment. Yes, I will be pissed if you do. No, you cannot take pictures. Yes,—”

“Alright, alright, alright, I got it!” Alice rushed over and threw her arms around Lou, pulling her into a tight squeeze. She smelled like an odd mixture of cocoa and peaches. “Did I ever tell you how you’re, like, the best friend ever? I’m pardoning you for those muffins.”

“I will rain hellfire down upon you if you step out of line,” Lou added, while Alice continued to pat her head.

“I won’t, I swear. I can be responsible too, I’ll show you.”

They left each other in good spirits – Lou to study and then hunt, and Alice to do the things that Alice did.

October was more than halfway over and calendar was looking pretty congested with forthcoming school events and holidays. It had been a strange half a year for Lou. Strange, but not unpleasant. She had not arrived at college with the expectation of making any close friends, especially not one who was so radically different from her in background, behaviour and personality. Nevertheless, she had grown to appreciate the change of pace Alice offered, and silently conceded that she probably saved her a lot more stress than she caused her. Despite this, her roommate had found new and worrying way to annoy her – by creeping into her thoughts when she was supposed to be studying.