* * * * *
Slowly, I turned; shaking my head in the process. Only on a world like this could a giant one hundred and one feet tall be disparaged with the nickname "Shorty!"
As I concluded my one hundred eighty degree swivel, I saw four young men (or, at least, ten years younger than me), wearing light sweaters dyed to match the school colors. And, with the college's initials on the right-hand lapel.
"I beg your pardon?" I asked, putting a hand to my right ear as if I were half-deaf.
To which the shortest of the four (a youngster with red curly hair and black-rimmed eyeglasses) replied:
"You heard him. Make like an autumnal deciduous dicot, and leave!"
"Oh, great," I thought to myself: "Even the botany nerds pick on those smaller than themselves, here!"
Slowly, I stood up and faced them. I was about twelve inches shorter than the tallest of the four. So, if we were on Earth, he'd be about seven feet/one inch to my 6'1"! Whereas, the botany major would be about 6'3".
"You 'gentlemen' (and I use that term, loosely) are obviously under the impression that I'm a freshman on this campus. And, you could not be more wrong! So, please, find another terminal to use before I lodge a complaint with the nearest librarian."
The tallest one grinned.
"I don't care who you are! But, you obviously don't know who _we_ are!! Or, you wouldn't be stupid enough to talk to us like that."
"You're the one who provoked me into arguing over a computer work station," I countered: "So, if there were a letter sweater for stupidity, I'd say you're the one most deserving of it! And, wouldn't that make Daddy proud?"
I could tell right away that my amateur psychoanalysis had hit a nerve. Because this guy was obviously used to being catered to, around here. Probably due to his father being some big wealthy alumnus! In any event, his facial expression went from open-mouthed shock to teeth-gritting anger as he ordered his two slightly shorter flunkies to "show" me out.
The jock to his left tried to put his left hand on my right shoulder. I intercepted it with a right-handed wrist lock while using my left hand to grab him by his shirt collar. I then swung him around in a clockwise semi-circle and flung him into the third jock. Sending both of them to the floor, one on top of the other!
The collective gasp issued by all the on-lookers was almost deafening; the acoustics were that good in the library.
"Your turn," I told the self-appointed leader: "Or, would you rather wisely beat a discrete retreat?"
His only response was to try and give me a right-footed kick to my gonads!! I saw it coming, though, and gripped his ankle in both hands. Using his weight and momentum to turn his leg to my right, so that he flipped over in mid-air...
...and crashed flat on his face, as a result.
That's when Botany Boy tried to get in on the act. I heard the tell-tale "popping" sound of a plastic cover being removed, and saw him beginning to aim something tube-shaped in the direction of my eyes! Not knowing if something worse than peppers grew on this world, I used my gray Gatsby cap as a left-handed shield. While I used my right hand to give him a shuto chop on his right wrist. Thereby, disarming Botany Boy of the tube.
All this in less time than it takes to tell.
The next thing I knew, someone was yelling for security. Convincing me (most ironically) to act on Botany Boy's advice, after all!!
tbc
Giantess World
