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“Stand still.” Ally held the measuring tape against the bathroom door frame.

“I am standing still.” Eli slapped his arms against his sides for emphasis.

“Sixty-four inches on the dot.” She made a light mark with her pencil.

“Sixty-four inches!” Winter aimed the phone’s camera at herself, wide-eyed and smiling like a misfit.

“Get out of the way, Winter.” Ally shooed with her free hand. “You’re supposed to be recording this.”

“I’m giving comments to make it more interesting.” Though defiantly happy, she pointed the iPhone back to where Eli stood, capturing the deadpan look on his face.

Ally’s gaze lingered on the three of them in the wall mirror, noticing, not for the first time, how her Asian features contrasted with her siblings’ fair appearances. She rarely thought of herself as adopted, but something about the mirror image reminded her of that fact. Not in a bad way — she’d lived her entire life with these goofballs — just in a thoughtful way.

At eleven, Winter was the youngest, followed by Ally at thirteen and Eli at fourteen. In spite of their three year age difference, he might as well be Winter’s blond twin. Her shoulder length hair was longer, but not by much. They had the same round nose, blue eyes, and goofy smile, though Eli hadn’t smiled much since his diagnosis the other day.

“Now step on the scale.” Ally took command of the situation as she usually did. “Ok. One oh nine.”

“That can’t be right. I only lost an inch. How could I lose five pounds?”

“Five pounds! Wow!” Winter piped. “Seems like a lot.”

“Shut up.” Eli shot back. “At least I’m not a little wimp like you.”

Ally blinked in surprise. One again, he fell for Winter’s attention seeking antics. How did she do it? It was like a magic power that reverted him back to a kid again. The idea of eventually being smaller than her must really be bothering him, so why would he say something like that?

“I’m not a wimp! You’re the one who’s going to be a wimp in a few weeks.” Her mischievous smile returned. “Mom told me to save my old clothes because you’d have to wear them pretty soon.”

Eli’s face went slack. “She did not say that.”

“Wanna bet? I’ve already got all the pink outfits set aside for you to wear.” She stuck her tongue out.

Ally interrupted. “Stop it. He’s not going to wear your old clothes.”

“He started it by calling me names. My friends are going to watch this video.”

Ally sighed and looked directly into the camera. “Dear Winter’s friends. She’s not a wimp. She does gymnastics and is actually quite strong. As you can see, these two fight a lot. I’m usually the voice of reason.”

“That’s right. I’m in gymnastics. I bet I can do more pushups than you, Eli.”

Clearly not listening, he stepped off the scale and back on, revealing the same number. “This totally sucks.”

“It’s a healthy weight for someone of your...height.” Ally didn’t know this for certain, but she herself was about ninety-eight pounds and only three inches shorter than him. During her last physical, the nurse said she was healthy. Besides, he needed some encouragement.

“It’s not supposed to be my height.” Eli stared at the scale, speaking in a softer tone. “I’m already shorter than some of the girls in my class.”

“Oooo, Eli’s got a new girlfriend!” Winter brought the phone’s camera closer to inspect his face.

“No he doesn’t.” Ally wasn’t sure why she needed to clear the air on that point, but she knew for a fact he didn’t currently have a girlfriend. They went to the same middle school after all.

“Are we done?” Eli asked.

“No. We need to document the effect of the shrink gene over time, including measurements and tests.” Ally turned to the camera. “That’s what makes our YouTube channel different from all the others out there. That’s why our viewers will subscribe down below”—she pointed downward—“and comment with ideas.”

“Fine.” He pretty much had to agree. It was their only hope for getting him into Premoria — a private community in southeastern Wyoming where shrunken residents could live ‘normal’ lives. It was expensive, and online fundraisers had become all too common. They had to make theirs unique in some way. “What next?”

“Pushup challenge!” Winter bounced on her bare feet.

“Stop shaking the camera.” Ally placed a hand on top of Winter’s head, calming the girl. “And no pushups.”

“Why not?”

“It has to be something related to the shrinking gene. Something that will change as he gets smaller. Even when he’s only a few inches tall, he’ll still be able to do as many pushups as he can today.”

“Ohmigosh...he’s going to be so cute! I can’t wait till —”

Ally covered her sister’s mouth with her hand.

“I quit.” Eli stepped through the doorway.

“Wait.” Ally grabbed hold of his t-shirt, slowing his escape down the hall.

“These ‘tests’ aren’t even...scientific.” He pried at her fingers.

“It doesn’t matter.” She strengthened her grip. “They just have to be interesting enough to increase our subscribers.”

“You mean embarrassing enough.” He stopped prying. “This is a stupid idea.”

“Eli, we’re just trying to help.”

She’s not trying to help.” He pointed at Winter.

“Am too! I’m holding the phone.”

“Ok. How about this.” Ally dragged him into the bedroom she shared with her sister. “Get into pushup position.” She turned to Winter and stuck out her hand. “Phone.”

Reluctantly, Winter handed the phone over. It was Ally’s phone after all. She’d received it for her birthday last month, along with a tripod into which she now inserted the phone. She aimed it at Eli who, surprisingly, was already on all fours.

“Ok. Winter sit on his back. Then, I’ll count how many pushups.”

Giggling, Winter hopped and sat on his back so fast that his knees hit the floor. A full head shorter than him, she couldn’t be over seventy pounds, but it was more than he could handle.

He lifted one knee only to have it return immediately to the carpet. “Too heavy.”

“You’re too weak.” She messed with his hair.

“It’s fine,” Ally said. “Just see how many you can do on your knees.”

As he started to descend, Winter giggled and lost her balance. She stood, then lay flat against his back, her arms wrapped around his torso. He descended fast and struggled but managed to do a full knee pushup. On the second rep, he made it half way up before collapsing amid peals of laughter from his sister. She rolled off of him, clearly enjoying this more than her brother.

He lightly kicked her foot away from his. “How ‘bout I sit on your back next time?”

Before Ally could protest, Winter got on her hands and knees. Her hair concealed her face but nothing could hide her laughter. “Come on.”

He stood and looked down at her, absentmindedly swiping his hair behind his ear. “I was joking.”

“Actually, go ahead and do it.” Now that Ally had time to consider, it wasn’t a bad test. Eventually, he’d be light enough Winter wouldn’t even notice his weight. Neither of them would.

With the thought came a sense of excitement that she couldn’t explain. She should feel bad for him and she did, but she also felt...an excitement. There was no other word for it. After she recognized the feeling, guilt followed. At least she could hide her feelings a lot better than her sister.

Eli sat on Winter’s back, letting his feet rest on the floor. As soon as her elbows bent, she crashed, still laughing hysterically. “Get off. Get off.”

“What? Did you hear something Ally?” He balanced a portion of his weight on his feet to avoid hurting the girl, though he probably didn’t need to.

She jackknifed her legs against his side, but he caught a foot and started tickling — a smirk brightening his features. It was the closest thing to his smile Ally had seen in days, and it caused her to do the same. This was the Eli she knew as a brother. This was the Eli she’d do everything in her power to help. The mutation might take his size, but it wouldn’t steal his spirit, at least not without a fight.

She joined in, caught Winter’s other foot, and tickled mercilessly until the poor girl screamed that she was going to pee — an excuse she’d used in the past but it always worked. They both stopped, of course, unwilling to call her bluff. Eli stood and stretched. Rather than run off to the bathroom, Winter rolled onto her back, red-faced and giggling sporadically like an engine low on gas.

She grabbed Eli’s foot and tried to tickle but he just stepped away, pulling easily from her grasp. “Are we done?” he asked. The lack of amusement in his tone disappointed Ally. He’d seemed to be enjoying himself. She’d have to think of other ways to cheer him up. At least she’d seen him smile once today.

“Yeh, that’s enough for now.” She crawled to the camera. “Please like, subscribe, and comment down below with ideas on how best to measure the shrink gene’s effects. Our goal is fifty subscribers by the end of this week. If we hit that goal, Eli will sing — “

Not gonna happen.” He walked out of the room.

“He really does have a good voice.” She wasn’t lying. She couldn’t tell if his voice had broken yet or not. Probably not. When he sang, he sounded more like a boy than a man, but in a good way. “He’s just shy.”

“It’s true.” Winter nudged Ally to the side. “He sang for me when I was in the hospital. He thought I didn’t hear him because I pretended to be asleep. He used to take lessons, but stopped last year, even though Mom got angry. I think it’s because —”

“Ok, Winter, you don’t have to give his whole life story in the first episode.”

“Fiiiiiiine. Like, comment, subscribe. Love you guys.” She held two fingers beside her face. “Peace out.”

 

 

Chapter End Notes:

Just something random. Problem is I'm starting to get a lot of unfinished stories. Need to do something about that.

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