The Bigger the Better

I walk into the kitchen to see my best friend Ross with his bare feet resting on the table.

“Dude, what the hell are you doing?”

I see his sly grin as he licks the spoon. I notice the blue bowl that sits between his feet.

“No no no no no,” I start to panic, hoping that he hasn’t eaten the ONE thing in this kitchen he knows is not allowed. I open the cupboard and find the cereal box missing. I then check the recycling in the garage and find the evidence that confirms my worst fear. My dad has been working on an experimental cereal that could increase a man’s testosterone, slow the ageing process, and promote healthier lifestyles. At least, this was the goal. So far, my dad hasn’t been able to get the cereal to work properly, so its effects are largely unpredictable.

I walk back into the kitchen as I hear Ross start to groan. I look at him, and then at his feet. In the past minute I was gone, his feet seem to have grown a bit. Typically, Ross sports a size 8 foot, small but in proportion to the rest of his smaller body. Now, by the looks of it, I would assume he’s got a pair of 10s.

“Ross what were you thinking? You know you’re not allowed to eat that cereal!”

“I know I know, but I just couldn’t help it. Look man, I’m tired of the girls at school dissing me for being short. I thought that maybe this would help me become more like one of the jocks.”

“Well yeah maybe it would’ve done that if it worked properly, but my dad hasn’t made a successful batch yet. Who knows what this could do to you!”

I can’t help but to grab my friend’s toes. I bring my hands down to the balls of his feet, they are warm to the touch and soft. I can feel the veins in his feet pulse with each second my hand touches them. They continue to grow as they have been while Ross and I argued. By now, his feet are a size 13. If he were wearing socks, there’s no doubt they would’ve been demolished by this point. I hear Ross groan again, followed by a surge in his feet. I start to feel something furry beneath my fingers. The tops of his feet have begun to sprout some hair. For some reason, I find myself unable to let go of his feet. A sort of energy and interest keeps my hands firmly locked onto his feet even as they are pushed apart by his widening souls.

“How big are they?” Ross asks with a low growl of pain.

I rub my thumb down the middle of his wide soles, “I’m not sure, maybe size 17 now?”

“Nungh, you were right dude, this cereal didn’t make me into a hunk, it’s turning me into a freak!”

I’ve had this secret for eighteen years now… Even if I wanted to tell it to someone, I’m not sure they’d believe me anyway. I mean, HOW would I even go about telling it? Its not… a kind of secret that one typically hears. And yet here I am, in the doctor’s office, waiting with anticipation for my chance to finally express what I’ve been hiding all these years.

Why am I doing this? Because for these past eighteen years this secret has made me feel… different. I have questions, and there’s no way I’d ask my dad about them. I think, maybe my doctor is the safest bet for having some answers. Maybe he’ll be more open to what I have to say.

The room is dry, pasty white, and incredibly sterile. Not much stands out as unique to a typical family doctor’s office. You’ve got your diagrams, your cheesy wall decorations, and those popsicle sticks that are always there but you’ve never seen a doctor use. Its rather quiet too, apart from the crinkling sound of paper as I shift my weight on the bed. I’m bored. What’s taking this doctor so long?

The door opens with a rush as my doctor walks in- its as if he could read my mind from behind the door. Dr. Aydin is a bit of an imposing man. With his bushy beard and burly body, he looks more like an off-season bodybuilder than a family doctor. Despite his appearance, he is a kind man- a teddy bear. It doesn’t help that his beard usually hides his smile, but his eyes give you assurance when you’re feeling nervous. And boy was I feeling nervous today.

“Alright, Mr. Greene, how have you been lately.” Dr. Ayden asks as he sets up his workspace.

“Uhm, ok, I guess. I don’t know, good?” I reply meekly.

“You okay, Jack? What happened to the guy who was always excited to see me?” He flashes a smile.

“Oh no, of course I’m excited to see you! It’s just…”

Dr. Ayden turns to face me, raising an eyebrow, “Its just what?” he laughs “what you afraid of me now?”

“No! No. Well… it’s just there’s something I need to tell you.”

Dr. Ayden sits down in the chair next to the bed.

“Are you sick? Did you hurt yourself? I’m your doctor, Jack, I need to know if you aren’t feeling well.”

“No, I know! It’s not that… I’ve got this, secret.”

Dr. Ayden gives a puzzled look, “A secret? Well, as your doctor, you have confidentiality with me so-“

“I know, that’s why I’m telling you and not my dad…” I lower my eyes, staring at my hands in my lap.

Dr. Ayden is silent for a minute, before asking “So are you going to tell me this… Secret?”

I sigh, my anxiety builds. What will he think? I guess I must suck it up and tell him.

“I have superpowers” I finally blurt out, the words escaping my mouth.

I lift my eyes to Dr. Ayden, trying to catch a glimpse of his reaction. Instead of shock or anger, he seems curious. He shifts his body back into the chair, his fingers playing with his beard. He’s not taken back by what I have just said… why?

“You’re… You’re not surprised? You don’t think I’m lying?” I finally ask, breaking the silence.

“It’s not everyday you hear someone claim they have superpowers,” he replies calmly, “what makes you think you have superpowers?”

“Well…” I pause with hesitation “I can control things with my mind.”

Dr. Ayden has no reaction aside from a slow blink. I can’t tell if he believes me or is waiting for me to dig a deeper grave before calling someone in from the mental institute.

“Ok what I mean is not that I can make things float or anything like that… I can change… people.”

Dr. Ayden chuckles, “I can change people too, Jack, its call surgery. Wouldn’t call that a superpower or anything… well I suppose some might.”

“I’m not talking about surgery! I mean I can change people’s appearance.”

‘“That’s called plastic surgery-”

“No!” I huff angrily “Maybe it’d be best if I gave you an example.”

“Well alright then. Tell me, what happened that makes you think you have this… power?”

“It kind of started happening when I was five years old…

Dad was driving me home from kindergarten, and we stopped at the intersection between Burntwoods and Middleton. For some reason if you ever catch the red-light there it always feels like forever before you start moving again. We were unfortunate enough to get there right as it turned red, so I just sat back in exhaustion as I looked out the window. That’s when I noticed this young man in the car next to us. He was fairly average, I guess. He had a thin face, black short hair, glasses, clean-shaven- probably in his mid-twenties. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, and I’m not sure why. I kept staring at his plaid button-up shirt, which kind of made him look nerdy in a way. And that’s when IT started happening.

Now, I have no idea how I did it, and I still have no idea how to fully control it, but that day was the first time I activated this “power” of mine. At first, I didn’t really notice anything. He shifted his weight a bit, and I could notice he was breathing heavier than he had been. I first noticed it when he started to fondle with his collar, and how tight it suddenly looked on him. As his fingers tugged at his collar, I caught of glimpse of his sleeves. Had they always been that full? Something seemed quite off. His sleeves, which at first seemed to drape nicely over his arms, suddenly looked like they were straining to stay together. I watched his body spasm and jolt, followed by a few cracks spontaneously appearing in his windshield. The cracks were about the size a small rock would make if it were to have hit the windshield, but our cars were stationary. I looked back at the man and realized what had happened. The top three buttons of his shirt had popped off with enough force they cracked his windshield! I gaze at his chest, which was now thick and bulging with power. The two massive lobes competing for space as they swell beneath his shirt. A thin coating of hair also seemed to sprout from his pecs as his body rapidly changed.

Again, the man shuddered as pulsed as his body surged. My attention was immediately brought to his arms, which were now starting to shred the fabric of his sleeves apart. A hole appeared over the peak of his left bicep, and quickly grew down his sleeves. Thick veins snaked their way across his thick forearms and up his biceps. The sleeves of his button-up quickly disintegrating as his arms and shoulders throb bigger and bigger. I could only see the tops of his abs, which, after another button or two pinged into the steering wheel, looked as though they had been carved deeply out of granite. The hair that I noticed sprouting on his chest started to spread to other areas as well- most noticeably his face, forearms, and down his abs. I couldn’t tell if the man was in pain, or pleasure, from this experience, but suddenly my car started moving. I was still locked onto the man, even as we turned left, and he went straight, but soon after that I lost sight of him. At the time, I didn’t think it was me who caused the man to grow… but after the situation kept on recurring after that I concluded that I was the one responsible.

…since then I’ve been able to control this power, to an extent, but it still remains largely out of my total control.”

Dr. Ayden nods slowly as he tries to grasp all of what I had told him.

“So you’re saying you have the power to make people… grow?”

“Well, uhh, yeah pretty much” I smile weakly.

“O-kay… you know, I think I’m gonna need to this… THING in action. Would you mind?”

“What? Y-you want me to demonstrate it?”

“Like I said, its not everyday you hear someone claim they have superpowers.”

“Oh, I don’t know, I’m not sure if that’s a good idea-”

“Jack, as your doctor I request you please show me this ‘hidden talent’ of yours.”

“O-okay, if you say so…”

Dr. Ayden cracked open the door to the hallway and called out, “Matthew, can you come in here for a minute? I need your help with some paperwork.”

A few seconds later, a young male nurse entered the room. He has a handsome face, complimented by his short curly blond hair and blue eyes. Dr. Ayden looks at me and winks. Not wanting to change the nurse’s appearance much, I opt to just alter one area of his body instead- his feet. Matthew stands about 5’10, and, from what I would guess, wore a size 11 shoe. As Dr. Ayden converses with the young man, I get to work on his feet. I intended for it to work slowly, only changing enough where he wouldn’t complain about his feet being cramped or something- enough where Dr. Ayden would believe me. But, as I said, I haven’t yet gotten total control of my powers yet sooo…

Pretty quickly it is evident that Matthew’s feet were growing. I watch the leather of his sneakers stretch as his feet widen. His toes start to smash against the front of his shoes as his feet run out of room to grow. Again, I intend to end it here but… The sound of snapping leather fills the room. Matthew and Dr. Ayden stop their conversation as they both look at Matthews’s growing feet. His socked toes lengthen and creep out from the tips of his sneakers. Soon after, the sides of his shoes burst apart from the impressive width of his soles. Well beyond his once size 11 feet, I have a feeling he’s sporting a size 15 or 16 now. Shortly after, his cotton socks begin to split apart, exposing his thick hairy toes and strong feet. Despite his blond hair, the hair on his feet sprout a dark brown colour- another effect from my lack of control. The remainder of the nurse’s sock shreds off his growing feet, exposing them in their full glory. Finally, the growth stops, at what appears to be size… 22? It’s hard to tell, but he’ll have a hard time finding shoes to fit those feet now. I realize now how disproportionate his feet are to his body. With EXTREME care, I try to fill out the rest of his body- enough to where he can handle his massive feet. I make him taller, and fill out his muscles a bit, giving him a toned football player look. The nurse looks at his feet with amazement, before looking at his boss, and then at me.

“Uhhh, e-excuse me for a bit, I think I need to use the restroom.” The young nurse says in a deep, but shy, voice.

He exits quickly, leaving the tattered remains of his shoes and socks behind.

“So do you believe me now?”