It was already dark, around 11PM, which meant that another work shift for Jessica was coming to the end. The 22-year-old had been working as a bartender at The High Rise bar for the past few years, putting in late hours since she finished college and had no other obligations. She always was fascinated by bartenders’ work and after trying it for herself, she found that she picked it up quickly, and more importantly, liked it.
She was standing at 5’2 with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a classic bartender uniform that included a vest, long-sleeved shirt, and tight jeans, all of which phenomenally emphasized her figure. She didn’t have a top model physique, but her very slim body, C-cups, and a round bottom combined into a nice hourglass figure, which made some sets of eyes turn their attention to her from time to time.
It was a common scene to see Jessica talking to her childhood friend, Maribel near the end of each night. They knew each other almost their whole lives, even going to the same school and college together, so their bond was one that stood the test of time. The fact that they lived in neighboring areas helped as well.
“So, are you finally used to working more or less full time, Jess? You don’t look like a wet noodle by the end of your shift anymore.”said Maribel somewhat sarcastically.
“Oh sorry, oh mighty Maribel, that I don’t have the same stamina as you and my P.E. scores were lackluster.” Jessica replied in the same tone as her friend. This made them both laugh as Jessica stretched a bit from right to left. “But seriously, I’m coming around more or less. I’m much better at surviving rush hours now than I was at the start, so give me one or two months, and I won’t even break a sweat while working until night.”
“Glad to hear that. I guess you’ll soon start to gather up since it’s the end of your shift?”
“Yeah, I was just about to start. Why do you ask?”
“Can you quickly make me some of my favorite strawberry mocktail before you go? I’ve got cash ready!”
“Fiiine, give me a second. You always find a way to get on the last train, don’t you?”
“Well, with a friend like you, I don’t need to try that hard.” They chuckled again with each other, and after two minutes the mocktail was ready for Maribel. With that done, Jessica went into a staff room to get changed. Ten minutes later, Maribel finished her mocktail and Jessica exited the staff room, changed to finally go home for the day.
“Hey there *hic* cutie~” The girls heard a husky voice from behind them, obviously drunk. He was slowly lumbering over to the girls, his eyes obviously focused on Jessica. Maribel quickly stood between her friend and the drunk guy. “Hey, thts not *hic* cool… I just wantd t say hi!” The man said after seeing Maribel move.
“Dude, my friend and I were going home, so please, don’t make this a problem not only for us but also for you too.” Maribel said, holding a distance between them and the guy. She tried to end this situation as carefully as possible, but her answer only made the guy more aggressive.
“Hey, I will nt tolerat this kind of attitude at me, evn frm a girl!!” With that, he started to swing his fist at her, only to be abruptly stopped by being thrown to the ground by Maribel. Even if she tried to make it as gentle as possible, this maneuver still knocked the guy out. It seemed like he was a bit TOO drunk for today.
Maribel always was more of a sporty girl between the two of them. Being 5’6 and more of a fan of physical activities than Jessica, she was often a protector for her smaller friend, and she didn’t mind it at all. She was a brown belt at Judo, but with skills like this, she surely would get a black belt and higher very soon. She had somewhat of a sporty build, with a fine amount of muscle under her skin, a very fitting B-Cup and short black hair with a small red streak in it.
Fortunately for the girls, the only one who saw this debacle was the bar’s manager, who understood the situation and sent the girls home, asking them to leave the guy to him. They agreed, and slowly, even if in a bit in a bitten-down mood, they started to walk to a bus stop. Jessica was especially feeling let down, not because of the situation as a whole, but because of the small guilt she felt for needing Maribel to always stick up for her in these moments. After sitting down in a bus, she turned to her friend.
“I’m sorry, Mari. You’re always protecting me in these situations, while I just stand there like a dead weight that can’t do anything.”
“Hey, what’s come over you? Don’t worry, Jess, there’s no problem! No need to beat yourself up for this.” Maribel answered her friend.
“But it just bothers me from time to time. Mari, you’re so cool and athletic, tall enough to do all these things so much better, and you can easily protect yourself! If only I were a bit stronger, or at least as tall as you, I could not only protect myself, but also maybe protect you from time to time!” She said while throwing her hands in front of her in a mock defensive posture.
Maribel understood how her friend felt and smiled at her with a small chuckle. “You’re just overthinking all of this. I was just a bit luckier with genetics, that’s all. Sure, I was a bit more of a fan of P.E. in school than you, but listen, I saw some girls at Judo class shorter than me that would easily throw me to the ground. I think with enough training in your free time, you can also pull off something like that! I would be happy to train with you if you want this, Jess. Obviously then you’ll finally get comfortable with your current workflow of course.”
Maribel pulled her friend by the shoulder in for a small friend hug. Jess smiled at this, calming down a bit. “Thanks, Mari… I’ll think about your idea.”
“Awesome! If you think the time is right, just call me! Oh, there’s my stop. Good night, Jess! See you later!”
“Later!” Jessica said with a smile to her friend who was leaving the bus, they both waving at each other.
A few stops later, the bus reached one near Jessica’s home, and after a small walk, she finally reached her house. Before entering it however, she found a package near the entrance. She looked around for anyone who might have sent it to her—or if it wasn’t for her, to make sure no one else was there to take it for themselves. Seeing no one else around, she decided to take it with her into the house. Her family was away for a trip for some time, so they left their home in her care. She went straight to her room with the package, placing it on her bed. After changing into her casual clothes, she opened it and saw what was inside it. It was a lime green thing that looked like some kind of a gun.
“Huh?” was Jessica’s instant reaction. It looked more like a toy than a real gun with its strange design and color, but it was definitely metallic and heavy, like the real thing. Upon closer inspection, she finds Muscle and Height Growth/Shrink switches on either side of it, which only put more questions into her mind. “Like… it surely has to be a prank, right? But no one would make something like this strangely detailed and with such materials if it wasn’t legit…so what’s going on?”
Many thoughts started to run inside Jessica’s head, many of them returning to her conversation with Maribel on their way home. Maybe with this she could finally become less of a nuisance for her friend and become someone who could finally stand up for herself and her friend in need…or maybe… maybe she can try to make Maribel…even cooler?
On what decision does Jessica land in the end?
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