“Ngh.”

  Like every Sunday, I was in my room starting my daily routine. One of the things I do after feeding Gersen is measure myself.

  “Not again…”

  A few years ago, I noticed my body was growing a little differently than my classmates', so I made sure to track my growth each week. And, unfortunately, I'm one centimeter taller.

  “Why…?”

  Some of my classmates would probably love to be my size, but I don't like it at all.

  “If she’s not here, I’m gonna punch something…”

  I sended a message to Alice. And luckily, she was online at this hour.

  “Hi Cammy.”

  “Hi.”

  “I thought you spent your mornings cleaning the house and buying.”

  “This is more important.”

  “Someone died?”

  “... Okay, not that important. But it’s a top priority!”

  “What is it?”

  “... I grew up another centimeter…”

  “Congratulations!”

  “You know I don’t like it!”

  Alice is tiny, so I can understand why she would see growing as something good. But her way to celebrate my growth just bothered me even more... She's probably clapping at the other side of the screen...

  “C’mon, just a little more and you will be able to tell what the clouds taste like.”

  “I'd rather die!"

  “I can’t see the problem, a lot of people love tall women.”

  “It’s not about being pretty! Do you know how I feel having the same size as my biology teacher?!”

  “That meant you look like a trustworthy adult woman.”

  “That just means I look old! I don't want to start having a midlife crisis being only seventeen years old!”

  “Well…”

  “Do you know how I feel when we have to take a group photo?!”

  Those days are the worst. No matter what kind of photo it is, I'm always in the back because I always end up blocking the view of those behind me. I'm not proud of knowing what all my classmates' backs look like.

  “Give me advice to shrink!”

  “I’m not a magician…”

  “I just need something! Anything will be useful!”

  “Well… I think people can lose height by stooping.”

  “I see!”

  “Think for a second how you would look.”

  I visualized it for a second… And, yeah, I would look weird.. .And that wouldn't help my back pain.

  “... Maybe I can act like I damaged my back.”

  “Before trying something that stupid, think about the good things about being tall.”

  “Like what?”

  “People tinier than you know you are reliable when they need to get something from a high place.”

  “That only means everyone thinks about my height…”

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  “In a good way. Also, at least they don't think about your weight.”

  “Please don’t use argumentative fallacies to cheer me up.”

  “Well… What is the best comment you received?”

  “... If I used more makeup, I could be mistaken for a teacher…”

  “... That sounds like a compliment.”

  “It’s not a compliment…”

  Being mistaken for a teacher only would confirm that I look old, I can’t see how that would be a compliment. Also, if I keep growing I will surpass even some of our tallest teachers, where is the good thing in that?!

  “Is there a reason why you're so tall?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Sure?”

  “I plan to consult with a doctor again, but last time they told me it's simply genetics.”

  “Your parents are tall?”

  “My mom has a standard size, and my dad is tall.”

  “How much?”

  “1.90.”

  “And you are 1.88, right?”

  “Please don’t say it out loud, your words will kill me…”

  “That means you should stop growing soon, right?”

  “Apparently I could reach two meters.”

  “At least you know you'll grow up.…”

  I wanted to complain more, but surprisingly, Alice seemed annoyed, so I took the bait and tried to find out why she was like that.

  “Why are you complaining? Tiny girls are cute.”

  “My problems with people only get worse when everyone is taller than me…”

  “Have you ever seen a sad puppy? That is one of the cutest things in the world.”

  “I’m not a puppy.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Why would I be an animal without thumbs? I need them to work.”

  “Is that the reason?”

  “I would be a racoon, that is the most versatile animal.”

  “No, the most versatile would be the duck, with that you can go through earth, sky and water.”

  “What about thumbs?”

  “Wings are better.”

  "You can't type without wings."

  "That is totally fake."

  "First of all."

  Our debate extended until we both ran out of arguments and didn’t know how to continue with it. I considered that as a victory, so I went a few steps back on the conversation.

  “Well, even if you were a puppy, a raccoon, or a duck, I don’t have a way to know it.”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  “I’ve never seen your face before. Maybe you are a puppy and I didn’t know it.”

  “If I were a puppy I wouldn’t be able to use the mouse.”

  “I don’t know, I saw some videos of puppies using computers.”

  “...”

  “I know, let’s do a video call.”

  “No.”

  “C’mon, just a tiny one.”

  “That will never happen.”

  I have my own mental image of Alice's face, but I want to know how accurate it is. And this might be the excuse I needed.

  “Showing your face wouldn’t kill you.”

  “... But you would die just by seeing my face…”

  “C’mon, your face cannot be as bad as your social skills.”

  “I don’t have a single trace of makeup… And my skin is too pale.”

  “If you start the video call, I will buy that armor cosmetic you wanted.”

  “...”

  The sudden pause in her typing confirmed that her determination wasn't enough to resist getting something for free.

  “I will do it, but you cannot complain.”

  “Sounds like a good deal.”

  "Let me get dressed first."

  "Do you sleep without clothes?"

  "We're not gonna talk about that now!"

  The messages stopped for a while, and when she was back, a notification of an incoming video call appeared. I was about to click it, but I remembered I woke up just a few minutes ago, so I put on a mask I usually have as decoration.

  “It’s a bit uncomfortable…”

  Trying to ignore that the mask was pressing my nose, I clicked the notification, starting the video call.

  “Hi.”

  “Uh, hi.”

  I thought I could see Alice’s face, but the room was too dark for that. I could barely see her silhouette.

  “The light.”

  “Hmm?”

  “It’s too dark, I can’t see you.”

  “The deal was that I would start a video call.”

  “... At least turn on the lights.”

  “You’re asking too much even when you’re covering your face.”

  “I don’t have makeup. I would look weird.”

  “If you would look weird, I would look like a zombie.”

  Despite her complaints, she stood up and turned on the lights, letting me see a room decorated with a lot of figurines, posters, books like novels or dictionaries, and the chair she uses when she’s in front of her computer. If this were a photo in some social media, I would give her a heart with all of my accounts because of the good decoration, but I’m rambling.

  I thought I'd finally see her face, but when she approached the camera, all I saw was a gas mask. The most visible thing was her hair.

  “...”

  “I know, I should clean my room.”

  “That's not the problem…”

  “Hmm?”

  “Do you really think I will ignore that…?”

  “Yup.”

  “... Next time I will be more specific with what I want.”

  “I’m good at finding loopholes, good luck with that.”

  “You are the worst.”

  “I also like your mask.”

  Despite my words, this whole situation was very funny to me. I couldn’t even remember why we started talking in the first place.

  “Well, I guess we can do something with these masks.”

  “Like what?”

  We could play a game to see how we do with reduced vision.”

  “I like the idea. What kind of game?"

  “Something that requires precision.”

  “Like an FPS?”

  “Or a puzzle game.”

  “Like Professor L**ton?”

  “Yup.”

  Among my collection of games, I had some classic puzzles that would be difficult without being able to see the full screen, so it could be an interesting thing to do with a friend. A perfect plan.

  Unfortunately, Alice reminded me of something very important.

  “That sounds like a good idea…But...you shouldn’t be buying things today?”

  “... Right!”

  The situation caught me so much that I forgot I had to buy things for the house.

  “I still can’t believe your classmates didn’t find out anything after all this time.”

  “Shut up. I must go, see ya later.”

  "See you! I'll send you a message when I finish my work today.”

  Finally, I hung up the video call and got dressed to go shopping.

  “Why does it have to be so much fun talking to her…?”

  Even after the bad start in the morning, and the deception I felt during our video call, my mood during the rest of the day was pretty good.

  Like always, she made me feel better.