Panic threatened to set in for Stella. Being thrown into a new environment, getting terrorized by one giant, then getting shoved into the hands of another. All she wanted to do was hide in a dark place and curl up in a ball at this point.

The elderly woman carried her out to the kitchen. It was a small area but certainly bigger than Jason’s apartment. Spices were lined up against the wall on the counter along with all the other usual appliances found in a kitchen.

Stella was gently placed on a large wooden table that had six chairs around it.

“Sorry about that Stella, I didn't mean to hold you without your permission.” she said. “Anyways, I’m Glenda.”

“Hi.” Stella replied shyly.

Clair came out of her room. “Hey, Jason got called into work, so he won't pick her up until nine.”

“Oh that's fine.” Glenda responded. “Tell him, we'll take care of Stella until then.”

Clair nodded and headed back to her room without even giving Stella a glance.

A wave of dread rushed through Stella’s body. She was going to be trapped in this new place for hours! Her eyes darted around the room for somewhere to hide but the only place was behind the salt and pepper shaker in the middle of the table, but that wouldn't really help her much. For once, Stella wished Jason was here to get her away from this.

“Stella dear, are you okay?”

Stella snapped her head over to the woman, who gave her a concerned look.

Stella’s mouth opened but the words failed to come out. Her body began to tremble, she tightly hugged herself and shut her eyes in an attempt to calm down. She was not okay, and she knew Glenda knew.

Stella expected to be picked up or touched in attempt to be comforted but nothing happened. She slowly opened her eyes to see Glenda had taken a few steps back from the table.

“It's okay,” She reassured. “I understand. Talk when you feel ready.” She turned to the fridge and pulled out food to lay them out on the counter.

Taking the opportunity, stella stumbled back behind the the salt shaker to remain out of Glenda’s sight. She collapsed onto her knees and let out a quiet sigh. At least she was going to be left alone for a few minutes.

~~~~

It must have been an hour and a half since Stella was left alone. She wasn't complaining but it was surprising because Jason would have tried to talk to her within ten minutes. She was at least able to calm down a little bit, but she didn't understand why Glenda didn't try to converse with her. Sometimes, Stella would sneak a glance to see what Glenda was doing, but every time, she was preoccupied with making dinner. Not once did she look back at Stella.

The sound of steps snapped her out of her thoughts. Looks like she spoke too soon.

A plate was placed onto the table. “I don't know if you're hungry, but I made some sandwiches.”

Finding the courage, Stella peaked out from the shaker. A tiny plate of ham and cheese sandwiches sat towards the end of the table, next to it was a small glass of lemonade. Stella couldn't help but smile at the sight of a human sized lunch. Stella took a few small steps out of her hiding spot; Glenda responded by backing away from the table. Picking up the sandwich, she turned over to the elderly woman standing over the counter with her own lunch.

“Thank you.” She mumbled before taking a small bite.

As the two women munched on their sandwiches, Stella couldn't help but why Glenda just happen to have human sized utensils. Did she have a pet somewhere?

“Can… can I ask why you… you have human stuff?” Stella asked.

“Oh, I used to work as a vet back in the day, and I even fostered humans. These are just some items that have just been lying in a drawer for years.” Glenda smiled sweetly. “Guess it's a good thing I never donated them.”

“So do you have humans now?” She asked.

“No, they're gone now.” Glenda replied solemnly. “I would like to foster humans again, but I'd rather wait until Clair and the boys move out to do that again.”

“Boys?”

A door barged open and two twin boys ran through the kitchen, and an older man who calmly followed behind him.

Children! Stella had heard horrifying stories of children handling humans. They’ll roughly grab humans with dirty hands and play with them like they're dolls or action figures! She stared at the boys with fear. They were probably no older than ten. Their hair was blond, much like Clair’s and their eyes were a deep shade of brown, and they were forty feet tall! One boy wore a blue shirt and the other one sported a red one. They looked like trouble. Stella tried to move but her body froze in fear!

“How was school?” Glenda asked.

“Good.” The boys said in unison.

“Anything exciting happen today?”

“Not really.” The blue shirt replied.

The boy in the red shirt glanced over at Stella. “Hey, what's that?”

The other boy looked over, and both immediately rushed over to the table. Stella fell back as the boys towered over her, gawking at her with curious wide eyes.

“It's a human.” The blue shirt said.

“Cool!” The red shirt exclaimed. “What's it like being a human?”

“Terrifying.” Stella replied.

“Boys, you need to give her some space.” Glenda said as she began pulling them back from the table.

“When did we get a human?” The older gentleman asked. He was probably sixty feet tall, with dark gray hair and blue eyes.

“We didn't.” Glenda replied. “We're just taking care of her for Jason until he gets home from work tonight.”

“Great, so she'll be joining us for dinner.” Said the old man. “I'm Richard, by the way.”

“Stella.”

The boy in the red shirt moved closer. “And I'm Charlie!”

“I'm James.”

“And I think you two should be doing your homework.” Glenda replied. “Go do it in your room.”

“Will we be able to talk to Stella later?” Charlie asked.

“If she feels like it.”

“Dude, let's go.” Charlie said before racing off to his room.

James smiled and waved at Stella. “See ya, later.” Before he followed behind his brother.

“Wow, I've never seen Charlie so eager to do homework before.” Richard joked. He turned to Stella. “Sorry about that. They get excited easily.”

“It’s fine.” She said.

“If they ever become too much for you, come get me. I'll make sure they give you space.”

Stella smiled shyly. “Thanks.”

Richard nodded and walked off.

Once he was gone, Glenda looked over at Stella. “So dinner will be at six, but if you're not comfortable with joining us you don't have to.”

Having dinner with giants. Just the thought of that sounded terrifying. She would be trapped on a table where there would be nowhere to hide. All eyes would be on her for sure. The very idea sounds absolutely insane!

And for some reason, Stella felt brave enough to do it.

“No, it's fine. What's for dinner?”

~~~~

It's been a long time since Stella had steak and it was not as delicious as the one Glenda had made. On top of that, there was mouthwatering mash potatoes, and tasty carrots to fill the plate up. It felt like she was eating a gourmet meal at a five star restaurant. As everyone sat around the table, talking about their day, Stella remembered fondly of the times she sat around a table with loved ones, but for a moment, she felt like she was apart of this family. Even if everyone here was a giant.

“So when did Jason adopt you.” Richard asked breaking the silence.

“Well…. I wasn't really… really adopted by him.” She answered timidly.

“So fostered?” He questioned.

“No.”

“Are you a feral?” Charlie chirped up.

“She can't be.” Said James. “Ferals can barely speak.”

“She barely does!”

“Charlie!” Glenda scolded.

“No, no, I'm not… not that either.”

At this point, everyone stopped eating and began staring at her. Stella stared down at her plate to avoid eye contact.

“So, how did you meet Jason?” Clair asked, there was a suspicious tone in her voice.

“I… I… I was in a bad situation and he offered to help… I’m only staying until spring arrives.”

“Where will you go after that?” Glenda asked.

“Anywhere.” She replied.

“So, Jason is just going to dump you out on the streets when spring rolls around?” Glenda questioned.

“It's awfully dangerous for humans to live out on the streets.” Richard warned.

“I've done it before.” Stella replied.

“I’m not sure that's a good idea.” Glenda admitted. “Surely, there's a better place to go.”

A new wave of fear washed over Stella. What if Glenda would prevent her from leaving when spring popped up?

“Mom, don't worry about Stella.” Clair insisted. “If she wants to run around like a little street rat, then let her.”

“Clair!” Glenda gasped.

“What? She said she’s done it before.”

Stella shot Clair a look. While she wasn't particularly offended by her remark, she definitely didn't like the tone that lingered in her voice. What was her problem? Did she still think Jason was cheating on her?

“Clair’s right. You shouldn't worry about me.” Stella assured. “I’ll be fine.”

Glenda sighed. “All right.

Dinner slowly came to an end. Everyone excused themselves from the table to go off and do their own things. Meanwhile, Stella sat at the table completely shocked. She really just ate with five giants and didn't have a panic attack?! There was no way she could ever live with giants, not after what she has been through, but it certainly made her wonder; were there actually good giants out there?