The Shrink Program

Chapter 10

The good news was that I had succeeded in escaping, and I did not feel even a little tiny bit guilty for ditching Vain.

The bad news was that I had succeeded in escaping.

.... Seriously, there should be a law or something that stops idiots from succeeding.

That would make the world a safer place for everyone, especially five-inch tall idiots like me.

Why did you think hiding in a giant bag was a good idea? All that needs to happen is Alex trips and falls, and you become minced Maddison.

Or even worse, Alex finds out that you are hiding in his bag, and decides to turn you into mince Maddison.

Or even more worse, you manage to escape the bag unnoticed and are promptly discovered by one of the many people who do not like you.

Hence, you again become minced Maddison.

... On the bright side, I was pretty much doomed to become minced Maddison from the moment I was shrunk. So it's not like my great act of stupidity actually caused my downfall...

Yea. Let's go with that.

With the damage already done, I decided to make the best of a bad situation.

Luckily for me and typically of him, Alex had packed grapes in his bag.

Considering that he spent most his time ditching school and fighting like me, you'd think that he'd have a manlier lunch.

To the contrary, the cynical, grouchy wall of attitude that was Alexander Floid was obsessed with his fruit and veg.

There were even nasty rumours that he was secretly a vegan.

Feeling a little bit evil, I yanked on the lid of the Tupperware container, opening it and releasing the sweet smell of fresh fruit.

If there was one thing good about being small, it was how big food had become in comparison.

With a satisfied smile, I reached into the container and pulled out a head-sized grape, closing back down the lid once I had my prize.

Sitting down on top of the container, I prepared to eat the giant fruit in peace.

Before I could take the first bite, the entire world of the bag exploded into movement.

Typical.

I fell backwards as the contents of the bag shifted violently around me. As quickly as it had begun, the shaking stopped, and I was left lying painfully on top of the Tupperware container as light burst into the bag. A muttered swear word signalled that I had been discovered.

"You mind explaining just what the Hell?!" Alex hissed, keeping his voice hushed as if to avoid looking like a crazy person as he spoke into his bag.

I groaned, staring up at the huge shadow that hovered above the opening of the bag. "Dammit, how did you know I was in here?"

"I sensed a rat trying to steal my food." He snapped, obviously noticing the grape still clutched in my hands.

For someone who had just discovered his shrunken school mate hiding in his backpack, Alex was pretty easily distracted.

I half-laughed, half groaned as I tossed the grape up at him, only to have it fall back down far from reaching its intended target.

"Should have known not to mess with your healthy crap."

All hostility leaked out of the giant delinquent in the form of an exasperated sigh.

"You got that right." He muttered, and I saw the dark shape of a hand reach down into the bag.

My heart leapt into my throat, and I stiffened, feeling panicked and overwhelmed by the sheer size of the person above me.

Stop it, it's just Alex.

Before I could protest, the giant fingers curled around me, scooping me up and out of the bag.

I wrapped my arms around Alex's fingers as he lifted me and held me hovering in the air, pretending not to feel freaked out by the fact that the only thing between me and a very nasty fall was the grip of his hand.

I knew that the jump boots I wore would save me if I kept calm and land properly, but still, looking down from what felt like forty feet in the air left me more than a little unsettled.

The worse part of all this was that Alex hadn't even stood up from his crouch yet.

Not noticing, or at least not commenting on my poorly hidden distress, Alex held me up in front of his face, studying me with a suspicious scowl.

Even at this size, I could tell that his face was longer and sharper than either Vain's or Devin's, good looking, but not in a boyish or delicate way.

His wild scarlet coloured hair was a mess as always. He never bothered to cut it or style it, but it at least looked clean and healthy. Probably a result of being a food snob.

His mix-matched eyes look especially creepy from this size. One eye grass green, the other pale blue, both as grumpy as the other.

This was nothing new. Alex, as a bad-ass delinquent like myself, only had three emotions. Grumpy, angry and hungry.

Despite his pissed off glare and tone, Alex's hand around me was gentle.

"So they really did shrink you, huh?" He noted. "That sucks."

Solemnly, I nodded in agreement.

Alex always did have a knack of summarising everything perfectly.