A thousand thoughts rushed through Olivia’s mind. She didn’t understand how this could have happened. She knew about little people. As many successful and rich people had them. They weren’t for regular people like her. One thing she knew was that normal people didn’t become little people. That wasn’t a thing. At least, it wasn’t supposed to be a thing.
Olivia looked at her tiny teacher, who looked small and meek in front of her now. She reached her hand out towards Mr. Harrison. She tried to keep her hand from shaking, but she found that she could not. She draped her hand over Mr. Harrison curling her fingers underneath his small, frail-feeling body.
She had never touched a miniature person before. She had never held such a tiny person. It was unnerving that here was this intelligent person who had been teaching her history just hours ago. Now, with one squeeze of her fist, he would be a disgusting mess of blood and guts in her hand.
Olivia knew she couldn’t actually do that. She knew that she physically could, but the idea of fatally harming someone or even killing would be too much for her. It was the senselessness of it which affected her. She didn’t quite understand how it was different than when she went hunting with her father. As she had no trouble shooting a deer or catching a fish. A tiny person, though? that was different somehow. It felt different to her.
As her fingers fully wrapped around her tiny teacher, she could feel the coldness of his body radiating against her warm skin. She had heard they got cold easily but never believed any of it until now. She remembered Mr. Baker talking about it. Something about smaller creatures and higher metabolism to generate more body heat. As she lifted her shivering and shaking teacher off the desk, looking at him in her hand.
All his tiny movements were easily subdued by her hand. She held him lazily without any real effort or thought. Hours ago, she could never have held him down. She would have been overpowered almost instantly, but now she was so easily able to hold and restrain him with a single hand.
“I wonder how this happened?” Olivia said aloud but not expecting a response. She stood up from the desk, still gripping Mr. Harrison, and walked towards the slightly ajar door. She stepped into the hall, looking from left to right. She couldn’t see anything other than a few students who had lockers on this floor coming from whatever afterschool activities they had to get their bags and books.
Not seeing anyone, Olivia stepped back into the classroom. The door creaked once again as it lackadaisically drew mostly shut until it was open just an inch or two. Olivia sat back down at Mr. Harrison’s desk. Staring at him, still trapped in her hand.
“It didn’t look like anyone was looking for you. If someone did this to you, they didn’t care to stay to see what happened. I guess that makes you mine now.” As soon as Olivia spoke the word mine in the context used, it sounded almost foreign. She could feel Mr. Harrison trying to press against her hand to free himself more and more.
“This has gone on far enough.” Mr. Harrison managed to say as Olivia released her grip on him. He slid down the oily palm of her hand before crashing onto his own desk once again.
“You’re going to belong to someone you know? I mean, look at you. You don’t look very personlike anymore. Why shouldn’t it be me? It’s about time I had a little good luck for a change. I may still have to deal with Kendra, but it looks like I won’t be having a detention problem anymore, will I?” Olivia said as she looked down at her former teacher.
“Olivia, call the office right now. This little charade is over. I don’t know what or how you did this…”
“There it is. That’s the rub, as they say. It’s always my fault with you, isn’t it Mr. Harrison? You’re always trying to blame me. Well, you belong to me now, and, and, I don’t want want to hear from you unless I speak to you.” Olivia said with a bit of a stutter and uncomfortableness in her tone. The words came out forced and were said without confidence. However, the size differential between them did the heavy lifting enforcing her point enough that Mr. Harrison didn’t question it.
Olivia couldn’t believe his audacity to blame her. If she had the power to shrink people, doesn’t he think she would have already done this to Kendra and her clowns? Does he really think she would be pushed around like she is if she could, at a whim, reduce the size of a being at will?
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