Alex paced back and forth, glancing impatiently at the clock as it ticked silently on the wall. Any moment now, and the front door would burst open. Any moment...

The minute hand nudged forward, pointed squarely between the digits of the number twelve on the clock face. As if on cue, the knob on the front door rattled, jiggling open and letting a wall of morning sunlight pour down the hallway. Beams of light just barely reached the edge of the countertop, reflecting off the polished granite surface and making Alex squint slightly at the illumination.

“Alex!” A shrill voice cracked through the hallway, followed by the rapid thumping of shoes on a hardwood floor. “You ready?”

Alex winced slightly at the sound, knowing what was behind the whirlwind of footsteps and feminine laughter. A girl rounded the corner of the hallway, thigh high stockings sliding on the hardwood floor as the girl’s momentum tugged her into the room.

“Hey Lily,” Alex said, watching the girl’s hair swirl about her face as she skidded to a stop. Platinum blonde streaks rippled through the otherwise brown wavy hair, the ends brushing against Lily’s shoulders as she bounced on her tiptoes. A slender hand extended out to the countertop, fingernails clicking gently against the surface as Lily smiled.

“C’mon, Alex, we’re gonna be late!” Lily’s excitement for school carried through in her voice, though it was not a joy shared by Alex. She had won the genetic lottery, carrying the one-in-a-million mutation that left her stranded at one inch tall when she was only eight. Everyday tasks became a daunting challenge overnight for Alex. Things like going to school, being with peers who were suddenly hundreds of times her size, and the inevitable drama that came with high school and teenagers. The fact that the mutation made her quite resilient to physical harm was a small comfort to Alex as she suffered through ten years of bullying at her previous school. She silently hoped that her senior year would be different, now that she had been relocated to another district over the summer, along with a handful of friends she felt comfortable around. One of them being Lily, her next door neighbor.

Alex sighed and shrugged her minuscule backpack higher onto her shoulder, then hopped up onto Lily’s waiting palm. The sense of vertigo from being hoisted into the air had almost become second nature to her when she was around Lily. Though the girl was easily the smartest kid in any class, Alex wondered if the platinum blonde streaks in her otherwise brown hair was a sign of Lily’s occasional forgetfulness around her. She smirked at the thought, and reclined against the curved surface of Lily’s cupped palm. The sound of the door latching shut, followed by the low rumble of the bus filled Alex’s ears, her view eclipsed by Lily’s dainty fingers.

Lily stepped onto the bus, and worked her way to the back rows of seats. She shielded Alex with both hands, trying herself to ignore the confused glances coming her way from some of the students already seated. Her rear collided with the seat just as the bus lurched into gear, sending a jolt through Lily and her miniature companion.

Alex glanced up at Lily as the diesel engine grumbled along, sending subtle vibrations through the skin she rested against. Small details like this were usually tuned out by people, but at Alex’s size, even the softest whisper was amplified, sometimes giving her a feeling of sensory overload. She closed her eyes and gathered a deep breath into her lungs, exhaling slowly as she felt her heartbeat over the rhythmic rumble of the bus.

“One more year,” she muttered to herself as the bus pulled into the school parking lot.

********

The distinctive hiss of air brakes filled the bus, drowning out the chatter of some two dozen students for a few seconds. Alex watched as the occupants of the back rows scooted down the aisle, backpacks bumping haphazardly against every available surface. A jolt coursed through the hand Alex stood on, her arms extending out to balance herself form the organic earthquake.

“Careful,” Lily muttered under her breath, not quite loud enough for the oblivious student to hear, but audible to Alex. The tiny teen braced herself as Lily stood up, resting a tiny hand against one of the curled fingers surrounding her. Each footfall from Lily sent a small jolt through Alex’s body as they exited the bus. The atmosphere changed suddenly as they stepped out onto the asphalt. Crisp, cool air replaced the stuffy aura of the bus’ interior, and Alex felt a slight tingle on her exposed skin. While the afternoons were still warm for the summer, the mornings in Pennsylvania had lately been rather brisk, the goosebumps forming along her arms evidence of the cool morning breeze.

Lily quickened her pace towards the school entrance as light danced through the trees dotted around the landscape. The distant sounds of the school quickly became louder, reaching a level of annoyance by the time Lily reached the final step of the walkway. The double doors were swung wide open, allowing hundreds of students roaming the halls a glimpse of the outside world before the first period of the year began. Trotting down the main corridor of the school, Lily finally reached a set of lockers near the entrance to the gymnasium. She shifted her hand up to her shoulder, allowing Alex to step out onto the polyester surface of her jacket. Her hands now free of passengers, Lily began to fiddle with the combination lock on her locker.

Alex turned to face the hallway, watching as hundreds of students milled about before class. Most of the students didn’t even notice Lily, much less Alex, but a few passing by caught a glimpse of the tiny teen. Those that actually noticed Alex did a double take, not expecting to see someone so small. Sure, almost everyone had heard of “shrinkies”, as they had been nicknamed, but the condition was rare enough that not many people interacted with someone of Alex’s size on a regular basis. Alex smiled and waved towards a few of the students, once their initial surprise wore off. Some were friendly enough to return the gesture, before hustling off to their classrooms.

The first period bell sounded with a deafening clang, startling Lily and Alex. The jolt of surprise rippled through Lily’s body, threatening to displace Alex with the sudden movement. The crowd of students turned into a stampede as everyone wrapped up whatever they were doing, and headed for their classes. Lily snapped the metallic door shut, and a barely audible could be heard by Alex as the combination lock was engaged once more. Lily reached her hand up to her shoulder, her fingers extended like a catwalk for Alex to climb aboard.

“What the hell is this?” Someone called out behind Lily, who jerked her head to see the source of the voice. She turned just in time to see a claw of pink fingernails wrap around Alex, yanking the tiny girl from her perch on Lily’s shoulder.

“Hey!” Lily shouted, lunging for the retracting hand, but she was quickly stopped by another manicured hand, palm outstretched in anticipation of her reaction. Lily’s forward momentum was sapped as she lurched right into the outstretched arm, her forehead colliding with the waiting palm. Her hand swiped in the air, narrowly missing the fist that held Alex from her. “Give her back!”

The girl was easily six inches taller than Lily, with golden blonde hair stretching to just past her shoulders. While Lily wasn’t out of shape, the girl standing before her was certainly athletic, given the toned body and visible four pack on her midriff. The school mascot was emblazoned across the girl’s chest, the image slightly distorted by a pair of sizable breasts.

“Or what?” The girl taunted, the muscles in her arm tensing as Lily tried to step forward. She took a step back as Lily swatted at her hand, once again missing by mere inches. “She’s a shrinkie, not a person, geez!” The girl opened her hand, inspecting an annoyed looking Alex in her palm.

Alex stood up in the girl’s palm, brushing off her shirt to straighten the fabric. “I am too a person, asshole,” she said firmly. “Now, if you don’t mind, hand me back to Lily, now.”

The girl smirked, and poked Alex from behind with her other hand. “You’re one to give orders, runt.” She turned her gaze to Lily, a cold smile forming on her face. “What are you gonna do about it anyway, huh?” She taunted.

Lily stood a step away from the girl, glaring her down, but unsure how to intervene without possibly hurting Alex. She was about to try and lunge for her once more, when a deep voice echoed down the hallway.

“Students! Class has started, or have you gone deaf and missed the bell?” An older man walked briskly towards them, a dark grey suit jacket that was a size too small for his frame fluttering slightly at his pace. His cheeks were flushed, either from the exertion of walking too fast, or from a tinge of the cool air outside. Lily peeked around the taller girl to see him marching down the hallway like he was on the warpath.

“Oh, Mr. Hannover, I was just introducing the new...”

“Shut it, Kelsey,” the man barked, “just get to class, you should know better.”

“Ugh, whatever,” the girl mumbled, turning back to Lily. “Here, catch.”

Lily returned her focus to Kelsey just in time to see her toss Alex towards her. Her eyes widened as she reached for the flying tiny, fumbling a few times before finally clasping both hands together around Alex. Glancing up, she was that Kelsey was already ten paces down the hallway, turning into one of the classrooms on the left.

“Young lady, did you forget where your class is?” The man asked firmly between breaths. The short trek from his office has winded him, but it didn’t reduce the stern tone in his voice.

“Well, no, but you see...” Lily stammered, trying not to draw too much attention to Alex as she kept her hands together in front of her.

The man sighed and shook his head slightly. “Just get to class, please.”

Lily quickly walked down the hall, her face hanging low as she felt the man’s gaze on the back of her head. She opened her hands slightly as she walked, cupping Alex between them.

“Are you okay?” She whispered, glancing up at the classroom door.

Alex was sprawled out across Lily’s intertwined fingers, but grunted and gave a thumbs up to Lily.

“Let’s just get to class,” Alex said as she shifted her minuscule weight around, pulling herself up into a sitting position atop Lily’s thumb. Lily nodded, and pushed the classroom door open. The two girls could feel almost thirty pairs of eyes lock onto them, following them as Lily moved towards an empty desk in the rear of the class. She quickly pulled the chair out, wincing slightly at the short screech of the metal legs dragging against the linoleum floor. Her hand lowered to the desk, allowing Alex to scoot off her thumb and stand on the expanse of the desktop.

“Welcome, miss...” the teacher addressed Lily, her voice trailing off as she awaited a response.

Lily quietly shuffled through her bag, pausing after a few seconds, her brain catching the hint from the silence. “Oh, I’m Lily,” she replied hastily. She plopped a binder and book on her desk, and gestured towards the corner occupied by her tiny counterpart. “And this is Alex!”

Alex waved timidly at the crowd of students staring at her. Based on the looks, most of them had never seen someone her size before. Even the teacher seemed a bit surprised, though Alex hoped her teachers had at least been given a heads up that she would be in their classes. 

“Well, Lily and Alex, my name is Elizabeth Manning, and welcome to Biology Basics!” the teacher’s excited tone contrasted with the somewhat dreary mood of the students, their first day of the final year just beginning a moment before. Ms. Manning turned around to face the whiteboard, and began to scribble out class information in the top left corner. Lily jotted down some notes, glancing here and there at Alex as she listened to the teacher read over the class syllabus.

Alex was paying attention to the teacher with her ears only. She pulled a tiny tablet from her backpack, the miniature display flickering to life as it booted up. She tapped a few times on the screen, and began to take notes. After a few minutes of listening to Ms. Manning drone on about the class, Alex let her eyes wander about the room, scanning over the students around her. Some of the students were taking notes like she was, but at least half of them were stealing glances in her direction, or outright staring at her. Alex shrugged, used to the extra attention she got in new situations like this. She didn’t strive to be in the spotlight, but her size usually made her the centerpiece of things, whether she wanted it or not.

Ms. Manning turned her back to the whiteboard, and cleared her throat.

“Class, I understand that one of our students is quite unique, but it is impolite to stare.” She gently scolded the class, and most of the students’ gaze quickly returned to the front of the room. All of the students in fact, except one. Alex felt like someone was still watching her, and glanced over her shoulder. In the back row was the girl from the hallway earlier. Kelsey, if she remembered correct. The scowl on the blonde cheerleader’s face was subtle, but made no attempt to hide Kelsey’s automatic dislike for the tiny girl. Alex turned back to face the teacher, and resumed tapping notes into her tablet. The feeling of being watched didn’t go away, but Alex tried to tune it out like she had learned to do so many times before.

The class wrapped up just as the bell began to ring, and the students rushed from their desks in a whirlwind of backpacks and jackets. Alex nearly toppled from the desk as more than one student carelessly bumped against it, eager to get to the next class. Lily waited in her seat for a moment, allowing the crowd to thin before standing up herself. She reached her palm down to the desk, extending her fingers towards Alex.

“C’mon, Alex, I’ll give you a lift to your next class!” Lily still sounded a bit too cheerful for the first day of school, her voice containing a tinge of excitement. “I think your math is on the way to my English class, so I’ll drop you off on the way.”

Alex slipped her tablet into the bag, and hoisted the strap over her shoulder. She had one foot on the pad of Lily’s finger when a shadow crept over the edge of the wooden desk. Alex froze as another face appeared behind and slightly to the side of Lily, a sinister grin spread across red lips. 

“Here, let me take her to class,” Kelsey startled Lily, causing her hand to jump and nearly dump Alex onto her back. Lily turned her head towards the encroaching girl, her voice changing from giddy to annoyed in a single syllable.

“I’m in the same class as her,” Kelsey smirked, “might as well save you a trip.”

Lily clenched her teeth, remembering the events just before class. “Thanks, but I think I’ll take her over.” The two girls towered over Alex, glaring each other down for a moment. The staring contest was broken by Ms. Manning, her heels clicking against the floor as she walked over.

“Do you girls need anything?” She asked sweetly, oblivious to the silent standoff she had interrupted. “You two... er, three, really should be getting to your next classes.”

Lily opened her mouth to speak, but Kelsey quickly interjected, “I was just offering to give our little friend a lift to our next class, we’re both in Math together.”

Before Lily could offer an rebuttal, Ms Manning’s smile broadened as she spoke. “Oh, that’s so sweet of you Kelsey! I’m sure Alex would appreciate that. Now, all of you, off to class before the next bell!” She made a shooing motion with her hands, turning around to erase the gibberish on the whiteboard before the next round of students came in.

Kelsey quickly scooped up Alex in her fist, and strutted out the door. “Don’t worry,” she snickered to Lily, “you can pick her up after Math if you want. I just need a minute to talk to our little friend here.” Lily was too shocked to say much, only stammering a few short syllables as Kelsey sauntered down the hall towards her next class. As she rounded the corner, Kelsey opened her fist and looked down at Alex.

“Yeah, we need to get a few things straight, runt.”

Alex stared up at the giant cheerleader staring down at her, gentle waves of warm breath washing over her.

“Yeah, we need to get a few things straight, runt.” Kelsey muttered down to her partially opened hand. “Just because you’re small and cute doesn’t mean shit here. You’re already getting way to much attention, and that’s not something I’ll put up with.” Her eyes glared down at the tiny teen, daring the one inch girl to challenge her. Alex crossed her arms in front of her chest in response, before huffing a reply.

“Look, I’m not here to make a scene, just take me to class like you said, okay?” Alex said, her eyes not breaking away from Kelsey’s as the two stared each other down. She wasn’t trying to make a scene by attending school, but this blonde bimbo sure seemed to think otherwise. The crowd of students around them seemed to pay no attention to the standoff, walking briskly to their classes.

“Take yourself to class, shrimp,” Kelsey murmured, a smirk growing across her lips. Her unoccupied hand rose up level with her palm, and Alex glanced at the moving shape on the edge of her vision. Kelsey’s middle finger quickly curled back, her manicured nail resting against the pad of her thumb, forming an oval. Alex gasped and barely had time to cover her face as Kelsey flicked the tiny girl square in the chest, catapulting her like a tiny projectile down the hallway. Kelsey quickly lost sight of the smaller girl, the inch tall teen hurtling through the air.

“Hmpf, good riddance.” Kelsey’s lip twitched further into a grin as the warning bell from next class clanged. She spun on her heels, and trotted off towards her next class, conveniently in the opposite direction she had just launched Alex.

Alex screamed as she soared through the air, narrowly missing half a dozen students as her tiny form whizzed past their heads. This wasn’t her first time being launched through the sky like this, but it was a jarring experience every time. Gravity finally caught up with her, dragging her down towards the laminate floor. Alex grunted and curled up in a ball, crashing hard into the ground with her left shoulder. The force was enough to make her body skip a couple of times, her limbs flailing in all directions after the first impact. She finally came to a stop, and groaned as she sat up, sore but otherwise unharmed.

In the back of her mind, Alex made a mental note to avoid Kelsey in the future. She obviously had a thing out for tinies, and Alex would rather just avoid the drama altogether if possible. However, the thundering footfalls around her were her immediate concern, then she’d worry about getting to class next. Alex looked up just in time to see a jet black heel careening out of the sky towards her. She yelped and rolled to her right, the thick rubber sole slamming down on the spot she had occupied not two seconds before. Taking a deep breath, Alex pushed herself up to her feet, and glanced around her. Towering legs in all directions shifted like a living forest of shins and shoes, and Alex sprinted to what appeared to be a short break in the stampede.

The nearest wall was only a couple of feet away, but to a one inch tall girl, it was like running the fifty-yard dash, and the penalty for losing was getting stomped on by some random teenager. The myriad of shoes around her crashed back and forth around her, forcing her to change directions several times. A tightly laced sneaker slammed down directly in front of Alex, which she slammed into face first before she had a chance to react. She tumbled backwards onto her butt, stunned by the unexpected collision. The sneaker lifted away before her vision cleared, but Alex couldn’t miss the looming shadow that rolled over her. She looked up just in time to see the textured tread of a boot stomp down on her.

Alex’s face was scrunched against the rough rubber tread. Traces of caked dirt crumbled as she shifted to try and break free, but the repeated steps of her unaware tormentor kept jamming her back into the tread. Alex grunted and pushed, only to be smashed back into the tread a second later. She shouted in frustration, knowing full well it was useless, but she was quickly getting fed up with getting stepped on over and over.

“Hey! Down here!...”

THUD

“Stop stepping on m...”

THUD

“Heeeeeyy...”

THUD

“Ugh! At least slow do...”

THUD

“Slow down you dumbass!”

THUD

Alex yelled in anger, pounding her fists against the firm black tread. Suddenly, the unaware student stopped at a locker, and stood on the tiptoes to reach something inside. The stretching motion was enough to give Alex a reprieve, and she took the opportunity  and gave one hard push. The combination of her exertion and the momentary stall in being stepped on was enough for her to dislodge herself, and Alex quickly scurried on all fours to get out from under the boot. She flinched as it shifted away, buying her a few seconds to stand back up. As soon as she was on her feet though, another pair of shoes came rumbling towards her. Alex dove towards the base of the locker, narrowly avoiding a sneaker that slammed down behind her. A gust of air from the particularly hard footfall blew Alex onto her side, and she skidded into the shadows. Accumulated dust clung to her clothes, and she sneezed a few times as she brushed herself off.

Walking up to the edge of the locker, Alex scanned the hallway for potential stomping threats. The last few stragglers hurried past, their pace further quickened by the dinging bell. She sighed, realizing there was no way she’d make it to her class at all, much less in time. Glancing around, she noticed that her following class was directly across from her. A small improvement, she thought to herself as she hustled across the now empty corridor. Her minuscule footsteps were inaudible, and from a bystander’s view, Alex would have looked more like a bug scurrying from one dark crevice to the next.

She reached the doorframe of her next class, and slipped under the gap along the door jamb. The teacher was in front of the class, an older gentleman wearing a stereotypical striped flannel shirt. Alex shuffled over to the teacher’s desk, reaching it after a minute trying to avoid unnecessary attention from the students. She was sure one of the boys in the front row saw her, but if he did, he kept his attention diverted to the teacher enough to not draw attention. Alex sighed, and leaned against the thick wooden leg of the desk, absently listening to the teacher drone on about ancient history. She was beginning to fade into a bit of a daydream when the bell racked her back into reality, and she jumped a bit at the shrill sound. The students began to quickly filter out the door, a small miracle considering that no two objects can inhabit the same space at once. Alex watched as a few of the students attempted to break that theory, as several shoulders bumped and backpacks were jostled in the ensuing rush to leave.

“Are you in the next class?” A male voice behind her startled Alex, causing her to spin around. The boy from the front row was kneeling beside the desk, one hand extended palm up towards her. “I saw you sneak in, figured you’re in the class after this one.”

Alex nodded, and hesitantly stepped forward. The boy quickly lifted her up, causing her to stagger onto one knee, but she knew he probably had no way of knowing the scale of movement to her is different. The simple act of him standing back up was like a rocket launch to her, especially when it happens without warning.

The boy moved his hand over to the desk he was just sitting at, and tilted his palm to let Alex step onto the top of the desk. She quickly jumped down, and turned to face her unexpected helper.

“Thank you!” She shouted, cupping her hands over her mouth. The boy’s cheeks flushed a bright red, a friendly grin tugging at the edge of his lips.

“A...anytime...” he said, slowly backing away and turning to leave the class.

Alex chuckled to herself. “Boys,” she muttered, recognizing the teen’s reaction to friendly interaction from a girl. “Size didn’t change that”, she snickered at the thought. She sat down and crossed her legs, sitting in the center of the desk as other students came in. Almost all the seats were full, when Lily walked in.

“Hey Alex!” She whisper-shouted towards the seemingly empty desk, save for a small figurine on it. Alex smiled and waved at her friend, watching her take a seat in the desk adjacent to her. Given the circumstances earlier, the day didn’t too bad so far, so long as Alex kept away from blonde cheerleaders with an attitude problem. She glanced up as the teacher began to call roll, raising her hands above her head when her name was called. She hoped the earlier encounter was a fluke, and had all but forgotten about Kelsey by the time the teacher began his lecture.

Alex breathed a sigh of relief as the last bell of the day rang out through the classroom. The racket of chairs screeching backwards in unison quickly drowned out the bell, followed by the rush of footsteps as thirty students tried to squish through a single doorway at once. Alex scooped up her backpack, holding one hand out to steady herself as the desk wobbled beneath her. The source of the disturbance, a careless boy walking past in a rush to leave the room.

The students quickly dispersed into the hallway, and the door almost latched shut before it was pulled open once more. Lily walked in quickly, her cheeks flushed from a brief jog through the halls. She lowered her hand to the desk, palm outstretched towards Alex.

“C’mon, we’re gonna miss the bus!” She whisper-shouted. Alex stepped into Lily’s hand, but didn’t get a chance to gain her footing before Lily retracted her arm and bolted for the door. Alex landed face first on the quickly closing palm, shrouded in darkness as Lily’s hand clenched lightly into a fist.

“Ahh! Lily, what the hell?!” Alex shouted, giving her friend’s palm a swift kick as she tumbled about. “Slow down!”

Lily paid no attention to the one inch girl’s complaints, walking briskly through the halls to the waiting buses. Sure, she was supposed to pickup Alex and take her home, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t sit next to the cutest boy in class for the ride home as well. Her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red as she skipped onto the bus, her eyes locked on the backpack of her current crush.

Alex could hear the environment around her changing from the school, to the outdoors, and then the rumble of diesel engines. The faint scent of partially burnt fuel wafted into Lily’s fist, causing Alex to wrinkle her nose at the smell. She felt Lily’s hand swing back and forth, then suddenly the fingers opened like a trap door below her. Her view changed to blinding light, followed by the quickly approaching seat cushion of the bus. Alex hardly had time to scream before she landed with a gentle thud. She quickly pushed herself onto her feet, groaning as the shadow of Lily’s backside swung overhead.

“Sometimes, Lily, you’re a complete airhead.” Alex sighed, knowing from experience that Lily had zoned out to everything else in the world. Her tendency to become easily distracted by shiny things, or in this case, a boy, was well known to Alex. Partly because she had been the person forgotten about in situations like this before. She moaned in frustration as Lily’s legs began to buckle as she sat down.

Above her, Lily was completely preoccupied with trying to flirt with the cute little junior next to her. She remembered his name, Trevor, from an earlier class they had together, but otherwise was stalling for a way to break the ice. The mechanical whine of the bus doors closing gave her an informal warning to sit down, so without thinking about the passenger that was in her hand moments ago, Lily lowered her butt towards the padded seat. Had she not spaced completely about Alex, she might have taken a second to glance down first, and noticed the miniature teen directly in the center of the seat she was planning to fill. However, her eyes kept darting between Trevor and her phone, as she tried to come up with something to say. She dropped her rear into the seat as the bus lurched forward, nervously stealing another glance at the boy next to her.

Alex dropped onto her back as the bus moved, and not a moment too soon. Her entire field of view became that of yoga pants stretched tightly to contain her friend’s ample butt. She managed to take a quick breath before the mountain of ass collapsed on top of her, smushing her firmly into the seat. Movement was impossible for Alex, her arms and legs pinned firmly in place. She mentally screamed at Lily for being such an airhead, especially since this wasn’t the first time something stupid like this happened with her.

The weight squashing down on her was certainly uncomfortable, but not quite painful yet. Lily’s weight was spread out all around Alex, and she had wound up wedged in the center of her butt, so there was a slight reprieve from Lily’s butt crack. Alex took a breath of air, and immediately wished she hadn’t. Either Lily had worn these yoga pants for a few days, or she had a P.E. class and neglected to shower afterwards. The sour odor of stale sweat filled her nostrils, and Alex wished she could sniff the diesel fumes from the bus exhaust instead. She squirmed a bit in the dark confines under Lily, but made no progress in wiggling her way out, or getting Lily’s attention. Alex grumbled, and gritted her teeth, resigned to wait until Lily got off her ass at their stop. She just hoped that something would jog the airhead’s memory about her, and she wouldn’t be left on the bus like last year.

Completely oblivious to her friend’s predicament beneath her ass, Lily finally had worked up the courage to say something to Trevor. The two exchanged jokes about class and chatted for several minutes. The conversation shifted to their friends, and Lily’s brain finally caught up with her.

“Yeah, I know Alex,” she said as Trevor asked about the miniature student, “She’s ...” 

She stopped mid-sentence, realizing her hand was no longer in a fist, and her palm was empty. She glanced around nervously, hoping Alex was somehow in her field of view. 

“She’s what, Lily”? Trevor prodded. “I don’t think she’s going to hear you, I haven’t seen her since first period.” 

Lily giggled nervously. “Of course she can’t hear me, why would you say that?” She squirmed in her seat, a guilty feeling trickling through her veins. “She’s a great friend, I just have to be careful not to step on her or something when we hang out, that’s all.” 

She quickly changed the subject to sports, something that seemed to keep Trevor occupied for the rest of the bus ride. As he babbled on about football or whatever, Lily stole a few short glances around the bus. Alex could be anywhere, but Lily didn’t see the tiny girl standing against the side wall, or near her feet to get her attention. She’d shift in her seat every few moments, trying to angle her body a bit each time so she might catch a glimpse of Alex somewhere nearby.

After ten minutes, the bus rolled to a stop, and Trevor stood up. Lily scooted back in her seat to allow him past, blushing slightly as his legs brushed against her knees. She watched as Trevor disembarked from the bus, before shaking herself back to reality. One that had a missing one inch tall teen nearby. Lily continued to move around in her seat, trying to look inconspicuous as she scoured the floors for her miniature friend. 

For Alex, she wished Lily would either sit still, or just stand up for a minute. Each shift and slide of the monumental butt smeared the poor tiny back and forth underneath Lily. She felt the dull vibration of the engine through the seat slow down, followed by the muffled yet unmistakeable hiss of the parking brake. Finally, the overwhelming weight lifted off of her, and Alex took her first full breath in almost twenty minutes. She gasped in a lungful of air, her eyes warily watching the twin boulders hovering above her, still way too close for her comfort. She sat up, her body slightly squished into the worn out foam of the seat. Around her, a much larger imprint of Lily’s ass shaped the terrain, the spongy surface slowly reinflating itself. Alex grunted as she stood up, her joints aching from the thorough squashing she had just endured. Her clothes were matted with sweat, which she was fairly certain wasn’t just hers. She shuddered slightly at the thought, trying to ignore the now clammy feeling on her skin as the cooler air wafted over the salty moisture clinging to her.

“Hey, dumbass!” Alex shouted, waving her hands above her head. “I’m down here!” It was apparent that Lily was looking for her, but she had yet to turn around and check her seat. Alex growled under her breath, getting impatient with her towering friend. This was n’t they first time Lily had smushed her under her butt, but for some reason it never registered with her as one of the first places to check.

“Any day now, ya airhead...”

Lily glanced around as the remaining students got off the bus. She didn’t see any sign of Alex, and was dreading the conversation with the driver she was about to have. How was she supposed to explain that there was a mouse sized kid still onboard, and her temporary guardian had completely lost track of her? Lily felt a wave of frustration bubble inside her, and she mentally kicked herself for being so enamored with that boy that she had misplaced Alex. How could she be so stupid?

As she bent over to grab her bag, a fluttering movement caught her eye. She spun on her heels, nearly falling over as she exclaimed, “Alex!”

The tiny girl put her arms down, and crossed them in front of her chest. Even at her size, Lily could feel Alex glaring her down.

“Oh my gosh Alex, I’m so sorry!” She whisper-shouted, bending over and plucking Alex up from the middle of the seat. “Please tell me you just climbed up there and weren’t stuck...”

“Under your ass while you flirted?” Alex cut her off loudly, close enough to Lily’s face now that the larger half of the duo could clearly hear her. “Yeah, I was, thanks for asking.” She could see the edge of Lily’s lip begin to quiver, and felt a twinge of guilt, like she may have been a tad bit too harsh with her tone. Her expression softened slightly, and she added, “I’m fine, don’t get yourself worked up, Lily.”

Lily bit her lower lip nervously, whispering “I’m sorry,” under her breath once more as she cupped her hands around Alex. She turned towards the front of the bus and began to disembark. The cool afternoon air brushed across them as they exited, and Alex breathed a small sigh of relief as the front door to her home came into view. The first day of school was officially over, now that she was home.

********

“Okay class, today we have a bit of a special lesson. Today, we’ll be going over ‘Acquired Miniaturized Polymolecular Cytosis’, more commonly known as the Shrinking Syndrome.” A few murmurs echoed through the students. “Now, y’all are fortunate enough to have a classmate who has this condition, and who has also volunteered to help demonstrate some of the symptoms and side effects of her condition.” The teacher gestured to Alex, who was poised on the front corner of the teacher’s desk, front and center for all to see. A tiny microphone was in front of her, mounted on a miniature podium that was just a bit too tall for Alex.

“Volunteered, my ass,” Alex muttered to herself. “Only because Lily told me I’d get twenty percent extra credit, and even then...”

“Miss Lily, would you come to the front?” the teacher motioned for Lily to come forward.

Lily beamed at the request, and eagerly nodded in agreement. She practically skipped to the front of the room, her giddy demeanor giving Alex a sense of regret. She knew that Lily thrived on stuff like this, group presentations and really anything science related things in general. Today’s lesson combined both of those, and Alex was beginning to worry that Lily would get a bit wrapped up in it, as usual.

For several minutes, the teacher droned on about the various theories surrounding the Shrinking Syndrome, from hereditary to radioactive mutations, but none of the theories were even remotely close to proven yet. Alex started to zone out, most of the rhetoric being told to the class she had heard a hundred times before, between numerous doctor visits and her own research as someone inflicted with the condition. Her attention returned as she heard her name called out.

“Miss Alex, would you mind explaining some of the unique characteristics of your condition for the class?”

Alex stepped up to the microphone stand, and tapped it a few times. The soft thump of the speakers around her was loud, but not deafening to her, so she stood on her tiptoes to get her mouth close enough to speak.

“Well, for starters, I’m a lot more durable than before. I’ve been stepped on more times than I can count, and while it hurts a bit, I don’t get any bruises or broken bones from it.” Even with the microphone, Alex’s voice was faint, and almost drowned out by the muttering students before her. The teacher clapped his hands twice, calling the class to some sort of attention, and Alex continued.

“I also don’t get too hot or cold as often, at least not like I used to. I mean, it still feels cold, but I won’t freeze like a popsicle in a few minutes like a mouse would. I’m not sure about the heat, but so far I haven’t overheated much since I’ve been small. I’m told I could survive a pot of boiling water for a few minutes, but I’m not really up for trying that.” A few chuckles came from the class. “Oh, and I can hold my breath for a really long time, so I’m not too likely to drown. I’ve held it for almost an hour, but there’s a guy up in New York that can hold his breath for just over four hours! I guess my body doesn’t need as much oxygen at this size.”

The teacher approached from the side of the room, where he had been standing to observe. “Thank you for sharing your perspective, Miss Alex. Now, as we spoke about before class, are you still willing to demonstrate some of these traits to the class? You don’t have to if you’re uncomfortable.”

Alex leaned back towards the microphone. “No, that’s okay, I’m still good to do the demonstration!”

“Wonderful!” The teacher clapped his hands in front of him. “Now, allow me to move this podium out…of…the…way…” The speaker popped a few times as the teacher dragged the miniature stand aside, clearing the corner of everything except Alex. “Miss Lily, would you please help demonstrate with Miss Alex?”

Lily smiled, and turned towards the class. “Of course! Now, as Alex said, she’s pretty durable. So I could do this!” She slammed her hand down on the table, snuffing Alex out beneath her hand. Several students gasped as her palm slapped against the table.

“…And she’d be fine, see?” Lily’s hand lifted from the table, and she turned her palm towards the class. Her hand was clean, no splatter of blood like some of the students had grimly expected after the sudden smack. On the edge of the desk, Alex stood up and brushed off her shoulders, then gave the class a thumbs up.

“What if you just cupped your hand?” A girl from the back called. “That could just be a trick!”

Lily glanced down at Alex, waiting to see if she was up for another round. Alex nodded, signaling that Lily could call the student’s bluff. Lily grinned, and grabbed one of the teacher’s hard bound books. She lifted the book above her head, aiming directly for the occupied corner of the desk. Lily brought the book down with both hands, letting go halfway and allowing the book to continue its trajectory. The resounding thud against the desk brought a hush over the students, the front row having been treated to a unobstructed view of their one inch tall classmate being pulverized underneath a rather heavy textbook. Waiting a few seconds for dramatic flair, Lily finally picked up the textbook, and turned it to face the audience. Alex was plastered on the back cover like a sticker, her limbs splayed out in all directions.

“Oops, didn’t mean to have you stick there!” Lily giggled as she shook the book with on hand, holding her other underneath Alex. The tiny teen flopped loose after three firm shakes, and pushed herself back to her feet. Lily set the book down, then present her open palms towards the classroom. “See, she’s perfectly fine!”

The class clapped, most of the students worried they had witnessed a murder only seconds earlier. The teacher walked up to the front of the room, and gestured for Lily and Alex to return to their seats.

“Thank you girls, for that exciting demonstration!” He nervously chuckled as he replaced the book in its home on the far edge of his desk, completely surprised by the girls’ unplanned second act. “Now, will everybody please turn to page ninety-seven, we will continue on with hereditary diseases and their causes…”

Lily giggled softly as she sat down at her desk, and placed Alex on the wooden surface. “Did you see the teacher’s reaction? I told you that was a good backup plan!” She whispered to her smaller friend.

Alex rotated her shoulders and flexed her forearms, the sting of being hit with a book the size of a building still lingering in her nerves. “You didn’t have to swing it that hard though, Lily, that still hurts!”

“Oh shush, you’ll be fine in five minutes and you know it.”

Alex huffed, and sat down at the edge of the desk. Lily was right, the pain was already fading from her limbs. Just another one of the side effects, though one that was much harder to quantify for a demonstration. As the class droned on, she noticed Lily fidgeting in her seat. Before she could inquire the sudden need to shift about so much, the bell rang, and Lily bolted from her seat, almost toppling Alex from the edge of the desk.

“Sorry gotta pee be right back!”

“Lily, wait!” Alex called out, but Lily was already out the door, followed by a flurry of classmates. Alex sighed, and stood in the center of the desk, hoping either another student would notice, or at least the teacher could take her to her next class. As the last students filtered out through the doorway, one blonde looked over at her desk, and stopped. Alex shuddered as she made eye contact with none other than Kelsey. She gulped as the cheerleader sauntered over, a cruel smirk growing on her lips.

“Well well well, aren’t you little Miss Popular today?” Kelsey sneered, scooping up Alex with a swift pass of her hand. Holding the tiny close to her face, she muttered, “I told you to not make a scene for yourself, and what do you do? Get up in front of the class and show off your genetic lottery.” She walked out into the hallway, her grip firmly holding Alex in her fist. The tiny girl pounded on the fingers wrapped around her, demanding to be set down at once. Kelsey pushed her shoulder against one of the metal doors leading to the cafeteria, the roar of several hundred students filling the air.

“Since you’re so tough, why don’t you go for a little trip through the cafeteria? See how many people actually notice you.” She poised a curled middle finger next to Alex, then flicked the inch tall girl towards the sea of students. In less than a second, she had lost sight of the tiny, and she spun on her heels towards the exit. With a puff of air from her lips, she blew a blonde lock from her face, a haughty grin on her face as she strutted out of the cafeteria.

Alex screamed as she hurtled through the air. Everything spun around her, she couldn’t tell which direction she was headed until she slammed into something hard. She caught a glimpse of a lunch tray as she skipped away, her small frame holding a surprising amount of momentum. Ahead of her was another tray, loaded with the contents of a late breakfast. Alex drew a short breath as she realized her destination, and closed her eyes as she slipped under the surface of something cold and thick. Swimming in what direction she thought was up, she finally breached the surface of the cool yogurt. Chunks of fruit more than half her size dotted the surface of the pink pool she was stuck in.

“Great, just great…” Alex mumbled, wiping the thick cream from her face. Her hair was coated in the strawberry flavored goop, and the viscosity made it hard for her to move, though she was light enough to not sink any deeper than her shoulders. Resigned to wait and be noticed, Alex signed and spread her arms on the surface of the yogurt, trying to keep herself as visible as possible. A few moments later, the owner of her little delectable prison cell returned, chatting away on her phone. Alex reached her hands above her head, waving her pink arms at the distracted classmate. The girl finally didn’t even glance down at her tray as she picked up her spoon, and dug into her breakfast.

Alex was pushed under the surface by the rounded metal utensil, and curled into a ball as the spoon began to stir the contents of the plastic cup around her. Several pieces of fruit bumped against her as she was tugged around by the current. After a moment, the sitting stopped, and Alex felt something solid lift up beneath her. Her head popped up above the surface of the thick yogurt, and she realized she was going upwards at an alarming rate. The girl holding the spoon was completely unaware of her presence, too busy chatting away at the phone glued to the side of her face. A pair of plump pink lips jabbered away, then opened wide as the spoon approached.

Alex shouted up at the girl as the glistening upper lip passed over her head. Her cries were drowned out by the girl grunting in affirmation to something said on the phone, her voice rumbling around Alex as she deposited the glob of yogurt on her tongue. Alex scrambled towards the light, her hands and knees slipping on the mixture of yogurt and saliva, the latter quickly warming the contents around her. The spoon quickly retreated, sliding through the puckered lips as they gleaned the rest of the yogurt from the spoon. It was pitch black around Alex, save for a faint red glow of light bleeding through the girl’s cheeks. Below, the squirming muscle began to move, quickly gathering up the creamy mouthful and shuffling it backwards.

Alex screamed, and was slapped in the face by a nimble swish of the tongue, pushed backwards as if she was a simple piece of fruit. She frantically grabbed for something to hold onto, a tooth, the uvula, anything. All her hands could find were slimy walls or more yogurt, then everything shifted. The trap door of the girl’s throat sprang open, and Alex felt a brief sensation of weightlessness as she plummeted down.

It was a short trip down, but to Alex, time seemed to stretch on. She had never been swallowed before, and had heard mixed things about it from other shrunken people. She tried not to dwell on the darker stories she had read as she was dumped unceremoniously into the waiting chamber. Thick juices splashed around her, the stomach mostly empty for now. Alex could just barely feel the bottom underneath her feet, though it was hard to tell with al the sloshing about. All around her, gurgles and groans echoed throughout the dark cavern. A rhythmic thumping cold be heard above her, no doubt the girl’s heartbeat. As Alex felt along the walls, another splash behind her signaled the next bite’s arrival. Waves of caustic juices rippled around her, and Alex was keenly aware that her clothes were beginning to dissolve. Her shirt was already tattered around her midriff, and her jeans felt more exposed with every passing second. Even her shoes were starting to erode. However, her skin barely stung, the acids not causing any serious damage yet. Alex focused on that positive note, as another bite fell into the gurgling stomach. She was now wading in the mushy soup, no longer able to touch the bottom as the stomach quickly filled.

After several minutes, the bites stopped coming, finished off by a long sip of coffee into the packed stomach. Alex was grateful for that, oddly enough. The sour stench of bile was replaced with that of roasted beans, at least for a moment. The churning slurry of melted foods and digestive enzymes tossed the tiny girl about, keeping her from getting more than one or two hits against any firm surface. She was beginning to feel fatigue set in, and started to think of the alternative way out. It wasn’t going to be pleasant, but at least she seemed to be immune to the harsh acids in a person’s stomach. Also, the contents seemed to be draining onto the next stage of digestion, the glorping sound of the sphincter below pulling Alex closer with each pulse. Finally, she felt her feet bump against a wrinkled surface that twitched at her touch, and took a deep breath. The floor beneath her stretched open, and with a short slurp, Alex was pulled under the surface.

********