I felt a little guilty leaving Scott behind.  Of
course, I  couldn't exactly set him a place next to me with my
whole family around,  but I could've taken him with me, in a
pocket or something.

I should not have felt guilty, though.  It wasn't
like Scott and  I hadn't done this same routine a thousand times
before.  He'd be fine--I  hoped--and I'd see him again shortly.

* * *

Scott

 The worst part about being one inch tall is being
bored.

 Not that I'm complaining--I've lived the alternative
to being  bored, and it's overrated.  Dodging giant feet, almost
getting sat  on--it's much safer having someone protect you from
all that.  No lie,  had Sarah not found me, I would have died
within days of shrinking.

 Still, it wasn't that exciting sitting in a hotel
drawer at 6:34  PDT, waiting for everyone to come back.

 I wished for a bit of excitement on this trip.  I
wished for a  little chance to see the world, on my own.  I
wished for a little  change--and found myself mumbling an
incantation I'd almost forgotten.
 
 

I stopped short--what was I doing?  I didn't want to
lose Sarah  for anything.  And I remembered what sort of change
I'd found for myself  last time I mumbled that spell.

 But it was too late--a change was coming.

 I just didn't know it yet.

* * *

Sarah

 I felt a chill run through me on the way back to the
hotel.  Not  necessarily a bad feeling, but a feeling, saying
clearly that Something  was going to happen.

The car ride was uneventful, otherwise (although I
noted, to my  displeasure, that you can actually _taste_ Los
Angeles' air.  It doesn't  taste good.)  I was just happy to
arrive back at the Saga Inn.

 I approached the drawer surreptitiously, not wanting
Susi or  Karen to notice, and checked on Scott.  He was all
right--he waved  hi--but he seemed lost in thought.  I grabbed
him--gently--and carried  him into the bathroom.

 "Hey," I whispered, "did you miss me?"

 "Of course I did!  I _always_ miss you."  Scott
seemed a little  upset.  Damn it, I should have taken him to
dinner.

 "I'm sorry, I just, I didn't--"

 "No, that's okay, don't worry about it.  It's the
cross I have to  bear, right?  Don't have any choice in the
matter, for better or worse,  I'm one inch tall, right?  I'm...."

 He stopped there.

* * *

Scott

 For an inch-tall guy, I'm a big idiot.

 Here I was, rambling on.  Why?  Because I was bored.
 Bored!  So  what do I do?  Make Sarah feel bad.  Good plan
Scott!

 I'm a _really_ big idiot.

 I could see she was starting to tear up, and I
didn't want that.   She didn't deserve that.  So I quit, sighed,
and apologized.

 "I'm sorry, I just...it's frustrating, y'know?
Sometimes, I'd  like to hold you in my arms, and I...well,
that's not going to happen,  and I'm just going to have to live
with that."

 She was crying, now.  "SCOTT, DON'T SAY THAT.  YOU
KNOW WE CAN  ALWAYS RESEARCH THIS--I SAID I'D TAKE YOU DOWN TO
MAGUS BOOKS, WE COULD  ORDER ANOTHER COPY OF THE MAGIC BOOK YOU
WERE READING BEFORE, AND--"

 "No, no, that's okay.  I'm not sure I want to be
normal sized,  either.  I'm not sure of much these days.

 "But stop crying!  None of this is your fault.  My
life is better  now than it ever has been, no matter what my
height.  And that's because  of you.  I love you.  I'm sorry."

 She kissed me, and then hurriedly gave me a huge
hunk of chicken,  which she'd apparently rescued from dinner.  I
tried a bit.  Not bad.

 "NOW, SCOTT, TOMORROW WE'RE GOING TO UNIVERSAL
STUDIOS.  I CAN  TAKE YOU ALONG, IT'S NOT THAT MUCH TROUBLE, I--"

 "No, we agreed that I'd stay in the hotel, because
it's safer  here.  I'll stay in the drawer, and when the maid
comes in, I'll hide in  a pair of your socks, so that she won't
see me even if she does open the  drawer."

Sarah smiled.  "I THINK THAT'S THE SAFEST WAY.  I'M
SORRY THIS  WON'T BE MUCH OF A VACATION FOR YOU."

 "What are you talking about?  I've got you."
 
 

We didn't talk again the rest of the night.  Sarah
had one bed  all to herself, and she hid me inside the pillow
she didn't use.  I  scaled her pillow just long enough to kiss
her, and whisper "good  night."  We'd make some private time
later.

 I went to bed a little frustrated, but oh well, I'd
get over it.

 I would indeed.

* * *

 I don't know what I was thinking, bringing Scott
along.

 I mean, he probably would have been safer alone in
the house all  week, even with my friend Alyssa stopping by from
time to time (Alyssa  would probably--certainly--have at least
one party while she was "house  sitting," but she'd pick
everything back up.  She was responsible--in her  own fashion.)

 But I went on overdrive, didn't think things
through, and I  brought him out to L.A.

 My bad.

 Anyhow, our first full day in Los Angeles (or, to be
specific,  Anaheim) started out like any first full day in any
vacation spot  begins--hectic.  Especially with my two sisters.
Susi is finally old  enough to take care of herself, but Karen!
Good Lord, tell me I wasn't  that much into preening myself when
I was her age!  I swear, I don't  think she could have showered
any longer, taken any longer to comb her  hair, or put on
makeup.

 God cursed woman by making her need to be
attractive.  Men are  content just to sit on the couch and belch.

 So I rushed things, combing my hair, brushing my
teeth, throwing  my face together, and then practically throwing
Scott in my sock  drawer--which, I realized too late, I was
sharing with Karen.  I'd meant  for it to be my own, but I
didn't have time to argue the point--Mom was  knocking, it was
time to go.
 
 

I dropped Scott in, winked good-bye, shut the door,
and left.

 He wouldn't be there when I got back to the room.

* * *

Karen

 We were rushed, and I admit, part of it was my
fault.  But how  does Sarah expect me to meet anyone if I don't
do my best to look  pretty?  I'm not like her--she's pretty with
her hair all a mess and no  makeup.  I've got to work on it.

 Not that it's helped her get a boyfriend, but I
think she's a bit  scared.  Alyssa got beat up by her boyfriend
last summer, and Sarah took  that pretty hard.  I don't think
Sarah wants to suffer the same fate for  a high school romance.

 And besides, she'll be at college next year.  She'll
go looking  there, I bet.

 Anyhow, we hopped in the car, when I realized I'd
left my locket  in the room.  Yeah, I know, Tom Stevens gave me
that, and we're not even  speaking anymore, but it's a pretty
locket, and it totally goes with my  outfit.  So I said I had to
go get it.

 Mom was mad.  "Look, we've got a long day ahead of
us, you don't  need your locket."  Then Sarah goes, "Yeah,
Karen, you'll be fine without  your locket."  But I wanted it,
and I said so.

 Finally, Dad's like, "Go get your locket, but be
quick about  it."  So I do.

 I thought I'd left it on top of the dresser, but it
wasn't there,  so I checked my bag--not there, either.  Finally,
I decided to check the  sock drawer.

* * *

Scott

 When the drawer started opening, I thought sure it
was Sarah.   She had left in a hurry, and I figured she had
probably made some  pretense to come back and say a more proper
goodbye.

 Had I been thinking, I would have realized that the
other  noises--bags being opened, stuff being shuffled
around--pointed to one of  the other sisters, but I wasn't
thinking, so I was standing right out in  the open when the
drawer opened.

 And there was Karen.

 I had seen Karen from a distance before, but never
up close.  She  was staring at me with those huge, dark
eyes--almost prettier than  Sarah's.  Almost.  Her mouth hung
open.  I could see in her face what  Sarah must have looked like
three years ago.

 But I was in deep, deep trouble.  Sarah had been
keeping me  hidden from her family for a reason.  Maybe, if
Sarah had introduced me,  things would have been okay.  But I
won't second-guess her.

 As it was, I saw Karen's hand reaching for me, and I
knew I was  trapped.

* * *

Karen

 He was the most perfect little thing I'd ever seen.
Only half as  tall as my thumb, delecate, but strong.  He was
wearing a little  toga-thingy.  (I found out later--much
later--that Sarah had made that  for him.)  He was cute.

 I didn't know how he'd gotten there, but I did know
that I didn't  want him to escape--I wanted to keep him for
myself.  So I grabbed  him--gently, I didn't want to hurt
him--and put him in my purse.  I had a  zipper pocket that was
empty, and I didn't think he'd get hurt.

 I also found my locket in the drawer, and quickly
hung it around  my neck.  I had been too long already.  It was
time to go.

* * *

Sarah

 Karen seemed quieter after getting her locket.
Good, I  thought, Hopefully she won't be whiny this
time.  I never dreamed  why she seemed so deep in thought.
I was just glad of it.

 When I think that Scott was but two feet from me,
and that I  could have saved him so much grief--but I can't undo
what was done, any  more than Karen can.

* * *

Scott

 When I think that if I'd just stayed put, I probably
would have  saved myself so much grief, I could kick myself.

 Now, thinking about it rationally, I know that I
should have just  stayed in the purse, and when Karen finally
got around to talking to me,  introduced myself, explained who I
was, and ask her politely to return  me to Sarah.  I would've
been fine.  But nooooo--I had to escape.  I had  to "get to"
Sarah.  I had to "let her know" what had happened.

 Like I said, I'm an idiot.

 I spent the next few hours working on the
zipper--not easy, since  it easily massed as much as I.  But I
only had to make a space big enough  for me to wiggle through,
and that wasn't too difficult.

 Finally, there was enough space for me to free
myself, and I fell  down to the botom of Karen's purse.

 As I felt the purse rise, I began to feel a
remarkable sense of  deja vu.

* * *

Karen

 Okay, before I go any further, I just want to say
I'm sorry.

 Scott?  I'm sorry.  Sis?  I'm sorry.  If you're
involved in this  whole mess, or even if you're not, I'm sorry.
I was stupid.  I was  inconsiderate.  I'm sorry.  <i>[Karen: No
problem Kiddo.  Don't worry about  it.  It's over and done
with--Scott] [Sister Mine: I'm not as forgiving  as Scott.  But
I guess I'll forgive you.  Just don't _EVER_ do anything  like
that again!--Sarah]</i>

 I took my purse along.  I didn't know that Scott was
free of the  little pocket thing.  Anyhow, the first thing we
did was go on the tour.   (I should mention that we were at
Universal Studios.  You know--the movie  tour place.)

 So we got on this big bus thing and headed off
through the tour.   We saw some stupid Alien display, and King
Kong, and Jaws, and a bunch of  lame movie sets, and, well, it
just wasn't that cool.  But Mom and Dad  seemed to enjoy it, and
so did Susi, so I guess it wasn't _all_ bad.

 As we came to the end of the ride, I figured I'd
take the  opportunity to use the ladies' room, and check on my
little man.

 I didn't know he was gone.

* * *

Scott

 I escaped from Karen's purse at the worst possible
time.

 I fell into her lap, and leapt off her leg, meaning
to run over  to Sarah.  She was just one seat over.

 But that was just one seat too far.  As I hit the
ground, I heard  the announcer saying, "HAVE A GREAT DAY AT
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS  CALIFORNIA."  The tour was over, and Sarah
was leaving!

 "No!  Wait!  Sarah!  DOWN HERE!"  I cried, but it
was no use.  I  was inaudible over the cacaphony of the tour.  I
watched the Kensington  family disembark, and I felt a feeling I
had not had for several months,  and never this strong.

 I had lost track of Sarah.

 I was alone.

* * *

Karen

 I didn't think too much of losing the little
man--not then,  anyhow.  I mean, I just thought I was a little
bit crazy.  That I had  imagined him.  (But he seemed so
_real_!)

 Oh well.  I headed off to the park.  I hoped it
would be a fun day.

* * *

Scott

 I was crying.

 The rational part of my mind knew there was still
hope.  I knew  what hotel Sarah was in.  I knew her flight
number and departure time.   If all else failed, I could mail
myself to her.  But I had lost her for  now.  And it was killing
me.

 I didn't have much time to cry, however.  I heard
noises from my  left.  I looked over, and another group was
getting on the Tram.

 I looked for cover, but found none.  I saw a group
of three  tourists--Japaneese, by the look of them--get on.  One
of them, a pretty,  youngish girl in blue jeans and a white
t-shirt, stopped right in front  of me, and began to sit.

 I was experiencing deja vu again.

 And I didn't like it.