Fran was rushing through the fields, barefoot, trying to find the cheerleader who’d run off with Jim.  Her mind was going crazy as thoughts of everything that could happen to the poor man were playing in her head.  He could get thrown around in a pom-pom, or stomped to death during a routine, or worse.  She was banging on her head in frustration as she ran and searched the campus.

“I have to find him…I have to!  Who knows what those cheerleader sluts will do to poor Jim if they find him!  They have terrible manners, and can’t even see where they’re going.  If they start practicing with him around, he could get thrown or stomped or….No!  I can’t let that happen to my little Jim!  I have to save him!  It’s my fault he’s in this position, and I have to rescue him.  I have to…OUCH!”

Fran stopped running and fell over to the ground as something pricked the bottom of her foot.  Grasping her foot tight, she looked around and saw that she’d accidentally stepped on a sign by the sidewalks of the campus.  The sign itself had a small metal point above the sign itself, and she’d hit that point with her foot.  Pulling her foot up to her face, she looked at her soles to judge whatever kind of damage it may have done to her.  Looking carefully, she looked and let out a sighed as she saw a small scratch on the bottom of her foot.

Quickly dismissing the injury, she threw herself back up and continued running through the campus, but moving out into the fields, away from the walkways and other signs and objects that could hurt her feet.  Rushing through the area, she finally saw someone she finally saw another tall person like herself.  She disappeared behind a building before she could get a good look at them, but continued on, praying that it was the cheerleader girl that had stolen her tiny friend.

Zipping around the building, she finally saw the person who was standing there.  She nearly plowed into them, but they immediately reached out their arms and caught her as she impacted them.  Being caught into a hug, Fran jolted as she thought about Jim again.  ‘She…caught me…Oh, no!  What if Jim was on her somewhere!  I could’ve just…I could’ve just crushed him!’ she thought to herself, as she moved her arms and pushed off the girl she’d collided with. 

As she pushed away, she noticed that the girl looking at her was not the cheerleader she’d encountered before.  Blinking, Fran realized that the girl before her wasn’t even a student at the University, it was Abby.

As Abby had caught Fran in her arms, she was more than surprised to see her in such a rush.  After having Fran push off of her, she took a step back and took a look at her.  The girl looked absolutely terrible.  Sweat from dripping from her face, her face herself was red, and she wasn’t even wearing her boots.  She was running around the fields in her bare feet.  Grasping onto the situation, she began to speak to Fran, as Fran was panting and trying to catch her breath while looking at her.

“Fran?  Are you okay?  What’s with the rushing?”

Being more than a little surprised at seeing Abby, Fran started panting and forcing statements through her deep breaths.  She’d realized that she ran into the one person on campus that she would be able to get to help her.  Deep down, however, she knew that she would be in trouble for taking Jim off somewhere and losing him.  Looking down at the ground for a few minutes, she thought of the fate of the poor little guy.  She’d just wanted affection from him, and now he was on his way to Cheerleading Practice.  There was no telling what kind of dangers he’d be facing there, especially if they didn’t know he was there with them.  As she thought about it, she began to cry.

“A…Abby…I…I have to….I have to save him!  I…need to!” 

Fran had immediately started to run, grasping Abby’s arm, aiming to move out towards the field, but her movements were quickly stopped when Abby gripped her own arm and pulled Fran back into her arms.  Slowly letting her up, Abby kept a tight grip on her and turned her around, looking her in the eyes.

“Fran!  Slow down for a moment.  Who do you have to save, and where are your boots!?  Don’t you know you will ruin your feet, running around here barefoot?  Think about this for a moment.  Pleas-“

Abby was interrupted by Fran trying to run again.  She started screaming as tears ran down her cheeks, pleading Abby to go with her.  “No, Abby!  I don’t have time to think!  I have to save him now!  I can’t wait!  Please…you have to come and help me find him!”

Pulling Fran back once again, Abby tightly wrapped her arms around her chest and held her against her own chest.  She brought Fran’s head back near her own, and leaned towards her ear.  She then began to forcefully whisper into her ear, trying to calm her down and get her to express the information she needed as to what was going on and what she needed her help with.

“Fran!  Listen to me!  I am your friend, and I want to help you.  But, I can’t do anything unless you calm down and tell me exactly what’s going on.  If you think that whoever this is doesn’t have much time, then the sooner you calm yourself and tell me everything you know, the sooner we can go and find him.  Okay!?”

“But I….okay, Abby” said Fran as she stopped resisting the grip Abby had on her and tried to calm herself down.  Abby slowly let go of her and sat her down on the ground, sitting next to her herself.  As she sat down, she could tell Fran was a nervous wreck at the moment, so she reached out and held her hands with her own.  Taking a deep breath, she asked Fran what had happened.

Slowly, Fran began to explain to Abby that she and Jim were spending some time together in one of the fields, and that she’d gotten run into by one of the young campus cheerleaders.  She talked about searching for him, but having no luck.  “And then…I ran into you just now…”

Abby nodded and took the entire situation in.  She now understood why Fran was so upset at the moment.  Shivers went up her own spine when she found out that their new friend had mistakenly gotten himself kidnapped by one of the Cheerleaders.  When tall folks aren’t aware that there’s a small person with them, they can cause all kinds of danger and possible injury to them with simple movements, such as swaying an arm or clapping your hands together.  As she was thinking, Fran started talking again, getting worked up from this situation.

“Please, Abby…I have to find him!  I have to save my little Jimmy before he gets hurt!  I wasn’t careful enough…it’s all my fault!”

Abby gripped Fran’s hands tighter to get her to stop talking and looked her in the eyes.  She sat there for a moment, trying to pierce her friend’s spirit with her serious gaze and prepared to tell her what they needed to do in this situation.

“Listen, Fran.  What happened to Jim is not your fault, okay?  Things happen because they happen.  You can’t change the past.  All you can do is try to do your best in the present and build a bright future for yourself.  I want to help you find Jim.  He’s touched my heart as well and he could be in danger this very moment.”

Abby stood up, and then, still holding Fran’s hands, helped her up as well.  Fran started to move away, but Abby held her position and gripped Fran’s hands, making her unable to leave.  As Fran turned around, Abby shook her head at her and pointed down to the ground, towards the girl’s scratched up, bare feet. 

“Fran, your feet are being torn up as you’ve run around campus today.  You need to go back to where you lost Jim and put your socks and boots back on.  At this rate, you’re going to end up ripping your soles open, and that is not acceptable for someone with pretty feet like yourself.”

“But…what about Jim? I’m responsible for him.  I need to save him!” Fran asked, worried more about her tiny friend’s life than the damage the ground had done to her feet.  Abby quickly dismissed her worries with assurances of her own as she pointed Fran towards the direction she’d come from. 

“Don’t worry, Fran.  You’re not alone in this anymore.  I know where that girl was headed.  You go back and get your feet safe, and I’ll head to the Cheering Practice Zone.  It’s on the North side of Campus, right over there” she said, as she pointed to the North.  “Go get your feet taken care of, and meet me there.  You can trust me.  I won’t let anything happen to him.”

Fran sniffled a little and slowly nodded at Abby.  “O..Okay.  I’ll…meet you there.”  She then turned away, heading back towards the place where she’d taken her boots off and lost Jim, as Abby turned herself and began to head towards the North side of Campus…