The next day at school, I’m forced to leave the room during music class. If you’d like me to repeat that sentence for the purpose of your word digestion, I will: The next day at school, I’m forced to leave the room during music class. Not by choice, of course, but by the sheer sound coming out of the instruments. Besides, I would have fainted otherwise and that’s not a good way to start your school year.

I’d been having a pretty good day so far, with physics and English lessons up first. Physics was probably the one class I can say I loved. Why? Because we happened to be learning about matter. And the teacher decided it would be fun to discuss what ordinary things like water would feel like to much smaller beings and vice versa. Let’s just say that for the smaller beings part, I was like a midget Einstein.

English was pretty good, mind you, with news about our first piece of assessment; a journal about what you get done in your average day. I’m pretty sure that teacher’s going to anticipate my submission. Pretty much everyone wants to know what it feels like to be five (or in my case four and three quarters) inches tall.

After a quick morning tea with Thomas and Kevin, they’d taken me to my next class with promises that they would pick me up before the second break. I wasn’t completely excluded from this class; my IPod does have a miniature piano app installed. But I didn’t get to participate in the actual ensemble.

My ears had been fine during the first half an hour, probably due to the fact that no one was actually playing their instruments. Unfortunately for me, though, the moment the conductor waved their stick signalling the start of a song, even my poor earmuffs couldn’t supress the noise. I’d been sitting on the teacher’s desk at the time listening to their talk about famous musicians of the world before the band had begun playing so I had access to a phone.

Long before I’d actually managed to call the school reception though, I felt my ears pop. The room was mute. It sounded like someone was crinkling a lolly wrapper right up against my ears so everything was overcome by white noise. No one had noticed that I was unconscious until the song was over and the school’s nurse was bursting into the room…

****

I open my eyes to see white. White sheets, white walls, white shelves. I sit up straighter to find that I’m lying, tucked in, on a regular sized bed. The whole thing’s completely out of proportion, having a tiny kid seated with their head right up against a fluffy white pillow and their legs covered by the thick sheet, but I spose who ever put me there didn’t realise that. Either that or they were completely oblivious to my size.

“You’re ok, honey.” A familiar voice startles me and I turn my head to see my mother, seated in a blue plastic chair beside my bed. My head spins uncontrollably to a point where the whole room is a mess of blurred colours.

“What happened?” I slur. My ears ring dully, uncovered by my usual earmuffs. I’d already figured they were gone, though. Mum’s voice is sharper than usual.

“You fainted in music class, Marcus.” Someone else says. I look away from my mother to meet the huge grey eyes of an old woman in spectacles. The nurse.

“What?” Crap. That’s probably the most embarrassing thing that could ever happen to a guy during school. I guess I should be lucky I wasn’t squashed or something instead…

“He’s sensitive.” Mum explains to the nurse. “His ears…” She lowers her voice but I can still hear her whispers. “Because he’s so small, then loud noises affect him. That’s why he’s got earmuffs on sometimes.”

“Ahhh.” The woman says, eyeing me with obvious curiosity. I push the sheets off my legs and try standing up, wobbling a little on the uneven surface of the mattress.

“What time is it?” I ask.

Mum glances quickly at her watch. “Lunch. You’ve been out for about twenty minutes.”

I grin, nodding. “Great. I’ll go back to class then.”

Mum purses her lips. “Marcus, I’m going to take you home to rest a little. Your ears have popped.”

My smile fades a little, replaced by a scowl. “I’ll be fine, mum! It was just an accident!” I assure her.

“Honey…”

“I’m fine, mum.” I repeat, slower this time. “Don’t ruin this for me, please.”

Mum’s expression is pained. “The nurse thinks you’ve had enough for one day.” She holds out her long, slender hand in front of me, palm up. “Let’s go home.”

“No.” I say firmly. “Come on, please? I’m fine I swear!”

“I think I’ll leave you two to sort things out.” The nurse says softly, before departing through the door behind my mother.

“Marcus, We’re leaving. You’re overtired.” Mum says.

I push my thick blonde fringe out of my eyes and shoot her a pleading look. “I’m not!”

“You are, honey. We can go out for lunch at the mall, if you preferred that…”

“I told you, I’m not going home!” I snap incredulously. Mum sighs, retracting her hand and moving it back to her lap.

“Marcus, please just cooperate this once. I don’t want to have to…”

“Make me?” I say coldly. “You know you can do it so go ahead. But I’m asking you here and now to let me stay here.”

Mum swallows, not meeting my eyes. “I wasn’t going to say that, Marcus. I was actually going to say bribe you with food…”

I roll my eyes. “Suuurrrreee. I know how it is, mum. You’re just like everyone else. You think you can do whatever the hell you want with me and I can’t stop you.”

“That’s not true!”

“Everyone probably got to see firsthand how weak I was in music class today. I fainted because of the music. Because something was too loud. If I can faint because of that, then I’m sure they’ll realise sooner or later that I can’t defend myself. Cameron’s right, mum. I’m too small to do anything.” I don’t look at my mother as I speak.

Slowly, carefully, she touches my shoulder with a finger. “That’s not true, Marcus.” She says. “And I’m going to prove it to you.” Without warning, she wraps her fingers around my waist and I feel myself being lifted into the air. Mum’s grip on me is light, but firm enough to hold me steady. She raises me up off the bed and onto her shoulder.

“Mum!” I yell angrily. She begins walking to the door. “Don’t you dare ignore me!”

“I told you I would prove it to you, Marcus.” She replies calmly. “We’re going to the mall.”

“Wait… what!? No, please mum, I wanna go to school…” My voice catches in my throat.

“You’ve got a whole year for that.” Mum says.

I protest the whole way to mum’s car. She ignores me most of the way, but I don’t stop. “This isn’t how you prove it!” I snap from her shoulder. Mum tugs the passenger door open and places me gently on the seat of the yellow Voltswagon beetle. Immediately I sprint for the opening but Mum slams the door so hard that I stumble backwards, clutching my exposed ears in pain. I grit my teeth angrily as she enters through the opposite door and revs the engine.

“You better be happy.” I snarl, practically quivering with anger. “And you thought what I was saying about free will wasn’t true.”

“Calm down, Marcus!” Mum replies tersely.

“Don’t you tell me-“

“Marcus.” Mum says, firmer this time. “Do you want me to get you a job or not?”

“What?” I ask.

“You heard me. A part time job. You said you couldn’t get one?”

“I can’t, mum!” I snap.

“Yes you can.” Mum says. “And I’m going to prove it to you.”