I'm Jeff Berkly. I'm your standard eighteen year old kid, or something like that. I have friends, a girlfriend, family. I guess that's standard. Anyway, I'm about ready to head off to college! I'm excited, but not as excited as my mom is. After my dad died, she lost a lot of faith, but once she heard I got accepted to one of the more prestigious schools in the country, it all came back. I was packing my belongings now, a little bit late considering I was moving into the dorms tomorrow, but it would all work out. I was basically almost done anyway. I was supposed to be getting a package in the mail, and I hoped beyond anything it would actually come today. Otherwise I would have to have someone deliver it to me, and I didn't really want anyone else seeing it.  
 
 
"So where are we going out for dinner tonight?" my mom said, sneaking up behind me. My mom, Justine was her name, was one of the strongest women I knew. She did a lot for the family and I respected her more than anything, even if sometimes I neglected to tell her that. Back when my dad was alive, she was a stay-at-home mom, but since then she's had to pick up a few odd jobs here and there. She currently worked at the local library. It was nice, she told me. She loved books, and there wasn't a strict uniform policy either. She really got to wear her casual clothes, provided they weren't super casual like flip-flops. But she could wear jeans and a simple pair of flats. She liked it. She had offered to take me, and my sisters, out to dinner to celebrate my going away. I told her I would pick a place. I still hadn't. I guess I had to decide now, didn't I?  
 
"Um, how about...Red Robin's?" I suggested. It was literally the first place that came to my head. I didn't really even like it that much. At least it was an answer, and it wasn't terrible. That's what mattered. 
 
"Great, sounds good! Are you all packed up?" she asked. 
 
"Almost. I just need a few more things, then I'll be all set," I said. 
 
"And you're sure you don't want me to drive with you to campus?" 
 
"I'm sure mom," I said, laughing. She really wanted to see me off, I'm sure because it was hard for her to let me go. But I had to. "I can drive myself there. I will want my car after all." 
 
"Yeah, just don't you dare forget to say goodbye before you leave tomorrow. We'll leave in a half hour, okay?" 
 
 
I nodded in agreement and then she left. I was looking forward to the dinner. I didn't really spend much time with my sisters and it would be nice to have a nice evening with them. Providing they didn't make a scene or embarrass me in anyway. I don't think they would, but it was always a possibility. My mom said we'd be leaving in a half hour, but I was basically all ready to go now. I'm sure the time limit was for Beth, my sister. 
 
 
Her full name was Mary Beth Berkly, but everyone just called her Beth. She was just sixteen years old and was about to start her senior year of high school. From what I gathered she was excited about it, but I couldn't say for sure. She did care a good deal about her looks, but she was never over-into it, and when it came down to it, I think she was kind of a nerd. She just wanted to be an attractive nerd. She always went about wearing skirts and dresses, and generally a pair of stockings to match with her flats. I didn't question it. I didn't care about the stuff at all, but if that's that made her happy, then by all means. I did tease her occasionally about her flats though. They wore so worn down and dingy, but she refused to get new ones. Granted, it's not like I haven't held onto something for a while. Now that I think about it, I think my dad got her those shoes. Maybe that's why she keeps them around... 
 
 
I left my headed downstairs to the living room. I passed by Beth's room and heard her rummaging through various clothes. Whatever. My mom was also upstairs in her own room getting ready. The only other person downstairs was my other sister Samantha, or Sam, for short. She was the youngest in the family, at only ten years old. Once I hit the bottom, I caught her doing something extremely disgusting. Her finger was deep into her nose rummaging around for gold. But really boogers. It was nasty. I watched her pull her finger out and with it came a gross glob of snot and mucus congealed into a booger. And then it got worse. She wiped it onto the underside of the table and left it there. Disgusting.  
 
 
"I saw that," I announced, making my presence known.  
 
"Um, no you didn't," Sam said, trying to be cute. I did find her mannerisms cute on occasion, but not after what I just witnessed.,  
 
"Yeah, I did. That's not what you're supposed to do with boogers, is it?" 
 
"No..." 
 
"And what is the right thing to do?" I asked.  
 
"Eat it?" she asked, innocently. 
 
"Ew, no! You get a napkin or something and wipe it off into that. Now, go get one and clean that off and toss it in the trash," I said, and Sam did as she was told. I was her brother but I was also eight years older than her. I exuded a kind of power that she had to respect. Sometimes it didn't work. I intently watched her as she scraped her nose discharge from the bottom of the table and toss it in the garbage. She was always picking her nose and this wasn't the first time I had told her to do that. She never listened to me long term. It is what it is, I guess. I was ready to leave, and Sam was...almost ready. She was only wearing one sock, which from my view looked dirty, and then her bare foot was also dirty. I guess it wouldn't take her too long. I took a seat on the couch which had some random cartoon playing that Sam kind of paying attention to. I would just browse my phone as I waited for mom and Beth. 
 
 
After what felt like more than a half hour, and I timed it, it was actually forty-five minutes, mom and Beth came downstairs finally ready to leave. We all got into the car and headed towards the restaurant, and there we had a pleasant evening. The food was good, and Sam behaved herself and it was a nice calm night. It felt good to have the night when my family, considering I wouldn't be seeing them again for some time. Winter break was still a few months away, and I joked that if I enjoyed it over there I wouldn't even be back for the holidays. I was just joking though. I would never miss the holidays. We eventually returned home and there I found the package I was expecting sitting on the front porch. I quickly scooped it up and evaded answering my sister's questions. My mom respected my privacy, and Beth did to some extent, but Sam wouldn't drop the subject. Well, she would have to. 
 
 
Once everyone was inside we all scattered to parts of the house. I brought my package upstairs and locked my door. I didn't want anyone else to know about what I had, at least not for some time. I opened up the box and fished around inside, pulling out the white instruct papers, before getting to the real prize. It was a white cylinder object, roughly the size of a pen. There were two buttons on one side, one red, one blue, as well as a small dial. One end had a small hole on it, with a cute little magnifying glass that could be pulled in and out. It was a Minimizer! Finally, I had gotten my hands on one. 
 
 
I picked up the instructions and began to read them. The blue button would minimize whatever the hole was pointed at to whatever size was specified on the dial, and the red button would revert anything minimized to it's normal size. There was no growing something. The instructions were very clear not to point or use the minimizer on any human or living creature. Well, duh! Why would I, or anyone for that matter, use something like this on themselves. That would basically be a death sentence. I'm sure there's some crazy people out there would be probably love using it on themselves, like those foot fetishists. Bleh, not me, though. Feet are nasty, and I was content being my normal height, thank you very much. No, I was using the minimizer for it's intended purpose, easily storing and moving heavy furniture and belongings. It was going to make moving in a piece of cake, as well as later on whenever I needed to change around stuff. It was going to be great! 
 
 
Well, I had to try it on something! I looked at the dial, and it was set to three inches. That sounded okay for a test run. I pointed the shrinking end at my nightstand, and pressed the blue button. In the blink of an eye my nightstand, which had been up to my waist previously, was now just three inches tall! That was incredible! This was going to make my life so much easier! I wondered why I hadn't bought one earlier. Well, whatever. I aimed again and pressed the red button, and my nightstand shot back up to it's normal height. The minimizer worked like a charm. Just for the hell of it, I spun the dial to see what the smallest size could be. It was one millimeter. Why would I ever want anything to be that size. You would barely be able to even see it, and even if you could you wouldn't be able to tell if it was your nightstand or some piece of dirt. What a dumb setting.  
 
 
I did not hit the blue button, and instead placed the minimizer inside my drawer. I would use it later when I actually needed it. Sam knocked on my door and, once it was opened, she gave me a hug goodnight. I think she was hoping she would find out what I had gotten, but she missed her chance. I hugged her back and she was off to bed. There was still several hours in the night before I felt the need to go to bed, so I started to play some video games. I needed to get good with them if I wanted to beat all my friends on campus. Might as well start practicing now, right. Once the night drew late, I called it and shut off my lights. It was bed time. I did have to admit, I was a bit nervous. I was starting college tomorrow, and that was huge. It was a big step in life, but I was ready to take it.  
 
 
The next morning I awoke and stayed in bed for a good short while until I was fully awake. I had to transfer a bunch of stuff from my room to my car, I had to make sure I was rested. Sam was already downstairs doing whatever it was she was doing, as was my mom. I had no idea where Beth was, but I was too busy moving stuff to pay attention. Once I had gotten basically everything, I bid farewell to my mom, who once again asked if she could drive me. It was a no. I gave her a giant hug, and gave one to Sam as well. I had no idea where Beth was, so she didn't get one. It's not like I'm not going to see her again, so it's not a big deal. She can get a hug whenever I come back. I headed out the door, and almost got to my car, when I realized I forgot something. My minimizer! I can't believe I almost forgot it. I quickly dashed back inside, announcing I had forgotten something.  
 
 
I ran upstairs to my room and opened my drawer. It was there, just as I left it. Nice. All I did was pick it up, and then there was a nanosecond of a white flash. Weird. 
 
 
An extremely loud crash pounded my ears and shook the ground. I maintained my balance, but what the hell was that? Some kind of loud earthquake? I didn't know earthquakes made booming noises. I looked to my left and there was a giant white cylinder. What the hell? Where did that come from? It looked oddly like my minimizer. It was rolling away from me, heading towards the area beneath my huge bed. Wait...my huge bead!? What the hell was going on!? And then, all in one second, it dawned on me. That was the minimizer rolling away from me. I must have accidentally pressed the blue button when I pulled it off. And the last size it was set to was....one millimeter. I started screaming, because it was the only thing I could think to do. I was the size of dirt in the middle of my room, and the only means I had of getting big again was rolling away from me. I started to chase after it, but quickly realized I was much too small to keep up. And soon it had rolled all the way to the wall, buried deep under my bed. No one would ever see it. No one even knew it existed. I was the size of a speck of dirt in my house, everyone thought I had left already, and the only means of making me normal size not only was out of reach, but not even known to the people around me. What the hell was I going to do. 
 
 
I didn't have time to think about it, as rhythmic booming spread throughout the floor. It was quite soft at first, but grew more and more. I had to put all my effort into staying standing, and couldn't do much else. I was terrified of what the cause of the booms were. Then a loud squeak erupted from my bedroom door. It always made that noise, but at this size, it was torture to the ears. After blocking the sound, and managing to keep myself standing, I looked towards my door to see what had caused it to open. My mouth dropped open and my heart started beating so fast I was sure it was going to explode. I lost any concentration on what was happening around me, and I felt a wet spot appear in my pants. I was so scared I urinated myself. I couldn't even concentrate enough to be embarrassed about it. I continued to look at the figure standing in my bedroom doorway.  
 
 
Well, I had found Beth.