James was intrigued by Meg wanting to talk. He had no idea what she would say. He started running through possible topics in his head, so he could be as prepared as possible for any problem she might reveal.

Two more classes before lunch. English was first up, and James and Todd thought too much time was spent on usage and verbs and adverbs. He found himself imagining what Meg wanted to talk about. He would have to wait until lunch.

Gym was the last morning class. Once inside the gymnasium, James and Todd got a true sense of the size of the new school. Not only had the classrooms and cafeteria been segregated by size, with different sized desks and lunch tables for two sizes of students, but the gym was no different. 

There was a small section at the far end of the building that had normal sized basketball nets, with normal sized balls and a court. The main of the gym had a court that was twice the size, with nets double the height. And the balls were the same. James had large hands, but as he passed by a new ball on the floor, he picked it up. It was a lot heavier than normal, and it made his hands look like a 5 year old. He handed it to the new gym teacher, who bent down to accept it, and James are Todd went to their section. 

James thought that if the other sports were set up the same, there was no way him and Todd could compete. He shuddered to think how heavy the equipment would be, and how big the fields were. He never felt so small in his life.

And once gym class was over, the boys changed in their section of the locker room. They were almost guaranteed privacy, because the ceilings were only nine feet tall, and there was no way the new students could fit.

Once dressed, they made their way to the cafeteria. The food wasn't any better than the day before, or grade school for that matter. James thought that if the cafeteria was set up in an area with severe famine, the people would probably refuse to eat this slop. 

But Meg was done early, so as she was dropping off her tray, she spotted James as he was finishing his meal. He got up and dropped his tray off also. He noticed the size difference in the trays. Meg’s was twice as long, wide, and thick as his. It looked like it weighed a great deal heavier than the one he used. But she asked if they could go back out in the hallway. James nodded and followed her.

She stood by the lockers, looking down at him, a tentativeness in her eyes. James could sense something was bugging her, and tried an old ‘knock-knock’ joke to put her at ease. It didn't work, so he just said that he was there to listen to whatever was on her mind, so she should just relax and let it come out.

With hesitation, Meg asked him how his father was doing. James thought the question was odd, since he had only mentioned his dad's situation that morning. He told her that he hadn't spoken to him since last night, but when he went to bed, he was still upset. He asked her why the concern about his father.

Meg told him that her father was hired as a foreman with the mine. She thought James’ dad lost his position to her father, and she felt terrible about it. James wasn't sure if he head her correctly. So he asked her to repeat it. She told him that her father was a new foreman with the mine and that he replaced James’ dad. 

There was a look of shock on James’ face, followed by processing the news, which was followed by bitter disappointment. His dad had worked all those years, and now was replaced by someone who just started months ago. He looked up at Meg, and just walked away.

Meg was disappointed by his reaction, but not surprised. Companies all across the world were hiring people of her size and above. The smaller people were being shoved into office jobs for no other purpose than to be assistants to their larger co-workers. She couldn't help it. It was just the way things were. But it did sting her that James’ dad lost his position to her dad. She hoped James would understand and not hold it against her. She thought that he was very nice, and now he was upset. She would give him his space.

James ignored Meg the rest of the afternoon. And even on the bus, he moved to a different seat to avoid sitting near her. He was mad. He was fuming. He was upset, but knew that there was nothing that he could do. He wanted to talk to his father.

He got off the bus and noticed his father's car in the driveway. He went through the side door and entered the kitchen. He saw his father sitting at the table with his mother. His father looked like he was in pain. James asked what was wrong.

His father replied that nothing was wrong. James knew he wasn't being truthful, and asked him again. Tom Adams knew his son wouldn't leave him alone until he told him, so he recounted his day at work.

He was shocked when he entered the office to start his new job. He was 6’3” and looking up at every seated secretary that was working. He wasn't used to it. And their desks were huge, as were their computers, telephones, everything. Even the paper and binders were big. 

After getting situated, it wasn't until the afternoon that a secretary called him over and told him that she needed paperwork dropped off at the manager’s office. She placed a decent amount of paper in his arms, which he could handle, despite it's increased size. But then she placed a large binder on top. The combined size and weight made his journey to the office unsteady. 

But he eventually made it. However, he struggled to place everything on the large desk. The secretary didn't offer any help. And after straining for about 5 minutes, he got everything on the desk. But he hurt his shoulder in the process. So, after he was checked out by the company nurse, he was given the rest of the afternoon off. And that is why he was home.

James looked at him with sympathy. And he told his father that he knew the daughter of the guy who replaced him as foreman. Tom looked puzzled. James told him about Meg, and how her father is now a foreman with the mine. And how he was upset with her.

His father said that whatever the situation was, he shouldn't take it out on her. She had nothing to do with it. 

But James was still upset by the treatment his father received from the mine. And how he was hurt earlier by people who obviously didn't care about his well being. Life sucked.