“I had my eyes open just a tiny crack the whole time,” she said, “I can see that I picked the right person to join me in climbing that tree to the science room window. That stunt with my handkerchiefs was very good. You’d have made a great double for someone. But when I saw you heading out the window, I thought I’d better come down quietly and show you that you can’t pull the wool over my eyes.”

He couldn’t help laughing at her pun.

She took him back up to her bedroom, pulled the wool up, untied it, closed the window, and put him on her bed. She went and fetched the chain of handkerchiefs from the wardrobe and sat in front of him on the bed and untied each handkerchief and folded it again.

“I can see that there’s only one place I can leave you tonight,” she said, and popped him into her mouth without another word.

This was it. She wasn’t going to take a chance on him getting away while she was at school…

He felt her lying down and gulping just slightly to draw him into her throat, but no further. As he was horizontal, he would remain in that position. She must have decided to sleep the rest of the night with him lying in her throat. All he could do was make himself comfortable and go to sleep.

When morning came, she took him to school in her breast pocket and kept him there all day, until school was over, and then came home and locked herself in her bedroom and sat down on her bed, taking her coat off and putting it on the back of her desk chair.

“It’s afternoon tea time,” she said.

“I suspect I’m not the first actually,” said Connor.

“How do you mean?”

“I’ve was thinking about it, while I was planning my escape last night.”

“You mean your escape attempt.”

“Yes… Well Miss Balfour invented the device. Henry and Nathaniel both went missing, and what else would Miss Balfour had wanted a device like that except to shrink people for herself and her friend Miss Woodfield to eat?”

“I think you’re probably right.”

“Well then hadn’t we better get hold of that device again, before she shrinks anyone else? What if she uses it on you?”

“She won’t. Both of the disappearing students were boys. I guess if any more go missing, at least I’ll know the solution to the mystery. I can hardly hold it against her, given that she’s made today’s afternoon tea possible.”

“So you’re just going to go ahead with this then?”

“Well I do have homework to get on with. I’ll start on my maths while you’re in my mouth. You’ll know I’ve finished all my homework when you feel the gulp. Goodbye Connor.”

She placed him into her mouth and left him in darkness, with her moist tongue below him like a mattress which ironically felt softer than the pile of handkerchiefs. He kept trying to think of a way to reason with her, to persuade her of some benefit of sparing him, even if he couldn’t be with her in a romantic relationship. If he could only think of something, he could still call out to her to open her mouth and listen to what he had to say. He couldn’t keep track of time in there, but after a long time, he felt her drawing him towards her throat.

“No, no, no. It’s not fair!” he called.

She probably heard his protests, but paid them no heed, as she gulped him deeper into her throat, and then down into her stomach.