Brent was another student at the school where Colleen was a teacher. As another schoolday came to an end, he packed his schoolbag and headed through the school grounds on his way home. He lived in the valley which, like Colleen’s house in the hills, was accessed by walking through the forest and taking a different turn. When he was part of the way through the forest, he suddenly began to dwindle to tiny size. Then he heard footsteps behind him and turned around to see that Miss Balfour had been following him, and was holding a device in her hand.

“This is what reduced your size,” she said.

“I never knew that such technology was possible.”

“It’s only possible for its inventor, namely me.”

“Can it be reversed?”

“There is a reverse setting, but I’ve never had reason to use it.”

“Well, I guess you’ve got a good reason to test that setting now.”

“I don’t think so,” said Colleen, “I must be getting home.”

She turned to walk away.

“Miss Balfour! You can’t just leave me like this.”

“Can’t I?” she called, and walked off through the forest.

He tried running after her, but she had outdistanced him in very little time and was soon out of sight.

Then he heard another set of footsteps approaching from behind, and turned around again, to see that it was lovely Miss Woodfield walking through the forest this time. She stopped when she reached his position. He’d adored her for a long time, but he’d never seen her from this angle. She looked spectacularly beautiful.

“Oh thank goodness you’re here, Miss Woodfield. I’ve been shrunken by Miss Balfour.”

“I know,” said Miss Woodfield, “I asked her to do it.”

She picked him up and put him into her handbag and started walking again. Brent lay inside the dark bag and wondered why his lovely teacher had orchestrated such an outcome for him. After about half an hour, he saw the light coming in, as she unzipped the top of the bag. Miss Woodfield took him out and set him down on the carpet. She sat down in front of him.

“Were you waiting long, after Miss Balfour reduced you?”

“No. She was barely gone when you arrived.”

“That’s good. We timed it that way intentionally.”

“Why did you two want to do this?”

“Do you remember another boy named Henry?”

“Yes. I don’t know why he left the school.”

“I’ll tell you. He liked me, and he asked me out on a date. Miss Balfour and I have been friends for a long time. Both she and Henry agreed that she would reduce Henry to the size you now have, so that Henry could be both my boyfriend and my little Dollipop. It’s a word I made up that combines doll and lollipop. I kept him upstairs, and would lick his tiny face many times, and enjoyed it very much. I gave him kisses and we were very much in love. In the school holidays, I took him on a camping trip one day, with my sleeping bag rolled up and packed in my backpack, on top of the food supplies.”