Tim’s progress was slow-going: after nearly an hour and a half of climbing, he was barely halfway up the inside of the trash bag. The plastic lining made it hard to get a decent grip, and having to do everything in complete darkness on top of it all certainly didn’t help matters; luckily, the trash bag was the type that had been augmented with reinforcing bands in it’s lining, which allowed Tim some semblance of climbing assists for hand- and footholds.
“Uhn, I can’t believe this!” Tim complained, venting his frustrations as he strained to pull himself upwards. “Stupid mom! If she’d just brought the stupid antidote home with her like she promised, I wouldn’t be stuck….climbing out up this stupid trash bag. Heck, if she hadn’t brought that stupid, shrinking potion home instead of just taking it to her lab like she should have in the first place, I wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with!”
Never in his wildest dreams could Tim have ever imagined he’d be shrunk to an inch tall and thrown in the garbage…or stepped on repeatedly by his giant aunt and mother…OR by the next door neighbors, for that matter…
“…or McKenzie,” he continued aloud, lamenting with a melancholy sigh. “I always wished I could be closer to McKenzie, but this was NOT what I had in mind. Two chances! I had TWO chances to get her attention, and both times she kicked me away like I was…
“…like I was nothing but a bug…” Tim sighed again dejectedly.
Was this his life now? He hated to admit it, but what if, among all the other vicious threats she’d made, Aunt Julia was right about something: what if, despite all mom’s work and apparent successes with the test rabbits…what if the antidote didn’t work on him? What if he’d been shrunk for too long? What if it were too late to un-shrink him? What if he was doomed to be stuck at an inch tall for the rest of his miserable, little life…trapped in a hamster cage and treated like some sort of pet…continuously tormented by his giant aunt…having to constantly dodge people’s feet and avoid being stepped on by his giant family, or the neighbors, or his friends…if he’d even have any left when all was said and done?!
“Come on, Tim,” the tiny teenager reassured himself, shaking off his negative thoughts. “You can’t think like that! Mom’ll get you back to normal…somehow. Besides, she’s already got an antidote, and you know it works…at least on rabbits, anyway…
“…But what if it’s only temporary…” Tim pondered aloud, feeling a sense of dread.
“…Well, so what? Even if it IS only temporary, I’ll just keep taking it for as long as you have to…and if it doesn’t work…well, mom won’t leave me like this forever. She won’t stop until she finds a cure….however long that takes…”
“…And no matter what she says,” Tim reaffirmed as he resumed climbing, “Aunt Julia’s not gonna keep it from me!”
“Oh, my God!” Julia laughed as she picked up the remote and pressed the button to return to the streaming menu. “I forgot how funny this movie was!”
“Yeah, I know,” Natalie confirmed with a chuckle herself, followed by a satisfied sigh. “I really needed a good laugh tonight.”
“See?” Julia boasted as she leaned over and gently smacked her sister’s arm. “I told ya: you needed a night off.”
“Yes, you were right, Jules,” Natalie relented in a sarcastic tone as she rubbed her arm. “As always.”
“Well, thank you…” Julia grinned pridefully, “…and you know I’ve always got your back, sis.”
“Yeah, well…” Natalie replied, “at least I know I can count on family when I really need them.”
“Whelp, like I’ve said so many times before, Nat,” Julia added, clicking her tongue as she reached for the bottle of wine on the coffee table to top off her glass, “what’re sisters for?”
Natalie was about to speak up again, but paused as she watched Julia pouring the last of the wine from the bottle.
“Uh…haven’t you had enough, Jules?” Natalie sneered, sighing with discontent.
“What?!” Julia shrugged innocently. “I thought we were relaxing tonight.”
“Yeah, but I think all that wine’s going to your head,” Natalie bantered. “You’ve been acting funny for the past couple hours.”
“Oh, I have not!” Julia scoffed, gently shaking the bottle up and down, making sure to get every last drop of wine, “And I’m entitled to drink if I want to. It’s not like I’m going anywhere tomorrow.”
“Need I remind you that you still have to look after my son in the morning?” Natalie rebutted. “I’d prefer you not be hungover while you’re doing it.”
“Lighten up, Nat,” Julia scoffed. “Geez, it’s just wine: not tequila!”
“Ugh, I still can’t believe you finished off the whole bottle!” Natalie criticized.
“…WE finished it, Nat,” Julia corrected her as she picked up her glass and motioned ‘cheers’ to her sister before taking another sip. “WE finished it.”
“WE?!” Natalie objected defensively. “I only had 2 glasses…
“…well, maybe three,” Natalie admitted reluctantly, “but MY glass wasn’t exactly empty each time I topped it off.”
“Eh, you still helped,” Julia shrugged, leaning back against the armrest behind her.
“Yeah, well…anyway,” Natalie continued as she stood up from the couch and stretched again. “Mm, I’d better be gettin’ to bed. It’s already after 9:30.”
“Aw, come on, sis,” Julia whined. “Don’t be a spoil sport. The night’s still young. How ‘bout just one more movie, huh?”
“Oh, Jules, I don’t know,” Natalie rebutted, “it’s already getting late, and I gotta get up and go into work tomorrow, remember?”
“I know, but come on, sis, it’s Friday night.” Julia argued compellingly. “Just stay up with me for a little while longer, hm?”
“Need I also remind you,” Natalie reiterated frankly, gesturing towards the back of the house, “that the whole reason I’m going into my lab in the morning is so I can confirm the antidote I’ve been working on is safe and get my shrunken son back to normal?”
“I know that,” Julia replied, “but Tim’s not going anywhere; he can wait. He’s already waited this long. What’s a couple more hours if it means you get to sleep in a little bit on a Saturday morning? Besides, after a long week, a few more hours of extra sleep would do you good.”
“Well…I guess I could stay up for a little while longer,” Natalie pondered aloud. “I could sleep in tomorrow morning and still get to my lab at a decent hour…
“Oh, what the hell…” Natalie shrugged, retaking her seat on the couch.
“That’s the spirit!” Julia commended happily, tapping her sister’s arm with support.
“Well, I’m probably still gonna wake up at the same time regardless,” Natalie admitted. “But, maybe I could just delay getting up for a couple hours…and, if nothing else, I can just take a nap tomorrow afternoon after Tim’s back to normal.”
“Yeah…maybe…” Julia chimed in coyly.
“In any case,” Natalie continued, “it’ll be nice to get finally get some extra rest, especially after the week I’ve had.”
“Great…so, one more movie?”
“Oh, sure. I guess…”
“Awesome!” Julia chittered, standing up from the couch and picking up the empty wine bottle. “Go ahead and pick out another movie while I get this bottle out of the way.”
“OK,” Natalie nodded, “Just make sure you rinse it out.”
“Don’t worry, I will,” Julia said as she rounded the couch and headed off into the kitchen...
A few seconds after she stepped into the kitchen, Julia carefully poked her head back into the living room, making sure Natalie was still sitting on the couch with her attention on the TV. Julia had spent the remainder of the previous movie discreetly scanning the living room floor, keeping an eye out in case Tim tried to sneak into the living room undetected. She still wasn’t entirely sure how or even if he’d managed to escape the laundry hamper, but she wasn’t taking any chances: if Tim managed to make it to and contact his mother, Julia would have a lot of explaining to do.
“That little twerp better not be up to anything,” Julia sighed to herself, looking across the living room carpet towards the hallway. “I’m gonna be in big trouble if he makes it to his mom and squeals on me!
“I gotta start searching for him again,” she sighed, shaking her head, “but how am I gonna do it without Natalie noticing?”
Julia racked her brain for an idea on how to resume her search for her little nephew without her sister noticing, but she couldn’t think of a way to do it discreetly.
“Maybe I can say I need to use the bathroom? That’d give me a few minutes to search the hamper again…and the bedroom…”
Julia sighed in frustration:
“…But if he’s already made it to the living room, that’d give him the perfect opportunity to get to his mom while I’m distracted.
“I just gotta keep calm and get my head on straight,” she sighed again. “I’ll just have to keep my eyes open…that little bug’s bound to turn up sooner or later.”
Julia hurried over to the sink, hastily rinsed out the empty wine bottle, then headed over to the trash can to throw it away…
Tim suddenly heard footsteps booming outside the trash can. He knew there was a definite possibility it could be Aunt Julia, but given his circumstances, he didn’t hesitate to call for help:
“HELLO?!…MOM?! I’M IN HERE! MOM, I’M IN THE TRASH! HELP ME!”
The blooming thuds came closer…and closer…
The lid above him suddenly thrust open; Tim immediately cringed and turned his head downwards, trying to shield his eyes from the blinding light currently flooding the trash can’s interior…
Suddenly, a roaring CLANK rang out directly behind him, startling Tim so much that he completely lost his footing. He frantically grasped the plastic liner, digging in his fingers to keep from falling, but the bag was unexpectedly jerked downwards, and Tim lost his grip. He yelped in terror as he was thrown from the side of the trash bag, hurtling downwards into the grimy depths…
*FOOMP*
Tim felt himself pass through some kind of narrow opening, impacting a smooth, slanted surface a second later. He slid downwards in total darkness, landing abruptly, with his whole body collapsing onto a cold, wet floor of his dark prison.
Julia nonchalantly tossed the wine empty bottle into the trashcan and removed her foot from the pedal, allowing the lid to slam shut as she turned and headed back towards the living room. Before she could make it out of the kitchen, however, she saw Natalie rounding the couch and heading her direction:
“Oh, Jules,” Natalie inquired adamantly, “you didn’t throw that bottle in the trash, did you?!”
“Uh…y-yeah…” Julia admitted hesitantly. “Why?”
“Ugh, I wanted to recycle it!” Natalie sighed frustratedly, stomping past her sister and heading towards the trash can.
“But…I thought you couldn’t put glass in the recycling bin,” Julia spoke up, following her sister back through the kitchen.
“You can’t; but there’s a separate place I take glass bottles. I just wanted you to rinse it out and leave it on the counter.”
“Well, I’m sorry,” Julia apologized snidely, with an apathetic shrug. “You should’ve said something.”
“I DID!” Natalie rebutted scornfully, stepping on the trash can’s pedal…
“You just told me to rinse it out,” Julia rebutted defensively. “You didn’t say anything about—“
“Oh, great!” Natalie exclaimed sarcastically, cutting off her sister.
“What?!” Julia asked concernedly. “What’s wrong?!”
“Oh, the bag fell in!” Natalie replied in frustration, reaching down to lift the edges of the can liner to find the empty wine bottle...
Tim was still reeling from his recent fall when he heard his mother and aunt chatting outside, their booming footsteps thudding ever closer. Suddenly, he heard the trash can lid opening overhead, and his mother’s voice calling down…
“Mom?!” he squeaked up. “Mom, help!…
“…Wha—Oomph!”
Tim was knocked to the floor as his prison unexpectedly shifted onto its side. He struggled to push himself up, but his prison was suddenly lifted skyward, the inertia keeping him plastered to the floor.
“Ugh, great!” Natalie cringed in disgust as she grabbed the bottle and lifted it out of the trash can. “It’s covered in leftover casserole.”
“Well, I told you: you should’ve just let me throw that stuff down the garbage disposal,” Julia announced arrogantly.
“Oh…here,” Natalie said in frustration as she held the bottle level out in front of her, motioning back to the trash can. “Fix the trash bag while I rinse this off.”
Julia sighed and shook her head as she walked around her sister to the trash can, while Natalie continued over to the sink to rinse off the soiled bottle…
In the dark trashcan, it was difficult for Tim to tell exactly what was going on around him, but once he was lifted up into the light, he realized he had fallen into some kind of bottle. The dark, tinted glass kept the ambient light at a low level, making it somewhat difficult to see out, especially with the label blocking most of his view, but Tim was still able to make out his mother holding the bottle out in front of her.
“Mom…oomf! Uhn, mom, help…ACK!”
Tim kept trying to shout and get his mother’s attention, but her giant footfalls kept jostling the bottle, making it shift from side to side in her grasp. The jostling constantly knocked the tiny teenager to the floor, making it impossible for him to regain his footing.
Suddenly, the floor dropped; for a brief moment, Tim felt butterflies in his abdomen. The bottle abruptly came to a stop, throwing Tim to the floor once again. He quickly recovered and got to his feet, thrusting his face against the glass to see out:
His mother was standing over him, staring down at the bottle in her hands…and directly at him.
“MOM!” Tim shouted, pounding his fists against the glass. “MO-OM!”
Unfortunately, his giant mother didn’t reply, no gave any indication she’d seen him.
“I don’t understand,” Tim lamented in frustration. “Why can’t she see me?”
Alas, the bottle’s tinted glass was too dark for anyone outside to see inside the bottle in the ambient, kitchen light unless they were thoroughly inspecting it; Natalie couldn’t see her tiny son inside the wine bottle as she lowered it into the sink basin to clean it off.
“Ugh…yuck!” Natalie uttered in disgust as she rolled the bottle back in forth in her grasp to inspect the greasy casserole covering the outside. “What a mess!”
Natalie carefully turned on the faucet with the back of her wrist, so as not to soil the faucet handle, then moved the bottle under the running water to rinse it off.
“NO, MOM…!” Tim gasped in horror as a torrential downpour of water burst forth from the kitchen faucet. “WAIT!…Ack!”
Tim was knocked off his feet as the bottle lurched sideways beneath the stream of water. The deluge smacked the outside of the bottle, streaming around the curved glass. The sound was deafening, literally drowning out Tim’s squeaks and forcing him to cover his ears. Everything kept rocking back and forth as his giant mother rotated the bottle in her grasp, continuously knocking Tim off his feet, sending him tumbling and summersaulting across the cold, wet, glass floor.
“Mom—!” Tim cried out, trying to stand up and regain his footing; alas, the bottle’s constant shifting made it impossible for him to stop from tumbling about, let alone get to his feet.
“Mom, STOP—Ack!…HEEEELLLLLP!”
“Did you at least remember to rinse this out?” Natalie inquired frustratedly as she grabbed a nearby washcloth to wipe off the outside of the wine bottle.
“Yes,” Julia replied irritably, “of course I did.”
“Well, I’d better do it again,” Natalie huffed, “just in case some of that crap from the garbage got in there…”
“WHA—OOMPH!” Tim exclaimed as the bottle suddenly tilted upright, throwing him to the bottom.
Before the tiny teenager knew what was happening, a huge downpour of water surged through the bottles mouth.
“Uhn…Mom—!” he called out weakly.
It was too late. A surge of water cascaded down the glass walls and splashed down onto the bottle floor, quickly sweeping Tim off his feet. He struggled to keep his head above the rising torrent of water flooding into the bottle, calling gurgled cries for help:
“Hulp—blblb…HELPLpf…*gurgle*…I’M DROWN—INGGGGG—blblb…”
Then, the tiny teenager was suddenly thrust against the wall. The water inside the bottle began swirling into a nightmarish vortex, dislodging him just as quickly. Tim spun and tumbled through the maelstrom, continuously colliding with the glass walls. He choked on the bubbly water invading his lungs, his limbs flailing helplessly as he struggled for air.
Then, everything suddenly shifted upside down…
Natalie swirled the bottle around as it quickly filled to the brim with water, then tilted it upside down to begin draining it. She watched intensely as the water blurped out of the bottle’s mouth and down the drain, feeling it get lighter in her grip.
“Alright, I got the garbage bag fixed,” Julia called out as she lifted her foot of the pedal and walked towards the sink, holding her now greasy, slimy hands out in front of her.
“Ok, good,” Natalie replied, diverting her attention towards her sister, nonchalantly tapping the bottle and shaking it up and down in her grasp to empty out the last of the water…
Tim was quickly sucked down into the dark depths of the inverted bottle, struggling in futility to swim upwards…
He suddenly burst forth into a blindingly bright light, gasping for air as he immediately descended into darkness once again, splashing down into a deep, dark pool a moment later…
“Here, let me wash my hands before you turn off the faucet,” Julia said as she approached the sink, holding out her grimy hands.
“Yeah, of course,” Natalie replied as she withdrew the bottle from the sink and stepped over to a towel rack at the edge of the counter.
Once Natalie had moved out of the way, Julia stepped up to the counter and pumped a couple healthy dollops of hand soap into her palms from the dispenser in the rear, right corner of the sink; then, she began thoroughly scrubbing and rinsing her hands under the running faucet…
Tim began frantically flailing his arms the moment he hit the water, desperately swimming upwards to keep from drowning. As he breached the surface a few seconds later, he was immediately met with another massive deluge of soapy water raining down from above.
“Helblblb—!” Tim shouted, struggling to keep his head above the churning waters. “HELPblblb…!”
In no time at all, the tide overtook him, plunging the tiny teenager beneath the waves and dragging him down into its murky depths…
“You wanna show me where to put that?” Julia inquired, motioning to the wine bottle as she turned off the faucet and shook the excess water from her hands.
“Eh, maybe later,” Natalie replied as she quickly dried off the outside of the bottle with a towel hanging from a rack at the edge of the counter. “I want to leave it on the counter for a bit and let it dry off.”
Natalie walked around her sister and set the empty bottle down on the drying rack just to the left of the sink, then walked back past Julia again, heading towards the living room.
“Anyway, come on,” Natalie beckoned. “Let’s get the next movie started so I can get to bed at a decent hour.”
“Nat, I thought we agreed,” Julia harped as she dried her hands on the same towel and followed Natalie into the living room, “you weren’t gonna worry about that tonight, remember?”
“I know,” Natalie shot back, turning off the light as the two headed out of the kitchen, “but as I keep having to remind you, I still have a shrunken son to worry about….and I’d like to get him back to normal before anything else happens.”
“I haven’t forgotten, sis—“ Julia replied in a cavalier tone…immediately hesitating in her stride and shooting her gaze to the floor, just then remembering that Tim was possibly loose in the living room somewhere. “—And nothing else is gonna happen…
“…As long as he stays in his cage,” Julia added, quickly yet covertly inspecting her soles out of Natalie’s view to make sure she hadn’t accidentally stepped on her tiny nephew.
Julia nonchalantly checked the carpet as she and Natalie walked around opposite ends of the couch, then took their seats on the couch again as they settled in for their next movie…
Tim surfaced, gasping for air, and coughing and gagging as he tried to clear his lungs of foul, soapy water. He looked skywards at the portal above him: the world beyond was darkened, illuminated only by a faint glow of light streaming in from the left side of the room above. It was a strange view, but Tim recognized the drain flaps from the garbage-disposal in the kitchen sink, along with the darkened, kitchen ceiling far beyond.
“Mom?!” he called up, treading water as best he could. “Mom, can you hear me?!”
Tim kicked his legs harder, struggling to keep his head above water while he cupped his hands around his mouth to magnify his tiny voice:
“MOM!…AUNT JULIA!…CAN YOU HEAR ME?!”
“Great,” Tim sighed as, per usual, no one responded to his cries. “I gotta get out of here before someone turns on the garbage disposal.”
Luckily, the disposal drain below was apparently blocked, as there was a substantial amount of water left sitting inside the basin which not only prevented the tiny teenager from going down the drain, but left him floating not too far from the top. He quickly swam over to the lowest-hanging drain flap, gauging the distance before thrusting himself out of the water to try and grab it; unfortunately, then flap was still well out of reach. Out of desperation, Tim frantically looked around for anything he could use to climb out of the drain, but it was too dark to see the solid-black walls of the disposal; in any case, he doubted he’d be able to find anything even in the best light — it was either the drain flaps, or hope someone came along to rescue him before they turned on the disposal.
Tim looked up and gauged the distance to the drain flap once again, and quickly surmised he wouldn’t be able to reach it normally; what he needed was more momentum:
Tim held his breath and dipped below the surface, swimming downward a few meters before flipping around and swimming straight up. He breached the surface and jumped out of the water, flailing and reaching his arms to try and grab the drain flap…
His fingertips just barely brushed the flap above before he fell back into the murky water. Tim was discouraged, but not defeated ready. He just needed a little more height.
Tim took several deep breaths to build up his strength; then, once he’d readied himself, he inhaled one last deep breath and dove down hard. The pressure intensified quickly, but Tim wasn’t deterred; he just kept paddling downwards...further and further…
Then, just when the pressure got so strong that Tim thought his lungs were about to burst, his right hand brushed against a fatty mass—the leftover casserole his mother had rinsed off the wine bottle earlier, which was what most likely was blocking the drain. The tiny teenager quickly somersaulted and planted his feet onto the mass, sinking in just barely on the semi-solid surface; then, he bent his knees, clenched his fists, and once he was ready, extended his legs…
Tim upwards like a rocket, keeping his body as straight as a pencil to keep his momentum. He breached the surface a couple seconds later and sailed into the air, extending his arms to grab at anything to arrest his upcoming fall. His body smacked the top of one of the drain flaps and immediately began sliding back down the wet, rubbery surface. Tim quickly tightened his grip, digging his nails into the drain flap to slow his momentum. The pain was intense, but he managed to arrest his fall just as his lower body slid off the flap.
Tim’s muscles ached and he was panting heavily, but he pushed though the pain, straining to hold on, unwilling to let himself slide back down into the dark abyss after all his hard work. Maintaining what stability he had, Tim carefully repositioned his arms and slowly began pulling his body up onto the drain flap. Once his legs were no longer dangling off the end of the flap, Tim slowly but surely crawled the rest of the way up the drain flap to the rounded edge of the drain, using the sides to finally stand up.
Tim pushed his body into the wall, thankful he was out of immediate danger. He gazed up at the top of the drain; he may have been small, but thankfully, it didn’t seem like too big of a jump up to the basin. Tim steadied himself, bent his knees, then sprung into the air, grabbing the top of the drain wall. He pulled himself upwards with all his might, scraping his feet against the wall to assist the sore muscles in his arms. Once he was was high enough, Tim slapped his elbows and upper arms onto the top of the drain, pushing with what little strength he had left…
With one last oomph, and after several minutes of straining and lifting, the tiny teenager thrust his upper torso up and rolled himself over onto the stainless steel surface of the sink basin.
Tim lay on his back and closed his eyes, panting heavily as he recovered from his recent ascent. He was amazed by his own strength and fortitude, and thankful he’d accomplished such a harrowing feat. Tim knew another huge task lay ahead, but for the moment, he was safe.
“Come on, Nat,” Julia whined as the selection box hovered over her latest movie offer. “It’s a really funny movie.”
“I’m not in the mood for slapstick right now, Jules,” Natalie shot back.
“We’ve been at this for a good 10 minutes, and so far, you’ve shot down every one of my choices,” Julia complained. “If you want to get to bed at a decent hour, I’d suggest you pick something.”
“Well, nothing you’ve picked has really tickled my fancy,” Natalie shrugged.
“‘Tickled your fancy’?!” Julia inquired mockingly, slightly taken aback. “You know what? Here, how about YOU take the remote and pick something YOU want to watch, and I’ll tell you if I agree?”
“Fine, I will.” Natalie said with a grin, leaning over and taking the remote from her sister.
Natalie stood up and swung her right leg underneath her before retaking her seat and scrolling through the streaming menu...
It was only then that Julia got her first clear view of her sister’s right sole since earlier that evening; except for the few sporadic specks of dirt and lint from the kitchen and living room floors, Natalie’s foot was relatively clean.
Julia’s mind immediately flashed back to when the two woman eating earlier: specifically, when Natalie had set down her bowl next to her. Julia could’ve sworn she saw something on the bottom of Natalie’s foot earlier; only now, there was nothing there.
Julia’s eyes went wide as she started putting the pieces together. What if—
“How about this one?” Natalie spoke up, interrupting Julia’s train of thought.
“Huh?” Julia uttered as she snapped back to reality. “Oh. Uh…yeah, I’m good with that.”
“Something wrong, Jules?” Natalie inquired, noticing her sister staring at her foot. “I-Is there something on my foot?”.
“Oh….s-sorry,” Julia stuttered. “I-I thought I saw something, but...”
“Hm?” Natalie uttered as she inspected her sole…
“Ah…it’s just some dirt and lint,” Natalie scoffed offhandedly, brushing off her foot. “Nothing to worry about.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Julia chortled nervously with a congenial nod. “Nothing to worry about.”
Tim lay on his back with his eyes closed on the cold, wet, floor of the stainless-steel, sink basin, still recovering from his ascent out of the drain. It wasn’t the most comfortable resting place, but given the choice between the trash, drain, and empty bottle, it was the most preferred option. Once he’d finally managed to catch his breath, Tim casually rolled his head to side and opened his eyelids to begin surveying his surroundings…
The tiny teenager’s eyes widened: the washcloth that his mother had used to wipe off the outside of the wine bottle earlier was currently hanging over middle partition of the sink….and one of its corners was low enough for Tim to reach; as long as it could hold his tiny weight, climbing out of the sink would be a sinch!
“Oh, thank you, mom!” he exclaimed as he sprang to his feet with newfound gusto. “Finally, a bit of luck!”
Tim quickly scampered over to the damp washcloth; gave it a few, strong tugs to gauge its strength and make sure it would hold his weight; then, once he found his footing, slowly made his way up the partition…
Just as the numerous studio and production logos had finished scrolling, Natalie picked up the remote from the armrest next to her and paused the movie:
“Hey sis, before we get too far, I need to use the bathroom really quick.”
“Oh…sure, of course,” Julia replied, watching Natalie stand up from the couch.
“You know, I think I might just check in on Tim while I’m up,” Natalie said offhandedly as she rounded the coffee table. “I just wanna make sure he’s doing okay…”
Tim was getting pretty tired of all the climbing he’d been having to do over the course of the evening, but at least this time, just like the wicker mesh of the hamper earlier, the lattice-like weave of the washcloth gave him numerous foot and handholds, making his ascent far easier. It was still a tiring task, but at the very least, he could take as many rests as he needed, all the while taking solace in the fact that when all was said and done, as long as he could at least inform his mother of the torture Aunt Julia had put him through that week, all his suffering would be well worth it.
As he neared the top, Tim mustered his strength and scurried up the last few inches of the washcloth, hurling himself onto the partition. He lay there for a moment, practically embracing the stainless-steel surface as he caught his breath and recuperated: then, after a brief respite, Tim climbed to his feet, brushed himself off, and carefully walked along the partition towards the edge of the sink…
“Uh…Nat,” Julia spoke up, speedily jumping up from the couch and grasping her sister’s arm. “You know…maybe you shouldn’t bother him. I mean, Tim probably fell asleep watching his movie. You wouldn’t wanna wake him, would you?”
Tim stepped down off the lip of the sink and cautiously approached the edge of the counter, peering over the edge: the tiny teenager gulped fearfully from the sheer expanse of the drop-off before him, and the substantial distance to the linoleum floor below. Despite being an inch tall for almost a week now, he was still amazed and awestruck at the sheer size of everything. Other than the occasional times he’d jumped up on the counter when he was younger to grab something from the upper cabinets, Tim had never really considered how high the countertop was above the floor, as even those times he was able to sit and dangle his legs over the side to reduce the distance when he jumped down.
Tim held his hand over his heart and meekly backed away from the edge, keeping his eyes peeled on the drop-off as he reached out and grasped haphazardly to find the edge of the sink behind him….almost tripping over it as he sat down for a moment to re-center himself.
“I’m not gonna wake him, Jules,” Natalie scoffed. “I’m just gonna peek in and make sure he’s alright.”
“Nat, would ya stop worrying so much?” Julia reaffirmed staunchly. “I’m sure Tim’s fine. That’s why we put him in that cage, remember? Besides, he’s had a really long day, especially with all the excitement with the neighbors this afternoon, and…you know, finding out he was going to have to be small for another day. He could really use his rest.”
As Tim sat on the edge of the sink, waiting for his heart to stop beating so fast, he heard a small commotion coming from the living room. He quickly climbed to his feet and headed off to his left, hugging the edge of the sink to keep clear of the drop-off as he made his way to the far corner of the counter near the door to the living room…
“Well…” Natalie hesitated with a heavy sigh, “…Ah, maybe you’re right. The poor, little guy has had a long day, hasn’t he?”
“Yeah,” Julia nodded, “I really think it’s best to just let him sleep for now.”
“Okay…” Natalie relented with another sigh, “…but don’t lemme forget to check on him before we head to bed.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t let you forget,” Julia heartily agreed, “Hopefully, Tim’ll at least have gotten a couple hours sleep.”
“Yeah, agreed,” Natalie acknowledged as she started to head past he sister towards the hallway…
“Oh…” Natalie spoke up, stopping mid-step, “…while you’re up, would you mind making us some popcorn? I could really go for a snack.”
“Uh…yeah; sure,” Julia stammered, “no problem. Actually, I could really go for some popcorn myself.”
“Okay, do you know where the popcorn is?”
“Yeah, I saw it in the cabinet the other day,” Julia acknowledged, motioning towards the kitchen.”
“Great,” Natalie said, tapping her sister’s upper arm before continuing on towards the hallway, “I’ll be in to help you when I’m done.”
“Take your time, sis…” Julia replied as Natalie stepped up and out of living room and disappeared down the hallway.
“…Take your time,” Julie repeated in a much more devious and quieter tone, immediately shifting her gaze and intently scaring the carpet. “Alright, now where are you, you little bug?!”
By the time Tim reached the corner of the sink, he could see his mother off in the distance, heading towards the hallway.
“MOM!” Tim shouted, scampering across the counter, waving his arms frantically to get his mother’s attention, and completely forgetting that she most definitely wouldn’t be able to hear him . “MOM, WAIT!”
It was no use. His mother was already heading down the hallway, never turning around nor even glancing in his direction.
Tim sighed dejectedly, looking blankly off in the distance. He felt so insignificant, so small and helpless. Even after climbing out of the drain and making his way up onto the counter, all his hard work was practically meaningless.
“What am I supposed to do now?” he lamented.
At that very moment, Tim spotted Aunt Julia’s huge figure rounding the corner of the couch, her eyes peeled to the floor. The tiny teenager immediately snapped to attention; he was literally standing out in the open! All the giant woman had to do was raise her head and she’d spot him for sure.
Tim frantically looked around for somewhere to hide, but that end of the counter was practically clear. The nearest feasible hiding spot being all the way back at the wall, and Aunt Julia was already nearing the kitchen; he’d never make it!
In sheer desperation, Tim peered over the edge of the counter…
He immediately got an idea.
With no time left, the tiny teenager jumped…