Before classes started, there was already enough happening to note.

When the other boys were brought in they were given the same spiel as I was but without Okazaki messing around because two other health committee members came to keep her in line. After a while, Takahashi had taken to lying on the floor to measure every boy with the ruler because she couldn’t be bothered the kneel any more. It was a good idea because she had started manhandling them and picking them up out of laziness. Though she was serious, the fact that she was kicking her feet while lying down measuring the boys made it look like she was playing around. 

The rest of the class went in through the second door in the classroom. I had the opportunity to see the reactions of all of the girls to the boys wandering around the floor of the classroom, trying to get their bearings in the now expansive classroom.

For starters, a number of girls were inspecting the Safety Soles they had been forced to put on. Because they had been told of their purpose, they were cautious when it came to looking at the floor. I heard Tsujimoto offhandedly suggest testing them out but she was quickly scolded by our class representative… who then accidentally pinned down Aikawa.

We were relieved to know the Safety Soles actually did their job, but the class rep nearly had a heart attack trying to turn herself into the authorities. Aikawa, I asked later, told me this.

“I wanted to see for myself if they worked so I ran right in.”

The reckless guy laughed saying it was surprisingly soft even though he couldn’t move. He did say to be careful of our positioning due to the hardness of the floor, though. I didn’t want to imagine what it’d be like if he had been unlucky. The shoes were apparently safe, but what about everything else?

Besides that, there were also girls who had gotten nervous about seeing us scurry about like rats. The bubbly Shima didn’t realize we’d get so small so she panicked when she walked in thinking we were rats. It was actually hilarious seeing her one of Eguchi’s admirers freak out from a distance, but I could tell that the boys who were almost stepped on by her erratic movements, it must have been catastrophic nearby. Eguchi apologized on her behalf to the boys just before someone plucked him off the floor to help Shima calm down. She did a complete 180 and found the 8 cm Eguchi to be the cutest thing ever like the hamsters she kept at home.

I offered Eguchi a prayer for being rubbed against Shima’s cheek so vigorously. I hoped his other admirers wouldn’t get jealous because he was going to be stuck with Shima for a while.

Then came the girls who accepted it wholeheartedly. The gyaru clique were asking for photo-ops with the miniscule boys. Watanabe just wanted a few pictures with her boyfriend while the others were trying to mimic those forced perspective in reality. I was surprised that they were so courteous to the boys and only took photos of those who volunteered.

“Ain’t my gal the best?” Arai bragged about Watanabe later when I asked.

I got my explanation from Fujimoto instead. “Those three mess around a lot, but they’re in the top 50 students for our year, didn’t you know? Nomiya-chan also wants to be a professional photographer, so she’s a stickler for asking permission.”

Really? Nomiya? The tanned gyaru with the ridiculously short skirt that made the public morals guys give up? I had to stop judging a book by its cover.

There were also students who ignored the change. Upon walking into the room and seeing a majority of the seats empty, Hozuki, our class’s sporty track star, shrugged and simply went to her seat. I learned quickly that I shouldn’t be wandering between the seats for too long because she nearly stepped on me getting to her seat which was the one behind me.

“So the boys are just going to be wandering around, huh? I guess that technically means we get the room to ourselves,” she told her neighbor and propped her legs onto my chair. It definitely wasn’t going to be using it seeing as it would be impossible to climb but I felt insulted she just claimed my chair.

“Hey! Get off there, Hozuki! That’s my seat!” I shouted at the building sized girl seated dozens of meters above my head.

Of course, there was no way she would hear me and there was no way I could climb up the towering school desk and chair to tell her off. I should have just been glad she didn’t push me off my cushion the day before. This served as a reminder that while on the floor, we weren’t going to be able to interact with the girls unless they were paying attention to us.

Ping. Pong. Ping. Pong.

Then came the bell. The boys had all been released into the classroom while girls who were late were properly fitted with the Safety Soles by Sasakura-sensei who stayed out in the halls while the other health committee members went to class. I noticed Sensei gave Takahashi a notebook, however, which made me curious. I wondered if I could get some information from Takahashi about what else Sasakura-sensei was making her do.

Unfortunately, I had to stop as all of the girls turned their attention forward when our homeroom teacher came in. Without any desks or anything our size to use, we boys simply froze as the girls quickly returned to their proper seats so as to not get in trouble.

Classes were about to begin.

(24) Day 4 Class Underfoot Part 2 (8.3 cm > 8.2 cm)

To talk about every class that went by on Thursday was nearly impossible. The reason why was because there was hardly any distinction between classes that day for us boys.

None of the teachers took the boys’ attendance so, on paper, it was like we weren’t there at all. The teachers all thought the same thing - they were teaching the girls only for that day. We boys were an after-thought, as per the Reduction program. We could hear the teacher just fine as her voice filled the entire classroom normally anyways. It sounded like it was being announced on concert speakers to us. If we wanted to learn, we could listen in, but if we wanted to see the board, we’d have to find a vantage point that was also safe. 

The girls populated the front row, so that wasn’t exactly simple. The safest was probably the class rep’s desk because she was cautious of us, but even that was fraught with danger. As a result, not many of us bothered staying and decided to use the chance for a once in a lifetime opportunity of adventuring around.

“Kirishima-kun, you’re heading out too? Aren’t you the honor student type?”

“Studying? It’s not possible when we’re like this, right?” I told the studious Nakano, gesturing to Class Representative Yoshikawa’s enormous shoe. She was tapping her truck sized foot, shaking the ground all around us. Yoshikawa was trying not to bother us, but just her unconscious movements were enough. “I’d rather go take a look around. I can ask Yae for the notes after this all ends.”

“You just want to take a look at Asano-chan, don’t you?” Eguchi remarked, heading off with me.

“I don’t deny that,” I proudly admitted, making my classmate laugh.

“Your personality is as refreshing as ever, Touya-kun. Well, I’m up for an adventure. This isn’t an experience you get every day,” the popular boy was very accepting which is probably why I helped him on occasion with his admirers.

“Just don’t get Shima or the others jealous while you’re with me, alright?”

“Er… Now I kind of want to get smaller so they can’t tell it’s me.”

“Eh? Wait, don’t leave me here alone! Kirishima-kun! Eguchi-kun!” Nakano didn’t want to be left behind so we went off to explore.  

When you’re wandering around a classroom at a bit more than 8 cm tall, it really isn’t a classroom anymore. The floorboards had gaps in them that resembled open gutters. The walls and ceiling were so far away, they may as well have been the horizon and sky. The talking of the teachers and the girls was loud but distant so it became background noise to us. It was odd to consider them as part of the scenery but they were large enough to us that we could certainly call them landmarks. This was going to be a unique tour of the same classroom we had spent so long in every day.

We had no choice but to wander under the girls’ desks and legs while we were on the floor.  Despite our own desks being empty and unused, the aisles were more dangerous as Date-Sensei walked about in her high heels. She had the same cushioning as the Safety Soles on, but the heel, I realized, was a dangerous spike that couldn’t possibly be safe. Did Sasakura-Sensei just let it pass or were the Safety Soles actually that good?

“I don’t want to play Chicken like Ryou and the others so let’s move on,” Eguchi suggested. I looked over at the group of boys who were testing their courage and reflexes by walking out into the aisle as our teacher walked by. I could hear the footsteps approaching, getting louder and shaking the ground more powerfully. 

We continued our slow exploration through the classroom. It took a few minutes to get from the front row to the second. We passed Eguchi’s empty seat, but as we did, both of the feet of his seatmate and admirer, Yamaguchi, landed on the ground beside us. The sudden gust of wind blew us into the aisle.

“Whoa!” “Wah!” “Gaah!”

“Sensei! May I use the restroom?”

“Hm…? Oh, go ahead.”

As we were trying to figure out what had happened, a shadow fell over me. I looked up and saw the pink underside of Yamaguchi’s shoe.

“Oh… crap...” I had only the time to mentally wonder why it was me and not Eguchi.

Stomp!

In an instant, my entire body was pressed down by an intense force. The pressure was incredible. I had been face up on the floor earlier so I was face first into the pink Safety Sole. I wasn’t crushed at all as the pink sole immediately softened. My body actually pushed it up while it was on the floor, creating a person shaped mold in it. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think. There was no pain, but all I felt was pressure pushing down on me, pinning me down.

And the next moment, it was all over. Everything disappeared like it had all been an illusion as Yamaguchi walked off, unaware that I just made an imprint in her outsole.

“Touya-kun! Touya-kun! Are you alright?” Eguchi was the first to run over to me. He picked my head up because my body was still numb from what happened.

“Phew. That was close. That Yamaguchi… I didn’t think it’d be me that’d be the victim,” I groaned. “I’m fine, Eguchi. I’m impressed that the Safety Soles really did work. I need to find out how those were made.”

“Kirishima-kun, are you sure? We need to get you help, don’t we?” Nakano asked.

“No. I’m fine. No bruises or broken bones or anything. Just a little weak in the legs from how scary that was,” I assured them, noticing my trembling legs. “Don’t worry. I know my body.”

Now that he mentioned it, if I had been injured I wasn’t sure how we’d be able to help ourselves at all. Medical supplies? Medical expertise? I may have been a health committee member, but we boys had nothing at our size to use unless we had brought it in our bags when we started being reduced. Well, I supposed being able to survive being stepped on meant I was at least somewhat more durable.

“Well, let’s pull you out of the aisle for now,” Eguchi frowned, lending me his shoulder so I could stand up. “Nakano-kun, Airi’s seat is closest so help me out.”

“Got it.”

I was properly being carried by my friends over to where Shima’s desk was. There, we rested for the rest of the period between the bubbly girl’s shoes and white knee-socks.

“Well, at least now I can say I tested it for myself. Hahaha. Yae is so going to freak out when I tell her, though.”

“Touya-kun, you really have a refreshing personality.”