Boarding School for Giants (G/T)

Part 3

The vice principal remained silent for a while. He walked around outside in the schoolyard for a long time, cradling me in his capacious hands, until I finally started to calm down and stopped shaking.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently. I could feel his voluminous voice filling his chest as he spoke.

"Yeah," I mumbled, and rubbed my face with my hands to compose myself. "Sorry about that."

"You have nothing to be sorry about," he replied softly. "I understand how scary it is, to be around giants for the first time. I assure you, no harm will come to you here. You're safe." I appreciated his efforts to comfort me, but I didn't believe his words, even if he was being genuine. Even if none of the giants intentionally harmed me, which was a dubious assumption to start with, I had become painfully aware of how easy it would be for one of them, simply by virtue of their great size, to accidentally drop me or smash me. Just the thought of navigating the floor of the school, surrounded by gigantic clomping feet that could crush me like a bug, filled me with dread.

"How am I supposed to get around this place, when everything is so big?" I questioned the giant man, looking up at his face with wide eyes.

"Oh, right. An astute question. We will actually provide you with a bicycle that you can ride all over campus, including indoors. It'll be far more expedient that trying to walk everywhere with those tiny little legs of yours." He let out a good-natured chuckle and looked down at me with a kind smile. "Would you like a tour of the school now? I'm sure knowing where everything is will make your first day much easier."

"Yes, I'd appreciate that," I answered timidly. The giant started walking back towards the central plaza. The students had finished their classes and were pouring out of the main building, so the vice principal waited until foot traffic died down before entering the stone structure. He showed me the now empty classrooms, which other than the giant scale of them were fairly typical, with the exception of a row of human-sized desks elevated on a shelf along the wall, with a staircase to reach them and a bike rack underneath. I had to admit, the design was surprisingly clever. At least while in class I wouldn't be sitting on a desk on the floor, where somebody could accidentally step on me.

Next, we checked out the cafeteria, which had a separate human section of tables tucked away in the corner. Mr. Henderson explained to me that the cafeteria workers would prepare my meals and leave them in a discreet designated area for me, which was a platform near the floor adjacent to the serving area for the giants. Since for now I was the only human student in the entire school, he told me that it wouldn't be practical to have a full serving area for humans, and I would be given prepackaged meals in brown paper bags. Fair enough I suppose. Having suffered a mild degree of food insecurity as a child, I wasn't picky. Food was food.

We passed by the bathrooms, and I was very grateful to see there were entirely separate, private facilities specifically designed for human accessibility. We also popped into the library, which had a modest selection of literature for humans to read on one of the bottom shelves. The giant then carried me back toward the administration offices, where I had met the principal. Reminded of the unpleasant interaction, I shivered and gripped one of the giant's thick fingers in my hands. In response, he curled his fingers around me protectively. The principal was still in his office, focused on paperwork. He looked angry. I sank down lower into the giant's hand, hoping I wouldn't be seen.

Keeping his voice low, so as not to disturb his boss, the vice principal said to me, "This is my office over here, at the end of the hall. If you need anything, don't be afraid to come see me." He held me up to his eye level and gazed at me intently. "I really mean that. Okay?"

I looked back into his expressive brown eyes. They were full of warmth, just like a cup of coffee. "Okay," I echoed quietly. He smiled, and his eyes lit up. He brought his hand back down to his prodigious torso and continued the tour. I swayed back and forth in his hands with every lengthy stride.