Middle School Miniature

Chapter 3, Looming Shadows

The only thing I could see was blur of colors and lights as I cracked open my eyes.

Which on second thought, was actually kind of pretty and pretty alarming.

I lifted my hand to my face and all my muscles screamed in pain.  I rubbed my eyes until I could see better, but I wasn't sure I was seeing right. The texture of the cold floor beneath me was unlike something that I had seen before and the open space around me seemed to stretch out. 

Everything was big. Not big like looking through a magnified glass. Big like looking up at vast skyscrapers in a big city or like seeing the immense space of the sky on a clear black stary night.

"I've been teleported to a world of giants!" I exclaim to no one in particular, not really believing it. I looked around at the concrete floor stretching for what felt like a square mile or two, and at the walls that looked almost comparable to a featureless square 12 story apartment complex.

I feel ashamed to admit that my first thought was in actuality along the lines of 'wow this is so cool!'. But that was quickly followed by an 'oh heck' As my brain started and failed to process what was happening.

Everything looks oddly familiar...?
I trailed off as everything clicked in my mind like an optical illusion that reversed itself.
Nothing had gotten bigger, I had gotten smaller. I took a deep breath, focusing on staying calm....

It didn't work.

"HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!?" I ask myself, "HOW IS IT POSSIBLE?!"

'Obviously, Amelia, it was the terrible lasagna.' I scold myself. 

'well sorry! Just don't be late to lunch next time!' 

'that wasn't even my fault  Amelia!' I yell back at myself.

Now I'm talking to myself. Great. I guess that I'll be a raving loon bat by next period. Wait, what time is it?

I face palm and my thoughts go back to being sane. Similar I suppose to just hitting a machine when it isn't turning on.

"Ok, so what do I need to do?" My mind was in a confused knot. I look up at the school clock in the corner of the room. It reads 2:12, I only had 13 minutes until the end of sixth period, the end of school. I had been out for over two and a half hours.

How had no one seen me?

If my luck had lasted this long, it probably won't last for much longer, so I need a hiding spot. The best, and most comfortable spot I could come up with was my baritone sax case.

I know you band people out there are like "but wait, doesn't she play alto?" That is true, but I also play in a jazz band some mornings with the bari. Like I said, music is the only place I fit so, it's like a before school sport. Now you people that don't play instruments, I apologize for boring you and I return to the story post haste.

I start to make my way over to the case, but immediately I scramble over to a wall and flatten myself to it so that I'm hidden under the overhang of the shelf above me. A large shadow folled by an equally large shape thunders by the door opening. I hold my breath and watch, paralyzed by the enormity of a human. My director no less.

His foot alone was the size of a small car, I would only come up to barely above his Achilles tendon.  My mouth dropped looking at his giant torso, huge arms and legs, and enormous hands that surely squeeze the life out of me without effort. He didn't move any slower than normal, but I could hear every step he took till he disappeared into his office room, closing the door behind him with a bang.

So much for good luck. More like terrifyingly bad luck. But I am still alive so far, so we can leave it at 50/50.

My legs felt weak and my mouth was dry. This changed my perspective of 'oh this might be cool' real  quickly, it was freaking scary.

I decided to quickly go hide in the case and come back out to 'scavenge' after all the students and staff leave, I had no desire to be found by teacher or student Godzillas. I could get water out of the leaky water fountain in the main band room and gather crumbs of some treat that the students or teachers bring into the band room. I would be a hidden band room hobbit. Next step is to get into my case.

My case is located in one of the four largest cubbies, luckily on the bottom one. The cases are normally left open and along with having a spot for the instrument, they have a large spot to hold other things like reeds or neck straps. Ha ha ^-^ welcome to band 101. I must be a nerd.

Anyway... I could hide there and easily be covered by the stuff, making it a perfect hiding place as long as no one looks there.

"I really hope no one looks there. Otherwise, there will have been people  looking through my stuff all along!" ...Which, in hind sight, probably wouldn't be as bad as being found, captured, and experimented on, but oh well, I was in a stressful situation ok?!

I grab the shelf and pull myself onto my stomach and roll onto the wood completely. Part one: success. I look up to the case edge. I would have to jump to reach it, meaning that my weak arms, that couldn't quite do a pull up, couldn't pull myself over that way.

I try to find another way up, spotting it as the table leg that is up against the locker wall. I run over and hug the metal pole that shoots it's way up to a table top, normally the height of my waist. Now it serves as a climbing pole.

I wrap my arms around the pole and do the same with my legs. I start to slide down but stop as my skin catches on the metal. I raise my arms and pull myself up until I can extend a leg and put my foot on the edge of the case. I grab on with my hand, hooking a leg over the edge and push myself over, tumbling into the velvet lined compartment below, bruising my knees and elbow in the process.

I lay there for a moment. Part two: success.

The door that my teacher was behind was suddenly pulled open with a woosh, and he walked swiftly, using long strides, towards the exit. I froze, holding as still as possible.

It still baffled me at how enormous he was, and that still doesn't even scratch the surface of describing this experience.

I didn't realize that I was holding my breath until moments later when I let out a long sigh. Good thing he didn't look over here and see me. Relief washes over me like a cool breeze.

I climb onto a reed box and crane my neck to make out the clock, it was 2:22. Wow three two's, huh. But that meant that I only had 8 minutes until school ended. I groaned at the lingering pain in my head hating that I had to continue thinking.  I looked around at the clutter I was in and decided to rearrange some stuff to make it more comfortable. I sighed and got up, at least I had something to get my mind off my situation and hopefully relax.

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How'd I do? I appreciate all your comments and likes.
^-^ Ema