The Bigger They Are

Part I: Owen

Sunday, October 1, 2017

"He said what?" I gasped in disbelief, throwing my towel on the floor.

"Dude, I'm sorry, but Boss said you're fired," my coworker, Tommy, said.

"What did I do?" I asked him.

"'Owen's expendable,' he said," the other tried to explain, "'Why do you think he's been stuck washing dishes?' and then he said, 'When I had him serving, he kept dropping the plates, remember? Apparently they were too heavy for him.' I mean, I tried to argue with him. It's not your fault that you're four feet tall. I mean, that's the reason, right?"

"God, Tommy, I swear... One, I'm four feet and three and a sixth inches tall, and, two," I grinded my teeth in frustration, "I'm gonna talk some sense into him, 'cause that's bullcrap. The plates were heavy, by the way!"

A few moments later, yelling and screaming could be heard from behind the kitchen, and I stumbled out, my blue eyes puffy. I threw my invalid employee tag on the floor, groaning as I sat in a booth where my friends waited.

"That's the third job I've lost since July," I whined, "All conveniently before the paycheck!"

Giovanni and Zachary, my two friends, were waiting in the booth and awkwardly patted my back. It was a horrible attempt to cheer me up, but at least they tried.

Okay, let me tell you a bit about myself. I'm Owen, I'm going to be thirteen in about a month - wait, no, exactly a month and one day! I'm a midget in the eighth grade, but that doesn't stop me from looking fabulous! I mean, I think I look pretty attractive. Anyways, I have fluffy dirty-blonde hair with some blonde highlights, blue eyes, a skinny frame, and a high-pitched voice, which irritates me sometimes. Aren't I adorable? Just kidding, don't call me that, or I will kill you.

Some people say I'm stubborn. I wonder why...

Anyways, when I had calmed down, we ordered our food from the same worker that had broke the news of my firing to me. I was the last to order, taking the same thing I had every time.

"Hey, Tommy, can I get the, uh, Dix Hills Delight?" I raised my eyebrows when I got no response, "Hello?"

Tommy snapped out of his trance after staring at me, apologizing, "Oops, sorry! Was it the Dix Hills Delight?"

"Yup," I responded, and Tommy walked away.

"So, from here, we'll walk to Elwood Cinema, okay?" Giovanni confirmed.

"Yeah, sounds good. It's, like, a block away, right?" Zachary asked.

"Correct, but no. It takes me longer than you guys," Owen complained.

"Then we'll carry you!" the other two chimed in unison.

"Very funny..." I rolled my eyes, but saw that their faces were unchanged, "Wait, you were joking, right? Gino? Zach?"

❃

I should've sucked it up and walked, but, no, I had to be a stubborn son of a biscuit. Zachary carried me, hands on my butt (fun fact: I'm supposedly "thicc"), while Giovanni took a video and multiple pictures, much to my dismay. He probably posted them everywhere, and I knew because I had many notifications on my phone. God, being short sucks.

Once we arrived at the theater, I was dropped down quite roughly, and I punched Zachary where it hurt. I'm not gonna say where, since that's inappropriate. I didn't hurt Giovanni, though, because he threatened to pick me up, like Zachary did, and I wasn't going to challenge that.

"I can't wait for Kingsman: the Golden Circle, even though we're right here!" I literally jumped up and down, but slowed to a complete stop when I saw my friends' confused expression.

"Owen, we're seeing IT, not Kingsman," Zachary explained, and my face fell.

"WHAT?!" I screeched, and I felt all eyes on the ticket line focused on me, "Guys, you know how much I hate horror movies!"

Zachary gave Giovanni a worried look, to which he responded with a guilty one. He squatted, which only furthered my anger, and gazed at me with serious eyes.

"I, um, I said we were gonna watch Kingsman so you could come, Owen," he apologized, "But, c'mon, it's not that bad! If it scares you, cover your eyes."

I would've argued, but I noticed that people started to take out their phones, taking pictures of the argument between the midget and the taller, probably for some Tumblr crap. Sure, I might've laughed at the difference, but I was not in the mood. However, one thing certified my ambition to not be a wimp - one of the most popular kids at school, more popular than Tommy, had just walked in. If I made a fool of myself, word would travel like a wildfire from his snappy lips, so I needed to make sure I was "cool."

"Fine," I muttered, and Giovanni ruffled my dirty-blonde hair, but my eyes followed the sight of the boy.

I might seem like a wuss for being cautious to watch IT, but here's another fun fact: I'm easily scared. Tap me on the shoulder? I scream. Yell when I'm not expecting it? I scream and run! So, you can understand why I was frightened, however, the basically-famous kid was there! I didn't want to seem namby-pamby. Now, come to think of it, I am.

"Hey, Mike!" I called, practically dragging my friends toward where he was sitting.

"Hey, Owen!" Michael greeted, standing up from his seat awkwardly.

I noticed myself staring into his eyes, but shook my head to concentrate on the movie. However, I didn't watch the movie that much, rather, Giovanni was covering my eyes (thanks), but it wasn't enough to keep me calm, for I still heard poor Georgie's screams. After a while, I got used to it, for there weren't many jumpscares, and I could close my eyes when I knew something was coming. But what if I didn't?

It was the projector scene - I remember it perfectly - Eddie, my favorite, tore down the map, screaming at the rest of the Losers, when the projector started to move on its own. I knew I should've closed my eyes, but Michael was stealing glances at me! I couldn't look frightened. I was brave! I was strong! I was fearle-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I screamed, the jumpscare making my stomach lurch.

My eyes closed - I felt sick. I ran out of the theater, refusing my friends' accompaniment, for I couldn't ruin their night. Slamming the bathroom door, I stared at myself in the mirror. Wait, let me fix that - I stared at the tip of my forehead in the mirror. I turned away, looking for a garbage can to vomit in if I needed too, then looked back, finding my forehead gone! Okay, it wasn't literally gone, but the mirror wasn't showing it! I lifted myself onto the garbage can to look in the mirror - okay, not invisible. I would thank God, but I knew something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

I finally vomited, but, of course, I was on the trash can, so it got all over my new shoes, which felt surprisingly big. Mother hubbard! I slipped them off and onto the counter, jumping off the trash can, and - wait, what the freak?! Not only could I not reach the sink, but I was at lower cabinet level. And, let me tell you, the lower cabinets were a foot tall. A foot tall?! I realized how loose my clothes were, just like my shoes, and the only thing stayed put was my shirt, since the collar was still smaller than my shoulders. Why am I so calm, you might ask? I didn't mention how much I was screaming, but, a mistake on the theater's part, the single bathrooms were soundproof, so it doesn't even matter if I talk about how my throat hurt after screaming so much.

"So, this is what it feels to shrink?" I said to myself, then realized, "How am I going to live?! I've seen videos on this shit - I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'M GOING TO DIE!"

I started to run as my shirt finally fell, almost trapping me as I got smaller, when the door was burst open by some random guy. I craned my neck to see the details of his face, and I didn't notice the enormous structure swinging at me...

SMACK!

I was propelled across the room, and the man didn't even notice. My vision started to get blurry, and I couldn't see straight, couldn't even make a sound. My hand traveled to the back of my head and came back with gushing dark red - blood.

The last thing I saw was the blinding ceiling of the bathroom.

My eyes closed.

The last thing I heard was Michael, Zachary, and Giovanni calling my name from outside the bathroom.

I fell unconscious.