Slow Shrinking Psychology - Chapter One | Commission

Klay scribbled down his final few answers for the psychology test. He hadn’t exactly done too well in his previous tests but maybe this was the one! He was optimistic, but he knew deep down there was little chance he'd pass psychology. It just didn’t seem to click in his brain like it did so many of his classmates.

He was your typical senior in high school. A guy of medium build with short brown hair. Fairly confident with all his classes, he planned to get into a good college. Psychology was his worst class, the only one throwing it all at risk. 

The bell rang loudly throughout the room, followed by a clatter of pencils. The lesson, and his test, was over. The other students around him rushed to collect their things, excited to be finished school for the day. Klay was no different, he threw all of his belongings into his bag and slung it onto his back.

By the time he had gotten himself ready to leave, most of his fellow students had already left the classroom; leaving only a few stragglers and his teacher, Miss Gray. She was a tall and buxom woman, her figure a sight to behold for many of the students taking her class. She often wore a tight skirt and low cut tops, causing many to wonder if she liked the attention she so often received. However, she was a stern teacher and never allowed any riff raff.

As Klay made his way out of the classroom and past Miss Gray, he heard the woman’s clear voice call out to him, “Klay! Could you please wait behind a moment?” Hearing this, Klay turned on his heel and smiled as best he could, despite feeling uneasy about his teacher’s reasoning for wanting to see him.

Klay approached the slender woman, keeping his arms politely by his sides. “Yes, Miss Gray?” he asked.

Miss Gray shuffled through her papers before pulling out a single sheet with Klay's past test scores on. She moved her wide-rimmed glasses down slightly as she read through the sheet. “Klay, it would seem that you’re going to fail my class. Even if you do extremely well on this test, you’re simply not going to meet the threshold”, she explained to the teen.

Klay hadn’t quite come to terms with the fact that he might actually fail Psychology, he was always optimistic. “Oh, is there anything I can do? I really need to pass this class or else I might not get my choice of college!” Klay exclaimed, finally panicking about the inevitability of his failure.

“Well… There is an opportunity for extra credit, but the actual task can be a little… Challenging, to say the least”, Miss Gray proposed, digging through her drawers and pulling out a contract.

“Yes! Yes! I’ll do anything!” Klay replied, desperate to pass the class.

“Well, feel free to have a read through this and then just sign your name on the first page and we can begin!” Miss Gray explained to the hopeful teen.

“Oh thank you so much!” Klay shouted, grasping the contract from his teacher’s hand. Not even considering reading the full contract, he plucked a pen from the pot on Miss Gray’s desk and scribbled his signature down as fast as he could. Finished, he passed Miss Gray the contract back and smiled excitedly.

“Fantastic!” Miss Gray said as she put the contract into her drawer. Reaching towards the back of it she plucked a small vial out and placed it on the desk. With the contract safely inside, she locked the drawer and pocketed the key. “This is a shrinking serum. It will cause you to shrink in size over the course of two weeks.”

“Why?” Klay asked, confused. He lifted the vial up from the desk and analysed it closely, not noticing how it differed from any other medicine he had seen.

“You will be documenting your experience. Most notably, you’ll be documenting how your peers react and treat you based upon your size. We’re going to be assessing how your relationship with your friends and classmates changes. It’s all quite cutting edge, and will certainly give you enough credit to pass this class”, Miss Gray explained.

“What if I get hurt? If I’m documenting how people treat me, isn’t that assuming that they might treat me more negatively than they already do?” Klay asked, clearly worried that his fellow students might treat him worse if he were in a more vulnerable state.

Miss Gray smiled reassuringly, “They’re teenagers, not savages. But in any case, you will be assigned a protector. They will look after you as often as they can, they will take you to and from school and help you with whatever you might need.”

Klay felt a little better about the situation, he plucked the lid off of the bottle. “So do I drink the whole thing?” he asked, swishing the thick liquid around in the vial as he peered into it. Miss Gray nodded in response, and Klay wasted no time in downing the contents of it.

“The person who will be looking after you is doing so for extra credit also” Miss Gray said, taking the empty vial off of him and throwing it away. “Rachel, could you come in here please?”

Klay turned to watch the girl walk in. He recognised her immediately since they had been classmates the entire school year, another person who had been doomed to fail this class. She had long dark hair and was slightly thicker in stature than your average girl, but certainly not fat. She had a large behind that made the boys in class salvate, it swayed as she walked into the classroom, grinning. The two students had never really spoken, they knew very little about each other. Klay prayed she was kind hearted.

“Hey!” Rachel said, smiling kindly. “I guess we’re going to get to know each other pretty well over the next couple of weeks”, she pointed out, patting Klay on the back lightly as she came to a stop beside him and in front of Miss Gray. Klay sighed quietly, relieved at how nice Rachel was. That was going to make this entire experience so much easier for him.

Klay replied, slightly nervously, “Yes, I guess so ha!”

“Rachel! You should be sure to walk Klay to and from school everyday. Why don’t you start today so you two can get to know each other?” Miss Gray suggested, not actually giving him a choice if he were to say no.

Rachel smiled at her teacher, “Sure! Come on Klay, let’s get going!” Thanking Miss Gray for the opportunity, the two of them left the classroom both in good spirits about their task.

As they walked home, Rachel asked Klay, “So, how do you feel about shrinking then? It’s pretty crazy!”

Klay laughed, “Yeah it is pretty crazy! It’s quite exciting though, I’m sure it’ll be a unique experience at the least. I can’t believe we’ve never spoken before though, you seem really nice.”

Rachel smiled back at Klay, happy for the compliment, “Thank you! You seem really nice too, maybe this could be the start of something great!” They made their way towards Klay’s house. Rachel pointed out, “I actually live just a couple blocks from here, so it’ll be perfect for picking you up and dropping you off”. 

Klay replied, “Wow, that’s lucky! My parents are actually away on business for the next two weeks, so you’re welcome to come over whenever you need. They trust me on my own and I could always use the company!”

Rachel was blown away by how trusting Klay’s parents were. “Damn, they sound really cool. I definitely will take you up on that offer at some points. We can hang out, watch some movies, get pizza” she suggested as they reached Klay’s house. “Well, I’ll see ya later!” Rachel said, as she waved and continued her walk home.

“See ya!” Klay replied, waving also and heading inside. He couldn’t believe how well he and Rachel got on, things could’ve been much worse. He had the opportunity for a girlfriend now, and if not that then another friend at the least. This extra credit was going to be a breeze!

The rest of Klay’s evening was totally uneventful. He marked on his bedroom wall his current height and checked it every hour for the rest of the night, but saw no changes at all. “Does that serum even work?” he asked himself, confused at why he hadn’t shrunk at all. Klay went to sleep as normal that night, wondering if maybe he’d shrink some by the morning. 

When the morning came, Klay had completely forgotten about how he was meant to shrink. The only thing on his mind was heading over to his desk to turn off his ear shattering alarm. Swinging his legs over the side of his bed, he attempted to place his feet onto the floor beside it. Expecting the floor to be right beneath his feet, he pushed himself off the bed. He screamed out as he fell a reasonable drop towards the floor, not expecting it at all.

“What the hell?” he shouted, aghast. Remembering why he may have crashed to the floor, the smaller boy sprinted to his mark on the wall; plucking a pencil from his desk as she ran. Pinning his back up against the wall, he ran the pencil along the top of his head. Eager to see the difference, he stepped back and eyed it up. “Wow, I’m pretty damn short!” Klay cheered, excited that it had worked.

Upon getting a tape and measuring his new height, he saw that he was almost exactly four foot in height. Previously, he had been five foot and nine inches. He’d be the smallest in his year at school now, including the girls!

After taking a moment to come to terms that this was actually happening, he rushed to get ready in time for Rachel picking him up. As he hunted through his cupboard, he realised that his clothes wouldn’t fit him. Luckily, he had some old clothes that he could use at least for now. But he’d have to ask Miss Gray for guidance on what to do if he got any smaller.

As he finished getting ready, a loud knock could be heard at his door. He rushed downstairs, ready to show Rachel his new size and get going. As the door swung open, Rachel’s jaw dropped in shock. “Oh. My. God.” Rachel said, blown away that it had actually worked. “You’re so short!” she continued.

“I know, right? Can you believe it?” Klay asked, shutting and locking his front door behind him. The two of them wasted no time in making their way to school, not wanting to be late. They chatted as normal the entire way there, Klay would make sure to write down that so far things with Rachel at least hadn’t changed; in spite of his size. 

As they approached the school gates, Rachel made her exit. “Hey, I have to go meet some of my friends before our first class. I’ll see you in Psychology and then we can hang out at lunch after, yeah?” she proposed to the small boy.

Klay smiled back, “Sure, sounds great!” And with that, they parted ways. The front of the school looked completely different even at this height, everything felt so massive. As she walked, a girl from the year below him shouted out, “Hey! Who let the kid into high school?” Causing many people to look and laugh.

Klay kept his head down as he continued to walk, looking forward to getting to his first class and away from the prying eyes of people he didn’t know. The mocking didn’t stop as he walked. Brienne, the head of the cheer squad, came up to Klay and pushed him, “Hey shorty! Are you lost?”

Klay stumbled backwards as he was pushed. “No, I’m actually a Senior here. You see, I’m doing an extra credi…” he began, cut off by the shouting voice of the girl.

“Shut up! Don’t lie to my face, I hate that! You’re barely even a freshman. In fact, if you get in my way again, I might just have to make you my little bitch. That’s a good name for you, Bitch!” Brienne laughed to herself.

“Hey, Brienne! Are you coming?” one of her friends shouted over to them.

Brienne, whilst not recognising Klay, was easily recognised. She was head of cheer, a heavily curvaceous and strangely tall girl. She reigned with an iron fist, her size providing her the confidence and control she needed to be the one always in at the top of the food chain. Students all around the school flocked to her from her natural ability to take charge and be the centre of attention.

“You better stay out of my way, for your sake!”, Brienne stated as she pushed the small boy once more. Her steps boomed as she walked away, heading towards her friends.

“Wow, that was crazy”, Klay muttered to himself as he headed inside. He’d have to remember to write this experience down, it definitely went in the category of negative. Maybe he’d need to have Rachel around more often than not.