Still holding the tiny city of New York casually in the palm of his hand, Stephan put on his most innocent expression as he answered the teacher.
"I was just thinking about the lesson and how much more interesting it might be if we could take a trip to the city to see it all for ourselves."
The teacher frowned. He'd been expecting a more insolent reply from the teenage troublemaker, but his response suggested he was actually showing some kind of interest in the lesson for once. Still, he couldn't let Stephan get the better of him in front of the other kids, and what was he holding in his hand anyway?
Deliberately making his tone sound as patronising as possible the teacher answered:
"Well, Stephan, I'm sure we'd all love to take a trip out to the city to see the sights and enjoy ourselves, but you know full well that the school doesn't have the money or resources to send a whole class to New York just because one kid thinks it might be a good idea." He chuckled and the rest of the class laughed obediently along with him. "Now, what is that you've got in your hand?"
Instead of blushing with embarrassment as the teacher had intended Stephan grinned broadly.
"What, this little thing? Oh, it's nothing much. I just thought that if it was too difficult for us to go to New York, then maybe I should bring the city here instead." The thirteen-year-old looked down at the terrified little metropolis with a look of amusement. "I thought you said it was supposed to be a really big city. It looks pretty teeny to me. I could probably squash the whole thing under my thumb." Still smiling, Stephan looked back up at the teacher, waiting to see his reaction.
Sure enough, it was the teacher's face that started to flush, first from confusion, then with anger. Just what was this dumb kid playing at? He peered more closely at the tiny object that Stephan was holding out for him to see. It was irregularly-shaped, ragged around the edges like it had been ripped out of something larger, but there was something about it.... It was almost too small to notice but was one shape that looked almost like Manhattan.... and that minute speck of green - it was in just the right place to be Central Park! It couldn't be... the boy had to be playing some kind of joke on him!
Stephan smiled again. "Maybe you should take a closer look. Hey, why don't you show the rest of the class around?"
Before the teacher had a chance to respond the boy had snapped his fingers. There was a brief flash and he found himself standing somewhere completely different. Completely disorientated, he looked around and saw the rest of the class nearby looking similarly dazed. Stephan, however, was nowhere to be found. Then the teacher looked up and gasped in surprise: they were standing on Liberty Island, at the base of the Statue of Liberty! However, something was badly wrong: the statue appeared to be damaged, with chunks missing and cracks running across its surface. The water around the island was unsually turbulent, almost as though it was draining away somewhere. He could even see a large cargo vessel being pulled along helplessly by the current. All around the city he could see damage. The skyline had been reshaped, and there was a huge groove running through the middle off into the distance, as though some colossal object had touched down and scraped a line through the city.
A sudden rumble of thunder and a blast of hot wind caught his attention and sent the students into a panic. The teacher looked up to see Stephan's face smiling down on him! He was simply colossal! The teacher couldn't even begin to guess how big he must be, but from a comparison of the tallest skyscrapers with the size of the boy's lips he had the uncomfortable feeling that the entire city could be casually placed inside the teenager's mouth like a small piece of candy!
There was another rumble of thunder: it was Stephan laughing. Then the boy spoke, his voice almost deafening in its volume.
"You see, I told you I'd bring New York to you! Guess it's too bad I had to shrink you down to fit you inside it, but I have to say it's pretty awesome being able to hold an entire city in my hand like this!"
The teacher didn't reply. Instead he felt his legs turning to jelly with utter fear. He thought about just how tiny that "thing" in Stephan's hand had been. Definitely no bigger than an inch across, maybe even smaller... And that little trinket had been New York!? His throat tightened up as he tried to imagine all the people who lived in that city, how tiny they must now be. How tiny he must be! Millions of humans, reduced in an instant to microscopic scale! And this boy, Stephan the troublemaker, was now like a god to them! He could do anything...
The boy-god spoke again: "I think we should continue the lesson now. Maybe things will be a bit more interesting! What was it you were talking about? Tourism and economy? Which one shall we choose?"
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