Well, Connor said to himself, they're going to find out sooner or later. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of his room, and slowly descended down the stairs. Even his footsteps were louder than usual: THUMP THUMP THUMP.
His mother was finishing up cooking some oatmeal on the stove. She may have looked like a timid woman, at only 5' 2", but her small frame hid a powerful force inside her.
"Well, it's about time, Con--" his mother said as she turned towards the stairs, saw her son, and gasped, dropping the pot of oatmeal she was holding. She brought her hand up to her mouth. "Oh, my God! Connor..."
"Hi, mom," was all that Connor could say.
His six-year-old sister, Sara, looked up from the table where she was eating her Cheerios. "Whoa, Connor! Cool! You're taller than Daddy now!"
Connor's mom was in tears, and she walked towards him, throwing her arms around him. "Oh, Connor, I can't believe it really happened!"
Connor began to hug her back, but then stopped. "Wait, what? You know something about this? You knew this might happen?"
His mother stepped back, looked at him sadly, and then turned away. "Uh, no, Connor, I...I just can't believe it."
Connor looked at his mother puzzled. Thoughts were swirling around in his head, but then he felt that...burning sensation again. Knowing what was coming next, he closed his eyes. "Here we go again."
He could feel his skin tingle as it stretched out and he grew taller and taller. His bones creaked and moaned as they lengthened. His braces began to come loose from his teeth. Finally, after a few seconds, it stopped.
Connor opened his eyes and looked down. His undershirt was now in tatters, and his boxer briefs were stretched almost to the limit. He now towered above his mother by a good two feet. He looked up and saw that his head was almost at the ceiling.
He looked into his mother's eyes and saw something he had never truly seen before: fear. She shook her head in horror and rushed to the phone.
Connor felt sorry for his mother, but deep down, he was beginning to like what was happening to him, at least a little. He had always been on the short side, and this..whatever it was, was more than making up for it.
He then turned towards the table and looked at Sara. She was just staring at him, partly afraid, but partly admiring too. He squatted down next to her; even squatting, his head was above Sara's at the table.
"Whatcha thinkin', Squirt?" He asked her.
She looked at him for a moment. "You're not going to do anything to hurt us, right?"
Connor chuckled, "Of course not! What made you think that?"
"Well," Sara said, looking down at her cereal, "you're pretty big now, and kinda scary. Almost like a monster."
Connor smiled, and ran his fingers through Sara's hair. "Don't worry, Squirt, no matter what happens to me, I'll always be there to protect you."
Sara turned back towards Connor, then reached out and hugged his arm, and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "My big bro."
Connor nodded. Maybe everything would be just fine, he thought.
He turned back towards his mother, who was still on the phone, very flustered. "Listen," she was almost yelling now, "I don't care what kind of meeting he's in, interrupt him!...Yes, I know. Just tell him these two words: It happened!"
Connor's grin quickly turned into a frown. Who was she talking to, and what was she talking about? She clearly knew something that she wasn't telling.
As she hung up the phone, he looked up at her, waiting for something anything. She just looked at him, started to cry again, and turned back towards the kitchen, and began to wash dishes.
"What was that about?" he asked.
"Nothing, honey," was her only reply.
At this moment, the school bus honked from outside.
"Um, should I get ready for school or something?"
His mother gave a half-laugh, half-sob. "I don't think that will be neccesary, Connor. Sara, you go ahead and get to school, okay?"
"But," Sara stammered, "if Connor gets to stay home, I want to stay home too!"
Their mother turned around quickly, with a much more serious face. "Sara Felicity Young, you get on that bus right now!"
Sulking, Sara slid out of her chair and grabbed her bookbag from the table. She ran up and gave Connor a quick hug on the leg. "I'll see you later, big bro." Sara then turned around and ran out the door, towards the bus.
After she had left, Connor turned towards his mother. "Listen, mom, I don't know what's going on here, but whatever it is, you don't need to take it out on Sara!"
As he slowly walked closer to her, she started to back away in fear. "Stay back! Don't come any closer!"
Connor looked at her incredulously. "What are you talking about? Mom, it's me, Connor!"
Suddenly, the front door burst opened, and his dad stormed in. An impressive figure at 6'3" and 250 pounds, his dad looked like he could have played lineman for the Chicago Bears. In reality, though, he was an accountant.
"Son," he said, as he looked sternly up at Connor, "it"s time to go."
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