“I’m really not that hungry,” Stan replies to Mia. How can he think about eating when the contest results are only an hour away. He walks back into his room and reads up some more information on the shrinking device.
Variable size adjustment, near invulnerability, texture control, this thing has it all. The more he reads the more he gets excited. He keeps checking his clock, hoping it will say eleven. Every minute feels like an hour to him.
Finally, eleven o’ clock comes around. Stan clicks through his windows to get to his inbox and... nothing. No new mail. His heart sinks into his stomach. Maybe it’s just late, he thinks to himself. He keeps refreshing every so often. He is just about to leave his chair for the bathroom when a message arrives. It’s from YouShrink, the company holding the contest. He sits back down in his chair, afraid to open it. When he finally clicks it, he closes his eyes. As he peeks them open, he reads: “Dear Stan, we regret to inform you...”
He didn’t win...Stan slumps back into his chair, defeated. Somehow, he knew deep down that he wasn’t going to win. Nobody ever gets that lucky in real life. It is then that he remembered his sister entered the contest as well. He gets up and runs to Mia’s room. She was sitting on her computer, reading something. “Did you check your mail, yet?” he said, trying not to sound too desperate. “I take it you didn’t win, either. Oh well,” she said somewhat nonchalantly. “Damn...” he replied. She sees him lingering at the door, looking depressed. “Aw, don’t worry little bro, I won’t stop teasing you” she winks at him. He attempts a smile and then withdraws back to his room.
Well, that’s the end of that, he thought to himself. Time to wake up and smell the fresh air. At least summer vacation is coming up. There was only one week left before he could relax and enjoy some freedom.
Stan is depressed for a few days, but he manages to bury the feeling under his last week of studies. On Friday he finishes the last of his exams, feeling confident that he is not entirely retarded. He comes home, and...