Chapter #3The Toolbox: Starting Repairs by: Mr.Domino   There had just been an earthquake and several aftershocks here in the sunny bay area of Redford Hills California, and while you'd been used to them since you were very young, this one had decided to be a jerk and cause some actual property damage to the home you shared with your best friend Kyle Eubanks. A shelf in the kitchen has been rattled off of it's mooring, sending food and tupperware everywhere, and after the quakes had ceased and the mess cleaned up, the two of you had stood and stared at the completely dislodged box of wood.
"Is anything broken down there, Sidney?" Your roommate Kyle calls from the top of the stairs.
"No, just a couple of boxes are on the floor!" You say back from the bottom of the aged staircase as you survey the basement of your shared home. After a few moments you turn to head back upstairs and deal with the true mess that the earthquake had caused when you see it, sitting on the shelf near the small rectangular window that let natural light into the dark confines of the basement.
A small, red toolbox, covered in a light layer of dust, the light bouncing dully off of it. That's when you got the idea that would go on to change your entire life.
"Hey Kyle! There's a toolbox down here! I bet we could fix the cabinet ourselves and not have to call your dad!" You say excitedly as you quickly cross the basement floor and grab the box off the shelf, surprised by the weight of such a small container as you lug it back over to the stairs and show it to Kyle, who had decided to come down.Sitting inside and playing video games during your free time from school didn't exactly help your already less than stellar athleticism. You shift your grip to hold the toolbox by the silver metal handle and motion to it with your other hand dramatically as if you were on a game show.
"Dude, the last time we actually tried building something was Shop class two years ago" Kyle said, referencing the small disaster that had been the exposure to power tools for the both of you. But hey, at least they'd been able to re-attach that one boy's finger and as far as you knew he was living a normal life.
"I know, that's why I want to fixing this thing! To prove that we can!" You said, ignoring the fact that the both of you had otherwise been banned from using the tools in Shop class after The Incident. But luckily you had both been able to take the class Senior year, not that it expanded your knowledge base any.
"We didn't learn shit in that class." Kyle said, crossing his arms and fixing you with a look that said he was never going to buy any of the bullshit that you had planned to say. It was true, though, everyone spent that particular class goofing off because it had been the teacher's last semester before retirement and all he did was give everyone As for showing up to class.
"At least let me try first! If it's still broke we can just call your dad or something" You plead with your best friend.
"Because that's a good idea...Fine, whatever." He responded, rolling his eyes. Kyle's dad was a bit of a hard-ass. The man owned a contractor company and did not deal with having to pay for things. He was sort of like a modern day Scrooge in that respect. But it was either fix it yourself or call him. With a shrug you stepped past your friend and made your way up the stairs that led back into the kitchen.
You quickly reached the top of the short flight of stairs and crossed the small space to put the dust covered toolbox that you'd discovered. You figured one of your parents must have put it down there as a housewarming gift or it had been left by a former owner, but either way it was time to make use of it. Before you flip the lid open you blow on the toolbox and immediately regret your decision as a cloud of dusts flies into your face. Not expecting it, you inhale more than a little and begin coughing as you wave the dust out of your face.
"Wow when was the last time you touched that thing, bro?" Kyle chuckled as he leaned in behind you as you open the toolbox's lid. Inside were dozens of tools; a tape measure, a woodworking compass, a hammer, screwdrivers, socket wrenches, the works.
"I think maybe when we moved in? It was already here when we got here so..." You reply, gently pushing him aside as you reach in to grab the hammer and a box of nails. Kyle's hands snatched in towards the tape measure and pulled it out with a loud "AHA!" as you started pooling the tools you believed you needed for the job on the table beside the toolbox.
"Dude." Kyle's voice was full of excitement as you saw him grab a circular object with a tiny metallic lip on one end and you try not to groan too much. Kyle being excited about something meant that there was very little chance he'd actually help you get this done. He was pretty notorious for being a flake. His older sister Haylee was the same, and more than once you'd quietly wondered if they were just that clueless or if it was something they'd gotten from their mom.
"What." You say in a practiced, neutral voice, not acknowledging him beyond that singular word. Maybe if you played dis-interested enough he'd lose interest and actually help you. It had worked before, after all.
"Measure me!"
You sighed and turned to face him, despite having just tried to ignore him. There he was, with his 'Jonah Hill meets Freddie Prinze Jr.' face lit up with child like excitement.
"Measure me! It's been forever since the last time they told me how tall I was! What if I've grown?"
"Kyle" You sighed, "Can you just help me fix the damn shelf?"
"C;mon, just do this for me, ok? I promise I'll help you" He begged.
"Ugh, fine. Give it here" You said, reaching out for the tape measure which he promptly slammed into your hand. You lift the tape measure up and look it over, it had been a REALLY long time since you'd messed with any kind of tool and you wanted to make sure you didn't break the thing by not pulling it out right. Finding the lip of the tape roll, you grasp hold and give a short tuck, the yellow metallic ribbon of numbers sliding out easily. You fix Kyle with a half bored, half annoyed stare, "I can't believe I'm doing this"
"It'll be fun!" He says, standing up against the kitchen wall. You rolled your and took a couple of steps towards him, holding the lip of the tape measure's tongue by the top of his head and dragging the main body down to his feet. This WAS the right way, wasn't it?
"Dude, what the hell are you doing? You're supposed to put the little metal hook thing under my show!" Kyle cried out.
Apparently not.
With another roll of your eyes, you let go of the metallic lip and prepare for the measure to snap back into it's casing.
It does, but something strange happens as the tape measure curls into itself. Kyle begins to rapidly shrink! His entire body, clothing and all rapidly decrease in size in the split second it takes the tape measure to close back into ti's housing, leaving him stranded at six inches tall!
There's a moment of silence before the panic sets if for both of you.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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