Approximately eight hours later...
Shaking beyond control, Derek sat in a bath of soapy water. Alongside him was a fresh set of clothes and a napkin for a towel. Thankfully, the little assistant made it out of the situation alive. Consequently, he was left with visions of the entirety of his time inside of the high school student. From the beginning where he was gathered in the girl's maw and swallowed to the very end where he made his "triumphant" exit. There was nothing Derek could ever say, he thought, that would ever give his journey justice. He twitched as he rinsed off all of the marks and scrapings he had gathered from the internal workings of Makayla. Having now been reintroduced to the outside world for a mere fifteen minutes, Derek felt as though he could never return to his job ever again. Alas, that was not for him to determine, at least not at this time. He had to find a way to pay his rent and get food on the table for himself. Leaving the school, the very employer who put in efforts to ensure his safety and who saved him from an even worse fate, would spell trouble for Derek. Nonetheless, Derek knew that he just couldn't go back.
A few moments later, as Derek was lost in thought, a knock came at the door. He turned to face the entrance and discovered a face peeping through the crack. "Hi, I'm really sorry to disturb you. I forgot to ask, did you need to stay the night? I don't mind, I'm just curious," the person warmly asked. Still shaking, Derek responded. "Um, s-sure. I, uh, could probably use a good r-rest." The person, appearing to be Makayla's mother, smiled then shut the door. Derek sighed and finally relaxed. After all of the horrors he had been through in the past eight and a half to nine hours, it was nice to have been recovered by a nice family. It was even better not to have been discovered by a lesser considerate person. Once she had managed to find Derek, Makayla, while embarrassed, handled him with care and left him be.
When Derek had concluded his thorough wash down, lasting nearly forty-five minutes, he dried himself off and redressed. He was surprised that Makayla and her family had anything worth wearing at his size. As it turned out, Makayla's mother was an expert seamstress and managed to work out a new outfit for the little guy, all expenses covered from his experience with her daughter. The fabric she used was very comfortable and condition-resistant. As he walked out of the bathroom following his clean-up, Derek made sure to thank the mother for all of her hospitality and hard work. He found her in the kitchen, making dinner. Derek hesitated and even viscerally ran back as he approached the kitchen. The smell of food reminded him of the uncomfortable, to say the least, conditions of Makayla's belly. Despite this, Derek found the courage to walk into the kitchen and climb up onto the counter. "Mrs. Betzing?" he spoke. The woman stopped what she was doing and turned around. "Good evening, Derek," the middle-aged woman smiled. "I hope everything's been well for you."
"Thank you. I just wanted to tell you how much I've appreciated your hospitality. After all that I've been through, it's been very nice to have such a warm setting and nice clothes. Thank you so much, really," Derek said. The woman chuckled. "My pleasure. I hope to see you bounce back on your feet. Again, I am so very sorry for the trouble that happened." Derek shrugged. "No worries. It's no one's fault but my own. Just wrong place at the wrong time, not taking the right course of action." The two continued chatting until the meal was ready. Once complete, Mrs. Betzing set the table for her family as Derek walked off to get some rest. He tucked himself inside of a tissue box Makayla had set up for him. Though it was a touch small, even for him, Derek found a way to make it work.
The following day, Makayla took Derek with her back to the school. He rode along in her sweatshirt pocket, bouncing around against her phone. Once at the school, the black student let the little guy out at the main office before waving him off. The two didn't exchange much conversation, on account for the incident the day prior, but neither of them minded. Derek then proceeded into the principal's office and began a tough conversation. "Good morning, Principal Franklin," Derek began, "I've come to let you know that I need to take a leave of absence, paid if possible." The brown-haired woman sighed. "I figured that this was coming. Though I do need you around, I understand about the difficulty that happened and the effects of it. I appreciate you at least coming in this morning to inform me. I will make sure that you get paid leave. I hope to see you back in working order soon, Derek." Derek and his boss amicably parted ways from there, and the little guy was off for home, catching public transport. In just twenty short minutes, Derek arrived at his homestead and began his paid leave.
Does anything happen to Derek during his leave or does he make it through fine and head back to work?
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author
