The Shrinking Freshman

The last thing Chet Richardson expected to be doing is fight a giant rat with a sewing needle. Well, the rat was not exactly giant; Chet was now just barely four inches tall. The rat snapped and snarled eager to fill its belly. It lunged at Chet; with all his strength, he jabbed the sewing needle in the rat's nose and pulled it out. The rat shrieked and backed off for a second shaking it's head. It quickly gathered itself, though, and scratched Chet's bare stomach with its sharp claws.

Oh, yes, if shrinking wasn't strange enough, Chet was only clad in his underwear. The briefs, for some reason shrunk with him. Chet, then stabbed the rat in the eye, and once again pulled out the needle. This time the rat took a little longer to compose himself. It turned its other eye to the shrunken freshman and lunged at Chet again, knocking the young man down. Now the rat was on top of him, hissing and shrieking in rage. Chet had a brief flash of his tombstone: Chester Todd Richardson, Jr. born September 1st, 1967, died March 3rd, 1987. He wouldn't even make it to 20 years old if the rat had its way. With all of his might, Chet pushed the rat off of him, but not before the rat scratched him on the arm.
The poor kid managed to barely hold onto the needle. With a last rush of adrenaline, Chet did manage to stab it in the stomach. The rat squealed in pain. There was now blood on the floor, both Chet's and the rats. The rodent drew in its breath, weakened but still enraged. It hissed and leapt, once again towards the scrawny guy.

ONE WEEK EARLIER

"Chet," said Jimmy Craven, his roommate, "are you doing okay?"
"Yeah," replied Chet Richardson, "why do you ask?"
"Well," said Jimmy, "you look a little thin; have you been losing weight?"
Chet rolled his eyes. As if he needed to be reminded he was shorter and skinnier than Jimmy.
"Very funny, Jimmy, you know I'm smaller than you. You don't have to rub it in."
"I'm not," said Chet's 6'5" 220LB roommate," I'm serious you look thinner."
"Well," replied Chet, "I can assure I'm not; I'm still the same 5'10" 140LB roommate I've always been."
Jimmy said nothing. Actually, Chet's statement was not totally accurate: he was technically 5'9 and 3/4", he just rounded it off to make him feel better, and as far as his weight, the 140LBs might be true if he was fully clothed with a jacket and probably soaking wet. He was closer to 135 LBs. Chet had never had good image about his body. On top of everything else, he was scrawny, but not perfectly proportioned. He had a stomach "pooch" i.e., a belly. It wasn't huge but it was enough for Chet to feel self conscious and he knew other people noticed it when he was in his swimming trunks. Chet Richardson the misshapen freak of Clarkson county.
"You didn't eat much for breakfast," said Jimmy.
"Look, just drop it, you worry too much," replied Chet, "besides, I have to get to Biology class."
"Okay," said Jimmy, "see you later,"
"See you," said Jimmy's roommate as he turned down the hall to his class.
Jimmy looked after him concerned. He didn't tell Chet this part, but not only did his roommate look thinner; he looked shorter as well.

Chet reached his Biology class and took a seat. He pulled his notebook out of his bookbag and got ready for the professor to lecture. While he was doing this, Angela Thompson sat beside him and started doing the same thing.
Then, Angela started staring at Chet. Her eyebrows furrowed a bit and her face tightened somewhat She stared long enough that Chet felt his body tense up. He looked at her and said,
"Is something wrong, Angie?"
"Not with me," said the young woman, "but are you feeling all right?"
"Yes, why?" Chet replied.
"Well," said Angie, "you look like you've lost some weight."
Chet just shook his head. Not again.
"Oh for Pete's sake," replied the blond headed blue eyed guy, "you sound like Jimmy. He said the same thing."
"Well," said Angie, "then maybe you should listen since both of us noticed you look thinner. Are you sure you're not sick?"
"I feel fine," said Chet who then put his hand to his forehead in a bit of exasperation. This caused his elbow to knock his pen down. Chet, then stood up to get it when he felt his pants slipping. Fortunately, he caught them before they fell completely down. He tightened his belt. Angela gave him an "I told you so" look.
"These pants must have stretched somehow," the freshman said.
"Oh yes because your waist is SO wide," said Angie sarcastically.
"They're just older jeans," said Chet, "me taking them on and off for a period of time must have stretched them."
Angie didn't say anything further. For one thing, the professor had come up to lecture. Maybe after class she could convince Chet to go to the infirmary. Losing weight was not healthy especially for someone as skinny as him. Hopefully, it wasn't too serious a problem.

After an hour, the lecture came to a close, and the students started to get up and leave. Chet slid from his chair, he hooked his finger through the belt loop of his pants as if he expected them to slip down again. They didn't, but they did feel looser.
"Chet," said Angie, "I think you need to go to the infirmary and let Dr. Hopkins examine you."
"Oh, come on, Angie," said Chet, "I'm fine."
However, Angela was not as easily dissuaded as Jimmy was. Angie was a very good friend to Chet; not in the boyfriend and girlfriend way; more like a brother and sister. In fact, she viewed him as a younger brother so needless to say, she felt protective of him.
"Look," said Angie, "you're clearly not all right. It might not be anything, but it's good to rule it out. And what are you going to do if you lose so much weight, your pants fall down like what almost happened now."
"Okay, Okay," said Chet said.
"Well, then," said Angie, "let's go."
"You're going with me,?" he asked.
"Of course, I am," she replied, "I know you; you'd avoid going then lie to me about it later."
Chet could tell that his friend was in protective mode. He, actually, was grateful for their friendship. They weren't boyfriend and girlfriend; they'd actually tried dating at the beginning of the year but they both found out they were better as friends. They just didn't have that spark.

"Angela was right to make you come here, Chet," said Dr. Hopkins, "you've lost quite a bit of weight."
"What do you mean?" asked Chet as he put his shirt on.
"I mean you've become pretty underweight."
"You mean I'm not 140 pounds?"
Dr. Hopkins shook her head and stated,
"Chet you never WERE 140 pounds. Why do you think I had you strip to your underwear; I know you won't give me an honest answer about your size. By the way, you need to stop feeling bad about the way you look; not every guy is a body builder or an athlete." She paused and then added, "It's okay you're just 5'8"."
"5'8"," said Chet, "I'm 5'10".
"Chet," said Dr. Hopkins...,
"All right," said the freshman, "I did exaggerate that; I'm actually 5'9 and 3/4 inches."
Dr. Hopkins frowned and said, "Not according to the measurements I took."
"But that can't be right," said Chet, "when I had my physical before I started college, that's the height my doctor said I was."
Dr. Hopkins looked thoughtful for a second and then asked, "What time of day was it when you had the exam."
"What?", said the young man.
"Was it morning or afternoon?"
"It was morning at 8 o'clock."
"That explains it. You see during the day as we go about our business our height compresses slightly; in other words by the afternoon we can be slightly shorter than we were in the morning."
"Almost 2 inches smaller," said Chet, a little unnerved.
"Well," said the doctor, "I know you have a tendency to slouch so that might be a factor. By the way, you probably should work on your posture; you'd probably feel better."
"Uh, speaking of that am I sick," asked Chet.
"No," said Dr. Hopkins, "you're just really underweight for your size. I'd recommend eating more protein and well just eating a little bit more. That plus working on your posture should help. So just try to gain some more weight by eating better and trying to exercise more. If you don't gain weight, you might end up sick."
"Okay," he replied, "thank you Dr. Hopkins."
"Anytime, Chet," replied the doctor, "by the way, you'd better get going; you've got class and I've got to make a phone call."
"All right," said Chet, "goodbye Doctor."
"See you Chet," she replied.
After Chet left, Dr. Hopkins tightened her face and then went to her desk, picked up her receiver and dialed the phone. After a minute, she spoke,
"Yes. I just had to fix a problem.
A pause and then the doctor continued,
"No, he doesn't suspect what's happening; I just gave him a cock and bull story about his being severely underweight and that he needs to eat more. He has no idea that no matter how much he eats, it won't stop what's happening to him."

Chet went out to the waiting area and was surprised to find Jimmy waiting there with Angie.
"What are you doing here, Jimmy" asked Chet.
"I was just walking by on my way to class and Angie here saw me through the window flagged me down," said Jimmy.
"Won't you be late for class," asked Chet?
"Just by a few minutes," said Chet's roommate, "I just wanted to see if you were all right and find out what Dr. Hopkins said."
"You don't need to worry so much about me," said Chet, "Dr. Hopkins just said I'm underweight and needed to eat more as well as exercise so more."
"Well," said Jimmy, "I can help you with the exercises but as far as worrying about you; hey, we're your friends, it comes with the territory."

Back in medical office, Dr. Hopkins continued her conversation;
"No, like I said he doesn't suspect anything; that Angie girl and their friend Jimmy were worried about him."
A pause and then Hopkins continued,
"Well since Chet bought it, I'm hoping he can convince those other two that everything is just fine."

"So that's it," said Angie, "she said you were just underweight."
"Well," said Chet, "she said I was severely underweight and that I needed to take better care of myself."
"So," said Angie, "you're not sick."
"Of course not, Angie," said Chet, "like I said you guys worry too much about me."
"And like Jimmy said," replied their female friend, "you're our friend; it comes with the territory."
"Point taken," said Chet who then looked at his digital watch, "Oh man, I'd better get to history; I'm late enough as it is."
Angie and Jimmy watched Chet walk to the building where his history class was. After Chet had gone inside, Jimmy turned to Angie and said,
"Okay. What was with that."
"With what?"
"You acted like you didn't believe Chet or Dr. Hopkins."
"Oh, I believe what Chet said was what happened and that Dr. Hopkins said what she did," replied Angie, "I'm just not sure that the doctor is not exactly right."
"Why not?" asked Jimmy.
"You know why not," said Angie, "in fact we both know; we just don't want to say it out loud."
Jimmy gave that knowing look but still asked,
"Say what out loud?"
Angie drew in her breath and stated,
"That Chet doesn't just look thinner; he looks smaller as well, almost like he..., well SHRUNK."

Chapter 2

Chet was about 10 minutes late to history class. When he explained he was at the infirmary, the professor eased his worry with a wave of his hand. Chet took his seat. As he sat down, he noticed his watch twisting around his wrist pinching his hairs. The timepiece had rotated, and the dial was no longer facing up. Chet just turned it back around. Maybe the band had stretched, although being metal that didn't seem likely. It must have something to do with his weight loss.

Jimmy stared at Angela for a second and then shook his head and said,
"Come on Angie; no one shrinks."
"You come on; I know you've been thinking the same thing."
"Okay, yeah. I've been thinking that, but how could that happen?"
"I don't know; just like I don't how we're going to tell him or what can be done about it."

Chet listened to the lecture, writing notes down as rapidly as he could. One bizarre thing he noticed was his pen felt like it had gotten larger. It made it a little difficult to write. Finally, the lecture was over. He got up and picked up his bookbag. He then saw the professor waving for him to come over.
Chet walked over and stood in front of the professor.
"Yes Dr. Lewis, you wanted to see me."
"Yes, Chet, I did. I just wanted to know if you're okay."
"Yessir".
"Well," said Dr. Lewis, "you said you were at the doctor and I've noticed that you have seemed to..," a pause
"Lost weight? said Chet finishing the sentence, "oh sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you sir."
"No that's fine," replied the professor, "is that why you were at the infirmary."
"Yessir, Dr. Hopkins said I just needed to eat more and exercise, but I'm not sick."
"Well, that's good, Chet. Just do what Dr. Hopkins tells you. I'd want you to stay healthy."
"Thank you, Dr. Lewis."
"Okay, Chet that's all. See you Wednesday."
As the young man departed Lewis noticed something else in addition to Chet's weight loss. The freshman had to lift his head slightly up to look the professor in the eye. That was strange because they were both the same height.

When Chet came out of his history class, he saw Angie and Jimmy waiting for him. He noticed both of them had furrowed eyebrows. Not again. This concern they had over his weight loss was touching but it was beginning to be a bit much.
"Come on guys," said Chet, "I know you're worried about my weight loss but like Dr. Hopkins said it can be solved with me eating so more and exercising."
"That's not it Chet," said Angie, "it's something else and I'm not sure how to tell you this."
"Tell me what?"
"Well," said Jimmy, "this may sound crazy, but I guess the best way to say this is to come right out and say it. You look like you've gotten smaller not just in height. You look like you've actually SHRUNK."
"Actually," replied Chet, "it's not that crazy, I have shrunk."

Chapter 3
"What," said Angela, her eyes widening, "you're shrinking, and Dr. Hopkins just told you to eat more food."
"Angie," said Chet, "that's not quite right, I'm not exactly "shrinking".
"Then what do you mean you've shrunk," asked Jimmy
"Dr. Hopkins explained that you can be slightly shorter later in the day than you are in the morning. I think it has something to do with gravity and your spine compressing a bit. By tomorrow morning, I should be back to my height of 5'10" instead of 5'9" like I am now."
"5'9", said Angie her eyes narrowing.
"All right," said Chet, "back to my height of 5'9 and3/4" and instead of 5'8"."
"You shrunk almost 2 inches, " Angela said a little loudly with her eyes widening.
"Yeah, but I'm fine, Dr. Hopkins said it also has to do with my bad posture. I'll be okay tomorrow morning. Seriously, why are you worrying so much about this?"
"Because", said Jimmy, "we care about you buddy. When one of us is hurting, all three of us are hurting."
"You know," said Angie, "we do call ourselves The Musketeers."
Chet, then, smiled, put his hand up. Jimmy and Angie clasped his hand.
"All for one and one for all," they said together.
Despite this, both Jimmy and Angie noticed that their friend's hand seemed smaller and thinner.

Jimmy and Chet were walking back to the dorm after supper. Finally, the day of classes were over for both of them. Since Jimmy was slightly ahead of Chet, he pulled his key out and put it into the lock.
"What a day," said Chet.
"I know, buddy. I was glad to see you eat a little more."
"Well, I had to kind of force myself. I wasn't very hungry."
"Oh," said Jimmy turning to face Chet, "you want me to give you some pointers on exercise?"
"Well yeah, but not tonight. I've got work on my speech for the Public Speaking Class. Knowing my luck, the professor will probably call on me to speak first."
"Oh yeah. That'll be cool."
Chet's eyebrow went up and he said,
"Cool? Why is that cool? Because you don't have to go first."
"No, Chet. It's because you've got a terrific speaking voice. Both Angie and I both like hearing you speak."
"You're just trying to cheer me up after today."
"Well, yeah, but that doesn't make it any less true. That deep voice you have really fills the room. It's.....,
"Disorienting since it comes from such a skinny little fellow."
Jimmy shook his head and then stated,
"That's not what I was going to say. It's a real talent you have. I wish you wouldn't put yourself down."
"Well, thanks, Jimmy. It also helps that you and Angie are in the class with me. It's a real encouragement to have you two there."
Chet, then, sat down at the counter/desk and pulled his notes from his bookbag.

Chapter 4
The rat knocked Chet down.
"Ow," yelled Chet and then the rat snapped its jaws just missing the shrunken kid's arm.
Taking advantage of the rat's open mouth, Chet shoved the needle down its throat.
The rat started to convulse; trying to squeal but the lodged needle muffled it's voice. The rat crawled off of Chet, shaking, blood pouring from its mouth. Then it just collapsed; dead.
Trembling, Chet stood up. His knees wobbled. He staggered to a corner of the room. Drawing a breath and bleeding from his stomach and arm, the freshman squatted down and sat. Covering his eyes with his hands, tears trickled down his cheeks.
Chet then uncovered his eyes and wiped the tears from his face.
"I'm too big to cry."
However, the irony of the statement caused Chet to close his eyes and sob even more.

Four days earlier
"And in conclusion," Chet's voice ringing across the auditorium, "this is how the Civil War affected the economy of the United States for years to come."
There was applause and Chet's eyes widened. The professor waved his hand and stated,
"Okay, that's enough. Very good Chet; you may take your seat."
Chet walked to his seat. His desk was between Jimmy and Angie's both of whom gave him a thumbs up.
"Uh, thanks," he mouthed to his two best friends looking from Jimmy on the left and Angie on the right.
The remaining hour flew by and Angie was the last to speak. Afterwards, the trio gathered at the front of the room and Angie said,
"Okay, I guess we're going to lunch."
"Yeah," said Jimmy, "and Chet remember to eat a lot."
Chet grimaced a bit and said,
"Come on you two, I haven't lost any more weight and I feel just fine."
"You come on Chet. I'm your roommate and friend so I sort of have a special obligation to look at for you."
"So, do I Jimmy. Chet's my friend too and like you I'm gonna look out for him."
Chet smiled at their protectiveness of him. It really warmed his heart. However, the warmth gave way to a dizzy feeling, and he collapsed in front of them.