“Ughhh. I’m so sick of studying.”
April put her face in her hands, collapsing into her desk next to Ron’s office.
“You just sat down 5 minutes ago,” Leslie noted. April groaned louder in response. She hated having to apply herself to anything. The idea of spending her entire afternoon with her nose buried in a book was unacceptable. It would be worse than literally doing nothing. She’d maybe rather die. Heels excitedly clacking on the office floor signaled that Ann had entered. Great, April thought to herself. As if this afternoon couldn’t get any worse.
“So what’s going on today?” Ann said in her usual stupid, annoying, cheery voice. Leslie’s response was just as grating.
“April is studying for her big exam! Isn’t it great that one of Pawnee’s young members is getting an education!”
Ann joined in on her joy, screeching something about opportunity and April making something of herself and the other nonsense she’d grown used to.
“So what are you studying for?”
Ann asked it earnestly. April, with her head still down, rolled her eyes. She popped up and of course didn’t give as animated of a response.
“I’m studying ‘Minding your own business.’ I don’t think you ever took that one.”
Ann tilted her head at the young woman, then paced over to look at the textbook that was propped open. Her eyes scanned the pages for a quick second. Then even more excitement lit up her eyes.
“Oh, I remember these figures! This is ‘Intro to Biology’. How fun!”
Ann turned around to resume talking with Leslie. The two had a lunch date which would finally bring April some peace and quiet. She started studying once the two were out, a little bit embarrassed at the idea of someone seeing her working towards something. When a delivery woman walked in, she was more than happy for the distraction. She slid away from her desk to greet her. As soon as she saw someone from the office, she handed the package over. It was surprisingly small.
“Hi! I was told the city council approved your office’s use of the shrink ray. We ask that you have it back to us by Monday at 9:00.”
She gave April a nod and then walked off, having no clue what chaos she’d just unleashed onto the world. April gave her the sweetest goodbye she could muster, then walked back to her desk with it. She didn’t really plan on opening the mundane-looking cardboard box, but when she saw that it wasn’t even sealed, she couldn’t help but pop it open. The thing inside looked like a little gun. It had a switch on the bottom with a ‘shrink’ and ‘grow’ option, and a trigger. Simple enough.
She went back to studying, making okay progress in the half-hour of quiet that she had. When the door opened again, she expected Ann and Leslie to walk in, but only the nurse came through. She glared at her.
“Where’s Leslie? Did you eat her like the cave monster you are?”
“Not this time. She heard a few middle-school teachers talking about how they needed a judge for their debate club and I’m not sure we’re ever going to see her again.”
The two stood in silence for a second, but April came up with an idea. Ann knew all this stuff anyway, and if she was tiny, she’d be able to hide her during the exam so she could give her the answers. Of course, she wouldn’t just agree to help her, but that was nothing a little creativity and a lot of time wouldn’t solve. She reached into the box, made sure the gun was on shrink, and zapped Ann with it. The woman grew shorter until she was about an inch tall. If April hadn’t been keeping watch, she might have lost her. But she gripped her, holding the now tiny woman up to her face.
“You’re going to help me cheat on my exam.”
Ann looked aghast at the bratty young woman that towered over her.
“Absolutely not! That shrink ray is city property and is not to be misused. Grow me back right this instant!”
April smiled. That was exactly the answer she was hoping for.
What happens next?
1) April is going to put Ann between her breasts in order to smother her. Even though her chest isn’t that big, it’s more than enough to suffocate Ann.
2) April places Ann on her chair. Maybe a few hours under her butt will change her mind. When Leslie walks by, she’s at risk of being found out.
3) One of the things April is supposed to do today involves a lot of walking around outside on this hot summer day. Hopefully Ann doesn’t have too bad a time in her shoe.
4) April stuffs Ann into her purse and goes about her day as normal. When she gets home, she decides to give Ann a biology lesson of her own, letting her get up close and personal with various parts of her body.