For the first time in a long time, I felt happy, even exhilarated, like a candle was warming my insides. I picked up dinner on my way out of the giant school and started biking home. My heart was fluttering, but not from fear. I still experienced a heightened anxiety every time I had to bike past a giant, but I wasn't consumed by those negative emotions as I had been earlier. I could handle the unfathomable size of everything now, as impossible and overwhelming as it all was.

I felt as if, for the moment, everything would be okay. Even so, I found myself thinking about my mother again. I wondered how she was faring without me. My good mood soured quickly. I wished I could just talk to her, find out the truth. Did she really abandon me, or was she doing this to me for my own good? The lack of clarity on the issue frustrated me to no end. We always had a rocky relationship, ever since my dad had left and ripped our family apart, but deep down I still cared. I relied on her, as much as I hated to admit it to myself. If I just had my phone, I could call her and ask her directly.

Pushing those thoughts aside, my mind wandered to Joey again. I was grateful to finally have a friend among my peers, and I didn't feel quite so alone. I just hoped the friendship would last. He wasn't the sort of person I usually hung out with. Many of my peers judged me harshly for my saucy attitude, and I was accustomed to filling the role of the "bad" kid. I usually hung out with other "bad" kids who wouldn't look down on me for acting up or smoking, but many of them were jerks too. All my life I always felt like a puzzle piece that didn't fit anywhere.

Of course, I knew a big part of that sentiment was my fault. I didn't want to get too close to anyone, only to be abandoned and hurt as my father had did to me, so I pushed people away with my bad behavior and held them at arm's length. In essence, I had sharpened my deep sadness and loneliness into a spear of rage to poke at anyone who tried to enter my inner sanctum. Maybe it was time for me to change and adapt, as my circumstances were radically different now. Already, I had undeniably lost some of my edge just in the few days I had been in the world of giants, living with constant fear and intimidation. I desperately needed a support system here. I couldn't push people away like I usually did, or else I might not survive.

These personal reflections were sobering, and I was deep in thought when I finally made it back to my dorm. As I put my bike in the rack and went inside, I resolved to do better, to be a better me. I would try to be more open, more gregarious, less abrasive and disagreeable to others. Less of a prickly cactus, more of a soft blooming flower. The change wouldn't be easy, but considering all the factors I had to do it.

Now, though, I was tired, and needed to rest my weary legs and nerves. I changed into more comfortable clothes, ate the dinner I snagged from the lunchroom, and vegged out to some death metal for a while. I craved a cigarette to help me relax, but I was out. I guess I needed to quit anyway. New me, right? I sighed.

Every once in a while the building rumbled as giants walked past. I didn't think I could ever get used to how huge they were, or how small I felt. The light outside started to fade. I got up to turn on a light when suddenly the floor underneath me shook like an earthquake, nearly knocking me over, and the last rays of the setting sun were blotted out by shadow. I glanced over at the nearest windows and saw multiple pairs of giant shoes. The building was encircled by giants.

All my thoughts earlier about being more outgoing and friendlier flew out of my head. I panicked and sprinted like a wild rabbit to the kitchen, thrusting open the cabinet under the sink and squeezing inside the hiding place I had scoped out earlier for such a contingency. I barely made it in on time before I heard the all-too-familiar click of the roof unlatching and a strained groan as it swung open. I didn't dare to move. My frantic heartbeat thudded so loud I almost believed whoever was out there would be able to hear it.

"Hello, little human? Are you in there?" an enormous masculine voice called, the sound resonating through the tiny space. I remained silent and motionless, despite how uncomfortable I was cramped up against the piping from the sink.

"Aww, that's too bad. I really thought it would be in here," another male voice, just as full and loud, chimed in. It? Did they just call me an "it"? I didn't like that dehumanizing moniker at all.

"How disappointing. I've never seen a real live human before," a third voice piped up, this one female. "Wow, are they really this small?" I heard some shuffling and thumping within the building. Something massive, likely a giant knuckle, happened to knock against the door to the cabinet and I had to repress a cry of alarm.

"Check this out!" Were they going through my things? Indignation flashed hotly within me, but as usual I was powerless to stop them.

"Look how tiny it is! So cute!" Ugh. I grimaced. I was getting irritated at being forced to listen to them prattle on while they touched all my stuff with their grubby fingers. They would probably end up breaking something.

"And the furniture! It would be dwarfed even by the furnishings in a dollhouse!" Great, so to them I was even smaller than a doll, barely the size of a pinky finger. How could I reasonably expect any respect from such gigantic beings? I was fuming as I listened to the giant hands continue to explore through the building. I felt humiliated.

"You've actually interacted with a human before, right Marcus? What are they like?" the feminine voice questioned with fascination.

"Yes, technically, I suppose I did, but the little human ran away as soon as it saw me. I didn't get the chance to actually talk to it. I happened to be near the dividing wall and I spied one walking around. The poor little thing was terrified. It scurried back into the little door in the wall and didn't come back out."

"Oh." She sounded disappointed. "They're just like us though, right? Just miniature?"

"I'm not sure. They look like us at least, on a much smaller scale. But they do seem more skittish, and like I said I've never heard one talk before. I guess if the rumors are true, and there really is a human attending this school, we'll find out eventually."

The giants outside were quiet for a minute. I didn't hear their hands roving around anymore either. "What a shame," the female voice said, a bit more muted than before. "I really wanted to meet one. But I don't want it to be frightened of me either. I wouldn't do anything to hurt it."

"Just because you wouldn't doesn't mean somebody else won't. You heard what happened, didn't you?"

"What?"

"About Trent? The real reason he got expelled? The administrators are trying to cover it up, but apparently a few students witnessed the commotion. He actually ate the human student. Swallowed it whole and alive. That's why Mr. Henderson throttled him so badly, to make him vomit the poor creature back up."

"That's dreadful! What a barbaric thing to do!"

"I always thought that Trent was a creep. That story just confirms it."

Listening to those disembodied voices talk about me, oblivious to my presence, made me feel strange. I hadn't fully considered how much the giant students had really interacted with humans, or how humans were perceived among them. What Mr. Henderson had told me, about the importance of my being here, made more sense now. Most of their knowledge was secondhand and likely ill-informed, judging by how they referred to me as an "it." There wasn't any malice in their wording, though, just ignorance and curiosity.

I debated whether I should come out and introduce myself. I didn't think there was any danger of them hurting me, and they seemed eager to meet a human for the first time. Even so, the thought of being surrounded by three huge giants, their attention all on me, was deeply intimidating. Just thinking about it made my heart race, my lungs gasp, and my skin perspire. I was still afraid. I just couldn't do it. I'd rather stay locked inside forever than have to stand up to giants again. I was ashamed of my cowardice, but fear ultimately won out, and I stayed in place, hidden. My resolve to be braver and make friends slipped away as quickly as it had come, leaving me with nothing but a sad emptiness.

"My gramps claims he used to have a pet human, a long time ago. He said it ran away though. He never found out what happened to it."

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Yeah, but who's gonna find out and report it? The human?"

I found this topic of conversation disturbing, to say the least. They continued to chat with each other for a while, going off on tangents, as I listened in and gathered information. Eventually, the giants started to get bored of waiting.

"Oh well, I guess the human's not coming back anytime soon. I wonder where it's at right now."

"If it's even still attending this school. I mean, would you want to stay here if you got eaten alive by one of your classmates?"

"Its personal belongings are still here though. Remember the tiny little backpack we saw? And if you look closely, there's other stuff in there too! It's definitely still living in here!" The voice sounded excited by this revelation.

"You're probably right, but wherever the human is now, it's not here. Let's go." Murmurs of agreement followed, and I heard the loud crash of the roof being closed. I waited until their thundering footsteps faded away before I dared to come out again. I was breathing hard, and it took a while for me to calm down. I urgently needed to speak with Mr. Henderson about getting a lock for the roof, but I figured he probably wouldn't be back on campus until Monday. My nerves couldn't handle these unannounced interruptions. I hated the idea that anyone with malicious intent could just pop it open, at any time, and snatch me up. I had no privacy and no safety. What if I got kidnapped in the middle of the night?

That night, instead of sleeping in my bed, I slumbered on one of the couches in the communal area. The couches were close to the kitchen, so I would have at least a chance to run and hide to my secret space if I had little to no warning of an intruder. Although nobody else bothered me that evening, I didn't sleep well at all. I tossed and turned all night and woke up in a cold sweat at the slightest sound. My nights from now on were going to be rough.