I wondered what was taking so long. It was almost dinnertime, and I was growing anxious at the lack of communication. I hated not having my cellphone on hand. I thought Mr. Henderson would have sorted out the mess and returned by now. What if he had come and gone while I was missing? I hadn't considered that possibility and the idea filled me with consternation. I didn't want to wait another day. I didn't want to have to attend classes again tomorrow if I didn't have to.

As intimidating as it was to venture back outside, I resolved to return to the school and visit his office. I figured he hadn't left yet for the day, if he hadn't contacted me yet. Besides, I wanted to grab dinner too, and to do that I would have to go to the cafeteria again. I sighed, running my hands through my hair as I made an effort to mentally prepare myself. I had to be strong.

I went outside and pulled my bike out of the rack. The sun was just starting to dip down toward the horizon, bathing the world in golden twilight and tinting the sky with red and orange. My long shadow contorted across the pavement as it followed me along my path. The fields of shining green grass undulated calmly in the breeze like waves on the beach. I passed by a giant tree, the grooves in the bark highlighted dramatically with contrasting light and shadow. The gorgeous, tranquil sights and colors soothed my soul as I rode my bike on the expansive sidewalk. This giant world was so frightening, and yet so beautiful.

As if to drive the "frightening" part of that statement home, I saw a giant traveling in my direction along the same sidewalk I was biking on. My guts twisted into knots, and my blood pressure spiked into the stratosphere. I had an urge to dive into the grass outlining the sidewalk and conceal myself. However, I ignored this compulsion and continued forward. I was on a bike; I was moving fast; no giant would catch me. I gave him a wide berth as the towering behemoth, with crashing footfalls, strolled by me without incident. I exhaled in relief. Even so, I knew I would have to pass quite a few more giants to reach my destination. I clenched my teeth and pedaled forward with purpose.

I couldn't lose my nerve now. I reached the plaza and biked around the lake of a fountain in the middle. The double doors to the school were still propped open, so I shot through them too. There weren't too many giants in the hallways, since school was not in session, so I had enough room to bike around without having to worry about being squished. Nonetheless, I still stayed close to the walls out of an abundance of caution.

This strategy would prove to be a mistake. I had assumed that the classrooms would be empty, as well as most of the other learning-related areas, and that most people in the school at this time would be here for the food. As I crossed by the threshold to the library, a giant happened to be walking out at the same time. I saw the massive black and white sneaker pound down in front of me a second too late. My bike crashed into the giant shoe, vaulting me over the handlebars. I flew over his shoe with a surprised shout and skidded across the hard tile floor, tearing through my uniform and skinning my knees.

For a moment, I was too stunned to move as pain shot through my legs. As I stumbled back to my feet, I felt warm liquid dripping down my calves and realized I was bleeding. When I looked behind me, I was shocked to see twin skid marks of blood across the floor from my scraped knees.

"Ack, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" a resounding voice rumbled above me. I flinched reflexively and looked up with fearful eyes. The giant whose shoe I had ran into was kneeling over me with concern. He was a huge, awkward, gangly giant with thick black-rimmed glasses covering his chocolate brown eyes. He had messy light brown hair and pasty skin with a constellation of acne on his face.

"Oh no, you're bleeding!" he exclaimed. He reached his gigantic hand toward me. "Here, let me help—"

In response, I shrieked and jerked back. He stopped and frowned with confusion. "Don't touch me!" I cried out, holding my hands out in front of me in defense. I was aware he was only trying to help, but alarm at potentially being grabbed again consumed me. "I-I'll be fine!" I assured him shakily, circling his shoe with the intention of reclaiming my bike. He followed me with his eyes, looking at me with pity, but didn't move his hand near me again. I seized my bike and rode off as fast as I could.

I dashed into the human bathroom, the only safe place where I knew I couldn't be followed, and struggled to get my fear under control again. I leaned over the sink, quivering, staring at my ghostly white, sweaty, disheveled reflection in the mirror. The stinging in my knees reminded me of my wounds, and I took a minute to clean myself up until the bleeding stopped. Once I composed myself the best I could, I gathered up my bike and went to the cafeteria.

The dinner service was in full swing, but I felt mildly relieved that less giants would notice me in all the hustle and bustle. I sidled over to the human section and was pleased to find, at long last, a proper dinner waiting for me. I eagerly opened the plastic container to reveal a hot meal consisting of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and peas. Not bad. I glanced around, making sure that nobody was watching me before sitting down at one of the tables and digging into my food.

After I stuffed my belly, I continued the long trip to the vice principal's office. I felt a little better, less tired and weak and sad, once I had a decent meal inside me. The hallways were mostly empty the further down I went. I approached the administration offices towards the back of the giant building. I had to pass by the principal's office to reach Mr. Henderson. As I got closer, the door opened and Principal Greenwood stepped out into the hall, towering over me. I halted, my heart leaping into my throat. He gave me a look dripping with disdain, then smirked. He must have heard about what happened to me. Unbelievable. Even if he didn't like humans, how could he be so callous?

The giant walked straight toward me deliberately, and for a frightening moment I thought he was going to flatten me under his shoe. Instead, he stepped over me, his titanic bulk passing over my head and leaving me disoriented, and strode off. I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding in. I just had to hang in there for another day. Sighing again, I biked down the hall to Mr. Henderson's office. I parked my bike against the wall and was about to knock on the door when I heard the giant man talking inside.

I hesitated. I didn't want to interrupt his conversation. As I listened, I discerned he must be talking on the phone, because I couldn't hear anyone else in the room. I slipped through the gap under the door into his office. The giant was sitting at his desk, on the phone as I suspected, rubbing his forehead with his hand. He looked agitated. He didn't notice me, so I snuck under his desk so he wouldn't catch me eavesdropping.

"No, I don't think you understand. It wasn't anything that she did. She didn't provoke the confrontation," he said into the phone. "No." A long pause while whoever he was listening to jabbered on.

"Have you heard anything I said? She's not safe here! She literally got eaten, for crying out loud!" the giant exclaimed with exasperation. Obviously, he was referring to me. But who was he speaking to?

"How can you say that? She's your daughter! Don't you care at all?"

I froze. I felt ill. He was talking to my mother. While I couldn't hear her voice, I could imagine her yelling, with that all-too-familiar hideous, drunken expression that I hated contorting over her features. She never listened, not to me, and apparently not to Mr. Henderson either.

"No. We can't—no." A pause. "Not without your permission." He was silent for a while. "Okay. So that's it then. This is really what you want? You really mean that?" I was lost, couldn't follow the thread of the conversation. "Fine. Goodbye."

Mr. Henderson slammed down the phone receiver with a clang. "Dammit!" he muttered. He leaned forward in his chair and sighed forcefully, clearly displeased. I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't want to make it obvious that I was listening in, but I was burning with curiosity. I needed to know the full context of the conversation I had overheard.

"Um... Mr. Henderson?" I called up to him, crawling out from my hiding place under the desk over to the open space between his feet. He looked down below his desk with surprise, pushing back his chair to see me better.

"Eren! How long have you been under there?" he questioned me, appearing slightly embarrassed. "How much... did you hear?"

"Some," I answered. "So... what's going on? I hadn't heard from you all day, and I was getting worried..."

"Well... I was just on the phone with your mother," the giant said. He was bending his back awkwardly, leaning one elbow on the edge of his desk as he gazed down at me. He shifted his feet a bit. "Do you mind if I put you on the desk? It's not very comfortable talking to you when you're way down there."

"Y-yeah. Go ahead," I replied. He reached his huge hand toward me, and I resisted the sudden compulsion to dart away. He didn't grab me, though: He laid his hand on the floor, fingers curled slightly, inviting me to step into his palm. I obliged, and ensconced myself in the soft dip of his hand. He lifted me up to the desk and transferred me onto the wooden surface. He pushed an eraser over to me that I could use as a chair. I sat and gazed up at the giant, folding my hands in my lap.

"As I was saying, I finally got ahold of your mother, after she failed to answer my calls all day," he said, "And even after I told her everything, she refuses to pull you out of school."

"What?! Are you serious?" I reacted with horror. That was impossible. She couldn't do this to me. I couldn't stay here. I gaped at the giant in shock. He could only return the gesture with a helpless shrug of his shoulders.

"If she doesn't want you to leave, there's nothing I can do," he explained. "It's out of my hands. I even tried convincing the board of directors, but reasoning with them is like trying to talk to a brick wall. They are pushing hard this integration program and don't want to remove you either."

"Nooo..." I moaned, holding my head in my hands. My hopes were crushed. I was stuck here. I knew it was only a matter of time until something horrible happened to me. I looked up in desperation at Mr. Henderson with watery eyes. "Please, can't you do something to help me? Take me away from here?"

"No," he stated flatly. "I can't do that. I'd be kidnapping a child." I collapsed onto the eraser with despair. As usual, I was powerless. I struggled not to cry for the hundredth time that day. I didn't want Mr. Henderson to have to deal with my constant blubbering yet again. I hated being such an emotional wreck all the time, but such a condition was hard to evade when life was constantly pelting me with rocks and beating me down.

Mr. Henderson leaned forward in his chair, bringing his gigantic face close to me and squinting. "What happened to your knees? Are you hurt?"

I swiftly sat up and concealed my bloody, skinned knees with my hands. "It's nothing," I assured him. "I just fell off my bike earlier. No big deal."

"Alright," he responded, not sounding very convinced. He gazed at me with pity. I stared deeply into his coffee brown eyes, and despite everything felt a soothing warmth in my chest that spread through my body. "Do you want me to take you back to your dorm?" he asked me gently, offering me his hand.

"Yes, thank you," I gratefully accepted, returning to the comforting softness of his giant palm.