Things hadn't been going well for Ava.
That wasn't to say she was in a bad place at school or at home or anything, far from it. She got decent grades, she didn't have anybody bullying her, and her homelife was... uneventful.
But that didn't mean her life was going exactly the way she wanted it to.
As the school (and town's) number one paranormal expert, she held a vast wealth of knowledge on all things strange and unnatural, from sci-fi stuff like ancient aliens, folklore like American cryptids, and Japanese cultural stuff like yokai.
But despite all her efforts to find actual oddities lurking in the world, she'd never actually found anything.
And at this point... It was starting to get a little disheartening.
Why couldn't she find something, anything, even just one time?
Ava trudged through the halls on her way between classes, not really paying attention to everyone around her. Students milled about in the halls, taking as much time as they could to delay going to their next classes. To Ava, they were the faceless masses- people who'd never understood how much work, how much time she'd dedicated to her calling.
A soft thump on her foot drew her attention. At first, Ava thought that someone had accidentally stepped on her shoe, but the feeling had been far too light for that. Looking down...
Ava blinked.
Then rubbed her eyes and blinked again.
'It' was still there.
A tiny person.
Her mind whirled at the possibilities. A fairy? No, a crowded place like her school was the last place a fairy would go to. Then, maybe a leprechaun or a gnome? Cautiously, Ava reached down and picked the little thing up. Before it could speak up, she checked to make sure nobody else was watching, then dashed off down the halls to the unused AV clubroom. She'd be fine with skipping class (or a few classes.) This took presidence.
Her first ever discovery, and it had literally dropped out of thin air on her shoe at school! That was... Ava honestly didn't know what to think. On one hand, she was practically giddy with glee that she'd finally found something! But on the other hand... why couldn't it have been when she'd been off searching for something in the woods, or in the dead of night, or something?
It felt... kinda like the universe was tossing her a freebie.
But oh well, she wasn't going to let this go!
"Please! Help me!"
--------------------
This wasn't how you'd imagined this day going, especially given that you'd expected to be (literally) stomped into a bloody paste not even a minute earlier. Your heart was still pounding in your chest- the kind of rush of adrenaline one got from narrowly avoiding a car wreck or something similarly traumatic.
And right now? You weren't sure what to say other than 'help me.'
You didn't know Ava well, but you knew of her.
"Wait- you can talk?! You speak Japanese?!" Ava sputtered out, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Uh, yeah... Why wouldn't I?"
"Um... because you're a gnome?"
"Wha?! I-I'm not a gnome!"
"Aha! That's exactly what a gnome would say!" Ava stated, face breaking out into a huge grin.
Oh.
Ohhhh. Yeah, it didn't take a genius to put 2 and 2 together here. No doubt Ava thought you were some kind of mystical creature, and not a regular human who'd been shrunk by a malfunctioning shrink ray.
...Damn it! Which one of those two things sounded more unbelievable? Honestly, even if you told Ava the truth about why you were so small, she might not believe you anyway!
"Okay... I didn't expect a gnome to speak perfect Japanese... Wait..." You gulped as Ava's eyes narrowed.
"Why're you wearing a school uniform?"
This was your chance! You'd tell Ava what had happened to you, and then she'd be able to get you back to Hotaru!
----------------------
What happens next? Does Ava believe your explanation- that you were shrunk by a shrink ray?
1) No, of course not! You're a gnome disguised as a student, obviously!
2) Yes. She's disappointed that you aren't something magical or mysterious, but she admits that being shrunk by a shrink ray is still pretty cool (to her, at least.)
*Author's note: Obviously, this story is in English but given the setting, if this was in the real world all the characters would be speaking Japanese.
That wasn't to say she was in a bad place at school or at home or anything, far from it. She got decent grades, she didn't have anybody bullying her, and her homelife was... uneventful.
But that didn't mean her life was going exactly the way she wanted it to.
As the school (and town's) number one paranormal expert, she held a vast wealth of knowledge on all things strange and unnatural, from sci-fi stuff like ancient aliens, folklore like American cryptids, and Japanese cultural stuff like yokai.
But despite all her efforts to find actual oddities lurking in the world, she'd never actually found anything.
And at this point... It was starting to get a little disheartening.
Why couldn't she find something, anything, even just one time?
Ava trudged through the halls on her way between classes, not really paying attention to everyone around her. Students milled about in the halls, taking as much time as they could to delay going to their next classes. To Ava, they were the faceless masses- people who'd never understood how much work, how much time she'd dedicated to her calling.
A soft thump on her foot drew her attention. At first, Ava thought that someone had accidentally stepped on her shoe, but the feeling had been far too light for that. Looking down...
Ava blinked.
Then rubbed her eyes and blinked again.
'It' was still there.
A tiny person.
Her mind whirled at the possibilities. A fairy? No, a crowded place like her school was the last place a fairy would go to. Then, maybe a leprechaun or a gnome? Cautiously, Ava reached down and picked the little thing up. Before it could speak up, she checked to make sure nobody else was watching, then dashed off down the halls to the unused AV clubroom. She'd be fine with skipping class (or a few classes.) This took presidence.
Her first ever discovery, and it had literally dropped out of thin air on her shoe at school! That was... Ava honestly didn't know what to think. On one hand, she was practically giddy with glee that she'd finally found something! But on the other hand... why couldn't it have been when she'd been off searching for something in the woods, or in the dead of night, or something?
It felt... kinda like the universe was tossing her a freebie.
But oh well, she wasn't going to let this go!
"Please! Help me!"
--------------------
This wasn't how you'd imagined this day going, especially given that you'd expected to be (literally) stomped into a bloody paste not even a minute earlier. Your heart was still pounding in your chest- the kind of rush of adrenaline one got from narrowly avoiding a car wreck or something similarly traumatic.
And right now? You weren't sure what to say other than 'help me.'
You didn't know Ava well, but you knew of her.
"Wait- you can talk?! You speak Japanese?!" Ava sputtered out, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Uh, yeah... Why wouldn't I?"
"Um... because you're a gnome?"
"Wha?! I-I'm not a gnome!"
"Aha! That's exactly what a gnome would say!" Ava stated, face breaking out into a huge grin.
Oh.
Ohhhh. Yeah, it didn't take a genius to put 2 and 2 together here. No doubt Ava thought you were some kind of mystical creature, and not a regular human who'd been shrunk by a malfunctioning shrink ray.
...Damn it! Which one of those two things sounded more unbelievable? Honestly, even if you told Ava the truth about why you were so small, she might not believe you anyway!
"Okay... I didn't expect a gnome to speak perfect Japanese... Wait..." You gulped as Ava's eyes narrowed.
"Why're you wearing a school uniform?"
This was your chance! You'd tell Ava what had happened to you, and then she'd be able to get you back to Hotaru!
----------------------
What happens next? Does Ava believe your explanation- that you were shrunk by a shrink ray?
1) No, of course not! You're a gnome disguised as a student, obviously!
2) Yes. She's disappointed that you aren't something magical or mysterious, but she admits that being shrunk by a shrink ray is still pretty cool (to her, at least.)
*Author's note: Obviously, this story is in English but given the setting, if this was in the real world all the characters would be speaking Japanese.
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March 23
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