Ryan decided not to subject himself to the embarrassment of being seen so small, at least not until he'd exhausted his one other option.
Step after little step, he approached the other side of the carpet. The small black box surrounded by the large white box almost looked like an eye, tracking his movements as he got nearer. His heart raced and he broke out in a cold sweat. What if it didn't work? What if he really was stuck like this, or worse, started shrinking again? Could he even run off the carpet in time to save himself from shrinking away to nothing? Was that the purpose of the carpet? To lure people back onto itself so they'd shrink again until they became imprisoned in a jungle of carpet strands? Who knew how many other people had met their final fate on this damned thing?
He pushed those thoughts aside. He'd made up his mind and he was going to give it a try. He held his breath and slowly lifted one bare foot and stepped onto the edge of the carpet. He paused, letting out the breath, and waited. Nothing happened. He figured he wouldn't get off that easily, but it was worth a try. His other foot joined the first, and the unusually large carpet fibers squished pleasantly between his toes. Again he waited. Again, nothing. As far as he could tell, his shrinking hadn't started until he was on the small white square, so maybe he'd have to be standing on the small black square to trigger its effect, if any. But that was a gamble. If he started shrinking when he reached the center of the pattern, his diminishing legs might not be able to carry him off the carpet no matter how fast he tried to run. So, realizing he might be stepping right into a trap, Ryan kept going, striding without further hesitation right to the center of the black square.
His heartbeat thudded. His whole body pulsed with both fear and hope as Ryan closed his eyes and waited.