This Wednesday, deep into the winter season, was especially hot. The sun glared eagerly down on the boarding school, peeking through the open windows of the dormitories. Tyler had just finished packing for his first day at Barleyford, and his friends whom he recently met, Sam and Oliver, were standing by the doorway, casually chatting.
Tyler stands shorter than most. At the age of 16 he reaches a height of 5’6”. His height only bothers him when he stands near his colleagues for too long, who both tower over him at 5’10 and 6’ respectively. Fortunately, his aspiration to be a writer holds no barriers of entry to his shortened stature. Oliver has always wanted to pursue a career of rugby, and his bulky frame certainly shows his enthusiasm to the sport. Sam still doesn’t know what he wants to do for a living but, judging by his looks, would fit perfectly as an Olympian swimmer.
Tyler stood up from his bed and approached his friends.
“I’m ready.”
He said. A slight twinge of nerves shook his voice. Oliver smiled.
“What’s the first lesson?”
“Chemistry.”
“I might skip it.”
“Why?”
“Not exactly my cup of tea.”
Sam laughed.
“Nothing is your cup of tea. You don’t even drink tea!”
“That’s not my cup of tea either.”
They both laughed. Tyler on the other hand started daydreaming. He didn’t really like Chemistry either, and so skipping it was certainly tempting. Suddenly Oliver’s deep voice bought him back.
“And besides, it gets hot in those rooms when the sun’s out. I don’t wanna sit in a hot room full of boys.”
“That’s the one downside of living in an all-boys boarding school.”
“For you Sam, it’s a bonus.”
They continued laughing as they all left the dorm and headed towards Chemistry. Sam and Oliver began to walk in the other direction.
“Tyler, aren’t you coming?”
“Yeah it’s only one lesson. We were just gonna hang out in the gardens.”
Being a new student, Tyler needed to cling onto any sort of friendship he could find, but missing his very first lesson was not ideal.
“You guys go. I don’t want to make a bad first impression.”
“Fair enough. Sam and I will meet you back here then.”
“Right. See you later.”
His friends turned and walked away. Tyler watched them, his mind racing.
“Now that I know Oliver’s straight, there’s no point asking him. Maybe I could ask Sam out. Not on the first day, that’s social suicide.“
He finally turned his small head and made his way to the classroom, his mind still racing.
The class was spectacularly boring. Oliver was right, it was unbearably hot in that room. Tyler sat in the corner nearest the door. Every time it opened, a cool breeze would wash over him. As Mr. Dominix handed out textbooks, Tyler began scanning the students. His eyes rested on one boy sitting directly in front of him, who looked much older than 16. He must’ve been 6’3” at least, with his huge legs spread widely underneath the desk. His strong back and muscular arms were pathetically covered by thin layers of the uniform, which accentuated his biceps and shoulders that towered over the students sitting beside him. His bulging butt planted firmly on the small stool, almost enveloping it with his giant cheeks. Tyler couldn’t make out his face from where he was sitting, but he did notice his large, rugged hands. On this hands he saw one fingernail that had been painted bright pink. Surely not, Tyler though. It would be too good to be true. Tyler couldn’t look away from this beast of a teenager. His mind was racing until the bell rang.
Once the lesson finished, Tyler quickly left the classroom and was met with a wave of cool air. He hurried back to the dorm and saw Sam and Oliver. They were on their beds chewing on what looked like a flower. They both looked up, their eyes widened with anticipation. Oliver stood up.
“Hey Tyler! You’ll never believe what we just found!”
“Try some!”
Sam said as he handed Tyler a flower. It didn’t look appealing. It’s short stem cling onto a heaping mess of red petals. It looked like it had been dead for years. Tyler laughed nervously.
“What is it?”
“I found it just in the corner of the gardens. It tastes like pizza!”
“No Sam it clearly tastes like steak.”
“We need a third opinion Tyler. Please.”
Tyler took the flower, and ate a small piece of it. Despite the small mouthful, he was bombarded with the delicious flavour of chocolate ice-cream. He could even start to feel a brain freeze approaching. Both Sam and Oliver looked at him eagerly, waiting for his verdict.
“I can’t say it tastes like ice-cream.” He thought. “I’m not crazy.”
“So?” Sam asked, smiling.
“Sorry Oliver, it tastes like pizza to me.”
Sam laughed triumphantly. Oliver just looked down on the ground in defeat.
“We’ve been eating those flowers for the past hour trying to figure it out! Thanks Tyler, I knew you have a sophisticated palette like mine.”
Oliver pushed Sam off the bed. They both laughed as Sam rose from the ground.
That was when Tyler noticed something odd. Oliver and Sam looked slightly taller than before. He suddenly feels a lot shorter now. He looked at their ankles and noticed their trousers had risen about half an inch from their shoes. In fact, he remembered their untucked shirts hanging lower. He brushed the thought off. His mind has been racing too much lately.
“English is next. I actually like this one.”
“Then I guess we’ll join you. C’mon Ollie, stop sulking!”
“I’m gonna get more of those flowers and you’ll see they taste like steak!”
“It starts in 5 minutes!”
The three of them dashed across the building for English.