She hurried out the door, the bottoms of her feet now beginning to itch as they took on that coarse feeling the tops of her feet had, being careful to lock everything up behind her.
There was a 20-something-year-old who always hung around her workplace, and he happened to be a huge nerd. He was always available in case a computer went down, and his nose was almost always stuck in a book. She knew for a fact that he was a fan of science fiction and fantasy, and she knew where he'd be.
Sure enough, she found him sitting outside the library, focusing intently on a Star Trek novel. The sun was at such an angle that his glasses seemed to glow, making him Super Geek. His button-up shirt hung loosely over his slouched body and his unkept hair looked like a mop on his head. Suzanne used to tease him relentlessly, and she hoped that he would be able to look past all that.
"Nick," she called out as she approached him.
Nick looked up from his book, his soft brown eyes now visible the glasses. "Suzanne?" he asked, his voice nervous. He recognized her face, definately. However, she was going barefoot - something she'd never done before to protect those delicate feet. Come to think of it, her feet hardly looked delicate, and he could see something just barely poking out from her hair.
"Nick, I need your help," she pleaded, her voice now obviously cracking and choking up.
"What happened?"
"This is going to sound crazy," she said. She then related to him the tale of the little man, the spell he'd placed on her, and the book he'd left. Nick seemed very interested, his eyes occassionally straying away from her eyes to catch a glimpse of her ears.
"Don't worry, I believe you," he said when her tale was finished. "For the time being, you can live at my house. That is, until we figure out what the spell-breaker is."
"We both know that you're just a geek and your nerdy dreams are coming true," Suzanne replied.
"Hey, I'm not that kind of guy! Besides, do you want to find a way back or not?"
Suzanne knew she couldn't refuse this. She nodded and resigned herself to Nick's offer. There was a brief moment of silence as Nick instantly began flipping through pages of The Lord of the Rings, and then Suzanne's stomach began to growl again.
"How much have you eaten today?" Nick asked, not looking up from the book.
"I skipped breakfast, as usual, had a salad for lunch, and a bag of potato chips as a snack just a little while ago."
Nick slammed the book shut and glared at her. "You wanna starve to death?" he asked, nearly shouting. "That's hardly enough for a normal person to live on, let alone a Hobbit!"
Suzanne gave him a puzzled look, so he explained, "Hobbits prefer seven meals a day - breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper! They also enjoy snacks whenever they can get them."
Nick looked proud of his vast knowledge of Tolkien lore, but Suzanne felt herself growing sicker and sicker and as he went on about her new gluttonous diet. He knew, from memory, every kind of food the Shire folk preferred, and even how English culture inspired it!
"I can't eat like that, I'll be huge!" Suzanne protested, clutching her stomach as though she could stop it from feeling hungry.
"You'll only gain weight in your stomach," Nick explained. "Tolkien's official description of a Hobbit goes like this: 'I picture a fairly human figure, not a kind of fairy rabbit as some of my British reviewers seem to fancy: fattish in the stomach, shortish in the leg. A round, jovial face; ears only slightly pointed and 'elvish'; hair short and curling (brown). The feet from the ankles down (including the bottom of the feet), covered with brown hairy fur that are extremely small. Clothing: green velvet breeches; red or yellow waistcoat; brown or green jacket; gold (or brass) buttons; a dark green hood and cloak (belonging to a dwarf).'"
Nick reached into his bag, which was mostly stuffed with books, and pulled out a small lunch box. "This will tide you over until we get home."
Inside was an apple, a turkey sandwich, and a chocolate bar. It looked very mediocre to her, and very small at that, but it would have to do. Hunger took over once again and she began to scarf it down as quickly as she could, though nothing seemed to fill her up.
"We'll have to watch the movies tonight," Nick said as she ate. "If you're awake, we'll have to watch the trilogy in its extended form, not the theatrical release.
"You know, the Hobbits always bugged me in that movie. Their feet were neither large enough nor hairy enough, so that was kind of a letdown. They just didn't look like Tolkien had described them, but I guess I shouldn't fault Peter Jackson for implementing his own vision. He did manage to make the Black Riders look amazingly frightening!"
Nick kept on his monologue, even after Suzanne had finished her meal. She had to tug on his sleeve to get him out of his nerdy rant, as she was both bored and eager to eat a meal that would leave her satisfied, for despite the fact that she could feel her stomach pressed firmly against her jeans, her hunger hadn't totally subsided.
"Oh, I guess it's time to go," he said, slightly embarrassed.