Short Story - Shrunk!

"We are university students," said Mike. "We don't panic. We have to handle all situations smoothly without acting like maniacs."
"And our situation is?" I asked. "It is not just some everyday problem is it?"

Mark was the only one who was calm. I was a little panicky. Tessa was hysterical.

"For god's sake!" she said wildly. "Our chemistry teacher is in a test-tube! We have just used that shrinking laser on him which he himself invented. Do you really expect us to be calm?"

We all turned to look at the small test-tube in Mike's hand. Inside it was our chemistry teacher,

Mr. Tandon Cooper. He was small; way small. If he met a rat, it would have looked like an elephant. And he was unconscious, which was all the better for us.

Anyway, we didn't do this on purpose. He was explaining to us how the new machine shrinks the molecules of the person and re-arranges it to a smaller structure. It is supposed to be used on objects, not people.

Anyway, Mike had begun to fiddle with the dials and levers on the machine. We were supposed to be making notes about it when Tessa pushed me. I fell on to Mike. Mike fell on to the lever. And the next moment, Mr. Cooper was lying on the floor, as enormous as a safety pin. Mike decided that the safest thing to do was to pop him into a test-tube and cork it. Just in case he woke up.

"The effects of the machine are supposed to wear off after an hour," said Mike.

"Twenty-four hours," I snapped. "What have you been listening to?"

"By nine o'clock tomorrow," Mike went on, not hearing me. "He will be restored to his normal size."

Tessa was still acting like a hysterical old witch.

"But what do we do to him?' she was ranting. "But – if he's – "she shuddered. "Dead?"

"He's not dead," said Mike, scrutinizing the tiny man in the test-tube. "He's breathing."

"His particles have been re-arranged!" wailed Tessa. "But if a particle on his brain ended up in his lungs or something?"

"Shut-up," I told her sternly, though I felt inclined to start laughing like a demented hyena. "I'll tell what we shall do. We just leave him here in the chemistry lab. We can lock it up and tell everybody that Cooper has locked up and left for home early."

"Yeah, we must keep him out of the test-tube of course – " began Mike.

"No way," I cut him off. "He might be eaten up by a cockroach or something."

"Good," said Mike gleefully.

I levelled a glare at him, then said briskly; "Right then, let's get to work."

The next day, we were startled when Mr. Cooper came stumbling into his nine o'clock chemistry class. Mike, Tessa and I very carefully avoided looking at each other. Would he remember anything?

"Why Mr. Cooper," I said in a tone usually used when I wish my parents 'Merry Christmas'. "You look terrible."

I almost felt sorry for him. He looked like he had spent the night in a dumpster.

"Working too hard," he said distractedly. "Fell asleep in the lab… I woke up with my back in the dustbin…"

The whole class nearly threw a fit laughing. I glared at Mike.

"You put the guy in the dustbin?" I mouthed in disbelief.

"It's where he belonged," Mike returned grinning.