HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS

(a fanfiction by Lyla Calm)

Written from Amy's perspective

It had already been a year. A year since Dad's machine had shrunk me and Nick to the size of pinheads. But we hadn't been alone. Our next-door neighbors, Ron and Russ Thompson, had joined us.

I thought about this as I scraped the lunch dishes. It was, once again, summer vacation from school. Dad had gone to the lab for the afternoon, and Mom had met a friend for lunch. Nick sat at the kitchen table, drawing a model of an invention he planned to start working on.

I dropped the dish in the sink. Mom had told me to do the dishes and the laundry before I went anywhere--but Nick had the entire afternoon free. It wasn't fair.

The unfairness only got worse when the doorbell rang. Nick jumped up and opened it; it was Ron. "Hey Nick, I've got something to show you!" he announced.

I saw Nick glance at his drawing. "I'm kinda busy right now."

"I found it in the backyard."

Nick gave him a quizzical look through his dorky round glasses. "In the backyard?"

"Yes." Ron grinned with wide eyes for effect. "It's a giant lizard!"

And that was all Nick needed to hear.

He didn't even bother to close the door.

But I had to admit, having the warm summer air wisping into the kitchen as I scraped another dish felt really good.

"Hey."

My arms were suddenly covered with goosebumps. I knew that voice.

I turned around to see Russ Thompson Jr. in the doorway, holding a football.

"Hi," I replied casually. He smiled and tossed the football into the air, obviously trying to show off. Rolling my eyes, I returned to the dishes and pretended to be unimpressed.

I finished washing a bowl and set it on the counter, stealing a glance at Russ as I did so. He was still standing in the doorway tossing the football, watching me the entire time.

"You wanna go toss the football around?"

Seriously. Do I look like the kind of girl who'd like to toss a football around?

I decided to play hard-to-get. "No thanks."

I continued washing dishes, and I was aware that Russ hadn't moved.

"Okay, then do you wanna go to the mall instead? There's a new arcade that opened last week."

I continued my silence, but the idea of going to the mall with Russ appealed to me. But the dishes....

"I can't. I have chores."

"I've got time." Russ pulled a chair out from the table and proceeded to seat himself, resuming throwing the football into the air.

"You know, you could dry these dishes and make time pass faster," I told him.

"Oh, right," he responded, jumping up. I couldn't tell if he had purposely avoided offering to help, or if it never even occurred to him.

As he finished drying the last few plates, I ran to the laundry room to start that. I tossed a few pairs of underwear into the already almost-full washer, and started the wash cycle. Ah. Freedom.

Racing up the stairs to change my clothes, I called down to Russ that I'd be down in a minute.

What to wear, what to wear? I tore through my dresser, finally extracting a floral blouse and tan shorts. It was my favorite summer outfit.

I flew into the bathroom to put on lipstick and grabbed my purse on the way downstairs. Slowing down on the bottom step, I called, "I'm ready!"

Russ was finishing putting the dishes away--I smiled. The Thompsons had spent so much time at our house in the past year that they knew exactly where everything was, as if it was their own home. And that was how I liked it.

We made our way down the street, which was surprisingly empty for a summer day. A summer camp was in session just a few blocks away, where I was sure most of the other children on the street were spending their time.

"We don't have to go to the mall," Russ said suddenly.

"We don't?"

He grinned. "No, I'm going to force you to come with me to the mall."

I laughed--and Russ looked at me as though he never wanted me to stop laughing.

"Okay, how about the movies?" I offered.

"I saw a really cool movie playing the other day," he told me. He reached for my hand and held it as we walked.

"What was it about?"

"Ummm....I don't really know." Something about the way he said it made me doubt his honesty.

"So, you think it's cool, but you have no idea what it's about?"

I had him cornered.

"No, just...never mind." He let go of my hand and looked off into the distance.

"Okay..." I tried again. "What about Malaria?"

"What?"

"There's a movie playing called Malaria."

"What's it about?"

I laughed again. "Umm, malaria."

"Oh, right." He seemed distracted. About a movie? Not likely.

I stopped, forcing him to stop as well. "Russ, what's wrong?"

He was silent for a moment, and then whispered, "Nothing."

"Listen to me!" I took his hand. "I want to go with you, but I'm going right home if you keep acting this way!"

He gave a forced smile, but the cloudiness in his eyes was unmistakable.

And, as if I needed further proof that something was wrong, he didn't try to hold my hand again.

A/N: Please review or PM me, I love feedback!!! Also, I'm open to suggestions. I know the basic outline of where I'm going to take this story (which I hope to update at least once a week!), but I could use some ideas for details. Thanks! ~Lyla