CHAPTER 6: Sabrina at Sea
"Do you have anything planned tomorrow?" Scott LeGrand asked Sabrina as they walked along the corridor, moving from first- to second-period classes at Brobdingnag Central.
"Well, I was planning to do some studying, but I think I can catch up on it tomorrow. After school, I'm going to Brobdingnag State's library to do some research." Before Zelda had left, she arranged for Clifton Smallwood to call the library and give Sabrina full borrowing privileges.
Scott smiled. "My parents are both professors there – Dad in journalism, Mom in geology. The library is excellent." He paused. "But go there in the morning, because we don't have school tomorrow. It's Jonathan Swift Day, a holiday in Brobdingnag."
"I didn't realize we were off tomorrow, and I didn't know it was a holiday."
He nodded. "It's a big day for a little fellow – in fact, that's this year's slogan for Swift Day. There'll be an afternoon parade ending at the Swift statue with a ceremony honoring his contributions to Brobdingnagian culture, and it's always lots of fun. I'd like you to be my guest. Then, we can go split a pizza."
Sabrina nodded. "I'd love it! But first, let me go to State's library. When does it open?"
"At 8 a.m."
"Great. I'll be there when it opens, study for a few hours, then meet you at noon in front of my hotel, okay?"
"I see," he said.
Neither realized that Penny Chesterton was walking directly behind them...
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"Ugh. Nothing seems to work," Zelda told Hilda over a late dinner. "All afternoon, I gave Maureen about a dozen possible antidotes, and nothing made her smaller. In fact, one of them caused her to gain about 30 pounds for a few seconds until she reverted back. I'm thankful she didn't rip her dress."
"So, what next?" her sister said as she reached for the gravy to put over her potatoes.
"She's coming by first thing tomorrow morning to test some more antidotes. I have a pretty good sense about one of them, but I'm going to do some additional research tonight to confirm my hypothesis."
Hilda smiled. "I'll make sure to be out of your way – and that means you too, Salem."
"Okay!" the cat cried as he waited for suitable leftovers.
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Early the next morning, Sabrina woke up, put on a sweater and slacks, and walked through a deserted downtown to the quiet Brobdingnag State campus. The library was at the other end, a few hundred feet from the ocean's edge and a marina. Very picturesque, she thought as she glanced at her watch. It was a few minutes before 8 a.m.
She walked up to the entrance, which was still closed – but found a young man sitting nearby, reading a science book. "Hi there," he said, opening a can of soda near him. "Come on over."
"Sure," Sabrina said; he seemed friendly, and so she sat alongside him.
"Here, have some of my soda," he said, offering the can to Sabrina, who took a sip. They exchanged small talk for about 20 seconds, and then Sabrina began feeling woozy. A few seconds later, she collapsed and fell asleep.
"Okay, guys, she's ready. Out like a light," the man said, and two young men – the two who had mocked Sabrina in the hallway a few days before – came from around the corner of the building to pick up the tiny sleeping giant. "Hurry, before someone sees us."
"Where do we take her?" one of the young men said.
"Down there," he said, pointing to the marina. "Place her in that small boat, then the tide will carry her out to sea."
"Isn't there a chance she might drown?" the other young man said as they carried the sleeping Sabrina down to the marina.
"It's a low tide, not very dangerous, and she'll wake up in a few hours. By that time, she'll be out to sea, and should be able to make her way to shore before nightfall."
They were now at the marina, and gingerly placed Sabrina into a small boat. Then they pushed it out a bit, and the young witch began a journey she was unaware of.
"There she goes," the young man said, smiling at a young woman standing next to her on the dock.
"That will teach her not to cross the science club," Penny Chesterton said with a smirk.
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Later that morning, Maureen Mumford came in for another session with Zelda. "I think I may have found the antidote," she told the dermatologist. "You want to try it?"
"Might as well. Oh, by the way, Horace has decided to end this project. I persuaded him that the side effects would never pass muster with Washington."
"That's good news," Zelda said, "but now, I need some more."
They walked over to Zelda's lab, and the host handed her guest a small amount of a lime-green liquid. "Drink down," she said to Maureen, softly adding, "and shrink down."
Maureen put the cup between her lips, ingested the solution, then swallowed. "I feel a tingle," she said a few seconds later, and flashed the height sign above her. It read "4-9 and 9/16ths," then changed – downward. A minute later, the 4-9 became 4-8, and the fractions were also declining.
Zelda began smiling, but still showed concern. What if she shrinks too much? she thought. All I want is an antidote, nothing more.
Finally, Maureen stopped – at 4-foot-8 and 3/8ths. Her original height.
"It works!" Zelda said as she hugged the now slightly more diminutive Maureen.
"Well, it was fun being a little taller," she said wistfully. "Horace never suspected a thing."
Zelda smiled. "Now to give Sabrina an amount of the antidote similar to the amount of formula she drank earlier, and she'll be back to normal."
"Go for it."
Zelda nodded. "Okay. But before you leave, go to the backyard and tell Hilda I've gone off to Brobdingnag to rescue Sabrina."
Maureen grinned. "Sure."
Zelda poured an amount of the antidote, estimating how much Sabrina had earlier consumed, put it in a sturdy, locked cup, and zapped herself to Sabrina's hotel room.
There, she found no trace of her niece – just a maid cleaning the room who was stunned to see such a tiny person.
"Oh, my, I found someone Swift-sized," a Brobdingnagian term for a small being, she said, kneeling down to look at her. "And they say if you capture a Swift-sized person on Swift Day, it's good luck."
"I'm not a leprechaun!" the petite Zelda cried, zapping herself out of there as soon as possible – to the principal's office at Brobdingnag Central. Maybe Clifton would know where Sabrina is, she thought.
But the office was empty, and as soon as Zelda stood on Clifton's desk, she discovered why. She glanced at the assignment calendar that dwarfed her, and discovered that "Swift Day" was a school holiday.
"I can't believe I forgot that!" she said. "Now where is Sabrina?"
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The little boat was by now well out to sea; the waters were placid, and Sabrina felt no drops splashing on her as she remained asleep.
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Should I go back to the Mortal Realm and look for Sabrina later? Zelda wondered. It would be tough finding her now, especially considering I'm so small to Brobdingnagian eyes. If only I hadn't forgotten to shrink myself the last time I left here...
She decided to call Clifton at his home, using her magic to open the Brobdingnag phone directory, then to "press" the number. "Smallwood residence," he answered.
"Zelda Spellman here. I need your help! I'm over here at your office, not realizing it was closed today."
"I see," Clifton said. "Then why don't you just walk over here? I'm only a few blocks away."
"Uh, not in my present condition. Something happened, and...well, I'm not allowed to grow. I'm my old 5-foot-8 self."
"Sorry to hear you're so small," he answered. "But what do you need me for?"
"I found an antidote for Sabrina, but she wasn't at the hotel. And since school is closed, she's not here, either."
"I'll be over right away. Sit tight."
"Okay." Not much else I can do, Zelda thought as she magically hung up the phone and looked at all the oversized supplies around her.
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It was past noon, and Scott LeGrand waited patiently in the hotel lobby for Sabrina to return from the library. She was nowhere in sight, and it was frustrating.
After about 20 fruitless minutes, he walked to the desk. "I'm looking for a Sabrina Spellman. She's staying here, and was supposed to meet me."
"We can relay a message up to her room, if you'd like," the woman at the desk said.
"She went out earlier this morning, and was scheduled to come back here. She's a little blonde, really little," holding his hand downward to indicate her diminutive height.
"Oh, yeah," the woman said. "I saw her leave early this morning, just after my shift started."
"I see," Scott said, and went back to wait. A minute later, Clifton Smallwood entered and went to the desk...hiding a tiny Zelda in his jacket pocket.
"Excuse me," the principal said, "but I'm looking for Sabrina Spellman. Can you page her?"
His voice surprised Scott, who interjected, "She went to the library over at State."
Ah, Sabrina, always studious, Zelda thought from the silky recesses of Clifton's pocket, keeping the antidote sealed tight inside her handbag.
"But she was supposed to be here at noon," Scott told the principal. "I'm surprised she's late."
"We'll wait a little longer," Smallwood said, "then go over to the library. It's imperative we find her."
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The current had been a bit stronger than Penny and her cohorts anticipated, so a sleeping Sabrina was still out to sea. However, land was on the horizon...
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Since Sabrina failed to appear, Clifton, a hidden Zelda, and Scott went over to Brobdingnag State's campus. Zelda warily peeked out from the principal's pocket and was pleased to see many of the college landmarks she knew in the 1920s were still present today – although then, they seemed far more manageable to a 68-foot grad student.
They went into the library and scoured every floor and study carrel; no Sabrina. In fact, no one at the registration desk noted seeing anyone resembling her. Just as they were ready to leave, a policeman walked over to Clifton. "Can I see you for a moment?" he asked the principal.
"Of course, sir," Smallwood replied.
The officer pointed to a deserted hallway, where the principal followed. "One of your students is in trouble with campus police."
"What happened?"
"Earlier this morning, we found an open can of soda near the entrance to the library. We noticed a strange odor to the can, and so we took it to our lab, where we found it had been doctored with a heavy sedative. An analysis of fingerprints through work with the Brobdingnag municipal police revealed the prints belonged to one of your students, Jack Maitland."
"Yes, he's vice president of the Science Club. Was he knocked out? Is he all right?"
The Science Club? Sedative? Were they trying to hurt Sabrina? Zelda thought, seething.
The officer nodded. "He's fine – and he's in custody. We're currently asking him about the incident. We'd like you to talk to him."
"By all means," the principal replied. He turned to Scott and said, "This looks to be more important now than finding Sabrina – who knows, maybe they're related. I'd appreciate it if you moved on and enjoyed the rest of Swift Day. I'll call you later today to let you know about Sabrina."
Scott reluctantly nodded and walked away.
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The little boat finally reached the land, eventually running aground and tossing a still-sleeping Sabrina onto the beach before it was soon carried back into the sea. People walked over to view her, never having seen anything like her before.
That's because Sabrina had unknowingly landed on the island of Blefescu, Lilliput's equally tiny archrival, and in fact was the first person from Brobdingnag to ever reach the isolated land. She was 120 times their size; at her scale, they would each seem about half an inch tall to her. Well, at least they would be when she woke up.
Sabrina, gradually regaining consciousness, slowly began to open her eyes...