Emory finished up cleaning his bathroom, he brushed his teeth then had his bath and freshened up generally. He had made it an habit of his to do his best to always look presentable wherever his destination may be. There was just a little problematic situation today, for obvious and yet strange reasons, Emory's uniform appeared to have shrunk, he tried on his sports uniform as well , leisure uniform, all of them had shrunk too! And that's when the realisation hit him, his uniform didn't shrink rather he had grown!
How was this possible? I should be past the age of a sudden growth spurt.
That was the question on his mind, Emory checked his watch and realised he was running late for school.
"I'll think about this on the way to school, I can't be late to school. I can't spoil my perfect punctuality record"
Emory made his way to school, his house wasn't too far from the school, on a normal day anyone could walk the distance between fifteen to twenty minutes but it usually took him around twice the time, he was a slow walker and he had his weak body and asthma to thank for that.
But Emory was feeling different today, he felt lighter, yet more sturdier than usual, he felt like he could run a marathon.
Emory began walking and soon got lost in his thoughts, thinking about the weird changes that happened to his body in just one night. He thought desperately, trying to fill the blank in his memory, what ever had happened in that blank, was the answer to his questions.
Emory looked up and noticed a lot of students walking, was something happening? Why are his school members so much here? He looked up and soon found the answer to his questions. He was already at the school gate!
That could not have been possible could it, he had just left his house a few minutes ago, and to reach the school within that time frame would be almost impossible. He looked down at his wrist, checking his watch for the time and the time read 7:51 am. Emory had left his house at 7:45 am, meaning it took him just six minutes to get to school. He had covered almost two kilometres in just six minutes!
He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he covered that distance in that amount of time and he didn't even have to use his inhaler but he had no time to waste, he had to be in class by 8:00 am.
Emory couldn't help but notice he was receiving strange glances and looks from his fellow students around him, he had never been one to be the centre of attention, he had an idea as to why he was getting such unusual looks, it was because of his sudden change in appearance and as well as the awkwardly small uniform he was wearing.
"Sheesh, tailor did you dirty bro" a passerby red haired male student remarked
This was going to be a long day at school Emory sighed in thought.
Emory carried on his day like he usually would except this time certain things happened during his classes. Things like a teacher not recognising him because of his sudden change in appearance, he also had to present his school identity card multiple times to prove he was really a student of the school and not some impostor, heck even the strict looking basketball coach approached him in hopes of getting him to join the team due to his height, Emory wanted to decline but the man was adamant so he had no choice but to accept. Emory sat in class still trying to get a grasp on what happened to him when he heard his name on the public announcement speaker.
"Emory Carson please report to the principal's office at once"
What?! Emory was shocked, he had never been called to the principal's office like that, he was such a good and exemplary student. A million thoughts rushed through his head as he made his way to the principal's office.
As he approached the door, he took a deep breath before knocking the finely polished wooden door three times.
"Come in" said a gruffy voice
Emory did as instructed and entered the office, the principal, Mr. Howard was a very stoic man who liked to portray himself as a refined and posh man, he always had a suit and perfectly knot tie on, he shoes were always gleaming and shining but so was his head. He was bald, so bald that you could the see the light above his head reflecting off his head, it didn't help his look that he was clean shaven too which made him look like an egg stuck on a fancy suit, it was this resemblance that made the students develop a nickname for the man; Eggman.
"Do you know why you're here Mr. Carson?" he asked, his face glued to the file he was reading
"No sir"
"I see. You see I always do my utmost best to make sure we at Crawford Memorial school did our best to live up to our portrayed standards and for that to happen, the students and teachers have to look the part and that includes your physical appearance or more specifically, your way of wearing our uniform. As they always say 'Dress the way you want to be addressed' "
Emory already realised where the principal was going with this, it probably, no definitely had something to do with his undersized uniform.
"You are a very good and upstanding student Mr. Carson so I least expected this from you and because of that I will let you off with a warning. Go to the school tailor and fix your uniform, a student should look like a student, understand?" he continued as he raised his head
"Yes sir"
Emory left Howard's office relieved, as a scholarship student he couldn't afford to be called to the principal's office. He made his way to the Tailor's office, he needn't worry about the coat of the new uniforms because it was already a part of his tuition.
"Hello, may I come in?" Said Emory as he knocked on the white coloured wooden door in front of him. A sign nailed to the door spelled out "Tailor's office".
"Come on in" said a high pitched voice
"Good afternoon, I was told to come for my new uniform"
"You're Emory, I was told to expect you. Okay I'll need to take your measurements so please stand straight and look forward" A short red haired woman, similar in age to his mother said as she walked over to him briskly
Using her measuring tape, she took all of his measurements. "Come for you uniform after the weekend" said the tailor
"Um..Miss.Taylor, I have a request please" she looked up at him, gesturing for him to go on. "Can you do a quick height check, if it isn't too troublesome ma'am " Emory asked, he wanted to know just how tall he had become
"You don't know your height? My my, a young handsome man like you should know things likes these. Very well, stand upstraight and look forward" She traced her measuring tape from his feet to his back and then his head, she had to stand on a stool to accurately as she was significantly shorter than Emory "193 centimetres. Wow you're really tall, I'm sure the girls in your class are all over you" she winked at him
Emory flashed her an awkward smile and left the room after thanking her. As Emory walked back to his classroom, he thought to himself "Maybe whatever happened to me is not a bad thing after all, I mean I haven't even used my inhaler all day"
Ring!!Ring!!Ring!!!
The bell rang signalling the end of the school day. Normally Emory would be on his way to his part-time job by this time but he lost that job, no thanks to a certain spoiled brat. So he had to start job hunting again.
Emory went to multiple places with vacancies but he couldn't get a job due to multiple reasons, it was either that they weren't hiring highschool students, or he was to young or they wanted him to work like a mad cow for little change.
Emory gave up for the day and decided to head back home, he would try job hunting in a different area tomorrow, he would have more time, since it's not a school day tomorrow but for now he called it quits, it was already getting late.
He was on his way home when something caught his attention, it was a bookstore with a vacancy sign, the exact same bookstore where Emory found the strange book but he had no memory of the bookstore being there and there's no way he would have not noticed it, afterall it was on a path he passed to school everyday.
Emory decided to investigate the strange bookstore and maybe get a part-time job while at it. He crossed to the other side of the road, he pushed the door open causing the bell above to ring and almost immediately he stepped foot in the store, the memory of the previous day came flooding back.
The strange book, the markings and the indescribable pain he felt in the shower, his head throbbed and he shuddered as he remembered the pain. The memory of the whole ordeal caused him to keel over and retch on the store's floor.
"Young men these days tsk" said a thick, unfamiliar voice