Just Shrink was the first short story in the The Lucy Wilson Mysteries series' free online anthology The Lucy Wilson Collection: School Children, all of whose entries were written by schoolchildren. Becoming, as such, the first published work of young Louis Gladman, it provided a brief Lucy Wilson look at the classic "be careful what you wish for" storytelling trope.
Plot[]
At a diner, Lucy Wilson tries to cheer up Hobo, who's feeling blue because a lot of kids make fun of him for being bald. His remark that sometimes he just wishes he could shrink and become invisible is picked up on by Lucy, who opines that she too would sometimes like to shrink, but warns both him and herself to remember to be careful what they wish for.
The warning proves opportune as, the next morning, Lucy awakes to find that her entire bedroom has become gigantic — or, rather, that it is her who has shrunk, her wish unexpectedly and inexplicably granted!
Characters[]
Worldbuilding[]
- Hobo Kostinen wants to be an actor when he grows up.
Notes[]
- Just Shrink is one of several stories in School Children to finish without a clear resolution, in this case with Lucy still shrunk to doll-size.
Continuity[]
to be added