
I was banging on the glass like a lunatic. “Mom! Mom, can you hear me? I’m in here! I need help!”
Mom walked into the kitchen, looking around like she was trying to find a lost pair of shoes. “Josie? Where are you?” God, she can be so blind somtimes, I mean, hello, your daughters jumping up and down right in front of you! Her eyes finally landed on me, down at the bottom of the fish tank, waving my arms like a maniac. “Mom, look down! I’m in here!”
She crouched next to the tank, squinting. “Josie? Is that really you? What on earth… you’re tiny!”
I threw my hands up in frustration. “Yes, I’m tiny! Amanda shrunk me! She used this stupid app I downloaded. Now, can you please get me out of here?”
Mom didn’t move. She just kept staring at me, her eyes narrowing. I knew that look! “Wait… Amanda did this? What were you doing messing with some app in the first place? You were supposed to be looking after her!”
“I know, but... She grabbed my phone, and...”
“Josie,” she said, crossing her arms, “you were supposed to be responsible today. Not playing around with dangerous stuff.”
“Mom, I get it!” I yelled, jeez, my voice was so squeaky! “I'm sorry... But you can’t just leave me in here! It's... Humiliating!”
Mom raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “You’ll stay right there until I decide you’ve learned your lesson.”
My jaw dropped. “You’re kidding, right? You’re actually gonna leave me in here?!”
“You shrunk yourself messing around with something you shouldn’t have. Now you’ll deal with the consequences,” she said, shaking her head. “Maybe some time in that tank will help you think about your choices.”
I could feel my face flush with blood. “Mom, come on! This isn’t funny! Let me out!”
But she just shrugged. “Nope. You’re going to stay right there until I get back. And no more whining about it.”
I slumped down onto the colourful gravel at the bottom of the tank. “She can’t be serious… this is insane.”
Mom smirked a little as she stood up. “Oh, I’m serious. You’ll stay in there, and maybe Amanda will keep you company.”
“Mom!” I shouted as she started to leave the room. “You can’t leave me with her! She’s the one who put me in here!”
Mom just waved over her shoulder. “I’ll check on you later, Josie. I hope Amanda is a better babysitter than you were...”
As she walked out, I groaned and sank even lower into the gravel. “This is officially the worst day of my life.”
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I heard footsteps. Amanda popped her head in, grinning from ear to ear. “How’s my little fish doing?”
I glared up at her. “Amanda, I swear, when I get out of here—”
“Oh, you’re not getting out anytime soon,” she said, tapping on the glass like I was some zoo exhibit. “This is way too much fun...”
I sighed, knowing I was stuck—for now. But she’d pay. Just wait until I was big again.
"...Plus, I deleted that App and your phone..." She held up the remnants of my phone, smashed into bits. "Oops! Oh well!"