The Secret to Growing Tall
After playing with the rubber ball for a long time with Amy and Shine, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and collapsed onto the floor, clutching my trembling legs.
"Jeff, let's play more~" Giving an awkward smile to Shine, who was clinging to my side, I let out a deep sigh. Doesn't Shine ever get tired? Unlike me, who was already completely exhausted, Shine was still panting but begging to keep running around.
"Sorry. I need to rest for a bit." Shine let out a heavy sigh at my words. Then, as if doing me a great favor, she sat down next to me and began to fidget with the rubber ball.
"Looks like their conversation is running long."
"Yeah."
Shine and I spoke as we watched Amy, who was still deep in conversation with Victor. Their discussion showed no signs of ending.
Staring blankly at Victor, I recalled Shine's attitude toward him and asked her, "Shine, do you dislike Victor?"
"Yes."
The answer came instantly. It was a firm voice without a single moment of hesitation.
"Why?"
"He hit you."
"Me?"
"Yes."
I searched my memory. A while back—right after we first met Victor—I had doodled on his face, hadn't I? Afterward, he caught me and gave me a flick on the forehead.
"Well... yeah, but..." I frowned. My memory was a bit hazy. I definitely remembered getting flicked on the forehead, but I couldn't recall what happened after that. What was it?
"Anyway, I hate Victor." Shine turned her head away as if she didn't want to talk about it anymore. Her expression was somehow incredibly pouty. Letting out an awkward chuckle, I poked her cheek. Her soft cheek squished under my finger. Shine turned her head back to look at me.
"Do you hate it when I talk about Victor?"
"Yes," Shine replied, rubbing her cheek against my hand. The distance between us was gradually shrinking. Feeling a bit overwhelmed, I scooted back slightly to create some space.
The moment I moved away, Shine's eyes darkened strangely. A sudden shiver ran down my spine, and I rubbed my arms.
"Jeff! Shine!" Fortunately, Amy's voice rang out right on cue. I scrambled to my feet and held out my hand to Shine. "Let's go!"
"Okay."
Shine set the rubber ball down on the floor and grasped my hand. Her fingers laced tightly through mine, gripping so firmly as if she would never let go. Hand in hand, Shine and I ran over and stood before Amy.
"Are you all done?"
"Yes. Did you girls have fun playing?"
"Yes!"
Amy pulled out a handkerchief and wiped our faces. The remaining sweat was swept away, leaving a cool, refreshing sensation in its place.
"Shall we head back then?" I nodded at Amy's suggestion. However, Shine cast a lingering, regretful look back at where she had left the rubber ball. She clearly wanted to play more. "Yeah, let's go," Shine said, shaking her head. Shaking off her lingering regret, she took my hand and led me out of the room.
Even as I was being dragged away, I waved to Victor. "See you next time!"
"Take care," Victor replied, raising his head slightly to bid us farewell. Only Shine refused to spare him a single glance.
"We'll have to take a shower as soon as we get back," Amy said the moment we stepped out of Victor's private quarters. She smiled, gently running her fingers through our sweat-dampened hair.
"A shower?" I quickly checked the time. If we went back right now, we would make it just in time for the rerun of The Grand Adventures of the Little Witch. If I had to shower, I would definitely miss it. My eyes darted around as I frantically tried to think of a way out.
"I'll... I'll go last," I said with a nod. It was a pretty clever idea.
"But we're all washing together," Amy replied, instantly shattering my plan to pieces.
I nodded dejectedly. Even if I couldn't watch the rerun, I still had the computer. I hadn't used it at all today, so I had plenty of screen time left. If I took a shower, drank some cold milk, and watched a fan-made tribute video of The Grand Adventures of the Little Witch, it would at least soothe my disappointment over missing the broadcast.
On our way back to our room with Amy, we encountered some unfamiliar people in the hallway. Their gazes swept over us—first at me, then Shine, and finally landing on Amy. I stared back at them. There was a man wearing glasses, a muscular man, and a girl who looked to be about the same size as Shine. Her blonde hair, slightly wavy at the ends, shimmered. As I stared at her with curious eyes, she looked back at us with equal curiosity.
"Amy, who is she?"
"Hmm?" Amy's gaze traveled a long way down to look at the short girl.
"Amy!" a high-pitched voice suddenly squealed. Startled by the loud shout, I quickly hid behind Amy's legs. The girl, who had called out from a distance, ran toward Amy with eyes full of delight.
"Rain?" *Patter-patter-patter!* Her tiny footsteps made a racket, sounding remarkably like the noise Shine and I made when we ran around. "These are the kids, right?" *Cheep, cheep!* The blonde girl looked exactly like a little chick. Seemingly thrilled all by herself, she hopped around, staring at Shine and me. Startled by her sudden, erratic behavior, Shine also hid behind Amy's legs, her expression guarded.
"Hi! I'm Rain!" Rain announced, proudly puffing out her chest. I spoke up cautiously.
"I'm Jeff."
"Nice to meet you!" I looked slightly overwhelmed by the girl's boundless energy. Her sparkling eyes darted toward Shine. Faced with that gaze full of immense anticipation, Shine also spoke up slowly.
"Shine."
"Nice to meet you too!"
"Rain, you aren't hurt anywhere, are you?"
"Nope, it was a piece of cake!" the girl said, flashing a peace sign. A tiny fang peeked out from her lips, catching the light. I tugged on Amy's pant leg, silently asking for an explanation.
"As you just heard, her name is Rain. She's the leader of Team Raincoat."
"Raincoat...?" Realizing she might have used terms too advanced for us, Amy patted my head with an apologetic look. "It means she's a colleague who does the same kind of work I do."
I stared at Rain, utterly incredulous. "But she's so small?"
"She's about the same size as Jeff and me," Shine added. I slipped out from behind Amy's legs to get a closer look at Rain. Shine followed suit.
"Well... despite how she looks, she's actually the same age as me," Amy explained.
"Which means I'm your big sister!" Rain chimed in energetically. "Is there anything you want to eat? Just say the word! This big sister will buy it for you!" She was definitely too overwhelming. I turned my head away to avoid Rain's gaze. Shine seemed to feel the same way, squeezing my hand tightly.
"You're overwhelming the kids," Amy chided.
"Ah... sorry... It's been so long since we had juniors, I guess I got too excited."
"What are you talking about?"
"What are you talking about, Amy? Didn't they join the organization?"
"Absolutely not."
"Huh?"
"They're still young. They haven't even received proper training to control their abilities yet."
At Amy's words, Rain's gaze drifted down to Shine's and my arms. "Ah..." Her shoulders slumped dejectedly. But she quickly bounced back, her eyes sparkling once more. *Cheep, cheep!* An illusory image of a baby chick seemed to shimmer behind Rain's back. "But still! There's still hope, right?"
"Well..." Amy gave an awkward laugh under the pressure of Rain's glittering eyes.
"They're both high-tier lightning-type ability users, right? Then they'd be a perfect fit for Team Raincoat!"
"Nothing has been decided yet."
"But our team is lacking in firepower!"
"Let's go, girls." Ignoring Rain, who was chattering away excitedly, Amy took both of our hands and led us forward.
The two men who seemed to be Rain's companions bowed politely to Amy. "We're sorry about her." While Rain was still hopping around excitedly, the man with glasses casually scooped her up and slung her over his shoulder. Dangling like a piece of luggage, her arms and legs flailing, she looked as if this was a very familiar routine.
"Ack! Wait, I'm not done! Girls! Don't forget me! You have to join our team!" *Cheep, cheep, chirp!* Rain's fading voice sounded exactly like the chirping of a baby chick.
Back in our room, I was dragged into the bathroom by Amy and thoroughly scrubbed clean. Heat radiated from my freshly washed, warm skin. Sprawled out on the bed like a melted rice cake, I spoke to Amy as she walked out of the bathroom with Shine.
"Amy."
"Yes?"
"I want to do the same work you do."
"No." Amy gave a firm refusal as she took some cold milk out of the refrigerator and handed it to us. Sitting side by side with Shine, I gulped down the milk and asked,
"But Rain does it."
"Rain is an adult."
"I'm an adult too."
"Why is our Jeff being so stubborn today?" Amy smiled wryly, affectionately ruffling my hair.
"Shine, you want to do it too, right?"
"Yes." Shine nodded in agreement.
"Hmm..." Amy crossed her arms and sat on the edge of the bed. "Jeff, didn't you promise me? You said you'd think about it again after you grow up and get big like me."
"But..."
"If you don't keep your promise, Santa might not bring you any presents next time."
"Ah..." I fidgeted with my large cup, stealing a glance at Amy. A sudden worry bloomed in my mind that she might tell Santa about what happened today.
"In any case, it's still too early for you two." I nodded weakly. I really wanted to become cool like Amy. "More milk, please," I said, holding out my cup. I had already drunk a whole large cup, but it wasn't enough. Not wanting to be outdone, Shine held out her cup as well. Amy filled our cups to the brim. The white liquid filled the cups, releasing a rich, savory aroma.
Holding my milk-filled cup, I sat down in front of the computer. I decided on what video to look up today. Sadly, the video of The Grand Adventures of the Little Witch would have to wait. I immediately typed "How to grow taller" into the search bar. A long list of videos appeared. I clicked on the one with the highest view count.
[Top Video: The Ultimate Guide to Growing Taller]
1. Go to sleep early.
2. Drink plenty of milk.
3. Eat eggs daily.
4. Perform daily stretching exercises.
I pulled out a small notepad next to the computer desk and picked up a pen.
"Jeff, what are you doing?"
"I'm looking up how to grow taller." Intrigued by my words, Shine slid over and sat next to me. "Does doing that make you taller?"
"Yeah."
I stroked my chin as I watched the video. In it, a tall woman was demonstrating various stretching exercises. "Do we have to do this?"
"Looks like it." Shine and I climbed down from our chairs and hit play. Then, we began to mimic the movements of the woman in the video. The exercises were simple. We stretched our arms and legs as far as they could go, eagerly following along with the video.
"What are you two doing?"
"We're doing exercises to grow taller." At my answer, Amy pulled out her phone. When I stared at her with a puzzled look, she replied, "It's nothing. Don't mind me, keep going." Amy raised her phone to eye level. The corners of her mouth twitched violently. She looked like she was desperately trying to hold back her laughter. *What is she doing?*
"Jeff, hurry up."
"Ah... right." Urged on by Shine, I turned back to the screen and resumed stretching. Is doing this really going to make me taller? Well, whatever. It's not like we have anything to lose. Shine and I threw ourselves back into the stretches, working hard to grow just a little bit taller.