The Peabell family, the largest, and the smallest that you will ever meet. There is Ma Peabell, a kind but stern woman, with a plump face and stomach. There is Arthur Peabell, Ma Peabells husband; He (unlike his wife) is thin and balding, with a kind personality. Then there are the children, and that's where the hugeness of the family comes in: there is Ginny Peabell a skinny, tall for her age eleven year old, who is always doing what she isn't aloud to do. Sydney Peabell, Taking his looks from his father, is pale and thin, and (as many of his siblings say) stuck up. Then there are the twins Lilly and Lucy Peabell, they are the same in every way but one, they're appetites for food. Of coarse there's Daniel peabell, whose favourite pass time is throwing things at people. And finally, Beth Peabell, an adopted girl, who only ever says, "hello". Now, this is a big family, and it is not easy for Ma and Arthur to look after them all, especially when getting food means risking being discovered.

Chapter One

Chaos and Pandemonium

"Ginny! Wake up! I need you to help me with Daniel!" Ginny opened her eyes, the streak of light that usually came from the hole in the chest of drawers, which they lived in, had been blocked by her mothers great stomach. "I'm coming" she said stretching her legs out, "two minutes". Ma trooped out of the room, leaving her daughter to get up. Ginny lay there for a minute, thinking of her six year old brother, throwing cereal at the wall. Ginny sighed, and started to get dressed.

Walking into there chaotic kitchen she saw her brother, exactly as she'd pictured him.

Ginny! Get the food stealer's out of the drawer for your father." Said Ma, fighting with Daniel, to get the silver spoon. Ginny went over to the chest of drawers and picked out a long pole with a grabber on the end. "Here you go dad" she said, depressed. "Thank you." Said Arthur. It was very depressing watching her brothers walk out of there home, into the wide space, which was the children's ward in Dr. Gray's hospital. Every morning and every evening, Arthur, Sydney and Uncle Paddy would go out and (using the food stealers) steal the food which had been dropped on the floor. This was both difficult and dangerous. The Peabells, being the smallest humans ever to live (2 inches), can not just walk out and help themselves. The reason Ginny was so depressed was because no girl is allowed to go out to find food with the men. Ginny thought this was stupid, but her mother and sisters where quite happy to stay put.

"Are we going then father?" said Sydney. "Not yet" said Arthur, "we have to wait for your uncle". at that precise moment A loud THUD! Sounded and everyone looked round. It was uncle paddy who had just slid down from the tunnel leading from the roof (uncle Paddy's house). Uncle paddy was a tough fifty year old with too much fat, and not enough hair. "Morning all" he said. "Let's go then!" and they did. Ginny watched them through the crack between the draws, reaching to get food from high places, using the grabber to reach under cracks, and hiding, if ever they heard movement. Ginny sighed, and turned around to the pandemonium of the Peabell kitchen.

Chapter two

The Ginny Peabell Plan.

Ginny Peabell lay on her bed with a pen in one hand and a piece of paper in the other recalling the last hour: she had helped her mother clean up the kitchen, and then gone back to staring out of the Drawer, her mother had then told her there was more work to be done, Ginny had told her mother that she didn't want to do anything else, and Ma had shouted at her, Ginny had then been sent to her room and here she lay. The piece of paper had a plan on it, Ginny had always wanted to go outside and help get food, but girls where not allowed out at all. So Ginny's plan was one of how to get out, and it would take place this evening.

* * *

There was a small "creek" as the bedroom door of Ginny's parent's bedroom shut. Everything went silent again. Ginny, making sure the coast was clear, crept out of her room, walked along the hall, and peered into the kitchen, her father, uncle paddy and her brother Sydney where walking out of the door. Ginny crept to the door too, following her father, at a distance, she took her first ever step, out of the chest of drawers.

She looked back as she walked away, it was very well disguised, the door, just looked like part of the wood work, it was impossible for any human to get in, because the two bottom drawers that they lived in where locked, and because there where three other unlocked drawers above, the doctors and nurses never bothered about the bottom ones.

Ginny followed her father all the way to the hospital beds, and then stopped, they where climbing up one of the bed posts, Ginny would be caught if she climbed behind them, so she chose a post at the opposite side of the bed, and climbed that one. But little did Ginny know, that her father, uncle and brother, had chosen one of the far posts for a reason.

When Ginny got onto the mattress, she had to hide behind something so that her Uncle didn't see her. It was only when they had moved away that she stood up, and saw the gigantic hand. Ginny gasped! She had never seen a human hand before; it was just like hers accept enormous! She ran her finger along one of the humans vanes, they where huge. Ginny went to touch one of the gigantic nails, but stopped, she had heard a "flick!" she looked up, and nearly screamed an enormous eye, was looking at her, the patient had awoken.

Chapter three.

I'll Tell You, If You Tell Me.

Ginny new what was going to happen, the human girl would pick her up, and run to one of the nurses, Ginny would then be locked in a cage for the rest of her life while people stared at her, but the worst bit of all, was that she would never see her family again. Ginny's legs turned to marshmallows before her very eyes, and she fell down, only shock stopped her from crying. All she could do was stammer "please, don't hurt me" the girl looked just as shocked as Ginny felt, she sat up, and the sheer size of her made Ginny's insides do a summersault. The girls hands came down and gently picked her up, Ginny could bite and kick really badly, but her body had frozen in fear, she felt limp and helpless. The girl held her at face level, and frowned, "hello" the girl whispered, Ginny was nearly blown backwards by all that air. The girl seemed to notice, because she put Ginny back onto the bed, she then tried again: "hello". Ginny couldn't move, but she could talk, and she croaked "h..hello". The girl smiled and said "my name is Emily, what's yours?

That's when it started, because, as everyone should know, knowing someone by name means that it is very unlikely that they are going to lock you in a cage. They started to talk, more and more, how old they where, Emily was eleven too, what things they liked doing, and stuff like that. They found that each other where very alike.

An hour later, and Ginny felt that she new almost everything about Emily, but there was still one question to ask, "um, Emily?" she said giving her a small poke, Emily didn't feel the poke but she heard Ginny's voice. "Yes?" "um, why are you, why are you here?" "What, you mean the hospital?" Ginny nodded, "oh, well the doctors say I have this thing called diabetes" "and what's that?" "Oh," said Emily surprised, "I thought you'd know!" "nope" "ok then," said Emily, "I guess I'll explain then." Ginny sat down on Emily's pillow, "go on then!" she said. "Well, it all started when I was at home, I never used to eat much, but my appetite suddenly grew, and...." but she stopped, Ginny was waving her arms about to attract her attention, "what?" "Well, like, did you just wake up one day and you where really hungry?" Emily didn't quite understand the question, "Uh, well, I guess. Anyway, so I was really hungry, and then I started getting really thirsty, so I would wake up in the middle of the night to get water. Then, I started getting sick..." Emily stopped; Ginny was doing it again, "what is it this time?" "Um, what kind of sick?" said Ginny, settling herself down again, "well I was Going to explain if you hadn't inter.... Look, just don't interrupt me unless it's really important, ok?" "Ok" "anyway, I was feeling a bit sick, like, tummy ache and stuff like that. Actually, I found that having baths really helped, anyway, eventually it got to much to bare, and I begged my mum to let me go to the doctor, but it was the weekend, so they where closed" "that's silly!" said Ginny "yeah, I know, anyhow, she said that I only had to wait two more days, and then she could book an appointment, but I couldn't wait that long. So, because I was feeling really bad by now, she took me to A and E," "uhhh, what's...?" "oh, it stands for Accident and Emergency. When we got there, the lady at the desk was really slow; my mum went up to her and told her that I was really ill; I was almost unconscious by then."

"What happened next?" said Ginny "I've no idea, but my mummy told me they checked my blood sugar level and realised it was very high, they started to lower it with drugs. If they hadn't done that I would have gone into a diabetic coma, which is a bit like being asleep but not being able to wake up." replied Emily, shrugging her shoulders, "all I can remember is the next day, I was in another ward from this one...Oh! I wish I remember what it was called!" "oh," said Ginny, dumb struck, "maybe it was called D.W." "What's that meant to stand for?" "Diabetes Ward." "Ha-ha! I don't think it was that!" laughed, Emily. "why are you here then, I mean, why aren't you still in the ward with no name?" because....probably because I'm not as sick as I used to be. Anyway, the Doctor..or was it nurse, um, well which ever one it was, said that diabetes is when your Pancreas gives up " "so it just stops? How?" "well, nobody really knows, but they think that its some sort of virus, make sens! e?" "no." frowned Ginny, "but don't explain again, I can live with not knowing."

"Ha-ha!" Emily laughed, "Will the doctors make you better then?" "sort of, except' I have to take medicine every day, no, not tablets, I have to have injections." "INJECTIONS!!!" "yeah, don't sound so shocked! I watched a video yesterday, and it had loads of children on it who had diabetes, they said that they got used to it after a while, in fact its already fine, I really don't mind at all." "wow, that's amazing! Cool. so that's you're whole story?" "yep. Now, I've told you about me, what about you? You're amazing life story!" "ME???!!! Why do you want to know about me, my life has been boring, all I do is sit inside all day." "Oh," said Emily disappointed. "ok, then". Emily slumped down on her pillow, missing Ginny by inches.

"There's still one mystery unsolved though..." Emily said dreamily. "Yeah, what was that ward called?" replied Ginny, lying down next to her. "NO!" Emily said (rather loudly), "what I mean is, when I leave the hospital, how are we going to see each other again?"

The End.