Free The Secret Lives of Emails.docx by A.J. Ramsey Page A

gaps, but unlike the rest of the tube, it looked new. He carefully walked up to the wall and confirmed that the narrow openings were indeed the only way through. The openings were along the floor, and they were only two feet tall and two feet wide. People were having to enter or exit on their hands and knees, one at a time.
    He watched for a moment and considered crawling into one of the openings to see if there was something special on the other side. Jumping into the line, he got to his hands and knees and peered in before remembering that this was exactly how he had found Brittany. She had been stuck at the very end of the opening in the brick wall, with almost a third of her out in the open. Yet, the tube had been so packed that she hadn’t been able to move. Even with Emal’s help, she hadn’t popped out easily. Emal had no desire to get stuck. He could try and go in the opening that people were coming out of, but, he thought, What if someone came in from the opposite direction at the same time? He had no idea how far it was to the other side or even what was over there. His curiosity was not strong enough for this adventure, and he decided crawling into one of these constricted areas was something he might try later—but only if he really had to.
    He was about to head back the way he had come when a familiar voice rang out from the other tube at the intersection.
    “See here, you little maggot . . .”
     

 
     
    Fancy meeting you here
     
    ~
     
    “I don’t know who you think you are . . .”
    It was a very familiar voice indeed, and Emal started making his way toward it. The indignant voice was coming from around a bend in what he had thought was an unused path. He rounded the corner and saw Brittany just as he had last seen her. She was wearing her tennis shoes, knee-high black socks with a black skirt, and her button-up white shirt, which was still only half buttoned. He remembered, quite well now, that he had seen someone like her on at least two occasions. He wondered if it had been Brittany or just people who looked remarkably similar.
    Here, however, there was no doubt that this was the same Brittany he had literally run into earlier. She was standing with her fists clenched at her sides and calling someone names. None of this was surprising.
    What Emal did find very surprising, and not at all familiar, was that she appeared to be arguing with what Emal could only describe as a troll.
    The troll looked just like you would think. It was very large, towering over Brittany by at least a few feet, and it had pointy ears that twitched randomly. Its skin was bumpy and green, and it wore animal furs. The menacing creature also carried a large club slung over its shoulder, and as Emal watched, the troll began slapping the club in its palm, apparently emphasizing a threat of some kind.
    “Who you calling maggot, little girl?” The troll said, its voice booming throughout the tube. The voice was deep and gravely, and Emal would have assumed it was a male troll, but he really had no evidence to base that on. “I find bigger maggots than you in my stool every morning.”
    “Yeah?” Brittany laughed. “You have maggots in your stool every morning? You should probably see a vet. I hear they give out pills for that now. Although that might explain your breath you . . . you . . . troll!”
    Both of them were so absorbed in their argument that they didn’t see Emal walk up near them, listening in.
    “My breath? My breath is amazing. I floss every day just like my dentist tells me to. Three times a day. I bet you don’t! Yeah, I bet you have really bad personal hygiene; in fact, I can smell you now. You reek of mold and . . . and . . . other stuff,” the troll shouted, gesturing at her with its club and pretending to plug its nose with its free hand.
    Emal wasn’t sure, but he thought the troll grew a bit more after that last comment.
    Brittany smelled under her arms quickly and with satisfaction stated, “I