Chuxi watched as Haley went about packing her things. She had quite a bit to clear up: textbooks, notes, headphones, pencil bag, computer, charger, and even a wireless mouse. Although he couldn’t replicate it, Haley obviously had a system for packing her things. Like an assembly line worker, she automatically stored each item in a specific compartment of her many-pocketed backpack. Despite the large number of items, it took her less than a minute to get everything in its place. With that, she slung her bag over one shoulder and then placed her hand on the desk.

“Thank you,” said Chuxi. He stepped on before immediately settling into a nervous crouch. He wasn’t afraid of heights or anything, but it seemed like the smart thing to do.

“No problem, Sushi,” said Haley cheerily. At some point she had shaken off her initial tentativeness in favor of a sunnier disposition. Chuxi had to admit that it was rubbing off on him a bit: he took comfort from the warmth radiating off her tremendous palm as opposed to feeling resentment or even fear. “Watcha working on over here?” she asked as she deposited him back onto his desk, sparsely populated with only a textbook, a pencil, and a single sheet of paper.

“I just started working on my PhD in Statistics,” said Chuxi.

“Wow,” she said. “You must be really smart.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” This time, he watched as she gathered up his things. His backpack only had two pockets, but he appreciated how Haley tried to organize his meager property for him – pencils in the small one, notes in the big one. “Hold on,” he said just as she was about to put in the textbook. “That’s actually on reserve. I think you can just turn it in to the front desk.”

Haley rolled her eyes at just the mention of the front desk. Leaving the textbook on the table, she slung both backpacks over one shoulder (his was pitifully light) and then regarded him, her lips pursed in thought. “I feel like we should hide you, right?” she said finally. “I mean, if I were you, I wouldn’t want to attract any attention.” Chuxi nodded his agreement. “Well, do you mind riding in my pocket? I don’t know if you’d be safe in my backpack. It’ll only be for a little while – my car is right outside,” she added hurriedly.

Chuxi gave her a thumbs up. “No problem,” he clarified, in case she couldn’t see his thumb and thought he was brandishing his fist at her.

“Ok – I’ll try not to jostle you too much.” With that, she placed her hand on the desk, and once again Chuxi climbed aboard. With her other hand, she pulled the pocket to her brightly-colored gym shorts, giving him easy access to his new means of transportation. Not wanting to show any sign of fear, Chuxi hopped into the pocket and immediately took up a position lying down in the fabric, not unlike relaxing in a hammock. He gave her another thumbs up, to which she positively beamed. “See you in a bit.”

With that, she released her pants fabric and Chuxi’s whole world became a single shade of neon green. Well, that and the smell. He had tried to ignore it before, but now with her pocket closed the air had become quite sour. It wasn’t nearly as bad as the smell of her feet from earlier, but she clearly had used these gym shorts for their original purpose: sweaty exercise. No matter – he would endure.

Presently, he heard Haley scoop up the textbook – and then she began walking. To his surprise, the motion really wasn’t bad. Instead of lying in a hammock, it felt like lying in a hammock – at sea. He guessed that since her pocket was positioned on the side of her garment, her leg didn’t bump into him with every step, and actually her motion rocked him gently back and forth. Aside for the smell, Chuxi kind of enjoyed it.

Before he knew it, light poured down on him from above, where Haley’s face greeted him like morning sunshine. “Did you have a nice trip?” she asked, making a hook with her index finger and sending it down to him. Taking the hint, he sat as if on a swing, and she ferried him out to her car’s cup holder.

“Yeah, it was actually kind of nice,” Chuxi said truthfully. Haley smiled before suddenly frowning. She snapped her fingers, and then rummaged around in her side-door compartment before returning to him. “You shouldn’t sit in that disgusting cup holder,” she explained, lifting him out again. With her other hand, she covered the (truthfully immaculate) surface with far too many tissues – at least a dozen – and then put him back down.

“You didn’t have to do that,” said Chuxi, “but I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t be silly.” Just then, her phone beeped loudly. Drawing it out of her other pocket, she read the screen before grinning brightly. “Dr. Turner said she can see you right away.”

“Really?” asked Chuxi, surprised. In China it could take months to see a doctor.

“Well, I told her it was an emergency, and that I didn’t want to talk about it over the phone.”

Chuxi’s feelings of gratefulness multiplied in an instant. “Thank you so much.”

“It’s not a big deal,” she brushed it off. “In fact, this whole thing is kind of cool. You shrinking like this has to be some kind of scientific phenomenon.”

“Yeah, I guess… but couldn’t it have happened to someone else?” Haley burst into laughter, and she kept laughing all the way out of the parking lot.

“Hey, Sushi,” she said, once she had calmed down. “If you’re from China, how did your English get so good? And I mean that in the best way possible,” she added hurriedly. “Most of the Chinese kids in my classes have pretty thick accents.”

“So I actually attended an international school in Hong Kong starting in grade school. Everything is taught in English there.”

“That’s really cool. So you’re from Hong Kong? What do your parents do?”

“I’m actually from mainland China, the southeastern region. My mother works on a rice farm more inland, and I’ve never met my father. When I scored well on a national exam, she sent me off to school. I don’t see her very often, but I’ve been trying my best so that I can give her a good life later. Wait – are you crying?”

“No,” Haley denied vehemently, even though the truth was plain to see. She sniffed loudly and wiped her eyes. “You’re lucky I’m driving, or I would hug you so hard your guts would pop out!”

“Wouldn’t be too hard for you, I suppose,” he panned. Once again, Haley burst into a fit of giggles. For the next few minutes, the conversation flowed easily between them. Haley was just starting her junior year, but upon Chuxi’s prodding, she explained that she was already studying so hard because she hoped to take the MCAT – the entrance exam for medical school – in a month. That explained the organic chemistry. Chuxi told her he lived in a single in the graduate student housing, and that since he had been there he hadn’t done much. (“Well, duh! You can’t be out drinking while your mother’s working in a rice field!”) Haley had a younger brother who was applying to college now, while her parents owned a diner out in California.

“What made you choose Vanderbilt?” asked Haley.

“Honestly, it was all about money. I have a full scholarship here, and other schools wouldn’t offer me the same thing.”

“Nashville isn’t Hong Kong,” she said.

“I guess… but I’m a country boy at heart.”

“You are too funny!” giggled Haley. Chuxi doubted that; she seemed like the type of person who laughed a lot. “Anyway, we’re here. Do you mind riding in my pocket again?”

“Not at all,” he replied. Seconds later, he rested in Haley’s smelly but otherwise comfortable pocket. He could feel her walking into a blessedly cool building, whereupon she spoke a receptionist.

“Ah, Ms. Stephens, Dr. Turner has been expecting you. If you’ll just follow me to an examining room…”

Just like that, Chuxi found himself standing on a far too large examining bench. His heart thumped in his chest as his eyes passed over the similarly far too large examining equipment. Doubts crept into his mind: what did he hope this doctor was going to do for him? He began to pace nervously.

Without a word, Haley pulled up a chair and sat close by, hovering over him like she was his mother. “You’re in good hands, Sushi. Dr. Turner really is the nicest lady.” Somebody knocked on the door. “That must be her – come in!”

In walked a blond woman – a quite beautiful bond woman. She wore a chic black blazer and skirt with a deep purple blouse, and her fashionable black pumps clicked on the white tile with each step. Her sleek glasses did little to contain two shining green eyes. Clearly this wasn’t Dr. Turner; not only was she far too attractive, but she also wasn’t wearing a whitecoat, or even a stethoscope.

The woman crushed Chuxi’s presumptions when she pulled Haley into a fierce hug and said, “So good to see you again, Haley. How are you?”

“I’m actually fine, Dr. Turner – for once. I actually was hoping you could take a look at my friend.”

 “Okay. Where is she?”

“He’s actually right here,” said Haley, gesturing to him.

Dr. Turner’s eyes locked onto him, only just now noticing his presence. They widened perceptibly, her green irises shining all the brighter for it. Her shapely lips formed a circle of incredulity.

“What in the world…?”