Two green orbs confronted Chuxi with an intimidating intensity. Dr. Turner’s face hovered just in front of him, so close that he could’ve jumped into her gaping mouth if he wanted to. He could just make out his reflection in her glasses.

“Well this is certainly… unusual,” she said, the warmth from her breath washing over him with scent of coffee. “I’ll be honest with you Mr....?”

“Chuxi.”

“Mr. Sushi?”

“Sure.”

“Well, I’ll be honest with you Mr. Sushi, I’ve never seen a patient like you before. That being said, let’s go through a normal workup and see if we can’t figure something out. Sounds good?”

Chuxi nodded.

“Well first off, tell me everything you can think of concerning your new size, and don’t leave anything out.” Dr. Turner pulled up a roller chair and leaned back before crossing one leg over the other. She gazed directly at him, as if some clue might scurry out of him at any moment.

Taking a deep breath, Chuxi dove into his account of what had happened. It took him less than a minute to recall everything that occurred with the incident: he was studying in the hot library basement when he somehow lost consciousness. Upon awaking, he was entirely normal except for his size. Beyond that, he couldn’t say much.

“Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” Chuxi nodded again. “Well first off, are you aware of this sort of thing happening to any of your family members?” He shook his head. “Okay, and since this happened to you earlier this afternoon, has your size changed at all?”

“Not that I’ve noticed.”

“And you’ve felt perfectly normal otherwise?”

“I believe so.”

“Do you have any idea what might have caused this? Perhaps a chemical you’ve ingested?”

“No idea.”

Dr. Turner adjusted her glasses on her face and then brushed a stray lock back into place. “Well, I didn’t expect to learn much from your history… but maybe your labs will tell a different story. I’ll need to obtain a hair sample, a skin sample, a urine sample, a stool sample… and a blood sample.” Haley, who had been attentively sitting nearby, winced visibly. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you; but if it makes you uncomfortable, we won’t even do it today.” Chuxi gulped. Surprisingly, he had never been afraid of needles, but at his size, even the smallest needle would be more like a spear. “I’d be really curious to see if your cells are proportionately smaller, and also if your DNA has been altered in any way. We can do some of those things with the other samples, but a blood sample would really help me to get the broadest and clearest picture possible.” Dr. Turner removed her glasses and her eyes softened. She placed her palm face down next to him, presumably a gesture meant to comfort him. Fleetingly, he realized that at his normal size she would’ve touched his shoulder or knee. He stared at the glossy finish of her manicured nails, each one the size of his textbook. “I can imagine how crazy this all must be for you; but trust me – I’ll do everything I can to make sure you’re well again.”

“Thank you very much,” said Chuxi, although he felt conflicted. On the one hand, he definitely appreciated Dr. Turner’s commitment to his well-being; on the other, he doubted that she could do very much for him. To his knowledge, this had never, ever happened to anyone. If it had, surely it would’ve been publicized, and since it evidently hadn’t, maybe there was some sort of cover up? That certainly didn’t bode well. On the other hand, he simply couldn’t accept that he would remain this size for the rest of his life. That reality would have to sink in later, if at all.

“How about this?” offered Dr. Turner, perhaps sensing his distress. “Let’s send you home for a week. Since your shrinking seemed to arrive out of nowhere, maybe it’ll also disappear just as suddenly. If you’re still small in a week, then we’ll think about getting some of those samples.” Dr. Turner looked at Haley. “You wouldn’t mind taking care of him this week, would you?”

“Of course not,” she replied right away.

Dr. Turner returned her gaze back to him. “And you wouldn’t mind spending a few days with my beautiful patient here, would you?” She asked with a teasing smile. Chuxi gave a thumbs up. “Then it’s settled. Come back to my office in a week.” She made ready to leave, but then paused, and leaned in once more. “Before I go: do you have any questions for me?”

“Actually, I have two questions.”

Dr. Turner nodded warmly. “Fire away.”

“First, can I give a hair sample today? I think that’s something I could handle.”

“Of course!” beamed Dr. Turner. She spun on her heel and began rummaging about in a drawer. From where she sat by the examining bench, Haley smiled supportively. Moments later, Dr. Turner returned with a plastic tube, which to Chuxi was about the size of a bucket. With an encouraging expression, she held it out just in front of him, her hands now covered by purple nitrile gloves. “Put in as many strands as you feel comfortable with.” With a slight grimace, Chuxi began plucking out his hair, one at a time. Once he had deposited a dozen or so, he signaled that he was finished. The tiny black strands looked positively microscopic in the tube. He wondered if the lab technicians would be able to even find the samples let alone examine them. “Okay, all set,” said Dr. Turner, capping the tube and applying a label to it. “Now what was your other question?”

Chuxi hesitated, suddenly uncomfortable beneath her green gaze. “Well, um… I was wondering… who is going to pay for all of this?”

“Don’t worry about that at all, Mr. Sushi,” Dr. Turner veritably scoffed, really before he had even finished his question. “You just worry about getting better, and let me worry about the money. Now, is that everything?” Chuxi nodded, feeling a bit overwhelmed. He couldn’t conceive of something like this happening in China. “All right then, we’ll see you in a week. You take care of him, ok Haley?”

“Yes, ma’am,” she replied cheerfully. A quick ride in Haley’s pocket, and Chuxi was back in the cup holder once more. “So what did you think of Dr. Turner?” asked Haley.

“She’s amazing. How did you get to know her so well?” Haley’s smile, which had been basically a fixture up to this point, faded upon hearing the question. Chuxi quickly backtracked. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” she brushed it off, her smile returning, albeit at half strength. “If you’re going to put your trust in me, I should put my trust in you.”

“Are you sure?” asked Chuxi.

“Of course,” she said, her lips curving fully now. “So basically, I’ve got this disease called endometriosis. It’s where tissue from my uterus grows where it’s not supposed to. It’s extremely painful, but it comes in cycles aligned with my period.” Her expression became sheepish. “Sorry – that’s kinda gross. Anyway,” she continued hurriedly, “long story short, I was in so much pain for a very long time, but no one would believe me. One doctor actually wanted to refer me to a psychiatrist! Luckily, I ran into Dr. Turner, and she’s just so… well, you met her. She’s just the best.”

“That’s a really nice story,” said Chuxi. “So you’re all fixed up now?”

Haley’s face fell once more – Chuxi’s face prickled with regret. Why was he being so nosy? “Well, not quite. The thing about endometriosis… well, I’m infertile.”

Chuxi had only known this girl for a few hours, but this news hit him like a sledgehammer. Haley would never have children. This girl who was so giving and kind – the universe was so cruel. “I’m so sorry,” he said lamely.

“Anyway,” Haley perked up, “I want to be a gynecologist just like Dr. Turner, at least to save girls like me from suffering for so long. The sad part is that endometriosis isn’t even that uncommon. Would’ve been nice to know that a bit sooner.”

“You’ll be a fantastic doctor,” assured Chuxi.

“Thanks,” smiled Haley. “Sorry to be such a downer.”

“Not at all.”

“Anyway, we’re home. I’m excited for you to meet my roommate, Julie. She’s way cooler than me.”

Haley had a roommate? For some reason, he didn’t like that. Admittedly, he was introverted by nature, but he also hoped to minimize meeting people at his present size. Still, Haley seemed excited about it, so he supposed it would be fine. What’s the worst that could happen?

This time Haley didn’t bother to put him in her pocket: her apartment had its own individual garage. She went up a short flight of stairs before coming to a white door covered in garishly colored Greek letters, along with a bunch of hearts, stars, and glitter. “Julie’s very into her sorority,” explained Haley as she unlocked the door. “Home sweet home!”

Her combination kitchen/living room wasn’t the biggest, but it was cozy – and to him it might as well be a stadium. A large couch and coffee table stood in front of a respectably-sized TV, and a dinner table with four chairs rounded out their furniture. A variety of pictures hung on the walls, but a long painting – a landscape depicting mountains – stood out among the rest.

“Did you paint that?” he pointed.

Haley blushed. “Yeah – it’s nothing.” She called out louder, “Julie, you in here? I want you to meet somebody!”

“Now?” came a female voice. “I just came back from a run!”

“Oh okay, no problem.” She looked down at him. “I’m gonna go use the bathroom. Do you mind if put you on the coffee table?”

“Sure.” She smiled and set him on the black surface before leaving the room. Chuxi stared at the door, a weird feeling in his stomach. How things had changed in such a short amount of time.

Just then, a different door swung open and Julie walked into the room. She held a cellphone to her ear. “Yeah, Haley invited someone over for me to meet.” She quickly scanned the room, her wavy blond hair swinging with her motion. Still in her running clothes, she shrugged and headed towards the couch. “I don’t know if it’s a guy.”

Chuxi waved his arms and shouted, “Hello, my name is – ” His introduction was cut short by a pair of massive feet slamming into the coffee table beside him, knocking him off balance. Instantly, the fragrance of Julie’s feet invaded his nostrils.

“Honestly, Haley’s been kind of a ghost recently. She’s studying all the time for the MCAT.” Chuxi watched in horror as the blonde girl reached forward to peel off one of her pink socks, still not noticing him. He jumped and shouted frantically, but to no avail. Without so much as a “How do you do?” Julie unceremoniously dumped her sock directly onto Chuxi, knocking him down with a wall of stinky, wet fabric. “It’s the entrance exam to med school, duh!”

Chuxi struggled to get out from under Julie’s disgusting sock, but right as he was about to escape from its clutches, Julie dropped the other one on top of him, burying him once more in a cotton tomb of wetness and heat. He couldn’t believe that Julie hadn’t seen him, but now it looked like he had to suffer through an awful encounter with her sweaty clothing. Chuxi had always hated locker rooms growing up, but his current situation was taking it to a whole new level. This girl’s filthy socks literally suffocated him, sending waves of nausea through him with each perspiration-infused inhalation. He felt panic rise within in him, and he began to thrash about uselessly. He could think of few things more unpleasant than this, Julie’s intimate steam bath.

Finally, he heard the bathroom door swing open.

“Oh hey Julie, I thought you were gonna shower first. Did you get to meet – oh my God! Where’s Sushi?”