Brian walked back to his car, the machine in its case held in his left hand, while he found his car keys in his pocket with his right.

He couldn't believe he was leaving Scott so small, and that Scott had wanted to be that size. He wasn't even as big as a finger. Why Scott wanted to be that size Brian didn't know, but it gave him a little thrill to think that he controlled the only way back to normal. The nearest commercial machine was 600km away, at least as far as he knew.

He opened the driver’s side door and got in. He pushed his machine into the passenger side footwell and covered it with a dark blanket. He wasn't going to make it obvious to anyone peering through the windows.

He checked the time on the dash display, just about 6pm. He was meeting Adel, the waitress, at the pub at 6. He might be a few minutes late, be she'd wait. He wasn't sure of the details of what she wanted, but he could guess the machine was involved. He was glad Scott said she had a boyfriend, which probably meant she wasn't interested in him... She wasn't quite his type, or at least it seemed that way from first impressions.

He'd only finished it a few days ago, mostly just to see if he could build one. It had cost him almost $2,000, but that was the fraction of the cost of a commercial unit. His was only suitable for small scale stuff, but maybe he could use it to make at least some of that money back.

He started the car. He hadn't really thought about shrinking people with it until Matt had laid out the idea for Scott's photo shoot yesterday, but there was no reason it couldn't be used like this. Maybe he'd have to start charging.

He drove, thinking about a business plan for the machine. "The machine" was as silly a name as "Boson Ray", there was nothing mechanical about it. It was all just quantum physics, changing interactions of fundamental particles by altering fields. But he just hated Boson Ray, so he called it the Machine instead.

He found a parking spot close to the pub, checked that the machine was reasonably out of sight, and made his way inside. He checked the time on his phone 6:04pm. Not too bad. He went to the dining area and saw Adel sitting at a table with another man.

Adel waited with Dave in the pub. They'd been there since 5:50pm, waiting for the man with the Boson Ray to arrive. She thought that he was called Brian, but may have misheard the conversation he and his friends were having.

She felt a sense of anticipation. Something was going to come out of this dinner, she knew it.

She looked at her boyfriend, Dave. He was a great guy, which was for sure. He was kind, gentle and considerate. He looked great, lean but muscular, his triathlon training showing through his physique. He was, even he accepted, short. At 165cm he was a good 10 centimetres shorter than the average male.

While he was physically stronger than her, she was about 2 centimetres taller than him. What she really wanted was for him to be bigger than her. Really bigger than her, even if only for a little while. She hoped this Brian guy would help out.

Brian looked at Adel as he approached the table. She was about 5cm shorter than him, maybe a little more, he knew. She was built on the smaller end of average, but her waitressing clothes betrayed some great curves. Her wavy hair was a deep red, but clearly a natural colour, and she kept it around collar length.

She looked nice enough, but the note she'd passed him at lunch meant he wasn't so inclined to like her... It just seemed a little underhanded. Still, he had to give her a chance, which he was doing as he was here.

The guy who was with her, though, was defiantly attractive. Lean and muscular, not as bulky as Scott, and he was certainly shorter, though Brian couldn't tell how tall he was right now.

Adel looked up and saw Brian approaching them. He was a bit taller than either of them, skinny. Not quite her type, but there was a certain amount of cute about him. He stopped when he reached the table.
"Adel, isn't it?" he asked
"Yes, Brian?"
"Yep." he said, offering his hand.  She took it and shook.
"This is my boyfriend Dave"
"Pleased to meet you." said Brian, offering his hand again.
"You too." said Dave, as he half stood and shook his hand. "Please sit down."
Brian took the seat in front of him.
"Take a look at the menu Brian," said Adel, "we're ready to order, so decide what you'd like then we'll talk."
"Sure" said Brian. "I had to take an unplanned detour on the way."
"No problem" said Dave, flashing a winning smile "I'll get some drinks. What would you like?"
"Just a coke for the moment, thanks."
"Sure.  Adel?"
"House white, please darling."
Dave nodded, and set off to the bar.
"No alcohol?" Adel asked, while Brian looked at the menu.
"I haven't eaten since lunch, so I need some food first."

Dave waited at the bar, glancing back over to the table.  He could see his girlfriend sitting there talking to the stranger.  Brian was good looking, he thought, though perhaps not to everyone's taste.  He clearly wasn't athletic, but his mannerisms already betrayed a thoughtful person.  He really hoped that he was up for what he and Adel had planned.  It could turn out to be quite a wild night.

He ordered the drinks and carefully carried the three glasses back to the table.  He placed the wine in front of Adel, gave Brian is coke and settled down with his beer.
"It's my treat tonight, Brian." he said "Order what you like."
"Are you sure?" he asked
"Absolutely."
Brian stared intently at the menu for a few more minutes before closing it.  As if on cue the waiter arrived.
"Are you ready to order?" he asked
"Yes, I think so." Dave replied.  The other two nodded. "I'll have a rump. With salad and chips."
The waiter looked at Adel "The parma, please."
"Salad or vegetables?" the waiter enquired
"Salad, please, but no chips."  He noted that down on his pad.
"The scotch fillet," said Brian, "Salad and chips, please."
"So that's a rump with salad and chips, a chicken parmigiana with salad only and a scotch fillet with salad and chips?"
They all nodded.
"OK, we'll bring that out as soon as it's ready." he said and was gone.

They waited a full minute before Adel spoke again.
"So you might be wondering why I asked you here tonight," she started, "though I bet you probably have a good idea already."
"My machine." he said.  Dave nodded and grinned.
"Yes," said Adel, "I'd like you to shrink me. Or make Dave a bit bigger. Or maybe both."