“Forty-Thirty! Service!”

Justin tensed his hands on the racket as the ball was hit toward him. He returned it, sending the yellow sphere back over the net. The Korean woman on the other side was quick to respond, slicing the ball over the net and hard to the right.

“Dang it!” he yelled as he ran for it, stretching out his racket, but it was no use as the ball bounced on the green then sailed out of bounds.

“That’s game! I win!” the woman squealed excitedly, pumping her fist in the air. Justin huffed and laughed.

“Good game, Mia. Those slices are tough to handle!”

The short, dark haired woman laughed as she skipped to the side of the court.

“You need to learn to keep up! Don’t worry...I’ll keep you on your toes!”

Justin made a quick loop, picking up the balls and joining his friend at the side of the court. On his way back, she bent over to put away her racket and he caught the perfect glimpse of her shapely thighs and hips. Despite her size, she had a nice body, and he couldn’t help but stare. She turned around and smiled, breaking him out of his stupor.

“Y-yea,” he stammered, collecting himself. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you next time.”

She laughed and stood back up, the top of her head barely reaching his shoulders.

“You wish!” she said, resting her covered racket on her shoulder. “Ready to head back?”

It was getting late and the sun was getting low in the sky, bathing the court in a warm, orange glow. Justin nodded and the two friends began to make their way across campus, heading from the courts toward the dorms. They chatted about various topics, walking close, their hands just inches from each other. Justin could not count the number of times he had wanted to take her hand in his, but they were friends...just friends...and he didn’t want to make things awkward. Not until he was sure there was a chance she might think of him as more than just a friend as well.

“Oh shoot,” she said, suddenly stopping, seeming troubled by something on her mind.

“Hmm? What? What is it?”

She grumbled. “I forgot that I need to grab some data from the lab computers to work on it over the weekend. Shoot.”

He knew that Mia was getting an early start to her research experience, working under one of the leading experimental physicists in the world. It was an excellent opportunity and rarely given to underclassmen...but Justin knew she was as smart as she was pretty and he was happy for her to have this chance. Normally they would have dinner and watch a movie Friday nights, but this was obviously important.

“It’s okay, Mia. If you have to go, go ahead.”

She looked at him with concern. “Are you sure? I mean...I hate to disrupt our Friday fun nights.”

Justin nodded. “Absolutely. Totally fine.”

She cracked a small smile but still looked worried a few moments before her eyes lit up.

“Oh! I know! You can come with me!”

Justin’s eyes lit up too.

“Oh! Okay...but wait, are you sure that’s okay?”

She nodded. “No one is going to be there tonight anyway, and I don’t want to disrupt our plans. You come with me, keep me company, I download the data, and we’re out in twenty minutes. What do you think?”

Justin nodded. Every minute spent with her was a good one. She grinned, the excitement returning to her features.

“Good! Here, this way. Only a small detour.”

They walked to the new science building and she opened the door using her access key. The facility was as new on the inside as it was on the outside, with clean, painted walls and modern design. It even smelled new.

She led him through a few halls and another couple security doors until they finally entered a dark room.

“Hang on a sec,” she said as she fumbled along the wall, her fingers eventually finding the switch. The lights came on and Justin saw some chairs and tables, a row of computers, a large terminal, and one odd sight: a large device of some sort in the center of the room. It was mounted to the floor, rising up about four feet to a long arm which appeared to have some sort of emitter on the end. Various cords and wires ran to it.

“It won’t take too long for me to get the files,” she said as she put her equipment down on a nearby table and sat at a computer. Justin put his equipment down as well as she plugged in a USB drive and started clicking away. He peered around the room again, taking in the odd sights.

“So, this is where you do your research?” he asked as he made his loop.

“Hmm?” she responded. “Oh...no, not really...I mean...yes. No, I’m not usually in this room, but yes, this is something Professor Radkin has been working on. It’s really quite fascinating.”

“Ah, okay,” he said as he walked over to the strange device.

“What’s this thing?” he asked, looking at all the wires and tubes running to it. Mia looked up from the screen momentarily and smirked.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Aww...come on, Mia. You know I’ll believe anything you tell me.”

“Mmm…” she hesitated a moment. “Okay...it’s a device...that...can put wings on a pig.”

Justin wrinkled his nose. “Um...really?” he said, looking at her. It didn’t take long for her to burst out laughing.

“Okay, okay...sorry, I just wanted to mess with you. But seriously...and I mean it...it’s an atomic condenser. It isolates the molecules of a macroscopic entity and rearranges their structures on a reduced scale.”

Justin blinked. “Ah...oh...um...okay...yea. I…”

Mia smiled. “It’s a shrink ray.”

Justin’s eyes went wide. “Whoa, really?!” he exclaimed. It was something that he’d only ever seen in movies. Was she seriously working on one here? Or was she just pulling his leg again. Mia responded with a smile and a slow nod.

“No joke this time. And it works too...we’ve already shrunk multiple specimens with great success. Just….” she stopped herself and turned herself back to the screen. Justin raised an eyebrow.

“Just…?” he asked.

She sighed. “It’s a long story but...we’ve only shrunk like, chairs and balls and maybe a plant. Nothing you know...really living.”

“Oh, really?” he asked. His mind was spinning as he stared at her small frame as she talked to him about things that were seemingly impossible.

“Yea...Professor Radkin says that a lot more research is needed, but I think we’re ready. Imagine Justin...being able to shrink an animal or even a person. Imagine if we became the first in the world to miniaturize another human being.”

His jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He knew they were working on cutting edge science here, but this was crazy. Miniaturization? It was something you only ever saw in the movies. And yet here Mia was, claiming it was possible.

She sighed again. “But it’s never going to happen. Besides...who would volunteer for such a crazy experiment anyway?”

“Well, is it a reversible procedure?” Justin asked, walking over and sitting next to Mia.

“Oh yes, completely,” she said with a smile. “We’ve managed to properly restore every specimen to date.”

“And you’re sure it’s safe?” he asked, looking her straight in the eyes. She stared back, her pretty, dark brown eyes locking onto his.

“Oh yes, I’m sure of it. I’ve run all the calculations...I’d bet my life on it.”

He nodded. “Okay...I volunteer.”

She raised an eyebrow, studying him a moment before bursting out into laughter.

“Ha ha ha, Justin, very funny. I appreciate the sentiment though.”

“I’m not joking, Mia,” Justin said calmly as he smiled at his friend. “I’ll be your subject.”

Mia stared at him a moment as her expression changed from humored to surprised.

“You’re...serious? Justin, I...I can’t let you do this. Do you realize what you’re asking? The risks involved? What if something happens? You could be severely hurt or injured. Why would you say such a thing?”

“Mia,” he said, speaking calmly and clearly, “Is the science real? Will it work?”

Mia scratched her head, her expression still worried.

“Well, yes,” she said, “I mean...in theory. The calculations are all there and I’ve checked them multiple times….”

“Then,” Justin said as he gently took her hand in his. Her fingers were cold as he wrapped his own fingers around hers.

“Then I trust you. You’ve the smartest person I know...maybe one of the smartest people in the world...it would give me nothing but joy to help you make a name for yourself. I know I’m in good hands.

Mia looked down at her hands in his, feeling the warmth of his palms on her fingers. Her cheeks flushed pink as she tried hard to suppress a nervous giggle.

“Okay,” she practically whispered, smiling as she stared up into her friend’s lovely green eyes. Justin smiled back.