The shadow that engulfed Micha came with the rumble of many shoes hitting the pavement. Out of instinct he dove into the grass above the curb. The tight pants Juni loaned him were working overtime. He rolled on his back and looked in the direction of the commotion. The ominous threat belonged to a group of human kids, just passing through. They weren’t even looking at him, too busy giggling and shoving amongst themselves. He chuckled to himself. Sure, jumping back here was probably overkill. But he couldn’t afford to be too careless. He had heard of too many Minis who had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

They strolled the perimeter of the Mini neighborhood. Judging from their worn out trainers, thundering voices, and general youthfulness they may have been in highschool. Maybe. It was really quite hard for Micha to tell the ages of humans at a glance. Especially when all he had to go off of was columns of towering legs at any one moment. As they got further away, he noticed it wasn’t just humans. A Mini was perched on the shoulder of one of them. Chatting and laughing along with the rest. It brought him back to his time in highschool. A Mini who had human friends, real human friends, was almost always incredibly popular. Micha was not one of those people. He had a great group of Mini friends, but his parents were a bit conservative. Hanging out with a group of humans after school was absolutely out of the question. That was probably for the best. In college he went out of his way to engage with humans and well, results definitely varied. 

The group had long past and his body was in autopilot as he passed the familiar kiosk. Humans were prompted to stop by a guard at the gate, while Minis could simply continue through a small door at the bottom of the kiosk. The automatic door slid open and he stepped through, waved to the camera, and came out the other end of the hall to the community. Thanks to his girlfriend’s misinterpretation, he was on the other end of the neighborhood. So he would simply have to stop by his parent’s and borrow their car to get to his place on time. Though “neighborhood” was a bit of an understatement. This was much closer to its own town. In human scale, it was at least several acres all together. Walking from one end to the other was out of the question. 

Still, it was always a breath of fresh air here. Everything was built to a reasonable scale. As he walked on the sidewalk, kids rode on their bikes and jumping away didn’t even cross his mind. It was practically a Mini-only space. His community was much stricter with allowing in human visitors. In fact there was only a small area near the front that allowed them. Otherwise, the Mini would just have to meet them at one of the gates. A nice amount of vegetation and trees marked the perimeter, along with the fence of course. He was glad his parents were planning to retire here. It was quiet, safe, and more importantly, he had doubts they would be happy in a multisize community. He could see the front porch of their modest two story home from here, situated on the corner of the street.

He let out a slow sigh “Okay, get keys and get out. 2 minutes”

The dusk sky hit that beautiful orange hue with purple tones poking below. The time for reservations was coming up. He reached in his pocket and pulled out- nothing. He frantically patted down his own legs even though he knew the truth. These weren’t his pants. His pants and phone were likely being dissolved in the stomach acid of his girlfriend right now. Definitely a strange thing to go through his mind as he knocked on the door to his parent’s house.

“Mikey is that you! You gotta call if you’re coming for dinner” His mom greeted as she swung the door wide. She was a thicker woman with wireframe glasses and the warmest smile you could ever imagine. Except for a few more gray hairs, she was just as Micha remembered. She was quick to answer, especially so late. 

“Hey mom, sorry I can’t stay.” he said as he was pulled into a warm embrace and brought inside, “I was actually wondering if I could use the car really quick? Juni dropped me on Eastside and-” 

She wasn’t listening. As soon as the hug ended she was back on the move.

“Mikey’s here!” she called from the foyer to no one in particular. There were scattered calls back throughout the house with varying enthusiasm. He figured it was only a matter of time until the family all came down. Which was sweet, but time consuming. His mom hadn’t slowed down and was making a beeline back to the dining room. Micha wiped his hands on his face in annoyance before following.

“Mom,” he called “Mom! Listen I need the car for tonight, please”  

She shoved a stack of plates into his arms, “The car? Here set the table. What do you need our car for?”

“Juni dropped me off over here on accident. I don’t have enough time to walk and make it before our reservation” Micha explained again as he set out the plates. The wonderful smell of roasted chicken wafted around the house. He almost wished he could stay. Almost.

“Ah Juni…” his mom busied herself checking on food to exit the conversation. 

“You’re still dating the giant?” His dad’s blunt voice asked as he walked into the room. His tall form leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed. “And she couldn’t even give you a ride. That’s a respect thing”

“It’s not like that, I just forgot it was so far away” Micha said. He should’ve known this was bound to happen. He started wondering if running would be a faster option. And they wondered why he didn’t visit much.

“Mikey forgot something?” His dad laughed “that doesn’t even sound right. See that giant forgetfulness is rubbing off on you-“

“Dad. How many times…” Micha sighed “never mind, I just need the car” 

His mom returned to the conversation jangling the keys in her hand “Okay just be careful alright? I know you think she’s pretty but keep your options open. Love finds a way”

“I’m already in love. With Juni!” He added as he grabbed the keys out of her hand. “Thanks, I’ll fill it up and return it in the morning”

He started making his way back to the foyer before anyone could bombard him with more questions. Unfortunately he wasn’t quite fast enough.

“Wait Micha!” He turned and saw his younger sister waving a sheet of paper between the banister on the stairs. Apparently it was too much to walk down more than halfway “What’s number four?”

She was almost done with high school and she still hadn’t managed to care about it. He reached up and grabbed the sheet. As he scanned the sheet his parents joined him in the foyer.

“It’s 14” he lifted the sheet back up and she snatched it happily.

“That was fast,” she said.

“You’re just slow,” he replied. In truth he was just good at math. The conversation devolved into bickering amongst the siblings and his mother chastising him for just giving the answer and not teaching her. At this rate he would barely have time for a shower before having to meet for the date.

“Okay, bye guys” he stepped outside. The minivan and his escape were in sight.

The door was open and his father put his hand up to his mouth and called out “What are you doing wearing women's pants?” 

“Glenn!” his mom slapped his dad’s arm exasperated. 

The heat rose to Micha’s face instantly. “They’re not!” These weren’t girl’s clothes were they? They were just small. But then again, that would explain the fit and form, regardless. It wouldn’t surprise him either way iif Juni did it on purpose to mess with him, or if she just wasn’t paying attention. No, she would definitely tease him if it was purposeful. He didn’t have time for this. He hopped in the van and started backing up.

His mom was walking out to the driveway, cranking her arm in small circles. Micha groaned to himself and obliged, rolling the window down. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t go. Did she dress you up in that?” His mom asked, worried. “I read an article about that. Humans dressing us up like dolls”

“It's sick!” his dad added from the porch.

As overbearing as they were, they were just concerned. He parked the car halfway out of the driveway and leaned out the window, taking his mom’s hand in his. “I appreciate your concern. I do. But me and Juni have been dating for years. She’s so kind and fair to Minis and everyone else. I’ll see you tomorrow, love you.”

She looked like she wanted to argue some more but she said her goodbyes all the same. He did a last wave and finally left his parents house in the van. He waited until he turned the corner before flooring it. The family car’s back tires ate up the pavement a bit before he barreled down the residential. He checked the center console for the time. He had just under half an hour to get home, get ready, and pick up Juni. Speaking of picking up Juni, he hoped the driver followed the instructions he laid out. The suburbs soon gave way to the city center he lived in. The dusk sun was dipping behind the horizon. Time was running out. He let out a frustrated yell to get everything out of his system. 

“Two minutes, what a joke”

He would’ve called Juni, but that was out of the question. If he hadn’t spent so much time there already he would’ve borrowed the home phone. Oh well, he would have to figure it out. The drive was uneventful though it was a miracle he wasn't pulled over. 

Micha tore through his apartment like a madman. He was glad his roommate wasn’t there. As soon as he raced up the stairs, his body was working overtime to prep. He brushed his teeth in the shower, fixed his hair while buttoning his shirt, even clipped his fingernails and recited his lines for the proposal. 

He did one final check in the mirror before leaving. He was dressed in a white button up with the top few open, a gold watch, and brought a sport coat just in case. Thankfully he was able to finally change into some more relaxed pants. Now for the important part. The ring box.

The oversized gift wrapped case was sitting in the middle of his apartment. The ring itself was small enough he could carry like an oversized hula hoop. But the box was obnoxiously large, taller than he was. It was a pain to get here last week. The delivery guy was human so he needed special permission to walk to the apartment and even then the two of them had to get creative. Micha ended up taking out the balcony doors so he could crouch down and push the box inside. 

-Thud-

A low rumble rattled a picture frame on his wall. Good, the transportation Micha set up was on their way.

-Thud

Micha put his hand on the wall to steady himself. It was stronger, and followed by the wail of a police siren. Not good. They obviously didn’t follow his instructions. He flung open the balcony doors and stepped out. 

The transportation he set up was in the form of a service called Scoop. They specialized in picking up Minis and taking them where they needed to go. The prices were fair and all the drivers were humans with solid track records. They would typically meet or “scoop” the Mini from a predetermined location and take them wherever, usually waiting to give them a ride back too. Micha had used it on several occasions. This time the driver was supposed to wait for him at the West gate so he could swipe them in, but they must’ve had other plans.

“Idiot…” he sighed to himself. It was definitely her. Her dirty blonde hair was tied in a ponytail that came through the back of her baseball cap, labeled “Scoop” in tacky block letters. She wore a loose t-shirt and form fitting athletic shorts. The Scoop driver was a young woman slightly older than himself, and much much larger. He watched her towering frame step over several blocks at a time, landing with a ground shaking boom. It was followed by the screeching of car tires and Minis leaning on the horn. He couldn’t see the impact zone but he hoped her monolithic running shoes kept the damage to a minimum. It didn’t help that she was looking at her phone mostly, glancing down occasionally to step. Micha’s profile had his address on there as a backup. Since he was late she must've gone looking. “Hey! Over here, it’s Micha!!”

She couldn’t hear him. Obviously, she was still a ways away. But she seemed to be honing in on his location anyways. As she reached the city center, most highrises and his own 10 story complex came just above her waist, the few that were taller still couldn’t clear her modest breasts. She was only a few blocks away now. He could see the muscles on her leg tense before lifting her shoe high above the skyline. Micha looked up in awe as the tread soared over his street. At her scale he could make out every boulder of gravel and car turned to a flattened piece of scrap metal, stuck between the grooves. Some small pieces dislodged themselves and crashed down, leaving cracks in the pavement. It felt like forever, but it was only a moment before her foot landed heavily beside the building. The impact created a powerful gust of wind and dust plume, knocking Micha to his butt. His entire complex even groaned and wobbled slightly.

Mini engineers had developed structures that were designed to take earthquake forces. Seismic dampers and a flexible foundation kept them standing where more rigid structures collapsed. Humans had taken inspiration from this and even applied it to their own dwellings near fault lines.

But no amount of structural integrity could prepare a building for this. Wind whipped through the street as she rose her foot again. With slow, sure movement she hovered it over the building across from his. It wasn’t a highrise. It used to be a supermarket, then a party store, and now– 

“No!!!” he cried.

-BOOM-

It was nothing. The monolithic sole plummeted back to the earth and obliterated the entire plot of land. The blast from the impact rattled everything nearby and even set off a few car alarms. Anything lighter than a car that wasn’t bolted down scattered to the wind. A deafening grating noise erupted from under her treads as she twisted her heel from side to side. The worst part was seeing her face. No emotion. Almost bored watching the destruction she caused. Micha was horrified. If he had his phone he would’ve left a one star review for sure. 

“Where are you Micha?” the Scoop driver called, seemingly ignoring the police as the wailing cars zipped around her feet. Was she just going to continue wrecking the town if he didn’t show himself? He should’ve read the fine print. “I’m May, your Scoop driver. If you’re around here, text me… or start jumping, please.” 

As humiliating as it was, he couldn’t think of a better idea. He didn’t want her hurting anyone else. He yelled as loud as he could and jumped on his balcony, secretly hoping she wouldn’t see him. A moment later she did. Putting her phone in her side pocket, she turned her hips sideways and was able to shimmy her way closer. The street was long abandoned by traffic. Red and blue lights flashed from below as Mini police had blocked off both ends of the road. That was all he could make out before his entire view was taken up by black biker shorts, stretched thin by her butt. Despite the circumstances, he didn’t want to be a creep. He tried averting his gaze to little avail. Suddenly the view switched to a rush of fabric descending at incredible speed. Being so close rustled his hair, and the smell of strong flowery perfume assaulted his nose. Once all the movement stopped, he realized she had put her knees together and crouched, balancing on her haunches. In this position she was more or less eye level with his building, and her body was in line with the street. All without toppling a single additional structure. He thought it was strange she was using so much caution now. Using his girlfriend as a reference, May was noticeably smaller in both height and general curves. He couldn’t imagine the stress of watching Juni make such a delicate maneuver. 

“You’re Micha right? You’re late.” May said while lifting a gloved palm level to his balcony to climb on. “I’m here to scoop you.”

“I uhm got tied up, but didn’t I say I would meet you at the gate?” Micha replied, attempting to make casual conversation despite what he’d witnessed. As he stepped onto her hand, he noticed it was incredibly steady. Almost eerily so. 

“If a rider is more than 15 minutes late, the driver has the option to cancel only after contacting them first as a safety precaution. I tried calling.” May explained. “And I get a bonus if enough people rate me 5 stars” She reached inside his home and pulled out the ring box with her free hand. 

“Well thanks for being so thorough haha” Micha said nervously while May rose to her full height, nice and slow. “But I think those officers want your attention”

She looked down and gave the blockade of policemen a nod. They turned the sirens back on and drove back the way they came. Three cars in front of her and two behind. That’s when Micha realized they weren’t trying to arrest her, not that they had much of a chance. It was an escort. 

“I gave them 10% off their next ride and a complimentary onetime demolition” May said, “But they still wouldn’t let me inside without some supervision.” 

“Oh of course!” Micha let out a sigh. A human sized weight lifted off his shoulders. She crushed that abandoned building as a promotional deal. “I thought you were… nevermind”

She didn’t answer him and continued to walk back the way she came. It was a stark contrast up here from down there. Her steps were calculated and sure. She was also incredibly light on her feet, considering. Each step barely caused vibrations on Micha’s perch. Despite all that, he knew that each one was a booming footfall when you were on the ground. It was honestly kind of surreal. Not to mention her attitude. Her hyper professional aura seemed to be betrayed by her casual outfit. He half expected her to be in slacks instead of gym shorts. 

They reached the West gate and they bid the police escort goodbye. Once on the outside, she took him to her blacked out SUV. She opened the back door and pulled down the backseat cup holders for him. As he hopped off her hand he realized that they weren’t normal cupholders. They had been custom fitted as boothlike seats for Minis. He was able to sit inside and rest his arms comfortably on the edge of the hole. She was halfway inside the vehicle, looking down at him from her leaning position. He noticed she had two indents on the bridge of her nose, the kind people with glasses often had.

“Where should I put this?” May asked, presenting the ring box to him. 

“Can you hold onto it until we get to the restaurant?” Micha said, “From there someone from the restaurant can take it. I want it to be a surprise”

“She must be really special,” she said, smiling slightly. It was a nice change of pace from her normal stoic appearance. 

She climbed out of the backseat and slammed the door, jostling him a bit. When she hopped into the driver’s, Micha told her Juni’s address and they were on their way. At Micha’s request she leaned on the gas to get them there in record time. 

“How long will it take?” Micha asked.

“About 2 minutes.” May was absolutely going to get five stars from him.