My thoughts were in a frantic whirl as I raced to my next class. Human trafficking was a very scary idea in itself, and thinking about being kidnapped made me feel vulnerable and helpless, but it was a remote possibility, and I didn't want to delve into it too much. My more immediate concern was with my homework assignment. I wouldn't be able to type up my essay on a giant computer by myself. Such a herculean feat would take hours, if it were even possible. I needed help.

I pulled into my next class a mere minute before the bell rang and hurried to my seat to avoid unwanted attention. My next class was chemistry, which was far from being my strongest subject. I should have been paying close attention, but I couldn't focus with all the stress I was under. How the heck was I going to accomplish this task?

I considered asking Mr. Henderson for assistance, but I really didn't want to bother him more after he had already gone so far out of his way to help me. Besides, I knew I would eventually have to get to know my peers. I wasn't going to survive at this school without any friends, and I couldn't rely on the vice principal for everything. At some point I would be forced to interact with giant students, so why not now? Keeping a low profile, I subtly glanced around at the giants around me. I was strongly intimidated by their grand size. None of them looked very approachable. I slumped down in my chair despondently.

The problem was only compounded when the chemistry teacher assigned homework too. Now I had two homework assignments that somehow would need to be scaled up to giant size. At least I only had two classes today, since my sixth slot was empty. The bell rang and I waited for a good opportunity to leave, making sure the chemistry teacher didn't harass me on the way out. I went to the dining hall and found a brown bag lunch waiting for me, with a ham and cheese sandwich, some carrots, cookies, and apple juice. Not bad. I decided to be brave and ate my lunch in the cafeteria like a normal person. Nobody bothered me, but I also was too skittish to interface with anybody. The lunchroom environment was too crowded and noisy, dampening my spirit further. Being such a coward left me downright miserable. I felt pathetic.

Procrastinating on the inevitable, I reasoned that my next course of action should be to finish the assignments before I asked any of the giants for help. That way, when I worked up to that point, I would be fully prepared. I would use my time efficiently, get all my work done during sixth period when all the other students were in class, and then I would have the whole weekend to manifest the courage to speak up, since I wouldn't have these classes again until Tuesday. Resolved, I headed for the library.

I didn't want to get yelled at again, so I kept a wary eye out for the strict librarian as I slunk over to the human tables. Thankfully, I was left alone this time. The library, in stark contrast to the lunchroom, was deathly quiet, except for the bell signaling the beginning of sixth period. The hush allowed me to focus, and I slogged through my essay fairly quickly. The final product was a bit sloppy, but I was past the point of caring: I just wanted to get it done. The chemistry homework was harder, especially since I hadn't paid any attention during the teacher's lecture. I had to read through the class material, and I didn't fully grasp some of the concepts, but I answered the questions as best I could.

The time slipped by, and before I knew it the school day had ended. The easy part was done. Now for the hard part. I felt a surge of misery as I heard all the giants tramping through the halls, talking and yelling, happy and carefree, glad to be done with their school week. I wished I could be that blissfully unaware, but my disquieting obstacles were only growing larger.

One of the giant students entered the library. At first, due to his incredible height, I didn't see his face, but I did recognize his shoes. He wore black and white sneakers, and I wracked my brains trying to recall where I had seen them before. Then it hit me: He was the giant whose shoe I had collided with the other day. My knees still ached as a painful reminder. A spark flamed within me. This was my chance! He would be the perfect person to ask, since technically we weren't total strangers. Plus, while I had freaked out at the time, he seemed harmless enough.

I jumped up from my chair, full of determination, and followed him in between the rows of bookshelves. As I approached, however, and saw his tremendous size close up, my throat started to close up, and I labored to breathe. How did I know he wouldn't take the chance to do something terrible if he saw me? The giant history teacher's ominous warning had been burned into my psyche. The library was mostly empty, since no students wanted to be here on a Friday afternoon. Glancing about, I suspected even the librarian had called it a day and dipped out early. I couldn't forget the terrifying experience of being eaten, or picked up and taken against my will. My chest hurt as my heart palpitated frantically.

I took measured breaths, trying to keep myself from hyperventilating. I needed to do this, if not now then I would still be forced to later. I couldn't back down and be cowed into submission. My famous temper flared up as I started to get frustrated with myself, my circumstances, everything. I was tired and fed up of being weak and scared all the time. Before I could back out, I forced my legs forward, toward the giant. My legs wobbled like they were made of jello. The giant took a leisurely step away and I hurried to catch up.

My nerves were screaming at me to turn and run, but I ignored the impulse. "Excuse me," I whispered. Of course, the giant couldn't hear me, and took another massive step away as he examined the books on the adjacent shelf. "Um... excuse me," I uttered again, slightly louder, my voice an octave higher. He still couldn't hear me and continued to move, making me run to keep pace.

"Hey, you!" I finally cried out, kicking his shoe to get his attention. I clapped my hand over my mouth as I realized what I had done. At long last, he looked down, seeming puzzled before he saw me. His eyes lit up with recognition.

"Oh, it's you!" he said with surprise. He squatted down, holding a book in one hand. "How are your knees? I'm sorry about the other day."

"F-fine," I mumbled. Reason left me, and my mind went blank as I forgot what I was doing. I could only gape at the monumental being leaning over me like a skyscraper.

The giant sensed the tension and fumbled with the book in his hand clumsily. "Um..." He didn't know what to do. There was an awkward silence. I licked my lips nervously and struggled to talk.

"You owe me a favor!" I blurted out. By this point my voice was shaking as much as my body.

His eyebrows shot up over his glasses. "I suppose I do, don't I?" He smiled sheepishly. "What can I do for you?"

"Well..." I pulled the crumpled pages of homework out of my pocket and held them up above my head to show him. He squinted, confused, and leaned forward, straining to see what I was holding.

"What's that?" he inquired.

"It's my homework," I responded.

He laughed. "That? Let me see." He held out his huge hand. I placed the papers on the tip of his finger. He lifted them up to his eye to get a closer look. "Why... it's so tiny! Nobody would be able to read this!" He let out another hearty laugh, a deep, jovial sound that warmed my insides, even if he was indirectly laughing at my size. I had to admit the whole situation was farcical to begin with.

"That's my problem. I need someone to type it up for me so the teachers can actually see my work," I explained smoothly. I was starting to feel a bit more relaxed around him. "Can you help me? Please?"

"Well, sure! Of course!" he answered enthusiastically. "Here, I'll take you over to the computers." He offered me his free hand again. The papers looked so preposterously insignificant in the landscape of his hand, like little scraps of pencil shavings. My pulse tripled but I obediently climbed into his palm and gathered my papers. To my surprise, his hand was vibrating slightly. I wasn't sure why but I settled in anyway and prepared myself to be raised up.

"O-okay, I'm going to pick you up now, is that okay?" he asked. I detected a light tremor in his voice. I gazed up at him and nodded. Very slowly, as if handling something fragile, he carefully stood up and took gradual, timid steps towards the computers. I appreciated his attempts to be gentle and waited patiently. His palm, much to my discomfort, started to get damp. What was wrong with him? Was he sick?

"Are you feeling alright?" I asked him as he set me down on the desk next to one of the computers.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," he replied, a bit flustered. "Sorry if my hand got a little sweaty." He self-consciously wiped his moist palms off on his pants. "I-I just... you know... get a little nervous around girls sometimes. Especially... um... holding one?" He blushed bright red.

I couldn't help but giggle. He was precious. "Imagine that! A giant being scared of a tiny little girl like me!" I teased him. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. Suddenly, I felt a lot better as my fear melted away.

"Alright, enough fooling around. Let's get this homework typed up," the giant said, flopping down into a chair. He pulled up a blank document on the giant screen and got ready to type. "You're going to have to dictate to me, because I can't read your small writing."

I started reading my history essay out loud to him. His fingers, despite their size, were remarkably fast and efficient, dancing across the keyboard with satisfying clicks at every stroke. I was impressed to see he was able to keep pace with my words as I read. Admittedly, I was a little embarrassed at the poor quality of my writing, and having to read it out loud, but I knew I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. We finished the essay and moved on to the chemistry homework. The formatting was more of a challenge here but we got it done.

"What's your name?" the giant asked me. "Uh, so I can write it at the top of the page."

"Eren Brooks." He filled it in on the digital documents and hit print. "What about you?" I questioned him.

"Oh, me?" He turned red again. "M-my name's Joey. It's nice to make your acquaintance."

I giggled again. "Thank you, Joey. Likewise." He swiftly stood up and turned away, ostensibly to fetch my homework off the printer, but I suspected he wanted to hide his burning face. He returned, papers in hand, with his face a normal color again.

"Um... what are you planning to do with these?" He brought up a good point. The papers were too large for me to hold. How would I carry them around and turn them in to the teacher?

"Let's see if we can fold them up small enough to fit in my backpack," I suggested. I pointed off in the general direction of the human section of the library. "If you could transport me over there, that would be most helpful."

"S-sure," he agreed, laying his hand flat on the table. When I pulled myself up into his capacious hand and moved to the center, in the curve of his palm, I observed that he trembled, ever so slightly. For his sake, I pretended not to notice.

"Okay, I'm ready," I informed him. The giant—Joey—cupped me in his hand and gently carried me to where I had left my bag. His skin moistened with perspiration again, and I was grateful to get off his hand when he lowered me to the floor. He folded up the papers as small as he could and I managed to stuff them inside my bag. I shouldered the bag and gazed up at the giant.

I let out a shaky sigh of relief. I felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off my shoulders. "I really, really appreciate your help, Joey. You have no idea. Thank you so much."

"It was no trouble. I'm glad I was able to help." He smiled shyly.

"Can I count on you to help me again?" I asked timidly.

"Yes, absolutely! I hang out in the library a lot, so you can usually find me here," he said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. My goodness, he was such a huge nerd. Literally.

"Okay," I replied. I stared up at him for a moment. I could scarcely believe I had finally made a friend. A giant friend. "Well, see ya!" I hopped on my bike and rode away.