He barely had time to get used to the fact of his being changed into a mouse when he heard a loud, familiar voice call from the hall outside his room.
"Nathan! You here!" His brother called in a booming voice that seemed to rock the walls and hurt Nathan's teeny, very sensitive ears. "I'm home."
He hadn't been expecting anyone home until tomorrow, especially not his older brother, Andrew. Although alike in many ways, they had always been competitive. Onlookers readily had them pegged as intense sibling rivals.
"Why does he always have to interrupt things?" Nathan complained. He prepared to use the Chronivac to restore himself, thinking he could carry out his mouse experiment later, when the door to his room flew open and Andrew strode intrusively into Nathan's personal space.
"That's funny," Andrew said, looking about the room. All the lights were on inside the house, so he had anticipated finding Nathan holed up in his room. As he scanned his brother's room, his eyes fastened on a few things. He detected a heap of clothing scattered on the floor, having come to rest near Nathan's phone.
Then he saw the opened packaging strewn on his brother's bed, but he looked past the opened carton to focus on the shiny device. He whistled, "Boy, this looks expensive," as he picked up the Chronivac.
Nathan squeaked in surprise to find his Chronivac in Andrew's unreliable hands. "Put that down!"
Andrew poked buttons and jiggled switches until he activated a screen, scanning the message that popped up. The more he read, the more fascinated he got. He hadn't pegged his brother for such an adventurous type. He then burst into hearty laughter. "A mouse! He freakin' turned himself into a mouse?"
The game was up. Nathan ran onto his brother's shoe, squeaking indignantly. The least Andrew could do was help get him back to normal.
Andrew looked down in amazement. His wide eyes locked with the two tiny, beady eyes of his brother turned mouse. "Nathan, is that really you?"
The mouse squeaked.
"If that's really you, run around my shoe," he commanded.
Nathan sighed, but he dropped to the floor and made a quick circle around his brother's huge shoe.
"I'll be damn," Andrew said. A smirk formed on his face. "What in the hell were you thinking?"
He let forth a volley of high-pitched squeaks that, if translated, would have been for Andrew to mind his own business and just restore him to normal.
Andrew listened, but then lowered the boom.
"I sort of like the new you, bro. It seems to suit you."
Nathan felt his anger turn to a cold fear. He had been so stupid. Now he had entrusted his whole future into Andrew's hands. The big grin on his brother's face didn't bode well for Nathan as Andrew reached a single giant hand down to pick up the tiny rodent that had not so long ago been his brother.