...the strange tingling suddenly stopped. Unbeknownst to Andy, though nothing happened immediately, the contagion has already re-written his genetic code, hard-wiring his body for athletics and muscle building.
Though the school year was quickly coming to an end and Andy only had weeks left in 8th grade, over those next few weeks Andy took both the baseball diamond and the soccer field by storm. Up to this point Andy was no benchwarmer, but he wasn't the star player on the baseball or soccer teams either. He was firmly in the middle of the pack, just an average performer. Suddenly though, Andy was running faster, hitting home runs more often, and shooting goals more accurately than ever before. His teammates and even Andy himself were surprised but not at all unhappy since he helped them end their seasons on a high note. They even voted him most improved at the end of the year and his coaches were disappointed that he'd be moving on to the high school after this.
All the while the contagion was working to improve Andy's body as he exerted himself at his practices and games, but the contagion worked slowly and Andy's practices were infrequent so its effects were as of yet subtle. Over the past two months Andy's still boyish body had burned off much of his remaining baby fat giving him a lean albeit still skinny body due to not working out aside from his cardio-heavy practice drills. Though his upper body remained lean, his lower body saw slightly more change, though nothing radical. Due to all his running and kicking on the soccer field, Andy's calves and quads had especially gained definition. Though they hadn't gained much of any size to speak of, his budding leg muscles have already begun taking shape. In fact, Andy had gained 2 inches before the end of the school year, bringing his height up to 5'6" as the contagion lengthened his legs to better suit running.
Andy however thought nothing of any of this, simply attributing it to the beginning of a growth spurt and soon after, Andy finished 8th grade without incident and began summer vacation. Like many kids his age he spent his summer playing video games and hanging out with his friends. Never a serious athlete though middle school, Andy didn't do much in the way of sports over the summer, so while his new, contagion-altered physiology resisted fat gain and muscle loss, he also didn't change much at all. After all, its not unusual for 14 year old boys to eat everything in sight and remain skinny.
However, summer quickly came to a close and it was time for Andy to enter high school as a freshman, and that means choosing a sport to play. After lazing about all summer, Andy was ready to jump back into sports. More than ever before in fact, almost like something inside him was driving him towards it. In the end, Andy decided to do...