Marcus decided to turn the knob to Mode 3 while ignoring the Gender Bender switch. Tempting as it was to try being a girl, Marcus wanted to try just being younger first. He waited to turn the device on until it was time for bed, as the instructions stated.
Later that night, Marcus stood in his boxers, his finger hovering over the ON button. His body filled with anxiety and excitement, his heart beating frantically in his chest. He was about to put the device to the test, and see if it could bring his body back to when he was younger. Before puberty hit him like a truck, before he started working out, before he met his girlfriend, and before starting high school. At the same time, it would be disappointing to learn that the Pubertaway was just a glorified dehumidifier.
His finger trembling, Marcus turned the device on. He went to sleep minutes later.
His phone alarm went off at 8 AM the next morning. Marcus was never the kind to sleep in like most teens on weekends. As usual, he reached for his phone to turn the alarm off. However, he needed to stretch his arm out to reach the phone, which looked big on his hand. He had planned on scrolling through his social media when he remembered the Pubertaway.
He swiped and tapped frantically to the camera app where he flipped it to selfie mode. A boy with an overly excited look on his face reflected back at him.
His squareline jaw rounded out considerably. The stubble that he had to shave nightly was nowhere to be seen. His teeth had changed alignment, undoing the two years of adjustments that his braces made. He had even noticed the baby teeth where his premolars should be. Lastly, his Adam's apple had vanished, resulting in his gasp being several octaves higher.
Marcus crawled out of bed, only for his boxers to fall swiftly to the ground. He abandoned the boxers and glanced at his new, or rather younger, body. The body that he had trained for deflated into the scrawny figure he had throughout childhood. Devoid of any development of any kind, Marcus' excitment grew larger.
"Holy crap. I'm actually a child again," Marcus whispered before clearing his throat. He took a deep breath and expressed his joy at the top of his lungs.
"I'M A CHILD AGAIN!!!"
Marcus jumped up and down as he celebrated the Pubertaway working as advertised, not realizing that children like him don't have the best control over emotions.
He grabbed his football jersey, which looked too big for the boy. However, the 10-year-old had no interest in letting his family see him naked. The jersey was large enough to cover his diminished privates and bare bottom.
"Wow! To think I used to fill this out," Marcus exclaimed while examining the jersey on him.
He then rushed downstairs, where the rest of his family was getting ready for the day.
"Mom! Dad! Oliver! Look at me! That Pubertaway really worked! I'm younger again!" Marcus couldn't contain his excitement, and both of his parents noticed.
While his parents were more than okay with the change, Oliver did not want to spend the weekend putting up with having Marcus as a little brother. Over breakfast, the family discussed what to do with the younger Marcus.
"Your father and I have to visit my brother and help with renovations. Oliver, I'll have to ask that you look after Marcus for today," the boys mother said.
"What? Hell no! I've made plans with my friends today," Oliver complained, "Besides, Marcus is 18. He can take care of himself!"
"Well, Marcus doesn't look 18 now. I think he's become too young to take care of himself, so you're responsible for him while we're gone," the boys father responded.
While Oliver groaned and finished his breakfast frustrated, Marcus snickered at the thought of ruining his brother's plans by getting younger overnight. He thought that it'd be fun to have someone take care of him for a change.
As soon as the parents left, Oliver faced his diminished brother, who had to look up at him.
"Listen here, you brat! Because you turned yourself into a kid, mom and dad left me in charge. As a result, you now have to do what I say!"
"Good luck with that, Ollie," Marcus said, "You couldn't keep a goldfish alive for more than three days. What makes you think you can take care of a 10-year-old, never mind boss him around?"
Marcus turned around, only to be stopped by Oliver's hand firmly placed on his shoulder.
"Well, if you don't wanna listen to me, then we'll see how your friends would feel about your change," Oliver said before pulling out a familiar looking phone.
"What the heck? Oliver, that's my phone!"
"Did you mean WAS? Last time I checked, kids can't have smartphones. Now smile!"
"Hey, give that back! I mean it!"
Marcus tried to reach for his phone, only for Oliver to keep it just out of reach. Oliver was enjoying this change a little too much.
"If you don't give it back, I'll tell mom!"
Oliver paused, having figured that his brother would play that card.
"Is that so? See this?"
Oliver pulled out the container that was in the Pubertaway. Marcus was alarmed that his brother could obtain it.
"This, little bro, is all of your maturity. Your 8 years of growth, towering height, bigger balls, and bulging muscles," Oliver said before squeezing Marcus' deflated arm, "If you're good, I'll give this back to you. But if you're bad, or you tell on me, all of this goes down the drain. It'd be a shame for a stud like you to go all the way back to the fourth grade on Monday."
He knew that it was just his little brother, but Marcus felt intimidated by his threat. He was being blackmailed with the possibility of losing what he had spent 8 years working hard on. Too much was on the line to go against his brother. After all, he chose to be this young.
"Okay, Oliver," Marcus said, "You win."
"Excellent! I'm glad you see things my way. Now, first I need you to..."