Rod took a moment to really think about what they needed to do. One wrong step and they could end up in the retirement home. A swapped on and off switch was one thing, but Rod wouldn't be able to tell how the wires were placed for the regulator nob without taking the machine further apart. And if he did that, Rod feared he wouldn't be able to put it back together again. Did that really only leave picking a setting and sleeping until the morning to see the results? Hmmm, hang on a moment. Rod recalled something in science class that could be of use now.
"Well, how about this? We'll set it on the lowest setting, but we'll take turns waking up to check our progress. If we feel that we're progressing too fast, we can stop the Puberthere and conclude that the dial is switched. That sounds good to you?"
"Huh? Why didn't I think about that?" Edgar replied. Clearly, he had picked a good business partner and tech expert. And maybe even a good friend? "How about we take turns waking up every two hours? We can use our phones to check our faces. We should only be aging about one or two years, so if it looks like we're older, shut off the machine."
"Yeah. Sounds good to me." Rod proceeded to set the alarm on his phone and then turn on the device. After that, the two teens went to bed and, just like they had decided, took turns waking up every two hours to observe the changes that had occurred to them until morning had arrived.
Rod was the first one to wake up, and the first thing he noticed was that his pajamas felt tighter on his body. That was a good sign! The teen quickly got up, shut off the Pueberthere, and then ran to his friend's mirror. The first thing he noticed was his face. All the baby fat hat melted away, and now his face actually looked decent, maybe even good-looking. Then he noticed that he was taller now, four, maybe even five inches taller than he was when he went to bed last night. Finally, Rod had saved the best for last and took off his shirt and couldn't believe what he saw. It looked like he had been working out for the past year or two. His biceps were the size of baseballs, and his shoulders were broader and more powerful. Rod's chest was no longer moobs but a pair of firm pecs. He still had a belly, but much of the fat was gone, and he could see the beginning of abs if he flexed hard enough. Still, even though his body wasn't perfect yet, Rod was still over the moon. He always dreamed of having muscles like these, and now he was flexing them. It was all thanks to Edgar and the Puberthere. If it wasn't for them, he probably wouldn't be able to get this body naturally. Oh, speaking of which, Rod probably should wake Edgar up now.
Rod went ahead and shook Edgar awake. At first, Edgar was confused about why a handsome, shirtless man was in his room, but then he realized that he was Rod! It was the rich teen's turn to bolt up and run to the mirror. Whoa, Edgar was surprised to see his face looking so manly. The blond smattering of stubble he had really emphasized his jawline. He had grown as well, only two or three inches, but he was already decently tall before. As for the rest of his body, Edgar took off his shirt to find that he had put on muscle as well. They weren't quite as big as Rod's, but what he lacked in size, he made up in definition. He had a six-pack now, and he could feel another row starting to develop.
"This is incredible!" Edgar mumbled as he ran his hand over his abs, wondering how he would look with another round of the Puberthere.
"Heh, I'll say. I can't believe how good we look!" Edgar looked over to see Rod examining what was in his pants. Based on the smirk he had, it was safe to say that Rod was satisfied with the results. The newly matured tech expert then resumed his flexing, causing Edgar to stare at him before he caught himself. You know, before this all happened, Edgar was beginning to suspect that he wasn't exactly straight, so... No, perhaps now wasn't the best time to think about that. The mature rich teen decided to distract himself by checking the Puberthere machine, which was when he noticed the bag full of liquid.
"Hmmm, what's this?" Rod stopped flexing and looked over to where Edgar was standing. Oh, right, he almost forgot about that feature.
"Oh, when the Pubertaway drains maturity, it stores it here as a liquid that will congeal into a gel 24 hours later. If you shower with the gel, it will return the user's maturity. I guess in this case, this would be our innocence." Innocence, huh? The wheels in Edgar's head started to turn as the young and upcoming entrepreneur came up with another business venture. Though that could wait for later, as he needed to wait for another 24 hours at least. Not to mention he didn't know if Rod would follow along with his plan. Best to enjoy the weekend and his newfound maturity first.
"Hey," Rod started as he transferred the liquid into a jar for safekeeping, "After breakfast, why don't we pump some iron to test our new muscles out? You have a home gym at your house, right?" Rod was correct; Edgar's father did install a home gym here, even if Edgar couldn't recall his father using it before. It sounded like a fun idea, but perhaps he could also make a move on Rod. Sure, he didn't know if his friend was at least bi-curious as well, but as he always said, nothing ventured, nothing gained.