As Eric slept, unaware of the changes happening to his body, the Pubertaway worked its supposed magic. His once massive muscles started to shrink, his veins and striations fading away as his biceps and pecs deflated. His toned abdomen became softer and less defined, and his thighs and calves lost their size and strength. Slowly but surely, Eric's body was reverting to that of a prepubescent boy.
When Eric woke up the next morning, he felt groggy and disoriented. As he rubbed his eyes, he couldn't help but notice that something felt off. He sat up and looked down at his body, and that's when the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Oh my God," he muttered to himself. "This can't be real."
He jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom, flicking on the light and staring at his reflection in the mirror. What he saw made him gasp in shock and disbelief. He was no longer the chiseled, muscular man he had been the night before. Instead, he looked like a skinny little boy, no more than 10 or 11 years old.
Eric stood there for a few moments, his mind racing as he tried to process what had happened to him. He pinched himself to see if he was dreaming, but the pain was all too real.
"This is crazy," he said to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. "There's no way this is real."
He looked at himself in the mirror again, studying his new, boyish features. His once square jawline was now more rounded, and his facial hair was gone. His arms and legs were skinny and weak, and his chest was completely flat.
"This is insane," he muttered, still in disbelief.
As Eric continued to stare at himself, lost in thought, he heard a knock at the door. Without thinking, he called out, "Don't come in!"
But it was too late. The door creaked open, and Eric spun around to see who had entered the room.
As the door opened, Eric was surprised to see his son, Isaiah, standing there. He quickly realized that he had forgotten to lock his bedroom door and that Isaiah had likely heard him talking to himself.
"Hey Dad, I was just-"
But before Isaiah could finish his sentence, Eric interrupted him.
"Look what this machine did to me," he said, pointing to his now smaller, muscle-less frame.
Isaiah's eyes widened in shock as he took in the sight before him. "Whoa, Dad, what happened to you?" he asked, his voice filled with both curiosity and concern.
Eric sighed, annoyed. "It's this stupid machine that you got me. It's supposed to take away puberty or something, but it turned me into a little boy."
Isaiah couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you serious?" he asked.
Eric nodded and then, without thinking, he took off his oversized shirt, revealing his now smaller frame. He flexed his arms, but there was nothing there, and he was even shorter than Isaiah now.
"I lost all my muscles," Eric grumbled. "And now I'm not even as big as you."
Isaiah looked at his dad sympathetically, unsure of what to say. "How old are you now, Dad?" he asked finally.
Eric thought for a moment. "I don't know, but I think I'm younger than you now," he said.
Isaiah's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, that means I'm technically the man of the house now," he said, sounding both excited and nervous.
Eric shook his head. "I might be smaller, but I'm still the grown-up around here," he said, sounding more confident than he felt.
Isaiah looked at his dad for a moment, thinking, and then an idea came to him.