I had to work that evening at the restaurant, and by the time I got back, it was late and Ty was in bed. I peeked my head into his room, seeing his sleeping body curled up under the covers. In the darkness, something looked a little off, but I didn't give it much thought. "See ya in the morning, Ty," I whispered, smiling, then closed the door, heading to my own room.

In the morning, I got up, heading to the shower first thing, as my typical routine had always been. The feeling of hot water on my face always did wonders to wake me up. Afterwards, I was brushing my teeth, a towel wrapped around my waist, when I heard a knock at the door. "Joe," Ty's sleepy voice called out, "can I come in?"

"Sure!" I said after spitting out the toothpaste and rinsing my mouth. I heard the door creak open and I turned around, wiping my face off with a hand towel. "I'm almost don-- What the--?" 

My reaction was due to the figure that had come through the door. "Ty?" I asked, not sure of what - or who - I was looking at. "Is that you?!"

He looked like my kid brother, sure, but now he was almost as tall as I was! His pajama top from the night before had stretched tight over his skin, revealing his stomach, which seemed slightly more fit than I remembered. His pants now cut off halfway up his calves instead of at his ankles like they should have. His proportions were the same as before; he still looked like a normal, if athletic, pre-teen, but on a larger scale. The only thing that made me believe I really was looking at Ty was his young, boyish face, his blue eyes still droopy from sleep.

"Uh, yeah, Joe," Ty answered, apparently not yet aware of what had happened to him overnight. "Who else would it be?"

"What happened to you?"

"What do you-- Whoa!!" Tyler exclaimed as he finally caught a look at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He looked down at his toned torso and at his legs, awed by what he was seeing. "This is great!" Tyler's face had instantly changed from tired to excited, as his hands ran over his body, feeling the new muscles that had shown up.

"Uhhh..." I wasn't quite sure of how to respond. In the back of my head, I thought that there might be something troubling about a 12-year-old boy growing almost a foot in one night, but if Tyler was happy with it, then I'd also be happy for him. "Yeah!" I said, trying to bring a supportive smile to my face. "You look great!"

Tyler continued to admire his transformation, twisting his waist and flexing his muscles, always watching the mirror. "I can't wait to see what happens next!" he said, his face beaming.

Next? you think to yourself, and shift nervously from foot to foot. Oh boy