A sweet experiment

Finally! after months of hard work, Brandon was ready to evaluate the results of his new prototype. Brandon wasn't like most young men his age, he was always reading and inventing. He had always dreamed of creating something that would change the world, something so groundbreaking that it would carry mankind to a whole new level of technological advancement.

He got the idea when he was reading a science fiction book about a device that had the capability to transform whatever it targeted into something completely different. Once the idea was seeded, the teen knew he had to make the device a reality. He faced many challenges and obstacles, but with time, he achieved breakthrough after breakthrough until he had finally developed the real deal. A 'Transformation beam'

While Brandon was overjoyed to see his work pay off, the first few prototypes didn't exactly work properly. He used various objects as test-subjects, chairs, towels, his own bike, all of which ended up being failures, costing him quite a bit of money. Most of the failures resulted in both visual and textural irregularities. For instance, he wanted the chair to transform into a rubber ball, but all he got was a wooden ball instead.

It took a few more months until the older teen perfected the beam, creating what he considered a near perfect transformation. Now, after much trial and error, Brandon felt comfortable trying out more advanced transformations. The goal was to transform a mouse into a pair of scissors, and back again. Transforming a living creature was certainly one of the young inventor's goals from the very beginning. If he was successful, the possibility of human testing would be almost within his reach.

To his amazement, his FIRST ever living transformation was a success. He carefully observed the mouse in the following weeks to make sure there weren't any lasting side effects. After the third week, he had made his decision. He was ready for human testing. He could very well take his invention to the public as is it was now and he'd be praised as a genius, but he couldn't resist the even greater praise he'd receive if he'd successfully transformed an actual person.

After a few days of thinking it over, he soon hit a brick wall. Being a reclusive scientist, he didn't have any friends necessary to help him complete the experiment, and the idea of hiring an assistant worried him. He feared that his invention might be stolen if he hired someone he didn't know personally. Both his mother and father were far too busy, and he mainly wanted to surprise them after going public. After much thinking, he remembered that there was ONE person who could help him. Brandon had a little brother, Tommy. Sure he was young, but he knew Tommy was someone he could trust to keep a secret, and besides, even if he didn't, no one would believe him anyways. The only challenge would be keeping the boy's attention long enough to conduct the experiment.

Brandon had already decided that he himself should be the test subject, though it came with it's own risks, he felt that transforming his brother wouldn't be wise in the long run, especially if something went wrong. The older teen would never be able to forgive himself if he inadvertently endangered his brother. Also, the media would probably shame him as being an irresponsible scientist by using his own brother as a test subject. The best approach would be to be the subject himself, that way, not only will he be viewed as a fearless inventor, but he'd be the first human ever to be transformed! Brandon smiled to himself happily, imagining all the talk show interviews and his face on the front cover of time magazine.

Getting Tommy to help him wasn't hard. All he had to do was bribe him with a new video game. Though Tommy's part in the experiment didn't require much talent or expertise, it took an annoyingly long time to train the boy to complete the seemingly simple tasks.

-In Brandon's basement lab-

"Ugh! Tommy! Pay attention" Brandon snapped at his distracted sibling.

During his explanation of little brother's duty, he turned around to see the younger boy balancing a pencil on his upper lip like a monkey. The ten year old was sitting backwards in his chair so his chin was resting atop the back frame. He was wearing a light blue tee-shirt, shorts, and socks, which dangled a few inches from the floor.

Taken off guard by his older brother's sudden outburst, Tommy lost balance of the pencil, causing it to fall onto the floor below.

"I am!" the boy squeaked with false certainty.

"What did I just say then?"

"....um..." The boy fiddled with his hands over the back-rest

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Alright, look, I need you to focus. This is really important and risky. Are you sure you can do this for me?" Brandon asked in a serious tone

Tommy nodded quietly, genuinely interested.

Honestly, Tommy was actually really excited to be helping out his big bro. This is the first time in a long time that he had spoken to him, let alone needed him for something. The boy was more than eager to be viewed positively by his older sibling.

As Brandon turned around to continue explaining his role, Tommy's eyes began to wander around the room until he spotted a bowl of cherries sitting on a nearby lab table. Scooting himself off the chair, the boy walked over to the bowl, licking his lips.

Brandon turned around just in time to see Tommy reaching into the bowl.

"TOMMY STOP! Those aren't for eating! We need those for the test!"

"aww!" Tommy groaned as his stomach growled. The ten year old hadn't had a very filling lunch today at school.

"Just one?" Tommy begged.

"No. We need those so you can properly compare me to them in size, look, and texture after I transform, but anyways..-"

As Brandon restarted his lecture after what seemed like the five hundredth time, Tommy appeared to have a confused look on his face.

"Wait....hold on! You mean, you're going to turn yourself into a Cherry?!"

Brandon brought his hand up to his face, clearly annoyed.

"Yes, Tommy, I already told you that this was a transformation experiment, remember?"

"Yeah, but a Cherry? That seems silly!" The boy laughed at the idea.

"Look, if you can't be mature about this, I'll just find someone else to-"

"No no no! I'll do it! I'll be mature! I promise!" The boy was quick to prove that he was capable.

"Alright good. Look, the reason I chose a cherry is because I need to transform myself into something that can be compared many times over. Cherries are small, cheap, natural, made up of cellular tissue, and i only need about three dozen to get a wide enough spectrum of comparison. Do you understand?"

"Uh.. yeah, I think so. Um, so what is it that I have to do again?"

"Ugh, that's what I've been trying to teach you for the past hour!" Brandon groaned

Tommy responded with a goofy apologetic smile.

"Look...All you need to do is compare me to the other cherries in terms of look, texture, and size. Make sure you record all the results in that notepad over there. Also, be sure to measure me as well, I'll take care of the rest afterwards. "

"Now just let me explain how the re-transformation process works...-"

------------------------------------------

After a half hour, it was finally time to start the test.

"Alright, are you sure you've got all the steps remembered?"

"Yep!" Tommy chirped excitedly. He had never been a part of such a big experiment before!

Sitting himself down onto a metal plated stool in front of the beam, Brandon watched as the timer counted down from thirty. This was it, he was about to use the device that he'd spent years developing on himself. After this was over, he'd be famous and recognized by mankind for many years to come. Tommy stood nearby with goggles on, watching excitedly.

10.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2

Brandon braced himself, preparing for the unknown sensation of transformation.

1.0

Light flooded the room for an instant before quickly disappearing.

Brandon could feel the change immediately. The perspective of the room around him totally changed, the once normal sized stool surface he had been sitting on was now a vast expanse. The walls and ceiling of his lab now seemed miles away. He was genuinely surprised that he was still conscious in this state, a result he had not anticipated. During the first few moments, it was a bit disorienting that he no longer had arms or legs to move, but it quickly started to feel sort of natural as he continued to take it all in. Just as he were starting to regain his composure, a large shadow fell over him.
----
Though he was wearing protective goggles, Tommy couldn't help but blink when the light exploded throughout the room. As he opened his eyes to where his brother was once sitting, his breathing became slow. There on the middle of the stool was a small cherry.

"Wooooow..." The boy spoke in total amazement.

He had known that this was going to occur, but to see it with his own eyes was just incredible.

The ten year old just stood their frozen in awe, not exactly sure how to proceed. It was at that moment that he remembered his brother's instructions. Now was the moment, the very reason he had been asked to help out.

Nervously taking a step forward, the ten year old approached the stool. He stared down at the cherry, still trying to rationalize that this tiny fruit once once his older brother.

Slowly outstretching his arm, the boy reached for the small stemmed orb, taking a deep breath before picking it up between his fingers. A part of him was sort of surprised. I guess deep down he was expecting it to be heavier.

"This is...amazing" Tommy spoke quietly as he brought the cherry up to his face. He closely examined it for a few moments, turning it over as he set it on the palm of his hand.

After the initial amazement, Tommy suddenly remembered that he still had a job to do. On the desk next to him was a tape measurer and the note pad. Carefully placing the cherry on the desk, the boy began his measurements, recording each result into the small book. Height, width, stem length.

Tommy smiled to himself after he had finished the last measurement.

"See this wasn't so hard after all, told you I could do it!" The boy spoke to the small red cherry in his hand.

Spurred by his new surge of confidence, Tommy swirled around childishly in the rotating seat next to the desk. Originally he was nervous, but the more he held the cherry, the less cautious he became. All he had left to do was compare it to the other cherries and he'd be done. He imagined all the praise his brother would give him and how cool he'd look.

Lost in fantasy, Tommy began to toss the cherry a few inches into the air. The more he played, the higher he began to throw. Though he was clearly putting his brother in a dangerous situation, the ten year old was simply too lost in his own playfulness to fully-realize.

Just as he was beginning to make another toss, the boy noticed that the pencil he was just using was about to roll off the side of the desk. He quickly attempted to catch it with his left hand, taking his focus away from his right hand. He was able to catch the pencil, but quickly realized that the cherry's trajectory was totally off. His heart sank as he watched the small fruit plummet a few feet away into the bowl of cherries nearby.

"oops.."

Tommy quickly jumped out of the chair and examined the bowl.

"um..." He nervously picked out a cherry, examining it thoroughly.

"I'm pretty sure the stem didn't look like this...." Determining that the cherry wasn't his brother, he placed it next to the bowl and reached in for another.

-----
Brandon screamed out in fear the entire time he was tossed into the air. He had really hoped Tommy wouldn't end up doing something like this. It seems that he may have overestimated the boy's maturity after all. All he could do was pray that Tommy didn't accidentally drop him.

After being tossed for the sixth time, Brandon realized that something was wrong. The force of the toss was off, he were going way too high! and way too far away!

"No no no!" He cried as he expected to feel pain upon impact with the floor.

To his surprise, he landed somewhere soft.

He was initially confused by his new setting, not able to make sense of it for a moment. However, it didn't take long for him to guess where he had landed.

"Oh no..."

Up above him could see his kid brother staring down into the bowl of cherries regrettably, the boy's eyes passing over him as he scanned over the dozens of similar looking cherries.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" Brandon screamed angrily towards the boy in silence.

He watched as Tommy picked out a cherry on the other side of the bowl and began to examine it.

"NO! I'm right here!" Though he knew that none of his words could reach the boy, it was impossible for him not to at least vent his frustration.

Brandon sighed in relief as his brother placed the cherry outside the bowl and began to examine another one. Tommy appeared to have been looking him over quite thoroughly when he was taking measurements, so Brandon at least had faith that he would be able to recognize him upon closer inspection. All he had to do was wait.

----

Time went by as Tommy slowly continued to empty the bowl. Though it was a serious situation, the ten your old couldn't help but get a bit bored as he tediously examined the each cherry. Tommy always had a low attention span. As the clock ticked by, the boy's boredom became more and more visibly noticeable on his face. He rested his head on his left hand as his focus seemed to become weaker and weaker.

Suddenly, something piqued the boy's interest. A large, unusually bulbous cherry that obviously wasn't the cherry he was looking for. He was about to place it to the side, until his stomach growled. He paused for a second and stared at the cherry again. It was very clearly not his brother..... so what would be the harm?

Tommy brought the cherry to his lips and popped it in, ripping off the stem in the process. The boy hummed as he chewed. He had been hungry for quite a long time, which only made it taste ten times better.

After gulping the cherry down, the boy reached for another. However, this time he was far less thorough then he had been with the previous ones. After a quick scan, he popped it into his hungry mouth. For Tommy, one was never enough.

-----

Brandon continued to watch with growing anxiety as his massive kid brother began to eat the cherries that he deemed okay to consume.

Tommy had made it this far, obviously he had a good idea of what his cherry looked like....Right? As the boy kept devouring one cherry after another, Brandon's fears only compounded.

The more Brandon watched, the more terrified he became. The rate that Tommy was gobbling up the cherries was accelerating. There was an unsettling pattern to it: The red orbs would get deposited onto his large rosy tongue, quickly chewed up, and swallowed.

Tommy's vacant stare said it all. This was no longer a boy trying to identify his brother, this was a boy having lunch.

Brandon held his breath as the shadow of the large hand came down right on top of him.

This was it.

Time seemed to slow as he was pinched between the massive fingers and carried up to the ten year old's enormous face. The giant's warm hazel colored eyes were half open, dazed and uninterested. His lips were wet with sweet cherry juice.

"TOMMY, IT'S ME!!!! TOMMY!!!!"

Tommy's eyes scanned over the cherry. Thankfully, he appeared to be taking longer with him than the previous few. Had he actually noticed?

"Mmmm?..." The boy hummed to himself quizzically as he rotated the cherry in front of his face.

As Tommy began looking closer, on the brink of a realization, his stomach suddenly growled.

The boy stared at the small fruit skeptically for another brief moment before slowly carrying it down towards his lips, his mouth beginning to open wide for the newly dismissed morsel.

"NO...NO!!!NONO!!! TOMMY!! STOP!!!! IT'S ME, YOUR BIG BROTHER!!

"Aaaaa~" The inside of the Tommy's mouth glistened with dripping saliva, eagerly awaiting him.

"PLEASE NO!!! LOOK AT THE OTHER ONES!!! I'M THE REAL ONE!!!! IT'S ME! STOP!!"

Brandon's pleas were unheard and unnecessary.

He felt himself fill up with warmth as the humidity of the mouth hit him. He passed through the large moist lips and was immediately pressed into the massive sticky tongue. All around him were shredded mushy remains of previous cherries whose fate he was about to share.

Just before Tommy's mouth closed behind him, Brandon caught one last glimpse of the outside world. All his hard work, his future.....

"P-please let me out!!! TOMMY NO!!! PLEASE DON'T EAT M -"

Closing his mouth shut, Tommy didn't hesitate to start chewing away.

"mmmmm~" The ten year old hummed happily as the cherry burst between his molars; its sweet juices washing over his tastebuds before coalescing at the back of his mouth.

*GULP*

Licking his lips once more, the boy continued to halfheartedly search for his brother, gobbling up the rest of the cherries in the process.

It was only after the bowl was totally empty that the boy had actually realized what he had done.

He guiltily looked down towards his belly as it gurgled.

Turns out the experiment was a huge success. A perfect transformation, taste and all.