By the fourth week the midway point had been reached. I was 20 pounds more muscular at 110 pounds, and Zack was visibly weaker at the same weight. He still had quite a bit of definition but his biceps no longer looked huge unflexed. The fact that we were of equal size and strength excited me. He seemed to be bugging me less and less, because I think he knew that something was wrong. He couldn't do shoulder presses with my body by the third week, and I noticed that he had stopped showing off and flexing quite as much. He also got less attention from the girls.

I, on the other hand, was getting a little bit of a female following. They just talked to me for now, but just wait another month or so, when I'm Zack's former size and doing shoulder presses with HIM!!!

I had set up my brother's old weights in the garage again. I wanted to test my growing strength against something that would tell me exactly where I was strengthwise. My poundages went up every time I worked out. This was encouraging, even though I knew I was "cheating".

One day, after school, Zack pulled me behind the dumpster.

"What the hell do you---"

"SHHHHHHH!" whispered Zack. "I don't want anyone else to know we're here. And neither do you, I imagine."

"What do you want?" I kept my voice down now.

"I know you've done something to me," leered Zack. "What did you do? Have you been poisoning my water bottle? Popping pills in my sandwich? Or is it all my imagination, and you're on some powerful steroid that's made you gain 30 pounds in a month!"

"You noticed", I said.

"Duh!" Zack slapped the side of his head. "Listen bud. You better change this back, or I'll give you the worst beating you ever imagined..."

"Don't threaten me!" I yelled, in a whispery fashion. "I have the power to make you the weakest person on the planet. I could leave nothing but bone and skin on your body, LITERALLY! I could make you so fat you'd have a heart attack from breathing! I could do worse. Grow you a tail. Give you a horrible skin infection. I could paralyze your entire body, just from wishing it. Watch it."

Zack shut up then.

"And if you say anything to anyone, I'll do worse to you than any of those things I've already mentioned."

"So what are your plans with me?" Zack's voice kind of shook now.

"I only want you to know what it's like to be a weakling, and you will. Each week I'll get stronger and you'll get weaker, until I've decided you've had enough. Enjoy your muscles while you can. They're not going to last long. I know I'll be enjoying mine!"

"I don't care if you're bigger than me", said Zack, with very little emotion in his voice. "You're still a wuss."

With that, he walked off. I watched him for a moment. Wuss! Ha! I'll show him who's a wuss!

With that I began walking home. •