Barry had to stand and stretch to close the front passenger door. He plopped down, and pulled down the seatbelt, like hoisting a wench, until the buckle finally reached him and he could clip it in. The chest strap was naturally far too high for him, giving protection to little more than his ears.
"You really should ah..." Linda's eyes darted from the front seat to the back seat where children ride more the once. She looked at the airbag compartment above the glovebox, and scowled.
"Mom, let's get this over with." Barry grumbled while she stood outside the car.
She blinked, took a deep breath and nodded. "Let him have this Linda," She told herself. "Just drive slow."
She slipped into the drivers seat, and backed out. It was strange having someone so small next to her, and gave her a forlorn sense of nostalgia. It didn't feel like that much time had passed since Barry actually was that small, heading to school for the first time... She shook her head.
"I know this isn't what you expected." She said out loud patiently. "But life is filled with surprises, just because they're unexpected doesn't mean they're bad."
Barry glanced up at his mom, with an eyebrow raised. The dead pan confusion suited his face... At least it suited it more than the anxiety and hopelessness that had been plastered across his face for so long.
Linda didn't stop. "It's ok being changed. It's... A lot of people are changed these days. And really I should have been there for you if you felt like you had to do this." Her voice raised in pitch ever so slightly as she spoke.
"Maybe there are some advantages if ... if..."
"MOM." Barry interjected.
"Huh?" Linda blinked and looked over at her son... Barry... a small fluffy white rabbit. "Yes?"
"It's ok." He assured her.
"Oh of course..."
Barry pursed his lips, and tried to look out the window.
Oddly he felt better after his mom had started talking... Not because anything she said was actually comforting, but... It made him realize he wasn't the only one struggling with this. His mom had put on a brave face, but she was obviously shaken too. He... Couldn't give up. For his mom, his dad... And he wasn't alone. But god that was awkward. It was clear there was one person she was talking to, and it wasn't him.
He stared at the powerlines and trees as they passed. It was about all he could see from his lower perspective. Still, he recognized the big power junction two blocks from the school, then sighed, took out a soft black scrunchy, and pulled back his ears into a sort of pony tail. It ached a little bit on the stiffer parts of the cartilage, but he found that if he tied it low enough on his ears, he could pull them out of his face, and avoid that one floppy annoying reminder of his predicament.
"We're here." His mom announced.
"Alright, thanks."
"Have a good day!" She wished him, that prior tension still in her voice.
"Sure. I'll try."
"If you need anything just call."
"I will... I will..."
"Love you."
"love you too mom..." He murmured.
"Bye" She called out while leaning towards him.
He popped open the door, and hopped out, and pushed it back closed with both hands.
He looked at the drop off zone, slowly filling up with teens. A cacophony of color, energy, talking, car engines. Someone opened the front doors, letting out the roar of shouts, jeers, cheers, and whispers that were held inside, like the gaping maw of a terrible beast. The building looked imposing, even more so with his new perspective.
"Fuck." He stated.
His high cute voice denied him the impact that curse usually held, but he charged forward nonetheless. The white pavement scratched the tough pads of his feet as he walked, but felt... good actually. Berry liked going around barefoot anyway, it just wasn't usually an option outside, or in public. He tried to grasp that one odd silver lining. A few teens glanced at him as he stood there, but fortunately none stared. At least none that he could see.
He felt strange instincts boiling up inside him. Instincts he didn't understand. Another brochure had talked about this. Some Changed liked to groom with their tongues, or hibernate. Others had more subtle alterations to their underlying psyche. He felt anxious, but it was different. Less social and more... He couldn't place it, and instead hoisted his backpack higher on his back. It was actually a really nice purchase... His mother had relented and splurged on this option since all the other "kids" backpacks were just disastrous. Monster trucks, Barbie dolls, bright colors. This one was dark blue canvas with light brown buckles. It wasn't too bad, even by his usual standards. She said it suited his new body, which made him suspicious, but it was just about the only thing they had agreed on during their shopping trip.
He approached the main doors, paused, and thought about just turning around and leaving, but another student, maybe a freshman or sophomore, meekly turned and held the door for him. He smiled kindly, but nervously and didn't really look at her.
"Oh... uh. Thanks." Berry sighed as he realized the large metal doors might actually be heavy for him.
"Sure." The boy said with a cracking voice.
Yeah, probably a freshman.
The halls were familiar and different. The first thing he noticed was how filthy the floors were, and scowled. The smooth tiles still had a textural grittiness that made them dirty no matter how much they were mopped and polished. They did not feel good under his pads, and he kept slipping ever so slightly as he walked. He gripped the straps of his backpack tighter, and padded on towards the cafeteria.
Sue was leaned forward with her chin on a cafeteria table and a book propped up in front of her. It was surprisingly comfortable for how scrunched up it looked. One benefit of a mermaid spine was a fishy flexibility. She needed to be able to wiggle and weave through the water, and that meant she was perfectly suited for assuming the posture of a disenfranchised youth. She tightened the straps on her goggles as a drop of water ran down her cheek, and turned the page.
"Uhh... hey." A bright and cute voice announced itself from the other side of the book.
Sue dropped the book, but didn't change her posture. A fluffy white muzzle, pink nose, and expressive green eyes greeted her. She blinked, then sat up. "Oh. Hey. I haven't seen you around before."
The bunny girl bashfully looked away.
An anxious lump appeared in Sues throat and her eyes went wide... an expression exaggerated by her liquid lenses. Sour memories of her first day being changed leapt to the forefront of her mind.
'Crap' She thought. 'A changed. And they're nervous. I've never seen her before. She must have just transferred to this school to escape her past, and she's looking for friends. And she found me. Crap crap crap. Breath Sue, Breath. Just be friendly. Crap! You're not saying anything! Just say hi. She probably thinks you think she's weird which is exactly what she's trying to escape...
"Hey Sue." The bunny nervously murmured.
That one caught her of guard, and she blinked. "Uhhh. hey. Do we know each other?"
"Y-yeah..." The bunny scratched one of her floppy ears. "It's Barry."
Sue put both hands on the table, and sat straight up. "BARRY."
"Yeah! Ok! It's me. Don't shout it for the whole lunch room!" He fussed.
"What the heck! I thought you were just out sick or something."
"Well, I'd consider. 'Turned into a friggan rabbit' to be a good enough excuse to take a sick day."
"I Told you not to do it."
"Can we spare the 'I Told you So's'? I didn't do it!"
Sue crossed her arms.
"I didn't! Listen there was this stupid thing on my phone. An app or something. I thought it was just an advertisement, but it turned me into this."
"Barry. That's impossible." She chided him.
"I know."
"Sometimes after a change, you have amnesia..."
"I know."
"And your mind manufactures a false scenario for what happened..."
"I know."
"When I was changed, I imagined that I had been pulled down into a Oceanic Cave, and when I swam back..."
"Dammit I know Sue!" Barry snapped. "But that's not what happened. I really didn't go and get myself changed. Now, I spent the past two days trying to convince my parents, but they wouldn't believe me, the doctor wouldn't believe me. Can we not do this."
Sue realized that she had crossed her arms, and taken an aggressive posture, and sighed. She stared a couple seconds longer, then nodded. "Ok... I believe you. You didn't do this on purpose."
The two sat in silence, before Sue spoke up again. "So a rabbit huh?"
"Yeah."
"Are you..." Sue bobbed her head back and forth trying to find a delicate way to ask. "You know... You sound really feminine."
"Yes. I'm a girl now."
"Wow."
"Yep." Barry stated curtly.
"It's not too bad all things considered." Sue shrugged.
Barry scrunched up his face and testily declared "Oh sure, I'm just a 3 foot sex changed animal from a pastoral children's book."
"Hey, at least you're not legally blind rolling around in a wheel chair!"
Barry lowered his head. "Yeah, but you also get to breath underwater, and other cool water stuff." He protested.
"And who knows what you can do. Have you even tried?"
"No..." Barry admitted.
"MmmHmmm." Sue hummed sassily pursed her lips, "That's what I thought. I bet you could jump really high."
"Really jumping?" Barry rolled his eyes.
"Slam dunk with a 10 foot vertical"
Barry chuckled.
"Like Lola in SpaceJam"
Barry laughed.
"So are your parents going to remodel your room into a briar patch?"
Barry jumped up on the chair. "Hey screw you!" He shouted with a smile. "No! I still like my room thank you very much. I haven't changed that much!"
Sue just smiled. "No... No you haven't."
Barry narrowed his eyes. "Oh my god. This is that brochure therapy stuff isn't it."
"It's that brochure therapy stuff." Sue admitted with a giggle. "But hey, it's true. You got dealt a tough hand, but it's not that bad. I should know."
Barry nodded quietly.
"Besides, I'm going to be real with you. Even if you don't like it, cute changes make socializing a lot easier." Sue seemed a bit pouty admitting that. "Don't throw away the good just because your unhappy with how things turned out..."
"I told you I didn't do it on purpose, Some app did this."
"Right... Sorry... Just because you didn't want a change, doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy it's benefits." She amended diplomatically.
Barry tells her about going to the clinic to learn more, and about the strange creature on her phone. He tells her about shopping, and Sue surprisingly has a couple of suggestions for how to wear pants with digitigrade legs, admitting nonchalantly. "Well when I went to Changed therapy there were a couple of fuzz butts there and they shared some really clever ideas."
Before long the bell rang, and Barry was almost feeling like himself again... At least until he hopped down from the chair and realized he was still eye level with the lunchroom table. He sighed. Smiled at Sue, and padded off to his homeroom.
