The next few weeks passed without many changes. Thankfully after Oliver's tail grew in, his body settled down into its new form and began preparing for the next big transformation. He used this period to get used to using his new tail all the time, using it like a third hand in almost any situation. He also began to visit his new monkey friends almost every day, forming a close bond with them, learning the habits and manners of monkeys... and the most fun part, UNlearning human manners.
It was the first day of July, and thanks to the global warming his parents mentioned, it was hot and oh so humid outside. Oliver had been sleeping in the nude for a week now, finding it impossible to rest with pajamas on. But today was a school day, so clothes were a necessity. He looked at his current state... almost the same as last month, but he had grown light brown fur on his back, arms, legs and feet, making him look the part of a primate a lot more. He slipped on a plain T shirt, shorts, socks, and sneakers, and headed downstairs to breakfast.
Breakfast was a real treat, french toast and syrup with a banana, so Oliver wasted no time in sitting down to eat. He grabbed the sticky toast with both hands, ignoring the fork entirely, and shoved it in his mouth. While he chewed with his mouth open, his mom calmly said, "Oliver dear, um... how's the food?"
"Mmffreally greatff!" replied Oliver with his mouth full.
His dad said, "That's very good, Olli! You eat however you like, okay?" Oliver swallowed his bite of toast and let out a loud belch. Nobody bothered to excuse him.
After breakfast, Oliver rode the bus to school. He met up with the other monkeys in the hallway just like any other day.
"Have you heard the good news?" asked Samson.
"Tell me." said Oliver.
"Marcus' tail is finally fully grown! Marcus, come show him!"
Marcus turned around to show off the tail growing out of the back of his pants. He waved it around confidently, having complete control over it. Oliver couldn't help but feel elated, he finally had a tail buddy.
Class was the same as usual. The teacher was giving a lesson on animal habitats, which would be very useful for a classroom full of animals. Oliver listened the best he could, but... he felt some discomfort. His sneakers were tight, as if they were a size too small. At first it was dull, but the cramp got worse and worse until his toes went completely numb. Oliver groaned with pain, interrupting the lesson.
"What was that? What's the matter?" asked the teacher.
"I've got this awful cramp in my feet." said Oliver.
The teacher seemed to understand immediately. "Take off your shoes and socks." he said.
Oliver unlaced his sneakers and pulled them off along with the socks. Immediately, the cramp faded away and he got the feeling back in his toes again. When he took a closer look, he got a big surprise - his human feet were now monkey paws, with opposable back toes suitable for grasping.
It happened so suddenly, he didn't see it coming. Still, there was nothing he could do about it. He would only get more animalistic as time went on. He didn't have much to say, so he simply asked: "What do I do about my shoes?"
The teacher smiled. "Toss them in the garbage. From now on, you're going to have to walk barefoot."
Oliver had no other option. He walked to the garbage can and threw his shoes inside, never to be used again. It certainly felt odd to throw away perfectly good sneakers, but they seemed so... unnecessary to him now. He couldn't even remember why he wore them in the first place.
He sat down and looked aroud the room. It was hard to notice because of the animal features, but many other students were missing articles of clothing. The eagle-, rabbit- and frog-like kids were without shoes, Hunter the wolf had his shirt off, and one large elephant-skinned boy only had on boxer shorts that were about to burst at the seams. Oliver had a feeling that before long, kids will start coming to class with no clothes at all. The next few weeks are going to be the most interesting yet...