Summer vacation had been AMAZING.
If Fitz was feeling a bit unsure about his junior year, he was definitely sure that he would miss this summer break. With three kids out of the house, two with full college scholarships, his parents had enough spare income to move the family to a nicer house just outside city limits. The house had about two acres of grassy hills all around, and a small stream. Just about every day, Fitz had hopped outside and napped on a hillside under the blue cloudy sky, or down by the stream with his toes dipping in the water. He'd even tried fishing, before he realized he could SEE the bottom of the stream and there were obviously no fish in it.
Plus, there was an extra bathroom and he got his own bedroom!
And that was exactly where Fitz was, stuck in his bedroom instead of outside for one last day, checking over his school supplies. Backpack, check. Notebooks, check. Bleh...
Fitz startled as his mother knocked on his door, his books falling over his bed.
"Remember to check your clothes, dear. You've looked a bit taller lately, so you may need some of Pete's hand-me-downs."
Fitz rolled his eyes. His mother was a dwarf rabbit, so he'd looked 'a bit tall' to her since he was ten. He'd always been average for a rabbit his age though, and at sixteen that wasn't likely to change. His older brother Pete had gotten some height from their dad's side of the family and turned out lean and lanky, perfect for running. Fitz didn't think he'd make a great impression tripping around in his brother's long-ass pants.
Still, orders were orders. With a shrug, Fitz shucked the basketball shorts he preferred to wear in summer and slid open his dresser. A few quick tugs to get his feet in (big for his size, normal for a rabbit), and Fitz hopped back up and holy crap the pants were actually too short.
Fitz blinked, his eyes tracking from his surprised expression in his bedroom mirror, down to the two inches - MINIMUM - of exposed ankle under his pants, and back up again. His ear perked as he cleared his throat.
"Uh... yeah. Yeah, you were right, mom. Could you get uh, some of Pete's old clothes please?"
"They're in a box in your closet," her smug reply came through the door. "I thought you might need them."
Fitz smiled ruefully as he heard his mom bustle off to corral his younger siblings. Maybe he should listen to her more. He hadn't worn much other than loose, long basketball shorts all summer, so he must have had a bit of a growth spurt and just not noticed.
A little rummaging produced a long-sleeved shirt that draped over his hands a bit and hung well below his waist. Too big. The dress pants he found next fit a lot better though; a bit long but they only needed one roll-up on the cuffs instead of the five or six he'd imagined. He probably would only have actually needed two when summer started; maybe Pete just seemed taller in his mind.
At the bottom of the box were a pair of Pete's old dress shoes. Fitz wrinkled his nose, and felt the tiny whiskers twitch. He'd try his own shoes first, thanks. Pete may not have used those much - he preferred running shoes - but ugh.
Fitz didn't even try his shoes on. After sliding them out of the closet it was obvious they were WAY too small. He set one of them next to his foot and stared at his toes stretching far, far past the ends of the shoe. Sure, he'd gone barefoot all summer but his feet couldn't have grown THAT much in three months right?
Feeling a bit light-headed, Fitz gave Pete's old shoes a go. Gulping, he called out, "Hey mom, um. I think I need some new shoes."
"Pete's old ones are in the box dear, at the bottom." His mother called back, quickly followed by "Mopsy give your brother his toy back this INSTANT or no dessert!"
Still feeling a bit dazed, Fitz shambled his way out of his room and down the hall, Pete's old shoes in hand. He barely paid attention as his youngest sister tugged hard at his brother's tail as his brother chewed on her arm. His brother's toy blocks lay nearby, forgotten despite apparently being what they were fighting about.
His mother looked up, curious, as he stepped into the kitchen.
"Pete's shoes are too small." Fitz offered with a shrug.
His mother's eyes widened at that a bit; Pete had always had fairly big feet for a rabbit. But after gazing at Fitz for a moment, she offered him a pat on the shoulder.
"We'll just go out and find you some new ones then, dear. Though we might have to look in the kangaroo department; I don't know if we'll find many rabbit shoes in that size, Pete had enough trouble with that..."
As his mother trailed off, Fitz idly snagged a slice of carrot cake and nibbled it. Maybe he should have wanted to stay average.