“Come on, let’s find you some clothes that will fit you better before we head home.”
“Ookie, dokie mister,” Ryan said in his sweet, now innocent little voice. He reached out his hand which Jeff took as they began making their way down the hall.
“We should be able to find you some clothes that fit in the lost and found box in the gym, or at least some unclaimed gym clothes from class.”
“Thanks mister, this shirt is way too big. I bet it would fit my daddy though, he’s really big and strong too.”
“Of is that right?”
“Yeah, he says if I dwink my milk and eat my veggies I’ll grow up to be big too. I’d like that.”
“You would, why?”
“Cause I could stay up wate and reach things on the talk shelves.”
Jeff realized he had picked a great age as it didn’t seem Ryan had been corrupted by his dad just yet which meant perhaps he could change him somehow in showing him how to be kind before turning him back to his normal age.
“You know, if you’re big you can also use that size to help stand up for people smaller than you and make them feel good no matter how little they are.”
“Like a superhero?”
“Yeah, like a superhero. Just because you’re tall and have big muscles doesn’t mean you should be mean to other people.”
The conversation continued as they reached the gym and found the lost and found. Jeff searched through the box until he found a size small T-shirt with some cute dogs on it, a pair of smaller athletic shorts and a pair of old sneakers. Items all clearly left behind by the school’s younger students— finally a perk to a school which had students from kindergarten through twelfth grade.
Jeff helped Ryan change into the new clothes and couldn’t help but notice just how small his teacher had become while doing so. It’s crazy how a young boy who was so small grew up until the towering mountain of muscle that was Mr. Huff.
“There, that’s much better. Now let’s go back and get my book bag so we can leave.”
The pair had almost made it to Jeff’s locker when they bumped into an unexpected someone.