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Tyler's unconscious mind was doing a fantastic job of rendering a particularly hot scenario involving a kangaroo, a candle, and a pair of speedo goggles. This fantasy, however exciting for him, was not meant to be. An interruption came in the form of his phone's alarm.

_ Bzzt Bzzt._

_ I wanna lose my mind, like a maniac, and cross the line, never looking back..._

His choice in alarm music wasn't perhaps the best for instilling alertness, but it certainly robbed him of his slumberous fantasy. He growled at the alarm, knowing to turn it off required a 6-digit code to be entered into the phone - an added measure to ensure he was awake by the time the music finished. Tyler blinked his electric blue eyes open and adjusted his eyes to the dim glow his phone produced on the ceiling. He picked up and turned the phone to face him and was hit with a harsh light from the display. He reflexively squinted and moved the screen away from his face before tapping in the alarm code, any hope of a sleep-in banished as his mind emerged out of the stupor left behind by his dreams. Tyler sighed "Alright, let's get this day over with." He would come to regret that sentiment later that day.

His phone read 6:01 AM as he padded over to the light switch and flicked it on, showering the room in incandescent light. It was a little cramped, the husky knew, but he also knew he would have to make sacrifices to attend this school that promised such an amazing application success rate to some of the best universities and fine arts institutions in the country. Tyler remembered his video interview with the headmaster of Ensfield high being very terrifying, since he had no idea what to expect or what was expected of him to stand out.

*** Six months ago ***

The video connection established and Tyler was greeted by a strong-jawed jaguar in a flattering tan suit. "Hello Mister Black. Do you prefer Tyler?" the jaguar asked, his body language seemed genuine and not condescending in any way.

"Yes please, sir. I'm assuming you are Professor Malowell?" the husky nervously inquired.

The jaguar chuckled "Yes, but please call me Stefan. I haven't been called 'professor' since I started here at Ensfield and the students usually call me Mister Malowell." Tyler found Mr Malowell's tone, expression, and body language very relaxing - it was almost too obvious this tall cat was no stranger to child psychology and the nuances of behavioural cues. He continued "So Tyler, I imagine you're wondering why we're having this conversation. Your application last year to Ensfield was unfortunately not successful, and yet here I am interviewing you for such a place in this school."

"The question did cross my mind, sir." The husky respectfully stated. The jaguar smiled "well to be perfectly blunt, two events have changed the school's position on your application." The husky's ears perked up, just beyond the husky's control and just noticeable to Stefan. "We've recently had to deal with some incidents at the school that have sparked a radical and extreme expansion of our ability to take on more students." The jaguar did not dumb-down his language for Tyler, which the husky took as a sign of respect. "Your application far exceeded our minimum entry requirements but at the time we were limited to accepting only the top fifteen percent of applicants. This is no longer the case." Stefan continued, keeping a pace of speech he felt Tyler would find easiest to absorb. "What was the second event, if you don't mind my asking, sir?" Tyler was maintaining tight control over his enthusiasm and glee of making it into this prestigious academy. Stefan's smile was unwavering as he responded "I had the pleasure of attending the national pre-tertiary vocal harmonic championships last year." He took a sip of water from the desk he was sitting on, Tyler assumed that to be a tactic to put applicants at ease and make the interview sound less formal. "I was attending to support our all-female group and I was pleasantly surprised to watch them be absolutely thrashed by your high school's ensemble, of which if I'm not mistaken you were the primary voice."

Oh. That. Well at least Tyler had attracted the attention of a sympathetic ear. He didn't want to say anything so insulting in the interview but that group's harmony was terrible. The husky maintained composure "Yes that was a proud moment for me." He was struggling to keep control of his excitement, and now blushing too. "It was very clear to everyone listening that day that you have an incredible talent." The jaguar complimented Tyler. "At Ensfield, we relish in rewarding talent and nurturing it from the moment a student joins our ranks. Put simply, we want you."

There was no stopping the red flush to Tyler's cheeks this time. "T-thankyou very much, sir." The husky could only control not becoming more embarrassed and adding to the rose tint in his cheeks Stefan could clearly see. The jaguar changed tack to let Tyler regain composure. "Now in your application, you declared your place would need to be fully covered by a scholarship. Is that still the case?"

"Yes it is, sir. Please take no offense, but my family can't afford your school's tuition fees." Tyler sheepishly said, not sure where to look so his topaz gaze rested at the pin on Mr Malowell's lapel. It was a simple flag with three pink, yellow, and blue horizontal stripes. Tyler was sure he recognised that pattern but couldn't dwell on it, not in such a critical interview. This conversation could change his life. "That is perfectly alright." Stefan reassured, knowing that if he had to pay that much to enrol a child in this school he would definitely not have bought that suit he was wearing. "I checked with our scholarships registry this morning and we don't have any available places on music-based scholarships."

"Oh." Tyler's ears wavered a little, betraying his disappointment. Stefan quickly sought to remedy that "However we do have a place on one of our science-based scholarships for which you would definitely be eligible. Your previous year's test scores indicate a high aptitude for a scientific skillset, would you say that is a fair assessment?" the middle-aged jaguar encouraged input from Tyler. "Yes sir, I get science. It's a very reassuring process in its rigor and thoroughness." The answer was music to the jaguar's ears, but being a master of nonverbal communication he let on nothing to show his relief. "The scholarship I'd like to offer you is called the Jarvis Bursary for Excellence in the Physical and Life Sciences. You've already demonstrated the 'financial need' and 'scientific ability' components so all you would need to do is attend a brief confirmation interview on the first day of semester. The Jarvis's, who I'm delighted to call friends, like to meet the recipients of their scholarship and encourage their talents; as far as I can tell it's some kind of drug to rich people like them to help those less financially able." The last part made an amused snort escape Tyler's muzzle. His goal achieved, Stefan bared many sharp teeth in a grin that was equally handsome as his dapper attire. The jaguar paused a moment, allowing Tyler to recover to a more serious composure and thank Stefan profusely. He reformed his closed-maw smile and continued "The expansion of our school has in fact forced us to build several new campuses that can appropriately cater to our students' needs. I'm assigning you to a division I believe you will find most comfortable, so while I say this currently as headmaster of Ensfield Preparatory School - let me be the first to welcome you to Perit High."

***

Tyler went from the light switch straight into the shower, amazed at the immediate hot water available in this building. His was one of ninety apartments in the student accommodation block, and was already very tastefully furnished when he moved in. A proximity card he kept in his wallet gave him access to both the building after hours and his apartment, a technology he had never before used and had gleefully played with once he figured it out: shutting his door from the outside and waving his card over the sensor to open it again, all with a wondrous and playful smile on his muzzle.

The hot water soaked through his silky soft fur and Tyler let a sigh of relaxation leave his muzzle, the steamy shower easing his worries away for a while. He closed his eyes and let the water massage his face, only coming out from under the stream to take a deep breath of humid, steamy air and return under the water again. He massaged a large blob of shampoo into his fur, starting with his onyx headfur and slowly pushing and kneading the goo down over his head and neck. The shampoo bottle was labelled with some elegant lettering and a block printed section that read 'Monochrome fur enhancement'. His paws rubbed their way down his firm furred chest, his muscles underlined with streaks of black fur contrasting the white. He had surprisingly little grey in his fur, only becoming a tricoloured pattern from the hips down. Tyler wasn't 'ripped' but had a toned enough body he was happy with - he didn't feel like he needed bigger muscles or less fat. His white paws made their way down his lean waist that tapered neatly into his hips. The water was great, he felt lighter and more alive when he was clean. His paws ran over his firm rump, several digits slipping into the crack to clean one of his most tender places. It was an almost erotic touch he gave his own backside, and he savoured the moment of the slick leathery pad pressing against his tight pink hole. He smiled inwardly, lathering shampoo over his sheath and working the goo into the furred pouch. He cupped his balls softly, rolling the pure white furry orbs in his paw. He bit his lower lip as he thought about this being done to him rather than doing it himself.

Tyler sighed - he couldn't paw off now! He had to do so many things before he even left the apartment! He withdrew the paws from his sensitive areas before things got out of hand. He shampooed his strong, tricoloured legs and took the time to rub the sudsy goo through his hindpaw fur. He wanted to be as thorough as possible so he would look good for his first day of actual classes. He quickly rinsed out his fur; letting suds cascade off his bare body and leaving his fur looking immaculate. He joked with himself often that it was fine 'if the whites were white and the blacks were black', but he loved taking the time to make his appearance count. Yesterday had been such a rush he hadn't taken the time to properly clean his fur and to him that was sacrilege.

*** Yesterday ***

A rush was not an understatement to describe that day. After leaving his building it sunk in exactly how far three kilometres was to walk. His apartment block was located right next to Perit campus, but the headmaster's address to the student body was at the original Ensfield campus just over three kilometres away. He forced himself to jog most of the distance, trying to keep as cool as possible in his jeans and ivory tee shirt and praying he wouldn't arrive at his destination sweating up his clothes. He couldn't risk deterring the scholarship benefactors he was meeting today with that sweaty fur smell. Surprisingly he made the distance with time to spare and without any substantial sweating before the event. He checked his phone instinctively, noting the time was 8:48 and wishing he had walked the entire distance, since even then he would have been on time. The building before him was a very large red-brick box. That was the simplest and most accurate description he could give the building, and it was also the most flattering. He could see why this school needed new campuses. Try stacking what must be thousands of furs into buildings like this over a fifty year period and you're bound to get a bit of wear, he thought to himself.

A minute passed of awkward standing amongst the crowd of chatting teen furs gathered outside and Tyler was about ready to try the auditorium door himself. Thankfully, he was spared his torture of searching empty faces he knew he wouldn't recognise by a short skunk lady who threw open the doors to the massive auditorium. He carefully edged his way into the building, acutely aware of how easy it would be to get trampled in a crowd like this. He found a seat on the stand closest the door and immediately worked on trying to not be noticed. His attempt was evidently unsuccessful, an almost offensively perky rabbit had spotted him and was bounding - or something as close to that as possible in this crowd - toward Tyler. This rabbit's attire ... it was either trying to scream 'slut' or escape from his body altogether: a tiny pair of green shorts that Tyler felt uncomfortable looking at and a black sleeveless shirt with a gigantic letter X printed on the front in horrifying pink. Other than that, some bangles on a wrist and those shoes lots of teens wore that moulded to the hindpaws wearing them, the bunny was bare. Bare legs, bare arms, bare ... ugh, Tyler didn't even want to think about what else this bunny wasn't wearing.

"Hi there!" the rabbit practically sung at Tyler "I'm Lachlan, what a pleasure, I must say, it is to meet you. I don't recognise your face and you're definitely too old to be a seventh year, no offense honey. You must be Tyler Black!" The husky was stumped at how to respond... was this rabbit a ... teacher? "Oh where are my manners?" he held out a fluffy paw in greeting, which Tyler could not politely refuse to shake. "I'm the student body president. Part of my job is to make sure transfer students like you get properly and..." the bunny couldn't help but pause and examine this tight piece of delicious meat "thoroughly acquainted with the campus and facilities available to you." Tyler, his mind reeling from this assault on his senses, opened his muzzle and said "Y-yeah I'm Tyler."

The bunny giggled "I'm sorry, sometimes my appearance and personality can take a bit of getting used to. I promise I won't bite..." the bunny forced himself to bite his tongue to prevent himself finishing that cliché. Tyler managed to rapidly regain his composure "So what are the important things for me to know?"

Lachlan burrowed into his satchel and produced a small pamphlet which he promptly deposited into Tyler's open paws.

1001 Things You Probably Could Guess:

Lachlan O'Grady's Guide to Ensfield Preparatory School (Perit Division)

The pamphlet, or rather small book, was printed on a surprisingly demure thick paper and held together with simple staples along the spine. "This will tell you pretty much everything you need to know about the campus, faculty, and student services. What I can offer outside that is some genuine advice about adjusting to life in Ensfield and who you should know for whatever it is you need. Drugs, Sex, Clean-up crews; I don't judge." The rabbit said, appearing a bit too honest about what teenagers must get up to in this suburb.

Most of the stands in the massive auditorium were filled at this point, and Lachlan knew Stefan's address was about to begin, so he finally sat down next to Tyler and went silent. Tyler was surprised such a loud and out-there fur was able to show such immediate respect in a public venue. A familiar jaguar stepped up to the central platform acting as a stage and tapped the microphone, checking it was working. Today he wore a reserved charcoal three-button suit. Mr Malowell sure did love his suits, Tyler thought to himself.

Stefan began addressing the assembled students and almost immediately it was apparent to Tyler that he was simply reiterating what he had hold Tyler previously. The husky politely tuned out and thought "I'll be making friends with some of these furs soon enough", looking around at the sea of faces. Sure, only a third of the assembled teenagers would be in his division, but that was still a lot of potential friends and acquaintances... wow.

Tyler was fixated on one face in the stand opposite that was just... not possible. No-one looks that good, not even photoshopped models. The face belonged to a leopard, and what a gorgeous leopard. From what little the husky could see, the leopard was built and kept serious care of his body. A gorgeous combination of pure gold and small black rosettes patterned the leopard's fur - an extremely short and dense coat that gave the impression this fur had painted skin instead of a fuzzy layer of fur. The leopard's face was a chiselled work of art that was, for Tyler, the very definition of sexy. A pair of black, sharply-edged spectacles decorated the leopard's face and framed an amazingly intense pair of emerald - no, jade eyes, already outlined by natural blackness in the leopard's face. Those eyes could cut right through Tyler, not to mention those cheekbones. As if on cue, the leopard turned to face Tyler's direction more squarely. That symmetry was flawless! His cute triangular black nose was like an arrow reminding Tyler where his lips should be right then. The leopard's maw parted open just a little to form a surprised look, which did nothing but make him even cuter to Tyler. Tyler was lost, completely lost in that face. Then the leopard's face did something the husky thought impossible. A goofy smile started to spread those lips wider which made Tyler practically lose cognisance of anything else. The black-framed jade eyes were immediately softened by the smile. That completely disarming smile left Tyler with no defence, no wall of security to hide behind. Those eyes could just swallow him up, with that gaze... that was focusing ... directly at him.

Tyler realised that the leopard was smiling at him. What on earth for? The sudden introspection made Tyler realise he was wearing the dumbest, most ridiculous expression he had ever made. To make it even more embarrassing, this leopard was emulating that expression himself. It was a dreamy, truly blissful look which communicated happiness on so many levels to Tyler. He had to look away. He needed to look away now. He needed something to hide his face, anything to give him a moment's reprieve from the possibility that this feline god was interested in him. He almost ripped open the guide Lachlan gave him and buried his face completely in the pages so all he could see was fragments of a campus map.

Tyler needed a moment to collect his thoughts. Should he check to see if the leopard was still watching him? If he was then it definitely constituted an interest. The husky desperately attempted to compose himself. Slowly he put the book down and shuffled in his seat, not sure how comfortable he could possibly make himself with this level of exposure. That gaze had lanced right through any kind of emotional mask Tyler thought he had put up. He took a breath and looked back up to the leopard.

Tyler nearly had some kind of paralytic episode when he immediately regained eye contact with the leopard. That gaze had been waiting for him to come back. And come back he did. A moment, frozen in time, connected Tyler and this unknown feline in a completely uncontrollable way: almost chemically, electrically. What felt like a literal arc of lightning hit Tyler and the leopard at once, and time resumed. This was a bad thing for the husky, as he could feel hot redness crawling up over his cheeks and he just knew the leopard would be able to see it. He had no choice but to break the stare. His face was on fire, he had never felt so embarrassed his whole life. Did he seriously just have some kind of fairy-tale princess moment with the most attractive fur to ever walk the planet?

Tyler could only try to busy himself with listening to Stefan Malowell talk about how "Ensfield will still be Ensfield" and some other rubbish he had no interest in. He was returning to a normal colour, slowly, and bit by bit his head was becoming clearer. Before long, he had completely calmed down. He thought it best not to look like some sort of creep on his first day at this new school so he waited a while before looking back up to the leopard. He was smiling and laughing with a stallion next to him that was easily a nine out of ten. Of course, Tyler thought to himself, of course something that gorgeous is taken. No way true beauty like that stays on the market for more than an hour. "Unlike me" came the inevitable dark thought. He was still a virgin at 17, for fuck's sake. He had tried to be with other furs, both male and female, but they were either too pushy about sex that eventually forced Tyler to break away or they were weirdly pitying of him, somehow thinking that what Tyler needed was anyone thinking lesser of him than if he were a raging slut like the bunny sitting next to him.

He stopped himself. That was unfair. For all he knew, Lachlan was celibate with a very friendly personality. He turned to the bunny, hoping to strike up a conversation - Lachlan was mouthing "Call me" to someone in the crowd.

Nope, definitely a slut.

Tyler couldn't hold that against Lachlan, though. It was a lifestyle and Lachlan was an adult to do what he pleased. He nervously tapped Lachlan's shoulder to capture his attention. "Hey, everything okay, Hun? You look a little worried." The rabbit asked, suddenly becoming concerned about the husky.

"I'm fine, it's nothing. I was just wondering if Stefan just said anything important. I was kind of ... sleeping." Tyler thought that was an excellent cover-up, and mentally patted himself on the back. "Ha ha, you too?" the bunny giggled. "Stefan has that way with crowds. He's much more personable in a one-on-one situation, but you already knew that." Lachlan may have been a slut, but he certainly wasn't a fool. This rabbit was on the ball about everything, it seemed. "He just said classes are starting at twelve, but you don't have to worry about that. Stefan told me to tell you he wanted today for you to be more about getting a feel for the atmosphere at Perit." Lachlan explained.

The tall jaguar finished orating and the crowd immediately rose to their feet, bustling for the exit. Tyler let himself flow with the crowd after thanking Lachlan for his help. He needed to go back to his apartment and change into something more impressive before meeting the scholarship funders.

The walk back to his apartment was slow and casual: Tyler could relax and enjoy the sun beating down on him and the fresh forest air. His apartment smelled vaguely of lemon, now he noticed, but could not think why that would be. He shrugged and found the items he was looking for: a white dress shirt and a green vest that helped to accentuate the flatness of his stomach. The jeans were a dark enough wash that they did not look very out of place with the rest of the outfit, a fact for which Tyler was very grateful. He spent the next hour or so organising his apartment and fidgeting nervously with whatever he could hold.

At 12:00 precisely he watched the other Perit students rush to their classes out his window, and then padded out of his apartment and down to the reception area where he was expecting to meet his benefactors. He arrived at the reception desk and spied Stefan Malowell sitting patiently in a seat. Tyler paced over to Stefan, who smiled a greeting "I hope my speech didn't bore you too much." Tyler coughed and started trying to find the right words to apologise to the jaguar, who simply laughed and brushed off the apology "I doubt one in ten furs at this morning's assembly paid attention to the whole thing. Now the Jarvis's should be here any - Oh there they come."

Stefan pointed at three felines who were walking through the glass doors of the apartment complex. When they approached the headmaster and student, Mr Malowell started "Tyler Black, meet Anne and Thomas Jarvis." The jaguar indicated the two middle-aged leopards who both beamed and shook Tyler's paw "We're very glad we can help a talented young student in need like you." Anne spoke first as she shook his paw. "Please just call us Thomas and Anne." Thomas said - still beaming as his own paw gave Tyler's an uncomfortably firm grip. They were possibly the most genuine and down-to-earth billionaires Tyler had ever met, not that he had many any others but he imagined more ... arrogance. Stefan was very pleased the two benefactors were happy with his choice of scholarship recipient. He recognised the third, younger leopard as an alumnus of this school - Zane Jarvis had not changed at all in appearance since his final year at Ensfield Prep. "This is their son, Zane." Stefan said, not completely sure if it was appropriate for the Jarvis's to bring Zane along but the young adult cleared up the confusion immediately. "Don't worry buddy, I'm just driving them around today. Not gonna cramp your style at all." Zane said informally to the husky. Tyler thought these three leopards looked vaguely familiar, but dismissed the idea before he started questioning his sanity and thinking he had some kind of leopard fetish. The younger males shook paws to conclude the introductions.

"Well how about I give you four a brief tour of the campus while you conduct your interview?" Stefan asked the group. They nodded and Stefan began strolling out the door, speaking softly but excitedly about what made the new Perit campus great. Zane maintained a semi-respectable distance behind the husky, who was now flanked with a leopard on either side, asking him questions about his life, his current plans, what kind of foods he liked ... it was all just a little too personal, but completely wonderful - these strangers were so immediate in honestly befriending Tyler.

"So Tyler, one thing we feel obligated to do is ask you about your career path." Anne said, a warm paw resting on his shoulder. "Anne, we may as well tell it like it is." Thomas interjected. "Tyler, if you can maintain the minimum performance required for this bursary, we'll help you with any university scholarship application you need when you graduate. There will also be a position ready for you at Jarvis Biotech when you graduate if you want it." This was a lot for the Husky to take in. These near-strangers were offering him more than money - they were offering him a future. A certain future, that was rare. Tyler stammered "I-I might need some time to think about that offer." Anne laughed "Of course, sweetie! You have several years to think about it. We just want you to know when we help someone, we help them. Anything you need, you needn't hesitate to get in touch with us and we'll help you out any way we can."

Tyler was nearly overwhelmed, still keeping control of his emotions but barely. "Thankyou so much Mister and Missus Jarvis ... Anne and Thomas." He corrected himself "That means so much to me that you're invested in my future and I hope I won't disappoint you." The husky couldn't restrain his gratitude any longer and he hugged the two parents at once, giving them the acknowledgement they would never ask for but obviously wanted. The leopards hugged him back "We think you'll really fit in here at Perit." Thomas said, his deep voice wavering for a fraction of a second.

"You're not adopting, are you guys?" Zane could no longer hold back his amusement at the exchange we witnessed, perfectly covering how touched he was with sarcasm. "Well I wish ours were as polite and well-mannered as you, Tyler." Anne said, pointedly ignoring Zane's comment.

Did "were" mean they had more children? Tyler pondered Anne's language for a moment. He supposed that the couple would have no financial trouble raising more than one child. Anne didn't strike Tyler as a leopardess who used words she didn't mean, and Thomas was obviously a leopard who used even less unnecessary words. His mental discourse was interrupted by Thomas' resonant bass notes "Stefan tells us you're an exceptional singer."

Tyler could feel a blush encroaching on his face, but he could effectively suppress it this time. "Mister Malowell is very kind, I'm not really sure I could say if I am any good..." He carefully laid out his words, not wanting to mistakenly come across as arrogant.

"Mister Black is far too modest." Stefan called back from his leading position, Zane having now joined him in front to channel his boredom constructively. The group had entered the music department a few moments ago and they were walking past several studio rooms filled with equipment the Tyler knew was incredibly expensive.

"Would it be a terrible imposition to hear you sing, Tyler?" Anne asked. "Would that be okay to use one of the studios?" she directed at Stefan. The jaguar waited for Tyler to respond before nodding. Tyler couldn't say no to these kind furs but warned them "I may not sound great right now since I haven't warmed up but I'll give it a go."

Each feline beamed at Tyler and Stefan led them into a room on their left, the door reading "Vocals". Tyler passed through a second door to stand alone in another room labelled "Iso 2", this room already being set up with noise-reducing foam patterns on the walls and ceiling. In the centre of the room, a single mechanical arm descending from the ceiling held a brand new MXL condenser in a rubberised black shock-mount. Tyler could smell the packaging on every item in that room, attesting to how unused these studios were yet. He padded over to the only table in the room and picked up a pair of headphones emblazoned with the letters 'AKG'. He slid them over his head, one ear-cup slightly off his ear and watched the cats file into the control room opposite. Stefan said something to Zane and the younger feline started sliding and pressing at the interface before him. Suddenly, Zane's voice came through the headphones "Alright you're good to go, superstar."

Tyler had never been put on the spot like this before to sing for an audience, but he knew exactly which song to go with. He spoke first into the microphone "Is there a backing track I could get or a beat track?"

Zane patched through to him again, "They've got a bananas database here of instrumentals, what do you want?"

"'You' by Nathaniel Willemse"

"Interesting choice, the track counts itself in, so: three, two, one..."

The count-in beat started coming through the headphones, followed by the chords Tyler had practised to several times before. His whole body was now focused on that moment and he braced every part of himself for the controlled release of the emotions he had experienced that morning.

His lips parted and but he could barely hear anything. His projection was fine and the hardware was working, he just wasn't listening to himself. Words, notes, and timbre were escaping from his throat and out his muzzle with astonishing life of their own.

"Where did you find this guy, sir?" Zane asked Stefan, truly shocked such a smooth, steady, and controlled tenor was hiding in that husky. Stefan didn't take his gaze off the amazing talent he saw ripping into that song. "So you see, assembled Jarvises. I don't lie about talent when I see It." was all he could say. Anne and Thomas were gobsmacked at the brutality and raw quality of emotion being conveyed in that husky's voice.

"'Cause baby you-ou-ou-ou you make me feel alright, yes you do baby."

Tyler was not thinking at all about what or how he was singing; rather he was focusing on that gorgeous green-eyed leopard's expression of delight. Every colour, every soft edge driving him to create beauty with his voice.

"Only you can make me fall to my knees, boy. When I'm with you I can finally breathe, yeah."

That perfect combination of symmetry and angular features was etched into the back of Tyler's eyelids. Tyler didn't realise how fast time was progressing when before he knew it he was already singing the last words of the song.

"Only you, only you."

Tyler held that last syllable beyond the original song's length, finally stopping and returning his consciousness to its original place. He opened his eyes and saw the amazed look stamped on the face of everyone in the control room. This time there was no embarrassment, only pride. He gave a huge smile to his audience through the glass and took the headphones off, leaving them on the table as he walked out of the isolation room.

"Those MXL microphones are really something, huh?" he said when the cats all joined him outside the recording studio. "Dude..." Zane was the first to speak up. "You fucking belted that one! Are you in a good mood or what?" His mother gave him a disapproving glare "Language, Zane!" she turned to Tyler "You have the voice of an angel with fire in his belly." Anne put elegantly. "I can't wait to see you perform in the nationals this year!"

The felines continued to shower Tyler with praise throughout the rest of the tour until it was time to conclude their interview. They had made a complete loop of the campus in just less than three hours. Tyler farewelled Stefan and then thanked the leopards again for their charity. The older furs hugged him and began walking to the car park. Zane gave Tyler a cocky grin and said "I'll have to introduce you to my brother. His baritone would be a great counterpoint to your upper register."

"Oh, you have a singer in the family?" Tyler asked. "I'd love to collaborate with a deeper voice, especially for an original project."

Zane nodded, still smiling "I'll definitely have to connect you two." Tyler tilted his head slightly. "You seem to know your way around a studio, do you sing too?" The leopard shook his head no. "I play guitar. In fact my brother and I started a band with a friend of his. That'd be totes awesome to have you join us for a session." Tyler was truly honoured to receive such admiration. Zane paused for a moment. "Actually we need to get our shit together and get back into practice..." he trailed off, seemingly occupied by some other thought. "Anyway, it was great to meet you and I'll get in touch about that session. Mum and dad have your number." He finished and turned to go to his parents' car, waving behind him. Tyler beamed and entered the cool air-conditioned apartment building, glancing back to see Zane wave a hand at a car leaving the park. The leopard was leaning against an expensive-looking Audi, doing something on his phone.

Tyler was so relieved when he got into his apartment and flopped on his bed, eventually drifting off to sleep.

***

Today, Tyler would start his actual classes. His fur now freshly cleaned and the black-white contrast extra sharp, he threw on some clothes that added a splash of colour to his appearance. He looked into the full-length mirror in his bathroom, acknowledging that the navy trousers he wore were just colourful enough to brighten up his outfit but not jarring with the red button-up shirt he wore loosely with the top button popped - allowing other furs to get a hint of his stark white chestfur.

He had received a text message the previous day from Perit administration alerting him of a division assembly that morning at 9 o'clock. Obeying the instructions, Tyler left his apartment for the main hall. This 'hall' was a fairly large theatre, not quite matching the sheer size of the one he was in the previous morning but still large enough to seat the five hundred or so students currently occupying it. Stefan Malowell was seated alongside a panel of other staff and patiently waited until the hall's doors closed and everyone was seated.

"Gentlemen" he began "and ladies" he added, looking behind him at the gender-balanced team of teaching professionals. "As you may have noticed during yesterday's first classes, you are all male." This sentiment was met with some small laughter but mostly with looks to both sides from all the students, who realised they were indeed only in the company of other young male furs. "I am your division headmaster and it is my responsibility to explain more truthfully the reasons behind the change to our school's structure." The jaguar fell silent: allowing what he had said and, more importantly, what he hadn't said sink in.

Tyler had no clue what Stefan was talking about, since he had not attended any classes the previous day and that morning's assembly had plenty of females in attendance. He was curious; he remembered Stefan had said something in his interview about some incidents... what kind of incident would cause this level of response?

His silent question was answered momentarily, when Stefan continued "During the period between March twelfth and April second, no less than fourteen of our students were assaulted with extreme violence. The subsequent police investigation identified homophobia as the primary motivation behind the attacks. Sixteen suspects were arrested on April third, eleven of which were students at Ensfield Preparatory themselves. The five others were alumni." The jaguar's normally steady voice grew uneven and he stopped for another moment. His speech was laden with shame and he was visibly having difficulty controlling his sorrow and rage.

Stefan breathed in deeply through his nose and expelled his frustration out through his tight-lipped maw. His body language and tone instantly changed, now projecting a reassuring and happy exterior. "Those events catalysed a much-needed re-evaluation of our educational program. After several dozen hours of laborious discussion, the board of directors unanimously voted to expand our school into new campuses with divisions that are, for all intents and purposes, their own schools. The selection process that decided which students belonged in which division was primarily based on their response to several questions administered in a mandatory survey over a week in May. We also factored in a social network mapping algorithm..." Stefan's ear twitched and he stopped reading his notes, looking at the students before him. "We broke as few friendships as possible, while allowing only homosexual, bisexual, and queer-sympathetic heterosexuals into Perit and Hart, and assigned those who 'passed the test' to one or the other based on gender identity." Stefan could sense the unspoken relief in the audience. "We didn't want to out anyone unnecessarily, so we devised the excuse of our facilities being inadequate... which was partly true."

There was a silence following that explanation. Tyler looked around, seeing a full spectrum of emotions on the furs' faces." The silence was punctuated with someone at the back, Tyler couldn't see them, shouting "I fucking told you Gary!"

Stefan's gaze snapped to the offender "Mister Drake contain yourself!" The crowd laughed at the outburst. "That is all I had to say. I will leave you with a request." Stefan added. "While it is unlikely the cover story will endure, I would ask you to not share this information with anyone outside the Perit High environment. If we can keep the reasons under wraps for long enough, any repercussions of this decision would be minimal. That's it, enjoy your second day of school and know that we're a supportive and nurturing team at Perit."

Tyler was more than a little confused at how exactly Stefan or whoever it was knew which kids were closeted gays. Moreover how did Stefan know to put him in Perit? It wasn't like Tyler acted ... well... like Lachlan. His questions would have to wait until another time. For now, he could relax and feel a little less guarded about his sexuality at school.

He left the hall merrily, strolling to the science building to join his class 'Physical Sciences (Advanced III)'. He loved the modern look of the campus buildings - the synthetic material construction gave them an almost futuristic look and Tyler had been impressed since he first arrived on campus. The interior of the science building matched the exterior in theme and degree of synthetic materials present. The tempered glass desks and benches in his classroom again reiterated that 'cutting edge' vibe. Tyler pulled his textbooks and a brand new tablet computer out of his backpack and placed them on the last desk at the back of the room. The computer was a "welcome present" he had received the previous afternoon when the receptionist woke him up through the apartment intercom. There was no sender identification but Tyler was no fool - this was obviously a gift from the Jarvis's. He had never taken notes with a computer before but the interface was exceptionally easy to use.

His attention was solely devoted to readying his study materials so he didn't notice half the furs that walked into the classroom. One or two he could sense appraised him with a look that he didn't return. When he finally did look up, about twenty other teenagers were sitting at desks all over the room: there didn't seem to be any formal seating arrangements. A female tiger who looked to be in her early thirties strode into the classroom wearing a white lab coat and an extremely sharp look on her face. She said her name was Dr Rayleigh and launched into a "why do we care about the physical world around us?" spiel in an attempt to generate some enthusiasm for the subject. Honestly though, to Tyler it looked like every student in the room needed no pep talk. He reasoned that they were all there in the "advanced" class because they were motivated to learn. He absorbed every word the teacher offered about the subject and paid rapt attention, right up until the moment he was distracted by something casually floating near the ground. He blinked and looked at it properly - it was a black-blotched tail and was carelessly swaying back and forth around the floor near him. His vision followed the tail up to its origin, poking out of a seat diagonally ahead of him.

Who does that? Who lets their tail go free in a focused learning environment like this? Tyler didn't know who this fur thought he was but ... oh.

OH.

It was the leopard. The one from the assembly yesterday. Tyler couldn't see his eyes but the glasses and strong angles on the side of the face he could see were almost a dead giveaway. How had he not noticed the leopard before now? His face had been buried in his books but still... Tyler almost expected a warm breeze with birdsong to announce this fur's entrance to a room.

He didn't know if he should say something - he didn't want to seem like a bitch or some kind of super nerd. He decided against speaking up, trying to force his concentration on Dr Rayleigh's voice. He buried his head behind his tablet, trying to obscure his view of the leopard to minimise the distraction. This tactic wasn't a great choice, as the teacher soon noticed his behaviour and stopped.

"Mister Black am I boring you?" she pointedly asked of Tyler, not impressed by the husky's apparent lack of interest in her lesson. Tyler immediately went crimson and squeaked "No, no, please continue. I'm just, um, looking very closely at this thing." Tyler was inwardly smacking his head. "Yeah nice cover, twit" he thought as he tried to draw as little attention as possible. The tigress resumed her lesson, either satisfied with Tyler's response or too tired to care. Tyler didn't know which one and he didn't need to know. The only thing he was hoping was just ... oh, thank god. The leopard hadn't looked at him. He was probably expertly feigning interest himself.

The lesson dragged on and when the tigress finished, everyone was eager to leave the classroom as soon as possible. This amused Tyler, as they had all started the class looking very interested and motivated to learn. The husky thought he had better apologise to Dr Rayleigh for his uninterested appearance.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" the husky asked in a tentative voice, approaching the tigress who was packing up her materials. "Tyler," she started, speaking much more friendly than when she was teaching "how can I help you?"

"I just wanted to say sorry for looking bored, I really wasn't and I am actually very interested in your class." Tyler said, trying to not blurt it out all at once.

"Oh sweetie, that's fine. I knew you were paying attention; I just had to make sure. That and a lesson doesn't feel complete without at least one interruption." She said, still smiling but in a way that tugged on a string in the back of the husky's head saying "leave, leave now, leave." Tyler thanked her and obeyed the instinct, not sure exactly why it was important for him to get away from her.

Lunch was ... boring. The husky went back to his apartment and made a salad, not feeling particularly hungry just yet. His next class was 'music (performance)', Tyler was glad he knew exactly where he was going - the music department was surprisingly large. He sat in silence and munched on his salad, pondering how he was able to conjure such strong emotions yesterday in his performance. It was chemical, the effect that leopard's smile had on him - pure and simple. There was nothing he could possibly do that would prevent that kind of reaction to the leopard's beautiful curving lips and softened green gaze.

He smiled, a large piece of lettuce hanging out of his muzzle. This could be the perfect performance-enhancer he needed to really blow away any competition at nationals. A selfish thought, true enough, but Tyler loved the feeling of accepting the trophy last year. He wanted to do that again. He wanted the adoration of the crowd as he gave them his all, utterly exposing himself and allowing himself to be vulnerable for a few minutes.

He was daydreaming. Tyler almost dreamily pulled out his phone and connected it to the hi-fi system on a shelf. He picked a track that matched his mood, eventually settling on 'Who's that chick' by David Guetta. The thumping bass line picked him up and impelled his body into rhythmic motion. Tyler knew he definitely couldn't dance but this felt like the right thing to do with this elated mood.

He gyrated and stepped and held his paws up to the ceiling, letting the beat control where his hindpaws landed next. His grin was not going anywhere as he channelled his happiness through his body. The song ended and he stopped dancing. A bounce still in his step, he collected his phone from the dock and checked the time. He checked it again, disbelief suddenly washing the grin off his muzzle. He had five minutes to get to class! How had the time slipped away from him so easily? He snatched up a few things he would need: a water bottle, his tablet, and a mint to mask that meaty smell from his salad still on his breath. He chewed the mint and stuffed the other things into his backpack, replacing the textbooks. He sprinted down the corridor to the elevator and checked on which floor the elevator was currently stopped.

"Thirteen. Damn." He muttered, and kept running toward the stairs, passing a giant number 5 on the wall. He leapt from stair to stair, skipping several steps with each pace. He made it down the stairs and out the glass doors of the apartment complex with lightning speed. He was excited for his music class - he had been wondering if his fellow music students were friendly, and if they were the kind of musicians who collaborated all the time and would be welcoming to him.

His questions would soon be answered, provided he could make it to the music department in time. He was rapidly running out of breath to maintain the pace he needed to get to his class on time. He slowed briefly to check his phone's clock. Two minutes left. Almost there! Tyler threw himself up flights of stairs and along corridors to arrive at the music department exactly on time.

A group of male teen furs were milling about a large poster describing the layout of the department, obviously trying to figure out where they should go. Tyler was regaining his breath when a rusty voice alerted the group to the arrival of their music teacher. "I'm comin', I'm comin'."

Tyler appraised the speaker, who just rounded a corner and came into sight of the group: a Scottish terrier who looked as though he'd woken up minutes ago shuffled over to them. "Alright, I'm not gonna baby you lot. Do what you want today as long as it doesn't get me in trouble and you make sure you're keeping up with your practise for any performance required of you." The Scottie finished talking and shuffled away slowly to presumably continue his nap. "What an odd character" Tyler thought to himself, his breath finally slowed enough to pass as normal.

"Hey, are you new?" a fennec asked him, stepping over and greeting him with a small smile. Tyler nodded and returned the smile. "My name's Tyler, I transferred here this year so I have no idea what's going on."

The fennec giggled "This class is the performance group, so while we aren't as focused on theory as the other classes, we mostly rehearse performances and pieces we intend to present at school events. I'm Max and you must be pretty talented to get into this class straight out. Last year we had to do auditions and tests to get into this class." The fox almost seemed smug about the fact he was there. "Let me guess... vocalist? But what though..." Max concentrated on Tyler's throat, thinking carefully. "Something with a high upper end?"

Tyler grinned at the fennec's guess "Yeah, not bad. I'm somewhere between a Tenor and a Countertenor." Max simpered and offered "I'm a pianist, classically trained but pretty versatile. I'd love to hear what you can do, but first we've gotta get you familiar with everyone else so you can start or join in some group work." Tyler mentally punched the air in excitement.

Max led him through the maze of recording rooms and stages, pointing out other students and informing Tyler what their instruments and styles were, being as brief in description as possible to avoid overwhelming the husky. Lastly, they entered the room marked "Vocals". This was the series of recording rooms Tyler had used yesterday and as they opened the door, they were greeted with a small crowd of furs huddling around one of the computers in the control room.

"Jesse! Jesse! Come listen to this!" an otter shouted out, somewhere in the thicket of varying fur colours. Tyler was admittedly curious about what was so exciting, and he and Max joined the crowd. A golden black-spotted fur brushed past Tyler and wedged his way through the kerfuffle. Tyler recognised the black-blotched tail of a familiar leopard slip through the tangle.

Was he just imagining this masculine beauty? He was seeing this big cat everywhere. It didn't seem likely that this leopard was literally everywhere Tyler went, but neither did it seem possible that he was a mirage. Tyler could see, now that he was standing close to the leopard, that this big hunk was at least half a head taller than Tyler and seriously toned. The leopard's shirt was tight against his fur - Tyler could make out every muscle on his back and arms. All Tyler could do at that sight was prevent himself from drooling or worse, entering some kind of embarrassing daydream.

Tyler heard the leopard's smooth tone respond to the otter "What is it, Harry?" The otter, apparently named Harry, didn't directly reply but instead asked the crowd "Does anyone know who this is?" He pressed a key at the computer and turned a volume control up to a loudness that might have escaped the studio had the door not been constructed to absorb sound.

"'Cause baby you-ou-ou-ou you make me feel alright, yes you do baby."

Tyler could not believe his ears, which were immediately reddening along with his cheeks. He thought Zane Jarvis was just monitoring him for the benefit of the older furs. Maybe he forgot to erase the recording or maybe he accidentally dubbed it over the instrumental track. Either way, what Tyler was hearing sounded... great; better than great, amazing. He didn't realise he had sung that well on the day, but hearing it outside his own head... he would be impressed with that performance too.

The embarrassment was becoming almost a tremor, Tyler was feeling adrenaline cause his heart to race and he was breathing a little faster than he should have been. Then Max went and put his big fucking paw right in it.

"Is that you, Tyler?" he asked, loudly enough to turn the head of every fur in the studio, some even craning their necks to get a look at the new guy. The leopard was the only one he was watching and along with everyone else he turned to see to whom Max was referring. That intense pair of jade eyes locked onto Tyler's own ultramarine gaze. The leopard must have recognised him, because that same slight jaw drop and pupil dilation happened on his face a second time in as many days.

Tyler wanted to die, or at least hide in one of the equipment closets. The leopard's lips curled into a soft, seductive smirk - from this distance Tyler could see so much more detail in the leopard's face that made him even more gorgeous, if that was possible. The leopard's chest and abdomen were tightly covered by a white tee shirt that allowed Tyler to see every flexion and twitch in every single muscle so perfectly defined on the leopard's body. If Tyler didn't have dozens of eyes on him that moment, he may have allowed his arousal from the leopard's physique to coax a hard-on from his loins. As it was, there was no way he was going to let something like that embarrass him even further.

He swallowed, not sure how or even if he should reply or simply say 'Hi'. The leopard, his eyes travelling down Tyler's body and back up to meet the husky's gaze and his look of desire unwavering, opened his maw and asked one question - one word - in a smooth, sensual voice Tyler would never forget.

"Tyler?"