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"Have you got all your notebooks and your binder?"

"Yes, they're all in my bag."

"And your lunch money?"

"Yep, in my pocket!"

The first day of school had crept up on them rather quickly. In the living room, Abigail was making sure that Russ had absolutely everything he needed for his first day. Bryan had left a while ago for work, so it was Abigail's job to make sure that both teens were ready.

"Good, good. Tell me after school if you find out you need anything else. Where's Tyler? Tyler!"

"I'm right here, Mom," Tyler grumbled, emerging from the kitchen with a piece of toast in his muzzle. He was dressed in shorts and a random t-shirt, accompanied by a purple snapback that sat backwards on his head.

Abigail sighed in exasperation. "Tyler, must you wear that thing every day? You ruin your headfur by doing that!"

Tyler frowned, adjusting the head accessory. "It's cool. I like it this way." He stuffed the rest of the toast into his mouth before disappearing into the kitchen again.

The mother shook her head in disbelief. "I really do worry about him sometimes. I'm not sure where he gets his bad style habits from."

"Mom!" Tyler's voice sounded from the kitchen. "Where's my jacket?!"

"It's in the wash," Abigail responded calmly. "It's about time it got cleaned. You wear it so much I took matters into my own paws."

"What?! Mom, it's the first day! All the other guys will be wearing theirs!"

"And I'm sure the school won't be missing one kid not wearing his. You can survive without it for one day." She said sternly, letting him know that the matter was settled. "But let's make sure we have the important things ready. Do you have your EpiPen?"

"Yes, Mom," said Tyler tiredly. "It's in my bag like it always is."

"I'd suggest keeping it in your pocket," said Abigail. "You need it keep it somewhere you can easily find it in case you have a reaction -"

"Mom, I'm fine!" The young wolf cut in. "Stop making it such a big deal!"

"I would if you would just listen to me for once." Said his mother. "You're going off to college next year. You're not going to have me around to make sure you have it -"

"Rod's here," Tyler interrupted again. He picked up his bag and began walking towards the door.

"Are you sure you don't want to go with Russ to the bus stop?" Abigail called after him. "He's never taken the bus to the school before and I'm sure he could use a friend to show him around -"

"I'm good." Without another word, the wolf was out of the house.

Russ had observed the exchange with astonishment. His own mother had been a bit naggy at times, but Russ had always taken it in good stride, understanding that she was only trying to do what was best for him. Tyler didn't seem to appreciate any of his mother's actions, no matter how much she tried to voice her concerns. Although Russ couldn't help but think that his own addition to the household had something to do with the wolf's constant sour mood.

"Well, I suppose it is about time to get going. The bus will be here soon." Abigail gave him a hug and gave him a bright and cheery smile. "Are you sure you'll be alright finding the bus stop?"

Russ nodded. "I'll be okay. I still remember where it is."

"Okay, well, have a good first day, Russ" she replied. "Make lots of friends!"

Russ bid her his goodbyes and went out the front door. Once outside, he could enjoy that early morning air and the colorful chrome of the hovering sunrise. The rich green grass sparkled with dew that clung to each individual blade. Birds chirped merrily and the street was almost silent as he walked alone down the sidewalk, his footsteps the only disturbance in the otherwise placid scene.

After turning a few corners, he found a group of other students waiting quietly at the curb. Most of them appeared tired and remained silent and unmoving, although two friends made idle conversation. Russ was once again faced with a dilemma: he was being presented with an opportunity to make friends, but he didn't know how to. To be honest, though, these people did not seem ready to talk any time soon.

One of them proved him wrong, however.

"Dude, where did you get your fur done?"

Russ was startled to see that one of them had decided to talk to him. It was a rather skinny horse who had taken notice of his vibrant blue fur.

"W-What?"

"Your fur. Where did you get it done?"

The husky was confused at first, but quickly caught on to the horse's meaning and shook his head. "Oh, no, I didn't get it dyed or anything. Blue's my natural color."

The horse appeared bemused. "Uh yeah, right, dude."

"No, really!" Russ protested. "It's all natural!"

The horse was ignoring him now, busy texting on his phone. Russ' heart sank as he realized just how hard making friends was going to be. His fur would prove to be a major obstacle in achieving such a thing. For a moment, he actually considered dyeing his fur a more "natural" color to appear more normal; he immediately banished the thought. He didn't need the approval of others to feel good about himself. Besides, maybe some people would take a liking to his eccentric fur.

His thoughts were interrupted by the obnoxious squealing of bus brakes as the large vehicle turned the corner to their waiting spot. The furs automatically filed into a line moving up the short set of stairs leading into the bus, and Russ began to feel like a small child on his first day of school. It was a strange feeling; even though he normally drove to school, he had done this plenty of times in the past. Now that he was in a completely different setting, the routine felt oddly foreign.

Russ picked a seat near the back that happened to be empty and settled down next to the window. The bus was oddly quiet; it seemed the morning drowsiness had not quite yet worn off. No one felt like talking, although he did get a few more weird looks for his fur.

It only took another ten minutes to get to the school. Once inside, Russ experienced the place in an entirely different atmosphere. The school was now buzzing with activity. Hundreds of students walked to and fro across the rotunda and through the halls. Some of them tried to get a head start finding their classes while other hung out in groups next to the lockers. He even spotted Tyler among the masses, talking to a female wolf who he assumed to be his girlfriend. The teachers were nowhere to be seen; they were likely in their respective classrooms preparing for class.

"Hey, dude! I haven't seen you around here before!"

Russ jumped at the sudden interruption, turning to see a bespectacled bear grinning at him. A book bag hung from one shoulder while he clutched a lunchbox in the opposite paw.

"Um, hi," said Russ. "Yeah, I'm new here."

"Oh, cool! I can show you around then!" The bear's enthusiasm was a welcome contrast to the static apathetic air of the bus. He eagerly stuck out a paw to shake. "I'm Scott, by the way!"

"Russ," the husky stated, grasping the proffered paw.

"Short for Russell?"

"No."

The two furs moved out of the middle of the hall and against the wall.

"So what grade are you in?"

"I'm a junior," Russ replied over the din.

"Nice, you're in the same year as me!" Scott chirped. "I know this may be a bit forward, but can we be friends? You seem like a nice guy and most people don't want to talk to a nerd like me..."

The husky was taken aback. That didn't make any sense. Russ had to have been the biggest nerd at his previous school and plenty of people talked to him.

"Well, sure. I don't see why not." Russ said with a smile, happy to have made a friend this quickly. "And if it makes you feel better, I'm a bit of a nerd, too."

Scott's cheerful grin appeared plastered on his muzzle. "Cool, it's always nice to have other nerds to talk to. What classes are you taking?"

Russ pulled out his schedule. "Um, I've got Programming, Pre-calculus, Astronomy..."

"Ooh, I took Astronomy last year. You'll have a lot of fun in that class." The bear gave him a once-over. "But, dude. Duuuuude. You have to tell me. Where did you get your fur done?"

The blue husky deflated a little at the fixation. "I didn't. It's natural."

"Bullshit, dude! No one is born with fur like that!"

Russ shook his head. "It's totally natural, I swear. In a few months, it'll just be the same exact color."

Scott giggled. "Alright, if you say so. Do you need help finding your first class?"

The husky nodded. "Yes, if you don't mind. I've got Astronomy first..."

"No problem!" Scott began to lead him towards a set of stairs. "You'll love Astronomy, dude. It's so much fun. And the book they use for the class is _really_good..."

...........................

"MR. TALVEK, SIT DOWN NOW!"

"But you're wrong! That's not at all how gravity works!"

"Whatever the book says is correct!"

"But the book is wrong, too! The gravitational pull of the Earth's core alone is nowhere near strong enough to -"

"Mr. Talvek, if you don't sit down and stop yelling right now, I will give you detention and send you to the principal's office!"

Grumbling under his breath, Russ lowered himself back down into his desk chair. The first lesson in Astronomy class had been about gravity. The inconsistencies and downright false facts he found in the book immediately set off alarm bells in his mind, and he had decided to say something about it. The teacher had brushed off his comment as a trivial offense, but once he became more vocal about it, it had become a full-blown shouting match.

The other students stared at him as he sat fuming. How were people meant to become educated on a subject if they were being taught false information?! And how could the other students just let this happen?!

Some great first day this was turning out to be.

The school bell rang through the PA system, signaling the end of class. Glancing down at his schedule, he found that he had the next lunch period. Ignoring the eyes of most of the class - and the teacher - following him, he left the classroom and heading straight for his locker. Discarding his books into the small metal compartment, he tried to remember how to get back to the cafeteria as he pushed through the stream of students going the other way.

Once he found the cafeteria, Russ joined the line and watched the other students eat. With a pang of sorrow, he remembered doing the same thing the day before the attack on the spaceship. He shook his head to get rid of the painful memory. He couldn't be thinking about that right now.

Russ paid for his food and looked for an empty table to sit at. He didn't much feel like talking to anyone at the moment.

"Russ! Hey, Russ, over here!"

Scott the bear was waving both arms at him frantically trying to get his attention. Figuring it would be rude to ignore him, he made his way over to Scott's table, which was completely empty except for him.

"Hey, dude! How's it going?" The bear said as he unwrapped a sandwich. "Having a good first day, at least?"

"Meh, it could be better," Russ mumbled. Today was chicken strips and fries for lunch. He nibbled on a fry as he stared into space. "Astronomy didn't go very well."

"Aw, you didn't like it? How come?" Scott said through a mouthful of sandwich.

"Don't worry about it," Russ said dismissively, not wanting to unload on his new friend.

"Okay...well, are there any classes so far that you like?"

Russ shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I don't care much for History and Pre-calculus is pretty easy, so..."

Scott snorted. "Pre-cal is easy? I don't know about that..."

The two furs talked like this for a while as they ate their food. Russ still was not completely used to eating this kind of food, but he kept himself under control. After a while, Russ began to notice a certain group of furs sitting at a table. They must have been part of a team or something because they all wore red and white letterman jackets.

Scott noticed his gaze and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Dude, stop looking at them."

"Why?" Russ was genuinely intrigued by the group. He couldn't see why simply looking at them would cause a problem.

"Just look away! They'll see you!" Scott hissed.

It was already too late. Before they knew it, the furs had noticed his gaze and come over to their table.

"Whatcha staring at, nerd?" Said one of the group, a bulky bear. "Got something to say?"

Not quite realizing he wasn't supposed to answer, he did anyway. "Um, I was just looking."

"Shut up shut up," Scott was muttering under his breath.

"What was that, Tiny?" The larger bear taunted. "You wanna say something, too?"

"Hi, Rod." Scott sighed. "And no. Just having lunch here."

The larger bear, who he now knew was named Rod, was flanked by two other furs, a lion and an Alsatian. They each wore red and white jackets over their clothes and wide cocky grins on their muzzles.

"Yeah, so was I before your friend decided to stare. Get a load of this guy, huh? Shit what's wrong with his _fur?" _

Rod had grabbed his arm to examine his blue fur, but Russ hastily jerked it back. The smug and egotistical attitude of the furs were quickly starting to aggravate the husky. It was clear to Russ by now that these were the bullies of the school.

"Just look at this guy, trying to look cool and shit. Probably one of those emo kids." Rod laughed with his friends at the dry joke. "You go to a fuckin' saloon and dye your fur, fruitcake?"

Now quite angry, Russ snapped, "No. It's natural. But if you're so interested, why don't you go try it, asshole."

The bear's eyes narrowed and his cohorts oohed in response. Rod sat down straddling the bench and leaned in threateningly.

"You better watch your fuckin' mouth, fruitcake. Or you might find yourself in a lot of trouble. And trust me, you don't want to be on the receiving end of this," Rod said, slowly curling his paw into a fist in front of the husky's muzzle.

Russ wasn't fazed in the least; he stared right back into the ursine's face with his eyes narrowed defiantly. He was not about to let this bully intimidate him, especially not on the first day. Rod was going to have to work to get him down.

Rod abruptly shot his paw down and grabbed the last of Russ' chicken. "Call it an entrance fee. Watch yourself, fruitcake!" The jock strutted back to his table laughing loudly with his friends in tow.

Russ glared down at his empty tray before scoffing. "What an asshole."

Scott sighed and continued eating. "Well, I did warn you. Don't mess with him, dude."

"What? I'm not going to just let him push me around like that!"

"Well, it's better than fighting back," said Scott cynically. He uncapped a water bottle and took a large gulp before continuing. "It'll only lead to more trouble and it's not like the teachers give a damn."

"Still though." Russ picked at what was left of his food. "He's got another thing coming if he thinks he can mess with me and get away with it."

"Well, good luck then. You'll need it," said the bear. "What's your last class today?"

Russ had to think about it as he didn't have his schedule with him. "Concert Band, I think."

"Ooh, good luck with that," Scott gasped. "I've never been much of a musician."

"Is it hard?"

"I wouldn't know. I've never actually played an instrument," replied Scott. "But music's pretty cool in its own merit."

Before Russ could ask what he meant, the bell rang and everyone got up from their seats.

"Have fun, dude. See you tomorrow!"

The bear was gone before he could say another word. Sighing, Russ threw away his trash and set off for his final class of the day.

.............................

The husky nearly showed up late, as the band room was on the opposite side of the building to his locker. Russ had needed to jog to class in order to be on time. He burst through the door just as the bell rang again and surveyed the room. Lined up against the back wall were large drum-like structures that he had never seen before in his life. The ceiling was higher up than the other classrooms, characteristic of a room that needed good acoustics. In the middle of the room were chairs arranged in a square formation, at which many students sat and waited patiently for class to start.

Russ chose a seat near the back and waited along with everyone else. After a short moment of silence, the teacher - a tall, slim otter - made his way over to the front of the class.

"Greetings everyone," said the otter, met by a few mumbled words of greeting from some students. "My name is Mr. Berkley, and I will be your band director for the year." He cleared his throat. "Now, before we get to introductions, I would like to make one thing clear. This is not an easy class. You will be expected to practice regularly and make an effort to improve. There is no excuse for laziness in this class. If you are only here for an easy Arts credit, then you are in the wrong place. Do I make myself clear?"

Um...

Most of the class voiced their understanding and Mr. Berkley nodded in approval. "Good. So, now that we've got that out of the way, we can get on with introductions. When I call your name, just tell the class what you'd like to be called, what grade you're in, and any instruments that you play."

With that, roll call started. Russ began to wonder if he really wanted to be in this class. When he had selected Band from the list, he had simply been curious as to what it was. A few students did admit that they had never played an instrument, which calmed his nerves a bit. When Mr. Berkley got to his name, he stood up.

"Um, hi, I'm Russ," he said, his voice a little shaky. "I'm a se - junior this year, and I've never played an instrument either."

"Is there an instrument that you would like to play?" The teacher asked politely.

Russ struggled for words. "I...I'm not really familiar with instruments at all..."

Berkley didn't get angry like he was expecting, only nodded in understanding. "That's okay. There's a first for everything." The otter seemed to appraise him thoughtfully. "I think you'll play the trumpet. You look like a trumpet player. We'll start you off with that and see how you do."

Russ wasn't sure what he meant by 'you look like a trumpet player,' but he accepted the decision and sat down. There were a few more students on the list after him and once the teacher finished, he put away the list and addressed the entire class.

"Okay, so here's what's going to happen," he announced. "Those of you who brought your instruments today, thank you for that. You can go ahead and separate into your sections and get yourselves situated. Everyone else follow me to the supply room."

While most of the class began taking out their instruments, Russ and three other students followed Berkley to the back of the room. He then unlocked the door to another wider room with instrument cases stacked on shelves. He selected four of them and handed the smaller one - but still rather large - to Russ.

"Here, you'll be borrowing this one for the year. I'll have you sign it out at the end of class. Go ahead and join the other trumpet players while I get the others situated."

Russ gingerly took the case and misjudged its weight, nearly dropping it at his feet. He gripped the handle firmly and went back out to the main room where the other band members waited. Three furs with trumpets waved him over and he took a seat with them.

"Hey, there!" Said a grinning husky, tail wagging. "What did you say your name was? Russell?"

"Russ."

"Well, hi, Russ!" the other husky greeted. "I'm Dan! And this is Jordan and Jessa," he said, pointing at the two foxes next to him.

"Hi," said Russ. He addressed the foxes. "Are you two brother and sister?"

"No," Jessa said, rolling her eyes. "But we're a couple, so we might as well be, I guess."

"That's not the same!" Jordan replied in mock offense. "We don't fight nearly enough to be siblings!" He exclaimed, earning a playful jab from the vixen.

"Do you know how to play a trumpet?" Dan asked pleasantly.

"No," said Russ nervously. "I've never even touched one."

"That's okay. I can teach you real quick," Dan reassured him. "I like your fur by the way."

"It's natural," Russ blurted out. It was almost a reflexive response at this point. Dan seemed to decide not to comment on Russ' outburst, only smiled and raised his trumpet.

"Okay, so it's simple really. Just place your muzzle to the mouthpiece and buzz. _Buzz,_don't blow." Dan demonstrated by doing just that, the horn emitting a loud high-pitched tone that startled the blue husky. "Now you try."

Russ brought his own trumpet to his lips and buzzed weakly. The trumpet ended up letting out a pathetic farting noise.

"Buzz harder. Use more force." Dan was watching him intently, fingers fiddling with the valves of his instrument. "Brass instruments require a lot more 'umph' than most others."

Russ tried again, this time forcing considerably more air into the mouthpiece. This time he managed a sustained off-key note that pierced the air.

"There ya go!" Dan congratulated him, giving him a hearty pat on the back. "Just keep doing that, and learn your notes and you've got it!"

Encouraged, Russ shifted his attention back to Berkley, who had now emerged from the supply room.

"Alright, listen up! We're going to start by doing some basic scale exercises. This is what we'll be doing at the beginning of every class period from here on out. A quick warmup, if you will. Turn to the back of your books, please..."

Russ had to share Dan's book, leaving him in an odd position. He had to try and play looking at the book at the corner of his eyes, and at the same time watch Berkley. However, his uncomfortable posture was not the worst part.

He had no clue how to play the trumpet. Russ had to try and play a little softer to hide the terrible sounds coming from his horn. Once the band began playing, however, he was able to forget about himself completely. The sound of the entire band playing together was magnificent! He had never heard anything like it before! The deep bass tones of the lower sounding instruments plus the higher tones of those playing in the upper registers created a sound of such a texture that it seemed to unlock something in his mind. This was more than the chiptunes that he was used to. Who knew that a simple organization of sound could be so beautiful?

They continued to do their scales and exercises for a good twenty minutes before stopping. The band didn't sound half bad for the first day, but they definitely needed a little improvement. Russ even managed to learn a few proper notes along the way.

"Okay, everyone, that sounded pretty good. Remember, we'll be doing that every day." Berkley said after they had finished. "That will be all as far as playing goes today. For the second part of class, we're going to go over some simple theory. I know it's boring, but it's mandatory to bring everyone up to the same level. I promise we'll go back to playing the entire period in a few weeks."

Russ didn't find it boring at all. He listened intently and even took some notes as Berkley launched into a lecture about the organization of music and why it works the way it does. The teacher gave them some in-class exercises about how to read music, which Russ was eternally grateful for.

They finished just before the bell was about to ring.

"That's all for today everyone. Thank you for being patient." Berkley gathered up his notes as the class began to pack up. "And don't forget: everyone is welcome to stay after school to practice Monday through Thursday! I'll be in this room to help anyone out until about four."

The final bell rang and that was it. Russ very first day at Westborrow High had come to an end. It hadn't been half bad either. The day may have started out a little rocky, but going to Band had completely turned it around. Ecstatic, Russ sped out the door with the rest of the students, taking his trumpet and a borrowed book along with him.

Perhaps school wouldn't be that bad after all.