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Chapter Five

"Outcast"

By

Furry Sith Lord

The first day back is never easy as I had to get used to things being so different here. Slaves were treated badly here and abused by the other nonslave students. A common game they like to place was to forcably mount a slave as a show od dominance. A couple had tried it on me but I'm not as easy to take down as Prey are. A couple of them left broken and humiliated that a slave like me had gotten the better of them.

I had threatened to mount them myself to further embarrass them if they ever tried it again. Word soon spread and I was quickly left alone but no one was willing to have anything to do with me after that. I didn't mind being friendless because it gave me more time to think about the device I was supposed to build. I would have liked a friend to bounce ideas off of but I knew I could manage on my own.

Lou ignored me as much as possible and I was starting to think of him as a brother instead of one day being my father. He only had a few friends and most seemed more like acquaintances than actual friends. The wealthier species here were more interested in making business contacts than actual friends.

"I don't want to hear anymore about it." I overheard a female tigress say. I turned and saw what I thought was another familiar face. I was skeptical at first but as soon as he started speaking I knew that I had found Will. He was an adult tiger from my time that my father hired out as a private investigator, or bodyguard, from time to time.

He likes my brother and comes to everyone of his football games. Although he and my brother make fun of each other a lot, deep down they have a real bond. He doesn't like me for some reason but I've never really been sure why that is.

"I just think it's a bad idea, I mean you really don't know anything about him." Will said. The tigress looked at him skeptically.

"Why don't you let me worry about that OK?" She replied.

"Fine, fine, but don't come crying to me when you're knocked up and he's left you flat." Will remarked as he turned away.

I saw her fur sticking straight out as she seemed ready to claw Will's eyes out. He seemed oblivious as he turned his back towards her. I decided to step in and save him for the moment.

"Hey Will, is that you?" I said loudly and they both turned to look at me. She calmed down slightly as she

"Do I know you fella?" He asked as if he was trying to figure out who I was.

"Someone drop paint on you?" She asked and I looked at my paws then chuckled.

"No, I was born this way." I said and they're looks turned mean as if my coloring had now offended them. I tried to ignore it but really hated how they looked at me. Species made it seem as if I had a choice in the matter and it was not evolution that made me this way.

"What do you want exactly?" Will asked.

"Well I'm new here and just seeing some fellow felines I thought I'd say 'hi!' and then I recognized you. We met a while ago when we were cubs... I think it was at camp." I lied and felt bad as I usually did when lying. I do it so much that you'd think I'd be used to it but I'm not. Even if there is a purpose for it I still hate doing it.

"I don't do camps," Will remarked. I rolled my eyes at this point and saw the female chuckle softly.

"Are you two brother and sister?" I asked and felt a pang that I hadn't seen my brother in quite a while. I hoped he was alright because he was really shaken up over father dying. I really missed the little fur ball and I knew his friend Dash would look after him but that was my job!

"Oh my paws, no! We are cousins but Will likes to act like he's my brother by overstepping his bounds." She replied.

"Hey," Will whined.

"My name's Reeta," She said cordially and I felt funny in a way. I felt like I knew her but could not remember where. I searched my memory but could not recall the name. Maybe Will had mentioned her but I was not sure.

"Shit!" Will exclaimed and we turned to look at him. "Look who's coming." We turned and saw Jon and Leggo walking in our direction. They did not appear to notice us as Jon was doing most of the talking.

"What the fuck do you want?!" Will shouted and they turned to see him for the first time.

"Aw man," Jon grumbled.

"Will," Leggo said solemnly as he glared at him. It was clear he was not trying to provoke a fight but he was ready in case something happened.

"And... they're with our other pal... white slave fur or whatever." Jon remarked and I looked at him blankly.

"Eastwood, my name is Eastwood, or you can call me E.W." I said and Jon started laughing hysterically.

"Eww his nickname is eww... ha ha ha fitting." Jon said and Leggo punched him on his arm.

"Shouldn't you two be off digging for bones, or whatever you eat, somewhere?" Will remarked.

"Don't you have a mouse to catch? Wouldn't want you to miss your lunch." Leggo remarked and we stared at him. Not a very good comeback but at least he attempted one. His voice was so dry and emotionless that it made the remark meaningless.

"Oh, I get it." I said them I forced myself to start laughing. Everyone then turned their attention towards me. "Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood." I said as my ears lowered and I looked down at my feet.

"Why is it every time there's trouble that we find you standing nearby?" Jon remarked.

"Not like I have a lot of friends because of my fur color. Do you know what it's like to have everyone hate you because of some old cub's book? How about you Leggo? Have and white fur on your tummy?" I asked knowingly. Right on que he pulled up his shirt and we saw the white fur from his belly to his chest. He stood there like a statue and the spirit of my father seemed to enter me and I slap;ped his paw and pulled his shirt down.

"Stop acting like a puppy," I remarked and they stared at me again.

"But you said..." Leggo tried to say but I cut him off.

"I didn't mean forever." He grunted at me and adgusted his clothes.

"Anyway, I gotta go meet my boyfriend." Reeta said as she started walking away. Will trailed after her mumbling about what a bad idea it was.

"Good riddance," Jon remarked but Leggo seemed to be ignoring us.

"If I wanted to find some information on string theory, who could I ask about it? Like any big brains or really smart teachers?" I asked. Jon shrugged and Leggo started walking away as if I hadn't said anything.

"Is he mad at me?" I asked Jon.

"Naw he's always like that." Jon said then he ran after Leggo leaving me alone again. I sighed then made my way to the library.

I had never been to a library before but this amazed me. There were shelves and shelves of books all lined up and draws with little cards that told you where to find a particular book you're looking for. I saw signs that asked you to keep quiet to not disturb someone reading.

At a large desk next to the entrance a female goat sat examining books she had in front of her. She was looking in the backs of them and filling out some cards by stamping something on them. She would replace the card and set the book aside.

"Excuse me," I said softly and she turned to look at me. "I've never used a library before. Can you explain the rules or where can I find out the rules of this place?" I asked meekly and she smiled at me.

"Don't worry honey, you're not the first slave that has never been to a library before. Come with me." She said and she took my paw gently as she led me to a room behind her desk and had me sit in a chair. There was a large screen set up and a projector set up in the back.

"I'm gonna play you a video and I want you to watch closely then I'll be back in a few minutes to finish up." She said and she lowered the lights then the video began to play. I saw her leave and as she exited she left the door open a crack.

The video was cheesy looking and the acting was terrible but it was easy enough to learn how this place worked. The whole library card really captured my attention because having one felt like a step away from having a driving license. I really wanted to get one so that was going to be the next thing I asked the librarian. The video also taught me the title she had was called that.

"OK," She said as she reentered the room. "Are you ready for your first library card?"

"Yes please!" I said and I saw her smile as my face lit up. I was worried that I would have a waiting period or something to go through before I could get one. She led me back to her desk and walked me through the process of applying for one.

Once I had my new card I searched the card catalog for any books on string theory. I wrote down the locations and consulted a map to find out where they were kept. Seemed there would be more legwork than simply searching the internet for answers.

I found that there was designated readsing areas ddepending on if you were a slave or not. Slaves had tables set up in the corners of the rooms to keep us out of the way of the regular students. A few of the slave tables were cramed full because only a select few tables for us were set up.

Slaves needed to follow the rules set out for them because any slave acting inapproaprioately would be quickly exspelled from school. It seemed Bearly Academy favoried it's rich student population and cared nothing for the slaves being forced to attemd. At the present time all the slave tables were filled so I crept to a row that I doubted anyone would go to because ofd the complicated nature of the books.

I found books by scientists like Baton A fruit bat from his picture that wrote an introduction to string theory and physics. A Fur named Greene wrote a book called The Elegant Universe. The last book I picked to look at was String Theory Vol. 1 by Polcatney, a rather large looking tabby cat.

So I started reading about string theory and realized that I had no idea what it was. I understood that it was related to particles but everything after that made no sense to me. I started to panic a bit because if I could not understand it now, would I ever learn about it in time?

"You're not sitting with the other riff raff?" Lou asked and I turned to see him glaring at me with his hooves folded across his chest.

"There is no room for me so I'm here trying to stay out of everyone's way." I explained softly.

"Even if you are a slave, understand that even slaves of my family have a standard to uphold to protect my family's honor. I am at least pleased you are not among the other slaves but we still need to discuss the company you keep."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The wolf and his dog are off limits! I don't need species thinking we are associated with the likes of them." He ordered and I flinched.

"You make no sense. So what if we're friends with Leggo? He seems like a nice guy, acts a bit like a puppy but it's cute in a way."

"He's disgusting! I have him in my gym class and when we shower he smells like a wet dog. It's nauseating."

"Wait, so you smell him in gym class?" I replied and smirked hoping I could get him to show his true feelings.

"Don't be gross. He just smells so bad it can't be helped."

"Is he off limits because you have a crush on him?" I mocked knowingly and I saw his face getting red. .

"Keep talking like that and I will personally mount you like a little bitch in front of everyone. The others may be scared of you but with me you have no idea whom you are dealing with." Lou softly shouted at me. I swallowed hard because he was right in a way. He would one day be my father and I could not hurt him even if I wanted to.

"I'll make a bet with you..." I started to say then he cut me off by holding up his hoof.

"I think you best not keep betting unless you plan on finding yourself permanently my slave." He said.

"Oh, you're scared because you know I will win. OK, understood." I said and I knew that his pride was not going to let that go.

"My father has made you his pet so I'm forced to keep an eye on you but you should be careful because you're heading down a dangerous path. Eventually, you will find yourself in a situation that you cannot trick your way out of." He said then he walked away before I could respond. Not that I really had a response because I could not argue with his logic.

It was cklose to the trime that the slave curfew was to begin and I made my way to the front desk to check out the Introduction to String Theory book. The book explains that the leading theory is that there are microcosmic strings that are the smallest material in the universe and they help hold and fashion everything together. It was interesting even if I was having difficulty fully understanding it.

"Tyger, right?" I heard the familiar voice and I turned and saw Larri standing behind me.

"Oh, hi." I said weakly as I struggled to remember his name.

"String theory? Are you trying to learn how to tie knots?" He said and I think that was supposed to be a jest but it wasn't very funny.

"That lion still after you?" I said trying to change the subject.

"No, he's been busy trying to get revenge on a certain white tiger that got in his way. I'd watch out if I were you. I spoke to my girlfriend Reeta and it seems you met her and her cousin."

"Wait, Reeta is your girlfriend? Huh, small world." I said.

"Yeah." he replied.

"... between us, this school is very different from where I come from. Over there slaves were treated a lot better. Sure there were guys trying to mount slaves as some sort of game, but if a master paid to have his slave educated then rthe school would do everything to ensure that. I feel it's the opposite here." I said.

"Most masters here send their slaves to wait on their children paw and foot. Slaves don't come here for an education."

"I see."

"Next please," I turned to see I was next in line and I stepped up to the librarian to get my book checked out. She saw the book and raised an eyebrow then looked at me.

"I have to build a machine for my master and he wants me to learn about it so I don't hurt myself." I lied slightly and she nodded skeptically.

"This book is due back in two weeks, don't forget." She said and smiled as she handed the book to me.

"Thank you," I replied and waved back to Larri as I left. I had to book it back to my dorm room so that my roommate could ignore me. It wasn't so much that they were unkind but I couldn't get much out of them when I tried talking. They mostly seemed interested in hanging out with each other and not with me.

I tried looking up Ben's parents but I couldn't find them so I'm thinking they never went to school here. I've been missing Benyamin a lot lately because I really came to depend on him. Not just as my boyfriend but I realized that he was a soulmate. I could understand what father saw in him and why he fought so hard to keep us together.

His absence was making me realize how much my dad is hurting now that my father is dead. I understood that what I was feeling was just a fraction of what my dad was going through. I thought about ways I could change that but the trouble was, would Lou believe me? How could I convince him about the circumstances of his death?

As I made my way towards my dorm I saw Leggo lying on a bench looking up at the sky as evening was setting in. He seemed peaceful and relaxed that it gave me a kind of peace just to watch how happy he seemed. I saw him turn and look at me as I passed by.

"Tyger," he said softly. I stopped and went over to him.

"Leggo, you seem content." I said and he smiled at me for the first time.

"I like the evening because everything gets quiet. It gives you a chance to reflect." he said.

"I wish I could spend time with you but I'm running out of time."

"Oh, I'll walk with you then." He said as he rose and stood beside me as we walked towards my dorm. We walked in silence and I could smell the contentment coming from him.

We finally reached my dorm and I tried to find the right words to express what I was feeling.

"Thank you, it's nice to have a friend considering how slaves, like myself, are treated." I said and grunted at me. I felt my ears lower because the ground I thought I gained I felt as if I just lost.

"See you around." he said and he turned then started to wander off.

"Leggo, wait!" I called out and he stopped then turned to face me.

"Yeah,"

"Can you have your friend Jon call my room if I give you the number?" I asked.

"Sure I guess." I ripped a slip of paper from one of my notebooks and wrote the phone number of my dorm room. I gave it to him and he crumpled up the paper and put it in his pocket. I sighed then entered the dorm.

I laid back on my bed as I read over the book. From what I could tell the main concept was that reality is made up of infinitesimal vibrating strings, smaller than atoms, electrons or quarks. I then had to look up what quarks were and found that they are subatomic particles carrying a fractional electric charge. The strings are all interconnected and together they make up reality and the rest of matter functions around them using them as a base to direct their actions.

I heard the phone ring and I ran to answer it and noticed my roommates were busy arguing over a television program and were ignoring the phone.

"Hello?"

"Tyger please." I heard Jon's voice and felt a little relieved that he agreed to call me.

"Thank you for returning my call." I said cheerfully.

"Look, what do you want? Why are you bothering me?" he said sternly.

"I need some help. My master needs me to learn about something called string theory because I have to build him a machine and he doesn't want me to get hurt because it could ruin the machine. The problem is that string theory makes very little sense to me and I need a tutor." I explained.

"So what does that have to do with me?" He asked with his voice sounding very irate now.

"I know you're smart and thought that you might help me find a tutor."

"There you go again with this smart stuff. Where do you get those ideas and that I might want to be a teacher?" His voice was dangerously close to shouting.

"Maybe I'm wrong. You just remind me of someone I know and he always talks about how he wants to be a teacher because he loves to teach and shape young minds. He's very strick but he does it in such a loving way that you can tell he really cares about his students. He's taught me and my brother a great deal and we owe him a lot.

Since he reminds me of you, I guess I thought that you were like him. That you wanted to change the world by passing on a love of learning to your own students.... Um ones you might have if you became a teacher. That you had a role greater than just being a friend and sidekick for the rest of your life. I'm sorry." I told him and he was silent for a few minutes. I thought that he hung up on me for a few seconds.

"Hello?" I asked to check to make sure we were still connected.

"Yeah, I'm here just thinking." He replied and I waited.

"I might know a science geek or two that could help you but I can't promise much." He said and I smiled stupidly before realizing that he couldn't see me.

"Thank you," I replied as I blushed at my foolishness but this time I was glad he couldn't see me.

"Don't think this makes us friends or anything. Leggo may like you but not me." he said.

"Why? Why is that?" I asked as I was feeling a little hurt by his remark.

"Species like you don't belong in our society. Even if you mean good you bring nothing but harm. Leggo and I have had enough with the other students bullying us and now if they think we're friends with a rare white fur species, It will make life unbearable." He explained as his voice became softer.

"I understand. Just... think of things through my side. How would you feel if you were a rare white fur species? No one liked you because you were born with rare white fur. At least you have Leggo as a friend, guess who I have? No one.

Excuse me if I'm looking for someone that can see beyond my fur color because even if it's only one other species, I would like to be as lucky as you and have a friend." I said and Jon fell silent again. I figured he understood but did not have the right words to say. It was fine, it was not like I needed him to reply as long as we understood each other. That was the important thing.

"I gotta get going." He said and I thanked him for his help in finding a tutor. Hopefully I could find some of the answers I needed because the semester would fly by when you least expected it and I needed to be ready to make my model if I had any hopes of freedom and possibly getting home.

To Be Continued...