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I hate the way hospitals smell. It's not that they just smell like death, or that there's always the reek of chemical cleaners, or that there's never a floor where someone hasn't crapped themselves recently. Hospitals smell like traces of lost hope and decay swept under the rug of cleaners used by underpaid Hispanic women.

I'd like to think that no one is surprised when I say that I work at one such establishment. I am one of a few persons whose job it is to do the things that neither the doctors nor nurses want to do, whose responsibilities lie with tasks housing only the smallest fraction of actual medical risk-I am an orderly.

I'm also a part-time student, taking night classes at the local community college in an attempt to feel like I have a future. I'm not depressed or anything-I'm actually a fairly cheerful, accidentally charming, kind of good-looking shiba inu. I'm moderately happy, but I'm also something of a realist. It bothers me sometimes that I can be in good spirits when I'm basically poor and unsure of my career.

So I'm working an evening shift on a day where I don't have class, and I tend to like those shifts. It's mid-October, so the light is bright and crisp and golden at twilight, which helps me forget the stink of the hospital, just a little. Tonight there are two other orderlies working, Jenna and Meghan, which is great because they're probably the two I get along best with.

Jenna is a shy girl, probably only twenty, but she has striking looks for something as commonplace as a cottontail. She could almost be a model, really, if she ever shrugged off her innocence. She likes to have quiet conversations with the older folks that come in, because she enjoys hearing their stories.

Meghan, though, prefers to talk rather than listen. Fortunately, she has a lot of funny stuff to say, so she doesn't get on my nerves. She's a coyote, a couple years older than me, I think, and she has a rather ample bosom that she really loves to show off.

They also both seem to like me, and by that I mean I think they're attracted to me. Jenna would never be able to say so if it were true, whereas Meghan often jokes that she wants to jump me, but we both laugh at that as a joke. I myself am nearly asexual, so it doesn't really faze me.

The three of us are milling around tonight; it's not very busy so there isn't much to do. The cleaning lady seems to follow us around with her cloud of chemical death, and I have to stuff little wads of tissue in my nostrils to block the smell. The girls only tease me a little because they know that my nose sometimes gets pretty raw from the fumes.

"Alright, you three," one of the older nurses says, breaking the conversation. "Management just hired a new orderly, and he'll be coming in shortly to start his training. Alex," she says, turning to me, "you'll be in charge of him."

"Why me?" I ask, part-whine, part-genuine-curiosity.

"You're the only other boy," she answers matter-of-factly. Without waiting for a protest, she leaves and heads to the nurses' lounge.

Meghan giggles. "Guess you'd better put on your man face and beat the new recruit into submission!"

"Screw off," I say, sticking out my tongue.

Jenna chuckles a little and they both leave to find something to do. Alone, I piddle around on my phone as I wait for the newbie. After a couple minutes, someone clears their throat behind me. I thrust my phone into my pocket and turn around quickly to apologize.

The first thing I notice is that I'm looking at a chest. Admittedly, I'm a little shorter than most guys, but this one is tall. And built. I look up and into the grinning face of a white tiger.

"No texting at work," he snickers.

"Heh...yeah. Uh... I'm Alex," I say, holding out my hand.

"Zach," he says, lightly slapping my palm. I start to smile a little, but before I finish the gesture, he asks in a less-than-concerned tone, "What happened to your nose?"

"Oh, well, the cleaning stuff they use here irritates my nose, and-"

He cuts me off with a laugh. "You sound like some nerdy little grade school kid!" He plugs his nose and starts mocking me, "I've got allergies, I've got asthma, oh no, I can't do that..." He laughs again.

My ears and tail plunge low in embarrassment. I sigh and change the subject. "Well, Zach, I'm supposed to start training you, so I'll lay down the basics." As I do so, I can tell he's not really paying attention. His tail flicks about and his eyes are unfocused. I'm about to give up when the elevator doors open up to reveal a nurse pushing a wolf my age in a wheelchair, wearing a fresh cast on his leg and some bandages on his head.

"Alex," she calls, motioning for me to come to her. "Could you take Will here to room 307? Make sure everything's comfortable for him."

"Of course!" I trot over and take hold of the chair handles. As I start to push the wolf, I realize Zach is still standing where I left him. "Come on, Zach, you can watch how to get a room broken in."

"Sure thing, plugs," he says with a smirk. I'm not usually the type to let stupid crap get to me, but I feel my cheeks grow hot and I quickly pull the tissues from my nose and stuff them in a pocket. The instant wave of chemical-clean hits me like a blow to the gut, but I force myself to ignore it.

"Okay, Will, let me just leave you here for a bit and I'll have your bed and pillows all nice and comfy."

Will smiles and nods as I begin to straighten things up. As I look closer, I see that there are bruises and little cuts just below his brown fur. "Car accident?" I ask, trying to sound sympathetic.

"Yeah, a spider fell on my face while I was driving and I swerved and hit someone... They were okay at least..." He flattened his ears and stopped talking.

"Hey, it's alright, bud. If it's any consolation, I'll do my best to make sure you're comfortable. You're probably only going to be here overnight to make sure there's no lasting head injury or anything." I help him up onto the bed, and when his gown flaps and flashes his backside to me, I can't help but gain the tiniest blush.

"Thanks a lot!" he says, settling into the bed. "And I can just call for you if I need anything?"

"Yeah, that should be fine. I can get whatever you need, but I'll be gone at ten tonight."

"Okay, cool," he says, and his tail wags a bit.

I turn to leave, Zach following, when I slip and fall flat on my ass. Zach belts out a hearty laugh. "Oh, man! I didn't think you'd actually fall!" Of course, only now do I notice the water missing from the pitcher at Will's bedside.

"Heh... whoops," I say, trying to save my dignity, and I hurry to get up and leave the room.

Outside, I glare at Zach, but he only laughs. "Come on, man, that was hilarious!"

After taking a moment to compose myself, I speak up, "Next, I'm gonna show you how to clean bedpans." I try to sound as nonchalant as possible, but I can't help smiling as his laugh stops dead.

Thankfully, the chore is menial enough that Zach leaves me well enough alone for a while. After about ten or fifteen minutes, Jenna pokes her head in the room. "Hey, Alex, that wolf with the broken leg was asking for you," she says as she eyes Zach cautiously.

"Oh. Did he say what he needed?"

"No, just that you'd offered to get him whatever. Well, I'm gonna get back to Mr. Salloway," she said and hurried off.

"You wanna come along or finish up here?" I ask Zach, hoping against odds that he leaves me alone.

"Yeah, I'll just get these done," he says calmly. It takes me a moment to process this unexpected response, but I'm quick to nod and scurry off when the realization comes.

When I reach Will's room he gives me a grin and a little wave. "Hey," he says.

"Hey. What did you need?"

"Could I get a channel guide for the cable? There wasn't one in here."

"Oh! Sure, I can do that." I start to leave, but I stop myself abruptly. "Actually, was there just one channel you needed to find? I know what most of them are," I offer.

"No kidding? Yeah, history channel, if you know it. I'm kind of a huge nerd for that shit."

I laugh and grab the remote, punching in 6-2. "I can still have someone grab you a guide if you want, too."

"Thanks, man, you're the best!"

"Hey, no problem," I say, and my tail starts wagging.

"What was your name again?" he asks as I reach the door.

"Alex," I answer with a smile.

"Cool," he says and flashes another grin.

On my way back, I see Meghan and ask her if she doesn't mind taking Will a guide. She doesn't mind at all. When I rejoin the tiger, he eyes me curiously. "What are you all wags about?" he asks a little gruffly.

"Nothing," I say a little too quickly, and it strikes me that I must be harboring a little crush on the wolf. Me, who would just as soon reproduce by budding, already wagging my tail over a boy I've barely known for a half-hour. Jesus, Zach would probably pound me into the dirt if he thought I was lusting after guys. He's a pain enough as it is, and I don't even act gay! ... No offense, gays.

"Whatever, just keep it in your pants," he grunts as he finishes the last of the work. He turns his eye on me again. "Okay, sir," he says mockingly, "any other grunt work to teach the big bad kitty a lesson?"

Crap. "Uh, no... sorry... well, for now, we can just work on regular stuff. Usually, we just keep things neat until the staff needs us to do something they don't want to." I check my phone for the time: 8:40. "Actually, one of the patients, Mrs. Turner, has a hip-replacement surgery scheduled early in the morning tomorrow. It's our job to make sure the area is shaved and ready to go for the doctors. 314 is her room."

He nods and follows me obediently. Mrs. Turner, who has been in a few times before, remembers me and is very nice to us. She does everything we ask her and stays still while we shave her hip. She even jokes about it being a treat for me to get to see some skin tonight. By the time we finish chatting and cleaning up, it's already a quarter 'til ten, so I have Zach follow me to the main desk to sign out and so he can talk with the supervisor.

The elevator ride is the longest thirty seconds of silence in my life, and the ding of our arrival is a grace. Just as the doors open, I feel a weird gnawing sensation tug at my scalp, and it doesn't take me long to realize that Zach has shaved a strip of fur off the top of my head. My jaw drops in sheer amazement at him. He, of course, finds this extremely amusing.

"Shit, man, you should see your face!" He's holding his sides and laughing, and I have no idea what to do.

"What... what the hell?" I protest, my ears practically one with my skull.

"Lighten up, man, it's just a joke!" he says, still laughing.

"Some joke," I mutter before storming away to leave for the night. I'm too ruffled to even say good night to Stephanie, the supervisor, or to tell her what happened. Hell, if I said something and Zach got fired, I'd probably be quick to discover a world of hurt. No, I'd deal with this on my own.

The cool night air is a welcome refreshment as I drive home. I relish the feeling of the wind combing through my fur, like a hundred ghostly fingers. All too soon, though, it's over, and I park my motorcycle outside my apartment building. As I get to the door, I notice I missed a text from Stephanie. It reads: hey- zach said u 2 had a gr8 time tonite and ur an awesome trainer, so i scheduled him to shadow u til he can handle it solo. Have fun tonite! :)