{"sf1_id":766346,"sf2_id":null,"title":"New Kids on the Block","author":"assilsasta","words":10575,"posted_at":"2014-10-10T06:59:00.000Z","tags":["Appaloosa horse","Band","Bat","Bear","Bull clean","Canine","Cat","Concert","Dog","Feline","Female","Fennec","Flash forward","Fox","Fox sheep hybrid","Giraffe","Gray tabby","Hermaphrodite","Horse","Hybrid","Jacob sheep","Lemur","Liger","Lion","Lioness","Male","Red Squirrel","Rock","Rock Band","School","Sheep","Squirrel","Theatrics","Tundra lion","Twins","brown bear","bully","bullying","corgi","crossbreed","fennec fox","pyrotechnics","red fox","tabby"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/766346-new-kids-on-the-block","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/766346","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=766346\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\nOmen Breaker\nNew Kids on\nthe Block\nby Assilsasta \u0026 VerbmyNoun¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸September 9, 2013¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸\n¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸A New Start¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸\n \nVic stepped out of the bunk room into the lounge at the back\nof the bus. The new tour bus was not any roomier, but the floor plan made\nbetter use of the space. With the twelve adjustable bunks they could sleep four\nmore furs if they needed to, but they opted for more personal space, the twins\neven sharing one bunk and using the wall for posters. \nThe front of the bus was set with two booths with tables as\nopposed to the one booth they had before. The galley area was smaller, but it\nleft them a bigger restroom and shower, along with a good-sized bench coach and\nmore comfortable seating than they had before.\nThe back of the bus where they were now gathered was once\nused to house most of their instruments and stage props, along with their\nclothing and outfits. The space now housed a large T.V., closets and two large\nbenches on either side to provide a nice getaway from the rest of the bus.\nVic straightened the school uniform jacket as shi glanced\naround the small room of hir band mates. Ebony lounged in one corner against\nIvory. The sisters were closer than any of the others on many levels. Jabyses\nsat on the same bench across from the pair, filing hir claws. On the other side\nof the small room Tessa sat at one side of the bench, scanning the want ads,\nwhile Rodrick sat at the other end flipping through the channels of the new\nsatellite service that the record label included with the new bus. All but the\ncorgi girl were dressed in their new school uniforms.\n\"So,\" the fennec hybrid said to get their attention, \"How\nfucking bad does it look?\" Shi wore the Chimera Prep female uniform skirt\nbecause the extra fur tufts on hir calves prevented hir from wearing the pants\nproperly. Hir top was a mix of the male shirt and tie with the female sport\ncoat. Hir black fur with neon pink and yellow accents, and neon yellow streaked\nhair clashed with the red and white plaid skirt.\nShi scrunched hir face as shi heard the snicker from the\ntwins. \"Did you try on the pants? I think they would go better.\"\n\"Yes, I tried on the pants I can't get them past my calves.\nI'll need to see if they have shorts or some shit.\"\nRodrick looked over at hir and said, \"You know you'll have\nan easier time if you pick a male or female get up and not mix and match.\"\n\"And maybe they should take it into consideration that Herms\nare furs also and have an option better fitted to us.\"\n\"The male uniform is unisex,\" he replied. \n\"Why do we have to go to a private school anyway?\" Jabyses\nasked. \"It's not like we're going to fit in no matter what we do.\"\nVic dropped into the seat next to the white feline girl.\n\"Because they want to have as much control over what is seen and heard about us\nin the public as they can. And they can pay the private school to keep things\nquiet if they would look bad for PR. We all know why we're here, we sold out,\nand now we have to live with some of the things that are not our choice\nanymore, and going to this school is one of them. I looked it up, the\nHeadmistress is an advocate for third gender rights and has a good\nanti-bullying stance as far as the press goes. So it's a good place to hide me,\nI guess.\"\n\"How the hell are they going to hide Nadraka the Dragon\nanywhere?\" the dark brown puppy girl said with a smile. \"You're a black and\nneon horned vixen with an attitude.\" \nTessa stood up as she said, \"Doesn't really matter does it?\nYou guys need to head out to school before you're late. And I need to get out\non the hunt for a job.\"\n\"Why are you looking for work again?\" Ivory asked the corgi.\n\"We blew your advance on the new bus, a new keyboard for me,\nand new drums for Vic, and then all-new equipment for you two. We still need to\neat, so one of us needs to pull in a few dollars.\"\n\"We can always pull a show at one of the clubs or\nsomething,\" the twins said in unison.\nTessa shook her head as she replied, \"We don't have time for\nthat with school for you guys and the recording we still have to finish for the\nalbum. Besides, if I read the contract right we can be penalized for anything\nnot set up by the label. So, I'll get some crap job so I have something to do\nwhile you guys are in class and have a little more cash for stuff until the\nrecord sales start to kick in.\"\n\"Well, let's hit the road and get this over with,\" Jabyses\nsaid as she stood and grabbed her blazer off the back of the seat. \"You sure\nyou don't want to take the car, Tessa? You can drop us off you know.\"\n\"I'm good, I need to get out for a walk anyway,\" the corgi\nwoman said. \"You guys take it and try to keep Vic out of trouble.\" The group\nlaughed as Tessa smiled and went back to looking over the want ads.\n \n¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸Outsiders¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸\n \nThe group of teens looked around the parking lot at the new\nsports cars and SUVs that filled the spaces. As Jabyses pulled the faded blue\nVW bug into the parking space she looked through the car at the other four\nteens as she said, \"We ready for this? First time walking into a school in two\nyears.\"\n\"Lets just get this over with,\" Victoria said as shi pushed\nthe car door open. \"You know as well as I do we don't belong in a place like\nthis. It's just a matter of time before they kick us out.\"\n\"Come on, Vic,\" the twins said in unison, \"We our parents\nwere going to send us here before we left.\" \n\"And your parents are rich,\" the fennec hybrid said hotly,\n\"The rest of us are just poor trash that happened to make a name for\nourselves.\"\nAs the group started to walk toward the oversized gothic\nbuilding Jabyses looked at the paper in her paw as said, \"Now we are supposed\nto go to the office to meet a Miss Hutchinson to take some placement and\naptitude tests before they make our schedules.\"\n\"Great,\" Victoria replied as shi adjusted the skirt around\nhir bulge, \"They want to see just, how stupid we are before they subject the\nrest of the rich kids to our poorness.\"\n\"Come on, it's not like anyone here knows who we are or\nwhere we come from,\" Ebony said, leaning against the black furred\nhermaphrodite. \"For all they know we are the children of foreign dignitaries.\nAll we have to do is act the part and they will never know the difference.\"\n\"Okay guys. We're not here to put on a show or make waves,\"\nThe white feline said pushing the younger dog girl off Victoria. \"Let's just\nget through the day so we can get back to the studio tonight. We still have to\nrecord another set.\"\n\n\n\"All right,\" the Appaloosa mare said as she passed out a\nworkbook to each of them, \"These here are just some placement tests, just to\nsee where we should place you all. You'll be tested in English, Mathematics,\nScience, Social Studies, and Computer Literacy. You'll have three hours to\ncomplete the packets, and then a lunch break. Afterwards, I'll escort you all\naround the campus for a brief tour, showing you where everything is and\nanswering any questions you might have while your packets are being graded and\nyour schedules prepared. Before you begin, do any of you have any questions or\nconcerns?\"\nEbony, the dark furred of the twin canine sisters, raised\nher paw and asked, \"What's for lunch?\" Causing the rest of the group to stifle\nchuckles.\n\"Not what you're hoping for, I'm sure,\" her sister replied.\n\"Can we just get this over with,\" Victoria retorted as shi\nstarted tapping out a beat with her paws and pencil. \"I just want to get out of\nthis office.\"\nJabyses turned in her seat to look at the trio as she said,\n\" Ban, Dubh, Nadi, zip it unless you have something important to ask.\" She\nturned back to face the the equine and added, \"I'm sorry Miss Hutchinson,\nyou'll have to excuse them. It's been a while since they've had to mind their\nmanners.\"\nThe taller limur boy mumbled just loud enough to be heard,\n\"Did they ever have any to mind?\" triggering the twins to giggle again.\n\"You're not helping Rod,\" the white feline said quietly\nthrough her clenched teeth.\n\"To answer your question, I think that today it's salmon,\nwild rice, and green beans with almonds,\" Janine said.\n\"Thank you Miss Hutchinson,\" Ebony said over a stifled\ngiggle. She leaned over to her sister and whispered in her ear before looking\nback at the old woman and winking.\n\"I think we're ready to start Miss Hutchinson,\" Jabyses said\nWith an obvious distance for the other two girls antics.\nNodding her head, the Appaloosa looked up at the clock and\nsaid, \"Please open your workbooks and begin.\" Almost instantly the group\nproceeded to work in almost absolute silence, broken only by the sound of\npencils and the tick of the click on the wall. The Silence and concentration\nlasted only about a half hour before Victoria started the tap out a beat with\nher pencil and paws again, followed by synchronized humming from the twins. The\ngroup continued to work on their tests as Jabyses began to sing softly.\nJanine looked up from her work to regard the quartet in\nfront of her. They didn't appear to be cheating - the tone and melody was too\nwell-rehearsed to be an exchange of information - and it actually seemed to be\nimproving their focus. As the time passed the group went through song after\nsong, giving the counselor an impromptu concert. One by one they finished\nthe  handouts but remained in place. With\ntheir eyes closed the twins took up fingering motions as they strummed air\nguitars. Soon only Victoria was left working, more lost in the music as shi\nclosed hir eyes with the rest of the group and taped out the rhythm on the desk\nand floor.\n\"Five minutes left,\" Miss Hutcheson said as she glanced up\nat the clock.\n\"Fuck,\" the black furred, horned fennec hybrid belted out as\nshi opened hir eyes and looked down at the unfinished workbook. \"I'm going to\nfail this shit before we even start.\"\n\"Vic, language,\" Rodrick said softly as a reminder that they\nwere in different surroundings than normal. \n\"Can it, Uron, give me the summons. I need something,\"\nVictoria said in frustration as shi hunch over the papers. \nQuickly the twins looked at each other and started to pat a\nbeat out on their desks as they chanted the old Gaelic prose. \"Chanadh muid go\ndtí an t-ardú dragan. Tabhair dúinn do tine dorcha. Dóigh dúinn do fhearg geal.\nDóigh dúinn an oíche dorcha.\" As they finished the began to slowly speed up\nthe  pats to almost frantic pounding in\nthe desks while the fennec frantically read through the questions and answers,\nhir own paws restless. \nAlmost losing track of the time as she watched the unusual\ndisplay, Miss Hutcheson stammered, \"TIME!\" giving victoria almost a full extra\nminute on the work.\n\"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK,\" Victoria shouted as shi scribbled in a\nfew extra bubbles on the scantron sheet before dropping hir pencil. \"Their\ngoing to move me back the the third grade, Watch.\"\nPutting his paw on hir shoulder, Rodrick said, \"No they\nwon't. You're too hard on yourself.\" \nIn unison the twins said, \"Just answer C, thats what I did,\"\nthen began to giggle at each other.\n\"Okay guys,\" Jabyses \nbroke in over the laughter, \"Let's turn this stuff in so we can get on\nwith the day. We already wasted enough of it.\" She looked to the adult in the\nroom with a smile, \"I think we're ready for the tour now, Miss Hutchinson.\"\n\"Lunch first,\" the mare said. \"You're in luck, because it's\nthe start of fourth period. There are students on their way to the cafeteria\nright now, so you'll be able to see what you'll be experiencing later. Let me\njust hand these in to Seda, and I'll escort you to lunch.\"\nCollecting the workbooks as handing them to the equine\nRodrick asked, \"Can I help you with that Miss Hutcheson?\"\nMiss Hutcheson smiled at the boy, hearing her name correctly\nfor the first time  since the group\nentered the room, \"No thank you, Mister White. It will only take a moment.\"\nThen turned to leave the room.\n \n¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸Mistaken\nIdentity¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸\n \nEbony and Ivory walked up to the table where the lone white\nfeline sat as they talked about the work packet they had just finished,\ngiggling at Victoria's reaction at the end. Soone the fennec hybrid joined the\ngroup, bumping the white feline with hir elbow as shi said, \"Look as this fancy\nshit, Jaby. They even put it on plates. What the hell are we supposed to do\nwith this?\"\n\"Excuse me,\" The tundra lion said as she looked at Victoria,\nher face curled in annoyance, \"And who are you?\" \n\"You're not Jaby,\" Victoria said befor he looked over at the\ntwins. \"What the hell...\"\n\"Hey, Ross,\" a red squirrel called out as she approached the\ntable, \"who are your new friends?\"\n\"I'm Ivory, this is Ebony and Vic, and we mistook her\nfor...\"The lighter colored dog girl started to say before she was interrupted.\n\"They thought she was me,\" Jabyses said as she walked up to\nthe table. \"Sorry if we're in the way. Come on guys, Rod found a spot out in\nthe quad.\"\n\"She looks just like you from behind Jaby,\" The twins said\nas they stood up.\n\"So you just assume and white feline is me?\"\n\"I've started eating,\" Victoria said leaning over her tray,\n\"I'll move when I'm done.\"\n\"Nadraka. Tar. Anois,\" the white feline said hotly at the\nhorned vixen. \nA moment later everyone looked ward a small mouse as she\ndropped her tray. The small mouse stood there, wide eyed and mouth agape as she\nstared at Victoria. The sheep-fennec cross breed looked to either side then\nback to the mouse as she asked, \"What, do I have something on my fur?\" \nAfter a moment of awkward silence Jabyses put her paw on\nVictoria's shoulder as she said, \"Come on, We don't want to cause a scene\nbefore we even get our class schedules.\"\n\"No!\" the mouse squeaked loudly before covering her mouth,\nsmacking her nose hard with her cast. \nRoss and the squirrel looked at the mouse shocked by the odd\nreaction. \"You okay Sissy?\"\n\"She... um... they... It's...\" the mouse stammered as she talked\nthrough her paws. \"Omen Breaker,\" she managed to say taking a few steps back\nfrom the spilt tray of food on the floor.\n\"Who, what?\" the squirrel asked.\n\"They're a band,\" the white lioness named Ross explained.\n\"Not really your cup of tea, but pretty good stuff. But I think you're just\nimagining things, Sissy. Why would an underground band be at our school?\"\n\"That's what I said,\" Victoria responded as shi stucker her\nfork into  the food on the plate.\n\"Doesn't matter how you dress us up, we still won't fit in.\"\n\"You might not fit in,\" Ivory said with a snicker, \"None of\nthe rest of us are neon.\"\n\"Actually... um... Ross was it?\" Jabyses said looking at the\nlioness, \"She's right.\"\n\"And we're here because we don't have a choice,\" Ebony\nadded. \"But, I'm a little surprised anyone here recognized us.\"\n\"My former bandmates and I are kind of fans,\" Ross admitted.\n\"We'd wondered where you all disappeared to so suddenly.\"\n\"A label made us an offer we could not refuse,\" Victoria\nsaid mimicking the Godfather voice as best shi could. \"Something about getting\npaid for our music or take our chances in jail.\"\n\"The last show,\" The small mouse blurted out. \"I saw a video\nof you car surfing on youtube just before everything went dark. It... it was\nthree days after Lilly...\" \nAs the mouse spoke, Rodrick walked up behind the cat girl,\n\"Hey, what's goin on?\"\n\"Apparently we have fans,\" Jabyses said, \"But we still need\nto get out of their way.\" She pointed to sugar headed in their direction. \"I'm\nsure they have more friends than this and it's not polite to just take over\ntheir spot. Grab Vic.\" She looked from the mouse to the tundra loin and said,\n\"I'm sure we'll see you around. Maybe even get you into a show some time.\"\n         \n¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸The Halls of\nLearning¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸\n \n\"You guys know this isn't going to be any good until we get\nwith Rainstar,\" Victoria Said as he group sat around the bell tower waiting for\nthe lunch bell to ring.\n\"It's not like it's going to go on this album,\" Ivory\nreplied, Mister Marks already told us the songs they want us to do.\"\n\"I don't think that jackass would know a good line up if it\nfell out of the sky, landed on his face and started to wiggle.\" The vixen\nhybrid spat on the ground as shi finished.\n\"Okay , guys, can it,\" Jabyses said as she pointed into the\ndistance, \"Here comes Miss Hutchinson.\" The group got quiet as the mare\napproached them.\n\"How was lunch, Ladies and Gentleman?\" The equine asked as\nshe walked up to the group.\n\"I could have done with some mac n' cheese with some hot\ndogs,\" Victoria said flatly, \"This shi... stuff is too fancy for my taste.\"\n\"It was good, Miss Hutchinson, Vic is just being difficult,\"\nJabyses said glaring at her friend. \"Is it time for that tour? This place is so\nbig, I'm actually kind of scared we might get lost.\"\n\"Yeah, it actually happens a lot with new students,\" the\nguidance counselor said with an understanding smile. \"Between the original\nstructure, four additional wings, and three separate buildings, getting turned\naround can get pretty easy. I think Hogwart's is easier to navigate than this\nplace,\" she chuckled. \"Don't worry, though, after a few days of following your\nschedules, and you'll be able to get from class-to-class without any problems,\nand you'll learn the rest of the layout as you go.\"\nVictoria looked up into the bell tower as shi muttered,\n\"Give me two hours with empty halls and I can find the shortest path to\nanywhere in this place. None of it looks too tall.\"\n\"Those two hours with empty halls are time that you should\nbe spending in class, Miss Stone,\" the mare said as she led them out into the\nhall. \"You'll just have to make due with the nickel tour for now.\"\n\"Don't worry, Miss Hutchinson, she'll behave herself,\"\nJabyses  said as she glared at the horned\nfennec again. She gritted her teeth as she leaned close to her friend,\n\"Remember why we are here, and not Still back in Cali.\"\n\"Whatever, Let's just get this over with.\"\nThe group followed the counselor through the halls as she\npointed out the was the school was divided, and the key features of the campus.\n\"So, the main structure was the original Chimera Prep,\" she explained as they\nwent along. \"Over the years, as we produced more and more successful graduates\nand more parents wanted to enroll their children, we've been forced to expand\nmultiple times. Now, the original part of the school is home to the\nadministrative offices, library, cafeteria, and auditorium, as well as a few\nclassrooms down in the basement.\" As they walked through a set of double doors,\nshe continued, \"this wing here was the first addition to the school, a gift\nfrom one of our alumni that went on to become a very successful banker. Most of\nthe Mathematics and Science classes are located here, so that should at least\ngive you an idea of where you should go for those subjects.\"\n\"And how much did they bribe you to let us into the school?\"\nVictoria asked as shi looked around the halls.\n\"Vic,\" Rodrick said as he put his paw on hir shoulder and\npointed through a classroom and out the window.\n\"We'll have to check out more tomorrow,\" the fennec said\nsoftly before shi looked back at the Counselor and said, \"I'm sorry, Miss\nHutchinson, that was uncalled for.\" then continued to mutter under her breath.\n\"To answer your question, Miss Stone, the label is paying\nyour tuition, and nothing more,\" Janine answered politely. \"Chimera Prep has\nagreed to assist with your educations with the hopes that the record company\nwill be impressed enough with our services to send more young artists like\nyourselves to us in the future, and possibly donate to our music department.\nBut there are no bribes or under the table dealings, I assure you. Now, if\nyou'll follow me, I'll take you to our Language Arts wing.\"\n\"See, Everyone is just trying to make a buck off our\ntalent.\"\n\"This school is a business, and it's the nature of a\nbusiness to make a profit,\" the woman explained as they crossed the main\nhallway towards the second wing of their tour. \"But we are not some simple,\ngreedy corporation. A lot of the money that we bring in goes back out into the\ncommunity by way of scholarship funds and various charity events that we\nsponsor.\"\n\"Tessa was also saying that the school administration was\nalso highly involved in the rights issues for the third gender,\" Jabyses said\nglancing at Victory as she spoke. \"I hear there are even several in the school\nthat have gone public even in this area that has a deep rooted prejudice\nagainst such individuals.\" \n\"That is precisely correct,\" the woman said as they entered\nthe Language Arts wing. \"Additionally, our CEO has an adopted daughter, and we\ndonate heavily towards helping orphans, foster children, and runaways. Anyway,\nthis is where you'll find your English, Philosophy, and foreign language\nclasses.\"\nThe wins raised their paws simultaneously as they asked,\n\"Can we all just get foreign language credit for the one we already know?\"\n\"We're not in class you ditzes,\" The fennec said with a\nlittle chuckle before shi added, \"Besides, I doubt they have a Gaelic teacher\non paw to grade the tests.\"\n\"No, no we don't,\" Miss Hutcheson replied,\n\"but I'm sure that you'll find something here that interests you. We offer\nSpanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, and\nJapanese. Plus, every student is required to complete one year of Latin.\"\nVictoria muttered under her breath, \"Great, more classes\nthat aren't going to do me any good.\" Shi wasn't sure if the counselor ignored\nher statement or didn't hear it, but the equine continued her tour unabated.\n\"Next stop, we have the arts and humanities wing, where\nyou'll find all of your social sciences and some of the fine arts classrooms,\"\nJanine said as she led them into one of the newer areas of the school. \"I know\nyou're all wondering which one is the music room, but that one is in the\nbasement, which is where we'll be heading in just a moment. We need to set that\nroom apart from the others to minimize distractions in the other classes. Right\nthis way.\"\nShe took them to a stairwell at the end of the hall and led\nthem down a flight of stairs into the school's basement. There were several\nmaintenance rooms, as well as the server and electrical rooms, but there were\ntwo classrooms on opposite ends of the basement. \"So, this here is the music\nroom. I'm sure any of you could easily get an A in the class, if you feel like\ncoasting. Down here at the other end of the hall,\" she continued as she led\nthem along, \"is the shop classroom. Metal working, wood carving, even glass\nblowing, all that can be learned right here.\"\nAs the group followed their guide down the hall, Jabyses\nstopped and looked into the music class through the small window in the door.\n\"Um... Miss Hutchinson, So far everything you've showed you in this school is top\nof the line, and no expenses spared. So why hide the music department in the\nbasement in an ill-prepared room with what looks like second-hand equipment? I\nhope the band gets better treatment.\"\nThe guidance counselor stopped and smiled. \"Now you see why\nwe have taken so much interest in your successes here at Chimera Prep. Granted,\nwe care about all of our students; tuition here isn't cheap, and we don't want\nthe parents to feel as though their money is being wasted.\" She looked at Jaby\nspecifically and said, \"As I mentioned, we aren't hiding the music department -\nit needs to be isolated from the other classrooms to minimize disruptions. For\nnow, this is the most optimal solution. The equipment, while far from being\nnew, is serviceable, but probably nothing near what professional, signed artists\nare accustomed to. Yes, the marching band does have better instruments, mainly\nbecause they perform at our football games and the alumni association wants to\nimpress our rivals. Still, it would be nice to have a separate facility for our\nmusic department, like we do for some of our others. If you all do well while\nyou are here, we hope that we will receive enough in the way of future students\nand donations from your label to accommodate such a request in an upcoming\nbudget.\"\n\"Gambling on a bunch of dropouts, hoping that is pays off,\"\nVictoria said flatly as she walked over by the feline and looked into the\nclassroom herself. \"Wonder how many students you've lost over the music.\"\nThe group looked to one another nodding in some non-verbal\nunderstanding. \"Okay Miss Hutchinson\" The feine said with a smile, \"What's\nnext?\"\nThey could hear the sounds of saws cutting through metal and\nwelding torches fusing pieces together as they passed the classroom at the end\nof the corridor. \"Up these stairs, you'll find the last wing on the tour, one\nof our two gymnasiums. Before you ask, we don't convert one into a music hall\nbecause we are that active in sports\nhere. But if you take a gym class, this is where you'll come.\" The top of the\nstairs led to a hallway connecting the main building to the gym, and they\nturned left, walking through an open door into a large wood-floored gym. \"This\nis also where our girls' volleyball team plays, most of the time, and we use it\nfor school dances. Coach Pryde, the Phys Ed teacher's office is right over\nthere, and if you follow me this way...\"\nShe made a gesture with her hand, beckoning them towards a\ndoor at the far end of the room. She pushed it open and they all stepped out\ninto the warm September afternoon sun. \"Out here, you'll see the rest of the\ncampus. Fenris Field is where our baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, field\nhockey, and football teams play. That large building over there? That's the\nCerberus Center, our second gym, where the boys' and girls' basketball teams\nplay, but coming up later in the month, the volleyball team will be hosting a\nbig tournament there. There's the Leviathan Aquatics Complex, where our pools\nare, and around the corner you'll find the garage, where our aspiring\nautomotive technicians and engineers can get hands-on training, and where we\nkeep the cars for Driver's Ed.\"\n\"The campus is impressive Miis Hutcheson,\" Rodrick said from\nthe back of the group. \"Lots of opportunities and excellent facilities.\" As he\nspoke he looked around, more assessing the area and architecture than really\nadmiring the school itself. After a moment he huffed as the twins punched him\nfrom either side.\nVictoria crossed hir arms as shi asked, \"So are we done\nnow?\"\n\"Done with the tour, yes,\" Janine said. \"By now, the\nScantrons should be graded, and we can do you placement assessments and get you\nenrolled in your classes. That way, you can all get started.\"\n \n¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸Not Your Locker\nRoom¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸\n \nVictoria walked the halls alone, the rest of the group\nplaced in different classes. The twins had been placed in advanced courses,\neven after two years of not having any schooling. Rodrick and Jabyses were\nplaced back in their normal grade-level classes, while Victoria had been placed\nas a freshman, a year behind where shi thought shi should be.  Shi was just happy that the entire group was\ngoing to have to take the Driver's Ed course together in the next quarter,\nthrough a bit upset by the fact that Jabyses was told she could not drive to the\nschool again until they had completed the course and obtained their licenses.\nShi smiled as shi looked at her class, the one thing shi\nknew shi would do well in, Physical Education. The name on the schedule paper\nsaid Felicity Pryde. As shi walked down the hall to the gym shi wondered just\nwhat the P.E. teacher had been told about hir. Shi stepped into the gymnasium,\nclass already in session with many of the teens played badminton or volleyball\non the indoor courts. Shi pick out the teacher rather quickly in the starkly\ncontrasting coaches uniform. Shi confidently walked across the gym toward the\nlioness. The coach turned as she heard some of the volleyballs drop and the\ngame commotion at that side of the gym fall silent, all eyes falling on the\nblack and yellow furred hybrid. \n\"You must be Miss Stone,\" the teacher said as Victoria drew\nnear. \"Now that you've found your way here, I expect you to be on time\ntomorrow.\"\n\"Sure,\" shi replied simply. \"Are there assigned lockers or\nwhat? I guess I need to change or something,\" shi said as shi looked around the\ngym at the other students.\n\"Follow me to my office,\" the coach said, her tone\nindicating it wasn't a request. Once inside, she asked, \"What size shirt and\nshorts would you prefer?\"\n\"Medium male shorts, or they won't fit right,\" shi replied,\n\"Shirt really doesn't matter. It will either hang loose or show off my goods.\"\n\"Large it is, then,\" the lioness said as she looked the\nhybrid up and down for a moment. \"Here you go.\" She tossed three t-shirts and\nthree pairs of shorts Vic's way, still in their plastic and unworn. \"Now, let's\nget you a locker assignment. For now, herms and girls share the same locker\nroom, so I hope that doesn't bother you too much.\"\nShi shrugged as shi said, \"Whatever, most other schools put\nme in the male lockers, but I've seen it all.\"\n\"Okay, then,\" the gym teacher said as she wrote out some\ninformation on an index card. \"I'm giving you locker number one hundred\neighty-four. Here is the combination to the lock. Don't worry, they all got\nreset over summer vacation, so no one else besides me knows what it is.\"\nVic took the paper and shrugged again, \"Unless they want to\nsteal my boxers I'm not going to be leaving a lot in there. Are showers\nmandatory or voluntary? I didn't bring any wash.\"\n\"Since every species is different, and some don't even\nsweat, it's voluntary, though recommended, if more for sanitation than hygiene\npurposes,\" Felicity replied. \"Keep in mind that even if you don't land on the\nfloor, the equipment does. It's totally up to you what you want to do, but if\nit causes an odor problem down the road, we might begin requiring it.\"\nShi muttered under her breath, \"That is if you land.\"  Shi looked back up at the lioness and said,\n\"I'll go get changed for class ma'am.\" Shi walked out of the office toward the\nlocker rooms. Shi paused for a moment looking at both doors before walking into\nthe female room.\nAs shi entered the gym once again in hir uniform much of the\nclass fell silent again. The t-shirt sleeves stopped just before the\nintricately placed Fellow bands on her arms, and hir shorts showed off the\nhexagon pattern of pink that separated hir paws from her shins. Hir long hair\nwas pulled back in a ponytail showing off hir pink enameled horns more\nprominently than when shi had first entered the class. Shi felt a slight bit of\npride in hir appearance as the murmur rose among the students. Shi walked over\nto the lioness and asked, \"So where do you want me coach?\"\n\"I've got a group of three that could use a fourth member,\"\nFelicity said, pointing to where a rather plain vixen, a large, pudgy bear, and\nan androgynous feline were trying to shoot a basketball through a hoop. \"Tabby!\nTorben! Rachael! Come here!\"\nThe trio approached, looking nervously between the coach and\nthe new student. \"Yes, Coach Pryde?\" the vixen asked.\n\"This is Victoria. It's hir first day here, and since you\nthree are a person short, I'm putting hir with you. I know you're all used to\nyour little social bubble, but suck it up,\" the lioness said as she saw the\nuncomfortable looks on the teens' faces. \"I want you to make hir feel welcomed\nand comfortable. Got it?\"\n\"Yes, Ma'am,\" all three voices replied back in unison.\n\"So, Victoria,\" Torben said as they all walked back over to\nwhere they had been previously playing. \"Do you have any preferences as to what\ngame we play?\"\n\"Please, call me Vic,\" the fennec replied, \"And I'm fine\nwith just about anything. Mostly because I don't think free running is on the\nlist.\" Shi looked at the group for a moment as she asked, \"You're all just\ntaking the class because you have to, aren't you?\" \n\"We have to, yes,\" Rachael said with a shrug, \"but we have\nother reasons as well. Torben's trying to shed a few pounds, even though Tabby\nthinks he's adorable just like he is.\" the young fox blushed deeply at the\ncomment, but remained quiet. \"Tabby's here because it's a Hell of a lot more\nfun than sitting in a classroom listening to a lecture. Me?  I'm working on trying to sharpen my paw-eye\ncoordination and get more self-esteem. Plus, we all get to spend forty-five\nminutes with our best friends. How about you?\"\n\"To be honest, this might be the only thing I'll be any good\nat here,\" shi said as shi picked up the basketball they were shooting. \"It is\nisn't active or doesn't have a good beat, it might just put me to sleep.\" Shi\npaused from a moment as she aimed for the basket and took a shot.\" All my\nfriends did better on the placement tests, so I'm kind of just here for now.\"\n\"There's nothing wrong with that,\" the tabby said as she\ncaught the rebound and make a solid effort to get the ball through the hoop,\nthough it circled the rim and fell over the side. \"None of us will judge you\nover what you can and can't do.\"\nVic shot forward to catch the ball. Shi rolled it along her\narm and across her shoulder as she asked, \"You guys want to see something?\" Shi\ntossed the ball into the air as she started to spin on her toes. Catching the\nball in the opposite paw shi started moving the sphere around her body as she\ncontinued to spin. \"It's a little larger than I am used to, but I bet I can\nkeep it off the ground for the rest of class. That is as long as you guys don't\ndrop it.\" As shi finished shi flicked the ball off hir fingertips toward\nTorben.\n\"Whoa!\" the male bear said, his paws shooting upward to\ncatch the ball as it propelled toward his chest. He caught it, though somewhat\nawkwardly, and lobbed it back at Rachael.\nThe gray tabby set her footpaws and used both arms to bump\nthe ball high up into the air. \"Sorry!\" she exclaimed. \"Reflex from\nvolleyball!\"\nWithout changing the speed of hir movements the black furred\nfennec rotated into a cartwheel, then a slight jump as shi snatched the ball\nout of the ai. hir body continued to flip over \nin the cartwheel motion as shi landed on her paws and spun to toss the\nball back toward the group.\n\"Pretty nice moves,\" Torben said as he caught the ball and\nsent a gentle pass in Tabby's direction.\nThe quiet girl shied away a bit, but still caught it. She\nlooked back at Vic and meekly said, \"Catch.\" She tossed the ball back at the\nfennec-sheep mix, but the pass was definitely uncoordinated and a little over\nhir head. \"Oops, sorry,\" the younger fox squeaked, covering her eyes.\nThe hybrid swiftly move to compensate for the awkward toss.\nHir body rolled, contorted and spun. Shi planted hir hand paws on the floor as\nhir legs shot out in what looked more like a breakdancing move than anything as\nthey whipped around hir catching the the ball between her legs and bringing it\nback around. Shi lifted her body, balancing it on one hand paw as she reached\nbetween hir legs and palmed the ball with the other. She paused for a moment as\nher spin slowed to a stop. Slightly winded she held herself in place, balancing\nher body by spreading her legs, tail, and free arm. \"Okay, I wasn't ready for\nthat one.\"\n\"Uhm, guys...\" Tabby said softly, pointing at the rest of the\nclass. \"Everyone's staring.\" She shyly moved behind Torben's much larger body,\nfeeling uncomfortable with all the attention.\nVic lowered her body and returned to her footpaws as she\nreacted the shy feline's words. Shi walked back over to the group and looked\nout at the rest of the class as she said, \"What? Never see someone with skill?\nOr are you just so stupid you got mesmerized by how hot the girl is?\"\n\"That was aweso -\" a male husky started to say, taking a few\nsteps towards Vic.\n\"Korpieski, knock it off,\" Coach Pryde said, making the boy\nback away. \"Miss Stone, I'd like to have a word with you, please.\"\nThe hybrid rolled hir eyes as shi tossed the ball back the\ntrio and asked, \"What is it, Coach?\" as she started to walk toward the lioness.\nThe teacher led Vic into her office and closed the door,\nmotioning to the seat across from hers. \"Have a seat, please,\" Felicity said as\nshe sat down and made herself comfortable.\nShi dropped into the chair and crossed her arms as she said,\n\"Go ahead, it won't be the first time and I sure it won't be the last. I didn't\ndo anything wrong. Doesn't anyone have any common courtesy? I'm sure they all\ncan tell that Tabby girl is a little self-conscious or something.\"\n\"You're right, you didn't do anything wrong. That is, not\nuntil you implied that your classmates may be stupid,\" she caught the look on\nVic's face, but continued talking. \"You're not in trouble, Miss Stone. Not yet,\nanyway. I received word of your enrollment in my class barely more than an hour\nago, and only had a brief moment to glimpse at your information. Your\nclassmates got no notice at all, so naturally, they're curious. Especially\nafter the flashy stunt you just pulled. Look, I understand it if you had a\ndifficult time before coming here, so I'm going to cut you some slack with the\nattitude early on, but I'm going to get progressively stricter on you as the\nyear goes on. In the meantime, I know I'm not a herm, and I know I haven't\ndealt with the same stuff you have, but if you need someone besides Miss\nHutcheson to talk to, I'm here.\"\nVic  huffed a quiet\nlaugh as shi said,  \"Fine. First, I don't\nlike being call Miss or Mister or anything like that. You can just leave it all\noff for all I care... Second, that wasn't flashy, it was warm-up. Third, If I\nneed someone to talk to, I'll let you know.\"\n\"Very well... Vic,\" the lioness said, leaning back in her\nchair. \"If that's what you prefer. But if that was just a warm-up, then you\ndefinitely have some athletic talent. You know, sports are a great outlet for\nyouths with troubled backgrounds. So is music,\" she added as she saw the frown\nforming on the hybrid teen's muzzle. \"But, if you ever decide you need\nsomething more, we have a lot of programs that might interest you. Just\nsomething to consider, as well as my offer to listen, if you need to talk.\nNeither is something that you are required to do, I'm simply making you aware\nof your options and opportunities.\"\nYeah,\" the horned fennec started, sitting up in the chair,\n\"We really don't have any time for extracurricular activities.\" Shi tossed up\nair quotes to emphasize the politically correct part of her  statement. \n\"Well, if that ever changes, my door is always open,\"\nFelicity replied. \"Come on, let's get back out there so you can rejoin your\nclassmates.\"\n\"Sure thing, Coach,\" shi said as she followed the lioness's\nlead back into the gym. \"Do I just go back to what we were doing or what?\"\n\"That'll be fine for now,\" the Coach replied. \"Since it's\nstill so early in the year, I'm letting the students choose their games as a\ngroup to get them loosened up and familiar with each other. We'll get into more\norganized team activities next week.\"\nShi walked back to rejoin the trio as she said, \"So... what\nnow that I've embarrassed you in front of the whole class? Look, I'm sorry. I\ndon't really think about it when I start dancing. It kinda just happens as I\ntry to hit my mark.\"\n\"It's okay,\" Tabby said as she gave Vic a slight smile. \"I\njust like to avoid attention. I get nervous in large groups. You didn't know.\"\nVic smiled as she shook hir head. \"There's something else\nI'm not very good at. I kind of stand out in a crowd even if I try not to, not\nthat I really ever try.\" She glanced around the gym, noticing some students\nstill watching her. \"So what do you guys want to do? Just shoot some hoops?\"\n\"If you want,\" Rachael said. \"New kid gets to pick.\"\n\"Nah, one of you pick,\" Shi said looking around again, \"I'm\nalready drawing enough attention. Don't want you to be more uncomfortable than\nyou have to be. I can deal with any level of attention.\"\n\"Fine,\" Torben said, giving his female companion a hug. \"Why\ndon't you pick, Tabby?\"\n\"Okay,\" the vixen said, thinking for a minute. \"One of the\nbadminton nets is open? How does that sound?\"\n\"That's kinda like tennis, right?\" Vic asked as shi looked\nover toward the net. \"I think I can play that. How do you want to pick teams?\"\n\"How about you and Tabby against Torben and me?\" the feline\nsuggested. \"I think you and I are the two most athletic in our group, so we\nshould be on opposite teams, and it would give Tabby a chance to get more\ncomfortable around you.\"\n\"Sounds good to me,\" Vic said with a smile as the group\nstarted to move toward the badminton court. Torben headed off to get rackets\nand a birdie for the group. Shi paused to the edge other court as she saw\nanother group of more athletic boys heading their way, led a bull that looked\nlike he was about hir age. Shi glanced over toward the the teacher, who seemed\npreoccupied resolving a dispute about a volleyball game, and sighed as she saw\nwhat was coming. The trio shi had been paired with seemed more protective of\nthe feline girl and would likely back down without putting up any fight if the\nbull and his buddies  moved in on them. \nTaking a racket for Torban as he jogged over to the court\nshi said, \"You guys take that side,\" placing herself as the front line the\napproaching group. \"Tabby, you take the front up by the net for this round.\"\nShi tensed up as she turned hir back the other group and asked, \"So how does\nthis go?\"\n\"You just try and serve the birdie over the net using the\nracket,\" Rachael said. \"An overhand serve is a little harder to hit, but easier\nto get over the net.\"\n\"Sounds easy enough, Just like tennis.\" Victoria cringed as\nshi heard the hoof beats walk behind hir.\n\"Hey, move over so we can use the court,\" the boy said from\nbehind hir. Shi thought about how everyone had told her to try and keep a low\nprofile, and how badly she had done so far. She closed hir eyes and waited a\nmoment. Maybe she was wrong and the other group would back down if one of the\nothers said something. This was a different place, with stricter rules and\nhigher-class furs attending.\nTorben ducked under the net and put himself between his\nfriends and the bullies, puffing up his chubby bulk as much as possible in an\nattempt to appear more intimidating. \"We just got here. You guys just want the\ncourt because you think you can take it.\"\n\"And what are you going to do about it, tubby?\" As the bull\nspoke, Vic clenched hir fists as shi tensed not turning to look at the group.\n\"Why don't you and the rest of the chick squad just go back to playing ballet\nor whatever it was.\"\n\"Please, go,\" Torben said, his nervousness starting to show\nthrough, but he refused to back down. \"We were here first, and we're just\ntrying to have fun with our new friend.\"\nVic heard the paws hit the bear's shoulder as the bull said,\n\"Why don't you make us?\"\nShi glanced and grabbed the boy's arm before he could pull\nit back. \"Why don't you just back off? We were here first and you're a dick.\"\nShi turned to face the shocked bull just as he regained his composure. \"And I\nwas even thinking furs at this school might be better class than others.\"\n\"And who do you think you are, little girl?\" The bull said\nas he pulled his paw away from the shorter fennec-sheep. \"Just because you're a\nfreak weirdo doesn't make you special. Just move so real athletes can use the\ncourt.\"\nVic glanced to the teacher again seeing that she was still\noccupied with other students, then back to the bull. \"You really think your\nsize and arrogance bother me? You're wrong. First, I'm not a girl and I bet\nmine is bigger than yours.\" Shi pause as a look of shock crossed the faces of\nthe invading group. \"Second, I bet I can take you and your friends any time,\nany place.\"\n\"Vic, don't,\" Torben said. \"They're not worth the trouble,\nnot on your first day.\"\n\"That's right chubby,\" the bull retorted. \"Get your freak on\na leash.\"\n\"Freak?\" Vic stepped directly in front of the bull and\nlooked up at him. \"What do you mean freak?\"\n\"What's going on over here?\" Coach Pryde said as she\napproached the teens with Tabby following far behind, knowing that the bullies\nwould know who had ratted them out.\nVic watched as the bull turned and said, \"Nothing, Coach,\njust talking to the new kid.\"\nVic scrunched her face as she nearly shouted, \"Damn right\nnothing. Beef for brains and his lackeys think they can just come over here and\npush weaker furs around.\"\n\"The court was empty when we got here, Coach,\" Torben\nexplained. \"But before we could start playing, they came over and demanded that\nwe leave.\"\n\"Rachael? Is this true?\" the lioness asked as she looked\nover to the feline girl.\n\"Yes, ma'am,\" Rachael replied. She had her tail gathered up\nin her paws and was anxiously plucking bits of her fur from it.\n\"We were just asking if we could use the court for\nvolleyball, there are more of us than them,\" the bull tried to explain for the\ngroup. \"And they were playing basketball or something before. Then the new kid\ngets all uppity with us. She has some sort of hormonal issue or something.\"\n\"It wasn't spoken as a request, ma'am,\" Rachael said,\nearning herself a glare from the bull.\nVic reached up and grabbed the bull by the horn. The quick\nmovement made him flinch as she jerked him off balance and directed his heavy\nbody to the floor. \"Try that look with me and I'll turn you into a soprano,\nbeef stick.\"\n\"Vic, enough,\" the P.E. teacher said. \"Mister Lee, my\noffice. Now, you others, unless you want to join him, I'd suggest you find\nsomething else to occupy your time.\"\nGetting up to his hooves the bull dusted himself off and\nmuttered, \"You're lucky the coach was here, freak.\" Then started walking toward\nthe office.\nVic stood there for a moment glaring at the bull as he\nwalked away. Shi turned to the trio she was partnered with and said, \"If any of\nthem do or say anything, let me know.\" Shi looked up at the lioness, hir\nresolve melting as shi saw the look on the coach's face and shi realized just\nhow bad shi may have screwed up. Not just for hirself, but the rest of the\nband.\n\"Remember our earlier discussion,\" Felicity said with a\nwarning tone. \"I'm going to have to document this incident, but I'll make it\nclear that you weren't the instigator. But you need to keep your paws to\nyourself in these situations, or you're just adding to the fire.\"\n\"Yes ma'am,\" the fennec said in a half-annoyed, half-sincere\ntone. \"I'll try harder.\" As the lioness left shi looked over at the group and\nsaid, \"You guys should probably just stay clear of freaks like me. I'm sure it\nwill be easier on your lives.\"\n\"That's no way to talk,\" Torben said as he clasped Vic on\nhir shoulder. \"Friends stand by each other to help one another get through the\nhard times, not bail just because things get tough. Besides, those guys would\nhave targeted us even if you hadn't been around.\"\n\"He's right,\" Tabby said softly.\n\"You're new here, and if you want a place to fit in, look no\nfurther,\" Rachael added. \"We're all freaks, in our own ways.\"\nVic chuckled as the feline talked. \"You really have no idea\nwho I am. I don't even really fit in with my friends, and we've been together\nfor years, and we really are all freaks.\" Shi paused for a moment before\nmuttering, \"At least I think that's what the forum said.\"\n\"No, you're right, we don't,\" the quiet vixen responded,\nputting her paw on the hybrid herm's arm, \"but that doesn't mean we wouldn't\nlike to. There's no judgment here, only companionship. The offer's on the\ntable, if you ever decide to take us up on it.\"\nVic gave a slight smile at the sincere offer from the small\ngroup of outcasts. \"Okay. Well let's get to the badminton game. It's going on\nmy record, might as well get some fun out of it.\"\n \n¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸Job hunt¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸\n \nTessa had walked through many shopping centers and malls\nlooking for any kind of work. Many places accepted the applications\nunenthusiastically, giving her the impression that not only were they not\nhiring at the moment, but that they thought she wouldn't be a good fit for the\ncompany anyway. Having set her mind on just heading back to the bus for the\nnight she strolled leisurely down the sidewalk. \nThe day had not progress well and she felt like she needed a\npick up, but all the band's gear was still set up at the studio for the\nrecording session that evening. She paused for a moment in front of Guitar\nCenter, looking in the window at the keyboards and other instruments. She\nsmiled as she thought about how many times the group had gone into other stores\nfrom the chain, only to be kicked out for Victoria being too rough on the\ndisplay drums.\nShe noticed a now hiring sign in the window, which brought a\nsmile to her face. If she would fit into any workplace, this might be her best\noption. The corgi walked into the showroom, still doing more looking at the\nmerchandise than aggressively going to the counter as she had been doing all\nday. She stepped behind an Access Virus TI v2 Polar. The integrated synthesizer\nkeyboard system might have been the most expensive thing in the section. She\nran her paws over the keys, tapping a few without turning the device on.\nSoon a giraffe girl walked up to her. She couldn't have been\nmore than eighteen years old. \"That one's a beauty. Do you play?\"\n\"A little,\" She replied, \"but I don't have it in my budget\nright now for a rig. Wouldn't mind trying it out through.\" She placed both paws\non the keys and started tapping out the chopsticks practice exercise most music\nteachers start young cubs off with. \"It's nicer than what I'm used to.\"\nThe giraffe gave her smirk and replied, \"If you say so.\nBut if you only play a little, then you used to play a lot, and something\nchanged to make you cut back. That's a simple tune, but you played it with the\nrelaxed ease and comfort of a pro.\"\nAs her fingers absentmindedly rolled across the mute\nkeyboard she looked at the giraffe girl and said, \"I'm just out looking for a\npart time job. I saw the sign in the window and thought I might check it out.\"\n\"Let me get this straight,\" the girl said as she reached\nunder the counter and pulled a paper application, setting it down on the\nsurface. \"You play 'a little,'\" she used her fingers to make quotation marks in\nthe air and rolled her eyes, \"but you want to get a job selling music\nequipment. If you're not serious, don't waste your time. One of my band mates\nis a killer vocalist, but didn't get hired on because she didn't know anything\nabout instruments. Brad doesn't care if you're pretty; he wants staff members\nthat know about what we're selling.\"\nTessa shrugged as she leaned over the counter and started to\nfill out the application, \"I can understand that, pisses me off wen I know more\nabout what I am looking at than the putz trying to sell it. Can't hurt to try\nanyway. Everywhere else doesn't seem to be interested.\" She glanced up at the\nyounger girl, and added, \"Names Tessa, by the way. Even if I don't get a job\nhere, I might be in a lot. I like checking out new rigs when they come out,\nkind of another side job.\" She continued to fill out the application. \"So\nyou're in a band? What kind of band?\"\nThere was a flash of recognition and surprise in the\ngiraffe's eyes when Tessa gave her name, but the girl played it cool. \"We're a\nsmall garage band, only been together for a few months now,\" she said with a\nshrug. \"We just had our first gig, a birthday party, last weekend. Right now\nwe're just covering other bands while we try and figure out our own style,\nmostly rock and alternative stuff, 'cuz those are the songs that work for our\nsinger's sound. Personally, I'd like a little more punk and grunge, but it's\nbeen fun so far.\"\n\"Must be good if you're doing parties,\" She said as she\nfinished the application, leaving the prior work section blank. \"I like a good\nalternative sound. You got anything on tape, a demo? We... I always like getting\na feel for the local groups. They always have a... more unique sound that most\nlabel bands.\"\n\"Not really, no,\" the clerk said, leaning back in her chair\nand setting her hooves up on the counter. \"Like I said, we've just been\ntogether a few months and we're trying to define our sound.\" Then she brought\nher hooves back down and leaned forward. \"Oh yeah,\" she exclaimed, \"One of the\nguests at the party posted some of our performance. The sound quality is shit,\nstupid cell phone cameras, but it should give you an idea.\" She fished around\nin her jeans pocket for a moment and produced her phone, and a moment later set\nit down on the counter for Tessa to see.\nThe corgi watched the video more analytically than just\nlistening the mid quality sound through the garbled background noises. \"You\nguys aren't bad. Actually really good for only being together for a few months.\nSounds a little off, though. Singer seems to get a bit distracted, but really\ngood overall. Is there a studio around that has open house for recording? You\nshould try some of your own stuff.\"\n\"Yeah, it was her first time on a stage, so blame the\nnerves. She's a lot better in the garage. I also think she was afraid that her\nex was going to show up,\" the girl said as she tucked the mobile device away.\n\"And... I dunno. Maybe? We haven't really explored that option yet. I know\nthere's a small studio in Old Marblecliff, but it's nothing too fancy. Not sure\nif they do open houses or not. We've been more set on refining our sound and\ngetting the funds together to go to one of the larger studios down in Boston.\"\nTessa smiled a little listening the girl. The words reminded\nher of the Omen Breakers before they hit the road. \"You know what? I've got\nsome portable recording equipment that I guess I don't need any more. It can\nset up in a garage easily enough. When do you work next? I can bring it by.\"\nThe girl's eyes narrowed a little at the gesture. \"That\ncan't be cheap, and you don't even know me, or my band. Why would you do\nsomething like that?\"\nTessa Shrugged again as she said, \"It's not new equipment,\nand it is just taking up space. Besides, one day you might be famous, then I\ncan say that... what is your band's name? You do at least have one picked out,\nright?\"\nA playful grin appeared across the giraffe's muzzle as she\nsaid, \"The Roman Incident.\"\nThe corgi's eyes wide as she asked, \"You mean like when you\nhurl during an eating competition? Vic would love that shit.\"\n            \"That's\npart of it,\" the girl said as she stood up and walked around to stand on the\nsales floor. \"The other part is a... tribute\nto my next door neighbor, the 'esteemed' Councilman Zaritzky. We're always\nbutting heads with him over the 'noise.'\"\n\"Yeah, neighbors, you can't live with them, and you can't\njust pack up and run away either,\" Tessa said as she slid the application over\nto the giraffe. \"I should get you get back to all this exciting work. I still\nhave an appointment this evening.\" As she turned to walk out she glanced over\nher shoulder and said, \"I never did get your name.\"\n\"It's Vivy,\" the giraffe said. \"I'll put this on Brad's desk\nfor you, and he'll get it in the morning. After his three cups of coffee and\nhalf-dozen donuts. Fat-ass. Anyway, thanks for stopping in, Tess. I'll try and\ntalk you up to him.\"\n\"Thanks, and it was nice meeting you.\" She said as the\nreached the door. \"Maybe we can jam together some time.\" Then she let the door\nclose behind her. As she continued her way down the street toward the trailer\npark where the tour bus was parked she thought about how they were so much\nyounger than the giraffe and her band when they got started, and how far things\nhad come, even if the latest turn of events was not what they expected. She\nglanced at her watch and muttered aloud, \"Shit, they should be back by now and\nwe have to record tonight.\"\n \n ¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸Day's\nEnd¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸\n \nTessa squeezed into the front bench seat with Victoria and\nJabyses as the feline asked, \"So how was your day?\"\n\"I think I might have found a part time job, if I can get\nthe interview at the Guitar Center,\" the corgi replied. \"Even met a member of a\nfresh start band. I'm thinking of giving them our old recording equipment.\"\n\"A band?\" one of the twins asked from the back seat. \"Do\nthey have a name yet?\"\n\"They went with the Roman Incident.\" She paused as Jabyses\nand Vic chuckled at the name. \"It has a double meaning for them. Apparently\nsome guy named Roman is their neighbor and is a dick about them\npracticing.\"  She stretched her arm\nacross the back of the bench seat as she asked, \"So how was school?\"\n\"It was good until Vic almost kicked someone's ass.\" Jabyses\nelbowed the hybrid at her side. \n\"The fuck wad was asking for it,\" Victoria reasoned angrily.\n\"He was a dick from moment one and only dug his grave deeper everytime he\nopened his mouth.\"\nIvory leaned forward as she said, \"You should have seen it.\nWe were just changing out of our uniforms in by the car and this bull walked up\nwith a small army and started ranting at hir about  something that happened in hir gym class.\"\nHer sister picked up where she left off. \"We held her back until he started\ntalking about the gender thing. I'm not going to get hurt for some jackass.\"\nRodrick added, \"I went and got one of the security guards.\nThat put an end to it before he got himself hurt. He was one of those guys that\nthinks he is bigger so he must be stronger... and right.\"\n\"Fucking asshole will get buried if he or his flunkies do\nanything to Torben, Tabby or Rachel.\"\nEveryone in the car fell silent for a moment before\nTessa  asked, \"Who?\"\n\"The group I was put in for gym,\" the fennec-sheep said  a little more quietly. \"The bull and his\nbuddies tried to bully them out of a badminton court.\"\n\"\"And of course the Dragon had to step in and do something,\"\nJabyses interrupted. \"You're lucky you didn't get in trouble right then. But\nthat guy had it coming to him if Miss Shelby didn't step in. He was an ignorant\nasshole. Doesn't even know the difference between transgendered and\nHermaphrodites. I just hope we don't run into him or his buddies away from the\nschool.\"\nTessa looked at her watch and said, \"Sounds like it was an\nexciting day, but we got to get to the studio for today's set.\""}