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Amber eyes, looking bright of their own rather than by reflecting the cold glow from the lights overhead... Tony looked like he slept well. Better than myself, at least, and better than Tyler behind me, who I think hadn't yet noticed the cheetah's presence.

"How are you doing today, Matt? Martes... Tuesday." His little pink tongue flicked out over his lips and he smiled at me, causing the black tear track markings running down from his eyes to the corners of his mouth to lift up and bend a little bit. "I think my birthday is on a Tuesday this year..."

"I'm okay, I guess. Tired." I glanced down into my lap where my phone rested. The screen remained open to whatever message I'd last been reading, but then dimmed and switched off. "Oh - hey, sorry I didn't respond to your text last night. I was - fuckin' asleep, man."

"Oh, no, no, no. I am sorry it took me so long to... to finally send to you. Was busy as soon as I got home - ya sabes, we just moved in, still getting unpacked... ah. It is all busy." Those orange eyes briefly flicked around me and focused on Tyler there, but then just as quickly shifted back. Tony looked me straight in the eye when he spoke, unlike so many other people around here who focused on your eyebrow, or your nose, or your whiskers or cheek or whatever.

It also seemed that his smile wasn't forced. Hard to tell, but... it just felt like that.

Tony inhaled and then breathed out a slow sigh, lips pursed. "I am sorry if I am talking a lot. I feel like if I don't, I will fall right back asleep..."

At this, my eyes re-focused on his muzzle. He noticed this somehow, and perked up a little bit and gave me a sharp-toothed grin before I spoke. "What, really? I was just thinking, you look like you slept great. Like, what, nine hours?"

"Ha. Haaah... no, no. Five or six. We unpacked beds first. Actually, there is a, ah... a story about that..."

"About beds?"

"Ohh. No, no, I am sorry, about the... the..."

"The sleep thing?"

Once more, his eyes lit up. "Yes! Yes. One my... one that my father used to like..."

As he trailed off, a low grumble from behind me caught my attention - and I turned to see Tyler lifting his head, eyes straining against the lights overhead. He flopped his tongue out of his mouth, smacked his lips, swallowed, bumped the back of his head against the lockers behind him... then wiped at his face and finally looked this way.

"Hey, Matt." Then he leaned around me. "Hey... you."

The cheetah's ears half-folded back, and his mouth made a weird twitch for a fraction of a second. I might've imagined it, because when he answered, his voice sounded no different than it had just a few moments earlier. "My name is Tony."

I jerked a thumb over towards his direction. "We have astronomy together. Oh!" Then to Tony: "That reminds me - didn't you want me to walk you to your class today? It should be getting to about that time..."

"Ahh, yes. Let me... just..." And he rummaged around in his backpack for a bit, after a time tugging out the same crumpled sheet of paper I'd seen in his paws yesterday morning. "Mm... room one hundred seven. I - cannot figure out how your rooms are numbered..."

"Yeah, we don't really know either." Click of my phone's power button to turn the screen on; we had about five minutes. Cutting it a bit close, but again, I just have my library aid thing on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. It's no big deal. "I mean, it mostly seems to make sense, once you figure it out. But then there's those rooms in the weird in-between hallways that throw off the numbering scheme... one-oh-seven, right?"

"Yes. It is... um..."

But he didn't finish, and instead stood up with his bag slung over one shoulder. I rose alongside him, and nudged Tyler with my foot until the jackal looked up at me. He seemed to be a little bit less than half-awake.

"Hey, I'ma bring him to his class, alright? You gonna be here at lunch today?"

"Probably. Think Lexi'll be here today, too." That was his girlfriend. She was nice. "But we'll see. Right now all I can think about is - grabbing a nap in first period..."

107, 107... for some reason, I couldn't think of whose room that was, and thanks to this school's weird numbering system, I only have a vague idea of where it might be. First floor, that was for sure, and on the other side of the cafeteria; Tony _had_been talking to me about moving in was going, but he trailed off once we got through the big double doors and into the perpetually-crowded cafeteria, particularly chaotic like this in the mornings. His paws tightened on the straps of his backpack, and that long tail of his flicked over against the back of my leg once or twice.

The noise in there prevented the average person from being able to hear their own thoughts. So I waited until the doors on the other side had bumped closed behind us to start our conversation back up- "Hey, what class do you have? Might help us here..."

"Um, it's..." Still he held his schedule in front of him, close to his chest. However, he didn't even look down at it to answer me. "...Orchestra."

"No shit? Which one?"

"Which one? Um..." This time he did briefly lift the paper up. "Four. I don't know what that means."

"Ah. I guess that makes sense, with you being new... okay, then that means we need to go... this way... so you play an instrument, then?"

"Yes! Piano."

"I didn't realize that counted as an orchestra instrument. I, uh..." All along the left side of this hallway, tall windows looked out into the unused school courtyard. Nobody ever went out there, though I couldn't name a single day where it didn't look absolutely perfect with all the bushes trimmed, the flowers nice and watered, the leaves and sticks and whatever brushed off the seats of the benches that nobody ever sat on. Funny story about that place: apparently a few years back, some kids got caught banging behind the trees in the northeast corner. That was the reason for it being off-limits now. "...I didn't even know that we had a piano."

Tony shrugged. "Yes, well. My mother used to play, but - ah, what is the word... sir, sah... oh. Things changed, and she could not. So she wants me to... stay on top of it. First thing she asked me to do after we got settled in for school - ahh, 'Tonio, asegúrate de hablar con el director... she can get a little... _strong_about school, since we move around much. I have not completed a full year at the same school in... ah. A long time."

"Mm." By now it was clear that classes would be starting soon: after a while here you notice that the students move around in two waves, one when there's time to spare and one that only thinks to get up after the bell actually rings to remind them. "So she wants you to play because she doesn't anymore? That doesn't seem like a good reason..."

"Oh! No, no. I enjoy it. My father got me a, um..." The cheetah held his paws out in front of him and wiggled his fingers, as if playing the instrument. "Portable? Small. Electric."

"Keyboard?"

"Yes! A keyboard for my birthday one year when I was a kitten. Good to practice on, but small. We, um... do not have a lot of money..." Then, he brought his paws in close to his chest and intertwined his fingers, eyes averted. None of the other students around bothered looking at us - that was another thing you noticed. These days, cliques stayed along the lines of strict groups of friends rather than The Nerds and The Jocks and The Popular Kids and whatever else. I've got Tyler and Sandra and occasionally Lexi, depending on what she's doing (she's head of like two or three different extracurricular groups here, which took me as a bit of a surprise when I heard that she and Ty were a thing - since he tends to avoid any work he doesn't have to do), and if all goes well...

Maybe we'll add a cheetah to that group. I don't know why, but... it just felt nice to have someone new to talk to, someone with an interesting voice and who sounds like he's got a story to tell. Both of us trailed off once we came up on the big double-doors that would lead down into the orchestra area, though I... I couldn't help but keep my ears perked and swiveled in his direction, just in case I might happen to catch one of his little gravelly _"mm"_s that he sometimes makes before speaking.

It was enjoyable, in a weird kind of quiet way. I guess that's the best way to describe it. He stopped rather abruptly in front of the doors after I did, as if still expecting us to go on.

"Well," I said, turning to face him. "Orchestra hall's down there. Those of us who aren't in usually aren't allowed to go there, so..." Then, the bell rang, cutting over the myriad voices and conversations rumbling everywhere else in the halls. "Ah. There it is. And - again, I just have library aid this period, so I can probably sneak away early if you need help finding your next class. Just - let me know, okay?"

Once more, his face lit up and he gave me the brightest of sharp-toothed smiles. Somewhere deep inside me, my muscles tensed up and my heart tripped over itself. It's hard not to experience a natural reaction like that, when faced down by a cheetah showing you eighty percent of his arsenal of fangs.

"Yes! Of course. Thank you, Matt. I will, ah... I will see you then?" And he half-tilted his head. I had no choice but to return his smile.

"Definitely. See ya then."

Weird thing, though. Even after I'd turned away and started my way back down around to the library, that smile still hung around on my lips and pulsed in my tail in slow, steady wagging.

~ ~ ~

As you might expect, being a library aid is more often droll as all hell than not. The most action we see is when a kid brings in a book, unaware that the return date rolled around over two months ago, and they've gotta pay a whopping fifty cents per week late... bleeding the purses of the rich, right? Or they can do the alternative payment method, and hang around for maybe twelve minutes to help us aids do our jobs, and reshelf books or clean the tables in the study area.

Also as you might expect after hearing this, some of the other aids see the period as an extra study hall. There's one dragoness who sits on the other end of the main desk from me, and who I've never seen without her snout buried in a textbook or in any of her three or four different notebooks, always spread out along the counter in front of her. No real surprise that I have no clue what her name is.

Usually I spend this time catching up on extra credit assignments, or rereading things for class, or watching the big analog clock on the opposite wall tick, tick, tick closer to the end of the period. Once or twice I may have fallen asleep, but that's something I generally try to avoid, for a few different reasons. Next I've got world history, and history has always been one of my worst subjects, so if I happen to wander into class late...

"Morning, Matt."

The familiar voice lifted my attention away from my phone resting on the edge of the desk. A housecat, striped tabby, smiled down at me with a short stack of books in her paws and her bag slung over one shoulder. Then, she rested those books on the counter and got to rummaging around in that bag for her school ID.

"Oh, hey." That was Lauren. We shared a history class last semester, and both just barely managed to pull a B after spending a lot of extra time collaborating on our final group project. "How you doin'? Just checking these out?"

"Yeah. Need some help in my English class, and Mrs. Gravenstein recommended one of these... I'm actually surprised someone else hasn't grabbed it yet."

"Yeah, well." Beep_of the scanner, _beep, beep. Our fingers briefly brushed over one another when I took her ID from her. School systems require you to type in the student's number when they check something out, so that the overdue penalties can be fined to the proper place. "You'd be surprised how little effort some kids put into school. Also - Gravenstein, how is she? The rumors true?"

These rumors took their base in her name - imagine that. Everyone always said that Gravenstein's the hardest English teacher in the school, and you either pass the course with an A or you fail so hard that you literally die.

Lauren shrugged, and slid her ID back into her back. "I mean, she's not that bad. So long as you do everything right and don't fall asleep. I watched her drop one kid because he fell asleep... like, yeah, she can be tough, and she _does_expect a lot, but..."

One by one, the book titles came up on the screen under her school photo. Being a Straight-A Student (Or At Least Managing Seven A's and One B), followed by So You Want To Pass Junior English, And Also Retain Enough Grey Matter To Take Senior English, and then the rather simple 12 Poems by someone I hadn't heard of before. Poetry's not really my realm of interest. "Just gotta stay on top of things?"

"Yeah. Oh - here, can you slide those into my bag?..."

I stood up to do so, Lauren holding her bag open at the edge of the counter. "No problem."

"Hey - sorry if this is a bit... rude, but did Sasha ever stop bothering you?"

Ha. Ha ha. Sasha would be the name of that ex of mine, the one I broke up with in the middle of last semester. She also shared the same history class with me and Lauren here, but stopped showing up after that. "Yeah, thankfully. Seen her in the halls... twice? - since then, but both times she ignored me. Which is an improvement, I think. That all for you today?"

"Yep! Thanks." She hooked her bag over her shoulder again, and then readjusted it under the added weight. "Haven't met any other cute girls since then?"

"Met? Yeah, sure. More than that? Not quite, man." The little notification light at the top edge of my phone repeatedly blinked on and off when I next looked down. Someone must've sent me a message, or I got an email or something. "That reminds me. You and - ah, what's his name... wolf, tall, in wrestling I think?"

"Eric?"

"Yeah! You two still together?"

Her face gave me her answer before she herself did. "Eh. Wasn't workin' out, y'know?"

"I know how it is. I'm sure I've said it before, but - don't really think that high school relationships have a high chance of working out. Honestly, part of why I got with Sasha was 'cause everyone else was in a relationship, so..."

"Oh, yeah, same. My cousin stayed with the same girl through college, and after they broke up, it turned out that neither of them had actually enjoyed the relationship for the past three years or so - and they were both cheating on the other with at least two other people!"

"Yeah! Yeah, I remember you mentioning that. Funny shit..."

Lauren made her way halfway around the desk towards the library doors, though remained half-turned to me on her way out. "Still, though, that kind of negativity is... well, not everyone wants to hear it. 'Specially not your boyfriend, right? Or-" She shrugged. "-girlfriend. Whatever. My gramma always told me, you'll never find out just who is "the one" for you; only who isn't. And you know when that happens?"

Message turned out to be from my dad. You have a free period today, right? I am getting out of work early so I might be able to give you a ride home. Love you. So I sent him a quick affirmative response, and looked back up at Lauren.

"Only happens once the relationship ends."

That made me smile. "Grandmas, man. Good for so much more than just really good cookies and spoiling grandkids."

"Actually, mine makes terrible cookies... but she is really good with soup. Ah, I've kept ya long enough. See you 'round, Matt."

I raised my paw. "Yeah. Good talking to you again!"

And then, with Lauren and our conversation went my energy to continue doing my job, as little as that encompassed. Once more I clicked my phone screen on... twenty minutes to the end of the period. Twenty minutes, twenty minutes... I could probably sneak out once six or seven remained, and just wait for Tony to finish his class.

Though, to be honest...

Without another thought, I leaned over and poked one of the other aids, a kind of quiet marten (or ferret, or weasel? something) who spent most of his time watching video game reviews on the library computer up here. His shoulders jumped with surprise, and he scrambled to take off his headphones before looking at me with a bit of confusion.

"Hey - I have something I need to go do..." Technically not a lie. "D'you think you could cover for me if anyone comes in?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Alright, cool, thanks..." and I reached down to grab my stuff. Couldn't stand another minute of this. "I owe ya, man. Lemme know if you need me to do anything for you."

The marten settled his headphones halfway back over his ears and nodded. "Sure, no problem. Catch you later."

During class, usually all you could hear in the halls was the echoing footsteps of someone else around the next corner, or the far-off conversation of a couple of teachers. Or, when you make your way over to the fine arts area of the building, you can hear some of the band kids brought out into the halls for the sectional practice, piercing trumpets or ponderous trombone... and then you have to actually get up close to the doors to hear the orchestra.

Outside those big double doors that led down towards the halls, my canid ears could just barely - barely- pick up the sounds of high violins above the other strings, just a few notes every now and then sounding slightly out-of-place and off-key. That was fourth orchestra for you: this school organizes its groups based on skill level, with sixth being the lowest and, from that, first being the best. Last year, our first band opened the big football game at the local stadium, and our first orchestra performed the music for no fewer than three musicals at the big-name performance hall downtown.

I had no driving reason to attend either of these, so of course I stayed home and did more important things. Mainly homework and video games.

As I leaned there against the wall, though, ears perked but not focused, backpack resting against my leg, there was - occasionally something that did catch my attention, a little ringing flourish between the other instruments far down the hallway past those double doors, unmistakable timbre of a piano. And as far as I could tell, it - Tony - knew what he was doing a fair amount more than some of the other players. Precise, easy, relaxed...

Even though I couldn't quite hear all I wanted, what I did was enough to keep me from reaching into my backpack to find my earbuds. Here's something else to talk to Tony about, when he finishes.