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I couldn't help but smile back. One of my personality traits that had helped my success as a performer was the ease that a genuine smile came to my muzzle. I hit the switch to lower the dark window fully into the door and with the practiced ease of an experienced interviewee, I said "Good morning, Mr. Rivers. Would you like to speak to me?"

"Ahh, Mr. Ayell. I would very much like to speak with you. Ms. Winters mentioned to me that you may be interested in joining our little glee club. Can you sing?"

"I like to think I can sing." I said tactfully. "If I were to join the glee club would it even matter so much if I wasn't so great at it?"

"Your right, it doesn't matter so much but everybody likes to win! Right! Anyway I will see you at auditions tomorrow, no excuses you ARE coming and you ARE going to enjoy it Mr. Ayell. Our audition process takes a full school day so understandably quite a few audition with the sole purpose of getting a day off school... Be in the club room before nine am. See you there bright and early!"

With that the muscular lion turned his back and practically jogged off to wherever he needed to be. I guessed to the teacher's lounge to get another coffee judging by his absurd amount of energy. I snuck a peek at the dashboard clock and decided that I may as well head to Ms. Winters room and start my day. The parking lot was starting to fill and with the other students arriving in more brand new upmarket cars, my understated Lexus drew little attention.

I closed the window and removed the keys from the ignition. I then pulled the handle and allowed the door to open smoothly. I swung my legs out of the car and as soon as my foot paws touched the pavement I heard a small, feminine voice.

"Hi, I really like your car." Said a timid looking, chocolate brown mouse. She would have only been a few inches taller than me and she had a similar model-esqe build. Her obviously dyed, glossy black hair fell in gentle waves to the small of her back and was tied into a loose ponytail at the base of her neck. Allowing plenty to create a heavy fringe and hide most of her face. "Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Patrice. Patrice Williams." She pronounced her first name oddly, making it sound like 'Pa-twiess'. As I looked at her I noticed more similarities between us. Not only did her height and weight seem to mirror mine. Her black and white uniform of blazer, shirt and knee length skirt fitted her oddly as, mine did. The cut and design of the fabric seeming to be made for larger furs than us.

"Hey Patrice. I'm Maser Ayell. I am kind of new here." I said with a sheepish smile, pronouncing her name as she had in the hope of not offending her. And as it happened, my use of her pronunciation brought a huge smile to her face.

"Ah!! You are the first fur to use the correct pronunciation of my name the first time! Usually everyone tries to correct me by saying 'Par-tR-ice'. I see that we will be marvellous friends Maser! Have you seen Mr. Rivers this morning? He said something about you will be auditioning for the glee club this term. If you do see him he is pretty pushy and won't take 'no' for an answer but he is a fantastic director for us glee kids and, well, yeah." She gushed all of this at me at once and I sat there halfway out of my car, almost speechless. I recovered and said

"I saw him a couple of minutes ago, and you are most certainly right. He is a bit pushy isn't he." I said with another genuine smile. "So you're in the glee club?" I asked.

"Yes! I love the glee club! There isn't many of us and we are the bottom of the school's social ladder, but we love what we do and we don't care what the other students think. The only real 'popular' kids that we get along with is the boxing and mixed martial arts team. We share our club room with them sometimes and they are all really nice although the MMA girls get a little bitchy at the glee boys because they are secretly in love with them." She said very mischievously. "We all know that the boxing and MMA boys and girls all have a glee club crush... but they will deny it if anyone asks. Except for Beckham. He is an absolute giant of a wolf. He has a bit of fat on him but he doesn't look that overweight... anyway if you get into glee, which you will, there will be the same number of students in the glee club as the B&MMA... Just putting that out there"

_I might have to meet this Beckham._I thought to myself.

"Um, Patrice. What class have you got first up?" I asked nervously.

"Ugh! English literature. Boring-est subject ever if you ask me. Hang on I think if I am right, Which I most definitely am, you have it first too. Don't you?

I started to nod my head

"Of course I was right! You do. You have to sit next to me and we will pretend to work and talk about boys instead, you DO like boys don't you? Your way to pretty to be straight. I mean other guys our age are handsome or at least somewhat masculine looking but I swear you look about fourteen and you are actually very beautiful. But you aren't handsome. Or masculine. Hey! You know who you remind me of! London! London Aspire! Except you have those glasses... Are they Prada? They look Prada."

Oh shit! And wow. She can tell a lot about someone just by looking at them... weird.

I almost died sitting in the parking lot talking to a hyperactive mouse. At least I only remind her of myself.

"Come on!" she practically shouted and she grabbed my small, white paw in her own fractionally larger one. She dragged me out of my seat and I only had one chance to flick the Lexus' door closed and hit the lock button on the key fob as she pulled me toward the main building's front entrance. She walked with purpose and her tail swished madly as she dragged me through corridors and out into the main courtyard. The football team was already there doing early morning drills and they very obviously ignored us. She forced me to sit on the bench seat of one of the unoccupied wooden picnic tables that dotted the courtyard like early morning mushrooms and she leapt up to perch on the wooden slats that made up the table's surface.

"Soooo... How do you like our little school? It's mostly stuck up brats from old money but I think you out-showed everyone here a little yesterday... That was the coolest Rolls I've ever seen! Does it actually belong to you or what?" She asked quicker than I could have imagined.

"Um... Yeah it's mine. I had it painted red and chucked some sweet rims on it for no real reason except that's what I felt like doing. I bought that IS-F just to be a little more subtle but since my mother decided the Lexus wasn't good enough for her she kind of decided to drive that despite me telling her not to." I replied with trepidation.

Patrice laughed. "Don't worry if anyone tries to give you shit about having more cash-money than they do I'll smack them round the ears!"

I wagged my fluffy tail. "Thanks Patrice."

The bell sounded, telling us it was time to head to our homerooms. "See you in a sec Masey!!" Patrice called out as she hurried away to her own homeroom. I waved happily, quite astounded that I had made a friend so quickly. And a real one at that. Other famous people could be so fickle and stab you in the back for no reason so I hadn't been able to make many famous friends. Luckily late night talk show hosts always invited you to their parties and other singers loved you the second you do a duet with them so I was never very lonely. But it was nice to have a real friend my own age.

I shook my head in disbelief as I made my way to homeroom and took my seat. Ms. Winters took the roll and read out the announcements. Other than a few lost and found items and a callout to certain students to see certain teachers none of the announcements caught my attention or involved me. Until the very last one.

"And Finally, All students who wish to audition for the Glee Club are to attend the club room at nine am tomorrow. Please have a song or dance routine prepared and bring your best manners and friendliest mood." Ms. Winters read out. A few of the other students snickered under their breath about a free day off and a chance to make fun of the losers.

What jerks.

The bell rang again to signify the beginning of first period and I hastily made my way to 'English Literature'. The pale grey that dominated the colour scheme of the corridors bored the hell out of me and I thought for such a wealthy school everything seemed to be built on a budget. I played with that thought until I reached the correct room and thankfully I saw through the window set into the door that Patrice was already in her seat. As I stepped through the door the brown mouse almost had a heart attack and again, she lept up and dragged me to the seat next to her. Oddly in this room there were half the amount of desks but each one sat two students. I took this as a hint and assumed that there would be teamwork required to pass this class. I thanked my lucky stars I had a brand new Patrice to work with. Even though it was more than obvious she was the one in charge of the two of us.

"Hey there little Mase! Welcome to perhaps the most boring class in existence." She said excitedly. "Now lets get down to business, lets play hot or not." She whispered this devilishly.

"That's sounds like amazing fun but I haven't seen anyone that amazing yet. Let alone any names. The best I've seen is the football te..."

"Stay away from the football team." She said nervously. "They give us glee kids more than just a hard time. And since you're a boy they won't be afraid to get physical and they've broken bones and sent some of us to hospital before. If you see them, keep your head down and get away from them as fast as possible." She looked genuinely concerned and her round ears were flattened. "And take particular care around Mark Goodwolf, you look so much like London Aspire and everybody here knows about the time when the police found him with plans to abduct the poor kid. He is a genuine stalker. Dangerous too. Although his brother isn't so bad."

The rest of the lesson passed without incident and mostly consisted of Patrice alternately talking her head off and being shushed by the teacher before resuming our conversation and then the subject of my song choice for tomorrows audition came up. This stopped me dead. I knew I couldn't use one of my own songs or I would risk blowing my cover. She started telling me about the song she would be using but it was some old showtune which I was not interested in at all. I wanted something that I could show off enough of my voice to get in but not enough to give myself away. Then it hit me I would sing something similar to my usual sound but from a different artist. Or in this case a duo.

In for the kill, La Roux.

My sudden small smile caught Patrice's eye and she knew instantly. She said two words: "Tell me." It wasn't a suggestion. It was a demand.

"In for the kill" was all I said.

Her jaw dropped. "You know Elly Jackson has Incredible range."

"You know, Patrice." I said "So does Mariah Carey, but I can match her note for note."

"I don't believe you" She said smugly

"You soon will" I said, wiping the smile off of her brown furred snout, but bringing it back stronger than ever once she realised what I could do for the club if I was serious.

The class finally finished and I was pleased that I had done no work whatsoever. Patrice and I returned to the table we had sat at earlier and over the next five minutes three other students joined us. Patrice shouted something about introductions and I briefly heard my name mentioned a couple of times during her flurry of words but as the 'important part of the introductions approached. I started paying attention. All three of my 'new friends were apparently in the glee club.

The first to be introduced to me was Hazel. She was a very tall, thin cat with tortoiseshell colouring and an obvious taste in vintage clothing. She wore a light grey, cropped leather jacket over a pale pink tunic top and black tights. Her outfit was finished off with several thin silver bracelets and a large, heavy looking pendant that hung below her breasts on a thin gold chain. She had a quiet demeanour that was similar to mine but her smile was sweet and sincere so she was easy to trust.

Next, an equally tall, black Doberman named Aston introduced himself to me. He was built like a dancer with a long, graceful body and well defined musculature. But he was camp. Very camp. He talked in a high nasal voice punctuated by a heavy lisp and his choice of pink skinny jeans and low cut, white V-neck top. I knew I would get along with him but I would never be interested... Camp= yuck.

Finally, and perhaps the most 'normal' of the three was a slightly chubby tiger boy named Coco, named after Coco Chanel. He was the only one in uniform and I guessed the school must be pretty lax with its uniform policy. As with the others he was taller than me but not by much and his glorious orange and black pelt shone like he took care of it. He was obviously straight and by the way he kept looking at Patrice I knew exactly who he liked. But I wasn't going to say anything.

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As the day ended I rushed out to the shiny, metallic black Lexus waiting for me in the afternoon sunlight. I was incredibly eager to get my paws on the Rihanna-red dye and to see the finished product. The second I was close enough I held up the key fob and hit the unlock button. I heard the welcoming beeps and saw the indicators flash as I approached. I wrenched open the door and threw myself into the driver's seat in one smooth movement, then jammed the key into the ignition and fired it up. I knew my mother wouldn't be impressed but then again she wouldn't exactly argue with me about any of these things. I played with the accelerator pedal a bit more than was wise while driving home. I encouraged the rear wheels to spin a little at the lights and I made sure every corner had a little power-over at the exit. I was excited and I was having a little bit of fun.

I activated the gates and screamed down the drive, slamming on the brakes and skidding to an ABS and traction control dulled halt and I bounded in the door looking for my package. I spied it on the kitchen counter and as a flew past I scooped it up in a flurry of movement and proceeded to the nearest bathroom. I tore open the box and I dug into the contents with wild abandon. I flipped open the instruction booklet and proceeded with the steps. I mixed the dye and rubbed it into my scalp, willing my hair to grow just that extra bit longer so I could hide my face with blood-red bangs. I waited for the recommended time and washed the dye out well. Oddly enough my hair felt much longer. I jumped out of the shower and towelled myself dry. Glancing in the mirror my hair looked longer. I played with a couple of styles and found that I could, indeed cover either of my eyes and do whatever else I wanted. This was kind of weird so I pushed it to the back of my mind, thrilled with the way my glossy crimson locks contrasted with my snow-white fur and bright blue eyes. I was rather pleased with myself.

Then my mother called me into the lounge.

"Mase, I need to tell you something" She called out

"What?" I shouted back and I walked into the room. I had no idea what she wanted but I was nervous.

"Oh. Nice hair." She said offhandedly. "Anyway Mr. Harrington called and you have an Interview on some late night talk show, Letterman I think, about how your break is going. It will be the week after next and we will be flying out to New York the day before. So if you want to get anything ready now would be a good time... and I am going out of town for a fortnight. I'm leaving tomorrow morning. Probably before you wake up. I want you to go to school and eat well and whatever else. I'll leave a note. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

"Um, Night?" I replied automatically. She got up of the couch and stumbled off to her room. I smelt alcohol. I shook my head and wondered if I was adopted.

Following my mother's strange announcement I retreated to my own room and sat on the internet for a while. I checked my email and there was a message from Mr. Harrington confirming the interview but nothing else of great importance. I had a little sudden inspiration and scribbled down some new lyrics but there wasn't anything album-worthy just yet.

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I woke the next morning and I indeed found my mother gone and the note in place. It wasn't legible and was smeared. I was worried but what I saw next was bad news. The keys to the Lexus were gone. But the shiny Rolls Royce keys were in plain sight. I looked at the digital display on the microwave in terror. Not only was there no time to visit the closest car dealer but if I didn't leave now I would be late. I grabbed the keys to the big luxury car and ran outside. The white leather and burr walnut interior was pleasant. The red carpet was soft. But this was not the car I wanted to be in. Negative attention was the enemy and right now negative attention would be all I received. As I drove to school with twelve cylinders hurrying the massive car along. As I had expected there were still a few students in the parking lot but sadly they were all members of the football team and their cheerleader girlfriends. In their Black and grey letter jackets the footballers looked imposing and the cheerleaders in their matching skimpy uniforms were just as intimidating. As I parked and exited the Rolls one of the cheerleaders, a black rabbit, called out "Hey, Red! Nice to see someone with a colour scheme around here" They all laughed like little girls until the guys realised how they sounded and all of them started coughing. It was quite a comical sight but I followed Patrice's advice and I ignored them, heading straight to auditions.

It seemed like everybody was there already. I saw Patrice, Hazel, Aston and Coco and I gravitated toward Patrice's side. They were in a small group of about twelve furs gathered around Mr. Rivers and I guessed these were the actual members of the glee club. I appeared soundlessly at my best friends side and she put a protective arm around my shoulders. I could see the obvious students who came for the day off but what unnerved me the most was the presence of another group of furs. They all seemed to be built like fighters. They were all in uniform but they had patches sewn on their blazers, showing flags of different countries on the arms and odd symbols in other random places.

"That's the B&MMA guys." Patrice whispered to me when she noticed where I was looking. "Don't worry about them they're cool with us glee kids, Mr. Rivers asked them to come in case any other students were to try and start something. Nice hair. It looks so much longer though? Maybe it's the colour, which looks insanely wonderful by the way, at least you don't look so much like London now." She lifted a lock with a single finger and let it drop, smiling broadly.

I saw the big wolf she had mentioned earlier. And damn he was hot. I looked away before he could notice me staring. But in the short peek I managed he seemed my time. A slightly chubby giant of a fur with big arms and kind eyes. Beckham... I wondered what his surname could be as Mr. Rivers started talking.

"Okay everyone! It's about time we got started." He announced with gusto. "First we will separate into different categories before the auditions take place. If you are auditioning in a group of two or more please stand in the east corner." All of the footballers and cheerleaders moved to the east corner. "Now, Dancers and other non-vocal candidates like instrumentalists please move to the south corner." A few furs including Aston moved to the indicated corner of the room. "And all vocalists stay here and sit with me" He sat in the only chair with a small card table in front of it with a writing pad and a silver fountain pen for taking notes and the fifteen vocalists, including myself sat down. Patrice took the seat to the left of the large lion and she dragged me to the seat left of her. Coco took the seat to the right and Hazel sat next to him. It seemed to me that this little group must be the vocal powerhouses in the club. The rest of the students as well as the B&MMA team sat behind in the raised row of plastic seats and Mr. Rivers called the 'Group performers' on stage. It was no surprise when all but two of the largest division made their way to the front of the small stage. Mr. Rivers addressed them with a surprising announcement.

"It has been brought to my attention that many students have been using these auditions to get a free day off. So I have changed how we will run things. As you know." He said to everyone. "I hold auditions at the start of every school term and we audition all existing members of the club again alongside any newcomers. But now Existing members will only be required to audition at the first term's audition day and will attend the other three to assist me in decision making. And Coach Botham has requested that as soon as any members of the football team have finished their audition and are not asked to stay back, please head over to the training field. He doesn't mind that you guys are here but he would rather you be training than sitting around making fun of other students." A few grumbles and a light growl came from the footballers. "Now, now. Mr. Goodwolf. That's quite enough of that." He said to a white-furred wolf who was built like a body-builder and strangely wearing a collar. "It's still a day off, only a productive one this time."

"Well if we don't have to be here, I'm leaving. Come on guys." The whole mass of footballers and cheerleaders exited the small room without auditioning. I was deep in conversation with Patrice about how rude it was for them to turn up here just for the day off so what I didn't notice was Mark Goodwolf's double take and the way he stared at me as he left the room and headed to the training field. "Lets get on with things shall we!" Mr. Rivers ignored the departures and asked the two on stage their names. One was Aileena Silverstone, a very plain cheetah girl with a quiet voice. The other was her twin brother Luick. "You may begin." Was all Mr. Rivers said. And Luick Disappeared for a second and dragged a large synthesiser on stage. He started tapping out a familiar hook and I knew instantly that they were doing one on my own songs. I felt a rush of pride but I didn't let it show. They had chosen one of the 'B' songs off my first album. The title was "Autotune my life" and it was just a faceless, materialistic track that was about editing your own life to make it perfect but ruining it in the process. Aileena's voice was generically good although a little lacking in volume and Luick played the synth well, Mr. Rivers seemed pleased and asked them to stay and take a seat.

Next up were the dancers and, as with the footballers they all made their way onto the stage. Although this had already been prepared so they would all dance the same routine at once so it would be easy to compare them. Aston muscled his way to the front. Mr. Rivers raised on massive paw and gave it a light flick. The music started. And what came out of the speakers was another surprise. Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites by Skrillex started up and the dancers moved around gracefully. Not a single one of them was bad and the choreography suited the music well. One energetic performance later and some more scribbled notes and they were all asked to stay. It had been obvious some were better than others but they were all good and they seemed to enjoy dancing. I had a feeling that everyone here would be accepted just because that was the point of the glee club but that didn't matter.

Finally it was time for the solo vocalists everyone sang well, Patrice did her show tune. Hazel sung "Someone like you" by Adele and accompanied herself on the piano and Coco surprised me by performing Kanye West's "Touch the sky" and absolutely nailing it perfectly and incredibly smoothly. When Mr. Rivers finally called my name, I realised I would be the final act. How appropriate. I Thought to myself. I held on to the microphone and left it on the stand. I had decided not to dance while singing today and before Mr. Rivers had the chance I spoke into the microphone. "Cue music."

(I recommend Listening to the song now. In For the Kill, La Roux)

We can fight our desires But when we start making fires We get ever so hot Whether we like it or not They say we can love who we trust But what is love without lust? Two hearts with accurate devotions And what are feelings without emotions?

I'm going in for the kill I'm doing it for a thrill Oh I'm hoping you'll understand And not let go of my hand (x2)

I hang my hopes out on the line Will they be ready for you in time If you leave them out too long They'll be withered by the sun Full stops and exclamation marks My words stumble before I start How far can you send emotions? Can this bridge cross the ocean?

I'm going in for the kill I'm doing it for a thrill Oh I'm hoping you'll understand And not let go of my hand (x2)

Let's go to war To make peace Let's be cold To create heat I hope in darkness We can see And you're not blinded by the light from me

I'm going in for the kill I'm doing it for a thrill Oh I'm hoping you'll understand And not let go of my hand

I finished singing and allowed the final bars to fade before leaving the stage and resuming my seat. Every single fur in the room was silent. Even Patrice until she remembered she could talk underwater. "Oh My God!" She whispered. "I knew you said you were good but that was amazing! I bet you are distantly related to London because I swear you sounded so much like him!" I shook my new red hair out of my eyes and just smiled at her. "I get that a lot." Was all I said.

The effects of my performance had faded. And Mr. Rivers cleared his throat with a slight cough. All eyes turned to the lion. "Okay I have some notes here and a couple of things to say first of all. Now that the auditions are over does anyone want to leave before any roles are assigned?" Quite a few of the dancers left at this citing that they only really came for the day off and they all had plans for the rest of the day, leaving about twenty of us. All I could think Is that we had been here for an hour at most. What part of this took all day? "So, now that it's only the serious people left. Please make welcome our three new members, Aileena, Luick and Maser!" Only three new members? Wow, we mustn't be popular... oh well if I wanted to be popular I'd let everyone know who I was.

The Club members applauded along with the B&MMA team. Mr. Rivers spoke again. "Okay! Now for the first time ever, we have no bludgers or football meatheads to ruin our fun... We're going out for pizzas to celebrate!" The glee kids cheered. "That means you guys as well." He said to the B&MMA team. It was their turn to cheer. Mr. Rivers led the way to the car park and told us he hadn't been able to arrange a bus. About five of us mumbled that they had cars if anyone wanted a ride. I just raised my key fob to shoulder height and pressed unlock. The beeps sounded, the lights flashed and again, everyone was staring at me.

"I have a car too." I said very quietly. Everyone laughed. Patrice, Aston, Coco, Hazel and I walked over to, the big, red Rolls Royce and jumped in. I was driving, Patrice was in the passenger seat and Aston, Hazel and Coco were in the back. I waited for the other students to get in their cars and start driving before I fired up the V12 and reversed out of the spot behind a quiet, silver Prius. I could see that the Prius belonged to Mr. Rivers. "Pfft! A Prius, what a teacher-y car to drive!"

"I could race it on foot!" Giggled Patrice.

"they aren't even good for the environment!" Laughed Coco.

"MY singing sounds better that that thing!" Said Aston, joining in with the fun.

"No, that's one feature it still has!" Chimed in Patrice. Now laughing at the scowl that had come over the Doberman's face.

Now we were all laughing we followed the convoy of cars now being led by Mr. Rivers in his Prius, a natural speed limiter. And as Patrice told me there was one more set of lights before our most likely destination I decided we should have some more fun. The road we were on had three lanes and as we approached the lights that had just turned amber, I prodded the V12 a little and got us to the front of the queue. Apparently one of the other cars had a similar Idea and a female lynx I recognised as one of the MMA girls pulled out to the last remaining lane and we came to a stop at the now red light. It was me and the Rolls Royce vs. Mr. Rivers in his Prius vs. The Lynx in a V10 BMW M5.

I revved.

She revved.

Mr. Rivers revved.

No one noticed.

I made sure the transmission was in low gear and ready to shred some tyres and I locked my eyes on the soon-to-go-green light.

The light turned Green.

I planted the accelerator to the rich red carpet and even though warnings flashed and the electronic safety systems tried to take over I still got some generous wheel spin and then a sudden surge of acceleration as the powerful V12 hurled the heavy car toward the speed limit. And as both cars reached the speed limit we slowed down to allow the others to catch up through our heavy makeshift smokescreen everyone seemed to have enjoyed our little display and they all pushed their vehicles a bit harder than normal to catch up. I was easy to see whose parents had paid for power and whose had paid for economical safety but everyone thought it was quite funny. Patrice pointed out the pizza place and all of us pulled into the empty parking lot. There were seven cars in total and when we pulled into the small lot me nearly filled the place. As we parked Coco asked how the hell they were supposed to open the back doors. I told them about the button on the C-pillar and they figured out the rest. As we all got out of our cars we were already discussing who would ride with whom on the way back.

Inside, the pizza joint wasn't too bad. It tried hard to be luxurious with dark colours and white linen tablecloths but it was still a boutique pizza place so you could see where money hadn't been spent and where shortcuts were taken. It was immediately apparent that Mr. Rivers had called ahead and a huge table set off to one side of the dining room, already filled with pizzas and pitchers of soft drinks. We gathered around the table and of course I had Patrice to my right. What surprised me is I somehow ended up next to Beckham.

"Hey, Little Red. What kind of engine is under that hood of yours? He asked in an interested tone of voice. It was almost too interested... and he leaned in to talk close and quiet.

"It's got a 6.75 Litre V12" I replied truthfully, not realising the attempted seduction in the words and the big wolf's voice. "And I wish I had my Lexus, It accelerates faster. But my mum took it."

"Did you misbehave?" he asked.

"No?" I replied, then I realised what he was saying. "Oh, no! I'm not in trouble or anything. My mother just went out of town for a couple of days... And she took the sensible car."

"Ahh, that makes sense." He said in his deep harmonious voice which I was drinking in. every word pulled me in deeper as the wolf talked about nothing, telling me about something I wasn't paying any attention to. He paused in his story telling to reach over and grab some barbeque meat lovers pizza and a pitcher of Fanta. Oddly he placed a slice on my plate at the same time and filled my glass before doing the same to his. What's going on? I thought. A hot guy that also seems to have a decent personality is paying attention to me? I didn't get this while I was famous... why now? I took a bite of my pizza. It was fantastic. Boutique pizza always looked and tasted much better than the chain-store variety and the quality of the ingredients were obviously paramount. No wonder Mr. Rivers wanted to get rid of the football team. Most of the glee kids would never have more than two slices, me included. (Hey!! I'm little! I only have a small belly you know!) And the footballers would have eaten a pizza and a half each. I don't think a teacher's salary would stretch to cover that. And the whole fact they were just bludging a day off to make fun of us.

"If your mother is out of town. Are you staying alone?" He asked out of the blue.

"Ummm... Yeah." I shrugged. "I have a car and I have a phone and food and cash and pretty much everything else.

"But do you have any sort of protection? Didn't you see the way Mark Goodwolf was staring at you this morning at auditions? He's a nut case. Been arrested for stalking his favourite singers a couple of times. One of them was also a tiny little white husky..... also I'm driving."

"Driving what?" I asked cluelessly.

"Little Red's, Big Red Roller." He replied.

"As in my car?"

"Yes, as in your car."

I handed him the keys and said "Have these before I change my mind."

"I won't crash it" He promised.

"Damn right, you won't!" I warned him. He just laughed at me and slipped the keys into his pocket. I took another bite of pizza and felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to face Patrice who was grinning at me devilishly.

"Oh damn Mase!" She whispered "He likes the shit outta you. I heard he was gay but now it just looks like he's gunning straight at you!" She continued on in the same way for several minutes and finally said. "If that fine piece of wolf is driving I call shotgun."

"fine" I said, Taking a sip of my thoughtfully poured Fanta. Again the subject came to who was riding in who's car on the return trip. Aston, who was obscenely draped over Luick was riding with the small cheetah and his sister, Hazel was riding in the M5 and a few other students were still discussing seat trades. I was not surprised when someone shouted over the light conversation. "I want to ride in the Rolls" and that's when all hell broke loose. Everybody wanted to ride in my car. Even the Lynx with the M5 wanted to occupy a seat. This is when Beckham decided to hold up the keys and jingle them about to get everyone's attention. "Just so everyone knows, I get to decide who comes with us in Little Red's Roller. Right now it's me, Little Red, Patrice and Coco pops." He said as he pointed to each of us in turn. "There's one seat left. Mr. Rivers, who deserves it?"

"Great, Beckham. Put this one on me, why don't you." He said shaking his head, dreadlocks going everywhere. "But I suppose..." Before he could finish, his cell phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID. "Sorry guys, I have to get this" He spoke a greeting into the microphone and after a few seconds of listening he hung up without a word. Wearing an unbreakable poker face, he said. "Maser, I need to talk to you outside for a moment."

He left the table and I followed. I had no idea what the problem was but it must have been bad. I knew if I had been found out the reaction would be completely different than what was happening now. We walked out into the parking lot and the burly lion held open the passenger door to his little Toyota. "Maser." He took a deep breath. "You might want to sit down. I sat, hanging my legs out the door and resting my toes on the pavement. "I wish I didn't have to tell you this... But it's about your mother." I was silent. "She was driving through a bad neighbourhood a couple of states over and, well... There was a car-jacking."

"Is she okay?" I asked.

"No. Mase, I'm sorry but....but, she's dead."

I couldn't breathe. I just sat there, my vision coming in and out of focus and my heatbeat in my ears. "I think I need to go home." Was all I could say. I walked calmly to my car and pulled the handle. I was locked. Holy God Damn Mother of all that is Good!! Beckham still had the keys. I spun on one foot paw and marched back into the pizza place only to find Patrice, Coco and Beckham waiting for me just inside. Patrice pulled me into a hug. "Mr. Rivers told us that you got some really bad news. We're going to take you home, C'mon." She gently held my hand and led the four of us over to my car. Beckham unlocked the doors as we approached and Patrice helped me into the rear seat. She closed the door behind me and I pulled on my seatbelt. I kicked off my shoes and brought my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around my legs and laying my tail across my feet. I felt a warm paw rest on my shoulder, Coco's. Beckham started the Rolls and started driving, guided by the gentle female voice of the sat-nav Patrice had set for 'Home.'

Patrice broke the silence. "Can you tell us what happened? Do you want to talk about it?" She was genuinely concerned.

"My... Mother, is dead." Patrice gasped. Coco's paw tightened on my shoulder and Beckham reached into his pocket, pulling out an old iPhone 3G and tossing it in Patrice's lap." You're not gonna be alone tonight." He said to me. "Patrice, send out a couple of texts to all our parents and tell them that the three of us are staying with Little Red." Patrice followed his instructions and soon enough his phone chimed a few times and Patrice had to tell Beckham that her parents, along with Coco's Didn't want them spending a night over at a strange house with no supervision. "Well a change of plans are in order. Text my Mum and ask if we can all stay the night. I doubt she'll say no but we can't all turn up and crash, not on a school night anyway. Patrice tapped away at the screen for a few seconds and sent the message. The reply came almost instantly, a single word. 'Yes.' Patrice told Beckham the good news and we arrived at my front gates. "Hang on." I said as I dug out the remote from my pocket. I opened the gates and Beckham drove straight up to the front of the house. I prodded the button on the C-pillar and the door swung open smoothly. I stepped up to the front door, unlocked it and went inside. I headed straight for my room and opened the wardrobe. I pulled out a mid-sized bag and started stuffing things into it at random. A large grey paw reached from behind me and gently stopped my paw. "Let me do that. Everything is going to get all wrinkled. Also I'm going to keep you at my house for a couple of days so it's real good you got this bag out." He continued folding some clothes and placing them in my bag. As he finished packing some clothes he moved to my drawers. "I hope you don't mind." He said as he opened the drawer and shoved some socks and underwear on top of the clothes and zipped the back up.

"Toothbrush?" I asked, not allowing my voice to break.

"Got it!" A sympathetically smiling Patrice said as she brought my incredibly naff gold plated and fake-diamond covered toothbrush.

"How did you know that was mine?" I asked jokingly.

"It was the only one there" she said sadly. "How long was your mother going to be out of town for?" she asked warily.

"Two weeks." I replied, shrugging. "She didn't tell me anything though."

Patrice opened my bag and put the ostentatious toothbrush on top. "I think that will do." she said She lifted the bag and handed it to Coco, who had just appeared at the door. I sat on the edge of my bed and I thought of my sketchbook. I reached under the pillows and held it to my chest as if it could stop my heart from hurting.

Beckham Placed his huge paw on my back and lent down. "You ready?" He asked. I nodded and with his paw still on my back, guided me back out to the car. Coco was already seated with my bag resting on his lap and Patrice soon exited the house and locked the door behind her. She climbed into the front passenger seat once again. I curled back up into my ball and hoped to wake up. Ironically I fell asleep. I awoke to Beckham's muscular arms unfastening my seatbelt and I softly whimpered. I was ushered to the front door of Beckham's house. It was a dark grey, modern brick veneer style with acres of glass and pointy edges. But I didn't notice.

Beckham's mother, a tall woman with defined curves, met us at the door. Her colouring was similar to Beckham's although a few shades lighter. She pulled me into a warm, motherly embrace. It was too much for me and tears started rolling down the snowy, white fur of my face. She noticed and released me, keeping her paws on my shoulders. "It's gonna be okay, sweetheart. If you need to you can stay here as long as you like."

"Thank you." I said weakly, my voice breaking with the tears.

"Thanks mum." Beckham said.

"Come on inside, kids." She ushered us inside with Patrice and Coco, still holding my bag, following.

The entrance hall was small, sparse and modern. The few photos displayed, showed family portraits and within them I could see that Beckham was a middle child with one older sister, one younger. From the most recent photo captioned with 'De la Maria Family, 2011.' Well, at least I know his last name now. Mrs. De la Maria led us to the kitchen and Beckham lifted me on to one of the bar stools that surrounded the island-style, grey marble counter and then seated himself to my left. Coco and Patrice followed his example and seated themselves. Patrice to Beckham's left, Coco to my right. Coco made to place my bag on the floor when Mrs. De la Maria spoke to him. "Is that bag for Maser, dear?" Coco nodded an affirmative. "Give it to me and I'll take it upstairs." Coco handed Beckham's mother my bag and she hurried upstairs with it.

Beckham draped one of his massive arms over my shoulders and I gratefully accepted the warmth it brought me. Mrs. De la Maria returned from stowing my belongings and as she saw how Beckham was comforting me she gave him a knowing smile. "Would any of you like anything to eat or to drink?" She asked. Coco and Patrice both requested a glass of water. Beckham felt like a real snack.

"I'll have a Coffee and some doughnuts... and get Mase a hot chocolate. He needs one."

Mrs. De la Maria busied herself in the kitchen, fetching Patrice and Coco a tall glass of chilled water each and preparing Beckham's coffee and my hot chocolate. While water boiled for hot drinks she buried her head in the fridge and emerged holding a white cardboard box filled with mixed doughnuts. She placed the doughnuts in a microwave and with impeccable timing pulled them out to serve with Beckham's coffee which she placed in front of him along with my hot chocolate.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I fished it out to find a text message from Mr. Harrington. It read 'Don't worry. I will take care of everything. Where are you now, called home but no answer?' I sent back a brief 'thanks. I'm at a friend's.' I slid it back into my pocket. I lay my sketchpad on my knees and wrapped my paws around the warm, white ceramic mug and gazed at the steaming brown liquid inside.

"What time is everyone getting home?" Beckham asked his mother.

"I think Kayla will be back any time now and Bella and your father will be back after school finishes." At this the sound of the front door broke my concentration on my mug. "Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear." Mrs. De la Maria laughed. "Good afternoon Kayla! How was your day my dear?"

"Terrible. And did you know there's a Rolls Royce Parked in the driveway?" A very tall, very thin wolf with much darker fur than Beckham or his mother huffed as she walked into the crowded kitchen. She dumped her large red handbag on the counter top and took the last remaining bar stool to Coco's right. "What are you all doing home from school so early?" she asked accusingly.

"I'll tell you later, dear." Mrs. De la Maria said quickly, glancing at me worryingly.

"Oh." She said before launching back into why her day was so terrible. "Anyway, I get to work, right, and then this stupid fat bitch is all like 'Wah Wah Wah! All of the clothes here are too small! Why don't you sell any real sizes! I want to talk to the manager!' And I'm all like 'I'm very sorry Ma'am, but we only sell the sizes the manufacturers make and unfortunately the designs weren't made for larger furs.' And she's all like 'Fuck you, learn to sell real clothes and get some good customer service about you before I beat it into you.' And then I told her to leave, but she wouldn't and then I had to call security to escort her off the premises and then nearly all the other customers were rude or kept trying to get discounts for no reason and my boss has been in a shit mood all day and then when my shift was over. I quit."

"Kayla!" Exclaimed Mrs. De la Maria. "You can't just walk out like that." Mrs. De la Maria leaned against the counter and fixed her eldest child with a steely glare. "You are twenty three, Kayla! I know you think you don't need a job now but you will in the future. Starting tomorrow, you are going to look for a new job. And that's an order, young lady!"

"Fine..." Exhaled Kayla, Obviously too tired to argue. "I'm going to go put something else on." She got up from the stool and slouched upstairs. I sipped on my hot chocolate. It was warm, it was chocolate and it helped, if only a little bit. I had almost drained the mug when Kayla returned from upstairs wearing hot pink sweatpants with a matching hoodie. She perched herself back on her stool.

"Cup of tea?" Mrs. De la Maria asked her daughter.

"Ugh. YES!" Grunted Kayla, If I hadn't of heard she was twenty three I would have thought she was a very tall twelve year old. Mrs. De la Maria fussed about with a small teapot and tea cup and placed a white porcelain tea set in front of Kayla, who waited a few minutes before pouring herself a cupful. In defiance of her bratty behaviour she delicately lifted the cup by the saucer and took a small sip before placing the cup and saucer back on the counter and moving to the fridge to get some milk and to the cupboard for some sugar. I drained the contents of my own mug and placed my elbows on the counter, resting my head in my paws and allowing my bright red fringe to fall over my eyes.

"Go and have a shower sweetheart, it will help get rid of some tension." Mrs. De la Maria said to me warmly. "Becks, show him where everything is. Now go." With his ever-present arm still around my shoulders, Beckham guided me upstairs and sat me down on the edge of the bathtub.

"Wait here a second, I'll get you a towel and some clean clothes." He disappeared for a moment and came back with a large blue towel and some of my clothes. "And I'll put that book with your stuff too." He reached out to take it from me but I held it tighter to my chest. "I promise I won't look inside." He said sincerely. I cautiously let him take it away and he closed the door behind him. I skipped the thinking part and went straight to the bit that had warm water. I activated the jets and stepped under the welcoming warmth of the water. I let it run over my fur and my face and I just let the tears flow. After a few minutes of this I shut off the water and stepped out. I towelled my fur dry and looked at what Beckham had brought me. I found a pair of red boxers, some long white socks, a plain black V-neck tee and some slim fit blue jeans. I shrugged and pulled the lot on. I didn't bother to do anything to the intense blood-red mess around my head and I left it flicky and crazy from the flurry of the towel but smoothed down a little from when I pulled on my shirt. I wasn't sure what to do with the towel, so I folded it and hung it on the edge of the bathtub where I had been sitting earlier. I checked my phone and by now it was roughly 2pm. Around an hour and a half before Beckham's Father and younger sister were due to return. I decided to go back downstairs to the kitchen even though all I really wanted to do was go to sleep, this wasn't my home and I had no idea where I was expected to sleep, and I had no idea where everyone else was sleeping either for that matter.

As I reached the doorway to the kitchen I was drawn into a very tight, very pink hug. "Holy crap kid, are you okay?"

"No." I answered truthfully, looking up at her. The expression on her face was full of hurt and sympathy and she guided me back to my stool next to Beckham. I climbed back up in to the stool, my paws hanging a fair distance from the ground. These must be made for larger furs... I thought errantly, taking another look at Beckham's family. I noticed that Coco and Patrice were missing, I looked around and Beckham whispered into my ear, "They just went to go grab some of their things and will be back soon, I gave them your car keys, I hope you don't mind." I nodded my head to show that I understood. "Your hair is a mess." He said suddenly as he started playing with it, smoothing it down and combing it out with his paw. He kept his paw in my hair far longer than was innocent and I noticed Mrs. De la Maria and Kayla exchange knowing looks.

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

"Family! I'm home!" Called out a deep voice as the front door opened once again. Beckham, who had returned his arm around my shoulders a fair while ago, self-consciously withdrew it and I instantly missed the warmth and comfort it had been giving me. A VERY tall wolf with identical colouring to Beckham appeared in the kitchen with a tiny wolf, closely resembling Kayla perched on his shoulders. I could almost see why Beckham wanted to hide his feelings from this large wolf. His presence was one of an obvious alfa-male and even though he lacked the sheer bulk Beckham's chubbiness provided, his musculature was rangy and incredibly well defined. I bet anything he was hiding some killer abs under the business shirt he was wearing. As he entered he could sense the heavy mood in the air he immediately asked about it and was taken into another room for only a moment when they emerged, he was in the lead. "Hey, kiddo. April just told me what happened. I know this is a bit early to be saying something but is everything being taken care of?" I nodded.

"Was that the text you got ages ago?" Asked Beckham. I nodded again.

"Family?" Enquired Mr. De la Maria. I shook my head this time.

"I don't have any family left now. But I suppose that Mr. Harrington is the closest that I've got." I had probably said too much but I didn't care. Harrington was an uncommon surname, yes, but not unheard of.

Beckham thoughtfully changed the subject. "Mum, what's for dinner, I'm starving!" Thoughtful/thoughtless... who cares, subject is away from me now.

"I was thinking about Chinese food tonight, Yeah?" She grabbed a well-worn takeout menu off the fridge door and slapped in down in front of Beckham. "And I know you probably don't feel much like eating right now Mase, but at least get something small... or have a little of what Becks orders..."

"That won't be too hard!" Muttered Kayla. "Beckham orders half the menu every time!"

"Shut it! Or should I tell Dad you quit your job today!" he then continued sarcastically. "Whoops, did I say that out loud..."

"Kayla!" Growled Mr. De la Maria.

"Not my fault Daddy!" Kayla said warily. "Oh! Look at the time! I left something... Baking... in my... room... BYE!" She hurried upstairs before anyone pointed out the only thing you can "bake" in the bedroom is a baby.

April De la Maria shook her head with a smile. "You two should stop badgering each other. Why don't you be good children like my perfect little Bella?" She scooped the wolf cub into her arms and planted a noisy kiss on her muzzle.

"No!" Squealed the young cub in delight and she attempted to squirm out of her mother's iron grip. I was jealous, not only did Beckham and his sisters get to keep their mother; she was actually a good mother in the first place. April De la Maria cared for and loved her children. My mother may have TAKEN care of me but she had never cared for me as a mother should. Mrs. De la Maria gently set the wiggling wolf at her feet and called out to Kayla, asking what she wanted from the Chinese Takeout. Kayla yelled back something about Fried Rice and Mrs. De la Maria wrote it down on a piece of paper. "The usual?" she said to Beckham and he nodded his head comically which brought a smile to my muzzle. Trust the big gorgeous fatty to make me smile. She took orders from Bella and her husband. "Are your other friends coming back for tea or will they be back later?" She asked Beckham Just as his phone chimed.

"According to this they will be back later. How convenient." He said with a hint of humour in his voice. "Here, take a look at this it might cheer you up." He said to me, showing me the message.

Be back later

Asked Patrice out for dinner

She said yes, im in lol

It did make me smile. I remembered how Coco had looked at Patrice the first time I saw them together. I thought that at least something was going good today, I mean apart from the amazing guy that has literally just taken me home and asked his parents if could keep me. I may as well enjoy this while it lasted.