Part One:

http://www.sofurry.com/page/233436

Bench of Commonality

Timothy rubbed his eyes. Yep, there really was a raccoon sitting on the fence. Timothy smiled despite being a little bewildered by the fact that Zack was so eager for him to arrive.

The raccoon's hopeful eyes turned at the snarl of an approaching car and he giggled with delight when saw who it was. Zack dropped to the ground and dashed over to open the door before the car had even stopped.

'You made it!'

'Did you think I wouldn't?'

'Well last night you didn't sound all that excited,' said Zack.

'Yeah well, I've never been invited to a sleepover before,' said Timothy undoing his seatbelt and climbing from the car.

'Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend Timothy?'

Zack felt the urge to shiver as the eyes of Timothy's mother looked right into his soul.

'Mother, this is Zack.'

'And does Zachary have a last name?'

'Um...' Timothy blushed; he had never thought to ask.

'Wilson, and it's just Zack ma'am.'

'Are you're parents inside Zachary? I must speak with them briefly.'

'Yes Ma'am, this way,' said Zack picking up Timothy's overnight bag.

'I can carry it,' whispered Timothy.

'I don't think you're mother would approve of that.'

'She doesn't approve of anything,' sighed Timothy.

Zack glanced at Timothy but said no more as they headed passed the BMWs parked in the driveway and through the front door.

'Mum, Dad, Timothy and his mother are here!' said Zack, grabbing his friend's paw and pulling him into the open-planned living space.

The house felt so warm and comforting, so unlike the cold place Timothy had come from where each room remained locked behind closed doors.

Zack's mother was sitting at the kitchen counter with a newspaper as the sweetest blueberry pancakes that Timothy's nostrils had ever smelt flipped through the air. Timothy couldn't believe it. Zack's Dad, no way he could be The Al Wilson.

'Pleasure to meet you, I'm...'

'Al Wilson, yes I know. My son watches your cable cooking show.'

'Really, it's always great to meet another budding chef,' grinned Al shaking Timothy's paw.

'Oh he doesn't cook. I suspect he just watches for the fires,' said Timothy's mother, 'which I assume you do to boost ratings.'

It was times like these that Timothy really wished that his mother would bite her tongue. Was she trying to ruin his chance of having a friend. If he had any balls, he'd tell her exactly why he watched Mr Wilson's show, that'd show her. She was right though; it had nothing to do with cooking.

'Don't worry, we keep a close eye on him when he's cooking at home,' said Zack's mother.

Zack grinned and pointed at the fire extinguisher and at the sprinklers in the ceiling.

'Hi I'm Sue. Would you care for a cup tea and some freshly baked biscuits?'

'No thank you, I only came to give you this. If you catch Timothy licking his tail, coat his fur with this. It will make him stop.'

With that, Timothy's mother disappeared back through the front door without even saying goodbye to her son. Timothy's fur glowed bright red as his eyes fell to the floor, so the look on Mrs Wilson's face went unnoticed.

Mr Wilson rushed around the bench and took hold of his wife's shaking arm to remove the bottle from her fingers. Her eyes continued to follow the bottle as Mr Wilson carried it towards the bin. Once it was gone, she turned to the large oil painting above the fireplace in the living room.

Zack wrapped his arm around Timothy, causing him to look up from the floor. 'Nothing wrong with licking your tail, is there Mum?'

'No... no of course not. Feel free to lick you tail as much as you want. If it makes you happy Timothy, then go right ahead.'

'Girls, breakfast's ready,' Mr Wilson spoke into the intercom.

Footsteps erupted above their heads and stampeded across the ceiling. The stampede continued down the stairs and two girls flew into the room, screeching to a halt when they noticed Timothy.

'Well hello cutie, the name's Penny,' said the older cub.

'Sam,' said the younger raccoon as she gave Timothy the once over. 'So, how much are you paying Zack to hang out with him?'

'Nothing,' replied Timothy, a little taken back.

'Sam,' snapped her mother.

'Girls, a word please,' said Mr Wilson.

Timothy understood why Sam had made her comment. He and Zack didn't exactly scream best friends, especially with Zack in a soccer uniform and Timothy wearing a T-shirt tucked into his dress pants.

It was Zack who had begged him to come. No one had ever asked him to a sleepover before. He just hoped that he hadn't let his feline curiosity get the better of him.

Mr Wilson whispered in the girls' ears and their faces fell as they glanced over at the painting hanging above the fireplace. Timothy looked over at the portrait. It was of a male raccoon a few years older than Zack. He wondered if that was Danny, the one Zack kept going on about.

'Ignore them and don't trust anything they tell ya, especially Sammy,' said Zack.

'Call me that just one more time,' growled Sam, 'and for the second time I'll shave all the fur from your body.'

Zack's fur took on a light shade of pink. 'Ah... hope you're hungry,' said Zack pulling Timothy over to the table.

Penny and Sam joined them as Mr Wilson carried over a large platter, overflowing with steaming-hot pancakes. Their sweet warm scent wafted right up Timothy's nose causing a little drool to dribble from the sides of his mouth.

'Smells great Dad,' said Zack.

'I'll say,' said Timothy licking his lips.

'Yes, Richard must have made the batter,' grinned Sam.

'I cook, Richard hands me the utensils. He assists me.'

'Yeah, to reattach your thumb.'

'Oh ha-de-ha-ha,' said Mr Wilson sitting down at the table.

The raccoons all reached out at once and started grabbing pancakes by the pawful.

'Better jump in quick Timothy, when it comes to food around here it's everyone for themselves,' said Mrs Wilson.

Timothy reached out with his paw and snatched the last two pancakes from the platter before Sam was able to grab them.

'Hey!'

Timothy stuck his tongue out then realised what he was doing and quickly sucked it back in as he blushed. He watched as Zack folded the pancake into a quarter circle then shoved the whole thing into his mouth. Apparently in this house, cutlery was optional. Timothy shrugged and decided to follow Zack's lead.

A minute later, Zack was dragging Timothy to his feet and towards the living room door.

'Oi, take Timothy's bag up to your room first!' called Mrs Wilson but it was too late, Zack and Timothy had already disappeared out the door.

'Where are we going?' asked Timothy as Zack almost dragged him along the footpath.

'Park. Every week I play a game of soccer with some friends.'

'Soccer... Friends.'

Zack stopped for a moment. 'Don't worry, they're from my old school so they don't know anything about the tail thing.'

'I'm not much of an athlete.'

'Neither's Connor, and with you joining us we'll finally have even teams.'

Timothy wasn't so sure but Zack wasn't exactly giving him an option. Oh well, if they were Zack's friends there was still a small chance he might have fun.

The park was only a couple of kilometres from Zack's house so it wasn't long before they were stepping over the wooden logs that marked the boundary. At the edge of the soccer field stood five boys and a girl with arms crossed and scowls on their faces.

'You're late,' growled the Husky.

'Sorry, breakfast took longer than usual. Everyone this is Timothy. Timothy, Randy's the husky, the fox twins are Sebastian and Debbie a.k.a Seb and Deb, Cole's the skunk, Dylan's the wolf and the pretty-boy bunny rabbit is Connor.'

'You any good?' asked Randy kicking the ball at Timothy.

Timothy watched as the ball bounced passed his legs.

'I'll get it,' said Zack running to retrieve the ball before it made it to the highway.

'That would be a no,' said Randy.

Timothy smiled meekly but only Connor smiled back. Except for Randy who was glaring at him, the others seemed rather disinterested in Zack's latest addition to their group. Timothy just knew that he should have stayed at home.

'Okay,' panted Zack, 'shall we pick the teams and start this thing.'

'The kitty-cat's on your team. I don't feel like losing today,' said Randy.

'Well duh, Timothy was going to be my first pick.'

'I'll play on your team Zack,' said Connor.

'Wow, two losers one team. It's gonna be a slaughter,' sniggered Randy.

Connor stuck his tongue out as stood beside Timothy.

'Seb, Dylan, Cole you're with me.'

'Guess you're gonna be the loser today sis,' said Seb.

'Don't count on it bro, you're gonna be spending the entire match watching this,' she said waggling her butt.

'Just like he does at home,' giggled Cole.

'Shut up! How many times do I have to tell you guys, I don't fancy my sister!'

'Till you admit that you do,' sniggered Dylan.

'Shut it you two, we have a game to win,' said Randy grabbing the ball from Zack.

'What position do you wanna play?' Zack asked Timothy.

'Bench.'

Zack chuckled, 'I think you should play up front with me. Deb, your on defence. Connor goals, sorry.'

'That's okay Zack, I can live with being goalie today.'

'I thought you hated goals?' said Deb.

Connor just shrugged as he blushed a little.

Deb shook her head as she took up her position while Zack jogged and Timothy stumbled towards the centre of the pitch.

'You're going down raccoon-boy,' growled Randy.

'Bring it on husky-butt.'

* * *

'That went well,' said Connor.

'Yeah, for us,' grinned Randy.

'Sorry guys... haven't really... played soccer... before,' panted Timothy.

'Or any sport I bet,' said Randy.

'That bet... you'd win.'

'Aww don't worry Timothy, you'll do better next time,' said Connor.

'Pfft, only if he practices kicking. You know, so he can actually make contact with the ball,' said Randy. 'So Zack, where'd you find this star athlete?'

'He goes to my new school,' said Zack ignoring the tone in Randy's voice.

'And you became best buddies because you clearly have so much in common.'

'That's right,' grinned Zack placing his arm around Timothy.

Timothy looked at Randy; the husky had a point. What exactly did he and Zack have in common and why was Zack going out of his way to be nice. Not that he minded but if they were going to stay friends they would need to have at least a couple of things in common. Zack was clearly into soccer and sport was definitely not his thing.

'Go on then, list them,' said Randy.

'Huh?'

'All these things you've got in common. List them.'

'Well... there's lots of things,' said Zack.

'Such as?'

'...'

'Hmph, dump him.'

'I'LL DUMP YOU IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP!'

Randy wasn't expecting Zack to rush at him. He dodged but tripped over the soccer ball, landing hard on the ground.

'We have lots in common,' spat Zack. 'And.... he's just like Danny.'

An unnatural silence fell over the cubs. Not even Randy said anything as he climbed back to his feet and they all walked over to the footpath.

'Same time next week,' said Randy.

They nodded, except for Timothy who was still struggling for breath.

'Wanna rest before we head back?' asked Zack.

'Good... idea,' Timothy managed to mumble.

They wandered slowly over to a bench and Timothy sighed with relief as the pressure came off his feet. Slowly his breath returned enough for him to ask Zack the question that wouldn't go away.

'Zack?'

'Yeah buddy o' pal?'

'Just wondering... umm why you want to hang out with me? Not that I don't appreciate it, it's just... what do we have in common?'

'We play soccer.'

'You play, I run around puffing and wheezing. You do realise that soccer really isn't my thing.'

'Yeah,' said Zack. 'I know. Look, I'm sure we'll find plenty of things. Just don't give up on me.'

'You're the first cub who has ever wanted me around. I'm hardly going to tell you to piss off after half a day. That would make me kinda stupid.'

'Yeah it would,' grinned Zack. 'Come on, let's go home.'

They walked the short journey in comfortable silence. Nether one feeling the need to fill the vacuum with pointless small talk. At the back door, they removed their muddy shoes before they entered.

'Oi, how about taking Timothy's bag up to your room like I asked,' said Zack's mother.

'Whoops,' giggled Zack. 'Come on, it'll give you a chance to poke around my room. You never know you might find something we have in common.'

Mrs Wilson gave Zack a strange look as he and Timothy headed passed on their way up the stairs. Sunlight drifted softly through the skylights lining the passageway as Zack led Timothy over to the second door on the left.

'That's the bathroom,' said Zack pointing at the opposite door, 'and this is my room.'

Zack swung open the door and Timothy's eyes went wide. This was not what he had excepted at all. There were no sports posters or pictures of big-breasted pop stars. Zack's room would not have looked out-of-place in a public library. If it wasn't for the two wildlife prints, you wouldn't have known that the room had any walls. It looked like the only thing stopping the ceiling from turning them into pancakes were the shelves crammed with books.

'Can I have your room when you die?' asked Timothy.

'You like to read I take it,' grinned Zack.

'My mother hardly ever buys me books and I've read every work of fiction in the Junior School Library. Stupid cow of a librarian won't let me borrow from the Senior School, "Those books are not age appropriate".'

'Well you can borrow mine, just look after them.'

'I promise I will sacrifice my life if it will keep them safe,' said Timothy placing his paw over his heart.

'Don't, they're just books,' said Zack getting serious.

'It was a joke.'

'Yes, of course... I knew that,' grinned Zack.

'Never took you for a reader, didn't think athletes could read.'

'Oh ha-de-ha-ha,' said Zack. 'Actually none of my friends do either. They don't get the appeal of escaping into a world of pure imagination.'

'Well Zack, using your imagination is... holly crap!' said Timothy. 'You've got the latest Wizards Rain book. Tell me, did Basil make it out alive.'

'I thought I was the only one who liked Basil.'

'Can't stand Sage. Stupid author chose the wrong main character if you ask me.'

'Well here you go,' said Zack removing the book from the shelf, 'start reading and find out.'

Timothy took the book from Zack's paws and shivered as brushed his fingers across the raised lettering. He lowered himself onto the couch in the corner and slowly lifted the cover. Zack smiled, looked like they had something in common after all. He picked up the book he was reading from his bedside table and joined Timothy on the couch.

Zack's mother found them several hours later with their feet on one armrest and their heads on the other. Both were so engrossed in their books that they didn't even notice as she placed a pizza box onto Zack's desk, along with a bottle of soda.

Four hours later, the pizza and drink still remained untouched and the only movement the two cubs had made was to switch directions. Zack's mother walked over and yanked the books from their paws.

'Hey!' cried Zack. 'Oh when did that get here?' asked Zack as his mother pointed at the cold pizza.

'Go brush your teeth. I'll have the sofa bed set up by the time you get back.'

'What time is it?' yawned Timothy as he stretched his tired limbs.

'11 PM, you guys should have been in bed an hour ago.'

When Zack and Timothy returned from the bathroom, a doona covered the sofa bed and their uneaten dinner had disappeared.

'Night Timothy,' yawned Zack.

'Night Zack.'

Both cubs fell asleep as soon as their heads were on their pillows.

male 47738, female 26739, fox 11870, wolf 10182, rabbit 5539, husky 2039, raccoon 2029, skunk 1872, cheetah 975, friendship 220, family 189, depression 59