Bench of Interlude 1
Danny stood naked, staring down at the street full of moonlit shadows. He wiped away the last of the tears with his paw. He would cry no more. The raccoon's emotions had all but drained from his body now. Danny imagined that Vulcans must feel like this. A tiny smile flickered across his lips. Maybe, that's what Markus had picked up on all those years ago.
Danny couldn't quite believe it. He was actually looking forward to the bell signalling the end of lunch. It was the lack of wind and the heat radiating off the surrounding landscape that was responsible for such unnatural thoughts. Inside, it would be cold... well colder, with a ceiling fan to drive back the heat. Studying his watch, it suggested that if he walked really slowly, he might just make it back in time for the bell. Danny watched the other cubs as he made his way slowly around the edge of the playground. Most sat in small groups beneath the bushes but a few, who seemingly lacked the normal mental abilities of their species, had decided to play tag under the glowing sun. Markus led the charge of course. The lion cub couldn't resist a chance to prove just how masculine he was. And now that his mane had started to grow, he wouldn't stop boosting to any male who would listen-and those that wouldn't-that by year's end he would have claimed the tight pussy of every female in their year. Danny knew for a fact that Markus wouldn't be making any such claims. The girls had told him so. For some odd reason they liked Danny; just as long as no other males were around. Apparently, the girls were allergic to what was dangling between Markus's legs. Danny chuckled and Markus looked straight at him. Danny's eyes couldn't find the ground fast enough to avoid seeing the narrowing of Markus's eyes and the snarl spreading across his muzzle. Danny increased his pace, now more eager to get away than trying to meet the bell. Back under the relative safety of the undercover walkways, the temperature wasn't much better but at least the tin kept the sun from his fur. 'And did you see what Princess Sparkles did to evil Prince Bastian.' It seemed that Danny wasn't the only cub to seek refuge from the sun. 'I know, and she did it so gracefully too. Oh hi Dan...' Amy's voice faded to nothing and Danny didn't have to look behind him to know that... 'Out of the way loser,' barked Max as he and a couple of his new friends pushed passed. Danny turned away. The flowers transformed into a blurry kaleidoscope of colour as he stared through the petals. Brring! Danny flinched and felt the waves of heat wash back over him as his eyes refocused. Max yanked open the door and barged inside followed closely by the rest of the class. Danny was going to wait for Miss Winters, but the call of the fan was just too strong. The room was strangely silent. But as Miss Winters often said, heat zapped the energy of even the most boisterous cub. Danny felt the watching eyes of those not falling asleep as he made his way towards his desk. Nothing unusual about that though thought Danny as he slid down into his seat. Parp! The whoopee cushion tumbled off the seat, landing under the table. The decision to slide rather than plonk his butt onto the plastic had saved Danny from a sound everyone would have heard. As it was, only a few of the cubs in the know giggled, the rest didn't seem to hear it. Mikey dashed over and crawled under Danny's desk. 'Hey look, Mikey's giving Danny a blow job.' Naturally, that got everycub's attention. 'I'm not a fucking fag,' growled Mikey as he popped back up with the whoopee cushion. 'Would've got more laughs if you'd of put it on the teacher's chair,' mumbled Danny. Mikey glanced at the teacher's desk, then back at Danny. He cocked his head, wrinkling his muzzle before shaking his head and walking back to his seat. Danny was not surprised; it had been years since anyone had followed one of his suggestions. Danny stared down at his paws, picking at his claws as he waited for what he hoped would be the imminent arrival of Miss Winters. 'Oi Danny.' Danny looked up and kicked himself for doing it. Max's voice still had that effect on him even though they were no longer friends. 'You're spaceship's waiting outside for you.' Danny's heart skipped a beat.
The world looked so empty as he watched over the moonlit street. Max was right. It may have been some flippant comment that Markus had ordered him to say, but that didn't alter the truth of the statement. He was not one of them. He turned and glanced at the clock. It had just turned...
Midnight. The young cheetah sprang up in his bed and stared at the door. His ears twitched as he held his breath and tried to still his trembling limbs. The passage was silent. Timothy sighed with relief. His scream had not woken her. He climbed from the bed and crept over to the window. He pressed his paw against it and wiped a smudgy gap through the condensation. Timothy could feel the wind pushing against the glass in tune with his heartbeat as he watched the eucalypts sway back and forth. Timothy hated his dreams. He stared through the swaying trees; seeing instead trees drenched in sunlight, seen through a classroom window.
Sophie looked up at the Troll. He was very big. He was very fat and very ugly. Typical troll actually as his thick slimy tongue slurped across the surface of the largest lollipop Sophie had ever seen. "Would you like a taste?" the Troll asked. "You can speak?" "Of course, I am the very model of a modern Major-General, I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral..." Sophie giggled. "Would you like a lick?" the Troll asked again. "Mummy said I wasn't to take candy from strangers," said Sophie seriously. "Then what's your name child?" the Troll asked. "Sophie." "And you may call me the Big Friendly Troll. Now that we know each other, would you like a lick?"
Timothy turned from the window as the bell rang. The chairs screeched back against the lino while Timothy was first through the door. He moved quickly away from the classroom, following the fence line along the edge of the oval. A white Ute rattled passed as Timothy plonked his butt onto the side of the bench. 'Kick the ball this way you nong.' 'Like you can kick it any straighter!' 'Just watch me.' Timothy heard the thump land nearby but didn't turn from the roadway. If he tried to get the footy, they'd either yell at him for covering it with Cheetah germs or worse, they'd want him to kick it back. Timothy's tail curled up between his legs. He instinctively snatched at it, absent-mindedly rubbing his fingers through the fur. He looked down and his breath rippled through the tail-hairs in rhythmic bursts that fascinated him. Timothy leaned in and took a couple of sniffs before giving the tip a quick lick. 'Hehe, Timothy thinks his tail's a lollipop!' 'Well he is the BFT, you know... Big Fat Timothy.' Timothy's fur took on a red tint as he dropped his tail. The wails of laughter all but guaranteed that his new nickname would be sticking around for some time to come.
Darkness resumed and Timothy turned from the window. It was a stupid nickname, he wasn't even chubby, at least back then he wasn't. Sighing, Timothy stumbled back to his bed and pulled the doona right up under his chin. He could almost hear sleep's sweet whisper; it would be alright, there'll be no more dreams tonight. Timothy doubted that, but he still closed his eyes and waited for darkness to come.