As Time Goes By Part 2
#2 of As Time Goes By Series
Seeing as they had a whole day, the boys decided to do some sightseeing. And naturally when in Sioux Falls, one must visit the Falls of the Big Sioux River. The whole group crowded into Eric's car and rolled out. When they got there, there weren't many people there.
"Hm, I thought for sure this place would be bustling like it usually is." Cody pointed out.
"It is a weekday though." Kevin added. Everyone loaded out of the car and walked to the base of the falls. The water was a foamy white and green from its quick and fluid motion. Eric crossed his arms and smiled.
"You know, these falls aren't that big, but there's just something about 'em." The others snickered at him; he wasn't usually the one to talk like that. No, that was Jack's job. Then everyone was quiet, just listening to the gentle roar of the water. Until Hobbes' stomach started growling that is. Everyone laughed.
"Hey come on, I haven't eaten all day!" he defended.
"It's alright, calm down." Jack said still somewhat laughing. "There's a restaurant on the other side of the river, we can take the bridge and get something to eat." The group thought this was a good idea and made their way across the bridge.
The second they walked in the door they were "greeted" by the staff.
"And just what do you think you're doing in here?!" a rather flustered waiter shouted.
"We just came in to get a bite to eat sir." Jack tried to calm the man down. The man became furious.
"I wouldn't expect your kind to be able read but can't you at least recognize pictures of yourselves?!" he shouted as he pointed to the front door. On it was a sign that had an outline of a man with pointed ears and a tail with a cross through it. Under that it read "No Anthros". Hobbes stepped forward, towering over the man.
"You mean to tell me you're not going to serve us?" he asked in a dark and nasty voice.
"That's exactly what I mean; now get out of my restaurant you dirty animals!" Hobbes lunged forward with a roar but Jack and Eric caught him just before he could touch the man. It took everyone's effort to pull Hobbes out of the restaurant and back to the car.
"Why do the humans treat us like we're nothing?!" he shouted as they dragged him to the car. He saw some people staring at them. "Well?! Why do you treat us this way?! What have we ever done to you?!"
"Quiet down Hobbes! Do you want someone to call the police?" Kevin retorted. Hobbes went silent and everyone loaded into the car. Hobbes was silent the whole ride back to the hotel.
Humans and Anthromorphs both coexisted in this world, but anthros all over the world were treated as the lowest minorities ever to walk the planet. No one knows when the first anthros made their way into the world, but most humans never took kindly to them. What the boys witnessed in the restaurant was becoming more and more common around the world, and not in just eating establishments. It was happening everywhere there was a public facility. There were some great anthros in history though. Anthros had served in the military during WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, The Gulf War, and current day. Some of the greatest scientific minds of the 20thcentury were anthros. There were notable singers and actors too. Even politicians. Human and Anthro marriages weren't unheard of either. What baffled scientists is that when a human and anthro bred, the baby would not be a mixture of animal and human, but would rather be one or the other. Kevin was a prime example; his father was a coyote and his mother a human. But despite all of this, anthros were never fully accepted in everyday life and society.
When they arrived back at the hotel, Hobbes was completely quiet. He had his bandana in his lap and had just stared at it the whole ride. Cody signaled for the others to go inside, he would handle this one. He put his hand on Hobbes' shoulder.
"Hobbes..."
"Why do they hate us?" Hobbes asked, not looking away from his bandana. "What have we ever done to deserve the way we're treated?" His hand clenched bandana tightly. Cody began stroking Hobbes' back in an attempt to calm him.
"Nobody knows why most humans don't like us, but there's nothing we can really do about it. All I know is that are the few out there that do like us and continue to give us hope." A lone tear made its way across Hobbes' face. "Hobbes, you are my best friend. I hate seeing you like this. Come on, it was just one restaurant, no need to be discouraged. Just remember, no matter what, the guys and I will always love you." Cody put out his hand. Hobbes looked at it a smiled. Their hands met with a clap and shook. Cody helped Hobbes out of the car and they made their way inside. Eric was waiting for them in the lobby.
"How you doing, big guy?" he asked with his arms crossed. Hobbes smiled and gave a thumbs up. Eric smiled. "Come on; let's get you back to the room." He and Cody both put their hands on his shoulders and walked him to his room. After dropping him off, Cody went to his own room. Jack was inside watching TV.
"How's he doing?" he asked, muting the TV. Cody smiled.
"He's gonna be just fine."
"He's always been consciences about that whole thing hasn't he?" Jack sighed.
"Boy you should have seen him in elementary school; he about killed a kid."
"Why is he so defensive about it?" Jack asked. He really didn't understand. Cody sat down on the edge of his bed.
"I don't know the whole story, but his parents told me some of it. When his parents still lived in China, they were shunned for being furries. But then one day it got worse when people tried to kill them for it. That's why they came to the U.S.; they knew no one would try that here. They eventually had a son, who learned about their Chinese roots. But he also learned why it was that they no longer lived in China. He became very angry about that, even as a cub. He almost cut a human kid open when he smack talked furries in 1stgrade." Jack had a look of disbelief on his face.
"And they still let him go to school?"
"Well, the family went to court over it. They ruled in favor of Hobbes when they found out what the kid had actually said. I remember it all. They made me a witness." Cody walked to the window with his hands behind his back. "Hobbes certainly doesn't hate humans, I mean; come on his girlfriend is a human. But sometimes I feel-"
"Like he overreacts?" Jack finished. Cody snapped his fingers.
"Exactly."
Hobbes and Eric walked into their room quietly. Kevin was taking a nap. Eric poked at him to see if he would wake up, but this was to no avail. Hobbes rummaged through his bag until he found his laptop. He opened it up on a table and began typing.
"What 'cha doing?" Eric asked, losing interest in waking up Kevin.
"I'm gonna see if Clarisse is on the internet." Hobbes mumbled as he typed. Jack peered over Hobbes' shoulder and watched him type. He saw her picture and pointed to the screen.
"Look, she's available for video chat." Hobbes clicked it and her image enlarged. She saw Hobbes and a smile swept her face.
"Hey there my fuzzy tigy wigey! How are things in the prairies?" she asked blowing a kiss to the camera. Eric looked at the screen and stole Hobbes' line.
"Hey there, Clarisse!" He said with a smile and tail wag. Clarisse laughed and waved.
"Hi Eric! Are you having a good time with my big fuzzy?" she asked.
"Well, big fuzzy here got into a bit of a dispute today." He joked. Clarisse's smile faded.
"What?! Oh no, Hobbes what happened?" she asked. Hobbes let out a low growl and sneered at Eric. Eric put his hands up and walked to the door.
"I'll leave you two alone." He laughed as he exited. Hobbes sighed and looked back at the screen.
"We ran into more anti-anthros again today. Even in this quiet city. Honey I'm starting to lose hope in humans." He said. Clarisse tired to calm him.
"Oh sweetheart you know we're not all like that! A lot of humans love furries! Think of all the humans back home, they like you."
"Yeah, but I'm not so sure I'm gonna like them anymore." He grumbled.
"But... you still like me don't you?" Clarisse asked shyly. Hobbes smiled and let out a low purr.
"You know I'll always like you. Heck, I can't say like, more like love." A smile returned to Clarisse's face.
"Oh, sweetie..." was all she could get out. Hobbes continued to purr. They just sat there and looked at each other for a while, nothing to say to ruin the moment. That is, until Kevin began to show signs of awakening.
"Honey I've got to go." Hobbes said. Clarisse smiled and nodded.
"Ok. I'll be waiting for you to come home." And with that the video chat closed. Kevin rubbed his eyes and sat up on the bed.
"Hey there Hobbes." He said with a yawn. "What's going on?" Hobbes just gave a little smirk and closed his laptop.
"Nothing."
"Is it safe to come back in?" Eric laughed as he opened the door. His laughter was ceased when a pillow met his face, naturally thrown by Hobbes.
"Hey Kathryn, table two's ready to pay."
"Ok, I'll get it." The young fox replied. She came to a table with two men ready to pay for their meal. "So, did you gentlemen enjoy your food?" she asked while one of the men handed her a 20 dollar bill.
"It was delicious." He answered. "Thank you very much young lady." The other man placed some money on the table and they left. The young fox picked the money up, $7.
'Wow! This is a big tip!' she thought to herself. She cleared the table and sent the dishes back to the kitchen. She joined two other waitresses- Sally and Sue- at the front counter.
"So, how much did you get?" Sue asked.
"They gave me $7." Kathryn replied. Molly eyes got big.
"Really?! You sure know how to make some serious money girl!" Sally said with a thumbs up. The young snow leopard had always looked up to Kathryn. Sue laughed.
"Girl, you ought to undo some of those top buttons on your outfit. You'd make even more then." Kathryn blushed.
"Sue! I could never do that." She half teased. Sue continued to laugh.
"Oh I s'pose you're right." She pointed at the girls "You two are both great girls and I don't ever wanna see you goin' down that path. It's bad enough some of us humans do it, but once a furry does it their begging for trouble." The girls nodded their head as they looked around the diner. Not a single costumer, though this was to be expected. Sue's Diner lay on the middle of they highway where only people with time stopped in, and knowing the modern world, nobody has time anymore.
"Sooooo," Sally broke the silence "What's the deal with you and Cody?" she said with a teasing tone. Kathryn was taken off by the question and began to blush.
"What do you mean?" she asked with her hands behind her back while gently kicking at the floor.
"Oh come on now girly." Sue insisted "We know you've got the hots for that little fox. And I can see why. He's a cute little thing, and nice too. He comes in and eats from time to time. AND he plays saxophone! Oh glory be, if I were you I'd snatch him right up! No boy plays sax anymore, but the ones that do? Oh! Just fantastic! Course everything nowadays depends on whether a kid can play guitar." She said with disgust. "Just aient fair." Kathryn blushed some more.
"Well, he's is a really great guy. We've been good friends since middle school and up through high school. I really do like him, but I'm not sure if he likes me that way." Sally broke into laughter.
"That's because you've never heard him talk about you before! It's like he turns into a real Don Juan! He talks in a smooth and relaxed tone with no mistakes in his word or grammar. If I were you, I'd take my chances with that one." She suggested.
"Is that true? Does he really act that way?" Kathryn asked.
"I'll tell you its true!" Sue insisted. "And when he talks that way you'd guess he was MUCH older. And he looks even more handsome when he talks like that too." Kathryn looked at her friends. They both nodded their heads with smiles. She grinned and adjusted her long brown hair.
"Maybe I'll just have to ask him for myself."