Part One: Cold Shoulders, but a Warm Smile
#1 of New Kid
New Kid, New Place, Same Story
Can one who has known only hate find love
Can one who has known only fear find courage
And can two lost souls find each other
Chapter notes:
This is a story about a kid who has been hated through most of his life because of what he is. After moving around so much in his life he has stopped trying to socialize and make friends thinking that they'll just hate him once they know what he is. He has had a hard life but has a loving family so things are ok for him. The story is mainly about Zeke's life in this new school and all the things that happen to him.
This is the first part and pretty much introduces the main character, Zeke, and the start of his first day at a new school. There's not much action or anything but things will get more interesting for people I hope. This is part one of an ongoing story that I have tried to put a lot of work and effort into and I hope that everyone enjoys my new story.
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Part One: Cold Shoulders, but a Warm Smile
It's not ever easy being the new kid at school. You walk in and don't know anyone and everyone who bothers to take notice of you just stares at you. They look at you with questioning eyes, already judging you without a word being said and just whisper to those nearby about who you are and what you're doing here. Lucky for me though, I was already beyond used to it, and didn't even care about them.
This would be the 11th school that I had attended since I was 6 years old and at 16 now I'd grown accustomed to all this and just had decided long ago that they were gonna judge me regardless of how I acted so I might as well just save my energy and keep to myself. The furs here would learn about what I was eventually, and then whatever friends that I had made up 'til then would shrug me off like I had the plague. I had figured out that the scenery might change but the furs never really do.
I walked along by myself passing by this small park and raised my right paw to look at the watch my dad had gotten me a few years ago, "7:28 a.m., so I've still got awhile before I have to be there." I looked ahead and saw the school about 20 yards away and decided to walk over and sit down under this tall maple tree. I looked up at the new leaves starting to emerge from their long winter's sleep and stretched out and looked around some more.
Spring was coming and all around the area new plants were starting to bloom and sprout as furs walked about, some younger ones walking to the school and the older ones walking for some exercise. I lifted my muzzle and sniffed at the air and licked my lips as I smelled all the scents around me. I'd always liked the spring; I guess my wolf instincts enjoyed all the new smells that were emerging from the drab cold air of winter. I shook my head and let my long grey hair fall all over my face and let out a sigh as I let only my nose feed me information about the world around me. I took a few quick sniffs around to make sure there was no one around and opened one eye to look for anyone nearby before extending my sharp feline claws and combing my hair back and letting my claws scratch at the top of my head lightly. I'd always liked doing that with my claws, it had relaxed me when my mom had done that when I was a cub and now that I was older I combed my hair like that sometimes and it made me feel happy to think back on those simpler times.
Back when my family was still together, happy and living peacefully. My dad was working at a nice job and my mom was raising me and my brother and we were all just happy. My dad was, and still is actually, a good looking Timber wolf who still worked out and kept the body he had gotten through his years in high school playing football and a few years in college. He was strong, friendly, and warm and everyone liked him a lot in our town and no one even had cared about him taking a tigress as his mate.
That female Siberian tigress became my mother after they'd been married for about 2 years. She's always been a looker I've heard people say; pretty, intelligent, and just the kind of woman who knew a lot about the world. She was always kind to people and rarely spoke down about someone but she was always strong willed and wouldn't let people walk over her or those she cared for. Simply put though, my parents were good folks and deserved the good things in their lives together and everyone really liked them both. So even when my mom had her first cub no one really cared that a wolf and tiger had mated and mixed their blood to have a hybrid son, me.
That's what I am, a hybrid, half Timber wolf and half Siberian tiger. Technically I was called a wiger and was considered a very rare breed. Though breeding between different types of furs was possible and no real problems ever really were seen in their hybrid offspring, many saw mating with a different type of fur as an abomination to nature and that the offspring were freaks. Just a bunch of old fashioned bigots who should leave good people alone in my opinion.
I let out a sigh and shook my head again to clear my thoughts though, I couldn't be thinking of all that crap that had happened to us all now before heading to school. I looked at my watch again and saw that it was getting close to be getting to my new school. I got up and brushed myself off softly making sure I looked ok, picked up my bag, and walked my way there. I just walked right on in and found the office easily without even looking around and taking in the school. Like I'd said before I'd been to a lot of schools over the years and they're all pretty much the same over all, including the students and faculty.
I saw this elderly weasel woman sitting behind a desk when I came in. I went up to her and said that I was new and that I was supposed to get my schedule and things this morning. She gave me a nice soft smile and rummaged through some papers. "Hmmm... Oh, here we are. Mister... Thomson, is it?" The weasel smiled at me as she said this and looked up at me and I just nodded and she handed me a piece of paper and a student handbook which I took from her paw and looked at.
"Yes ma'am, that's me, William Ezekiel Thomson, but most people call me Zeke."
She nodded and continued to smile at me before speaking again. "Well then, Zeke, it is nice to meet you. There's your schedule, homeroom number, and locker combination but you can just stay here until 1st period starts and I'll tell you a few things you need to know." She motioned for me to sit and she talked about the rules the school had as the bell rang and the halls filled with furs moving towards their first period class and just as the bell rang again the elderly weasel had finished briefing me on dress code and all that other junk. I nodded and thanked her for her time and walked out the door to my first period class.
"Let's see now. First period: English with a Ms. Rosela Room 127." I nodded and folded the paper into my jacket pocket while I walked around and got familiar with where everything was and where my locker was before finding the room I was supposed to be in.
The door was closed and was one of those with a small glass window so that you could look into the class or out into the hall so I stood at the door and looked in at the class. It seemed to have lots of different furs and that class hadn't quite started yet. I took a deep breath before knocking on the door, which only this kind looking vixen seemed to have heard.
She motioned for me to come in through the window and I opened the door to the random noises of a talkative class. I looked up at the vixen's face and asked in a firm questioning voice that showed I wasn't sure if I was in the right place, "Um... are you Ms. Rosela?"
The vixen just nodded and smiled, "Yes, and I suppose you are the new student transferring here? I was told we were getting a new student today; it's nice to meet you, excuse me. Class, please settle down please it's time to begin class." The room got real quiet then and some furs started to get out papers and things to take notes and such for the class. "Thank you class, now we have a new student with us..."
I silently rolled my eyes and thought, 'Oh dear lord! Not this thing. I hate it when the teacher makes me do this!' She was going to have me do the same thing that I had been made to do by so many other teachers before. I hated doing it as I found it to be rather pointless. After moving around so much and going to so many different schools I knew I'd eventually be found out and then we'd be forced to move again, so why bother. "Why don't you introduce yourself before we begin?"
'I guess now would be a good time to buy some lottery tickets' I thought to myself and sighed softly as I stood before the class looking at no one in particular and just said in a cold monotone voice that I had grown accustomed to talking in, "My name is William Ezekiel Thomson. Most people call me Zeke, and that is all you need to know." It may have sounded a bit colder than I had intended but it still had a nice effect on the class. Most of them were now looking me over like I was some strange, crazy fur, a few looked at me like I was dangerous, some started sizing me up to see if I was for real, and there were some who just ignored me. I knew saying something like this would help me to be left alone by most people here.
"Uhh, yes," Ms Rosela cleared her throat as she figured that I had finished, "Um, you can sit there by the window next to Mr. Jordon there." She pointed and I followed her finger towards a desk in the back row next to this very handsome brown otter that I assumed was the "Mr. Jordon" that she was referring to. I just walked back there not showing an ounce of emotion on my face and sat down as Ms. Rosela started today's lesson.
I got out my binder and listened to her as I turned to a piece of paper I'd been drawing on recently and started to sketch some in between my note taking. It seemed that they were reading some poetry and I just doodled while they discussed some poem from the early 1900s. I didn't much care for the subject so I just doodled and drew on my paper and looked at it and tried to think. It was a picture of me in bed laying on my back covered up to my waist with a sheet as I had one arm hanging over the side with the other stretched out towards the empty space.
I thought about a few things and added some more details to it, trying to plan out how the lines looked and everything as Ms. Rosela finished up her lecture and caught my attention. "And now it's time for your poetry project." I heard groans come from a few furs as I looked up at her to get the assignment and moved to my assignment book to write the assignment down. "Now, all you have to do is write a poem. It must be at least 8 lines long. It doesn't have to rhyme but I do expect it to flow and sound like it wasn't done in 10 minutes. Keep it clean, no sex, drug, or gang references and all that, and I think that's it. If you need any help you can see me after class. And I think we'll have this due Friday." She smiled and went to her desk to do some things as I wrote down the assignment.
"Sure thing teach, piece of cake for me," I chuckled as I said this to myself and looked at my watch to see we still had about 5 minutes left before the end of class.
I looked at my drawing for a moment before I noticed someone standing behind me and looked around to see the otter I was sitting next to standing behind me and looking over my shoulder at my sketch. He saw me looking at him and held up a paw and smiled slightly embarrassed that I found him standing quietly behind me. "
Heheh... uh... sorry dude, I just wanted to see what you were workin' on through class. Um, it looks pretty good." He gave me a slight smile and a thumbs-up and I just nodded and thanked him before putting it up and getting my stuff put up not having more to say to him. "Uhh... yeah. Anyway, my names Matt Jordon, nice to meet you... Zeke, was it?"
I zipped up my book-bag and turned around to face him realizing that something was going on. "Yeah, it's Zeke. Did you want to ask me something?"
He let out a soft chuckle and reached up to scratch his short brown head fur looking a bit flustered, "Uh... yeah... ok man listen. You said that this assignment would be a piece of cake for you right?"
I nodded slowly and looked at him wondering what he was thinking. "Yeah, I like to write poetry and stuff. I've been told by a few people I was good at it and I like to think I have some talent in it."
Matt nodded looking at me calmer now and leaned back against his desk before he tore out a piece of paper and wrote down something on it. "Uh... here. I need help with this sort of thing so just meet me at my locker after school and we can go to the library or something so you can help me, that is, if you can and want to."
I took the paper and thought about it looking at his locker number and nodded. "I guess I can help you out. No fur off my back." I still was straight faced and not being to forward and open, but he still smiled and let out a sigh of relieve.
"Man thanks, you've saved my tail. I can't fail this class, and it doesn't matter if you're good or not just so long as you can help me out some at least. And now I'll owe ya one. Hey let me see your schedule." I nodded and got out the piece of paper and gave it to him. He looked it over and smiled wide.
"Hey man this is awesome! You've got 3 more classes with me and the same lunch period. Let's see, Anatomy with Mrs. Barton, she's a very sweet doe, Algebra III with Mr. Walraven, that bear's class is fairly easy, and History with Mr. Warren, ha that old coon is a real character. Hmm... you've also got Art with Miss Greeson, I think she's that cardinal I've seen walking around the courtyard sometimes, and psychology with Mr. Kole, I've heard he's a pretty cool badger."
He handed me back my schedule and I nodded. "That sounds good then. Guess that means I can help you out some during class today then." He looked at me funny probably because I sounded so unenthused about things but before he could say anything the bell rang.
"Oh hey, I've got to go swing by my locker right fast but I'll catch ya in Mrs. Barton's room. Talk to ya then," and with that the strangely friendly otter I'd just met darted off quickly to his locker.
I got up and started walking towards the door thinking to myself, "Hmm, well he sure seems like a nice enough guy; pretty cute and he sure does have a nice looking body and looks friendly enough. To bad I'd doubt he'd like the real me, either one even, but who knows maybe this school will be different."
I walked up to the door but as I got there I got roughly shouldered by this large and tough looking puma that just sneered at me. "Watch it freak!" He and a few other furs just walked off laughing and left me to myself.
"Then again... I guess things won't really be THAT different after all."
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End Notes:
This was part one, if anyone sees anything wrong or something that I could improve on then please feel free to email me at [[email protected]](%5C) and I will be most thankful. I'm trying to put a lot of work into this story and want it to be something good so any critiques and such that I can get will be most helpful.
As to the story, Zeke is who I am in sorts. I'm distant, cold, a loner, and I never did feel like I fit in anywhere. Like Zeke I am a good poet and writer and a so-so artist. Zeke in essence is me portrayed a bit differently and exaggerated a bit here and there. The teachers' names and species are also taken a bit from real life. You can think of this story as a fictional story that just contains my real life experience and characteristics