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By

Al Song

The wolf looked into her dresser mirror and flattened the cobalt blazer on her stomach and sides. She did a three-hundred and sixty degree turn to check out her entire outfit. She then gave herself a bright smile and said, "You're great. You're amazing and wonderful. I'm so proud of you!"

She looked at her clock on the nightstand and it read '7:15 AM.' She picked up the black agenda off it and flipped to the day's page. It read '6:30 AM: Wake up and then shower' and then '7:00 AM: Get dressed.'

"Perfect," she whispered to herself.

She walked out of her room and into the hallway where she heard snoring from one of the other bedrooms and the sizzling of cooking from the small kitchen at the other end of it.

"Morning," said another wolf followed by a yawn as he fried an egg on the stove. He was in a pair of workout sweats and a new blue track jacket.

"Good morning, Jose," she beamed happily at the sight of her best friend.

"Trish, are you going to wake up Peter?" he asked as he carefully plated the egg from the spatula. "It's your turn this month."

"Of course I will. It's in my agenda," she said as she happily scooped fat-free yogurt into a small bowl and added some strawberries, blueberries and granola to it. "Yesterday he said that his first class was going to be cancelled so I'm going to wake him up in fifteen minutes."

"I don't like that we have to be paternal figures to that kangaroo sometimes," Jose said as he poured himself a glass of orange juice. He took his food, plopped down on the couch and set his plate and cup on the low coffee table.

"I know," she sighed as she inserted two slices of whole grain bagels into the toaster. "Three alarm clocks and we still have to manually wake him up." She dipped a bag of yerba mate into a mug of hot water and added a splash of almond milk to it.

"He's a lazy guy but he's our friend and he's a really nice guy," he said as he dipped his toast into the yolk of the egg.

"True but I wish that he could actually pick up after himself," she said and rolled her hazel eyes.

"Yeah, that'd be nice," he said after a bite of his toast. "We've lived with him for two years now. I thought I would get used to his messiness but I still haven't. I don't know how you've handled it." Trish stopped at that moment and glared at him.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" she asked from the kitchen and stared him down.

"Nothing, I didn't mean anything by it," he said waving his paws in front of him and trying to look calm.

"No, you're saying that I'm an uptight neat freak." She knew her voice was rising but she allowed it.

"No, I didn't say that. I just meant that you don't like messes and that he's messy and there's some..." he paused and tried desperately to find the right words. "Uh, conflict there."

"Are you saying that I'm always causing problems?" she asked sternly and tapping her foot.

"No, of course I'm not saying that. Trish, can we please not fight. You're my best friend and I'm going on a jog now. I'll see you later this... afternoon I guess."

"Fine," she exhaled sharply. "I'll see you then."

"Hug?" he asked with an apologetic smile.

"Fine," she said stubbornly. "I'm not confrontational."

"Yep," the other wolf said as he grabbed a protein shake from the fridge and headed out.

She walked to the door where the rumbled breathing originated and knocked gently on it. She opened the door and stepped over a few eschewed piles of sheet music and dirty laundry to a snoring gray kangaroo. She looked at all three alarm clocks that all read snooze on them and the smartphone that was turned off and rolled her eyes.

"Wake up, Peter," she gently said and he remained motionless yet he still rumbled like a motor. "I said wake up." It was a little louder this time. "Wake up!" she shouted.

"No," he groaned in response. "If you don't then I'm going to pour a glass of water on you just like last time," she threatened with no amount of humor in her voice.

"Fine," he whined. He loudly yawned and got out of his bed and adjusted his pajama pants as he trudged to the bathroom.

"I have to be in class in twenty minutes so I'll see you later today."

"Yeah. Later. Whatever," he said groggily.

She rolled her eyes again but continued to her bed room and grabbed her stylish, retro backpack she bought during her internship in Milan over summer break and her rustic yet chic purse she received as a present from her host family. She did one last check in the mirror and headed out the door.

***

Trish walked onto the campus of the University of the Pacific Northwest which was also shortened to UPNw which was pronounced "up now" to the locals. When she was a freshman she would always take a few seconds to admire the gothic buildings juxtaposed with the shining modern structures and she would remind herself where she was in life. But as a senior it was just the usual background she saw each day and she contemptuously eyed the tourists and high school groups that took pictures around the campus.

She walked into Frost Hall, which was UPNw's school of business. The walls of the rooms were blindingly stark white and they all had a stunning glossy finish to them. Other students and staff were sitting on what looked like gigantic marshmallows which served as one person stools and were some of the most comfortable seats in the entire school. There were also comfortable couches made of the same material but were rectangular with rounded edges. The desks and tables had the same icy shine to them but had white plastic chairs so people could sit upright in them as they studied and did homework. She took the gleaming staircase up a floor and walked into her first class which was advanced general marketing.

She sat next to a few of her friends and chatted for a little bit until the professor, who was a young, lanky squirrel plopped his briefcase on the front desk and started class. As the class progressed Trish's fingers looked like blurs as she took notes on her laptop.

"Well, be talking about advertising today and I hope everyone did the reading during the weekend. I'll start with a simple review question," he said after a sip of coffee from his travel mug. "Can anyone tell me the difference between advertising and publicity?"

Trish raised her paw and no one else did.

The professor looked around the room and then said, "Alright, Patricia."

"Advertising is a paid form of promotion and publicity is free," she said smiling.

"Correct," the squirrel said and took another sip.

As the class went on she constantly raised her arm to answer questions but was not always getting picked by the professor.

"Patricia, your fellow classmates need a chance to contribute too," he and other professors would normally say to her. Usually she would just wave it off and get back to note taking.

Next she headed to her fashion marketing class and repeated the same process. Afterwards she had an hour break between then and her last class of the day and she used it to have lunch.

She usually walked down to the student union building to have a green tea and a "build your own" salad. She would also sit down and listen to her jazz playlist as she had lunch and read about the news or from a novel on her tablet.

Her last class of the day was an Italian literature course in the world languages building. It was an older building with a sixties feeling in the decorum and she loved hearing people speaking in other languages than English. It felt like a wonderful melting pot. It also made her feel a bit more cultured. She repeated her usual classroom habits within this class too except she said everything and wrote everything in Italian. There would always be a blank document to take notes on and a handy translator just a tab away. She always raised her arm in the air after each question which got her glares from other students and sometimes even the professor would tiredly sigh at this.

***

Afterward class she met up with the other student officers of the Italian club in the student union building. As president she had appointed a red kangaroo named Kent to be the vice president, Emilia, an exchange student who was an otter from Rome to be the treasurer, and Jake, a lion who was majoring in English literature and minoring in Italian studies to be the secretary. She felt confident this year in her group of officers to take care of the needs of the club.

"It's been a few weeks into the new school year and you three were the only ones that came to each meeting last spring, which makes me very happy. I'm also glad that we've become friends since this tight bond will keep this club afloat."

The kangaroo raised his hand. "So, what exactly am I supposed to do as vice president? I mean you kind of just made me it."

"Well, you will be my eyes and ears when I don't notice something and if I can't be at a meeting all the responsibility will be on your shoulders. You're also going to help me execute my tasks as president and act as my right hand person. You said that you want to become more confident and make more friends last year and this will definitely help you."

"That sounds like a lot, Trish," he said nervously and scratched the back of his neck.

"Don't worry I've got mostly everything under control. We're going to have a fun year this time instead of just making meetings just for logistics."

"If you're going to do so much I don't want to feel like I'm not helping," the otter said with concern in her voice.

"Yeah, I want to feel like I'm doing my part," the lion said guiltily.

"No, we're all going to be planning each club meeting together and we'll be doing the event planning together."

"What happens if one of the members wants to suggest something?" Kent asked.

"Well, all of the ideas will go through me and then I will decide what we do from there."

"I thought we would go over things as officers," Jake asked.

"We will but I'm going to have the final say."

***

Trish then went to the business library in Frost hall to study. She scanned her textbooks with laser precision and speed as she quickly typed notes on her laptop with one hand without needing to look at the screen. After she read the required chapters she made flash cards on her tablet and made sure she memorized all of the vocabulary. She then took out the reading packet for her Italian literature class and did a quick gloss over the text and underlined each word she didn't know and looked them up after reading each paragraph. She always had a system for each class and she made sure she knew everything and that her grades remained perfect.

***

She then made her way to the LGBTQ resource center, which consisted of a brown corduroy couch, a short bookshelf and a small coffee table in the main space. A vixen behind a desk with a computer was typing away and yawning as Trish entered the room.

"Hey, Georgia! How's it going?" Trish asked with a bright smile.

"Okay, I guess," said the fox tiredly. She then yawn again, wiped a tear from each eye and readjusted her glasses. "How's the always energized wolf doing?"

"I'm doing perfectly perfect. I just came along to ask about how many people are going to attend the Purple Dance this year."

"Just a second, let's see..." the vixen said as she started to flip through a couple folders and files. She took out a printed spreadsheet. "We only have thirty people so far."

"Give it some more time and we'll have more attendees. I mean we've got a few more weeks left before the dance."

"Trish, are you sure you don't want to get more helpers on the committee?" she asked with concern in her voice.

"We have the people that we need to make sure this dance goes smoothly. Plus I've got a handle on it."

"Only if you say so," the fox said as she turned her gaze back to the screen.

***

Trish then headed to the student gym. She got changed for her yoga class and spent the next half hour holding various poses and breathing along with a couple other people in the small room. The last ten minutes were always her favorite. The instructor, a tall grizzly bear told his students to sit in lotus position and clear their minds. She loved to just tune out the world and scrub the chaos from her mind. She enjoyed taking on the challenges of school but this was one of the nicer parts of her week.

She then went to her locker to get her smartphone and earbuds. On the way to a treadmill she saw a beautiful tigress running on one near her usual treadmill. She stopped and stared at her. In reality she was probably running on a pretty high setting but in Trish's mind everything was in slow motion. Then the tigress stopped the tread mill and turned to the side to retrieve a water bottle from her sports bag and smiled at Trish.

The wolf then felt her face getting warm and quickly turned her head away. She awkwardly started to walk away from the tiger with her gaze averted from those beautiful blue eyes. She then stepped onto a treadmill and realized that her shoelace had become undone. She cursed herself and wondered if the tiger was still paying any attention to her. She looked back and saw that their gazes and treadmills were perpendicular to one another.

Trish listened to Italian opera as she jogged on the treadmill and fantasized about the tigress. She imagined herself in an opera about love along with the black and orange striped beauty she glanced at now and then.

After a couple minutes of fantasizing Trish felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and froze to see the tigress behind her smiling. She almost fell down but stopped the machine in time.

"Hey," the tall feline said sweetly.

"Uh, heh, hi." Even though she didn't fall her words stumbled.

"I noticed that you were staring at me."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable," she apologized and was dismayed at her own behavior.

"It's okay. I was wondering if you'd like to get a smoothie with me," she said with her smile still brimming.

Really? Was this actually happening? Trish thought it was a miracle and her heart and mind both scuttled to figure out what was real and what wasn't.

"So, do you?" the tigress asked and Trish realized she was staring and not speaking.

The wolf looked at her phone and said, "I scheduled myself to work out for another twenty minutes but I think I'm done for today."

"No problem, I understand when that happens. I usually don't want my workouts to be interrupted but if you want to keep working out then it's okay too."

"Oh, no, I'd love to get a smoothie," Trish said with a bright smile.

They both walked down the metal staircase to the main level and got strawberry-kiwi smoothies with a yerba mate base and sat down at a window seat of the small juice bar.

Trish glanced at the students walking outside in the cold autumn afternoon and felt the same chill as she took a sip of her smoothie.

"I'm Erica by the way," the tiger said as she put a paw in front of her.

"I'm Trish," she replied trying not to sound meek but her stomach was fluttering as their paws made contact.

"Ooh, nice, firm handshake," Erica said with a grin. "Most people have really weak ones in Seattle. It's as if they don't really want to talk to you or engage with you in any kind of way."

"Well, I'm a marketing student so they make sure you have a good handshake. What are you studying?"

"I'm majoring in sports medicine and minoring in English. Do you have a minor?"

"Yeah, it's Italian studies."

"Wow, that's such a fancy language. I took French for my foreign language requirement and I only did that because I took it in high school."

"It's still a very regal language," Trish tried to say as reassuringly as possible.

"Well," Erica said with a wave of a paw. "I was never really good at it."

"It's a lot of memorization and practice."

"I mostly practice for basketball."

"Oh, are you on a women's team?"

"No, I just help coach different high school basketball teams near the university. I used to play varsity when I was in Roman High School."

"Hey, a kangaroo in Italian club is from Roman."

"It's a small world I guess. It's just a tiny stupid town in Snow County."

"I'm from Snow County too. I lived in Ayerston, so I understand small towns. Being the Ayerston Millers wasn't a great mascot."

"Are you kidding the Roman Farmers didn't make us look that great either."

"There's nothing wrong with being a farmer. I mean they're important."

"I guess so, but I love helping out at the high schools around here. It reminds me of my 'glory years,'" she said with air quotes.

"I volunteer at the UPNw children's hospital in their gift shop," Trish said as she saw Erica's face brighten.

"That's pretty awesome. I don't know many people that volunteer. Well, I guess I don't know many outside of my coaching program. It's sweet that you take time to do that."

Trish felt her ears and face become warm at the compliment but she tried to keep her eyes focused on the tiger's.

Erica turned her green eyes downward at the metal table and said, "I don't mean to be so blunt but, you're very pretty."

"You're really sweet," Trish replied and turned her eyes downward.

"Want to go out sometime this week?" She asked with a hint of flirtation in her tone.

"Sure!" Trish said almost jumping out of her seat.

"Do you want to work out together tomorrow?"

"Oh, uh, I usually just work out on Mondays and the weekend," she said as she got out her planner. "But I can rearrange some stuff."

"Alright! It's a date," Erica gleamed as Trish's paw stopped in the middle of rescheduling and her heart melted.

***

Trish entered her apartment to the sound of videogame explosions and lasers. She happily walked to the living room and sat down in her recliner.

"Hey Trish," Jose said as he kept his golden eyes straight at the television screen. "You're home later than usual."

"Yeah, that's unlike you," Peter said with the same amount of concentration on his own face as he mashed the buttons on his controller. The kangaroo on the screen blew up a car surrounded by zombies and Jose high-fived Peter.

"Well, let's just say I have a date with a beautiful tigress tomorrow."

"What?" the two boys asked in unison. The screen was then paused and their stares at Trish were just as still.

"I met her at the gym today and we had smoothies together."

"That's so awesome!" Jose said as he gave her a high-five.

"You've broken the curse!" Peter said with shining blue eyes. "Finally one of us has found a date since freshman year. You need to find me a boyfriend!"

"Hey, we never said anyone had to find anyone else a date but you need to find me a girlfriend," Jose said enthusiastically.

"I know it's been years since any of us have found anyone to date and I'm lucky enough to find a girl that's completely gorgeous but I know you guys will each find someone too."

"That's the same garbage other couples say," Peter said jokingly but with some jealousy in his voice. He turned his gaze downward and his ears drooped a little.

"Fair enough but I'm only going out on a date tomorrow. It's not like I'm going to marry her next week."

Peter looked back up at her and said, "Well, I am happy for you too. Come on everyone! Group hug!"

The three friends stood and put their arms around each other. Trish felt the love and joy from her best friends as she imagined the events of the next day.

***

The next day Trish woke up refreshed as her alarm clock played "Ode to Joy." She had a smile on her face and a giddy squeal was forming in her throat. Thoughts of the previous day's afternoon had made their way into her dreams and she was remembering the beautiful tigress as she got ready.

She rearranged her schedule for the day in her tablet and erased a few things in her planner and rewrote them in their respective spaces. There was a sense of elation in her mind as she finished editing her schedule.

She headed out and went to her classes trying hard to focus on the lectures and not just think about Erica. It was a tough ordeal but she managed to make sure everything being said would actually register and process in her mind. As she took notes fleeting thoughts of the beautiful tigress entered her mind and she had to remind herself that she needed to pay attention to the whiteboard and to the professor.

After her Italian literature class Trish headed to the fashion club and sat down next to the other officers. Here she was the secretary and she had stepped down from her position of president to allow a fellow senior, Jim to be the president since she had that role for the past two years.

The short arctic fox in his cross between preppy and goth clothing stepped to the front of the room. He and Trish were good friends ever since sophomore year when he transferred to UPNw and she knew he liked to look dapper yet mysterious. Yet he was neither snooty nor was he broody like the stereotypes from either side of his clothes. He was also an open book and that loved to socialize. She knew him to be very sweet and she knew he had a diverse group of friends and acquaintances.

"Alright, Trish would you please kindly read over the minutes from last week?" he asked with a smile on his muzzle and his tail was swishing like a fluffy, white metronome.

"So, last week we talked about the latest fall trends and we showed some of the newcomers how to use the sewing machines. Professor Campbell talked to us about color theory in fashion and how it relates to visual art. We also started to talk a little about the UPNw fall fashion show. We just need to figure out who's doing what this year."

They had a few volunteers for various positions and Trish decided to make a suit for part of the show. Some others continued sewing various garments and got help from the fashion design students and those that knew how to sew.

After the meeting as Trish checked her tablet Jim had walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Yeah, did you need something before I go?" she asked turning to the arctic fox.

"I know that the show is scheduled in three weeks and it's the day before the Purple Dance," he said worriedly.

"Well, what about it?" she replied calmly.

"I'm not saying that you won't be able to handle both but the show is the Friday of week you said you had midterms and the dance is that Saturday. Are you sure you want to make the suit and help run the dance?"

"Of course, it shouldn't be that tough. Discipline is my middle name," she said with a wave of her paw.

"Okay, only if you say so and thanks for being so organized. It seems like no one else is on top of things like you."

"You're welcome."

***

After fashion club Trish headed to the gym and saw Erica already running on the same treadmill when she arrived.

"Hey!" Trish shouted to the tigress as she stepped next to her machine.

"How're you doing?" Erica asked with a grin on her feline muzzle.

"I'm fine. Just let me get changed first and then I'll join you."

After Trish got into her workout clothes she walked back to the section with treadmills. She started on a light jog on her machine but noticed that Erica was actually running. Her face and composure looked like she was just strolling through a mall or a park rather than doing an intense cardio workout.

A few minutes in Trish increased the speed and Erica started to talk to her.

"So, how was your day?" Erica asked as if she weren't even running.

"Oh, it was good. I just went to class and then I went to fashion club. It's been pretty uneventful. And you?" Trish asked back. It was visible that Trish was trying not to pant as she talked.

"Yeah, I just went to class and then came here today."

"Alright, that's cool."

"You know you can slow down if you'd like to," the tiger said with a smile.

"No, it's fine," she said with a gasp of air. "Really, it's okay. Running isn't so bad."

"Suit yourself."

The two later moved on to different workout machines that Trish were less familiar with. She was already somewhat winded by running on the treadmill but they got onto a pair of elliptical machines. Afterwards they did some weightlifting which was a painful ordeal for Trish. She could barely do half the weights of what Erica was lifting during the curls and deadlifts.

A few hours later they went to the small juice bar and sat at the same table.

"You know that you don't have to try to impress me, right?"

"I'm not trying to do that," the wolf said trying to sound nonchalant.

"Come on, we both know the truth."

"Fine, but I just wanted to show you that I'm not a total wimp."

"I don't care how much or how little someone works out. I like you because you're nice and you're driven."

"Well, growing up I didn't have a lot and I always felt like I had to take care of myself and be smarter than everyone else. Well, my dad did get a better job in Ayerton and things improved but I still want to show that I'm strong."

"It's a survival thing, I guess. I usually have to feel like I'm tough enough to take on anyone."

Trish smiled and looked down at her smoothie at that. "Thanks again for protecting me yesterday."

"It's no problem," Erica said and took her paw and grasped it gently.

Trish's cheeks and chest began to warm up.

***

"How did the date go?" Jose asked from the coffee table. He was sketching what looked like a large suburban house.

"It was great but I think my body is going to rebel against me tomorrow," Trish said as she flopped onto her recliner. "I did more pushups today than I did this the entirety of last month."

"If you ever need work out tips I'm here to help," he said erasing a crooked line.

"I think I eventually might need to take you up on that."

"Do you think she likes you?"

"I'm pretty sure she does."

"I guess that's a pretty good start as a foundation," he chided.

"The architecture major is making puns about buildings, again. I really don't know how I feel about that."

"Building off of what you were saying it sounds like things are turning out great."

"Just stop it and let me bask in my happiness for just a minute."

***

The next day after her classes Trish went to the UPNw Children's Hospital and worked her short shift. She cleaned and made the floors shine and made sure the shelves were dust-free. She took stock of the merchandise and made the orders for what the gift shop was running low on. She also rang up the purchases of the customers with a kind smile and sweetness in her tone. She also loved playing with the children in the store and chatting with them.

Her ears perked as she heard someone's footsteps behind her and a familiar voice.

"What's up?" the tigress asked as Trish's heart suddenly raced.

"Hey, what are you doing here? I thought I was going to meet you at the restaurant?"

"I know, I just thought I would walk with you," she said grinning.

"Aw, you didn't have to come all the way down here," the wolf said fondly smiling back.

"But, I wanted to."

"Just let me finish up arranging these candy bars and flowers."

"Sure thing."

"Can I have one of those?" a small voiced asked.

Trish looked down to see a little buck with an arm in a sling pulling on her apron with his left hand. He then pointed to a cherry shaped lollipop on the top shelf.

"Sure thing, sweetie. Here you go," she said as she gave him the sucker. "Oh, do you need me to help you open that?"

"Yes please!" he said excitedly.

Trish took off the wrapper and handed him the red candy shaped like a heart.

"Thank you, miss."

"It's no problem at all," she said and then rang up the candy, a card, and a book for a doe in a business suit.

"Aw, you're pretty good with kids."

"Yeah, they're so sweet here," Trish said as two fox cubs ran into the gift shop and almost knocked over a glass bowl. "Be careful," she said carefully to the cubs. "You two don't want to get hurt." She grinned nervously at Erica.

"I understand, I've also helped kids out with basketball too," the tigress said and smiled back.

After the foxes and the few other customers left Trish noticed that Erica started to glance around.

"Are you looking for something?" the wolf asked and walked out from behind the counter.

"No, just checking to make sure no one else is around," she replied and started walking towards her.

"Why?" and then Trish felt a warm gentle kiss from the tigress. It'd been a while since she felt a nice kiss from a nice girl. She felt her body gently relax and gel from the tender contact.

"I guess that's the reason," the tigress said and lifted her brow line.

When she recovered from the warmth on her muzzle she said, "That was my first kiss in a long time."

"That's hard to believe from such a pretty wolf."

After her shift the two walked together in close proximity. They walked paw in paw and leaned on one another. To most people they looked like two close friends but they knew better than anyone on the street.

They laughed and talked during dinner and Trish was having more fun during that one meal than she ever had for in a long while. When they finished eating they kissed in a nearby alleyway and Trish leaned her head against the tigress' shoulder as they held each other.

When Trish got back to her room she sat down in her chair. She opened one textbook, closed her eyes and sighed. She took her phone out of her pocket and smiled as she read a text from Erica. She quickly texted a reply and tried to look at her textbook. They were both competing for her attention but she gave into her phone's lights and tings.

***

For the rest of the week Trish hung out with Erica. They went to cafes around the campus and talked about European literature. They got to know one another better and had kissed a lot where they couldn't be seen. When Sunday afternoon came around Trish started to do the homework she had put off for the past couple days. She skimmed through her textbooks and wrote essay after essay until it was one in the morning. She kept forgetting the vocabulary words for her Italian literature class. Since she was drinking so much yerba mate to try to stay awake she had trouble falling asleep.

The next morning when her alarm clock went off, Trish woke up her eyes felt itchy and slightly burned. Her temples felt like they've been attacked by a jackhammer and her mind just wanted to get back into bed and have the wave of nothingness from sleep wash over everything again.

After she showered and got dressed she headed toward the kitchen to fix breakfast for herself. Jose was standing in the small space and was making some cereal. He looked up at her and said, "Morning," and then paused. "Oh, did you stay up late studying?"

"Yeah, my sleep schedule really doesn't like to be messed with and I really wish that I got more sleep."

"Aw, I'm sorry," he said sympathetically. "Did you want some coffee?"

"I appreciate it but I think my yerba mate will do. Plus you know that I'm not a fan of the taste of coffee."

"Well, to each their own, I guess. I've got to run now. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, I'll see you later."

Trish never had the desire to sleep during class but today her eyes slowly drooped in all three. During her lunch break she took a nap on one of the couches in a corner of Snow Hall. She set her phone to go off ten minutes before her last class started. When she woke up from the alarm she noticed that it startled a janitor and another student nearby. She groaned and walked towards her classroom in the world languages building.

Afterwards she walked to a cafeteria near Snow Hall and grabbed a sandwich before going to Italian club. She awkwardly ate as she walked and when she got to the meeting room it had a couple new students and a few people that looked like graduate students.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she said with a muzzle full of bread. She then saw everyone staring at her and then she swallowed the lump of food and apologized again for talking with her mouth full.

"So, uh, we were discussing the dinner," Kent said apprehensively with his ears flopped back.

"Yes," Emilia said. "We decided on the week after next on that Thursday."

"My midterms are that week," Trish said a bit too loudly.

"It's just that we don't have a lot of time next week and most of us have our tests on the week after that," Jake said with a frown.

"Alright," she conceded with a sigh. "I think it'll be okay."

"We need to decide what we're all making," the otter said and started writing on the white board at the front of the room.

Trish slumped into her chair and let the kangaroo, otter, and lion take over the meeting.

***

"Hey Trish," the vixen behind the computer said with a yawn.

The wolf then repeated the contagious yawn and said, "Hi Georgia."

"Are you alright? I've never seen you this tired before."

"I'm okay. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"I'm sorry about that," she said empathetically.

"But I do have good news. I'm dating a really awesome girl."

"That's nice," she said with a little disappointment in her voice.

"Is something wrong?" the wolf asked.

"Uh, it's just that we kind of need to get all the planning finalized this week and we need more people to help out."

"I thought everything was going according to plan," she said concerned.

"You kind of didn't make it to last Thursday's meeting."

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"I called you a few times but you never got back to me."

"Shoot! I knew you did and my phone was off but I forgot to message you back, I was busy last weekend and"

"It's alright," the vixen cut her off.

"I'm sorry," she said as her eyes folded back.

"No, it's fine but things might be changing and we need your permission to add more volunteers."

"Okay, fine."

"Are you sure you're alright?" the fox asked concerned.

"I will be," she said with a sigh.

"We have a couple more things to go over."

***

"It's so nice to see you!" Trish said and hugged the tigress. "Ugh, it's been such a long, frustrating day."

"Aw, you look tired," she said as they pulled back.

"Yeah, I kind of stayed up late studying last night."

"Did you want to go back home and go to bed?"

"No, I want to be with you."

"You're sweet."

"I really like hanging out with you. I can sleep when I'm on winter break."

"Well, if you insist. Let's get going," the tigress said as they walked to the gym.

***

The following week Trish tried to lose only a few hours of sleep per night just so she wouldn't have to book binge on the weekend. She went back to doing more homework and studying each night more than the last week. It didn't help very much since she was still tired each morning but she would have more time during the weekend to spend with Erica.

When she got her essays back they were noted as being lackluster and she had to ask what her Italian professor was saying a couple times in each class session. She received a "C+" which to her was failure on an Italian quiz.

Soon Friday afternoon came along and so was another date with Erica.

When they got to her apartment Trish nuzzled the Tigress and they held each other tightly.

Erica said, "Let's go to my bedroom. I don't know when my roommates will be back."

"Will they care if they see us kissing?"

"Well, I was hoping to do more than just kiss and hug you," the tigress said as she bit her lower lip.

"Oh, of course, I understand now," she said awkwardly. She gave her girlfriend another kiss and then nuzzled her shoulder. They held each other for a few moments and then headed to the bedroom.

***

That weekend Trish didn't hear from Erica in any form of communication. Her phone only had text messages about the dinner, the fashion show and the dance. She sent a few messages to Erica and tried calling her a couple times. She then e-mailed her and instant messaged her but there were still no replies.

She then was losing sleep worrying about Erica. Both Saturday and Sunday night she turned from one side to the other as she was lying in bed. The skin under her fur itched and she gritted her teeth as she thought about what could be happening. This lack of control was driving her to a painful place. She kept asking herself why Erica wasn't responding to her. What did she do wrong? Did she do something to upset her? Did she say something wrong? It almost felt like the world was ending... well, almost.

The only consolation she had was that she finished some of her homework for Monday and a couple assignments that were due the last week but she didn't complete everything. It was a pretty good distraction but she was getting quite unfocused trying to finish the arduous distraction.

On Monday she didn't see Erica at the gym when she worked out. She kept looking everywhere in the different sections but was getting in everyone's way and the only tigers she saw were either male or were older tigresses from the community. She gave up looking and just walked on her treadmill with her ears back and defeated.

***

On Tuesday afternoon Trish was holding a pile of flyers and stapling them on message boards. A few people were giving her funny looks since the posters said "Purple Dance!" with rainbows and glitter on them but she didn't pay any attention to them since she had other things on her mind.

Again she was trying to distract herself from worrying too much but stapling posters wasn't helping since she didn't need to talk to anyone and doing quiet work alone wasn't doing anything to help ease her mind. It was simple to align the flyers parallel to the edges of the message boards and to tape them equidistant from one another on blank walls but monotony didn't help to divert the anxiety out of her mind.

She then felt a buzz from her phone and she took it out of her pocket. The top of the text said that it was from Erica and she panicked.

Hey Trish, I think we need to talk. Can you meet me at the gym juice bar in an a couple minutes? I'll be waiting.

A sense of relief and a pang of worry hit her at the same time. She stood there frozen and just stared at the phone screen. The flyers almost slipped out of her grasp.

She sighed and walked towards the gym. Her thoughts kept arguing with one another and she didn't know what to think or what to expect from the tigress. All she knew was that it probably wasn't going to be good.

She saw Erica looking out the window sullenly with two smoothies in front of her at the furthest table from the juice bar.

"Hey, what's going on?" Trish asked as she took a seat. Her brow furrowed with a frown plastered on her muzzle. Erica handed her the other smoothie but Trish left it alone.

"I want to be tactful but I honestly don't know how to right now," the tigress said and then sighed.

Trish looked silently at her worrying about the next few words.

"I guess," Erica continued and paused. "I don't think I can be in this relationship with you anymore."

Her eyes wanted to burst with tears and her face was on fire from anger but she kept her composure. "But why?"

"To be honest I'm still unsure about my sexual orientation," Erica said and scratched her arm.

Trish remained silent with the storm raging inside her. A part of her felt like a volcano that was going to erupt and another part of her felt like the it was the end of the world and there was no help left.

"I broke up with my boyfriend and I was going to swear off of guys and then I saw you checking me out and I thought I could date you and it was nice dating you but a part of me still thinks that I'm straight," she said and looked down at the table.

"But we...did it," Trish said and couldn't understand why any of this was happening.

"And I liked it but I'm still unsure if I'm straight or gay or bi or anything else. I don't know if that's going to be a onetime thing or not. I feel bad because I feel like I used you to experiment or something and I really don't want you to hate me."

"I think I need to go," the wolf said and stood up.

"Wait," Erica pleaded and reached an arm out for Trish.

"No," she replied coldly.

"Okay, bye," the tigress looked like she was going to start to cry.

Trish looked her in the eye. "I don't hate you but I just need some time right now."

"I understand. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too. Bye."

She gripped the flyers tightly and quickly paced back home. Among the crowds she tried to keep her composure solid and intact but it was quickly crumbling as she got closer to her apartment. By the time she got to the door she was bawling. She fumbled with her key with her one free paw and struggled unlocked the door but realized that it was unlocked.

Peter was practicing his guitar and Jose was working on a small model of a building. They looked at her when she came in. She dropped the flyers in front of the door and ran to her room.

She quickly undressed and threw her blazer, shirt and skirt to the ground and put on an old gray hoodie and a pair of pajama pants and cried into her pillow. She then heard a soft knock on the door.

"What?" she asked trying to sound fine but the somber tones of her voice broke through.

"Can we come in?" Jose asked gently from beyond the door.

"Sure," she said sitting up and crossing her legs as the knob turned and clicked. The door opened and revealed the other gray wolf and the gray kangaroo with concerned yet calm faces.

"Hey, what happened?" Jose asked gently as he and Peter sat on the bed with her in between.

Trish sighed and closed her eyes. She felt Peter rub her shoulder and Jose hold her paw. "Erica broke up with me," she said calmly but then sobbed.

"I'm sorry," Jose said as he gave her a tight hug. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah, we'll listen, if you need it," the kangaroo said as he gave her hug too.

She took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay, so it turns out that Erica is actually straight," she tried to say calmly but it was followed by another sob. "Actually she said that she wasn't sure about her sexual orientation."

Her two friends nodded in understanding keeping eye contact with her even though her eyes were pointed downward.

"It feels like she used me for dating and for getting someone to sleep with her," she said as she clenched her paw into a fist.

Jose put his paw on top of the fist and held it tightly. "Maybe she was still unsure of what she wanted. Maybe she wasn't actually trying to hurt you."

"She said that too," she sighed. "But it still hurts."

"I know it's not fair," Jose said evenly with kindness in his voice.

Trish then felt a pang of guilt. She remembered sleeping with Jose during high school and then a few weeks later coming out to him. He seemed upset at her for a few days but things did go back to normal. He forgave her and their friendship continued.

"Did you hate me for having sex with you and then telling you that I'm a lesbian?"

"Of course not. I mean I was disappointed that I no longer had a girlfriend but we're best friends and that means the world to me," he said reassuringly with a gentle smile.

"I really did love dating you but everything was still amicable afterwards. I was sad but you were still my best friend. Both of you guys are. Remember when we were just children and some kids were bullying me when they found out that my parents are from Mexico?"

"Yeah, we had to teach them a lesson," she replied with fire in her watery eyes.

"You two stood up for me."

"Then when we were in high school some guys were making fun of us for being gay and you stood up for us," Peter said to him and grinned.

"We're friends and we protect each other and forgive one another," Jose said calmly.

"Should I forgive Erica?" Trish asked looking downward again.

"It's your choice," the other wolf replied.

"I guess she's been avoiding me for a little while now and I don't know if being friends with her is going to be worth it."

"Again, it's your choice but you've still got us for friends."

"I know. Thanks you guys. You two are the best."

"I know this might sound cheesy but we've always been there for one another and that's not ever going to stop," Peter interjected.

"It feels like I wasted so much time now."

"But you were having fun," the kangaroo said.

"But I'm behind on my homework and reading assignments and I did badly on a quiz and I've got all my finals next week and there's the dance and the dinner and the fashion show and I need to make myself a dress," she rattled the list off in one breath and gasped after she was finished.

"Do you need some help?" Jose asked as he rubbed her back.

"Come on. We're here for you," Peter begged and made adorable eyes at her. "I'm the music major that brings song and life to this apartment. Jose's the architecture major that makes everything stable in this friendship. You're the marketing major that gets the word out about how awesome we are. If it weren't for you then we wouldn't have made more friends and we wouldn't have survived college. You're always there for everyone so let us help you."

Trish took a moment to think and then stopped herself from denying that she needed help. "Sure, I guess so."

"Can we get the contact info from your clubs?"

"Okay."

"So how about you just focus on the tests for next week and making your dress and well taking some time for yourself. I think we can handle everything else," the other wolf said supportively.

They all had a big group hug and Trish took a calming breath through her nose. She closed her eyes and relaxed in the embrace of her two best friends.

The next couple days were a hazy mist of trying to heal heartache and studying for Trish. She had her mini vacation that was also full of stress and anxiety. Her extracurricular activities went on the backburner as she tried to focus on her classes.

Sunday and Monday were used for cramming. She had to write an essay as well as take a test for the Italian literature class. She memorized the nouns for Italian but had trouble with a few of the definite articles and a couple of the irregular simple past tense verbs threw her off. For her two marketing classes she mostly needed to memorize vocabulary but there were also the projects that she needed to type up and make presentations for. Both these classes also had short answer tests with a couple multiple choice questions. There was also an in-test essay for the general marketing class.

Trish looked up from her notes and took a deep, calm breath. She hoped that these tests would make up for her slacking off for the last few weeks. She got ready for bed and smiled at the fact that she would have nine hours of sleep for her weary mind.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday flew by as she got through with the tests and presentations. They were tough but she knew almost everything and she hoped that her scores would be high.

Thursday afternoon Trish boiled some spaghetti and brought along a store bought tomato sauce. She sighed at the mediocrity of the dish she was bringing to Italian club. She walked back to campus with the noodles and sauce in old plastic containers she had inherited from her parents. She was afraid of spilling the sauce since the lids were slightly warped but somewhat fit on the containers.

When she got to the meeting room her mouth watered at the smell of various Italian dishes and the door was already opened letting the scents burst through the threshold. She presumed that the others got there already to set up. She turned on the lights with her elbow and almost dropped her food at the sight of the table.

There were various Italian dishes from toasted ravioli to lasagna and a couple salads covering the surface of the table. There was sparkling water and fizzy juices aligned in carafes along the side and there were desserts on the counter near the table.

"Hey Trish, do you like what we did?" Kent asked meekly.

He, Jake and Emilia were walking into the room with compostable utensils, napkins and plates as they smiled at the wolf.

"You guys did all of this?" she asked astounded.

"Yeah, but it was mostly Emilia that did all the cooking," Jake said as she started to distribute the plates.

"Well, I called my mom, my aunt and my cousins since they live in different cities in Italy and they gave me different recipes from the different regions. My parents also taught me how to cook when I was really young so this was pretty easy for me to put together and Jake and Kent helped me."

"We felt bad for doing the dinner this week since you had your midterms," Kent said as he distributed the cups onto the table.

"One of your roommates called and said that you were really busy and that made us feel kind of guilty," Jake said.

"Thanks guys. You don't know how much this means to me."

Later on a various students from the Italian club and classes seated themselves and chatted with one another. It was a successful dinner and they got a couple more beginning Italian students to join the club.

When she got back from the dinner, Trish finished up her homework and stared to finish the suit she was working on for the fashion show. It was a silver-gray men's suit with an asymmetric front. She also made matching pants and created a white button-up. She bought a silver bowtie as the accessory that would tie it together.

As she finished it was close to her scheduled bedtime and she wouldn't have time to use the rest of the night and the next night to make a dress for herself for the dance. She looked at the sketch of the purple dress in the corner of her desk and sighed at the thought of not being able to wear a new creation of her own. She knew that she could just rent herself one but it wasn't the same.

***

"That's an amazing suit," Jim said as Trish removed the silver suit from the garment bag.

"I worked hard on it," she said proudly of her labor.

"I can see. You are a master of detail. The stitching is perfect."

"Aw, why thank you."

"Well, we've hit another bump on this road to having a smooth fashion show," he said with a grimace.

"Oh, what's happened?" she asked with a frown.

"Well, one of our models is sick and I was wondering if you would like to walk down the runway?"

"Sure, it's no problem. I've modeled before in the show."

"Great! Thank you so much, Trish. Now, I've got a surprise for you," the arctic fox said as he pulled a dress out of one of his garment bags.

"Wow, Jim. It's beautiful," the wolf said as she gawked at the navy dress.

"I had you in mind when I was still sketching it. You were my muse," he said with a smile that then faltered. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to sound sexist."

"No, it's okay. You're a genius," she said brightly.

"No, I'm not. I just think of stuff and make it."

"Just like a genius would. Oh, and I can't stay for the entire after party since I need to find a dress for tomorrow. I've been so busy and I didn't have time to make myself one."

"Save yourself some money and just wear this one to the dance."

"Really? Aw, thank you so much. That's so sweet of you."

"It's no problem. You've always been such a great help to us all in the club."

"Thank you again. You're a true friend."

The show went on without a hitch. Trish's walk was flawless and graceful. The high heels, silver necklace, and purse that she carried with her complimented and highlighted the dress beautifully. The blinding lights of the events room and the stares of the audience didn't faze her as she smiled and focused on her confidence. She saw Peter and Jose clapping quickly and politely as she turned around at the end of the runway and gave them a discrete nod.

***

After class the next day, Trish helped decorate the lyceum in the student union building with the others on the committee. It was chaotic watching everything being set up but it was slowly all coming together. There were snacks and various foods and beverages being brought in and arranged. Different people hung up the banners and streamers. Balloons were being allocated to their correct places. The tables were being covered in glitter and flowers. When they finished she looked around the room and smiled at how complete everything was.

She jogged home and got ready. After she put on her dress and walked into the living room she saw Peter in the tuxedo she had sewn for him for him for their high school prom and she saw Jose holding a camera.

"Alright you two, let's get a picture or ten," Jose said with a chuckle. "You know, just in case I screw up like nine times."

Trish stood next to the gray kangaroo and they put an arm around the other.

"Say cheese!" Jose exclaimed and the two grinned at him as he rapidly tapped the button. He then pressed a few other buttons and showed them the screen.

"I love it," Trish said gleaming.

"Shall we?" Peter said as he offered his arm to Trish.

"We shall," she said as they walked towards the door. Jose wished them a happy night as they left.

They happily chatted as they strolled to the student union building in the cloudy evening. The lights of the buildings and street lamps glowed in and around the campus.

When they entered the lyceum Peter walked up to the stage and helped test the DJ equipment. Everyone was finalizing and making sure that everything would run smoothly for the dance. A little while later people started to pour into the large room and the music started and the neon lights dazzled and sparkled.

Trish chatted with a few acquaintances and noticed that Peter just let the bass line run as he spoke into the microphone. "Thank you everyone for attending the purple dance! How is everyone!?"

The question was followed by cheering and shouting from the crowd and she appropriately clapped her paws together.

"I want to thank the crew that put all this together. Let's give them a round of applause."

This was followed by more clapping and cheering.

"I also want to thank Trish Parker for heading the dance committee," he shouted as the spotlight fell on her and she gracefully smiled. "One more round of applause!" She daintily nodded to the crowd as they clapped. "Alright everyone, DANCE!"

Trish looked at her friends dancing wildly and some awkwardly and she smiled at how much fun they were having. She saw Jim dancing with his boyfriend, a tall hyena with black glasses. Kent was timidly dancing near the snack table with a coyote who was jumping and gesticulating around him. She walked over to him and said hello as she ladled some punch in her eco-plastic cup. She then saw Georgia walk towards her and they greeted one another.

"Hey, Trish. How're you doing?" the short fox asked meekly but loud enough to be heard over the music.

"I'm fine. How are you?" she asked back.

"I'm good but I think I'd be better if I could dance with you."

"Okay, would you like to dance?"

"Yes!" the usually tired fox exclaimed.

After the techno song was over a slower romantic pop song started to play.

"Do you still want to dance? I know this song is a little cheesy," Trish said with her eyes turned away.

"I am a fan of asiago myself," the vixen replied

Trish put her paw on Georgia's shoulder and she put hers on Trish's waist. The two swayed in sync with the song's beat and Georgia stood on the tips of her flats and kissed the wolf.

***

The rest of the quarter went smoothly. Trish got back into her routine but made a few slight changes. Friday nights were dedicated to the boys and Saturday nights were devoted to Georgia. They were both busy students and Trish found out the reason why the vixen always seemed so tired was because she had morning and evening classes that quarter but the weekends helped her since she could sleep in. Things were getting back to normal for the wolf and she was happy because she was dating such a sweet fox and her life wasn't spiraling out of control.

There was also the gym. She did her usual workout routine and whenever she saw Erica they would just smile and wave at one another. She was glad that they didn't have to hide from each other and they could get on with the rest of their lives.

The day after her finals Jose walked into the living room with the mail. He said to her, "Hey, I've got a letter addressed to you from all the way in Italy."

"I think this is the big envelope," she said wide eyed and grinning.

"Exciting," Peter said from the couch. "Open it. Open it!"

"Alright," she said and held her breath. She read the first few lines and looked up to Jose.

"What does it say?" the two asked.

"I got into the fashion school in Milan. I get to study business and fashion at the graduate level."

"We're so proud of you and we're going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you guys too but it'll only be for two years and I'll be back during the summer and I'm not leaving until next fall."

"Are you going to tell Georgia?" Jose asked with concern on his face.

"Well, of course I am," she said and then frowned. "I just hope she's going to be okay. I forgot to mention this to her."

After a few hours she called Georgia and they met at Bru-ciare, a small chain coffee shop on the street next to the side of the campus.

When the fox got to the café, Trish waved at her from her table.

"I have good news and bad news," the wolf said trying not to look too sad.

"What's going on?"

"I got into my first choice grad school," she said beaming.

"That's wonderful!" Georgia exclaimed joyfully. "I'm so happy for you, Trish."

"The bad news is that it's in Milan and I'm going to be there for two school years." The wolf's ears went down at that.

"Oh," she said with a frown and her own ears folding back.

"I'm really sorry honey."

"No, don't apologize for that," she said with a smile. "I'm really happy for you and I want you to go. This is your dream and your career. I can't tell you to stay for that. Besides, when I visit you we can go to Venice and go on a gondola ride and we can have authentic pizza and gelato. We could also go to Rome and ride scooters everywhere. It'll be romantic and I'll get to do these things with you."

"You're so sweet," Trish said taking the vixen's paw. "But I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too but we have the rest of the school year."

"I told the boys that already and I still need to tell my parents."

"You told me before your parents?" the fox asked surprised.

"I kind of want to tell them in person so maybe this weekend I'll show them."

"For now let's have an affogato to celebrate."