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P.O.V. - Roger 6:10 am Monday

I breathed a sigh of relief as I entered the deserted training room. A motion activated switch ignited the fluorescent lighting to reveal rows of gleaming exercise equipment ranging from stationary cycles and inclined treadmills to free weights and a rock climbing wall. I really should learn to socialize. Until then, it sure pays to be the only morning person in the student body! S_igns posted on the wall silently scolded me about the hazards of using equipment alone as I fired up the treadmill. _F#ck, I can't believe I'm about to start classes, I'm actually nauseous! I never imagined I'd be reliving this horror all over again, once was enough. Still, I've got a huge advantage this time around, it'll be different. I ramped up the speed as I tried to give myself a pep talk. These classes are embarrassing but they'll be easy and hopefully I can get out of them soon enough. I wonder what kind of lunkheads I'll be sitting next to? I snickered as I imagined myself surrounded by drooling, tongue lolling jocks and vacuous cheerleaders.

Speaking of cheerleaders, I wonder if Ashley will be in any of my classes? Ugh. Too bad she was gone by the time I kissed Nick, that would have really flipped her biscuit! There were a few other students some distance away but if they noticed they didn't react. It was harmless enough I guess but I gotta be more careful, not for myself so much as for Nick. I can't always be around to protect him and people could really start giving him crap. I wonder if he's still feeling the after-effects of that zap I gave him yesterday? He slept most of the afternoon after I forced a granola bar and an energy drink down him but he got up for supper and seemed alright, considering... He was kinda quiet the rest of the evening, I wonder if he was mad at me and just couldn't say it? I'm not sure how I'd react if I found out someone I trusted shot me up with a deviant version of crack, thyroid medication, mood elevators and adrenaline, accident or not. I really gotta learn to control it better! Maybe I'm connecting and not realizing it? I dunno, it seems like I'm missing a key part of the equation. It's not like I'm connecting when my fur glows but something is clearly causing it.

Warmed up from the cardio I stopped the machine and began stretching as my mind wandered from one topic to another. I wonder how much of my impulsive behavior I can really blame on the counselor? Maybe I should tell her about stuff like that so she can make adjustments. What am I thinking?! She's screwing me up enough as it is, best not to give her excuses to go poking around even more. I just have to be more careful. I'll bet if I can post some solid grades and stay out of trouble they'll scale back my time with her. I can only hope to dodge talking about Roger's childhood so long before they blame my lack of knowledge on some sort of deep seated psychosis. If that happens I don't want to think about what she might do!

Finished warming up and stretching I decided to try something more fun and headed over to the peg board mounted alongside the rock climbing wall. Great, some jerk left the pegs in the top holes, there's no way I can jump high enough to grab them. Fine, up the faux rock I go. The pegs were about 5 meters up and required only a short reach from the closest finger-hold. I got a firm grip and walked them down the 4 notches to their lowest position before dropping back to the floor. "Kid, do you ever do what your told?" I spun around to see Jack standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He was wearing a tight gray T-shirt and black work-out pants. The tablet was in my backpack stashed off in a corner leaving me little option but to lower my ears and curl my tail apologetically. He continued "What if you fell when you were reaching over to those and broke your ankle? You'd be stuck until someone came along." I pointed to my muzzle and tried to mouth the words "Can't talk" and he responded "Still? For cryin' out loud that was... 4 days ago or something like that! I wasn't that bad with the trach tube, I DO have EMT training. Laura's just paranoid. How's she expect a kid to start class if he can't talk? Let me hear you say something. No wait, don't. If something goes wrong I'll never hear the end of it! How much longer until she says you can take the cork out?" I shrugged and held up a couple fingers. The wolverine lowered his arms and stepped closer to drop a heavy hand on my shoulder. "I won't call on you in my class till you can talk and look... most weekdays I come in to work out around 6:30 am, just wait till I get here before you start next time alright?" I nodded and he let go, continuing to talk as he headed towards the free weights. "Most people show up around 7:00. I suppose if I tell you to wait that long on days I'm not here you'll just come in early anyway huh?" He glanced over and I pantomimed dramatically, looking shocked as I mouthed "Me?" He grabbed a 10 kg weight in each hand and settled onto the bench. "Yeah yeah, well don't! Drag one of your roommates down here and have them sleep in the corner if you have to but you can't be alone. Oh and you better follow EVERY safety rule in my Auto Shop class, I don't want some car falling off a lift and crushing some of the school's finest and brightest."

I nodded and turned to jump, grabbing the pegs. I managed to work my way up all 4 sets of holes and back down again before joining Jack at the free weights, taking a bench across from him. We continued in relative silence until Jack spoke up between sets. "You know I proctor the Tae Kwon Do club and that thing you did the other night, which I would never condone by the way, was way too smooth and clean for a random grab. What form have you been practicing?" I was lying face down on the bench and swinging the weights up with my arms so I finished the set before rising to retrieve the tablet, responding "I learned a little Aikido from watching videos on the internet."

Jack got up and walked over to an open section of the floor covered in foam mats where he kicked off his shoes and said "Come over here and show me that in slow motion. Kyle was standing with his back to you almost like this right?" I rose and brought the tablet with me to say "I really shouldn't, it would ruin your shirt. It'll stretch out the collar." He gestured dismissively with his hand and added "Just go slow kid." With a sense of trepidation I put the tablet down on the tray of a nearby elliptical runner and took off my shoes before approaching him from behind. I've done this move countless times with my old partner but doing it with someone unfamiliar with the style could get tricky. Natsume knew how and when to roll to avoid injury. I tentatively grabbed at his shirt collar when he unexpectedly spun and swung one leg low, sweeping me off my paws. Aware that he was up to something I let reflexes take over and rolled away before jumping up. Just as I rose he tipped back and kicked. I dodged with a pivot and single step while grabbing his ankle and twisting before following through to push down at the underside of his knee causing him to fall. I resisted the urge to show off by pinning him and let go.

He got to his paws and straightened his clothing before saying "Try that again kid." He used a different style of kick and increased his speed but met with the same result. As before, I let go without pinning him and bounced back. Jack stood and said "Watched a couple videos my ass! Ok, this time you come at me." I came out of the crouch, shaking my head from side to side. He said "You're not going to hurt me, come on." I shook my head and walked back to the tablet to say "I only do defense." Jack countered "You grabbed Kyle from behind, that's hardly defense." I narrowed my eyes and flipped my tail as I typed "It was to defend Josh. Besides, even then I didn't attack. I just got him on the ground and pinned him there. I would have stayed on him until you arrived but Nick thought I was going to hurt him so I let go." Jack walked off the mat and put his shoes back on while he spoke. "Ever since I watched the video from that night I've been meaning to talk with you. I think you should consider joining the Tae Kwon Do club. We could use more members." I swiped at the screen to respond "Thanks but the style is too different, it would just be confusing. I need to find a new partner to practice Aikido with though. If you ever hear of anyone wanting to learn that form would you mention my name?" The Wolverine settled down at the free weight station again and said "Alright but keep the club in mind."

I nodded and wondered to myself. It feels odd having a member of the staff talk with me so casually, and what's with wanting to spar? Eh, for all I know the counselor put him up to it thinking I needed a father figure or something. There he goes with even more weight, I guess he's into strength and mass over stamina and tone. I settled into my ab routine just as more people started to trickle into the gym. A female gray wolf slid quietly over to an elliptical runner and started it up. Hey, isn't that Tami's girlfriend? Huh, I didn't notice the pastel blue ventral counter-shading before but the angle I had last time didn't really let me see much of her front side. I tried to think of a way to start up a conversation with her but she seemed so timid I was afraid to say anything for fear of sticking my paw firmly in my muzzle. I imagined "Hey, so you're a lesbian huh?" and "So you and Tami ever do any carpet cleaning?" No, I'm definitely NOT going to say anything like that! Damn, why is it so hard for me to be social? I guess it's better just to stay quiet for now, easy enough considering I still can't talk. Ugh, there's too many people here. I've done enough anyway, time for breakfast before class starts.

I grabbed my bag and tablet but Jack stopped me on the way out. "I'll see you at 8:00 Roger." I nodded and turned to go as a question came to mind, I asked via the synthetic voice "How is it you work security, assist in medical and teach all at the same time?" He responded "It's not really like that, most staff has emergency medical training. I was the closest person when you... arrived. As for security, different staff members rotate duties like that depending on schedules. That's why you see Laura, er Dr. Tamner, teaching as well as being the school nurse or Ms. Thurlington working as the counselor while also instructing different classes." I responded with the tablet to say "Is the budget that tight?" He laughed, "Tell me about it! I guess they have to cut corners somewhere to pay for Nigel's suits." He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial tone and leaned towards my ear as he added "Don't tell him I said that. Oh and I saw you looking at that Wolf over there. Her name's Kelly if you happen to want to get to know her better." I managed to contain an eye roll and headed out with a smile and a nod. Guess he hasn't been talking with Ms. Thurlington after all.

P.O.V. - Nick - 2ndperiod class

I dashed to English class so Bea and I could chat before the bell. I didn't feel up to talking with anyone last night and we were both busy with our mornings until now. Bea dropped her square little frame into the chair to my right before leaning over to say "I got your email... so?! Don't leave me in suspense!" I kept my voice to a whisper in an attempt to keep our conversation private despite the rapidly filling room. "I don't know where to start! And what took you so long? The bell's gonna ring any second and it's so much harder passing notes." She got out her notepad and pen while saying "I ran into a friend in the hall, I got away as fast I could. Now tell me! Start with everything that's happened since he kissed you at the cabin. I still can't believe he did that!" Her curly tail beat furiously at the chair back as I chastised "Shh, keep it down!" She put both hands over her muzzle dramatically as the bell sounded, starting class. We both turned to face the instructor but Bea was already furiously scratching at the paper in front of her. She tipped the pad to show me the page which simply read "Well?!"

I produced the pen from my backpack just as Mr. Yorke started speaking. There was much debate among students as to whether he was a Bat-Eared Fox with some Tasmanian Devil features or the other way around. Personally I sided with the Tasmanian Devil crowd if for no other reason than his personality. Rumor had it he was a retired Army Drill Sergeant and woe be to the student who chose to test his credentials in the realm of classroom discipline. He was known for hauling malcontents out into the hallway for the verbal thrashing of their lives before sending them to the Dean's office and neither Bea nor I dared to try his patience by talking while he lectured. However, when the topic warranted the risk, we became note passing Ninjas capable of stealthy, lightning fast exchanges a magician would be hard-pressed to notice. The desks were arranged in a U shape with his lectern at the open end of the U. This pattern gave no students a back row in which to hide from his steely gaze. Despite all this, he was my favorite teacher. His was the one class where I never had to worry about being harassed and I enjoyed English almost as much as Art. One of his many quirks was to get thoroughly into character depending on our reading assignments. At the moment we were reading All Quiet on the Western Front and he relished speaking with a frighteningly accurate German accent while wielding a riding crop for added effect. He snapped it briskly against his desk and strode confidently to the lectern. "Silence! There will be order!"

He spoke sharply, "The reading assignment was completed, yes? Let's find out. Being on the losing side of a war is less than pleasant. There are times when people are forced to endure harsh circumstances or to bend their principles in order to survive. Mr. Russell, would you please provide us with an example from the text?" I startled and curled my tail at the sudden attention before blurting out "Uh, Paul and a couple others snuck across a river at night and traded food with some French women for sex." Mr. Yorke scanned the desks with piercing eyes as I talked but kept his large ears turned towards me, saying "Yes, I see. What compromises do think were made under these circumstances?" I squirmed at the need to talk about sex in an English class, my ears going down as I said "I don't think the women would normally trade sex for some bread but they were so desperate they compromised their morals."

Ryan, the Zebra-striped Grizzly, muttered loudly from across the formation of desks "Good thing they didn't ask you for bread Nick, they woulda gone hungry." The Tasmanian Devil casually settled his stare on Ryan and said in a controlled, low tone "Mr. Marshall, you will join me in the hallway." What little laughter had erupted after his remark died instantly as the bear swallowed and rose reluctantly from his desk. Mr. Yorke waited with supreme, icy patience as he held the door for Ryan, closing it with the gentlest of clicks after they both departed. Bea and I exchanged nervous grins as we awaited the inevitable eruption. I could easily imagine the huge bear cowering back against the wall, no match for the beady-eyed Devil's tightly held fury. At first we could only hear the faintest of words, clipped with restraint. "...interrupt my class... disrespect..." I winced, knowing full well what was coming. Moments later the instructor's voice climaxed to echo throughout the building "You will report directly to Mr. Burwell's office and spare NO detail in explaining why you are taking his valuable time, AGAIN! Keep in mind I will be filing a full report later. Should there be any discrepancies in your version of events I am sure the football coach will have some choice words when he finds out you have been SUSPENDED FROM THE TEAM!" Several seconds of absolute silence later the door opened and Mr. Yorke stepped back into the room where he nonchalantly picked up the phone mounted on the wall by the door. "Hello Mrs. Patterson, this is Mr. Yorke. Ryan Marshall should be joining you momentarily, my report will be forthcoming. Good day." And with that he strode to the podium and picked up as if nothing had happened. "Yes Mr. Russell, an excellent example. Let's explore that further." My tail wagged as I thought Definitely my favorite teacher!

P.O.V. - Roger - Lunch

I hope I didn't overdo the 'good student' routine but these classes are SO easy it's hard not to show off! I replayed my morning as I lingered in the food court figuring the more time spent there the less time spent amongst the masses at the tables. I wanted to chat with Nick and his friends but my concern for making another scene won out. I think I kinda overdid it in Auto Shop. I probably shouldn't have written a detailed guide about how to swap a clutch plate assembly along with the associated bearings and gaskets on the back of the quiz he handed out but what else was I supposed to do with the half hour I had left after finishing it? And that English class... we were practically writing 'See Jane run.' I can't wait to see what the teacher thinks of my formal essay on justice versus the law as presented in Billy Budd!

I snapped out of my reverie to notice I was THE last person and the cashier was glaring at me, clearly anxious to get on with her day. I smiled and lowered my ears apologetically while handing her my I.D. to scan. The puce colored Pine Marten zapped the card and hastily rung up the contents of my tray before tearing the receipt and dropping it next to my cup. I mouthed a 'Thank you' and walked over to the seating area.

As I surveyed the sea of students I realized the flaw in my plan, since everyone else was seated there were few places left open. From my angle Nick's table looked full but it was hard to tell and finding out for sure would require walking through Melina's section. Deciding it wasn't worth the risk I settled on Brandon's table. The horned Lion was alone and if I sat opposite him my back would be facing the food court so I wouldn't have to worry about anyone coming up behind me. He seemed lost in thought until the clatter of my tray on the table broke his concentration. "What are you doing?" he inquired. I sat and picked up the tablet from beside my plate to respond "Sitting down to eat lunch. Don't worry, I'm the quietest guy in school, I can't even talk." I offered a slight smile which he failed to appreciate. He scowled and said "I wanna be alone." I shrugged and gestured at the dining hall behind him before typing "Yeah me too, you see any empty tables? I don't either so I guess we'll just have to sit here and wish we alone together."

He locked eyes with me and bared his teeth as he snarled and hammered a fist down on the table hard enough to make the plates jump. Nearby heads all swivelled in unison at the roar while I calmly took a bite of my shepherd's pie. I tipped my head and cocked an ear at him before glancing down to type "Whatever put you in a bad mood isn't my fault. Let me guess, are those Purists over there giving you crap?" Nearby students slowly went back to their own business as they realized there wasn't going to be a show. I angled my muzzle with a nod towards the table where Dylan was sitting with an Ocelot and the Lion responded. "What's it to you?" My eyes danced with mischief while my tail slowly wagged. I swiped at the device to say "We don't have to be friends to have a common enemy. If you don't shut them up now you'll be taking their crap till you graduate. Their leader got expelled last week and until they sort out who's going to wear the balls they're easier to manipulate. Here, take my fries so you have something to look busy with." I passed over the container and typed some more while he gave me a strange look. "See how there's an empty chair on either side of the cat? You take the one on his left and I'll take the other. Don't say a word, just sit down and eat. Remember that look of death you gave me? Do that and no matter what they say just keep staring and eating, nice and slow. The bell's gonna ring in like 2 minutes so just ride it out and whatever you do, don't get up until after they're gone." Brandon sat motionless and I could tell he was mulling it over so I added "They'll never respect you unless you push back but if you want to take that crap till you're out of school it's your call." His tail flipped agitatedly behind him and his eyes narrowed. Without a word he picked up the tray of fries and slid his chair back.

I got to my paws and, with lunch in hand, the two of us sauntered over to take our seats on either side of a suddenly nervous Ocelot. His ears went back and his tail tossed excitedly as he said "What the f#ck are you doing at OUR table?!" Brandon did his job well, eating one fry a time while looking like he was a whisker twitch away from exploding. I ate a spoonful of ground meat before swiping lazily at the screen. "Hey Dylan, I know we kinda got off on the wrong paw the other night and... how's Kyle's wrist by the way?" The Hyena bristled as he sat with his arms crossed over his chest and said with a raised voice "F#ck off ya God damn deviant!" At that the whole dining hall fell silent in an expanding wave that radiated out from the four of us. Brandon almost lost his nerve and, for a moment, looked like he might get up. I caught his eye and took a couple bites of mashed potatoes to show him there was no real threat before casually tapping at my tablet for a lengthier time. It eventually intoned "Yeah, guess I'd be pissed too if some guy came out of nowhere and almost broke my brother's arm. Your brother's got a good what, 25 kg on you? I hear he was an offensive lineman too. All that and I dropped him in like... 3 seconds wasn't it? Anyway, just wanted to say I'm sorry and I hope there's never a future situation where I feel a need to do something like that again. You know us deviants, always sticking up for each other, one of those unwritten codes I guess." I licked my plastic spork and held out my right hand to shake.

If his talent had been to shoot flames from his eyes I'm sure I would have been incinerated on the spot. He stood up so fast his chair fell backwards as he leaned over the table to shout at me. "I shoulda left you to die that night! If I had seen your f#ckin' blue tail I would have you...!" The bell sounding the end of lunch interrupted his tirade as I withdrew my hand and went back to my food. Dylan slammed his fist down at the table in rage but forgot his half-finished cup of soda was in the way. He hit the plastic lid dead on causing the paper sides to burst, spewing Pep-C cola and ice cubes in every direction. The Ocelot beside me yowled in surprise and jumped up, his chest soaked. Dylan swatted the crumpled cup while exclaiming "F#ck!" and turned to stalk towards the bathroom to wash off the sticky cola dripping from his shirt, arms, neck and face. The Ocelot was only too anxious not to be left behind and scrambled to follow with little dignity and a final parting shot. "F#ckin' deviants! You're gonna wish you did die that night Splash!" Dylan made it about 10 steps before being held up by an irate puce Pine Marten. She stood blocking his path with crossed arms and an angry expression. "You're staying after to clean that up unless you want to be called into the Dean's office later."

I did my best to hide a grin as I gave Brandon a heads-up and we both quickly left the table. On the way out I grabbed a wad of napkins at the door and wiped the soft-drink off my tablet before working at the fur on my neck, face and arms.

Safely outside I kept pace with Brandon and flicked at the screen to say "Tell me that wasn't worth a little sticky fur!" The Feline was obviously shaken but only slightly damp as he responded excitedly, "Those guys are PISSED!" I nodded and typed "They asked for it. If they pull any more crap, and they probably will to test you, just get right up on them. There's security cameras everywhere and they're on the brink of expulsion so they won't do anything more than talk. Just stand there and don't touch them. As soon as it's over, report it. That's where I'm headed now." Brandon turned his head and looked down at me to say "You're gonna narc? That's kinda chicken sh#t." I took a breath to contain a sudden flash of anger but stayed far clear of any 'happy-place' imagery to avoid going to my next class looking, and feeling, stoned. I stopped at the pathway intersection and stepped onto the grass to be out of the flow of traffic before responding with the tablet. "What? I just walked over, apologized and offered to shake hands. And for that I get called names and splashed with soda? My tablet could be ruined and I gotta change, I don't want to spend my next two classes smelling like Pep-C. There's nothing chicken sh#t about standing up for yourself or for what's right. Besides by getting your version in first you get to frame the issue, gives you the upper hand right from the start." He looked skeptical but said "I never really thought about it like that. Anyway, I gotta get to class." I nodded and turned towards the Admin building.

P.O.V. - Nick 3:05 pm - G.L.A. Meeting

"Too bad you were on patrol today Tami." I said as the Wolf sat down at a desk beside me. She leaned back and slouched down in the chair, letting her legs stretch out in front of her before taking off her trademark baseball hat and rubbing at the fur on her head. "Why? What'd I miss?" Chris, the blue-spotted Snow Leopard, walked in and answered "Dylan went ballistic on Splash. He was screaming at him and then Splash threw his soda all over him. I told you guys that Wolf was weird. He just sits down at the Purist's table, what did he think would happen?" I shifted to face Chris as he spun a nearby desk so he could sit facing Tami and I. My tone was defensive as I said "His name's Roger, why does everyone keep calling him that?" The cat exhaled dismissively, blowing out his cheek. "Sorry, sorry! ROGER is weird ok? No sane person picks a fight with those guys, they'll break his tail someday." Our conversation paused as Andrew and Hunter walked in. Andrew was a Margay but his fur pattern was a random mix of white, brown, black and gray splotches while Hunter was a Sand Cat whose normally brown markings were instead varying shades of turquoise. They noisily slid their desks over to add to our growing circle.

I waved at the inseparable Felines as Brianna came in and sat down beside them. The frailly thin Canine always wore only the highest of fashion and when she first arrived at the school I made the mistake of assuming she was a snob. While she always moved with perfect grace and stood with the poise of a model she was never anything other than polite and considerate in a cultured, soft-spoken sort of way. Tami and Brianna tolerated each other but their personalities couldn't be more different, the way they sat said it all. Tami was still sprawled across her chair as if she had collapsed there, her paws spread wide, she even had one hand jammed into the waistband of her worn bluejeans. Brianna sat delicately at her desk, leaning slightly forward with her fingers locked over crossed knees. The Canine's white blouse and short black skirt were accented by a thin double loop gold necklace and a diamond tennis bracelet on one wrist. Her Guchi Elizabeth pumps probably cost more than Tami's entire wardrobe.

Mr. Yorke arrived and strode briskly over to his desk to deposit his briefcase. "Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen. I'll be with you momentarily. Until then, please, carry on." The Tasmanian Devil opened his case and began rummaging through it's contents just as Roger appeared in the doorway. His gray fur was strobing with a less than subtle white-blue glow as he paused in the entrance. I was about to call him into the room and introduce him when we all heard a loud female voice emanating from just out of sight in the hallway. "Told you he was a FAG!" Roger's anxiety mixed with anger as he turned his head. Before the situation could escalate Mr. Yorke stepped over and said "Please come in young man, I'll tend to that." Roger looked down at the instructor and nodded as he moved aside to allow him to pass. The door closed quietly behind our proctor and Roger stood awkwardly facing us. He looks great in that navy blue polo shirt, he must have changed since that incident at lunch but I've never seen him so anxious. He doesn't shy away from the toughest guys in school but attending a G.L.A. meeting has him terrified! I jumped up from my chair and said "It's ok, Mr. Yorke will take care of her, believe me. Add a desk to the circle." Roger grabbed one and Tami sat up to slide her's aside, creating a gap so he could squeeze in between us. Chris raised his voice with a hint of authority. "If you want to talk with Nick you should wait outside, we're about to start." In the background we could barely hear Mr. Yorke's voice behind the door which meant he was using his patented 'quiet rage' tone. It was almost scarier than when he yelled.

I noticed Roger was missing his ever present tablet as he leaned over a pad of paper to write. His fur was still flashing with light and his tail curled down behind the seat. I couldn't stand seeing him that way and was about to say something when he turned the page so Chris could read it. The Snow Leopard's tail tip danced randomly and he held Roger with a skeptical gaze. "Is this some kind of joke?" Interestingly, Roger's anxiety calmed and a familiar playful twinkle came to his eye as he took the page back and wrote. After a moment he returned the paper to Chris who read it and cocked an ear in my direction before passing it to me. I scanned the page from top to bottom, it said "Hi, I still can't talk but I'm here to join, I'm gay." and "If Nick is willing I'd be glad to prove it to you." I grinned sheepishly, totally mortified. Roger's tail wagged tightly as he smiled at me. The light show in his fur had died down but I could tell he was still tense so I found my voice and said "Guys this is Roger. We're ah, ya know, kinda..."