FSE

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The day was humid. Since P.E., clouds had shrouded the skies and now the sun was hidden behind a gray, cumulonimbus monolith. Thankfully, now and again, a gentle breeze stirred the air.

But that was a luxury, up in the Slide Tower.

Emeral looked out from her yellow-and-green perch. She moved to let a girl pass by, then listened to the squeal of glee as the girl rocketed back down to earth. When she was smaller, the tigress felt like this tower was the highest place on the whole earth. It seemed to take forever to climb up, and the slide looked so steep. It was akin to the scary vertical drops at water-parks. She and Lyza would climb up the tower and take the red slide down for entire recesses at a time just a few years ago.

But today, it served her only as a watchtower.

She could see most of the playground from here. From the New Swings, occupied by kids she hardly knew; to boys playing soccer in The Field; to the back fence; and almost to the Old Playground. She could certainly see everything on the New Playground, where the Tower Slide was at the very end of.

Her interests were only on a few specific kids. She spotted them one-by-one. First Virgil in The Field, then Draub in The Ditch. Ritzer was at the Monkey Bars with other boys, and Goren joined him eventually. That left only one other person.

She leaned out of the tower to get a wider vantage. She squinted her eyes, focusing on the old playground. The sun decided to peek out just then, and she shielded her eyes with a hand.

Shy William was walking about between the two Grounds. He was closer to the Old, wandering aimlessly, watching other kids and kicking a rock around.

Then, she spotted him. By the Old Swings. He was skulking, shifting from one foot to the other, as if eager. The chihuahua was watching the dalmatian intently, and the tigress's whiskers fanned out as she sensed the oncoming antagonism.

Feeling a rush of adrenaline, she quickly ducked back into the tower, and almost crushed the ankles of some of the kids who were huddled inside the little building.

Why they wanted to stay in the smelly plastic hut all recess was beyond anyone.

The wind billowed her white hair as she took the slide down. She hooked her legs as she hit the bottom, her heels landing on the soft ground, and went straight into a power-walk. It didn't occur to her until after she got his attention, that she had no idea exactly how to lure him away from the predator.

"Hi... Emeral," William said, speaking her name softly as though he struggled to remember it.

"Hey, Will," she greeted, smiling. She had to run a hand across her scalp to get the bangs out of her eyes. When her vision was clear, the dalmatian was looking slightly off-center to her, keeping true to his nickname.

"What's... up?"

"Oh... not much," she said, patting her side. In her peripheral vision, she saw Beck stop his excited motions and try to look nonchalant. "I just... saw you wandering around and..." Somewhere, the words came to her. "I heard Kimmy was still really nervous about the Tests."

"But... they're over..." he pointed out, looking down for the rock he had been kicking.

"Well, I mean like... it's not really over till we get the scores, right?"

A shout came from the Old Grounds. He looked back over his shoulder. "I guess so..." He finally agreed, looking for a few seconds longer than felt necessary.

Emeral used the opportunity to spot Beck. He was glaring at her, probably thinking angry thoughts at her interrupting his mischief. "If I were you, I'd go talk to her. Make sure she doesn't get too worked up."

"I don't... really... know what... to say..." He replied, still not looking fully at this strange girl that popped up out of nowhere and spoke words at him.

"Sometimes all that matters is knowing someone cares how you feel. Even if they didn't know how to help, I'd appreciate the thought--I'm sure she would, too."

He shrugged. "Um... Maybe... I'll go... talk... to her."

"Cool." She smiled, and looked beyond him at Beck, her grin taking on a smug curve, and taunting with her thoughts: nyah nyah-nyah nyah-nyaaah nyah!

William's eyes shifted once or twice. Then, as awkwardly as he felt, he shuffled away.

"I think I saw her drawing in the sandbar," Emeral stated to him as he meandered away. "That wasn't so hard," she told herself, swinging her arms and clapping her hands together. She glanced over at the chihuahua, who took off over toward the Old Grounds. She watched him for the time, as he climbed up the ladder and crossed the chain-link bridge.

Satisfied, the white-tigress's ears flattened as she turned back toward the New Playground. She went back toward it, setting out on a patrol of sorts. She passed the big slide as someone zoomed down, and then got off by jumping over the side. They walked with a dizzied sloshing, and had she not side-stepped the giggling boy would have collided into her, taking them both to the dirt.

She passed the ladder, where one kid was trying to get up and another two were blocking her path. Another boy was moving along the twisty monkey-bars, flipping up to hang by his feet halfway across. At the other end, another group were trying to see how far they could have the zip-track set out so they could run and jump and catch onto it.

A boy missed and landed on the dirt; he started to groan, hoping it would keep him from crying.

A few girls were sitting on the swiss-cheese tube, trying as best they could to stay atop it. But some devious kids would stick their hands out of the holes about the tube, and pull their legs, causing them to squeal and fall. The other end of the tube went to another platform, beneath which a beaver kid was hiding, his fingers in his mouth. He glanced at her as she spotted him through the tire-wall, a "caught" expression on his face, but she paid him no mind.

"Hey."

The call came almost too quietly for her to hear. Amongst the giggles and shouts and footfalls of the other kids, the interjection sounded like it was meant for someone else. But Emeral felt a rush of wind against her tail as she passed the tire-wall, and the heavy rubber tires clattered in their chains.

The tigress turned, and found the eyes of a rat matching hers.

"What?" She questioned curtly. She still didn't know where Ritzer and Goren had gone. She was eager to find out, keep them from harassing others.

"Well jeez, if I'm just a bother--"

Emeral's expression relaxed. "Whaddaya need?" She asked, trying to sound less curt. After all, she figured Rini was just here to mention Ark again. It hadn't happened in a while, but frankly it was getting old.

The rat glanced away a bit, as if trying to analyze her from the corner of her eye. "Where's Lyza?" She finally asked.

The tigress's eyes flicked to the right as she thought. She made the "I dunno," mumble, shrugging her shoulders.

The rat scrunched her forehead a bit. "You don't know?"

"No," the tigress shook her head. "Why's that confuse you?"

"Nothing it's just..." The rat looked away, as if she was distracted. "I mean... you two are best friends. Kinda figured you'd know where she was."

"Oh yeah let me just check my radar..." Emeral made a motion to her back pocket, as if to pull out the device.

"Look, nevermind." Rini tried to brush it off and walk away.

"Why?" Emeral asked.

The rat paused. "None of your business." She finally stated.

"Leave her alone." Emeral commanded--threatened--folding her arms. "You wanna pester someone, go bother Ritzer."

Rini's expression changed. She looked at the tigress, all bunched up in assumptions. "Have you talked to her lately?"

Emeral's left brow came down. "None of your business." She grumbled.

Rini took in a breath. "You're probly right." She agreed, and then turned. "Sorry to bother you." She stated, without any sentiment in her words, and walked in the direction of the Old Playground.

Emeral watched her for a few moments. Who was she to ask that kind question?

The tigress felt a funk begin to pull at her gut, before it turned into something else. Her tummy rumbled, and she felt a bit of an ache. She held her abdomen, and sighed. She knew what it meant--and felt a little embarrassed.

Feeling pangs of discomfort every few steps, she hurried toward the fifth grade hall.

* * *

Rini glanced back as she saw Emeral run away. She half-thought about following her. Maybe she was going to tell Lyza that she was being searched for. But the tigress was smarter, and less childish, than that. Besides, the way she scampered was more urgent than conspicuous.

But that still begged the question... Where was she? Sure, she could wait until recess was over. But what if she was hiding from her?

Rini idly rested her hand over her back pocket, mentally checking to make sure.

Still there.

She had lapped the grounds three times already; but so far, nada. But there were a lot of kids, and maybe she just didn't search well enough.

She went toward the tunnels. She had checked each one once before, but she could have ducked in afterward. She went to the junction between two of them, so that she could easily look in both. The one to her right was empty, but the left contained a boy who was more upside-down than anything. She stood up and went to the third; a couple girls inside defensively told her the tunnel was theirs.

With a sigh, the rat moved to the middle of that tunnel, resting her palms on the sun-warmed red clay. She watched the cars idly rolling down the street, and a woman with a stroller walking upon the sidewalk. Rini's eyes went half-lidded, turning the world reddish-brown as she saw through the slit of her lids. Perhaps if she listened, she thought, as the seam of her lids sealed together. She found the muscles at the base of her ears, concentrating as she tried to fan them out. She waited just a few seconds, and then heard it. The high-pitched note, piercing the air.

She whipped round.

Bitty and Betty beckoned her to them.

Rini jogged the moment's distance toward them, her search a failure.

"We've been looking;"

"All over for you. Why;"

"The heck are you on the dirty;"

"side of the playground?"

Rini pointed, looking back at the road. It gave her a chance to put the mask on. "I saw a creepy man on the other side of the street. I think we should tell the teacher."

* * *

Emeral reached for the latch. Behind her, the toilet was in the midst of its vicious, guttural roar. But, as it quieted down like a child throwing a short-lived temper-tantrum, the tigress was still reaching.

Her hand hovered inches away from the latch.

It hadn't donned on her until just now. An absent-minded slip-up. A misjudgment in awareness, leading to an unintentional action. The balance of taiji had been tipped too heavily to one side for her, and now she was caught in a situation she did not want to be in.

The fur on her neck prickled.

Where just moments ago she felt so empowered, so full of awareness; now, she was afraid and disoriented. The dream that had been described to her trickled into her mind. It sprouted into an anxiety that began to make her breath shallow.

She balled her fist.

Squatting, she rested her palm against the side of the stall. Bending in a way she didn't really think she could, she managed to peek beneath the skirt of the stall. For just the briefest, slightest second, she saw five pairs of feet. As she blinked, they disappeared, leaving only a mosaic pattern of tan-colored tiles.

Righting herself, she looked at the latch. It clacked as her hand whipped against it, and the door fell ajar. It had to be opened toward her. She held onto it, sliding slightly behind it, and pulled it toward her. She kept her gaze to the opening, locking eyes with herself in the mirror. With it, she saw that there was nothing on the other side of the stall, slinking against the outside wall.

Scoffing at herself, she slid from behind the door and made her way to the sink. She reached for the handle, and then her hand stopped once again. A powerful rush of adrenaline shot through her, making her a little light-headed. She forced a calming breath, resting her other hand upon the near edge of the basin. Her thumb stuck up, and twitched like the needle on a Gieger Counter.

She gripped the metal handle. It turned with a bit of a squeak, and the water began to rush out to sound like a gentle waterfall. She waited, turning her head so she could see the door out of the corner of her eye. Her heart thundered, thumb twitching more and more radically. After forcing seven even breaths, she moved her hands forward, breaking the cylinder of water upon her knuckles.

Then, she heard the door-hinge creak.

"Ha!"

"Eep!"

Emeral's eyes saw sparks as she took the fighting stance, glaring at the door. A spray of water flung from her hands, forming small puddles on the floor. Her shout still rang in her ears, until, over the course of a moment, the sound of the water was clear again.

Peeking through the crack of the door was a petite, white muzzle and a very frightened, blue-colored eye.

Emeral abandoned her stance, trying to quell the visible signs of her agitation.

"I--I'm s-s-sorry," the voice timidly squeaked.

"Hang on," Emeral spoke, trying not to let out the shakiness in her own voice. She went back to the sink, washed her hands more quickly than she normally would, and pulled several paper towels from the dispenser. Walking as she dried her hands, she want to the door. "It's all yours," she said, opening the door wider.

It was only then that she saw who it was.

Squeaky Kimberly stepped back meekly, hands behind her. She stepped back enough that she wasn't right in front of the tigress, but not so far back that the tigress could reasonably pass by to get out of the restroom.

"If you let me out, you can go in..." Emeral stated.

As if the mousette had slipped into hypnosis and the sound of the tigress's voice pulled her free, she flinched. "Uhm--" she quickly took another step back.

Emeral still had to squeeze out to keep from brushing against Kimberly. She walked with the door, holding it open out of politeness.

But the mousette didn't budge.

Emeral squinted. "Are you okay, Kimmy?"

"Y-yeah!" She hastily said. "I--uhm, I just--well, you were... you talked to William?"

The tigress relaxed her brow. "Oh, yeah. Why?"

The mousette brought her hands forward, fidgeting with them nervously. "Um... I just... I mean... I just have to--to ask... do... d'you, um... l mean--like him?"

The tigress immediately saw where this was going, and shook her head with a smile. "No, not like that." She replied, leaning against the door. "Beck was watching him in the middle of the playgrounds. I felt like he was up to no good, so I talked to William. To get him away."

The mousette's look of relief was obvious; her whiskers relaxed and her peaked face began to soften with color. "Oh... okay," she said, trying to hide herself in the same way the tigress had just earlier.

"I'm not allowed to talk to him?" She joked, teasing the timid girl.

"N--nono, I just know you have a boyf--ffffah..."

Emeral felt a rush of tingles on her cheeks, and her nostrils flared. She watched the mousette look back at her, the syllable still rolling off her tongue.

Their eyes locked.

There was an unspoken understanding between the two. The mousette understood she'd just said something the tigress did not want to hear. The tigress understood that their relationship was dangerously close to being known.

"I... um... s-sorry for--for barging--"

"Kim?" Emeral asked.

The mousette flinched; although the tigress had asked with a calm, almost tired tone.

"Please don't hurt me!" She begged.

The tigress watched the mousette cower back. "I'm not going to hurt you," she assured. "I just wanna know... how you know."

"Rini." She blurted, her voice in as much of a hush as she could make. "She... asked me if I knew who your boyfriend was... How should I know? Y'know I don't know, right? I mean, we hardly talk."

"When?" The tigress said, walking into the bathroom, holding open the door a bit.

Kimberly hesitated, looking over her shoulder, before stepping in.

"I dunno... sometime after we got back from Christmas. I swear I don't know who it is!"

"Relax, Kim," the tigress said, waving her hands. "I'm not going to... beat you up or anything, okay?"

Kimberly started pacing. "I... Um... I heard Ritzer talking about it, too. I figure that's why you're keeping it a secret, cuz Ritzer said he'd beat your boyfriend up."

"Does... does anyone else... know?"

Kimberly shrugged. "If they do... I haven't heard."

The tigress glanced down at the tiles. The shades of tan and cream-white formed a diamond pattern from the center of the room, save for the drain that was unceremoniously placed in the middle of the open floor, breaking the otherwise symmetrical pattern.

"Plus..." Kimberly spoke impulsively, "I wouldn't want people to know about my crush." Then her pupils looked about. "I--I mean, if I had one, that is..."

Emeral giggled. "Don't worry, Kim. I won't tell anyone you like William, I promise."

The mousette leaned against the wall with a phew. Then the words hit her. "Wait--aw_crud!_" She smacked the side of her head. "Stupid stupid stupid stupid!"

"Hey-hey," Emeral went to keep her from clapping her hands upon her scalp.

The mousette looked away. "Well... guess it's... pretty obvious... cuz of earlier..." she grumbled.

"Actually," Emeral said. "I kinda figured you did for a while."

The color on the mousette's cheeks deepened. "You... you did?"

Emeral leaned against the wall next to her. "That's why I told him to go talk to you. I figured he'd want to do that--I think he likes you, too."

The mousette's lips pinched together with nervousness. "You... do?"

"Sure," Emeral smiled. "I bet if you told him how you felt, he'd say the same thing."

Kimberly shook her head, which made a gentle wind hit Emeral's face from the motion of her ears. "I'm afraid to tell him."

"Why?" The tigress questioned.

"Cuz..." Kimberly folded her arms. "Y'know... People call him Shy William. He doesn't like attention at all and doesn't really like to talk."

"He seemed fine talking to me," Emeral said. "Plus, he seems really comfortable around you."

"Yeah, but..." She lowered, sitting on the tile and hugging her knees. "He's always been my friend. What if he's comfortable talking to me because he doesn't think I'm pretty and doesn't like me? What if I tell him I like him and he stops talking to me? What if--?"

Emeral sat down, also. "Or, what if he's too shy to tell you that he likes you, and he's hoping you'll say you like him, and that's why he sticks around you."

Kimberly mulled the thought over.

"You know him better than I do," the white tigress shrugged. "But... I'd guess that the worst thing that'd happen is, if you told him and he didn't feel the same way, he wouldn't stop talking to you. Heck, he might even still be your friend and then realize he does like you. That's how..." she paused, but then remembered that Kimberly already knew. "That's kinda how it was like for me."

The mousette's ears wiggled a little, as if interested in that tidbit. She looked toward the tigress, muzzle buried between her knees. "Can you..." She started to say, but then closed her lips.

"Can I what?" The tigress asked, after a pause.

"Um... can you just tell me... if you guys... you and your... your boyfriend... Did you guys um... k--kiss?"

Emeral felt a few emotions very quickly. First, she felt tickled that she was asked the question to begin with. Then, she felt... experienced, like she was a Jedi talking to her Padawan. Then, she was about to respond when she felt a sense of wonder.

"N--nevermind," Kimberly dismissed. "It's none-a my business."

"We did," Emeral responded. She looked up, matching eye with the mousette. "We've kissed a lot, actually. But... now that you're making me think about it..." She looked up. "Kimmy?"

"Yeah?" The mousette responded, lifting her muzzle up and looking at the tigress attentively.

"I want you to listen, okay?"

"...Okay..."

Still looking at the ceiling, her brain started to do that dangerous act of thinking. It felt like rusty gears nudging against one another. "When we first kissed--I mean, not our first kiss but our first real kiss--it was like... watching fireworks for the first time. But... after that, it kind of... felt... usual, y'know? Like a hug." She walked through her words, feeling as though expressing this idea aloud was leading her somewhere, like being guided through the dark by clinging onto furniture. "But, then, well... over Spring Break we kind of... had a lot of fights. Then I cried and... he kissed me again and... he says he understands what 'love' really is. Ever since then, when we kiss... it's like that first time except..." She struggled, the gears not quite shaving off enough rust and grime to allow a full click.

The mousette hung on the words for a moment, before speaking, "Except...?"

The bell rang.

The tigress looked down. "I don't really know... how to say it." She admitted. She looked back at Kimberly. "We'd better get back to class. Don't want people catching both of us coming out of the bathroom."

"Y--yeah," Kimmy said. "Uhm... but Emmy?" They stood up. "Do you really think... I can tell him?"

The tigress's cheeks billowed as she let out her breath. "I think... I need to think a little more before I really start giving advice, but..." She went to the door, pulling down on the handle, yet keeping it closed. "You know him best, and I'm sure he'd rather a friend tell him than some strange girl he's never met."

The mousette giggled. "Maybe you're right."

* * *

Rini stepped into the classroom. There, the person she was looking for was sitting at their desk. The rat briskly made her way to her own seat at the head of the row.

The rabbit was leaned against her palm, looking down at the book on her desk, right hand splaying the pages open.

As she approached, Rini spoke; "Hey."

The rabbit looked up.

Rini glanced down at the book, and immediately it was whipped closed so that the back was showing. Pressing her lips together, Rini reached into her back pocket, and pulled out a slip of paper. "I think this is yours." She said, setting it down on the very corner of the rabbit's desk. She then sat at her own.

Lyza waited a second before taking the paper. She unfolded it, revealing Panda's drawing from earlier in the day.