Different
#1 of Ashanti's Advantage
This story and it's character's are the property of Maya Phillips (me me me). The situations that take place in this story are purely from my imagination. In otherwords, if you don't like it, don't bitch at Yiffstar, bitch at me. I would also like to think Yiffstar and it's residents who helped me write this story and give me a place to put my works. Comment and critique as harsh as possible. I need to learn how to write even better! Oh, and I know that there's no yiff in this story, the following instalments do, though. This is more to set the stage.
--
The spring air was pleasant today. Warm but not at all humid and a playful breeze that carried the sweat away from the mouse femme's brow as she ran at full speed across the grey tennis court, her white skirt getting kicked up in her own wake. The yellow ball sliced through the air and bounced off of the hard top a distance away from the mouse who desperately dove, her arm and racket out stretched in a blind attempt at salvation. Her self inflicted bruise proved to be in vain.
"Game!" Mrs. Robertson shouted from her high perch in the ref's chair, "Good job, you two." The mouse picked herself up from the ground, dusting off her skirt before walking towards the net and shaking paws with the she-wolf who had bested her. After a quick glance at her clipboard, the doe coach looked back up at the line of gathered young women and shouted out two names.
"Ashanti. Keisha. You two are up next."
Keisha, the tall and toned lioness, stepped out from the line, twirling her racket about skillfully with one paw as she grinned to herself. Her beaded, black hair clattered silently as she tossed her head back and gave her friends a small wink before taking her place.
All eyes then turned towards the grey hyena who sat upon the warm concrete. Head dipped almost as if in a silent prayer, Ashanti took a few moments to gather herself. That past month has had been nothing but Hell and with her place on the tennis team on the line, Ashanti was almost beside herself with dread. Finally, she picked herself up and walked over towards the court, standing just behind the white baseline.
"You serve, Ashanti," Mrs. Robertson commanded, plucking a tennis ball from the bucket that hung by her seat's arm. Using her racket to lob the ball into her paw, the hyena rolled it around with her fingers for a moment before looking down the court at Keisha, the lion's golden eyes meeting her own with the distinct sign of both challenge and disgust.
Taking a deep breath, Ashanti tossed the ball high above her head and swung up at it with her racket.
--
Senior year of highschool was supposed to be like a slide. The previous years was the hard work of climbing up the steps to the top and the only thing left after that was to ride it all the way back down without falling off along the way. As far as Ashanti was concerned, it was more like climbing the ladder with only your teeth followed by a blind jump rather than a smooth slide. Her family was far from rich, her father had to work two jobs just to make ends meet, and her grades were less than stellar, yet both of her mom and dad expected her to go to college. She hadn't thought much about it during her time in school, but now that graduation was right around the corner, Ashanti really began to feel the pressure.
No where close to being one of the popular girls, Ashanti was content with staying outside the popularity-line. No where was this more evident than how she kept herself. First and most apparent was the fact that her hair was cut extremely short, almost passing for a male style, and, on top of that, she had dyed it dark blue. Her clothes were never brand new nor brand name, it was apparent that her mother shopped at the thrift store. Never the less, Ashanti made the best of a bad situation by learning how to take a few of the old clothes and using them to make something new. Today's shirt, for example, was originally a t-shirt with the Trix rabbit on it. Cutting it short to expose her stomach and snipping off the sleeves gave it a more adult look. Then there was the signature clothing of Ashanti: pants. As long as anyone could remember, she wore pants. Never a skirt or dress. Even during the hot summer, she wore baggy swim trunks rather than a bikini bottom. There are even pictures of her at Ring Dance with her in a full three piece tux. With that, and the fact that she's never even kissed a guy, it's no wonder that so many of the other student's thought that she was a lesbian. They thought wrong.
Ashanti squatted down in front of her locker, in it's metal band sticker glory, pulling out the books that she would need for the day ahead, her stumpy tail swishing back and forth as she whispered to herself the subject of each book.
"So," a masculine voice snickered over her shoulder, "Did'ja see me on television last night?" Ashanti turned towards the voice, looking up at the canine who leaned upon his shoulder against the adjacent locker. While he dressed rather plainly, all the better to blend into the crowd, he had an interesting look to him. Mangy is a bit too strong, but scruffy doesn't do his jig-saw colored fur justice either; something between the two. Still, he was a bit of a cutie, even if Ashanti would never tell him that.
"You know that I did, Jordan," the hyena snorted with a grin, "You called me last night and reminded me that you would be on Brain-Busters five times. It would have been a sin to miss it."
"Well, I know that you tend to forget things very easily," the mutt snickered. Jordan was the top of the class, a shoe in for valid Victorian this year, and prided himself on his brains. Ever since he was a pup, he had dreamed to appear on the Brain-Busters game show. It was a cheezy nerd fest that was watched only by other nerds on the public access channel, but it meant the world to him. Even though he came in second place, just the fact that he got to see Bryan Wilson, the host, in furson was enough for him.
"I guess that means that the colleges are really beating down your door now," Ashanti added as she rose back up, shutting her locker and giving the dial a spin to hide the last digit of it's code.
"Yeah," Jordan yipped, his tail wagging with enthusiasm, "I've already gotten some phone calls for scholarships and everything. At this point, the schools will start having to pay me to attend," they both shared a small chuckle at the lame joke, "What about you, Ashanti? Have ya picked a college to go to yet?"
"I dunno," the hyena gave a small roll of her eyes as she replied, "I've been thinking about it and all, but-"
"You are going to college, right?"
"I dunno...maybe. I want to but I just don't have the money, a loan would just add more bills for my parents to pay, and I don't have the brains to just have people toss me money like you."
"But you do have tennis," the wild dog said with a snap. It was true. Ever since Ashanti was young, she loved tennis and played it everyday after she got her first racket. Though the years, she had grown very good at it. She was already a member of the tennis team and had won a couple of tournaments in her time.
"Yeah, I guess," she sighed out, "But I have to keep my grades up to stay on the team and, even then, I have to be scouted."
"Bah," Jordan snarled playfully, "Don't worry about it. I know that after one round, any scout would race the court, begging you to join his school." The pair stopped for a second as they walked in front of Ashanti's biology class.
"Here's hoping," the hyena crossed her fingers before waving good bye to Jordan.
--
"RAAAH!" Keisha screamed as she swing her racket, sending the ball right back towards her hyena opponent. Surging her legs with power, Ashanti rushed the net, tightening her grip upon her racket as the ball lazily sailed over the net, her white pants bouncing around her muscled legs. With a quick, under-pawed snap of her arm, Ashanti sent the ball back towards Keisha before quickly bounding backwards for the end of the court, getting ready for whatever the lioness would send her way.
From the corner of her eye, Ashanti watched as a well dressed otter walked casually outside the fenced courts, watching the two females battle. In his paw, he had a note pad and was scrawling out something as he carefully watched their movements, studying and comparing the both of them against the other. Ashanti thought about what the male wanted but was brought back to her duty as she heard Keisha scream once again.
Caught off guard, the hyena pushed herself down the width of the court, trying to beat the ball that she neglected to watch instead of the man.
--
"Welcome ladies," the middle aged doe bellowed as she paced in front of her line of tennis team hopefuls, "I am Mrs. Robertson, but from here on out, you will reefer to me only as Coach Robertson." The row of femmes shifted about in place anxiously, each wanting to prove their worth to be on the team. Mrs. Robertson knew that only a fraction of them would actually have what it took to be on the team. "Now, I want each and every single one of you to do ten minutes of stretches and ten laps around the court then meet me back here."
The varsity girls were the ones who finished their laps first, Ashanti among them, and their ilk were breathing harder, but no where out of breath due to their regular exercise. A good number of the other girls didn't fair quite as well. Many of the freshies were out of breath after the second lap, having to walk the last few yards. Coach Robertson simply checked her watch and crossed off the names of those who she deemed took too long. Ashanti watched as one of these girls, a young skunk, shambled into the courts, falling onto her back as she gasped for breath.
"You shouldn't just stop like that," Ashanti said to the exhausted skunkette, leaning over her as to block the sun from the younger girl's face, "You'll feel a lot better if you walk around for a few moments first."
"J-just a sh-second," the skunkette panted, obviously having trouble.
"Why do you even waste your time with her?" a female called out in a very snotty tone. Glancing up, Ashanti glared squarely at Keisha. "She's obviously not gonna make the team. So just leave her alone."
Keisha, a senior as well, was one of those girls who just so happened to fall on the right side of the popularity-line. Tall and powerful looking with radiant, golden fur, it was easy to see why so many males wanted to be with her, a pleasure that she was more than willing to grant a great deal of them. It was no secret that she wasn't a virgin any more. She even announced her first time during practice years ago. Despite their shared love for tennis, Keisha and Ashanti were fierce rivals on and off the court. Ever since they met in freshmen year, Keisha had always held only the up most contempt for the hyena, claiming that her ancestors were the scum of the earth while Keisha's own lion heritage was that of nobility and that she would always be better than Keisha. Almost always, at least. The only time Ashanti could actually put Keisha in her place was during tennis. The lioness had more power and speed than Ashanti, but the hyena always maintained control over the game, a trait that Keisha has always resented.
"Then again," Keisha stared, her brow and ears perking up as she rested her hands upon her hips, her tail swishing with a bit of agitation, "Coach Robertson did let you on the team. I'd say that the freshie has more than a shot at the team if coach shows the same mercy for her as she did you." Ashanti opted to not respond to the lioness' taunting, instead reaching her paw out to the re-vitalized skunk and pulling her up to her paws.
"All, ladies," the coach called out again, wheeling out a basket full of rackets, "Everyone pair up and get in a few rounds as I come around and inspect each and every one of you. If you have your own racket, you may use it. Otherwise, please use one from the basket here," she said, patting her hand against the top row of rackets.
"Wanna be my partner?" Ashanti asked the skunk, "I'll try and make you look good so that you'll get on the team
--
"Love-15, Keisha!" Coach Robertson shouted out.
"Don't make it too easy for me," Keisha shouted from across the court, giving the hyena a small wink and a wicked smile, "I at least want to get in a good work out when I play." The otter outside of the court took a few more notes, shaking his head as he gave a glancing look at Ashanti.
Ashanti gave a small curse to herself for letting Keisha get that point in for free. She wouldn't be hearing the end of it until she scored a point on that tail-raiser. Having been tossed another ball, Ashanti and Keisha both took their positions again as the hyena bounced the ball against the ground a few times.
"C'mon, Blue-Hair!" the skunkette cried out from the sideline, clapping loudly.
"Ms. Jasmine!" Coach Robertson snapped, staring down at the skunk, causing the freshmen to quickly settle down.
"Aw, how sweet," Keisha cackled, stepping behind the baseline and crouching down, "Your little clone is cheering you on. I didn't know freaks had fans."
"Shut up, ass-licker," Ashanti snarled before tossing the ball into the air once more and reaching back to smash it towards the lioness. This time, Ashanti was the one who got the jump on Keisha as the ball whipped by her.
"That's not fair!" Keisha protested, looking up towards the doe, "I wasn't ready!"
The coach gave a small snort as she thought about how Keisha should learn the meaning of sportsmanship, "15-15." The otter seemed to agree as he gave a small grin and started to erase something from his notes and replaced it with something else.
Keisha dug her claws into her racket's base, holding in a few choice words before getting ready for the Ashanti's next serve. She'll show that hyena the price for messing with her.
To be continued...