We come to the other friends and their mates, next. We see the six of them sat at a picnic table on the other side of the park. It is such a beautiful day; no wind, and sunny conditions. It’s no wonder they’ve decided to spend time outside. Their conversations cease when a red figure appears before them.
“Uh, hello,” Alec starts. “Can we help you?”
Winnie smiles. “Ah, Amina! It’s so good to see you. How’s it going?”
Kenny turns to the chicken and points to the vixen. “You guys know this girl?”
“Amina’s a mutual friend of ours,” Ralph tells him. He turns to Amina. “Lovely day, right?”
The red fox remains still with a neutral expression on her face. “We need to talk…” She points to Ralph, Emma, and Winnie. “It involves you three.” Winnie’s smile disappears.
“Oh?” Emma utters. “What about?”
“I will tell you in a minute.”
Ralph stands up. “Is everything all right? Can’t you just tell us?”
“It is a serious matter that needs your attention, privately,” Amina orders. “Come with me."
“Look, whatever it is, just tell us,” Winnie demands. “We’re all friends here… And you can say it in front of our dates. You can trust them.”
“No,” Amina tells her. “This is a matter for you, Ralph, and Emma only.”
“It’s fine, Winnie,” Kenny says. “Just go see what your fox friend wants. We’ll wait for you.” Alec and Josh agree and say the same thing.
Winnie sighs. “All right…” She gets up with the rabbit and warthog and follows the tribal vixen away from the table. They are led behind a patch of shrubs. “Okay, what is this about, Amina?”
“You guys need to talk to Zach,” states the vixen.
“Huh?” Ralph utters. “What for? Is he still struggling with dating?”
“He is,” Emma answers. “He texted me earlier about it… It’s not been easy for him since the whole thing with Fiona… I tried arranging a date with him and my coworker, but it didn’t work…”
“What happened to the cute tiger boy from my gym group?” asks Ralph. “I thought he was supposed to have a date with him…?”
“Look, I know that mouse chick wasn’t a good candidate,” adds Winnie. “But, I didn’t know she was going to reject Zach and badmouth him on Anigram…” The three then talk over each other on what to do.
“Zach doesn’t need a romantic partner!” declares Amina, causing them to stop. “Right now, he needs his friends, because THEY’VE been ignoring him!” The three animals stare at her in silence. “Don’t you get it?! You guys are the reason for all of this! You all have been focusing so much on your lovers, he’s been feeling left out. He spoke to me about it… That’s what pushed him to try and find a lover of his own!”
“W-what?” spurts Emma. “I thought he was looking for someone because he wanted romance…?”
“He was trying to find someone to ‘fit in’ and talk to you guys again, originally, after you had been unintentionally ignoring him. I told him he shouldn’t use someone just to reconnect and regain attention with you guys. However, he said seeing you guys with your lovers also reminded him of the pain he’s been through in the past with that sheep girl. He hasn’t been able to successfully fall in love, before and after this whole ‘Fiona’ thing… He’s been deeply upset… And now, he’s sitting on the park bench, crying.”
“Just for the record, I’m not fully in love with Kenny,” Winnie implies. “He’s ‘acceptable.’” Amina, Ralph, and Emma look at her with expressions resembling disappointment. “What?!”
“Gee, we hadn’t known,” Ralph adds, turning back to Amina. “I wish we did, sooner…”
“We’re sorry,” Emma says. “We didn’t mean to cause him more pain and misery.”
“You need tell that to him! You’re his friends, and you should be comforting him! You should be talking with him, even.”
“You’re his friend, too, Amina,” Winnie states. “Why aren’t you?”
“No,” Emma tells her. “Amina’s right… We haven’t been good friends to Zach, lately… And we just made it worse for him by arranging him on crappy dates, which ended up horribly… He doesn’t need a romantic partner… He needs his friends to cheer him up and remind him he’s not alone…”
“What a crybaby.” Igor appears in front of everyone with a poof. “He’s such a loser. Can’t take rejection much, can he?” Amina crosses her arms. “Well, well, who do we have here? I take it you’re another friend, right?”
“Amina,” Amina says to the demon. “And yes, I am a friend.”
“Well, ‘Friend,’ you are quite sexy with an exposed red coat for sure.”
“Save it; I am not one to sway, easily.”
“Oh? I suppose you have it for the crybaby fox?”
“I do not see Zach in that way. We have been good friends for a long time.”
“Not romantic type, eh? Your loss.”
“Everything all right over here?” asks Josh, appearing with the other two guys. “We heard shouting.”
“We’re fine,” Ralph tells them. “We just need to talk to Zach…”
“Well, he ain’t here,” Igor utters. Everyone pivots to him. “I saw that fox get up and bolt out of the park several minutes ago.”
“Why didn’t you say anything to us?” claims Amina.
“Not my problem to babysit a grown baby fox.”
“Oh, shut up, already!” orders Winnie. “You aren’t helping!” She faces Ralph and Emma. “We need to find him.”
“Where could he have gone, though?” asks Ralph. “He could be anywhere in the city…”
“I’ve got something that should help.” Emma pulls out her phone and taps away. “I have a little app that can find other peoples’ phones.” Everyone looks at her. “Look, I have a lot of time on my hooves, and I get bored, okay?” The chicken, rabbit, and vixen huddle close together and look over her head to see the screen.
***
On the streets outside of the park, Zach ambles down the path. His head remains tilted toward the pavement as he walks along the road. “Maybe I’m just not fit to fall in love or find someone to settle with,” he says to himself. “Why can’t I be happy just like my friends…? Igor was right… My friends are better off without me… Perhaps I’m better off finding people to ‘love and leave fast…’ Being a cheap one-nighter and sleeping around with random strangers doesn’t seem so bad, right…? Who needs love, anyway…? It doesn’t happen to me… Not even if it hits me in the face…” Just as he rounds the corner, the fox gets smacked in the face with a door. “Ack!” He’s knocked back a couple of feet before grabbing his head. “Ow!”
“Oh shit!” shouts the girl coming out. “I’m terribly sorry!” She walks over to him and puts her paws on his sides. “Are you okay?! I didn’t mean to hit you!”
“Damn…” Zach picks his head up to her. “No worries, Ma’am… I just-” He freezes upon noticing the grey rabbit with jet-black hair in a short, chin-length bob and choppy bangs brushing her forehead. She dons a pink top complimented by a skirt of the same color. He stares into her blue eyes as he keeps his paw on his head. “You…”
The rabbit takes her paws back from him as she stares at him. “You… You’re the fox in that Team Rescuer group…”
“I was,” Zach claims. “I’m not with them anymore… Those jerks hurt me badly… Worse than what you did…”
“I didn’t mean to hit you with the door… Did I hit you too hard?”
“Yep…” He taps the spot with his paw. “Right here.”
“I’m very sorry…”
“You’re fine… I’m just… surprised to see you, Miss…”
“Melissa,” the rabbit tells him. “My name’s Melissa.”
“Melissa,” repeats Zach. “Such a lovely name… My name is Zach. I didn’t expect you’d be here in Anitropolis. What brings you here?”
“Do you want to talk about this over a coffee? If that’s okay with you?”
“Uh, sure… I’d love to...”
***
Both the fox and rabbit are seated at a table inside of a Pawbucks. Both of them enjoy steaming hot cups of coffee as they catch up on things.
“How is your head?” asks Melissa.
“Doing better,” Zach tells her. “Doesn’t hurt as bad as before…”
“Again, I’m terribly sorry about that.”
“It was only an accident.”
“I haven’t seen you in a long time…”
“I haven’t seen you in a long time, either. It’s been so long…”
“How come you left Heroto?”
“I couldn’t stand being there any longer… The bullying, the discrimination, the harassment… It became too much… Once the orphanage gave me the boot, I set out to make a life of my own… It was a rocky start, but I made friends along the way… They’ve helped me.”
“You’ve had more luck than me. I’ve had to make it out here on my own… My dad always pushed me away after my mom died years ago… He says I remind him too much of her… He wants to forget and move on… We haven’t talked very much…”
“That’s rough… I’m so sorry…”
“Don’t be… It isn’t your fault. So, what have you been doing here? You have a job?”
“Yeah… I’m a technician for the tv studio… Well, ‘head technician,’ now… I help manage the set for ‘Wool & Wiles.’”
Melissa’s eyes widen. “For real?!” Zach nods. “I’m a big fan of that show! Are you really good friends with the actors? What are they like?”
“I’d rather not talk about it,” Zach says. “What do you do? What’s your occupation?”
“Well, I don’t really do anything, right now… I’ve been looking around for work ever since I got here…”
“How long ago did you move here?”
“Haven’t been here for very long… Maybe a month or so? I’ve been trying to find a job, but I haven’t had much luck so far… I’ve been really eating up in my savings… I’m not in any financial trouble, but I would like to find some way to make money as soon as possible.”
“I can help you if you’d like. I hear plenty of things around the studio, as well as the community.”
“I appreciate that… Thank you…”
“You know, Melissa, you’re not as bad as I thought you were…”
“Oh really? What did you think? That I was mean and nasty like my dad and the other animals that hang around him, and that Capital Corp group?”
“Initially, yes… No offense…”
She lets out a chuckle. “None taken.”
“You’re actually very nice. I enjoy your company.”
“You as well,” responds Melissa. “You still with that sheep lady, by any chance?”
“No… I’ve not seen her or spoke with her since I left Heroto… I was never with her to begin with, actually…”
“You have someone else?”
“Romantically? I… don’t… I’ve been trying to look for someone, but I haven’t had much success…”
“I hear you… It’s pretty shitty out there; looking for love…”
“I’ve been thinking that maybe I shouldn’t waste my time with that… I thought about being free-spirited, you know?”
“I feel you. Well, I take interest in talking with you. I like this whole ‘catching up with life.’”
“Me, as well… Why haven’t we thought of this before…?”
“I guess… we both were too scared and unsure to approach each other? I mean, all we did was look at each other while the groups we were with fought one another. Didn’t really interact at all…”
“Yeah… We’re far away from that hate, though… Wouldn’t be a bad idea to connect and get to know each other more, right?”
“Great minds think alike.” The rabbit takes a sip from her coffee with a smile.
***
After spending nearly an hour in the shop, the two furs stroll down the road. Both continue to talk with each other about all of the things that have happened leading up to their new lives in the city. They enjoy each other’s company and exchange smiles with one another.
“Zach!” They freeze and turn to the source, noticing the warthog in the leather jacket and jeans running up to them. She is joined by the rabbit and chicken. “There you are! We’ve been looking all over for you!”
“Oh, hey, Emma,” Zach says. “Hey, guys… I thought you were hanging out with your boyfriends…”
“Kenny is not my boyfriend,” Winnie states. “He’s just ‘acceptable.’”
Ralph looks at her with disappointment, again like before. He then faces back to Zach. “Well, we were with our boyfriends… but then Amina came and told us about what’s really eating you…”
“Oh, has she?” Zach asks. “I’m not surprised she’d spy and eavesdrop on me… Then again, she’s concerned, too…”
“We didn’t mean to make you feel horrible, Zach,” Emma says. “We just didn’t know what was really going on…”
“Are these your friends?” Melissa asks him.
“Yeah,” Zach responds. “They are. This is Winnie, Ralph, and Emma.”
Winnie tilts her head and points to the grey rabbit. “I’m sorry, who is this chick?”
“Melissa,” Zach tells her. “This is Melissa. She is…”
“An acquaintance,” the grey rabbit implies. “Zach and I’ve met before. We just haven’t spoken in a while. He was just telling me about you guys and everything else. Nothing bad, of course…”
“Wait,” Ralph utters. “Aren’t you the daughter of the Green Gadgets CEO, Jack the Jackalope?”
Melissa nods. “Uh huh…”
“What are you doing here?”
“I…”
“She’s here to start a new life,” Zach implies. “I haven’t seen her in so long, and I wanted to catch up with her on things.”
“Well, that sounds nice,” Emma says. “Zach, listen… We’re terribly sorry we abandoned you… We just got distracted…”
“And sorry we made your life a bit worse with all those dates,” adds the chicken. “We thought you were upset because of what happened with Fiona, and such.”
“It’s okay,” Zach tells them. “You guys didn’t know… You were just trying to help. However, I’ve decided I want to focus on other things for now… This time, I’m serious.”
“That’s fine,” Ralph says with a smile. “Hey, why don’t we all head back and do something together; just the four of us?”
“Actually, you guys go on ahead without me.” The three friends remain still. “I kind of want to spend a little more time with Melissa.” The fox turns to her. “If that’s okay with you, of course?”
“Are you sure of that?” She asks. “I don’t want to take you away from your friends.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Besides, I want to spend more time with you.” She smiles. Zach faces back to his friends. “You guys head back to your dates. You don’t want to worry them.”
“You’re sure?” Winnie questions.
“Positive. Go on, go back to your picnic with the other boys. We can hang out another time. Also, tell Amina not to worry, and that everything’s fine.” The three others look at each other, confused, before turning back to the fox.
“Well, if you’re okay with that,” Emma states. “We’ll text you. Oh, and pleasure to meet you, Melissa…” The white rabbit and chicken add to that greeting before the three friends break away from Zach.
“That was quite noble of you, Zach,” comments Melissa with a smile.
Zach faces Melissa again. “Thank you. So, what do you want to do now?” Melissa shrugs her shoulders. “Do you like to sing?”
“I do. Why?”
“There’s a good karaoke place in the mall. My friends and I go to it sometimes, and we’d have a blast singing there.”
Melissa smiles. “Sure, I’d love to.” Wasting no further time, the two animals begin heading off. “I just hope I don’t scream loud enough to get kicked out.”
“Don’t worry, the booths are soundproof; you don’t have to worry about being too loud. And thank goodness they are, too. I always thought Winnie was the reason for that.”
Melissa glances over to him. “Oh?”
“She’s not very good at singing; would go off-key a lot. One time, she was so loud, many patrons came over to complain; nearly started a fight with her about it. A couple of days later, they installed acoustic panels in every booth.”
“Does this karaoke place have metal songs?”
“You’re a metal fan?”
“Hell yes, I am. You surprised?”
“Didn’t take a girl like you to be a metal fan.”
“Certain kinds of metal. Not too heavy. How about you?”
“I do like some metal. However, I’m mostly an 80’s rock fox.”
“80’s music is good. You said this place is in a mall, right?” Zach confirms that. “Perhaps after karaoke, could we walk around the mall a bit?”
“Whatever you are comfortable with.” Both of them exchange smiles at each other as they approach the entrance to the mall.
