For the rest of the day, Martin just continued his classes, his mind going back to his new World History. The venue had changed, causing him to rethink his strategy for doing school work. It wasn’t any great secret that Mr. Crawford had it in for him since practically the first day, but the wolf had never before been so overt in his obvious contempt for the young mink. Either way, he had people on his team that seemed to be… well, in truth they seemed to be a bitch and two doormats. ‘Crap.’ he thought. ‘Oh well, I’m stuck with them until the end of this lesson, thankfully it was only a week long, perhaps the week would go by quickly and get him away from the trio of females.’
When the bell rang for lunch, he pulled his satchel bag onto his shoulder, and headed around the corner to the cafeteria. In less than five minutes, he had his food in hand, and was heading outside. The entire high school campus was set up into four distinct buildings, with the forest on the left as you stand facing the parking lot. On the right, out past the track and baseball diamond, sat a lone tree just a five minute walk from the heavy metal double doors to the dining area. Heading out to that tree, he sat down under its cool shade, that enormous fluffy tail wrapping around his legs while he ate his lunch.
Barely five minutes after Martin sat down at the tree, Chani and Andrea exited the line while Tanya followed a male fox out of the other line. “I still can’t believe he got us in trouble.” the porcupine remarked, narrowing her eyes, “The nerve of him!”
“You didn’t exactly give him a warm welcome, Andi.” Tanya commented, looking down at her food.
Narrowing her eyes at the bunny, she scoffed, “Like he’s any different than all the other guys in this stupid school.”
Looking at the porcupine, Chani just sighed and shook her head. “I… don’t think he’s as bad as you think, Andi. Just… give him a chance.”
Turning her head away, she blew out a “Pfff, fat chance of that since we have to go back to Mrs. Shearer’s room this afternoon.”
“Come on!” Tanya remarked shaking her head, “Let’s just stop thinking about what happened this morning. It’s a beautiful day out, so how about we eat outside?”
Giving a nod, Chani followed her rabbit friend “Perhaps we’re going about this the wrong way.” she suggested as they exited the cafeteria.
“What do you mean?” Andrea asked.
“First off, the problem and yelling started because you were being too hard on him.” Chani commented, looking at Andrea.
“Oh, give me a break!” the porcupine scoffed, “All boys are jerks. I’ve been protecting you and Tanya ever since we first met, and…”
“But, is it really necessary?” Tanya asked. “I-I mean with him. He seems nice to me.”
“Damn it!” she breathed, “You’re both not going to leave this alone until I apologize to him, are you?” She watched the two girls shake their heads, her mind trying to come up with another argument. “You both have to admit that most guys are jerks. I mean, even your brother can be a jerk sometimes.” she commented, looking at Chani.
“Yeah, but he still has a good heart, and a very loving personality.” Chani added, she then shrugged, “He just likes to play pranks on people sometimes, but… I don’t get that from Martin.” Shaking her head, she looked back at her friends, “He seems… I don’t know. It’s like he’s unreadable to me, like he’s closed off.”
“I know what you mean.” Tanya added, “All the other guys I’ve met seem to be so sure of themselves to the point of cockiness, especially when they look like Martin, but he’s so… I guess the word would be…” she then looked at where he sat, “lonely.” All three of them stopped in their tracks, noting how Martin sat alone under a tree, his tray of food sitting to his right, while he wrote something in a five subject notebook. On his left, that huge, fluffy tail lay there, as if it were a pet resting beside its master.
“Come on, let’s go somewhere else to eat. I don’t want to start an argument with him again.” Andrea suggested.
“Afraid you would lose?” Tanya remarked, “Let’s go talk to him. At the very least you can apologize, Andrea.”
“Yeah, right!” the porcupine scoffed before looking around. “Where’s Chani?”
Turning back to look at the young mink, they watched as Chani approached him, the pair blinking as she moved tentatively toward the young man. “Hello?” she asked, causing the mink to look up at her, “I was wondering if I could join you for lunch?”
“Sure.” he remarked, moving his tail so that she could sit down.
Giving him a small smile, she sat down cross-legged so that her knee length skirt could drape down keeping her covered. “I… I want to apologize for my friend.”
“Water under the bridge.” Martin remarked, shaking his head. “I’m used to being in trouble.”
Chani blinked in shock, her tail starting to go fluffy, “What do you mean by that?” she asked.
“My mouth constantly gets me in trouble.” he commented as he continued what he was doing, “Everyone considers me a smart-ass, or just takes everything I say the wrong way, and when someone challenges me, I just… I have a problem backing down. I just feel like I have more to prove, and because of that it gets me into trouble.”
“Then we have something in common.” Andrea remarked, looking down at him.
“If you three want to eat together, I can go…”
“No. Please.” Tanya practically begged. “We just…”
“This isn’t for you to say Tanya, I started it. I’ll finish it.” Andrea interrupted. Looking at the mink, she gave a sigh. “I jumped to conclusions when I first saw you, considered you like all the other guys that we’ve all met, and for that I’m sorry.”
“Apology gladly accepted.” Martin said softly, giving the porcupine a smile. “I also want to apologize, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions about you too. I figured that because of what you wore, and how you talked you were just an angry, malicious, bitch.”
“Oh, no. You didn’t jump to conclusions. I am an angry, malicious, bitch…”
“But you also seem intent on protecting Chani and Tanya, and to me that means you have the biggest heart of the group.” Martin commented causing the porcupine to blush and turn her face away.
“Laying it on a little thick aren’t you?” she asked, blushing while Tanya and Chani sniggered. “It’s not funny.”
“They’re not laughing at you, they’re just happy to see you taking a compliment.”
“Oh, shut up you jerk.”
Martin just gave her a smile, causing the porcupine to blush even more as she pulled her carrot sticks up to start eating. Tanya looked between the pair, giving a little giggle as she pulled her notes out from class. “I’ve been thinking about our subject, and I had a few ideas.” she remarked.
“Okay, let’s see what you have.” Chani suggested as the rabbit set down her notebook.
For the rest of lunch, the quartet talked about their project in History, with everyone offering their own thoughts and suggestions. More than once something was said to make one, or a combination, of the crew laugh, but the earlier tension seemed to have melted away while they spoke about the subject. When the bell rang for the end of lunch, the quartet walked back to return their trays to the cafeteria, the entire time being watched by the hazel eyes of a particularly unfriendly doberman.
The rest of the day was spent with a little bit of a lighter heart, as Martin continued through to the last class. Sitting in on art, he started to move his pencil over the paper, only to feel something tugging on his tail. Blinking, he looked over to see Chani casually batting at the tip as it swished to the side of her. Looking around before he moved, the young mink scooted his chair closer to where she sat. “I didn’t know that we had art class together.” he remarked in a soft tone.
“Yeah, you’re usually in your own little world when you draw, and I usually sit somewhere over there.” Chani commented, motioning to one of the art desks in the corner. She then looked at the picture he’d been working on, her eyes blinking as she cocked her head to the side. “That doesn’t look like what we’re supposed to be drawing.”
From what she could tell, the armadillo warrior woman on the page, wielding a halberd with her long hair flowing in the breeze looked absolutely nothing like the green wine bottle and bowl of fruit they were supposed to be drawing. The wooden bowl with its grapes dangling over the side, while an orange and apple rested close to the center stood beside the glass vessel.
“Huh?” he asked. “Oh, yeah. That thing.” He then pulled out a second piece of paper from just under the first, showing a detailed outline of the bowl, glass bottle, and fruit. Looking down at her own paper, Chani noted that her artwork looked lopsided with the grapes appearing more elongated, and the actual bottle looking more like some deformed paddle to an oar.
“What? How?” she asked, “How are you able to do that?”
Martin blinked, looking at her. “What? Draw?” he asked, “I’ve been doing it since I was about six.” The mink shrugged, “Besides, my sister’s a graphic designer for one of those sci-fi shows that they have, and she taught me a few skills about how to increase my skill.” He then gave her a small smile, “I can teach you too, but you would have to practice as much as I do on a daily basis.”
“I could do that.” Chani remarked.
“You’ll have to set aside about three or so hours a night, even on weekends to practice.”
Chani blinked, “But… what about all of my other homework?” she asked.
Looking at the feline, he gave a small shrug. “Okay, then I can teach you the techniques over the summer. It only takes a few months to learn, but afterward only requires that you just constantly practice to refine your own style.” he remarked.
Giving a sigh, she shook her head. “I’m pretty much flunking art, so if you can just give me a brief lesson that I can study for maybe an hour, then it would help immensely.”
“Hmm, a brief lesson.” Martin commented, “Okay. How about this. Turn your paper over.”
Doing as he instructed, Chani looked over at the mink. “Okay, now what.”
“Look at the bottle and the fruit.”
Turning her eyes to the bottle and fruit, she blinked, seeing absolutely nothing different while the scratching of pencils on paper filled her ears. “Um, okay.”
“Now, do you hear everyone else drawing?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Block it out.”
“What?” Chani asked, looking at him.
“Ignore the sounds, and just focus on the subject.”
Nodding, she looked at the bowl of fruit. “Okay, so now what?”
“Draw the first thing you see.” he answered, “But don’t roam your eyes over the entire thing, focus on a specific point, and draw that in stunning detail.”
She blinked, looking back at him, with the expression of “Are you nuts?” but decided to do as he said. The first thing she saw was the lowest grape on the bunch, but after a few seconds, that grape was done. “Okay, now what?” she asked.
“Now, go up from there. Add to the picture, but always go from that point, don’t worry if the page will hold it all, but just add what you see.” he answered.
Chani did as she was told, but after only a few minutes she found herself getting frustrated, the grapes looked even worse now than they did before, the bottle looking more like a deformed mess than it had previously, and she didn’t even want to think about how the apple looked. Turning to glare at the mink, she narrowed her eyes. “Oh, wow, how could I have ever doubted that would work?” she asked.
About that time the bell rang, and Chani stood up quickly to take her picture up to the teacher’s desk for grading. Heading back to the table, she started gathering up her stuff, her tail quite a bit fluffier than it had been before talking to Martin. The mink casually slipped his art book into his satchel bag, shrugging the strap over his shoulder. “I didn’t say that it wasn’t going to take time, I just asked you to try something new instead of getting distracted, and focusing on too much at the same time.”
“Chani, can I see you for a minute?” the teacher asked.
“Oh great…” she remarked, shaking her head.
“Want me to wait for you…?”
The feline turned to look at him, “Why would I want you to do that?”
Martin shrugged, “I think we still need to go see Mrs. Shearer after this.”
“Crap! I forgot!” she remarked before heading over to the teacher’s desk. “I’m sorry Mr. Gerard, I’ll redo the…”
“Why are you apologizing, Chani?” the overweight raccoon asked. “This is a perfect example of Picaso’s style. I didn’t even think you knew I was a fan of his artwork.” He handed back the paper with a red 100% on the top. “On more than one occasion I thought that you were getting there, but didn’t know if you needed me to push you to develop the style, or not. Either way, this is some beautiful work.”
“Oh… um, thank you, Mr. Gerard.”
The kindly raccoon gave her a nod, “See you tomorrow, Chani, and again great work.”
Looking at the paper as she walked out of the class, the young feline never even noticed that Martin had waited for her outside the doorway. It took her only a few minutes of walking down the hallway to realize she wasn’t alone. Glancing to her side, she blinked. “You knew, didn’t you?” she asked, the side of her lip twitching upward with her left eyebrow.
“I was where you are now two semesters ago,” Martin commented, “and I didn’t learn until just a few months ago about how quickly I could make art. Thing was, I found out how much he liked Picasso, and decided to draw in that style throughout the last semester.”
Shaking her head, the young feline gave a smile. “Thank you. I think I might be able to finish with at least a passing grade now.”
Martin nodded. “You’re welcome.”
By the time they arrived at Mrs. Shearer’s classroom, both Andrea and Tanya were already in the room with the matronly ewe. “Now that we’re all here, I want to know what the problem was between you four.” she said. “I would have thought that the three of you would have wanted another member in your group.”
“As I said, Mrs. Shearer, it was my fault…” Martin started to say, but was cut off by Andrea stepping forward.
“It was all my fault, Mrs. Shearer.” she announced, “When he came to the table, I thought Martin was just going to try to establish himself as the leader of the group, and start ordering us around. I was not going to let that happen.” She stood there and shook her head, “I jumped to conclusions, and found myself in the wrong, but during lunch we spoke together, and I apologized for getting my back up.”
Looking over at the young mink, the ewe blinked a couple of times. “Is this true?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am, but I still feel that I was at least half at fault.” Martin answered, “When she talked to me, I could have easily just backed down, but I didn’t and because of that, our argument escalated to where we disrupted the class.”
Nodding, she rubbed at her chin. “Has this matter been resolved?” she asked.
“Yes, Mrs. Shearer.” Andrea answered.
“I believe so.” Martin answered.
When she looked at both Tanya and Chani, she saw the pair nodding. “We were there when they apologized,” the young rabbit remarked, “and also managed to talk about how best to work together on the project.”
Giving a smile, the ewe nodded. “Then I will keep all four of you no longer, but please, try to be quieter in my classroom next time.”
Thanking the teacher, the quartet headed out to the hallway to head to their lockers. Finding out that Tanya and Andrea had a locker together, Martin was surprised to discover that he and Chani actually had their lockers in the same hallway. It was true that they were hundreds of numbers apart, but still it the fact that they were so close surprised him. Of course the fact that they had a class together and he had never notice was a testament to his observational skills. Pulling out everything he would need for homework, he started down the hallway toward the front of the building while Andrea and Tanya headed for other points unknown to him at the time.
Chani, however, walked beside him. “Do they…?” he started to ask, but Chani gave a smile.
“Andrea has band. I think that she’s plays the drums or something, and Tanya’s in track.” Chani answered his partially asked question, as she jogged past. “Sorry I can’t talk more, I really can’t miss my bus!”
Martin shrugged his shoulders with a small smile, rather enjoying seeing the feline running down the hallway. When she turned the corner, however, Chani gave a small “Eep!” and turned so that her back was against the wall, as if she were hiding from someone just outside the double doors. Thinking nothing of her actions, he continued on casually as she peeked around the corner, and then pressed herself against the wall again. Getting up closer to her, he noticed that she had a look of utter terror splashed all over her face. “Are you alright?” he asked, worry in his voice.
Shaking her head slowly, the young feline turned to let one of her eyes peek around the corner. Blinking, the young mink mirrored her movements, looking past her ear to see the parking lot with all the buses having already gone. Chani moved back, however, and brought her hand up to her chest, hyperventilating. “It’s him… It’s him…” she said over and over again.
Not understanding what she meant, he looked her in the eyes, “Who?” he asked. “Chani, who is it that you’re talking about?”
Looking up at him, she trembled visibly, “The wolf… across the street. Under the pine tree.”
Once more the young mink leaned out to see beyond the parking lot. There, under the very pine tree that Chani had indicated, stood a fully black wolf as he leaned against the trunk. Dressed in a pair of jeans, a black leather jacket, white t-shirt, and a pair of black boots, he looked the part of a typical “bad boy”. In one hand he held a cigarette that he brought up to his muzzle, taking a puff before blowing out the smoke. The next thing that Martin noticed, was the amount of cigarette butts on the ground.
“Oh god! Oh god! Ohgodohgodohgod!” Chani said, “Why is he here?!”
“Looks like whoever he is, he’s been standing out there for quite a while.” Leaning back, he looked at the young woman. “Who is he?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
Martin blinked, “Then why are you afraid of him?”
“I…” she turned her face away as tears came to her eyes, “I wasn’t always…” Chani shook her head violently, wrapping her arms around herself. “He… He’s come to kill me… I know it…” He watched as she sank down to the ground, her skirt sliding up her thigh. Going onto one knee beside her, the young mink wrapped his arms around the feline, trying to comfort the young woman.
“Hey, it’s alright. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” he then looked up, noting that the wolf had dropped the butt on the ground, crushing it under his boot, before he started walking toward the school, “but that wolf is coming this way, so you might want to say something.”
Chani looked up at the young mink, her arms wrapping around his body. “He… He and a tiger almost… they tried to…” she shook her head again, “My father stopped them though…”
“Well it looks like he might try again, but I have an idea.” A smile came to the young mink’s muzzle.
Approaching the school, he felt the hackles on the back of his neck raise as he heard his former companion’s voice in the back of his head. “Man, the girl wasn’t worth the trouble. Just let it go.” Devon commented, the Bengal tiger trying to dismiss everything he said about that little kitten. ‘You don’t understand!’ he thought silently, ‘She was mine… until that fucking lizard stepped in…’ His entire body trembled at the images of the last five girls, how he made them scream and cry, and yet he knew that none of them were going to be as wonderful as the one that got away. ‘I don’t care how long it takes, I will have her…!’
When he was close enough to see inside the hallways of the school, he watched as a white mink walked out and stood by the door. At first he thought that he was looking at a girl, but the sight of his package through those tight pants, and decidedly masculine voice dispelled that thought. That enormous tail draped to the young man’s right as he leaned against the wall, talking to someone on a cell phone. “Yes. Okay, well I’ll be standing out in front of the school when you show up.” he heard the young man remark, and yet he stayed on the phone, obviously listening to something.
‘Must’ve just missed the bus.’ the wolf thought as he drew closer. Having an idea, the wolf put on his best smile. “Hey, kid.” he called out, “You wouldn’t happen to know if anyone else is in the school would you?”
Blinking, the young mink just looked at him, “Um, not to be rude, but my mom always told me never to speak to strangers…”
“Smart woman, your mom.” the wolf remarked casually, “My name’s Paul. What’s yours?” he asked.
“Zachary.” Martin lied easily, “I’m sorry, but I’m actually waiting for my dad to come pick me up since I missed the bus.”
“Highly understandable.” Paul remarked, “But, back to my previous question. Do you know if there are any other students in the school?” he asked, “I was supposed to pick up my niece, and walk her back home, but I’m worried that I might have missed her.”
“Well,” Martin commented, “I do know that the band, choir, basketball, track, and football teams are all practicing today, but I’m not sure if your niece is part of either group. What’s her name? I might know her.”
Paul shook his head with a wan smile, “Nah. She’s pretty reserved.” he answered “From what I know she doesn’t really have many friends.”
Giving a blink, the young mink turned his head a little. “Huh? Oh, no. I’m just standing out here talking to that black wolf I told you about earlier.” he remarked, giving a nod. “Yeah, he says his name is Paul.” The wolf watched as he nodded again with a smile, “No problem. I can see the car right now.” He then gave a broad smile, “Okay.” Martin then brought down his cell phone, hanging up as he raised his hand, waving to something behind the wolf.
Opening his satchel bag, he slipped his phone into the bag, while keeping his hand inside. “Let me guess, your dad’s almost here to pick you up?” the wolf asked, just standing there looking at the mink.
“Huh?” Martin asked. “Oh, no. See the ride’s not for me. It’s for you.” He then motioned for the wolf to look behind him. When he did, “Paul” turned his head to see a black and white car pulling up, a bar of colored lights along the top, and the symbol for the city’s police department on the door. A male German Shepard whose arms were about the same thickness as the mink’s thighs stopped the car, and exited the driver’s seat. Once they were fully stopped, a slender female horned lizard exited the passenger seat, and slid her tonfa styled Billy Club into its holster. “I called while I was in the school, letting them know that there was a strange guy hanging around who looked like a pedophile.”
The wolf smirked at the young man, and yet Martin didn’t miss how his hand clenched into a fist when the canine had noticed the police cruiser. “Is there a problem here?” the female asked, “We got a call of a suspicious person hanging around the school.”
“No, officer, no problem.” the wolf said with a smile, “Just a kid with an overactive imagination. I’m sorry that he’s wasted your time bringing you…”
“Hi, Martin.” the German Shepard said with a smile, “Been staying out of trouble.”
“Good to see you again, Jacob.” the wolf watched as the mink took his arm from the satchel bag, and shook hands with the canine, “Mom says that she’s going to have the new gloves ready for the police force in a couple of weeks, so look forward to seeing them soon. I hear they’re going to be shocking to the criminals.”
“That’s good. Can’t wait to see how they work.”
Martin nodded, “Yup. Just don’t give your coworkers high-fives or pats on the backs with them on, and you’ll be fine.” He then looked at the wolf while the female reptile stood there with a smirk on her face, just watching the canine during the exchange. “Oh, I’m sorry. Were you saying something?” he asked.
“I’m pretty sure we can get you for stalking, harassment, and a host of other charges.” the young woman announced. She then looked at her partner, “Wait. Didn’t that tiger we picked up have a black wolf as a partner?” she asked.
Jacob nodded, “Yeah, and he fits the description.”
Backing up, the wolf held up his hands, “Now just a minute. I don’t know what you’re talking about…” he started to say, but was interrupted when he heard a young voice go high pitched.
“LIAR!!!” Chani screamed as she launched herself out from under Martin’s tail, that extra fluffy appendage having concealed her since exiting the school. The young mink reacted quickly, wrapping his arms around the young woman, and pulling her back into a hug while she fought to rush at the guy, her claws extended. Although it was enough of a distraction for the wolf to let his guard down, it wasn’t enough for the police officers to miss that dark, malicious smile pass over his face. “He and that tiger tried to rape me!”
“Hands behind your head!” the female officer ordered as she reached for her cuffs, when the wolf glared at her, he started to growl, “You’re under arrest.”
When he made a move as if to reach for something in his pocket, Jacob pulled up a small plastic pistol with a yellow square for the barrel. “Don’t try it, asshole!” he snarled. “Just put your hands up on your head, nice and slow!”
Glaring from one officer to the other, he did as he was ordered, the female moving up behind him, and locking the handcuffs in place around his right wrist. Bringing both arms down and around, she locked the handcuff around his left wrist so that both arms were behind his back. Wincing from the extra notch being added to the handcuffs, he growled low in his throat. “You’ll never be able to make that charge stick. I’ll be out of jail in twenty-four hours.” he snarled in a low, menacing voice.
“Don’t count on it,” Jacob commented narrowing his eyes at the wolf, “we have your tiger partner, and he’s been singing like a bird in a choir.” When his partner brought the man over to the car, they started going through his pockets, pulling out his wallet, a silver handle that was an unmistakable butterfly knife, a small leather book from his inside jacket pocket, and a pair of sunglasses. Slipping all of his items into plastic bags, the pair helped the wolf into the back of the squad car, while he watched Chani and Martin.
“It’s going to be alright, Chani.” Martin kept saying in a soothing voice while stroking the back of her head. The young feline had her arms wrapped around the mink’s slender torso, holding him tightly as she cried.
“That was very brave of you to do,” the female officer said to the feline, “if what his partner says is true, then we’ve been looking for this guy for more than a decade.” Looking up at her, Chani noted how the slender reptile smiled at her, “We can call your parents to have them come to the school, or at least have them bring you down to the precinct when you’re ready to give us a statement.”
Chani nodded slowly, looking down shyly while Martin rubbed at her back. “Can you give her a ride to the precinct?” he asked with a smile, “I can follow on my bicycle, since it’s on my way home.”
Looking over at Martin, the female officer nodded. “Okay, but give us some time to get another squad car here, we don’t want to take her down to the station in the back with this guy.” she remarked pointing with her thumb over her shoulder. “I doubt she wants to even see this guy again until the trial.”
Martin nodded, noting how Chani was shaking against him, her arms holding him tightly against her front. “I don’t think I could agree more.” He watched as the officer went back to the car, his eyes locking on to the wolf, with neither of them turning away. For more than a minute the pair stared each other down, until the canine broke eye contact, a look of surprise passing over his face as the doors closed with a slam. Watching as the patrol car pulled out of the school, the young mink stood there, holding Chani until the vehicle turned at the main road.
