Turns out, Nick was right.  There was much to do. 

It was like the first day of school all over again.  In other words, it felt like awaiting a mental execution.  

All the staff was animals instead of humans.  Many were hard to take seriously because a human typically taught animals tricks and not the other way around.  That meant I couldn't say that the dog ate my homework.  I don't even think they knew what a dog was.

The rest of the day involved cleaning up the arena, performing basic workout drills, and getting assigned stacks upon stacks of hardcover ZPD textbooks. 

Most officers needed a backpack to transport the textbooks but I barely managed to fit them between my arms.  But why so many?  I didn't think there was much to becoming a cop but the animals here seemed to treat it like earning a college degree.

While we were walking, I carefully browsed through the printed pages of one particular textbook at the top of the stack.  It had the same thickness as a loaf of bread and was entitled Zootopia Arresting Procedures (ZAP).

I thought algorithms and data structures were complicated enough but this textbook had its own flavor of complexity.  For starters, it described over a thousand ways to confront different species across Zootopia.   It wasn't as simple as arresting humans like my world.  Rather, it described how to deal with all the animal civilians from a tiny mouse to a towering giraffe.

Thus, every species had to be confronted in a unique, special way.  A method used for a rhino would not work on a squirrel and vice versa.  In fact, there were disclaimers for arresting a species the 'incorrect way'.  For example, using the proper taser voltage or firing a tranquilizer dart at the safe spot were all things to consider.   

I figured a mousetrap would take care of all the smallest mammals but Judy and Nick didn't appreciate the joke.

No matter, this was going to be much harder than I thought.  I knew very well how to effectively take down humans.  But taking down animals - without hurting and/or offending them - would prove to be challenging.

To avoid unnecessary stress, I closed the textbook for now and kept walking.  I shouldn't have peaked at it.  There would be more on that later.  For now, it was time to start thinking more like a zookeeper and less like a soldier.

Meanwhile, Judy and Nick were kind enough to give me a grand tour of the Zootopia Police Academy.  Truly, this place was indeed massive.  More than 1,700 acres and counting due to future project plans.  For over a century, this place has been known to house and train the very first animal officers ever since The Great Migration took place around the watering hole known as present-day Zootopia.

Judy was really into the rich history, whereas her partner Nick was mostly just here for the job.  Honestly, that's how I also felt.  While a little history never hurts, my mind was more occupied with the assigned quizzes we're supposed to take tomorrow assigned by Major Friedkin herself.  Yes, she already assigned homework on my first day here.

Feeling somewhat intimidated by the overall atmosphere, I wished to retreat to the dorms where I could rest and study for the night.  My sore forearm continued to throb but I kept that a secret from the two furry officers.   I already had enough attention for the day and just wanted to stay hidden until tomorrow.

The cadets and officers were going to have a casual game of night soccer to finish off the evening, but I declined the offer.   The rabbit and fox were understanding and escorted me to one of the dorms where I'd be staying.  Once we arrived at the wooden house, Judy gave me a copper key.

But instead of entering, I set the books down and sat on the cement steps.  The two officers joined me.  As I took a minute to stare off into the sunset horizon, I felt a small embrace.

"Good luck, Cherry!  You're gonna do great!"

"Stay out of trouble, call if you need us." Nick winked.

"Chief Bogo's assigned us a new case but we'll try to visit you weekly."

"Don't worry," I assured.  "Finish the case first, then we can talk about it."

"We'll have it done in forty-eight hours," the fox spoke with confidence,  nudging his partner.  "Am I right, Carrots?"

"Yep!" the bunny beamed, nudging him back.  "Just like we've always done."

"Well, in that case, just come biweekly,"  I suggested.

"Twice a week then?  We can do that."

I shook my head.  "No, I mean, once every two weeks."

Her ears drooped.  "Are you sure, Cherry?   Two weeks is a long time."

"Yeah, are you trying to get rid of us or something?" Nick implied, crossing his arms.

"I just need to focus is all."

"We understand,"  she said.  "But please call us if you change your mind.  We're here to help."

"And speaking of which," he leaned in to whisper.  "You can borrow all my study notes,  I hid some of them in the textbooks."

"Nick, all the textbooks are new this year.  They threw the old ones out."

He threw his arms up.  "Again?  Well, that's a bummer.  The old ones were perfectly fine."

That's okay, I thought.  His penmanship wasn't that great anyway.

We spent a few more minutes together before it was time to go.  The day grew late and we temporarily parted our ways.

Before going inside the dorms, I looked back to see Judy and Nick give another friendly wave.  I waved back, accidentally dropping the keys in the process, but kept my composure.  Nick placed his arm around Judy and they both disappeared into the cruiser.  Turns out, the dorms were next to the front lawn parking lot.  

Nick activated the sirens for a brief second before he and Judy took off down the street.  After passing the stone boundary walls of the Academy, they were no longer in sight.   I still couldn't believe that a fox and a bunny were physically able to drive a police cruiser of such size.

Either way, I was going to miss them.

But I shook those thoughts away, picked up the keys, and attempted to enter the dorms.  The lock wouldn't cooperate so I forced the key.  It was probably broken by now but I entered anyway.

The place was dark, the wooden floors creaked with every step, and there were bunk beds everywhere.  All of them varied in size.  Some were built for a glorious elephant whereas others were more designed for a stupid coyote.  

Oh, how I despised her.   What a fool she made of me.

I picked the far bottom bunk in the corner, over by the window, and sat myself down.  The lower part of my visor still had a slight crack so I shifted some nanoparticles over to seal it off.  

But now the tip of my pinky was exposed.   In response, I borrowed some particles from the shoulder plate which took care of it.

It would've been ideal to have a private room but all the dorms at the academy were shared.   No one else was here so I took the opportunity to remove my helmet.  I held it in my gauntlets, briefly glanced at it, and set it on the bed.

"Goodness..." I said to myself.  The last 48 hours involved rescuing cubs from a fire, fighting razorbacks, joining an animal police force, and getting beat by a ZIA canine.

I rubbed my exposed cheek and still felt the small bruise.  The hair on my head was still messy from the fox earlier today but I didn't much care for it.   No one in Zootopia would see my hairstyle anyway.

Next up, I removed my boots.

Having 3D printed lower legs wasn't the most ideal but that's all I could walk on.  Their hollowed exoskeletal, titanium-alloy design was remarkably lightweight and just as mobile as any standard human leg.  I could run, jump, and climb through most standard obstacles.   However, a lack of toes affected balance and low thrust made swimming a challenge.  Hence I always wore the boot.

I laid my head back onto the pillow, stretched my thighs out, reflecting for the next five minutes.  My mind wandered for another fifteen while my eyelids grew heavy again.  I attempted to slide off my gauntlets until I heard group laughter coming from outside.  Was privacy not a thing here?

The voices were approaching the dorms so I frantically placed my gear back on and pulled the covers over.  Instead of running, I stayed in bed.  

The wooden door unlocked and animal cadets poured into the room.  Aside from the constant creaking of the floors, they were loud and rambunctious.

"Morris, I totally sank you on that last goal!"

"Yeah right!  Only one!  I blocked you on five others!"

"During warmup, that is!"

"Not true."

"Yes!"

"Nope."

"Oh, yes it was."

"Fine.  How bout a rematch?"

"What?"

"Just you and me, pal."

"Nah, I'd rather end the night on a winning note."

"You're just afraid that I'll actually beat you in soccer, aren't you?"

"Nope, I just know how to pick my own fights."

"Ha!  Yeah right."

Go play a real sport, I muttered to myself, trying to stay hidden.  The animal cadets spread themselves out, continued to converse, sat on their beds, and threw their shirts off to the side.  One of their shirts landed on my head but I remained still.  It reeked of sweat.

"Say, what'd you guys think of that mammal we saw today?"

"The one from T.V.?  The alien?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Not gonna lie, he kinda freaks me out."

"Same here."

"Looks like a monster to me."

"Right?  Imagine waking up every day with a face like that!"

"I wouldn't want to know."

"Boy, I tell ya, with a semblance like that, I just wanna maul it off."

"Why didn't you?"

"I tried to in the ring but couldn't find its muzzle."

"I don't even think it has a muzzle!"

"But how does it eat?"

"He sucks your soul out!"

"Ha!  Wouldn't surprise me!"

"Boy, I'm glad that coyote took it down!"

"Couldn't agree more!"

"Now we know his weakness!"

"And we'll use it against him tomorrow."

"Any idea on where he is?  I wanna be ready when he comes out."

"Dorm B-15 I believe.

"Hold up, you said fifth-teen or fifty-tee?

"Fifteen, as in one five."

"But you said D-15, right?  Like 'D' as in 'Deer'?

"No, I said B-15, like 'B' as in 'Beaver'.  Why?   Are we not in D-15?

"We're in B-15 right now."

"Wait, we are?  This is B-15?"

"Yes!"

"Oh no..."

"Butter my bum and call me a biscuit, he's HERE?"

They searched the entire room and I froze.  Without further warning, the sheets were pulled off.

"Found him!" one of them shouted.

My back turned and I saw that it was a maned wolf.  The same one from the boxing arena.  His eyes glared and the base of his muzzle furrowed in anger.  He dropped the sheets, folded his arms, and stood with a stiff tail.

"Well, well, if it isn't the freak from another world." he scorned.

I slowly sat up.

The rest of the animal cadets crowded around the bunk bed and stood directly behind the maned wolf in a semi-circle.  I was now surrounded by two rhinos, a hippo, and two bears.  None of them were thrilled to see me.  In fact, they said nothing and only stared with contempt.

"Charles Henry," I greeted, trying to use the same name from the application because it sounded more normal.  "It's a pleasure."

My hand was extended in an effort to be friendly.   But the maned wolf ignored it.  He and his fellow cadets held the same grudge.

"Easy..."  I spoke softly.  "I have no quarrel with you."

"Good." said the nonchalant wolf.  "Because you don't belong here."

"Why not?"  I asked.

He glared and growled lowly. "We saw what you did in the arena...  and we heard what you did at the station.  You're the type of monster that'll get every mammal in this blue outfit killed."

"No,"  I begged to differ.  "You're wrong."

"I see it in your eyes.  You're devoid of emotion." he stood closer, his face inches away.  "And you're a disaster waiting to happen."

My fist clenched.  "You don't even know me."

"I know you well enough." he countered.  "Hopps and Wilde spoke greatly of you... but I'm not buying it.  While I do admire them, I cannot fathom how they'd ever let you join us.  It's beyond me."

"You should be grateful."  I defended.  "Because you have no idea what my species is capable of."

"Whatever unearthly species you are, it's only capable of trouble.  I can smell it."  

"Smell it?  You're confusing me with your shirt."

"And how dare you set foot in this academy?" the maned wolf griped.  "Zootopia doesn't need another white demon to start a whole new Night-Howler-like crisis"

I pointed right at him.   "Listen here, you maned piece of shi-"

"Save it for tomorrow, guys!"  the hippo interrupted.  "Lights out at 10:30."

We all pulled out our devices to check the hour.  The hippo had his pocket watch, the bear had his watch, the rhino had his tablet, the maned wolf had his flip phone, and I had my HUD.   It was 10:45 PM.

"Fine," the maned wolf threw his paws up.   "We'll see if we're not dead by morning."

"If we're dead, then at least we won't have to do the Major's workout." the hippo yawned, his breath filled the air and stunk.

The officers climbed into their respective bunk beds and one of the bears doused off the lights.  I got into my bed too and pulled the covers back on.  As I lifted my head, I saw that the maned wolf was climbing up the side ladder.  He reached the top and flattened himself out on the upper mattress of the bunk bed.  He was now right above me and his bushy tail dangled from the side.  This was awkward.

The lights were off, the other cadets were snoring, and all was quiet again.  The only light was the moon from the night sky.  Hopefully, tomorrow would be a brighter day.  In other words, a better day.

Not wanting to end the day on a negative note, I decided to say something back to the maned wolf.

"Despite our differences, we have one thing in common..." I said.

A few seconds of silence passed.

"...like what?" he asked flatly.

I thought for a minute. "...we dislike each other for different reasons."

For the rest of the night, he didn't say a word and neither did I. Though he tossed and turned frequently, at least the maned wolf didn't snore like the rest of the animal cadets.  Perhaps I should've learned his name, but for all I knew, he was just an extra in my life story.

Back in my world, maned wolves were extinct by the time I was born.  I read about them once but never thought I'd ever meet one in real life.  So far, our interaction wasn't going too well.  Perhaps human encroachment on their Brazilian land was coming back to haunt me.  I tried not to think about it but instead focused on tomorrow.

The first day tends to be rough at any academy so it ought to get better.   I'll just give it my all, become a ZPD officer, and hopefully become a data scientist.

Six and a half hours passed and the role call trumpet sounded.  Was it already time to wake up?  I peaked out the window and saw an elephant instructor blowing on an actual trumpet.   All the other cadets in the dorm were already out of bed and getting a new blue shirt on.  

As they herded themselves out the door, I saw a neatly folded shirt on top of the dresser.  Attached to it was a sticky note with a smiling fox emoji and above it read:

Might wanna put this on

- Nick

Like hell, I will.  Even though the dark blue shirt was about my size, I tossed it aside and headed out the door.  There's no way they could make me wear that.

As I stepped outside onto the brick pathway, I saw that the sky was partially cloudy.  Small puddles of water formed in various places and I assumed it must've rained last night.  The air felt refreshing and I was looking forward to today.

Across the street, the cadets were gathering on the front lawn for roll call so I jogged over.  They all saw me coming the minute I left the dorm and murmured to one another.   I didn't like all the attention so I kept my head down, stared at the wet grass, and quietly joined them.

"Cherry Bum!" the major called on the megaphone.

We turned around and the cadets sniggered.   The bossy polar bear stood right behind us.

"Cherry Bum!" she called again.

"Yes, sir?  Ma'am?"

She furrowed her eyebrows, speaking into the megaphone again.  "Where's your uniform?"

"Right here," I pointed to my cloak.

"Take off that flea-ridden bathroom towel and put on some blue!" she roared.   "While you're at it, give me fifty!"

The maned wolf from last night appeared out of the animal crowd,  stepped forward, and folded his arms in disapproval.  "And he can't even obey basic ZPD dress protocol.  I expected nothing more."

I pointed my Han Solo finger at the wolf but refrained from saying anything vulgar.  Instead, I marched back to the dorms as fast as I could to retrieve the blue shirt.  Before going back outside, I tried it on but it felt tight around the upper chest.  Plus, it looked beyond ridiculous.

In response, I tore it off my chest, sliced the fabrics, tied them together, and made myself a blue cloak.

"Perfect," I muttered, flinging it over my back.

I headed back outside to rejoin the animal cadet group.  Everyone was a bit puzzled but I went ahead and proceeded with my fifty pushups.  By the time I got to twenty-seven, Major Friedkin walked over with the megaphone and lifted my cloak.

"What's this?" she questioned.

"My uniform," I grunted while on pushup number thirty-seven.

She tossed the fabric aside.  "That's not a uniform!   I said put on a uniform!"

Before speaking, I finished the last pushup.  "You said to put on blue."

She walked a lap around me, tugged at the cloak to straighten it, and then turned to face the group of animal recruits.

But instead of using the megaphone, she tossed it aside and blew on her whistle.

"Listen up, cadets!" she called.  "Zootopia has twelve unique ecosystems within its city limits. Tundratown! Sahara Square! Rainforest District!  Canal District!  Nocturnal District!  Little Rodentia!  Mammal Mountain!  Marshlands!  Meadowlands!  Outback Island!  Savanna Central!  And The Canyonlands!  You're gonna have to master all of them before you hit the streets, or guess what? You'll be dead!"

The animals nervously looked at each other while I only shrugged and stared down at the wet grass.  How bad could it be?  As long as Mordor and Skull Island weren't on the list, I figured we'd be alright.

"Split off into three groups!" she ordered.  "Group A, go to glacier wall!  Group B, head over to the rapids!  Group C, take a mile and march your soggy tails over to the dust bowl!  Stay together, await my instruction, or guess what?  You'll be dead!"

The groups assembled, I ended up in group A, and we followed one of the tiger officers across the campus.

"Deep down, I'm sure she means well," I quietly said to myself.  

But the maned wolf jogged up to my side and glared.  "I hope you were paying attention."

I didn't know he was there.  Nor did I care.  He ran off and caught up to his friends.  They laughed and joked together while I wondered why they got along so well with everyone else except me.

We came to an open field adjacent to the forest.  The perimeter had a chain-link fence with trees on the outside.  On the inside was a square ice rink with a thirty-foot wall of solid ice splitting the midsection and a stream of water was running along the base.  On each side of the ice barrier, there were two cooling machines to prevent it from melting.

"Frigid ice-wall!" the major blew her whistle.  "You're up Cherry!  Show us what you've got!"

I stepped onto the ice but immediately slid and fell face flat.

"You're dead, spacer!"

In anger, I punched the frozen ground, causing the ice sheet to crack.

"Someone's got a cold temperament." the maned wolf whispered to his friends, causing them to snicker.

I would've punched that wolf if it didn't get me into trouble with the academy.   However, I was already in trouble.   

Because of my premature ground punching, they ended up having to close down the obstacle course due to the sharp, jagged edges along the ice.  I suggested they put on boots but the major had no idea what I was talking about.

Instead, they called in a groundskeeping crew of beavers to patch up the ice and ensure it was safe to use.  Placing a new layer wouldn't take long but it needed to settle overnight.  To pass the time, Major Friedkin assigned us more bookwork and an additional quiz.

That didn't fly too well with the cadets.

Most of us studied in the lunchroom later that day.  Many tables were packed full so I picked one in the farthest corner.  While studying from the textbook, I felt a large force bump my arm.  My nearby glass of orange juice spilled onto the pages, completely soaking them until they began to tear from the soaked weight.

I turned around to punch the maned wolf but it wasn't him.  It was actually a rhino.  Instead of engaging, I lowered my fist.  The rhino gave me a nasty look, stomped off, and gave all his buddies fist bumps.

Next time, I'd better stick with water.

Later on, we took the quiz on Mammalian Fundamentals.   The questions stumped me and I realized that the material came from the wet pages of the textbook.  The parts I didn't study.

After failing the quiz, we went to the sandstorm obstacle course the next day.  The ice wall wasn't yet ready due to a mechanical failure on one of the cooling machines so we had to adjust our schedule.

The sandstorm course was simply a giant wooden sandbox filled with saturated reddish-yellow sand.  Were we going to make sandcastles?  While waiting for the Major to show up, I tried making my own castle until a giant gust of wind destroyed it.  To my left, the polar bear major had activated three enormous turbines, each with a ten-foot diameter.

"Scorching sandstorm!" she announced.

We lined up shoulder to shoulder at the opposite end of the turbines.  The officers squinted their eyes at the incoming dust particles but I was unaffected.  Unlike them, I had a visor.

Major Friedkin blew her whistle and we all advanced.   The tails of the animal cadets were flailing in the wind, their fur shifted like blades of grass, and my cape flapped in the wind.  The cadets seemed to struggle but I was fine.  Though I really had to push myself to advance against the oncoming winds, my vision was fine and no sand was getting through.

This so-called sandstorm was nothing compared to the storms of my world.  My suit was built for it.

The maned wolf - being the tryhard he always has been - rapidly crawled his way in front of me and kicked sand into my face.  It had no effect.

"Stay out of my way!" he barked.

 Other animals attempted the same stunt but they failed to impede my advancement.  

The animals were barely halfway and I had already reached the end of the sandpit.  I was touching the turbines, sitting right next to them, but they didn't blow me over.

Major Friedkin noticed this and decided to turn it up a notch.

She pulled a lever for the turbines and they spun faster than before.  I was still unaffected but my cloak did blow off and landed on the face of an elephant cadet, causing him to slide back a few feet.

Upon seeing this, the polar bear cracked her knuckles before pulling the lever further.

"Storm Surge!" she shouted. 

The turbines were at max power, causing me to blow over.  I rolled and rolled, crashed into the rhino, making him slide into the other cadets until we all collided together like dominoes.   But instead of being neatly stacked like pizza boxes, we were all over the place.

"Get off my tail!"

"Ow, ow, ow!"

"C'mon!"

As the cadets complained, I quickly stood up, backed away.  The maned wolf limped over to and pointed at my chest.

"It's only a matter of time," he glared.

To make it worse, the Major congratulated me for completing the course.  But everyone else was punished for it.   They had to take a three-mile lap while I wasn't required to do anything until they got back.   

I swear, it's almost as if my life were being set up for a successful failure or a failed success.  A successful success was not an option anymore.  A failed failure was all I seemed to have left.

Three days later, we were in a traditional classroom setting to learn about how to handle different levels of police academy stress.  However, the cheetah instructor had us arrange our chairs into a circle.   It felt awkward with everyone staring.  He stood in the center to address us.  His tail kept swinging back and forth which I found rather distracting.  

"Cadets!  What do you do when you're stressed?" he curiously looked at each and every one of us.  "Let's share some ideas!   Shout em out."

Another cheetah raised her paw.  "I like to go on a short morning sprint."

"I rub my back against the tree!" a grizzly bear motioned. 

A pig raised his arm.  "I roll in the mud to cool myself off."

"My family and I howl at the moon!" a timber wolf mentioned.  

A horse raised his hooves.  "I brush my fur!"

"I lick my fur," a panther said.

"Me too!" another one fist-bumped the air.

I almost threw up in my mouth.  But everyone else thought it was great advice.

"I prefer to brush my tail," a red panda demonstrated.  He was actually brushing his tail in class.  No one else found it strange except me.

As we went around the circle, more animals threw out bizarre suggestions.

"My cousin taught me jumping-jackals."

"I massage my ears during coffee break."

"Same here."

"I trim my claws."

"I polish my horn."

"I stretch my trunk out."

The maned wolf spoke up.  "I braid my mane."

Alright, this was just getting ridiculous.  None of these suggestions were of any use to me.

After we nearly completed the circle of life, I was at the end of it.  The instructor turned to face me.  "And what about you Mr. Chenry?"

"It's Cherry." I corrected.  The cadets mockingly sniggered in the background.

The instructor folded his arms, swinging his tail back and forth.   "What do you do when you're stressed?"

"I go for a walk."

The cheetah's ear twitched.  "Doesn't your species do something more creative?"

I shook my head.  "No, we do something more normal."

The cadets murmured and whispered at each other.  Apparently, my idea wasn't creative or exotic enough for them.  They seemed to take offense to it.  I would've said 'shooting' but that response wouldn't go well.

On the next day, we had the same classroom setup.  Namely, a cheetah instructor, circular seating arrangement, and cadets who kept staring at me like an alien.  The maned wolf, in particular, glared at me from the opposite end of the room.

"Cadets!  Today, we focus on what makes each and every one of us unique."  the cheetah began to lecture.  "After the adoption of the Mammal Inclusion Initiative, Zootopia has witnessed one of the greatest periods of growth and diversity ever since the Great Migration.  Big and small, predator and prey, our ancestors all came to the ancient watering hole to establish everlasting peace and harmony for generations to come.  As officers of the ZPD, it is our core responsibility to come together as one and use our special abilities for the greater good of Zootopia.  Now, just like last time, let's take turns sharing one of our unique abilities and how it would help the ZPD!  Shout em out!"

"I have a keen sense of smell," a wolf commented.  "I can detect gas leaks."

A raccoon raised his paw.  "I've got night vision!  Perfect for night patrol!"

"My family and I can jump to high places," a young kangaroo demonstrated, jumping up from his seat to touch the ceiling.  "So I can scale most fences."

"I'm stealthy on my legs," a snow leopard stated proudly.  "That means I can patrol the streets undetected."

"I was the fastest one in my track," a cheetah grinned.  "I can close the distance on foot chases."

A rhino huffed.  "My brother and I were bouncers.  No one could get past us so we'd be great for crowd control."

"I'm a good swimmer," a hippo remarked.  "I'd be useful for the flooded regions of rainforest district."

A goat nervously laughed.  "I love to climb!  Definitely lots of steep terrain in Zootopia."

"I can lift cars, probably police cars too" a female elephant flexed her trunk.  "I helped my neighbor in Tundratwon when his car got stuck."

"My hearing is on par," a black bear pointed at his head.  "I can hear distress calls from those in need."

"I speak with an authoritative voice, just like my father," a lion puffed out his chest.  "I can comfortably address packs, herds, and flocks."

All eyes were now fixated on me.

The cheetah instructor looked at me carefully.  "And what about you, Chenry?"

"Military experience," I answered.

The instructor was confused.  "Could you...Could you elaborate on that?"

I shook my head.  "No, I'll pass."

From there, we continued on with the rest of the lecture.  The content was rich with Zootopian history, all animals were mentioned as societal contributors, but a human was an odd piece out of the complex puzzle.

While we were in the hallways, heading over to our next lecture across the academy, the maned wolf approached my side.

"The only unique ability you have is putting us in the hospital." he glared.  "I've seen the footage."

I sighed.  "I'll take that as a compliment."

The base of his muzzle wrinkled.  "Yet, you're mistaken," he growled.  "Your attitude alone is why you don't belong here."

I set my books down, held out my arms.  "What's your problem?"

"My problem?  You're everyone's problem.  You went savage at the ZPD and now I can't sleep at night knowing you'll go savage here."

"That was only one time." I reminded.

"One time?  One time is too many," he said with hostility.  "If there's even a one percent chance you'll do it again, then I'll take it as an absolute certainty."

"First, you're subpar at math.  Second, I won't lash out again," I took a step closer, staring him down.  "You can be sure of that."

"We'll see..." he growled lowly, his teeth bared.  "It's only a matter of time...and when that happens, I'll be there to protect my friends.  I'm not afraid of you."

"Good to know."

Upon hearing this, the maned wolf toppled my books over like a Jenga tower.  I bent over to pick them up but he stood on top of them.

"You'll never be part of the pack," he pointed.  "Go back to your dying world."

If only I could, you pathetic meat sack.  I wanted to punch him but I had to hold myself together.  As a substitute, I crumbled up one of my books.  It was on Tax Law so I didn't care much for it anyway.

After a tense moment of silence, the maned wolf ran off to catch up with the other cadets, leaving me alone in the hallway.  What a lousy wolf.  Man's best friend can also be Man's worst enemy under certain conditions, I supposed.

Speaking of friends, my helmet vibrated.  Either I was having another headache or someone sent me a message.  I opened the inbox, decrypted the message, to see that it came from someone I hadn't seen in a while. 

It was Jay Howl.

The same black wolf I met in the Bunnyburrows forest.  What a relief.   Not only was he and his family the first wolves I've met in this world, but they were also the most friendly creatures I've ever known.  The best pack in Zootopia.

With no further time to waste, I sat down on a nearby bench to pull up Jay's message.  A koala bear janitor was taking a nap on the opposite end of the bench but I was careful as to not wake him. Trying to keep quiet, I pulled up the message:

Jay Howl:  Cherry, hope you're doing okay!  My family and I heard you're joining the ZPD and we're so excited for you!  We're in the area and wanted to come and say hello!  Would that be okay?

Finally, a wolf I was looking forward to seeing.  It's been over a month and I could use a friendly visit.  Navigating my HUD, I effectively replied to Jay:

Cherry:   That would be great.

A few seconds later, his reply came in.

Jay Howl:  Wonderful!  Jamie, Joseph, and I will be at the entrance by 12:00 PM.  See you then!

I checked the clock across the hallway and saw that it was 10:06 AM.  About two more hours of Hell and I'll be able to take a break and meet one of the greatest families of Zootopia.  Our cadet group was scheduled to scale the frigid ice wall at 11:00 AM so there was plenty of time.  

We took the pop quiz, I probably failed it, but I was out the door before everyone else.   We went for a three-mile run before we all regrouped at the ice obstacle course.

The beavers repaired the ice machines so it was all ready to go.  They outdid themselves in such a way that the ice wall had mistakenly grown well over thirty feet.  There was a minor miscalibration on one of the cooling machines but the Major figured it'd be a perfect challenge for us.  The officers groaned but I could care less either way.  

It was just a wall made of ice.  Nothing to it.

I waited for the officers to go first to avoid repeating the first incident.  They all bolted ahead of me while I scanned the icy ground to make sure I didn't slip.  From the bottom of my boots, I deployed nano spikes to give me traction.

I had no natural claws, fangs, or fur but I had mankind's technology to aid me.  These military nano suits were built to emulate the natural advantages animals had over us.  Physically, we weren't born with special abilities but we could at least imagine them with our minds and adapt.

To avoid wrecking the ice, I made the nano spikes smaller but thick enough to keep me from sliding.  The nanites were working like a charm - at least for today.

The cadets were already climbing up the wall base and I immediately caught up to them.   The timberwolves were frantically digging their claws to avoid sliding into the freezing water while the rhino rammed his horn into the ice to help him scale it.

"Get a load of this guy..." one of the bear cadets saw I wasn't slipping, turned to his friend.  "Where's a banana peel when you need one?"

I scoffed at their remarks and deployed spikes from my gauntlet fingertips.  It actually worked.  Eager to get to the top, I jumped onto the vertical wall of ice and stuck to it.  Like a human spider, I climbed up the thirty-foot wall and reached the top.  The cadet's reactions were priceless.

"You gotta be kidding me..."

"What?"

"How'd he do that?"

From someone who slipped a couple of days ago, they couldn't grasp how I pulled it off.  I sat on top for five minutes, feeling proud, enjoying the view.   But then I felt somewhat guilty.  No one else had climbed the wall, so I felt inclined to help out.

One of the bear's arms vibrated from exhaustion so I pulled him up and over.  One of the rhinos was nearing the ledge so I grabbed him by the horns to hoist him up.  It was a team effort.  One-by-one, cadet after cadet, we were making progress on the ice wall.  

The maned wolf was nearing the top so I left him alone.  However, I heard him struggling and panting for breath.  Every claw on his limbs was fully unsheathed, he was hanging on for dear life, and he needed help.  

"Here," I reached down.  "Let me help."

"I don't need your help, back off!"  he searched an alternate place to grip.  "I can do this on my own!"

Full of desperation, low on energy, he sought another way to proceed but couldn't find it.  It was a thirty-foot drop and there was no going back.

"Stop distracting me!" he growled.

I looked away. The maned wolf took a deep breath and lunged upward.  He successfully dug his claws into the ice ledge but his legs buckled.  As he slipped, I attempted to catch him last-minute in the midst of his resistance.  My gauntlet barely gripped him but it was too late.

He fell straight down and smashed into the frozen ground.

Great...

In a heartbeat, we slid down the wall and rushed over to him.  

The maned wolf's wrist was shattered, his ankle twisted, and he had multiple abrasions along the side of his forearm where tiny drops of blood were seen oozing out.  I checked my fingertips to see that they also had red droplets.  My nano claws must've broken the skin under his fur when I attempted to grab him.

"Argh!  What was that for?" he yelped.  "Look what you've done!"

"Alright, cadets!" the Major pushed through the crowd.  "What's the deal here?"

It didn't take long before all eyes were on me.  Most of the cadets, especially the maned wolf, pointed fingers in my direction.  Seriously?   It was just a scratch. I was only trying to help him. 

With shame, I retracted my nano claws. 

"Cherry!  You come with me!" the Major blew her whistle.

"But-"

"Now!" she barked, gesturing to the other cadets.  "The rest of you!   Regroup at the rainforest vines!"

Two ZMT armadillos treated the maned wolf while the cadets slowly filed their way out of the area.  A hippo, tiger, and jaguar gave me a hard time.

"Way to go, freak." 

 "Not cool!"  

"Pick on someone your own size."  a tiger cadet pushed my chest, nearly knocking me over.

Out of indignation, I retaliated by pushing him back, causing him to fall into the arms of his colleagues.  That got me into more trouble because Major Friedkin saw me do it.

The other cadets got in my face, bonked shoulders with me, and stormed off.  Of course, they did those things when the Major wasn't looking.  How unlucky of me.

Three minutes later, the polar bear led me into the main office where other academy officials awaited.  The animals that were higher up in authority.

Most of them were small prey and I could tell that they felt unsettled by my presence.  Regardless, they were direct with their words.  Though their 'Seek-to-understand' protocol was beyond patronizing, at least they obtained my side of the story.

For over thirty minutes, they reviewed my campus approval ratings.  The numbers decreased by an average of 6% on a weekly basis.    Were they really keeping track?   They were more concerned than I could ever care for.

As a consequence, they placed me into numerous long therapy sessions.  They were designed to help me settle down but they seemed to do the opposite.  I just wanted to be left alone but they kept saying that it wasn't good for me to be alone.

After hearing two pandas chat nonstop about breathing techniques, I checked my HUD to see that it was already 12:06 PM.  Time to reunite with the Howl family.  The three black wolves were already waiting outside.

Thus, I stood up from the yoga mat - that I somehow ended up on - and approached the exit.  Two uniformed elephant guards held up their trunks to stop me.  They insisted that I finished the temporal rehab but I brushed them off.

"Sir, you must stay," the elephant called from behind, trying to escort me back.  "You've got five more sessions remaining."

I pushed aside his trunk.  "I don't have time for this rubbish."

Stepping out into the hallway, I was crowded by animals of all different shapes and sizes.  From a fidgety sheep doctor to a spindly giraffe therapist and more.  But why were they here?  Evidently, they were all lined up, anxiously waiting their turn to conduct a session with me.  How patronizing.

As I pushed through them, moving across the long corridor, most scattered while others wouldn't scatter.  Some tried to stop me but there wasn't much they could do.  In particular, a silver furred rabbit with black stripes and an arctic fox approached.  But I closed the door from behind before they could reach me.

I went down another hallway and took a sharp right, hoping to find an alternative exit.  It wasn't very promising.

The entire office building went into full lockdown mode and I tightened my fists at how ridiculous this whole situation was.  I just wanted to see the wolf family.  But instead, I got surrounded by frantic police academy directors.

"Mr. Cherry, please, you must cooperate."  a well-dressed camel approached.   "We want you on our side."

I scoffed at him.  "Doesn't seem like it."

"Then let us help you, please," he begged.  "This is a serious matter and we must address it immediately."

"Later," I said.  "I've got visitors."

The camel shook his neck.  "I'm afraid not, Mr. Cherry."

I folded my arms and glared.  "Excuse me?"

"You're not permitted to have outside visitors at this time.   Not until you improve your public behavior first."

"And who's going to stop me?  You?"

"No sir, not me.  But you."

"What?"

"You signed an agreement before you got here." he pulled out a binder to unveil a stack of documents.  "You agreed to all the terms and conditions of the Zootopia Police Academy.  Including the statutes attached to your foreign status. "

"Give me that." I swiped the papers from his hooves and was about to tear them.

"I have copies on file," he interjected.  "And don't forget, Hopps and Wilde signed those forms with you."

He had to be lying.  I unraveled the wrinkled documents and opened them up.   To my disappointment, all three signatures were there.  I remembered signing these documents but I failed to read the fine print.  

While the camel and his associates stared intently, I reread the documents line-by-line, precept-by-precept.  These were more regulations than I thought.   Of course, I figured that my guns could do the talking but the camel's son was right there.  I just couldn't do it.

In utter defeat, I gave the documents back to the camel.

"Please don't give me that look," he said.  "I'm not the bad guy trying to spit in your face.  I'm just a middle-mammal."

At that point, I didn't feel like arguing anymore.  It wasn't worth it.  If there was one thing I missed from my world it was that animals didn't talk back.  Oh, how I missed it.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the camel's office where he had the temperature cranked up by over a hundred degrees.  From there, he conducted a series of mental tests to see if I was still fit for the academy.  They came back as inconclusive because he didn't know how to read me.  He summoned a snow leopard psychologist but she too was unable to obtain accurate readings.

After we wasted that entire afternoon, being held in the office against my will, I missed the visit from Jay Howl's family.  They were worried sick, I tried to respond to their messages, but my helmet's messaging system was malfunctioning.   Jay, being such a forgiving wolf, told me it would be alright and that we could try again next time.  Regardless, I was beyond frustrated with the academy directors.  I pounded my fist on one of their wooden desks, causing the ornate design to crack.

Surprisingly, they wouldn't kick me out.  But I remained guilty for injuring the maned wolf cadet and causing property damage to the academy.  As a result, they decided to transfer me to different dorms, away from the maned wolf.  

I thought it'd be smoother sailing from here on but it wasn't.

My new roommates weren't much better than the ones I had before.  Though they initially feared me upon arrival, they eventually got comfortable enough to team up against me.

On my first night, one of the bears put honey on my pillow, causing it to stick to my helmet.  The cotton got everywhere and took two days to clear it all up.

Six nights in, they drew whiskers and a unibrow on my helmet's visor.  Of course, they had to use a permanent marker which took an entire bucket of warm water to rinse.

For over a week, they whipped me with wet towels whenever I wasn't looking.  It didn't hurt, as they thought it would, but it got my panties in a bunch.  Especially when it happened six times a day.

In the lunchroom, they took the lid off of a nearby salt shaker, causing me to inadvertently dump the whole thing on my organic potato fries.  I went to get a replacement from the cafeteria but the cadets purposely finished them off.

When I came back to the table, my water glass had pieces of fur in it.  The cafeteria had no lids so I had to keep an eye on my drink at all times.

Before I could take a bite out of the corn cob, I felt something splatter against the back of my helmet.   I reached back to see that someone had flung pudding from across the room.  The animals behind me laughed uncontrollably but I couldn't find the perp who did it.  

As I cleaned up the food tray, walking it over to the trash bin, my vision went temporarily blind with a yellow screen.  I rubbed it away to see an elephant holding a smashed mustard bottle between his nails.

"Oops, sorry about that," he said casually.

I said nothing.  All I did was grab a handful of napkins, started wiping away my visor, and walked away.  For his own sake, that better have been an accident.  Yellow mustard on white armor was terribly time-consuming to clean up.

Hopefully, the next day would improve.

During our weapons training class, I highly despised the tranquilizers.  They were weak, pathetic, and had terrible reload times. In my hands, they felt and shot like a toy nerf gun.   But it was the ZPD's best standard issue field weapon.  

I turned to the honey badger weapons instructor.  "You got any 9 mm?"

"Nine-what?" he looked confused.

"9 mm."

He placed a paw under his chin.  "I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and assume you mean this."

The badger pulled out a box and placed it into my hand.  I opened it but saw that it was only nine-millimeter long needles.  I should've guessed that.

 All we had to do next was shoot a rubber mammal-sized target from thirty feet away.  Beyond that, ZPD tranquilizer darts didn't have an effective range.  But before we could fire our weapon, we had to give three verbal warnings to the target.  That's what the instructor insisted.

This was why I loved being a soldier.  Just point and shoot.  None of this grey-area police B.S.

They had me demonstrate so I took aim and pulled the trigger.  To my far left, Major Friedkin pulled the dart out of her bum and fell down unconscious.  What in the world?  

Later that day, the officials gave me a second warning and assigned me extra chores.  I later found out that the cadets modified the barrel of the tranquilizer pistol.  Oh, I hated those guys.

During one of my chores, they assigned me to clean up the outdoor shooting range.  Without any bullet casings in Zootopia, the only thing to clean up was dust and animal hairs.  In the background, lighting and thunder cracked the air while I dusted the pavement with a broom.

Out in the distance, the rubber sized animal targets were still standing on the grass lot, soaking under the rain.  Feeling bored, I pulled out my phaser pistol and aimed it.  Waiting for the next lightning strike, I fired a lethal shot when the timing was right.   The target was obliterated, burning fragments littered the shooting range, bringing me satisfaction.

The pouring rain doused the flames but I had to quickly clean up the ash before one of the animals came in to check on me.  As soon as I swept it all up, the maned wolf came around the corner.

"Did I hear something?" he asked suspiciously, folding his arms.

I casually went over to the nearby disposal bin to dump the ashes.  "No, just the lightning."

His ear irritably twitched.  "What's all that black stuff then?"

I took a deep breath.  "Black bears."

"Black bears?"

"Yes."

He gave a long, steady glare.  "With you around, no wonder they're not here, freak."

After giving me a few snarls, he turned around and went the other away.   That was a close one.

On the next night, the rain continued to pour in bucketloads.   The power went out so we remained in our dorms waiting for the storm to pass.  Lightning cracked the sky at random intervals, causing one of the officers to wake up in fright.

"GAH!  What was that?" a tiger jumped for the third time.

I lifted my head, feeling annoyed.  "It's only thunder.  Go back to sleep."

"No, no!  It's not that!" he panicked.  " There's something under my bed!"

"No there isn't."

"Cherry, please!   I know it's there!  Please check!" he grew increasingly frantic.  "I think there's a monster under my bed!"

Probably a raccoon, I thought.

While the cadets were sound asleep, I crept my way over to the tiger's bunkbed to check under the covers.   I looked underneath but only saw a mirror.

I glared back at the tiger and he burst out laughing.

"Haha, very funny..." I said in a deadpan tone, punching at my own reflection.  "Very...   funny..."

On the following day, there wasn't much improvement.  Cadets passed around exaggerated fliers indicating that a white, blue-eyed monster was on the loose at the academy via paper or electronic means.  I tried to crumble up as many fliers as I could but they were like a hydra.  Cut off one head, two more shall take its place.

Later that evening, bear cadets gathered on the lawn to watch Beauty and the Wildebeest on one of the outdoor projectors.  Camp chairs and wooden park benches were neatly organized around the screen.

I was walking my way back to the dorms when one of them called out.  "Yo, Chair-bear!"

I stopped to turn around.

"Hey, you're looking a little tired.  Why don't you sit down over here?" the big Grizz offered.

"Yeah, come join us for a movie." another beckoned.  "We saved ya a spot."

"Thought you'd never ask." I accepted the invitation. 

There was an empty seat between the two of them.  Both had large buckets of popcorn so it seemed like an ideal spot.  I sat myself down, only to hear a loud farting sound.  I checked under my rear to see they had strategically placed an oversized whoopie cushion.   The entire audience erupted in nonstop cackles so I walked away, feeling ashamed.

Perhaps tomorrow would be better.

Early in the morning, a team of tigers was playing ultimate frisbee.  I tried to ignore them but they were eyeing me down.

One of the tigers ran up to me.  "You're Charles Henry, right?"

"Just call me Cherry."

"Would you like to play with us?   We could use an extra mammal." he warmly invited.

"Sure, why not."

"Alright, it's your serve." he tossed me a frisbee.

I caught the frisbee between my chest and arm.  It had pink stripes on it, how lovely.  Were these guys feminine or something? 

The tigers positioned themselves on the grass field, waiting for my throw, but I couldn't hold the frisbee for some reason.  It was stuck to my chest.  

I tried to lift it but thick, sticky yellow goo was oozing from the sides.  Pine tree sap?  Great.  The tigers roared in laughter, gave each other chest bumps, and ran away.    Now I had a pink plastic frisbee glued to my chest.  

When no one was looking, I spent the rest of the evening scraping it off my armor.  The nanoblade did the trick in removing the broken plastic but it took over an hour to wash off all the sticky sap.  Our showers were timed so it took me three shower tokens.

On the next day, we gathered at the Marshlands obstacle course for a new lesson.  Major Friedkin was running late so we chilled over by the ice wall until she arrived.  It was pouring rain, the area became muddy, but that didn't stop me from meditating.

"Mr. Chenry!" a jaguar cadet greeted, interrupting my meditation.  "Good morning to you, my multi-blue-eyed friend!"

"It's Cherry." I sighed.

"Sorry about that," he said with dismissal.  "But hey, we were wondering...  how far can you kick?"

"Depends," I shrugged. "Who am I kicking?"

"How about a soccer ball?" he held up.  "Show us what you've got!"

The cadets eagerly gave me some space while the jaguar knelt on the wet ground to hold the soccer ball.  I never liked the sport which meant I would give that ball some hell.

"Kick it right over that mountain!" one of them pointed.  "You got this!  Come on!"

I darted forward, went for the legendary kick, but my boot struck nothing.

"Sike!" the jaguar pulled the ball back. 

My entire body slipped, fell backward, and I was all covered in thick mud.  The officers just couldn't contain their obnoxious hysterics.  Not one bit.  They pointed and mocked in ways that left me completely disgruntled.

The officers at the actual ZPD were never like this. Why couldn't I get them instead?

Later that evening, I sat alone at the cafeteria table.  We had steamed potatoes for dinner.  Most of my armor had been rinsed with a garden hose but small chunks of dried mud remained stuck between the joints.  With nothing else to do, I grabbed my butter knife and began flicking away pieces.

As I was doing this, a lion cadet approached.

"Hello," he greeted, taking a seat next to me.

I ignored him.

"You doing okay?" he asked, seemingly concerned.

"Could be better," I said plainly.

He stared down at the floor.  "I'm sorry about what happened to you today."

I lifted my shoulders.  "It's whatever."

He paused for a few seconds.  "You deserve better treatment than that."

Couldn't agree more.  At least someone else agreed.

"Here, I brought you something..." he said, pulling out a red soda can.  "...to take the edge off."

It was a sparkling cherry flavor.  One of my favorites.  I could tell this cadet was a good mammal.

"Thanks," I nodded, feeling more hopeful.

With much haste and thirst, I popped the seal open.

The contents exploded in my hands.  Concentrated beams of soda shot in all directions, mostly in the face, completely soaking me from head to toe.

The lion fell from his chair, rolled on the floor, laughing.  Everyone else in the lunchroom saw what happened, joined in, and completely lost it as well.  He set me up. 

They could all go to hell.  I chucked the dripping soda can across the cafeteria and left.  What a disgrace these animals would've been to the Stratocracy.  No wonder they went extinct in my world.

Whenever I went to bed, I often dreamed of going back to my old world.  But it only gave me nightmares the more I thought about it.  Thus, there was nowhere else for me to go.  My past life was filled with fear but now my current life was filled with disrespect.  

Apparently, this world didn't have respect for war veterans because they've never had any before.  As a placeholder, I would've taken fear but the animals here were getting used to me.  But not in a good way.  Without using my weapons, there was no way I could demand respect anymore.

Oh, why did I sign those papers?

These animals were lucky that I signed a truce.  If only they knew what would happen if either of us broke it.  No matter, I had to keep my composure.

The next day, I was actually craving a soda.  In fact, I felt desirous to drink one that wasn't shaken up by an insolent lion.  I had two quarters so why not?

Approaching the vending machine, I inserted the first quarter but the second one dropped, rolling away into the corner.  Big deal.  I went over to pick it up but a male polar bear cadet got to it first.  he was the same one who threw a pie at my face three days ago.

I extended my hand.  "Give it to me."

He examined the coin, squinting his eyes.  "Or what?  Tough guy?"

Ten threats came to mind.  But I didn't want to cause trouble.  "Just give it to me."

"You want it?" he pulled out a tiny container, squirted clear gel on the coin, and pressed it onto the floor.   "Come and get it."

He disappeared through the double doors, leaving me all alone.  I bent over to pick up the coin but it was super glued stuck.  Instead of breaking the vending machine glass, I began scraping the floor.  It was no use.

I tried hacking the vending machine but it had a mechanical design.  Fed up, I punched the floor repeatedly until the coin broke loose.  I finally got my soda but before I could take a sip, one of the academy directors, a cougar, was standing right behind me.  He saw what I did to the floor and reported me.

Of course, he wouldn't believe my story.

To add insult to injury, the maned wolf had healed from his wounds the next day.  He was back in action.

Though I didn't see him much, his popular influence continued to spread across the academy.  He inspired other animals to unite against the human.  It was no longer just my roommates anymore.  It felt like everyone.

He and other fellow cadets kept complaining to me about nightmares.  I had nightmares too so why did that matter?  Everyone has nightmares.   

But they claimed that I was the source of their nightmares.   A furless, earless, tailless, and emotionless freak.  I could understand why they would say that but it was quite hurtful when repeated over a dozen times.   Hardly any of them had the courage to say it to my face.  At least the maned wolf wasn't afraid to say it.

No matter, I kept my distance from them.  They weren't worth it.  I was tired of overhearing their constant gossip and name-calling.

Later that evening, we had a few games of soccer.  Everyone's favorite.  Though I disliked the sport, I felt like playing to relieve stress.  Times were tough so I figured why not.  Rugby would've been nice but soccer would have to do.

I attempted to join teams but no one wanted me to join.  They'd pick me last or run off somewhere else to play.  Ostensibly, it was due to me stepping on their tails.  I didn't have a tail so I couldn't understand their pain.

With nothing else to do and no one to hang out with, I just went to the gym and lifted weights for the evening.  That's what I did for all other days moving forward.

I used to only go for thirty minutes but that soon turned to two hours each day.  It didn't make me happy but it kept me somewhat stable.  My arm muscles increased in size but my heart muscles felt like they were decreasing.

Outside of the gym, whenever the opportunity presented itself, the cadets would intervene on obstacle courses and also during exams.  They did it not only to mock but to get their mind off of how scary I was.   They figured that if I caused their nightmares, then they ought to mess with me until I gave up.  In other words, to drive the monster away from the academy.

On one occasion, their actions led to a serious altercation at the rainforest obstacle course.  We got into a heated disagreement over who knocked over one of the wooden log towers.  I was standing at the bottom when the structure tipped over and multiple cadets were limping away from the wreckage.  Tired of being blamed for everything, I almost threw a lethal punch at the maned wolf but three polar bear cadets restrained me.  The academy officials were summoned once more and they gave me a final written warning.  

Anything more and I'd be kicked from the academy.  That meant no opportunity to become a police officer and definitely no chance at becoming a data scientist.

Worse of all, the cadets knew this.   They were well aware that any more blunders on my part would result in expulsion.  The ZBI would take over and I'd be kept under a constant radar.  From there on, their furry minds mobilized everything that they got.

In desperation, I kept quiet and maintained my distance from all the animals.  They tried to get closer but I moved away.  They would taunt or insult but I didn't speak back.  It was too risky.  They even tried to get me to come to the boxing ring but I refused their offers.  It was a setup to get me out of here.

As time went on, I sat in the empty back row of every classroom.   I was always the last one out of the obstacle courses and I distanced myself away from the animals whenever we did warm-up drills on the grass lawn.

The Major assigned us to workout groups but I was the odd one out.  I worried about stepping on their tails while they feared being with an unpredictable alien.   For those that didn't fear me as much, they took every chance to get me out of here.  I had no choice but to stay away from them.  Far away.

To make matters worse, Judy and Nick were swamped with work. They tried to visit me, as often as occasion would permit, but Zootopia had one of its busiest times of the year.  It was all paws on deck. 

They tried to schedule a visit but I kept telling them that I was fine.  When they pushed, I settled for virtual visits and nothing more.  With so much material to study, I made sure they were short and brief.   They insisted on longer video calls but I pretended that my camera wasn't working. 

They sent more messages but I gradually ignored them.  Partly because they were distracting and I couldn't reply with a glitchy HUD.  Jay sent motivational messages but I didn't feel like responding.  Cody and Hazel asked how I was doing but I didn't answer them either.  Instead, I chose to focus on tomorrow's quizzes.  One was on Zootopia Investigative Procedures (ZIP) while the other was on Sloth Interrogation Techniques (SIT).

After I took the quizzes the next day, I immediately regretted last night's decisions.  Both quizzes ended up being on material that I never studied.  Two hours of study, a twenty-minute quiz, and another failure.

To recover, I was craving chocolate.  My depressed mind begged for it.

And I knew just the place.  The cadets spoke about it on a few occasions.

The cafeteria moose chef would always bake chocolate mousse cake on Fridays.  Cadets claimed it was homemade and brought tremendous joy to the tastebuds.  Nothing but the best.  They even said that the chef once worked for palm hotel and a few celebrities of Zootopia.  Hearing all this made me more eager to try his delicious recipe.

However, by the time I got there, the cadets had already finished all sixteen cake trays - leaving me with nothing but dried crumbs.  I attempted to pop one crumb into my mouth but an elephant cadet sucked them all up with his trunk.  

I figured there was always next Friday until I overheard from one of the jaguar cadets that the moose chef was retiring.  Today was his last day.

Way to rub salt in the wound, I grumbled.

Now I was stuck with the academy's repetitive cafeteria food.  Since I kept my distance from all the cadets, I always arrived when it was cold.  I tried to microwave it at times but the texture usually became unsavory.

The artificial bug meat had a reputation for being healthy but that's all that was going for it.  They cut costs on the additional seasonings and anything that remained was quickly used up.

On top of that, the dorms smelled absolutely terrible. The animal fur and sweat made the interior reek like a zoo. On some days, it smelled like someone turned on a crockpot and filled it with Campbell's clam chowder and about six rolls of dirty pennies. On other days, it smelled like the Predator's dreadlocks with blue-green algae.

I popped a window open while studying but someone else would close it because it was too cold for them. I borrowed someone's body spray, hoping it would get rid of the smell, but it only made it worse. Turns out, that body spray belonged to one of the skunk janitors.

With the Species Diversity test looming overhead, I had to improvise my study environment because I was falling behind.  I tried to study in the library but all the seats were taken.  The cafeteria didn't work because the panthers and elephants had their yoga session in the evening.  The bleachers in the boxing ring weren't an option due to the building being locked.

Thus, I found a nearby tree and sat against the trunk.  The low light conditions made it hard to see the textbooks, especially with the early sunset, so I activated my helmet's flashlight.  All was well.

Until the sprinklers turned on.

 At that point, I was done. I decided to head to bed and hope for another disappointing day tomorrow.  As I tried to get up, my body struggled.   The same arm that got injured from the razorbacks was now throbbing again.  On top of that, I had one of the worst migraines in a while.  What was wrong with me?

I eventually pulled myself up from the ground but every step I took felt like someone was chucking a rock at my forehead.  In desperate need of water, I crawled my way over to one of the sprinkler heads and partook.

For the rest of the night, sleep couldn't find me.

We went on a six-mile run first thing in the morning, followed by three laps on the Zootopian District obstacle courses, and I limped like a zombie the entire time.  At one point, I fell flat on the ground but everyone ran straight past me.  No one saw me or asked how I was doing.

I felt lonely and misunderstood.

If I dropped dead, then would anyone notice?   I had no idea.  All I knew was that the animals would probably take my body, dissect it, and use it for research purposes.

But I did my best to dismiss those thoughts.  I had to think positively but it was all a struggle.

Nightmares came more frequently, causing me to not sleep well anymore.  Three days passed but nothing changed for the better.

My eyes sagged beneath the helmet, studying for another exam on felony tax evasion was nearly impossible, and the motivation wasn't there anymore.  Other exams followed but my mind was too exhausted.  Everyone except me seemed to understand the material being taught.

It was all so discouraging, I felt that the maned wolf was right.  I didn't belong here.

I came from a world where I failed to fully understand animals.  I figured this place could've been a great opportunity to finally understand them.  Yet, I failed to do that very thing.

Exam and quiz scores were posted on a weekly basis but they were too painful to view.  The questions themselves were not hard by any means but my mind was falling apart.  I second-guessed myself and doubted my retention abilities.

Over the next two days, I was dispirited by my lack of progress.  I struggled at the same checkpoints on obstacle courses, I fell behind in daily runs, and I felt more alone than ever.  The cadets continued to treat me like an outcast while I slowly decayed from the inside out.  

My lack of outer expressions must've given them the false impression that I was either fine or unphased.  Deep down, there was a human face behind the mask and they didn't know it.  The very thing that kept my true identity a secret was the same thing that was slowly killing it.

For over three weeks, I hadn't spoken a single word to anyone at the academy.  I only kept my mouth shut, my head down, and did as the majors instructed me.    

In my world, humans did all the talking while the animals obeyed.  Here, it was the opposite.  The animals were doing all the talking while I silently obeyed.

Like an animal in my world, I could do all the physical tricks but I was unable to perform well in academics.  Instead of lifting books, I lifted weights.  It was the only thing that kept me busy and shifted my mind away from all the negativity.

Truthfully, I spent too much alone time at the gym.  My triceps grew large enough that the armor around them began to constrict.  But I kept going and going as if I were programmed to do it forever.  Because I was at the gym for most evenings, I usually had the entire place to myself.  There was no one else to interact with.

Externally, my body grew.  Internally, my body decayed.  As I continued lifting for the next two hours, my palms became moist.   I couldn't tell if it was sweat, blood, or tears anymore. 

The agony finally settled into my sore arms and my body dramatically dropped the weights.  Unable to do more, I decided to head back to the dorms.  Might as well prepare for another depressing day tomorrow, filled with disappointment and perhaps another failed test.

The bottom of my boots scraped against the pavement, my feet dragged, and my head hung low.  I didn't want to be here anymore but there was nowhere else to go.  My world was gone, the city of Zootopia saw me as a freak, and this academy was filled with soon-to-be police officers who would probably lock me up anyway.

Oh, how I hated this place.

Why was I here?

I was too tired to answer.  Mentally, physically, emotionally, and maybe even spiritually.

Who would've thought that being the only human in an animal-ruled world would be so depressing?  Every dragging step I took, I lost further hope.

Maybe I should just quit?   I was only putting everyone in danger with my unstable mind.

The further I walked, the slower I moved.  My mind kept wandering.

Feeling thirsty for water, I approached the dorms but the doors were locked.  Again.  

I searched for my spare key but I left it inside.  Again.  I knocked on the door for someone to answer but no one came.  Even if someone was inside, they wouldn't answer the door for me anyway.  After peeking inside, I saw that no one was there.

We were only thirty minutes away from lights out at 10:30 PM and the cadets were already late.  All I could do now was wait.  But as I stood there, I saw lights emanating from across the lawn.  They were medium-sized searchlights swinging back and forth in the night sky.

My initial thoughts labeled them as military lights that were trying to search for an enemy aircraft in the night sky.  Of course, my species would've used radar to avoid giving away a ground position.

But these lights were purposely positioned to stand out.  As I focused in on them, I spotted multiple bouquets of blue and gold balloons tied around a giant portable blue tent on a lawn near the academy entrance.  Pop music erupted from the speakers and I could tell that some sort of party was going on.

Oh, for Pete's sake...  that would keep me up all night...

Why would anyone have a party at this hour?

I took a step forward and found a colorful blue flier on the ground.  After bending over to pick it up, it read as:

WE CORDIALLY INVITE YOU 
to celebrate
The 107th Anniversary
of
The Zootopian Police Department

Whatever, I thought.  The actual celebration was yesterday, according to the flier date, so tonight must've been an after-party of some sort.  I was sure glad no one ever told me because I never liked parties anyway.  The least I could do was sneak in, grab water, and head out.  Bonus points if they actually had ice cubes.

I made my way towards the tent to enter.  Goodness, this place was completely packed.

If I had to guess, the interior was filled with over 300 animals of different species.  All of them were happily dancing to the party music.  Elephants swung their trunks back and forth, wolves howled into the moonlight, lions proudly roared, and the rest of the animals danced with their tails.

Immediately, I pulled my hood over while making my way towards the drink stand.

The floors were lined with wooden panels and bright LED lights that cycled through flamboyant colors.  The tent canopy had hundreds of blue string lights, multiple subwoofer speakers, and a few flat-screen T.V.s broadcasting a live concert.  

Truly, these animals were going all out.  Sure, they were having fun but parties were a waste of money.

I found a wooden stool in front of the drink stand and sat down.  Out of nowhere, a little black-footed ferret with a blue bowtie came running across the countertop.

"What can I get you to drink tonight, sir?" he said excitedly, clasping his paws together.  "We've got blackberry shrub, tomato-lime sipper, raspberry fizz, iced melon tea, and blueberry smoothies!  Nothing but the best in Zootopia!"

"Just water."

His ears drooped back in disappointment.  "Water?  That's it?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

I impatiently tapped my fingers along the table, saying nothing.

With hesitation, he filled a plastic blue cup and slid it towards my gauntlet.   "Here you are...sir."

I reached for a plastic straw so that I could sip from the cup.  

The curious ferret tilted his head upside down, trying to peek under the hood.  "Whoa, what exactly...  are you?"

"Don't. Bother." I said in a low, angry voice.

His went stiff in mild fright, causing him to back up slowly.

"Yo, Travis!" a cheetah cadet called from the other end of the table.   "Another round, please!"

The little ferret shook away his thoughts and scurried over to help him.  While I sipped from my drink, the animals continued to dance joyfully in the background.  Not only were there cadets from the academy but there appeared to be other outside visitors as well.  In fact, a third of these animals I've never seen before.

"Hey, it's our space Officer Cherry!" a familiar voice called out.

I turned around to see a red fox take a seat next to me.  He wore his casual greet shirt and blue tie.

"Nick?" I almost couldn't believe it.  

"Buddy, it's nice to see ya."  he patted me on the back and smirked.  "Carrots and I have been worried sick."

I kept quiet, continually sipping my water.  The party music was loud enough to discourage me from wanting to have a conversation.

Nick leaned in closer.  "Haven't you heard of texting?" he asked.

I let out a tired sigh.  "I've been busy."

"So have we," he shrugged.  "But we squeeze a few messages your way, so how come you don't?"

Struggling to come up with a better reason, my honesty came forth.  "Maybe I don't feel like texting."

He tilted his head, expressing concern.  "Is there something on your mind?"

"Just...  the usual."  I paused for a moment to look around, hoping to change the subject.  "Is Judy here?  I didn't see her."

His ear perked up.  "Carrots wanted to come but she rolled her ankle yesterday," the fox facepalmed.  "How unlucky, right?"

"What happened?"

"There was a shooting at the school and she-"

"What?" I tensed up.   "Shooting?"

"Relax, buddy." he held up both paws.  It was just a film shoot.  What'd you think I said?"

I loosened up.  "Right...  continue."

"So there was a film shooting at the school," he explained.  "She was gonna get interviewed for a school project, but she tripped on one of the camera cords."

"Camera cords?"

"Yep, you can imagine how embarrassed the poor little kiddo got." the fox laughed.  "But Officer Fluff will be back on the streets in no time.  I'm picking her up tomorrow morning."

I nodded at the fox, taking additional sips from the water.  My fevered head continued to throb.  The loud music wasn't helping.

"What's with the hood?" Nick asked, sliding it off my head.  "Sorry buddy, you've never been very good with disguises.  Isn't that silly helmet enough?"

"Nick, please,"  I became irritated.  "I'm not in the mood."

The fox turned his attention to the T.V. screen, watched a few lemmings commercials, and laughed.  When the screen went back to the concert, he turned to me.

"So how's the good ole' ZPD academy treating ya?  You surviving okay?" the fox began to fiddle with my blue cloak.  "What's new with you besides the change of wardrobe?"

"Oh, nothing," I said clenching my head.  "Everything's been great."

"Glad to hear." he signaled the ferret for a blueberry smoothie.  "But I'd love to hear more.  Tell me about your time at the academy."

I sighed.  "Where do I start?"

He slurped his blue drink.  "Pick anywhere you'd like."

I pondered for a minute.  "To put it simply, nothing's been going well."

Nick wiped away the blue smoothie from his lips.  "Why do you say that?"

I looked up at the night sky and exhaled.  "I don't know, Nick.  I'm trying my best but... I just don't belong here."

"Well, you are an alien, no offense."  he reminded.  "But why should that stop you?"

"It's difficult to get along with anyone here,"  I said with a despondent tone.  "They don't trust me."

"Welcome to my world," he said casually.  "Maybe a fox like me and a human like you share the same pain.

My head turned to Nick, questioning his statement.  "Do you?"

"Yeah, you heard me right,"  he said confidently. "We both know what it's like not to be part of the pack. Trust me, I've been there, too."

I glared him down.  "And what about ejection from sports?  Not being able to play any game of soccer?  Failing quizzes and exams?  Having no friends at the academy?"

The fox rolled his eyes.  "First off, you don't even like soccer, Carrots told me.  Second, if you're struggling to find a friend, then why not start by being one?"

I shook my head.  "I tried.  It doesn't work."

"Tried?" the fox shrugged, taking a sip from his blueberry smoothie.  "Maybe you should try again, buddy."

My wearied head fell into my palms.  "Why bother?  They're already against me. And it's pissing me off."

"Never let 'em see that they get to you," he reminded, staring off into the distance for a moment. "And if that's the case, you've got nothing to lose, my friend.

Upon hearing this, I silently scoffed at his pointless optimism, tending to my ice-water drink.  The loud party music, the flashing lights, the fox, and tomorrow's test combined into one stressful headache.  The water wasn't helping. A talking fox wasn't helping.  Nothing was helping.

"You just need a little time and patience," he added, turning toward me.  "Hang in there."

I closed both my fists and exhaled.  "What I really need is a good night's sleep, if that's even possible," I stood up in place, preparing to leave.  "Good seeing you, Nick."

Before I could step away, one of the mammals from the dance floor approached us. She was a beautiful, slender coyote girl in a tank top and short shorts. She stood about half my height and appeared different from other coyotes I had seen before.  

"Hey!" she greeted with a friendly wave.  "Would you like to come dance with me?"

I tapped the fox's shoulder.  "Nick, she's talking to you."

He shook his head and smirked. "No, she's talking to you, buddy."

As soon as he said that, my body froze.  I looked at the female coyote, who gave me a warm, pleasant smile.  Surely, she was mistaken.

I shook my head. "Look, uh... that's very kind of you... but I don't-"

Nick interrupted.  "I believe what my friend was politely trying to say... is that he'd love to accept your very kind offer to go dancing."

"Nick..." I hissed in a low whisper.

"Perfect!"  the coyote cheered, holding out her paw. "Let's go then!"

I ignored her kind gesture until Nick cleared his throat.  Why me?  Reluctantly, I took her paw, and she gently pulled me along.

Nick gave a sly wink before the coyote led me into the crowd of animal dancers.  What was he thinking?  Could my luck be that bad?  Damn you, fox.

She led me into the center of the dance floor, where everyone was.  Animals were on all sides but were too busy jumping and twirling to the music to notice us.

The coyote turned to face me, grabbing my hands with her paws,  "Are you ready?" she asked excitedly.

My body felt nervous.  "I...I don't really dance."

She pulled herself closer; her vibrant brown eyes had a calming effect. "We'll do it together," she assured as she started dancing.  "Just go with the flow."

With each beat of the music, the coyote moved in sync, making it look so easy.  Truly, she was a natural.   She stayed connected with me no matter what, so I did my best to follow along.  My movements were clunky, yet she made them work and was quick to improvise.

I tried not to step on her toes, especially her fluffy tail, but she was quick on her feet.  Dancing was never my thing; I was never really good at it.   Hence, I struggled to enjoy it.  However, this coyote made it much more fun than I ever remembered.

"See?" she smiled proudly. "You're doing great!

I cracked a smile.  Though she couldn't see it, I had a feeling she could tell, which made her smile more.

For over thirty minutes, we danced to seven more songs. She knew all the lyrics, too. This friendly coyote was filled with such youthful energy that she kept dancing. She was also a great little motivator, so I kept going, too. Three songs later, I realized that my head pain had subsided.

Feeling a leg cramp, I slowed down, pretending to rub my forehead instead.  "Is it hot in here or is it just me?"

"It's probably just you." she giggled. "But we can go outside if you'd like."

Since a few cadets were starting to take notice of me, I figured it best to leave.  "Yeah, let's do that."

She led us through the animal crowd until we were finally outside.  The sky was dark and a gentle breeze passed through the air.  Dancing was a nice activity to revisit after so many years but getting some fresh air hit the spot.

Now it was time to call it a night.

Seeing that it was late,  I turned to the coyote.  "Thanks for the dance," I bowed my head.  "I should probably get going."

She cheerfully clasped her paws together.  "Don't you wanna go see the fireworks with me?"

"Fireworks?"

"Yep!  They start in fifteen minutes, over by the south academy lawn."

I scratched my head.  "Oh, um..."

"You should come with me!" she beckoned.

"I'm...I'm not sure..."

"Don't be shy," she smiled as she offered her paw.  "It'll be fun, I promise."

I was going to retreat back to the dorms but I looked at the coyote one more time.  Her amber eyes pierced my blue eyes in a way I couldn't describe.  But one thing was certain.  They gave me a small sense of trust.

Thus, I gently took her paw and we walked down the sidewalk together.  I still couldn't believe she was doing this.  There was something about her that made her different from the rest.  I didn't know what to say or what to think.

As we strolled down the well-lit pathway towards a spacious green field, the coyote turned to me.

 "I'm Charity, by the way!" she smiled.  "What's your name?"

I almost forgot my own name.  "Um...Cherry."

"Cherry?  Aww, I like that name!"

"Thanks."

"That was sure fun dancing with you!" she said happily, her nose twitching.  "You've got some good moves!"

"You think so?"

"Oh, I know so!" she answered with sincerity.  "Your style is unique and easy to work with.  I like it!"

I gave her a head nod in response.  I didn't really know what else to say.

"So, are you a cadet?" she asked.

I nervously exhaled.  "I am."

"Wow, that's awesome!" she beamed with excitement.  "How long have you been here?"

"Less than a month." I estimated.

"Ooh, you're about a third of the way, aren't you?"

"Almost...  I wish it was more."

"Don't worry, you'll do great!" she assured, taking a brief moment to reflect.  "I sorta know because my sister's told me everything about you."

"Wait... your sister?" I pondered out loud, stopping in place, trying to make a connection.  "You mean Rebecca?"

Charity smiled.  "Yep!  She's my twin sister."

That got me thinking.  If she really heard everything, especially with what went down in the boxing ring, then wouldn't that make me less desirable to be around?  Apparently, that didn't stop this sweet little coyote.

She playfully elbowed my side.  "Small world, huh?"

"Yeah."  I exhaled, still feeling somewhat ashamed about past events.  "What'd she tell you?"

"She told me about the interrogation," the coyote answered.  "And a little bit about the arena but she kept the rest between her and her boyfriend, Max."

Great, more gossip, I figured as much.  I knew I couldn't trust that coyote from the ZIA.

We shared a moment of silence before she continued.  "Even though I love and trust my sister...  I had to find out more about you for myself.  Do you wanna know what I think?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

Charity winked and smiled.  "I think she missed out, big time."

Upon hearing this, my face felt like it was turning red.  Regardless, I tried to shrug it off.

We continued walking together, approaching the grass field, where we spotted multitudinous groups of animals gathering for a firework display.  Out in the far distance, in an enclosed dirt patch, there was a pyrotechnic team of raccoons making final preparations.

"This is gonna be so cool!" the coyote said excitedly, standing on her tiptoes to peak over the wall of animals.  "I wish I was as tall as you."

With all the elephants, rhinos, tigers, and other cadets eagerly gathering in front of us to see the show, I felt bad for mammals like Charity who were shorter in height.  We could've pushed our way towards the front but the crowd was packed together.  I feared getting into trouble with one of the cadets so I considered other options.

To the right, there was a tall, thick oak tree next to a two-story wooden shed.  While I was looking at it, Charity also saw it.  She then turned to me and smiled.  Apparently, we both had the same idea.

We made our way over and began climbing.  I let her go first, she climbed to the top, hardly needing any help.  She was an excellent climber for being a little more than half my height.  After pulling myself up from the last branch, I stepped onto the wooden roof to ensure it had the structural integrity to sustain me.   Part of it was reinforced, so it checked out.

I sat on the ledge, dangled my boots over, and the coyote sat adjacent to me.  She dangled her legs over the ledge next to mine, enthusiastically waiting for the event to start, and being a happy camper.   Now we definitely had an advantageous view over the entire green field.  Everyone else in the massive crowd was down below.  The only exception was a few giraffes at the opposite end of the field.

"Wow, this is wonderful!" she clapped.  "You picked a great spot!"

I nodded proudly. "Indeed." 

She raised her paw for a high-four.  I gently tapped it.

"I heard they're doing the really big ones this year!" she pointed out into the field.  "I can't wait!"

I couldn't help but quietly chuckle at her fluffy tail wagging bag and forth.  She was definitely full of positive energy.  A cadet unlike any other.  At least, I thought she was.

"So, you're also a cadet?" I wondered.

She shook her head and smiled.  "Actually, I'm a part-time kinesiologist working towards nursing!" 

I was a little disappointed.  "Oh."

"But I'm getting my training done here at the academy!"  she explained.  "They have a new program for it, with an emphasis on treating officers injured in the line of duty."

Hearing this was a relief. "Today's your first day?"

"Yep!  Very first day!  I'm a little nervous but I'm ready."

Part of me wished I had the same level of optimism as her.  Perhaps it'd wear off after a while, similar to what happened to me when I first came to the academy, but she sounded much more motivated than I ever was.  I had a feeling things would work out for her.

Once the animal crowd got themselves settled on the grass lawn, one of the raccoons in the center field ignited a match to light the fuse.  He backed away slowly, and triumphantly said, "Oh, yeah!"

A rocket suddenly shot up into the night sky, whistling through the crisp air.  Within two seconds, the entire view lit up with an impressive display of bright blue colors.  Other coruscating colors followed suit.

Some shot straight up before exploding, others whirled in a spiral, some shattered into thousands of sparks, while others tumbled and glittered in a silver shower.  Truly remarkable.

Over time, I saw magnificent colors that my eyes have never beheld.  Colors that never existed in my world.  Absolutely magnificent.

They coiled around the trees, jetted across the field, spun around the air, whizzed above our heads, and flittered in all the empty spaces.  Completely breathtaking.

Charity was having a wonderful time and so was I. Words couldn't describe how thankful I was that she invited me.

The light emitted by the fireworks glittered, sparkled, twinkled, and glimmered the night sky.  Thousands of extraordinary particles conquered the air, surely to make any onlooker feel infinite.  

As the firework display carried on for the next seventeen minutes, there were a few displays that brought back some memories.  Most of which, I kept locked away for a while.

The red one reminded me of warfare back in my prior world.  Though we never had any fun fireworks or anything worth celebrating, our dark skies were often lit up during times of interplanetary conflict.  Dreadnought-class ships the size of mountains were sliced by orbital space lasers, anti-matter bombs turned night into day, and bright orange embers filled our polluted air.

These dark thoughts began to haunt me again.   My body tensed up as soon as the next red explosion rang across the night sky.  A severe feeling of dysphoria came upon me.

Charity noticed something off but didn't speak a word.  

Instead, she simply took my hand and held it with both her paws.  I felt her furry head lean against my shoulder, causing me to feel an unexpected sense of peace.  From there, Charity closed her eyes, smiled, and did nothing more.

What was she doing?  I questioned.  How did that work?  I had no idea.  It was as if someone were telling me that everything was going to be alright.  Charity was like a friend that I didn't deserve but she was definitely the one that I needed during these trying times at the academy.

At the conclusion of the firework session, the crowd of animal visitors and cadets gradually dispersed.  Beaver crews were cleaning up the area, packing things up, and heading home for the night.

Meanwhile, Charity and I sat on the same roof beneath the stars, talking for over an hour.  We were probably the only ones outside now.

We chatted about the academy, Zootopia, families, friends, favorite subjects, where we came from, and even our favorite music.  She and I referenced artists and albums that we've never heard of before but that didn't matter.  I managed to share one song from my helmet until it started glitching again.  A Bob Marley song, which she absolutely loved.  She kept trying to look it up on Zootube but it couldn't be found.  That was rather fun to explain.

She herself had many songs to share from her phone.  Unsurprisingly, her device didn't glitch.   Her albums were unfamiliar, very Zootopian, but that didn't stop me from enjoying her company.  Charity's voice was angelic, soft, and soothing.  She sang many songs from her playlist.  I could care less about the lyrics but listening to her was the best part.

For seven more minutes, we sat beneath the stars, admiring constellations and the city of Zootopia on the horizon.  Seeing that it was getting late, I checked my HUD to realize that it was 12:07 AM.

"We should probably get going," I suggested, rolling my shoulders back to stretch them.

Charity continued to admire the scenery out in the distance.  She then turned her head against my shoulder and smiled. I also looked out onto the night horizon and nodded.   Indeed, it was spectacular. She even took a quick selfie of us to capture the moment, making sure I was in the frame with her. Usually, animals in this world take pictures of me, not with me.

We both stood up in place to stretch out our arms.  What a night.  Personally, I was feeling pretty tired but she seemed to be doing fine.  My yawns were big, whereas hers were small.

Standing on the edge of the two-story building, I jumped down onto the grass below, landing on both boots.  I turned my head to see Charity standing on the ledge.

"Need help getting down?" I offered.

She shook her head and smiled.  "Can you catch me?"

I splayed my gauntlets out with circumspection.  "Um...sure."

"I'm trusting you," she said, getting into position.

At that moment, she took a graceful leap, making a perfect landing into my arms.  "Nice catch!" she complimented. 

I gave her a slight nod, feeling grateful that I didn't drop her.  That was a lot of faith to put into one alien, I had to admit.

We then began walking down the cement pathway together for over a minute as she guided me to where her dorm was.  I realized that I was still carrying her in my arms so I set her down.  She had two legs; she could walk

Charity's dorm was only fifteen minutes away from the main entrance of the academy.  Not too far from where I was.  We chatted about how lovely the night sky was until we finally reached the stone steps of her dorm.

"Well, this is it," she said, turning to face me.  "Thanks for walking me to my place!"

"No problem," I bowed my head.  "I hope you rest well tonight."

"Same to you!" she returned.  "We should do this again sometime!"

"Yeah...  for sure." I stuttered.

She pulled out her pink phone and passed it to me.  "I'll definitely need your number!"

With hesitation, I held the phone in my palm.  I tried to tap numbers, but the screen couldn't sense my fingertips.

"Here, help me with this," I gave the phone back to her.  "My paws are ceramic."

"Aww, you're fine!" She giggled.  "What's your number?"

"777-777-7777."

Her ear perked up and she gave me a silly head tilt.

"Yeah, I know," I admitted.  "Just go with it."

She tapped the numbers away without questioning.  "Alright Cherry, I'm texting you my number... just in case," she winked.  "You should be getting it...right about...now!"

My helmet vibrated, I gave her a thumbs up.  "Got it."

She happily put her phone away.  "We'll stay in touch."

"Yeah, sure." I waved, slowly walking away.  "Good night, Charity."

"Hey," she called.

I stopped in place.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" she smiled.

I turned around.  "What do you mean?"

She held her arms out and motioned me to come.

"Oh...right," I remembered.

I shyly walked up to her and took a knee.  She wrapped her arms around my head and pulled me into a warm embrace.  I didn't know what to say or what to do other than return the gesture.

"Good night, Cherry!" she said sweetly.

We hugged for seven seconds, shattering any previous record I've ever had.  I used to have a record for the shortest hugs but that was no more.

Finally, I let her go.  Someone had to end the hug.  She ran up the stairs, smiled, and gave a friendly wave before disappearing through the door.  Now it was just me outside.

As I began the short journey back to my dorms, I couldn't help but reflect upon how kind that coyote was.  Truly, she was phenomenal and had such a tender spirit.  I hoped to see her again.

Without a doubt, that was one of the best nights I've had in a long while.  

I almost lost hope, thought about quitting the police academy, but she changed my mind.  Now I had a friend here that was only a short distance away.

Tomorrow was another test, there was much to study, but that didn't worry me anymore.  Because I was going to ace it.