Chapter 1: Letting Him In
I sat, looking at myself. Not in a mirror, but another being who was the exact copy of me.
It didn't really occur to me that this was an impossible anomaly, and I extended my paw for a shake. The other took it gladly.
"Nice to meet you." He said, winking.
"Same to you." I responded. He looked at me for a long moment, searching for something. "Can I help you with something?" I asked.
"Just wanted to know where you got that sweet hoodie of yours, haha." I winced like the question stung.
"You want to know the McDonald's ice cream recipe?" I gasped. He licked his lips.
"And 24 feral meat burgers. I'm going to a birthday party." He explained. My eyes widened.
"Sounds dangerous."
"Yeah, Furnie Sanders has a mean left hook." He rocked back and forth on his heels. I slowly grew more annoyed.
"She rejected your love?"
"Well, she's a guy, so…"
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
The teacher rapped her knuckles against the desk until I lifted my head. I wiped the drool from the side of my mouth and yawned. I looked up at her.
"Did it happen again?" I asked. She nodded.
"For the fourth time." I shook my head and sighed. You're falling apart, Jack.
"Did I miss anything important?"
"Yeah, pretty much the rest of class." She turned around and gestured for someone to quit fooling around, and then turned to me. "Look, if this continues, I'm going to be forced to take action."
I scoffed. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" She paused, thinking for a moment.
"Because I-"
The sound of the bell cut her off. Almost all of the students jumped out of their seats at the same time. The teacher walked to the door and high fived the kids one by one. What is this, first grade? I guess high fiving the kiddies comes before my grades.
I looked around the room. I wasn't the only one sitting down. In the corner of the room sat a desk occupied by a fox. The fox wasn't sleeping, and his head rested on his paw. He drew random shapes and squiggles with his pencil eraser on the flat surface of the desk, letting out a deep, quivering sigh.
I stood up and made my way towards him. Once I was standing next to him, I stood awkwardly watching his depressed movements.
"Uh...are you okay?" I asked, concerned.
"Y-yeah...I'm f-fine…" He said shakily.
"You are not fine. Your ears are pinned to the back of your head, dude."
"What do you care…?" He said, looking up at me with tear stung eyes. Wet streaks darkened the fur on his cheeks, and he shook, but ever so slightly.
"I'm concerned, hun." I said, placing a paw on his shoulder for comfort. He shrugged it off.
"Leave me alone. You don't even know me. I told you I'm fine." He looked away, gluing his eyes to the wall.
I gave up. "Fine." Was all I said. I returned to my seat and picked up my backpack and book bag. I took one last glance at the fox, and then slipped out of the room.
A few steps later, I felt a paw on my shoulder and I turned around, only to see the fox again.
"Oh, uh...Hi." I said, not knowing what else to say.
"Can I eat lunch with you…?" He asked solemnly. I nodded.
"Of course. I usually sit with-" The sound of his soft voice cut me off.
"Can we just eat alone?"
"Sure." He smiled weakly and walked next to me silently. "There's probably not a place we can eat completely alone."
He shrugged. "The bathroom is nice and quiet."
I couldn't say no to this poor fox. "Alright, we'll eat there. I'm Jackal by the way." I extended my paw. He didn't shake it.
"I know. You're in my class. Hurry and get lunch. I don't want to be alone for too long, Jack." I nodded.
"Ryan, right?" I tilted my head a bit. He nodded. "Well, I won't be long. See you soon!"
After I got my lunch, I met the fox in the bathroom located in the science hallway. He was sitting, his back propped against the wall, and he was staring at the floor blankly.
I walked over to him and slid my back down the wall. Soon enough, I was sitting with my legs outstretched in front of me.
"Now. Tell me what's wrong." I demanded.
His story began.
"Sounds like your life is shit right now." I said, looking at him. His tears finally dried up, so that was good.
"It is," he started, "I honestly don't want to go back to class…"
"Well, you should finish off the day. If you need a place to stay for tonight, you can room with me." I offered. He smiled a very adorable smile. But, there was something in that smile that sent a chill up my spine. I couldn't quite place my finger on it...
"That would be great, thank you." He said, hugging me. I patted his back and rubbed it a bit.
"No problem, hun."
He scooted a bit closer, but not much, and watched me eat. He made a small comment about the cafeteria food, and like a gunshot at the start of a race, we found ourselves in a seemingly endless conversation that branched off into different subjects and categories.
The whole time I couldn't stop thinking about how cute he was, or how smoothly he talked, or how I never wanted to stop talking with him.
Or how hot he looked in that black hoodie...
Those thoughts popped like a bubble when the bell rang. I threw my trash away and looked back at the fox. "This was nice. I'll see you later."
"Wait," He said, holding his paw up. "Can we just stay in here and talk more? I'm sure you won't miss anything too important." I reluctantly shook my head.
"Sorry, but I have a huge test in my next class. Maybe some other time." He nodded slowly and pulled his knees up, hugging them to his chest. I wanted to tell him he should get to class, but with all he'd been through, it didn't seem like a bright idea. "Meet me in the band hall after school." I turned around, and opened the door.
Yeah
"Connor." He said quietly.
"What was that?" I asked.
"My real name. It's Connor."