"RJ! Dinner's ready! Get it while it's hot!" An adult female Raccoon shouted from downstairs.
"In a minute, Mom!" RJ shouted from upstairs, finishing up his homework.
"I tell ya, dear. That boy has a bright future on his hands. I can see it already." An adult male Raccoon said to the female Raccoon.
"Indeed," the mother added. "He's gotten straight A's and has had a 4.0 GPA all through his school days!" She said with pride.
"I wonder what he'll think when we tell him the news," the father replied.
Just then, RJ flew downstairs and gazed around the house that was his home. They lived in a quite elegant 2 story house, only RJ didn't exactly see it that way. He thought that this was the good life and nothing more. RJ set his homework paper on the kitchen counter and walked into the dining room. He smiled at his parents.
"He, Mom. Hey, Dad. What's for dinner?" He asked, his mouth watering from a somewhat sweet scent.
"It's chicken and rice," she answered as she set the pot onto the table. "Your favorite!" She added.
"Sweetness!" He sat down at the table and grabbed his fork. He smelled the aroma of the chicken and rice. He started eating.
The mom and dad looked at each other, prepared to tell him. RJ suddenly saw the looks on their faces and froze. He swollowed his first few bites and wiped his mouth with his napkin.
"Mom, Dad? What's wrong?" He asked.
RJ's mom was the first to speak. "RJ, dear, we've been thinking about the school you go to. We... feel that your not getting the kind of education you should be getting." She said to her lovely son.
"Why do you think that...?" He asked shyly, putting his fork down and stopping to listen.
RJ's dad spoke. "We wanted to get an opinion from you about... transfering you to a different school."
RJ was shocked. "A new school? Why?!" He asked frantically.
"Now, dear, please listen. This isn't any kind of school... It's, uh... Honey?" She begged for the father to speak.
"It's a... human... school... Not an animal school..." His father said.
RJ was about to take a bite of chicken but dropped his fork right on top of the plate, making a loud CLING sound. He suddenly had a blank but serious look on his face.
"I suddenly lost my appitite... and my rights as an animal..." He got out of his chair and went upstairs, shuting and locking his bedroom door. The mother and father looked at each other.
"I'll go talk to him." The father said.
RJ unlocked his door, thinking they would leave him alone. He jumped onto his bed, buried his face in his pillow and cried his eyes out. Louder and louder his cries got. His father, just outside the door, winced as he heard his son cry.
"I knew she shouldn't have signed him up..." He silently said to himself.
He looked down towards the kitchen and saw RJ's homework paper lying on the counter. He quickly went down to get it. As he grabbed it, he scanned it. He saw that it was an essay on United States History. He looked on in amazment as it was perfectly written. He went back upstairs and, hesitently, knocked on his door.
"RJ...?" He called out shyly.
"Go away!" RJ yelled, crying some more.
"You... forgot your homework..." His father added.
Homework. Just the thought of it made RJ think of the new... human school. He got up and opened the door. He knew he had to spare his father some kind words.
"Thank you, dad." He said politely yet sadly.
"RJ... We need to talk..." His dad added.
"...Come in..." RJ silently replied.
His father sat on RJ's bed, looking at him. "RJ... Before you blame things on me and your mother... I didn't sign you up for that school... She did... I didn't want her to, but she insisted and... What could I do? She's--" He was interuptted by an outburst from RJ.
"You could have stood up for me! Give her a second opinion! I don't care how you do it! You should have told her otherwise!" He shouted, running to his dad for a hug. "Dad! I don't wanna go, Dad... Please... I don't... I don't belong there... Not me, Dad... Not me..." He borkedown on his father's chest.
"Shh... It's ok... Shh..." He rocked RJ and held him close, letting his fur get soaked with tears. He tried to comfort RJ.
"When do I go...?" He asked, scared at what the answer was.
"Next week." He answered.
RJ flinched as if a fist was swung at his face. "What will my friends think? Verne... Stella & Tiger... Lou, Penny & the kids... Ozzie & Heather... Hammy..."
His dad knew how much Hammy ment to RJ. Hammy looked up to him.
"Sorry, son... Don't worry... Everything will be alright... You can even visit Hammy before and after school if you'd like." He comforted RJ.
"That sounds fair, I guess..." He added, trying not to sound selfish. He had to respect their decisions, even if it was quite unfair.
"Get some sleep, RJ. You need energy for school in the morning." He patted his back and started out the door. "Good-night, RJ..." He said.
"Good-night, Dad. I love you." He said, smiling a little.
"You too, son." He replied and shut the door.
RJ turned off the light and went to bed.
He fell fast asleep. He awoke in his school that he was currently going to.
"Am I at school? This quick?" He looked around. He saw Hammy walking down the hallway to use the restroom. It was during class.
Something wasn't right about Hammy, though. He was sad. Sad as ever. Maybe a little mad. "Hammy!" He waved, but to no avail, Hammy paid no attention.
He noticed Hammy starting to cry. "Hammy? Why are you crying?" RJ asked. Still, he paid no attention. "Hammy, listen to me!" He tried to grab Hammy, but his arm went right through him. "What the...?" He added.
He then saw Heather opening up her locker and putting a book in it. He ran over to her. "Heather!" He waved his paw in front of her. He then saw a picture of her and RJ holding each others paw and walking through the park together. She set her paw on the picture and cried softly.
"Once again, we part. My darling, RJ the Raccoon..." RJ couldn't believe what he was hearing. Him and Heather together? Is it possible? She shut the locker and went back to her classroom.
RJ screamed out. "NO!" He suddenly woke up in the middle of the night, screaming and in a cold sweat. He turned on his lamp light and looked around.
"In bed... I'm in bed... It was a nightmare... But... Heather..." He began to wonder if what she said was true. Was it? His mother and father came into the room.
"RJ! What is it?!" He ran to comfort him.
"Nightmare... horrible... Hammy... He was sad that I left... Heather was... Oh, Dad." He cried into his father's chest.
"RJ..." He answered.
Did he dream the future? When he was gone... Will it turn out like that?
"RJ, try to go back to sleep. It was just a dream--" He was interuptted again.
"But what if that's what will happen when i'm gone?! Hammy will be so sad! He'll cry! Heather will cry! They're my best friends..."
His father quickly thought up an answer. "I... I don't know, son. But, in order to find out, you will have to wait and see what the future holds. Now try to get some sleep. Honey, you can go back to bed." He said.
"But what about you?" She asked.
"I'll wait until RJ falls asleep. He needs to be comforted." He said, worried about RJ.
"You're a good father, dear." He kissed him on the lips and went back to bed.
Eventually, RJ fell back asleep and his father fell asleep with him.
