All animals, despite their differences and natural limitations, have the remarkable capability to adapt to new environments. Even in the face of struggle, whether in the form of food scarcity or being hunted down, natural selection of the fittest throws critters a lifeline. Populations thrive- even if by a few surviving members. Nature's gifted outcasts.
That high school biology lesson made a decent point after all.
A vibrant young rabbit by the name of Judy Hopps believed in her innate skill to survive, regardless of the circumstances, in order to persevere in a particularly new environment: Zootopia University, the main institution within the heart of downtown Zootopia. She was just about the happiest mammal in the world to have gotten that golden letter of acceptance, and much to her parents' reluctance, she instantly confirmed her attendance and packed all her things. They did their best to discourage her but nothing could keep her from it. Judy was as eager as she was stubborn— perhaps it was her gift as an exemplary outcast of nature.
After a summer of antsy waiting and a lengthy drive out of the burrows, at long last, she was finally there.
Judy took a calm, deep inhale as she took the scenery in. A golden fountain greeted her and her father as they drove onto campus and weaved through the maze of numerous classic academic buildings, old fashioned campus dorms, and numerous lawns split by cobblestone paths. Each path was labelled by light posts, signs, and the university flag, the symbol of ZU: a seal of unity depicted by different animal paws aligned in a semi-circle. All the buildings seemed to display the emblem. At the horizon above the campus she could identify the scenery scape of Zootopian skyscrapers, not at all distant compared to how it seemed from her home in Bunnyburrow where all that could be seen was a faint halo of the glowing city beyond the hill tops at night. Almost like she could just reach out and touch it…
"Aaaand that's the last of 'em," Stu Hopps huffed a bit breathlessly as he lowered the final box of her belongings into a wagon. Handle in paw, Judy continued soaking up the sights with dreamy violet eyes, her ears tall. "Well, looks like someone's all ready to move in, huh? Sure you don't need help unpacking sweetie?" His look of contentment turned to one of fatherly concern. He stepped to his daughter's side and followed her gaze to their surroundings with amber eyes. "This campus sure is huge... full of mammals different than you… are you sure you'll be able to fit in?"
The smaller bunny blinked, and shook the mesmerized look off her face to turn and look at him. She could see the worry painted in his features. "Yeah dad," she reassured, giving a small 'just trust me' smile and dismissive wave of a paw. "It'll be easy. I can just tell, I'll fit right in." She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, but she certainly had hope.
Stu sighed, returning her small smile. "I'm sure you'll love it here. But since I just want you to stay safe…" He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a hand sized pink gadget— fox repellent. Judy's eyes widened skeptically.
"Really, dad? I don't even think that's allowed on campus," she pointed out in a bit of an embarrassed murmur, tugging on one of her ears.
"Now Jude," his tone became serious, a sound she was quite accustomed to hearing. "You know the deal with those predators- especially foxes. They're the worst- don'tcha remember that hooligan Gideon Grey?"
With a bit of a grunt and droopy ears, Judy stubbornly took the repellent, mostly to keep him from continuing his 'preds are scary,' talk she had heard plenty of times. "Okay, okay, fine. I'll take it if it means you'll stop lecturing me," she grumbled, stuffing it into one of her deep jean overall pockets.
Stu gave a satisfactory smile and nod combo. "You'll never know when it'll come in handy. Just please stay safe, and promise me that you'll muzzletime your mother and I every so often?"
"I will," she assured, her expression softening into a small smile. "Thanks dad, for everything," she watched his arms spread open in an invitation for a hug, so she leaped forward and embraced him tightly. "I love you, dad. I'm going to miss you guys."
"Oh honey. I love you too. It won't be the same without ya home, but I know you'll do just great." He smiled warmly, pecking her forehead before hopping into the truck front seat. Mom would've definitely come along if it weren't for the fact the truck was a two-seater, and all the stuff that Judy brought had completely occupied the trunk. "Remember that you're always welcome back home if you don't want to stay here. Don't be a stranger, now. Take care, Jude the dude!" He waved as he pulled out of his parking spot, finally driving off. Judy waved back, watching the vehicle until it was out of sight.
Now, it was time for a new chapter to begin. And the bunny was beyond thrilled.
"I can't believe I'm actually here!" She squealed to herself quietly as she danced in place for a few seconds, scanned the scene to confirm no one had seen her do that, and pulled the hefty wagon behind her into her new home: Hornstein Hall.
It was a four story building, a classic red-and-white brick abode for freshmen girls of ZU where predators and prey would share spaces together, and Judy for one actually appreciated the notion of diversity. Above the entrance were large horns, carved out of some kind of white marble stone. Other mammals were entering with their own wagons and luggage in hand, and Judy greeted them all with a smile and an optimistically overbearing, "Hey! I'm Judy Hopps-Oh hi! Hello there! Nice to meet you, I'm Judy!"
"Name, please?" A skunk with a lower lip piercing and side bang asked somewhat dully from behind the front desk, flashing a courteous smile down towards the bunny.
"Oh, hi there, I'm Judy," she chirped excitedly. "What's your name? Nice to meet you! I'm from BunnyBurrow. It's my first time in downtown Zootopia and the campus is just beau-"
"Judy… Hopps?" The skunk interrupted as she spotted and checked off the name on a clipboard, smiling almost amusingly at Judy's overflowing enthusiasm. "No worries gyal, we'll get to chat soon. Just have to sign everyone in before you can have access to your rooms. Which is kinda important."
Taken only slightly aback, Judy recovered easily from the interruption. "Sure, sounds great." She glanced over her shoulder and realized the growing line of freshmen girls lining behind her, and gasped. "Yes- the name's Judy Hopps. Sorry for the hold up."
"Alright Judy, gonna need you to sign here and here for me…" She slid a paper and pen under the glass slit separating them. Judy didn't hesitate, fluidly marking the paper with great penmanship. "…and we're having a hall meeting tonight at 8 to discuss some hall rules, so I'll see you again then. Room 400. Chill?"
"Yep- I mean, chill." Judy slid the paper back with a skittish laugh. She'd have to get used to that city lingo.
The skunk chuckled warmly. "Name's Pepper. See ya then." Pepper slid a small envelope back to Judy, who took it and walked over to the elevator with wagon in tow. As she waited, she opened it gingerly, revealing a silver key labelled '402.' Once the elevator doors opened, the bunny steered the wagon in and held the doors open for other girls trying to get in as well- a mouse and her family, two pigs, a wolf, and an elephant which remarkably all seemed to squeeze in. As it ascended, Judy smiled at the occupants, some who gave her awkward stares, so she glanced away and exhaled.
Coming on a little too strong there- gotta lower the excitement a notch.
But it was all so surreal. The rabbit bit her lip but it was no use trying to conceal her smile. She managed to dial down her enthusiasm by just a hair so as not seem too overbearing to new mammals, and refrained from saying anything until the elevator emptied. Once at the fourth floor, she was the last mammal left, and exited the elevator quickly. Judy paced the halls a bit to get a sense of the floor layout until she found her door- which was already held open wide by a wooden door stopper.
"Hello?" Judy peeked in, wagon following suit as she entered. The room was on the small side, but spacious enough to the rabbit. Two beds, two desks, two dressers, and a window on the wall opposite the door which overlooked the entire campus of ZU. Being so high up was new, and she spaced out for a moment until a voice responded.
"Why hello there," came a smaller, shrill voice. It came from a small white sheep with shiny red glasses, blinking at the bunny before gasping. "You're my roommate! Jeez I was not expecting you... to be a bunny! With a ZPD T-shirt and all..." she babbled and laughed for a bit before adjusting to a more welcoming tone. Judy looked down at her shirt with the ZPD logo underneath her overalls, suddenly made aware of it. "I'm Dawn Bellwether, by the way. It's actually pretty nice to meet another mammal into law- you should know I'm a political science major." She extended her hoof, and Judy kindly returned the gesture by shaking it with her paw.
"I'm Judy Hopps, nice to meet you Dawn," she beamed at the wooly mammal. "And yeah, about the shirt. I'm actually majoring in criminal justice. It's a program that leads to an internship at the downtown precinct. It's no big deal," she shrugged humbly.
"Whaaat, very big deal!" the sheep gushed, "Us little guys gotta stick together, y'know. Prey mammals really don't get to participate in making and enforcing the law much. Basically a male predator dominated field." Bellwether adjusted her glasses slightly as she spoke in a matter-of-factly tone, and turned to a pile of clothes on her bed she seemed to be folding away. "Gosh- this is actually great! Because I'm actually hoping to start a club for mammals interested in law, especially for underrepresented students. You should join it, Judy, it'd be a blast-" She went on about her ideas for the club which consisted of requirements for joining and weekly study groups, and Judy tried her best to listen as she started to open her own boxes and suitcases. "-so, what do you think, sounds fun right?"
"Sounds… swell." Judy commented uncertainly, starting to stack books along her desk shelf. Truthfully, Judy thought the club was a neat idea. However… she did not want a repeat of her high school experience- back at BunnyBurrow High she was the typical overachiever, acing all of her classes, similarly running her own small club, being the class president, as well as the valedictorian.
Not that she didn't like success and nerdy extracurriculars. Just that it brought a lot of bullying and social outcasting with it from the 'cool' crowds, or even the 'normal' mammals. She hardly ever got to have others know her for her, not some prestigious role she filled. The kind, funny, potentially cool Judy Hopps they never gave so much as a chance to get to know. Many back at home weren't very accepting of her dream of becoming an enforcer of the law, the reason why she had gotten a great deal of mockery and never exactly fit in besides with the underdogs. Although she tried her best to not let it impact her, now that she had the opportunity to remake her identity and reputation, Judy knew she wanted to do things differently this time around.
Not only accomplish her dreams, but become somewhat of a social butterfly, someone admired by many, not shunned for her dreams or supposed weirdness.
Only question was, how was she planning to balance loads of success and even an ounce of popularity?
"Feel free to chip in on the club if you have any more ideas," Bellwether tucked the last of her clothes away in a low dresser drawer. "I'm basically all done with my side of the room, if you'd like some help unpacking, Judy, I'm all hooves."
"Uh, yeah. Actually that'd be really helpful, thanks!"
.o0o.
As the hall meeting commenced, a little over two dozen girls gathered in the 400 common room, a wide space open daily for all hall mates on the fourth floor to share. Within the carpeted room was a quaint kitchen, TV, sofas, and the like. Pepper sat on the table as she introduced herself and went over the basics:
No breaking the no-visitor rule after 9 pm unless it's a weekend, no using the side doors beside the main lobby doors (or they'd set off an alarm) between 10 pm and 4 am everyday, no alcohol or illegal substances on the premises, no weapons (which reminded Judy to keep the fox repellent her father insisted on out of sight), don't be too loud, and so on. Blah blah blah.
Judy was already aware of the rules by reading the ZU student handbook before moving in, blame her zealous reaction to her admission letter and her knack for memorizing codes of law verbatim. She half tuned into the spiel, otherwise allowing her eyes to wander over the many occupants, large and small.
After some cheesy ice breakers and a quick activity involving exchanging kind compliments via sticky notes, the crowd started to mingle a bit, allowing Judy an opportunity to get to properly introduce herself to a few girls.
While making an effort to seem kind and outgoing, Judy made sure to leave out the semi-embarrassing fact that she was previously a straight-A student at the top of her graduating class. However, she did mention briefly that she was a criminal justice major and the statement alone earned her odd looks from a few stuck up animals, so she decided to keep even that conversational topic to a minimum. Most were intrigued that she came from a farm, and it seemed she was by far the most foreign student on the fourth floor. A few regarded her with fake sincerity- she knew how to read the signs of that all too well.
Pepper, on the other hand, seemed to like her genuinely, which was a good thing considering the skunk was in charge of all the hall mates on the floor as a resident assistant. They managed to chat a bit and the RA couldn't help but admire the rambunctious little rabbit, who seemed so new to city culture and mammal diversity. Not too much later, the meeting was over, and everyone began heading towards their rooms while conversing in small pocketed groups along the hallways.
"Very nice to meet you! Have a good night!" An otter and sloth, named Octavia and Priscilla, both waved at Judy and Bellwether as they approached their doors. The two happened to live in the neighboring suite adjacent to their room.
"Everyone seems really nice so far," Bellwether murmured delightedly as she unlocked their room door. "I call that a successful move in day!"
"I second that," Judy hummed, stepping in after the sheep and closing the door behind her gently.
"Buuut I think I'm gonna call it a night. How about you, Judy? Because all this socializing has gotten me eeex-hausted." Bellwether yawned, stretching her arms over her head before removing her glasses and placing them on her dresser counter top.
"Eh, actually… I might take a walk for a few minutes around campus. Still experiencing some weird move-in jitters from all of, well, this," she motioned to the room around her as Bellwether undressed, causing the rabbit to shield her eyes out of respect, until she heard her room mate hop into bed. Although it would probably be best to hit the hay soon, Judy reasoned with herself.
Bellwether's twin size mattress was covered with layers of yarn textured blankets and pillows stuffed with something reminiscent of hay. This observation made her previous thought seem like an intentional pun. Judy was definitely an inadvertent comical genius, after all.
"Well don't be back too late, we have class 8 am sharp!" The sheep reminded sluggishly.
Right. They had exchanged class schedules before the hall meeting and discovered they shared an introductory course together, much to Bellwether's delight. Not that Judy wasn't happy to have someone she knew well to start her semester alongside with, it was just that Bellwether wasn't the most… extroverted or socially polished individual.
On a positive note, it was nice for Judy to have a roommate she got along with, at least so far. Plus they had some things in common- both were studious, responsible, and of course smaller than most not including the mouse population. Judy only feared that she would be spending a little too much time with Dawn and consequentially miss out on hanging with the 'in' crowds.
"Yeah, I haven't forgotten." Judy grabbed her purple lanyard and dressed it around her neck, dorm room key and ID card securely dangling over her chest, and sprinted out and down the staircase before the sheep could respond. The bunny wore the widest grin on her muzzle, knowing there was no way she'd be able to sleep so early her first night in Zootopia University without just a little exploring.
It was beginning to get pretty dark out- not many stars in the sky, something she probably should have expected coming into the city. It kind of made her miss home- the expanses of carrot fields, hills, endless starry skies that stretched for miles…
But she tried to keep the homesick feelings at bay to admire the night sky of Savannah Central main campus for what it was, without bias. She'd fit in, she'd adjust. Even if it meant forcing it. At least the moon's out…
If only she slowed her pace and looked ahead of her, instead of up.
She knocked into something, hard, and fell back onto the concrete path right onto her rump. "Ugh, ouch…"
Judy looked up and met dark green eyes with her own amethyst pair and swallowed thickly, taking in the figure she witnessed before standing her: A fox, wearing a burgundy varsity jacket with Greek symbol Alpha on the left breast pocket. The white symbol was sideways, which made it look kinda like a bullhead with horns. Instinctively, Judy's paw hovered over her jean pocket where the repellent was, her heart pounding like a drum as she stared up at him. After all, he was one of her ancient predators, the very species she had only encountered once in the form of a childhood bully.
"Sheesh," the fox standing above her groaned, rubbing his chest with a paw."Hah- whoops! I apologize, I didn't see you there." He extended a paw to her, an offer to help her to her feet.
Judy slowly reached out a paw, but froze. Was he… following her? No- of course not, that was silly and rude of her to think straight off the bat. She didn't want to acknowledge how shaky her extended paw was, although she knew he probably noticed. "No! It's, ah, fine, I was the one who walked into you anyway." She pushed herself up quick and dusted her blue jean overalls off awkwardly.
"You're a freshman, right? From this hall?" The fox gestured coolly to the dorm building a few yards behind them with a clawed thumb. "I know this may sound completely random and crazy, but… could I ask a favor of you? Do you mind… letting me in?"
She cocked an ear and an eyebrow in suspicion, looking up at him.
"I know that sounds awfully straightforward and weird, considering you don't know me. But I have someone I really need to speak to," he cupped his paws together in a pleading gesture.
Judy cleared her throat and crossed her arms to display her poise. "Unfortunately, I can't let you in if you're not a dorm resident. Hall rules." She responded in a level-headed tone, noticing the droop in his large ears.
"Please?" he nearly whimpered. "It's my girlfriend. She's on the first floor, room 110 which is on the left wing of the building. I've- I've got to know if she's okay, she isn't responding to any of my calls or texts... We got into this really terrible argument before she moved in, and I want to make it up to her before classes start tomorrow," he rubbed his head in frustration.
Her brows furrowed in concern, suddenly questioning her straightforward rejection. "I'm… really sorry to hear, it's just that… I'd get into some serious trouble if the RAs caught me sneaking you in. Guests aren't allowed after 9 pm…" Her voice trailed off as the fox sighed heavily, his shoulders sinking.
"Then, if you don't mind, can you tell her that I'm sorry?" His gaze lowered to the ground in an expression that could only be described as heartache. "And that… I haven't forgotten that today's our one year anniversary?"
Judy's eyes softened and darted to the ground in guilt, her crossed arms slacking slightly. I mean, maybe I could..? She reasoned with herself for a moment, biting her lower lip. She truly sympathized with his jeopardized romance and obvious sincerity.
The rabbit let out a sigh. "Gosh, I feel terrible. Alright- here, come on in," she turned and waved for him to follow her, which caused the fox to grow toothy grin and pursue her without hesitation.
"Oh, thank you! This really means a lot, I'll be in and out before you can blink. No worries here. Scout's honor." He crossed his paw over his heart with what seemed like an innocent smile, making Judy smile warmly in return. "So kind, really. Any way I can owe you a favor like this in return?"
"Oh no, it's my pleasure. It's just- you know, it sucks to see folks with such backward attitudes toward foxes. I just wanna say that you seem like a great boyfriend and just a… real articulate fella!" She complimented innocently as they walked.
"Well, that is high praise, indeed," His expression didn't give way despite a small, hardly noticeable twitch of the eyebrow, a smile still plastered on his face as she led him to an unmonitored side door.
An inner voice disputed her decision to let the fox trespass, knowing it was really risky to break dorm rules on the very first night before classes, but it would just weigh too heavy on her conscience if she left the sulking fox alone and potentially ruined his rocky relationship. Plus it would be awkward if she ever ran into the fox again. Judy felt like it was the right thing to do. Plus, it would earn her a new friend.
"Just please use the side door to leave before 10 pm tonight, if not the alarm will sound, and like I said you're technically not allowed in here, so..."
"Absolutely!" He whispered as he gave her a salute. Then he smoothly snuck down the hallway, and was suddenly out of sight.
Judy smiled to herself. She felt great. To her, helping others was truly a joy.
How could mammals treat all foxes so unfairly, anyway? I mean yeah, there was Gideon, but he was just one rotten apple out of the bunch, right?
Judy hopped upstairs with ease and contemplated on her next move- thankfully her next day outfit, book bag, lunch snacks and utensils were all prepped and ready for Monday morning.
"All in a day's work," she murmured quietly to herself so as to not wake the sleeping sheep across the room. Judy slipped into comfortable pajamas, a white tank top and blue gym shorts, dusted off her feet, and took a long sip from a water bottle sitting on her desk near her bed. Once under her fluffy comforter, she set an alarm for 6 am sharp, snuggled into the addicting warmth of her pillow, and closed her eyes to drift easily off to sleep.
That was, until the fire alarm sounded.