"This is my Flight Song! Take-Back-My-Life Song! Prove-I'm-All-Right Song..."

Ariel smiled as she sat up in bed. The song on her clock radio was one of her favorites ("Flight Song" by Rachel Batten). Instead of swiping a paw at the snooze button like she usually did, she hopped out of bed and headed to the bathroom down the hall to brush her teeth. As she passed Calvin's room, she could hear him grunting "masculinely", and once she noticed his open door, she couldn't resist taking a peek. Who knew what Cal was doing that would embarrass him later?

Turned out, he was making muscles in his mirror. "Oh yeah," he murmured to himself (or so he thought). "This is what toughness looks like. You are a lean, mean baseball machine!"

"Good morning, hotshot," Ariel teased as she left the doorway and continued to the bathroom. She could hear Calvin yelling at her from down the hall.

Once her teeth sparkled, Ariel headed to the kitchen, where her mother was loading the dishwasher and her father was reading the morning news. Ariel hoped he'd set aside the comics page for Calvin like normal. Otherwise, there would probably be a fit.

"Good morning, Mom and Dad," Ariel greeted her parents as she dug through the cupboards.

"Morning, honey," Mrs. Hobbes replied absentmindedly. "Oh, I hope you don't mind that I signed your teacher's get-well card. Would you like me to take it to the hospital on my way to the clinic?"

"Nah, I want to get my classmates to sign it first," Ariel explained. "How about tomorrow? Oh, there it is!" She grabbed the Mice Krispies from the very back of the cupboard.

"I'd say good riddance," Calvin commented as he entered. "Subs are always better!"

"Obviously you haven't met Mr. Polaris," Ariel growled.

Mr. Hobbes raised his eyebrows. "I could have sworn I cut that article..."

"Which one?" Ariel pressed.

"This one about the latest missing mammal case," Mr. Hobbes explained. "I've been trying to avoid negative stories like this one, as you all know, but I must have missed this when I was working late last night."

"Another missing mammal?!" Calvin nearly spilled his Stix. "At this rate, Zootopia will be deserted!"

"Don't be so pessimistic," Mrs. Hobbes chasized. "Your father is right. For every bad story there are at least ten good ones."

"Speaking of a good story..." Ariel grinned mischievously. Calvin glared at her, but the clock struck seven before she could say anything. Without another word, all four Hobbeses entered a race to be out the door.

The little bell tinkled as Ariel and Kiki entered the ice cream shop. Almost immediately, Ariel was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of smells she was registering: mint, chocolate, sugar, flowers, sweat, the like. It was like this every time she visited this ice cream shop. Mr. Jumbeux desperately needed a better vent system. Unfortunately, he was too cheap for one.

"Hey, there's Diego!" Kiki pointed to the young elephant, already seated at a table with two empty chairs. His baseball cap, as always, was tilted to the side, and his hoodie was unzipped. Hardly a surprise, as "informal" was practically his middle name. Ariel slipped into the chair on Diego's right; Kiki took the left.

"How was school, girls?" Diego asked.

Kiki simply mumbled, "Fine," but Ariel launched right into a detailed explaination. "I almost tripped in the hallway. Mr. Polaris kept driving us all crazy. And I got nearly everyone to sign the card I made for our regular teacher. You want to sign?"

"Sure," Diego shrugged. Ariel nodded and pulled the card out of her backpack and set it in front of Diego, who scribbled down a message and a signature. "You guys can go get your ice cream, but try not to chat with Uncle J more than you have to. He's in a worse mood than usual. Got threatened by a cop for not following health procedures and refusing service to some fox."

"Yeesh," Ariel responded. "Speciesist, anyone?"

"Totally," Diego agreed. "He was mean to the cop, too. Get this: she was a rabbit!"

Kiki asked, "Did she mention her name? That might be Judy Hopps. She was in the news last night!"

"I read about her last night," Ariel added. "Apparently being a police officer has been her lifelong dream."

"Real inspiring," Diego concluded. "Y'know, maybe I should get the ice cream today. Uncle J won't like having to talk to a non-pachyderm."

"Good idea..." As she spoke, Kiki cast a nervous glance at Mr. Jumbeux. Diego stood up and stepped into line. Ariel opened her backpack again, and the girls resumed work on their science project: creating the lifeforms of the future.

"It's looking an awful lot like a monkey," Ariel observed.

Kiki shrugged, "Maybe the next one can be a cat. Be sure to give it clothing."

"Sure, but what about fur? Animals get hot with both fur and clothing. What if we let this thing's skin show completely?" Ariel suggested.

"Good idea," Kiki concurred. "It can just put on extra clothing if it's cold. But how about just a little fur on top, though?"

"I like that! Now what should we call this thing?"

"Good question..."

"Ladies..." Diego slid the two each a dish of ice cream, holding a treat for himself in his trunk. He'd gotten their favorites - a Teath Bar sundae for Ariel, a small banana split with strawberry ice cream for Kiki, and Nutty Crunch in a cone for him.

"Thanks, Diego," Ariel purred. Forgetting about the project for the moment, she settled herself to enjoy ice cream with her best pals.

"Great job today, girls!" called Jill, Ariel's possum swim instructor. "I expect to see each and every one of you here at some point before the meet on Saturday. Your homework is to practice those kicks! Have a good evening!" Ariel couldn't resist launching herself to the bottom of the lap pool before hauling her tail out. She loved being in the water. Every stroke she made energized her, spurred her on in a way none of her teammates really understood. They were all jealous of her, she knew, but she tried not to flaunt it. In fact, she wished she had a freind on her swim team.

"Great job as usual, Ariel," Jill whispered in the locker room. "You are going to knock it out of the park this weekend!"

"Thanks, ma'am," Ariel said with a blush. "I'll try to be in before the meet."

"Oh, I know you will. Have a great afternoon!"

"You too. See you soon!" Ariel slipped her cover-up over her head and left the locker room, smile on her face.