CINCO - DRAWN LINES

Mary was surprised at how heavy the bicycle was, and yet how smoothly it rode; certainly a big change from her roller blades. She pedalled her way to school, enjoying the morning air, this time clad in an orange t-shirt, light blue slacks, and her ponytail in a white bow. Maybe she should get a bicycle of her own one of these days. She entered the campus, and was rather disappointed that the ride ended so quickly, and also because she knew she wouldn't be riding the bicycle home. She locked it on the rack, and walked into the main building. Just inside the main doors, The J.A.M. was waiting for her.

"Good evening."

"Hi. You sure put a lot of accessories on that thing. It is heavy!" she said, as she gave him back his key.

"I know." His voice suddenly switched to something similar to Ernie Anderson, "It's an all-terrain attack bicycle, designed to fight urban crime! Capable of incredible speeds up to 40 kilometres an hour—" He stopped when he saw her blank expression, and asked with his normal voice, "And immense firepower? You never saw 'Street Hawk', did you?"

She thought for a moment and replied, "It doesn't ring a bell, no."

"Oh. Forget what I said about the 'attack and fight' thing then. And the 'top speed' can only be reached on level ground and with a tail wind. It won't win any races, but it gets me from here to there."

As the two talked and walked down the hall, another toon waited until they passed her, and she quickly turned and quietly walked behind them. She almost missed them because she was practically falling asleep, apparently having stayed up all night, as the bags under her eyes declared. Shirley then extended her wings toward the panther, and glowed faintly as her aura powered up. Psychically, she sought his mind, and reached it.

Or so she thought.

Sweating with cosmic exertion, the loon hen channelled all her energy into this action, ready to drill inside the jaguar's head.

"I've been thinking of adding an air horn. You know, for all those drivers that don't bother signalling when they're going to turn right."

"And that way your bike will sound like a train?"

Shirley couldn't understand it. She suddenly turned to Mary and sensed her mind just fine. Quickly establishing a link on the subject of bicycles, the loon hen tried to enter The J.A.M.'s mind through Mary's. Since neither of the mammals were telepaths, neither was using their mind to communicate, so they were only using sound and gestures to do so. Mary had normal thoughts that could be normally read. The J.A.M. had thoughts, and she knew that, but—

The two stopped at the jaguar's locker. Shirley stepped back so she was across the hall from them. "Or a semi, at least. I'll need to figure out how to install it so it can't be easily removed, and where to put it exactly so that it doesn't blast my own eardrums out, and where it will be easy to reach."

"And you'd have to change it periodically," added Mary.

Shirley, now extremely frustrated to the point of being unbalanced, opened her mind fully and read the mind of everyone who was within three metres from her. It was like listening to a crowd, and it was almost overwhelming, but now that she was sure that her powers weren't fluctuating, she homed in on The J.A.M. again. Soon, she blocked everyone but the jaguar. Her feathers ruffled increasingly, and her neck began arching.

"Bonjour, monsieur jaguar," cooed a French voice from their right.

The two turned and the jaguar replied, "Oh, bonjour, Mademoiselle—uh—what was your last name again?"

"LaFume."

"LaFume," he repeated, turning fully to her, lowering his ears. "I want to apologise for yesterday."

"Apologise?" asked the skunkmaid, bewildered.

"Yes. You're the first furry female I've ever done a Feline Defence Spin to, and even though you triggered a few reflexes on me, I—I shouldn't have been so rude."

Shirley was drenched with sweat. Her eyes were getting more and more dilated.

"Oh, non need to apologise, mon sweet keety!" replied the bubbly skunkmaid. "Zat ees ze first time anyone everr gets, 'ow you say, 'rough' on moi?"

Mary and The J.A.M. blinked at that.

"You mean you liked it?" asked the humanmaid.

"Oh, non," she shook her head, "eet ees not zat. Yoo see, tu are ze first male Ah meet zat 'as ze same strength as moi, non?"

"Maybe," replied the felid, "but tell me something. Would you have pounced on me if I didn't have a stripe painted on my back?"

It was the memphitid's turn to lower her ears and blink at this, while the loon hen had not blinked for ten minutes now. "Quelle?"

"Yeah. That—that—guy—uh—"

"Monty," said Mary.

"Monty, yes, thanks," he told her, then turned back to Fifi, "painted a white stripe down my back. Didn't you see that?"

Fifi thought for a moment, and replied, "Ah do not remembair Monty. All Ah remember was falleeng een lovv weez tu, mon amour!" She perked her ears up and caressed his cheek with her right paw.

"What!" asked Mary, suddenly beginning to wonder why Fifi left France in the first place. And she even beat her Mexican friend to the next line, "But you didn't fall in love, Fifi! Monty triggered a reflex with you! See?" She grabbed The J.A.M.'s shoulders and turned him around, showing Fifi his back. They still had not noticed the trembling loon hen across the hall. "Yesterday you called him a skunk, which he isn't. He doesn't have a white stripe anymore. Can you say you still feel the same way?"

The skunkmaid fluttered her eyes at the jaguar and replied, "All Ah know ees zat tu arr ze Lateen 'unk. Eef tu don't 'ave ze stripe, we'll fannd somm paint, non? And zen," she wrapped her huge tail around him, "what do tu say we, 'ow you say, play 'ockey and go to mon Cadeelac?"

A blank expression was the jaguar's only response, until he turned and asked the humanmaid, "Play hockey? But I hate sports!" Mary sighed and shook her head,

"I think she meant 'play hooky", J.A.M."

Shirley summoned all her power and was almost frying herself as she tried to enter into the panther's mind.

"Oh." He turned back to Fifi, but still kept that blank look on his face. A few moments later he turned to Mary again, "Define 'hooky'?"

Mary blinked at him again, but remembered that he wasn't from around here, "It means that she wants you to sneak out of school with her."

He frowned at this, turning back to the skunkmaid, "Oh. Sorry, maybe after school we can go to your—" Suddenly, his own eyes flashed, his ears flattened fully, his yellow fur reddened, and his tail fluffed up. "Cadillac?" Fifi fluttered her eyes at him again and nodded softly. "And why, pray tell, would you want me to SNEAK with you to your Cadillac?"

The memphitid apparently ignored his bristling features and cooed, "Now do tu really need to ask zat? Ah told tu alreadee, Ah want to show tu mon qualités! Don't tu want to see zem?"

Slightly flashing his fangs, he nearly growled, "Not if you want me to sneak out of school and go to a secluded place, I don't!" At that, Fifi snapped out of her romantic mood. He unwrapped her tail from him again, and said, "Look, I hate to tell you this, but I know you don't mean any of that. When we first met, you totally rejected me when I asked you to sit with us, and not one day later, you threw yourself at me thinking I was something I'm not! It's obvious that you have a problem, Mademoiselle LaFume, one that some guys will take advantage of if you don't do something about it. And I'm not 'some guys'." He was clearly growling now, leaning toward her. "I have different ethics and morals than some of the others, you know. But even if you didn't stink, I still wouldn't go along with these advances of yours because I know you don't mean them."

Confusion was now filling the memphitid's mind, making her lower her ears again. "Eh? What are tu talkeeng about? What 'problem'?"

Mary stepped beside the jaguar, deciding to be the voice of reason once more. "Fifi, you have a problem. If J.A.M. here was any other species or if he had any other personality, no matter how repulsive, you would have jumped on him if he had a white stripe down his back. And you should be glad that he's not playing along with you."

The skunkmaid was trembling now, but with rage. And she would have sprayed both of them if she didn't have issues about spraying another female.

"AH DO NOT 'AVE ZE PROBLEM!" she growled, ears fully laid back, fangs flashing, and tail twitching. Huffing, she stomped off, leaving them alone.

"Well, I did apologise," he said, rather sadly, as he saw the skunkmaid leave.

"You did," she replied, "but don't feel bad about her. She knows the truth now, and what she does with it is now up to her."

Both sighed, and then he relaxed his features and asked, "Ready for class, then?" he asked.

"Well, after what we discussed last night, I feel more ready than I normally do. Oh, hi, Shirley!" Mary turned around and saw the loon hen looking at them, sweating and trembling. The J.A.M. turned around and also saw her.

"Good evening." Orange eyes met blue ones again. Shirley tried to push through his eyes to get to his soul. Noticing her exertions, ruffled feathers, and arched neck, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you okay, Miss—um—excuse me but what was your last name again?"

At that point, the loon hen's powers failed, and she collapsed on the floor. Immediately, the mammals rushed to help. Mary cried, "Shirley! What's wro—?"

"LIKE, STAY AWAY FROM ME, ER SUM JUNK! AND MY LAST NAME IS 'LOON'!" she gasped, pointing at the jaguar, while struggling to stand.

Babs, Buster, Plucky, Hamton, and Calamity rushed to the scene when they heard her. Mary and The J.A.M., however, stopped in their tracks at this outburst. The panther lowered his ears again and asked, "What?"

Suddenly remembering, Mary asked, "Shirley, this isn't about yesterday, is it?"

Misunderstanding that question, the jaguar felt slightly sheepish. "Oh. Look, Miss Loon, I know I wasn't very polite with Mademoiselle LaFume yesterday. She triggered a reflex I should have warned her about, and I'm really sorry that I had to do the FDS on her. But I already apologised and I'm not here to hurt anyo—"

"Like, I don't know who you are or, like, WHAT you are," hissed the loon hen, rather suddenly. "Or, like, where your protection comes from!"

"Protection?" asked The J.A.M.

"But, like, you'd better stay away from me, er sum junk! Like, FROM ALL of us!"

At this, the humanmaid became incensed, "What? Shirley, just what the hell is wrong with you!"

The loon hen suddenly turned to her, and with wild eyes, replied, "ME! The question, like, should be, like, what is wrong with—" she turned back to the jaguar, "—with—with THAT!"

Now that was just plain impolite. "I do have a name you know," he protested.

Shirley continued, "I don't CARE! Like, just go away! LEAVE!"

Mary hissed back at her. "Shirley, stop that! You can't talk to others like that!"

A tap on her shoulder made her turn to the panther. "Miss Melody, just—just let this go. If she wants me out of her sight, then I'll get out of her sight. I'll see you in class, okay?"

As he turned to leave, the humanmaid protested, "NO! Don't go anywhere!" She turned back to Shirley and (WARP!) scolded, "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but J.A.M. is my friend, and you're NOT going to treat him like dirt the way you all treat everyone el—!" She turned to hold the panther's paw, but he was gone.

At this point, Plucky stepped up and helped Shirley stand. The bunnies, too, had witnessed the scene, since they were following Shirley.

"What did you sense this time?" asked Buster, ears toward her.

Shirley shook her head and put one wing on it, trying to re-centre herself. She regained her breath, and replied, "Well, first of all, I, like, stayed up all night, channelling psychic after psychic on my crystal ball, er sum junk! I, like, talked to all the experts. I even, like, channelled Shirley McLaine for five hours, er sum junk! Then I, like, read every single psychic page on the Internet, and, like, all I got was NOTHING, er sum junk!"

"What were you looking for?" asked Hamton.

"Like, anything that had to do with thought encryption. But, like, nobody knew, er sum junk. LIKE, NOT EVEN SHIRLEY MCLAINE!" she screamed. "So instead, I, like, sought ought every technique available for, like, entering and reading minds, er sum junk."

Suddenly realising what was happening, Mary grabbed Shirley's sweater and pulled her to her face. "You mean you were trying to read The J.A.M.'s mind again without his permission!" Wanting to prevent a fight, Calamity and Buster pulled them apart.

"Yes," hissed Shirley, unfazed at the humanmaid. "I, like, had to."

"And what did you get this time, Shirl?" asked Plucky, his own feathers ruffling due to Mary's temper.

The loon hen shivered and sighed, and explained, "Like, the same thing I got yesterday. Scrambled sounds and images, er sum junk. I, like, scanned all around him, searching for, like, any opening, but even when he was distracted talking to Mary and Fifi, like, there just weren't any! I, like, couldn't get through at all!"

"So he does have a mental block?" asked Mary, still angry.

"N-no. Or, like, I'm not sure. He, like, wasn't the one scrambling his thoughts, and he, like, wasn't the one blocking me. Or more than, like, blocking, I was being bounced back, er sum junk! Even at, like, my highest power level, his mind felt like a bubble that, like, bounces everything off, er sum junk! And he, like, didn't sense me doing it! Anyone would have, like, sensed my mind in theirs at that point, er sum junk! At, like, my highest power, like, my mental presence is too evident! But, like, that wasn't what scared me."

"Scared you?" signed Calamity, lowering one ear and raising one eyebrow. "But he just said he didn't come here to hurt anyone!"

"Well, like, I think I found out just how his thoughts are scrambled, er sum junk. Right when you two, like, turned to look at me, I got a message."

"From his mind?" asked Babs.

"Like, yes and no. He, like, didn't generate it, but, like, it was suddenly there. The message, like, was—was—" The loon hen took a deep breath, and stated, "'Illegal mental access. This is a restricted mental area protected by Higher Powers. Cease and desist all attempts to read and decipher immediately.' Then the message, like, repeated itself in Spanish, er sum junk, I think." Shirley looked at the other toons, now somewhat frightened, as the mammals drooped their ears in fright, and Plucky lowered his neck a trifle, and continued, "Like, I don't know what we're dealing with here, er sum junk. No psychic has, like, received something like that from anyone, like, none that I know, er sum junk. A Higher Power is, like, protecting The J.A.M.'s mind, and, like, I don't think It likes me, er sum junk. I, like, suggest we keep our distance from—"

"Shirley, I wouldn't like you either if you tried that on me," huffed Mary, leaning into Shirley's face. "And I can't believe that you tried something like that without his permission! Did you even sense evil vibes from him this time?"

"Uh, like, no."

Mary sighed angrily, "I thought you were different from the rest, but you're just like the 'stars' around here," she looked at the other Tiny Toons with contempt. "You don't think twice about walking over others to get what you want. Did you even bother to ask The J.A.M. why his mind is being protected like that?" The loon hen was so un-centred that she had no answer. "No. The moment he became friends with us 'bit players' you all decided to treat him like dirt the same way you treat US like dirt! And now that you tried to find out more about him you discovered Something that is higher than you and It has you scared to death. Well, I'm not scared! I just might ask The J.A.M. to tell me how he does it so that I can shield myself from YOU! I don't know how many times you've read my mind before, Shirley, but you don't have my permission to do it anymore."

Somewhat upset at a previous declaration, Buster padded up to her, ears rotated back, "Uh, Mary, wait a minute. Since when do we walk all over you and treat you like dirt?"

Mary turned angrily to the buck and replied, "You don't even notice, do you, Buster? But you do it. You've done it to all of us. You use us 'bit players' to get what you want. You call us your 'friends', but how much do you know about us? How much more do you know about me, other than I do newscasts and that I like skating? How much more do you know about Sneezer, other than his sneeze blasts? How much more do you know about Lightning, Beeper, Calamity, and Sweetie? Do you know where they were born, whom their boyfriends and girlfriends are, or what their favourite books are? Do you really know how many Mexicans there are standing before you at this moment? No, you don't. And you don't know because you don't need to know. And unless that knowledge makes you look better, you won't want to know. Gosh, if that's what you call a friend, I'd hate to be your enemy, even if that made me a star." She then turned to Babs, and told her, "I once looked up to you and the Amazing Three, hoping that Sweetie and me would one day join you and form the Amazing Five. But not if that means walking all over my friends. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have a newscast to script." Turning away, she stomped down the hall, leaving behind plenty of bewildered toons. The bell rang, so Hamton, Calamity, and Shirley began walking away as well.

"Waittaminute," said Plucky, "There aren't any Mexicans here! Lightning is in another class right now!"

Hearing this, Calamity stopped, flattened his ears, raised his hackles, turned to the duck, snarled at him momentarily, and also stomped away.

Suddenly realising what was going on, Buster turned to the angry coyote and asked, completely surprised, "Calamity? You're a Mexican?"

The canid halted again. He had heard that tone of voice before. Slowly, he turned to the bunny, and bared his teeth. He signed, "Yes. Are you surprised at this, Buster?"

Seeing his fangs, the lagomorph slowly backed away and muttered, "Well, I didn't—"

"You never thought that I could be anything except an American?"

"No, it's just that you never ment—"

"Because only Americans or Japanese or Europeans can be geniuses?"

"How could we know if you never tal—?"

"Or do you find it shocking that one can be a Mexican AND a genius at the same time?"

"NOW WAITTAMINUTE!" he grunted, suddenly stomping and looking at Calamity's eyes. "Why are YOU getting offended at something I never knew because YOU never told me?"

"Because," he signed, "until now, you know all you need or want to know about me. And you still do." With that, Calamity turned, and stomped off. The others walked away as well, leaving the bunnies behind, and moments later Plucky shrugged and left them as well.

Buster lopped his ears and sighed, realising he had offended a good friend, or someone he considered a friend, at least, and just probably lost as a friend as well. He turned to Babs and—

"BEEP BEEP!" A resounding crash interrupted all dialogue at this point. Little Beeper looked up with satisfaction at the two rabbits that now had their heads through the ceiling. He then turned to the camera and signed, "¡Conejos gringos!" Another tongue flicker and a "beep beep", and he sped off.

A minute later, both rabbits managed to pry their heads off the ceiling and flopped back to the floor. As they were dusting themselves off, Babs said, "You know, Buster, I think we hit a nerve."

"And hit hard. And now they're hitting back." Someone very small zoomed behind them at this point, but remained unnoticed. The lagomorphs were about to raise their ears again.

"Well, do you think that Calamity and Beeper will be angry at us for a while?"

"¡HIJOLE!" In the next moment, both rabbits again had their heads in the ceiling holes previously made.

Lightning happily sped off while Buster replied with a muffled voice, "Them, and all the 'bit players'. Ouch."

Another tiny toon walked under them at this point. "Hey, do you need help up there, huh-huh?" he asked.

Upon hearing his voice, both lagomorphs panicked. "Oh, no. No! NOOOOO!" Their struggling caused some dust to fall from the ceiling, some of which fell on the toon's nose.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll get you ou—ou—ahh—ahhhh——————CHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The next thing everyone saw was a hole in the ceiling, and the rabbits were now stuck on the ceiling of the next floor. Sneezer sniffed a trifle, and declared through clenched incisors, "That was for the phone call." He was about to leave, but then he turned to the camera, smiled, and politely said, "Excuse me." He giggled a trifle and happily padded away.

Mary Melody didn't show up for Platonic Partners class. The few toons who noticed, namely, the "bit players", began worrying. And they worried even more when they didn't find her at the cafeteria during lunch, either. None of them felt hungry due to the earlier confrontations, so they left the cafeteria early to look for their friend. They found her before they could split up, however, but not in the way they were hoping. The TV sets all around the school turned on, and the screen showed the WB logo while a voiceover proclaimed, "This is a special K-ACME news broadcast. Here's your host: Mary Melody."

The screen now showed Mary in her white dress blouse and dark blue jacket, sitting at the news desk. The camera zoomed in on her stone face, and she emotionlessly read the teleprompter that was directly under the camera lens. "Good afternoon, I'm Mary Melody, and this is a special K-ACME News Report. Acme Looniversity school officials are worried about the increase in complaints of invasion of privacy among the students. The latest incident, which happened earlier today, left some toons shocked and afraid, and one even commented, 'it's getting so that even our own private thoughts aren't private anymore'." Mary placed one paper aside, and continued, "School officials are also worried about the increase of stalking reports in the Looniversity, in Acme Acres, and in the Acme Forest area. An incident which highlights this was precisely when a toon was stalked and mugged yesterday and nearly lost his hide to his assailant." The J.A.M. lowered his ears and blinked at this. Wasn't she blowing all of this out of proportion? Mary continued, "Fortunately, the toon overcame his assailant and was able to escape unharmed. Another complaint is that of lack of restraint among some furry female toons. This is what Principal Bugs had to say..."

The screen suddenly switched to a recording of Bugs Bunny, who spoke to the camera, from his office desk, "Eh, dere are furry females who have soitain cycles, some of which are activoitin' because dey are enterin' puberty. Dese females shoulda talk to da school noises or deir doctah."

The screen switched back to Mary, who finished, "Principal Bugs did not wish to address the insecurity issues in and around the Looniversity. More news tonight at ten. This is Mary Melody for K-ACME News' Special Report." With that, the screen showed the WB logo again.

The "bit players" ignored the closing, and Calamity signed, "I guess Mary is in the news studio." No one said anything in response, and the rest of the males lowered their ears in worry, while Sweetie just lowered her head. Then, they all padded/flew down the hall to find their friend, whom they knew needed help.

In the cafeteria, meanwhile, Montana Max was reflecting on what Mary had just said. So, he's guilty of stalking that jaguar? Perhaps, but hunting isn't hunting without stalking. And the only way he'd get Mary off his back was to stalk while appearing to not be doing so. But how could he stalk his prey without anyone knowing it? He couldn't use electronic devises because Calamity had now switched his allegiance from him to the panther, and thus would do anything to counteract any electronic surveillance. He needed another ally now—

—and he saw him about to leave the cafeteria. Quickly, he stood, and walked briskly to catch up with him, just as he crossed the main doors. Walking side by side, he asked, without looking at him, "So, you hate that new student, the jaguar?"

Plucky replied, also not turning, but with slightly ruffled feathers and an arching neck, "Yes. He made a mess of Shirley this morning. He's nothing but a troublemaker. But how can we get rid of him if Mary is bringing the teachers to his side?"

"Duck, I think I know how. It will require patience from both of us, and perhaps the help of a few more friends of mine. Right now, only you can help provide the info I need. Do you wanna help me?"

Plucky replied reflexively, "And what's in it for me?"

Montana smiled, "The satisfaction of having got rid of a troublemaker, not to mention revenge for what he did to Shirley."

Plucky smiled, relaxed his feathers and neck, and put one wing around the human, "Well, explain away, my good friend! I'm glad someone here finally agrees with me concerning that predator!" The two new allies walked/waddled down the hall, away from anyone who even cared to listen to them.

At the news studio, the "bit players" were disappointed to find Mary gone.

"Do you know where she is, huh-huh?" asked Sneezer to the news director, who for some reason happened to be his own mentor, Sniffles.

The mouse in question padded to his office as he replied, "No. She taped that news report an hour ago, and left rather suddenly." The "bit players" stopped in their tracks. So much for finding help here.

"Wait," signed Beeper. "Calamity, you and the Chilango have a better sense of smell than the rest of us. Can you track her?"

The coyote and the jaguar looked at each other, and the jaguar replied, "Well, he has a better nose than I do, but I'll help in any way I can."

The "bit players" padded/flew back to the news set, and there the carnivores knelt and carefully sniffed the floor around the news desk. As was expected, Calamity was the first to straighten up, including his ears, and sign, "I found her scent. She went this way!" and the sign pointed to the hall. The rest followed the carnivores, and once they were out in the hall, Calamity turned left and headed for a stairwell. Down, down, down they ran, until they reached the basement levels. There, they followed the coyote and the jaguar down cavernous and dark hallways, until they stopped and straightened up. Turning to the rest, Calamity signed, "Looks like she went to the film vault."

"Film vault?" asked the panther, wondering why everything looked like a cave now, and lowering his ears defensively.

"Jess," replied Lightning. "Dees ess wherr all de old cartoons are kept. Eet ees straight ahedd."

They were about to continue, but their path was suddenly blocked by a short figure clothed in a dark and hooded cloak. "It is indeed," he said, with a deep and creepy voice. "You'll find her in Viewing Room Four."

The "bit players" looked at each other for a moment, and continued on their way. As they did, The J.A.M. looked back for a moment and asked, "Who was that?"

"Bosko The Vault Keeper," replied Sweetie. "Don't worry, J.A.M., he's HARMLESS."

The jaguar shrugged and decided to ignore this incident. Soon, he and the rest saw long steel racks filled with round steel film canisters, all apparently arranged in chronological order. Slightly ahead of the racks were the viewing rooms. There was little light, but since practically all of them had night vision, they had no problem finding Room Four. Just as they approached it, they stopped.

Their sharp hearing enabled them to hear soft sobbing coming from inside the room. The mammals lowered their ears again, and the avians lowered their necks.

Quietly, Beeper opened the door, and they all slowly padded/flew inside. The room wasn't in total pitch-black darkness, meaning they couldn't use the eyeball trick. Their night vision, however, enabled them to see a pile of canisters next to the projector, and a white bow shaking in the second row, which was also where the sobbing was coming from. Carefully again, the "bit players" approached their friend from both sides.

"Mary?" asked Sweetie.

Suddenly looking up and glancing around her, Mary sobbed, "How the bleep did you all find me here!"

"We're furry toons, Miss Melody," replied The J.A.M. "We followed your scent, and heard you crying here."

The humanmaid sighed in frustration once more, "Figures. With all of your in-born talents, I could hide in the stomach of a whale and you'd STILL be able to find me!" She then turned to her friends and added, "Reverse the roles, and I'd never be able to find you. Not only am I not funny, I don't have super sight or smell or hearing like you guys!"

"Is that why you're HERE?" asked Sweetie. Mary just sunk back in her seat. Calamity raised a sign, but Mary didn't bother looking up. Suddenly realising why, he slapped his own face.

Sneezer spoke up, "Uh, Mary, Calamity wants to know if you're here because of what happened with Shirley this morning, and he wants to apologise for forgetting that you don't have night vision and couldn't read what he tried to say to you, yup-yup."

Mary looked up, but didn't try finding the coyote, "It's okay, Calamity. I'm glad that you can forget that I'm human. And yes, this has to do with what Shirley tried to do, AND with what Fifi did. J.A.M., how do you keep Shirley from reading your mind?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah. She tried to read your mind, but she couldn't. That's why she got really angry and scared at you."

The panther replied simply, "I didn't know minds could be read. Is that what you meant on your news report? Shirley reads minds as if she were reading books?"

"Practically. She made me so angry when she tried to walk all over you, the same way she's done that to all of us. I don't know how you do it, J.A.M., but—" she stopped to sniff and wipe some tears off her face, "—I'm glad someone FINALLY put a stop to what she did, well, with you, at least."

"I never knew she was trying to do that, and I didn't know there was a way to stop her from doing that. Well, actually—" the jaguar thought for a moment, and then continued, "—I think I know just how it's happening, but it's kind of a long story."

She turned to him and said, "Hey, I've got nothing better to do. Let's hear it."

"No!" yelled Sneezer. "You're supposed to be in class! Why weren't you in Platonic Partners today, huh-huh?"

Mary wept some more before replying, "I—I was too angry with Shirley to be in the same room with her. Fifi burned me up as well, treating you as if you were at her beck and call. And I was angry with the rest of the 'stars' as well! Calamity, you saw how Buster treated you. I don't know how you were able to stand him." The coyote didn't reply, and when Mary realised that no one was reading any sign, she continued, "See? You even have a better recovery than I do! I'm the worst of the 'bit players'! I might as well be an EXTRA!"

"NO!" roared the panther, fur bristling and turning red, while placing a paw on her right shoulder. "You have plenty of talent! It's the others' fault for not giving you a chance to show it!"

"That's easy for you to say," she replied, looking to where she thought his eyes were. "You're a natural! You waltz in here, get paired up with Calamity, and you make everyone laugh. I can't do that! I don't have that talent! I can't relate to ANY of you, and I can't even relate to Monty, Elmyra, or ANY of the human teachers! I DON'T HAVE ANY BLEEPING MENTOR! And do you have any idea what is the only type of material I can relate to around here!" Angrily, she stood, shoved her way out of the row, stumbled back to the projector, grabbed some canisters, and yelled, "THIS! THIS IS WHAT I FOUND! Every classic WB short that has black people in it either has annoying stereotypes, prejudiced themes, or is downright RACIST!" She blindly threw the canisters across the room, making everyone duck and tuck their ears and tails in. "RACIST! RACIST CARTOONS!" With adrenaline-powered strength, she shoved the pile aside, knocking over the canisters and sending the projector crashing to the floor with an angry cacophony. The others were now approaching her again, determined to try to calm her down. "How the bleep am I supposed to be funny if I have no mentor or role model from the past! Do you know the REAL reason why I was cast with Tiny Toons Adventures! I was put here to keep all the civil rights groups quiet! With me as the required minority, everyone else could do whatever they wanted without any civil rights groups bothering them about minorities! I'M HERE TO KEEP EVERYTHING POLITICALLY CORRECT! THAT'S WHY LIGHTNING COULDN'T BE ON THE AIR, OTHERWISE THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY WOULD HAVE SUED THE BLEEP OFF THE WB! I'M JUST A FACE IN THE CROWD! I HATE THIS SCHOOL! I HATE YOU ALL! I—HATE———MY—————self—" Having spent all her strength, the humanmaid collapsed on the floor next to the canisters, and cried like never before. What she said next was nearly inaudible to a human, but the others heard her quite clearly, "I———hate————everything——————I just————want———to———————die——————to be————————————erased———————————————I'm————————————a waste——————of ink————————and paint—————" Silently, quietly, her friends gathered around and sat beside her, with the jaguar and the coyote flanking her. In solidarity, they all put their arms/wings around her.

No one could say anything.

No one knew what to say.

A long time later, she continued sobbing, "But you know what really burns me up?" She looked up, "In the Halloween special, I was supposed to be Doctor Frankenstein. But no. They rewrote the whole thing and gave the episode to Elmyra, and even named it 'Frankenmyra'. As if she needed more work, with her new show and all! And what's more, they even did a spoof of 'Saturday Night Live', including its news show parody, but did they call me?" She buried her face in her arms and sobbed, "…no…!"

Another long time later, Sweetie, on her shoulder, said, "Don't say you're the only minority AROUND HERE. You know that the WB sneaked around the Hispanic community by putting two incognito Mexicans as SEMI-REGULARS. With Calamity and Beeper being Mexican without acting Mexican, no one even noticed their MINORITY STATUS."

The J.A.M. then took a chance and asked, "Miss Melody, are you sure you were put here to keep the civil rights groups quiet? If that were true, wouldn't there also have to be Asian toons around here?"

She suddenly looked up at him and stated, "J.A.M., this is not an Animé show." Everyone looked at her for a moment, and ten seconds later, they chuckled, relaxing their features and breaking the sombre mood, finally.

"See? Who says you can't be funny?" asked the jaguar. "You just made a joke all by yourself in the middle of something bad! You're not worthless at all!"

She sniffed again and said,

"Thanks. I just wish I could do that more often."

"Maybe you can. By the way, define 'Animé'?" Everyone looked at the jaguar for a minute, and laughed again.

Mary explained, "'Animé' is the general term for Japanese cartoons."

"Oh. Well, back to your problem. Miss Melody, if you can't find anything you can relate to, why don't you try doing stuff on your own? You know, go solo for a while."

The sombre mood returned, along with downed ears and tails, and a moment later, Mary replied, "I won't say that I haven't given that some thought, J.A.M. In fact, all of us have. Furrball went ahead and decided to try it."

"And?"

"And with an established mentor and plenty of material, he's now homeless." At this, the jaguar could only lower his ears and turn his head away in sadness.

"Sorry I asked."

"Don't be. When we saw what happened to Furrball, the rest of us decided not to take such a risk. We're kinda stuck, then. Man, I feel so out of place. And now you know why I wish I could transfer."

The J.A.M. sighed. "True. And I also know how you feel about dealing with prejudice. You saw yesterday how I was singled out just because I was a predator—wait a minute. Mister Coyote, how come you're never singled out for being a predator? Or—um—Mademoiselle LaFume, for that matter?" Inwardly, the panther was proud of finally remembering a name.

Calamity signed his response. The J.A.M. could read it without any help, but Lightning read for Mary, "I'm a geenioos, dat's why I don't get seengled out. And Feefee ees the flerrt, so evereeone forgets she's a predatorr."

"Well, that makes sense," said the felid.

Lightning continued reading, "Evereeone here has tought off being eerased. But Mery, joo're de last one I'd want to see eerased. And no one here hates joo."

Mary smiled again, just a trifle. "Thanks, Cal—and Lightning. I really needed to hear that. And I'm sorry for what I said to you all."

The J.A.M. added, "We forgive you, Miss Melody. And I see now why everyone of you is so frustrated." He then leaned closer to her, "But Miss Melody, you just saw that you can be funny, without a partner. Maybe it's the different place you're in right now. Perhaps a change of scenery can help you. If you want, you—and the rest of you—can come study at my house tonight." Everyone looked at the panther, or tried to, and the males raised their ears.

"Your house?" asked Sweetie. "Are you SURE?" Mary couldn't believe it, for some unknown reason.

"Yes. It's more or less fixed up now. I just need to sweep a few places."

The humanmaid smiled weakly. Perhaps this could be a good change. "Okay, but we need to keep Monty from following us."

"We'll go together," suggested Sneezer. "And keep an eye out on Monty, yup-yup!"

"Yeah!" chirped the canarymaid, "I can make sure his limo isn't FOLLOWING US!"

Relieved, finally, of her built-up frustration and anger, Mary stood, and a few canisters clattered in the process. She suddenly looked down and stated, "Oh dear, I guess we need to clean up this mess I made."

"That won't be necessary, Mary." Everyone turned and saw The Vault Keeper standing at the door, with a faint light eerily shining behind him. "I understand why you made the mess. You and your friends are free to go. I'll clean up here. It will be good for me to finally do something different for a change down here."

Mary could only smile wider, and she wiped more tears off her cheeks. "Thanks, Bosko. You're a great pal." With that, the "bit players" left the Film Vault, all keeping close to their great friend, Mary Melody.

By the time they returned to the main floor, the final bell rang.

"Well, I guess we go to my house right now," said the jaguar, and they all walked/padded/flew to their lockers, where Mary retrieved her roller blades. Once outside, they went to they bike rack, where they waited for Mary to put on her black roller blades.

No sooner had she done that when she suddenly skated to the front steps, intercepting someone. "Monty, don't you dare follow The J.A.M.!" she warned him to his face.

Stepping back, he raised his hands innocently. "Hey! After the way he threatened me in the forest, there's no way I'm going to follow him there! And that news report of yours was a dirty trick, Mary!"

"It was the truth," she replied, as-a-matter-of-factly. "So you know that others will keep an eye on you, if you try anything else."

The human just smirked at her, and replied, "I wouldn't want to waste any more energy on you losers! I'm going home!" Walking briskly around her, he reached the edge of the sidewalk, where his limousine suddenly zoomed to a stop. He stepped inside, and the limousine sped off.

"Follow him, Sweetie," said Sneezer, with angry ears and tail. "Then meet us at the path that leads to the forest!"

"Right, hun!" She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and flew away.

As they did, the jaguar mounted his bicycle and said, "Okay, now, Calamity can ride on the foot-paw rests behind me. Beeper can follow at a slow trot, and the mice can ride in the front basket. Miss Melody, it's about one kilometre from here to the forest, and once we get there you'll have to take off your skates."

"Hey, no problem," she replied, putting on her backpack. "We'll figure out what to do when we get there. Let's go!" She skated down the parking lot toward the exit. Calamity and the mice climbed on the bicycle as was arranged. With a slight grunt, The J.A.M. pedalled off, following her friend, glad that Montana Max would not dare follow him to his house again. And he didn't. Instead, high above the streets, unnoticed by Sweetie, a green duck was flying in circles, taking note of the route that the jaguar took before he entered the forest…


Spanish - English

Conejos gringos - Gringo rabbits

Gringo - Term for those who spoke a foreign language, especially English and German, or the language itself.