"Academic Performance"
Nick returned to his dorm room after being summoned to the commander's office at the Zootopia Police Academy. He had never thought that he wouldn't graduate; he had never expected this. Surely there was some mistake?
Nick sat down on his bed in the empty room, his roommates already having gone to lunch, and unfolded the papers the commander had given him, which he had stuffed in his pocket after leaving the office. He examined every grade, every code, and every comment.
There was no mistake.
As reality began to set in, Nick took out his phone. He touched the name of the mammal he trusted most and raised the phone to his ear. She had to be the first to know. She deserved to know.
There was barely a ring before the call was answered. "Congratulations, Mr. Valedictorian!"
Nick nearly dropped his phone. "Carrots! How did you know that? I just found out twenty minutes ago myself, and I haven't told anyone yet."
"Nick, I've known since the day you signed up for the academy."
Nick laughed. "You never told me you were psychic."
"I'm not psychic," Judy said with a laugh of her own. "I just know you. You're smart. You're skilled at reading others. You have a good heart. I knew that if someone believed in you, you'd start believing in yourself. And I knew that if you started believing in yourself, there'd be no stopping you."
Nick smiled. "Thank you, Judy. For everything. You're the best friend I've ever had, and I'm so glad I'll get to be your partner."
"I'm glad I'll get to be yours. Together, I really think we can do anything."
Nick took a moment to dry a small amount of moisture from his eyes with a shirt sleeve before it turned into anything more. "All right, this is getting too emotional. Let me tell you the real reason I called you."
"Oh?"
"Yeah." He chuckled. "What were your final grades? I want to know if I could have made you just a salutatorian."