From: nwilde
To: jhopps
Subject: Re: Ideas
Carrots,
I wouldn't have thought of getting the garbage picked up because it was such a part of my childhood. We had a cheap place that was near Sahara Square, so it was pretty warm all the time and the smells were pretty terrible. My mom told me that it was a great apartment because it was so close to the park (Bedford Park, a real luxury green space with authentically green concrete and two actual trees that somehow managed not to die for years). I remember the first time I went into Tundratown and it didn't smell like garbage and I was so amazed.
I'm glad you're okay and hey, maybe you can really get this done in time to go home for Harvest Festival time or whatever it is. It sounds great. Is there another festival when the blueberries come in or do they just roll through town and nobody notices?
So, um, good and bad updates from here. The good news is that all of my big lumbering students have got the ice wall licked (figuratively speaking—I mean, literally too, but that was just the first week until Bearester told them to stop). We're working on the sandstorm and I'm trying to help them with their fighting, but for the most part their physical education is going along swimmingly without my help (except for the actual swimming part, which rhinos are terrible at). I think I can get them to study just enough of the manual to pass. At least they understand that failing equals not becoming a police officer and thereby disappointing mommy or not getting to step on bad guys or what have you.
The bad update: Bearester called me into her office again and told me that I was dividing up the class and setting people against each other. She said that I'm ten years older and she expected me to be mature even if not everybody did, which is the nicest way she could say that nobody else trusted the fox. Points to her for that. But she also said that I have to fix it. How am I supposed to do that, I said, when Fangovin (it's FangoVIN, not FangoVIC like I keep thinking—I bet it's because of that Olga Fangovic who was in the "Zombtopia" horror movies, not that I saw any of those, they're terrible) and Wolferson, who are probably the ones who complained about this (long pause during which she looked at her coffee mug and didn't say anything), don't trust me and don't want to trust me and in fact probably just complained so that I would get in trouble and maybe kicked out because I was a fox?
She said: You can't just get out of doing things because "people hate me because I'm a fox." Then she said that if I couldn't trust my fellow officers—all of them—I'd be DEAD ("You're DEAD, swishybutt," is literally what she said, which left me choking between laughing and being offended, but you'll be pleased to know that I recovered as I was leaving her office and said, "If you like my butt that much, you didn't have to make me keep going up that ice wall. You could've just asked for a picture." I got out while she was laughing.). I pointed out that they didn't trust me, and she said, "Well, you got the rest of the class to trust you."
So there I am, Carrots. I need to make a pompous tiger and a stuck-up timber wolf like me somehow, or I definitely won't graduate first and maybe not at all. It's not fair, but I'm used to that.
"Blueberries" (it's starting to grow on me)
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From: jhopps
To: nwilde
Subject: Re: Ideas
Dear Nick,
I guess I can go home for the harvest after all. I went in to work today and Chief Bogo called me in to tell me he's marking the Goldmane case unsolved and taking me off it.
Paddington got two case files of people who haven't paid parking tickets. So we'll be tracking them down.
I don't know how you can make a tiger like you, but maybe Fangmeyer can talk to Wolferson. Or howl to her or something. I believe you can do it. And when you graduate, maybe Bogo will give us another case we can solve.
Love,
Judy
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From: nwilde
To: jhopps
Subject: Re: Ideas
Carrots!
Whoa, hey, don't give up. What did I tell you? Never let 'em see that they get to you. So what if Chief Hornhead marked the case 'unsolved'? Does that mean that if you come back to the station with proof of the solution that they'll ignore it?
Look, I just found out that me and a rhino both know all the words to the Fur Fighters "Hero." In a world where that happens, nothing is impossible.
"Blueberries"
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From: jhopps
To: nwilde
Subject: Re: Ideas
Dear Nick,
Thanks for the thoughts, but I think this is one time when I'm better off giving up. What kind of example would I be setting for you if I disobeyed orders all the time? I almost got fired for insubordination once already, and Chief Bogo made it perfectly clear that this case is off limits now, meaning I'm not supposed to waste any more time on it. It's not worth risking my job over. I mean, think of all the people I won't be able to help if I get fired.
"Hero" is a great song and everyone should know the words to it. So don't be all shocked about that. Next time the Fur Fighters tour Zootopia, we're going.
Love,
Judy