Today was the big day, the graduation! Zach was still in a state of shock from what had happened. He had called Judy and Nick two days beforehand, letting them know that the graduation was today. As soon as he said that, Judy literally started squealing like a fan girl, Nick said that he had to hold her down before she started breaking stuff in the apartment. Zach smiled at the thought, wishing that he could've seen Judy bouncing off the walls like that. Judy had immediately said that she and Nick would be there to see him graduate, leaving Zach in his current situation.
He was standing alone at the train station, awaiting Nick and Judy's arrival. They said that they were able to talk Chief Bogo into giving them the day off so they could come. Zach sighed contently, a nice gentle breeze blowing past him. He looked around station, a variety of mammals waiting there as well. Some of them gave Zach hateful glances, others just ignored him completely. Despite these signs of prejudice, Zach's great mood remained intact. Zach looked over to the right of him, where a sheep and her lamb stood. The lamb was staring at Zach, but that didn't bother him. The lamb was too young to know that staring was rude, so Zach just waved at the young lamb with a gentle smile. To Zach's surprise, the little lamb waved back, giving a toothy grin along with it. That was until his mother noticed her child waving at Zach and pulled him closer to her, glaring at Zach with a look that basically said 'stay away from my child'. Zach just awkwardly looked away, attempting to push the negative thoughts from his mind. The cool breeze was very soothing, calming down his nerves in just a few seconds. Zach began to daydream about his future, catching criminals, serving the public, maybe even cracking cases. Okay, maybe not the last one, but it's a daydream for a reason. Zach was suddenly pulled from his thoughts by the sound of a train pulling into the station. The resulting gust of wind caused some of Zach's floppy hair to blow into his face, which he pushed out of the way. Zach looked at the time on his phone, which read 2:15 pm.
'Right on time.' Zach thought to himself, a giant smile on his face. Once the train came to a complete stop, the doors opened slowly. Suddenly, a wave of mammals emerged from the train, totally engulfing the waiting platform. Zach looked around for Nick and Judy, not being able to find them at first. After about a moment of searching, Zach spotted them coming out of the train, seeming to be looking for Zach as well.
"Judy! Nick!" Zach yelled over to them, waving his arms in the air. Nick looked in Zach's general direction, waving back. He elbowed Judy, pointing over to Zach with his paw. The moment Judy saw Zach, she made a mad dash towards him, a huge smile on her face. Just as she was about to approach him, Zach knelt down and opened up his arms. Judy literally hopped into his arms, hugging him as tightly as she could.
"Zach! I missed you so much!" Judy exclaimed, making Zach chuckle at her excitement.
"I missed you too." Zach couldn't stop smiling. Judy let go of Zach and blushed slightly in embarrassment.
"Heh, sorry! Just a little excited." Judy smiled sheepishly while Zach raised an eyebrow.
"A little?" Zach joked, earning a playful glare from the rabbit.
"Okay, maybe a lot." Judy laughed. Nick slowly walked up to the two of them, not feeling like running after Judy when she took off.
"Hey there, Zachy-boy." Nick grinned at Zach, who just smirked back.
"No hug from you, huh Nick?" Zach asked, the fox having a smug expression on his face.
"Nope, I don't do that in public." Nick said, crossing his arms for more effect. Zach just got a devilish grin on his face.
"Are you sure?" Zach asked, getting closer to Nick. Nick looked up at Zach, confusion was his only feeling.
"What are you doing?" Nick asked, taking a step back. Without warning, Zach scooped up Nick into a hug, causing the fox to let out a surprised yelp.
"Too late, it's happening!" Zach yelled, smiling. Nick too was smiling, but looked slightly annoyed and embarrassed as well.
"Alright! Alright! Get your dirty paws off of me!" Nick said, obviously joking around. But, the crowd of mammals around the trio didn't take it that way. Many of the mammals stopped and stared with shock, some looking at Zach with an angry expression. Zach immediately took notice of their oncoming stares, putting Nick down and looking around at the mammals with a nervous smile.
"He was just kidding! Haha..." Zach said, an awkward laugh escaping his mouth "Nick, say you were joking!" He loudly whispered to the fox. Nick looked at the crowd, his usually calm and collected demeanor now being used.
"I was joking around folks, nothing to see here!" Nick said calmly to the crowd of onlookers. The mammals gave a cautious glare towards Zach before continuing what they were doing beforehand. This let Zach release a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"That...could've been a lot worse." Zach said nervously, his eyes shifting around to see if anyone was still looking.
"Maybe if Nick didn't start yelling, this-" Judy started to say.
"Judy, it's not his fault, I probably shouldn't of done that." Zach interjected, looking guilty. "I'm just so happy to see you guys."
"We're happy too see you too, right Nick?" Judy asked the fox, glaring at him. Nick just smirked at Judy and ruffled the fur between her ears.
"Of course I'm happy! I'm not some cold hearted jerk, now am I?" Nick stated, giving Zach a smile. Judy just groaned and fixed the fur that Nick put out of place.
"Anyway, Zach. How you feeling? Nervous? Anxious?" Judy asked him with a small smile.
"I'm a little nervous, I guess. I still can't believe this is happening. It's like this is an amazing dream and I don't ever want to wake up." Zach smiled at the fox and rabbit.
"I can imagine. It is pretty insane that this is happening." Nick said, agreeing with Zach.
"I'm so happy for you Zach!" Judy said, giving his leg a side hug. Nick nodded and smiled in agreement to what Judy said.
"Thanks guys. As soon as I possibly can, I'll make it up to you guys, for everything you've done for me. I promise." Zach said, determined on his newfound goal in his mind.
"Zach, I told you. You don't have to make it up to me and Carrots, I've said that a billion times." Nick said, seeming to be serious this time.
"Again, you think I'll listen? I know you guys don't want me to, but I'm going to. No matter what, alright?" Zach said seriously as well, causing a sigh of defeat to escape from Nick.
"Fine, you win." Nick rolled his eyes and his usual smirk was back on his face in an instant. Zach smiled triumphantly, knowing that he had won this time.
"So, what are we doing?" Judy asked curiously, causing Zach to remember the plan he made up in his hand.
"Yeah, telling you guys the plan would help, wouldn't it." Zach chuckled. "So, the ceremony isn't until four o'clock, and it's 2:20 right now. So, I figured we could get something to eat before then." Zach explained to the two of them.
"That sounds good. Did you have a place in mind?" Judy asked, feeling her stomach growl, seeming to agree with the plan as well.
"There was a diner across the street from the academy, how about that place?" Zach suggested, and Nick and Judy both seemed to agree with that. The trio walked a block and a half away from the train station, the academy and the diner Zach mentioned now in view. When they walked up to the diner, it seemed to be designed like one from the 1950s, and Zach recognized this style perfectly well. There were many of these 50s diners all over his settlement, considering that they were one of the first architectural advances humans made. The trio went inside the establishment, sitting in a booth next to the windows. A wolf waitress came up to their table, handing them menus. When the waitress took notice of Zach, she looked at him with a concerned glare before pulling out a notepad.
"What can I do for you guys?" The wolf asked, Zach, Nick, and Judy looking at the menus simultaneously. Zach scanned the sandwiches section, feeling specifically hungry for a sandwich right about now. As he was searching for something to meet his cravings, a certain item stopped him.
'Veggie Burger.' Zach thought coldly, painful memories starting to appear in the back of his mind. Zach immediately stopped his mind from continuing these thoughts, expelling them from his head. 'Get it together, Zach. He died almost a year ago, you can move on!' He nagged himself internally.
"Zach, what do you want?" Judy asked him, bringing him back to reality.
"Oh! Uh..." Zach briefly looked down at the menu, eyeing the two words he had been thinking about. "...I'll have the veggie burger." Zach said, putting his menu flat on the table. The waitress looked down and wrote it down on her note pad.
"Alright, so one veggie burger, one small salad, and one fried cricket meal?" The waitress asked, still staring at Zach with a cautious glare. The three of them nodded and the waitress put her notepad away. "Coming right up." The wolf said before walking to tend to another customer. Zach started pondering the face the waitress kept giving him. Her expression was similar to everyone else's, one of caution and fear. How was he going to be a police officer if the only thing he did was strike fear into everyone. He'd actually noticed a pattern during his time in Zootopia, and that was prey were the ones that feared him, while predators resorted to more violence. He couldn't possibly do a good job knowing that animals would fear him like that.
"Zach? Zach? Are you okay?" Nick asked the human, which broke Zach's train of thought.
"Huh, what's up?" Zach asked, trying to focus on what Nick wanted to say.
"You okay? You looked like you were thinking pretty hard." Nick said, a concerned expression on his face.
"Oh, yeah. I guess I was..." Zach trailed off, looking down at the menu that lay in front of him. There was a brief silence among the three of them, the only sound being the chatter of other customers in the diner. The silence only lasted a few seconds before Judy decided to speak up.
"Zach, if there's something you want to talk about, you can always talk to us." She said, giving Zach an assuring smile.
"Yeah, remember what we said?" Nick asked, the moment of him and Zach on the balcony replaying in Nick's mind. Zach nodded and took a quick glance outside, watching mammals walking down the street. Zach sighed and turned back to look Nick and Judy.
"I don't know if I'd do a good job being a cop." Zach finally admitted out loud, earning a shocked gasp from both Judy and Nick.
"What makes you think that?" Nick asked, eyes wide.
"Everyone's either scared of me or wants to hurt me. A cop is supposed to make the public feel safe and secure, not scare them half to death or make them feel threatened." Zach looked down at his lap, a mix of emotions swirling around within him. Sadness, worry, hesitation, just to name a few. Nick looked at Judy with a saddened expression, both his and her ears flattened against their heads. Judy took hold of Zach's hand with both of her paws, causing Zach to look up at the grey bunny.
"Zach, look. Once you put on that uniform, and start helping the citizens, they might have a change of heart." Judy started, Zach looking her in the eyes. "When Nick started on the force, a lot of citizens didn't trust him at first. Why? Because he was a fox." Judy looked over at Nick, who nodded.
"When me and Judy got a case when I first started, the victim didn't want me to help her and demanded to have another officer." Nick said, a mildly pained expression on his face.
"But now animals all over Zootopia know Nick and I and we're considered the best officers on the force." Judy gave Zach a smile. "So people might not trust you at first, but give it some time. People will see you as the great guy we know you are." Zach gave Judy and Nick a grateful smile.
"I guess you do have a point there." Zach stated. "You guys are the best, you know that?"
"Of course I'm the best." Nick said with a smirk, causing Zach to roll his eyes at the fox. The three of them talked for awhile before their food arrived. The food at the diner wasn't the best thing Zach ever tasted, but it was still good. The time was 3:15, so Zach had to head back to the academy to get ready for the ceremony. Zach said his farewells to Nick and Judy before going back to his temporary living quarters in the academy.
...
Zach stood in front of a full body mirror, wearing his newly acquired police uniform. Zach examined his body, still not being able to believe that he was staring at himself. The police uniform he wore felt so foreign to him. He never would've thought in a million years he would be here, about to become a police officer in the place his entire species feared. If someone had told him a year ago that he'd be a police officer in Zootopia, he would've laughed at them and told them they were high. Zach chuckled at the thought and straightened his black tie, wanting to look his best for the ceremony.
'Plans can definitely change, that's for sure.' Zach thought to himself, reminding himself of his original plan. He came to Zootopia thinking he could get a job involving designing, sketching, or any other art-related ones. But instead, he's a cop. Thinking about it now, both of them sounded far fetched, but he still accomplished one of them. It may not be the one he was expecting, but what are you gonna do? Life's full of surprises. Zach looked over his appearance one final time, his floppy blonde hair was nice and combed, he shaved the little stubble he managed to grow at the academy clean off, and his uniform was nice and clean. Content with his physical appearance, he walked away from the mirror, proceeding to walk out of his living quarters for the last time.
By the time Zach made it to the ceremony, there were a bunch of people already sitting in the many chairs spread across the grass. All of the families of the cadets were there to see them graduate, some of them crying tears of joy at the sight, others having a permanent smile on their face. Zach noticed Nick and Judy sitting in the front row of seats and waved to them, both of them waving back with a smile on their faces as well. Zach went to go stand where the other soon-to-be officers were standing, squeezing himself into the front row of the formation they made. There was a gentle breeze blowing past all of them, which calmed Zach's excitement a bit. He didn't feel nervous, or scared, but happy. He'd accomplished something so big at such a young age. Most 18 year olds would be barely holding on to a job at a fast food chain, but Zach was going to be a police officer. All of this was barely comprehensible for the human. Zach just took a deep breath and tried to put his excitement on the down low, the mayor and assistant mayor of Zootopia walking up to the podium onstage. From what Zach had heard, their names were Mayor Lionheart and Assistant Mayor McCanid, who were a lion and a wolf respectively. Zach brought all of his attention to the mayor, who was about to speak at the podium.
"Welcome all to the graduation ceremony of the ZPD's Class of 2016. Will everyone please take your seats and then we will start." Lionheart said over the microphone, causing people who were standing to claim their seats. Once everyone was seated and the talking died down, Lionheart cleared his throat and began talking.
"As mayor of Zootopia, I would like to congratulate all of the new recruits that stand before us today." Mayor Lionheart stated, which caused a smile to form on Zach's lips. Lionheart started calling up the recruits one by one, flashbacks to the testing day replaying in Zach's mind. Just like that day, Zach watched as every other recruit's name was called, each going up and receiving their badge from Assistant Mayor McCanid. Finally, after a total of 17 other newly-proclaimed officers before him, he was called up.
"And last, but certainly not least, our first human officer, Zachary Martineck!" Mayor Lionheart said, a smile on his face. Zach noticed that not many people clapped for him besides Nick and Judy, but he didn't care. Holding his hat with his right hand, he proudly walked up to the stage. Once on top, he approached the assistant mayor, who had what Zach presumed to be his badge in his hand. As soon as Zach saw that badge, his emotions were getting more and more prominent.
'Don't cry don't cry don't cry!' Zach screamed at himself on the inside, trying to control his emotions the best he could. Mayor McCanid approached Zach with a smile on his face, placing the badge in the one vacant place on his uniform. Once the badge was in place, Mayor Lionheart started speaking once more.
"Officer Martineck, I hereby assign you to Precinct 1, the very center of Zootopia. Congratulations." He said, Zach's blue eyes widening in excitement. Mayor Lionheart and McCanid both clapped for him, causing the rest of the crowd to start clapping along as well. Zach looked over to where Nick and Judy were seated to notice that Judy was tearing up, a smile on her face. Nick too seemed to be tearing up, but he was being more secretive about it. The sight of both of them caused a single tear to roll down Zach's cheek, a huge, toothy grin on his face. Mayor Lionheart approached him and Assistant Mayor McCanid, putting his massive paw on Zach's shoulder.
"Alright, smile for the cameras!" Mayor Lionheart said, looking towards the group of paparazzi. Zach smiled and looked at the all the cameras, a barrage of flashes going off at once. The rest of the ceremony went by in an instant, because before Zach knew it, Mayor Lionheart was saying his final words.
"It's with great privilege that I present to you the ZPD Academy Class of 2016." He said, the crowd roaring with claps and whistles. As soon as the clapping died down, all of the recruits returned to their families. Zach walked over to Nick and Judy, the latter running up to him and hugging his legs.
"Zach! I'm so proud of you!" Judy said ecstatically, looking up at Zach with the largest smile ever.
"Thanks, you guys. I couldn't have done it with out you." Zach said happily, Judy letting go of his legs.
"Still no hug from you, Nick? I'm gonna start taking it as an insult." Zach knelt down, opened his arms, and smirked. "You know you wanna." Nick just rolled his eyes and smirked, finally accepting the hug. When Nick wrapped his arms around Zach, a zapping sound was heard. Zach yelped and fell backwards, landing flat on his back. Nick stood over Zach with a smug smile, while Judy came over to see if Zach was alright. Nick revealed in his hand a joy buzzer, and he pressed it against Zach's neck when he hugged him.
"Nick." Zach said, not sounding amused.
"Yeah?"
"I hate you."
"You know you love me." Nick said, earning a smile from Judy, who playfully punched him in the arm.
"Whatever, Nick." Zach said, trying not to crack a smile. He ultimately failed, causing Nick's smug smile to get bigger.
"You're smiling." Nick said in a teasing way.
"I know." Zach groaned, sitting up from his prone position. "That kinda hurt though." He put his hand on his neck, where Nick had put the joy buzzer.
"Oh c'mon, don't be a wuss. It wasn't that bad." Nick teased Zach once more. What Nick didn't expect was Zach to swiftly snatch the joy buzzer out of his hand. Before he could comprehend what just happened, he felt something get pushed against his neck. An small electric shock coursed through him, causing him to yelp and jump backwards. Nick looked at Zach, who had the largest grin ever imaginable. Zach held up the joy buzzer and shook it in his hand.
"Don't mess with me, Nicky." Zach smirked at the fox, Judy giving him a high five. Nick gave the two of them a playful glare and rolled his eyes.
"You guys are the worst." Nick said, holding the spot where the joy buzzer had touched him.
"You know you love us." Judy smirked at the fox, imitating what he said to Zach just a moment ago. Nick just smiled at the two of them.
"Do I know that? Yes, yes I do."
...
~Holy crap, I just realized how much I wrote! I had all day today to write this, so it's all I did and I wrote over 3,000 words. Jeez, I CAN write a lot if I wanted to. Anyway, I know in the past I had some people say that my writing's pretty good (despite my thoughts), but is it 10,000+ views good?! Like damn, why do people like this so much?! I'm sitting here thirteen chapters later and I still don't know... I mean, I'm still grateful, don't get me wrong. I'm just really surprised by the amount of people who read this story. I expected maybe 1,000, 2,000 if I'm lucky. But then I see 10,000 and nearly start convulsing on the floor. It's a good convulsing though. Anyway, before I bore you guys with this, leave me some feedback so I know how I did. Thanks!