POV: Jordan

Never again.

Four days ago, a female lion named Emma, shot and killed herself because of one animal who made her life so miserable, that she felt the need to leave the world-permanently. She was known as a slut in some cases, a whore, hoe, whatever term you wanted to use to describe, she was all of them. She was a bully, a fighter, but mostly importantly, she had feelings. Emma could go around the school and everyone would gawk at her, entranced in her beauty, or whatever it was. Now even though she was all those things, desperate and sick were words that couldn't describe her.

There will be no further explanation. There will just be reputation.

I only bring it up because of what the school thought of her as, and what everyone else thought of her as. I, on the other hand, was much different. The school knew me as the snow leopard who dressed in black every day after a certain incident and after a planned out campaign video, which painted me as this hopeless romantic who only wanted love. It wasn't completely wrong, I wanted Alex and I knew it would never happen. It was just something I would have to get over, eventually.

Did anyone know who Alex was? No, they didn't. Not until he tried to kill himself, which since it was high school, the news spread like wildfire. There was no getting away from it, especially since everyone knew I was there when it happened, only to further my reputation as this serial romantic, someone who wanted an animal, stealing hearts, running off, and never saying sorry. Whatever, they could think whatever they wanted to, it wasn't going to affect me. Or at least, I wasn't going to let them know that. I needed to take this appearance that the school portrayed me as to the next level. And after what happened with Emma, I was willing to go above and beyond.

The air was a bit warmer than usual, a constant breeze through my dark jacket which absorbed the sun's rays. Maybe that's why it felt so warm, they said black and darker colors absorb the sun's rays, or something like that. The clothing I was wearing wasn't the most comfortable, who knew heels were such a bitch to walk in? Definitely not me. The last time I wore high heels was at Dad's funeral, and I threw one at Mom.

"Why are you standing out here?" Brittney said as she walked closer to me.

"Waiting for Alex, he's supposed to be coming back today," I said, hoping she would just walk away.

"Really? They're letting him come back?" She scoffed and turned on her heel, her pink sweater vest only making my urge to punch even more prevalent. "Out of all the grey wolves in this school, you decided to be friends with him. You know nobody cares about him, right? Not even that darling therapist the school provided for him."

"Shut up Brittney," I said. "At least he has friends who are loyal, can't say the same for whatever animals you hang out with." I turned to face her, her back to me. "You know the stuff they say behind your back. I wonder how it feels to know nobody truly cares about you." I laughed at her, rolling my eyes. "I wouldn't know." It did sound a little bit harsh, but wasn't I allowed to sound harsh? Wasn't I allowed to be angry at her? Who cared if she didn't have any friends?

"In this job, with this position, you find friends are just another liability. Best to remember that when you take my position."

"Giving up already?" I said, mockingly. "Should've known, you never fall through with anything."

She laughed, turning her body to face me with a smile on her face. "Oh Jordan, I love this new you! I wonder what changed?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Animals change."

"Definitely for the better," she said as she walked away, a little gallop in her step.

"Yeah, all because of you," I muttered, spotting Alex as he climbed out of his mom's car. They looked like they were arguing, and he slammed the door, his ears flattening, then perking up when he saw me.

"Hey Jordan!" He said, waving and shuffling closer with that lanky body of his. I always wondered how he looked so masculine, despite him telling me he never worked out.

I pushed down the butterflies in my stomach, trying to keep up this little persona of a stone cold killer. Still, it was getting harder and harder to hold in the smile, to hold in the urge to hug him every time I saw him.

Big reputation, oh you and me got a big reputation.

He was looking happier than before. A smile on his face, one I hadn't seen in a long time, and...the smell of Steven all over his body. I found it really interesting. I mean, i figured they liked each other, that much was true, but them having sex? Something Steven had talked about, although made the hint that Alex wasn't into it. Something just didn't sit right. Or maybe it was just my analytical senses going haywire, ever since observing Nathan.

"Woah," he said, his eyes looking up and down my body. "You've...dressed darker than before."

"Yeah," I replied, switching my black purse to my other hand. "I never thought I actually had this much dark clothing, I like it. I guess it suits me, considering my fur is white. It's a nice contrast, don't you think?" He nodded his head and I continued. "Well, I'm glad you're back. I was told you have a therapist meeting which I'm supposed to take you to. I won't be able to wait outside for you cause I have some stuff to finish with Nathan."

"Oh that's fine," he said, walking ahead of me, "I think Steven is planning something anyway?"

"He is?" I asked, unaware of everything. Like it was with Emma, I was blind to everything.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, he said he was gonna do something, although I have no idea what it is."

I subtly moved closer to him, matching his pace with mine. He really smelled like Steven, there was no doubt about it, something happened between them. It wasn't my place to ask, to even know what they are doing, but I felt a little jealous. "So, you and Steven?"

"Hm? What about us?"

"Did you guys..?" I cleared my throat, edging my head on as to not specially say it. His slightly disgusted face said it all.

"No, we didn't do anything, why?" His tail began to wag a bit faster after that. Something had definitely happened.

"Because his scent is all over you," I said, taking a light sniff, which I would never do again because it felt so weird.

His ears folded over. "I mean, we didn't really do anything. Does it smell bad?"

"No, just...too much. Did you shower before you came back?"

"No, it takes forever to dry off, especially since this damn winter coat is so thick." He pulled at the strands of his fur, and I wondered how it would feel in my hands.

I giggled, knowing the pain all too well. "Well you're gonna wanna get it cut before the heat comes in, otherwise you're gonna get heatstroke."

"If the heat ever comes. Feels like winter is lasting forever." He sighed, his breath visible in the air. One thing did come to my mind though, each time I tried to forget about, and each time it creeped its way back in; why had Brittney talked to me? What could've been the reason? That okapi didn't do anything without a reason.

"You have a meeting with Mrs. Carter today, right?"

He pulled out his phone, his thumb scrolling through the miniscule number of apps on his phone. "I think so?" he finally said. "I don't really want to go, but do I really have an option? Everybody already knows me as the grey wolf who tried to kill himself. I don't think going to therapy is going to change their outlook on me."

I chuckled. "Everybody already knows me as the love sick snow leopard who dates a ton of guys and steals their hearts, only to dump them later on and act all distraught. But really, it's not about what they think of you. Changing their minds is probably one of the hardest things to do, so, just focus on you." I hoped my smile would lift his spirits, but the smile he returned was fake, one I'd seen so many times.

The walk into the school was kinda awkward. Neither of us really knew what to talk about, it's not like anything monumental had been going on, except the death of Emma. That was the one thing that sent me overboard, wanting me to do better, to focus more on the damn campaign, which I was quickly losing interest in. Could I really fix everything once Brittney was gone? Could me, the snow leopard who went from nobody to somebody, change the system?

I dropped Alex off at Mrs. Carter's office, ignoring the temptation to walk into Mrs. Baker's room and tell her everything. I still had lost all trust in her for some reason, couldn't really tell you why. It was like this thing with Mrs. Carter, maybe it was because she was a feline, someone who was supposed to be seen as independent becoming a school counselor. Was she a therapist? Or was she just someone the school found on the streets? How were we to know? They never told us anything.

Nathan was working in the audiovisual room, his glasses low and fingers dancing from one key to another. My fear and suspicion towards him was...almost completely gone. Maybe it was because he revealed his most vulnerable side to me, as a way to...I don't know, gain my trust? Needless to say, it worked.

"Hey Nathan," I said, tossing my bag off to the side and sitting down on one of the bean bag chairs. "Doing anything important?"

"Important?" He turned in his chair to look at me. "Jordan, you have a meeting with the school board about Brittney's new policies for the school."

I shot up out of the chair, anxiety kicking in. "What?!"

He nodded. "Since you're a candidate, you get a say, well, mostly you get to advocate for one side or another."

I gulped, quickly walking over to my bag to pull out my phone, even though I had no idea why. "So you're saying...I could prevent Brittney from changing anything in the school?"

"Theoretically, yes. Although it's going to be extremely difficult. The only other carnivore that is going to be there with you is Mrs. Baker, and no doubt they're going to talk about Alex, so possibly Ms. Carter too."

"When is this?!" I practically yelled into the dark room, stabbing my claws into my palms. Never in my life had I felt more anxious about anything. Never in my life did I suspect I would get anywhere with this whole thing I was doing.

"Jordan," Nathan said, standing up and taking my hand to calm it. "Look, I'm not going to sugar coat it, this is an important thing. But I've seen-the whole school has seen what you can do. You beat Brittney in the first debate, your numbers are steadily rising. You can do this." He gave me a reassuring smile, one that drained the anxiety out of my body. It was so weird. Here was this hyena which I spent my nights thinking about, wondering if he was a killer, only for him to be my mental escape. God, what the hell kind of animal was I?

"And to answer your first question," he said, "it's in fifteen minutes."

"FIFTEEN MINUTES?"

️ ️ ️

Everybody was sitting around a circular table, the principal at the far end, Brittney next to me, Mrs. Baker in the back, Mrs. Carter filing down her nails in the corner, and the superintendent, a horse with a smile that held so many secrets, his hands clasped together. My breathing was calm, but only on the outside, inside I was dying. There was no doubt in my mind that all of these animals knew everything about me, when I barely knew anything about them. It was like all of their eyes were staring right into my soul, trying to pick out everything they could to use against me. I wasn't going to let them.

Keep up the persona, it makes me look confident. Even if I'm not, fake it till you make it, right?

There was murmuring around the room. Some of the animals I didn't even know, although if they were in the back of the room, they couldn't have been that important.

Let the games begin.

I cleared my throat, hoping to get everyone's attention. It didn't work. Of course it didn't, who would pay attention to a snow leopard? I tried again, no response except a snicker from Brittney.

They never saw it coming, what I did next.

I stood up, slamming my hands against the wooden table we sat around. The room went silent and everyone's heads whipped around as their eyes shot up to me, I gave a friendly smile, my goth girl attire soaking up the light and making me shine. "Sorry about that," I said, sitting back down. "I was just wondering when we're actually going to start."

The superintendent stood up, dusting off his perfectly ironed suit. Everyone shifted their attention to him, but his attention was on me. I may have been seen as calculating and manipulative, which wasn't entirely false, but also wasn't really true either. Something about the horse though, maybe it was how his face was long, or how his brown fur reminded me of Steven. Either way, I wanted to punch him so badly. His eyes were like turrets, shooting down whatever I was doing, shooting down all of the false confidence in my body. Books said horses had near three-sixty vision, there was blind spot, and I wondered, what was his blind spot?

"Good morning," he said. His voice was something I wasn't expecting, for a horse. It resonated in my ears, its low pitch vibrating my very soul, and I hated it. "Before we start this meeting, I'd like to commend Jordan Anderson on her captivating performance during these trying times."

"You mean the election process," I said in a sour tone.

"What else would I be referring to?" he countered just as quickly. I sat there silent, legs crossed, a reputation proceeding me. There was no need for a slip of the tongue, better to keep my mouth closed and think, shut down anything said that could be used against me. Alex was definitely going to be brought up, I needed to be prepared. Mrs. Carter was going to be on my side, she was his therapist, she had to be on my side, right? We were both carnivores, she had to be.

Brittney gave me a look, one that said, "you better watch your mouth." From her tense posture and tight lips, I could tell she was just as scared. But why?

The horse continued with his speech. "With that said, it seems we have some new faces in here. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Lucas Hendricks, the superintendent for this school district." He sat down in his chair, tilting his head towards Brittney. "Our Student Council president has called this meeting, and has invited me to personally advocate for her."

Brittney stood at the invisible command, her tiny legs shaking just a little bit. Never in my life had I seen Brittney nervous about anything. Whatever she was about to say, it was either very controversial or nothing out of the ordinary. I hoped for the latter. However, even though she was the center of attention, standing in the spotlight of the world, everyone's gazes were fixed on me. So, I returned their critical stares with a look that screamed, "yeah, I know I'm the shit," when I really wasn't.

Brittney cleared her throat, just like I had done to get everyone's attention. Their eyes snapped to her, completely forgetting about me as she spoke. "I'm calling this meeting for the sake of all herbivores in the school." Her voice gained more confidence, finally coming out of her cave she had been kept in for the past ten minutes. "As we've seen through recent events, carnivores have only shown to be unpredictable in their nature." She shot a glance at me and said, "I can name a couple of animals that this school has catered towards because of traumatic incidents."

She tried to speak again, but I interrupted her. "So are you saying that every carnivore in this school is a problem? What about the dogs that receive special classes? What about the herbivores that could vouch for all their carnivore friends?"

"Please," the superintendent said, "Jordan I know you are to represent the carnivore body of this school, and I'm glad to finally have a carnivore, a snow leopard no less, on our little council. But don't forget your position, Brittney is still the president-"

"Oh I'm not interrupting her," I said, feigning a sense of being sorry. "But I would like her to elaborate on the carnivores who have received special treatment . You're referring to Alex, aren't you?" I asked in Brittney's direction.

"As a matter of fact," she said, turning to face me, "I am." I held back the urge to argue, wanting to see how far she would take this. Brittney took the attention away from me again. "Carnivores, especially large breed carnivores, could really hurt herbivores who are defenseless." She took some papers out of her bag and passed them around. "My plan is for carnivores to be separated from the herbivores of this school, just for the protection of our students." I rolled my eyes at her, but nobody seemed to notice. "You'll find the details of the plans inside those documents I passed out," she said, folding her hands and sitting back down. A couple of animals nodded their heads in agreement, while Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Baker both wore disgusted looks, but remained silent.

Say something you cowards!

I breathed deeply and calmly, resisting the burning rage inside of me. Bursting out into a fit of anger wouldn't solve anyone's problems, I needed to be calm and collected.

Calculating.

It was my time to show the world who I was, to show this little clique of herbivores that carnivores were much, much more than just slobbering beasts who had no sense of reality. We did, it was different considering we were much different. We never saw the world from a perspective of dear, we never had to go out into the world, fearing if it would be our last day alive. Still, being treated the way we were, it was heartless, cruel, and most importantly, savage.

"I'm sorry," I said, my voice rising over the murmurs of the animals who investigated Brittney's plans, if you could even call them that. "But have any of you ever been in danger from an actual carnivore?" A couple of them looked up, blank stares all around. "I'm guessing that's a no?" I said, standing up to assert some authority, even if I had none. "Then why are you so quick to hate on us?" I said with a sneer. "Why are we even in this room when we're not the problem, when you play us like fools and think we don't understand. You go around this would, laughing while you lie, giving us guns and telling them they're ours."

Mrs. Baker tried to calm me down, but I shut her down. I laughed at everyone in the room, peering into the eyes of herbivores; sheep, goats, and a horse. So what if I was a snow leopard? So what if I was different from them?

"The world moves on," I said, "it forgets and never remembers. What you do to this school will affect generations to come, whether they're carnivore or herbivore." I pushed my chair in, adjusting the buckle on my grey plaid skirt. "But not for me, I remember, and all I think about is Karma. And the world moves on, but one thing's for sure, maybe I got mine, but you'll all get yours."

"Is that a threat?" the superintendent said, a sweet smile on his face. The room went silent, waiting for my response. Neither Mrs. Carter nor Mrs. Baker said or did anything. They didn't have a reputation on the line, they didn't have to look, have to act a certain way. I guess I could partly blame myself for everyone looking at me differently, it was my decision to do this whole campaign and fall into the snow leopard the school portrayed me as. Whatever, maybe this was the animal I always had inside me, the tiger lurking in the shadows of its cage, finally being set free.

"This is how the world works," I said. "Every lie I tell you, all of you, you tell me three. You say I've done something bad, that being someone to advocate for change, for the betterment of everyone is a bad thing. Can't you see what she's trying to do?" I gestured towards Brittney, the cops in the back took a readied stance. "She doesn't care about carnivores, hell, she probably doesn't even care about herbivores."

"That's a lie!" Brittney said, rising from her seat, face to face with me. "Poor Jordan, can't get what she wants so she resorts to pushing other people down! Just because you couldn't get the wolf you wanted, doesn't mean you get to treat everyone else like dirt, like we're nothing! You think that just because you have this whole ego check, that you've been catching glances from everyone in the school, that you hold any sway in any of the matters we talk about? Newsflash little cat , you don't mean shit. The world is better off without you!"

I turned my attention to the shocked crowd, feeling like I was at the debate again. "Our future is in great hands." I scoffed at all of the animals, the superintendent included. That horse could sit on his ass all day, and if the world behind him was burning, he wouldn't care. I cared, that was the difference between me and everybody in that room. I cared. "You may think of me as this psycho chick who sits in her marble bathtub and cries surrounded by pearls or whatever. But do you really know anything below the surface? Have any of you actually taken the time to befriend a carnivore? No, probably not. So don't act like you know what's best for them when you yourself have no idea what's best for you."

"That's quite enough," Mrs. Carter finally said, pushing her folder forward. "As much as this...childish debate amuses me, I have to assure you that Alex, the grey wolf in question, is currently under my care. In fact, I believe that with counseling in the correct manner, most of the carnivores at this school can overcome their natural destructive tendencies." I wanted to argue with her, to shut her down, but the stare she shot me told me to stand down, she had this covered. Why did I trust her?

"So let's end this, shall we? Clearly we're not getting anywhere with these two constantly bickering," she said, tightening the watch on her wrist. She sighed and looked towards the door. "Times were much simpler when teenagers were not allowed to discuss their beliefs. I believe it made the world a better place, you know, adults in control and all that." She winked at me, but what hell was that supposed to mean? "I'll be taking my leave, Mrs. Baker?" The only response from the brown furred grey wolf was a grunt and an eye roll.

The superintendent sighed and checked his phone. "We didn't really get anything done, I suppose we can end this. Sorry Brittney, maybe next time." He gave everyone a tight smile and clapped his hands together. "If things at the school don't improve, either on the carnivore or herbivore side, there will be some major changes." His eyes turned to mine. "Some of you may not like them."

Add the superintendent to the list of enemies...great.

️ ️ ️

"How did the meeting go?" Nathan asked as I slammed the door to the audiovisual room behind me, its broken hinges screaming in response. I wanted nothing more than to wrap my hands around Brittney's neck and just watch the color drain from her fur, just to see her eyes roll back in her head as she collapses onto the floor. I wouldn't kill her, but just...make her suffer for a while.

"Horrible," I said, slumping into the dust couch we had, rubbing my head and gritting my teeth together. "God that stupid okapi makes me so angry! And nobody stops her! Nobody even tries to counter her snide remarks!"

"It's because everyone's scared of her," Nathan said as he sat down next to me. "You and I seem to be the only animals who can somewhat stand her. So…" he said, his voice tapering off, "what exactly happened during the meeting?"

I stood up, anger coursing through my veins. "It's what didn't happen! Everybody looked at the stupid folders she passed out and nobody said anything, not even the animals we're supposed to trust!"

"The story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now," Nathan said with a chuckle.

"This isn't funny!"

He composed himself. "Right, sorry. Anyways, what did you do in response?"

"What do you think I did?" I said, pacing around the room, not really sure what to do. Nathan shrugged and glanced off to the side, his glasses falling down his face. "I told her off...I told everyone off! Because they're all idiots if they think Brittney is right!" I scoffed, a devious smile on my face. "And that stupid superintendent believed her... HER ." I shouted so loud that the dangling lights above began to move ever so slightly. I controlled my breathing, digging my claws into my palms as I said through gritted teeth, "we have to do something about her, because I don't know how much longer I can keep being civil with her."

"Well," Nathan said, getting up from the couch, "she did rip out one of your teeth. I don't think that okapi has ever had to work a day in her life to get where she is now. That's what separates you two, you work hard, you push animals to be their best, and you don't take any shit. She is sorta the same way, only the exact opposite of the traits I just said. She forces animals to be their best, she works hard, but her hard work is just that of antagonization and black mail. You two are very...scarily similar."

"Thanks for the words of encouragement," I said, taking a deep breath. Though I was angry at him, I knew it was misplaced anger, frustration meant for someone else. I'd learned my lesson from taking it out on other animals who didn't deserve it. It took me a second to wrap my head around what he was saying, but I think I understood it. Not like it really made me feel any better to know that if one thing in my life was different, I would've ended up like Brittney. Or maybe I wouldn't have, it was too hard to tell.

"No problem," he said with a light pat on my shoulder. "Now, let's get to work on fixing this school." He turned around and headed for his chair, but then he turned back to me. "Did the superintendent say anything important...anything about the school not improving."

"He did," I said, with that same suspicion I had for Nathan, rising back up again like a rocket sent into orbit. "Why?"

"Just a hunch," he replied. "So, about changing this school. Right now the polls show you're in the lead with the majority of your votes coming from carnivores, that's good. Although the herbivores seem to not like you."

"Makes sense," I said, pulling a chair next to him. "Why would they like a snow leopard?"

"Why would they?" he repeated. "Then, let's give them a reason to like you. You've mostly been advocating for carnivore rights, for their voices to be heard, obviously this is going to make the herbivores a little scared of you, only for them to go slithering back to Brittney."

"So you're suggesting I do something for the herbivores?"

"Exactly, although I'm not entirely sure what yet. Something that shows you have their best interests at heart. Brittney has already stated that we're mindless killing machines-most animals seem to believe that-so let's show them we're not." He turned to face me, excitement on his face. "Do you think you could get any herbivores on your side?"

"Why?"

"Just answer the question."

I shifted in my seat. "Maybe? Mrs. Baker is head of the art club, which is run by herbivores. But we aren't on the best of terms."

"Perfect," Nathan said with a smile. ""Do whatever you can to get back on her good side, then see if the herbivores in the club will help us out."

"Ok…" I let silence fill up the room for a second before saying, "why?" I hoped he couldn't tell that I was asking more out of security rather than curiosity.

"If we can get some-not all-but some herbivores on your side, it might just be enough to shift the votes in your favor even more. If we can show the herbivores that you're including them too-not just the carnivores-then it's sure to make a lasting impression."

"Ok," I said with some hesitation, "I'll see if Mrs. Baker even lets me in her office."

"If push comes to shove," Nathan said in a low growl, "I'll do whatever it takes to make sure Brittney doesn't win."

This is how the world works…