Just want to reiterate that my other ongoing stories are not abandoned. The muse is not cooperating and school is currently kicking me relentlessly.


Fall Semester, September

Early that morning, Judy, dressed and ready for the day, was sitting at her desk and writing a letter to her family back in Bunnyburrow, having plenty of time before meeting up the study group for breakfast. She would have called her parents, but the morning schedule made it difficult for all three to hold a conversation with Bonnie and Stu needing to prepare for the day and the chaos that would result in so many siblings wanting to talk to Judy.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Hi, how are you? Sorry that I haven't been calling or writing much lately. It's only been three weeks since school started, but it feels like three years have passed. I've done nothing but work and study, and I feel like there isn't time for anything else. The study group is practically the only time I get to hang out with other mammals. Right now, it's six in the morning and I've been dressed and studying for almost an hour.

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!

Judy stared unfazed at the ceiling as the Screamer screamed. She shook her head and returned to the letter, but the bunny wondered how her parents would react to the Screamer. She wouldn't be surprised if they thought that a mammal had gone savage. Judy considered herself lucky that the screams didn't happen during their phone calls.

Speaking of the study group, it has been going well so far and we've all become great friends. The others are intelligent and very competitive, but the pressure of law school is starting to have an effect on all of us. I'm worried that it will all come to blow soon. Even for me, since I'm reading so much, I often walk to class without knowing where I'm going.

Judy looked at her phone and saw that it was almost time to meet with her friends. She folded the unfinished letter and placed it within the pages of a book next to her, intending to finish later. The bunny gathered her backpack and took the open book with her, reading it while walking to breakfast.


In the cafeteria, Judy carried her tray with the book underneath it as she searched for her friends. Nick was kind enough to send a picture of their table so the doe wouldn't spend too much time searching. Following the directions and objects in the picture, Judy finally found the study group and overheard a funny exchange between Nick and Ben.

"How are your eggs?" Nick asked.

The cheetah gagged from the taste and scrunched his face in a glower, "These aren't eggs…they're Torts." He grabbed his milk and chugged most of it to get rid of the aftertaste.

Judy giggled at Ben's analogy and introduced herself as she sat down next to Skye and Fru Fru, setting her tray down first and then the book next to it.

"Good morning everyone!"

"Morning Juju!" Fru Fru said.

"Morning Carrots!" Nick said.

"Morning Judy." The others said.

While eating, Judy noticed no one else talking and glanced around to see the tired looks in their eyes. She didn't know whether it was from waking up early or their recent workload of assignments. The doe was leaning towards a combination of both.

Jack finally spoke up after finishing his breakfast. "Okay everyone. How are we all doing on our outlines? Mine is up to date and I've sent you the copies."

Clawhauser placed a stack of papers that was bounded by a rubber band on the table. "I'm almost done fixing mine's up so you'll get them by the end of the day."

"I emailed your copies this morning." Fru Fru said.

"Same here." Nick concurred, taking a sip of coffee.

Judy slapped her forehead and groaned in frustration. "Oh I knew I forgot something!" She rummaged through her bag and pulled out the outline. "But I did finish revising it so I'll email them later today."

The others accepted her promise and they along with Judy turned to Skye, not hearing anything from the vixen about her outline.

"Skye," Jack said. "What about Constitutional Law?"

"I ran into a problem with uploading the documents onto my computer. I'm going to do it in the computer lab later today."

Jack sighed and shook his head in disappointment. The buck looked back at the arctic vixen and put on a smile. "Skye dear, your outline is very critical. We all need it for the exam coming up soon."

The vixen narrowed her eyes at the buck, not too pleased with his condescending tone, "If I say the afternoon, I mean the afternoon!"

Ben quickly interjected in an attempt to diffuse the tension. "You all are going to love my outline! I'd say it's on par with the professors here. I'm up to fifty pages and I'm still on the introduction."

Nick chuckled at the cheetah's remark. "Come on, Ben. We need an outline. Not a paper. We can't handle your greatness."

Unfortunately, the joke unintentionally rubbed the tired cheetah the wrong way and Nick found himself being stared down and towered over by Clawhauser. "You want some exercise right now Nick?"

"Ben, no! Sit down! We're too tired to deal with this now." Nick looked away and raised his paws, but one of his arms accidentally knocked over the glass of orange juice and spilled the liquid onto Clawhauser's outline.

Panic struck the cheetah as he watched his work slowly become ruined. "My outline! You wrecked it! Don't touch it!" He cried.

Jack facepalmed as the chaos unfolded. "So much for Property…" He muttered.

Seeing this, Nick quickly moved to separate the pages and grabbed a few napkins from the dispenser to clean up the mess. "Sorry Ben, it was an accident!"

But Ben wouldn't have any of it and tried to keep the rest of the outline away from Nick, causing more pages to fall on the floor. "Drop the papers Wilde! I said don't touch it!" He yelled.

The scene started to attract the attention of other students in the cafeteria, drawing a laugh from a few students and awkward stares from most.

Seeing that Clawhauser couldn't be reasoned with and already in a terrible mood, Nick threw the ruined papers and used napkins down, "Fine then! Don't take my help!" He then picked up his tray and bag. "I'll see you all in Contracts."

"Oh will you two stop it!" Jack chastised while gathering his own tray and bag. "Come on we got class in fifteen minutes. We'll try this again later."

Nick and Jack were gone before the others could stop them. Skye and Fru Fru proceeded to help Clawhauser clean up the mess and gather his papers.

"What a mess…" The cheetah mumbled, staring at his outline.

"You can fix later Ben," Skye said. "We're going to be late." She gathered her bag and tray and left the table.

After Fru Fru cleaned up the juice, she went to retrieve her things when the arctic shrew noticed the worried look on Judy's face. She got her belongings and went over to the bunny.

"You alright there Juju?" She asked.

Judy's nose was twitching and her ears were down behind her head. Telltale signs that reinforced her worries. "Y-yeah. I'm fine." The two knew it was a lie, but now was not the time to dwell on the matter. "Let's get to class before Bogo can embarrass us for being late. I'll get your tray."

Fru Fru nodded and accepted her offer. "Okay then. Thanks."

The shrew was gone and so was Clawhauser, leaving Judy alone. The small blow up between Nick and Ben, and Jack and Skye replayed in her head and her thoughts drifted to the concerns she wrote in her letter to her parents. But Judy pushed that negativity aside and remained optimistic.

It's just a rough morning. It happens. Things will get better.


The group arrived just in time and hurried to their seats. The class carried on as normal with only a few usual instances of students not knowing the material.

"So to recap the principle of restitution," Bogo said. "A mammal has unjustly enriched himself at the expense of another. It is then your obligation to force the wrongdoer to dispel the ill-gotten spoils and restore them to the injured party," Bogo walked to the board and picked up a piece of chalk. "Now, we will move on to the subject of specific performance," He wrote the words on the board. "The case of Vitellynx v. Porkland Productions," He turned to see a number of paws raised as expected. The Cape Buffalo put on his glasses and read a name from the seating chart. "Mr. Wilde."

Nick stood up, "In Vitellynx v. Porkland Productions, the defendant promised to walk a tightrope across a gorge without a net. The plaintiff spent a large sum of money in setting up the tightrope and advertising the event. Hundreds of tickets were sold and the proceeds were to be donated to charity. When the defendant refused to perform, the plaintiff sued and requested the court to force the defendant to walk the rope, arguing for specific performance."

"Thank you, Mr. Wilde," Bogo checked his watch and saw the time, "In the next class, we will explore specific performance in more detail, but for now I will leave you with this. In specific performance, we put the lives of mammals directly in our possession. When you promise to perform, you shall perform. When you promise to walk the tightrope without a net, you shall walk it without a net. Out of all the principles in Contract Law, specific performance is the most difficult and the most dangerous to apply. Good day."

While Bogo and the students gathered their belongings, Judy quickly left her seat and made her way to the front. "Professor Bogo, sir?"

Bogo stopped and gave her his attention, "Yes, what is it?"

"Professor, was the Vitellynx case ever appealed? I don't believe the court should have granted specific performance in this case. There are times when it isn't necessary to carry through with your promise—"

"Miss?"

"Hopps."

"Miss Hopps, why don't you tell me if the Vitellynx case was appealed?"

His question made her pause, having not expected that response, "Oh I don't know. I thought since you wrote the casebook, I could ask."

"If you don't know the answer, it's because you haven't searched thoroughly enough to find out. In my class, I expect my students to fully research the subject in question before coming to me. I expect them to enlighten me. Perhaps your problem Miss Hopps is that you haven't been doing enough work."

Bogo gathered his books and began to leave, but Judy quickly caught up.

"Oh sir, but I'm working all the time. I have five other classes and also work part-time. There isn't enough time for me to research every question. I've been trying hard to understand the material and Contract Law is my favorite—"

"If you're having trouble keeping up Miss Hopps, I have disturbing news for you. The work becomes more demanding after you're a lawyer. Not less."

Judy's ears fell and would have ended the conversation were it not for Bogo continuing.

"However, I will not ignore your question. So, go to the library and use the books and online resources there to find your answer. Then present me with a report in my office the day after tomorrow before the next class meeting." Bogo continued to the faculty-only entrance.

Judy accepted his answer and was about to leave until the last part hit her. Her ears shot up and her face widened in shock, "Wait, what?" She followed Bogo to the door.

The Cape Buffalo stopped momentarily to respond, "Before our next class meeting. I expect you to enlighten me." He was out of the classroom before Judy could inquire further.

The bunny stood exasperated at the door, thinking about the extra assignment she just got and having only 48 hours to complete it.

"What!?"


Every professor is different and Judy knew what she was getting into when enrolling in Bogo's class. Compared to solving a Missing Mammals case in 48 hours, a report should be a piece of cake. Right?