Chapter 2: Incident In The Lunchroom! Alex Takes A Stand!
The events of the next morning for Alex were a blur. He went to class, stayed silent, did the homework and assignments when they were given. Then he heard of a memorial that had been constructed in dedication to Tem. After the second period, the white wolf went to pay his respects. Alex saw Legosi kneeling at the shrine, which he thought was fitting, and also knelt beside him.
"I wish I could have gotten to know him," Alex solemnly said.
The gray wolf then turned to look at Alex, studying him for a few seconds. "You're the new transfer student, aren't you?" Legosi asked.
Alex stood up and stared at Legosi, who was a few inches taller than he was. Alex himself was about 5'9" and judging by how Legosi was slightly taller, he estimated the gray wolf was about six feet tall. Now that he was looking at Legosi up close and personal, he now understood how his imposing figure frightened the herbivore students and caused them to spread those nasty rumors.
"Yes, I'm the new transfer student. My name is Alex, Alex Moon. You must be Legosi," Alex introduced himself.
"I guess you've heard all about me then," Legosi sighed, expecting to hear negative remarks from the white wolf.
"Yeah, there's quite a few rumors surrounding you. But I'm pretty sure they're a bunch of crap. I judge people based on who they are and their actions," Alex replied. Legosi was surprised by this, and gave the wolf a soft smile. The two of them then heard squeals and excited female chattering, causing them to turn around.
"It's Louis! The lead in Adler! He's handsome on stage and in real life!" One girl exclaimed. Alex saw a red deer walking towards them, and instantly was weary. His instincts were on high alert, telling the white wolf that this deer was dangerous. The deer's eyes seemed to gaze into his soul, and Alex attempted to get a read on this deer.
However, the deer's expression was like a mask, and Alex couldn't discern anything. This troubled the white wolf deeply, as he was skilled at reading other animals. Alex cautiously began to walk past Louis and away from the shrine, but the deer put one of his hands on his shoulder. "What are you doing here, transfer student? And why were you staring at me like that?!" Louis demanded.
The white wolf turned around and faced the red deer. "I'm here to pay my respects to the victim. And I look at everyone like that when I meet them for the first time," Alex answered. Louis said nothing as the wolf walked away at a quick pace. Though Louis had only uttered a single sentence, the wolf had noticed his steeled tone, with slight contempt. Alex decided to make Louis a person of interest in his investigation.
Lunchtime came, and Alex had his Flash lunchbox in his paw as he walked through the lunchroom. The previous lunch hours, he had sat in the center of the lunchroom in order to eavesdrop on the ongoing conversations in an attempt to glean new information.
But today was different. The white wolf needed to be alone with his thoughts, so he could process the information that he had learned over the course of the previous twenty-four hours. He spotted a back hallway-like area that led to a dead end, and thought it was the perfect place to avoid being disturbed. He saw a white dwarf rabbit that was eating, but the sound of them consuming food wasn't enough to distract Alex.
Sitting down, the wolf opened his notebook and began to review his notes. A circle containing the name "TEM" was in the middle of the page. Three other circles existed at this point, containing the names "LEGOSI" "ELS" and one contained the words "DRAMA CLUB".
Connecting "LEGOSI" and "TEM" was a line that was labeled "Good friends; Legosi seems to be an unlikely suspect, but he's still worth investigating".
The line connecting Tem to Els was labeled "Secret love interest". All three circles were connected to the "DRAMA CLUB" circle. Could the mammal behind the slaughter be a member of the drama club?
As he went over his notes, he noticed a harlequin rabbit and two felines walk up towards the white bunny. "Wow, I'm impressed, Haru. You're being ignored by the entire school, and you're still emotionally strong. That's a little risky, though, wouldn't you say? A bunny like you, sitting alone, especially after that alpaca was devoured like your lunch?" The harlequin rabbit sneered.
In response, the white bunny let out a sigh before putting down her food and stood up, staring the harlequin rabbit straight in the eyes. "Maybe instead of spreading rumors about me, you should focus on getting back together with your boyfriend," the white bunny replied. Alex whistled. This white bunny had guts!
"Who do you think you are!? I'll have you know-" The harlequin rabbit began to say, before Haru cut her off.
"Actually, Mizuchi, he's the one who kissed me. Besides, a guy who gets flustered over a single kiss? That tells you something about him, if you know what I'm saying," Haru curtly told Mizuchi. She began to walk past Mizuchi after picking up her tray, but the harlequin rabbit shoved Haru, causing her tray to fly out of her paws and hit the wall, nearly nailing Alex and getting soup on him.
One of the felines then pushed Haru to the ground, before Mizuchi tossed a bucket of liquid (presumably water) onto the white bunny. "Don't you forget that my boyfriend and I are both harlequin rabbits. That makes us an endangered species couple! You're nothing compared to us!" Mizuchi angrily said. Haru coughed; some of the water had gotten in her lungs. Alex decided he had seen enough, and stood up.
The wolf swiftly moved behind Mizuchi, who failed to notice him sneaking up on her. He tapped on her shoulder, causing the harlequin rabbit to whirl around and gasp. "You know, she's right. Why waste your time spreading rumors when you could be winning your boyfriend's heart back?" Alex suggested.
"Stay out of this, transfer student. Or else I'll ruin your chances of becoming the school's Beastar before the end of the day," Mizuchi threatened. In response, the white wolf burst into laughter. His laugh was very unsettling to Mizuchi, as no one had ever laughed at one of her threats before.
"I do not care about the position of Beastar. And if by some cosmic mistake I get the award, I'll give it to someone who's actually worthy of the position," Alex sneered. Mizuchi frowned, struggling to think of a response.
"She broke up an endangered species couple!" One of Mizuchi's underlings protested. Alex's demeanor immediately shifted, his neutral expression shifting to an angry frown.
"You harlequin rabbits are all the same. You think you're higher and mightier than the rest of us, just because you're one of the select few of your kind left on this planet. It doesn't make you any better than us, though," The wolf hissed. The three bullies stepped back nervously.
"You see, Mizuchi, I've got you all figured out," Alex snarled. "And what gives you the right to say that?! You barely even know me," Mizuchi huffed. Alex's eyes appeared to glow red for a second.
"I am skilled in observing people. I bet you got made fun of for the way your fur is different from other species of rabbits as a kid, and you felt powerless. That feeling of powerlessness made you want to inflict it on others to avoid feeling that way. I hate bullies. I was taken advantage of growing up, and I won't allow you to take advantage of this girl," Alex growled.
Mizuchi couldn't respond; the way the wolf's eyes pierced through her filled the harlequin rabbit with fear. "Now, go. And if I see you harassing anyone ever again, I will make sure that you will regret it," Alex ominously warned, before letting out a howl. The three bullies turned around and ran. Alex turned around and turned to face the white dwarf bunny.
"You didn't have to do that, you know," Haru told him.
"Yeah, I figured since they said you were so emotionally strong. Also because of the way you talked back to Mizuchi," Alex said.
"Then why did you get involved?" Haru asked him.
"Like I said, I hate bullies, and I hate seeing people taken advantage of. Plus, she pissed me off. I almost got hit by soup, and that would be a nightmare to clean up," Alex explained.
Haru couldn't help but giggle softly at the wolf's response. "You know, I never got your name," Haru replied.
"Alex. Alex Moon. I'll see you around, Haru," Alex answered. The white wolf stood up and gave her a thumbs up, before dashing off into the distance.
"Audio log: Day six of my infiltration. Currently lunch hour. This will be the first of the day's audio logs. So I stood up to this harlequin rabbit named Mizuchi who was bullying this white bunny named Haru. The bullying has escalated to the point where Haru is getting pushed, shoved, verbally insulted, and there are rumors about Haru being notoriously horny and sleeping with herbivore males. Though these rumors could be mere fabrications by Mizuchi, my instincts tell me that there might be some truth to those claims, especially since Haru seems to care little about them. Weaker animals in Haru's situation would have cracked. But this rabbit? She's strong, and I can tell that she's got an important future ahead of her. End audio log," Alex whispered.
