Chapter 9: The Drama Club's Recruitment Methods? The Mysterious Hybrid Student, Sonny!
The next day, Alex was standing in the drama room, sitting down by Legosi and Kai. Silently, he sat and simply listened to the two talk. "You need to make more friends! Have you seriously been in this club without knowing anything?!" Kai scolded Legosi. This remark caused Alex's ears to perk up.
"Take Sheila-san from the dance club, for example. She was recruited when she was 14 and working as a dominatrix in some 'female carnivore club'. Then there's Moro the rhino, who believes that the horns in front of him are his guardian spirit… and Mina the giraffe has trypophobia, meaning he can't look directly at his body," Kai explained.
"If everyone has a secret here, then what's yours?" Alex interrupted.
Kai blushed, before continuing. "I, ah… was abandoned by my parents when I was born. Luckily, I was adopted by a hyena family, even though I'm a mongoose," Kai told the white wolf. Alex blinked, processing this information for a few seconds before proceeding.
"You're adopted too?" Alex asked. Kai nodded.
"Okay, now you have to tell me your secret!" Kai challenged. Alex went over the situation in his head, deciding that it would not blow his cover if he told the mongoose some of his backstory.
"Like you, Kai, I'm also adopted. However, while you wound up with a hyena family right away, I was not so lucky. I was born into a family of murderers and ran away from that wretched household when I was five. I got stuck in an orphanage and met a small little hybrid girl. We became very close and called each other brother and sister," Alex began.
"And?" Kai pressured. The wolf sighed, as this next part was uncomfortable for him.
"We ran away from the orphanage, because it mistreated us heavily. One day, when we were eating ice cream in the park, a bunch of larger animals in black suits came and abducted her right in front of me. I was powerless to stop them," Alex sorrowfully said. His eyes glazed over, lost in the painful memories of that day. Kai decided not to press the matter any further, getting up and leaving.
Legosi stayed at Alex's side, putting a paw on his shoulder for support. Alex locked eyes with Legosi after his mental flashbacks ended. "If everyone here has a secret… then what's Louis's?" Alex wondered. Now that he knew that everyone had secrets in the drama club, Alex decided that he would take his investigation to the next level and attempt to learn everyone in the drama club's hidden secrets.
Alex began scanning the assortment of animals below, trying to choose which animal he'd pry information from first. One animal in particular caught his eye; this animal looked like a cross between a hyena and a Dall sheep.
Alex knew instantly that this animal was a hybrid, and this gave him some pause. He hadn't expected that there would be any hybrids at Cherryton. "Who's that guy over there?" Alex asked Legosi, pointing at the hybrid.
"Oh, him? That's Sonny. He's the co-leader of the production crew alongside Dom. Though ever since Tem died, he's been distancing himself from predators. His only predator friend now is Bill the tiger. His hybrid status is the main reason that he was recruited," Legosi explained to Alex.
The white wolf nodded, before jumping down and beginning to approach Sonny. For some unknown reason, Alex was inexplicably being drawn towards the sheep/hyena hybrid.
Sonny was speaking to Dom when he felt someone sneaking up behind him. As a member of the Tsunogumi (the secretive herbivore group of the black market), he had some training in feeling shifts in his surroundings. The hybrid turned around and came face to face with the white wolf.
"Hi, I'm Alex. The transfer student. Though you may have seen or heard of me before, I haven't seen or heard of you. Ah, well, not until today, at least. It's nice to meet you," Alex introduced himself awkwardly, holding out his paw.
Ordinarily, Sonny would start backing away from the wolf and figure a way out of the situation. But for some reason, Alex wasn't setting off his usual reactions. Instead, Sonny felt a strange sense of kinship with this transfer student, something about his eyes.
"It's nice to meet you too, Alex. I'm Sonny, and I lead the drama club's production crew alongside Dom," Sonny responded. The two shook paws and Sonny couldn't help but smile.
Then, out of nowhere, Alex asked a peculiar question. "So what was life like for you growing up?" Alex blurted out. Sonny hesitated for a second before answering.
"Well, uh… it wasn't too fun. You see, I got beat up a lot-" Sonny began.
"For looking different?" Alex interrupted. Sonny nodded in response. "Yeah, me and my sister got the shit kicked out of us for looking different too. Albino wolves are a rare sight in Zootopia," Alex said.
"You have a sister?" Sonny curiously inquired.
"Well, actually, I have two sisters. One is my current sister and the other one was my street sister. You know, you remind me of her," Alex replied.
"Really? Why is that?" Sonny wondered.
"For starters… she was a hybrid, like you. You also have the same sort of energy, as well," Alex revealed. The two of them began to talk about their childhoods together, with the discussion lasting for hours.
That evening, as Alex laid in bed, he pulled out his carrot pen and started recording. "Audio log, day eight. I discovered two important pieces of information today. First and foremost, I've found out that all the members of the drama club have 'curious backgrounds', as Zoe phrased it. This means that I'll have to start building relationships with the members to glean their secrets. The secrets that they are hiding could provide valuable information as to the identity of the killer. And second… I've found a hybrid student. His name is Sonny. And he reminds me of Arie. One day, Arie… I'll find you. End of audio log," Alex monologued.
