Chapter One: Poor Pals

A/N: Hey everyone who read my previous work in the Big Cheese/Purge saga. I'm back! Temporarily.

I'm taking a short break from writing my own original book. Just finished the first three chapters, but I love Zootopia too much to fully stay away from it.

This story isn't canon to my previous works. I kept Nick's mother's name as Vivian, but other than that I've made a few changes, particularly to one fat cheetah. You see, in my "Big Cheese" canon, Ben Clawhauser didn't know Nick until he joined the force. He was also a very slim cheetah when he originally joined the force only to get real fat thanks to his first partner being a donut-loving elephant.

In this canon, I wanted some familiar faces despite it being in Nick's childhood past. So Ben or "Benny" in this case is a close friend of Nick's and is already fat as a child. Flash is in it as well. In case you didn't know, the original draft of Zootopia had Ben as one of Nick's partners in crime along with Finnick. So I decided to make Ben the same age as Nick. I already did one young Judy story, so I decided it was time for a young Nick one. Enjoy!

6:45 am December 4th 1991

Vivian Wilde opened the door to her son's bedroom. "Nicky! It's time to get up! You have to get ready for school!" She looked around the room. Toys on the floor. Dirty clothes all clumped up in the corner. "You better clean this room when you get home or your father's gonna bite you!"

Vivian then heard a faint cough coming from under the sheets. She realized that her seven year-old son was once again faking sick. "Mother dear..." Nick said in a faint voice. "Is that you? Come closer. COUGH! I don't know how much longer I have."

"Nicholas Piberius Wilde! You get out of bed this instant!"

She peeled the sheets and Nick had his eyes rolled in the back of his head and his tongue hanging out. He was drenched with "sweat" (which was actually just some water he got in the middle of the night and had splashed on him. "I see a light! Grandpa...is that you?"

"You're not fooling anyone you know?" his mother replied as she gathered his dirty clothes and put them in the hamper.

"I...COUGH! I took my temperature a few minutes before you came in...here." He handed his mother the warm thermometer.

"One hundred and twenty seven degrees. By all rights you should be dead. You must have Watt-itus."

"Watt-itus?"

"A high fever from hanging the thermometer in front of an 80-watt light bulb. C'mon Nick! I don't have time for this!"

Nick protested. "I'm really sick mom! Can't I just miss school today?"

"Then I'd have to miss work and we're barely scraping by as it is. But don't worry. I have a shot you can take that will make you feel all better."

Nick hated taking any shots. "I-It's okay! I'm not that sick!"

Vivian pinned her son down. "Oh but I insist!" She then put her muzzle to his stomach and blew fart noises on it that made him giggle. She picked him up and caressed him. "Now come on. What's bothering you?"

"...We have a math test today."

"So? You do okay at math! Better than I did at your age."

"Tell that to my teacher, Mrs. Damwood. She thinks I'm cheating, but I'm not!"

"Now why would your teacher think that her student who tries to hustle his own mother out of going to school think he's dishonest?"

"...I have a deskmate. Her name is Stacy."

Vivian squeezed the boy. "AWW! Does my Nicky have a girlfriend?!"

"No! She's a mouse! She's just a close friend! Her desk is on my desk so she can see the teacher. Mrs. Damwell makes me put on these blinders so I won't see her work, but Stacy gets lower scores than me! Her papers are so tiny, I can't even read them. I get lower grades than her even if my score is higher! It's not fair! She just doesn't trust me because I'm a fox!"

"Wait, your teacher deliberately lowers your grade even if your score is high?"

"Yes! I hate her!"

"Don't say that. I'll have a talk with her some time. In the meantime, YOU have to get ready for school young man!"

Nick got out of bed and started getting dressed. "Is dad here?"

"No. With the holiday season going on, he's able to get extra work. We need to save up as much as we can right now."

Nick looked sad. "I hardly get to see him anymore. I miss him."

Vivian kissed her son on the cheek. "I miss him too dear. He'll be home in time to tuck you in tonight. Now let's hurry!"

An hour later, young Nick was waiting at the front of his home for the bus to arrive. As it stopped at his house, the doors open and he stepped in. He looked inside. As some of the prey children saw him, they moved from the window seat to inside so he couldn't sit next to them. Luckily, he saw the friendly faces of his friends, Ben Clawhauser and Flash Lightning way in the back. Nick sighed. "Back of the bus as usual."

"Hi Nick!" said the chubby cheetah Ben.

"Hey Benny." Nick replied.

"Oh! I wanted to show you a cool thing I got yesterday. Can you hold my bag?"

"Sure!"

Ben dropped the bag on Nick's lap and almost crushed him. "AAAHH! What's in here?!"

"Just my lunch. Check out this new laser pen my uncle gave me!" Ben aimed the laser from the pen down at the ground and a few feline cubs jumped out of their seats to try to chase it.

Nick couldn't see it with the large, heavy bag on his lap. It was crushing him."Can't...feel...legs!"

Flash smiled. "Ha!...You're …...talking...like...me!"

Ben then put the pen away and took his lunch bag back. "So, what do you guys want for Christmas?"

"A...skateboard." said Flash. "It...will...help...me...move..."

"...faster."

"I want a lifetime gift card to Kitty Kremes!" said Ben. "What about you Nick?"

"I want a Super Nine-ten-doe and a copy of Street Ferret 2!" Nick shouted.

Some of the kids in the next seat over started to laugh at Nick. "What's so funny?!" Nick asked.

Classmate and son of Nick's teacher, Chucky Damwood the woodchuck turned around in his seat. "You! Thinking your family could ever afford a Super Nine-Ten-Doe!" The beaver said. "You're the second poorest kid in class!"

"How would you know how much money my family makes?!"

"Because Craig Twotone here keeps track of how much lunch money or what kind of lunch each student has and calculates it by what he assumes their income would be."

Craig, a young zebra with glasses, peeked his head over. "I'm gonna be an economics major when I grow up! And judging by this chart I made, every other day you only bring in a peanut butter sandwich, a small bag of blueberries and a small bottle of water. The poorest kid is your deskmate Stacy Cheddar. She doesn't bring anything for lunch and leaves school hungry."

Nick was shocked by this news. "Stacy doesn't bring ANYTHING for lunch?! That's terrible!"

"Are you worried about your girlfriend Nick?!" Ben asked.

Nick's ears were starting to blush. "She's not my girlfriend Ben! She just has her desk on my desk so she can see the teacher! We're just deskmates!"

The bus stopped and everyone started to get off, but Flash wanted to tease Nick some more. "More..."

The kids were off the bus. "...like..."

They were now walking to their classroom. "...soul..."

They were now in their room and going to their desks. "...mates!"

Nick couldn't believe how long it took for Flash to get that out. "Slow burn Flash. Very slow burn."

Nick got to his desk when he felt something tug at the bottom of his pants. It was the little mouse, Stacy. "Hi Nick!"

"Hey Stacy!" Nick replied with a smile. "Need a lift?"

"Of course!"

Nick picked her up and put her on his desk. "Ready for the big math test?"

"Not really."

"I studied as hard as I could." Nick then remembered back to what Craig said about Stacy having nothing to eat. "Hey! Umm..would you like to hang out with me and the guys for lunch? I could share my sandwich with you."

The tiny mouse started to blush. "Wh-What?! OH! Why ummm...ummmm...sure!" Nick was confused, but Stacy was definitely thinking something else. "Oh my gosh! The rumors are true! He like-likes me! Clam down Stacy. Don't blow this!"

Mrs. Damwood stood in front of the class. "Alright children, settle down. It's time for roll call. "Chucky dear?"

"Here." said the woodchuck. "And I told you don't call me 'dear' in front of the guys!"

"Sorry baby. Craig Twotone?"

"Here!"

"Stacy Cheddar?"

"Here!" Stacy shouted with a tiny bullhorn she kept in her desk so the teacher could hear her.

"Nick Mild?"

"Here! And it's 'Wilde' Mrs. Damwood. Nick Wilde."

"Whatever. Flash Lightning?"

Flash was slowly raising him arm. "Forget it." said the teacher. "I see you. Benjamin Clahauser?"

"Here!" said Ben.

Flash's arm was still going up. "Nevermind Flash!" said the teacher.

Minutes later, the teacher took the rest of the roll call and went on with the day. "Okay class. I hope you're ready for today's test. Craig will hand out the papers so get your pens out of..."

"...Here!" Flash finally said as he managed to fully raise his arm.

Mrs. Damwood flopped down onto her chair and put her paws on her faces in exasperation. "Every time. Every. Single. Time."

Moments later, the math test papers were handed out and the kids were ready to start. "Just a moment!" said the teacher. "Nick, put on your blinders."

Nick was really upset. "But Mrs. Damwood! I'm not cheating!"

"I don't care. Put them on!"

"She gets different scores than m-"

"NOW!" she shouted. With no other recourse, Nick lifted Stacy and her desk up so he could reach into his desk and got out the tiny horse blinders and put them on. The rest of the class giggled, not that he could see them from the sides. Just straight forward. "This is so stupid!" He mumbled.

"I'm sorry." Stacy said.

"It's not your fault." Nick replied. That exchange alone got the teacher to shout "No talking during the test!" at them.

It was stressful, but Nick finished the test on time. The class then studied history and grammar. Then, it was time for lunch.

Stacy sat on Nick's shoulders as they entered the cafeteria. "Thanks for inviting me to hang out with you guys!"

"No problem." Nick replied.

Ben decided to tease Nick. "Yeah. Nick loooves to have his girlfriend with him!"

Poor Nick was flustered. "She's not my girlfriend! She's my deskmate!"

Then Flash started in. "More...like..."

"Flash, buy the time you get that joke out again, lunch will be over."

"...Point...taken."

Ben apologized. "I don't mean to tease you Nick. I'm actually jealous! You two make a cute couple."

"We're not a couple!" Nick said angrily. "We're just friends!"

"Nonsense! You two just have to find something in common...Oh! Like how you're the poorest kids in class!"

Flash chuckled. "Poor...pals."

Nick was getting frustrated. "A boy and a girl can be close friends without it being romantic."

Ben got excited. "Ooooh! Did you hear that Stacy? He said you were close!"

Stacy started to giggle, but Nick was starting to get embarrassed. "Ben, shut up and eat!"

"My dad says that all the time! It may explain how I got so fat."

The kids put their meals down on the table. Flash had a ton of leaves, an apple and a large centipede. Nick had a peanut butter sandwich, some blueberries and a juice box. Ben had about five children's worth of food. Watching him pull everything out was like a magician pulling out a ton of items from a tiny, magic bag. Poor Stacy had nothing.

"Aren't you gonna eat anything?" Nick asked Stacy.

The mouse shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay. I eat when I go ho-...when I meet up with my mom."

"Well, I'm not gonna let you starve. Here! You can have half my sandwich."

Stacy was excited. "Really?! Are you sure?!"

"Yeah. I can get more food. Watch this." Nick went over to Ben to talk to him. "Hey Ben!"

"Hey Nick!" The fat cheetah said happily.

"Nice peanut butter and jelly sandwich. What kind of peanut butter is that?"

"Geoffrey peanut butter."

"GASP! You mean you didn't hear about the umm...the Sam and Ella outbreak at the Geoffrey plant?!"

"An outbreak?!"

"Yeah! They're recalling all the Geoffrey peanut butter! You should throw that one out."

"Good idea! Good thing I have my back up sandwiches."

"Back up sandwiches?"

"Yeah! Remember when I was getting bullied real bad? They'd always steal my sandwich. So my mom would then give me a back up sandwich and a back up for the back up."

"You...have three sandwiches?"

"Yeah! One PB & J, one tuna and one cricket."

"Ben...you haven't been bullied much in six months!"

"Don't tell that to my mom."

"Well...I'll throw that PB & J out for you since I'm on my way over there."

"Thanks Nick! You're a good friend."

Nick took the sandwich and walked over to the trash can only to pretend to toss the sandwich out. He kept a close eye one Ben to make sure he didn't see him fake it, but Ben was too attentive to his lunch. Nick sneaked the sandwich back to his table. It was only then that Ben noticed. "Oh! You have a PB & J too?!"

"Uhhh...yeah. But it's store brand peanut butter so I'm okay."

"Store brand?! You poor kid."

Nick then smiled and whispered at Stacy. "See? Now I'm up half a sandwich."

Stacy felt a little guilty. "Thank you but...you shouldn't lie to your friends."

"Ben wouldn't give up a crumb if I asked and he's got enough food in his lunch bag to feed a small country. He'll be fine."

"Can I have one of your blueberries?"

Nick was hesitant. If there was one thing on earth that he loved, it was blueberries. Still, one out of a few dozen wouldn't hurt.

"Errrr...well...I guess."

Ben gasped as he saw Nick give her a tiny blueberry. "GASP! You gave her one of your blueberries?!"

"Yeah, so?" said the fox.

Ben grabbed and hugged Nick close. "I know much you love blueberries. It must be true love! I'm so happy for you!"

"ACKK! Ben! Knock it off!"

A few hours later, class was almost over and the teacher was saying goodbye. "Okay kids, see you tomorrow. Don't forget the toy charity drive. If you can't afford a toy, you can also donate $10. Don't worry Stacy, you're expelled from that. Don't forget to pick up your test scores on the way out."

Everyone went up to the desk and picked up their tests on the way out. Nick picked up Stacy's tiny test and handed it down to her. "Aww! I got a 68." she said. "It's a C."

Nick looked at his paper. "Alright! I got 82 and...a C plus?! What?!" Nick immediately turned around. "Excuse me? Teacher? Stacy got a 68 and you gave her a C."

"Right. So?"

"I got an 82 and you gave me a C plus. That's a mistake. It should be a B!"

"Sorry Nick, but the grades are not attached to your scores, but rather your errrr performance."

"What?! That makes no sense!"

"Some...'people' need a bigger boost than others. Would you rather I brought Stacy back in and gave her a D?"

"No...but, I don't understand!"

"You're just a fox. You wouldn't get it."

"But our brains are all the same! Why should our math grades be different?!"

The teacher let out a cackle. "Hooo Ho Ho! That's cute that you think a fox can be as smart as other mammals."

Nick was getting furious. The teacher dismissed him. "Now go away. Other students need to pick up their test scores."

Nick saw the next paper and yanked it off the table. "HEY!" The teacher shouted.

Nick saw the name on the paper and the grade. He also noticed something else. "Mrs Damwood, why does your son get an A but no score?! You're hiding his score!"

The teacher was furious. "How DARE you accuse me of falsifying grades?!"

"You're specist! That's why you accuse me of copying Stacy's tests despite the fact she gets lower scores than me!"

"How DARE you! One more word out of you and I'll put you in detention. Not only that, I'll re-correct the scores and your little mouse friend will get a D minus. Understand?"

Nick wiped some angry tears from his eyes and nodded his head.

"Good! Now get out!"

With Stacy following behind, an angry Nick was walking away from school with his friends. "It's not fair! She's giving better scores to prey than predators! And did you see that Chucky got no score on his report, but got an A?! There's no marks on his paper at all! It's like she didn't even check it!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" said Ben. "I got a C+ too!"

Stacy corrected him. "But Ben, your score is 86. Normally, that's a B plus."

"Really?!"

Nick finally calmed down. "Flash has a score of 75 and an A minus. Well anyway, I'm gonna tell my mom on her. You should too Benny."

"Why would I tell your mom if you're going to?"

"I meant YOUR mom! Not mine!"

"Oooh! That makes a lot more sense."

Nick was upset. "What a day. Everyone thinks Stacy and me are a couple, my bad grades are not even my own fault and now I have to get $10 from my parents for that charity and they're broke as it is! You're lucky Stacy. You get good grades even with a bad score and you're poor enough that no one expects much from you."

Stacy was furious at Nick's comment. "Shut up Nick!" She then stormed off crying.

Nick was confused. "What did I say?!" He turned to Ben and Flash. "You guys go ahead to the mall. I'll catch up."

Ben then grabbed Nick by the shoulders. "Talk to her Nick or else you'll regret it! Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life!"

"...You watch too many movies Ben."

Nick ran back towards the school, looking for his little mouse friend. "Stacy? Stacy, I'm sorry for whatever I said! Stacy?"

He heard some tiny sobbing in the high grass. "Stacy? I-I don't wanna step on you. Can you come out?"

"Go away!" she yelled which gave away her location.

"There you are!" Nick got down to his knees in the high grass. "Stacy, I'm sorry. You're not lucky because you're poor. That was a dumb thing to say. You're my friend! Please don't be mad at me."

Stacy walked over to Nick with tears in her eyes. "SNIFF! N-Nick, I'm not just poor, I...I'm...My mommy and me are homeless! BAAWWW-HAAAW!"

Nick gently picked her up and hugged her to his chest. "I-I didn't know! I'm sorry!"

"My mommy works all day at a diner in Little Rodentia and we sleep in the kitchen! We have no place to stay! Please. PLEASE don't tell anyone else! I'm so ashamed!"

Nick gently petted the mouse's back. "I won't Stacy. I promise!"

"R-Really?!"

"Really."

She rubbed her head against Nick's chest. "Th-Thank you!"

Just as they were hugging, they heard a squeal from behind. "Oh...Em...Goodness!"

"Oh no!" said Nick.

"I knew you two were an item! I just knew it!"

Stacy warned Nick. "Nick! You can't tell him I'm homeless!"

"I know. I know." The sly, little fox quickly came up with a plan. "Neither of us are gonna like this. Just follow my lead."

"O-Okay."

Nick stood up, cradling Stacy in his arms. "You got us Ben! Me and Stacy are a couple."

Ben couldn't contain himself and started squealing. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Nick just rolled his eyes. "This is a test of the emergency Benny system. This is only a test."