Chapter 55
"Hey mom have you seen my backpack?" Fox called out to his mom before he left for his first day back to school. "I moved it into the living room here on the couch." "Why'd you do that?" He had a puzzled look on his face when he picked it up and slung it on his back. "I just wanted to make sure we knew where it was. And I had something to put in there." She smiled at her son as he pondered what it could be. He grabbed a piece of toast and waved goodbye as he ran out the door to his car.
As he approached the lockers where the guys were, he could only ponder what his mom could have put in his backpack before he left. Fox never even noticed when she took it, whether it was last night or this morning. Fox laughed a little as he looked around, trying to find Bill. "Right, I already forgot that Bill took off for the Cornerian flight academy. I even talked to him a few days ago but I still forgot." He said to Falco and Slippy while laughing a little.
"I'll miss him." Slippy said with a somber tone. "Yeah, things are gonna be different without him. Things are gonna be different this semester considering…" Falco cut Fox off, "Don't think about it man" The three friends just smiled at what Fox was alluding to. "Yeah, you're right. Guess it'll take some time to getting used to there being less of us." The guys nodded with Fox.
The bell sounded and they knew what time it was, they all waved to each other as they set off for their first class of the day. He waved at his teacher as he walked in and looked over to the right side of the room. He saw Wolf and Panther sitting beside each other, Fox hadn't forgotten what happened last time he saw Panther. "Hey fellas" He said as he took his seat across from them.
"Hello" Panther said awkwardly, it seemed that he also remembered what happened last time they encountered.
"How's it going for you guys?" "Fine." Panther blurted out, still sounding nervous and awkward.
"Been making it alright" Wolf said, ignoring the cat's current temperament. Fox nodded and smiled as his classmates relayed their status to him. 'Guess he still remembers what he did a few months ago, I nearly had since it may have worked out in my favor.' He thought as the teacher started the introduction of the class.
Panther stayed quiet the whole time during class, not making a single noise. When the class was dismissed he bolted out of the classroom. "Is he always like that?" Wolf just laughed at Fox's question. "I think he's scared of you. You know, since you might wanna get him back after last time you guys met." "Right, didn't think about that. I have a tendency to forget about that, can't figure out why."
"So are you gonna get him back?" Fox just shook his head. "No need to, I even think maybe I should thank him." Fox was laughing a little but Wolf only shook his head. "Don't think you should do that." "Why not?" "We'll talk at lunch, I gotta leave now. Just meet me outside before lunch and we'll go from there." Fox nodded to the Wolf as he turned and walked away. 'He always seems to have something in mind.' Fox thought as he turned into his next classroom.
"Dang, so we don't have lunch together this time. Too bad." Falco seemed a little indifferent when comparing schedules. "Yeah, guess we can't win them all." Fox just cocked his head back and looked at the ceiling. "Sure is a bit of a let-down, considering what you told me not to think about" Falco just rolled his eyes when Fox said that. "Good to see you're taking my advice." They laughed a little as they went back to their schoolwork.
Later on Fox walked towards the entrance to the annex at lunch, eagerly awaiting Wolf's arrival. He saw him walking down the hall a few minutes later then waved as he got closer. The two fixed their trays and Wolf walked outside, Fox looked around the lunchroom and didn't notice Slippy having lunch at this time either. 'So it's just me and Wolf huh?' He walked outside with a minute smile on his face.
Fox sat down at a table and put his tray down, Wolf put his tray down on the table then sat down right beside it, putting his feet on the chair in front of him. Fox opened the can of juice he got and took a quick sip. "So, don't thank Panther, why's that?"
Wolf took a bite of his apple then spoke, "The dude's a little impetuous now. I'm sure you've noticed. I don't know if he knows where girly is, and frankly it may be better that we don't bring it up around him. I don't know what happened between them exactly, if they're actually still an item or what. I'm not afraid for her safety, she's a big girl."
Fox's ears fluttered a little, he felt a warm feeling in his core at this mention. "You know you're the first person in a while who's said anything about her?" Wolf sneezed then wiped his nose with a napkin. "So then you and your crew have just ignored her?" Fox wanted to deny that, but had to take a pause to collect his thoughts. "Yeah, I guess we have." He couldn't find anything else to say.
"Maybe you'll find her one day. Ever gone to her house? Try to find her there?" Fox just shook his head. "Hey dude, not trying to be rude, but you mind changing the subject?" Wolf just laughed a little, "Tender spot huh? Ha, sure thing." Fox tapped his finger on the table a little, "So how is Panther? I imagine things didn't go well, whether they're broken up or not?" Wolf just shook his head, "He doesn't care anymore. He tried denying what you told girly, but somehow she knew he was lying." Fox laughed a little, "But after trying a few times he gave up and moved on. At least that's what he says, maybe he still likes her." "I hope he's okay."
As Fox finished his statement, the bell rang for the next class. "Looks like it's time, I'm headed over that way if you want me to throw your tray in the garbage" Wolf scooted the tray towards Fox as he picked it up, he nodded to the vulpine and walked off. 'Oddly enough, feels good to be back. Guess I was right, he's not so bad a dude after all. I wonder if…' Fox's thoughts trailed off as he walked off to his next class alone.
Once the day had ended he slowly strolled around the school heading to his parking spot. 'Wow, guess it really has been a while'. He walked past the front entrance and saw a familiar figure walking down the stairs to the sidewalk he was on.
"Hey Fox!" He just chuckled a little at his unexpected guest.
"Hey Fara, how've you been? It's been a while." "I've been great. Just been trying to take it easy and make sure my grades are good. Almost time to graduate so I'm trying to get a nice academic scholarship."
"That's great that you have your mind set on something. Where do you think you'll go?" She just scratched her head as she thought about that. "I'm not sure yet, but I just wanna make sure I'm prepared, you know?" He laughed a little as she told him, "Yeah, you definitely have a good plan, even if it's not totally worked out." He smiled at her as they walked towards the parking lot.
They reached her car first and he waved goodbye to her as he walked off. He heard her try to start the car but it made an awkward noise as it refused to start. He walked back over to her and told her to try starting it one more time. "Pop the hood?" He requested as she did so and he pulled it up.
He scanned the contents of the hood and looked around, 'Slippy hasn't left yet, that's good, might need him.' "Give it one more go" He told her as he signaled with a wave. She did so and he waved one more time to tell her to stop, then beckoned her to get out and come look. He pointed at a belt near the front of the car, "This thing came loose because it's too big. You can probably make it home no problem but I would get a new one before too long. Slippy told me about these a while back, they aren't hard to remove and put back on. I think the store down the road from here should install it for free."
He smiled at her as he fixed the belt and shut the hood, "Thanks Fox!" She smiled at him as she got back in the driver's seat and drove off as Fox said she could. He waved as she pulled out of the school's parking lot and she waved back. 'Wow, and to think a year ago…' His thoughts trailed once more as he walked over towards his own car.
"Hey Fox!" He heard one more familiar voice as he poked his head out of his car when he put his backpack in the shotgun seat. "Hey Slip!" "Who was that? Did they need anything?" "Yeah it was Fara, one of those frontal belts popped loose, those ones you told me about a while back." Slippy nodded in remembrance of his small mechanical tutor session with Fox. "I'm glad you were here, was really hoping we wouldn't need you but luckily you were here if we did." Fox told the frog, all the while laughing a little.
Slippy returned the laugh as he waved goodbye and headed to his own car. Fox made it home and waved to his parents as he made it home. He retreated to his computer desk and emptied his backpack to organize everything from school that he got today.
As he did, he saw a folded sheet of paper fall out that he didn't recognize. With a curious look, he picked it up and unfolded it. He instantly knew who wrote it, the handwriting was unmistakable.
'Make the best of it, I hope you have a good day back and do your best! Love, mom.' Fox laughed a little as he pieced together all of the day's puzzles. He looked into the living room as his mom sat down with James,
'Love you too mom.' He thought as he tucked the note away.
If you're a sucker and thought the note was from Krystal, drop a comment lol. Hope you all enjoyed it.
