Chapter 6: Comfort from a Friend

Judy lied down on a bean bag as she cried. The needles of pain were now poking at her heart. How? Why? What had Judy done to deserve such negative words and laughter?! Why did nobody believe her?! Judy was usually an optimistic bunny, but the hurtful words were flooding her heart with pain. Suddenly, she hear something... Wait, was that, crying? Was someone with her?

"Hello?" Judy called out before seeing a small fox on another bean bag crying as well.

"Hey Nick, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Judy asked the fox kindly. Nick looked at Judy in a confused way, then relaxed.

"I was going to ask you the same thing. I got in trouble at recess. Nothing too bad," Nick replied, even though the pain in his heart said otherwise. Judy sighed.

"Bullies. Everyone is picking on me just because of my goals. It would probably be funny to you too," Judy answered. Nick then got up and sat on the bean bag next to Judy.

"No. Please, tell me what's wrong," Nick responded. Judy sighed again.

"Okay. I was asked what I want to grow up to be. When I said a police officer, everyone laughed and said mean things. A bear even cornered me at my locker," Judy explained. Nick's ears went down.

"So what? Why should they laugh and be mean? Lots of animals have done things that have been impossible. Why can't you? I mean it will be hard, but at least you could start out by giving tickets or something!" Nick commented. Judy gave Nick a look of disbelief.

"Oh my goodness! You don't think I could be a bunny police officer either!" Judy exclaimed, standing up.

"I didn't say that! I was just saying if you do become a bunny police officer, you might have to start out easy. That's all!" Nick retorted back.

"Well at least I'm trying! What are you going to do?! Attack me?!" Judy said before she realized what she said. Nick looked at Judy with anger. But as Judy looked at Nick, she also saw tears coming down, and a look of hurt too.

"You think I'm going to attack you? ... Never mind, you're just like everyone else..." Nick said before turning away from Judy. Judy realized she upset Nick. Suddenly, Nick turned around.

"Do you have any idea what it's like being a predator?! Everyone looks at me like I'm going to do something wrong! I even got bullied by a bison at recess!" Nick exclaimed before he started calming down. Judy stood in shock at Nick's reaction. Then after a minute or two, Nick started crying.

"You think it's okay going around being picked on for what you are?! It's not! I even wanted to join the Ranger Scouts, but they wouldn't accept me. They... they..." Nick said until he stopped talking. Judy stood in shock.

"What? What did they do? Please Nick, you can tell me. I'm sorry," Judy said gently. There was silence for for what like forever.

"They put a muzzle on me..." Nick replied softly before turning away. He then fell to his knees and cried in his paws. Judy stood in disbelief. 'They muzzled him?! Just because he's a fox? That's awful!' Judy thought to herself. She then realized that was a lot worse than what she was going through. Her eyes got watery.

"Nick," Judy said before the fox got up and turned towards her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" Judy said before hugging Nick as she cried. Nick hugged her back and cried too. After a good minute or two of crying. They both calmed down and separated from the hug. They sat on the bean bags and talked.

"What did we do wrong?" Nick said in wonder.

"We didn't do anything wrong. Everyone just doesn't believe us," Judy answered.

"I just don't understand. Why do animals hurt us? They don't trust me, and don't think you can be a bunny police officer," Nick responded.

"It's because of how they see us. All we do is be ourselves, but nobody sees the good things we try to do. Sadly we can't change that. All we can do is try," Judy replied.

"It's not easy," Nick commented.

"No, it's not. But we can't give up," Judy said kindly. The two mammals then got up, hugged again, and went to their classes.

Luckily, the rest of the day went by good. Both Nick and Judy told their parents about what happened, and they got some encouragement from their parents. The next several days went good, and whenever either Judy got bullied or Nick got bullied, the other one was there to help them out. They play was going good too. Everyone practiced their roles, and everything was smooth sailing.

"This is the most bizarre animal language I have ever read. 'Art thou?' What was this guy talking about? Animals are not art! Unless you paint a picture of an animal," Nick commented as he looked at the lines.

"No Nick. Art is his way of saying 'are'. There's no paintings in the play," Judy said before giggling. Nick smiled understanding what Judy said.

"Yeah, I'm excited for the play, and nervous. What if I mess up? What if I trip on my dress? What if I get embarrassed while on stage?" Judy said nervously.

"Don't worry Judy. As long as you remember what you practiced, you'll be fine. Plus, our teacher will be there to help. Everything will be fine," Nick told Judy, reassuring her. Judy smiled as Nick's words cheered her up. Besides, what could go wrong?