Fox released the armful of snow, letting it fall with a WHUMP. When the other children in the schoolyard saw what was happening, they put aside their snowball throwing and fort building to watch. "Attaboy, Fox!" "Yeah!" "You showed her!" they cheered, Fara and Slippy among their ranks.

Payload successfully delivered on his unsuspecting target, Fox stood back and crossed his arms. He grinned down smugly, encouraged by the rest of their fourth-grade class cheering him on. "Ha! You like that? That's what cheaters get!"

While the others continued calling and snickering, the pile of snow remained deathly silent.

"You know, maybe we'd play more games with you… if you'd just play fair!" he added for good measure.

"Cheater! Cheater!" the others chimed in.

A small avalanche of snow cascaded off the girl's dirty, faded coat beneath. Besides the icy chill in her monotone voice, there was no hint she even felt the snow falling down her back. "Did you ever think I'm maybe just better than you?" More snow fell as she shifted, revealing her folded ears, hunched shoulders, and tucked tail. "Or that I have better things to do than play your stupid games?"

Fox scoffed, knowing the others awaited his retort. "You mean you're too stupid to play them! That's why you gotta cheat. Didn't your parents ever teach you not to cheat, Blue? Nah, I bet your mommy and daddy are big blue cheaters, just like you!"

Too late Fox saw her teary eyes and teeth clenching beneath the snow. It exploded off her as she turned and leapt, tackling him to the ground. The other kids' cheers turned to screams and cries of dismay while Krystal shoved him face first into the bank, silencing Fox's yip with a mouthful of snow. He spat and thrashed as he suffocated face down till he finally managed to wriggle onto his back. But even then Krystal didn't let up; she sat herself atop him, punching his face with knuckles that stung even through ratty mittens.

"Children?! What are you doing?! Stop it this instant!"

Krystal's weight lifted off him, and finally Fox had a chance to breathe. He found himself wincing up at their fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Fishpaw, who held a flailing Krystal by the ear.

"Young woman, march yourself straight to the principal's office!" the otter barked.

Some time later, Fox and Krystal sat in the school hallway—as far apart as possible. Fox had his head tipped back and his fingers pinched over the bridge of his muzzle, a tissue pressed to his nose. As they waited, the box in his lap grew emptier by the minute, while the adjacent trashcan grew steadily fuller till his latest bloody tissue bounced out. He grimaced as he tasted iron at the back of his throat and felt more oozing down.

He stole a sideways glance at Krystal, glaring across the row of seats. She sat fidgeting with her hands, still snuggled in her hand-me-down coat as she stared blankly at the opposite wall. She wouldn't even look his way. All he could think about as he tasted more blood was how he might get back at her.

The door to the principal's office was cracked open slightly, while the shadows of the three women inside argued on the frosted glass. Fox didn't catch all the words, but he could make out enough to know Mrs. Fishpaw was angry with Krystal's mother, a vixen who did not in fact have blue fur, to his disappointment. Meanwhile, the principal just sat at her desk, caught between them as she listened and twitched her ears.

"That girl's a menace!" the otter was saying. "That's her third fight this semester! What if she hurts someone?"

"You know how hard it is for her; Corneria's a strange place to get used to."

The principal drummed her fingers as they bickered, then sighed. "I want to make this work; I really do. But if things don't improve after Christmas break…"

"Please, just one more chance is all I ask!"

"I don't see why we shouldn't. Next semester will be a fresh start, but we'll need assurances, Ms. Makepeace."

"And what happens when she hurts another one of my students? What happens when that freak gets in another fight?"

While so far as cold and blank as a snowman, Krystal flinched at that. She shifted in her seat, still not looking at Fox or the arguing figures. The principal's chair abruptly screeched as it slid out from the desk, and soon the women's voices were silenced when she closed the door. That left the two foxes alone in awkward silence again, refusing to speak to one another.

Eventually the door opened, and the principal called Krystal in. Fox gulped at the thought it'd be his turn soon, inadvertently swallowing more blood. By the time he'd staunched the flow, the door swung open again, and out walked Krystal's mother, a maroon-furred vixen with an auburn hair bun, daughter in tow. "Thank you so much," she told the principal with an indebted nod, gripping Krystal's shoulder. "She'll try her best."

The principal laughed, a pleasant chuckle like the thawing of a spring brook. "Just see that she doesn't cause another bloody nose before school lets out!"

Mrs. Fishpaw hmphed and stormed down the hall towards the fourth-grade classroom, and Krystal reluctantly dragged her feet as she shuffled after her. Fox discarded his last tissue and hopped off the seat to follow, doing his best to sneak past the door, but the principal inside cleared her throat. "James Fox McCloud: step into my office, please."

Tail between his legs, Fox skulked inside. Behind the desk sat another vixen, her smile gone as she pinioned him with a cross glare. "Young man, you and I need to talk."

"Ugh, Mom…" Fox scuffed his heel on the floor, then jerked his head over his shoulder. "Can I at least close the door? Blue—I mean, Krystal's still outside."

It was true; rather than follow their teacher, the girl had slunk back to the door, hunching just outside where she thought they wouldn't see.

"She's outside?" Vixy craned her neck. "No… no, send her away. I don't want her to hear this."

"Can't I just close the door? I don't wanna have to talk to her. It's not like she can hear through it—"

"Send her away, please, and see that she actually leaves. I don't even want her standing outside."

Grumbling, Fox went to tell Krystal to scram, but he found she had already taken off down the hallway. With a shrug, he returned inside and closed the door, the sound of the knob clicking like the latch of a prison—and his glaring mother made the most fearsome warden.

"I don't believe you, Fox! Getting in a fight with a girl!"

"She's taller than me!" he whined.

"That doesn't matter! What would your father say about it? If you're still so dead set on being a mercenary like him, don't you know he never hit a woman?"

"That's not true! He beat up Gallivantin' Gertrude, didn't he?"

"Gallivantin' Gertrude was a notorious shuttle thief!" Vixy crossed her arms and grumbled under her breath, "And besides, she got fresh with him…" She coughed. "But that's not the point! The principle's son doesn't go picking fights with other children."

"Well, she started it!"

Vixy smirked. "Oh? You mean she was the one who dumped snow on you?"

"I, well… no, but… she deserved it! She goes around punching and kicking us. She cheats on tests all the time! She's always beating me and the other kids, and she always cheats at games, too!"

"That's a serious accusation. Do you know she cheats?"

"Yeah! In card games, she-she always knows what we have in our hands, like she's peeking. I'm sure she watches us hide in hide 'n seek. In football she listens in when we plan our plays, and on tests she gets perfect scores. Mom, I know she cheats! Even Mrs. Fishpaw thinks so!"

Vixy closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, thinking for a second. "Alright Fox, I'm going to tell you something I haven't even told that old coot: Krystal does cheat. But you have to understand why she cheats. Krystal's from… out of town. She's new here and isn't used to school. Normally girls like her aren't allowed in the system. That's why she feels so competitive. She cheats because she wants to prove herself, to impress you and the other kids, and she needs an advantage."

Fox sniffed, his ears folding down. "It isn't just the cheating. Once when I confronted her, she said… she said she hoped that… that Dad died."

Vixy blinked. "…Oh."

"How did she know? None of the other kids told her. Did you tell her?"

"No! I…" She glanced to the side. "She… may have overheard me mention it."

Fox didn't like arguing with his mom; his father had done that enough over his career choice. "Can't you just… take me home early? That's what Krystal's mom should've done with her."

"Ms. Makepeace isn't her mother; she's the director of the children's home."

"Ch-Children's home?" He thought back to his last words to Krystal, realizing. "Oh…"

Vixy sighed. "Look, Fox, I know you've had a rough year. You're going through a lot after your father… went missing. Do you remember when you pretended to be sick for the first month and had to sign that paper so you wouldn't be held back a grade?"

Fox shifted at the memory, a little ashamed. "Yeah…"

"Well Krystal had to sign one too: one that said she'd try her hardest to learn, or she wouldn't be allowed here. That's why she tries so hard. That's why she has something to prove—to Mrs. Fishpaw, her other peers, and, believe it or not, you, Fox. Well, after what happened this morning with you, we had her sign another paper. After Christmas break, if she gets in one more fight, she'll be expelled, and it's back to the children's home—and you know no one likes her there either."

She shrugged and shook her head. "Frankly, I don't think she even cares to stay around, after the way you and the others treated her. I thought it'd be good for her to attend public school because there were more children to be friends with." She narrowed her eyes at him. "I forgot there would also be more bullies. And I certainly didn't think one of them would be my own son.

"James Fox McCloud, if you can't play nice with Krystal, please don't play with her at all."

The last day before break couldn't be over soon enough for Fox. Eagerly he leapt onto the bus and headed towards the back, where Fara and Slippy had saved him a seat between them. But as he made his way past the other kids, he noticed Krystal sitting by herself as usual, arms folded beneath her chin as she stared dully out the window. Glancing between his friends and the blue-furred vixen, he swallowed and made up his mind. As the bus started to move, he sat beside her instead, though as far apart as the seat would allow. Krystal glanced over in surprise, challenging him as she looked him up and down. She was confused by his presence, but ultimately returned to looking out the window and ignoring him.

They rode in silence for a time, Krystal staring at the white-blanketed landscape, and Fox awkwardly fidgeting in place as the other kids whispered and wondered what he was doing. He tried to tune them out. Krystal's back was turned to him, but he could watch her glum expression in the reflection of the window. Too late, he realized she could see him staring at her, too.

"I-I'm sorry for dumping snow on you!" he blurted out.

Some of the other children gasped, but Krystal showed no sign of hearing him. Fox scooted closer and cleared his throat. "Um, uh, are-are you doing anything to celebrate Christmas?" he asked.

He found himself staring at the back of her patched-up coat so long he thought she'd never answer. Finally however, she mumbled, "Like what?"

Fox shrugged. "Well, you know… Christmas stuff! Having Christmas dinner with fam…" He caught himself. "With everyone. Giving gifts and cards and going caroling…"

"Of course not. Christmas is just another one of your stupid Cornerian traditions, and I don't want any part in it. Besides," she sniffed, "Santa Claws isn't real."

Fox decided to let that one slide. "You mean you've never had Christmas dinner before?"

"…No."

He wrung his hands. "Do you, maybe… want to have it at my house?"

"Wh-What?"

Krystal finally turned around, and for the first time since his beating, he came face-to-face with her. Her blue hair was wet and unkempt from the snow as it fell over her eyes, almost concealing how teary they were.

"My mom the principal will be there—all the other kids say she's not as scary when she's at home—and Lucy from our class, and Uncle Peppy. We always have leftovers, so I'm sure Mom wouldn't mind."

She stared at him curiously for a few moments, and Fox had the distinct feeling of being a bug under a microscope—yet he didn't shrink back. He shivered and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly when he felt an odd tingle in his head, but it was probably nothing.

Then, for the first time ever, he saw Krystal smile. She quickly clamped down on it as soon as it appeared, but she shrugged and said, "Whatever. I have nothing better to do. I guess I could see what one's like. I'll… ask Ms. Makepeace."

They returned to sitting in silence as the bus bounced along, with Krystal staring out the window with disinterest again. But Fox couldn't help but smile to himself as he watched her, the cold, anxious knots in his stomach replaced with a seeping warmth.

"I'm sorry for cheating at games," she finally blurted back.

Fox shrugged. "It's okay. You're a girl; you have to cheat."

Krystal glared over her shoulder at him, then shoved him and let loose with a giggle.