03

welcome party & judgments

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Judy and Priscilla entered the reception with their paws linked. The Founders' Hall was decorated with colorful lights of various sizes that glistened off the floor-length windows and crystal chandeliers. Even after months, the bunny still wasn't used to the grandeur of the buildings in the academy. Her old school back in Bunny Burrows consisted of cement blocks and fluorescent lighting, and not rich mahogany with stained glass.

"Oh wow. . .it's so pretty," Priscilla reminded her friend as they both took in the view. Or at least Judy did - the sloth was unabashedly scanning the crowd, obviously looking for Flash. "Just imagine. . . what they'll do. . . for prom?" she asked.

The doe fought back a groan. She has heard so much about prom in the city, but she tried to not think about it. She knew for some time now that she wouldn't be able to go. Most of the students couldn't bear to look at her without a hint of disgust, let alone want to ask her anything. And the standards were so ridiculously high. The present mammals in the room for the current event were more dressed up than any Tri-Burrow politician. If this was just a 'reception', then she couldn't imagine what the most-awaited prom night would be.

Not five minutes later, Priscilla was approached by a female lynx with hair done up in an elaborate twist and diamonds (actual diamonds) dripping from her ears and wrist.

"Priscilla, dear," the feline purred, making it sound half like a greeting and half like a formality.

"Hello. . .Beatrix!. . .Welcome back. . . How are you. . . settling in?"

"Fabulously. I know I haven't been able to catch up since the lot of us returned from Purris...but things just have been so hectic." Beatrix began to look Judy up and down. "And who might you be, dear?"

Priscilla put an arm around Judy's shoulder. "This is. . .my friend. . . Judy Hopps. . .She started. . .last semester."

"Charmed. Miss Hopps, is it? I'm afraid I don't know your family. Where are you from?"

'Here we go' Judy thought, questions like this were always the start for her torture. It wouldn't take too long after asking questions about her family, and what they do for a living, or how much is their household's annual income (minus the taxes, of course), that her true identity would be revealed.

"The Burrows" the bunny deadpanned.

Beatrix's hazel eyes comically widened. "Pardon?"

Judy wasn't sure if she was just imagining it, but she might have detected a slight accent. Although she'd been at the academy the same amount of time Beatrix had been abroad, Judy knew she nor Priscilla wasn't speaking with an entitled accent unlike the lynx.

"Bunny Burrows. You know, part of the Tri-Burrows? I'm a mammal scholar, from outside Zootopia." the doe decided it would be best to get it out of the way.

"Oh, I see." the feline crinkled her nose as if she could smell the mediocrity coming from the lapin. "Anyway, Priscilla dear, lovely to see you. Bond soon, yeah?" She air-kissed the folivoran goodbye and turned without giving Judy a second look.

"That's Beatrix Swift. . .Flash's stepsister," Priscilla told her friend once the lynx was out of earshot.

"She's his what?!" Judy tried not to yell. "Izzy, if I didn't before, 'now' I question your taste in guys."

The sloth grimaced. "Flash is nothing. . . like that. He's. . . really close with her. . . and maybe cares. . .what she thinks. . .but Flash is. . . he's. . ." she became flushed. "He's right. . . over there!"

The bunny followed her friend's gaze as the two mammals, who just entered, seemed to have caused the halt of every conversation in the room. The two couldn't have looked more different (besides the fact that one was a sloth and the other was a fox). The one on the left, Flash, was walking around the room, smiling and greeting mammals. He had the same body structure as Priscilla — though slightly bulkier — and his blue eyes also sparkled with positive energy like hers. Everybody seemed overjoyed to see him, and he, in turn, seemed genuinely as excited to be there. The other guy, however, was harder to read. He was quite slender with a vibrant red fur but with a look of eternal disdain etched upon his face. Judy might have found him quite handsome if he hadn't looked like he either was writhing in pain or contemplating a scheme.

"Who's the 'mammal' he's with?" Judy whispered.

Priscilla let her glance leave Flash for a moment. "Oh that's. . .Nicholas. . .Wilde." She whispered back.

"Is there something wrong with him?" the bunny asked a bit louder this time, as the scattered chattering returned to the hall.

Priscilla only shrugged her shoulders. "He does look. . . a little upset. Nick. . . can sometimes. . . be overly serious. . . but his brood is worse. . . than his bite. Once you get. . .to know him. . .at least."

Judy had a feeling there weren't going to be many mammals in the reception that she would want the chance of knowing (even if they belong to the slightly attractive category). 'And the feeling would be mutual'.

"Izzy!" Flash made his way right to the blushing sloth. "Just the mammal. . . I've been waiting. . . to see!" He threw his arms around and hugged her tightly.

Priscilla was speechless, and her highlighted hair could not even disguise her reddening face.

The male forlivoran, beaming from ear to ear, turned to Judy. "Hi. . .I don't think. . . we've met. . .I'm Flash Slothmore."

"Nice to meet you, Flash, I'm Judy Hopps."

He shook the bunny's hand and gave her a warm smile. "Judy, so good to. . . finally meet you too. . . I've heard all. . . about you from Izzy. . . She says nothing. . . but the nicest things."

'That's because Izzy is a saint', the doe heard herself almost say. Her friend couldn't say anything bad about anybody even when she and Dawn had tried to get her to.

Flash turned to his fox friend, who had been silently watching the exchange. "Nick. . .come on and. . . say hi to Izzy. . .and her friend. . . Judy."

Nicholas stepped forward and gave Priscilla a quick kiss on the cheek. Then he turned towards Judy with his eyebrows raised, and as his emerald eyes locked with her amethyst ones, an unexplainable rush went down her spine.

"Hi there," he said, shaking the lapin's hand and giving her a small, albeit curious smile.

"Hello," Judy replied. She was slightly unnerved by Nick's weird expression. He could have been judging her. Or he could have been making acquaintances. Or he could have been plotting a way to throw her into the pond outside the school grounds. But the fox only opened his mouth to (probably) say something (else), thought the 'better' of it, then decided to walk briskly away from their company.

Flash laughed this off. "I don't think. . . Nick has recovered from. . . the jet lag. . . Judy, it's really. . . a pleasure to meet you. . . but would you mind if. . . I take Izzy away. . . for a dance?"

'Jet lag? Yeah, right!' That seemed to be the least likely reason for Nick's rudeness to Judy, but Flash and Priscilla were so desperate to be in each other's paws on the dance floor that the bunny could hardly prolong the conversation. As the two sloths began to dance, she walked aimlessly around the cavernous hall trying to find Dawn, one of her other friends on campus. She weaved through conversations between her fellow classmates — conversations she couldn't be a part of because she couldn't brag — about opulent holiday gifts nor tales of exotic destinations. After a few minutes of meticulous dodging (and feeling like she was being watched), she finally gave up and went over to the food and refreshments table and began to fix herself a plate of the green bean casserole.

"Looks like it's true what they all say, huh?" Phern Beaverly, daughter of a shady real estate tycoon (and owner of Beaverly Hills Hotel), said as she came up behind Judy. "You can take the mammal out of the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the mammal."

Comments like this would just bounce off the doe's shield. No, she didn't have a trust fund. In truth, she doesn't really understand what a trust fund for or was, except, only, that it makes mammals act like humongous jerks. She always found consolation in the fact that she was 'genuinely' more intelligent than the majority of the students in her year, and that while most of them had gotten into the academy because of birthright and upbringing, she, humbly enough, made her way by pure talent - alone. 'After all, wealth can only buy mammals so much'.

Judy turned around and smiled sweetly at her. "I'm guessing Mr. Beaverly doesn't think that plowing lands and harvesting crops are impressive, either. But then again how would he - when most of the sites he builds his ugly buildings at were previously owned by helpless yet honest farmers who were unlawfully kicked out of their lands by false promises — so who am I to judge?"

"How dare you!" The seething beaver picked up a discarded bowl of carrot-chowder soup and smirked malevolently as she poured it onto Judy's dress. "Oops," Phern said with a smile as she 'innocently' walked away from the scene.

The bunny's upper thighs began to burn from the still-hot food. She tried to not make any noise as she quickly grabbed napkins. She could feel her eyes sting not only from the prickling sensation but also from the inevitable humiliation she would face as she walked back to their dorm later.

"Are you okay?" A paw was on Judy's shoulder, and instinctually she pulled away slightly. . .then all at once when she realized whose paw it was - Nicholas Wilde.

"Huh? Oh sorry. Yes, I'm wonderful!" the doe exclaimed. "Great food. Great music. 'Great' party. . ."

Judy went to the corner to try and save Priscilla's expensive gift. The last thing she needed was to go to the restroom since it was one of the most vulnerable places on campus, an easy trap (just one of the many lessons from her 'fine' education last semester).

"Here." Nicholas came over and handed her some napkins soaked in seltzer water.

"Thank you." She had to try to nonchalantly put her arm up the dress to wipe off her legs.

"It really is a 'great' party." The fox leaned in. "So wonderful that it makes you want to hate it. . .especially when you're only dragged by your friend."

"Ha-ha-ho! Guess that's one of the many things Flash and Izzy have in common - their powers of persuasion."

"And despite our better judgments, we've allowed ourselves to be persuaded - or should I say pressured?"

"Hmn-mnn, well, guess the two of us at least have that in common."

Nicholas looked at her with intrigue behind his eyes. "And what makes you think we don't have 'anything' else in common?"

Judy let out a little laugh. She had forgotten that the vulpine didn't know about her or her real situation.

The fox studied the bunny's face for a moment with a weird expression again, before turning his attention back to the matter of the ruined dress with a shake of his head. "Is it coming out?"

The doe could only shake her head. While the dress was high quality, it had a delicate layer that was becoming crusty from the viscosity of the soup and the chunks of vegetables in them.

"Izzy's going to hate me," she muttered with a sigh.

Now with confusion written all-over his face, Judy braced herself for the todd's next question. "Why would Priscilla hate you?"

"This dress was a gift from her. I could never own a dress as half-nice as this. And maybe, now, she'll let me stay in our room once and for all instead of trying to turn an ugly duckling into a swan with store-bought feathers."

"Oh." Something had begun to register on the fox. His mildly amused look had been replaced with a slow understanding of what was 'truly' going on. It irritated Judy that he seemed to be helpful and genuinely concerned for her regardless of species... until he found out about her deepest, darkest, secret.

"Yes, I'm a scholarship student."

Nicholas outwardly grimaced at the word scholarship. It was as though the mere mention of them charity cases caused him a week's worth of migraine.

"Right," he cleared his throat. He gestured again to the soup stain of Judy's half-ruined dress. "Well, since anyone can remove a stain on their own, I will take my leave and bid you 'adieu'." Then he left as abruptly as he'd come.

Judy badly wanted to retort back, but she could only keep her mouth shut as she took in her current state: a meek bunny with paws full of soup-soaked napkins with a few rogue slices of carrots and a bruised ego. She shouldn't have been surprised that once Nicholas found out the truth about her, he wouldn't want to be seen in her presence.

She guessed this was a reminder from the universe that nothing was going to change this semester for her. She was who she was, and she should have considered herself lucky that there were at least a couple mammals who accepted her.

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All major or minor characters and settings (even brand names) are owned and trademarked by Disney, and I do not claim ownership over them and the world of Zootopia (aside, of course, from my original characters and some fictional places that I added) - though I would like to thank Byron Howard and Richard Moore for giving us these anthropomorphic mammals that we love to hate (oh you bet I would include Jack and Skye) or hate to love (sorry not sorry for being a Nick and Judy shipper) because without them, this retelling would not have existed.

If you've read a few lines (and utterances) referencing or are similar to those from the movie, know that I only used them in context that I deem fitting to the plot - I hope they're not that much of an issue considering this story, after all, is under the category of fanfiction.

And just a heads up for everyone, both Nick and Judy would be (equally) infuriating in the next chapters to come. . .but I assure you it won't be all for naught.