05

big donut & overtip

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Monday morning, during study hall, Judy found the other mammal on campus that she calls a friend besides Priscilla, an ewe named Dawn Bellwether - whose wool was buried behind a stack of textbooks in the common room as she jots down notes and mumble to herself.

"Whatever happened to our 'no prey mammal left behind' pact, huh?" the doe threw her backpack down in the seat next to her classmate.

Dawn looked up from her book, startled. "Ah, Judy! I-I'm so sorry. I h-had every intention of going, b-but a nice quiet evening in my room was j-just too irresistible." She surveyed the books around them. "A-and I wanted to have a head start on the readings and w-what nots for this semester, b-because well, I-I, you know ..."

And Judy 'did' know.

Both of them were on permanent probation. Dawn was on an academic scholarship, so the ewe couldn't get below an A-minus average. While as a music and academic scholarship recipient, the bunny wasn't allowed below a B average. She also had to rehearse with Mrs. Otterton every other day, which was the only thing she looked forward to each week.

Although they have only had one concert so far, Judy was starting to get a reputation as one of the top music students in the campus. Since Zootopia was the heart of the country, the school prided itself not only for its academic curriculum but also on its programs for both visual and performing arts – music, painting, dancing. The academy was a place where accomplished mammals could retire anywhere in the country and make a luxurious salary teaching overprivileged mammals. Mrs. Otterton seemed to relish the fact that she at long last had a student who wanted a 'challenge' and could tackle difficult sonatas (but it also meant that, on top of studying, practicing, and working, there was little time left for Judy to do anything else).

"Oh, believe me, future Miss Assistant Mayor of Zootopia" Judy assured, "you didn't miss much." As she proceeded to convey the evening's events. "Though," she concluded, "Izzy's happy, at least. Both of them seem to be smitten with each other."

Dawn cracked a smile. "That's g-great then! B-but what about prom? A-Are there news?"

"Well, nobody said anything to me about prom. Then again, nobody said 'anything' to me at all, either."

'Not to my face, at least.' Judy shivered as she remembered the bitterness in the voice of a certain elitist fox.

"Ack, t-that's right. Oh, I-I hope Priscilla g-gets asked to prom s-soon." The sheep mused. "C-can you think of anything more a-awful than wasting a semester on a mammal w-who wouldn't even ask you to prom?"

"Hmmmn, if you can recall...I happen to have a long list of worse things that had already happen - 'and that could still happen' - to us." the bunny almost enumerated them but decided not to. "Believe me, Dawn, 'going to prom' without a mammal in tow, didn't even make the cut."

"Judy! D-don't you want to g-go to prom?"

To other mammals on campus, it was a simple question. To Judy however, it wasn't. Did she want to go to prom? Uh-duh, who wouldn't? She used to tear pictures of dresses out of Teen Doe's prom issue when she was a little bunny after all. Little Miss Trier (a nickname her parents had given her), even with her tomboyish demeanor, still imagined that she was simply one gown away from a fairy-tale evening. But that wasn't going to happen now. Because in her prom fantasy, she not only had a gorgeous dress, but she also had the perfect 'gentle mammal' by her side.

Judy looked at the ewe, her partner in poverty. "If only it were that easy, Dawn." She murmured. If only a lot of things were that easy. But that wasn't their reality. In real life, she was a charity case who was going to be late for her barely paying job if she didn't start moving.

Afternoons, especially an hour or two after dismissals, The Big Donut (just outside the school gates) was always busy. Mammals from in and out of the campus needed some fix to (easily) cram whatever they should've been doing all weekend. Judy wasn't sure what to expect on her first few days back from break. But when she arrived, she found herself walking into a madhouse. She quickly tied her neon pink apron around her waist, pinned her nametag, and jumped behind the counter.

"Right on time, Judes." her coworker, Ben, a plumpy cheetah, looked like he could use a break (which for him was an entire box of donuts). "I'm being surrounded by 'not' your kind."

Benjamin Clawhauser used to be a contemporary dance student at Zootopia Academy but was forced to drop out after he was bullied for openly proclaiming his love for (the now Popstar) Gazelle during their prom – just a year after the singer graduated. With his species and overall built the snack loving and overly excited feline constantly teased Judy for being one of 'them' - which in this case, refers to the elitists currently in line - on her first week.

The bunny assured him that if she was truly anything like their 'kind', she would never join him for an impromptu 'Angel with Horns' concerts and would have never been on the same side of the counter as him. And that would've been a loss for both of them. Because while the bunny didn't really like having to serve most of the academy students, she enjoyed hanging out with Ben and the other 'local townies' she meets or worked with.

Not that they always have time for gossips and sing-a-longs. Judy spent the next half hour frying donuts, brewing coffee, and restocking boxes as she keeps up with the influx of customers. She'd just finished wiping the counters when more mammals entered the shop.

"Welcome to The Big Donut. How can I help you?" she asked the next customer, who had turned around to stare out the window.

When he turned back to Judy, she was horrified to discover it was none other than Nicholas Wilde – who seemed just as perplexed to see her. 'Molds and mildews! Why here of all places?' She internally whined.

"Car–e'hm Miss Hopps, you work here?" he cleared his throat and asked, making it sound like he'd just walked into one of his many guestrooms to find her changing the bedsheet and pillowcases.

The doe looked down at her apron and tugged on her neon orange visor. "Oh no, I actually thought this was a costume party. Silly me!" She stated matter-of-factly. "Though since I'm here, might as well serve the pastries and beverages. . ."

There wasn't even a hint of smile on the fox's face. "Right. Then, I guess I'll have a large, black coffee. Although, please don't hurt yourself, again." Now the corner of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Yeah...I'm 'one hundred percent' sure you'd enjoy that."

Nicholas furrowed his brow and stammered a bit. "What?! No, I-uh, I just meant. . .after last night, you probably. . .tsk, never mind."

Judy turned her back on him and prepared his coffee order as quickly as possible without scalding herself.

"Here you go." She rang up his order.

He handed her a crisp fifty-dollar bill and started to walk away from the counter.

"Wait, Nic-s-sir, you forgot your change," the doe called after him who only turned back around and smiled stiffly.

"Keep it."

"Sir, your change."

"No, really, it's okay."

"Take your change, sir!" Judy hissed a lot louder than normal as she held out his money in her paw.

"Judes!" Benjamin gasped, clearly shocked at his coworker's outburst.

Nicholas paused, then came back over and hesitantly took the money from the slightly trembling bunny.

"Oh...em...goodness, bunny!" the cheetah said as the vulpine walked out the door. "Don't take this the wrong way...but you're crazy, you know that? That was an instant twenty-seven-dollar tip!"

Judy wasn't crazy. She didn't want to fit in with whatever stereotype Nicholas Wilde (nor his fellow landowners at Snob Hills) have about her or the rest of the prey scholarship students at the academy. Despite what he may have thought, both her dignity and integrity were not for sale. And so, for the rest of the shift she tried her best to regain and maintain her professionalism until Ben gave her clearance for a short break when her phone rang.

"I hope you. . .enjoyed your first. . .shift back, Judy!" the doe could hear her friend jumped up and down the bed as she pressed the device to her ear. "And. . .guess what?"

'Oh Izzy, you have no idea.' The bunny thought as she took off her shoes and started to rub her sore feet from hours of mammalling the counter. "Hmn, does this have anything to do with a certain Mr. Slothmore?"

"Yes! Yes! He. . .invited us both. . . to their family house. . . in Tundratown. . .next weekend!" Priscilla's voice was two octaves higher than the sopranos in their church choir back in Bunny Burrows.

"Oh-uh, t-that's great news, Izzy!"

"So. . .you'll go, right?. . .You'll switch your. . . work schedule and. . .everything?"

Judy knew she had promised Priscilla that she would make an effort with Flash, and she couldn't back down now. "Um of course I'll go. Although I have to warn you – I don't do well in the cold."

"Then. . .you can drink. . .hot cocoa while. . . you relax or study. . .and, Flash did say. . . his family owns. . .a grand piano, so. . . you can spend. . . that weekend practicing."

Even if she hates to admit, it did sound fun to the bunny (especially the piano part). "Fine, fine. I'll ask Ben to move my shifts this week."

"Yay!. . .You're going to. . . love Flash. . .And honestly. . . Bea and Nick aren't. . . as bad as you. . . make them out to be."

The lapin's amethyst eyes went skyward with a groan. "T-They're going to b-be there, too?"

"Ah-huh. . .I know you don't. . .want to see Nick. . .'cause you got off. . .on the wrong foot. . .but it's just. . .first impressions."

"I swear Izzy, if I didn't know any better, I'd have shove my foot on that mammal's-"

"Judy. . .please!"

The doe thought of protesting further, but she could just picture her friend's face – so hopeful, so expectant – that she didn't want to disappoint her. The sloth had been beaming since Flash's arrival at the reception, and as her friend she didn't want to be the one to tarnish that glow.

"Okay, okay," Judy sighed, finally giving in. She was doing this for Priscilla, - who not only has done so much for her but is also - her best friend.

Plus, she did have every intention of spending the entire weekend locked in their shared room or chained to the piano (even without Mrs. Otterton's supervision).

Judy would only go for both Priscilla and Flash - not to get to know that fox nor the lynx better.

And if that was not the case, she probably would not enjoy every second of it.

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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 I get a dollar every time someone tells me, I am far too invested in fictional characters with fur, I'd be a millionaire by now.

And since we're on the topic, I originally wanted Nick to purchase a donut to go with his coffee (and have Judy guessed if the one he ordered was his favorite - which is 'blueberry filled' obviously) but sadly the only known menu item from The Big Donut, at least according to Zootopia Wiki, was "donuts" in general - unlike other restaurants such as Bug Burga or The Juice Bar with specific or signature food and beverages - and I'm far too much of a stickler to rules and details like that, I had to scratch the idea.