Part 67

Suki sat at her computer, the twins sleeping cozily in their bassinet. Her best friend, Linda, sat at the other chair, drinking coffee.

"They are so cute." The mare reached over to gently stroke Rosamund's cheek.

Suki sighed. "Yeah, they sleep great during the day. Poor Nooshy and Porsha, they were up almost all night last night and the poor dears barely got any sleep." She smiled as her computer chimed. "Oh, wonderful! Porsha decided to put the company up for sale. Looks like Wilmer Valdosta from the Majestic is interested. He's offering double what the company is currently worth."

Linda whistled. "Wow. Why does Porsha want to sell? She could just hire someone to manage the company for her."

She shook her head. "She just wants to be done with it. To be fair, I think she's still a little traumatized. Thank God, she has Marcus. He's so sweet." She turned when Luke began demanding his lunch. Rosamund soon followed suit and she grabbed two bottles from the fridge. Because of the circumstances around their birth, the doctor had warned her they would need a specialized formula to aid in proper growth. She looked up as her phone rang. "Hello, you've reached Mrs. Green. What? She's not sick… She left for school this morning. What do you mean she's not there? And she's missed how many days? Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll talk to her. Thank you for letting me know. Bye." She hung up. "So apparently Nooshy is skipping school."

The horse shook her head. "Poor girl. School must be a bit of a shock to her system. Wasn't she homeless before?"

Suki nodded. "Yeah. It's strange. She tried faking sick not long ago. She said she was just trying to have a normal high school experience which includes trying to fake an illness." She sighed. "Obviously something is going on. I wonder if Porsha might know where she is." She quickly sent Porsha a text, knowing she should be at lunch. A few moments later, her phone binged. "Ahhh…" She sent another quick text to Johnny. If she wouldn't talk to them, she might talk to him.

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On the way home, Johnny and Ryan stopped to get Neo some new clothes. The boy was in awe at the sheer quantity of shirts and pants, socks and even four different pairs of shoes.

"Wow! I've never had such nice things before! Or new things! Thank you!" Neo said as he looked at the clothes.

Ryan laughed. "That's not all. You're a kid and all kids need…" He turned Neo until he saw the neon lights of the toy store. "I mean, at least a few right?"

Johnny smiled while pulling his buzzing phone out of his pocket. "Huh… Hey, would either of you mind if I stepped out. I need to find Nooshy for Suki. She skipped school."

Ryan shook his head. "Want us to come with you?"

"Nah, I got it. Neo, I'll see you guys back at home okay?" He reassured the little cub, ruffling his head fur gently.

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In the park, Nooshy danced for the crowds. She loved that Calatonia was a lot more accommodating of street performers. Her hat was filled with money. Money she would happily give to her benefactors.

In the middle of her dance, she realized there was a familiar face in the crowd. She finished her set and picked up her hat. "What's up, Johnny?" Maybe she could salvage this.

"Not much. Wondering why my little sister is skipping school when she was so excited about school last September," he chuckled.

She sighed while picking up her radio. "I just… I can't talk about it…"

Johnny shook his head. "Come on, let's go get some lunch." He led her away.

Shortly after, the pair sat in Croc's, eating burgers and fries. "Okay, let's try this again. Why are you skipping school?" He asked. "I thought you liked your classes."

Nooshy swirled her fry in ketchup. "I do! But Johnny, everyone treats me differently. They make fun of me and call me a nerd. All because I like school. I got sick of it."

He nodded. "Why didn't you tell anyone you were having trouble?"

She shrugged. "I didn't want to start trouble. There was already so much going on." She lay her head on the table.

Johnny squeezed her shoulder. "Hey, teenagers can be little shits. They're jealous that they're not as smart as you are." He said.

"What do I do?" She asked. "How do I make them stop?"

He sighed. "Well, the last thing you want to do is skip school. All you do is give them what they want which is to interfere with your love of learning. The best thing is to find a group of friends who share similar interests and simply refuse to give the bullies a voice. And talk to us. Big Daddy and Suki, me or Ryan, even Porsha. Remember, a very wise woman once said, 'No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.'"

She nodded. "Thanks, Johnny. Are Big Daddy and Suki mad at me?"

Johnny shook his head. "Big Daddy doesn't know yet and Suki is just worried about you. So why don't we finish up and go home. I have someone I want you to meet." He smiled excitedly.

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"Wow! This is my room?" Neo asked as he followed Ryan into the second bedroom of their new apartment.

There was already a blue race car bed in the corner with a roadmap rug. An empty toy box sat in the opposite corner, waiting for the toys that Neo had chosen.

Ryan nodded. "Yep. We were eager to start our family. I hope you like the bed and everything…"

The clouded leopard hugged the tiger. "It's great! Thanks, Ryan."

He hugged Neo back. "My pleasure. And hey, feel free to call me and Johnny "dad." That's what we are now. We're your dads."

Neo smiled. "Thanks… Dad…" They looked up as they heard the door open.

"I'm back!" Johnny called. They came out to the living room. Nooshy was with him. "I found her."

Ryan nodded. "Great. Are you alright, Noosh?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I just needed some words of wisdom from my big brother. And who is this?" She asked, redirecting attention back to Neo.

Johnny smiled brightly. "Nooshy, this is your new nephew, Neo." They were going to do the intros all at once at the theater but Nooshy needed some cheering up. "Neo, this is your Aunt Nooshy."

Neo jumped up and down. "I have an aunt! I have two dads and an aunt!" He jumped around the room before launching himself at Nooshy.

Nooshy caught him clumsily, laughing. "I can't believe it. You really did it! This is great, Johnny!" She hugged the child. "It's good to meet you, Neo."

Johnny nodded. "We're going to introduce you to everyone else tonight, Neo, but now I have to take Nooshy back to her apartment." The lynx looked sheepishly at him. "I'm sure you're not in any trouble. Suki is just worried about you," he reassured her while they left.

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Rosita came over as soon as Eddie explained the situation. She had plenty of extra clothes just Sara's size. "You poor sweetheart." She gently hugged Sara. "What a terrible ordeal you've been through."

Sara grinned nervously. "I'm okay…" She turned to Gunter.

He nodded. "This is your Aunt Rosita. She's one of my best friends."

Rosita hugged Gunter. "I'm so sorry about your sister."

Sara looked around. "So what is this place?" She had seen the apartment and the offices.

Gunter smiled. "This is where Uncle Eddie, Aunt Rosita and I all work." He led her through the double doors and into the auditorium. "We're actors, singers and dancers."

"And writers and producers and directors. We wear many hats," Eddie added. "We're having a show tonight. You can sit with Nana in her box." He smiled.

Sara looked at Gunter. "Will you be watching too, Onkel?"

He shook his head and smiled proudly. "I'll be on stage. You can watch your Onkel Gunter perform."

She clapped. "Yay! I love the theater. Mütter used to take me all the time."

Gunter laughed. "Ja! I used to perform for your mother all the time. And she would laugh and laugh. It was the most beautiful sound in the world." He sighed. "I always hoped I'd be able to bring her here… I wanted her to see…"

Rosita and Eddie both touched his shoulders. "Now her daughter will see you," the mother pig said softly. "And she'll be right by her side."

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Suki gave Nooshy a cup of tea while they settled in to talk about the situation. She saw the lynx was clearly trembling. "Why didn't you tell us you were having trouble?"

Nooshy looked at Johnny who nodded. "I didn't want to be a bother. You and Big Daddy have so much on your plates already. New babies and building a third floor. I didn't want to add to it. And I figured I could at least help out." She offered Suki the coffee can full of money.

Suki looked at the amount in the can sadly. "Oh, honey, you don't need to do this. We love you. We want to take care of you. We want you to come to us with your problems. No matter how busy you think we are." She took the can. "Tomorrow, we'll take this to the bank and open you a savings account and, while I have no problem with you busking after school and doing homework, I must insist that school and homework is your priority. And if someone is giving a hard way to go, you come tell me or Big Daddy. Okay?" She hugged the lynx gently.

Nooshy nodded. "Alright… does he know?" She asked. "Is he mad at me?"

Suki nodded. "I had to tell him but he was worried, not angry. He'll be home soon and it'll be time to go to the theater. So why don't we get dinner together? Porsha should be walking in any minute. Thank you, Johnny."

He smiled. "No problem. Ryan and I have a surprise to show everyone tonight. I'll see you there, Noosh."

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Alphonso and Meena were working the truck that day. The customers loved the husband and wife team and they sold a lot of coffee and pastries.

"Alphonso!" A familiar voice caught their ears. A hippo came over. "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon, Pastor John, what can we get you?" Alphonso asked.

"Just a medium hot black coffee, please. And I wanted to talk to you. You know Pastor Omar and his wife are leaving the church to go on an extended missions trip in Colombia, right?" The hippo asked.

"Yeah, it's sounds exciting. Why?" The elephant gave him his black coffee and took the payment.

"Well, that'll leave the youth group without a teacher and we haven't had any luck finding a replacement. Your knowledge of the Bible is enviable, according to your Sunday school teacher…" the pastor seemed to dance around his question.

Alphonso's mouth fell open as he slowly got the idea. "Pastor, I don't have a degree or anything. I thought pastors have to have a bachelors in Religious Arts."

He nodded. "They do but we would help you with that. We'd pay for it and everything."

The vendor looked at his wife. "Well, I'll need to think about it. I have a lot on my plate…" he explained.

"Of course, of course. Take all the time you need and let me know. The Church board thinks you'd be perfect," the pastor said. "You have my number." He took his coffee and left.

Meena smiled. "Alphonso, that's great. You'd be a great youth pastor."

He smiled at her. "I don't know. We already have so much to do but… it would be great. The youth group is so important. These years are the most influential on these young lives." He looked at the clock. "Oh! It's time to close up. We have to get ready for the show."

AN: Okay, I think I have some ideas brewing. I've had a request for more Meena and Alphie, so I think maybe it's time for his next step.