(no subject)
A short excerpt of something I'm working on right now
A Bad Start
“Hey, freak, why’d ya dye your fur?”
With an ease born of long practice, Caedos ignored the taunting wolf. He wasn’t even half-way through his first day here at Five Oaks High; the last thing he wanted was to get into a fight. Not that the principal could call his parents. More properly, he’d try, but Caedos’ parents were on other coast, and more than welcome to stay there. And his sisters, too, for that matter. His regrettably late paternal grandparents had been the only people in Caedos’ family he’d ever felt any great affection from or for; he would gladly leave the rest of them.
A faint snarl for the thought of his family crossed the tiger’s face as he collapsed into a chair at an empty table with his lunch. Gazing down at the nigh unidentifiable items on his tray, he contemplated the practicality of bringing his lunch. Several moments passed as, one by one, Caedos eliminated the items given him as nutritious. Groaning at the thought of spending the rest of the school day hungry, he bolted what he hoped were a small handful chicken nuggets. He slid the tray several inches from himself in disgust. If only rabbit food was going to be offered, he would have to either eat big breakfasts and dinners or bring a lunch.
“What, the food not good enough for you? Ain’t it enough you went and dyed yourself, now you’re gonna reject perfectly good food?” The speaker, a bear, reached out and pulled the tray over. “I mean, that corn’s perfectly fine and the applesauce is actually pretty good, for change.”
Caedos turned to him, “You can have. I can’t eat it.”
“So you DO think you’re too good to be here, huh? I heard about you, blue-boy . . . all about you and your loads of money and your fancy house. This here’s a perfectly good school, and I aim to prove it to you.”
Something in the bear’s tone warned Caedos this wasn’t going to end well. Dejectedly, he unfolded his six foot two frame from the chair and turned to face his newest antagonist. The bear proved to be almost another foot taller, and easily two hundred pounds heavier. “Look, I don’t want to cause any trouble, but I really can’t eat the rest of this. No offense intended to anyone or anything, I’m sure it’s perfectly good, but. . . it’s not meat.”
The bear glared at Caedos a moment, grunted, and lashed out with a paw. Large he may have been, but slow he wasn’t; the blow knocked Caedos back onto the table. With a disgusted snarl, Caedos rolled to one side and tried to move into a fighting stance. He never got there, a second blow sent him sprawling to the floor, and a few kicks kept him there. In the background, dimly, Caedos heard the rest of the lunchroom crowd begin to chant and scream. Distantly, through a thick fog, he heard a teacher fighting her way through the mass of students. Then Caedos gave up his fight to keep awareness. The last thing he noticed before the fog claimed him was the bear slipping away, improbably, into the crowd.
* * *
A folded bandage pressed to his muzzle under his nose, Caedos sat in the hard plastic chair waiting. The nurse had proved only marginally less hostile than the bear, but she had given him the bandage and checked him for serious injury. Then she’d sent him here, to await punishment for fighting. What fighting? He had been beaten to the ground without ever doing anything.
Caedos switched hands holding the bandage. A scattering of hairs on his right hand were now tipped in fresh blood. The bright red didn’t really match his coat, a pale sky blue broken only by dark indigo stripes. Caedos had never heard a good reason WHY his coat was such an odd pair of shades; his parents both had more normal markings, his sisters, too, for all that Amelia was only white and black with no orange.
“Cuh . . . Caa . . . you, get in here.” Caedos looked up at the angry tone. The principal had to be the single angriest ewe he’d ever seen. “You haven’t even been here a full day yet, and already you’re getting into fights. No, when I’m ready for you to apologize I’ll let you know. Now, get in here. How DO you pronounce this abomination of a name?”
“Cai-dos, ma’am, rhymes with eye.”
“You couldn’t have chosen a normal name? Of course you couldn’t, that wouldn’t have stood out enough. Fine, whatever; so, I have reports of you picking a fight with Jacob Altermann. I can’t say much for your sense; he’s one of our starting linebackers. I tried to call your parents to tell them you’re being sent home for fighting, but no one answered at your home number. So, give me their work numbers.”
Caedos’ head fell, “Won’t do you any good; they still live on the other coast. Besides, I’ve got my independence; they’re not allowed within 500 feet of me. And why am I being sent home? I didn’t do anything!”
Principal Granger shook her head, causing her short white hair to sway, “Nothing? You tried to pick a fight with one of my linebackers, you did break a table and cause a disturbance. And now you’re bleeding on my furniture.”
“HE HIT ME! I never even touched him, or said boo until he came over and started railing on me about being stuck up. When I tried to explain I can only eat meat, HE decked ME.”
Ms. Granger glared at Caedos, “I doubt that very much. Mr. Altermann is one of my star students. He plays on the football team, I’ve never had to have him in my office, and no one has ever reported anything negative about him. You, on the other hand, in the course of the first half of your first day, started a fight, spilled acid forcing us to evacuate the Chem Lab, were tardy to two of your three classes so far, and now you’re telling lies about your parents.”
The assistant principal pulled some forms from her desk, quickly scrawling something nearly illegible on one before thrusting it at Caedos. “Since you’re clearly trying to cause trouble, you’re suspended for the rest of the day. And all of tomorrow; get off my campus.”
A Bad Start
“Hey, freak, why’d ya dye your fur?”
With an ease born of long practice, Caedos ignored the taunting wolf. He wasn’t even half-way through his first day here at Five Oaks High; the last thing he wanted was to get into a fight. Not that the principal could call his parents. More properly, he’d try, but Caedos’ parents were on other coast, and more than welcome to stay there. And his sisters, too, for that matter. His regrettably late paternal grandparents had been the only people in Caedos’ family he’d ever felt any great affection from or for; he would gladly leave the rest of them.
A faint snarl for the thought of his family crossed the tiger’s face as he collapsed into a chair at an empty table with his lunch. Gazing down at the nigh unidentifiable items on his tray, he contemplated the practicality of bringing his lunch. Several moments passed as, one by one, Caedos eliminated the items given him as nutritious. Groaning at the thought of spending the rest of the school day hungry, he bolted what he hoped were a small handful chicken nuggets. He slid the tray several inches from himself in disgust. If only rabbit food was going to be offered, he would have to either eat big breakfasts and dinners or bring a lunch.
“What, the food not good enough for you? Ain’t it enough you went and dyed yourself, now you’re gonna reject perfectly good food?” The speaker, a bear, reached out and pulled the tray over. “I mean, that corn’s perfectly fine and the applesauce is actually pretty good, for change.”
Caedos turned to him, “You can have. I can’t eat it.”
“So you DO think you’re too good to be here, huh? I heard about you, blue-boy . . . all about you and your loads of money and your fancy house. This here’s a perfectly good school, and I aim to prove it to you.”
Something in the bear’s tone warned Caedos this wasn’t going to end well. Dejectedly, he unfolded his six foot two frame from the chair and turned to face his newest antagonist. The bear proved to be almost another foot taller, and easily two hundred pounds heavier. “Look, I don’t want to cause any trouble, but I really can’t eat the rest of this. No offense intended to anyone or anything, I’m sure it’s perfectly good, but. . . it’s not meat.”
The bear glared at Caedos a moment, grunted, and lashed out with a paw. Large he may have been, but slow he wasn’t; the blow knocked Caedos back onto the table. With a disgusted snarl, Caedos rolled to one side and tried to move into a fighting stance. He never got there, a second blow sent him sprawling to the floor, and a few kicks kept him there. In the background, dimly, Caedos heard the rest of the lunchroom crowd begin to chant and scream. Distantly, through a thick fog, he heard a teacher fighting her way through the mass of students. Then Caedos gave up his fight to keep awareness. The last thing he noticed before the fog claimed him was the bear slipping away, improbably, into the crowd.
* * *
A folded bandage pressed to his muzzle under his nose, Caedos sat in the hard plastic chair waiting. The nurse had proved only marginally less hostile than the bear, but she had given him the bandage and checked him for serious injury. Then she’d sent him here, to await punishment for fighting. What fighting? He had been beaten to the ground without ever doing anything.
Caedos switched hands holding the bandage. A scattering of hairs on his right hand were now tipped in fresh blood. The bright red didn’t really match his coat, a pale sky blue broken only by dark indigo stripes. Caedos had never heard a good reason WHY his coat was such an odd pair of shades; his parents both had more normal markings, his sisters, too, for all that Amelia was only white and black with no orange.
“Cuh . . . Caa . . . you, get in here.” Caedos looked up at the angry tone. The principal had to be the single angriest ewe he’d ever seen. “You haven’t even been here a full day yet, and already you’re getting into fights. No, when I’m ready for you to apologize I’ll let you know. Now, get in here. How DO you pronounce this abomination of a name?”
“Cai-dos, ma’am, rhymes with eye.”
“You couldn’t have chosen a normal name? Of course you couldn’t, that wouldn’t have stood out enough. Fine, whatever; so, I have reports of you picking a fight with Jacob Altermann. I can’t say much for your sense; he’s one of our starting linebackers. I tried to call your parents to tell them you’re being sent home for fighting, but no one answered at your home number. So, give me their work numbers.”
Caedos’ head fell, “Won’t do you any good; they still live on the other coast. Besides, I’ve got my independence; they’re not allowed within 500 feet of me. And why am I being sent home? I didn’t do anything!”
Principal Granger shook her head, causing her short white hair to sway, “Nothing? You tried to pick a fight with one of my linebackers, you did break a table and cause a disturbance. And now you’re bleeding on my furniture.”
“HE HIT ME! I never even touched him, or said boo until he came over and started railing on me about being stuck up. When I tried to explain I can only eat meat, HE decked ME.”
Ms. Granger glared at Caedos, “I doubt that very much. Mr. Altermann is one of my star students. He plays on the football team, I’ve never had to have him in my office, and no one has ever reported anything negative about him. You, on the other hand, in the course of the first half of your first day, started a fight, spilled acid forcing us to evacuate the Chem Lab, were tardy to two of your three classes so far, and now you’re telling lies about your parents.”
The assistant principal pulled some forms from her desk, quickly scrawling something nearly illegible on one before thrusting it at Caedos. “Since you’re clearly trying to cause trouble, you’re suspended for the rest of the day. And all of tomorrow; get off my campus.”