Book 1 --- Small Beginnings
Chapter2 --- School Days
(Sarah gets an idea for an after-school club.)

She couldn't have been more correct.

By the time Monday passed into Wednesday, Felix and Sarah had become inseparable. They sat beside each other in every class. Felix was happy to educate his new friend in the ways of Harvey High, and of its educators--- many of whom Felix had known from previous school years.

Mrs. Ironclaw was the stern and sturdy history teacher, and the English teacher for the freshman and sophomore classes. She was a broad-framed navy-and-white badger, in phenomenal shape for her old age. She had a passion for plants, which extended to her preferred decor; her classroom more closely resembled a greenhouse than it did a place of learning. Biology students often sneaked samples from her plants when she wasn't in the room. She was aware of the practice and had spoken to the biology teacher, Mr. Boone, about it.

Ironclaw knew Boone was complicit in the theft. What she didn't know was that he outright encouraged the action. Students in the mandrill's class were sworn to secrecy about that particular matter. While Felix had been in Boone's class, he'd refused to take any of Ironclaw's plants and had run outside to pluck a sample from a tree instead. Sworn under oath to not let the woman know she was being wronged hurt Felix's conscience enough; stealing from her himself was the line he'd been unwilling to cross.

It had always surprised Felix that the principal had never done anything about Boone's dishonorable plant thievery, considering how legendarily intimidating he could be. With a few words and a flash of his eyes, that cat could put an end to anything he decided wasn't right.

The principal was a tall, well-built yellow lion with sharp features and emerald-green eyes. He always wore a black suit with a deep green tie--- but legend had it he wore a red tie on the days he expected a lot of trouble. His name alone was enough to strike fear into the heart of every student--- Mr. Grimmark. It just sounded terrifying. The rumors spread about him in the student body didn't help either. There were plenty of horror stories about Grimmark to go around, the most famous tale being the time he purportedly ate a student alive.

Grimmark seemed to enjoy his ferocious reputation, and the absurd stories, even going so far as to keep a snarling photo of himself on the desk in his office, just to remind troublemakers who it was they were dealing with if they decided to make trouble in his school.

Finally, Felix filled Sarah in on her new English teacher. Felix's father, Clive Mueller, was notorious for his many, many writing assignments. Felix knew them well, because grading them took up so much of Dad's time at home. He expected a lot from his students, just like he expected a lot from his own son. Felix knew for a fact he would be expected to do extremely well if he wanted to pass the class and make Dad proud. Top-of-the-class extremely well.

"Your dad sounds like a tough customer," Sarah remarked as the pair walked side-by-side to his class. "I mean, he seemed pretty nice on Monday."

"He is nice," said Felix, shrugging. "He just asks for a lot. Knowing how much he grades every week, I'm... not sure I can keep up."

Sarah nudged his arm with her fist. "You'll do great. I'm sure you're an excellent writer."

The hallway to Dad's classroom had been mostly vacated. Most students had already hurried their way to their next classes, but a few stragglers remained. One freshman, a scrawny, scrappy-looking marmalade tabby in an oversized mint-green sweater, scrambled to get his stuff together, talking to himself as he piled books in his arms. He'd already amassed a stack that nearly reached the top of his scarlet ascot, and he seemed not to know which one he was supposed to have for his next class.

As Felix and Sarah passed, a well-dressed wolf jogged by and shoved the boy hard into his locker, causing him to drop the whole pile. As salt in the wound, the hefty Algebra book crashed down onto his toes. The freshman yelped in pain while the other kid continued to run away, snickering.

Sarah halted; her sense of justice would not allow her to take one more step. She glared after the wolf, then marched her way over to the freshman. She tapped his shoulder. The little cat turned around, nursing his whacked footpaw. The kind hyena smiled gently. "You OK?"

"Oh! Uh... yeah! I'm fine. Swell!" He giggled, grinning, very much flustered. "My toe's probably gonna be swelled too... ow!" He winced, putting his foot back down.

Sarah picked up all his books and stacked them as neatly as she could. "By the way, I've been studying the schedules. You'll need your lab book." She pulled one book out of the stack, waved it, and set it on top, then handed him the pile.

The tabby stared at her with big blue eyes, dumbfounded. He took his books back with a bewildered half-smile. "Hey... thanks."

"You're welcome." Sarah re-joined Felix, and they continued their way to Mueller's class. She shook her head. "I can't believe I just saw that."

Felix shrugged. "Grimmark's hard on fights and substances. Regular bullying, well... he says it builds character."

Sarah chortled. "Sure, OK. If 'building character' involves making sure no-one else gets bullied so long as I'm around, then sure. It builds character."

Felix smiled. He continued to be impressed with this girl, even three days into their friendship. She was something else entirely, something... different, like him. Unlike him, however, she seemed entirely confident in her difference. After all... she had nothing to be ashamed of.

---

The bell rang, and students scooped up their books even faster than usual, eager to be first in line at lunch. Felix lingered in the classroom, collecting his things at a much slower rate. An extra minute or so with his dad was worth the back of the line, which moved swiftly anyhow. And considering the usual quality of the cafeteria's meals, he wouldn't miss out on much.

Sarah tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, so... I'm gonna be late to lunch," she informed him. The hyena's eyes sparkled, stricken with inspiration. For what, Felix had no idea. "I'm gonna swing by the office. It shouldn't take too long, but... still a few minutes."

"What did you have in mind?" asked Felix, cramming his last book into his bag.

Sarah smiled knowingly. "I'll tell you later." She waved and bounded out of the classroom. "Save me a spot!" And she was out.

Felix threw his backpack over his shoulders and made his way toward the classroom door. Just as he reached the threshold, a voice stopped him.

"Made a new friend, Felix?"

Felix turned around. Dad watched him curiously from behind his glasses, smiling lightly. Felix smiled back. "Yeah. She's great. I'd like to spend more time with her, honestly."

Dad nodded, stacking some papers. "You should. Just don't let that eat into your homework time." He flashed a quizzical smile to his son before going through that day's classwork.

Felix puffed a soft laugh, pushing down the rising disappointment in his chest. "Don't worry. I won't." He hovered in the doorway for a few awkward seconds, waiting on a response. But Dad's attention had returned to grading those papers. Felix's shoulders sank. He left the classroom, his hopeful smile slipping into a soft frown.

I should've known.

But, as he usually did, Felix shoved all those awful feelings down into a place where he couldn't reach them. Dad was busy; it was part of his job to be busy. Teaching was hardly an easy occupation.

Felix made his way to the cafeteria and stood in line for a grand total of five minutes. As he'd suspected, today's lunch wasn't his favorite--- beans, a couple of thin ham slices, rice, coleslaw, and a banana. The ham and beans would be great if they weren't always so bland. But, all hot lunches the school had served considered, this one wasn't so bad.

Before Felix could head over to his usual table to wait for Sarah, a dark, sizeable handpaw came out of nowhere and grabbed him by the shoulder. Mildly startled, he turned around to face Joseph, his team captain. The raccoon grinned back at him invitingly. "Felix, where're you going?" Felix opened his mouth to respond, but Joseph threw one arm over Felix's lean shoulder and began walking him in a different direction. "Don't tell me you forgot. You always eat with us on Wednesdays."

So he did. Felix laughed; he'd been so intrigued by his new friend that the entire Wednesday tradition had slipped his mind. "All right. I won't tell you I forgot."

Soon, Felix was seated at a table with a small group of his teammates--- the ones with whom he was most familiar. There was James Pugsley, the strong, silent type; he was the largest guy in school, yet soft-spoken, and an all-around decent dog. Beside him sat his fundamental opposite, the bombastic and irreverent Chester Walnut. The red weasel was the shortest and leanest on the team, but remarkably strong for his size. (He also had bizarrely stretchy skin, which always grossed Felix out when demonstrated.)

On Felix's side of the table sat Joseph Short, the team leader; he pushed his team hard but never acted like he was above them. He was silent and quick on his feet, even off-field. Some would say he seemed to appear out of nowhere when he'd start talking to them. Seated beside Joseph was Richie Mullins. Richie was, in Felix's estimation, a moron with a really bad, over-the-top haircut. He was big, he was obnoxious, and his only talent seemed to be pinning people down on the football field. Felix valued him as a teammate. As an acquaintance... not so much.

Felix had gotten halfway through his beans by the time Sarah arrived in the cafeteria. After collecting a tray, she headed in the direction of their usual table. Realizing Felix wasn't there, she paused and glanced around the room, purple brow pinched. Felix waved at her. Upon spotting him, her eyes brightened, and she waved back. With that, she continued on her way.

Through his peripheral, Felix noticed the messy orange fur of that one freshman from earlier. The cat ambled from the lunch line, unabashedly staring in the direction Sarah had gone. He kept his distance, and seemed to consider whether to go sit near her, or on the opposite side of the cafeteria. At last, he put on a confident smile and began marching in the direction of Sarah's table, his fluffy tail curling up.

"Hey guys... watch this," Richie hissed, grinning wickedly. The fossa jostled a banana peel so they'd all know what he was up to.

Felix pinched his temple, already thoroughly unamused. For Pete's sake, Richie...

Richie tossed the banana peel on the ground, right where the little cat was about to step. The kid never saw the banana peel, and, as expected, he stepped on it. He let out a squeaky mewl and fell right on his face. His lunch flew from his paws and, by some miracle, the tray clattered to the floor with very little lost--- a few beans at most. A few students laughed about it, while the embarrassed freshman struggled to stand back up. But the peel had gotten stuck to the bottom of his shoe, so when he planted that foot back on the ground, he slipped right back down with an even higher-pitched squeak.

Nearly the entire cafeteria erupted after that. The tabby peeled the nasty banana skin from his shoe and tossed it aside, brow furrowed. He stood up at last and looked around the cafeteria, all eyes on him. "Hyuk hyuk, very funny, guys." He swept down his shirt, then hopped up onto one foot to deal with his shoe... only to stumble and very nearly fall into his own lunch tray, which still lay on the ground. He caught himself just in time, then stabilized himself, leaning coolly (or so he tried) on the nearest table.

"I uh... I totally meant to do that, by the way." He chuckled, brushing banana bits from his shoe. Most kids had realized the spectacle had ended, though some, including half of Felix's table, continued to laugh about it.

"Ha ha ha! Aw, that new kid is a hoot," laughed Joseph, wiping a tear from his eye.

Felix shook his head, scooping up his last bite of beans. He felt bad for the kid on one hand. On the other, the tabby played into it like a jester, which further aggravated the bullying situation he'd found himself in. He was a typical class clown--- and Felix had never liked clowns.

"Speaking of new kids..." Chester grinned at Felix, his wide, toothy smile more twisted and suggestive than usual. "Feliiiiiix. Looks like someone's finally caught your eye."

Felix blinked, fork halfway up to his mouth. "What?"

"Caught him," chuckled James.

"What are you talking about?" Oh. Surely they didn't mean...

"That new girl. She's been glued to your side the moment I saw 'er," Chester continued. He rubbed behind his ear, smirking like a devil. "Never seen you get so friendly with one-a your girlfriend wannabes before."

"What...? No!" Felix's heart began to pound. "No, Chet, that's not--- She's not---"

"Ooooo!" Richie leveled a beefy finger at Felix. "You've got it baaaaad, man!"

"No, I don't!" Felix snapped back, tail lashing. "We just met. We were fast friends. That's it."

"Don't lie to us, Felix," said Chester. "I've never seen you give a girl that much attention. And I mean..." He chuckled. "The look on your face right now..."

"I'm not... lying." Felix's chest and ears burned hotter, and the back of his neck tingled. They've got it all wrong! He absolutely did not like Sarah that way. How was he supposed to convince them? "We've got common interests, so... we've been hanging out. I've been showing her around the school. But I'm not dating her, guys. She told me she wasn't looking for a boyfriend, so no... she's not after me." And I'm not after her. No way.

"And you believed her?" Richie blasted a loud guffaw.

Felix narrowed his eyes. "Really, Richie? She's serious. I could tell."

"For now. Later... who knows?" James suggested.

"Yeah, who knows?" Chester echoed. "But wouldn't it be hilarious if the one girl Felix likes actually turns him down? Hah!" The weasel reached across the table and slammed Felix's shoulder once, nearly causing him to drop his fork. "Don't worry, bud. You're too charming to resist for long. It's like, your superpower."

Felix sighed, rubbing his prickling neck at last. "Guys..." He shook his head, trailing off. His face hadn't turned red because he'd been called out on a crush he didn't have. He'd turned red for fear that these questions could lead to some joke from one of these guys--- an accusation, really--- that would hit all too close to home. He'd be forced to fold, and it would all be over. Still, he hated for the guys to believe something about him that just wasn't true.

He was known for his honesty... but in this case, the truth needed to remain hidden. Yet hiding that truth from everyone he knew made him feel like a liar--- a hypocrite. 

This was Felix's daily internal conflict.

The truth? Felix did like Sarah. He liked her a lot. But he had no interest in taking her on a date, or in entertaining any sort of romance with her, now or in future. It was against his good nature to lead her, or any other girl, on like that. That was the reason why he did what he always did when asked out.

He'd turned down at least one girl per semester ever since he'd started high school; any time he rejected one, another saw it as her chance to make a move... and the cycle would repeat. Now his classmates were beginning to find it a bit odd that someone as tall, handsome, and athletic as Felix didn't have a steady girlfriend. Heck, he didn't even sleep around like a number of his fellows did.

Felix's excuse for this bizarre phenomenon? He claimed he just hadn't found the right girl yet. But the truth was, no girl even felt remotely right, as sweet as some of them were. And he'd tried--- he really had tried--- to fall for them. But try as he might, he could only see girls and women as friends, or as authority figures, like his mother or his teachers. Even the beautiful girls every other guy fawned over hit empty for him.

Felix knew they were good-looking, but he'd never felt attracted to them. For him, guys had always been much nicer to look at--- and there was no way he'd admit that to anyone. He kept his distance during the football team's conversations about girls most of the time, but for the sake of his secret, he'd halfheartedly join in on occasion. And apparently, he was convincing.

But it was all a farce--- the hesitant charade of a guy who carried such a devastating secret. From a young age he'd felt the need to hide it from his friends and family, even before he could put into words what it was he'd been experiencing. Whenever he'd considered bringing it up, a forceful voice in his young head, like a stern guardian, would tell him, "No, Felix; this should be your little secret. They wouldn't get it anyway."

For years it existed as this nagging feeling in the back of his mind--- the knowledge that he was somehow different from his peers, in more ways than one. But by the time he entered high school, the realization hit him as hard and fast as puberty. Finally, he'd understood what was going on with him--- and to that day he couldn't shake away the name of the cheetah who'd forced him to realize it.

That name was Robert. At the time, Robert had been a 17-year-old senior and the star quarterback of the football team. His fur was a beautiful golden, covered in spots of darker gold rather than the black or brown typical of his species. His curly hair was a rich dark chocolate, with well-trimmed sideburns cut down a handsome jawline, and his eyes were a stunningly clear blue. He stood at roughly 5'11", his physique chiseled and toned. He was loud and competitive on the field, yet gentle and kindhearted in the halls, always lending a helping hand. He was charismatic; he was sharp; he was good-looking. His smile was contagious.

He was Felix's first crush, and Felix hadn't had the slightest clue what to do about that. So he'd joined the football team in hopes of figuring out not only Robert, but himself.

Felix never did become great friends with Robert--- perhaps for the best. The guy had moved on and had apparently married his high school sweetheart. Felix had let the whole situation go even before he'd heard that news; he'd known it was hopeless the moment he'd realized he had a crush. Guys didn't date other guys, at least not in the open; it was never going to happen. That reality didn't stop the news from stinging.

Robert wouldn't have understood. He was all about girls, just like every other guy at this school. Felix didn't ask to be attracted to other guys, yet here he was--- alone, with no-one to talk to about this whole thing--- and by now, he'd become too afraid to ask.

Felix sighed. He looked up from his lunch to see how Sarah was doing. To his disappointment, she sat at the table alone. Nobody had joined her, not even the marmalade tabby who'd looked like he was going to. And after such an embarrassing moment, Felix couldn't blame him. Thank you, Richie.

"Guys, it's been fun. But... I'm gonna go sit with Sarah now. She could use the company."

"Fine by us, man," said Joseph.

"Yeah!" Chester held up a handpaw, expecting a high five. Felix gave him one and rose from the seat, scooping up his tray. "Go getter, tiger!!!"

Richie made a "mrrroooowr" sound as Felix walked past.

Felix shook his head, then punched his teammate on the shoulder before finally making his way over to join Sarah. Fine; they were entitled to their wrong opinion. If that was what they needed to assume, so be it. Sarah needed a friend, and Felix needed to keep his secret. This might just work out for the both of them.

Felix set down his tray and dropped in beside Sarah. She smiled. He smiled back, settling in. "Hey... sorry about that. I eat with the guys on Wednesdays..."

Sarah twirled her fork, thoughtful. "That's fine; you've got other friends to tend to. Nice of you to join me though." She elbowed him, flashing a cheeky smile.

"I didn't want you to eat alone." Felix poked at the mushy green concoction on the far end of his tray and took an unthrilled bite.

"Don't worry about me; I'm fine by myself." Sarah pursed her lips, glaring down at her tray. Then she watched Felix eat for a few seconds. "You like coleslaw?"

"Uh... not particularly..." He lifted a forkful of the stuff. "But I'm not wasting this food."

"I can't stand the stuff," sighed Sarah. "As much as I love vegetables, the taste of coleslaw is just... bleh." She dug into the beans instead.

"Bleh?" Felix chuckled. "Yeah, that's how I feel about liver. Coleslaw is more... eah. I don't mind it so much."

"So you wouldn't mind eating mine?"

Felix froze mid-chew. "Uh..."

"It's going in the trash if not." She edged her tray nearer to his, encouraging him to take the cabbage mush.

With a sigh, Felix caved; he could take it off her hands. He forked her coleslaw onto his tray without complaint. "So. What did you go to the office for?" he inquired.

"Oh!" Sarah took back her tray, her face aglow. "When Mr. Mueller had us writing that paragraph about why writing is important, I got an idea. So I ran down to the office to see if they were still accepting new clubs before next week."

A smile crept onto Felix's face. So far, he liked what he was hearing.

"They said yes! So long as we have at least three people signed up by Monday, my Storytelling Club is go! I'm one. And maybe, if you haven't chosen your club yet... you can be two?"

"Storytelling Club, huh?"

"Yeah." Sarah smiled wider. "We can talk about books we like, stories we've heard... Most of all, I want it to be a place where we can write our own stories. Who knows what great ideas might come of it?"

Felix's excitement about Sarah's in-the-moment idea had only grown the longer he listened. The tomcat grinned. "Well, I know what club I'm joining now."