Jonestown Tea DC
Cup Four

-- OCT. 21st. Mon --

“Lilly you look a little worried.”  Lola whispered to the opossum that was sitting next to her, trying her best not to have the teacher hear or see them talking.

“Well I kinda am…  I still can’t believe that you tricked me into that.”  The opossum said, shaking her head a little.  “I mean that’s some sneaky stuff.”  Lilly said reaching over and giving her friend a little nudge.

“I have a feeling that you will thank me for it one day.”  Lola said, smiling and poking out her tongue.  “I’m telling you that this is going to turn out good for you.”

“I sure hope you’re right about that.”  Lilly said, shaking her head a little before putting her head down on the desk.  “I mean you should know just how bad my luck is when it comes to this…  Or anything at that.”  

“I know about the things that you’ve told me about, but I think that it’s time that things get better for you.”  Lola said patting the opossum on the back.  “I mean I can just feel that something good is coming your way.”

“Lilly, Lola, you two stop talking and pay attention.”  The teacher said, looking at the two as the opossum sat up and gave a little nod, the two blushing a little at the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from the other students.

“Sorry sir.”  The two said in near unison, though it was more of a mumble from the opossum, causing the teacher to roll his eyes a little.

“Ok.”  The teacher said looking back to the board, writing something out before turning back to the pair.  “So Lilly, lets see just how much attention that you have been paying.”  The teacher said pointing to the board and the math question.

The opossum looked at the bored, tilting her head a little as she thought about the answer, but the moment that she went to open her muzzle one of the other students spoke.  “Mr. Forsythe, I don’t feel well.”

“Well don’t do what I think you’re going to do in the room, bathroom now.”  The deer said, shaking his head a little as the kid got up and made his way to the door, hand over his muzzle.  The moment that the kid got out of the room there was a gross sound, letting everyone know that he didn’t make it.  “Great.”  The teacher said getting up and heading over to the phone next to his desk to call the janitor, forgetting that he had asked the opossum a question.

-------------------------------------

“You know, I’m getting tired of you looking at that little bit of paper.”  A skunk said, leaning over a little to glance at the note that the canine had.

“You know, don’t need to be jealous that people like me more than you, I’m sure that there is someone out there that would like you.”  The pyrenees said with a little snicker as he nudged his friend.

“You know, I’m still a little surprised that you still read them, I mean don’t you get like five of them a day?”  He said, shaking his head a little as he sat back up, looking back to the board.

“I don’t get that many.”  The pyrenees said shrugging a little, he was getting notes in his locker from time to time, but it wasn’t as often as people liked to think.  People liked to think that he was more popular than he was and put him on a pretty high pedestal cause he was good at  sports.

The paper that he was looking at was a little different from the few other notes that he had gotten in the past.  To - Clay, From - Lilly, was scribbled on the front of it, it had nice handwriting, at least nicer than most of the people around him, not many of the girls that gave him notes could write in nice cursive.

Hey Clay,
I will admit that I don’t know what to say in something like this, this is the first note that I have written to someone.  I guess that keeping it short would be the best, but I was wondering if you would like to talk more, I mean more in person, or notes are fine too.  I hope that you don’t mind this note, you seem super cool and stuff.  Maybe we could talk in the gym.

Lilly.

The canin giggled a little at the note’s contents.  Though there was something sweet and endearing about it, something almost innocent, something that made the canine blush a little.  He started folding the note back up before jumping a little, hearing the teacher calling his name.  “Clay, I don’t think that I want to know what you're reading over there with the way that you’re blushing, but I want you to pay attention, so put it up and answer the question on the board.”

“The answer is forty two.”  The canine said with a smug little smile on his muzzle before slouching back in his seat, folding up the note and slipping it into his pocket and at least going back to pretending to pay attention for what little of the class that was left.

-------------------------------

Like all other days, the gym was bustling with activity, some of the kids just running around the room doing laps, as other kids were playing basketball, there were even a few kids outside playing soccer or dodgeball.  Like most of the days that the opossum had the class, she stood off to the side watching the other kids playing or whatever, she was a little thankful that her condition got her out of having to do things like this. Things were going like all other days, until something made her squeak a little.

“Hey Lilly, you wanted to talk?”  A voice called out, causing her to turn and see that it was Clay that was walking up to her, smiling a little as he came to stand with her.  “I mean that’s what your note said.”  He said, just a hint of blush tinting his ears and white cheek fluff.

“Ummm.”  The opossum muttered out, at a clear loose of words, a little surprised that Clay had read her note, much less that he was standing here talking to her.  “Yeah…  This is a little weird…  I mean, With my luck, I didn’t think that you would have even looked at it.”  She said, fidgeting in place a little as she looked down at the ground a little worried to look him in the eyes.

“Well you do know that I worry about you right?”  The canine asked as he looked down at the shorter opossum.  “When Lola told me that you were so sick I was worried.”  He said putting his hand on her shoulder, “I’ve wanted to talk to you more too, but I didn’t know how to start talking to you, you always seem so worried about something.”

“I didn’t think that you really knew or thought about me like that or anything.”  Lilly said blushing a little as she shifted on her paws, having a hard time believing that her crush had his hand on her shoulder, she knew that it wasn’t much and he might have only meant it as a friendly gesture, but it meant the world to her.  “I mean, I always thought that you were too busy with all of the sports and things like that.”  

“Well you do know that I have a life outside of playing football and stuff like that right?  I’m not a meat headed jock all the time.”  He said giving her a playful little nudge.  “You know, I think that the coach missed you not trying out for soccer.”  Clay said, the two starting to walk over to the benches that were next to the walking path.

“Really?  I didn’t think that I was all that good at it, much less good enough to get onto the team or something like that.”  She said with a little shrug.  “And are you sure? You look awfully meaty to me.”  She said, poking her tongue out a little as she finally started to relax a little, her friend, before blushing at what she had just said, it having sunk in.  “Not that I’m calling you fat or anything like that.”  She said looking out to the field, worried that she had just messed something up big time.

Clay snickered a little at the comment that she had made before patting her on the back a little.  “I didn’t think that I was all that fat, it’s more fluff than anything, and don’t worry I knew what you meant.”

The two of them spent the rest of P.E. sitting around talking about a million different things, right up to the point that the teacher ended up telling them that they needed to get up and do something.  The something that the two decided on was walking around the track as the other people played different games, a small football game being played in the area that the walking track surrounded.  The whole time that the two were walking around the track there was a pair of eyes watching them.  The eyes belonged to a goose and cow, Bri and Bessie.  The two had snuck off to the far end of the field to do their best at getting away with doing nothing, and it was working; giving the two time to plot and plan, though at the moment the cow wasn’t sharing much of her master plan.

-------------------------------------- 

“You can’t keep all the details to yourself.”  Lola said with a little huff, her and Lilly sitting in the back of the science classroom, sharing one of the workstations.  

“You made me wiggle and squirm about all of this, not to mention tricking me into putting the note into his locker, you better believe that I’m going to make you wait and all that.”  Lilly said looking over to her, poking her tongue out at her.  “I mean it’s only fair that I do.”

“You know, you say that, but remember that when you need someone to help, or just do your homework.”  The canine said, poking her tongue out in retaliation.  “I know just how much you hate english.”

“You know, I’m sure that I can find someone else that can help me with that.  I mean if I had to I could just copy off of someone.”  The opossum said opening her science book and turning to the page that the teacher wanted them to.

“Yeah you could, but I’m like the only person at the place that knows just how you talk and write, and I’m like the only one that can match it.”  Lola said smiling and doing the same with her book before slouching a little.

Lilly was quiet for a few moments before letting out a little huff, letting Lola know that she had won.  “Ok, ok.”  She said shaking her head and leaning in a little, the two paying little to no attention to the teacher that seemed not to care either way.  “Well we ended up talking a good bit, I mean to the point that the teacher told us that we needed to get up and do something.  There you know what happened, is that good?”

“Oh no, not at all, I need details and things like that.  You know, tell me about some of the things you two love birds talked about, did you hold hands, hug…  Kiss?”  She asked, leaning over a little bit, all this talk causing the opossum to blush and wiggle a little.

“We didn’t do anything like that you perv.”  Lilly said, shaking her head a little eyes becoming glued to the text book that was in front of her.  “I mean it’s like I said, all that we did was walk around the field and talk.  He told me that he worried about me, missed me being here and that the coach missed me trying out for soccer.”  She said with a little shrug, “I mean it was pretty much just things that friends talk about.”

“I don’t know.  I think that it might be a little more than that to him.  I mean he worried about you, saw and read the note that you left him, I’m willing to bet that he hugged you or something.”  The bull terrier said with a smile, even nudging Lilly a little.

“Nothing like that, that would have killed me right there.  He did pat me on the back when he was telling me that he worried about me.”  Lilly said wiggling a little in her seat, showing just how much of a crush she had on him.

“Well you know that there are a lot of things out there that can do that to you.  I mean there was that one time when we first ran into one another.”  Lola said smiling at Lilly as she shook her head.

“You know I don’t think that I’ve heard this story.”  A sheep girl at their table spoke up.  “So what’s this about killing Lilly the first time that you saw her?”

“Rosemary, no.”  Lilly as she shook her head, half hoping that this was one of the few times that the teacher cared that the students were talking and not doing work, but it wasn’t.

“Well you see.”  Lola started out, a smile growing as she spoke.  “I was told that I would be getting a new roommate and well I ended up getting pulled out of the room to go do something, I wanted to stay around and help out, you know, be a good roommate, help her unpack, get settled, the whole nine yards.”  Lola said, knowing that Rosemary was one of the few people that knew that Lilly and her lived at an orphanage, and she didn’t care.  “Well when I got back to the room I saw that someone had moved some things into the room and got unpacked, clothes laid out on the bed, then I heard someone walking out of the bathroom, and me being me, I greeted her and thud.”

“Well you know, when you’re told that your roommate won’t be back till later, you go to the bathroom and come out to someone suddenly in your room, a someone that barks out a greeting, yeah that’s going to make any opossum hit the floor…  More so in my case cause I’m messed up.”  Lilly said shaking her head a little at the giggling pair, “but to her credit, she did pick me up and put me in bed, and apparently she did it on her own.”

“Well I am a working dog.”  She said smiling and poking her tongue out a little before letting out a little squeak.  

“Well you all need to be working on the assignment.”  The teacher said shaking her head a little, finally showing up to take care of the talking students.  “If you are going to talk, at least talk about the work and class.”  they said before turning to head off to their desk.

-----------------------------

The little group managed to get some work done before the last bell of the day rang, letting them know that they were all free to go home.  As with any other day, getting out of the room and to one’s locker was like running through a madhouse, having to push past people, wiggle past them, not to mention the work that you had to do when you got to your locker.

“So, homework and then goofing off or something like that?”  Lola asked Lilly as the two stood next to one another waiting for a chance to get to their lockers.

“That sounds like a plan…  That and I have to come up with some kind of way to get you back.”  The opossum said poking her tongue out a little, the two jumping at a chance to get to their locker and getting into them.

“You know, you say that like I’m afraid of you or something…  I know that you’re all hiss and no bite.”  Lola said as they took the time to get their books and the things that they would need to do homework for the night.

“I did tell you about that one nurse that I bit right?  I think he had to get stitches or something.”  Lilly said, smiling and showing off her muzzle full of teeth.

“Na, at most you might give someone rabies.”  The canine said snickering a little as they closed their lockers and started to head to the pick up and drop off area. 

“You know…  That’s speciesist…”  Lilly said turning to her friend and putting on her best serious face.  “My people can’t catch rabies…  Or even carry it.”  She said, doing her best to make it through the joke but she couldn’t she ended up laughing.

“How dare you think that I’m a speciesist…  Now I’m offended.”  Lola said nudging Lilly as they sat down on one of the benches, waiting for the van to show up.

Lilly wasn’t paranoid by any means, but something in the back of her mind told her that the whispers and murmurs that she was hearing behind her was about her, the fact that she was pretty sure that she had heard her name being said worried her.  She was almost sure that it was Bessie and Bri’s voices that she was hearing.  Despite turning, craning and moving her ears every way that she could, she couldn’t make anything out.

“Lilly… Wake up.”  Lola’s voice caught her off guard, causing her to turn and look to her.  “You ok there?  Our ride is here.”

“I am.  I just spaced out a little.”  She said, the opossum and dog getting up as the van pulled to a stop.  “Finally, freedom.”  

“Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad today.  I think you did just fine.”  Lola said as the driver of the van opened it for them, the two and a few other students got in and settled.

“You’re starting to sound like my shrink.”  She said as she shook her head a little as she got buckled into her seat.  “I still think that things were a little too good to be true.”

“You know, I know a lot has happened to you in the past, but that’s the thing.”  Lola said, reaching over and putting her paw on the opossum’s shoulder.  “The past is just that, the past.  It’s something that’s happened to you and it doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen again or that bad things are going to keep happening cause you had some really bad things happen in the past.”  The canine said doing her best to make the opossum feel better.

“I don’t know. I think you might be a little wrong about that one.”  A voice from behind them spoke up, causing the two to turn and see Bessie sitting there with Bri next to her, both smiling.  

“I mean, once you're broken trash like Lilly, that’s all that you can be.”  Bri said, their snickering turning into laughing when they saw just how mad Lilly was starting to get.

“I might be broken trash, and at least nine kinds of fucked up, but at least I’m not you.”  The opossum said smiling and doing her best to hide her anger with her bullies.

“Hey, watch the language back there.”  The driver yelled back, causing all the kids to snicker and laugh as Lilly slunk back down in her seat.

“You know not to listen to her, she’s just jealous or something.”  Lola said patting the opossum on the shoulder.  The two going back to talking and chatting a little as the van made the relatively short ride back to the orphanage.

-----------------------------

“I know that things can be hard at first, but Rachel.  I want you to know that we here are one big happy family.”  Amanda said, smiling warmly at the new face that was sitting on the other side of the desk, watching the feline’s ears turning and listening to her.  “I want you to know that if there is anything that you need, don’t hesitate to come to me or one of the staff.”

“Yes ma’am…  I ummm…  I do have one question.”  Rachel said, lowering her head a little as she fiddled with her paws a bit.  “Do…  Do the other kids know?”

“Most of the older kids and helpers know, of course the other employees  know about it.”  Amanda said, leaning forward a little, elbows resting on her desk as she thought to herself for a moment.  “I don’t think that you need to worry about the other’s saying, teasing or doing anything to you over your condition…  I would be willing to bet that you’ll find that most anyone will happily help you if needed, and treat you like any other girl your age.”  The rat woman said sweetly.  “Now if you’re ready, it’s time to go meet the other girls.”  

With that, Amanda and Rachel stood up, the rat heading to open the door as the cat picked up her cane.  The two headed for the common room of the girl’s dorm where Amanda had one of her helpers gather everyone up.  She carefully guided the bobcat through the crowd of girls and in front of them.

“Thank you everyone for coming together, I have a new girl that I would like to introduce you all to.  I want you all to welcome Rachel.”  Amanda said turning to the feline and putting her paw on her shoulder.  “Rachel, tell everyone a little about yourself.”

The bobcat stepped up, she didn’t need to be able to see to know that everyone was looking at her.  She could feel their eyes burning into her fur as she looked around, ears turning and picking up the slightest murmurs from the group.  “M...My name is Rachel, I’m 12 and…  I like reading and listening to music.”  The feline opened her muzzle to say something but was cut off by the sound of someone speaking.

“I don’t think you know how to read, you kinda need eyes that work for that.” A female voice called out from somewhere in the group of kids.

“I…  I…  Can still read.”  The poor kitten stammered out, tears starting to well up in the corners of her eyes, “just because I’m blind doesn’t mean that I can’t do anything you can.”  She growled out, stomping her foot.

“There’s something that I can do that you can’t.  I can see.”  The same voice called out before the majority of the group started pointing and laughing.  Making fun of the poor cat that was now running and stumbling her way out of the room, trying to get away from the group.

“Quiet.  Everyone back to your rooms now, Allicia, I will deal with your little outburst later.”  Amanda said, her voice stern and motherly as she turned to follow the bobcat.

-------------------------------

“See it wasn’t that bad.”  Lola said looking down at the finished homework.  “And it didn’t take all that long.”

“My brain hurts…  This would have been so much easier if you did one thing and I did the other and we just shared answers.”  Lilly said poking her tongue out before getting up from her desk and flopping onto her bed.

There was a knock at the door that caused the two to look up from what they were doing, in Lilly’s case, she just rolled over to look at the door.  “Lilly, can I borrow you for a little bit?”  A white rat asked as she stepped into the room.

“Umm…  Sure, I mean it’s not like I have anything to do.”  The marsupial said as she got up and started following the rat woman, knowing right where she was being led.  “I’m not in trouble or anything am I?”

“Nothing like that.”  The rat woman said as they walked through the halls, heading to her office.  “I just need to have a little talk with you, and need your help with something.”

“Like I said I’m innocent.”  The opossum said, shaking her head a little as they got to the office and  stepped in, Lilly taking a seat  in one of the plush chairs.

“I’m sure that you know what happened earlier with Rachel’s introduction.”  Amanda started talking only to get interrupted by the opossum.

“Yeah, it wasn’t Allicia, she’s a little too soft to say or do something like that on her own; you’re looking for Bessie, she’s the one that put her up to it.”  Lilly slouched back in her seat, looking at the rat, half smiling a little as she revealed in any chance to get Bessie into the hot seat.

“Just how do you know that?”  The white rat asked, leaning in a little and cocking her eyebrow at the smiling opossum.

“I was stood behind that group and heard her telling Allicia to say it.”

“Oh, well I will be looking a little more into that, but that’s not what I called you in here for.”  Amanda leaned back a little, “as I said, I’m sure you noticed Rachel’s reaction and condition, I was wondering if you would be willing to go talk to her a little, you know show her that she’s not alone here.”

“Oh so you want the broken kid to go talk to and try and fix the other broken kid…  I don’t think there’s enough between the two of us to make one working kid.”  Lilly sighed, rolling her eyes as she did.  “But, if you want me to, I will go talk to her and let her know that this place isn’t normally like that, that it’s just Bessie and her goon.” She said, sliding out of the chair and stretching as she got up.

“Just be nice, and try not to scare her or anything.”  Amanda said, a paw coming up to rub the bridge of her muzzle between her pink eyes.  “Just try and make her feel welcome, I’m sure that you can do that.  You have a way with words when you try.”

“There will be an attempt.”  Lilly said, turning and heading out of the room.