“What if I don’t move?” Kevin laughed, looking down at the little sheep in front of him.
Even sitting, he towered over her by a head, his smile carrying that lazy, almost taunting edge.
He kept a firm grip on Bob’s arm, not letting him pull away, and glanced sideways at his roommate.
“What are you scared of?
You look like you’re the one who did something wrong.” Bob shook his head, his expression uneasy.
“Come on… let’s just get along.
It’s not a big deal.
We can move over a bit and still eat fine.
Besides, it’s the first day of the semester.
We can’t get into trouble right away, can we?” Kevin didn’t answer.
Instead, he turned his head back to the sheep.
Seeing him stand his ground, the lead sheep shot a look at her friends.
Over a dozen sheep moved in unison, spreading out to form a circle that boxed Kevin and Bob in.
The clatter of trays, the scrape of tables and chairs being nudged aside, all of it blended into a noisy chorus.
Animals at nearby tables glanced over, then quickly averted their eyes.
“Last chance.
Move.” The sheep lifted her chin, her jaw practically pointing at the ceiling, making no effort to hide the disdain in her eyes.
Bob nervously grabbed his tray and started to get up, but Kevin shoved him back down into his seat.
“We are not moving today.” Kevin curled his lip and slowly drawled, “Short stack.
What are you gonna do about it?” Pfft.
Bob had a low threshold for laughter, and those words hit him hard.
He glanced at the little sheep, short, round, with that trembling little flower on top of her head, and yeah, it kind of fit.
He couldn’t hold it in.
A laugh burst out before he clapped a hand over his mouth, set his tray back on the table, and rubbed his face hard to put his “I’m so scared” expression back on.
At the words “short stack,” the sheep’s brow twitched briefly, but her face showed little reaction.
She tilted her head toward the tallest alpaca beside her, a subtle gesture, like giving a signal.
The next second, the alpaca flipped her wrist and dumped her entire tray of food upside down.
Soups, sauces, and vegetable scraps came sloshing down over Bob’s head.
Sticky gravy dripped down his glasses, grains of rice clung to the tips of his ears, and his green shirt was instantly ruined.
Bob flinched, instinctively letting go of Kevin and scrambling to the side, shouting, “It’s fine, it’s fine!” as he frantically wiped the mess from his face, trying to keep it from splattering Kevin.
The scene stunned quite a few onlookers.
The hippo at the next table stopped chewing, her round face scrunching up.
Over in the rodent section, a few hamsters stood on their tiptoes, craning their necks to see, their excited chatter rippling outward like waves.
Kevin was frozen for a moment too, then the smile vanished from his face.
“Did it burn you?” He leaned in close to Bob, a hand on his shoulder as he checked him over.
The food was warm, not hot enough to scald, but the greasy juices were running down Bob’s neck, dripping off his collar one drop at a time.
“I’m fine… really, I’m fine.” Bob waved him off, pulling off his glasses and wiping them roughly on his shirt.
His voice was muffled, trembling just a little.
Kevin straightened up slowly, his face dark.
Now he truly understood what Nick had gone through.
Back in the early 21st century, cultural education hadn’t reached its ideal level yet, discrimination was serious.
Predators were targeted, provoked constantly, and foxes were the lightning rods for every prejudice imaginable.
Polar bears, though, at least Kevin had never seen anyone mess with a polar bear.
The reason was simple: Tundratown was Mr.
Big’s territory, and almost all polar bears lived there.
Who knew which one might be one of Mr.
Big’s men?
“What’s your deal?” Kevin’s voice dropped low.
The lead sheep met his gaze without flinching, even stepping half a pace closer.
Her name was Victoria Blake.
She’d started this little club in her freshman year under the banner of “stopping predator bullying.” “What do you think?
Move.” Before the words were even out, she swung her tray up, hurling the whole thing, plate and all, straight at Kevin’s face.
Same trick again.
Kevin dodged to the side, fast enough to avoid the worst of it, but half the sauce still splattered across his left shoulder and down his pant leg.
Warm, sticky liquid soaked into his clothes, a pungent wave of seasoning hitting his nose.
A dark oil stain bloomed across his short sleeve.
“Hsss” Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Some clapped their hands over their mouths.
Others sensed trouble and quickly moved away.
Most, though, just laughed, happy to watch the drama unfold.
Victoria gestured lazily toward the food counter, her tone like she was ordering a waiter.
“You spilled my lunch.
Go get me another tray.” She’d been at Zootopia University for two years and had never seen a predator actually fight back in front of her.
In her experience, these guys were all talk, looked tough, but when cornered, they’d slink away with their tails between their legs.
BAM!
The muffled thud of a metal tray slamming into the side of Victoria’s face was sharp and sickening.
Her vision went black for an instant, and she was sent flying sideways.
A ringing filled her ears.
By the time her back hit the leg of a nearby table and she crumpled to the floor, the pain crashed over her in waves.
Kevin was still gripping the tray, his blue pupils constricted to slits, a surge of violence pouring off him like a valve that had just been wrenched open.
“Man, I thought getting into this school meant some basic level of decency.
Guess I overestimated you.” He spun around and clamped his hand around the alpaca’s neck.
Before she could react, Kevin swung the tray again, THWACK, and the alpaca’s eyes rolled back.
She clutched her head and slumped to the ground, seeing stars.
It happened too fast.
From Victoria hitting the floor to the alpaca going down, barely a few seconds had passed.
“Fight!
He’s fighting!” “The predator’s gone crazy, somebody help!” The remaining sheep screamed and scattered, trays clattering everywhere, food and drink splashing across the floor.
The whole cafeteria erupted like a stone thrown into still water, waves of panic rippling outward.
The animals who’d been laughing moments before fell silent.
A few herbivores scrambled backward in alarm.
Even the hamsters at the rodent counter dropped their spoons and huddled together, scurrying for cover.
Kevin paid no attention to the screams.
He pulled a few napkins from his pocket, wiped the sauce off his shoulder with casual indifference, then walked over to where Victoria Blake lay crumpled on the floor, tray still in hand.
He bent down, grabbed her by the back of the collar, and hauled her up.
The sheep’s face was already swelling on one side, a thin trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth.
Her eyes were wide, terror and disbelief mingled.
“You and your friend,” Kevin said, looking down at her, his voice eerily calm, “got my roommate and me dirty.
Pay up?” He’d been full of rage when that robot took him out with one elbow to the gut.
Coming to this world didn’t mean he was about to play the pushover.
Bob watched Kevin like this and swallowed hard.
He’d known from the start, Kevin was no one to mess with.
“Murder!
He’s killing her!!” The remaining sheep shrieked at the top of their lungs, their voices so shrill they nearly pierced the cafeteria ceiling.
Kevin looked up, scanning the faces around him, some horrified, some thrilled.
Classic.
Classic location, classic scene, classic audience.
Provoke mindlessly, get wrecked, then scream and play the victim.
Next, if his guess was right, a group would come charging in, pointing at him and saying he started it.
And since he was a predator, and he’d hit pretty hard, the blame would probably fall mostly on him.
Kevin glanced down at Victoria’s trembling body.
He didn’t let go.
The commotion hadn’t settled when a rapid, steady stream of footsteps sounded from the cafeteria entrance.
A group of animals pushed through the crowd, led by a striking female gray wolf.
She wore a black tube top that hugged her toned shoulders and back, a short purple jacket loosely thrown over it, the hem falling right at her waist.
Gray tapered pants completed the look.
She was tall for a female, unusually so, even a little taller than Kevin.
Her stride was calm, the outlines of her shoulder blades shifting beneath the thin fabric, radiating an unmistakable sense of power.
Behind her followed five others, deer, antelope, each wearing the same silver student council badge on their chests.
“Hello.
I’m Kana from the student council.” She stopped in front of Kevin, her gaze pausing on his face for a moment before shifting to the sheep he was holding.
Her eyes flicked briefly over Victoria’s swollen cheek and the blood at her mouth, her brow twitching almost imperceptibly.
But her voice was unhurried, even.
“Please put her down first.” Kevin didn’t let go.
He looked at Kana evenly, his voice flat.
“She started it.” “I know.” Kana nodded, straightforward, without hesitation.
“They were in the wrong here–” But before she could finish, Kevin cut in.
“I knew you were on their– huh?
Wait.” He stopped mid-sentence, realizing she hadn’t taken the other side at all.
He studied her eyes for a couple of seconds.
Those gray-blue eyes were calm.
No rush to assign blame.
She just looked back at him, waiting for him to continue.
Kevin’s grip on Victoria’s collar loosened.
He glanced back at Bob behind him.
The otter was still standing there, a half leaf of vegetable stuck to his head, his glasses crooked on his nose, a crumpled napkin in his hand.
His lips were pressed tight, but his back was straighter than before.
Kevin looked back, scanning the deer and antelope behind Kana.
They looked a little tense, but none of them spoke up to defend Victoria, and none of them pointed at Kevin saying, “How could you hit her?” They just stood there, waiting for Kana to handle it.
Kevin let out a scoff and finally let go.
Victoria dropped back to the floor, clutching her shoulder and coughing.
Her companions quickly pulled her up, and she shrank behind them, her gaze alternating between hatred and fear.
“Fine,” Kevin said, tossing the tray onto a nearby table and wiping his palms clean of grease.
“Handle it however you want.” Kana gave a small nod, her eyes moving from him to the spilled food on the floor and Bob’s disheveled state, then lingering briefly on the blood at Victoria’s mouth.
Her expression remained unchanged, she just let out a soft breath.
“Both of you, come with me to the student council office.” She turned and gestured to the people behind her.
————•★•————★ Author Note: Thanks for reading!
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