“You don’t scare me, Gideon!
Give me back those amusement park tickets!” Judy stood her ground, eyes blazing, not retreating a single step.
But her defiance only stoked Gideon’s temper.
With a guttural snarl, he lunged forward and shoved her hard, she hit the dirt with a thud.
“Scared yet?” “Look at that twitchy little nose!
She’s about to cry!” Gideon and Travis traded taunts like a comedy duo.
Gideon stepped closer, bent low with his hands braced on his knees, and peered down at her with dripping contempt.
“What’s the matter, bunny baby?
Gonna weep for me?” Then, to everyone’s shock, Judy struck.
The moment Gideon let his guard slip, she kicked upward with both legs, slamming her feet into his jaw.
Gideon reeled backward, stumbling two full steps.
He worked his jaw, running his tongue over his razor-sharp teeth.
“You’re dead meat!” His face twisted with fury at the insult of being floored by a rabbit.
He bared his claws, raised his paw high… And swung.
Judy squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the blow.
But the pain never came.
Cautiously, she peeked open one eye, and saw a husky standing between her and Gideon, his hand locked tight around Gideon’s wrist.
Gideon’s eyes went wide.
“What the–!” “I said,” the husky drawled, “if you’ve got a problem, use your words.
No need to get physical, yeah?” With a casual flick of his wrist, York sent Gideon stumbling backward.
Travis caught him just before he hit the ground.
“You’re…
York!” Gideon knew the name.
Everyone did.
York was something of a school legend, the girls called him the “Ice Prince.” He never buddy-buddy with anyone, always wore that cold, unreadable mask.
And he was a good half-head taller than Gideon.
Gideon wasn’t stupid enough to throw a punch now.
Instead, he puffed out his chest and blustered: “Back off!
This doesn’t involve you!” York shrugged.
“You’re right.
Even if you ate this little bunny behind me, I couldn’t care less.” He paused, letting the words sink in.
“But I’m actually doing you a favor, Gideon.” “A favor?” “Have you thought about what happens if you actually hurt her?” York began to circle them, plucking a long blade of straw from the ground as he walked, his tone turning smooth and deliberate.
“They haul you down to the station.
Charge you with assault.
Then they bend you over and give you a taste of the cane, a hundred swats, right across your backside.
I bet you know exactly how that feels…” He gave the straw a lazy flick through the air, just inches from their faces.
Gideon and Travis both flinched, stumbling backward.
Just hearing it made their rears ache in phantom sympathy.
“A hundred!” Gideon’s eyes bulged with terror.
“I can’t even take three from my dad’s belt!” Travis, the sharper of the two, piped up weakly from behind Gideon’s shoulder: “I’ve…
never heard of that happening.” “Travis!” York’s voice shot up an octave.
“You know who’s ranked first in our grade, right?” “W-Who?” They were the type of kids who couldn’t care less about academics.
York’s lips curved into a smirk.
He jabbed a thumb at his own chest, brimming with pride.
“My little sister, Linda.
And she’s the one who told me.
You’re not questioning the top student of the whole grade, are you?” “Uh…” Gideon and Travis exchanged uncertain glances.
That logic was airtight.
Top students were always the good kids, they wouldn’t lie about something like this, right?
“Forget it.
I don’t wanna get my butt whipped.” “Yeah, let’s bail!” Gideon shoved the stack of amusement park tickets he’d swiped from the herbivores into York’s palm.
“Here.
Sorry about all that.
Just…
please don’t call the cops.” York took the tickets with a magnanimous wave of his hand.
“Scram.
If I ever catch you bullying the little guys again, I’ll have the officers knocking on your front door.” “We swear!
Never again!” The two bolted like their tails were on fire.
York turned back to check on Judy, only to find she’d already scrambled to her feet, brushed the dust off her fur, and settled her little hat back in place.
Her enormous eyes fixed on him with earnest intensity as she extended her tiny paw.
“Thank you.
I’m Judy Hopps.
What’s your name?” “York.
Don’t mention it.
I just can’t stand bullies.” He didn’t take her paw.
Instead, he slapped the stack of tickets into her palm and turned to leave.
“Wait!” Judy called after him.
“I have to ask, was all that true?
Do the police really catch naughty kids and spank them?” A ghost of a smile flickered across York’s face, so faint it was almost invisible.
“Of course it’s true.
If you don’t believe me?
Go ask any officer yourself.
If I’m lying, you can call me a dog.” He didn’t look back.
He just kept walking, one hand raised in a casual farewell.
He didn’t turn around.
He’d crack if she saw him grinning.
Judy stared at his retreating back, blinking.
Then the realization hit.
“But…
aren’t you already a dog?” Three little heads popped out from behind a nearby tree.
The moment they saw the coast was clear, Judy’s friends scurried over.
“Judy!
Are you okay?” “I’m fine.” “…” Linda had stayed exactly where York left her.
The moment she spotted him returning, her eyes lit up like twin lanterns.
She scampered over on her tiny feet.
“Big brother!” York reached down and ruffled her ears.
“Mm, you waited right here like a good girl.
That’s my sister.
How about I buy you some cotton candy, huh?” “You’re the best!” —— That afternoon, at the local police station.
Judy stood in the middle of the precinct, surrounded by uniformed officers who were absolutely howling with laughter.
Her question had sent them into hysterics.
And now she knew the truth.
She’d been had.
Her nose twitched furiously, once, twice, her tiny paws balling into shaking fists.
“YORK!” she shrieked, her voice crackling with righteous fury.
“I’LL REMEMBER THIS!” —— The next morning, York was still half-asleep when his mother’s voice drifted up the stairs.
“York!
Get down here!
You have a guest!” ‘Guest?’ York sat up groggily, three question marks floating around his sleepy head.
He didn’t have friends.
Not the kind who showed up at his door, anyway.
But Mom’s voice brooked no argument.
He threw on the first clothes he could grab and shuffled downstairs.
And then he froze.
Sitting in the living room were a pair of gentle-faced rabbit parents, perched awkwardly on the sofa, chatting with his mother.
And wedged between them… A familiar little bunny.
Her eyes sparkled as she took in every corner of the house with insatiable curiosity.
Then they landed on York.
Her expression darkened like a storm cloud rolling in.
Her voice dropped to a venomous snarl: “Good morning…
LIAR.” York’s face twitched violently.
‘Oh, crap.’ How in the world had this little bunny found his house?!