Unfamiliar buildings. Unfamiliar people. Yet the feeling of being utterly lost was familiar to Donta. He lost count of the number of times he and his mother had moved because of him. Rumors of him were spreading and it made his mother nervous, although she didn't show it. Donta had his chin in his paw, his elbow on the window as he stared out at the passing sidewalk as they drove to their new home. He glanced at his mother in the seat beside him, her gaze fixated on the road in front of her. he could see the stress in her eyes. The last place they were in only lasted nearly three weeks. She didn't even have time to find another job.<br/><br/>Raine, Donta's mother, was a Nurse by trade. However, she has the training and expertise to be a full doctor, but didn't have the chance to finish her testing and actually receive her PHD. Everytime they stop, she tries to get a nursing position somewhere to build a savings so she can afford to get tested, but before she ever gets enough, He does something to mess it all up and they spend it all to move away. Donta always felt bad about that and tried to contribute once by looking for a job, but his overprotective mother wouldn't allow it.<br/><br/>He wasn't allowed any clubs or extra curriculars either. Sports were out of the question too. If he ever got hurt and someone got a scanner close to him, they would see he wasn't full Feral and they would pack again before the rumors spread around. He knew what people would think of him. Most would deny it, like it could never happen. Others thought of him as some monster or abomination. None of which was his fault. He once blamed his mother for the abuse he had to go through at school once they found out. He hated her for a while for being with a Human and making him different. But over time, he realized that when your heart chose someone, you have to follow through, no matter what the cost. His mind wandered back to that first date, the fight he got in from some jealous Human, then the trip to the hospital with the girl he crushed on only to see her run away when she heard the doctor say what he was. He saw his mother in a different light after that and apologized.<br/><br/>"You look tired." Raine said, her eyes still staring blankly at the road.<br/><br/>"You're one to talk."<br/><br/>"I have coffee." she said, "You didn't want any at the last stop."<br/><br/>"I'm not driving so I could nap." he said, "But yes, I'm tired."<br/><br/>"We're almost there, honey." she said. Donta sighed.<br/><br/>"I'm tired of running. I'm tired of always moving around. It feels like I lived most of my live in a car." he said.<br/><br/>"I know how you feel. Hopefully this place will be different." she said, "At least we should hope for nice neighbors." Donta forced a smile and they came to a stop behind their moving truck. The movers had already started unloading the truck and hauling it into the apartment. Some of the bigger stuff like beds and couches were tagged with locator beacons and beamed into their apartment. It was a new technology that made moving companies money, yet the government outlawed it for use with living things, as it wasn't perfected. Thus all commercial transport units were outfitted with security features so it could not be used on living tissue. Donta often wondered how easy it would be to move if he could just beam across the country, instead of being stuck in that car.<br/><br/>Following the movers upstairs on one of their trips, Donta was met with a young Human girl leaning against the open door of the apartment across from theirs. When she saw Raine go inside, she waved to Donta to come over.<br/><br/>"Ah, hello. You must be the ones moving in next door." she said, "Kate Crawford." Donta shook her hand and nodded.<br/><br/>"Donta. That's my mother Raine." he said, pointing inside. She was already moving boxes around and sorting though things.<br/><br/>"Nice to meet you." she said, "Welcome to the building. It's pretty good here. Not too loud or anything. People keep their music down."<br/><br/>"Most of these new buildings have sound suppression systems installed in the walls. Everyone in the building could be blasting music and no one else would know the difference." Donta said, then regretted it. He lived in enough of these buildings to know, but now he came off as a snobby know it all.<br/><br/>"Really? That is so convenient!" she said, tapping her fist on the inside of her apartment wall, "So I assume you're busy unpacking for the rest of today. What are your plans for tomorrow?" Donta raised an eyebrow. This girl was eyeing him over oddly. She seemed excited but easily restrained herself. Her eyes were mostly locked on the pink wings on his back. She had questions, he could tell. She wanted to socialize with him, possibly be friends.<br/><br/>"I have school tomorrow." Donta said, "First day."<br/><br/>"You mean at the Academy?" she said, "I go there too! I could walk with you! Show you around and stuff!"<br/><br/>"Really? Um, sure. I guess. Thanks." he said, nervously. His mother's voice sounded from inside the apartment.<br/><br/>"Donta, could you give me a hand with this stuff?" she called. Donta smiled and waved to her before turning to go inside.<br/><br/>"See you tomorrow." Donta said, "Thanks again."<br/><br/>"No problem. Let me know if you need anything. A cup or sugar or something." she said.<br/><br/>"Sure." Donta said, stepping inside. The door slid closed behind him and he was met with his mother leaning against the wall, her arms folded.<br/><br/>"Making friends already, are we?" she asked smiling broadly.<br/><br/>"Just seeing if your neighbors are friendly." he muttered, then began moving his things into his room.<br/><br/>------------------------<br/><br/>The next morning, Kate met him in the hall and he was dragged to the bus stop nearly missing the bus. Kate was pointing out the landmarks and points of interest as they drove, yet Donta remained silent, his nerves acting up again. He should be used to this, he has had many first days in his life but they were all different and all were not a good experience. He hoped this one would be different. He hoped he could just introduce himself and not have them stare at him or be so interested in his unique appearance that they hound him and ask questions. Kate seemed to be that type, but she was keeping her questions to herself and not hounding, so far. Once they reached the Academy, she jumped up and Donta quickly followed her off the bus.<br/><br/>The building was magnificent. It stood five stories and before it, laid a wide courtyard, a track and football field to the left behind it, and even a pool. Something rare for a school in a city. He was again pulled by his wrist into the yard and toward the front door by Kate. It took him a moment to see why. Everyone was staring at him.<br/><br/>He then realized why. He stuck out like a sore thumb. While first year students wore uniforms, more senior students wore slacks or pressed shirts, the females wore skirts and nice collard shirts. The dress code wasn't too strict, but Donta lacked any sense of fashion, wearing green cargo pants and a plain blue T-shirt. He also was the only one around with pure white fur and bright pink wings flailing behind him as he was pulled. He attracted ones eye so to speak.<br/><br/>Once inside, the other reason why Kate was running was made apparent. The bell rang. She let go of his wrist and kept walking at a much slower rate than before, enough so he could keep up.<br/><br/>"Sorry about that. We were running a little late." she said, "Our class is this way."<br/><br/>"You're in my class too?" he asked.<br/><br/>"Yeah I checked my class roster and saw your name there. Isn't that great! You'll have someone around to help you now. It won't be as stressful, right?" she asked. Donta realized she could see how stressed he was. It embarrassed him, but he kept it to himself.<br/><br/>"Yeah. Thanks."<br/><br/>"We have Miss Wolfcub too." she said. "All the guys love her and she's pretty cool to the students too."<br/><br/>"She's a Feral?" Donta asked. Kate nodded, then stopped just outside the classroom, turning to him.<br/><br/>"There is one thing I should warn you about, Donta." she said, "Even though this is one of the few schools that allow Humans and Ferals to attend together, there are many people here who hate the other race because of past prejudices. There are Humans and Ferals on the staff, most of whom are neutral when it comes to race preference. Some are though, but Wolfcub isn't so you can be sure she'll treat you with equality."<br/><br/>"What about our other teachers?" Donta asked. Kate shook her head.<br/><br/>"She teaches all courses." She said, "She's the only teacher who knows enough about all subjects to teach them all. It gives the other teachers free periods when they should be teaching us. She likes it this way because she doesn't like to be bored."<br/><br/>"Interesting." he said.<br/><br/>"She's also strict when it comes to punctuality." she said, grabbing his wrist again to pull him into class, "She can be mean when you're late." The words barely left her mouth when the door slid open and a tall figure filled the frame.<br/><br/>"We're late. Aren't we?" she muttered.