The LRB Chapter 1

A new begining.

On June 11th the sweltering sun had finally set, giving relief to all the over heated furs in the bleachers. The large lights illuminated the football field where all the high school seniors were excitedly seated in organized rows. After a long ceremony the graduates tossed their blue mortar boards into the air and cheered. Family and friends poured out of the bleachers and onto the football field to share their congratulations.

Inflated beach balls are tossed about over the crowd as the police scaned through the chaos in search for any trouble makers. Graduation has certainly changed from what it used to be like back in the day. It was comforting to know that there were police around in case of an emergency but at the same time it felt strange and unusual.

Seraphox stood on his toes to peer over the heads of the furs in an attempt to find the others. He lost Rei almost instantly. The grey fox called out the names of his friends but his voice is drowned out by the crowd. He got a glimpse of what might be the ears of his kangaroo friend, Joey, who was one of the tallest in the group besides himself. Seraphox Angel-Wing tunneled his way through the mass of people in the suspected direction of his friend.

"JOEY!!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs. The chubby fox peeked over the heads like a periscope to see if he was still going in the right direction. 

"Damnit.. Now where'd he go?" He cursed as he could no longer see his friend. Seraphox suddenly bumped into someone and turned around to appologize. He had ran into two boys in their blue grad gowns. The ferret and the red fox had been hugging each other in excitement.

"Jay! James! Finally I found some people in here!" Seraphox shouted so they can hear him.

"Hey! How's it going Phox? You haven't seen anyone else here tonight have you?" James Redfur asked him. A lot of people call Seraphox "Phox" for short. Seraphox shook his head.

"No!.. I think I saw Joey a minute ago but I haven't talked to him! Rei is in here too somewhere but good luck trying to find him!! Ha!"

"Wow cool! I haven't seen you guys in a while! How is Rei?" The ferret, Jay Gioh, wondered.

"Rei's doin' goot! He's been working and going to school, you know, the usual!" The three paused to watch the police drag a drunken fur away by his shirt collar.

"HEY MAN!! What the fuck!? Man, I didn't do nuthin! Hey-HEY! Come on! I didn't DO nuthin, OK?! Let go!!"  the drunk shouted angrily.

"Man.. This is much different than what my graduation was like!" Phox commented. The red fox and the ferret both nodded.

Jay had suddenly felt something tug at his small pony tail he had started to grow. The teenager turned around to see what that was all about. He looked up to find the 5'10", blue eyed kangaroo, wearing a t-shirt and shorts, grinning down at him. The boys furry face lit up with a big smile. 

"Hey you!" the kangaroo hugged him joyfully.

"Joey!" the three responded in unison.

"So you guys are finally graduating, huh? Man, high school has been a crazy four years hasnt it? Heh.." Nineteen year old Joey Roo had graduated last year along with their friend Rei; who was still lost somewhere in the forest of caps and gowns. "Who else are we missing?" Joey wondered.

"Uuumm... Rei, Rex Racoon and Alex Sprinter! I dunno where any of them went!" Seraphox answered.

"I wonder if Bue came here tonight for this.. We all promised to be with each other at graduation." Joey's smile faded a little. The grey fox gently rested his hand on Joeys shoulder.

"Hey.. He wouldn't miss this for the world no matter what! He prolly is here somewhere, I'm sure of it!" Seraphox reassured him. A sad pause filled the circle of friends. "We can go visit him later, but for now lets celebrate! You guys finally made it!" The smiles returned to their faces.

"C'mon guys, let's go see if we can find anyone else in this orgy!" James giggled and the four boys searched through the maze of furs. Jay and James met up with their family members. After saying hi to everyone, Joey and Phox decided to go off to look for the others on the other side of the field. The Phox and Joey disapeared as they squeezed through the ever changing, narrow labyrinth of graduates. The ferret and fox couple drifted from their families to search this side of the field for more friends. 

"S'up-Bitch?" James Redfur heard a familiar brutish voice.

'Crap... I was hoping to avoid this guy tonight..' James thought to himself as the wolf jock strutted up to him with his nose held high. Jay stood closer to his boyfriend protectively. The red fox's eyes narrowed as he glared fiercely at the bully who caused him and his friends so much pain for almost their entire lives.

"You finally graduating huh bitches?" The wolf spat on the grass. The couple stared at him coldly.

"What do you want Bradley?" James snarled deeply and bared his teeth.

"Hey man, chill! I just wanna know.. we cool?" The wolf held out his paw. This took the two by surprise. How dare he think everything is just OK now? Bradley was one of the top bullies who tortured them ever since elementary school. Brad and his pack of wolf jocks nearly beat James to death back when he was fourteen. Bradley used to beat up the two all the time for being gay, or at least that's the only reason they could figure out. James and Jay were disgusted at the thought of him trying to make peace after all they went through. The two boys are usualy very forgiving, but forgiving Bradely didn't come easy. In time.. maybe, but it was impossible right now. James looked down at Bradleys extended paw then sneered at him in antipathy.

"...Pfft!! FINE then fucker!" With that, Brad stormed off. The two watched him in silence as the wolf was engulfed in the crowd of furs. The ferret boy looked up at James with his hazel eyes.

"....You OK?" he whispered to the fox.

"Yeah, I'm good." James nodded. Jay nudged the fox's muzzle with his peach colored nose and gave him a kiss.

"C'mon, lets go." Jay suggested as he took his boyfriend by the hand and lead him back into the chaos.

To be continued.