Percy let out a dreary sigh as the eight year old buizel cub halfheartedly set another puzzle piece in place, resting his head against his arm while slumped against the dining room table he and his sister were sitting at, working on a two hundred fifty piece puzzle together.

“Percy?” his sister said, drawing his attention to her. Her head was slightly tilted and she was eyeing him inquisitively. “You okay, buibui?” she asked, using her nickname that she gave her brother specifically when she was just learning how to talk. A nickname Percy thought was way too simplistic and about as sickeningly cutesy and absolutely childish as any other nickname possibly could be, no matter how you looked at it. So basically, he adored it.

His sister using his unique pet name for her never failed to make him smile. At least a little bit. He perked up just the smallest amounts as he smiled back at her. “Yea, I’m fine, Penny. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Penny hopped out of her chair and leaned against his side, looking up at him with those adorably sweet eyes that never failed to make his heart melt. “Nu uh, you gots a pouty face. That means you’re sad about something,” she stated with a level of bluntness only a child could manage.

Percy grumbled and looked off to the side, avoiding eye contact with the younger buizel.

Realizing her brother was gonna drag it out if she didn't do something about it, Penny stubbornly puffed out her cheeks and tried hopping onto the chair Percy was sitting in. It was only after a few failed attempts and Percy scooting over to the edge of the chair, allowing her enough room, that she was finally able to hop on so she could once again rest her head on her brother's arm, this time hugging him as she did so. "Is it cuz you don't wanna go back to school tomorrow?" she asked in a sweet, caring tone.

Percy tried to maintain his stoicism for as long as he could manage, but he simply could never ignore his sweet little sister's calls for his attention. Especially not when she was right beside him hugging him like that. Yet again, he broke under his sister's gentle prodding, and let out a much sadder sigh, briefly wriggling out of her hold so he could hug her back, wrapping one arm around her hips so he could hold her close. "Kinda..," he admitted at last.

Penny nestled into her brother's hold with a happy hum, but when Percy finally responded, Penny tilted her head in curiosity. "How come you don't like school, anyway? I thought it'd be fun! Meeting new friends, playing games, learning new things, what's not to like?"

Percy tried to push away the anger for his sister's sake, but couldn't help letting out a small scowl off to the side. "Not for me it wasn't..."

This made Penny frown in worry. "Whatcha mean, buibui?" she asked, nosing at his cheek.

Percy glanced over, and, seeing his sister's worried expression, a small wave of guilt and sadness passed through him. He inwardly chided himself, not wanting her to worry about what happened, but now talking about it was unavoidable. She wasn’t the type to simply let things that were bugging her brother go. He let out another sad sigh and leaned against his sister for comfort. "Well… a lot of the kids and teachers were really mean at my old school. Made things not fun at all,” he said carefully, purposefully being as vague as possible so as not to worry her too much. “It wasn’t like I couldn’t handle them,” Percy sneered with a wave of confident defiance, causing his sister to giggle, much to his delight, “cuz I super could. Nobody, kid or grown up, is gonna get the best of this bui~” he boasted, finishing his initial thought. 

But the moment he finished the statement, his gaze shifted from a defiant glare upwards to a downcast and sullen frown off to the side. “But… well, I could handle it, but it wasn’t any fun without any friends to talk to,” he finished sadly. Then, off to the side and under his breath so his sister couldn’t hear, “Not that I’d be friends with any of those jerks anyway…”

The younger buizel girl frowned sadly, clearly not enjoying seeing her dear brother like this. “Well… maybe it’s gonna be different cuz it’s a different school!” she offered cheerfully, nuzzling up at his cheek again with a sweet smile.

Percy cracked a smile at his sister’s affection, and couldn’t help but nuzzle back, at least a little bit. But his troubled frown remained. “I dunno,” he muttered hesitantly.

“You’re a super duper awesome bui,” Penny continued, hardly taking note of Percy’s half-hearted responses anymore, “and everyone should be friends with you, cuz you’re the awesomest bui there is.”

Percy couldn’t hold back a slight grin from his sister gushing over him any longer and playfully shoved her. “Alright, alright, I get it,” he teasingly droned, drawing another giggle from his sister. Music to his ears. He let out another huff and stared off to the ceiling. “It just kinda sucks being the new kid. Feels kinda lonely, you know?” he asked, still a bit melancholy.

Penny let out a thoughtful hum. Percy was being silly. She knew that, but he didn’t. There had to be some way to help cheer him up and let him know everything would be okay. Her eyes drifted to hands and wrists, then suddenly she perked up and flashed a toothy grin, leaning against his shoulder, eyeing him with big sparkling eyes. “Your bracelet!”

Percy stared blankly at his sister’s (adorable) face and blinked, completely unsure of what to make of her sudden and seemingly random outburst. “Um… what bracelet?”

“Wait right here!” Penny beamed excitedly right before bolting off of the chair and towards her and her brother’s room, leaving Percy to just sit in confusion as to what his sister could possibly be up to now. 

He ended up not having to wait long at all. Mere seconds after she shot away, she sprinted back and nearly plowed right into Percy’s chair had she not stopped herself. Penny gave her big brother a big toothy grin as she held both of her hands behind her back. “Now close your eyes and hold out your arm!”

Suddenly, Percy’s sister’s outburst made perfect sense. He flashed her a teasing smirk. “You gonna give me a bracelet?”

Penny puffed out her cheeks in annoyance and stomped on the ground, balling up her fists. “Just do it!”

Percy snickered a little bit. Even if he did love her dearly, Penny was just too much fun to wind up a little bit every now and then. But he still did as she told him and shut his eyes… though perhaps he could-

“No peeking!” Penny lightly bapped him on the forehead. So much for that idea.

Percy tried to sit still and wait patiently as Penny started fiddling with his wrist, draping something light and bumpy on him. She continued messing with whatever kind of bracelet she was putting on his wrist for several moments, to the point where Percy let out a huff. “Sooo can I open my eyes yet?” he asked a bit impatiently.

“Hold on a sec. Aaaand…” Percy felt Penny's hands resting on his wrists, making very slight movements, then he suddenly heard a tiny metallic click. “Now! Open your eyes!”

Percy opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on his wrist. His eyes instantly lit up in mild shock. It was a bracelet with three beautiful tiny seashells that were a seafoam green, a light lavender, and a soft citrus orange with rainbow beads both separating the three seashells, as well as make up the rest of the bracelet. He fixed a confused and mildly alarmed expression at his sister. “Wait a sec Penny, aren’t these the seashells from the beach? You know, the ones you said you really wanted?”

Penny beamed at Percy sweetly. “Yu huh! I wanted em cuz I wanted to make you a bracelet with em! Now I’ll always be by your side cuz you’re wearing my bracelet, so it’s the same as if I was with you!” she explained as if her logic was the most obvious thing in the world. Then her demeanor shifted into a more nervously hopeful stance. “Do you like it, Buibui?” she asked softly, gazing up at her brother with sparkling sapphire eyes, looking for her brother’s approval, and holding her hands behind her back.

Percy took a moment to gaze at his sister’s gift to him. He wasn’t sure whether it was because of his sister’s generosity or that he now had a memento of her to carry with him all the time, or if it was simply that she was just so gosh darn cute when she was looking at him like that, but something tugged at his heartstrings, slowly drawing a wide goofy smile from him.

Penny seemed to notice the positive reaction and perked right back up again, letting out an excited gasp and eagerly leaning towards her brother. “Does that mean you like it??”

Percy responded by hopping off the dining room chair and pulling his dear sister into a hug, nuzzling at her cheek. “I love it, Penny. Thank you,” he mumbled sincerely. 

Penny happily hugged her brother back and let out multiple happy squeaks at the embrace, lovingly rubbing her cheek against her brother’s with her twin tails spinning around excitedly.

Percy perked up a little bit as he heard footsteps entering the dining room area. Penny must’ve heard them too, because both buizels looked up at their mother, Brooke, walking in and smiling down at the siblings. “Awwww, you two look so cute together~” the older floatzel cooed at her kids.

Percy immediately broke the hug and crossed his arms in a huff, looking away from his mom and his sister. “Moooom…” he complained. Ugh, so embarrassing. It’s not like giving hugs to Penny was a big deal. And it’s not like he was blushing either. Totally not. 

Penny giggled and just clung onto her brother harder, finding it cute whenever he gets all huffy.

His mother let out a little titter, knowing full well how Percy gets whenever he’s teased. “Kids, we’re gonna have dinner really soon, so go wash up, okay?”

“Okay!” “Fiiine.”

Penny darted away instantly, with Percy following soon behind. Brooke watched both her kids run off, smiling to herself, before going to the kitchen to finish dinner prep for the family.

~*~*~ ☆ ~*~*~

Percy opened his eyes again and shifted around in bed until he was laying on his back staring at the ceiling, dimly lit from the light outside their bedroom door, which was open just a crack. It was no good. There was no way he could sleep. The first day back to school was the very next day, and Percy was dreading it. He shifted to his side, looking towards the other side of his room where his sister lay. As expected, Penny was soundly and peacefully asleep. He let out a sigh. He envied her. He hadn’t been able to get a decent night’s sleep in months. Stupid teachers… stupid kids… If his new school ended up being anything like his old one… Percy suddenly flipped over, slamming his face into his pillow and letting out a loud muffled groan.

“Percy?”

Percy whipped around to face the bedroom door entrance. His mom had opened up the door and was looking right at him. “Ah- I’msosorry! I couldn’t sleep, and-!”

“Shhh, Percy, it’s okay,” Brooke interrupted quietly, “just make sure you don’t wake your sister.”

Percy quickly calmed down again after realizing he wasn’t in trouble, but still looked away and rubbed his arm sheepishly. “R-right… sorry.”

Brooke entered the room and sat at the foot of Percy’s bed, prompting the bui cub to crawl out from under the covers and sit next to her, leaning against her seeking comfort. Which Brooke happily provided, holding her cub close to her. “Stressed about your first day back at school?” A few quiet seconds passed before Brooke could feel the little buizel give a small nod against her side. “Oh sweetie…” her motherly instincts took over completely, and she held her little boy tightly, letting him cling onto her however long he needed to. “I’m sorry you had to put up with your last school for so long…”

“‘s okay..,” Percy mumbled out, halfway muffled as he pressed his muzzle into his mother’s side. He went quiet again for several moments, seeking as much comfort in her company as he can get, before finally he stirred from her hold and looked up at her more directly. “Momma… what if this new school isn’t any better?”

Brooke gave a comforting smile to her son and stroked his head affectionately. “I’m sure it’ll be just fine, Percy. Your father and I actually met with one of your teachers just a few days ago.”

Percy instantly tensed up and narrowed his eyes slightly, letting off a deep mistrustful frown. “...what did they say to you?” he asked warily.

Brooke let out a tired sigh, then fixed a stern gaze towards the defiant buizel. “Percy Rivot, stop right there and just listen for one moment,” she commanded, using just enough toughness in her voice to grab Percy’s full attention. Then, when she was sure he was listening fully, she continued in a much more gentle tone of voice. “Look, I know what you’re thinking. But this time, your teacher is a much nicer guy than your last two. He seems genuinely concerned for your well-being and wants only the best for you. And we’ve had a chance to see some of the kids in your class. A lot of them seem very sweet. You should have no trouble fitting in this time.”

After his mother finished, Percy’s gaze drifted downwards and became more sullen. He crossed his arms and let out a weak huff. “Okay, fine… but what if I still don’t make any friends tomorrow anyway?”

Despite Percy’s mild distress, Brooke let out a little smile, finally figuring out the real issue behind Percy’s attitude as of late. “Oh sweetie,” she cooed comfortingly, picking up her little boy and sitting him on her lap, gaining his full undivided attention, “I won’t lie to you, you may not make friends right away. Sometimes these things take time, and it certainly doesn’t help matters that your first day here is in the middle of the year. 

"But,” Brooke continued, gently tilting Percy’s head upwards with her hand as it began to sink dejectedly, “It’ll all be okay. You’re a very strong young boy. And I don’t just mean your battling prowess-” Percy couldn’t resist a small proud smirk, “-you also have a strong will. You’ll be able to make friends faster than you think. Like I said, the kids and the teachers are very sweet. And it may take a little time, but a lot of them would love to meet and be friends with someone like you. I just know you'll make plenty of friends your first few days.

“But even if you don’t,” Brooke continued as Percy continued to look unsure of what she was telling him, “Your father and I will always be there to help you, honey. It doesn’t need to be like last time. Don’t be afraid to come to us for help, okay?” When Percy didn’t respond beyond a single curt nod after a few seconds of silence, Brooke smiled at him and continued stroking him in a comforting manner. “You’ve also got your sister to look out for you. I know she loves being with you a lot. And she’s going to start school next year too, so she’ll be right there with you.” 

Finally, Percy allowed himself a small smile. That’s right, Penny’s gonna have her first day of school after this summer. He may not be in the same class as her since she’ll be a different grade, but he can still walk through the halls with her. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad…

Seeing that she finally drew a genuine smile from her child, even if it was a small one, Brooke gently ushered him off her lap and stood back up. “Try to get some rest, okay sweetie?” Percy gave a slight nod, but it was a prompt response. Good enough. There was only so much cheering up she could do without keeping him up all night. She knelt down and gave him a big hug. Percy clung onto her for a few long moments before she gently pulled away, prompting Percy to hesitantly do the same, curling back up in bed. Brooke stood up from his bed, made her way to the door, and looked back at her son once more. “Goodnight, Percy. I love you lots.”

Percy gave another light smile to his mother. “Goodnight, momma. I love you too.” After the floatzel pulled the door nearly shut, leaving it open just a crack for some light to leak in, Percy flopped his head down onto the pillow with a huff, staring at the ceiling.

Percy let out a sigh through his nose, contemplating all his mother had told him. What she told him made some sense. It was a different school, so maybe things would be different with his new classmates and teachers. Maybe. Or maybe he would just be alone again. Meh. He really wanted to believe her, but after those other mean teachers and kids? Last year [i]and[/i] a big chunk of this year? Well… whatever. Percy let out another huff and crossed his arms behind his head, only for him to sit back up when something lumpy pressed against-

Oh right. The bracelet Penny made for him. Percy brought his arm in front of him. It was a little dark, but he could still make out the colors and shapes of it. He let out a small chuckle. It looked kinda girly. Those soft multicolor beads and little seashells were not really something he’d put on a bracelet himself. And yet…

Percy let his arm fall back down to his side and his gaze shifted to his sister. She was still soundly asleep with a peaceful expression on her face. Percy shook his head disbelievingly. It still amazed him that his sister even gave him that bracelet. He clearly remembered how much she loved the seashells they found together while on the beach over the summer. And yet there they were on his wrist right then and there. Did she always mean for it to be a gift? Or was it just a spur of the moment decision because she looked up to him and cared for him that much?

Percy blinked and let out a small smile. Then again, it didn’t really matter, did it? Either way, it was a gesture to show she cared. A rather meaningful one considering a bracelet this style would be right up her alley, and yet she chose to give it to him. Probably from the start, if her earlier outburst was anything to go by. Percy began to relax and slipped back under the covers of his bedsheets, smiling at his sister peacefully. Maybe his mom was right. Maybe he could get by school just fine either way. After all, he always had his family to come back home to. When he thought about that, things didn’t seem so bad. 

Finally able to properly relax, Percy’s eyelids began blinking shut as he allowed sleep to take over at last.

~*~*~ ☆ ~*~*~

Percy trailed behind his father, squeezing onto his hand firmly as they walked through the sea of excitable kids rushing to their classrooms and chatting in the hallways as the school day neared its start. Percy just tried to keep his eyes forward and down, averting any of his attention from them. He just wanted to get this first day over with. A couple of kids blew right past him, bumping into Percy without so much as a simply ‘sorry’ for getting in the way like that. Percy let out an annoyed grumble, but otherwise said nothing.

His father Arthur, a tall, gentle mannered ampharos, who also got bumped into by the kids, pushed his glasses back into place and looked backwards to check on his son. As he figured, he was not taking it well. The kindly ampharos offered him a small smile and ran his thumb across the back of Percy’s hand as a comforting gesture. “Just hang in there, kiddo. The first day is always the toughest. But you can do it.”

The sound of his father’s gentle voice was enough to soothe his raging emotions. At least a little bit. Enough to where Percy could consciously take a breath and get himself in order again. He gave a curt nod and continued following his father to his classroom.

Far too soon for Percy’s liking, they reached his classroom. His father stopped and turned to face him. Percy let out a small frustrated groan, knowing they had to separate here. His grip on his father’s hand tightened a little bit.

Already knowing that Percy was incredibly hesitant to separate from him, Arthur knelt down to Percy’s level, let go of his hand, and instead placed it on the buizel’s shoulder. “This is where I have to leave, Percy. And I know it’ll be very scary for you. But just keep an open mind, and today may end up being more exciting than you think.”

Percy looked down and scoffed, clearly not believing his father… but he also leaned into his hold, wanting to keep that little bit of familial familiarity for as long as he could.

Arthur rubbed Percy’s shoulders and gave him a lighter smile. “Hey,” he said to get his son’s attention. It worked. Percy started looking at him eye to eye again. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll be off work very early today. So I can be the one to pick you up from school. We can go out and celebrate you surviving your first day of school. Like say… take you to the game store and get you a couple more packs of magic cards?” Arthur had to bite back a chuckle when he saw Percy’s eyes light up instantly. “Then after that, we can pick up your mother and your sister, and we can go out to dinner as a family. Does that sound good?”

Percy took a few moments to think about it. He really did not wanna go to school today. Not in the slightest. But… the promise of magic cards was too enticing. He let out an accepting sigh and begrudgingly nodded his head. “...okay. I can do this.”

Arthur’s smile widened. “I know you can.” He leaned in and pulled the buizel in for a hug. “I love you, Percy.”

Percy happily accepted the hug and clung onto the ampharos. He was soft. Hugging him always made Percy feel all tingly. Prolly cuz his father was an electric type. But the embrace still felt no less nice. “Love ya too, dad.”

After too short a time for Percy’s liking, Arthur pulled away and stood up. "I have to go now, bud. Gotta get myself to work or I’ll be late. You can take it from here. I’ll see you right after school, okay?”

Percy took in a deep breath, steeling his nerves, and gave a single brisk nod in response. Seemingly satisfied that Percy was going to be okay, his father turned to leave the hall, and then the school. Percy took in another breath and stepped inside his classroom, passing a couple of other kids as he went.

Percy scanned the room. There were plenty of cubs already chatting amongst themselves. Plenty of desks were spread out, clumped up in either groups of three or four. There were lots of cutesy decorations clinging to the wall. Pencils, suns, apples- lots of which had smiley faces- a paper banner listing the alphabet as well as all of the numbers one to one hundred… yup, looked like a classroom, alright. Percy decided he might as well take his seat. It was the only one labeled in a group of three desks, so spotting it was pretty easy. It had his name on it, after all.

After what seemed like a long time of awkwardly waiting on his own, coupled with the occasional curious glance towards him that Percy tried to ignore, a grown-up hyena in a dark green shirt and brown pants walked into the classroom hurriedly, followed closely behind by a small raccoon girl who rushed over to the desk right across from Percy. Before either of them could say anything, however, the hyena spoke up.

“Hah... Oh dear… sorry for the wait, class. Got hung up at the principal’s office,” the man said breathily, drawing a few giggles and snickers from some of the kids. “Ah, but not important. Let’s go ahead and get the day started, shall we?” He stood up straight, clapped his hands together, and let out a wide smile. “Hello, everyone! My name is Mr. Goodwin! Your teacher for this class! And the reason why I’m introducing myself in the middle of the school year is because I see we have a new student who’s first day is today! Now, why don’t we ask that he stands up and tells everyone his name so we can greet him?”

Percy groaned inwardly. It’s not like he didn’t know it was coming. But it still felt really awkward. Even before he begrudgingly stood up, he could feel over half the room’s eyes shift towards him. After he was standing, it felt like a giant spotlight was on him. One he was usually glad for, but right now, it just felt… wrong. Oh well. Might as well get it over with. “Um… hey. I’m Percy,” he managed loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Hiiii Peerrcyyyy,” a wave of children’s voices called back in unison. Percy cringed and let out a noise that was equal parts grunt and whine.

“Yes, yes, welcome Percy!” the teacher continued warmly, walking to his desk, “I sincerely hope you have a grand time with us. We do try to make learning as fun as possible here.”

Percy scoffed. Like he hadn’t heard that a hundred times before.

“Now, everyone? I trust you all have done your homework over the weekend. Go ahead and bring it out and feel free to take a few minutes to go over it with each other… oh, actually, before we get to that, does anyone know where Kai is?”

Percy’s fur stood up. He felt like everyone was watching him again all of the sudden. He whipped his head around the room to try and see what the others were looking at, only to realize they were looking at an empty chair next to him. Ah. That explained why the raccoon girl was otherwise alone.

A few seconds of silence passed before a blue squirrel with purple hair from across the room raised his hand. “I think his mom said something about him getting sick yesterday. He might not be here today.”

A look of concern graced the adult hyena’s face as he picked up a clipboard, jotting something down. “Well that’s no good… do you think you could tell him I hope he gets better soon if you see him before he returns?” 

The squirrel boy gave a wordless salute, drawing a small chuckle from Percy at how cute the gesture looked.

“Hmm… well in any case, nothing more can be done about that right now, so class, go ahead and start discussing the homework amongst yourselves.” Right away, the entire classroom began rummaging through their packs and folders to bring out their paperwork. Percy just sat there awkwardly for a few moments until the teacher spoke up again. “Percy? Could I have you come up for a second?”

The young buizel paused. What on earth could this be about? He wasn’t in trouble already, was he? Did it have something to do with not having homework he wasn't given? He wouldn’t put it past those teachers. Feh. Percy gritted his teeth a little and stood up. Might as well see what he wanted at least. He trudged over to the teacher’s desk, arms in his shorts pockets, standing stiffly in front and keeping his eyes averted from the teacher.

“How are you doing today, Percy?” he asked. It didn’t sound like he was trying to be mean. At least… not that Percy could tell.

Percy spared him a single glance. “Fine, I guess,” he muttered.

The teacher didn’t say anything right away, but Percy could feel him leaning forwards in his chair. “Are you sure you are? I know the first day at a new school can be pretty scary,” he asked in a more searching tone.

Percy let out a grunt and crossed his arms, further turning his head away from his teacher. This was stupid. If he was gonna get him in trouble, he should just do it already.

His teacher let out a sad sounding sigh. “Percy… I’m gonna be honest with you, I heard about everything that happened at your old school,” he said in a lower, more serious tone than he had just been using.

Percy’s eyes shot open nearly all the way. He knew. He already knew. Any hope of Percy getting a clean slate was just shot down completely. Because of course it was. Why even bother hoping for anything different? His gaze darkened and he fixed a defiant glare at his teacher, balling up his fists, leaning towards the grownup hyena. “So what?” he challenged dangerously through clenched teeth.

But the teacher’s reaction wasn’t at all what Percy was expecting. His expression became softer and he started holding up his hands in a defensive manner. “Easy, Percy. Easy. I promise, it’s not what you think.”

Well… he didn’t get sent to the principal’s office immediately, so that was something. Kinda. Whatever. Percy didn’t back off, but he did unclench his teeth and close his lips, keeping a distrustful glare fixed right into the unbothered adult’s eyes, daring him to continue.

The hyena, undeterred from the defiant cub’s anger, lowered his hands back onto his desk, continuing to address Percy gently. “Your parents told me about your experiences with your old teachers and your old classmates. And before you say anything,” he added quickly, cutting off one of Percy’s protests before he spat one out, “I just want to say I’m sorry. I’m really truly sorry that something like that happened to you.”

For the second time in under a minute, Percy’s eyes widened. This time his jaw fell along with it. He was getting… an apology? From a teacher? No way. This had to be a trick. Still… Percy’s anger began melting away, bit he still held a distrustful stare as the grownup hyena continued.

“Me and the principal both looked into your old school, how you treated them, and how they treated you. And… well, it shouldn’t have ever gotten to that point. Yes, maybe you did make things a bit worse by acting out the way you did-” 

Percy gritted his teeth again and let out a quiet growl.

“-but it shouldn’t have ever gotten to that point. You needed tutoring and support, both from your teachers and your classmates, and were denied both. Simply put, you didn’t fail the school. The school failed you. And I’m really sorry you had to deal with that.”

Percy dropped his glare the moment he realized the grown up was siding with him. Percy went silent for a few seconds, keeping a wary stare fixed right at him, searching for any sign of dishonesty. The buizel let out a troubled ‘tsk,’ not immediately finding any, but still not ready to relax just yet. “How do I know you’re not tricking me?” he challenged warily.

The teacher gave Percy a patient smile. “I suppose you don’t. But that’s part of my job. I’m here to teach you math, spelling, reading, all those fun things. But it’s also my job- a part I take very seriously- to make sure my students’ needs get looked after. And yes, that includes you. I want to help you, Percy. You may learn in a different way than other kids. That’s not a bad thing. It was wrong of your last teachers to expect greatness from you without putting in the effort to actually help you. I want to fix that. I want you to feel comfortable enough to come to me whenever you need help. Now, Percy,” the teacher leaned forward and continued giving the defiant buizel a kindly smile, “Do you think you can study and learn to the best of your own abilities if I fulfill my promise to you as a teacher?”

Percy’s troubled gaze finally drifted away from the teacher. This hadn’t gone any way he expected in the slightest. Up until this point, every teacher he had been with had either been indifferent to him or just plain mean. Heck, even his preschool teacher didn’t seem to care all that much. And yet… here was this hyena, no less a teacher than others before him, and he was not only being kind and gentle, but actually siding with Percy? This was new. This was VERY new. And the troubled cub didn’t know how to handle it. “I… nnh… I-I’ll try, I guess,” Percy hesitantly relented, finding nothing else to say for the moment.

Mr Goodwin’s smile grew even more, even if the cub couldn’t see it. “That’s all I or anyone else can ask of you. I really do hope you have a much better time here. Now go ahead and head back to your desk. We’re going to go over the homework assignment. You don’t have to turn anything in since you weren’t assigned anything, but please. Do feel free to follow along and ask any questions you have. I’ll be glad to answer them,” he reassured the buizel as he slowly trudged back to his seat.

As Percy began walking back to his seat, arms still crossed defensively, he turned his head very briefly to nod his head, offering the smallest acknowledgement to the teacher when he finished speaking to him. As he walked back to his desk, he saw the raccoon girl nervously looking away from him as she fiddled with her homework. Percy raised an eyebrow and scoffed, but otherwise didn’t say anything to her as he sat back down in his seat.

“Alright, class! If I could have your attention please!” Instantly, the room became silent as every single cub, even Percy, fixed their attention to the teacher. “A couple things about the homework I would like to point out before we go over some of the harder problems…”

Percy genuinely tried to pay attention to the lessons at first, but as time went on and it was becoming clear that this was a day without group work like he was used to at his old school, his eyes began to drift, looking around the classroom and stealing glances at his classmates. He was startled to see some of those same nervous and wary glances that the raccoon girl gave him mere moments ago. 

Percy gritted his teeth and forced his attention back onto the teacher. Tch, just great. Exactly what he was afraid of. They didn’t like the new kid. He let out a quiet grunt and slumped back into his chair with his arms crossed and cheeks puffed. Fine. If they were gonna be like that, he didn’t have to give them the time of day either. 

During moments when the teacher was writing on the whiteboard explaining stuff, he caught a few more nervous glances at him from cubs that were closer to the front. He shot them all down with a cold steely stare, likely startling his classmates. Soon enough, the glances stopped entirely. Hmph. Good. Maybe now they’ll leave him alone. That was just fine with him. He didn’t need those jerks anyway. It was just fine… sigh… Percy slumped further into his chair, not even listening to the teacher anymore and rubbed at his bracelet his sister had given him yesterday. “I wish you were here, Penny,” he mumbled quietly to himself.

~*~*~ ☆ ~*~*~

The first part of the school day was excruciatingly long. And yet every single part of it was a complete blur for Percy. He found it difficult to focus, even when they were heading to other classrooms like the art room and the music room. None of it helped the awkward feelings of isolation that he had. But when the teacher announced that it was time for recess, he finally perked up. At last, something for him to do to get his mind off of things.

As they reached the school playground, the rest of the kids from his and a few other classes all burst out of the doors simultaneously, much to the displeasure of the teachers, who seemed very tired of trying to keep them from trampling each other. Percy couldn’t help but snicker. Seems like that was a regular thing.

The first opening Percy had, he bolted through the crowd of cubs and got his first look at the playground. It was pretty wide open. A nice big field with a couple of playscapes and climbing structures, a few slides and swings, huge trees providing ample cover and shade, and lots of fields around the area to just run around on.

Percy looked to the side and spotted a couple of ball bins that a few cubs were crowding around. Score! He rushed over and plucked a soccer ball out of the basket. He let a little grin slip by and decided to choose an empty patch of grass near one of the school walls to play by himself.

Percy ended up killing a few minutes dribbling and juggling the ball against the school wall. Even managing a particularly hard trick where he used both feet to flick the ball in the air, catch it with the back of his neck, thrust his body upwards thus flinging the ball back into the air, bumping it off his chest, then kicking it with such power that he was surprised he didn’t get in trouble with how loud of a noise it made when his shot hit the wall. 

He effortlessly caught the ball with his chest while it was still in the air, and continued juggling it with his feet for a moment… but then his smile faded and he let the ball drop to the ground. He looked towards the school playground. All of the kids were playing together in groups. It looked like fun. 

Percy scowled back down to his soccer ball, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and limply kicked it away from him. He didn’t need them. They were all jerks to him at his last school. Why would this one be any different? He managed just fine last time. He didn’t need them. He didn’t need them… “Oh who am I kidding?” he mumbled sadly to himself, “This sucks.” Percy continued wordlessly kicking the ball against the wall with empty effort until he perked up slightly, hearing a voice call out towards him.

“Hey! New kid! Uh… Percy!”

Percy stiffened up a little and whipped around towards the source of the voice. Or… two voices? No, just one. It was a white cat cub with charcoal markings above his eyes and on his hands, and his tail- oh, he was part sugar glider too? Cute. 

There was another cub with him who hadn’t called out to Percy, but was closely following behind him. He was a small eevee- about Percy’s height- with a very soft and fluffy looking mane, and also what Percy recognized as a soothe bell in his hair. But what could they want…?

Percy flicked the ball into the air with his feet and caught it with one arm, carrying it at his side. “What’s up?” he asked warily, eyeing them both carefully.

The sugarcat grinned and ushered the eevee up front, much to his mild discomfort and impatience with the more energetic cub. The nervous eevee fidgeted in place, causing his bell to jingle a little, and he took a breath offering Percy the smallest of shy smiles. “Um… we were wondering… do you wanna play with us?”

For the third time that day, Percy’s eyes widened a little. Add to the list of things he hadn’t expected to happen. “Um… play with you? Play what, exactly?”

“Soccer!” the bubbly sugarcat excitedly responded, “We need one more player to make it an even game, so you should totally come join us!”

The eevee glanced over to the excitable sugarcat. “It’s football, Arty.”

“Nu uh, it’s soccer!”

“Our club is literally called-”

“It’s okay to be wrong sometimes, silly~”

The eevee scoffed and rolled his eyes with a slight smile. “The point is,” the eevee continued, side-eyeing the silly boy, “a friend of ours said she saw you all lonely and heard you say you missed your friends at your old school, and we saw how good you are at football-”

“Soccer~”

“-so… yea, we’d love for you to play with us!” the shy eevee said sweetly, gaining a little bit of confidence as the conversation went on.

Percy smiled kindly at the two friendly cubs, but then frowned off to the side, picking out one particular sentence from the vee's explanation. “I didn’t have any friends at my old school,” he mumbled sadly.

This caught the two boys off guard. It was the eevee’s turn to widen his eyes. “Wha- none at all?? What the heck??”

The sugarcat looked more sad at the news. “Gosh, no wonder you looked all sad and lonely!”

Percy scoffed and gave a slightly grim but amused smile. “Um.. yea. Thanks, I guess,” he chuckled, not knowing how else to respond to the very blunt comment.

“Well that just means you have to play with us!” the eevee stated more confidently than he had been just moments ago. “Please? We’d hate to see you sad with no one to play with.”

Percy looked between the two sweet boys’s eager, friendly, and pleading expressions. Well let's see. Stay here and continue to play by himself and be lonely, or join two friendly boys in his favorite game ever? Yea, it wasn't even a decision. He couldn’t hold back a smile. “Oh what the heck, I’m in.”

The sugarcat pumped his fist to himself, grinning widely. “Yes! Now let’s go!” He immediately turned and bolted in another direction.

The eevee smiled warmly at Percy and took his hand, gently tugging him to get him to follow the fluffy pokemon. “Come on! We always play in this field over here.”

Percy smiled back at the friendly eevee and nodded, happily following along. As he ran alongside the eevee, he noticed he started feeling a newfound warmth in his chest. He glanced between the sweet eevee and the excitable sugarglider cat. Maybe school wouldn’t be so bad after all. It kinda sucked that they weren’t in the same class as him, but he could deal with that if it meant getting to play with them during recess. That was way better than he was expecting at the beginning of the day, that's for sure.

Very quickly, the trio reached an open area of grass, slightly shaded by the large canopy trees above them. There were no goals. Just the small bright orange cones in place of goalposts. It was more than enough for playing soccer. And as luck would have it, Percy and his two new friends were all picked to be on the same team!

Soon enough, the game finally started. Percy smirked and hopped in place, now fully amped up. Finally, he was in his element. Percy played forwards for most of the game alongside his eevee friend with the sugarcat boy not far behind, but it was becoming clear that neither side could make very much progress. Many of the cubs on both sides played more defensively, and thus, the bulk of them were crowding towards their own goals. There were a couple of occasions where Percy got the ball, took a shot, but it was either deflected out of bounds, blocked and controlled by an opposing player, or saved by the goalie. Nothing was getting through on either side.

Percy let out an unsatisfied grunt after another shot of his was blocked by the goalie, who was able to kick it to the other side of the field. The sugarglider, apparently wanting more to do, bolted towards their side of the field, leaving Percy and the eevee as the only two players in their team’s attacking position. He leaned over to the eevee, still keeping his eyes on the play. “Is it always like this? You know… low scoring?”

The eevee gives a sheepish grin and rubs behind his head with one of his paws. “It uh, can be. A handful of cubs don’t have as much experience, and some of them like to use the game to just hang out with friends, so they usually just hang back and play defense. If you like football, there is a local league that-” the vee cub cut himself off and tensed up alertly, starting to inch his way backwards. “Uh oh, watch out.”

Percy, still keeping his eye on the play as the eevee spoke, couldn’t help but wonder what had gotten him so amped up. Yes, it looked like their opponents had a breakaway opportunity to score, but he also noted his new sugarcat friend had a wide open lane to interrupt the play. 

Then it hit him. That’s exactly what his eevee friend was looking at. The sugarcat had a perfect angle to interrupt the play and steal the ball. And afterwards, there would be a wide open stretch of field in front of him to pass the ball to the only two attackers on their team. Percy’s eyes lit up and he too began backstepping. “Oh gosh, you’re right. Come on, dude, you’ve got this,” he began muttering, silently willing his new friend to pull it off.

Much to Percy’s delight, he pulled it off perfectly. Right as an opposing bunny took a shot at the goal, his new sugarglider friend jumped right in front of it, essentially catching it with his legs, and used the momentum he already had to speed towards the open lane.

“Nice, Arty!” the eevee cheered, now taking longer strides towards the opposing goal.

Percy likewise began hopping backwards towards the opposing goal, but not quite as far as his eevee friend, who began drawing what little opposing defense that was still on their side of the field towards him. It ended up leaving Percy wide open for an upfield pass. Which his sugarcat friend recognized right away.

His sugarglider friend kicked the ball long and high towards Percy’s direction. Percy adjusted his pace and began running nearly full speed towards the goal while keeping his eye on the ball and the opposing players, who then recognized that the play was on him and not his eevee friend. The buizel hopped up and bopped the ball slightly in the air with his head, hit it forwards with his chest, and began dribbling it in stride. It was a perfect pass. And he was nearly home free.

The buizel’s instincts flicked on like a switch turning on a light. He began maneuvering, juking, and faking out the few defenders that were in between him and the goal. Much to his discomfort, however, they were rather persistent. He could hear the rapidly approaching footsteps behind him. He didn’t have much time. Percy made one more shotfake towards the goal, then juking to the other side, drawing two of the remaining three defenders off of him. It was only one more defender and the goalie in front of him.

“Percy! Percy! Here!”

The buizel glanced over to where the voice came from. It was his eevee friend. He was wide open with no defenders in front of him. Percy quickly glanced at his own opening. The defenders in front of him were in the middle of the field, leaving a very narrow opening to the left side. Percy smirked. It would’ve been a tough shot. But nothing he hadn’t made before. Percy reared up to take the shot. The defender and the goalie both tensed up to block it. Percy’s foot came down, aimed towards the narrow opening on the left…

…only to plant his foot firmly into the ground and use his other to boot it across the field and over to his friend and teammate. Percy tripped over his feet and fell forwards on his hands and knees in the process of doing a maneuver he had never even tried before, but his actions also completely froze their opponents, who expected the ball to go one way only for it to go the complete opposite direction. 

They could only watch in shock as the eevee, who likewise hadn’t expected such a maneuver, but was also able to recover quickly, collected the pass from Percy and quickly shot the ball in the narrow window between the goalie’s diving paws and the right orange cone.

Percy’s team erupted in cheers. The buizel quickly hopped back up into his feet and pumped a fist into the air. “YEHEA!! Nice shot, dude!” He rushed over to the beaming eevee cub and gave him a high five.

The eevee blushed lightly, still grinning excitedly as he gave a few high fives and quick hugs to some other cubs that were playing alongside them. “Hehe, thanks! That was a heck of a pass, though! I thought for sure you were gonna take the shot yourself.”

Percy grinned and placed both of his hands behind his head. “Oh yea, I totally could’ve. Would’ve been a tight squeeze, but I’ve made that kinda shot before lotsa times.” Percy puffed out his chest and beamed with confidence for a moment, but then his smile softened and he dropped his arms to the side. “Thing is though, as much as I know I could’ve, you had a much better chance of scoring it. They were all focused on me, you were wide open, I knew you could hit it for sure. No big,” he said casually, sheepishly rubbing his arm.

The eevee simply grinned widely and hugged the bui cub. Percy flinched lightly, not used to getting hugs from other cubs, but quickly hugged back after realizing it felt really nice. He felt really soft and warm. Percy’s twin tails began to spin around happily. They held the hug for a fair bit longer than the vee had hugged the other cubs before he heard an excited voice calling out.

“Oh man, that was cool!” Percy looked over towards the voice. It was the sugarglider boy again. He was running up, practically bouncing excitedly towards Percy. “That was so smooth the way you played that! That goal was like… so crazy good!”

After Percy and the vee broke their hug to greet the sugarcat again, Percy puffed out his chest proudly and crossed his arms, smirking confidently. “Heck yea it was. I know, I’m pretty dang good.” Percy’s smirk shifted to a grin and he playfully punched at the cute sugarglider’s arm. “But it wasn’t happening without your play, dude. Seriously, that pass was super awesome.” The boy in question grinned right back at him.

Percy waved a paw towards the eevee as well. “And as good as I am, I wasn’t even the one who scored. The one who played it with me the whole way was-” Percy’s grin faded and blinked. His gaze flicked back and forth between the two cubs. “Ya know what? I never actually got either of y’all’s names.”

The two cubs blinked alongside the buizel, with the sugarcat doing a facepalm. “Holy crapola, you’re right. How did we miss that?”

The eevee giggled and began swaying back and forth, offering a paw to Percy. “Well let’s go ahead and fix it. Hi, my name’s Joyce. And I’d love to be friends with you.”

Percy chuckled at the formality of the introduction even after playing together for nearly the entire recess period, but happily shook his hand in return. “Nice to meet you, Joyce. I’m Percy. Though you guys sound like you already knew that.”

“Yup! Percy the new dork in school! I’m Arthur! But you can call me Arty or Kippy~” the excitable  sugarglider beamed happily.

Percy raised an eyebrow. “I’m a dork now?”

Arthur grinned. “Yup! Dork! You’re a cool dork, but still a dork!” he said all too happily, then playfully sticking out his tongue.

Percy blinked, not knowing what to make of the name given to him. He glanced over to Joyce, who was just rolling his eyes and smiling in playful exasperation. Percy chuckled. Looks like these were just more antics that were a normal thing for him. In that case… “Yea? Well if I’m a dork, then you’re a doofus! I’m gonna call you Doofy,” he shot back playfully.

Arthur grinned at Joyce and pointed at Percy. “I like him! He learns fast.”

Joyce shook his head, still smiling, but then did a full body jolt as he leaned past his two friends to their side of the field. “Uh guys?? Game’s still going!”

Percy’s reaction was instantaneous. He rapidly scanned the area for the ball and saw that their team was being threatened by a pretty heavy attack. “Oh crud! C’mon guys, we just got that goal! Better not lose it right away!”

Joyce started running to catch up with the play. “I’m with ya, Percy!”

“Race you both!” Arthur challenged as he began running full speed towards their own goal.

Percy laughed out loud and picked up more of his own speed. “Hah, you’re on!”

—

Percy leaned against a big tree taking a few deep breaths and wiping off some sweat from his forehead. He let out a tired chuckle and then a content sigh. Boy this had been a lot of fun. But sadly, it was time for the game to end. That half hour passed by way too fast and the teachers were already starting to call the kids back inside. Percy decided to hang back and catch his breath. Totally not because he wanted to lengthen his amount of free time. Not at all.

“Heeyyy, it’s the ‘mon of the hour! Sup, dork?”

Percy looked over and grinned. It was Arty and Joyce. They too looked pretty wiped. That game got very energetic very fast. The moment Joyce scored, it was like the other team realized they were gonna lose if they didn’t do something. Even so, the trio managed to ward off every attacking attempt together. With a little help from their other teammates.

Percy tiredly waved towards his friends. “Heyo… heh… that game got crazy so fast.”

Joyce let out an exaggerated groan, still breathing heavily, even as he was smiling. “Tell me about it. Felt like it was more hyped up than normal.”

Arty seemed the least bothered by the tiring game. Percy was beginning to wonder if his batteries were overcharged or something. That goof didn’t seem bothered by much of anything. The sugarcat started walking slowly towards the school building, prompting Joyce and Percy to follow suit. “Well the good news is it’s lunchtime! I heard they’re serving spaghetti. Mmm, I need some of that. And Percy, you can sit with us! We can introduce you to some of our friends!”

Percy smiled, feeling more and more comfortable around his new friends by the minute. “Sure. I’m down to spend more time with you guys.”

Arty beamed at Percy. “Glad to hear! Also you should totally come over to my house sometime and hang out! But we can talk about that more during lunch. I’m gonna go on ahead and save us a spot. See you in a bit!” he belted out quickly, then ran off before Percy had a chance to respond to any of it.

Percy let out an amused scoff and shook his head. “Has that dude ever even heard of an off switch?”

Joyce giggled and gently bumped into Percy’s side. “He may seem like a harebrained airhead sometimes, but Arty really is a ginormous sweetheart. He really does love making new friends and making sure they’re happy.”

Percy’s smile shifted into a more genuine one. “Yea… you guys are both awesome. Thanks for letting me play with you.”

Percy could see a faint blush and a small smile on the vee’s face. His eyes shyly looking down with his ears folded back. Gosh he looked cute like that. “Awh it was nothing…”

Percy just gently bumped into him in return, flashing a grateful smile at him.

The two walked slowly towards the building for a few more moments. Kids were passing them by. They were one of the last couple of cubs still outside, simply enjoying each other’s company during the slow walk to the lunchroom, until Joyce spoke up again, catching Percy’s full attention. “You know… with how good you looked playing football with us… you could try out for our football club.”

Percy let out an inquisitive hum. “I figured there’d be sports clubs around here. You’re a part of one?”

Joyce smiled proudly and nodded. “Uh huh! Furwood Football Club. Or Furwood FC for short. We’re pretty dang good. One of the best. Still looking for our first championship, but we’re always just right there. It’s suuuper hard to get in… but you might be able to.”

Percy felt pride welling up in his chest again and shot the vee a smirk. “Heh, I bet I could get in no sweat.” Joyce giggled at the buizel’s confidence. Percy held his grin and glanced forwards at Arty, who just made it inside the building. “Is Doofy a part of it too?”

The eevee nodded. “Yup! We’re both in the Junior division. There are other real sweeties in our club too. I think you’d like em. And I think they’d like you too.”

Percy’s confident smile turned into a more dreamy one. Gosh, the thought of not only getting into a super good club like that, but also getting to play with Joyce, Arty, and their friends too… Percy let out an exhale. “I really need to try out, then.”

Joyce’s smile widened. “Tryouts are going on this weekend. The season starts up really soon. I’m actually close friends with the team captain. I could ask him to give you a closer look during tryouts.”

Percy smiled at the eevee’s goodwill towards him. “Guess I better not screw it up, then,” he added with a relaxed chuckle.

“Well if you do anything like what you did during recess today, you’ll be just fine,” Joyce reassured warmly. “For now though, let’s go get some lunch. I’m starving!”

Percy’s belly growled almost as if it was on command. “Hah, don’t have to tell me twice!”

~*~*~ ☆ ~*~*~

Percy stood in the pickup zone, calmly leaning against the wall with a calm smile across his face. Today had been far more eventful than he ever imagined possible. 

The second half of the day turned out to be hugely different than the first. It still felt awkward at times being the new kid, but it helped a little that some of Joyce and Arty’s friends that Percy met and befriended at lunch turned out to be in his class. And after hitting it off with them and word got around that Percy was just lonely and in need of good friends, any misgivings about him and his attitude slowly started melting away. 

He still found some class topics tough to follow and he still gave some teachers a bit of a hard time, but this time, he felt more at home. He felt like he was actually learning things, and he felt like he was actually making friends. Percy smiled warmly. Maybe school wouldn't be so bad after all anymore. And that club Joyce mentioned… he absolutely had to get in. There was no way he was missing out on something that fun and challenging. Percy started to grin at just the thought.

Finally he spotted his dad’s car. Without wasting any time, he rushed over, opened the door, and excitedly hopped into the back seat.

“Hey, Percy! How was your first day at your new school?” his father asked energetically, already noticing that his son was in good spirits.

Percy beamed at his father. “Holy heck, dad. You won’t believe what happened at school today…”