Malcom a human in a human city

Art and story outline by https://www.deviantart.com/justmalcolm

The Girl in the Hall

Your name was Malcolm. You were short for your age, with short curly brown hair and an athletic build. You lived in a city that was mostly humans. There was the odd other race, elves or Dwarves. You were athletic; you competed in track races for your school. You were also dyslexic and had been held back a year, making you 18 in your last year of 6th form.

Your father has encouraged your athletic side, hoping to exercise the dyslexia out of you. An idea that was supposed by science that had been debunked by the 2010s, not that it dissuaded your dad. Your mother knew better but also thought it would be good to have non-academic skills.

The end-of-year dance was coming up, and everyone was talking about who would go with who. There was someone in your year that you wanted to ask.

She was also 18; she had moved around a lot, and when she arrived in your city, the school seemed fit to put her back a year to catch up on things she missed. She was smart; biology was her main subject. Because she was new and because she was nerdy, she didn’t have many friends; she wasn’t the most popular. She was also athletic but didn’t compete in the same category as you. This was mostly because she was a centaur. Her name was Zephyr. She had short wavy hair on her head and wore glasses. She had a dark brow bay coat with a black tail on her equine body.

It was lesson changeover, and you spotted her in the hall, carrying her books to her biology class. You walked up to her, looking up to catch her eye. “Will you go to the dance with me?” you asked her.

“Why me? There are lots of human girls that would love to go with you.” Zephyr replied, the self-doubt clear in her voice.

“But I don’t like them; I like you.” You replied.

“You like me?” She stammered in disbelief.

“Of course, you're smart and sporty; I’ve seen you compete in the taur categories of the races we both go to. You are practically this city’s best taur athlete.” You explain.

“I am this city’s only taur athlete in our age range.” She retorted in a light-hearted way and laughed. “Ok, Malcom, I will go to the dance with you on two conditions. First, before the dance you have to help me study for our sport science test. I am good with the biology side of things, but the course focuses on the humanoid muscle groups. Second, you have to help me train for the big summer race. You will need training too if you hope to win your category.”

“You think I can win.” You reply, forgetting about everything else she just said. “Oh, and yes, I will help you, and we will go to the dance together.” You added as your brain caught up. You made plans to meet up at her house and study later in the week, then dashed off to class so as not to be late.