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Chapter 72 by telaviv telaviv telaviv telaviv

"Happy belated birthday, Tibby."

Party at the Pet Park

A few weeks later you write your first exams. Some of them are easy for you, but you're not sure how well you did on the others. You're good with practical stuff you can visualize in 3D, but the more abstract math gives you a headache. Still, you're confident that you'll have acceptable marks in every class. They don't throw impossible tests at students in their first semester.

Ashley reports similar successes, though with less math and more chemistry. Of course chemistry is an unavoidable part of biology, and it does interest her as the basis for hormone science and neurochemistry, but it's not the most exiting subject unless you actually get to play with volatile chemicals, which she doesn't. The most volatile thing Ashley has to worry about is the faculty's opinions on pets, but they seem to have backed off for now and nobody objected to her participation in exams.

To unwind after the last of the exams, you've returned to the pet park which is hosting a fall festival. People want to have some outdoor fun before it gets too cold. The place is packed with pets and their owners, frolicking on the grass where several large grills have been set up or participating in various games you might see at a country fair on the other side of the central path. Tibby recognizes a group from the adoption center, so you join them and grab a skewer of meat while you talk. There's five pets here; the first three are a poodle girl, an elegant skunk, and a long-legged girl who you think resembles a cassowary, who became friends at the center and were lucky enough to find owners who live on the same street. The other two, a pair of sisters with green scales painted around their narrow faces and the backs of their hands, ran into them while out jogging with their owners and now share a jogging path so they see the others regularly too.

After chatting for a while and playing a number of games, it's time for some music. A stage has been set up at the edge of the woods and some local indie bands have been invited to liven up the evening. They're a chaotic mix of musicians representing different genres so there's something for everyone. Your favourite are Frank and Isabel, who wave at you from on stage, but it seems you're not the only ones who've caught their attention. Isi keeps looking at a couple sitting near the stage, an old woman with curly white hair and a puppygirl in her twenties. The old woman has chubby cheeks and a wide smile throughout the performance. She's wearing a long, lavender coat and waving her cane in time to the music. The puppygirl has straight, light brown hair tied up in two pony tails high on her head. She has on a collar the same lavender as the old lady's coat and a matching bomber jacket. The jacket is open to reveal a t-shirt with a stylized bone printed on the front. The lady is seated on a lawn chair off to the left of the audience and her petgirl is sitting cross-legged at her feet. Speaking of, you notice her feet moving in time to the music and her owner's waving cane, but what really catches your attention is that her shoes look like paws with fabric bumps on top and metal claws sticking out from between, curling over the white rubber edging of their soles.

You wonder who they are and then you see Deedee wave vigorously from where her household is seated. Melanie waves too, but doesn't bounce as much. They are sitting on either side of Eric and Ian who wave at you when you catch their eye. You wave back at them, and then put your arm back so that you have one over each of your pet's shoulders. Seeing your friends reminds you of what they told you the first time you visited them. Looking back at the two people on the edge of the audience, you recognize them as Mrs. Dimple and Lulu, their Frisbee playing pal.

When their part of the show is over Isabel and Frank come down to talk to them. You're too far away to hear what they're talking about, and by the time you get closer they're already turning to leave, Frank talking conversationally with the old woman and Isabel holding Lullaby's hand as they skip ahead.

You stay a while longer, enjoying the rest of the evening in the company of Deedee, Melanie, Eric, Ian, as well as the friends Tibby introduced you to, before retiring to your apartment.

Who do we follow home?

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