Salads and Schemes.

"Let's start with the positives," Ashley declares when a hastily throw together salad is on the table. "I'm already past the first obstacle, admissions. The college I want to go to accepted me months ago, they can't unaccept me without a legal reason. And like Tibby pointed out, there's no rule saying dogs can't play basketball."

Tibby gives her a baffled look. "I said no such thing. You're not even a dog..."

"Airbud reference," you explain through a mouthful of greens. "We should watch it sometime if you haven't, it's a great movie franchise."

"If you say so," she says dubiously. "Anyway, I have a second positive. You're smart as fuck and you kick ass. You'd probably look hot in a lab coat too."

"That's like three positives, but hell yeah I would!" Ashley says, her confidence growing.

"I got another one for you," you add. "My dad knows your college's administration because they buy their lab equipment from his department of Omnicorp. He might be able to put in a good word for you."

"Hooray for nepotism," she smirks. "But yes, that'd be a great help. It also brings us to the obvious negative: most people think of pets as submissive girls who don't do much other than play with their owners. Even people who aren't jerks will have a hard time overcoming that preconception."

You nod compassionately. "Yeah. They might humor you, but you'll have to work twice as hard to earn their respect and make them take you seriously."

"But what if you don't have to?" Tibby asks. Recieving questioning looks from both of you, she continues. "Can't you take off your ears and tail while you're at college, and put them on again when you come home? It wouldn't mean giving up on being a pet, you'd just be a sneaky undercover pet."

Ashley sighs. "If it was just for college maybe, but I don't want to hide my identity for the rest of my life just to hold down a job. That's depressing."

"How about a compromise then?" you suggest. "Dress as regular old Ashley when you have to meet with the administration, but go to class as yourself. You don't have to tell anyone there your full name, so it'll be like a trial run to see how people react to a bunny girl at college."

"That... could actually work. You know what, it will work! We can work on the details tomorrow, but it's late and I want to stop while I'm feeling optimistic. We have a good 10% of a plan, let's celebrate that in the bedroom."