First… no padding… yet… but there will be A LOT later.
This is a very experimental story. I’ve shopped it around to some close friends and I’ve gotten mixed reviews. Two love it, and two think the comedic breaks make it a bumpy unfocused mess. Sooooo… I’ll leave this here for now. If anyone gets a chance, please let me know if the style works, or if it would be better served cleaned up and made a little more serious and straight forward.
The other experimental note with this story is that I have never worked with this many characters. There are 14 minor characters, and 5 main characters. Writing may not be the best place to have so many characters. I think with a visual medium its easier to juggle this many since different looks are self-evident and you don’t need to slow the story with more textual introductions. The narrator is a bit ‘entrenched’ in the story and the view point is third person, but I thought it might be interesting to have later ‘episodes’ follow some of the other people besides Jake.
Hoiku no Fuben
By: CS Fox
EP 1: The New Girls
“Cursed? …CURSED?! No no no no no no… I… I didn’t do anything wrong!” Jake pleaded.
A very angry looking creature of water and strategically placed leaves stood glaring at him. “This happens to be a sacred spring…” she said. “MY sacred spring…”
Jake nervously rubbed at the back of his head."…And I was just taking a walk by it and… uh…"
“Peed in my face,” the spirit frowned.
“I didn’t really expect a pool of water to be,” Jake tried to sober up. “To be… be… … … you.”
There was quiet for a moment. Jake had been going through a bit of a rough week, and although he was a little drunk tonight, he didn’t think he was drunk enough to imagine something as ridiculous as a water nymph or mountain spring goddess… or whatever the hell she was. (She did however have a great rack of water boobies).
“Can’t I just say I’m sorry?” he asked, not sure it was his fault for having to pee so bad.
The being shook its head, little drops of water flew about as her liquid hair shuffled with her.
“For desecration of my home… and me. I hereby curse you.”
Jake wasn’t exactly sure what being cursed meant, but he knew it probably wasn’t good. “Sorry’s not enough?”
The being of water crossed its arms and seemed to look even less happy with him.
“You’re not really sorry, but you will be. Since you can’t seem to hold your water and felt need to pollute me with it, you are hereby cursed to suffer the fate of the loveless corrupter.”
Jake staggered back as if he’d been stabbed. “The loveless corrupter? What… what is that?!” He said with dread at the vile sound of the name.
The being smiled. “It’s you… and you’ll find out what it means in time.” She began to dissolve, “Defile my spring again and I’ll turn you into a lily pad.”
With that… the water lost its form and splashed back into the pool… and Jake was left if what he’d seen was real… or if he’d just had an alcohol induced breakdown. He staggered away as quickly as he could, trying to make it home in his blurry state.
Usually Jake wasn’t one to drink heavily… but lately he’d been a bit stressed about the start of the new semester, and it just sort of happened that he got invited out by an old friend he hadn’t seen in years and got into a drinking competition. Usually he didn’t go out on a weeknight, since he had class and work after it, but given the company and circumstances, he needed to get out… and it was just unfortunate that he was completely outmatched by his drinking partner.
Somehow… Jake made it home to his crazy house. The ground floor was locally known as ‘Autumn Leaves Daycare’. As odd as his house was, Jake liked it. When he was little, his mom was unable to find suitable daycare for him … and it had turned into a career for her when the neighbors admitted they needed a place for their kids as well. His house had a permanent immaturity to it, the ground floor a daycare center, the upper floor the living space for himself and his mom.
It took a few minutes, but Jake managed to drag his body up to his room and into his bed.
FUN FACTS:
This story does not take place in Japan. This story takes place anywhere that you’d like it to take place (except Japan). Maybe it’s in sunny San Diego, picturesque Martha’s Vineyard, or the people’s republic of Madeupbullshitistan. …You may be wondering why it’s important to note that this story is NOT set in Japan. … well, if this story were set in Japan, it would be an Anime. The themes, title, characters, and even core concepts are very anime-ish and cliché, which is bad… and you’d probably still read it any way. Poor you.
STORY RETURNS!
In the morning, the following events happened in the following order… It’s more fun to sing it than read it.
♫ Jake woke up. Jake threw up. Jake fell down the stairs.
Jake bumped his head. Jake didn’t make his bed. Jake’s Mom saw him off with ‘Take care.’ ♫
(The author makes no claims at wit.)
Anyways… Jake got his ass to the commencement ceremony for his second year of college at NPCC (North Point Community College, where the N stands for Nowledge). It took two bus transfers, but he made it through hangover city and found that a seat had been saved for him in the auditorium.
“You’re late,” Jordan said as she took her bag out of the seat next to her and put it under her chair.
“Did I miss the sorting hat again?” Jake asked blearily sitting down.
No sooner had Jake spoken then Jordan wrinkled her nose. “Did you even try to cover up last night? You smell like a brewery.”
“You’re the one who dragged me.mmmphpm…”
Jordan clamped her hand on Jake’s mouth. He was still a little tipsy and didn’t have much of an inside voice this morning. She made a shushing motion with her hand and pointed for him to look at the stage.
“Sorry if you’re weak on the sauce. You should be grateful I took you out last night. It’s been four years since I’ve seen you.”
Jake grumbled but stayed quiet as Jordan eased her hand away from his mouth and the ceremonies began. It only took about three minutes before he was out cold. Head lulled back, mouth wide open for bank shots.
Jordan pinched him. “Wake the hell up, what’s wrong with you?”
“You know what’s wrong with me… blah… was drinking with you… didn’t sleep… had the weirdest dream ever.”
Jordan rolled her eyes. “Whatever, just keep the snoring to a minimum, don’t make me regret meeting up with you again.”
Jake nodded, and crossed his arms, trying to pay attention to one professor droning on about academia. It was proving pretty hard, and he settled for letting his attention wander to the girl who sat looking serious next to him.
He and Jordan had grown up together. When she was younger, she had been one of the first kids at his mom’s daycare. They were best buds, even if she was usually a little stronger than him and liked to play jokes… she was a year younger and beginning her first year of college. Still… four years… it was such a long time ago that she went to the all girl’s school. She looked good. Long brown hair, athletic figure…
“Will you stop staring at me?” she asked with a slight blush and glare.
“Sorry, I’ll go back to sleep.”
Jordan frowned and punched his shoulder. Jake sighed and wished the stupid ceremony would just end so class would start and he could get out of here for the day. It was Wednesday, which was usually the busy day at daycare.
STORY ON HOLD WHILE WE FAST FORWARD… MEANWHILE… PRO-TIP:
Some jobs are gender biased. It’s not so much a prejudice against the opposite gender, it’s just a social comfort sometimes to assume that a certain position is going to be filled by a certain sex… for instance, when you hear ‘Nurse’ or ‘Stewardess’ what do you think of? With that in mind, most parents don’t feel entirely comfortable with a young man working at a daycare center. Nothing against Jake, he’s amazing with kids, but there’s always that wild thing that adults assume young men possess.
Also, on a world note: There are furries and half-humans in this world. Why? Just-be-fucking-cause. Don’t ask questions, shut up and read. Why are there apricots in your world? Riddle me that.
STORY RETURNS (IMAGINE A BAT SYMBOL APPROACHING AND A SWIRLING BACKGROUND DANANANANANAAAAHHHH).
After a long day of BS classes and introductions, Jake made his way home. He was a little tired, and he’d gotten over his hang over (Sing the wake up song again for lunch, but minus the mom bit and add a college bathroom stall).
The daycare had a white picket fence around the yard. And today it kept in three children of different ages, all running around. Recognizing Jake, they rushed the gate, waving and smiling.
“HIIIIIiiiiii Jake!” called one husky girl.
“Heya Roxy, you being a good girl today?” Jake asked as he let himself in. The husky was around seven or eight.
“Nope!” she said with a tail wag.
Another sandy haired boy was quick to hug Jake’s leg.
“And that must be Curt,” Jake said looking over his shoulder to see the smiling toddler attaching himself like a jogging weight. “How’s it going pal?” Curt just raised a thumbs up, he rarely spoke. The third kid, Marvin, just smiled.
Jake walked back towards his house, or at least tried too. It was kind of like a goose and three goslings forming a moving pack around him, each trying to vie for his attention and tell him about their day.
“And we found a toad in the backyard!” “Curt used a marker on my shirt…” Thumbs up “I soooo didn’t dig up the flower bed… again…”
The last comment caused Jake to pause and turn to look at Roxy with a bemused smile. “Again?? Roxy…”
Roxy blushed and tried to look innocent. “What? I didn’t. I’m just… letting yah know for when the new girls ask you about it.”
Jake raised an eyebrow. “New girls?”
Marvin, a stalky nine-year-old black boy nodded and smiled broadly. He was following along with the group and holding a baseball and glove, looking at Jake hopefully. “Evelyn and Chiyo. Seem nice, and real pretty.”
“Oh right… new employees.” Jake nodded, “I think I remember mom saying something about that. I should probably go meet them.”
The group moved inside, squeezing through the door, and Jake did his best to get the more ‘playful’ of the group to remove their shoes. Roxy had a habit of tracking mud everywhere, and if Marvin didn’t leave his baseball at the door, something would break quick.
“I’m home mom!” Jake called.
The house was divided somewhat evenly with one side being the ankle biters, and the other being the children of all other ages on up to pre-teen. The back areas had the snack center (the family kitchen being upstairs), the nap room, changing room and bathrooms (yes plural, one bathroom does not work for upwards of 12 potty trainers… trust). Jake new that at this time of afternoon it was usually snack time.
“Hey Mom, hey Janelle,” Jake said as he came into the snack room. His mom was sitting in a rocking chair with a baby in her arms feeding it a bottle. She smiled warmly as her son came in.
“How was the first day of the new semester?”
“Boooooorrrrinnnnggg….” Jake said dramatically, causing his little gang to giggle.
Janelle was at the counter fixing a tray of sliced apples. She had been an employee for almost ten years, and had been around to watch Jake grow up, more a sister then co-worker. She was a vixen, and her peach colored tail always had a sway in it.
“Second year of college…” Janelle laughed. “Just yesterday I was getting your juice box,” she added smiling over her shoulder.
Jake blushed, but tried not to let the sisterly teasing get to him. “Heard there’s two new girls.”
“Oh yes,” Jake’s mom nodded. “With you going back to school, it was about time we took on extra help. Evelyn was just in here helping me feed our two infants, she should be in the nap room now. Why don’t you go introduce yourself?”
“Chiyo’s the other one,” Janelle laughed. “She’s under the test today… last I saw, she was out back with the Gleeson twins.”
Jake grinned. “I’ll go check on her first I think…”
The gaggle of children and Jake made their way to the front door and got shoes before heading out and around the house. The backyard had the same white fence and stretched for about half a football field. Jake found what he could only guess was the new girl. The Gleeson twins were a nearly identical boy girl combo of blonde haired six-year-olds. They had limitless energy and were accomplished climbers… and so was Chiyo apparently.
Roxy and Marvin giggled and ran ahead to climb the Mulberry Tree that grew in one corner of the yard. Curt maintained his post on Jake’s leg as they all came to the tree.
“Hullo up there,” Jake called brushing aside a branch or two.
“Hey Jake!” came the synchronized voice of the twins.
A girl suddenly hung down in front of him, supported on a branch by her legs. “Nyah!” she meowed. Jake jumped back a foot in surprise. “Hiiii boss-lady’s son, I’m Chiyo!” she added with an upside down wave.
“Umm… Hi?” Jake said returning the wave. He was a little surprised to find she was a yellow haired cat girl… half humans weren’t common.
“Come on Chiyo! You promised!” said the twins.
“Did I?! Nyah! Guess I have too do it then!”
“What’d she promise?” Marvin asked as he stood on one of the lower parts of the tree.
“She was going to do a penny drop.”
“Yup yup! Watch dis!” the cat girl said, suddenly swinging herself a little. With a little bit of momentum, she unhooked her legs and began to move away from Jake as her body righted itself… and caught on a branch…
(Cats make funny noises when surprised) Chiyo disgracefully face planted in the soft grass.
“Are you okay?!” Jake said running to her side. Roxy and Marvin joined him.
Chiyo made a disappointed mrrl with her ears down. “I messed up the landing…”
The toddler on Jake’s leg, Curt, managed to say “Ouch,” before hiding himself again. The twins exchanged a handful of coins before high-fiving each other in the tree.
Chiyo sat up and spit out a little dirt. “Blah… sooo should have made that… I’ll beat you at round two Mr. Tree!”
“Woah woah, let’s not encourage dangerous stunts,” Jake said, glaring a little at the Gleeson twins. They both sat smiling with figurative halos floating above their heads. Chiyo shook out her hair and feline ears before standing up and smiling as if nothing had happened.
“It’s all right, I shall challenge the tree later… but for now, I have something else I wanted to do. I think it’s the best way to get to know someone.”
Jake looked at her a bit confused. She was smiling mischievously, a little sharp tooth poking out of the corner of her mouth as she did. She was wearing a long sleeve shirt, with a short t-shirt over it and a pair of khaki shorts she’d already gotten grass stains on… and there was that feline tail twitching around from that otherwise human body… she looked like she wanted to shake hands but…
“TAG!” Chiyo laughed, practically shoving Jake off his feet. The gathered children laughed and quickly abandoned the tree, running in all directions like a star.
“What? Oh no you did not!” Jake laughed before running after the nearest body.
POINT OF INTEREST:
Tag, also known as it, tips, dobby, chasey, tig, tick and many other names, is a fun way to confuse anyone who’s becoming too serious. Personally, this author likes to begin the game somewhere crowded, and with a pillow… bonus points for sneak attacks.
Second note of interest: In Japan (where this story is NOT based) diapers are known as omutsu. Children sometimes potty train at the late age of four or five, which is often due to over protective mothers. …Jake didn’t potty train fully till he was four and wet the bed till he was ten. His mom loves to embarrass him with stories about it.
TAG YOUR IT!
Thanks in no part to the diligently dirty efforts of the Gleeson twins, and a slight potty emergency with Curt, the epic match of tag ended. The kids were more than ready for a snack and sporting a few new grass stains. Chiyo and Jake herded everyone to the snack room.
“Survive the twins?” Janelle asked Chiyo ruefully as she put out a tray of celery, peanut butter and raisins (you can make a boat with them!).
Chiyo nodded excitedly. “Nyah! Of course hahah!” The twins hugged each side of her, happy for once to find someone indestructible enough for them to play with… at least for now.
“Well that’s good. Just remember you two,” Janelle said looking sternly at the twins. “Go easy on the new help.”
The twins gulped at Janelle. She was the only caretaker they feared. As mentioned previously, the twins were nearly identical, the only difference being their hair. JC kept her hair long, while JR kept his short. To make them even more confusing, their parents had named them both Jamie, and the only way to tell their names apart was with their middle names. Jamie-Chris, and Jamie-Ross… JC & JR, the Gleeson twins.
“Where’s mom?” Jake asked as he helped Roxy and Marvin to chairs.
“She’s with Evelyn in the nap room. It’s about changing time.”
“Which reminds me…” Jake said scooping up Curt. Curt struggled a little, reaching his arms for the snack on the table. “It’ll still be there when we get back. Right now you need a change… BAD.”
“Syyyrrrrsssly,” Roxy said wrinkling her snout. Being a husky, her nose was rather acute.
Curt blushed and quickly tried to hide himself on Jake’s shoulder.
“It’s all right Curt, we’ll just get you cleaned up, kay buddy?”
Curt nodded, but still blushed a little. Potty training and him hadn’t really gotten along. He was still convinced about the awful truths of the potty monster (courtesy the JC & JR).
“Be back in a moment… hands and paws off Curt’s snack,” Jake said teasingly as he left. It was just a short walk through the hallway. He carried Curt to the younger side of the house, through the nap room and into the changing room.
Jake’s mom was there and she offered a wave. “Uh oh… Someone need a change?” she asked as she was already changing an infant otter. She looked at Curt. “Thanks for bringing my son in… poor thing took years to potty train and I’m sure he’s in desperate need of a change.”
Curt giggled and nodded, pointing at Jake.
“Mommm….” Jake frowned.
“Just teasing dear,” she laughed. She finished taping up the little fur and picked him up. “I’ll trade you Curt for Jeffrey.”
Jake walked over and sat Curt on the changing table, and took the baby otter from his mom. Jeffrey was one of two infants at the daycare, the other being an 18-month-old named Crystal. She slept close to 16 hours a day and was probably doing just that at the moment. In total, there were 11 kids at the daycare, and with the two new girls, there were five day care attendants.
“Mrs. Sarah? I’m having a few problems with the toddlers,” said a somewhat nervous girl as she came into the changing room, practically dragged by an excitable toddler husky (Roxey’s lil’ bro, Chance).
“Lemme guess. Swallowed a lego?”
Evelyn blushed and nodded. “Before I could get it away from him.”
“Again?” Jake laughed. The toddler looked up at Jake with tail wagging. “I hope it was one of the small ones Chance.”
Chance looked confused. “Jus a fruit snaak.”
“Don’t worry Evelyn. As odd as it sounds, Chance has done this a few times before. His body can… pass… legos. Give it a day, he’ll be right as rain.”
“Wha…? Really?”
Jake’s mom nodded. “Yup… just gotta be careful with Chance. He likes to chew on stuff, and unfortunately the smaller pieces of legos end up getting swallowed.”
Evelyn looked perplexed, but seemed to relax a bit at the information.
“Oh, Evelyn, I’d like to you to meet my long time employee and son, Jake. He graduated to our preschool class last week.”
“MOM!”
“Sorry honey, you’re an easy mark.”
“Nice to meet you,” Evelyn said bowing slightly to Jake with a blush.
She was cute. She had long hair the color of a crow’s wing. It was tied loosely in a pony tail. She also wore square glasses and as she bowed forward, her glasses fell down her nose and her ponytail fell past her shoulder. She quickly straightened herself again, trying to bring her hair under control and push her glasses up at the same time.
“Nice to meet you too,” Jake said laughing a little.
DID YOU KNOW?!
The work day (Ref: ‘Ye ol’ bread winnin) is the period of time that an individual spends at paid occupational labor. Many countries regulate the ‘work week’ by law, such as stipulating minimum daily rest periods, annual holidays and a maximum number of working hours per week. Some Anthropologists argue that early hunter-gatherer societies enjoyed more leisure time than is permitted by complex modern societies… for instance, one camp of Kung Bushmen was estimated to work two-and-a-half days per week, at around six hours a day. Lucky punks.
Typically daycare functions as a place for parents to dump kids while they go to ‘the work day’. Most of the morning and early afternoon it’s just Sarah (Jake’s Mom) and Janelle, who are fully capable of handling the two toddlers and two infants that aren’t old enough for school yet. After pre-school and elementary school lets out, and after college classes; Evelyn, Chiyo and Jake clock in to help with Roxy, Marvin, JC, JR, Curt, William (currently out with a cold), and Samantha (who only comes Tuesday’s and Thursday’s). Full house…
NOW YOU KNOW… AND KNOWING IS HALF THE BATTLE.
“See nyah tomorrow!” Chiyo purred as she waved off JC & JR. The twins naturally gravitated toward their same sex parent and with everyone holding hands they waved good bye to the new cat-girl at Autumn Leave’s daycare.
“Have fun you’re first day?” Janelle asked with an approving smile.
“This is the best job ever!” she said enthusiastically.
Most of the parents came roughly between 1700-1900 every day. The twins, Roxy and Chance, the infants and toddlers had already been picked up. Jake was in the yard throwing a baseball around with Marvin. Right on time, the two of them saw Marvin’s father coming down the street.
Catching a slider, Marvin grinned seeing his father. He made like he was going to throw the ball again, but instead started running for the gate. Jake wasn’t sure what he was doing at first, but hearing the laugh and seeing the race developing, he took chase. Losing by only a few short feet.
“What do I get for beating yah to the gate?” Marvin asked catching his breath.
“You drank the fizzy lifting soda – You get nothing. Good day sir.”
Marvin looked really confused. “Huh?”
Marvin’s dad laughed and Jake shook his head. “Sorry Marvin, few years before your time I think.”
“You’re weird man,” Marvin grinned. “Real weird.”
“See yah tomorrow?” Jake asked. Marvin nodded and they did a high five up high and then down low… cause they’re cool like that. Marvin’s dad waved to everyone in the yard before walking Marvin home with him.
One of the last to get picked up was Curt. He had spent the remainder of the afternoon getting to know Evelyn. As his mom’s car pulled up, he was riding on her hip happily resting his head on her natural pillows (Who says you can’t be a player at 3?).
“You’re mom’s here Curt, you ready to go?”
Curt offered a sleepy thumbs up, not bothering to try and move from his comfy position. Janelle was standing with Sarah on the front porch and she shook her head at him, knowing better. Curt offered a sly grin and winked.
When the daycare was emptied, there was a general clean up and everyone said goodbye for the day before meeting again tomorrow at normal work hours.
RANDOM FACTOID:
In Japanese animes (Which this story in no way resembles, at least not intentionally) there is a staple scene in which all the primary female characters gather together to get into a hot springs bath. Usually there is a montage of side-boobs and at least one friendly competition of ‘my tits are sooo bigger than yours’ which can only be determined by pressing lovely funbags closely together and seeing which spills over the other. …yah… stick with this story and you just might read something like that. wink wink
I DUB THEE PERVERTED
Now you probably forgot…
But later that night… far deep in his dreams… Jake was once again reminded, of who he sullied downstream.
A curse most foul… was placed on his head… and sooner then he’d like, a few someone’s would wake in wet beds.
(Yah… author makes no claims at being good at rhymes either).
Cue the flashy dance scene for the female characters during the credits.
Hoiku no Fuben
By: CS Fox
EP 2: The Wrath of Jordan
“You lost it!?!?” Jordan screamed, grabbing Jake by the collar of his shirt.
Jake tried to shrug innocently. “The notes were in my bag… and …. someone must have gone through it…” he forced a laugh. In his head, Jake already had 3 suspects… either the twins being malicious, or Roxy got nosey.
Jordan began shaking Jake by the collar. “My notes! We have a test this Friday. THAT’S THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW!!! … I… WANT… MY… NOTES!!!”
Jake’s head bobbled around as he struggled to get himself released. “And I appreciate that you let me borrow them. I promise I’ll get them back tonight.”
(If this were a gangster movie, Jordan would have fired two rounds in Jake’s thigh about now)
Jordan sighed. “You’d better! C’mon Jake, I trusted you!” She released his collar and swung her arm around his neck, bringing him into a classic noogie.
“Ow! Hey! I said I was sorry… I’ll get the notes tonight. You can walk home with me if you want and we’ll search together.”
Jordan smirked. “I just might… where you living now?”
Jake managed to get his head out from under her arm and fussed with his hair. “Haven’t moved. Same house all my life.”
Jordan’s eyes lit up. “The daycare! You still live at the daycare?!”
Jake dusted himself off and nodded. “My mom started with us, and it turned into a good business.”
“Wow, that’s… kind of cool,” she said grinning and starting to walk to class.
It was already two weeks into the first semester and Jordan had been so busy with college, she hadn’t had a chance to hang out with Jake after school. It hadn’t occurred to her that he’d still be living with his mom at Autumn Leaves.
Jake grabbed his bag and kept up with her. “I work there every afternoon. Mom pays a decent salary and even if I didn’t help out, I’d probably get dragged into it every night any way. It’s hard to get privacy with a dozen kids running around your house.”
Jordan laughed. “I can’t believe you’re still there.”
“Janelle’s still there, I bet she remembers you.”
“Really?” Jordan smiled. “How’s she doing? I haven’t seen here since… since I was 14.”
Jake nodded. “She’s as steady as ever. She loves the work, and she’s co-owner with my mom now.”
“That’s great.”
The two of them approached their separate classes. Being a freshman, Jordan had mostly intro classes, and as a sophomore, Jake was just getting his hands dirty in his choose major, sports medicine. His childhood life at daycare had given him a fondness for helping people, and his natural athleticism made it an easy fit.
Before he could actually enter his class though… Jordan run up and punched him in the shoulder. “I’ll meet you after school and we’ll catch a bus to your place.”
“Sounds good,” Jake nodded, rubbing his shoulder.
“And my notes better be there…”
Jake nodded again, trying not to let a bead of sweat form from the obvious glare Jordan was giving him.
“Seriously, I’ll wreck you like a car if they’re not.”
“See.ee.ee.see you after school then.”
“Later Jake.”
A WORD FROM CHIYO’S HAMSTER
Chiyo’s hamster is known as HOD (Why? You’ll find out later) and he happens to be an excellent judge of fashion and market trends. For now, let’s critique Jordan… being a ‘childhood friend’ type character AND having long hair, Jordan is mandated by tradition to wear something in her long hair. Usually this something is a ribbon, headband or trademark clip; something that makes her hairstyle unique and easily recognizable by cosplayers.
By Hamster decision, henceforth, Jordan wears a bow of green ribbon in her hair. Green is a good outdoorsy color, and also reminds the author of something kind of athletic, which, being a taller girl, and maybe a little bit of a bully to Jake, would suit Jordan well.
HOD IS MOST PLEASED
Two buses and a reminder (via kicked shin) later… Jake was walking up the street with Jordan to his home. Nothing really surprised Jake any more when he came home from school. Sometimes it was raked leaves and pile jumpin’ day (personal fav)… sometimes a water gun war (not good with a backpack of books)… and sometimes just a simple play with random toys everywhere day.
Today was Jordan’s first time back to the daycare in years, and it brought a sudden rush of nostalgia she hadn’t really expected to find.
“It’s… just the way I remember it,” Jordan said whimsically as she trailed a hand along the top of the white picket fence. The green grass of the front yard, the hint of the big mulberry tree in the backyard peeking over the roof, even the white oak front door.
“Yah, hasn’t changed much… well, mom ditched that turtle sandbox in the backyard, but that’s really not that big a change.”
Jordan smiled and Jake opened the gate for her. No sooner did the two of them have a single foot in the yard, then something began to change in the air.
Now, it should be noted, that for Fur’s considered polite in modern society to walk about on one’s hind legs. To run on all fours is often seen as childish, and due to the dissimilar body structure of furs and actual animals, it’s also impractical. …but try telling that to Chance or Roxy when a new smell hits their noses. Roxy once walked straight into a wall when her nose was suddenly hit by the smell of fresh mulberry’s for the first time. As a husky, all smells must be investigated and categorized. … Which is why Roxy and her little brother Chance practically burst out of the front door and came bounding up the front walk toward Jake and Jordan.
Jake, having been greeted many times like this before, took a last minute step to the left… and the two huskies each took one of Jordan’s legs and knocked her over. Tails waggin and noses sniffin.
“Well hiya!!!” Roxy said with a grin.
“Oof… hi yourself,” Jordan managed, landing on her butt and hands.
“You smell like tah cookie jar in tah kitchen when its empty,” Chance added thoughtfully as he quickly moved his sniffing up Jordan’s leg. Although younger, he was gifted with a bit more of a sensitive nose then Roxy… and he was notorious for emptying said cookie jar.
Jordan giggled a bit and playfully pushed at Chance’s head. “I think I made that cookie jar. I gave it as a Christmas gift to Sarah (Jake’s mom) a long time ago.”
Jake nodded. “The house is littered with the art of 300 children from over 14 years of Autumn Leaves.”
“You used to go here?” Roxy asked, tail wagging faster.
Jake grinned. “Jordan, I’d like you to meet Roxy and her little brother Chance.”
“Hey hey, watch where you’re sniffing,” Jordan said only half playfully. She managed to get herself back on her feet and keep the inquisitive toddler from indexing too many of her personal scents.
“Nice to meet’cha ma’am!” Chance grinned, sitting back on his hind paws. Roxy did the same and the two of them sat practically sweeping the front walk with their tails. Jordan didn’t notice it, but after years of experience Jake could tell that Chance was in diapers today, an indication that the potty training with Evelyn hadn’t gone that well.
“It’s great to meet you too.” Jordan smiled. “You don’t need to call me ma’am, it makes me feel all old. It wasn’t that long ago I used to go here… back when Jake and I weren’t much older then you two.”
“Really?!” Chance asked.
“Yessir, and who wants to show her inside?” Jake asked the pups.
There was a happy bark before the two of them went barreling back up the front walk and trying to squeeze simultaneously through the front door.
“Shoes off you two!” Jake reminded as he started walking after them. “And wash your front paws!”
Jordan shook her head and followed. She couldn’t seem to stop smiling as she walked up memory lane.
PAUSE GAME
In the time that Autumn Leaves Daycare had been in business, there had been roughly 284 children to visit and stay (Jake over exaggerated just a tiny bit). Whether after school, or only during the summer when school was out, or even just a few hours every once in a while so mom and dad could catch a movie. It has a very storied past… and Jake was the first kid there, with his former next door neighbor Jordan being the second.
UNPAUSE
“Jordan Barclay?! Little Jordan ‘I don’t know why Jake has that black eye’ Barclay?” Janelle asked, grinning ear to ear with her hands on her hips.
Jordan happily punched Jake in the shoulder. “Yup!”
“It is you!” Janelle said rushing to hug the girl. “It’s been years! Look at you, you’d do a vixen proud!”
Jordan smiled and returned the hug. “I’ve started my freshman year at college with Jake. I heard he was still in the area and looked him up two weeks ago. I had no idea that all of this was still here!”
Janelle frowned playfully at Jake. “Shame on you Jake! You met up with Jordan two week’s ago and didn’t tell me?”
“Well… college… and work… and…”
“Shush,” Janelle said guiding Jordan over to the adults kitchen table. “This calls for fresh cheese biscuits. Take a seat and I start up a batch right away.”
Jordan could practically smell them already just from memory. “That’d be great, but if it’s all right, there’s something I need to do before we catch up.”
“Oh?” Janelle asked.
Jordan punched Jake again, and he suddenly nodded, remembering why it was that he brought Jordan home in the first place.
“I brought some notes home that I borrowed from Jordan yesterday. Sometime between arriving here and leaving for school, they disappeared from my backpack.”
Jordan punched Jake again and nodded. “Yes and he invited me to help him search.”
Janelle laughed. “All right, well, let’s see if we can’t investigate the matter.”
MORE 'SPLAININ
As mentioned (and slowly becoming tradition) this story does not resemble an anime in any way, shape, or form, but it does have cliché elements of an ab/dl/tb/and babyfur story (in fact it has all of the above a bit later). As with any cliché daycare center in this type of story world, there is a potty chart somewhere that allows the different daycare attendants to help track the progress of child bathroom training.
We won’t go as far to say that there are hard-line rules such as ‘if Danny wets his underwear, he’s going to be in pull-ups the rest of the day’, but rather, there is gentle encouragement and a few small check marks left when someone does well. For instance, JC and JR have been accident free for almost a year each, and its noted there. If accidents are frequent, then someone will take a step back quietly… its nothing to be ashamed of. Negative marks will not really help in the development of a child and it’s not noted on the board. If there is a bit of difficulty in someone learning a little slower than others then Sarah usually has a private encouragement chat with their parents on proven methods to help.
For reference, note the following: Jeffrey and Crystal are both infants and not expected to be potty trained any time soon. Curt and Chance haven’t quite gotten the hang of ‘warning signs’ just yet. Adam, William and Samantha are doing pretty well and should graduate soon. There is also a last member of this list who has somewhat frequent accidents, but you won’t find their name on the board. As mentioned before, embarrassment is not a way to train someone properly (despite whatever fetish literature you may read).
DO WELL AND YOU GET A STAR
With a bit of coercion (fruit snacks and fresh cheese biscuits) Jake managed to corral all the children at Autumn Leaves Daycare into the older kids playroom. This was no minor accomplishment. The average attention span in the room capped out at about two minutes without a video game controller involved.
Jordan, Chiyo, Evelyn and Janelle were standing in the back. Jake’s mom was in the nursery, attending to the infants. Jake assumed it was safe to mark them off the suspect list.
“Alright everyone… I know there’s a lot of playing left to be done, so I’ll make this quick. I left my backpack at the top of the stairs yesterday and somehow a paper went missing from it,” Jake looked around for effect.
The youngest were gathered up front. Curt was sitting between Chance, Samantha and William. Although briefly mentioned before, William suffered from chronic runny noses and the constant ‘c’mon guys, wait up!’ kind of follower mentality, but he was a good kid. He was also the only otherkin at daycare, sitting nervously as a toddler green dragon. Behind the toddler group were the older kids, JC, JR, Roxy, Adam, and Marvin.
“I’m not going to point fingers,” Jake said looking straight at the Gleeson twins, “I don’t know who did it, (look at the Gleeson twins again) I just need the paper back. It belongs to my friend Jordan back there,” he motioned to the back of the room. Chiyo made an enthusiastic Vannah White motion at the taller girl.
Jake rolled his eyes. “If you know anything about it, or where it is, please let me know.”
With that the little meeting broke up and the children scattered in a hurry to get back to whatever they’d been up to before. Jake stood with arms crossed and looked sternly at the twins. JC and JR just shrugged, seeming not to know.
“Guess we’ll just have to form a search party nyah!” Chiyo said with a fist pump. A lot of the kids caught onto her enthusiasm.
“That’s a great idea Chiyo,” Janelle smiled, her foxy ears standing alert as a good thought crossed her mind. “This is now a game everyone. Whoever can find the notes… gets to take home all the rest of my cheese biscuits tonight.”
That got some attention. Even the twins stopped mid-plotting to listen now.
“What’s it look like?” Roxy asked Jordan.
“It’s just a single page of computer paper with my handwriting on one side. It’s for English lit (The only class Jake and Jordan had together), I ran out of out paper and had to borrow from the printer.”
“All right, you heard the girl,” Janelle smiled.
With that, the hunt was on. The promise of tasty snacks is a wonderful motivator, and with a small army of children, the house was searched quite thoroughly. Toys, left socks, and even the odd crayon were found almost immediately, but the homework was proving somewhat more elusive.
The twins checked the Mulberry Tree. Marvin held William on his shoulders and they checked the cabinets above the toilet in the bathroom. Curt happily rooted through Jake’s backpack when he wasn’t looking just to make doubley sure (he also stole a few pages from the anatomy book). Jake’s mom shooed all searchers out of the nursery, since it wasn’t likely to be in there and she didn’t want the infants woken up.
Jake decided to do things logically, checking under the many toy shelves and in carefully compartmentalized bins for like toys. Evelyn had the same idea and the two of them happened to bump heads as they both reached blindly for a lego container.
“Oww… sorry,” Jake said rubbing his forehead. The two of them were in the toddler playroom and the bump had caused Evelyn’s glasses to fall from her nose. Evelyn blushed and quickly felt around for her glasses, but Jake was quick to pick them up and put them back on for her.
“No no, I’m sorry,” Evelyn said shyly. “I wasn’t really watching where I was going.”
Jake began searching through the bin. “Thanks for helping look, Jordan’s really set on getting these notes back…”
Evelyn nodded and began sifting through other bins. Her and Chiyo had both started on the same day, and Chiyo had taken to the job like a duck to water, but Evelyn had needed a little help to keep pace with the energetic children. It wasn’t that Evelyn wasn’t able to keep up physically, it’s just that she didn’t think on the same level as children and often didn’t understand or play along with their games. Her attention to detail and gentle spirit did make her a natural with the infants though.
“It’s not here,” Jake said putting the bin back and quickly moving on.
Evelyn watched him as he left. He’d been a lot of help to her in the two week’s since she’d started. He’d also just put her glasses on for her. She blushed a little at the thought. (She also got up and decided to go check the bathroom, she suddenly needed to pee).
Chance and Roxy found the notes. After getting a pep talk from his sister, the two of them had teamed up to sniff out the whole house. Chance could tell there was another faint smell of Jordan somewhere… and after some searching, the backside of one of yesterday’s finger painting projects turned out to be a ticket to free biscuits. Roxy found Jake and pointed the paper out to him. He gave them both a big hug and thanked his luck (and health).
In his excitement to return the missing notes to Jordan, Jake ignored one of the cardinal rules of the daycare (Rule #3 – No running inside). As Jake turned a corner into the older kids playroom, he failed to see a carefully placed Phisher-Price fire truck. He was also unaware of the 37 cents that JR had just bet on his bodily injury, as the Gleeson twins watched excitedly from the corner with Curt.
Thankfully, Jake did not hurt himself as he tripped. He did however flail his arms about and fall onto the first thing in his path… which happened to be Jordan. Time seemed to freeze as Jordan, Jake, and the twins all gasped. Curt smiled and gave a big thumbs up.
Jake stood leaning against Jordan, with both hands on her breasts.
“I… I… found the notes.”
“That’s not all he found…” JC whispered to JR.
It has been mentioned previously that Jordan is athletic. What has not been mentioned, is that Jordan was the former captain of her high school Judo team.
In Judo, points are given in three grades: ippon, waza-ari and yuko (ippon is basically instant win). In Judo terms , ‘Jordan won her impromptu Judo match with a rather brilliant ippon’… but in more common terms, what actually happened was ‘Jordan pulled off the most sicknasty suplex in the suplexiverse’ … and Jake had a concussion.
Growling and covering her chest, Jordan snapped the notes free of Jake’s hand. She grumbled about the extra artwork on them and stormed out of the daycare.
There was silence for a while after that. The twins and Curt just stared at the crumpled mess Jake had become. His hand was still stretched out, weakly holding onto… paper… that was no longer there.
Curt was the first one to do anything. He got up and crinkled down the hall to find the nearest authority figure. As he left, JR looked to his sister and silently held out an open palm for his winnings. JC was skeptical for a moment, but even though the fire truck trap didn’t work as planned, she had to admit that the end result was much more spectacular, and paid out.
In the next room, Curt found Evelyn. He ran up and grabbed at her capri pants. She looked down at him and he pointed back toward the other room, saying simply ‘Owie’. Evelyn didn’t follow what Curt was getting at, but she gave him her hand and got led to find Jake. She gasped and ran to his side.
One ice pack and some explaining later, everything was fine. The pups got the biscuits and Janelle remarked how Jordan was exactly as she remembered her. Daycare resumed and Jake was brought upstairs to finish his nap.
INTERLUDE
Fun facts about Evelyn: She is 21, which makes her one year older then Jake. She has never been kissed before. She is very girly and panics over small things. She has glasses as thick as ashtrays and negative vision (no number, negative). She lives by herself. She likes her job at the daycare and is studying during the day to be a nurse. She thinks her classes and job complement each other well.
PS: To make sure the mystery gets resolved, we’ll just spoil it with godly knowledge. It was the Gleeson twins after all. They routinely search Jake’s bag for blackmail materials… recognizing the handwriting on the notes wasn’t his, they reused the sheet during arts and crafts. It’s all part of a larger plan to slowly drive him insane.
RETURNITH!
With the crisis averted, Jake was hopeful that Jordan would not be angry the next morning. He could remember plenty of injuries at her hands when he was younger, and usually no matter what happened, she forgot about it the next day (girls are weird like that sometimes).
While walking to class, Jake was unaware that Jordan had spotted him and was making her way toward him. As she got closer, Jake’s body began to ask itself some weird questions.
“Why is a boot in here?” asked Jake’s intestines. “Did Jake eat a boot?”
“Hey guys? Is it raining fist sized hail out there?” asked Jake’s upper back. “We should get inside, that stuff hurts.”
“Why am I trying to be bent past safety regulated angles?” asked Jake’s spinal cord.
“Ow ow ow ow ow! Jesus, stop! I said I was sorry, it was an accident!!”
“You…” POUND “Pervert” PUNCH “In… front… of…” PUNT “the kids.”
Jake crumpled once more as the ‘punt’ sent something straight through the uprights. “Soooorry?” Jake wheezed. Jordan shook her head and kept walking.
Once Jake was finished going through a second puberty (in all of four minutes) he hobbled his way to class and wondered if some higher power hadn’t repurposed the use of the word ‘sorry’.
“That’s the second time ‘Sorry’ wasn’t good enough,” Jake grunted… it was sincerely an accident… but then he stopped walking. “Second time?” he asked aloud. “When was the first?”
He had to think about it… there was something just below the surface he had forgotten about in that suplex yesterday, and he was pretty sure it was important.
