Exiled to Paradise

Ray stared sullenly out the window of the car, watching the scenery go by as his parents talked in the front. He spared a quick, frowning glance to the front seats, then turned his attention back to the seemingly endless desert on either side of the highway, sullen expression setting in deeper as his parents ignored his unhappiness.

The teenager sighed, remembering the last two weeks. When his parents had announced that he was being sent to a private school to improve his grades, he'd been upset, but when they showed him the flier for the Iverson school, he was floored. Not only was he being sent away from his friends - again - but it was to a school that catered to, to those people. Then his parents told him that he was enrolled in the summer session, and he finally blew up, yelling that he might have gotten better grades if they hadn't moved around and made him change schools and make new friends every two years.

Ray rolled his eyes, remembering how well that had gone over. Grounded for the rest of his time at home, he wouldn't even be able to see the few friends he had except at school. Not, he sullenly admitted to himself, that they'd been sympathetic anyway. Maria had tried to console him, but thought that any private school would be better than the "public school hell" that they were in. Tim didn't even go that far; barely acknowledging Ray's pronouncement, he'd only responded with "That sucks" before going back to trying to set up a date with Maria for the coming weekend.

Not wanting to think about his best friend's treachery (in his mind, at least), his thoughts drifted back to the school he was being exiled to. "Iverson Memorial Preparatory School. What a fancy name for a school full of freaks." His face curled; if anyone had seen his expression, they wouldn't be able to tell you if it had more disgust or fear in it. As signs of civilization became visible at the sides of the road, he wondered if his parents had somehow found out; if they sent him there to be a freak among freaks.

* * *

"Ah, there we are, we must be getting close," his father said confidently (as if the old man ever did anything otherwise). Ray looked up in time to see the city limit sign pass by, reading "Welcome to Paradise". Rolling his eyes, he dropped his head back onto his arms, crossed against the door.

"Raley, sit up straight," his mother said. "You'll muss your shirt."

Ray rolled his eyes, muttering, "Not like the last three hundred miles haven't already," as he sat back up. Now that they were in the school's town, he was getting fidgety. He also noticed how hungry he was, after the last meal more than four hours ago. "Um, can we stop for food soon, and a bathroom break?" he asked, already wincing when his dad glanced into the rear view mirror at him.

His father barked out, "Just like always, whining to try to get your way. Well, you can just wait until you get to the school and eat there."

Sighing, Ray settled back to listen to the inevitable argument that his mom started. He just shook his head at the back and forth exchange, judging to an instant when his father would raise his voice and his mom would back down. When they passed the "Now leaving Paradise" sign, he frowned.

"The directions said another two miles, then exit on Iverson Ranch Road," his mom said.

"I read the directions also, Mila," his father replied.

"Yes, dear, but you sometimes forget..."

"No, I don't forget, Mila."

"What about last summer, when--"

"Now don't bring that up again, your sister didn't give me the right directions. You know she doesn't..."

Ray finally tuned them both out as they rehashed the same old argument again. He leaned against the door again as his father steered onto their exit, looking out at the seemingly miles of nothing. He could make out the skyline, such as it was, of the outlying neighborhoods in the distance, the rest of the landscape covered by the low scrub that was apparently the prevalent ground cover in this part of the country.

Then the car slowed and the teen looked to the other side of the road. The first thing he saw past the "Iverson Memorial" sign, was the two story, sprawling ranch house at the end of the drive. Then he noticed the high wooden fence stretching out from either side of the building, going as far as Ray could see.

As they pulled into the carriage circle and stopped, they all saw the tall, thin man waiting patiently on the covered porch of the house. Ray opened the door slowly, making a face at the blast of hot air even this late in the afternoon. His parents were already out of the car, walking toward the man approaching them, leaving the teen to pull his one rolling suitcase from the open trunk.

"Mister Harcourt!" his dad proclaimed, almost grabbing the man's hand to give a firm energetic handshake. "James Spencer. A pleasure, a pleasure! I must admit I didn't expect to be met by you personally..."

As the man rescued his hand, he finally managed to get a word in. "I'm mister Matheson, sir, Master Harcourt's secretary." The man, in his mid-30s, smirked slightly. "Master Harcourt asked me to greet you when you arrived. He's waiting for you in his office."

Ray smothered a snicker as his father, red-faced, gruffly said, "Right, of course, busy man and all that." The teen quickly schooled his expression before his father turned to face him. "Come along, Raley, don't stand there like an imbecile."

Ray felt his ears turning red as he fell in line behind his parents, sullen expression returning to his face. He followed them into the richly-appointed entrance hall, glancing into the expansive common room with its rustic wooden furniture and roaring fire, before the family was ushered down a hallway and into Master Harcourt's office. As the secretary stood aside to let the Spencers through, he briefly laid a hand on Ray's shoulder, squeezing slightly. The teen glanced up at the taller man quickly, to see Mr. Matheson wink, before the man's face returned to its studied expression. The secretary took Ray's suitcase and nudged him in the door.

He shook his head and walked after his parents into the headmaster's office, then stopped, his jaw dropping. His father was already leaning across the headmaster's desk, shaking hands with Mr. Harcourt - or rather, shaking the black feline's paw. "Yes sir, we found the place. It took us a while to get here, never thought such a prestigious school would be out in the middle of nowhere like this, figured it'd be in Reno at least." Ray, closing his mouth suddenly, realized his dad must have been as surprised by seeing a furry as the headmaster as he was, given the way he was babbling.

The black jaguar smoothly ended the handshake and babbling, withdrawing his hand as he said, "Well, the endowment for the school required us to use this land; in any case, we have ... special circumstances that make this type of wide open environment desirable. Now that you're here, why don't you all sit down and we can discuss young master Spencer's schooling?"

Ray's face turned back to a half-pouting scowl at "young master", and he slouched over to the chair his parents conveniently left open between themselves and slumped into it. His father gave him his customary glare and his mother snapped, "Sit up straight, Raley." Ray ignored both of them and stared at the headmaster.

"I see you're quite excited to be here," the jaguar said with an amused smile. "What should we call you while you're here?" His father started, "His name's Ra--" but was interrupted by the headmaster. "Let's let the young man answer for himself, shall we?"

Ray's jaw dropped again at Mr. Harcourt, the jaguar not even glancing at his father as he shut him down. The teen got his voice back and, with a quick glance to his mom, then his father, looked back at the headmaster and straightened up a bit in his seat. "Ray, sir." He ignored the renewed glare his father gave him, sitting straighter as the headmaster responded.

"Ray it shall be," Mr. Harcourt said with a nod, looking down at the file on his desk. "Now, your parents have helpfully already chosen your classes for the summer, so we'll be able to let you go fairly shortly. Ah, and here is mister Matheson now," he said as the office door opened.

The tall secretary walked in carrying a multi-pocketed portfolio. "Master Spencer," he said, coming up behind Ray as the teen turned to watch, "here is your introduction packet. We'll go through it during the tour of the school." He nodded his head to Mr. and Mrs. Spencer, then extended a hand toward the door while asking Ray, "If you please?"

Ray looked back to the jaguar, who nodded. "Please follow mister Matheson," the headmaster said with an encouraging smile, "he'll show you the grounds and your room."

Ray sighed, then got to his feet, nodding. He looked up again when the secretary put his hand behind his shoulder, guiding him out of the office. At the door, he turned back to look at his parents, both watching him. His mother gave him what she probably thought was an encouraging smile, but what looked more like relief than anything else to the teen. His father just barked out, "Well, get a move on, Raley," adding the emphasis on the teen's proper name. "We'll see you again at the end of summer classes," his mom added in a perky voice.

Mr. Matheson closed the door behind him, then smiled down at the short teen. "So, if I heard right, you wish to be called Ray? Or, if you prefer, I can continue to call you Master Spencer."

Ray shook his head, not looking up after the last exchange with his parents, just mumbling, "Ray is fine, sir."

The secretary nods. "Ray it is, then, and you may call me Tyler, or Mister Matheson, or keep calling me sir, as you please. Now, the tour..." Tyler led Ray through the main administrative building, pointing out the areas he was likely to go, shaking his head as the boy's gaze returned to his feet each time. Finally, they exited into the central courtyard.

As the man started talking about the other buildings, Ray finally looked up, then did a double-take, staring in the long shadows of dusk at the clusters of furries of all types and sizes. He felt his face falling into an expression mixed between dismay and disgust as he craned his neck, trying to spot any other human students.

The teen started a bit as Tyler's hand dropped onto his shoulder again, Ray just catching the end of what the secretary was saying. "And last but not least, the dorms. Girls are in that cluster over there, and boys over here," the man said, leading Ray into a building with a large "B1" on it. "Students are divided by class; freshman and sophomores are in B1, juniors and seniors in B2. You're in room 218, right this way."

Ray followed Tyler into the dorm building's common room as the secretary pointed out the students' mailboxes, resident patron's desk, and lounge, before leading the teen upstairs. Turning down a hall, they passed even numbered rooms on both sides until they came to 218. There, Tyler turned to Ray and handed him the portfolio, and pulled out of his pocket a plastic card with the Iverson Ranch horse-head design printed on it.

"Here's your schedule and school information, and your key," the man said. "Your suitcase is already inside, so I'll leave you here. Dinner has already started, so you'll want to head down to the cafeteria pretty quickly. If you have any questions, you can call the patron's desk, or you can try to call me - both numbers are in your information packet. I'm not at my desk often, so you'll have better luck reaching the patron."

Ray nodded dumbly as the secretary turned away, then turned back, adding, "Oh, one more thing - there's a new student orientation in the gym after dinner. It's mandatory, so make sure you're there. Welcome to Iverson, Master Spencer."

Ray watched the man walk away, then turned back to the door, looking from it to the card - the key, he guessed. With an audible swallow, he put the key in the obvious slot and opened the door, walking in to his new home.

* * *

Ray rushed in through the doors, a scowl on his face that quickly deepened, his ears and cheeks turning red as everyone in the cafeteria turned to look at the person running in through the doors. Slowing quickly to a normal pace, he looked around the room, giving a black look to the white-furred fox who, after Ray had grudgingly asked him for help finding the cafeteria, had given the human painstaking directions to the back of the gym.

As he went to the food line and picked up his tray, an announcement came over the PA. "Attention, all new students, meet in the gym in 5 minutes for orientation. Repeat, all new students must be in the gym in 5 minutes."

"Great," Ray muttered to himself. "At least I know where the gym is." He dropped the tray again and grabbed a to-go box instead, then quickly paced down the serving line. Deciding that french fries were about the only things he could finish in time, he scooped some into his box and rushed to the cashier.

"Room key, please," asked the tall wolf - wolfess, after Ray took a second glance. He blinked and handed her the key card, which she swiped through the register and handed back. He gave her a confused look, then heard the announcement that new students had to be in the gym, and rushed off, eating fries out of the box as he went.

* * *

Ray sat on the cold metal chair, fidgeting as he listened to the deer talk about the school rules. He barely heard her, paying more attention to looking around the room at the other students. At least he had room to shift around, since he sat in an empty row away from everyone else.

Suddenly, a bunch of the students were standing, so he quickly stood up too, before realizing that the deer had just called for incoming freshmen to stand. He sat back down with a blush forming, even though a quick glance showed no one looking his way. He watched while the freshman filed over to a set of desks with letters over them, lining up by name, then turned back to the deer when she started speaking again.

"Well, why don't the rest of you gather closer up here, hmm? We'll have each of you introduce yourselves." Ray frowned, then grudgingly got to his feet and shuffled to a closer chair, a row behind the other eight students still there. The deer, Mrs. Addison, he suddenly remembered, pointed to a fox in the front row. "Okay, starting with you, stand up, tell us your full name, where you're from, what grade you're in, what you're interested in, and anything else you'd like to let us know."

The fox stood up, looking around. "I'm Ash Duke. I'm a Junior, transferring from Cochise High in Tucson. I really like writing, and hope to be a professional author after college."

Ray half-listened to more introductions, a knot forming in his belly. He hated getting up in front of people anyway, and in front of all these animals? Then his attention was recaptured by the rabbit in front of him standing up for his introduction. "Um, hi. M-m-my name's G-gary Westin, and I just c-c-came today from..."

Ray zoned out again partway through the stuttered introduction, not from boredom, but from staring at the spade-shaped tail and slender gray-furred torso that was exposed below the rabbit's half-shirt. Then he realized what he was doing and quickly looked away again, anywhere but in front of him, fighting to get his blush (and other things) to calm down again.

He glanced forward again when he noticed the rabbit sitting down in his peripheral vision, and saw the teacher looking expectantly at him. Sighing, he stood up, and watched as eight furred heads turned to face him, eight sets of eyes widening. Feeling the familiar scowl settling onto his face, he said, "Ray Spencer. Sophomore. San Francisco," then quickly sat down again.

"Well, that was very... eloquent, Ray," the deer said, Ray's scowl deepening at the mocking tone. She looked around, continuing, "Since at least one of you is obviously anxious to leave, you're all free to go. Classes start on Tuesday, so you've got a free day tomorrow."

Ray didn't bother hiding his haste; he just pushed to his feet, knocking his chair over, and ran out of the gym, bee-lining back to his dorm building. He didn't slow down until he had to, to scoot by a pair of tall german shepherds coming out the main door. Inside, he half-ran the rest of the way up to his room. Impatiently waiting for the door to respond to the key-card, he was inside and sprawled face down on his bed before he registered the fact there was another person in the room, another german shepherd.

The short dog looked over at him and grinned, tongue poking out the side of his mouth before he said, "Hi! I guess we're roomies. I'm Tad, but you can call me Taco..."

Ray cut him off, responding without looking at the dog. "How 'bout I just call you freak and you can leave me alone then, hmm?" Rolling over with his face to the wall, he then curled up, ignoring the plaintive cry of "Hey, that's not nice," from the other side of the room. Eventually, he heard a book slam shut, followed by the room lights turning off. It took him a long time to get to sleep, between wishing he was anywhere else and wishing he was normal.

* * *

(To be continued)