Exiled to Paradise - Vignette 1

Ray walked over to the bench and flopped down, his flush of exertion letting him ignore the cold air-conditioned breeze on his bare, sweaty legs. The rest of the team joined him at the side of the gym as the center clapped him on the back. "See, Ray, you were good out there!" the tall cheetah exclaimed, the sentiments echoed by a couple of the other team members, although he also heard a grumble from down the bench, "Maybe good for a human, not good enough for us. If we'd had Mike, we'd have won." He shrugged, trying not to show the hurt at that, although the cheetah either caught the expression or guessed anyway, and leaned over to a wolf two seats down to flick the side of his head. "Take it easy on him, Jake, you missed every basket your first three games last year, remember?" The cheetah then turned back to Ray, shaking his head with a roll of his eyes. "Never mind him, Spencer, you've got good instincts, you just need practice. If you want, we can meet up this weekend and work on your moves?" The cheetah's hopeful expression fell when Ray's smile disappeared, and the younger human boy mumbled, "I dunno. Maybe." With his own shrug, the cheetah nodded, getting up and heading for the locker room with the rest of the team, leaving the one human in the class alone on the bench. "Well, if you change your mind, I'll be around."