BLACKOUT

Chapter 3- Father

The school wasn't that messy. I just had to pick up some rubbish. I accidentally stabbed myself in the foot with a rubbish pick when I tried to stab a fanta can on the floor. Blood started to bleed through my socks. It hurt but I had to watch my feet after that. It was boring. If i was listening to music it would have been better.
The February breeze brushed along my fluffs on the points of my ears. Not going to lie, it was kind of relaxing. I realised I had my phone in my pocket and headphones. I turned on my Spotify and started to listen to some music. I listened to one of my favourite Xanixian musicians. Amber Kylie. 
After about 20 minutes I was back in class. We had a lot of visual arts at our school. There were four separate categories we had to choose from as electives. You had to choose two from the arts, two from performing arts, two from tech arts and two from food arts. I chose digital art and graphic design art. Performing arts, i didn't choose two subjects but i chose two genres from dance which was contemporary and jazz. I had my jazz lesson now. Everytime i had a dance class we would have to walk over to Scarlett University which was linked to Scarlett college and that is why we don't have a dance studio at my school.
Me and my friend Valerie wanted to pursue our careers in dance.
The group walked across the street to get to the university. I walked next to Valerie and we just talked with each other as we were walking.
"So Panic... do you have a crush?" Valerie asked me.
"Ahah! No I do not but I would love to have a girlfriend!"
Suddenly a black little rabbit spun around.
"You can't though. You're a girl!" He said, crossing his arms.
"Sir, it is none of your business who she likes! Now cross the street and the car is waiting for you."
The rabbit turned around and started to walk. Not even looking at both sides to check. The car zoomed through the street as Valerie tried to pull back the rabbit's ears. He fell onto the floor.
The animal in the car had pulled to the side, the glass window pulled down and he flipped off the rabbit, with his middle paw up. At least he didn't get hurt. Valerie was holding the rabbits shoulders as he sat down on the floor. We were all huffing and puffing, so relieved he wasn't hurt.
"Mr Stark! What were you thinking? Did you never learn to be aware of your surroundings? You could have been knocked out by the car!"
The man in the car who was a bear, a predator which was even worse, walked out of the car with his paws on his hips. Everyone who witnessed the almost-crash had surrounded the rabbit who was on the floor with scratches all over his knees,shins and thighs from falling when Valerie had saved him.
"Kid, you need to be much more careful with your surroundings! I almost killed you but thank you to this young dragon-"
The rabbit looked up. It seemed as if this rabbit was stubborn and always blamed others for his mistakes because he started to blame the bear. He also said something very predatorist.
"Yeah!? Well i'll get you in trouble for attempted murder you predator! You know how much trouble predators can be in for hurting a prey! You'll be in the place of this Panic bitch here!"
Back then when animals lived on earth and couldn't talk, animals were separated into predator and prey. Animals like wolves,lions,crocodiles were all predators. Animals like rabbits,birds and pigs were prey. But as we escaped humans because humans took over we learnt to appreciate each other and not eat eachother. Prey back then was oppressed but now us predators don't have as much privilege as prey do. It's like on earth how humans would treat people of colour differently because they weren't like what was considered normal. Because I am a wolfdog which is a predator species, my punishment was much harsher than a prey.
The rabbit wasn't even yelled at. The bear just stood there because he knew that if he talked back he would be arrested but why do rabbits get that privilege of being a bitch than a bear? It didn't make sense. I thought we were all equal?
If I talked back I would be taken to the king because he hates me. He would do anything just to see me cry. The king was a tabby cat. A very large one. He was born in royalty so that was why he was so huge.
I just ignored the rabbit even though he mentioned me being a "criminal." The rabbit was taken to the first aid back at school, the bear kept driving and we walked to class.
"Not gonna lie I kinda regret saving that stupid ass predatorist rabbit. Have to make everything about you being a predator animal don't they?"
"Yeah."
We arrived at the university. The school had six floors with a big area on the second top floor for dancing. four different studios that were very big. Perfect for exams. One was for tap dance with different flooring. One was for acrobatic dance and cheerleading/poms. One was for exams and the last was for all other dances like contemporary,jazz,ballet and more.
They also had a few theory and dictation rooms. The school was a very expensive and famous school which made me feel honoured to attend a school apart from it and hopefully start to study there but I had doubts that I would because of this unknown illness that was affecting my life.
I had a concert and exams later in the year which I was excited for but I was more excited that I was having two whole solos to myself! On stage all by myself! I was going to be practising today with my other dance mates watching. I had a poms and fusion solo. The poms one was a dance with the inters and seniors poms and everyone would run off stage so i could do my solo.
I slipped on my jazz shoes over my dark grey socks as everyone sat down on the floor to watch me do my fusion solo. It was a mix between Jazz,ballet and contemporary. I loved it. It was to the song ribs by Lorde. I stood there,staring at the floor rocking side to side as the music started. I started to do the dance. The start was easy but it got harder later in the dance. I kept dancing until it got to the flexible parts where I put my leg over my head to do a split and I had to do some pas de deuxes. My friends' jaws all fell as I did a jete and a tour en l'air into a ronde jambe. I struck my last pose as the music faded out. All you could hear was clapping. I took a bow and went to sit down to watch one of the other solos but I was stopped by the principal of the university.
"Imagine Mr Crowelle seeing this... the young lady he hates trying to be successful."
The stupid mouse lady.
"You know you won't be a professional dancer. You don't deserve such a role like that. Instead you will be working for the king."
Valerie wanted to stand up but this little mouse would tell on every single predator that she meets.
"You have something to say?" She grinned.
"No, ma'am..." She said, sitting back down. But before she could leave, Mr. Crowelle had stepped in front of her.
"Hello Mrs Wellton! Watching some of the dance students practise I see? Was ANY of them causing you trouble?"
"Perhaps Miss Black was the one causing it?"
I knew I was going to be in trouble again because Mrs. Wellton would lie. She was a big liar even though she preached honesty. I didn't even go to the school nor I barely interacted with her. I assume that Mr Crowelle would tell her a lot of shit about me that wasn't even true for her to think of me as a horrible,dangerous predator.
"Actually yes I complimented her dancing and then she ignored me! How rude! Maybe we need to teach her some common decency."
I was too scared to speak up. I was never this scared but it was always this woman who would take advantage of her privilege of being a prey.
"Oh really? Well Panic why not say thank you? Why ignore it? She is complimenting you. Don't you like compliments? Has your parents not taught you to be thankful for compliments?"
Actually no sir. Because most of the time I've been alive, you locked up my father and I barely had any time to see him. Exactly what I wanted to say. But I couldn't. I missed my dad so much. He is just like me. This stupid problem that i didn't know what it was or what caused it. Everytime i went to visit him I would cry so hard because I couldn't even touch him. He would cry because he couldn't even go near his own children. His own wife. It was so hard for me because the day my face was burnt off I went to see him and he didn't even recognise me. And when I told him it was me, He just dropped to his knees. He didn't want me to end up like him and I didn't want to either. I hated it at first but my dad would tell me I looked beautiful anyways. He told me to embrace my scars and I did. I got used to the skull and I love it. I still had my eyelids but I couldn't chew properly. I couldn't smile properly but I looked fine. I learnt to love my skullface.
Should I stand up to him? No, why would I consider that? I'm a wolfdog. I could get in trouble.
"I'm sorry Mrs Wellton. Thank you for the... compliment." I said even though she didn't even compliment me.
"No problem Panic. But please learn to be less... rude."
Me? Rude? I never really talked behind others' backs like this but she wasn't being honest like she preaches to be. She was a hypocrite. She always preached about not lying yet she does it herself.
I had my bag with me since that was the last period. I didn't have to change back into my normal uniform nor walk back into Scarlett college. The train was just next to the university so I could just hop on the train there. I saw that Drake and Chrissie were on the train too. They didn't live too far from me.
"You guys got out quickly.heading home? " I asked them.
"Yup. You wanna come too?" Drake replied.
"Sorry, I'm busy. I'm visiting my father today. By myself now."
Drake and Chrissie's eyes widened too much.
"Nope. Panic that's way too dangerous to go by yourself. We can take you!" Chrissie said.
"Ok I'll text mum you guys are coming."
We got to the extreme prisons of Scarlett. This was for very dangerous animals so we had to keep a distance from the cages. Drake was a very good boyfriend since Chrissie was scared and he was comforting her.
"I'm sorry Chrissie, you didn't have to come. I should have warned you." I said.
"It's fine I just care about your safety but yeah it is pretty freaky down here."
I was used to the place so I knew where my father would be. There were guards beside me since I was also pretty dangerous. I had been watched over ever since the kill of Lemon Crowelle.
I heard heaps of screaming and shouting near my father's area. The voice sounded familiar.
"I don't like this Drake..." Chrissie said, curling up to Drake as he laid his head on her head, holding her tight.
"Why did you have to be here by yourself?" He asked.
"My mother has to take care of Ghost and Spirit because Karma and Kaos are seven to ten dances."
"Why couldn't she take them with you too?"
"The other prisoners could kill them."
They hated little kids. They wanted them dead. I don't know why But they did.
Just around the corner we got closer to the screaming and shouting. It was the mayor and the king.
"They must be yelling at some other prisoner." Drake says.
As we were walking around, I heard someone calling my name.
"Is that your dad?" Chrissie said as Drake unwraps his arm around her. We ran around to see the Siamese cat king on top of my dad. Guards everywhere, Mr Crowelle holding his tail down. Drake tries to run up but the guards stop him with their sharp swords pointed at him.
"Let him go." The king says. He walks towards me.
"That's his daughter yeah?" He says, pointing at me.
He squats down to my level, since he was this...large feline.
"You look nothing like your parents... wait. You're the one who got their face burnt up! Haha. That would have been funny to see. Should have invited me.
"She looks pretty psycho, dontcha think? Her tiny little pupil-"
"What were you doing to my father?" I said, with a little smirk on my face.
He said nothing. Like he was hiding something.
"Why do you think it's funny to make fun of me just after you pinned down my dad?"
"Panic, Drake, Chrissie I think you should leave. I don't want you to get hurt please.." My dad cried as the guards tried to pull a muzzle on his snout.
"But, dad..."
"GO!"
We did as he ordered and ran out the exit. I had to tell mum what I saw.
We got to Chrissie's house and she told her parents all that happened as we ate dinner.
"And he just cried for us to leave. It was horrible, it looked like they were beating him up."
Her parents were gobsmacked.
"Panic please don't ever go there without an adult. It's dangerous. I know you want to see your father but there are crazy animals there. And to add on all the king and mayor wants for you is they want you in trouble.
I didn't know what to say.
"But I am an adult! Well, this year I'll be."
My birthday was December 18th. It was the end of February. I'm turning 18 this year, which I'm excited about.
"You're still a minor Panic. They still see you as being young."
I was an almost six foot wolf-dog. They couldn't possibly mistake me for a child. Was it because I was a woman?  Because every time they visited I was called many slurs and growled at. And dare they bare their sharp maws at me too.
I could still fight them. I could win a fight. I was very strong which is why a lot of the others at school were scared of me.
Suddenly the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" Drake says rushing to the door.
"Hello Mrs Black! Here to pick up Panic?"
Drake's father decided to live the traditional style of living in a wolf pack as the alpha. His father was unsupportive of Drake's love for Chrissie as she was a maned fox which is why Drake moved out of the cave. His father said that living in a traditional way of the wolf is respecting his ancestors and living the modern life was too human like but why would he choose the human like views of not letting love be for love?
"Yes I am Drake! Is she alright?"
Chrissie's mother frowned.
"I'm afraid she witnessed her father being abused by the king. And was called some awful names."
Mum's ears pricked up.
"What? Panic. Let's go."
She pulled me out the door as I waved my friends goodbye.
"Honey. Please don't go down there again without me." She said,
"I want to see dad though. If I can't visit, then I'll never see him again!" I whined.
"You will see him again! Just not by yourself, you know how it is down there. Just ask me and we will go together."
"Alright."