Sanctuarium

Chapter 7

     Tommy walked around with his hands in his pockets at Sugarsand Beach while a few other anthros ran around trying to get things ready.
     Tommy was early. He sighed anxiously as he watched the sun as it hovered over the horizon, casting a variety of sunset colors on the water.
     "Hey, dude," said a voice beside him.
     Tommy turned, startled. "Hey," he said back out of habit.
     It was a cat anthro whose fur color patterns were almost the same as Chrissy's. He had the same shades of blue and green; he just had extra green on his arms, legs, ears, and mouth area. Tommy concluded that this must be her brother.
     "Name's Lee. What's yours?" he asked.
     "I'm Tommy. Nice to meet you," said Tommy, holding his hand out for Lee to shake. He had a strong grip. "I haven't seen you around much. Are you from a different academy?" Tommy asked.
     "Dude. I go to the same one as you," said Lee.
     "Oh," Tommy mumbled.
     "I guess I am pretty antisocial, though," Lee said, shrugging. "I like to wear my hoodies to school. Helps keep naggy teachers away, you know?"
     "Oh yeah, I know," Tommy said halfheartedly then stared into space.
     Lee noticed and raised an eyebrow. "Do you got like a big test coming up or something? Because you look pretty anxious right now, man," he said.
     Tommy decided not to tell Lee that he was crushing on his sister. "Um, yeah," Tommy replied awkwardly.
     Lee scratched at his t-shirt and Tommy realized that he was making Lee uncomfortable with how distant he was being. Thankfully, the party was starting.
     "See you around, Lee," Tommy called over his shoulder as he made his way to the admission stand. There were already a few other anthros ready to put their names on the song sheet. When it was his turn, Tommy put his name on the fourth line down, hands shaking the whole time. There was no going back now.