Jungle Madness

Chapter 1, P8 - Lost

He rushed down as fast as he could, making his way through people in the hallway and colliding with others. Without a backwards glance he yelled out apologies, continuously pushing them out of his way. Nova reached the gate, stopping when he saw an annoyed Natalie propped against the wall, texting on her phone.

Finally, he'd arrived.

In that moment he wanted to reach out and let her know he was there, but when the situation quieted down and the adrenaline faded all the fatigue caught up to him, leaving Nova completely out of breath. He rested on his knees, trying to regain control of his lungs that were screaming for more oxygen.

Hearing his loud pants and gasps for air, Natalie raised her head. "Can you not die on me today? I've got other plans; none of them include another trip to the hospital."

"Just...just a second," he panted, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

She sighed, checking her phone again. "It's been thirty minutes already. Can't you recover on the way? We need to get to Mark's house before he does."

"I'm sorry." Nova cleared his throat. "I ran as fast as I could."

"Whatever." The beaver shrugged, sliding her card inside the reader. "It doesn't matter. Let's just go."

"Stop right there," a voice reached out to them right after Natalie unlocked the gate for herself.

They both recognized the voice, and when the two faced him they also saw his loyal pupper assistant.

"Oh... Hey Ryuu!" Nova shyly greeted, scratching his head and fidgeting with his fingers. "What's up?"

"Fill me in," the wolf commanded, straight to the point. Though he didn't know the details, it was pretty obvious they were up to something.

"We're just going home," Natalie nonchalantly explained. "And I'm not going to tell you what I told him. That's personal."

Nova raised his eyebrows and looked at her. He knew she was lying but her lack of hesitation and natural demeanor in that moment surprised him. Just how much experience did she have?

"If it's girls' stuff I'd rather not know about it..." Arthur murmured, peeking out from Ryuu's shoulder.

"You do realize Nova isn't a girl."

"I mean...it was just a heads up." The husky blushed and hid behind him again.

"If you two have nothing to tell us then we'll leave. I promised to show him my collection."

Ryuu wasn't going to exhort the truth from them. He shook his head, shoving a paw into his pocket to extract his phone. Why exhort the truth when the facts could speak for him?

"Ryuu, I am very pissed right now," Melissa began, her recorded voice playing clearly. "Your chubby new friend broke the school regulation about exchanging contacts without permission. He ran away before I could get my paws on him and murder him. Do me a favor and get that little bastard for me. I swear to God if Rox doesn't keep his classmates in check..."

Nova felt a chill rake down his spine. She didn't sound as upset as she was before, but those cracks in her voice easily suggested that the skunk was still furious. He couldn't help but gulp as the guilt made its appearance on stage.

"I've got, like, five more audios from her," Ryuu stated, moving his phone towards him, ready to continue. "I haven't listened to the last two myself so it'll be a surprise for me as well."

Natalie sighed, accepting defeat. What happened was her fault and having him taking full responsibility would make her feel awful later. "Alright, fine. It was me. I used his phone and—"