I groan as I slowly toss and turn in my bed, pulling my blanket over my head to escape back into the dream world, hopefully a less embarrassing one. Suddenly, I recognize what the noise is and curse myself for selecting a loud and annoying ringtone for my alarm. My paw reluctantly reaches out from my warm cocoon of my covers, grabs my phone from the nightstand next to my bed and quickly recoils back in the warmth. A quick glance at the screen tells me that Rick is calling me at this ungodly hour for god knows what. I answer quickly just to stop the incessant ringing coming from the phone.

"Hello?" I answer sounding grumpy and sleepy.

"Hey buddy! Just making sure you are still stopping by the gym today. I wanted to call and get you up early so you can get a nice breakfast to start the day." Rick sounds way too energetic for a normal person at this time of day, speaking of which I don't even know what time it is.

"You shouldn't have, really! What time is it?"

"It's already 8:37 am, time to rise and shine sleepy head."

A groan escapes me as he tells me what time it is. "I hate you. We aren't suppose to meet until a little after noon. Why would you wake me up so early?"

"Early? Normal people have probably been up since six. Beside, like I said, I wanted to make sure you got a good breakfast in, it's important for a healthy lifestyle. Plus, knowing you, you wouldn't normally be up until like 11 am and eating then wouldn't make for a good workout later." I huff into the phone so he can hear how agitated I am with what he has done. "Don't give me that, you promised. Am I going to have to go to your place and make you keep your word?"

I recall the last time I tried reneging on a promise I made to him. He really kept to his word about coming over and forcing me. My mom was even an accomplice by willfully letting him into the house, oh she's evil. "Alright, alright, I'm up."

I could almost see his smug satisfied grin through the phone at my submission. "Good, now get dressed, eat a healthy breakfast, and do any chores you need to get done before we meet."

"Yes, mom! I love you too, bye." I end the call before he has time to respond and toss it back on the nightstand.

I try and get comfortable again and close my eyes trying to force myself back to sleep, but even my conscience is on Rick's side nagging me to get up. I admit defeat with one big stretch of all my limbs and a yawn. I roll out of bed and give my head a shake to get rid of any sleepiness, my ears flapping against my skull as I do so. I make my way to the bathroom for my morning ritual: relieve myself and then a good brushing to really get the day started. I'm sitting on the edge of my bed again, in blue boxers with white polka dots, brushing down my fur so it looks decent and I stop myself as I'm about to go over my head. Should I? Is it a good idea to get riled up so early and then exhaust myself out. Maybe I should wait until after my workout and then I can really reward myself. I begin to lower my paw away from my head, my ears drooping a little, sad they aren't going to be getting any attention this morning. I instead go over my tail a couple of more times before I put my brush away.

I make my way to the kitchen, the house is empty as usually even at this time of day, my parents off working their fulltime jobs earning a nice salary to sustain a nice living and provide for their dead beat son who seems like an outcast. I've got to stop thinking like that or I'll just get depressed again so I think about what I can eat that's healthy for breakfast. I look at the cereal selection and most of it is either coated in sugar, has sugar bits mixed in, or is just pure sugar. The fridge doesn't really offer any better options, just full of cold leftovers and ingredients that if I want to I can cook to make a nice meal but that requires work and I'm lazy. Plus my mom's a chef; she would kill me if I used something she was saving to cook with later. I lean against the counter and stare into the kitchen thinking of a viable option for a healthy meal to start the day with. God this is too much thinking for just breakfast. Who knew working out could be an all day chore? That reminds me that there is probably a list of the day's chores somewhere on the island for me to do. I look around for it and my eyes settle on the fruit basket my parents like to keep in the middle as a center piece of sorts. I grab a banana, it's a good start but I need something more filling. A thought comes to mind and I rummage around in the pantry and spot what I am looking for at the bottom. Instant oatmeal, it is simple, easy to make, good for you, and would go great with my banana and maybe a little honey as a healthier alternative to sugar. Content with my decision I boil some water and make myself a bowl of oatmeal. I spot the usual handwritten note left for me under a newspaper and look over what is on it. It just reads: dust and polish, just three simple words but they are such a hassle, not to mention I'm pretty sure I did that last week if I am not mistaken. It is like they are giving me chores to do just for the hell of it. I brood over the thought of having to dust and polish all the surfaces in the house, my tail seems to be getting a head start on dusting the floor, the tip sweeping over the surface agitatedly. Dusting a polishing would not be such a pain in the ass if it weren't for the many things I have to go over, all the little figurines and other items I have to take down then put back without breaking them. I consider just going over a few of the more obvious places really quickly, there can't be that much dust seeing as I just went through the house last week.

I clean my empty bowl in the sink and finish up the remaining dishes left there for me to do. I guess my parents are just so busy that they can't be bothered to do their own dishes before they leave. With that done I can do one of the few things I do best, procrastinate. What better way to do so then watching TV and playing some online games.  Back in my room I turn on the TV and search through the guide for something that peaks my interest. I settle for my typical choice, the anime network, it is another rerun of a series I finished watching last year but it is better than Jerry Springer. The computer comes to life with just a tap of the mouse, I rarely turn it off, save for when it needs to update, choosing to just let it go into sleep mode. It is nothing too impressive, most of the parts I scavenged from the IT department from old and broken computers, but it satisfies my needs. Two 22" LCDs, a wireless keyboard and mouse, and the rig is a patchwork of different components. I got lucky and scored two terabyte hard drives as well as a 60 gigabyte solid state drive, a mid range Quadro graphics card that I found in one of the old media departments workstations, and a dual core Intel CPU. I bring up the internet browser to check my email to see how much spam I have accumulated this morning. While my client is good at getting rid of the myriad of penis enlargement and credit spam a couple of sneaky ones make it past the filter. I go through and clear out all the junk I won't look at and sift through some of the store sales advertisements and gaming news emails that I subscribe too. Nothing great, all the sales are full of useless items I don't need/can't afford and I've already reserved my copy of that new MMORPG game coming out this weekend. I switch over to my professional email which is noticeably less full of spam, it is actually pretty barren. There are only two emails for me to look at, one I can already tell is a rejection notice to one of the many jobs I have applied to just by reading the subject line. I click that one and mark it as read and store it into the rejection folder I made which is kind of morbid in a sense because every time I look in it I get a little depressed, it is going four pages strong and growing. One company even sent me seven copies of the same rejection email, just in case the first few didn't deliver the message clearly I suppose. The other email is a listing of jobs I might be interested in from one of the search sites I use. I sift through and spot a couple I might qualify for and apply for the positions. I'm halfway through the second one when, since when is procrastinate suppose to be productive in anyway. I huff to myself and finish up the application before I bring up MapleStory, the online game I like to play.

As if on cue to stop me from procrastinating, my phone rings from my night stand and I have to get up from the computer to answer it, I can already guess who it might be. I glance at the screen and see that it is 9:52 am before I answer. "Hey Rick."

"Hey buddy, glad to hear you are up and awake. Did you get something to eat?"

"Yeah, yeah, I did. Is there any other reason why you are calling and checking up on me?"

"Settle down, just wanted to make sure you didn't go back to bed like I know you do sometimes. Now make sure you get your chores done, I don't want to hear that as an excuse you can't come."

"God, what are you, my mother? Besides, I was actually applying to jobs before you called."

He's chuckling at me over the phone now. "Good for you, do you want a cookie? Anyways, if you can manage to get here before noon I will buy you lunch. Deal?"

My ears perk up at that offer. I like food and I like free things, putting to two together can only make it better right and food always to taste better when it's free. "Deal" I tell him and he reminds me to do my chores once more before he hangs up.

The grey spot on my side starts to itch and drag a paw over it, claws extended to really get a good scratch going. Alright, let's do this! I psyche myself up with the motivation of a free lunch at the end of all of this. I head downstairs to the garage to grab the duster. I don't plan on doing a thorough job or it might take me well past noon to get done so I just plan to use the duster to shake off the surface dust hoping my parents won't notice I didn't polish everything. I quickly go over all the picture frames hung up around the house and then move onto the TV, stands, and dressers. The living room and basement will be most annoying because of the large wooden entertainment stands with all its nocks and crannies and the side tables in the living room along with the display shelf full of fragile knickknacks that I have to pick up to clean the shelves. Most furs like to play music or have the TV on as a pleasant distraction while doing chores. If I had the TV on nothing would get done so I settle for playing music on my iPad, but the music does little to distract my focus from how annoying and tedious the task at hand is and becomes nothing more than background noise to me. I don't even realize that the music has stop playing when I finish, going through an entire playlist of about thirty songs. I put away the duster back in the garage and pick up my iPad on the way back to my room, glancing at the time on it to see it is forty 'till noon.

NO! Must hurry, need FREE food. I bolt into my room looking for something to wear to workout in. I toss my backpack onto my bed and start rummaging around in the bottom drawers of my dresser where I keep a lot of the closes I don't wear too often. I spot a pair of blue basketball shorts that I used to use for gym class and try them on. They are a little tight but they will have to do, maybe it will help motivate me more to lose my gut. I pull on a pale yellow shirt with a Nike logo on the front and a blue hoodie over that for the weather. Just to be safe I grab a spare change of clothes to be able to change into something clean after the workout. I stuff the extra things into my backpack along with my wallet, brush, iPad and laptop and stumble over the mess I made on the floor to my closet where I find my old running shoes buried underneath a pile of junk I have tossed into the corner. I try them onto see if they fit and luckily they do, at least my pads won't be too sore after this ordeal. I glance at my phone to check the time as I lock the house. Thirty minutes left, I can do this as long as there is not too much traffic. The gym is only about twenty minutes away.

I see Rick leaning up against the building, his arms crossed in front of his chest, as I jog up the entrance of the gym. He's wearing those black shorts again with another tight work out shirt; this one is a forest green with the gyms logo on the front. "You're almost ten minutes late."

"It's nice to see you too" I huff at him.

"You were supposed to be here before noon but I kind of expected this from you."

"But I had to dust and polish the house. And I couldn't find a free parking spot anywhere near the building, I had to park a block away, not to mention the bit of traffic I ran into."

"You should have called me. I could have gotten you into the employee..." He stops short of what he is saying turning to look back at me. I guess he took pity on me when he sees my drooping ears and tail between my legs. "God you're such a baby. I'll still take you to lunch, only because I want to go over your eating habits and start you on a diet." That news, not the dieting and lecture part, made me happy enough to perk my ears up and put a little wag in my tail. Look, it's not like I have a lot to look forward to in the day being jobless and all. I was excited when Rick offered me lunch and just got a little sad when I thought we weren't going.

I t has been a couple of months since Rick has dragged me in here and I forgot how big the place was. The front desk was to the left with a couple of staff members manning the station. Next to that was a series of small offices for the administration and personal trainers. To the other side was something new I didn't remember seeing, I remember Rick talking about some renovations they were making and this juice and snack bar must have been one of them. In a room behind that was a little daycare center were furs could drop off their kids while they workout. Straight in front of us was the main area with rows and rows of different machines. They seem to have it all: treadmills, stair climbers, cycles, presses of every kind, free weights, and more. It's like a torture chamber where the executioner is yourself. Rick wants to show me some of the new additions to the gym, they put in a couple aerobics rooms, several classrooms for group exercises, and they update the racquet courts and the Olympic pool in the back. It was quite impressive really as he gave me the nickel tour which ended at the new locker and bathrooms and was probably the best place in the building in my opinion. It seems more like a spa than a gym bathroom, there are rows of lockers for all the patrons to the right but it also has large massage room to the left that I guess also connected to the women's side also. Past the lockers are several saunas, some large and some small, and the bathrooms and showering facilities are across from them with a large group shower area as well as individual stalls.

"You smell that?" Rick asks while sniffing the air.

I take a few sniffs trying to find what Rick is sniffing for but I can't. "Nope, I can't smell anything unusual."

"Exactly" A grin creeps across his muzzle, "you don't think it's weird that the bathroom of an active gym full of sweaty and wet furs smells like nothing?" The stunned look that spread across my face was enough of an answer. "It's a start of the art ventilation system that is not only powerful but quiet as well. I bet you didn't even notice anything funky smelling anywhere else too. There is a less powerful system throughout the rest of the building since the high ceilings help a lot to pull the smells upward. "

"I wish they had something like this back in the dorms at college" I say still impressed by the lack of smells.

"I know, but enough showboating. Put your stuff in a locker and met me out on the floor. We'll start with some warm ups and move on from there."

Fifteen minutes I'm panting like I'm stuck in a room without A/C in the middle of summer. After some stretching to warm up I told Rick I wanted to work on my upper body so he threw me onto the bench press. He's trying to tell me to control my breathing but I am having trouble doing that when what seems like a thousand pounds of weights is above my head in my hands, in truth it is only about a hundred pounds. Rick is giving me words of encouragement but I'm struggling through the last few reps of this set. I couldn't complete all of them but Rick still helps me up and gives me a hard pat on the back telling me good job as he shows me to the next torture device. To give me a little bit of a break he asks me to help spot him on a couple of workouts. He's doing a decline bench press with more than double the weight of what I did. I can't help but feel a little weak and impressed as I saw his muscles flex under all that weight. His tight shirt only helps bring out the definition as his pecs looked like they were going to burst through at any second and the muscles on his shoulders bulge with each pump of the bar. I'm glad he didn't need my help because I lost focus on what I was doing as I watching him workout. Every muscle on his upper body seems to be flexing as he took deep breaths, his chest rising and falling. My break was short lived as I soon find myself on another machine with Rick giving me advice and words of encouragement.

It feels like hours before Rick says we are done and I give an exasperated groan as I lean back on the seat to rest, my arms hanging limp and my head rolling to rest on my shoulder as I pant. I'm so exhausted that I don't even have the energy to keep my ears perked up, Rick tells me it helps dissipate body heat but I'm just too tired. Rick pulls me off the machine so that we can go shower but I flop back down when I see a tiger walk towards the locker room in the corner of my eye, but it is not just any tiger, it was the one I literally bumped into at Starbucks the other day. He pulls off a sweaty white shirt that is probably a size too small for him and I see his massive chest flex and expand as he takes it off. He has a gut but he's not chubby, he has a solid build and thick arms that bulge as he rolls his shoulder and massages it with the other hand. I take a gulp of air and push myself off the seat as Rick pulls me at the same time.

"Hey, shouldn't we do a cool down exercise or something, how about a little jog? I have my running shoes on so I might as well put them to work."

"That's the spirit!" Rick says enthusiastically and gives me one of those hard pats on the back.

We climb onto the nearest treadmills and I set the pace at a light jog. I really do not want to go on a run right now but I much rather prefer avoiding any embarrassing moments by bumping into that tiger fellow again. I talk to Rick about the news topics on the TVs above us to prolong the wait. We are on the treadmills for ten minutes before I see the tiger guy leave the locker room and head towards the exit. A commercial comes on and I use that as a perfect opportunity to stop so it does not look like I was trying to avoid someone. Once in the locker room I peel off my shirt that feels heavier from the sweat it has soaked up, or my arms are just so weak from the workout that anything feels twice as heavy. Sniffing myself I am definitely going to have to take a shower before I go anywhere else. I open my locker to pull out my backpack but stop midway and facepalm myself.

"What's wrong?" Rick asks from behind me.

I turn my head around to answer him and see him standing there naked with a towel slung over his shoulder and a bottle of soap in his paw. The fur on his upper body is matted down from his shirt and sweat enhances the definition of his muscles and his curly tail is peeking around the corner from his toned butt. It is not like I haven't seen him naked before, he's changed in my room plenty of times in the past and it's not like he is peaking out of his sheath or anything but something seems different. I turn back around, not too fast to show that I was embarrassed but, slow enough to make it seem as if nothing is wrong, which it isn't I tell myself.

"Oh nothing, I just forgot my towel and soap back at home."

"Don't worry, you can barrow my soap and the gym has plenty of towels. I'll go get you one."

"Thanks" I say to him as disappears around the corner.

I shuck off my shoes and start to take off my pants and boxers but hesitate. Why am I hesitating? I then notice the growing heat in my groining. It's only natural and it happens every time the little guy gets some fresh air. Plus Rick's seemed a little hard. Not that I was staring or anything you see. There aren't that many other furs in the locker room and that bull that walked by didn't care about Rick being naked and that bear didn't even wrap himself up on the way to the showers. I'm halfway through pulling my pants off when something soft and white hits me in the head and almost sends me stumbling into the lockers. I pull my pants off and grab the towel Rick threw at me before it drops to the ground.

"Gee, thanks"

"Not a problem" He tells me as he starts to twist his towel up, his tongue sticking out a little from the side of his muzzle.

I know what he is up to and instantly my tail tucks in between my legs for safety and my ears go back in a defensive posture. "Oh don't you dare" I warn him.

It falls on deaf ears ask he lets one crack and gets me right on my left thigh. The skin stings and tingles where the towel made contact. "That's for being late, I've got nine more. One for each minute you were late."

He starts to wind up for another crack but I throw my sweaty boxers at him and he drops one end of his weapon to swat them away. I take this opportunity to maneuver past him laughing as I run to the showers.

"Hey slow down, no running in the locker room" he yells at me. I know it's a rule but I also know he is just saying that so that he can catch up to me because I see him running around the bend, winding up his towel for another crack at me.

The clock in my car reads two twenty as we pull into Subway, he can't stay out too long since the rush starts when the businesses start to close for the day. He informs me that Subway is a cheap healthy option if you know what to get and he shows me, practically changing my entire order for the healthier options: wheat bread, only two slices of cheese, lots of lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, and only a little marinara sauce with only water to drink. My left thigh starts to tingle again as I sat down and I rub over the spot  to sooth the soreness, my whole body could use some soothing but I was too tired to get away from Rick in the locker room. Being such the forgiving guy that he is, he only gave me four more hits before he relented but it was enough to leave me still feeling the stinging sensation even now. I must have been starving and before I know it the whole footlong is gone, only scrapes of lettuce and crumbs remain on the wrapper. True to his word Rick lectures me on what to eat to form a good diet. He congratulates me on my choice of breakfast and tells me a list of things to avoid. Eat more white meats, fish, and at least more fruit if not vegetables and cut out all the burgers, greasy, fried, and crispy food, and sugary snacks. Seems easy enough just avoid fast food and pick healthier options like what he did for me here, I hate to admit it but the sandwich was good or maybe it is because I was starving. The last thing he says really gets my attention when he tells me to cut out Starbucks, I am willing to start this whole dieting thing but cutting Starbucks out of the equation equals no diet for me in my math. We argue for a bit about the topic, I probably need to seek help with how much I am defending my addiction to the place but we will tackle that hurdle another time. In the end he somehow dupes me into coming back to the gym. The workout and my addiction to Starbucks is to blame for this; Rick takes advantage of my physical and mental exhaustion to get me to agree to such outrageous terms. I get to keep going to Starbucks, but I can only order one drink off the menu and after that I can only get Americanos to cut back on my caffeine intake (espresso has less caffeine than coffee you know). In exchange, I have to go to the gym at least twice a week.

I drop Rick off back at the gym so he can get ready for the rush and he tells me to reconsider going out with Oscar and them on a hike. I tell him I will but I am really looking forward to playing this game that is coming out with Mike and Nick. There is only one thing I can think of to help me relax and unwind after a strenuous workout, Starbucks! All that talking about it had me craving for a venit caramel brulee latte, plus I have a few more jobs I need to finish applying to and I use that as justification for going to the coffee house. I choose the same one I always go to, the one in the shopping center off the highway before the mall. There are actually several of them in a relatively small area that I can choose from but I like the ambiance of this one the best and the floor to ceiling windows that wrap around the store make for a great view. I know I am sounding really snooty right now but what can I say, I'm picky about my Starbucks. As soon as I walk through the door the aroma of ground and brewed coffee greats my nose causing it to wrinkle a little. I take a deep breath and breathe in the invigorating smell; I can almost taste the coffee in my mouth from the air alone. Fishing my wallet out of my backpack I approach the counter ready to give the cashier my order.

"Hello again Taylor, let me guess a ventie caramel brulee latte?" I finally find my wallet and look up to see the lion guy that works here at the register.

"Oh... um, yes please."

"Amber was wondering if she was going to see you today, you just missed her too. She is only working the morning shift today" he says as he writes my order on the cup and hands it to the bunny barista to fix.

It takes me a second to realize that Amber is probably the name of the otter girl that works here. I blush a little, feeling guilty for not knowing any of the employee's names even though I've come here almost every other day for the past month. "What a shame, guess I will have to come here early tomorrow."

"You are going to have to settle for the weekend, she has off this Friday. But you can always come by to see me."

Before I can answer, the bunny girl calls his attention, by saying his name which I find out is Brandon, and hands him my drink to give to me. Now I just wish I knew her name so I can thank her for giving me his. Fortune shines on me and I learn her name is Sasha when he grabs the drink from her and agitatedly thanks her. Brandon completes the relay and hands me the drink with an award winning smile. I give my thanks and can actually use their names for once and take a seat in one of the arm chairs in the corner near the window. I make the effort of remembering their names by saying them over in my head, otherwise they would fall to the way side in a matter of minutes, remembering names has never been one of my strong suits. I start off with some procrastination by playing around on my iPad but before long I'm picking up where I left off this morning by applying for jobs. I'm dimly aware of my surrounds as business picks up within the next hour or so as furs are coming and going. Looking up from my screen I see a lull in the rush and use this opportunity to use the bathroom and get a refill. The nagging Rick in my conscience reminds me of our agreement and I comply with it, for now. Back at my computer I dissolve back into my work. Who knew searching for and applying to jobs could be such a tedious and time consuming task. I feel like I am making a memoir of my life by answering all these questions. Why on earth does a business need to know every place I have lived in the last ten years or make me take a quiz with stupid multiple choice questions about what is morally right and wrong? Do they really think people will answer these honestly, you would have to be an idiot to pick the do nothing option if you see someone stealing. Not an hour into it I need a break so I get up to stretch, the post workout soreness is starting to settle in as I feel stiffness in my joints as I roll my shoulders and flex my arms. There are a few patrons sitting at the tables but there is still a line at the register when I look around. I turn and look out the window to see that the sun is setting, the last few rays casting on orange glow on everything inside the shop. My tail feels like it is asleep so I give it a few good wags to wake it up and give my head a good shake to get the kinks out of my neck and the stiffness out of my ears as they flap around against my head. I must look pretty silly shaking about like that because I hear someone chuckling behind me, my ears flick back to the sound and go down as I blush embarrassingly. A deep voice right behind me startles me as my tail comes back to life and bristles. The stranger asks me if the other arm chair next to me is free and I give my head one more shake up and down to answer him before I sit back down and stop making a fool of myself.

"Hey, I remember you. You're that wolf I bumped into the other day aren't yah?"

Instinctively my ears splay upon hearing what the guy just said and I turn to see the same tiger I saw at the gym earlier today. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that" I say scratching the back of my head.

"Hehe, like I said, it's not a problem, really. The name's Vincent by the way, Vincent Mulreign." He holds out a large orange paw, white around the edges of his fingers and pads with one black stripe that managed to creep across the back, in between us intending for a more formal greeting this time. Not wanting to be rude I reach out my own paw and his paw nearly engulfs mine as he gives me a firm pawshake.

"Oh, I'm Taylor Vanguard" I manage to say as he lets go of my paw leaving it feeling warm and tingly.

"Doing some school work?"

"Naw, I've graduated and everything, still trying to find a job though."

"Oh, I know that pain. I just recently found one."

"Lucky, I've been searching for one since last year and still can't find anything. It wouldn't be so bad if the part time job I have wasn't on hiatus."

"Hiatus?"

I explain to him my current job situation, leaving out how much of a loser I am. I decide to leave it at that, not wanting to talk about the topic anymore and hoping that was the end of the customary small talk between people you just met. I've never been much for conversation with strangers, I don't keep up with sports, current events, or pop culture so I find I have little to offer in a conversation and I making small talk a painful task for me often resting in that awkward silence. I'm pretty sure talking about my depressing existence is not something most people want to hear but it does stop them from talking more to me. This guy however seems intent on making me suffer and ask me more details about what I do. I give him short general answers hoping he picks up on my disinterest. After a few more questions I think he gets the hint and starts fiddling with his phone leaving me to get back to applying to jobs, but I'm too bothered to get anything done so I start browsing the web for a pleasant distraction. I start trolling through game forums when I spot a thread on a Maplestory forum that I feel I should "enlighten" the TS with my knowledge. I'm busy writing up a comment fanning the flames when I hear someone huffing next to me.

"Obvious troll is obvious; I/Ls aren't that bad."

"I know, my main is one, but I hate what they did to use, GC has such a stupid design and it's counterproductive to what the class was originally designed for."

"It has its uses not to mention all the buffs you guys got you are as pretty good attackers."

That sets me off on a butthurt rant about what happened to the I/L class in the game and how we no longer have any role or use in the game, not to mention all the updates still put us far behind the other classes that it's ridiculous.

"Okay, okay, I can see some of your points and where you are coming from, but try playing a Bucc then come back to me complain."

The smugness in his voice irritates me, "try playing an unfunded strless sair in a new world, then you can talk to me." I've been so worked up in my ranting that it takes me a moment to realize that the tiger guy, um... Vincent, has been talking to me about the same game the entire time. "Wait a minute, you play MapleStory too?"

"Heh... yeah, it's one of those dirty little secrets that I don't share."

I now find I am the one asking all the questions about his characters, what server he plays on, and other things about the game. After a while the topic gravitates to other games he likes to play, he likes videogames, sports and shooters are his favorites but he likes others too. We even get into a heated debate about which Super Smash Brothers character is the best, I still say my Olamar can beat his Luigi anytime and we agree on challenging each other to prove who is best one of these days. He's even looking at getting the new game coming out, Tree of Mana, which I plan on getting at midnight, but he's still up in the air about whether to get it or not since he doesn't play too many RPGs. Now I want to find out more about this guy and now I'm asking him about his life and job. He has a major in business with a concentration in marketing and has a job as an intern at a company in the city. His apartment is not too far away from here and he is rooming with some friends. He likes to come to Starbucks to wind down and relax and get away from his roommates from time to time. We continue talking like this for quite some time, learning different things about each other. We don't realize how late it is until that lion guy, I mean Brandon, comes over to us and gives us one of those not-to-be-rude-but-you've-got-to-go coughs and I realize that it is dark outside and we are the only furs left inside the shop, aside from the employees who want us to leave so they can to. Brandon seems to be staring a little sternly at Vincent as he leans on the mop, his tail tip flicking about agitatedly. We must be keeping him from finishing up the last spot in the shop. I better hurry and pack my stuff and leave.

Vincent breaks the silence as he turns to Brandon, a big grin spreading across his muzzle. "Sorry, Brandon, lost track of time talking to my new bud here. Sorry about keeping yah waiting, won't happen again."

"Yeah, yeah, that's what you said last time. Just hurry up and move your big cat butt up and out."

 As soon as we leave the lights in the shop flick off and we are left standing in the light from the lamp posts that dot the shopping plaza. Vincent says good bye to me and that he hopes to see me soon. I finally look him in the eyes when I say my farewells and he's smiling at me with a toothy grin and his golden eyes shine like two bright suns in the glow of the night lights. I wave a good bye before I head towards my car.

As soon as I enter the house I am greeted with the usual barrage of questions from my mother.

"Hi baby, where have you been? Ew, you smell like coffee, have you been in Starbucks all day again? What were you doing there? Thanks for dusting the house today, did you eat yet? I brought home some chicken cordon bleu from work; it's in the fridge you just have to heat it up. Here, I'll get you a plate."

My only response to her volley is "Hi mom" and I go a take a seat at the kitchen island as she reheats a dinner for me. She's your typical overprotective mom that won't ever stop seeing me as her five year old baby boy. She's also a black wolf with a light shade of black all over except at tips of her tail and ears, I think she dyes her fur to keep it uniform but she would never admit to it. She's only a couple inches shorter than me and has an average build she maintains by working out every so often at the community gym.

"So what did you do all day?" She won't stop until I answer.

"Nothing much, just did the chores, went to the gym with Rick, and went to Starbucks to get some work done."

"That's great" she says in response to the gym thing, "you should go there more often. You don't want to end up with a belly like your dad."

"Where is dad, is he working late today again?"

"Yeah, he's working at the convention center this time. You should also watch what you eat, when are you going back to the gym?"

"Soon probably."

"Good, now hurry up and finish eating so you can take a shower. You reek of coffee grinds."

I finish up my meal and wash my dishes before I head back to my room. I toss my backpack to the side and fling myself onto the bed to relax a bit before hitting the shower. In that instant fatigue hits me like a ton of bricks and I can feel how sore and tired my arms and chest are, even my legs feel heavy from just that little bit of jogging I did. Just five minutes and I need to get up. I close my eyes just for a bit, repeating to myself that I really should get up, but my body wins out and I'm asleep within a minute.