Last Laugh

Chapter 15: A Balancing Act

_CHAPTER FIFTEEN_

A Balancing Act

Through delivery, Beppi received the tickets he had longed for. Of course, it only came after school, so he was nonetheless excited to open the letter. It's his first letter from his family other than his father. Speaking of which, not a single letter came from the latter.

He recalled how excited Bon Bon was when showing her around town. Her hoity-toity attitude was still there but at least it didn't get them into trouble. In fact, he was baffled by how their mother would treat Bon Bon without giving her any time for herself, let alone play with other animals at her age.

That's rich coming from you, his thoughts taunted, you're friends with students OLDER than you! He'd rather not dwell on the fact that his dark thoughts might be right. Then again, being known as an annoying clown in class DOES count, right?

"Slow down, Beppi. The letter isn't going anywhere," Libby scolded him gently when he began to rip the envelop open. It was a ripped-up paper from some magazine with barely legible writing. This concerned both him and his guardians. His imaginations of his sister learning more than him through her travels disappeared. He began counting the tickets, trying to figure out who to give first.

"I've never seen this this happy, Lib. Let him count while we play ball. You could use a good ball!" Roxie laughed beside her. Without looking up, Beppi knew that his guardians were wagging their tails. Of course, he couldn't no matter how hard he tried but it warmed his heart to know that his guardians will always be here for him.

The same could have been said for Bon Bon.

He had made up his mind: some for his friends, their parents, the veterans, and even those kids from Broomstick Cottage. Sure, they tried to kill me and rob my sister but I'm sure they'd want to escape from the orphanage. Being stuck in school forever sounds like torture! I'm preeeetty sure prisoners have better lives than that.

Satisfied, he was going to join his guardians to play ball, only for Libby to stopped him. She arched a brow. "Don't you have homework to do, Mister?" Lowering his ears, he gave a nervous chuckle, "I-I did it. Yeah, I DEFINITELY did it!"

Libby shook her head in disbelief. "Yeah, try that again and no peanut butter chocolate ice cream for you. I'll be sure to check all of your homework before you go to bed. Make sure you pack your schoolbag for tomorrow's class!" Beppi pouted, knowing that his painted dog guardian was serious.

Talk about having a teacher for a guardian: double the homework and the lectures!

...

The next day at school, Beppi began handing out the tickets to his targets. He decided to do it before 8:30 A.M. in the morning, where their morning assemblies would be held at the grand hall. Afterwards, there was still time to sunbathe before class.

All animals feel good after a good sunning where the tensions between herbivores and carnivores were put on hold. They would either play, hangout at the cafeteria for those that haven't had breakfast yet or just lazed in the sun before the bell rang. Beppi on the other hand, was handing out tickets.

He slipped the tickets inside of Sameer's bag, approached Arthur upfront since that bat could hear everything and gestured to Maccus at the aquatic tunnel. "Three down, two to go," Beppi whispered to himself excitedly as he was looking for two more students down the school's corridor. While Gryphon Cross had lockers outside of each class, most students would carry all their books in their school bags.

He spotted a familiar figure that was heading to the library. Walking with a spring in his step, he halted in front of the surprised figure. "Hey, Tek. Here's a 'thank you' gift for giving me the tip."