Chapter 5 - Stranger

"Get up!"

I look up, and Judy's eyes meet mine. She was smiling like a three-year old with a toy truck.

"What time is it?" I object, closing my eyes.

"8:30," she replies. "Now, get up!"

"Give me another... twenty minutes." I resolve, rolling over onto my right side. I wanted to cherish the comfort of my soft bed. Why in the heck was Judy in here in the first place?

"C'mon," she insisted, tugging at my sleeve. "Our Saturday can't be wasted."

Days prior to that, our house was broken into - which I didn't know of. Some idiot decided to break in, I guess. Previously considering that our house is surrounded by police tape, the best bet would be to reside at a hotel, so that's what we did. We rented a 2-bed hotel and have resided for the past night. I can vaguely remember our house.

I found myself standing from the bed in agony. I stretch my arms above my head, still skeptical as to why I lived with this bunny, and why I got here in the first place. I also pondered on a larger shirt - this one ascended above my waistline when I raised my arms in the air to stretch. I yet out a yawn.

To sum it up, Judy fell for my exhaustion and went to the breakfast area, mistakenly believing I was plodding behind. Unfortunately, I had fallen asleep, again, and she returned fifteen minutes later and found me in my state of unconsciousness. Things went downhill after that and she lugged me downstairs, despite all my complaints, and whipped up a plate of food from the complimentary breakfast.

A breakfast and two full tummies later, we return to the room. I found that social interaction, especially with someone you met, and had been with for six months, is quite challenging. Especially difficult when this said mammal you attempt to speak to is your opposite gender and your crush. Take the night earlier.

As soon as we had arrived and checked in, I scampered to the room and stuck to my phone like glue to paper. I tried to avoid all social interaction, but it was like two opposites, night and day, good and bad, except that it was extrovert vs introvert. She riddled me with useless questions about my day, and the hospital stay, and a whole bunch of useless junk. As charismatic as I was capable of being, I bid farewell to Judy, and the night ended.

Shortly after we return, the water pipes granted me a heaven on earth, of which I like to call it. The warm, refreshing shower of translucent liquid poured and launched off me. I occasionally glanced up at the shower head, checking my scalp for any bald spots - I didn't want to risk scampering off to the store for anti-shedding shampoo. For any information regarding the subject, some substances used in this said anti-shedding medication I may or may not be slightly intolerant to. Not a whole, "I'm gonna die if I inhale the fumes or get a drop on my finger" type intolerance. All I can provide is the warning label on the shampoo - "If minor rash or severe itchiness persists following use, discontinue use."

As the same as any other time, I fortunately found no sign of bald spots. Shedding was minimal also during this "heaven on earth". One thing about foxes is that we shed, a lot. One thing I retained from high school health class is that the primary sign of adulthood in foxes is regular shedding. And fortunately (even though I may not show it mentally), I am quite mature. Unless you consider thirty-two a sign of reaching childhood.

The most mentally degrading process following a shower is the drying process. When water touches my fur (but I'm not sure if it's with any other foxes' fur), it tends to become damper than my last bout with a leaky dishwasher and with only one towel available in the entire house. I find that I must use a fur dryer, plugged in to the wall. I spend about five minutes removing any bout of excess water by a towel shortly following the shower. Then after that, I slip on my clothes and sometimes must undress multiple times because I miss a major wet spot on my fur.

Another thing is the tail. It sometimes has a mind of its own. By that, I mean that I can control it if I want to, but my instincts automatically allow it to perform whatever it finds pleasurable to torture me. Dressing in pants is one of those problems. Sometimes I wish I were a rabbit - Judy, for example. Her tail is so small and fluffy, and I imagine that clothing is straightforward. For me, I must tuck my tail through a hole manufactured through the posterior. And sometimes I find that doing this can lead to some pain, such as a time when I completely miss and bend the end of my tail. Fortunately, my skeleton is flexible.

Ending at the last step - brushing. Keeping fur groomed in an essential part of etiquette for any mammal with fur. Alignment of tail fur to produce an essential attractiveness. Unfortunately, this process generously contributes approximately ten minutes to the already time-consuming process. Moreover, nudity is abstained in the public, so shielded fur doesn't have to be tended as roughly as the arms (if you repeatedly wear short-sleeved shirts, like me), top of the head, and tail (if it is of substantial size to groom).

Development of shampoo has increased in the past ten years. We have extensive amounts of shampoo, some ranging of prices from five dollars for 16 oz., or as far as two-hundred for the same size. The prices of my shampoo range on the middle of the scale, mine being Muzzle and Tail brand for an easy $80 a bottle. Mine lasts about three months. Sometimes I see some of those guys my size going through that size ten times in three months. Every year sets me back $320 in shampoo.

Cologne is another thing - expensive as heck itself. I tend to be extremely picky with cologne, mine currently being the city's hottest - Al La Fox. The smell is so attractive that I can't explain it. Judy seems to like it. She wouldn't enjoy it if I went with those cheap, spray-on colognes that smell like a dumpster in a radioactive plant that was recently urinated on. No thanks, Zaxe.

Unfortunately, my cologne and shampoo were left at my house at the time of the robbery and I did not have access to them. The best resource I had was the small, complimentary bottles of Bed, Bath and Bleat shampoo that feel like liquid metal on my skin. Hopefully we won't stay here too long.

After the lackadaisical process of tending my hygienic needs, I knew what I really needed was the key of my day - the starter. The match that lit the kindling to the firewood. My coffee - yet another subject to ramble on. Another necessity I need exactly right, and it's a good thing that I like it. Just don't give me black and I'll be fine. To get me in the right mood, give me a caramel frappe with extra whipped cream.

How do I know this? The brain is an amazing thing. Even though I was konked in the temple by my own roommate, I can still recollect some important information in the last six months. For a reason beyond my own comprehension, I forgot Judy's own existence and my appliance as a law enforcement officer.

I opened my hand, illogically attempting to use the Force like Duke Skywalker. Instantaneously, A black coffee enters my hand. I look up and find Judy looking at me. "What have you been doing for the past twenty-five minutes?"

After attempting to relay the pain of maintaining personal hygiene, she cut me off. "Uh, I don't even need to hear it. I heard it from here, and I can find it reasonable. Fortunately, a morning shower isn't a bad thing."

Oh, boy. I can already detect her "interrogation mode". She speaks with such seriousness, if she was a male fox, it could mislead me to think I wasn't me. I stood, loathingly sipping the black coffee with such sincerity I could have turned medusa into stone.

"Playing the silent game, huh?" She punched me in the shoulder. I laugh and pretend to splash my beverage all over her. "If you did that," she clenched her fist. "You'd get it."

"I'd like to pop a question," I say, taking another sip of my coffee, and laboriously attempting to suppress the gag reflex. "Why do we live at our house?

"Long story," she gestures toward the door. "And I presume you don't have any available time for that?"

"Actually, I do. Go ahead. Last time I checked, it was Saturday."

It all started with my grandma, which I still remember (and presumably was still alive). She lived at this house, and used to house me as a kid. My grandma died, peacefully, four months earlier from pancreatic cancer. Through her will, I discovered she had dedicated the house to me and given me the full rights to all her possessions, and I quote, "All unmentioned additional items related to the ownership of my household".

From what I knew my grandma was the frugal one of the family. After grandpa died three years earlier, she fruitfully used the money from my grandpa, who was a lawyer. The money went towards a minivan she bought, thankfully.

Remember the "All unmentioned additional item? I was happy for inheriting a minivan until I discovered a fine print located at the bottom of her will: "The minivan will be inherited by Jack Wilde". Jack is my brother.

Shortly following Judy's relay of this information, my phone rings. I open it and hold it to my ear. "This is Nick."

"Hello, s-sir. I'm s-Samuel."

Wrong number? Or did someone deliberately assign this autistic kid to call my number? "Hey, Samuel. I need to know why you called."

"Y-yes. I-I wanted to t-tell you the results of the t-test of the r-r-results we received-"

"Hold on," I say, looking at Judy. The results, I mouth to her. "Yes, sorry. Continue."

"O-okay."

After waiting five seconds, I reply. "Hello?" The line was dead. Great. I cancel the call and shove my phone back into my pocket. "Well, it seems like the 'call' I received turned out to be pretty much fake. Whoever called - some guy who sounded like he had Tourette's - hung up."

"W-" she stops at the sound of the door. We both meet at the origin of the sound, and I whip it open.

Normally, under normal circumstances, being at a hotel is safe. You find a hotel amid fourteen others, and try to get a room during the busiest time of service. So, the only mammals to come to your room is ones that you specifically gave the said location to, including family, or pizza delivery.

Now having a stranger show up at the doorway is a different story, and unfortunately, this was the case. Standing in the doorway, a rose clenched in his misaligned teeth, was a rabbit, looking to be about twenty, wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt. He wore a ludicrous, toothy smile and his eyes seemed to be completely independent of his mouth, in a smile sense. In general, he was the most inexperienced romantic, if you even want to call him that, I've seen.

The moment Judy's crystal eyes met his dull blue irises, and with a firm flick of the wrist, slammed the heavy door in his face, a mask of dreams. She guarded the door like a police man over a three-ton inventory of diamonds. Overall, her eyes were as big as dinner plates. "Don't you remember him?" She asks after confirming my confused look.

"Nope. But let me handle this - let me confirm - this guy likes you?"

"What's it look like?"

"Well, do you like him?"

"No."

"Enough said. Go hide somewhere. I'll take care of this," I whisper, and she follows my instruction. I slowly open the door, and the same crazy lover stood like a seven-year old trying to confess his love to his girlfriend. "Excuse me, is that for me?" I say.

The rabbit's eyes widen like dinner plates, and his nose twitches. His face flushes and he relocates his rose behind his back. "… No. That was... kinda for… Y'know."

"Let me ask you a question," I ask, and he looks up, mortified. "Why in the name of anything would you hunt down someone, in a hotel, when previously, you were rejected?"

"Because, she's kinda... cute."

Rolling my eyes, I stare at him with eyes of the devil. "There is a distinct difference between a crazy, an insane, and a downright deranged idea. Your idea was so doggone preposterous, I almost mistook you for a twenty-year old homicidal stalker. So how about this," I hold up my police badge. "Instead of trying to sneak up on someone, you do it in a more, non-stalkerish way. And what's even worse, is that you decided to stalk a police officer – Judy's a police officer, too," I say, smiling. I enter a code on the little machine I had retrieved from my police belt, and it produces a slip of paper. "$200 dollar fine for stalking."

"Two-hundred?" He says, taken aback. "No."

"No?" I say, unsurprised. "How about I triple that for disloyalty to law enforcement?"

"No thanks," he mutters. Without another word, he snatches the paper from my paw and stomps from the hallway. Even I should have a decent amount of pity on him, but I guess my profession has already allowed me to ignore emotional disruptions. Shortly after watching his little tail disappear around the bend, I quietly shut the door and call Judy in.

"Thanks," she says, squeezing me around the waist. "As you could previously tell, I didn't want anything to do with that guy."

"Well, you're lucky you have a professional hustler, here." I say, grinning.

"How about this," she says, jumping from the ground, and gracefully planting a kiss on my cheek. She directs herself to the ground. "It's called a hustle, sweetheart." She flashes a sly smile.

"You are a clever bunny," I say. "Y'know what we should do?"

"I'm all ears." Folding her arms across her chest, she smiles.

"When can I get rid of this amnesia?"

PLEASE READ BOTTOM PARAGRAPH.

Hello, guys, CrazyWriter here. I thank anybody who has read this chapter. I will publish a new chapter of Try and Fail between the time periods of 3 days and three months. If you want to give me suggestions, please do so, and anybody who also wants to ask a question, to add something to this current chapter or suggest something for a future chapter, please PM me or send me an email (address is in my profile) and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Any constructive criticism is appreciated, but please try to avoid flares, as they will not be tolerated and will be immediately removed and/or reported. Thank you for your cooperation.

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Disclaimer: I am not involved in the creation, distribution, or design of any of the characters, settings, or personalities involved with any involved characters or settings already mentioned, including, but not limited to: Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps, Benjamin Clawhauser, Chief Bogo, Stu Hopps, and Bonnie Hopps. The original characters are a property of Disney© and Disney Animation Studios©.

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