Scribblings
Herein is the fruits of my first-drafting from last night. I'm doing better this week than I did last week, thank goodness. This was about 950 words.
Three thirty in the freaking morning, Joanna thought to herself, he was going to owe her big for this one.
She cinched her coat tightly around her waist and stepped into the police station. The cold rush of the air conditioning slapped her awake and she walked briskly up to the shift commander's desk, trying to look more confident than she felt.
The commander didn't even look up from his paperwork as she approached. “Can I help you?” he asked.
“I'm here to post bail for my brother, please.”
“The prisoner's name?”
“Daniel Jones.”
Now the son-of-a-bitch looked at her. He was at least a head taller than her and broadly built. He looked at her with a mixture of surprise and... hunger.
“You're Stripe. I recognize you from the club.”
You would, she thought, trying not to roll her eyes. “Outside of work, I actually prefer Ms. Jones.”
A smirked curled along his face, and he took a long look down her body. She felt good about her decision to throw on her baggiest sweats before coming over. “Of course you do.”
“My brother?”
He stared at her for another moment before calling over his shoulder, “Carl! Go and bring Jones out here while I settle bail!”
“Are you kidding me?” came the panicky response, “I'm not going in there with that animal!”
“Carl, his sister is standing right here in front of me, for the sake of the gods!”
“Whoa! Stripe?”
“Would you get in there and get him?”
“All right, all right!”
The guard sulked into the holding area, muttering something about finding a job at a zoo, and the watch commander pulled out the bail papers. A couple of minutes later, after a lot of yelling from the holding pen, her brother stepped into the room, and Joanna heaved a sigh of frustration. Her brother was wearing jeans and a t-shirt both stretched tight over his feline frame. His fur was matted and dirty, his pointed ears stuck up out of a head of human hair that was tangled and frayed, his golden eyes were angry but bloodshot and he had a huge bandage wrapped around a bloodied right arm.
“Son-of-a-bitch still won't change back,” Carl the guard shouted to the captain as he led her brother in.
“I shouldn't have to,” Daniel muttered.
The commander looked to her, saying, “I can't have him walking around in public like that. It's against the law.”
“It's an unjust law,” she told him.
“It's the law, just the same. I don't make them; I just enforce 'em.”
“Well then I'm getting back in my cell.”
“Would you knock it off?” she called as he started to turn around. She turned to speak to the commander again, and found him looking her over again with a smirk on his face. “What? You want a private show? Is that it?”
He put up his hands in a mock-surrender and told her, “I'm just saying that I'm not allowed to let him out of here with the fur showing.”
Carl the guard was looking at her with the same sleazy grin. She dropped her gaze to the floor and started to pull up her sweatshirt.
“All right, all right!” Daniel shouted. Screwing his face up in concentration, he shifted back to his human form, the fur giving way to pale, smooth skin and his ears rounding out. His face flattened around his nose and left him with just the shortest of beards and his eyes lost their golden luster, leaving them a muddy brown. Once again, Joanna was struck by the idea that after trading dark fur for pink skin, he somehow seemed less bright... less alive, somehow. “Is everybody happy, now?”
“Well, I'm not,” Carl muttered as Joanna lowered her top.
Twenty minutes later, as Jo was exiting the freeway, Daniel still hadn't said a word to her - not even a thank you. He stared silently out his window, his chin resting on his fist.
“You wanna go for a walk in the park?” she kidded him. Then, when he still didn't say anything, still staring out the window, “Gee, that usually would at least get me yelled at. Come on, isn't getting drunk, scaring the crap out of a bunch of tourists and waking your sister up at some ungodly hour to bail you out any fun anymore?”
“They recognized you,” she heard him whisper.
“Yeah, so? A lot of guys do.”
“That's my point. Everybody in this town knows that you're a stripper...”
“...exotic dancer,” she corrected...
“...and you shouldn't be showing your fur to half the city to make a few bucks.”
Joanna slammed on the brakes and turned on her brother, who refused to meet her eyes. “What was I before I was a dancer, Daniel? Huh? That's right, I was a stock broker, and a damned good one, at that! Do you remember why I can't do that anymore? Do you?”
“Because you're an anthro.”
“Right! Because I'm an anthro! And how, pray tell, did they find out that I'm an anthro?”
“Because of me.”
“Right! Because you just had to go public as an anthro, flaunting your own fur in front of half the city at a protest rally! You didn't just out yourself, Daniel, you outed me, too! Now, the only work that I can get is wiggling my tail in bars with my fur showing, so don't you dare sit there and act self-righteous to me!
They rode the rest of the way back to her apartment in silence.
Three thirty in the freaking morning, Joanna thought to herself, he was going to owe her big for this one.
She cinched her coat tightly around her waist and stepped into the police station. The cold rush of the air conditioning slapped her awake and she walked briskly up to the shift commander's desk, trying to look more confident than she felt.
The commander didn't even look up from his paperwork as she approached. “Can I help you?” he asked.
“I'm here to post bail for my brother, please.”
“The prisoner's name?”
“Daniel Jones.”
Now the son-of-a-bitch looked at her. He was at least a head taller than her and broadly built. He looked at her with a mixture of surprise and... hunger.
“You're Stripe. I recognize you from the club.”
You would, she thought, trying not to roll her eyes. “Outside of work, I actually prefer Ms. Jones.”
A smirked curled along his face, and he took a long look down her body. She felt good about her decision to throw on her baggiest sweats before coming over. “Of course you do.”
“My brother?”
He stared at her for another moment before calling over his shoulder, “Carl! Go and bring Jones out here while I settle bail!”
“Are you kidding me?” came the panicky response, “I'm not going in there with that animal!”
“Carl, his sister is standing right here in front of me, for the sake of the gods!”
“Whoa! Stripe?”
“Would you get in there and get him?”
“All right, all right!”
The guard sulked into the holding area, muttering something about finding a job at a zoo, and the watch commander pulled out the bail papers. A couple of minutes later, after a lot of yelling from the holding pen, her brother stepped into the room, and Joanna heaved a sigh of frustration. Her brother was wearing jeans and a t-shirt both stretched tight over his feline frame. His fur was matted and dirty, his pointed ears stuck up out of a head of human hair that was tangled and frayed, his golden eyes were angry but bloodshot and he had a huge bandage wrapped around a bloodied right arm.
“Son-of-a-bitch still won't change back,” Carl the guard shouted to the captain as he led her brother in.
“I shouldn't have to,” Daniel muttered.
The commander looked to her, saying, “I can't have him walking around in public like that. It's against the law.”
“It's an unjust law,” she told him.
“It's the law, just the same. I don't make them; I just enforce 'em.”
“Well then I'm getting back in my cell.”
“Would you knock it off?” she called as he started to turn around. She turned to speak to the commander again, and found him looking her over again with a smirk on his face. “What? You want a private show? Is that it?”
He put up his hands in a mock-surrender and told her, “I'm just saying that I'm not allowed to let him out of here with the fur showing.”
Carl the guard was looking at her with the same sleazy grin. She dropped her gaze to the floor and started to pull up her sweatshirt.
“All right, all right!” Daniel shouted. Screwing his face up in concentration, he shifted back to his human form, the fur giving way to pale, smooth skin and his ears rounding out. His face flattened around his nose and left him with just the shortest of beards and his eyes lost their golden luster, leaving them a muddy brown. Once again, Joanna was struck by the idea that after trading dark fur for pink skin, he somehow seemed less bright... less alive, somehow. “Is everybody happy, now?”
“Well, I'm not,” Carl muttered as Joanna lowered her top.
Twenty minutes later, as Jo was exiting the freeway, Daniel still hadn't said a word to her - not even a thank you. He stared silently out his window, his chin resting on his fist.
“You wanna go for a walk in the park?” she kidded him. Then, when he still didn't say anything, still staring out the window, “Gee, that usually would at least get me yelled at. Come on, isn't getting drunk, scaring the crap out of a bunch of tourists and waking your sister up at some ungodly hour to bail you out any fun anymore?”
“They recognized you,” she heard him whisper.
“Yeah, so? A lot of guys do.”
“That's my point. Everybody in this town knows that you're a stripper...”
“...exotic dancer,” she corrected...
“...and you shouldn't be showing your fur to half the city to make a few bucks.”
Joanna slammed on the brakes and turned on her brother, who refused to meet her eyes. “What was I before I was a dancer, Daniel? Huh? That's right, I was a stock broker, and a damned good one, at that! Do you remember why I can't do that anymore? Do you?”
“Because you're an anthro.”
“Right! Because I'm an anthro! And how, pray tell, did they find out that I'm an anthro?”
“Because of me.”
“Right! Because you just had to go public as an anthro, flaunting your own fur in front of half the city at a protest rally! You didn't just out yourself, Daniel, you outed me, too! Now, the only work that I can get is wiggling my tail in bars with my fur showing, so don't you dare sit there and act self-righteous to me!
They rode the rest of the way back to her apartment in silence.