FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Julie stood before sixty people in a small auditorium with her chest tight and hands quivering while she held her paper. She'd worn a sky blue jacket and jeans to feel more comfortable in front of everyone.

Julie was almost done with her speech but had frozen before the last paragraph. She'd stuttered and paused multiple times beforehand but had been able to keep momentum.

However, in this moment, she saw all eyes on her in an utterly silent classroom. It felt like thousands were watching her, and they probably all thought she was pathetic right now, an adult who couldn't talk properly in front of less than a hundred people.

She had to get out of her head. Every second that passed dug a deeper hole and made her feel sick, but it felt impossible to continue after stopping. Julie looked down and scanned the last few sentences before looking back up and adjusting her collar. "Th-The illegal poaching of pokémon continues to spread across every region and increasingly threatens, uh..."

Julie spent two hours last night memorizing her speech, but her mind kept going blank. She glanced at her paper and took a shaky breath. "Threatens some more than others. Pokémon like ninetales, most eeveelutions, shinies, and others w-with unique coats are targeted constantly. Conservation programs have been established to, uh, combat poaching and prevent endangerment, but... but millions are killed unjustly every year with no end in sight. If the n-numbers continue to rise, we could see the total extinction of certain pokémon within the next decade." She lowered her paper and swallowed, eyeing her seat toward the back of the class.

"Thank you. I'll take the essay, and you may return to your seat, Julie," the professor said, who was watching from the front row.

Julie set the sheet on her desk and walked up the steps as she called another student's name. Julie sat in her chair, taking a deep breath and leaning back. She stumbled over her words often and had several hard pauses, but at least she got through it.

"Good stuff. Liked the subject."

Julie looked to her left. "Eh, I could have done so much better. I prepared for days, but it didn't even help." She didn't know many people in this class, but this older girl sat next to her, and they'd talked multiple times in and outside of class, mainly initiated by her as the confident hot girl type.

Her name was Anna. She was three years older than Julie with short red hair and currently wore a red long-sleeved tee and black shorts, and had red painted nails. She was on her second year at this university.

"Look at it this way. Many students try to avoid classes like this. I did on my first year of community college before I felt I was ready to grow some more, but look at you on your second term. You're brave enough to put yourself up there and improve, so don't put yourself down." She shrugged. "No one's judging."

Julie sighed. "Yeah, I guess." She couldn't outright change her nature but could improve her social skills. She had the same issue during presentations in high school, but those kids did judge her.

Julie looked ahead as the next student started their speech.

When class was over, she grabbed her backpack and was one of the first out the door walking down the hall. Plenty of students stayed behind to talk or discuss their speeches, and maybe ask the professor for help, but Julie wanted to get to her oceanography class across the campus before noon, which was in fifteen minutes.

"Hey, Julie!"

She stopped and turned to see Anna approaching. She was also taller than Julie on top of everything.

"I may have an offer that'll do more for you than this class, and it's not nearly as boring. Couple of friends and I are hosting a party off-campus on Sunday night, three days away. It's nearby, and don't worry; it'll be nothing too crazy. Twenty people max..." She bit her lip. "How old are you again?"

Julie didn't know what to say to this. She wasn't the type of girl to party and had never been to one in her life. It was easy to see and could be why Anna was asking. "Eighteen."

"Hm," she grinned. "Well, you could still go. There's gonna be drinks, but I won't let anyone pressure you." She leaned in and winked. "Also won't stop you either. Why don't you gimme your number and think about it?"

"Uh, sure." Julie pulled out her cell and exchanged numbers with her. She didn't really see Anna as a friend but was kind of put on the spot. Julie wanted to be left alone, but maybe that wasn't ideal.

"Cool. I'll text you tomorrow tonight with more details and see where your head is."

Julie watched her walk past and pulled up her backpack, going down the hall after her. Julie likely wouldn't go to that party, and it's things like this why she'd probably be a loner forever, but she could live with it. School and good decisions mattered more to her, and she didn't want to head down a route she didn't know enough about. Maybe she'd talk to Alyssa about it later.

---

After sitting through oceanography and regional history 2, chatting now and again with acquaintances, Julie was done for the day at 5 p.m. She sat alone at a table in a small sub shop on campus she went to sometimes and swallowed the last bite of her sandwich, leaning back in her chair.

Julie anticipated going back to her room to see Midnight. She still thought about him off and on during classes and grinned whenever she imagined them snuggling. She left him with food and water to get through the hours she was gone, but it'd be nice if she could bring him to her classes.

The school didn't allow it, and rightfully so. It could distract students from their studies, and not all pokémon were obedient.

Julie took one last sip of her soda before getting up and throwing her cup and sandwich wrapper away, then was out the door with her backpack. She went downstairs, where she was among more restaurants, students, and their well-behaved pokémon in the large indoor food court. She stopped at a restaurant on her way out and waited in line to buy a small mixed berry salad she knew Midnight liked, then was out walking the grounds under a setting sky.

The dorms were by the library, just a few minutes from the food court. The campus was massive and allowed anyone to enter as it was public, but that was fine with it being in a good area.

Around Julie was red tile, neatly planted greenery and lamp posts, modern buildings, and students everywhere she looked. It felt great to be in an upscale environment so eager to educate, and it brought her motivation daily, not to mention it was a more respectful adult setting as opposed to high school.

In around five minutes, Julie saw the dorms ahead styled like an apartment complex with multiple buildings and sped up slightly until reaching hers. She wanted to rest her shoulders and legs after walking everywhere with this backpack on. She went through the glass doors and passed the laundry room, greeting familiar faces before taking the elevator to the third floor.

All she had to do tonight was study and get started on some assignments, which she was glad to be doing in her room with Midnight instead of with other people at the library. That speech today drained her social battery, anyway.

Julie walked down the hall and took her key out of her pocket, arriving at her door and unlocking it. She opened it to her umbreon sitting on the bed, staring at her with full eyes and erect ears. "Aw, cutie. I missed you today." Julie shut the door, put her backpack down, shook off her boots, and then went to him and set the plastic bowl on the bed. She knelt to take his cheeks into her hands.

Midnight let her rub and push them together and kiss his head. He'd gotten used to this kind of handling a long time ago. Plus, Julie was never rough. She was just happy to see him, as was he. "Mbre," he mumbled, nuzzling her hand as she released him.

Julie looked back at his double-sided bowl of water and dried berries she left him, which he'd eaten all of. "You hungry? I bought you a berry bowl from the court."

Midnight swayed his tail slightly. He could live off those bowls and a few select sweets Julie had gotten him into. "Umbreon." He thanked her.

Julie popped the lid and patted his head, running her hands over his ears as she left to the restroom. "Enjoy. I'm gonna go shower and repaint my nails a lighter blue. Then we'll snuggle study."