Why fox? Why am I a fox? Who is the fox?
Want to know the fox?
Ill tell you about the fox, and you will learn all about the fox…
Jae fox
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BEEP BEEP BEEP
“Ughhh……” groaned Jae fumbling around the headboard to find the snooze button on his alarm clock. He accidentally knocked over an empty glass which fell onto his head. “Gah! You kidding me?” He yelled shoving the glass off the bed which fell to the floor with a loud clunk. Jae found the alarm clock and managed to turn off the annoying sound. “I hate this thing so much….what time is it now……” he groaned squinting his eyes to focus on the bright led numbers. “5:15 AM” read the clock. Jae rubbed his hands through the fur and hair on the top of his head. “And here we go.”
Jae was a young fox of 20 who lived in the city of Trenton, a decent sized city on the west coast of the US. Jae was a college student at the local community college studying studio photography. He chose to study photo as it was an interest of his since a young age, and an activity that did not require him to have to work with others much. Jae had never been the confident type, never chose to try to talk to others all through his school life and abroad. He spent most of his time either working on drawings or editing photos that he had taken throughout the day. While being a loner is something many strive to avoid, Jae didn’t mind as he preferred to be alone and to himself. He also felt that he didn’t fit in with the others around campus. Everyone else had a certain way of being, the way they dressed, the way they talked, the content of the things they talked about, their interest, everything, and Jae felt totally different from every bit of what most were into.
Jae grabbed his backpack from the wall hanger and went into the kitchen to grab a cereal bar and water bottle for a very simple breakfast on the go. He passed by the mirror and looked himself over. He was a fairly well built fox, not “buff” by any means, but his daily routines had kept him looking fairly fit. His black hair was a bit long with long bangs that swept over his right eye covering it. He had a bit of a green highlight on the left side of his hair that made his hair unique. His fur was somewhat scruffy as he didn’t care to keep it super well groomed all the time. He wore jeans and a t-shirt with a fitting black hoodie over it. He often wore a worn bandana around his neck and a small cross necklace, nothing super trendy, just what he felt looked good and fit who he was. He sighed and slipped a water bottle and cereal bar into his bag, grabbed his keys and wallet, and left the house.
Jae breathed in the cold air of the early morning. It was still dark outside with a slight hint of blue flooding into the sky. Jae walked across the street to the bus stop to catch the bus that would take him to his campus. The bus stop was illuminated under a street light that cast a strange yellow glow in a circle surrounding the stop. ‘Probably a haven for homeless during the rainy seasons’ thought Jae to himself as he noted the covered canopy of the bus shelter. He eyed the small LED display on the top of the shelter which gave an estimate on when the next bus would arrive. “3 minutes, good deal.” Jae said to himself as he sat down and surveyed his surroundings. The time was now 5:30 and the city was quiet except for the sound of a few distant garbage trucks grinding away at the many pounds of trash that the downtown area produced. A car drove by with a well dressed individual inside. Probably some sort of office worker who worked in one of the office buildings a few blocks up the street. Jae always admired those that had big professional jobs in those buildings. He saw them all the time. Well dressed, driving nice cars, looking official with their Bluetooth earpieces and I-phones going throughout their day, but along with the admiration, Jae also had a feeling of sadness for them. Living the “normal” and “traditional” American life. Not doing anything that could be considered unique, was this really the life they wanted to live? “Your life should never be about making money for the sake of success.” Jae often would say. “You should go after what you really enjoy, and through that, you will find success.” This mentality was not shared by Jae’s father sadly. Jae’s father was a successful stock broker who was not happy with his sons choice of life goals. “You will be out in the streets if you pursue this career!” he would often yell. “I wont let any son of mine be a broke nobody who can’t even get a real job!” Jae had learned to tune his father out completely when he got on his tangents. It was always the same thing over and over, and frankly, Jae didn’t care anymore. ‘I like what I do, and its obvious I’m not smart enough to go after one of those bigger jobs, why even try…’ he would often think to himself.
He breathed out a sigh that turned to a fog in the cold morning air. He took a glance up the street and saw headlights cresting over the top of the hill. Squinting a bit as the vehicle crested, he could make out the lit lettering and numbers that shone through the darkness. 226 East Side read the sign as the bus drove closer to the stop. Jae got up and took the small scantrak card from his wallet as the bus drove up and came to a stop. The doors opened and Jae walked in quickly scanning the card on the card reader which would instantly remove a dollar 50 from his account. He walked to the back of the bus passing by the only other who was on the bus at this time besides the driver almost every day. A young girl, a huski who would always get off the bus a few stops before Jae’s stop. He walked by quickly and sat down in the far right corner in the very back of the bus. With a jolt, the bus started moving, and Jae sat back and placed his headphones over his ears. It would be an hour and a ½ long ride to school, and listening to music was the only thing he could do to pass the time. Looking out the window, he watched as the bus passed by the different buildings and stores. As the bus passed through Chinatown, Jae noticed some workers up and about early. Workers were unloading fish and poultry to the Chinese markets that were many in number. Jae made a mental note to stop by on the way back, he needed to get some gai lan to make one of his favorite stir fry dishes at home.
The bus drove on and Jae sat back looking up at the ceiling of the bus that was littered with random stickers, advertisements and graffiti tags. “Just another day…” He whispered to himself as he folded his arms and settled down for the ride. Just as he did every single day.
To be continued…
J