The King of High School is a Girl

**The King of High School is a Girl** is a comedic story about a maned lioness, mistaken for a boy by her surroundings.

Ash is a teenage girl with dark manes, earning her the blind love and envy from her male and female peers, while her bully and self-proclaimed rival, Atlas, is the perfect image of masculinity, yet disliked for having solid blond manes.

Since even the high school staff doesn't buy she's a girl, she's constantly forced into male spaces and has to work to keep the peace for the sake of her own sanity.

It plays off in an anthropomorphic animal world that functions like that of humans, with some minor facts from the animal kingdom still deciding the lives of its residents.

The story was conceived in December of 2023, but it and the characters have made no official online appearance.

## Story

> **CHAPTER 1: Introduction**Ash is a young lioness from a large, impoverished household, about to start her first day of middle school, but after spending her entire Summer vacation caring for her many siblings, a grizzly image greets her in the mirror on her morning of preparation. Tufts of hair started growing on her head and neck, muddying her once feminine -if not average cub appearance. She grabs some scissors, but the hairs are dark like her father's and there's no masking them.
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> Even so, none of the students make fun of her over it; and she's assumed to be a boy, thanks to her unisex name and second-hand clothing that don't give her much of an identity. Whenever she corrects someone, it's taken for a joke, misunderstood, or conveniently not heard.
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> This goes on for years. Ash's manes keep growing while her frame stays expectedly small, though the notable size difference between her and the other puberty-stricken male lions isn't questioned by anyone.
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> Some classmates from middle school join her in high school, one of them Neema, a lioness who's always had a crush on her, but competition grows exponentially at their new school and more girls make their feelings known. Ash's first month comes with tons of misunderstood viewpoints about her and every lion treats her like the cool kid she clearly isn't.
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> It grabs the attention of a student one grade lower, jealous of the attention she's getting and seemingly the only one who isn't blind for the lack of work she puts into earning it.
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> Atlas is an overachiever who believes he should be worshipped instead, but fails to get anyone on his side, solely because of his manes' colour. Unlike Ash and her dark-brown hair, he's blond, thus considered ugly by his peers. It's not something he wants to accept and he works hard to make everyone see the truth about Ash, turning him into a bully and only worsening his reputation amongst the girls he wishes to impress.
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> While he's been on her back since 10th grade, she doesn't see an enemy in him and usually lets him vent, knowing that her school life has little bearing on her future and caring for her struggling family is where she'll return to after graduation. It's a dreary realization that makes her not put effort into studying or establishing any relationships, ironically making her seem more cool and confident in the eyes of her fans.
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***CHAPTER 2: Just Some Shenanigans**
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> It's a typical day. Ash is seated in the canteen, surrounded by lionesses, while envious boys look on from a distance -not wishing to disturb the "top tier male" and her harem. Except for Atlas, who huffs at the ridiculousness of it all and complains appropriately to his fellow jocks. But like always, they either disagree or talk over him with praises about his accursed rival.
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> Atlas gets up and walks over. Without giving any kind of greeting first, he challenges Ash to a match of any sport of her choosing, but she proclaims it's bad to exercise so soon after eating and doesn't care to engage with him besides that, even when Atlas starts throwing insults. Her fangirls take over and chase the random visitor away, leading to another failed attempt of publicly ridiculing Ash.
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> Since there's a 50% chance she gives in, or really, gets involved regardless, Atlas tries again the next day and approaches her in front of the entrance with the demand she steps down as the king of high school if he can do more push-ups than her. Their surroundings appear excited to see them in action and he feels hopeful things will go his way this time, even though Ash remains uneager. Luckily, her fangirls are persistent and wish to see their crush teach him a lesson.
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> Ash gets on her stomach and is easily defeated by the mountain of muscle. Atlas smiles with glee and hopes to embarrass her some more in front of everyone by asking why she hasn't moved at all. Ash jokes her push-ups were faster than the speed of light and she beat him in reality. Everyone cheers.
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> Atlas isn't sure if they liked the stupid joke or actually believed her claim, but their response leaves him angry all the same. Ash lost again, yet won again.
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> Another day passes, but this time, he finds Ash talking to Neema. He watches her stumble over her words, trying to ask Ash out on a date, who declines like the fool she is and then walks off like she didn't shatter someone's heart in pieces. He's baffled by her balls of leaving the most beautiful girl in school standing, but also takes the chance to ask Neema out instead. He walks over and proudly flexes his arm, but Neema barely lets him finish his opening line and leaves without a second of acknowledgement.
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> The fact this happened more than once is ego-busting and his hatred for Ash -who's always showered with love and countless of opportunities, yet rejects them all- keeps building.
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> The next day, Atlas and his classmates are scheduled to do a timed track run. Members from Ash's class are requested to join them to earn extra points for their overall PE score, if necessary. He seizes the opportunity and challenges her to a race, the winner getting a date with Neema. That they're not a couple and she can't tell Neema what to do is ignored, and with the gym teacher urging her to get ready, answering to the challenge loses its priority.
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> She doesn't want to run with the male students and worsen her grade because of a miscalculated average getting applied to her running time, and states she belongs in the girl's team, but the teacher misunderstands her for wanting to hang out with her many girlfriends and won't have it. Atlas makes it worse by arguing she's making up stuff as to avoid having to race him. The two have already mentally exhausted her and she accepts to play along with this moment of shenanigans, like always.
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> Atlas is ecstatic to show off with so many male competitors in front of so many girls, and speeds off like a bullet train. The other runners are fast, but look like hopping toddlers in comparison. Meanwhile, back near the start, is Ash. The teacher yells at her to pick up the pace, but Ash proclaims to have little energy and hasn't eaten today. She continues her lazy stroll, knowing nothing she'll do will make a difference, anyway.
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> When Atlas reaches the finish line mere seconds later, he celebrates and makes fun of her, but Ash only gives an O.K. sign back. He smirks and turns to his female audience, but they all have eyes for the loser, who's indifference is once again seen as attractive.
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> A new day, a new failure, but Atlas isn't one to give up. He knew to be the better man and he saw it as his job to let everyone know before Ash's graduation. If she were gone, he'd lose his chance to prove himself.
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> He spots her at the lockers in the hallway, once again surrounded by her groupies, and expresses wanting to have a real fight. Ash says that not to be appropriate inside the school building, a sentiment the girls visibly agree with, urging Atlas to dial it down to a simple arm wrestling match. Ash still isn't interested and walks away without giving a reason. Atlas calls him a coward and looks at the girls to determine if they agree, but they're in an especially good mood and don't see it that way.
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> Atlas hurries over to Ash and starts getting more into her space about it, which seems to push her buttons. Trying to suppress her annoyance, she says not to have time for him. He's a bit taken aback seeing the normally aloof Ash lose her temper with him, creating an opening for her to finally exit the conversation. The girls stay behind and cheer on their badass warrior in the face of the bully who tried to threaten her and begin bullying him instead.
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> The days repeat like this and have done so for the past 2 to 3 years. Ash is always the heartthrob with the nerves of steel, Atlas always the tryhard with the plain sun-bleached hair. He didn't understand it. Ash was a timid stick insect that always tried to run away from conflict; shameful behaviour for a male lion, while he did everything according to the books.
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> The more Atlas thinks about the unfairness of it all, the more his anger grows. Everything made him angry, because nothing was fair.
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> Grown tired of doing it the polite way, he settles on visiting Ash in private and make her fight him, so this time, an unmistakable victor will emerge.
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***CHAPTER 3: Just a Locker Room Brawl**
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> Ash is in the locker room after another boring hour of gym. Since she isn't allowed to change with the girls, she lingers until the unwanted naked bodies have dispersed and the space is hers alone. She hurriedly changes attire, something she taught herself early in life, but upon turning around, suddenly sees Atlas standing. She briefly wonders if he saw her, but he gets to the reason of his visit and apparently hasn't.
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> Atlas demands a real fight from her, which unsurprisingly gets declined. Ash then tries to leave for class, but he refuses to get out of her way and becomes increasingly hostile. He demands again, his patience fading concernedly fast, urging Ash to tell him to calm down. He takes it as patronizing language and lunges at her with his claws, which Ash barely avoids.
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> She understand he's got something to prove and thinks she and her fans enjoy ridiculing him, but her words don't de-escalate the situation and Atlas only grows more restless the more he's denied his fight. She continues evading his attacks and tries to reach the exit, but it doesn't take long for Atlas to realize she's too small of a target and throwing punches don't guarantee a hit.
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> He charges at her with all of his body, the size of which is practically impossible to avoid in the room they are now, and Ash is finally grabbed.
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> His next move makes clear he intends to throw her against whatever surface happens to break her fall, and she quickly grabs onto his manes. Atlas yanks and curses at the flea, but her grip is surprisingly strong. Nevertheless, her tone of voice is panicked and she knows it'll end badly for her if the rampage doesn't stop soon.
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> She begs him to stop, but he continues to pull and shake every limb, roaring with ear-shattering volume to get off of him. With not much else to do, she repeats herself until he no longer sees a threat in her and killing her loses its appeal.
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> He finally slows down after she offers him some consolation for the grief that pushed him to attack her. She proclaims nothing to be wrong about him and finally brings him to a stop by urging him to look her in the eye. He doesn't believe she understands his predicament enough to lecture him about his behaviour, nevertheless, Ash won't let go of his hair and has the demanding presence of a mother. He can't break eye contact and is shushed every time he tries to speak.
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> She targets his lack of experience with the world outside of their school building and ensures him real life isn't as pointlessly cruel; and will find himself many admirers when he graduates.
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> Her words aren't unreasonable, but with his resentment for her still a fact, Atlas can't think of much else to say and hurries out the room without as much as an apology.
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> Ash catches her breath, but decides not to report the incident to the headmaster and plans to wait and see if the narcissist with the hurt pride will attempt this again.
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***CHAPTER 4: Just A Girl**
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> Atlas heads back home feeling strange. He's irritated over letting Ash control him into submission, but something else about their scuffle felt off. Something about Ash. As she was leaning her body against his.. well, he wished he could explain it.
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> At night in bed, it continues to eat at his mind, until he finally falls asleep. As is often the case, he dreams to be a "prehistoric" quadruped lion ruling over a loyal, healthy pride, but then gets interrupted by a normal Ash, asking him what he's doing. He gets up on his back legs and scolds her for ruining his dreams now too. His animalistic lionesses look at Ash with interest, not making him any happier.
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> He orders her to get out, after which she reminds him of their earlier conversation; and he only needs to stay confident and kind to win the affection of the lionesses. But Atlas has no patience for the repetitive lecture and jumps her, scaring the lionesses away.
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> Atlas looks up to watch them run, and when he looks back down to where Ash once lied, she too is gone. Atlas is alone, though in the far distance, he hears the sharp laughter of the girls from school. The same one he'd hear when they're making fun of him. They're howling like dogs, a jab at their "Lassie" nickname for him, an often repeated practise. Then he wakes up.
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> The days after the incident aren't the same. The requests to duel have lessened, though Atlas remains combative and Ash's biggest critic. It doesn't convince anyone of his superiority, but it's all he knows.
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> Understanding he needs to find different avenues, though, he begins to wonder what else he could change about himself to increase his popularity. Since he's already muscular and a well-performing jock, it's hard to come up with anything he hasn't already thought about.
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> At the grocery store, he stares at the boxes of hair dye on the shelves. It wasn't the first time, but he already knew he had too much hair to effectively colour it without messing up the fur around it. To maintain it was another time-consuming hobby he didn't need in his life, really.
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> Since everyone already knows he's blond and there's no use in pretending otherwise at this point, he figures on fully abandoning this plan. There had to be a special diet or something else out there that darkened ones manes, just something less obvious than paint. He had to do more research.
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> More days pass, until Atlas finally draws new inspiration from some movies he watched. Though not too excited to try it out, he leaves the house once more to purchase a pack of cigarettes under the misguided belief smoking is for cool people. As he enters the grocery store and places his order at the customer service desk, Ash suddenly shows up, holding two large bags. She informs the clerk Atlas is underage and he should ask his ID for confirmation, then leaves.
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> Atlas is boiling over, but tries to seem mature in front of the clerk, surprised to learn the giant is apparently 16, though not willing to take any risks. Atlas is denied his cool sticks.
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> He heads outside with a grumpy face, then spots Ash still walking. He approaches her to sarcastically thank her for ruining the exchange. She gives him her welcome. He clarifies not to be grateful.
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> He's honest enough to answer what his plan was, and while she can't monitor him or tell him what to do, she assures him that an early death and carrying a piece of paper in your mouth aren't really cool. She advices him not to do it if he values his body odour and fitness as a jock, then takes her leave.
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> The stubborn Atlas naturally doesn't care for the opinion of his enemy and looks around the parking lot for other stores that might sell cigarettes, though the image of her pulling along two bags that are clearly too big and heavy has him contemplate pulling some mischief first. But, before he can settle on leaving her be, the warm breeze in the open space becomes a bit aggressive, and as Ash sets the bags down to reclaim her grip, Atlas is caught off-guard by what he sees.
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> Not only are the white shorts he thought she was wearing actually a skirt, his attention is drawn to an unexpected physical attribute. The physical attribute of there being no physical attribute.
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> After some immobilizing shock, a grin appears on his face and he gets out his smartphone. He quickly hunches down with the intent to snap a picture, giggling at the thought of pasting the photos all over school and destroying his despicable foe, but when the girl butt fills his screen, it's nothing short of demotivating and he hesitates to press the button. This was creepy. Was he really sitting there on a knee, pointing his phone at the bottom of someone's skirt?
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> He quickly gets up again and hides away his phone. He looks around, but it doesn't look like anyone noticed. Ash, on the other hand, stopped doing what she was doing and is looking at him. Atlas thinks about his next move for a few seconds, but still wanting to embarrass her, reverts to classic bullying and shouts at her if she's a girl. There weren't any lions around, so anyone listening in probably wouldn't care to learn there's a lioness looking like a boy in their midst, but Atlas hoped Ash would care. But she doesn't. She confirms it.
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> Baffled by the instant admission, he walks over and demands an explanation. Ash replies to have always said she's a girl and it was never a secret, then says her goodbye.
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> Atlas watches her walk away, stunned. He thinks back to the times she told him or others, and in hindsight, realizes she's done this very often, indeed. He feels stupid, and yet, fails to see a girl in her, no matter how hard he peers.
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***CHAPTER 5: Just a Game of Basketball**
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> A vigilant eye is kept on Ash. Atlas examines the interactions with her friends and supposed love interests, pays attention to her dressing style, and all the things she says, does, or doesn't say and do. Though he's seen what he's seen and Ash confirmed it, every new day makes him less sure.
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> Her voice, the clothes, the manes, the repeated lack of care in correcting people when she's misgendered, none of it supported she's a girl. But there was always that one day in the week where she'd wear that pink-with-baby-blue-striped tank top, that skirt, or corrected someone, and when she looked at him with those large amber eyes, he almost started to believe it again.
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> One day during endurance training, he witnesses her fail the track run for the who knows how manyth time. He meets up with her afterwards to ask why she won't be more vocal about her gender and spare herself the humiliation. Ash replies to have tried, but is never listened to.
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> He looks at the crew of usual fans sitting in the tribune, cheering on what they believe is a hunk of a man. He shouts at them to stop the worship and Ash is a girl, gasps filling the air upon hearing him insult their beloved. They bark and shout at him for his crime.
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> It's getting overly vitriolic and Ash gestures at the group to stop the ridicule, but for someone like him to get pitied by a mutant lioness is even worse than a beta male doing it, and he barks at her why she won't shave off her mane. She can't get rid of it without going fully bald and making herself look worse, but Atlas growls she's already ugly, thus it not to matter.
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> Ash inserts some silence in the conversation already gone hostile, then asks him to sit down in the grass with her. He doesn't want to, but she argues he's too tall and needs to look him in the eyes. That's even weirder, but like last time, her persistence and gaze has him give in anyway.
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> She asks if he'd shave his manes, since he's been called ugly over it. Her earlier answer becomes somewhat understandable, yet the claim they're similar isn't appreciated by Atlas much. She pushes him to recall their time in the locker room and declares he needs to find back his lost confidence, which he also takes as an insult. She notes him on the fact he's angry over not getting other people's approval, and adds not to want this image people have of her, just to be a girl. Atlas huffs she's not even trying to be a girl and should be grateful to have the love and attention of her fans. Ash says to have no interest in girls and they don't know her, making their love superficial. He thinks that to be irrelevant and she should be happy regardless, especially since they're pretty, unlike her. Atlas is tired of talking to her and leaves, grumbling more insults she can't make out.
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> While she's known him for almost 3 years, what he and every other student in school have in common is that she knows nothing about them. She never cared to. But to learn she's the cause of someone else's stress, even if it's for no fair reason, isn't how she wanted her school year to end and the conversation sticks with her for a short while.
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> Nevertheless, her long-standing indifference is a powerful force and Ash doesn't change her ways. She has no interest in overly feminine clothing, clothing she doesn't even own or can afford, and thus, her dressing style stays the same. Her voice is what it is and raising the pitch would just sound stupid and fake, and thus, her voice stays the same. No one believed she's a girl, there was nothing else to try, so why try.
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> Being the popular kid in school, it doesn't take long for another unwanted development to occur; and Ash gets a personal invite to try out for a basketball scholarship, or rather, be an additional team member in a still incomplete group of mostly approved talents. But very typical of her, she barely pays attention to the captain's chatter and thinks it concerns a normal basketball game. Even more typical, it doesn't matter she declines and a trial match awaits her at the next gym class.
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> All boys from her class are present, excited for the chance to become a professional basketball player, but notably, Atlas as well. It wasn't that strange, he's an exceptional athlete and likely received a proper invite.
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> The girls are given the less exciting task of playing badminton while they go through the elimination process. There were many reasons why they didn't care to have a go at it, one being the disinterest in getting flung around by testosterone-crazed men three times their size. Which was fair. The prodigies in question consisted out of fast-footed, large animal species and those unusually tall for their species. Their legs were long, their body muscular; either one or both was the bare minimum requirement to earn yourself a special invitation. Atlas fit right in. Ash truly didn't.
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> Though these big boys are practically a warning sign for the likes of her, Ash remains calm. The less well-built contenders were also keeping their cool, then again, the animal kingdom is cruel and a male's burden was the feeling of shame if he did not accept a challenge. They didn't stand a chance, but were prepared to let themselves get snapped in half just to avoid being stamped a coward.
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> It's a concern Ash doesn't share, but whenever she tries to mosey off to the other side of the room to bat some feather cones, the teacher or a player pulls her back in. She had to "quit it with the womanizing" and stay as their VIP contestant. It was one of those days.
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> Meanwhile, the girls are insatiable and many abandon their boring badminton game with fake claims of feeling ill. Gawking at the boys was more interesting. Though suspicious of them, the gym teacher is a cheetah man and can't nor wants to guess what's ailing them, so agrees to let them take a seat. They didn't look sick, but did look ready to watch these semi-pro players kill some nerds.
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> The first match starts. Atlas is a force to be reckoned with and carries the team, whether they like it or not, yet none of it impresses the Ash fangirls, who consider him a try-hard and laugh at his efforts. Those more vertically challenged and without basketball experience are quick to see what's up and wisely linger near the edge of the court, sparing themselves from getting trampled. Ash, on the other hand, stands around without a care or idea of what to do. The players have no eyes for her and she's in constant risk of getting bumped against or hit by a limb, and though she tries to avoid the danger, it always finds her, because of course it does.
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> It makes Atlas feel on edge, if not annoyed, who asks why she's even here. She can't pretend to remember. He urges her to leave, to which she says to need the points and she's seemingly forbidden to play badminton instead. Enough of the nonsense, he picks her up by the shoulders and loudly proclaims she's a weak little girl and thus shouldn't be here. Ash agrees.
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> Silence then follows, until the gym teacher expresses disappointment for all the shameless bullying he's witnessed so far and warns Atlas and the audience to stop. The game continues on, no matter how serious Atlas tries to make himself sound.
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> It's surprising to learn Ash wasn't lying about the difficulty of convincing people and he wonders if they should pull down her pants. Ash concludes that dying on the basketball court is the more favourable option.
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> Since it'd be foolish to let her play, he orders her to move to the sideline like the other losers, but the gym teacher won't allow for any aimless standing around and orders her to get in there, earning her another scolding from Atlas. It's all very overwhelming, but Ash does what he asks and pretends to be involved by raising her hands and sidestepping, if the motivation allows for it. The audience starts to cheer, despite her visibly not doing anything.
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> A stray ball then speeds towards the floor between her legs and bounces up to hit her in the crotch. The room shrieks. Ash gives a cramped response, though it's tame compared to a man's, and some players commend her for not crying. Atlas turns to her and asks why it even hurts, but she says he'd be surprised.
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> Upon seeing there's a monopoly on the ball and it's always the same people who stand around doing nothing, the gym teacher settles on rearranging the teams before restarting the game. Ash and Atlas are now on opposite sides, something he's initially grateful for, yet discovers is even worse. The captain of the prodigies is now her ally, who doesn't care to uphold Atlas' safety measures and expects her to play ball like one of them.
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> He chooses her to jump ball against the way larger Atlas, a preposterous move in a normal situation, but one the "sick" audience members on the bench applaud with genuine excitement. Atlas looks down at his wormy opponent, looking even smaller and sadder than usual. The captain carefully looks on, hoping to discover what makes Ash so special amongst the lion community, something he as a tiger is unfamiliar with.
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> The teacher throws the ball in the air. Atlas looks focused and confident, until Ash the noob distracts him by jumping way too early. Like slow motion, his attention moves back down, where he sees her futilely grab at something that isn't there. Her body lightly scrapes his and her arms touch his bouncy manes during the journey. Atlas' mind goes blank when her eyes move from the ball to his and seemingly stare at him forever. Back on the ground, she runs away.
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> He stands there until the voices of his teammates finally shake him awake. He let Ash grab the ball and the other team just scored a point. He has no excuse to give his confused allies and growls in embarrassment.
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> The captain is impressed by what he's seen, even though he can't explain it. Atlas has proven himself to be an indestructible force with no weaknesses, but the chance Ash can help them win is encouraging and he tasks her to block him whenever he gets too close to the hoop. She says not to know how and the captain doesn't explain, trusting her to know when it happens.
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> Since this isn't a situation where she can dial down the effort *and* keep the bones in her body, she tries to mimic what she sees and plays goalie the best she can, but Atlas is a one-man team and knows how to score without crossing much distance. Her team does its best to hinder his movements, forcing him to come closer to the hoop and deal with Ash. With her jumps being so bad, he doesn't consider it a problem and allows them to guide him to her, but then it happens again. She jumps way too early and brushes against him.
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> Then, the whistle blows. The other side scored a point again. He looks around like a lost deer, lamenting what happened during these lost seconds of his life.
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> The flustered Atlas doesn't take it this time and proclaims Ash touched him, which should nullify their victory. The gym teacher finds it dubious he didn't bring it up when it mattered, but when Ash confirms she pushed his torso by accident, he agrees to retract the score. Her honesty doesn't earn her favour with everyone, but the captain argues it was honourable and trusts she'll tame Atlas again.
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> Atlas sees his predicament as a hurdle he needs to overcome and prove Ash isn't the better player, but she keeps touching him, messing up his charge attacks or stopping him in his tracks. He makes sure to rat her out whenever he can, but now it's Ash who isn't taking it and states his manes are thick and hard to avoid. It's impossible to disagree with that, leaving Atlas with nothing else to complain about.
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> He sneers at her, but she gives a careful smile back and says to have kinda fun playing basketball. He knows her only task is to disturb his concentration, he's far from impressed by her basketball skills, yet her smile is an odd sight he takes notice of. It reminds him that in the years he's known her, he's never seen her smile.
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> The game continues on for a bit. Atlas' team barely secures the win, despite his wandering mind, but the prodigies aren't interested in him and instead swarm Ash. The captain announces to want her for their team and the scene makes Atlas hot and cold with rage. He heads over to ask why she's the winner, to which the captain replies he is not a team player and they value fun as much as they do talent. If no one gets the ball, it's not fun, therefore pointless. Atlas snarls that throwing around balls is a waste of time if he can score without the help, only proving the captain's point.
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> The tiger asks Ash is she's interested, who says to doubt she'll be useful with her absent basketball experience. He smiles that not to matter and none of them will be playing any professional matches until they've gone through proper training.
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> Ash feels conflicted. She knows the answer should be no; she doesn't have time to pursue a career or hobby like this, but the enjoyment she felt makes her hesitate to say anything at all.
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> Atlas exhales with impatience and tells her to accept, whereafter he exits the gym.
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***CHAPTER 6: Just a Rematch**
 (Click "Expand" to read)>*

> Ash is waiting for all boys to leave for the showers so she can sneak away unbothered. Winner or loser, the mood was good and their singing and hollering reminiscent of a bunch of drunks in a bar. Ash craved hot water after the workout -comparatively to her usual gym experience- but knows better than to waste time standing around and skips changing clothes the moment the coast is clear.
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> But this is a comedy, so she's surprised by some guy who basically spawned into existence and carried into a world she did not wish to see.
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> Everyone greets the new prodigy, still wearing her shirt and sweatpants as water gushes over her. Ash appreciates the kindness, though it sure is hard to avoid all these collarbone-level crotches. She has an excellent poker face, though, and the only one to enter a visible panic is Atlas standing in the corner. He breaks out of his sulking the moment he hears her name being dropped and looks unsure of what to do. He's feeling bashful and doesn't want to turn around and expose himself, but by doing nothing, worries these guys high on their own amusement will throw her around like a rag and strip her down. It wasn't the kind of revenge he was into.
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> He carefully side-eyes their interaction. Ash is calm like usual, but also set on going home and makes that clear. But the captain stops her and urges again to accept his offer. Ash repeats not to know anything about the sport, but that's an excuse already irrelevant. With her attire soaked anyway, he tells her to stay so he may share his game plan. With one swoop, she's picked up and her shirt pulled off, then placed over his shoulder. Atlas cringes.
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> He tells her what role he wants her to play in every hypothetical competition, banking on the element of surprise by letting her master a different technique every time. Her short stature is believed to be a beneficial problem for the world of basketball to deal with, since the sport is dominated by tall players. Ash listens with interest, though wonders if she has the skills to enact any of these strategies. He smiles not to worry, since basketball is a team sport and she's not expected to carry the whole game -a likely jab at the staring Atlas, who frowns appropriately.
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> He politely pats her butt, a move that seemingly makes Atlas more nervous than Ash, and declares she has the "Aye Eyes" and will be a force to be reckoned with regardless. Upon asking what that entails, he clarifies to have learned the term from a primate and she has magic in her stare that can petrify others. Her game with Atlas is supposedly proof of that. Atlas quietly scoffs at the nonsensical voodoo claim, but says nothing.
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> When the conversation comes to a natural end, the captain suddenly flips her around. He suggests she thinks about it and washes up, his hand going for her sweatpants. Atlas speeds towards her when the fabric gets pulled down, then runs away with her to the dressing area. The captain calls after him, and not wanting any of them to follow, Atlas shouts he needs to talk to Ash in private.
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> The boys smirk and decide to let him waste his time and energy complaining to Ash.
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> She is put down on the floor and thanks him for getting her out. He doesn't want to talk or look at her, so throws his towel over her and turns around. He says to act as her folding screen in case one of them comes walking and she promises it won't take long.
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> He does his best to stay put, but curiosity moves muscles when they shouldn't. His head wants to turn around and see how feminine this "tomboy" really is. If it was possible he saw wrong and she lied to him. Something inside of him preferred it. It was easier to curse at and pick fights with someone of the same gender, common animal nature, but to fight a girl made no sense. But she was still beating him at everything and had everything he wanted. So, he had to fight her.
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> Ash throws his own towel back over him and walks past. It only took her a few seconds, in the end. She says to see him again later, and though he contemplates talking with her about the basketball situation, he doesn't and watches her disappear.
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> The next day, school transpires as usual, though he's not felt particularly motivated to approach Ash and cause one of his scenes. During lunchtime, his friends watch her and her many lackeys offering her their unhealthy snacks, and can't help but ask how he managed to get rejected by the prodigies. Atlas mutters they're probably afraid of talent that surpasses theirs, but doesn't want to talk about it further.
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> After school, when most students have gone home, he lingers around and rests on the brick wall separating school property. Thinking to be alone, he gets out a cigarette and looks at it. Since happiness is forbidden, a small hand steals it away from him before it can reach his mouth. He looks to the side and sees it's Ash.
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> After her low-effort PSA of saying he shouldn't smoke, he reaches out and demands to have it back, but she rips it in pieces and puts it in one of her pockets. Since he's not going berserk over it, she knows he has more hidden away and wants those as well. He grumbles if she thinks she's his mother, to which she replies his mother can use a hand if this is what he's doing behind her back.
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> He tells her to get lost with that and wants to leave, but she starts searching him. Just as quickly as she can change clothes, she's holding bundles of paper sticks to confront Atlas with. She reinstates this won't make him cooler and further he's cool enough. Atlas isn't charmed by the compliment and doesn't believe it in the face of all he's been through. He decides to share his opinion on yesterday's injustice and believes he deserves to play in the big league. She replies not to have made a decision yet and they'll surely pick him if she doesn't accept. He snaps they should've never picked her in the first place and clearly made their choice based on popularity.
>
> Atlas swipes at her for his cigarettes. She steps back and looks at a nearby sewer drain. He advises her not to do it and argues interfering is pointless anyway, since he can light one up when she's not around. She concurs, but vows to stop him whenever she can. Atlas grumbles at his self-assigned babysitter why she's suddenly made him her target.
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> He then thinks to himself. With his temper improved, he suggests playing a basketball match. If he wins, he gets his cigarettes and she declines the scholarship, and the reverse in case she wins. Since this appears to mean so much to him, she agrees and joins him in the fenced basketball court a few steps away.
>
> Upon arrival, they pick a hoop to defend, but the tone for what's to come has really been set when Ash doesn't seem to understand the game can be played without a group of people helping her. Atlas replies it can be done, easily so, unlike what certain people claim.
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> With no doubt in his mind he'll defeat her, she may start off the round and he throws her the ball. Ash bounces the ball onto the ground using both hands, her smile increasing as she does, and takes her sweet time getting the hang of one of the most basic manoeuvres in basketball. It's not pretty and Atlas watches on in unfiltered bewilderment. To think real, experienced players looked at this louse and saw a victorious future for them in her was laughable. He'd have to do everyone a favour by having her suffer a crushing defeat.
>
> With no biased audience members to cheer on this mess, the sadness of it all was extra palpable, if not a pleasure to see. He's felt jealous and vengeful towards her for so unbearably long, it was a soothing experience. To give her that smidgen of false hope, he allows her to crawl towards his free and fully accessible hoop. Ash arrives some time today, and attempts a throw. And another one. Then a jump and a throw. Literally none of them even reached the hoop. Atlas crosses his arms, his grin widening. Alright, time to reduce this loser into tears.
>
>
> He steals the airborne ball, speeds across the court, and scores. The iron basketball stand whimpers when hit by the weight of his giant hand, while the ball itself crashes down the pavement with what only can be compared to as the sound of a firing gun.
>
> Ash strolls over and gives him an applause for the good play, then holds out her hands to receive the ball again. It wasn't the reaction he hoped to get; she looked to be having fun. He reminds her there are stakes at play and throws it to her, but Ash remains unhurried and still dribbles around the place like a 6-year-old.
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> He keeps stealing her balls, but there was not a tear or a grunt from her. Her smile had gotten so big on that emotionally monotone face of hers, it started making him feel weird again.
>
>
> Suddenly, she scores her first point.
>
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> Atlas looks over his shoulder. She moved to the other side and climbed the stand to thrown the ball through the hoop. How and when, he could not say. Last thing he could remember is that she was standing in front of him, futilely defending her goal, looking straight at him. With those eyes.
>
>
> ..He ponders if the captain might've been right about magic body parts being real, but his parents would likely say "it's mental trickery", and he valued their opinion over that of some dumb tiger who chose "Ashtray the runt" over a real athlete. Nevertheless, he didn't like this.
>
> But Ash spares him from having to complain about not wanting to be looked at (how can you?) and she admits defeat. It'd be hard for her to score over 100 points just to catch up with him. Again, she didn't look upset and she reveals to have never planned on taking the scholarship. He asks why not and calls it foolish to reject an opportunity to fame and riches, to which she offers silence, until saying she's not in a situation where she can be gone from her family for long periods to train or travel the world as a professional player. It's not an achievable future.
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>
> She adds he's a great player and to deserve it. Atlas stares her down, then smirks arrogantly and agrees.
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***CHAPTER 7: Just a Home Visit**
 (Click "Expand" to read)>*

> Not wholly unexpected by both Ash and Atlas, Atlas is welcomed in by the prodigies after she officially turned them down. They set out to find the best player, and if that wasn't going to be Ash, then it was Atlas.
>
> He joins them at practise whenever he can, where he's tasked to learn how to apply teamwork in his moveset, since there was little else he needed training for. He was otherwise perfect. Except for his attitude.
>
>
> During a practise session in the fenced basketball court, a visitor suddenly shows up and sits herself down to watch. One of the players notices it's Ash and heads over to ask if she changed her mind, but she's there to watch Atlas, so he turns around in disappointment. Atlas is glancing at her and she politely waves back, then gets out a notebook.
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> They start playing, Ash scribbling in her book in the meantime. During one of their breaks, he heads over to ask why she's here, to which she says to be documenting him for a future rematch. He chuckles to have good luck with that. She thanks him.
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> Back on the court, the captain laments not having her, since their squad could've used some eye candy to help attract a female fanbase. Atlas finds the claim Ash has any appeal laughable and states that being the best athlete is all that matters. Unexpectedly, the captain concurs and expresses confusion for how a shrimp like her is popular amongst a species that worships strength.
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> Atlas is caught off-guard to hear these words from a guy who's acted so supportive towards her just a day prior. It's nothing he doesn't disagree with, and yet, he feels irritated to hear him insult her while he waves kindly at the bench. This group never believed in her as a player. They barely saw themselves as players; it sounded like they wanted to be a boyband and dreamed of getting surrounded by thirsty groupies for them to abuse. That they actually knew how to play basketball was a miracle, though compared to him, they appeared incompetent. It didn't sit well with him how angry they got whenever he took the reigns and revealed that. Were these guys "the best amongst the worst" or he "too good for everyone"?
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> It was hard to figure out these prodigies. They acted upbeat and supportive towards others and each other, yet the days kept passing, and he still couldn't call them his friend. The dishonesty towards Ash, the fact they didn't even want him at first, yet got accepted without hesitation, it was shady.
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> The worst thing about it was that he saw himself in these losers. He started working out and playing sports under the believe it'd make him popular -that girls would see him standing. He should've felt at home with these guys, but he didn't. They were fake.
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>
> After a few weeks or so, the news goes around that Atlas left the prodigies and they're again looking for a member. It doesn't help his reputation and he's deemed a quitter; shameful behaviour for a man.
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> The only one interested to know why he quit is Ash, who happens to find him in the grocery store the same day the news of his leave spreads. He's browsing the beer cans in the alcohol section, so she greets him by pulling him away from his next weird attempt at looking cool. Before he can start a tirade, she instructs him to help her with her shopping, and her persistence proves powerful indeed. Without knowing the why even, Atlas walks along with her like a whipped husband.
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> She asks if he had fun with the prodigies, but Atlas just huffs at the question and instead asks if he can go back to his own shopping. Ash states alcohol is bad and will ruin his body, then requests him to get a bar of dish soap. Atlas stands around for a bit, but eventually heads of.
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> Upon his return, Ash is still lingering in the diaper section. It's an embarrassing place to be seen and Atlas wants to leave, so Ash agrees to move on without getting diapers at all. He then finds himself stationed in front of the baby food, not much of an improvement.
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> He sees her struggling to make a decision, annoying him greatly, which he lets her know. She makes her pick and they finally head for the checkout. It's a sad amount of groceries for the time they've wasted and Atlas sarcastically thanks her for dragging him along. She accepts his utterings of gratitude. He calls her an idiot.
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> Hoping to finally free himself of her, he squeezes past the checkout aisle, allowing him to take a quick glance of the inside of her wallet. It's nothing like anything he's ever seen, but he keeps his comments to himself.
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> On the parking lot, she gives him one last warning not to try anything stupid, then says her goodbye. Atlas contemplates going back inside for his beer, but notices one of the baby food jars poking out of a hole in her worn-out grocery bag. He hesitates, but considering Ash's budget and the little food she bought, decides to speak up about it. To let an infant go hungry just so he could point and laugh at Ash wasn't his style.
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> Since she's not making the hole any smaller, he walks over and puts the withering bag in his arms, grumbling to quit it with the pointless fiddling and he'll carry it instead. Ash thanks him for the trouble and the two head over to her house with little else to say.
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> He briefly breaks the silence to ask if she's planning to go back to the prodigies, but she says not so and watching their matches was just for fun. Atlas expresses it was hardly fun and they seemed like an untrustworthy lot who'd stab you in the back for a taste of fame. She wonders the worth of an assumption and asks if he didn't make a mistake leaving, but he insists they're scumbags.
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> Ash's neighbourhood is a bit of a culture shock for Atlas. Though the terraced homes aren't badly constructed, they don't look new or clean, and the front lawns of every resident is small and either barren or a trash hill. Atlas sneers at the overly curious people watching him from their unmaintained gardens and cloudy windows.
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> As they arrive at her front door, her neighbour's curtains open and an old, mean-looking baboon peers a hole in his face. Atlas bears his fangs at her, but there's no response and she continues to stare with unblinking eyes. While Ash is looking for her key, she picks up on the confrontation and reassures him she's not a threat.
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> But rude stares were everywhere, inviting him to a brawl, it was driving him insane. He was surprised Ash could ignore them, since direct and prolonged eye contact with large predators like them was a no, unless you knew each other or really wanted a knuckle in your face.
>
> ..Ash often looked people in the eye, though. Was this why the girls at school were so fond of her; did they think she was strong and fearless because she had no manners and stared everyone down like these hoodlum beggars? Atlas frowns whilst letting his thoughts go wild. Was that the secret to her success..? Not her manes? Couldn't be, right?
>
> He looks at her, busy straightening her bent front door key so it would fit in the lock. Pathetic. Feeling his impatient stare on the back of her head, she turns around and carefully smiles it's normal and won't take long. As he already figured out, her eyes immediately went for his. Crazy, she acted like a high status lion would, yet, he didn't feel challenged by her. He can't remember a time her gaze made him feel challenged.
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> The door opens. He isn't sure if he's allowed to enter and doesn't really want to, but she makes the decision for him, since he's the one carrying the groceries and the sound of a crying child has her priority. He parks himself in the tiny hallway, in front of the exit and ready to flee this mess.
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> Upon hearing her voice, an unholy load of cubs come running from the living room to greet her, including the crying child with whatever problem he's going through, but upon noticing he's there too, the mood shifts instantly. The children, all different ages, look at him with large, frightened eyes. Ash, whilst attending to her hurt half-sibling, tries to soothe them and introduces Atlas, but to learn their sister knows him isn't changing their expression in any way.
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> He doesn't like to be treated like a swamp beast when there are more dubious people living right outside their door and asks what's up with them. Ash is a bit surprised by his obliviousness and says it's normal for lion cubs to be cautious of male strangers. He doesn't understand, to which she clarifies children tend to get abused by men who aren't their biological father. For only child Atlas with happily married parents, he's never heard of this concept and doubts her siblings are exhibiting healthy behaviour. Ash doesn't know what else to say, except that it is what it is.
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> She asks him to drop the groceries in the kitchen. The children flinch and run back into the living room the moment the mountain of muscle moves.
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> She opens the fridge, an empty void holding one solitary egg, and places the baby food and cheap pack of soup bones she purchased inside. The only other thing left to put away were the roles of toilet paper. None of it was enough for a household littered with children, but Atlas doesn't want to make it his concern and desperately wants to leave this dreary cave of irresponsibility. Ash thanks him for the help and finally lets him go.
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> It wasn't how he planned to spend his time after another lousy day at school, but he imagined Ash didn't either. Was there anyone at school who knew she was playing surrogate mother to 10+ siblings? Was there anyone who knew she didn't have the money to? Where was her mother?
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> Why did he even care..
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***CHAPTER 8: ...**
 (Click "Expand" to read)>*

> A month passes and to the outside world, everything was as it's always been, but Ash and Atlas are seen standing together more often than usual.
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> Ash the seclusionist offers him assistance or leftover goods when she thinks he needs it, which is an act of generosity students with a more favourable view of her rarely enjoy. Atlas returns her kindness, but with temper tantrums and aloofness. He continues to challenge her, she continues to slap cigarettes out of his mouth; and the two often play a game of basketball after school hours.
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> If anyone cared to pay attention, "friends" is what they'd be called, yet Atlas is in denial and Ash thinks giving someone attention is the trait of a caretaker.
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> One day, he finds her in the grocery store again. He nervously sneaks away, not feeling like getting lectured over a crime he's not trying to commit, but the products in her cart remind him of his last home visit. It's still the cheapest trash the store had to offer, yet about enough to feed two preteen lions. Once.
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> He heads over to scold her for buying her family bones for dinner, but she has an optimistic demeanour and proclaims many pots of soup can be made with it. He insists children need meat or else they'll grow up a failure like her, to which she replies the bones will have to do for now.
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> As she walks away to her next product of interest, Atlas' anger is growing. Like, what other emotions does this kid have. He waits and waits, waiting for her to speak up and ask for help, maybe do a little sad spiel to convince him, but Ash never did. She knew he came from a rich family, everyone did, it was the first thing he advertised when he came to high school. Why not make use of that. Absolute idiot.
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> The stubborn Atlas hated stubborn people, so figures on doing what she couldn't and grabs some food and that baby stuff she wasted those precious minutes of his life staring at last time. He meets her at the checkout desk and tells her to get out of the way. The hefty fee is paid and the bags left behind on the floor, while Ash still has to place down her packet of slaughterhouse waste on the conveyor belt. Atlas swiftly turns around to throw that crap on the cashier's lap, not pleasing her much, and snaps at her to forget about it. Ash thanks him, though her voice sounds less sure than usual.
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> Nevertheless, she heads for the bags without making any kind of fuss and attempts to pick them up, but it's too many and too heavy to carry. Atlas, standing in the door opening, understands he'll have to assist her once again.
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> Everything is thrown in a box and carried to her house. He wasn't looking forward to it and he hated the thought of being seen with her in busy public spaces, but he offered, and he was a man of his word.
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> After giving her baboon neighbour a long, dirty look, he's given entrance to the depression cave. Ash's arrival again spawns a sea of children coming to see her, who again stop in their tracks when they notice him. Since he's hesitant to move with their large eyes glued on him, Ash walks back and places a comforting hand on his torso, telling her siblings he is a friend from school. This is news to Atlas and he tells her as much. She gives him a content smile, but doesn't respond.
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> She then tells everyone to sit down in the living room and let them take care of the groceries. Just like last time, they obey, even the toddlers who can barely walk. Atlas is impressed, but sees no reason to let her know.
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> In the kitchen, she unpacks the box, until the diapers come in reach and she asks if he's willing to do her a favour. He calls her quite bold after doing this much for her already, whereafter silence follows. He wanted to get out of there. There was an unsettling atmosphere in the house, like something crazy could happen at any moment. It stressed him out greatly.
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> ..But because of that, he understood there was no moment of rest of Ash, either. She lived here, this is what she came home to every day, playing mother for her own brothers and sisters, the youngest calling her "dad", of all things.
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> With palpable reluctance, he asks what else she needs, whereafter she hands him a jar of baby food. She asks if he's willing to feed the triplets in the living room, while she goes upstairs to the other babies to give them a diaper. He's dumbstruck to hear there are more children hidden around the place, but though he states never to have done this before, he agrees to try. She responds with gratitude and tells him not to worry about helping her unpack, as she'll be starting on dinner anyway.
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> Ash heads upstairs, while Atlas enters the living room. All eyes are on him again, and not seeing Ash with him makes some of them flee behind and under the dusty, old couch. A small TV is turned on, but the volume is low and Atlas doubts they didn't hear them talk just now, but decides to announce the purpose of his presence, anyway. It calms no one.
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> Three babies sit on a blanket on the floor. He approaches them and sits down, but two of them are immensely afraid and refuse to come near. The other one is too busy trying to stand up to care about what's going on. Atlas points his large finger at the child, grabbing his attention and leading him to lean onto it. He raises his hand, helping the child stand. The baby appreciates his new partner in crime. The rest of the room is a skeptical audience, though, and don't trust to see the clawed hand of a stranger near one of their littlest brothers. It didn't matter to them that Ash vouched for him, their mother vouched for every man that ended up harming them.
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> Atlas knows he's unwelcome, but there was no leaving now. He decides to go for it and picks up the baby. The other two yelp in fear as they watch it happen and the rest at the other side of the room flinch. The truth was that none of them could do anything if something were to transpire. They only had Ash to depend on, who purposely left him with them.
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> Atlas lies the baby down in his arm. He weighed nothing. He's experienced Summer breezes heavier than this child. Like most children in the room, he was short and had a starved appearance.
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> Atlas scoops up some food, but it was admittedly hard. He was very large, while the jar, the spoon, and his target were miniscule. It doesn't take long for him to get the hang of it, though, and the baby coos approvingly. The food that was meant for him and the other two disappears in his gut, but Ash soon shows up to hand more jars and compliment his efforts. Atlas frowns. If anyone were to see him like this, he'd definitely get made fun of, but this one baby was kinda cute.. and there were still two other starving faces he had to try and persuade.
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> Ash is heard messing around in the kitchen and some of the children want to go see, but remain too nervous to walk past Atlas. He was getting real tired of being the boogieman in this household, so he tries to reassure them by slighting turning away from them as he hovers his spoon to the still shivering babies, who keep refusing him and the food.
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> Finally, Ash returns with pots and plates. She places them down on the coffee table and tells them to eat up. It's more than they've ever had and the mere smell of it makes them forget Atlas is still in the room. She asks if he wants some as well, but he declines. Instead of having this extra portion herself, she gives it to her disorderly siblings and returns to the kitchen.
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> He follows behind to see what else she's busy with, but sees her already starting on the dishes. He asks if she shouldn't eat something, but she clarifies his food is for the children and she has her soup. Atlas protests he bought it for everyone and tells her to eat, which she still refuses. She explains they cannot live off of his generosity forever and need to value what he's given them, and her partaking entails one of them will have less. Atlas states she needs it just as much as they do and she's a slave in her own home.
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> *<under construction>*
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***CHAPTER 9: ...**
 (Click "Expand" to read)>*

> *<under construction>*
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## Characters

### Ash

   Ash is a lioness and one of the popular kids in school, crushed on by every lioness. She is 18 years old.

She comes from a large household that's seen many men come and go, every one of them violent or criminal in some way -with her own father being the worst and ending up in prison for the attempted murder of her little brother, who he doubted was his child. As the eldest, she feels obligated to ease her mother's stress; and she became a second parent to her many half-siblings.

Giving up meals for their sake made her grow up rather scrawny, yet her genes in combination with her position as leader in the house caused her to develop manes in this "pride" that lacks a father figure. Her youngest siblings tend to mistake her for their father, while Ash's lonely mother is hesitant to find love again and lets her do the work of a man, without concern for how it'll restrict her daughter's future.

While she's small, lives in poverty, has average grades, and doesn't play any sports with genuine interest, her chocolate-brown manes puts her in an unwanted spotlight and makes her the target of envy and desire by her male and female peers. No matter what she says or how hard she fails at something, spectators keep making excuses for it and she can't shed her title as the popular boy in school.

Ash doesn't care for the attention and considers her time at school a necessary phase she has to go through until she can pursue a proper job and provide better care for her siblings.

Ash has a low voice that usually exudes calmness -if not monotone disinterest- and it in combination with her choice of words tends to get her out of situations she'd rather not deal with. She refrains from using swears or personal insults and will advice or defend anyone -behaviour that points back to her role of substitute parent back at home. As such, most people see a warm and wise person in her, despite her habit of fleeing from social interaction and the mediocre performances in class, which fellow students just attribute to her being "cool".

She's often distracted with her mind on her family, but her aversion to studying and participating with leisure activities is also on purpose, since she believes it to be a waste of time with so many siblings still depending on her care. She ends up liking basketball, but gives up on the offer to train and join a professional team.

Though Atlas does his best to push her buttons, she doesn't consider him her enemy, yet feels on edge by the unwanted attention and selective hearing of her surroundings; who never seem to pick up on her vocal correction she's a girl. She seemingly factors in Atlas' age and talks to him like she does her siblings, which is something he brings up and expresses displeasure for, though Ash doesn't see how it's any different from how she speaks to the other students.

When Atlas discovers she's a girl and gradually treats her like one, it warms her up to him more, showing how greatly she desires to be recognized as a girl. Since she's always been pursued by misinformed girls only, though, she's not quick to realize he has romantic interest in her.

Ash has golden fur, amber eyes, a dark-brown nose, and dark, messy manes that are long at the top, but barely developed around her neck. She wears brandless second-hand clothes only, usually devoid from fancy buttons and frills that could help people guess her gender better. She tends to wear pants, but even when wearing skirts, people mistake them for shorts and stay none the wiser.

*<under construction>*

### Atlas

   Atlas, called "Ad" by friends and tauntingly "Lassie" by most female students, is a lion and Ash's ineffective bully. He is 16 years old.

He's the son of a Barbary lion and Katanga lioness. Despite him having a rare father, coming from a wealthy and respected family, and being an unbeatable jock with a strong physique and enormous manes for his age, he's unpopular to a comical degree and considered ugly and lame because he's blond; which lionesses find less attractive compared to dark manes.

His personality isn't helping him much, since he's boastful, believes in stereotypes, and is overly flirty, though doesn't seem to have any real romantic interest in anybody and is merely looking for the confirmation he's a catch. Because he rarely to never gets people's approval, he feels disdain for his surroundings, but directs this anger to one target and blames her for all his misfortune; the loved and popular Ash.

He's always out trying to best her and always "beats her", yet no one ever acknowledges his victories, annoying him greatly. While he likes to act mature and people outside of school easily mistake him for an adult man, he has plenty of traits more typical for his age, like his pettiness and ideas of what it means to be "cool". He started working out and became a jock just to impress, and eventually, contemplates taking up smoking and drinking alcohol as a simple-minded attempt to best Ash in the popularity game.

In a twist of events, she is the only one who treats him with some respect, even compared to his own clique of friends who mainly hang out with him because they too are jocks. He refused to see it for a long time, not until he started having conversations with her not related to challenging one another.

While he already felt something off about her the first time their bodies connected during a near-escalation in the gym locker room, he understood where his feelings came from when meeting up with her in a skirt on a breezy day.

His animosity for her lessens after her initial attempt of reinstating his weakened confidence -even if he remains jealous of her.

Though he hates to have learned it's always been a hairy female that beat him at everything and it takes a while to warm up to her, she ends up being his best and only friend. Nevertheless, it takes even longer for him to get over her appearance and jokes about her being ugly continue on for a fair bit.

Their friendship leads to Atlas developing empathy for the first time, and his empathy for her has him see the person she wants to be. Him acknowledging her gender softens her up to him, and to receive her appreciation, trust, and even mere touch makes him increasingly nervous in her presence. Finding himself thinking about her so often in the privacy of his home, he realises to have developed a crush.

While there are many negatives about Atlas, he's not without positives. He's organized in many ways; and will follow whatever schedule he or others set out for him, has an unusually tidy bedroom for a boy his age and temper, and takes care of his appearance. Even though his mane brings him grief, it has a remarkably soft and bouncy feel and is better maintained than most male lions care to deal with.
Though he enjoys being a jock more, he always does his homework and studies for every test.

Atlas is bafflingly muscular and the tallest out of all feline students at school, even surpassing the size of an adult tiger. He consistently fools strangers into thinking he's an adult man, even if his voice still sounds somewhat young.

He has light-golden fur and thick blond manes that travel halfway down his torso -a typical trait of the Barbary lion- and two smaller, separated tufts on the left and right lumbar region of his abdomen. His eyes are very dark and appear black to most, but in proper lighting, reveal themselves to be brown. His nose is a pale rusty pink colour.

He usually wears jeans and owns many pairs in different shades of blue, as for short-sleeved T-shirts with an especially wide neck to least restrict his manes. These tend to stick to and show off his body, which he prefers. He's mostly unbothered by cold temperatures and will always want to show off over being comfortable, but on especially cold days, he'll wear a bomber jack, of which he owns at least 3.

### Neema

    Neema is a lioness and the popular girl in school. She is 17 years old.

She's the only child of two fairly masculine parents, and grew up without any conventional acts of affection. She knows to be loved by them, yet their reluctance to hold or compliment her as a child left its mark and she surrounded herself by people the opposite of them.

As she learned from a young age that touch is the most effective way to persuade others into getting what she wants, she grew into an overly physical person and desires the same treatment back, making her appear rather intrusive in the eyes of those who want their space.

She has a tolerant, sugary personality and nothing seems to get her angry, assumedly because the harsh language of her parents made her immune to negative utterings. This in combination with her speed on the tracking field, tennis court, and talent for gymnastics and ballet makes her loved by all, though not necessarily Ash and Atlas.

She's long pursued Ash, whose mother's boyfriends taught her not to trust those who present themselves as flawlessly kind and doesn't take it as sincere. She dislikes Neema's handsiness, making it hard to get on her good side and she's never managed to get as much as a basic friendship out of her cautious love interest.

Like everyone else, she sees a cute, youthful boy in the odd-looking lioness, but even after learning she's a girl, Neema continues to pursue her.

She is slender, but curvy, with big yellow-green eyes, long polished nails, and soft, brownish-golden fur with a brownish-pink nose. She's a committed enjoyer of dresses, and on cold days, will sooner add leggings and a jacket to her outfit than wear regular pants and a sweater.

*<under construction>*

## Quotes

> **Fangirl #1:** *"Aaaaash, when you gonna come over to my plaaace..?!"*
>
> **Ash:** *"Were we gonna meet up?"*
>
> **Fangirl #1:** *"I asked you multiple times now, silly!"*
>
> **Ash:** *"Oh. I'm sorry."*
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> **Fangirl #1:** *"That's okey! ..You free today?"*
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> **Ash:** *"What did you want to meet up for?"*
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> **Fangirl #1:** *"..."*
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> **Ash:** *"..."*
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> **Fangirl #1:** *"To study."*
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> **Ash:** *"Oh. Alright."*
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> **Fangirl #1:** *"So-"*
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> **Ash:** *"You should find someone else to help you, my grades are really bad."*
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> **Fangirl #1:** *"We can help each other, only makes sense!"*
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> **Ash:** *"I don't think that's how that works."*
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> **Atlas:** (appears out of nowhere) *"You're asking 'Ashtray' the runt? The only thing less developed than his undercooked mane is the overcooked chunk of macaroni sitting in his head!"*
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> **Fangirl #1:** *"What? What's this himbo saying?"*
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> **Ash:** *"He's talking about my brain."*
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> **Atlas:** (flexes) *"If you need a real study buddy.. or a 'stud' buddy.. then ask the expert, baby."*
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>  \*The girl excuses herself out of concern she'll throw up in public\*
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> **Atlas:** *"Ash! You'll pay for this!"*
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> **Ash:** *"What did I do."*
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*(Click "Expand" to see more)>*

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>  \*On the tracking field\*
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> **Atlas:** *"Ash! I'm challenging you to a race!"*
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> **Ash:** *"No."*
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> **Atlas:** (gets ready) *"Loser gets a date with Neema!"*
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> **Ash:** *"I can't promise you that, I don't own Neema."*
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> **Atlas:** *"A coward AND a liar! She deserves better!"*
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> **Gym teacher:** *"Quit the shouting match, we're here to run! Get in place, Ash."*
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> **Ash:** *"Sir. I'm not supposed to be here, but with the girls.."*
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> **Gym teacher:** *"Ash, I know it's fun being young and you probably can't help it, but you need to take a break from girls. There's more in life, you know."*
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> **Ash:** *"Yeah, but, I mean I'm a girl. My time's gonna be way off from the male average if you let me run with the boys."*
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> **Atlas:** *"Don't buy it, teach, he's just trying to get out of our arrangement!"*
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> **Ash:** *"But I haven't agreed to anything."*
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> **Gym teacher:** *"Don't be like that, Ash! You're failing gym class at this rate, you need the points, and there're other animal species doing the run. There isn't one average. I'll make sure to grade you fairly based on your breed, now get going..!"*
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> **Ash:** (heads into position) *("He's not wrong, but if they keep clumping me in with the boys, I'll definitely fail..")*
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> **Gym teacher:** *"Ready? GO!"*
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>  \*Atlas speeds away\*
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>  \*Ash does a stroll\*
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> **Gym teacher:** *"Ash! Go go! Faster, kid!"*
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> **Ash:** *"I shouldn't, I haven't had lunch and I'm running on empty."*
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>  \*Atlas reaches the finish line mere seconds later\*
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> **Atlas:** *"I WON! Yeahah! Ha! Good luck, dork, see you at the finish line NEXT YEAR!"*
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>  \*Ash does an O.K. sign and keeps on strolling\*
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> **Atlas:** (turns to the girls in the tribune) *"Psh! Get a load of this guy, right!"*
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>  \*They look at Ash with admiration\*
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> **Fangirl #1:** *"He's so cool..!"*
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> **Fangirl #2:** *"He doesn't even care..!"*
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> **Fangirl #3:** *"I'll buy you a snack, Ash!"*
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> **Fangirl #2:** *"Go Ash!"*
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> **Atlas:** *"Grrr!"*
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>  \*Atlas and his friends watch Ash getting overwhelmed by lovestruck company\*
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> **Friend #1:** *"Yo, Ash at it again and class hasn't even started."*
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> **Friend #2:** *"He's doing it on purpose, definitely. I asked him for a girl's number, dude wouldn't budge, he knows we're staring.."*
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> **Friend #1:** *"Typical alpha male, keeping all chicks to hims-"*
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> **Atlas:** *"You serious, don't finish that sentence or I'll kill you and then myself!"*
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> **Neema:** *"Hi, Ash.."*
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> **Ash:** *"Morning. See you in class."*
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> **Neema:** *"Wait, I wanted to ask you if-.. This weekend I'm-.. Uh. Well, of course, if you can't.. then.. but.. i-if you have time-.."*
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> **Ash:** *"Probably won't. See you in class."*
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>  \*Neema watches her walk away, slightly discouraged\*
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> **Atlas:** (flexes) *"Well hey, Neema, since you're free-"*
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>  \*Neema walks away without having acknowledged him\*
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> **Atlas:** *"What the actual, literal Hell."*
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>  \*Atlas watches Ash being ogled at and spoken to by her usual clique of smitten fangirls\*
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>  \*Anger and jealousy grows. He settles on interrupting the chatter\*
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> **Atlas:** *"Ash! I'll fight you for your groupie sycophants!"*
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> **Ash:** *"..To do what?"*
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> **Atlas:** *"To worship a real man, me!"*
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> **Ash:** *"I can't make them follow you if you win, I have no control-"*
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> **Atlas:** *"Get those fists ready!"*
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> **Ash:** *"I'm not fighting, we'll get in trouble."*
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> **Atlas:** *"Then we'll arm wrestle! Let's go to the canteen right now!"*
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> **Ash:** *"No."*
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>  \*Ash walks off\*
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> **Fangirl #1:** (mutters) *"He's so cool..!"*
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> **Fangirl #2:** (mutters) *"He doesn't even care..!"*
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> **Atlas:** (annoyed by the biased spectators) *"Running away like always! Beta loser!"*
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>  \*Ash isn't stopping and every lioness in the hallway remains focused on her\*
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> **Atlas:** (hurries over) *"You can't ignore me forever, even those chicks will eventually see what a wimpy zebra you are!"*
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> **Ash:** *"Don't be racist."*
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> **Atlas:** *"The day you win will be the day I care! If you're a lion, then-"*
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> **Ash:** (faces Atlas) *"Atlas, I don't have time for you..! I've got stuff to do.. Have a good one."*
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>  \*Ash walks off again\*
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> **Fangirl #1:** *"He told Atlas!"*
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> **Fangirl #2:** *"Too bad, Lassie, maybe you can try again when you're an actual match for Ash..?"*
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> **Atlas:** *"What're you talking about! I'm better than him, I've won every competition so far!"*
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> **Fangirl #3:** *"Howl about it some more!"*
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> **Fangirl #2:** *"Bark bark awooooooooo!"*
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> **Fangirl #4:** *"Bark bark awooooooooo!"*
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> **Fangirl #5:** *"Just stick to what you're good at, go find some lost boy in a well."*
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> **All fangirls:** *"Bark bark awoooooooooooooooo! Bark bark awoooooooooooooooooooooooo!"*
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> **Atlas:** *"Grrr!"*
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>  \*Tussling in the gym locker room\*
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> **Ash:** (holds onto Atlas' mane) *"Stop..! Just stop, stop..! Stop..! "*
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> **Atlas:** (pulling and shaking her) *"Let go of me!"*
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> **Ash:** *"Look at me!"*
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> **Atlas:** *"Get off, asshole!"*
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> **Ash:** *"Look at me! Look at me..!"*
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> **Atlas:** *"..."*
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> **Ash:** *"What're you doing this for..?"*
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> **Atlas:** *"Get off me..!"*
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> **Ash:** *"There is nothing wrong with you!"*
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> **Atlas:** *"..."*
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> **Ash:** *You're right, you are better than me, but this-..!"*
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> **Ash:** *"Your confidence used to be your most appealing trait. Why are you fighting me? I'm irrelevant. Those girls you're trying to get the approval of are irrelevant. To discard someone for having blond manes is something only kids do, no one outside of these walls takes it seriously..! High school isn't real life..!"*
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> **Atlas:** *"Easy for you to say!"*
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> **Ash:** *"My mom dated alot of guys and my dad was the only one with dark manes. She knew better than to stay with him just because of that. Mane discrimination is like thinking girls have cooties, it's not real, Atlas."*
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> **Ash:** *"When those girls grow up, they'll see every asset they previously missed about you, but you have to keep putting in the work. Women flock to men like you. Stay optimistic and become kind, you've done all else.."*
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> **Atlas:** *"..."*
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> **Ash:** *"..Can I let go without you splattering me against the wall?"*
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>  \*Outside the tracking field\*
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> **Atlas:** *"Why don't you just shave! Then you'll be free from all those hot chicks you don't want for some reason!"*
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> **Ash:** *"If I cut my mane, you'll still see it. If I shave, I'll be bald."*
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> **Atlas:** *"So, what's the problem!"*
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> **Ash:** *"Despite everything, I still wish to preserve my self-image by not making things worse."*
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> **Atlas:** *"What would it matter, you're already ugly!"*
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> **Ash:** *"You've been called ugly over your mane. Would you shave it off?"*
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> **Atlas:** *"N-No!?"*
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> **Ash:** *"..."*
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> **Ash:** *"You and I have alot in common. Our appearance gives people the wrong impression of us."*
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> **Atlas:** *"Oh yuck, I'm nothing like your sad ass! I'm a 10, you're a minus 100 who gets everything, probably cause people feel sorry for you! Girls love defending the ugly weirdos, happens all the time, they're super emotional, and really, just looking for the next basket case to earn brownie points off of!"*
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> **Ash:** *"..Don't swear."*
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> **Atlas:** *"Stop being my mom."*
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> **Ash:** *"..."*
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> **Ash:** *"Do you remember our conversation back in the locker room?"*
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> **Atlas:** *"You want a round 2?"*
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> **Ash:** *"You'd be great company if you rid yourself of your insecurities."*
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> **Atlas:** *"I'm very secure, didn't you hear me calling myself a 10?!"*
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> **Ash:** *"You're angry and making excuses for why that is. The first time we met, you were at your best. Your persistence was somewhat commendable. But you've become a parody of yourself. High school is not real life, Atlas. I promise you there're better people waiting for your outside these walls. Whatever you think I have and you want, it'll be gone after graduation."*
>
> **Atlas:** *"..."*
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> **Ash:** *"..."*
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> **Ash:** *"I don't have what I want. I just want to be a girl."*
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> **Atlas:** (gets up) *"Well, unlike me, you're not even trying."*
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>  \*At the indoors basketball court\*
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> **Atlas:** (lifts Ash up by her shoulders) *"We can't let Ash keep playing, he's actually a weak little girl!"*
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> **Ash:** *"It is true."*
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> **Gym teacher:** *"Really, Atlas..? "*
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> **Gym teacher:** *"I've had enough of how kids today treat each other! I don't wanna hear any more comments or snickering -that includes you ladies on the bench! Unless your tummy aches are gone and you're ready to join us..?"*
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> **Ash:** *"I am a girl."*
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> **Gym teacher:** *"Don't accept the abuse, Ash. Boys don't come in one shape or size. Back to the game!"*
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> **Atlas:** *"You're right, nothing we say matters!"*
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> **Ash:** *"It's been a struggle."*
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> **Atlas:** *"What if we pull down your pants?"*
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> **Ash:** *"..."*
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> **Atlas:** *"..."*
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> **Ash:** *"..."*
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> **Atlas:** *"But what if."*
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> **Ash:** *"No, that's alright, I'll just die."*
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> **Atlas:** *"What if we put a pink ribbon in your hair?"*
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> **Ash:** *"I don't like ribbons much."*
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> **Atlas:** *"But you're a girl."*
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> **Atlas:** *"What if you wore high heels?"*
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> **Ash:** *"I'm not born with the know-how or motivation to wear such a shoe."*
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> **Atlas:** *"But you're a girl."*
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> **Atlas:** *"What if you wore an orange crop top?"*
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> **Ash:** *"Orange, specifically?"*
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> **Atlas:** *"Making sure it matches your hair and eyes."*
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> **Ash:** *"Thanks."*
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> **Atlas:** *"I got you."*
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