Sarah would do anything for Mary Alice. They may not be sisters by birth, but their bond was so strong it was starting to become hard to imagine as anything else. Simon seemed like a good match for Malice. Not only was he a wolf, but he was planning on being a police officer after graduation and he seemed to have a solid integrity. The biggest obstacles between him and Malice was the slight age gap (really only years of education since they were practically the same physical age) and the several other canine girls who had an interest in Simon. Sarah doubt she could help Malice out with all of her competition, but she was going to at least have some help.
"So, you're saying Malice has to deal with six other girls who also want Simon and you're going to help her with them?" asked Travis as he and Sarah walked to school.
"At least six," said Sarah, "There might be more. I had no idea Simon could attract this much attention."
"Well, he's a pretty virile guy now," said Travis, "If you weren't my mate, the girls would probably after me too. I wonder if Malice would have been help with the competition?"
Sarah sighed and said, "It feels like I'm in a furry version of Scott Pilgrim."
"Scott who?" asked Travis.
"I'll explain later," said Sarah, "Right now, let's focus on the competition. I know of at least two girls that will be easier to divert."
++++++++++
Penny wasn't hard to find or getting her to talk. The hard part was getting her to talk about one particular subject.
"You know, I never knew how much color there was in the world. I mean, you hear about dogs being color-blind, but I don't think we really were color-blind. At least not all greys and stuff. There are actually a lot more grey stuff than I would have guessed. I was kinda expecting things to pop out more. But I suppose I could have expected much since I was a dog, but everyone told me I was a smart dog. Well, it was actually more like I was a 'good girl'. I suppose I'm still a good girl but I think that means something different for humans, but not that much different."
"Penny, could we please focus a bit?" asked Sarah, finally able to cut when when Penny paused for breath.
"About what?" asked Penny.
"Simon," said Sarah.
"Simon? Oh, you wanna play Simon Says? I love games, I always did even before the virus thing. But the games the humans play are so much more fun. Not that fetching isn't fun, but it's easier to do with hands and you can throw things back if you-"
"She means Simon, the new wolf in school," interrupted Travis.
"Oh, him, he's nice. I think he's nice. He seems a little quiet though. He doesn't say much about himself and he sounds like he could be fun," said Penny.
"Maybe if he could a word in edgewise, you'd know him better," said Sarah dryly.
"Oh, that's really funny. Are you always this funny? I bet Simon would appreciate your jokes, but you've got Travis here. But then a guy like Simon can't have too many friends and we're all good friends here," said Penny.
"Wait a second," said Sarah, "You're saying that you just want to be Simon's friend, not his girlfriend?"
"I don't know, maybe, maybe there will be other dogs coming. I can wait a while," said Penny.
"Well, maybe Simon can be a good friend to you if you just give him the chance to talk once in a while," said Travis.
"I guess I could. Hey, is that a new guy? I should go meet him," said Penny, suddenly darting off.
Sarah turned to Travis and asked, "How on Earth did she manage to get through the remedial class?"
"Apparently, when she's not chatting, she focuses on her schoolwork well enough," said Travis.
"I'm just glad she wasn't one of those little yappy dogs," said Sarah, rubbing one ear, "That girl could talk the legs off a..." She paused and glanced around to see if there any Animalians who'd take offense at the idiom. When she saw the coast was clear, she muttered, "Donkey."
"I guess some Animalians are just really grateful to be able to talk," said Travis.
"Well, at least the next girl will be less of an earful," said Sarah.
++++++++++
Sarah actually knew Jamie from before. She was only a year ahead of her. Sarah thought she was pretty cool, one of those girls who really knew how to roll with a joke. She was also pretty quick on picking up hints so it barely took any time for her to guess what Sarah wanted to talk to her about.
"I don't think it's really your business to tell me who I can't flirt with," said Jamie.
"It's not that," said Sarah, "I mean, you don't really want Simon anyways."
"Who says I don't?" asked Jamie defensively.
"C'mon, Jamie, you think nobody can recognize you're just using Simon to make Trevor and Riley jealous?" asked Sarah.
Sarah sighed and said, "Not Trevor and Riley apparently. I'm starting to think they care less about me and more about beating the other."
"Sometimes we males are very competitive," said Travis, "Maybe you ought to try not getting their attention but releasing all that aggression."
"And how would you propose that? A boxing match?" asked Jamie.
"Interesting idea, though perhaps something where they won't lose so many teeth," said Sarah, "I think it'll work a lot better in the long run than your jealously plan. I mean, what if Trevor and Riley finally take notice and they decide to beat the stuffing out of Simon?"
Jamie winced and said, "Well, I never wanted Simon to get hurt. I'm just not sure how else I could get their attention. You think guys would be easier to understand."
"It's like boys and girls operate on two entirely different wavelengths," said Sarah dryly.
"It's not that complicated," said Travis.
Sarah and Jamie exchanged a glance and Jamie said, "You're right. I've obviously been overthinking the whole thing."
"You don't need to put as much effort into outsmarting guys," said Sarah.
"I'm right here," said Travis in an annoyed tone.
"Don't worry. You're more sensitive than the average dog," said Sarah.
"Oh, thanks," said Travis before frowning. He had the feeling he was just insulted in some way.