Polly was feeling that state of anxiety that was a perfect blend of excitement and nervousness. She was going to be doing her first episode of Animalia Ambassadoria. She was being driven to Fennec Hall by her mother, which was being used as Animalia Ambassadoria's studio. It was a bit surprising that Joanne would continue to allow the high school newscasting team keep operating on her property after Miles had graduated, but she enjoyed having teenagers around. It reminded her of when Nicole was that age and made Joanne determined to not repeat the same mistakes she did when her new kits were that age.
"Feeling ok?" asked Mari.
"Just anxious," said Polly.
"That's perfectly natural," said Mari, "I'm sure the others will help you get over what little stage fright you have."
"Maybe if I were wearing something I could breathe more easily in," said Polly, who was wearing a polo shirt and a skirt.
"You know it's colder and I don't want you to take a chill," said Mari.
"Mom, we're polar bears," said Polly pointedly.
"You're not showing off your cleavage to the whole world on your first episode," said Mari flatly.
When they pulled up to Fennec Hall, not only was Joanne waiting for them at the door, but Mary Alice was as well. Polly felt more anxious, but Mari put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. When they got out of the van, Polly ask, "Do you greet all the cast at the door?"
"Most of them we meet in the foyer," said Joanne, "I just wanted to see if you would make it through the door first."
"It's not like she's an elephant," said Mary Alice, "She might need to duck a little, but she's fine."
"You don't mind if I stay for emotional support, do you?" asked Mari.
"Not at all," said Joanne, "Mothers should support their children in all their endeavors."
"Still trying to make up for Nicole?" asked Mary Alice.
"I'm not going to make the same mistake with my new kits," said Joanne. She tilted her head and said, "Speaking of which, I think my son is demanding to be fed."
"I didn't hear anything," said Polly.
Joanne pointed at her large fennec ears and said, "These do more than just radiate heat. It can be a little hard getting to sleep with them sometimes." With that, she headed inside.
"So, Mary Alice, or should I call you Mrs. Truman?" asked Mari.
"Oh, you can call me Malice if you like," said Malice, though her tail wagged a bit at 'Mrs. Truman'.
"Well, Malice, I do have a few concerns about the frequent travel plans of Animalia Ambassadoria. Not that I'm against Polly seeing foreign places, but I'm concerned about how it could potentially cut into her schoolwork," said Mari.
"Oh, don't worry, we're going to make sure it's well-balanced," said Malice, though there was a sad tone to her voice.
"What's wrong?" asked Polly.
Malice sighed and said, "I just got a recent reminder that the old cast isn't going to be reuniting all the time. Me and Simon are the only ones staying in Lyre. Abby and Samson are only staying until they can get their place in Montana. Even Sarah is living in Reno now."
"It's not that far away," said Polly.
"No, but not as close as I'd like it to be. And Sophie is probably going to be showing up even less often. And I can't even guess about JC and Pauline since they're living in Gondwana Land. We were all so close, now we're scattering to the winds," said Malice.
"Well, that's a part of growing up," said Mari, "I haven't seen a lot of my old schoolmates in years, but I do keep in contact with some of them. And these days, it's easier to communicate from a distance. Maybe you won't be physically together all the time, but you never need to lose contact."
Malice nodded and said, "Yeah, I guess that's true." She turned to Polly and said, "Treasure your time with Animalia Ambassadoria. You may not always get to relive it."
"Well, I've yet to start," said Polly.
"Well, we're going to be starting soon," said Malice, "I think you might like doing the science news. Like we're going to have some hybrid sheep arriving in Animalia soon."
"Hybrid sheep?" asked Polly.
"Yeah, apparently some guy had come up with a convoluted way of cloning Marco Polo sheep so he can breed with bighorn sheep for big game hunters," said Malice. Both polar bears stared at her. "I couldn't make this stuff up even if I wanted to and I haven't even showed you the weirder details yet," said Malice flatly.
"Well, Polly, I'd say your time working at Animalia Ambassadoria will be anything but uneventful," said Mari.
Polly smiled and said, "I can't wait to get started."