The talk with Polly was helpful as Marcella set back into work as a waitress. She essentially had the same hours that Chrissy had as part of the community service work to pay off her debts to Frank's club in Desert Flats Though, so far, it also seemed that the Meat Market was managing to also work their schedules that Chrissy wasn't there. Marcella, though, wasn't quite fully sure on how to deal with that. She still felt hurt by all the betrayal that Chrissy had put her through, but in the end, her own petty act of revenge brought down a lot more than Chrissy's pride. Her mother losing her job, her parents then disowning her, and the circus that had surrounded her trail had left Marcella under a mountain of guilt. A part of her really wasn't sure on how she would respond or react to any close interaction with Chrissy again.
Of course, the costume that she was made to wear for this shift was something that added to the embarrassment of what she expected would be coming with the four punishments. They weren't the most physically intimidating punishments, but she'd also never seen a report on a repeat offender, nor had she seen anything that indicated that Animalia just distributed that particular sentence willy nilly. They made sure that those that went through the four punishments would be more likely to respond to the humiliations that went with the four punishments. As she looked down over her trunk, which presently hung down and rested over the generous swell of her bosom, Marcella also had the sense that some of this might be one of her four punishments, as she didn't think that Chrissy had had to wear anything so revealing when she was on duty, while she had to wear an old-time bar maid's outfit that was almost a size too small and she had to leave several buttons unfastened just of it to fit.
"Of course... that Bobcat prosecutor didn't say anything about this specifically being one of the punishments," Marcella silently mused to herself as she thought back on the immediate aftermath of her trial and pleading guilty...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The courtroom cleared out fairly quickly, and Marcella thought she had heard some soft whispers of frustration at the nature of the sentence that had been delivered to her. Most of it came from the Washoe County DA who'd essentially been dressed down by the judge, who was now moving back to the doors that lead to his chambers. The rest was just a flurry of footsteps. Marcella gave one small glance and hoped that her biological parents might respond in a more positive way and actually be the loving and protective parents she remembered. However, as she looked, she found that they were actually among the first to head out and with the last of them that Marcella saw being the back of her mother's head with its red hair intermixed with streaks of grey. She also noted Chrissy on her way toward the same large oak door with Nzinga walking beside her.
"It's really fallen on me," Marcella said softly and hoping her trunk didn't make her voice sound too nasally.
"I'd actually think that we got the best that could have been hoped for, Ms. Walker," her attorney spoke as she shut his briefcase and the brass latches giving a loud click as they closed, "the more ridiculous charges were effectively closed before the Animalia DA could begin and the actual incarceration in your sentence has already been served. The four punishments may be embarrassing, and despite what the county DA thinks, I wouldn't want to commit a crime if the punishment was even one of those four punishments, but then, that's just me. And the lengthier things will be things that won't truly restrict your freedom. Community service and therapy... None of that is a bad thing and you'll get a shot at a new start."
Marcella only looked back toward the door where her parents had left and noted that getting the "softer" punishment so far as the law was concerned really wasn't as big as what her attorney made it sound like. The guilt still hung over her and she'd lost her family. Manfred and his wife were respectful, but the Tuscans were still NOT her parents. Not her family. Though she did have her lips tight as the Wolly Mammoth Animalian approached the doors that separated the courtroom's gallery from the area where the prosecutors and defendant's area was. Out of the corner of her eye, she also saw the Animalian prosecutor, Alexandria "Sandy" Lynx, approaching and straightening her own blouse as she did so.
"We will be in touch, Ms. Walker, Mr. Tuscan, regarding the planning for the four punishments, and given things, we can probably expect some things to be desired to be prompt in this case," Alexandria Lynx spoke as she approached with one ear twitching slightly, mostly like she was listening for anyone trying to listen in, "but, give the circus that you've been put through, I would suspect we could grant you some time to get things fully settled in in Animalia. Let you get what personal effects that you have in Desert Flats brought over to the Tuscan's home and things like that."
"Uh... thank you," Marcella managed weakly, knowing full well that a lot of this would go on her record and would likely limit what she could do in the future.
"It should also give you the time to get your schedules in order with the Meat Market, where your community service will be done," Alexandria Lynx spoke.
"The strip club?" Marcella said weakly and with blood rushing to her cheeks and turning them a darker shade of gray.
"Nearly all of the other options that would handle an Elephant Animalian are either busy and have no room... and most of the ones that might have the room don't want to take the risk, given the nature of your actions and the circus that people like the county DA brought to it," Alexandria Lynx spoke firmly, "The Meat Market is the only one willing to take that risk."
Marcella's trunk fell limp over her shirt and her ears drooped. That guilt rushed over her again.
"There will also be the entering WSA to finish out your school year and likely arranging the start to your therapy schedule," Alexandria Lynx answered, and pulled out a card, "this card has both my office number and the Animalia PD numbers on it for when you have a therapist and a schedule for it... Doctor Adam Jones or one of his partners is still in business. You could easily schedule sessions with them."
Marcella took the card with her hand, though the card bent in her fingers, and she was afraid she'd drop it. Manfred eventually took the card with his trunk. Marcella noted only one finger-like structure on the upper part of the furred trunk that Manfred had, and which surprised her a bit. Her own trunk had a similar appendage on the top and bottom of it. It was another one of those almost alien muscle sensations that she'd still been getting used to.
"We'll handle it, Ms. Lynx," Manfred spoke politely, "thank you."
With that, Alexandria moved off on her own and was likely to begin the long drive back to Animalia and her normal offices. A drive that Manfred and Marcella also had before them. It was only at this point that the two of them began to make their way out.
"Your... your trunk," Marcella said slowly, looking for anything that would be a distraction from all the guilt she was presently feeling, "it only has one "finger" on it."
"Heh, you noticed that," Manfred replied with a chuckle, "well... it makes sense. While both of are Elephants... I'm of an extinct species, who's closest living relative is the Asian Elephant... though not an ancestor of the Asian Elephant. You're an African Elephant. The closest extinct species to you that would have a similar placement that Mammoths have with Asian Elephants would be Palaeoloxodon, with its largest representative potentially challenging the hornless rhino, Paraceratherium for the largest terrestrial mammal."
"Yeah," Marcella answered as she stepped back to let Manfred open the door.
Things were fairly quiet as they came out of the courtroom, and there was presently a mob of news reporters gathered around both her attorney, Ms. Lynx, and some of the others that had been at the trial. She didn't see any sign of Chrissy, though, and breathed a sigh of relief at that. That gave her some hope of escaping from having to participate in the circus. Thankfully, they did make it out through some side doors, knowing that her court appointed lawyer had known what Marcella's intentions had been and would depend on the formal charges that were to be leveled. They only planned to plead "not guilty" so long as the circus charges of terrorism and the like were officially there. Once they knew those chargers were officially removed, they would plead guilty. It fit Marcella's feelings and the broken feeling that she'd had since all the consequences came down on her. Her lawyer could answer the press's questions.
"I know you're hurting now," Manfred spoke after a few moments and making it outside, "and I'm certain that to a degree that a lot of that guilt is justified..."
"Yeah... letting jealousy get the better of me," Marcella spoke as she hung her head low.
"And that was wrong," Manfred spoke firmly, "but that doesn't mean you deserved the sort of circus that blew up around your case. And it's that circus that is the cause of most of the worst of what you're having to go through. That's not on you. That's on all the prosecutors that were looking to turn this into a test case to then be justified as a means to crack down on Animalia. THAT wasn't on you."
"Yeah... but it seems like my own family still believes it," Marcella answered, "I think they only came to make sure I plead guilty. And my dad even demanded I plead guilty while all the circus charges were attached."
"That is rough," Manfred admitted and scratched the back of one furry ear with his hand, "and maybe things will get better in time. I'd bet a lot of what happened came out of the surprise out of the incident you were in with your friend... A lot of crime in Animalia is pretty rare, and more often than not, what crimes that are committed have generally turned out to be misdemeanors. And a lot of people can't believe that people can get along that way and actually have a largely peaceful society. Thus, when something like that comes up... they'll jump on it and the blaze will burn hot while it is new. And for some people... it may take a while to cool and let more rational thoughts return. So... it may not be today, and it may not be tomorrow, but someday."
"Thanks," Marcella answered, though for the moment, while the words were kind, they didn't fully help.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Though in some ways, they were right..." Marcella then sighed as she looked back to Polly and then one of the staff members waiving to her from the bar.
The Meat Market didn't have a big kitchen and thus couldn't do a full course meal, but they had a good enough sized storage area that a lot of snack foods and preserved foods that could work with both carnivores and herbivores were also present. Some of that space had also been reworked for cooking some small sorts of snack foods like fries or real basic and quick to cook things. It was an impressive business model and when those things were ordered, they'd be prepared and then brought out to the bar. A waitress, like Marcella in this case, would be flagged over to take them to the appropriate table. And while there was a lot of action for Mardi Gras, thankfully, people weren't getting too handsy. At least not for the moment.
That then let her go about her work while also thinking back on all the consequences that she was working through, and the adaptations to a new place and new "way of life." Things that all came from what she had caused on New Years and how others responded to it. Polly had tried to be encouraging and helpful in her own way. In some ways, it reminded her of things Manfred said after the trial, though many of those things still didn't easily reverse.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Well... we've looked over your file, and the consolidated school you were previously attending was polite enough to transfer your records to us in a very prompt manner," the grey furred Cat Animalian, Eliza Marigold-Jonson, spoke from behind her desk as she looked over a series of papers while Marcella sat opposite her and with Manfred sitting beside her.
They'd handled the most that they could get out of Desert Flats. Her parents, thankfully, didn't throw out Marcella's belongings, which was good in some ways, though a fair number of them ended up going into charity boxes or plans for a yard sale in the future. While Marcella had not been a small person before the New Year's incident, she was now far too tall, too muscular, and too voluptuous as an Elephant Animalian t wear her old clothes. Manfred's wife had helped with some shopping that would allow for her to wear more than the same article of clothing for a whole week, and Marcella accepted that. Some of the specialized styluses and mechanical graspers also helped for using the old Human possessions that she could keep. Of course, her parents barely talked to her beyond basic directions and request that she hurry so that her mother could resume her job search.
Now they were up to working on the transfer to WSA. The colleges that she'd applied to had all revoked their acceptance of her applications, which she wasn't surprised by. Even with the worst of the circus's attempts at interfering in justice regarding her case, the base damage was done and they didn't want to end up dealing with the negative publicity that would come with her presence at the college. But she'd at least need to get her diploma or GED, and with her now with the Tuscans, that made WSA her only real option. Which brought her before the school's principal in connection with all of these things.
"And I will say that you were maintaining fairly decent grades, and the teacher's remarks weren't too critical, all things considered," Eliza spoke as she looked up to Marcella.
"Well... I did try to focus on my schoolwork," Marcella said slowly, "in some ways... it was a way to get away from... well... things I shouldn't have been dwelling on as much."
"Yes... and from some of the conversations that I've been able to have with your former district, that was the base assessment," Eliza nodded, "quiet and studious. Not exactly bad qualities... but it was also tampered with commentary that that there were some things that seemed either anti-social or that whatever issues you'd had with Ms. Moore were dominating things in ways that they should not have. And I'd add that their critique was not angry or vicious... just disappointed."
"She understands that Mrs. Marigold-Jonson," Manfred spoke calmly to try and prevent them from relitigating the case and knowing that Marcella was still beating herself up.
Eliza nodded, "And is just the point that the expulsion was probably more in relation to the legal proceedings, particularly when things began to spiral toward a circus act for the prosecution. If things went through and Ms. Walker was looking at a lengthy prison sentence... or worse, it would make no sense to the district to keep her registered. And with her grades and records, and with the legal circus pretty much defeated, WSA can offer Ms. Walker a way to finish out her senior year and graduate."
"You can?" Marcella looked up, the tip of her trunk raising a little.
"You'd have to attend remotely to catch up on things between New Years Eve and now, and by law that would also last up until you've completed the last of the four punishments," Eliza explained, "but once that is handled, you could finish out the year and graduate. That would at least give you something... and WSA is better equipped to handle larger Animalians than the consolidated school you were in. What we had to ship to them allow your former friend to continue school there was considerable."
"At least it'd be something," Marcella managed, "thank you."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Though, the acceptance into WSA really didn't ease matters regarding the guilt that Marcella felt, and a good part of her felt that she'd never fully get over it. Regardless of what Manfred, the WSA principal, or even Polly had said. They might well be right that she had a shot at a second shot, and a lot of that message was repeated when she was able to get in her scheduling with Doctor Jones for the instructed therapy sessions. But much of that also came from the result of some of her own behavior early in the court sessions, and as much of the legal circus started trying to manufacture chargers that were never there. Things that only let her vent her anger in ways that ultimately added to her guilt when the full weight of the consequences of her actions came crashing down. It was depressing she couldn't really hide that when she ultimately made the calls to the Animalia Police station and to Alexandria Lynx's office to comply with the orders on the therapy requirement... which of course then raised its own issues...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"What do you mean that things are a bit delayed?" Marcella asked nervously, "I'd thought that a lot of these punishments were often rather prompt..."
She stood nervously in the living room the Tuscans had while talking to Alexandria Lynx on their phone. It was a large and heavy duty plastic phone, which in some ways looked like it fit more in the 80s than it did in the 2020s, but then her large and massive fingers made the small, slim, and sleek difficult to manage. A part of her wanted to cringe and say she was fat fingered now, but the look of her in the mirror showed that her old issues with being "fat" didn't apply. The new problem was simply her massive overall size.
"Generally, the four punishments are," came Alexandria's answer over the phone, "but because of some of the uniqueness of your case and how that is to be applied, there are certain precautions that are also being taken to assure that you will understand when these punishments start and how they will progress. We want to assure that state that the system is not risking harm to you and can allow for the increased monitoring that will be ordered. Once we're ready, we can progress through them fairly quickly and things will be handled... but until then, you'll have to wait for it."
Marcella looked at the stack of papers and things. WSA was generally on par with her old school with where many of her classes were, and their remote learning program was relatively effective. She had been making her way through a lot of the material that she'd fallen behind on because of the legal circus. It meant several days of a lot of work emailing that material to the teachers, or another visit to the campus with Manfred or his wife to turn any physical things into the office staff and they'd then shuffle them to the respective teachers. On certain levels, that remote learning side of things was letting her catch up, though it also served as a bit of a reminder as to the cost on what she'd lost as a result of letting jealousy get to her.
"None of this is going to make me strip or be displayed nude to the public... is it?" Marcella asked nervously and scuffing one toe on the hard polished wood of the floor. She'd heard some things that included some rather sexual aspects of the four punishments that only added to the embarrassment. Some of it was also the fact that in the back of her mind, her jealousy over Chrissy getting Steve Herrons attention was part of what drove her actions in the first place.
"The work with the Meat Market will be more as a waitress, not as one of their dancers," Alexandria Lynx answered, effectively dodging Marcella's question, "you did meet with Ms. Fabina, correct?"
"Yes... and she was quite firm," Marcella answered, "about controlling myself around handsy customers and any potential interactions with Chrissy on any night when we'd be on the same shift. Also included that they had a Dinotopian on call... I thought they all lived in Dino City or Mesozoic Enclave... or Dinotopia Aquatica."
"There are a few here," Alexandria Lynx answered, "and the Triceratops on the Rhino Guard isn't the largest one living in Animalia. We also have two pairs of Sauropods, one Styracosaurus Dinotopian, a family of Maiasaura Dinotopians, and occasionally we have a male Stegosaurus come in... occasionally he's had a young woman with him, that if the rumor mills are accurate, he's been in love with for awhile..."
"Okay," Marcella answered, "I don't need any gossip. Anyway, the Meat Market had their rules and made sure I'd be well aware on what happened if I broke them."
Marcella flapped her hears while noting that Ms. Fabina had informed her that Chrissy had gotten the same set of instructions. The only thing that was really different was that for certain events, like Mardi Gras, the Meat Market would have the right to put Marcella in a costume as part of the club's theme for the evening. That was something that also had Marcella nervous and wondering if that would be part of the punishment.
"Very good," Alexandria answered, "I thank you for keeping us updated. We'll let you know when the first punishment is ready."
From there the line went dead.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And her start did include a costume, which thankfully wasn't as skimpy as what the rest of the dancers were wearing. But it did reveal a bit more of her than what she expected or would have preferred, and it reminded her of a great many things that had been there when her parents pretty much disowned her in their whole rant on what was going to be expected. Of course, they expected her to be stripping, which she wasn't, but the base impact of the accusation was the same, and that left Marcella feeling down. It was something that she couldn't hide and often had her eyes down.
"Thankfully no one's gotten to handsy with me," Marcella thought to herself as the jazz music of the Mardis Gras party kept playing, "of course... those that know who I am are probably going to just see me as a violent maniac over both trying to get back at Chrissy and losing my cool over the legal circus..."
She reached where one of the people manning the bar was flagging her over and handed her a decent sized bowl of nuts and then given the table number. She was also told the person who made the order had not paid, yet, and that she would need to bring that payment to Ms. Fabina while she was at the bar. Marcella nodded and went about her work.
"A part of me would just want to die," Marcella thought as there were glances that came her way, some from guests, and some from other Animalians that were in attendance. She couldn't figure that out, but it did leave her embarrassed and nervous on the attention. Some of which she wasn't sure on how to respond to. A part of her recognized that aside from her Elephantine features, she actually had the sort of body that many would consider very sexy. It was something that she'd never had before, and prior to everything else, a part of her wouldn't have said no to having curves or muscles. Now, after everything... it was a reminder of all that she'd done wrong and that this was punishment for it.
A part of her seriously wondered if this was one of the four punishments and that she hadn't been told of it, but she hadn't seen anyone from Ms. Lynx's office or any Animalia PD members at the club and she didn't think that some of those things would be contracted out to those that worked at the club. But the embarrassment she felt was real enough, and that was enough to have her wishing that it was. As a lot of also seemed to just feed on the guilt she felt and guilt she couldn't shake, even as she was settling into Animalia.