Raposa High (Episode 1)
The Beginning

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NOTE: As I mentioned in the primer, this series is NOT "in canon" with the actual Drawn to Life universe.  It just uses some characters from said universe.

September 4, 2007...5:35 AM...

On a cool early September morning, in a single-story house in Northeast Minneapolis, a young Raposian male lay in his bed, still fast asleep.  He felt warm and snug underneath his blanket, resting peacefully as the sky outside was still dark, with only the street lights piercing through the night sky.  The interior of his bedroom had several toy models of airplanes and a couple of posters featuring the adventures of the Raposian explorer "Indee", who had become an idol to the young male.  As a rapoboy, he had dreams of going on adventures of his own, finding new lands, discovering treasure, and all that sort of stuff.

Inside his closet, hanging on a hook, was a pair of aviator-style goggles, which were given to him by his mother.  He had been told the story of how his mom got the goggles.  Many years ago, before he was born, his mom dated an adventurer/pilot.  They loved each other so much that they were going to get married, especially after she had told her mate-to-be that she was carrying his son in her womb.  The adventurer agreed to give up his lifestyle after one more trip, one that would hopefully lead to a treasure so valuable that he'd be able to retire in his 30's and devote his life to his soon-to-be wife and their son.  However, he never returned from this expedition and is still missing to this day.

These goggles were important to the young male, as they were the only thing he had to remind him of his father...that and some pictures of him that his mom kept.  His mom figured that her mate-to-be was dead and that he'd never come back, but the young male held out hope that he'd one day find his father alive.  He even had thoughts of going to look for him, if he ever had the means to do so.  Of course, being a 14-year old male, an adventure like this would be a long way away for him.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, his mother was busy preparing a special breakfast for her pride and joy.  It was a special day for her son...his first day of high school.  She wanted to make sure that he started the next stage of his life with a big breakfast, that way he'd be ready for whatever high school could dish out.  She got out of bed at 5 AM just to make him a breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, banya toast, turkey sausage, and hash browns.  His mom wore a white apron over her blue and white dress, keeping it nice and clean while she prepared the meal for him.  He had to be out the door by 7:30 AM, in order to make it to school in time for the day to begin at 8 AM.

She continued to cook until everything was on the dining room table, finishing off the breakfast with a glass of orange juice and a glass of milk.  Then, once breakfast was ready, she went into her son's bedroom and started to wake him up.

Inside his dreaming mind, he thought about being inside a dark cave, holding a whip much like Indee's in one hand, searching for the Lost Treasure of Raposada.  Suddenly, the ground beneath him started to shake, as if an earthquake were going on and he started to hear a low and deep voice calling out.  "Jowee!", the voice eerily called, causing the young male to panic as a giant boulder crashed down and started rolling at him.  The voice continued to call his name repeatedly as the shaking grew more intense.

He started to fidget in his bed, his arms moving around as if he was being chased, beginning to sweat nervously as his mother tried to wake him.  "C'mon Jo-Jo, it's time for you to get ready for school!", she commented, hoping that he'd wake up when he heard her call him by the nickname she gave him back when he was a toddler.

Inside his dream, the eerie voice was soon replaced by the sound of "Jo-Jo" being repeated, becoming softer and more feminine as his dream faded to white and he finally opened his bright green eyes.  He saw his mother at his bed, looking at him with her own bright green eyes.  "Good morning, Jo-Jo...Mommy made you a big breakfast for your first day of high school!", she exclaimed sweetly to him once he was up.

Jowee was slow to get up from his bed, rubbing his eyes as he did so.  It seemed as if he didn't want to get out of bed, but he knew he had to.  Although, the aroma of warm food helped to arouse the hungry male, coaxing him that it was time to start the day as he eventually gave in to hunger and went to the dining room table.

He sat down at his spot and began eating, enjoying the warm breakfast his mom made for him as she watched him eat.  She soon came over and rubbed his head softly as he was eating, thinking about the past.  "You know, seeing you like this reminds of your very first day of school.  I remember making breakfast for you that morning...walking with you to the bus stop as you carried your little lunchbox in one hand.  Then, when your bus came, I remember how you gave me a big hug and kiss, saying how much you loved me before getting on the bus and going off to school", she commented while Jowee was eating, making the teenage male blush a bit.

"You've always been Mommy's pride and joy, Jo-Jo...and I love you very much", she added a moment later, going as far as to kiss Jowee on his cheek while he was eating.

The kiss seemed to annoy Jowee a bit, especially while he was trying on filling his belly.  "Mom!  Do you have to do this now?", he commented back in a slightly annoyed tone.  It wasn't that he didn't love his mother, it was just that he had other things on his mind...plus he was starting to feel a bit embarrassed about getting kissed by his mother, even when he wasn't in public.

Joleen saw Jowee's reaction and sighed.  "I'm sorry, Jo-Jo...but you know I can't help how I feel about you.  You're the only thing I have to remind me of your father and every year I worry about what will happen when my baby boy finally grows up and leaves home", Joleen explained while Jowee continued eating, enjoying the eggs his mom made for him with care.  "I remember what it was like when I went to Raposa High.  I got a lot of attention from the boys.  Of course, I was on the cheerleader squad when I was in school, so a lot of boys wanted to go out with your momma", Joleen started to tell her son while he was eating as he began to blush to his mother's comments.

"Who knows, maybe you'll find a rapogirl you like in high school.  Maybe you'll start dating and end up marrying her in about 10 more years", Joleen added in a gleeful manner, almost seeing herself as a grandmother.  She was hopeful that Jowee would make her wish come true, but she wasn't in a hurry to have him make it happen.  Of course, Jowee saw it as something to get embarrassed about.

"Mom!", Jowee screamed in embarrassment, his cheeks glowing bright red, feeling uneasy about talking about rapogirls.  Although Jowee was in the middle of puberty and had taken Sex Ed several times already, Jowee had yet to feel the natural hormonal response that was triggered whenever a male raposa had thoughts about a female for the first time.  It was a bit unusual for a male Jowee's age to go this long without getting at least some sexual urges, even though his body was already producing sperm.

Joleen seemed to recognize Jowee's feeling and placed her hand on his upper back, rubbing it up and down softly.  "It's alright Jo-Jo, you don't have to find a girlfriend right away if you don't want to.  I just want to make sure you find someone that you'll be happy with, just like how your father made me feel before he left on his last expedition", Joleen commented while Jowee went back to eating.  "When you feel like you're ready to start dating, you can count on me to help you out as much as I can", she added, trying to be supportive of her son.

Jowee understood that she was acting this way because she wanted to help and felt a little less embarrassed, even going as far as to give his mother a quick kiss on her cheek.  "Thanks Mom...and thanks for the breakfast, too!", Jowee answered in a more cheerful tone before Joleen smiled and touched her rabbit-like nose to Jowee's.

"Only the best for my Jo-Jo", she softly told him, nuzzling her son in a sweet manner before she let him finish eating and get ready for school.

Meanwhile, in the suburb of Raposa City, in a much larger house, another teenage Raposian was going through her own issues...

Mari lived inside a two-story home with four bedrooms that was owned by her father.  In addition to Mari and her father, Mari's older sister Rose and her nephew Miles also lived inside the house.  Mari's father decided to let his oldest daughter live with them after his wife unexpectedly passed away when Mari was 3, serving as a surrogate mother to her younger sister.  The relationship between the two sisters was strong, with Mari often following in her older sister's footsteps.  When Rose took up singing, Mari would try singing along with her, but Mari's higher-pitched voice didn't go as well with Rose's.  Mari also served as a babysitter for her nephew whenever his mother needed some time to herself or something, even though Miles was now old enough to go to school and would be starting 1st grade today.

Although Rose and Mari got along well with each other, the same could not always be said about Rose and her father.  Their father was the principal of Raposa High, just like his father was before him, and his father's father when Raposa High was originally founded more than 80 years ago.  It was a family tradition that someone in the bloodline carried on the duties of running Raposa High after the previous principal decided to retire.  Usually, this honor would be passed down to the first-born, but when he brought up the family tradition to Rose she had other things she wanted to do with her life.

Rose was interested in music ever since she was a young rapogirl.  She remembered how sweet and soft her mother's voice was, and she inherited this sweetness in her own voice when she became a teenager.  Rose wanted to pursue a career in singing, wanting to share her voice with crowds and become famous.  Her father wanted Rose to take his place as principal when he was ready to step down.  This led to the two of them having an argument and Rose briefly walking out of the house when she was 16...two days before her mother died.  After the death of Mari and Rose's mother, their father saw that the happiness of his daughters mattered more than what he wanted and allowed Rose to pursue her passion.  Several years later, Rose would end up at Raposa High teaching music during the school year, while also singing at an opera house during the summer months.  Even though he allowed Rose to pursue her passion, he still wanted one of his daughters to follow in his footsteps, which would lead him into trying to convince Mari to take over.

Mari was a highly intelligent and strong-willed rapofem.  In just about every class she was in, she was either the smartest one in the class or at least one of the smartest.  She also displayed traits of leadership, as she was editor of her middle school's newspaper the previous year.  These traits made her father want to have Mari follow in his footsteps, but the young rapofem had other ideas.  Mari had hopes of becoming a trail-blazer, not only for Raposians, but for all females as she had dreams of becoming the first female Raposian president someday.  Of course, it would still be at least another 20 years before she'd be old enough to consider running for office, but the desire was there.  The same could not be said though about her desire to attend Raposa High.

Ever since she was in 2nd grade, Mari went to the same school as her best friend (Melon).  Melon was like a twin sister to Mari, with the two rapogirls spending a lot of time together through elementary and middle school.  Mari wanted to continue to see Melon in high school, but Melon was attending high school at Raposa City East High while Mari's father already enrolled his youngest daughter in Raposa High in Minneapolis.  This naturally upset the young female Raposian.

While her father was having his morning cup of coffee, reading the newspaper, the teenage rapofem reluctantly came down from her bedroom, wearing her typical lemon-yellow dress with the lavender-colored ascot around her neck and gold-colored earrings in each of her ears.  Mari was a brunette, with long hair in the back and bright sky-blue eyes.  She was considered attractive to the young Raposian males she met, but it seemed as if Mari wasn't interested in that kind of relationship...at least not yet.  She had her backpack on, being the same color as her ascot and set it down on the couch before going over to the table to speak with her father.

"Dad...why can't I go to Raposa City East?", the young female asked in a somewhat argumentative tone, upset that she wouldn't be able to attend school with her best friend.

Her father understood Mari's frustration, but at the same time it was much more convenient for him to have her attend school at Raposa High.  He stopped reading his newspaper and turned to his daughter, wearing his usual three-piece suit with top hat and monocle.  "Mari, we've been through this several times already.  It's been a family tradition for decades.  My father sent me to Raposa High when I was your age, and that is where I met your mother.  Your sister went to Raposa High when she was your age as well", he tried to explain to Mari.  "Besides, I'm counting on you to keep our family's tradition alive when it comes time for me to retire", he added.

Mari wasn't too thrilled by her father's answer and showed her frustration.  "But, I want to do something more with my life!  I want to help other people and Raposians!", she answered in an irritated tone, having her mind set on her own dreams.

He had a look of "Oh God, not this again" in his eyes when he heard Mari's response, having dealt with something like it when Rose was her age.  However, he wasn't about to let his youngest daughter try to get the last word in on him.  As far as he was concerned, as long as Mari lived under his roof, she would have to go to school where he wanted her to.  "Mari...the subject is closed...you're going to Raposa High", he announced to Mari before flipping through his paper some more.  "Now, you'd better have something to eat before your sister is ready to leave", he suggested soon afterward, knowing that Rose was going to bring Mari to Raposa High with her after she dropped Miles off at Raposa City Elementary.

The younger rapofem became angry and walked off, heading into her own bedroom and burying her face in one of the soft pillows on her bed.  The interior of Mari's bedroom kept the lavender-colored motif of her ascot and backpack, with the walls painted in that color.  Mari had a poster featuring the Raposian singer "Navy J" in her bedroom on the back of her door, along with a computer work station, a TV and her sister's Super Nintendo hooked up to it.  Rose often shared her things with Mari, teaching her younger sister how to play old NES and SNES games.  Of course, the family had their own Wii console, but Mari spent more time playing on her sister's old game systems.

After several moments of sulking on her bed, feeling angry about not going to school with Melon, there was a knock on Mari's bedroom door.  At first, Mari thought it was her father and screamed in the direction of the door.  "GO AWAY...I'M MAD AT YOU!", she shouted angrily before hearing a familiar feminine voice calling from the other side.

"Why are you angry with me, Mari?  I didn't do anything to you.", the voice called out softly as Mari realized it wasn't her father and felt a bit embarrassed.

"Oh...I'm sorry about that, Rose.  I thought you were Dad", Mari told her older sister in a calmer tone, going over to the door to let Rose in.  Rose spent the last half-hour getting her son ready for school, but heard Mari sobbing from outside the bedroom.  Rose wore her maroon-colored dress, along with the blonde wig she wore over her natural magenta-colored hair.  She wore a single red rose in said wig and had diamond earrings in each ear.  The dress concealed Rose's natural curves quite well, which was intentional since she didn't want to draw any unwanted attention from males.  If she ever wanted to date someone again, it would be her own decision, she wasn't going to have a relationship forced down her throat.

Rose sat down at the end of her sister's bed and placed a hand on Mari's back, stroking it softly.  "Honey, what's the matter?  Why are you so upset with Dad?", Rose asked in a soft and calm voice, hoping to get Mari to calm down a bit.

Mari sat up on the bed next to Rose and let out a sigh.  "Because Dad is making me go to Raposa High when I want to go to school with Melon.  We've gone to the same school every year since we were in 2nd grade, why does Dad insist on changing this?", Mari commented.

"Don't be too upset with him, Mari.  I'm sure he's not doing it because he doesn't want you seeing her.  He just wants you to go to the same school he did", Rose answered while rubbing her hand along Mari's back.  "I went through something like this when I was your age.  You see, I fell in love with a Raposian male back in middle school and I wanted to go to the same school as he did.  However, Dad insisted that I should go to Raposa High instead", Rose began to explain as Mari listened curiously.

"How did you deal with that?", Mari asked, wondering how Rose took the news.  The older rapofem blushed some and seemed a bit shy about telling Mari the answer.

"I gave myself up to any boy who was willing to have sex with me...without them using condoms when we did it", Rose explained to her younger sister, blushing intensely while doing so as she remembered the look on her father's face when he discovered his then 14-year old daughter with a whole bunch of hormonal Raposian teenage boys.  "I have to admit, it felt good for a while to have that much attention, but after a while it seemed like the boys were more interested in what was between my legs than they were in me, so I stopped giving it away.  Well, that plus the pregnancy scare I had when I was 15", Rose continued.  Rose had been smart enough to use Pink Kaorin Berries before her rebellious behavior with the boys, but there was always a small risk that ovulation could occur even with the berries.  Rose felt this trigger after a sexual encounter and thought that she just became pregnant.  It turned out that it was a false alarm (which was somewhat common for teenage rapofems), and Rose would remain without a child of her own for several more years.

When Mari learned what her sister did to 'get even' with their father, the younger rapofem was shocked and crossed her legs.  "But I'm not ready to have sex yet!  I thought I was supposed to wait until I was at least 18 before I started dating!", Mari exclaimed.

Rose wasn't surprised with Mari's response, she had been told the same thing by their father many years before.  "No, that's what Dad wanted you to think.  If you want to start dating boys, you can", Rose explained.  "However, it's up to you to decide whether you want to start dating...or if you want to be sexually active.  You should do what you feel is right...just be careful if you do decide to have sex", Rose continued.  "Oh, and I'd suggest talking to Aunt Donna at some point in the near future.  If you want to get some Pink Kaorin Berries without Dad knowing about them, I'm sure she'll be able to help", she added, knowing that their aunt also worked at Raposa High.

Mari wasn't sure if she was ready to be sexually active, she was only 14 and while she was becoming sexually mature, her body didn't seem to be in a major hurry to try sex with a rapoboy.  Rose then took a moment to give her little sister a hug.

"Anyway, I know you would rather go to school with Melon, but Dad isn't going to back down on this.  Just give it a try for me, OK?", Rose told her little sister in a calm tone, holding Mari in her arms much like she would when Mari was younger.

Mari sighed briefly, but soon embraced Rose tightly.  Mari loved her big sister, and she always trusted her, and while the teenage rapofem wanted to spend more time with her best friend, Rose's comments were enough to convince Mari to give Raposa High a try.  "Alright...I just hope Dad doesn't do anything to embarrass me", Mari soon answered as Rose hugged her little sister.

"I don't blame you for feeling that way, Mari.  I felt the same way when I started going to Raposa High", she explained to Mari, knowing from experience what it was like to be the daughter of the school principal.  "Anyway, I suppose I should check up on Miles.  His bus should be here pretty soon", Rose commented.  Miles' school day started about an hour earlier than Mari's, which would allow Rose time to make sure her son was off to school, while also being able to bring Mari with her to Raposa High afterwards.  The older rapofem left Mari's bedroom after kissing Mari on the forehead, showing that she cared about her little sister, and then left to tend to her son.

As soon as she left, Mari reclined on her bed for a moment and stared at her ceiling, contemplating what Rose told her for a while.  She wondered what would happen when she got to school, if she would meet a rapoboy she liked there, and if she would be able to get through the next four years without her father making her life a living hell.

To be continued...

All characters mentioned in this story are (C) to 5th Cell, THQ, Jeremiah Slaczka, Edison Yan, etc. and are used for fan fic purposes.

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