#dpkoko

Fawn had spent the previous night sitting on the bare mattress, playing back all her conversations from earlier that day. Some of her talks with certain people were so peculiar, and she couldn't help but over think things. And Shenzi.. Why would she say that? she thought to herself as she scanned over her new room, empty other than the few cases of luggage the girl had brought with her. Thinking back on her talk with her close friend, Fawn just couldn't see why she thought that. After hours of contemplating every conversation she had upon her arrival, she found herself becoming frustrated. Frustrated that Shenzi would lie about such an important thing, frustrated for Kovu's attitude about her coming back, frustrated with Herc for not being able to find him as soon as she came back on campus. Frustrated with herself for leaving, because now she felt so behind, and she didn't want to believe half the stuff that Shenzi told her. Pega gone? He was the first person she met upon coming here; a flash of their walk along the woodside came to her mind, and she sighed, regretting not talking to him more after they broke up. And Herc, a whore? That was the single thing that Fawn refused to believe. Although she couldn't tell exactly why she couldn't believe her friend, she just knew that it couldn't be true. She had to be wrong. Maybe she just saw him talking to a bunch of girls, and got the wrong idea... Regardless  she hated being lied to, and her frustration combined with her lack of sleep caused her to act on her anger. 

Remembering her talk with Kovu, her mind flashed to Shenzi's room, specifically the cage that was placed on her study desk. In her mind, she saw the little grey critter crawling around, and she recalled Kovu saying how he wanted it back. Although she didn't know what happened between Shenzi and Kovu, and it was none of her business, she couldn't help but want to help him. 

Getting up from the bed, she quickly exited her room and tiptoed her way through the dorms until she got to Shenzi's room. Fawn hoped that Shenzi was out, or that at least her door was unlocked and she was in there, fast asleep. Turning the handle, she let out a small sigh of relief as it easily opened. Peering in, she saw Shenzi's bed empty. Perhaps she was out with some of her new friends, better ones who didn't leave without notice. Friends she wouldn't lie to. Tiptoeing in, her eyes landed on the cage, in the exact spot as before she left. Opening the cage made a bit of noise, but luckily she didn't have to worry about that in an empty room. "Hey lil' guy," she cooed to Koko. At first, it hid under its plastic house, not wanting to be touched. But the girl's voice soothed it almost instantly, and it crawled over to her hand and sniffed her with its small, furry nose. "Don't be scared, Koko; it's okay, come here lil' fella." 

Almost as if it understood what she was saying, Koko hopped into her open hands, and she gently pulled him out of the cage and into her arms, and the chinchilla burrowed into her arms cozily. "Aren'tcha just the cutest lil' thing," she coaxed. "Come on, let's get you back to daddy." Grabbing its dustbath bowl and his food container, she made her way back out the door, forgetting to close the cage door as she left Shenzi's room, everything other than Koko's cage untouched. 

Fawn brought Koko back to her room, the creature crawling up and resting on her left shoulder, her hair hiding it slightly. She smiled as he tickled her neck, and carefully dug through one of her bags until she found a bobby pin. Once it was found, she held it tightly in her palm and then made her way towards Kovu's room. His door was locked, just as she had expected, but the locks were cheap and old, and a single bobby pin allowed her access inside. There was no one in his bed, but his roommate was fast asleep, and there was a light on in the bathroom. Without hesitation, she left Koko on Kovu's bed, silently waving it into the dustbowl.  The chinchilla followed her gesture and crawled into the dustbath. Resting the food container next to the dust bath, she grabbed one of the open notebooks on the floor, then a pen.