Zootopia Adventures

Early Morning Hustle

It has been about a month since Assistant Mayor Bellweather was caught in the act of allegedly masterminding the Nighthowler felony. Ever since then, prey and predator have recovered their bond of trust towards one another. Activities in Zootopia carried on as per normal; They board the same public transportation, work in the same stuffy, air conditioned offices and the kids played games of tag and soccer together in the streets and local parks once again. Quite a happy ending like what animated films always portray; And that's exactly how it felt like.

"Hey, you shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"Yeah, well you shut up!"

"Hey, neighbour! You better be awake cause you are not going to be sleeping with us awake!" The deer from next door pounded on the drywall, which acted as a divider between two small apartments; One which a groggy, semi-conscious bunny was woken up by the sound of her ridiculously loud neighbours. As if the two flamboyantly rowdy deer were not enough to get her out of bed, the digital alarm clock set on her bedside drawer began to beep.

"You better hit that alarm, it is annoyingly loud!"

"Just like you are, big mouth!"

"Oh, you shut up!"

Judy sleepily shuffled towards the drawer and attempted to turn off the alarm clock by batting it with her paw, missing the clock a number of times before actually hitting the off switch. Perhaps it's about time she moved on to an actual apartment of her own, she thought. She could hardly go to sleep with her pesky neighbours holding nonsensical heated arguments almost every morning and night. Especially when she has an acute sense of hearing as a bunny. It's impossible to get them to simmer down when all the replies from them were pointless retorts that reheat the incessant squabble. Taking a deep breath, she pulled on a bright smile and prepared herself for the day ahead.

Walking down the stairs, she eagerly greeted the landlady which rented her the room in Grand Pangolin Apartments, though Judy did feel that the prefix "Grand" does not exactly describe the actual settings of the apartment. The nine-banded armadillo dressed in a simple formal attire returned the gesture humbly as she exited the almost decrepit building, shading her eyes from the gentle rays of the warm morning sun. It was another gorgeous day in Zootopia; hardly does it have thunderstorms or bad weathers in the heart of the city. Other districts are an entirely different case, though. Spinning her car keys in one paw, she hopped gingerly towards her new form of transport; her very own police car. The size of the car was a giant as compared to Judy, but that was the smallest sized car that the ZPD could provide. It was originally suited for wolves, which were considered the smallest of the species in the force before Judy joined the ranks. Approaching the parking meter, Judy covered her face with her paw as she punched the side of her car.

"Oh, crackers! How many times must I forget about the parking meter!" Judy exclaimed as she swiftly pulled the fine ticket off her car's windscreen wipers, hoping no one would notice that a well-known, all-rounder cop had been issued a ticket. Opening the car door, she hastily climbed up the seat, raised additionally by a couple of unneeded hardcover books and slammed it shut before opening the ticket in her paw.

"Huh. This must be the new recruit. Chief Bogo sure does like to assign newcomers as meter maids." Judy exclaimed as she scrutinized the details and the fine print which was on the ticket. "013, thirteen tickets within half an hour; not bad for a beginner. "

It was a short ride before she arrived near a moss patched stone archway bridge which overhung a shallow river. As usual, Nick was waiting for her, clothed in the ZPD attire, looking all smug with his pair of nifty shades. Noticing the police car, he strolled casually towards the car door and entered the front seat.

Keeping his shades in the chest pocket, Nick eyed Judy with his typical carefree expression. "You were 5 minutes behind usual schedule; something went wrong, Carrots?" he asked. Judy's ears pricked up straight.

"We are still early for work, why do you care about me being 5 minutes off your loose schedule?" Judy retorted, trying to hide the fact that Nick had noticed something was off. Without realizing she accidentally eyed on her pocket for a brief moment out of anxiety; Which Nick did not miss out on.

"Oh... I see now Whiskers. Got a ticket still even when you were once a meter maid?" Nick exclaimed, snatching the ticket off her vest skillfully with his nimble paws; One of the perks of being a formerly experienced con artist.

"I- I- Give it back! Not everyone is perfect you know!" Judy blushed reaching for the ticket which Nick playfully held it away, her face flushed full of embarrassment. Nick chuckled, enjoying the look on her face.

"Well, if you say so, Sweetheart," Nick replied, sticking the ticket in between the black plastic panels of the car's aircon vents. Judy immediately retrieved the ticket and slipped it into her pant pocket, just in case Nick decided that toying with her once was not enough.

"You know, sometimes I do wish you would walk into a signpost head first," Judy noted with a slight smile, stepping on the fuel.

"Don't worry Carrots, I will make sure that never happens," Nick commented with a fake humble tone as he wound down the side window. Reaching into a paper bag, he took out a styrofoam cup. "Care for some latte? Or a Mocha?" he asked as he reached into the bag and pulled out another cup.

"Or neither, I do not mind having a double the usual coffee intake, makes the day go a little faster," Nick expressed, head tilted towards Judy with an eyebrow raised whilst shaking one of the cups near her face.

"Latte, please,' Judy laughed, eyes fixed on the road as they made their way to work.