Zootopia Fanfiction: The Terrifying Yellers

Judy and Bernie, Bernie and Judy

"Have you listened to Rhine yet?" the text from Bernie said.

Judy smiled, sitting up in bed. "No, I don't have a CD player, but I will play it at home, I promise."

"Do you have a portable CD player?"

Judy laughed out loud. She pushed aside her covers and slammed her fingers on the radio button on her alarm, and jumped out of bed. She quickly grabbed her shower stuff, raced out of the apartment to the females' bathroom. She created a new record for how fast she could wash up, and hurried back to her apartment. In her haste she had left her apartment unlocked, but nobody cared for her few belongings to break in and steal anything. Her neighbors' noise would have startled any intruder anyway...

Double-checking that her apartment was indeed locked, Judy shoved her iKarret into the waistband of her leggings, and bounded down the long stairwell to the first floor.

Bernie's huge black pickup truck nearly blocking the building's entrance was a spectacular sight when Judy walked out. It was extra-shiny, as if Bernie had just bought it. The sly bunny was leaning against the side, with a smirk on his face. He wasn't wearing his usual police uniform; he had on an orange button-up and khakis. Judy couldn't help but notice that he was wearing white Vans.

"Again with the white Vans!" she exclaimed.

He opened the passenger door for her. "Well, I just wanted to show you how trendy I can be," he said, dimples appearing on his face.

"Well! I must say, I'm impressed," Judy said as Bernie hurried over to the driver's side and hopped in.

"Do you have those CDs? The Rhine ones?" he asked, starting the engine and driving away from Cliffview Road. The sheer cliff dropped away to the left, creating a vast landscape of Downtown Zootopia below. If Judy looked extra carefully, she could almost pick out the train station at the edge of the district.

"You're really persistent about those CDs, aren't you?" Judy took out a few of the Rhine music from the zipper pocket of her suitcase.

"Just want to make sure that they're fully appreciated," said Bernie shrugging nonchalantly. Judy rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Fleetwood Yak wasn't so bad last night," he pointed out.

"All right, all right." Judy slid one of the CDs into the player. It started to make a whirring sound, and soon enough, a drum seat started pounding out the beat.

"Yeah, I love this song," Bernie said, bobbing his head.

Judy laughed, and stared out the window as Rhine started rapping and playing a bass guitar. Trees flew by as Bernie drove down the hill heading towards the heart of Zootopia. Tall buildings to their left grew higher and higher, and the traffic grew busier. The honking and yelling sounds intensified.

Bernie turned up the music.

The rapping was so fast that Judy couldn't even understand what they were saying. She blocked out the singing and focused on the music instead. The bass guitar then did a solo, and was joined by the drums.

Bernie made a lane change, and turned into a quieter street. Snarlbucks was at the end of the block. He parked on the street, and the two bunnies walked into the busy coffeeshop.

Judy found a small table by the window, where they had a clear view of all the many animals walking by. Bernie went in line, prepared to wait for a half hour.

Judy took out her iKarret and checked her notifications. Nick had added her in a comment on Iguanagram. She tapped on it, and the app appeared. It was a picture of Gazelle, notifying everyone that she had a concert tonight. Nick had written below the picture; Wish my best friend could come!! She smiled.

"Here you go," Bernie said, handing her a Snarlbucks cup. Their hands touched for a brief second. Even though Bernie didn't show any reaction, Judy's cheeks blushed, but it wouldn't be visible through her gray fur.

"So," Bernie exhaled deeply as he plopped down in the chair across from her. "You're going back home? For how long?"

"Until tomorrow--Sunday." Judy took a sip of her drink. She smacked her lips, and looked at the scrawly writing on the cup. "Carrot-flavored?"

Bernie touched his cup to hers. "A bunny's secret love," he said matter-of-factly.

"You read my mind," Judy said, taking another sip. She set down the cup tentatively. "So...Rhine doesn't sound so bad."

"Yeah, but at first you can't understand what they're saying, but you get used to it...as soon as you look up the lyrics online," Bernie laughed.

Judy giggled, feeling foolish. "Do you have any siblings?"

"Two hundred and ninety-nine of them."

"Whoa. That's way more than I do. I have two hundred and seventy-five."

"One of them named Bernie?"

Judy cocked her head. "Why yes I do."

Bernie laughed. "I have a sister named Judy. And Jenny. And Jenna. And Juniper..."

"I have Bernice, Burn, Becky, Bucky..."

"Burn? Really?"

"Yeah, my parents ran out of names..."

Judy talked with Bernie for a long time, until their drinks got cold and it was nearly time for her to go to the train station. Judy checked her iKarret for the time. "It's about time I got to the train station," she said.

"Aw, you sure? I was just about to tell you about Yellow and Bell," Bernie pretended to whine.

Judy cocked her head. "I'm sorry honey, but I promised my family that I would go and see them. It's been weeks since I've seen them. Don't worry, I'll come back."

"But...but..." Bernie pretended to protest.

"Come on. I need a ride."