I have a Boyfriend

Tigress sighed, sagging her shoulders and dropping her head back. "I may have done the dumbest thing ever." Viper, a green snake with two flower petal clippings on her head and a green silk dress specially fitted for snakes, cocked her head to the side.

"What happened?" the snake asked.

"I... scared a cute guy off with my... protection ring," Tigress grumbled.

Mei-Ling, a mountain cat wearing black shoulder-length gloves and a green slip dress, smirked. "I told you that thing was a bad idea."

Tigress glared at the mountain cat. The thought of strangling her darted through the tiger's mind, but then they would be in a car wreck. And she didn't want to ruin this dress. "It wasn't a bad idea. Do you know how many guys come up to me when you guys are out dancing?"

"Well, you shouldn't really be sitting next to the place where most people get their liquor," Viper said.

"Hmm." Tigress crossed her arms. "Still, I flashed my ring at him, but when he asked to use the bathroom," Tigress smacked her forehead with her hand, "I told him I had a boyfriend."

"Ohh," Mei-Ling flinched. "What did he say?"

"He laughed it off, but it didn't help that I also spilled water all over the counter," Tigress sighed, feeling a scaly tip on her shoulder. She looked at Viper's tail and saw the snake had a gentle smile of reassurance.

"Don't worry, Tigress. I think he understands."

"Yeah," Tigress rolled down the window, "but even if he understands, he thinks I'm taken for. All because of this stupid ring." She threw the fake ring out of the car and rolled the window back up. A tremendous weight floated off her shoulders, and she huffed out a bit of air.

"Better luck next Sunday, Ti," Mei-Ling said. "Who knows? Maybe he's going to be there next night."

"Yeah, sure," Tigress grumbled doubtfully.

The next day, Tigress sat at her desk in the library. Her librarian position fitted her perfectly. The quiet noise of papers turning, surrounded by knowledge and wisdom, and best of all it was quiet and mostly still. The small chatter between co-workers never worried her or unnerved her. A plaque saying, "Best Librarian" sat on her desk. Tigress wore a red business blouse with a black pencil skirt. A gold pendant necklace with a small Chinese character was lovingly wrapped around her. It was a happy place for her.

A frown still lined Tigress's face and her eyes disinterestedly scanned the papers of the book that was returned. She was still thinking about last night's mistake. A cloud seemed to hang over her as the next person came to her desk. "Are you returning a book?" she asked without looking up.

"Yes, and I was wondering if I could ask a question?" said the customer. Tigress widened her eyes and furrowed her eyebrows at the book. That was odd. The person's voice sounded familiar. Just like- "I was wondering how your boyfriend was doing?" Tigress looked up and saw the same panda from the club standing in front of her with a cheeky smile. Tigress's eyes widened as her mouth dropped a hair.

The tiger quickly shook her head and resumed her professional composure with a cough. "My personal relationships are not to be discussed at work." Her even tone and emotionless stare were for show. This panda seemed like he thoroughly enjoyed messing with her. She wasn't going to be played with. It was time to establish who was the mouse and cat in this game.

The panda nervously laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Right, sorry about that. I was just here to return a book I borrowed yesterday."

Strange. "I didn't see you yesterday." Tigress rose her eyebrow.