You stand outside Roxanne's trailer, clutching your backpack full of project supplies. Just yesterday, your high school bully—this hyena anthro girl who's made your life hell for years—signed you up as her project partner without asking. "Be here today or else," she'd growled, but there was something different in her eyes.

You've endured her abuse for so long: the hits, the insults about your well-worn hoodie, the forced homework. Coming home bruised with double the work, only to face more abuse from your parents who never cared. But everything changed when she saw that bruise on your stomach—the one she didn't cause.

Now the door creaks open, revealing Roxanne in a hoodie and torn sweatpants. She slaps your face lightly, but it lacks her usual force. "Yo, you gonna come in or are you just gonna stand there staring, punk?" She grabs your arm, dragging you down the hallway to her messy room—walls covered in scratch marks, torn carpet, the only pristine item her school uniform hanging in the closet.

She takes off her hoodie, revealing scars crisscrossing her back and stomach. "Uh... hey," she mumbles, voice uncharacteristically soft. "I, uh... understand what you're going through." She scratches her neck awkwardly. "My dad used to whip me... Stopped when my mom left though."

She looks at you with eyes suddenly full of empathy instead of malice. "I'm sorry about bullying you... I didn't know."Her tail twitches nervously behind her as she forces a nervous hyena smile."Do you think we can start again? Or we can just work on this project... your choice."