Chapter Text
There were times when an insufferable amount of pain filled each and every depth of her soul, out of nowhere, with no purpose or reason, it'd just happen for the sake of spiritual relief. It usually happened from focusing too much on observing people or the ambience that surrounded her, often times it'd hit her when she was with her friends or inserted in group activities, being around people was a very sensible trigger.
Altough it was a common occurence, there also happened to be days where she enjoyed the presence of others, when the weight around her shoulders seemed to ease up a bit, heart light and carefully hanging in its strings, mind following the conversations and not straying to unwelcomed thoughts like it often did. Anais looked around in curiosity as they entered the space, her friends excitedly hyping her up to go straight for the shop ahead of them, the slightly cold air urging her to hug her scarf closer to her mouth, cheeks infatuated with the temperature. Her eyes followed the sight of a few people going in and out of the amusement park, it wasn't the weekend so it was expected to not be full but still, it gave her some sort of comfort, like they were the only living souls existing in that moment, in that big of a fun space, like she was back to school where the playground was their kingdom. A smile crept up to her lips as she followed them into the shop, an array of different kinds of candy displayed across the shelves and decorations. To say her friends had a sweet tooth was underestimating their ability to devour whatever food was put in front of them. The same could be said about alchoholic beverages and in both occasitions Anais would stay far from it. While they marveled at their options, she went outside to admire the park, hands steadily stuffed in the insides of her jacket's pockets, a very good decision as she watched the way the other visitors kept shivering and muttering under their breaths about the cold weather. Their homeland wasn't exactly tropical or warm, but since it was winter season things had went up a notch.
She watched as people made their way to visit the attractions, kids tailing along with their hands tighly entertwined with their parents'. A sad memory came up front, the vivid feeling of the anger present in their words, venom spitting out from both their mouths, a permanent goodbye written on paper. Her mother didn't leave a very good impression of herself nor did Anais have that much affection for her to begin with, but it still changed her. They used to be a happy family once, but it was long gone and she was ultimately okay with it. Or so she thought.
It was late in the morning, a lingering hunger for lunch present in the air, they would soon get hungry again, the sweets weren't even considered to be appetizers. Anais let out a snort at their antics as she turned back to watch them fussing over a chocolate fountain, the employee worried about the samples not being enough for all of them, I should've taken the night shift!
Soon after (half an hour later), they were walking around the park with the small bags by their stomachs, hands continuously grabbing more sweets that they had bought at the store, a big smile on the Miss Darcy's face (she had later noticed the name tag on her uniform).
"I swear I could live happily for the rest of my life if I had a fountain like that at home."
"For what reason would you have a chocolate fountain at your cramped appartment, Otis?"
He frowned in desbelief at Ada's words, a finger going up and pointing at her, "Just so you know, I'm an avid fountain enterpreneur and a chocolate one, at that, would be very much welcomed." Laughter erupted between them, a happiness that Anais knew was temporary, the uniqueness it held unavoidably expiring as time passed by, their years at univeristy together coming to an end sooner than later. But she vowed to herself to enjoy it to the fullest. Before going to the foodcourt, they managed to cause a fuss at the ferris wheel, in an attempt to syncronize and blast music at the same time while signalling wih their hands like a bunch of kindergartners. The people on the ride giving both booths horrified looks as it looked like they'd fall from shaking so much.
Their laughter echoed across the venue as they had just finished eating, a tumultuous combination of sounds engulfing the ambience around them, the carefree feeling contraditory to the life that was waiting for them whenever this day would end. But they still enjoyed it like tomorrow wouldn't happen because what as the point of that? To suffer more than a mere human being already did? They still had far to go, the anxiety of the unknow was something that did not hold them back, they couldn't have that extra pain in their mundane lives.
Anais looked around once more, the number of people present at the park lesser than in the morning, a certain fantasy that they were the ones ruling over it at that moment, with no worries for public decency and etiquette. Paradise for young adults. She snickered at the thought, who was she to talk? Anais was the most well behaved out of all of them, yes it was because of her upbringing and she knew there was a fire swimming underneath of her essence, but still. The group headed towards the arcade, the commotion so roudy Otis bumped into Anais by accident (or not) and spun her into his side, arm going over her shoulders and pulling her to go faster so they could team up in Street Fighter against Hanne and Ada. With all the rough movements and the unlucky position of her wired earphones, the item fell quietly to the ground, a curious pair of eyes watching the scene unfold in front of her.
"Ohh come on! Anais! Kick her!" To say Otis was a competitive person was an understatement, his eyes shined with fervor for the game, they were now playing Mortal Kombat, the newest one, and their spirts were very high up.
"We're so gonna win this." Ada showed the pair her tongue in mockery as she waited for Hanne to finish the round with a fatality.
"Fatalityyyy" She said in a deep tone, eyebrows wiggling as she eyed the two best friends slump on their seats.
"Hey, it's okay. I bet you can win in Mario Kart, eh." Anais tried to cheer Otis up, a more relieved semblance on his face. What could he do? Mortal Kombat was, if not, his favorite game of all time. Even a gay person can have questionable tastes in video games!, he had once said in his defense. She watched as they hovered to the other side of the arcade, readily taking the button into their hands and avengeance written on Otis face. Anais shook her head in amused desbelief, body lifiting and steadily getting out of her seat. Before she could reach her friends, a figure standing by the entrance grabbed her attention, she frowned. It didn't exatcly look like a person but Anais couldn't really make it out in her head because more than half of its body was covered by the wall adjacent to the doors. What she could see clearly was one of its feet, or paws? It seemed like a bear's paw and it was definetly bigger than a human's foot. Although the scene looked like it was straight out of a horror movie, she unfortunetly had this curious and adventured side of her that hadn't been satisfied all her life. So her feet took her towards the doors, heart wrenching at the potentional threat of it being a feral animal or even a weirdo, how could she know with the limited visual she had? As she rounded up the corner and stepped outside, her gaze levitated to the right, a bench sitting close to the wall, the figure she had seen earlier planted on it, gaze fixated on Anais, or so it seemed. She couldn't really tell if its eyes were looking at her or not, it was a bear cotume, probably the mascot of the park. Her mind recalled the image at the entrance of the place, the mascot with open arms welcoming the kids into the park. Anais observed the person, they weren't saying anything, wait...was the person inside even awake? She went to their side and sat down, the force of it turning the big head around the slightest, the big fluffly arms spread at the legs, feet unmoving. These costumes usually have some kind of opening at the eyes no? Anais thought to herself, body closing in at the mascot, face coming closer, eyes searching for the real person inside, her braids falling onto it and adorning her face adorably.
She couldn't see much, even with the high lamps scattered along the venue, it didn't seem to be enough to lighten up the inside of the bear's head. Her eyes squinted in a great attempt to keep satisfying her curiosity, one thing Anais had going for her was perseverence, there was no way she'd give up on checking who was inside the costume. By the lack of movement, she concluded the person must've been sleeping. Her heart panged with sympathy, the day hadn't been too hot nor were there many people but if this person worked the full 8-hour shift in a bear costume, with all the weight and fur, then it was more than reasonable that they'd be spent. Anais was so focused on the task at hand that she'd fail to notice that the arm on the person's leg had left its original place and had planted itself onto her lower back, an innocent automatic move.
"Never had such a pretty girl this up close." Anais jumped at the voice coming from below her, a certain raspiness holding onto it. Oh no... She tried to distance herself from the other's body, only to blush at feeling an arm securing her from behind, a warmth coming from the fluffly material against her thin clothes.
"Oh, sorry. It's a reflex, from the kids and all." The person, the girl, had said that, but her arm hadn't left, in fact, it seemed as if she'd push Anais more onto herself, a smirk perfectly hidden under the big head with big round eyes. Anais watched perplexed as the big head turned slightly towards her, body following the same movement, and now facing her in clear challenge. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, at all." The soft fur on the fabric, the bench they were sitting at, the flirty personality of the girl underneath the costume and the slight breeze passing by with the sun setting at a distance, she blushed, hard. Never had anyone approached her like this, Anais wasn't one to leave her house if there wasn't a clear reason to do so. So she didn't have the experience of encounters like this, her heart beating hard at the implication that this girl with such a pleasant voice found her attractive.
"Um...sorry, I didn't mean to bother you, I was just curious." The arm holding her pulled her closer in a gentle manner, gaze going soft at the expression on Anais' face. Of course she wouldn't do all of it if she sensed any hostility in the other's demeanor, Bobbie wasn't one to harasss people.
"About?"
Anais gulped in embarrassement, gaze looking at what she thought could be the girl's real eyes, Boobie freezing at their gazes meeting, "...about if you were awake or not."
"Aw, I thought you wanted to see my beautiful face." The tone present in her voice was of clear teasing, it didn't actually convey dissapointment, but it still made Anais open her mouth in desbelief.
"Could you be more flirty?" She didn't mean for that to come out so aggressively, body sinking into the bench at the realization of how the phrase came out, nervousness getting the best of her. Anais felt the hand at her back slowly lift off.
"Sorry, but yes I was dozing off. Didn't sleep much so the tiredness kicked in, it's the end of my shift too." If someone were to be there and look at them interacting, it'd probably be a very strange scene to witness. The temperature had dropped down, the arm that was around her few moments ago was greatly missed, the clear indication that the day was coming to an end.
"Well, before I forget, I believe I have something that's yours." Anais watched as the other girl got up, the action strangely cute with the little ears at the top bouncing back and forth, paws way too big for its own porportion. The next thing she did was even cuter, there was a hidden backpack on the side of the bench, sitting on the clean ground, a shade of yellow and purple across its length. The girl pulled out something from the front pocket, an enourmous attempt with such costume on, and presented it to Anais. "Here, it fell off of your bag a while earlier." She shoved it forward by extending her fuzzy arm, the whole thing seeming like it came out of a comic. "You're lucky you're too pretty not to look at."
Her cheeks were the brightest they'd ever been, her earphones dangling from the other's hand, paw?, waiting for her to take it. Her gaze fell on the girl's again, a pinpoint precision Bobbie didn't even know it'd be possible. Anais let out sigh, her skin itching. "Thank you." Now the sentence came out too soft, her body and voice struggling to find equal grounds. She grunted, hands coming forward to hide her face, she was embarrassing herself in front of a stranger just because her voice was pretty and her complimnents were eliciting other cravings inside her soul. The bear took the backpack and put it on her shoulders like one would do, her face inside of the big head tainted red at the cuteness display, she wouldn't let go of this opportunity, there was a possibility.
Her body turned again to fully face Anais, arms extended at her sides, fingers fidgeting inside of the paws. She's so cute, lord have mercy...
"The name's Bobbie. I have a feeling we'll see each other again." Her hand acted on its own, embracing one of the girl's paws. "Anais."
"Well Anais, I'll be going home now." Her friends left the arcade at the same time Bobbie finished her sentence, confused looks thrown her way. "Am I drunk or is Anais talking to a full on bear?" Otis said, arm being slapped by Hanne the next second, the usual laughter erupting again. "Anais' a furry now, that one we weren't expecting!"
She got up from the bench, face twisted in shock at such thing, "Am not! Hanne!" Her view of the group was blocked by Bobbie, arms coming in close awkwardly, like it usually would with such a big head. She blinked her eyes, was she hugging her? Her front was flushed against the big belly (at least it was soft), her own arms failing at returning the gesture, the costume was definetly too big. "Sorry, it's a reflex. From hugging the kids and all."
Anais felt her face heat up once again, a smile creeping up her lips, "You're a rascal, aren't you?"
"A rascal? I was just doing you a favor since you seem to be into costumes and all. You should be thanking me, I'm shielding you from your friends' teasing." The warmth at her back had returned, the grip firmer, a comfortable feeling oddly inviting. "And if I get something from it then what? It's just a shame I'm wearing this right now, I bet you smell really good."
Anais scoffed at the remark, her arms trying to get a better hold of the suit. "I'm guessing you're not going to take that head off?"
"Nah, I gotta keep the fantasy going." The hold on her grew lighter and Bobbie took a slight step back. "I'm just kidding, it's policy rules. Can't have this off until I'm out of here, so you're gonna have to suffer."
She rolled her eyes at the audacity, nervousness picking up once again.
"Dont think of yourself that mighty, just because your voice is nice doesn't mean-" Bobbie interrupted her with a shriek, the smirk coming back with full force. "Ohh, so you like my voice, huh? You should hear it without all this muffling and, you know, preferably closer."
Anais couldn't see but she knew there was a mischivious smile present on Bobbies' lips as her voice wavered at those words, the big head tilted in clear teasing, those big eyes watching in delight as her body seemed to lose its strenght at the thought of hearing the girl that up close. Satisfied with the impact of her words, said girl turned around to face the group, hand waving, "Hello folks, I hope you'll come back again, GroovyIsland thanks you for the visit!" The whole lot of them watched as Bobbie began going on her way, feet stomping as she turned to her right in the direction of the backdoors.
"Damn, while we were having fun, you were flirting with a bear! With a sexy voice!"
"Please, don't say that ever again." Ada shoved her elbow into Otis' side, his face contorted in pain, "Ow!"
Anais stayed rooted to the spot, gaze following the trail Bobbie had gone with few minites ago. The cold was setting in quickly, the hug earlier a great help in dealing with it. She huffed, white transparent clouds forming around her breath, her right hand reaching for the pocket on her jacket, the lost earphones dangling in between her slim fingers. "She found these." Anais showed it to the group, bodies coming in closer.
"That bear is a literal saviour, you'd die if you counldn't listen to music on your way back home." She nodded in reflief, she was trying not to bring it up too much but they knew how she was when it came to music. She couldn't live without it.
"Okay, I guess our paradise is over and tomorrow we're back to hell." Hanne declared, pushing her friends in the direction of the exit.
"Ugh, don't even remind me. That quiz is messing up my neurons." Otis said, the little bag he had on his arm filled with candy, the sound of plastic echoing in the air.
They went their separate ways with simple goodbyes, after all they'd be together again by tomorrow at univesity. On her ride back home, the bus silent as it could be with only two more people in it and the driver, her head stilled against the glass, eyes closing and thoughts going to a bear with big paws.
The cafeteria surely wasn't the best place to be cramming last minute at, but it was their only option. The infamous exam for the next class was approaching in an hour, her body hunched over and attention solely on the notebook at the table.
"Psst, Anais."
"Hmm?" Her eyes wouldn't dare to move from the item firmly rested on the table.
"Someone's been staring at you." She responded with desinterest, a low mumble coming out of her lips "good for them". Otis rolled his eyes at her reaction, gaze going back and forth, "I mean it in a good way, she's admiring you as we speak."
She? It's a girl? Her interest had piqued, a silent fire brewing deep down. "Ugh, I really can't, this exam is frying my brains out."
Her bestfriend huffed with fake sadness, he knew that was the only way to make Anais break from her focus, "Well too bad, that blonde's a cutie and I'm not even into girls."
She jumped in place, okay so she was down bad so what? Who wouldn't be? However, the moment she looked up in hopes to find said girl, her eyes didn't find anyone remotedly looking at her and definetly not a blonde. "Are you messing with me? Unless she's a ghost, there's no one."
"What? Oh my god, Anais..." Otis rolled his eyes at her yet again, a scowl present in his expression, "You took too long, she's gone." He turned back in his chair to scope the area one more time, but there was no signal from the stranger "She was so your type, dude! Damn, the opportunities you loose." As reality sat in, she slumped in her seat, a sadness washing over her at the situation. It had been 3 weeks since they went to the amusement park and the fateful encounter with this 'Bobbie'. Anais wouldn't lie to herself, the premise of encountering the girl again had been in the back of her mind ever since, so when Otis had mentioned it was a girl looking at her, a slight hope crossed her heart, but she failed to catch it in time. To say she felt defeated was an understatement, she'd never see Bobbie again, the tickets for the amusement park weren't cheap and she was in no condition to spend money in anything other than real necessities. Ugh, fuck this.
Anais got up from the table, she'd study enough.
"I'm gonna go drown my sorrows in the bathroom, be right back."
Everyone hummed in acknowledgement at her remark, a bunch of stressed 'okays' leaving her friends' mouths. She wasn't the only one preoccupied with that damned exam.
"Just don't forget to wash your hands afterwards, babes." Otis whisper-yelled as she was already leaving the cafeteria, a thumbs-up thrown his way.
Her feet followed the halls of the building, body stopping for a moment in front of a vending machine. Anais looked intently at each item, the bright LED's too good at selling the products in display. After a second or two of contemplation, she turned around to head for the bathroom, she wasn't feeling hungry nor thristy, but her throat kept itching for some reason. Her hands opened one of the stalls, the bathroom in great contrast to the too crowded cafeteria. It was deserted, no signs of people in it. She sighed in comfort, oh how nice it feels to be the only one at a public bahtroom, it's a peace like no other. As she finished her business, her body went for the sink, hands shivering at the freezing temperature of the water. "Fuck." She hissed, eyes closing for a moment.
"What vile words coming from such a pretty mouth."
Anais jumped in place, head moving upwards to look into the mirror. She knew this voice, its tone too familiar not to notice the way it hang in the air, the raspiness soothing to her ears, that bear costume had deprived her of hearing her voice with such clearness. Oh...
"Bobbie..." She turned around to face her, mouth slightly opened at the sight, blonde hair, small and perfectly rounded nose at the tip, eyes an intricate mix of emotions, the piercing adorning one of her nostrils, lips extended in a smirk. Anais gulped, Bobbie was leaning onto the door, arms crossed and outfit all comfortable. Otis didn't lie about her being her type. Maybe it had passed a second or ten, Anais couldn't really tell, but her gaze wouldn't stop admiring the girl in front of her. She's so...
"So you were the one staring at me in the cafeteria."
Bobbie nodded, her smile softer, "How could I not? Have you seen yourself?" She was so stunned at Bobbie's beauty her reaction didn't even come at the comment, heart drumming loudly in her ears. She put her hands behind herself on top of the counter, just for good measure if it came to the point where she couldn't stay upwards. Anais knew there wouldn't be long before that'd inevitably happen. "You're beautiful." The blonde's smile faltered at that, a deep blush spreading across her face. She coughed into her hand, to divert the girl's focus. She had the big head at the time, so the piercing gaze Anais threw her way those two times didn't impact her this hard. But now? This up close? Oh boy....
"Don't look at me like that..." Bobbie tried to hide her face as best as she could, her hands partly covered by her oversized hoodie, the sight truly life-changing for the black girl.
Maybe it was because Bobbie had shown another side of herself, the firtly personality pushed back by Anais' honesty or because she was actually in the presence of the other girl after all those weeks, but her feet acted on its own, small steps bringing her closer to the girl now currently crumbling in embarrassment. She stopped at an arm's distance from her, gaze looking to the left and observing the hallway, the cogs in her brain analyzing the clock on the wall, she still had more than half an hour till the next class. Her body reacted on instinct at the sight of people passing by, arm pulling a surprised Bobbie into one of the stalls and fastly closing the door. Anais struggled to turn around in the cramped space, back fully resting onto the door, gaze locked with the other girl's. Bobbie breathed in deep, they were defintely closer.
"Didn't know you were one to pull a girl into a stall." Anais watched her intently, she was trying to flirt again in an attempt to stop the blush from worsening. It was cute. Too cute.
"You knew me before the park, didn't you?"
Bobbie leaned her head onto the side of the stall, her right hand hanging in the air waiting for her want to be processed and converted into movement. It went forwards and her fingers caught three braids in their grasp, thumb caressing the hair gently. Her gaze went back to Anais, her expression unreadable as she watched the girl's hand play with it. "One could say so...my course classes are prominently on the other building so there weren't many chances for you to see me but I've been keeping a check on you." Her face scrunched up, that sounded bad. "Wait, not like creepy or whatever, you know? Just- I couldn't, I can't keep my eyes off of you so-" Her eyes closed in disgust at how desperate her voice sounded, Bobbie couldn't recall the last time she had been like this and she definetly didn't want for Anais to feel weirded out or anything of that sort.
The sigh that left her lips engulfed the tiny space and the scent of mint hit Anais' face. The blood going through her veins raced each other even harder. The itch in her throat seemed to get worse.
The blonde girl filled the air with her voice yet again, "Your braids are cute." The gentle caress hadn't stopped, in fact, there seemed to be more hair in her grasp, her full left hand toying with it. The action alone was proving to be quite difficult for Anais to ignore her heart's exponential worsening. Her gaze left the girl's hand and chose to observe Bobbie's face once more, the sight too comforting not to look at. The blonde hair was parted midway, its original darker roots showing, its length fitting quite nicely with her facial structure.
A small smile had come upon her lips at the red-ish color present on Bobbie's cheeks, the girl's eyes following the movement of her fingers swaying the braids back and forth. To say Anais was enamored by the girl's fixation with it was an understatement.
"Bobbie?"
She looked up, face stunned at the look the girl currently resting onto the door was giving her, body frozen and heart hammering inside its cage. One thing was certain, Anais could've acted shy the first time they officially met but confidence wasn't something she was lacking, not at all. And she'd prove it.
"Y-yes?" Her voice had betrayed her, hand slowly letting go of the girl's hair, arm stilled and waiting for another order.
Her back lifted off from the door, body coming in much closer to Bobbie's, eyes now at the same level.
"This would be a perfect time for your reflexes to kick in, you know. Just so you'd have an excuse to touch me." Her hands went for the hoodie's collar, fingers holding it firmly and pulling the other girl even more into her, bodies almost flushed against each other. Anais proceeded to place her mouth right by Bobbie's ear, smile teasing and mischievous. "Unfortunately, I've got an exam to do in 15 minutes so we'll have to postpone this."
The sound of Bobbie gulping nervously was loud and clear, a fire burning under her skin, the arms that were by her sides moved forwards, hands precisely placed on Anais' waist. She closed the distance between them, the other girl's hands still holding her close by the collar, gazes fighting a silent war.
"I'm guessing you fancy me more without the big head and paws." Bobbie whispered strongly, voice coming out in a fast pace. She didn't want this interaction to end so fast. There were so many things she wanted to say and do.
Anais smiled charmingly, lips hovering over Bobbie's, a dangerous atmosphere setting in, "You have no idea." She leaned in slowly, thumb brushing over the blonde's jaw by accident, the hands at her waist squeezing the skin with want. She'd show her how to put on a show. At the last second, as Bobbie's closed eyes waited patiently for what was about to come, her lips took a very well planned detour and instead made contact with her right cheek. Her lips hadn't stayed there for more than a second, but the dark lipstick left its mark on the girl's skin, a dumbfounded expression on her face as her eyes watched Anais wet her thumb and place it upon her cheek, slowly scrubbing the color away.
"Well..." Anais wouldn't leave without getting on the other girl's last nerve, that's the least she could do after all the teasing she had endured at the park. She made it seem like she was done touching Bobbie's face, but her finger slipped and brushed onto her lower lip, the action taking way too long to be an accident. Anais was well aware of what she was doing. The girl's mouth stayed agap even after the pressure on her lip left, the warmth starting to sting. This girl...
"I've gotta get going but it was a pleasure to see you all adorable like this." She winked at Bobbie, the distance between their bodies growing as Anais opened the door with her back and slowly left the space all the while looking at Bobbie intently. Said girl seemed to come out of her daze as she heard sneakers making noise onto the bathroom tiles, "Wait!" She left the stall in a hurry, backpack almost falling off of her shoulders.
Anais was by the door already, body turning around at the desperate tone in the blonde's voice, "Don't worry, stresskip. You got your eyes on me, don't you?" She smirked and left for the cafeteria, heart finally rested at being reunited with Bobbie.
"Did you become one with the toilet or what?" Mila asked, the group packing their things up to head for the classroom. Anais shook her head with a smile, hands going for her backpack. "Nope, just had to take care of something." Every sillable came out accentuated, everyone's heads turning to look at her in questioning. Otis took notice of her smile, an intrigued expression coming onto his face, eyes squinted.
"You bitch! Were you making out with someone?"
"Unfortunately, no." They all had the same thought 'unfortunately?' He let out an excited shriek, arm going for her neck and pulling her closer "you naughty girl!" They all got up and began to leave, the whole group passing through the hall, Otis looking at Anais as they talked about whatever, gaze going upwards again and noticing the blonde girl from earlier against a wall. He poked Anais to get her attention, "Look, there's the girl that-" as he was talking, Otis turned his head towards his friend but the words died at the tip of his tongue at the scene. The blonde girl was looking at Anais shamelessly, teeth holding onto her bottom lip, a dangerous glint in her eyes. His brain connected the dots, the sight of Anais winking at the said girl solidifying his theory. His bestfriend wouldn't be like that to some random person, she wasn't like that. Blondie had to be someone she knew of, his thoughts kept going back and forth to try to make sense of it and his mind landed on one particular name, the memory of bear paws popping up.
"Hey, girly. Is that Bobbie?" He watched as she faced him, a toothy smile thrown his way, "Maybe." Otis had never seen such a smile on his friend's face, Anais letting go of him to put a skip in her step, body growing closer to their classroom. Now that was a sight to behold, who knew bears could have such an impact?