The Zoo-per Ball

The Zoo-per Ball

Prologue

It was about time Sam brought L&P into the 21^st century. At least that’s what Herb had joked when she’d told him she bought a small T.V. to mount on the corner wall behind the counter. Seeking innovation was part of what made Herb such a great mayor, but...if only he knew what that T.V. would do next.

The evening news was coming to a close, leaving Sam’s friends—Hannah Hare, Ben Clawhauser, and Judy and Nick Wilde—curious as to why they’d been called here at such a strange hour. Sam had something to share with them, she’d said. Hannah and the Wildes were bewildered, while Clawhauser showed up expecting a donut. The baker bunny laughed, gave him one, and told them all to be patient.

Sam’s guests were puzzling among themselves when the smiling tone of Peter Moosebridge’s voice caused their ears to perk up. The sudden change in his demeanor--Moosebridge was known for being nothing short of serious—was enough to make the group turn to the T.V. as one.

“For our final story tonight, the inside scoop on Zootopia 300’s most anticipated event: A Latin dance-off in support of our city. As “ZOOm” magazine previously reported, local newsmammal Leonard “Leo” Pard will compete. Joining Pard will be three other local luminaries: Chief Bogo of the Zootopia Police Department, Mayor Herb H. Horse, and our very own Fabienne Growley. The contestants will be joined by alumni of the Zootopia School Of Dance. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit an array of charities chosen by the contestants. Further information is available at Zootopia.org/zootopia300. I’m Peter Moosebridge—hope to see you all back here tomorrow. Goodnight.”

For a full minute following the newscast, you could hear a pin drop. But leave it to a certain cheetah to break the silence. “Oooh, I can’t even…!” squealed Clawhauser. “I did not know that soooo much goodness could be put into one sentence!”

At that pronouncement, the others found their voices. Nick leaned an elbow on the table, and, propping up his chin, glanced casually at Judy. “That’s going to be quite a trip, eh, Carrots?”

“It...I mean, Bogo?! And…?!” she laughed a little, pointing at Clawhauser. “What he said.”

“You’ve been awfully quiet over there, ‘lil snowshoe,” Nick said to Hannah with a wink. “I see that paw over your mouth. C’mon, let’s hear it.” Emboldened by her friends’ input, Hannah cautiously removed said paw from her mouth...and shouted,

“BEST NEWS EVER!” at the top of her lungs, before doing no less than ten laps around the cafe.

“Called it,” Nick said, grinning.

Chapter One

“I can’t believe this is it, guys! We’re actually here!” Clawhauser couldn’t contain his excitement. After that evening at the bakery three weeks ago, Ben had gone straight home to break out a box of Lucky Chomps to munch on while he ordered his ticket. He only had cereal for dinner on super-special occasions, and that definitely qualified.

WildeHopps were excited, too, but they’d chosen to pace themselves. For one thing, if Chief Bogo thought for one minute that the very idea of him dancing made them snicker uncontrollably, they’d both be fired. For another, although they were more than ready to cheer on the Mayor, if there was one thing they’d learned from him, it was to always expect the unexpected in his presence. So there was no use speculating...as much as they may have wanted to, just this once.

“OMGeee, I am so excited!”

“Clawhauser...” Judy knew somebody had to distract him before he went totally nuts.

“I never thought I’d see the day…!” The cheetah’s crescendo of enthusiasm caused him to tear up a bit. Maybe he was already there.

“Clawhauser!”

“Ooh! Sorry, Judy. What’s up?” The rabbit spoke calmly, allowing some of her own anticipation to seep into her tone.

“You know, Nick and I did a show with Mickey and friends recently. A couple of them sing Latin music, and they taught us a new song. Wanna hear it?” Ben beamed.

“Sure!” Before Nick could consider the fact that he might look ridiculous in front of a captive audience, he’d joined Judy in singing, “The Three Caballeros”. Ben was enchanted, and soon sang right along with them. As Nick threw caution to the wind, he was instantly aware that nothing he did today would be as embarrassing as what Chief Buffalo Butt and company had to endure...Perspective, he realized, is everything.

~

“Believe it or not, my friend, I think Fabienne took a shine to me...and because she’s the only female in this competition, I thought she could use someone in her corner.” The Honorable Mayor Herb. H. Horse was dressed to the nines in a purple suit, trimmed in a subtle blue. Plus, thanks to the top hat he wore, he was covered head-to-hoof in sequins.

They were in the courtyard of ABZ Studios, making their way to the show. Hannah couldn’t take her eyes off him...but only because of the sequins, and because she always paid attention at storytime. (It also didn’t hurt that her favorite color happened to be purple.) Her smile was ear-to-ear. “What a gentlemammal!” But he would hear nothing of it, instead choosing to praise the “driven and talented” Fabienne as a most worthy competitor.

Yet even as he spoke, his hoof somehow found its way to Hannah’s paw, which it held gently as she kept pace beside him, occasionally reminding herself to watch the “road”. As if the contact wasn’t notable enough, it was Hannah’s left paw: the one that had been damaged in the accident, the one that never functioned as it should, the one that she couldn’t blame most mammals for steering clear of. It was a pleasant reminder that no matter what happened today, to her Sir Horse was always a winner.

Chapter Two

Hannah found her spot next to the gang just as the announcer began to speak. “Hello and welcome! In celebration of Zootopia 300, we are searching for our ‘Mejor Bailarín’. Our contestants have been rehearsing for months to prepare for this one amazing night of performances. These will be scored based on a maximum of thirty points, or 10 from each judge. At the end of the night, you, our audience, will be polled to determine the winner.”

“But before we bring out the hopefuls, let’s introduce tonight’s judges. First up, please welcome our First Gentlemammal, Mr. Emmitt Otterton!” The audience applauded, then… “Please say hello to former Assistant Mayor, and current community activist, Mr. Phinneas Fairchild!” Another round of cheers. “And finally—the koala with a big heart and a bigger voice, Mr. Johnny Reid!”

“Johnny’s here?!” Hannah squeaked, though she couldn’t be heard over the thunderous applause. “How did I miss that?!” She laughed, though the answer was obvious: one, many mammals had gone to great lengths to keep this event under wraps—and, two, she’d been plenty preoccupied as she anticipated cheering Sir Horse on.

“Now…” the announcer continued, “Who. Is. Ready. To. FIESTA?!” The crowd went crazy. “Here to dance the mambo with his partner GoAnna Lightfoot, give it up for ABZ’s own Leo Pard!” As the hare watched the leopard shake and shimmy to “Mambo No. 5” in a white suit and matching hat with black accents, she jumped at the sudden noise close to her ear.

“Hey, Hannah!”

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Leah! Hey, how’d you get in? They closed the doors right after I got here.” Leah grinned.

“I’m the press!” she held up the badge around her neck. “But...” she leaned in, adding with a conspiratorial whisper, “I’m not really here to work. I just want to be a fan.” She already had her phone out, and took several snaps as she spoke. “I asked a colleague to cover this.”

“Cool beans!” exclaimed Hannah. “Your dad is doing awesome!” Leah smiled and gave her a claws-up.

Apparently the judges agreed, because Leo scored a 21. Hannah cracked up when Johnny said he had great rhythm...He would know, because his was the best! Just thinking about it made her a little light-headed.

Soon, the announcer began again. “Dancing the paso doble with his partner Katrina Smeowinoff, put your paws together for the ZPD’s Chief Bogo!” From the moment their boss took to the floor stepping in time to the music, Hannah’s sensitive ears caught Judy and Nick snickering. Even Leah was laughing. Hannah could see why—even though the number was upbeat (called “Espana Cani”, one that many mammals knew but couldn’t name) the Chief remained stoic. But it was hard to take him seriously wearing a black suit with red accents and ruffles! (Subtle ruffles, but still…) Emmitt summed up the performance best: it had excellent precision, but lacked passion. For that, the Chief scored a modest 18.

But—as the old adage says--‘the show must go on’. “Performing the cha-cha with her partner Pierre LeOnee, here is the lovely Fabienne Growley!” When the leopardess appeared—wearing a bedazzled red crop top and miniskirt that looked decidedly familiar--the first drumbeats of “Try Everything” began to play.

“Wow,” mouthed Clawhauser, and all wordlessly agreed that going with Zootopia’s unofficial anthem while dressed as its songstress was a bold move. But she rose to the occasion, and as Clawhauser silently concluded afterward, “crushed it”. And he wasn’t the only one who thought so.

“I’m fortunate to call Gazelle a friend,” Johnny told the leopardess. “I reckon you’ve just made her proud. Well done.” Fabienne’s willingness to use that song and live by it as she danced earned her a 24. That would be hard to beat…!

“For the final performance of the night, the tricentennial committee is honored to welcome a Zootopian icon. Please join us in a round of applause for the Honorable Mayor Herb H. Horse!” The whole gang joined in—naturally—but Leah, seated beside them, was the first to rise. Soon Judy did the same, as did Nick. Clawhauser stood, too, gazing around in wonder as the entire studio got gradually to their feet. “Wait for me!” Hannah shouted on a laugh, easing herself onto the balls of her feet. Her paws seemed to move a mile a minute as her eyes filled with tears of joy and pride. Never had she witnessed a warmer—or more deserved--welcome.

All returned to their seats in time to hear the announcer say, “Dancing the salsa with his partner Pawlina Purrsikova, here is Mayor Horse!” As the strains of “La Bamba” began to play...’Twas the last dance of the night, and all through the house; no mammal was moving, least of all a mouse. All watched intently the sight they saw there: a tigress with prowess, and a salsa-ing Mayor. It was down to the wire, and all wished to see: What would transpire? What would the result be?

The gang—Leah included--was pleasantly surprised by his colorful suit. But clothes don’t make the mammal, and right away they noticed that he put the ‘spark’ in ‘sparkly’. It was clear that he’d been committed to his practice sessions, but hadn’t lost his playful side in the process. Hannah—by now smiling so wide that her cheeks were sore--considered this Pawlina a very lucky gal indeed. But she caught the thought and brushed it off—not just brushed, but cast it aside completely. Be that as it may, she was having a blast...and nothing could stop her from blushing profusely.

The Mayor’s big finish was met by another rousing round of applause. Hannah, Leah, and Clawhauser cheered, while Judy and Nick hooted their approval. “Woo-hoo!”

“Alright, Hoss!” Meanwhile, the judges had their own high praise for the horse.

“Your form was excellent, Herb,” noted Emmitt. Smiling, he added, “I noticed you didn’t forget to have fun, either, and that’s always good.”

“Esteemed Mr. Mayor,” Phinn began, “While I was away on my sojourn, I had the pleasure of watching many outstanding local performing artists. I daresay that you are on par with every one of them.” Johnny nodded in agreement.

“I taught this guy some of my moves once, and he kept up with me the whole time! I’m a decent dancer, but I couldn’t do what you just did.” He smiled. “Beauty, mate!” The performance that brought down the house garnered a total of 25 points—the highest score of the night!

But it wasn’t over yet...The audience vote was still on the table. As the announcer invited the crowd to pick up their seat-side scoring devices, Nick chose that moment to whisper what all his friends were thinking. “Where the heck is Sam?! It’s gonna be a close one.” But nobody bothered to answer as the announcer said, “Audience, please place your vote—now.” As a snippet of dramatic music played, the dance floor, suddenly a giant projection screen, lit up with each contender’s name and rising numbers. It was anybody’s game…! That is, right up until the last second.

Chapter Three

“AND MAYOR HORSE WINS!” the announcer boomed, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Chief Bogo offered a hoofshake, Fabienne a hug, and Leo a high-paw. Through it all, the gang rejoiced in the look of joyous shock on his face, laughing as they celebrated among themselves.

After a minute or two, Hannah snuck away unnoticed. ‘I gotta find Sam!’ she thought, smiling. She was almost to the door when she bumped into… “Bruce!” She gave him a high-paw, then looked around. “Where’s Zeke?” He smiled.

“With Ms. L. at the bakery,” he said. When he rolled his eyes a little, Hannah giggled. “You mean she didn’t show?!” Bruce shrugged.

“Yeah, well—she hates crowds, so...To each their own.”

“Yeah, but…?!” Hannah couldn’t fathom missing out on this day.

“It turns out she forgot there’s a VIP box in here,” came Zeke’s voice close behind them. “We were sittin’ in the bakery, watchin’ on the tube, and then she’s all, ‘Sweet cheese and crackers, we have a box in the studio!’ Drove like a bear outta heck to get here, and made it about halfway through.” He chuckled. “I’m lucky half the cops were already here.”

“I apologize, Zeke.” Sure enough, there was Sam, looking chagrined yet happy. The bear smiled slightly, nodding acceptance as she continued. “I’m glad his fanclub was here to hold down the fort. Mademoiselle President, I presume?” Sam dropped into an imaginary curtsy for Hannah, and the hare dissolved into laughter. Once she caught her breath, she offered the rabbit a heartfelt smile.

“Any time, Sam.” For a split second she wondered if her eagerness could be misconstrued, so she added brightly—and just as genuinely--“What are friends for?”

The bunny smiled back. “Well, since you asked...they’re for doling out victory treats! Round ‘em up, Hannah, and let’s go!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Hannah did an about-face and went to retrieve the others.

Soon WildeHopps, Clawhauser, Hannah, Leah, Bruce and Sam were back at the bakery, chatting, snacking, and generally enjoying themselves. The level of merriment was such that no one could’ve said how much time had passed when the bell over the door chimed, and in walked…

“H.H.H.! H.H.H.! H.H.H.!” everyone chanted. He smiled.

“Thank you for the fabulous reception, everyone.” Looking suddenly bemused, he added, “Four in one night! Phew!” He spoke as though he couldn’t believe it.

Striding over to greet Sam, he intoned, “Why, Samantha, what a pleasure to see you. Would you care to…”--the slight pause signified something memorable would follow-- “come up and see my etchings?” This was met with shouts of, ‘Whoa!’ ‘Wow!’ and similar exclamations—including Nick’s low whistle.

The sweet, if salacious, remark served to remind Hannah that she’d been watching Johnny for hours, and hadn’t talked to him once. Then she’d left without saying goodbye, and now she had no idea when she’d see him again. It didn’t matter that they’d never retreat to their own “gallery” again; she missed his company just the same. The thought weighed heavily on her, so she sought to soothe her soul with humor, as she always did.

Feigning insult, the hare said—on the verge of laughter-- “I know when I’m not wanted. I’m outta here.” This drew a few chuckles and a mock-scandalized look from Herb...But before Hannah could grab the door, someone else opened it.

“You’d leave without me?”

“Johnny!” She beamed. “I’ve missed you. I didn’t mean to do that to you, I just...”

“I know, darlin.” He hugged her, then joined the others inside. “Hey, guys! I talked to Emmitt on the way over. He had to get home, but he said to send his regards.” Herb smiled.

“That reminds me...I spoke to Phinn before I left. I believe his exact words were-- ‘You’ve made being a fair, just, upright mammal rather difficult by being top notch at everything you do’.” Herb shrugged modestly. “He also said to say, ‘hello’.”

“The guy’s got a point,” Nick conceded. “If I hadn’t seen you cut that rug with my own eyes, I’d say the whole thing was rigged.” Judy elbowed him in the ribs while a few of the others nodded reluctantly.

“That’s not true,” Hannah said indignantly. “It means that Sir Horse has taught us all to be more principled, compassionate mammals. Like Phinn said—it’s not our fault that he dances as well as he does that, or...pretty much anything else.” They all laughed, but Leah said, “Right on, Hannah!”

“Thanks, Leah.”

“By the way—just curious, but—you never said why you almost got locked out of the show.” She grinned.

“I’d just pulled into the courtyard and spotted something shiny and purple from a distance. It was Sir Horse! He was on his way inside, so we went in together, he was telling me about rehearsals, and how awesome Fabienne is...” She feigned nonchalance at the latter—not just because she’d now seen it for herself, but also because she decided against sharing what happened after that. She wanted that one small but special detail for herself.

From there, Ben offered a cheerful account of his day, including the new song WildeHopps had taught him. He glanced hopefully at Judy and Nick. “Can we sing it again, guys?” Judy smiled, and Nick said,

“Why the heck not?” The trio sang a few verses before Ben chimed, “C’mon, everyone, join in!” That’s how three caballeros became nine.

Satisfied by their sing-along, Ben asked, “Hey—what does ‘caballeros’ mean, anyway?” Nick plugged the exotic word into his phone.

“Gentlemammals,” he reported. Hannah bit back a laugh.

“With all due respect, Ben, I think there’s only two of those here,” She smiled fondly at Sir Horse and Johnny as the cheetah giggled.

“Yeah.”

“I’ve still got a long way to go,” Bruce agreed with a self-deprecating smile. “Coach here,” he continued, using his nickname for Herb, “is showing me the ropes.”

That’s when Nick realized he’d been snubbed.

“Hey!” For the thousandth time that day, everyone lost it laughing.