Animal Café Ch. 19

Author's note: This chapter goes hand in hand with Chapter 18.5. Make sure you read it first as those two chapters evolve in parallel.

"Come, Accalia. Your shift is over. Let's take you out of that costume."

As Lucy spoke those words, Accalia ran away from her, but she had nowhere to go. This useless protest was a repetitive scene at the Cakes & Pets when one of the cute animals reached the end of its work shift. Lucy asked for cooperation, but the pets always acted as if they didn't expect what she would do. To me, I found this theatrical performance rather cute, but to Lucy, it was draining, and sometimes, to make things easier, she had to resort to a carrot and stick approach to obtain some sort of obedience.

"Accalia, get out from behind the couch. I can see your big ears anyway. Today, I wanted you to spend the day with Clara. Don't you want to spend the day with Clara?"

The rubber wolf girl knew it was probably a trick, but at the same time, she didn't really want to take the risk not to spend the day with me, so she slowly crawled out from behind her hiding place, which was just enough for Lucy to grab her wrist.

"Gotcha! Come now, it's a big day today, and I need to talk to Clara and you. Let's go take your suit off."

Accalia nodded and followed her owner out of the lounge without any additional resistance.

On my side, I had a pretty good idea why Lucy wanted to talk to me and why she had asked me to come to the café so early in the morning.

A certain black cat was deep asleep on my lap while I was sipping my coffee. Her soft latex skin was glossy as ever since she had just received a little polishing that made her look so sexy. Misti was the only one wearing an entirely black catsuit, so she looked the most fetishist pet of them all. Amusingly enough, out of costume, she had such pale skin and this light blonde hair; it was quite a contrast with her cat persona, and I loved this duality so much. It was like having two friends for the price of one.

She took a very deep breath and let out a long slow sigh, making me wonder what she could be dreaming about. Maybe it was something I should ask my friends more often. Their entire life revolved around being pets and working at the café, but didn't they have other goals and aspirations? The more I spent time around them, the more mysterious they became.

I slid my finger around her cute cat muzzle and made her small whiskers bounce. Mystery was great.

***

A bit later, Lucy came back to the lounge, followed by Accalia, who was a human girl again. As usual, the pets weren't very happy when they finished working, so Accalia just heavily let her butt fall on the couch next to me, making me bounce up and waking up Misti at the same time.

"Aww... You woke up Misti!"

"Well, Misti can work today, and I can't. So it's only fair that she stops being lazy and goes take care of the clients."

"But... the café is not open yet."

"Pfff! Whatever!"

The small Asian girl didn't mean what she was saying. She was just frustrated that her shift had ended and decided to be a bit mean just for the sake of venting.

Misti knew that as well, but it was not a good enough reason not to take revenge on her friend who had obliterated her dream. The black cat crawled off me and exaggeratedly ensured to make it extra uncomfortable for Accalia by pressing a paw in her face.

"Heeey! Stupid cat! Stop it!"

As Misti headed to another empty booth to continue her nap, Accalia wrapped her arm around mine and leaned on me. Since I started visiting the café, I spent a lot of time with the rubber pets. I knew them well by now, but I didn't have many opportunities to spend time with all of them when they were out of their suit. Accalia was one of them with whom I didn't do many activities outside the café; it was a bit odd to cuddle with her as a human even though I was very comfortable playing with her as a small wolf.

"Bleh! I wanted to work more."

"You'll work again soon, Accalia. Your next shift is in three days."

"It's so far. But at least I'll be able to spend all my time with you and Meeka."

"No, Meeka is starting her new shift today. Asha too."

"Really? Who will be off with me, then?"

"Oreo."

"Aaah... Yay! Oreo! That's going to be fun. I forgot our schedule got all messed up because Vix got punished the other day for kicking Lucy's tray and wasting all our food."

In the far corner of the café, Oreo was cuddling with Vix and Trixie, which made me wonder... If Oreo's shift was over as it was supposed to be, why did Lucy not take off her suit at the same time as Accalia's? It was a bit strange.

I felt my question was about to be answered because Lucy, with a wider smile than usual, walked to us and sat on the couch facing ours.

"So, how do you like your new home, Clara?"

"The pethouse is good. We sleep very well there."

"Haha. I bet. Those are comfy beds full of petgirls."

"..."

"Do you know why I asked you to come here today?"

Oof! Straight to the point. I knew exactly what I was doing here but wasn't sure if I wanted to talk about it just yet. So I sank in my seat a little bit instead of answering.

"That's right, Clara. You are going back to school, and you need to decide what you want to study."

"Mmmh... School... is hard."

"Yes it is! And that's why I set an appointment for you to see a guidance counselor at the college today. You have to be there at 10 am. They will help you decide on what program you would like to follow and help you get started with everything."

"Mmmh!"

"Hey, cheer up. You are very lucky. Because you are unemployed, the government will pay for most of your sessions. But you can't quit before you obtain your diploma, or else there will be big penalties, so keep that in mind, okay?"

"Yes, Lucy."

As much as I didn't look forward to going back to school, as much as I knew Lucy was right. I couldn't spend the rest of my life doing nothing and had no intention to get a similar job to what I was doing before. Until I had my mental breakdown, I had not realized how much doing something I hated for a living hurt me.

The other very important thing that I was very aware of was my deal with Lucy, one that I made when I was recovering at her apartment. When I had asked her if I could still move to the pethouse, she was happy to let me to, but only if I had a plan. She didn't want me to sit on the couch all day. So I had to find a job or go back to school, and she really pushed me to choose the latter so I could build myself a better life.

"Accalia, you will go with her."

"Sure! Yay! I'll spend the day with Clara!"

"Hmmm... I think you didn't understand correctly what I said."

"Uh? You want me to go with Clara to her appointment? No?"

"Yes, but I also mean that you are going back to school too."

"WHAT!? But...but...but..."

"No buts. You knew this was coming. We talked about it often. It's about time you pick a career too."

"But... I CAN'T go back to school!"

"Why not?"

"I'm a PET! You need me here."

"I'm not firing you. You'll keep working part-time. I'm not that cruel. I have a new girl starting soon, too, so we won't run out of pets!"

"You... you are replacing me!?"

"No, Accalia! That's not what I said, and you know it."

"Awww... But why me? Why not Trixie or Vix? They don't have college degrees either!"

"Different pets, different problems, different rhythm. Do you remember why you started working here in the first place?"

"..."

A grunt was all she could respond to this last question. I had no idea what Lucy was referring to, but Accalia certainly did. There was a little tension in the air, but the last thing I wanted to do was to put my nose into a matter that didn't concern me. I knew the petgirls all had their little secrets, and even though I was curious, I didn't want to invade their privacy.

"Good. We have an understanding then. Alright, you two. Help me feed the pets, then you can head to the college for your appointment."

***

Just before 10 am, Accalia and I arrived at the big college on the edge of the downtown area. If I were to study here, I could easily walk from the pethouse to there without having to climb aboard a crowded city bus, another thing I didn't miss since I had lost my job.

It was nice to be able to spend a bit of time with Accalia alone. She was very friendly and not as playful and intense as Trixie or Misti, not nearly as clingy; more normal, perhaps. There were awkward silences during our walk, but nothing bad. It just meant that we would slowly get to know each other.

"Ah, it's there. Let's go talk to the lady."

"Okay."

Going to new places with the pets when they were off work was always great because I didn't have to do the talking. I didn't know much about school stuff, so this was unknown territory, and I preferred avoiding looking like a fool.

Accalia let go of my arm and walked up to the receptionist's desk.

"Hi, we have an appointment with the guidance counselor. This is Clara over there, hiding behind the plant, and I'm Lian."

"Ah, yes. Welcome. This is your questionnaire, and this one is hers. Please, take your time to fill it up. It will help Tim to evaluate you. Once they are completed, please bring them back to me. It's not a race. It should take you a good thirty minutes to fill it up."

"THAT LONG!?"

"Hum... Half an hour to help you make a lifetime decision? I think it's worth the effort. Keep in mind that this is not homework. It's something you do for yourself."

"Oops... I'm sorry..."

After spinning around to hide her blushing face from the receptionist, which was exactly why I preferred to let others do the talking, Accalia fast-walked toward me to give me my form and hug.

"Aaaah! I don't want to be here! I just want to be a pet!"

"Don't worry, Accalia. It's hard for me too. Let's go sit in the quiet corner over there."

"Nooo! I want to leave!"

"I... I don't think Lucy would be happy if you did."

"Aaaah! Okay, okay! But still... bleeeeh!"

***

The lady had lied to us. This questionnaire took way more than thirty minutes to fill up. I couldn't think straight anymore, and Accalia was about to die; we've been at it for almost an hour, and it felt like five. She had eventually laid down on the floor in front of me, and after I kicked my shoes off, I massaged her belly with my feet, like if we were at the café. With the questionnaire above her face, she kept asking me for help.

"Clara... What is my most outstanding personality trait?"

"Mmm... I don't know... You are cuddly?"

"Oh, I don't think I can write that on the form. They are going to give me grief if I do."

"I'm not sure Acca... I don't know much about you."

"Well, it's probably better to keep it that way. Trust me."

As we scribbled our answers on the sheet of paper, a man's voice interrupted us.

"Well, that is a first... I've never seen friends using each other as a floor mat before."

"..."

My breathing stopped. I knew I shouldn't have done that. At the café, we could do this cute stuff to the pet, but putting my feet on Accalia's soft belly in a public place was bound to be frowned upon.

"Hehe. Are you Clara?"

"Y... yes."

"Good, I'm your counselor. Tim's the name. Are you ready?"

"I... I didn't finish... my form."

"Oh, it's okay. It's not that important. Follow me. We are going to discuss your future. Lian, you are going to be next. And please get off the floor. It's probably not very clean."

What? After spending an hour working on the form, he told us that it was not that important? If I had known, I would not have had to endure Accalia's whining for the past hour. Despite this frustration, I stood up and followed the man to his office.

He must have been a good six foot four and well above two hundred pounds, which was seriously clashing with my pet size body type. That said, I didn't get any bad vibes from this man. It was nothing like the security guards at the pethouse who were very scary. He looked friendly enough and didn't make me feel particularly intimidated. Perhaps it was because we were inside a school which I considered to be a safe place.

As I walked behind him, another thing made me feel strange. I had managed to talk to him even though he was a stranger. I would never have been able to do this before I started visiting the café. My anxiety was still very present, making my lungs struggle for air, but overall, I had managed to communicate some answers even if I was sure he had noticed that talking was not easy for me. This made me feel a bit hopeful since it was a giant leap in my belief that I could, one day, get better at talking to people.

When I entered his office, it immediately reminded me of my therapist's; it was too cozy to make me feel at ease. There was a leather sofa on which he invited me to sit and another one across the coffee table where his laptop was. As he slowly lowered his butt in his seat, his eyes rapidly went through my long document, and then he put it aside before observing me for a few seconds as if to gauge who I was. I was willing to bet that, in his head, he was discarding all the potential jobs I couldn't do because of my small size.

"So, Clara. Do you have an idea of what you want to do as a career?"

"N—no..."

"Have you ever thought about it?"

"I... I don't think so."

"Okay. First things first, I guess. What are you good at?"

"..."

This question... Why was it hurting? Why did it remind me of my mother? Probably because she had raised me in a way that didn't allow me to express myself, therefore not trying new things that I may have liked. I didn't know myself that much since I never had granted myself a chance to explore who I really was until recently.

"I... I'm not very good... at anything."

"I'm sure it's not true because I've seen thousands of students in this office, and every one of them was good at something. They just didn't know it. What do you like to do then?"

"I... I don't do... much..."

"Let me rephrase that... What is important to you?"

"..."

What was important to me? I didn't expect that question today. Right away, the only answer that came to my mind was Lucy and the pets, the Cakes & Pets, but I was pretty sure that was not what he wanted to hear.

"I... I don't know."

"Aaah, Clara. I know that's not true either. Listen. There are no good or bad answers to those questions, you know. I'm just trying to get to know you so I can help you choose your field of study."

"But... It's... It's hard."

"Very, yes. So, take a deep breath and relax. Think about it. I see on your form that you've worked for a big company before."

"Yes... I was packing random items. But I don't want to do that anymore."

"You didn't like it?"

"No... It was really not fun."

"Yet, you did it for quite a while. Why?"

"..."

"There must have been something that made you stay in a position that you disliked for this long, no?"

This interview had just begun, but it was HARD. It was like the therapist, but without consideration for my feelings. Part of me wanted to leave, but the other part had to admit that his questions seemed good related to the purpose of my visit.

"Clara... What was the one thing that kept you going to work?"

"Hum... M... Money?"

"Good... So you like money then?"

"Well... I don't need much of it... It was just to pay my rent."

"That was not my question. Everybody needs to pay rent, but usually, it's not enough to keep them in a job they hate. People generally move on. So why did you stay?"

I lowered my head because I didn't like the answers popping up in my mind. I stayed there because of my speech disorder and because I didn't think I could do anything else with my life. And more recently, I...

"I... I wanted to... No... It's stupid."

"What is stupid?"

"My... my friends... I wanted to be able to stay near my friends."

"Aaaah, see. Money allows you to stay around your friends. That is a very good answer."

"Is... Is it?"

"Yes... So you like your friends a lot?"

"Yes... they are... everything to me. When I help Lucy at the café, It's always fun."

As soon as I said that, I froze like an ice cube. Why did I even mention the café? My face turned blue, and I didn't know what to say anymore.

"A café? You got a new job?"

"N...No... I'm just helping her feed my fr... I mean... No. I mean..."

"Hey, hey! Relax, Clara. You don't need to tell me about it. But that place seems very important to you. Your friend works there?"

"Yes."

"And you like taking care of your friends that much."

"Yes."

"Let's imagine something, okay. If I were to give you a million dollars, would it help you take care of your friends better?"

"Oh, yes."

"Would you like to help other people too if they needed it?"

"I think so. Yes."

"Good, good. See, we are getting somewhere now. Let's use that as a starting point. You are a very empathic person."

This was definitely worse than the therapist. I wished Accalia was here with me so I could hug her while he was working on my case. Instead, my little arms over-squeezed one of the cushions that had unconsciously grabbed, even though it made me look like a distressed child.

Tim explained different possible career paths for the next thirty minutes. Some of them were unexpected. He kept drilling me with tough questions that forced me to understand better who I was. I now had a small pile of documents in front of me on the coffee table, each of them describing a different profession. It was still not easy to wrap my head around everything he had said so far.

"So, Clara. Those are ten jobs I want you to think about. You'll bring those documents home, read them, and think about what they would bring to you in the future. Would they allow you to help you do what you want? Do you understand?"

"Yes... I think so."

"Good. There are still a few weeks before you have to choose, so don't rush it. I'll see you again next week and we will discuss it some more. Sounds good?"

"Yes. Thank you, Tim."

"No problem, now let's take care of your carpet friend who loves lying on the floor. It was a bit odd."

"Hehe. She loves doing that."

It was a relief to know that I would have some more time to make up my mind about my future. I traded my pillow for the pile of documents and followed Tim outside of his office. Accalia was still sitting on the floor, and she had clearly given up working on her form.

***

"Aaah! It's over! Tim was nice, though."

"Yes, he was."

Accalia held my arm tightly as we walked out of the college with our documents. It was still a bit strange to see her out of her pet costumes. It was as if my friends all had two versions of themselves, making it difficult to learn everything about them.

And thinking about that reminded me that I had another upcoming challenge.

"Acca... Do you think Oreo is waiting for us at the pethouse?"

"Yes, I'm sure she is. Why?"

"She... She is the only pet I have never seen out of costume."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. I don't know what she is like... It makes me a bit nervous."

"Haha. Oreo is quite something. She is super awkward! But we love her that way."

"Awkward? How come?"

"Well, she doesn't talk much, a bit like you. And she always looks angry, but it's just because she has funny eyebrows."

Accalia jumped in front of me and started to walk backward while mimicking with her fingers what Oreo's eyebrows looked like. The way she was doing it was funny, but I knew she didn't do it to be mean.

"I don't think you'll see what she looks like, though. Haha. But she sure will want you to sleep with us."

"... That doesn't make sense!"

"I knooow! I said that on purpose to confuse you. I bet you'll love her very much. Hurry! Now that you mentioned it, I want to get to the pethouse faster! I hadn't had a day off with Oreo in a while! It's going to be a lot of fun."