After walking through one of many campus gates, May turned to the left toward the main art building for her first class of the day. She had signed up for an art history class as per her major requirement expecting to dabble in the arts of different eras.


    Instead, it was mostly doing research and analysis of different art pieces throughout the ages. No offense to the professor, she was a very nice lady, but she couldn’t care less about the meaning behind Leonardo Da Vinci’s work, she came here to learn how they did the art in those eras, say, watercolors in ancient Japan.


    Still, even though there were some not-fun details about her classes, she sat down at her desk in the back corner and pulled out her notebook, ready to write down anything important. If she was going to be running the best design industry in town–because, of course she was!– she had to get good marks in all her classes! Sure, Cs got degrees, but they didn’t give you a credible reputation.


    Once her notebook was set up, she set her plushies free from the confines of her bag and placed them on the edge of her desk, facing the whiteboard. If she was getting an education, so were they. Of course, it would be too impractical and chaotic to bring all twenty of them, so she brought five at a time, switching them out day by day so they would all get a turn to go to class. Afterward, she would gather them all in the library to compare notes with the other plushies while she did her homework. Sure, they received weird looks from time to time, but having the plushies around made working more fun and more bearable.


    Unfortunately, most of the professors didn’t care for the plushies. If they weren’t viewed as a distraction, they were seen as a barrier between May and her human classmates. Was it really her fault that plushies were nicer to her and more helpful in completing assignments than people?


    Before she could dwell on that subject any longer, the professor began the lecture. Thankfully, this one wasn’t too hard to take notes on, and today’s subject was actually kind of interesting.


    <hr>


    Half an hour later, the professor instructed everyone to discuss the topic in groups. While everyone else turned to the students in the adjacent seats, May simply turned her plushies around to talk to them. The other desks around hers were empty anyway.


    But before she could even ask her plushies for their thoughts, the professor directed her toward a group of students in the front of the classroom. “B… I already have a group,” she explained, gesturing to her animal friends.


    “May, we have been over this, plushies can only tell you things that you already know,” the professor sighed.


    Any further argument would just waste valuable time, so May simply rolled her eyes and got up to reluctantly join the group in the front. Lucky for her, the available spot had her desk right in her line of sight, so she could keep an eye on them while she listened to her human classmates discuss the topic and acted like she could pick up any important information from them.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Twenty minutes passed before the professor called off the discussions. Finally, May could move back to her desk so she could compliment Georgie the pygmy goat and Orion the owl on their ability to help Yusef the yak, Marble the narwhal, and Joey the jaguar understand the material they were going over today.


    <hr>


    After a full day of classes, and a quick stop at the condo to pick up the rest of her plushies, May walked into the library and claimed a desk to work at on the sixth floor. She couldn’t help but smile at the antics of her plushies. Georgie was just two seconds out of the bag and she was already eagerly recounting the events of the day.


    While the plushies had their meeting, May tackled her pile of assignments.


    Once May had two of her smaller assignments completed and out of the way, she noticed something off about the plushie conference. Normally, the conversations were boisterous and lively, but now only hushed whispers could be heard.


    “Guys… what’s going on?...” she asked, but they didn’t tell her, as if they were trying to keep a secret from her. Why? They were her faithful companions, what could they possibly not trust her with? “Squishy?” she turned to the grey and white husky, the leader of the plushies, and her lifelong companion.


    She wasn’t certain the response she got answered her question, but the pup did alert her about nearby humans. She turned to her left and saw a group of students working on an assignment together. The project at their table seemed interesting, but May was more drawn to their outfits. Pastel pinks, purples, blues, yellows, and greens covered them, all in complex patterns, complete with matching makeup and accessories! Their bodies were works of art, just like May strived for.


    Seeing what seemed like perfect friend material, she approached them. “Hello, I’m May. I love your outfits. You all look so colorful,” she told them with a smile.


    “Thanks. You look very nice too,” the girl with blue and lavender hair in braids replied. “My name is Denise, nice to meet you. This is Katy and Sharon,” she continued, gesturing to the girl with pink and green hair in a ponytail and the girl with short yellow and blue hair respectively.


    “Even your names are pretty. Are you guys Art and Design majors too?” May asked, unable to believe how much progress she was making already! Hell, she actually got past introducing herself this time!


    One of them chuckled, Sharon, right? “Close, I’m a graphic design major,”


    “Animation,” Denise flicked her hand up.


    “And I’m a Programming major,” Katy concluded.


    “Wow, that is cool. One of my roommates is a programming major too. I’ll have to introduce you sometime. Oh, and speaking of introductions…” May turned back to the table where her plushies continued their meeting. “These are my— Hey! Where are you going?!” She asked them as they started packing up their things.


    “It was nice to meet you May. We’d love to talk more, but we have to get going,” Denise explained.


    “Oh… okay… I’ll… see you later then… bye…” May frowned as she watched them leave. She should’ve known she wouldn’t be able to befriend any humans. That’s okay… she had her plushies… no reason for blues…


    It was a real shame that they left. It was going so well! “What am I doing wrong?” She asked the plushies, but instead of answering, they redirected her to her nearly finished homework.