Othello heard a rustling and turned to see the tiger pawing the ground between them. He wanted to confront her, ask her what she knew of this place that even the androids seemed unfamilliar with, but when he looked into her piercing eyes he suddenly remembered the dream he'd had the night before.

Before she could even make a move, he started towards her and tried to tackle her. He managed to get on her back and gripped her fur tightly as she tried to shake him off. Finally she took off, bucking and trying to loosen his grip. She veered to the side, jumping over underlying branches, no longer thinking about where they were going. He fur was getting sweaty, but Othello had a firm grip and was using his legs to keep himself steady. She raced across the hills, over the river, towards what seemed like a towering mountain.

He kept on thinking that he could tame this animal, but he was unprepared for the steam that began flowing from her nostrils. She was racing, claws digging into every possible foothold in a calculated, precise way. It was obvious she's been through this course before, he realized.

In grade 9 french class, everyone waited for their math marks. My cousin was also there, and I remember feeling proud and elated this was a grade we shared. I remember waiting for the marks list, not caring that according to my belief these grades were not private. The teacher passed out a copy nearby and skipped me so I made an effort to make eye contact and got something. It looked like an old report card, with too much detail for the anxious. Naturally I looked to the bottom right-hand corner of the paper for the final total, and my heart skipped a beat when I read 20. The fight-or-flight was unnerving as I frantically scanned the paper. I later saw that 20 meant '20 out of 20' and my final grade (possibly written in pen) was written near the top of the right-hand side. I had 70%, which is certainly better than 20 but nothing to write home about either. The initial shock I experienced by accident definitely dulled any reaction I subsequently had.