“Excited?"

            I playfully
smirked at Gunadi from across the hallway. “Of course, I'm super excited," I
said, placing my coat on. “I'm only worried about the kids, and if I can handle
them."

            “You've
always worried too much," he cooed, then kissed my furry cheek. “You will be a
fantastic teacher. I know you will, Adde. You never faltered on your studies
after all."

            Like
our first date as undergraduates in Sydney, I fell in love with the man all
over again. Placing my paw on his smooth, dark-skinned cheek, Gunadi still
looked like the handsome classmate I fell in love with ages ago. It was hard to
believe time passed so quickly.

            “Mmm,
I love you," we kissed for several sweet seconds, “so, so much."

            He
chuckled. “I love you too, Shu? T?.
Go before they laugh at your tardy arrival."

            The
humid air clung to my fur like a wet rag. Stepping into the air-conditioned
monorail gave me a sense of relief, since nobody wanted to arrive to work with
sweat stains. Even so, the crowded railcar required me to stand up among the
packing mass of humans coming and going at different stops. Some chatted loudly
while others stared blindly into their tablets. I didn't mind, however, and
decided to stare out the window, hoping the views would distract me
momentarily.

            Singapore's
upper tier was already awake, while sunlight had already begun blanketing Lower
Singapore. Light reflected off the domed farms and high-rises scattering what
used to be a strait. Thousands of years ago, Lower Singapore used to be filled
to the brim of seawater, not a densely populated neighborhood of poorer
residents. And thousands of years ago, Singapore was once separate from
Indonesia, but it changed when the glaciers in North America and Europe began
to form. As a junior high school student, I remembered being shocked by this
revelation, much like the time I learned the North once housed a habitable
superpower.

            Great, I realized with a sigh. So much for a distraction.

            As a
historian and part-time geologist, I couldn't ignore tidbits such as that. No
matter how I tried though, it still dumbfounded many how the ridgeline of Upper
Singapore's plateau once existed as an island, and how boats used to sail
across the world. At our wedding reception years ago, Gunadi's mother told
everyone about the time when he was a lad, her son couldn't believe there was
once water that separated the two Singapores. He tried building a raft,
thinking the sea miraculously turned invisible.

            Yep, I laughed softly. I am definitely going to enjoy my new job.

            Sitting
at my desk, I glanced between my holo-screen and the young students trickling
into the vast lecture hall. Many of them ranged between racial backgrounds,
confidence and their choices in clothing, but the common defining factor
revolved around their reactions to my appearance. I couldn't blame them, however.
This was my first class at the International University of Singapore, and their
first anthroid lecturer, after all. Either which way, it didn't hinder the
smile on my muzzle.

            At
last, 10:00 am finally rolled in.

            “Good
morning, students," I spoke in English, aware my words were being translated on
the desktop screens into Indonesian, Mandarin, and Hindustani. “I'm Professor
Adde Halverson, and welcome to History 345: The Holocene Epoch. Specifically, we
will be discussing pre-glacial human civilization and how they were affected by
the current climate. If you're looking for History 354: Postglacial Colonialism,
it is in Room 690."

            A few
students scrambled out of their desks with touchpads and bags in hand, causing those
remaining to whisper. Some snickered aloud.

            “Alright
then, settle down!" I barked up, then relaxed while my rudder tail swished
against the wooden floor. “I assume everyone has read the syllabus last night,
because I will not answer any questions everyone should already know. However,
I am open to some questions." Several hands immediately rose up into the air.
“Yes, you, the one in the red shirt."

            Behind
the students hung a rectangular screen stretching across the back of the
lecture hall. As the student spoke, his words were translated into English,
since my Mandarin was rusty.

            “Professor
Halverson, when is our first exam this semester?"

            “On the
syllabus." I turned to another student. “You there, in the third row."

            “Pardon
me, Professor," she replied into her mic, “but you are an anthroid."

            The
lecture hall became awkwardly silent, but I didn't relent.

            “Perfect
observation, Miss Zhang-Liu. Yes, I'm an anthroid, though I'm more surprised
nobody noted my Australian accent first." Cue the classroom laughing alongside
me. “More specifically, I was genetically engineered into a River Otter Class.
I retired four years ago, however." I pointed to another hand.

            “Have
you been to Northern Asia? My ancestors are from the Japanese Peninsula."

            “Sadly
no. My expeditions mainly consisted of Europe and North America, including
parts of Neo-Antarctica. I came to Oceania to live with my husband's family.
Next question."

            “Did
you hear on the news vids about Lucas Mendoza's expedition into Chicago?"

            “Yes,
I did. In fact, he is a colleague of mine," saying that got half the lecture
hall in a frenzy. “Quiet down, class. Before we discuss to much of my personal
life, let's begin on Chapter 1: Post-Modern Nationalism." A few attendees
groaned, yet still uploaded their chapters onscreen. “Although difficult to
believe, the Republic of Singapore once existed as a coastal city, and
separated from Malaysia in the year 1965 AD. One-hundred and thirty-two years
later…"

            One
hour and forty minutes later, the students hurriedly shuffled to their next
class. The massive lecture hall lay empty and quiet, save for shuffling echoes
from the hallway. I sighed and started cleaning up the board. Finishing up and
leaving the closed lecture hall, I received a PM from Gunadi.

            How is your day so far, Shu? T??

            I beamed. Wonderful! Simply wonderful! <3 See you
later tonight!

            Putting my phone
away, the next class soon arrived