Marie awoke early Tuesday morning, her excitement making further sleep impossible. She tore through her closet in an effort to find the best outfit for meeting her mate. She mewed in glee when she found her favorite blue dress. It was knee length and had a V-neck that dipped just low enough to show some cleavage without showing too much for teaching a class. She set it aside with matching undergarments and a black shawl with a clasp in the front.
After setting a few steaks in the oven on medium, she rushed back upstairs for a quick shower. She took great care in using her favorite shampoos and soaps to scrub herself clean. Then, she carefully styled her hair in pinned waves that framed her small face perfectly. She rushed through breakfast and dressed quickly, smoothing out her dress and checking her appearance once before exiting the house.
She arrived a few minutes before class started and rushed to get to the classroom. In her haste, she nearly ran into Arianna just inside the door.
"Miss Dower!" She gasped. "Jeez, where's the fire?"
"Sorry!" Marie winced. "I was running a little late."
Arianna rolled her eyes and walked to her seat, muttering something about inattention.
Trying her best not to blush, Marie faced the class and smiled nervously. "So, today I will be teaching about female anatomy. Despite each morph's anatomical differences, they all share similar human organs. We all have hearts, gastrointestinal systems, lungs, etc. But there is a key difference. Only females can bear young. And that is what this class is about."
Marie nodded to a girl in the back who was a young Rabbit morph. She stood up hesitantly. "Why do gestational periods for morphs vary so much? Shouldn't it be similar to the human half?"
"Well, it really just depends on the animal size. Bears are around seven months as one of the longest while rabbits are closer to three months. No pregnancy will last as long as a full human's nine months. This is because of the morphs' size. A bear is huge, while rabbits are small. Thus, bears take much longer to develop. Most morphs will share a similar gestational period however because many of the animal species are about the same size. That group includes all felines, canines, and similar predators. Bats are also in this category."
Marie looked towards a seal morph in the back with her hand raised. "Well, Miss Dower, are there any morphs that have an animal half that is not a mammal?"
Marie smiled. "That is a good question, but no. You see, mammals and species other than another mammal could not mix genetically. Humans used to say that dogs and cats could not mix. Well, obviously they were wrong but still. Anatomically, a reptile and a mammal are far too different. Canines and felines are both mammals with similar anatomies. So there is a difference."
"So, could any morph mate with any other technically?" She asked.
Marie frowned slightly. "Theoretically, I suppose so. But usually your mate will have a similar animal half."
"Why is that?" A young female wolf morph asked.
Marie frowned. "No one knows really. Scientists have just chalked it up to instincts."
Marie turned to the board and began writing the assignment down for the day. "All right class, I want you to open your books to chapter one and read the introduction to the topic. Then, find the excerpt relating to your own animal genus and take notes on the things that make you different from the other types of animal morphs. Begin now."
****
About ten minutes before 4pm, Ash entered the college building and stepped into the main office. "Excuse me, could you please tell me what room I may find Miss Marie Dower in?"
The raccoon morph secretary looked up at him and smiled sweetly when she saw the bouquet of lilies he was holding. "Of course I can, young man. She is just down the hall, fifth door on the left. You may want to wait until the bell rings though. Today's class is female-only," she chuckled warmly. "Tell her that tomorrow's class is cancelled by the way, and to have fun."
Ash smiled and nodded. "Thank you, ma'am." He exited the office and found the room with little difficulty. He peeked through the window on the door and blushed. Female anatomy class...
Well, five more minutes couldn't hurt.
****
Marie grew impatient as the clock slowly neared 4pm. She was almost about to scream as it moved to five till. Glancing around the classroom, she decided to let the class go early. It wasn't often done, but they had all finished the assignment anyway.
