The hallway was quiet. Utterly quiet. Sly's soft footsteps, layed down so carefully on the
tile floor, thundered ominously. There were security guards posted every 10 yards, the little
raccoon noticed, and they stared ahead blankly, rarely flicking their unwavering gazes toward
him.
     The six-year-old had, luckily, learned how to count fairly well. He could count to 200, a
very big number for such a small age, so he knew what 128 was. 125...126...127...ah, B128!
Sly opened the door like he had seen his father, Shadow, do so many times: hand grasping
the knob very, very lightly, a miniscule flick of the wrist, slowly opening the door so it wouldn't
draw any attention, and, all the while, looking around attentively.
     Sly Cooper peered inside B128. He couldn't see anything, but he heard voices. There was
a sort of nasal, scratchy one, and a blubbering, unintelligent one. The nasal one was reprimanding the deeper one for something, and the deeper one sounded as if it were crying.
     "Murray! The crayons are for my plans, not for food!"
     "But I got no more crayons, an' I'm hungry!"
     "Well, then, wait for lunch."
     "I don't wanna wait for lunch. It's so far away, an' I'm hungry!"
     "MY. CRAYONS. ARE. NOT. FOOD!"
     "I'm HUNGRY!"
     There was an angry bellow followed by more crying. Sly cringed and stepped hesitantly into the room. He snuck unnoticed to his bed and sat down. It was only when his bed creaked slightly that the two (a turtle and a pink hippo) noticed him. The hippo, Murray, wiped his eyes and squinted at Sly, while the turtle, Bentley, adjusted his glasses to get a closer look.
     "I'm Sly Cooper," Sly said quietly, waving the hand not holding the Cooper Cane.
     "Hey," said Murray. "You gotta mask just like me!"
     Sly gripped the Cane a little tighter.
     "Fascinating!" gasped Bentely, his glasses reflecting the shine of the cane's yellow C. "Solid gold curve and bottom, smooth oak shaft, worn from use." The turtle breathed in wonder, "But still ever so solid!"
     Sly remained still as his two roomates examined him. Someone rapped on the door.
     "Lunchtime! Please report to the cafeteria."
     Murray squealed in delight and shot out the door. Bentley followed him, still muttering about the Cooper Cane. And Sly snuck silently out behind them, embarrassed.
     All they had to do was keep up with Murray to find the cafeteria. It wasn't that hard for Sly, since he was muscular for a six-year-old, but Bentely had to stop frequently, huffing and clutching his side as if he had a stitch. Strange, these people.
     They finally got to the BFO cafeteria. Murray commenced eating all the food at the buffee (sp?) and Bentely carefully measured the amount of lettuce and dressing that should go into his salad. Sly decided to sample the different kinds of fish.
     Out of the dozens of circular tables, Sly, Bentely, and Murray chose to sit at the one closest to the front. In front of them was a platform where the staff ate and watched over the students. The Headmistress also made announcements from this platform, which she had chosen to do at that moment.
     She, being a lizard, almost slithered up to the podium with a liquid motion, grasping index cards in her claws. She cleared her throat, and the noise in the cafeteria died instantly.
     "I would like to welcome all the new ssstudentsss here to Bright Future Orphanage. When I, Headmisssstresssss Ssslithera call your name, would you pleassse ssstand here on the platform with me? Thank you. Garfield Renal?" A huge male orange tabby strode up to the platform. "Chamille Ssseranade?" A confident-looking female frog hopped beside Garfield. "Sly Cooper?" Sly stood akwardly and fingered the Cooper Cane, nimbly climbing the podium to stand beside Chamille. "Sssadira Larye?" A beautiful female fox swaggered her way to the platform to stand beside Sly. Sly's heart beat a little faster. "Thessse are our new ssstudentsss. Pleassse give them a round of applaussse!" Polite applause sounded in the cafeteria. The students returned to their tables. Sly was so captivated by Sadira Larye that he almost forgot to return to his table. There was a wave of quiet sniggering directed toward him.

End of Chapter 3. To be Continued...