K: This is just a short sci-fi kind of story I had to write for English. Just thought I'd post it. know what you think!

NOTE: I just tried that backup/export option. coooool! Anwywho, I just wanted to go back and put in bold/italic text where I thought it needed to be.

The Leopard Has Its Spots

In the room of the Development Centre, a woman with perfectly straight blonde hair and bright blue eyes neatly sat down on a chair. All around her, children were playing; building houses with blocks, drawing with crayons, racing toy cars. But it was eerily silent. Not one made a noise. Behind all this was a tall, lone figure, watching them, making sure there were no abnormalities. Any peculiarity in the children was to be reported. After all, that development centre had a reputation for creating ideal children, and that was a reputation they wanted to keep.

The woman held up a picture book and announced in a sweet voice, "Alright children, its time for a story"

The kids quietly stopped whatever it was they were doing and quietly sat down in front of the woman. They all were smiling, with their blue eyes sparkling and blonde hair shimmering. Except one; a boy with wavy brown hair and muddy brown eyes. He stood out in the sea of blonde.

"Must be a defect, that one. I might have to keep an eye on him" the woman thought simply, and then opened the book and said out loud, "This is a story called 'The Leopard'"

She turned to the first page. There were large dark cats, black panthers, lounging lazily around a lake. " 'The panthers sat by the lake. They were enjoying the sun'" she read and flipped to the next page.

Now, there was a picture of a cat with golden-coloured fur, and little black rosettes dotting it here and there, walking towards the lake. The panthers were looking at it with something like shock. " 'The panthers saw a leopard'" the woman read, " 'It was different, and they were scared of that, but they decided to try to talk to it'"

She turned the page to show the panthers closer to the leopard, but keeping their distance while they inspected it. She read, " 'They decided it definitely didn't fit in. Then, one panther had gotten an idea. It ran off"

The next picture showed a panther holding a paint bucket in its mouth labeled "black paint" in bold print. Several others held paintbrushes in theirs. All in all, it was a ridiculous looking picture. The text read, " 'If we paint your fur with this, you can look just like us' a panther said, 'That way, you wouldn't be different'"

The pictures after that showed the leopard shaking it head, declining the offer. The panthers were still trying to convince it, running around it with their paint and brushes still in there mouths, still looking ridiculous. All the identical in the way they looked and the way they pranced around the leopard.

Finally, a picture showed the leopard sitting calmly with the panthers around it looking stunned. The woman read the text at the bottom of the page, " 'I said no. I like being different and unique. No amount of paint could change what I am'"

The following page had no words. It showed the panthers drop their brushes and paint, and staring down the leopard. After that, on the last page, the panthers ran together, a giant sea of black fur, chase after the single leopard.

"'The panthers yelled at the leopard,' We gave you a chance to be like us!'" The woman read, "' But you refused! Run little leopard, with all your spots!'"

She closed the book and looked down at the children. They were all smiling and seemingly pleased, except the boy with the brown hair and brown eyes.

He raised his hand with a confused look and asked, "Why did the panthers want the leopard to be just like him?"

The woman blinked. She sat there for a minute before finally saying, "The leopard was different, sweetie. Remember?" She saw he still had a confused look, and continued, "It wasn't normal."

"But it's not right. What's wrong with being different" he replied.

She sighed and said, nodding to the lone figure in the back of the room, "Why don't you go with that nice man back there? He's going to take you to the Special Department, where you can get up to speed with the rest of the class. You're obviously having some trouble."

He got up and followed the tall figure out of the room. The woman calmly got up out of her chair and put the book away. The children got up as well, and went back to playing, as they had been before. They didn't even seem to notice the boy was gone, as if nothing was wrong. After all, it was the perfect Development Centre, creating the perfect children.