Jessica leaned back, held her head in her claws and tried not to throw the computer out the window into the quad. “Arrrgh, this presentation is killing me!” she yelled, baring her teeth and flinging her striped arms wide as she let out a snarl.

This was enough to get the attention of her roommate, Fay. The cheetah peeked her head in curiously, frowned at the frustration in Jess’s face, and pointed at her. “You. Out. Now. Go run on the treadmill for a half hour. Better yet, head down to The Jungle and relax with a drink, girl. You need a break.”

“But this has to get done,” she nearly mewled, gesturing at another slide of bullet points, but no text.

“It can get done in half an hour. Out. Now!” Fay slipped into the room and grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet. Really, Jess didn’t take a lot of convincing. She was done for the moment, and needed a change of some kind: anything, really. So she allowed herself to be bundled into a jacket and pushed out the door by her roommate, offering only a token resistance.

* * *

The tigeress shivered in the cold fall of Edmonton. It was a long way from Narobi, and even the Canadian summer had seemed cool. Still, it was worth it, most of the time. Tonight, she chose the bar over the gym; she had already worked out this morning, and then practiced with the soccer team in the afternoon. She was a forward, pouncing on balls to bury them for goals, and she had the hard, strong body of a serious athlete. Maybe later she’d run a bit, but now… She slipped into The Jungle, smelling the tang of alcohol as she began to warm up.

“Hey, Jess! You going to take down Calgary next week?” the horse behind the bar asked with a grin.

“You know it, John,” she said, giving the equine a friendly smile. “What do you have for a girl who’s had Powerpoint on the mind for way too long today?”

If Jess hadn’t been so tired, she might have noted the mischievous change in John’s smile. “I’ve got just the thing.” A chilled metal container was produced with a flourish, put into ice, and in rapid and elegant succession alcohol was added. Jagermeister, cinnamon schnapps, peppermint liqueur, and sambuca. A quick stir and he strained the concoction into large shot glass. Jess looked at it speculatively, giving the drink a sniff, and John rolled his eyes. “C’mon, Jess, it’s just a double, it won’t kill you.”

Jess, egged on, tossed the shot back. The peppermint helped smooth out the rest of the spices: cinnamon, liquorice, and whatever the hell they put in Jagermeister. “Not bad,” she admitted, putting the glass down. “What’s it called?”

John’s smirk was much more evident. “Bullet in the Head.”

Jess groaned. “Alright, wiseguy, give me a beer and that’s enough for tonight, I still need to finish a presentation.”