Author's note: Random idea I came up with that I kept to myself... until now. Originally posted on my pastebin on 1/28/19.
Lana may have been 11 now, but she still loved animals, and going to the zoo always hit the spot for her. There is simply nothing better than it.
So, when the next weekend came, she begged Lincoln to take her to the new zoo that opened in town.
He complied without any complaints because he didn't have anything else going on at the time. Not to mention, he often found it difficult to say no to any of his sisters.
During Saturday afternoon, Lincoln took the twins with him as he drove off.
Following leaving Lola at one of her pageants, he peeled out and headed for the Royal Woods zoo.
Lincoln made it minutes later, parking in the nearest spot available before getting out of the van alongside Lana.
Once reaching the entrance, the young man bought two tickets, making them set and ready to go.
Lana remained close to her big brother's side as they walked inside.
Entering, her eyes widened in amazement. The place was gigantic and full of so many animals. Many more than she was use to back at the zoo over in Wasame. So many creatures, and possibilities presented right in front of her. She had to make the most of it.
Although, it was also pretty crowded as well. There were so many people coming and going. The variety of races virtually mirrored every critter in the zoo, in ways that weren't exactly righteous.
Regardless, the girl found her first target in a heartbeat.
"Whoa, look at all those porch monkeys!" Lana shouted, running up to the bars.
"Lana, what the hell!?" Lincoln said as he moved briskly towards her.
"What?" She asked, nodding over towards the enclosure that resembled a porch filled with a bunch of little monkeys. Geez, this zoo is weird.
"Nothing. Sorry..." Lincoln apologized, surveying his surroundings. He took note of the black folks in the area, and being older now he understood a lot of slurs. Too many of them. Even the ones mainly used like a century ago.
"They're so cute. I wish I had one of my own!" Lana awed, gazing at the monkeys lounging.
"Maybe you will someday." Lincoln said in an attempt to calm his battered nerves.
"That would be pretty sweet." She responded while still staring through the bars.
Before long, Lana decided to move on.
Following some brief ambling, she found her next targets.
"Hey, check out those seals." She said as she darted towards the rails.
Lincoln joined her, noticing everything seemed normal so far.
The seals swam around in the water, frequently coming and going from below with some hoarse barks.
"That's a lot of wetbacks!"
Lincoln's face lost all color.
He rose his voice. "Don't say that!"
"Why not? I'm just saying the seals backs are wet." Lana explained.
"Right..." Lincoln replied dully, looking over his shoulder hoping a fist wasn't coming his way. It definitely didn't help that they were standing right next to a hispanic family.
The girl waved joyfully at the seals having fun in their little sea. It's too bad she couldn't join them. Overall, she saw nothing wrong with having a wet back!
However, Lana wanted to see what else the zoo offered.
She pointed. "Let's go check out some more of the critters over there."
"Lead the way." Lincoln said in hopes of avoiding catastrophe. But it might be asking too much to see an animal that somehow isn't related to a racist slur.
The two siblings walked down to a different section of the zoo and discovered some new captive creatures.
"Hey, Lincoln, there's some crows over here!" Lana yelled.
The young man's eyes widened upon remarking the direction she faced. ...Right in front a bunch of black people.
Luckily, none of them seemed to acknowledge them. Yet, it still didn't keep her brother from being unnerved.
He hurried to her side, looking around nervously once again.
Subsequently sensing no trouble afoot, Lincoln's worries vanished with a deep sigh.
Strangely enough, he now found himself questioning as opposed to scolding. "What the? Why does this zoo have... crows?"
"I don't know." Lana shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me, I like all animals!" That she does.
When moving on, the girl couldn't help but notice a ton of folks gathering near one enclosure. Something really good had to be over there!
Overwhelmed by eagerness, she hustled, dragging Lincoln alongside her to see what animal attracted such attention.
Lana became speechless as she spotted a tiger. She's never seen a cat that big in her entire life!
The big cat chilled out on a rock while glancing disinterestedly at the people stunned by its mere appearance.
Lincoln smiled. He could finally feel a mild peace affecting him upon knowing that they found a normal creature whose name isn't a racist term.
Lana scoped out the beautiful tiger from head to toe with her mouth agape. It's like she witnessed perfection for the first time ever.
Yet, her hawk like vision saw a flaw somewhere in his pen.
"Dang, there's a few chinks on that wall. They should probably fix that." She mentioned.
"Keep it down." Lincoln hushed as he saw an asian family right where his little sister gestured to.
Lana ignored him as she redirected her focus back onto the tiger for a bit longer. She knew he was acting kinda funny, though she tried to not let it distract her.
Afterwards, she decided to go seek out some more furry friends.
In only a few minutes of walking, something caught her eye.
"Whoa, they have jungle bunnies, too? Man, this place has everything!" Lana exclaimed.
Lincoln was on the verge of having a heart attack as he saw her run and press her face against the bars.
Thankfully, he soon distinguished that the area actually looked like a small jungle, and no one in their vicinity seemed to stare anywhere but at those furry creatures.
The bunny rabbits seemed to be doing whatever, like wandering, eating or sleeping.
When coming to his senses, Lincoln couldn't deny that they were pretty cute.
Presently, Lana fluttered with joy. The zoo had always been her special happy place, and just one mere visit every once in a while did more for her than most people.
Lincoln smiled at her contently. He might have lost his nerve more than once, though seeing her in such a bright mood made him feel it was worth the distress he succumbed to.
Then right as he finally started reposing, he heard his phone buzz.
Lola texted him, informing him that her pageant is over.
"Okay, Lana, let's go. We gotta pick up Lola." He said in a relaxed tone.
"Wait, can't I stay a little longer? Please?" She begged, quivering her lip for a dramatic touch.
And her brother certainly couldn't deny her.
He spoke. "Fine, I'll be back in thirty minutes. Meet me out front then, alright?."
"Got it!" Lana agreed.
She then ran freely, scouting the whole area for more creatures check out.
When Lincoln left, he took one last look at her hoping she'd pipe down a bit. He's shocked nobody perceived her words the wrong way. Regardless, he'd rather they go home in one piece.
As Lana visited just about every nook and cranny of the zoo, thirty minutes had gone by.
Even though she'd love to milk the experience and stay longer, she followed her brother's orders.
Giving a final go, she darted around the area, waving goodbye to the animals she previously visited. Especially all those cute porch monkeys and jungle bunnies!
With her farewells given, Lana began leaving the zoo.
Currently, Lincoln pulled up near the entrance of the place.
Lola sat in the passenger seat, holding onto her newest trophy smugly and paying no mind to anything else. She always had those pageants in the bag. And there's nothing that could possibly spoil her victorious mood!
Seconds later, Lana sauntered out alongside everyone else. And from the looks of things, a lot of black people were hanging around near the entrance.
"Hey!" The girl greeted while hopping in the backseat.
She then took a moment to buckle up and relax after having such a blast at the zoo. Today felt totally perfected, and she couldn't wait to come back again.
"Did you get to see everything you wanted?" Lincoln asked.
"Yup!" Lana said happily. "Can we come back sometime soon?"
He hesitated. "Maybe in a few weeks..."
Lana smiled in approval.
From there on, Lincoln started driving home.
Despite being much calmer now, he still couldn't understand the arrangement of that zoo, yet discovered relief in other various misunderstandings.
Reflecting on all the recent silliness almost made him chuckle. Lana's not racist, how could ever he think such a thing?
However, during driving past the area, Lola stared out the window with a frown.
"Ewww, why are there so many gorillas around here!?"
Lincoln laughed it off at first, but then the realization hit him like a diesel truck. He knew none of the animals could even be seen from their distance.
"Lola, that's racist!"