Chapter 1: The Animals Scream more then the Children at the Zoo
It has been two hours since we got to the Zoo and I'm already bored out of my mind. Every exhibit we stop at the animals are either sleeping or running into a corner as far away from the exhibit glass as possible. Some places like the monkey house it sounded like they were crying or pleading for help when my class got their. I can't say I wouldn't do the same is I had obnoxious and idiotic teenagers pounding on the glass asking is the monkey wanted a banana or complain about the monkeys smell ruining their cheerleader uniforms.
Right when we left my best friend Arthur Polen comes up whispers so close to my ear that I can feel his hot breath hit against it and sarcastically said, "We're off to the bears den next. Think this is the moment where words will combine creating peace between our Cliques?"
If I was any other girl in my grade I would be head over heels and faint from having Arthur that close to me. He's about six foot one, has thick curly black hair, mesmerizing hazel eyes, a perfect six pack and muscles, and to top it all off, a calming deep voice that makes your heart speed up.
The only reason I'm not effected by him is that we've known each other since 1st grade. Another boy though it would be funny to put glitter glue in my hair and Arthur, seeing how hurt I was pants him in front of the class, revealing his superhero underwear. Arthur got suspended for two days for bad behavior. I thanked him when he came back and we had been best friends ever since. We've been together side by side seeing each other grow up so now that he looks amazing I can still remember that little boy in overalls with that salad bowl hair cut.
I look sweetly into his eyes and say with a smile, "Not a chance in the world."
"Okay then the lioness has spoken," he jokingly says as he strokes my curly dirty blonde pony tailed hair. I slap his hand and give him and aggravated look. He's been calling me that since we saw the Lion King on Broadway a few years ago and decided my hair looked like a unruly lions mane, thus him calling me the lioness. I'm just happy that name never caught. Back then my was admittedly horrendous but now I've tamed it and usually have it in a pony tail, so there's no real need to still call me that. But then again, it is Arthur who I can't just stop and ignore him like I do to the rest on the grade.
I then lift my hand towards to back of his head and slap it and say, "Lets get this trip over with."
"Oh you just want to hurry up and go see the lions den don't you Lee?" he teases. I slap the back of his head again but I actually do want to, and he's the only one that can tell that. Even my name means lion, Leona or Lee as I prefer to be called from well, everyone. Leona too formal and stuck up for me. It sounds like one of the names on the cheerleading squad, which I vowed never to join.
"Like you're not excited for the bear Artie?" I tease back. He laughs it and we keep moving.
When we entered the bears den, I saw Arthur's eyes light up. He loves bears, ever since we were little kids he would try to steal a teddy bear or two from my house. He then darted straight to his favorite, the black bear. Something about them always made Arthur so happy. I think it's because they have similar hair... and breath, just kidding.
I headed over to see the polar bears, and right on cue, it goes into hiding just like the other exhibits from me and my grade. I just stood there waiting for one of the dumb jocks to jump into the polar bear's den thinking it would be so funny to play with them, which has happened before. In the end the only one who is happy is the polar bear for getting a snack. Someone must have warned the dumb jocks about it, because they just stuck to banging on the glass and yelling if the polar bear had and Klondike bars.
Arthur comes up next to me and looks at the jocks in disgust. "Do they honestly believe that will make the polar bear come out?" he asks. I shrug and head over to the black bear, and strangely, he does not go into hiding. He's staring, at me. Our eyes are fully locked and I don't know why, but I can see strength and anger in its eyes. The bear lets out a roar filled with power, which causes all the guys to run to black bears den and all the girls ran away. As all the guys flow into the railing only to see the black bear go into again, I slip through it all and go back to Arthur who's watching the polar bear swim in its freezing pool.
"Don't wanna go see the your favorite?" I ask him curiously.
He shakes his head, "Nah I saw alone in a corner when I went there by myself and I don't need to go back into a crowd and hope it will roar again." I nod and decide not to tell him about the whole eye lock roar thing with the black bear. He'll just call me weird and say I'm seeing things again like when we were kids. We keep on moving through the exhibit, stopping to wait for Arthur as he looks at every bear along the way, which is pointless since they're all in hiding just like the other animals. The black bear was weird, but probably the only thing entertaining about the Zoo for me today so far.
We exit and head onto the next exhibit, the lions den.
