Chapter Two

I woke up to the sight of a small campfire.

Leaning up with a groan, I rammed my brain for what on Earth had happened. I couldn't remember –

...Ah. That's right. I passed out after coming face-to-face with a talking penguin.

I chuckled lightly. Man, maybe I'm finally going crazy...

"Hello!" A voice boomed, causing me to jump out of my skin and nearly giving me a heart attack.

"Gosh, talk about a rude awakening!" I complained loudly, my eyes searching for the source of the voice. And when my eyes landed on a familiar penguin with goggles, I deadpanned.

Are you... kidding me?

"Is the girl awake?" A girl's voice called out from not too far away. I raised an eyebrow, wondering if this person would be an animal as well. But my intuition was incorrect, for my eyes landed on a brunette girl – a real, human girl – with bright brown eyes. Her hair was up in a tidy bun, and she wore a cute, unbuttoned denim jacket with a midnight blue dress. She surprisingly looked to be around my age, which I was partially astonished at.

The girl offered me a warm smile upon seeing my confused face. "Hello there," she greeted kindly, giving me a small wave. I awkwardly gave a slight wave back, feeling strange.

I noticed there was some dirt one her hands, and my jaw dropped open slightly in amazement. Could she... possibly be a tomboy, like me?

"Well... my name is Mackenzie," she finally told me after we shared a moment of silence. "Nice to meet you!"

I grinned, getting the feeling that if I put in some effort, we could be good friends. "Hello there," I greeted her. "My name is Zabrina, but please, call me Zara. It's great to meet you."

The penguin cleared his throat, drawing my attention to him.

"Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is –"

"Boomer, right?" I cut him off. I wasn't as heartless as to forget someone's name that quickly. The penguin smiled, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Um," I started awkwardly. "Thank you for looking after me. I'm in your debt."

Boomer waved his flipper dramatically. "Nonsense. No one could be cold enough to just leave you there by yourself, unless they're absolutely heartless."

I felt my heart warm up at the sound up that. I got really lucky when I landed here, didn't I...

"By the way, how did you even end up here?" Mackenzie asked me bluntly. I scratched my cheek, feeling embarrassed.

"Um, well... I may or may not have leaped out of a plane without thinking."

Boomer sweatdropped, while Mackenzie burst out into a fit of laughter.

"Dude," she spat out between giggles, "that's awesome! I'm crazy jealous!"

Boomer cleared his throat, and immediately, Mackenzie's laughter ceased. I lightly chuckled.

Well, he definitely seems to have a lot of authority.

"Well," Boomer chimed, a kind smile appearing on his face. "How about we get to know each other better? There isn't really a better way to pass the time."

Mackenzie's eyes instantly lit up. "Great idea, Boomer! I'll run and go get Daisy so she can join in, too!"

Mackenzie dashed off towards a hill covered in flowers, and I found myself staring in awe at the sight.

It was beautiful.

"Sit down on one of these logs," Boomer told me, taking a seat on one of the many logs surrounding the campfire I had noticed earlier. Not knowing what else I should do, I sat down on the log beside Boomer and patiently waited for Mackenzie's return.

"So," I began, attempting to make pleasant conversation with my savior. "How did you end up here?"

Boomer chuckled. "It's kind of embarrassing, actually," he admitted. I continued to listen carefully. "I was flying a plane by myself for the first time, and I didn't have that much experience. It was a foolish idea. Everything went smoothly for a while, until one of the engines failed. The plane ended up crashing, and that was almost three years ago."

I felt empathy for the poor penguin, whom I had misjudged. I thought that he was here of his own free will, but that was entirely not the case.

The sappy moment was over when I heard Mackenzie's silly voice calling out to us in the distance.
"I'm back!" She yelled, waving her hand from far away. Suddenly, the ground scooped downwards, and she tumbled down the hill.

My jaw dropped open, and I dashed over to her side, giggling along the way.

"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly, although the whole situation was kind of funny. I held out my hand to her.

Mackenzie took my hand and I pulled her up. She wiped dirt off of her forehead with her hand. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks," she responded, not sounding the slightest bit injured.

"You sure are clumsy, aren't you?" A sweet voice called from behind Mackenzie. I glanced behind her and spotted a light-furred puppy with an innocent face.

I tried my best to gather my composure. "You must be Daisy," I finally managed to say. The puppy nodded happily, seeming to not have a care in the world. She loosely held a bundle of assorted flowers in her small paws, which even I found rather adorable.

"It's nice to meet you, Daisy," I greeted.

"I assume you're Zara. Mackenzie says you're very polite. It's nice to meet you, as well," Daisy replied. We politely exchanged smiles, and I couldn't help but think about how lucky I was to have stumbled upon this group of people.

I couldn't wait to see what this place had in store for me.