The Zoo
Early Morning in a small two-up and two-down in the sleepy Whirlpool Village.
"Rise and shine the mornings fine, the snow will burn your hair off..." Gabriel called as he bound into the boys room intent on dragging them out of bed. "Come on snots, down the stairs..." As he looked around saw the empty beds.
"Hiya dad." Leo called from behind the man and Gabriel jumped in fright.
"Don't creep up me like that!...Where did you come from?" Gabriel said as he turned to glared at the three young boys stood behind him.
"Emmm We've been up for ages, I don't know what time it was though." Leo said as behind him Sasuke and Naruto giggled.
"It was still dark." Naruto said as Gabriel ignored them and looked over at the mess the beds had been left in by the boys, Itachi's bottom bunk had been left in an perfect state unlike the others.
"Gabe just give our Leo's shoes a brush please." Emma called from downstairs as Gabriel thought about making the beds.
"What did your last slave die of?" Gabriel called back as he decided to leave the bed making to Emma.
"Black his beast ones and his old ones will ya and while your there Gabe, cut some soles out for the old pair they let water in..." Emma said not hearing what Gabriel was calling her from upstairs. "There's an empty soap box under the sink."
"You're a cheeky sod Emma." Gabriel called from the top of the stairs "If you hadn't spent so long cramming yourself into that frock and complaining about it shrinking you could have had these shoes done. And Mine an all. "
"I don't know what I pay you for..." Gabriel's added as he started to walk down the steps his heavy footsteps making the step creak in agony. Itachi had only just climbed the stairs and picked up the semi asleep Naruto before making his way back down stairs.
As the children followed Gabriel down the stairs they were chattering in excitement.
"Oh hallo boys." Emma to the three boys as Gabriel wondered around the kitchen muttering to himself as he looked under the sink for the box...
"Hallo mam." Leo said as he gave her leg a hug.
"Morning auntie Emma." Itachi said as he set the still sleepy Naruto down on the floor as the young boy rubbed sleep from his eyes.
"Are we going to the zoo yet?" Sasuke asked as Gabriel just finished cutting a shoe shaped cut of cardboard.
"About time and all, Emma why dose wittering wilily here need these old shoes?" Gabriel asked as he slid the cut out into the shoes."He's just got new ones." He ignored his wife's muttering about shoddy polishing.
"Were ready, aren't we?" Leo asked the two other boys.
"Because Gabe I can't afford to buy no more this side of Christmas, so if he wares his new one for going and his old ones for playing. His new ones will still be as good as new when their old and the old ones will last him out until the new ones are old." Emma said as Gabriel exchange a sly glance with Itachi who stood shaking his head.
"And by then I can afford to buy him new ones and then we can do the same with the old new ones." Emma continued to speak as Gabriel looked at her puzzled.
"What?" Gabriel exclaimed as he tried to mentally replay the conversation.
"Pardon?" Itachi exclaimed as he mentally tried to figure the women's thinking out inside his mind.
"Eh" Came from the three young boys who also struggled to understand what the women had been saying.
"I don't get it." Naruto said as he stood looking around worriedly.
"You don't?" Gabriel said as he wondered if any rational person could understand his wife's way of thinking.
"So that's why you need to put cardboard in his old ones. It's just common sense." Emma "You don't think this frocks too tight do you Gabe?"
Gabriel groaned in annoyance...
"Leo where do you think your going?" Emma asked as she watched the boy run off.
"Just a minuet I'm just trying to find my gun encase there's any tigers roaming around at the zoo..."Leo raced off upstairs as Gabriel walked over to his chair and sat down.
"What are you sitting down for?We've a bus to catch yet." Emma as she poker her husband in the shoulder with a finger.
"I'm waiting for the men in white coats." Gabriel said as he rubbed his forehead with both hands.
"All right I've got me gun..I'm ready" Leo called as he came racing down the stairs and into the room.
Gabriel groaned as he stood up and stretched his arms out with a sickening creaking sound.
"Can we go yet? Were all ready..." Sasuke as Gabriel walked over to put his coat on...
Awhile later...
"Half an hour and not one pigging bus in sight yet!" Gabriel moaned as she stood in the street staring down the street in hopes of seeing the wanted bus... "Always the ruddy same with the forty-fives." Gabriel scoffed as he stamped his foot in impatience.
"Patience is a virgin Gabe"Emma said and Gabriel smirked at her mess up beside him Itachi grinned as well as he was about to correct her Leo called...
"Dad it's here, look..." The young boy pointing to the approaching bus as it crawled down the road at a slow pace.
"Its coming now and there's two more behind...No three." Sasuke pointed out the four bus moving down the street, Gabriel glared at the approaching column with a look of annoyance.
"Stick your hand out uncle Gab...Make sure the driver see us." Naruto called as he tugged on Gabe's coat sleeve.
Gabriel said as he put his hand out and the bus turned to stop at the road side.
"I'm going up stairs, I'm dying for a smoke." Gabriel said as he climbed aboard the bus.
"Well I'm not going upstairs..." Emma stated as Itachi stayed with her as Gabriel land the three youngsters made to follow him up to the open top deck.
"Can we come?" Leo asked as he reached the foot of the stairs.
"No! You can stop down stairs pests." Gabriel hissed "With your mam."
"Yes dears come with me and Itachi." Emma said the pair headed towards the back of the bus.
"Aww But dad I want to go upstairs at the front, so I can pretend to be the bus driver. Cus that's what I want to be when I grow up, as well a a zoo keeper." Leo
Gabriel sighed and walked over to one of the front seats as Leo and Sasuke raced up the stairs, Naruto stood at the bottom step looking up at the stair before Itachi called him over to sit with him and Emma.
"See you in a bit mum" Leo called as he reached the top step.
"please yourself." Emma called as the conductor walked over and she called "Get our fair Gabe." With this the conductor walked away heading for the stairs...
Ten minuets later...
"Are we there yet?" Sasuke asked as Gabriel sat with his arms crossed and his cigar handing from his mouth.
"Two more stops lad. See over there you can see the zoo from here." Gabriel pointed in the distance.
"Right...Quick dad stand up." Leo called as he poked his father in the side.
"We've got all day yet." Gabriel grunted as Leo jabbed him in the ribs again.
"Dad you got to get up, you've got too." Leo cried pleadingly.
"What do you mean I've got too?" Gabriel said with no intention of standing up.
"Mmmm Dad, I want a wee!" Leo called as again tried to get his father to rise from his seat.
"You should have thought of that before we left the house shouldn't ya" Gabriel said as she remained seated and puffed on his cigar.
Leo gave a weak whining noise and sat on the other side of Gabriel Sasuke cheekily giggled to himself.
"Now you'll have to wait till we get inside." Gabriel said as the wind caught is cigar end and half the burnt ash was blown away.
"I did go! I went before we came out. I did honest, me mam made me." Leo said as je fidgeted in his seat.
"But nothing come out..." Leo said as he continued to squirm in his seat.
"You need rubber band on it squirt." Gabriel said as the wind again caught his cigar and sent more ash flying away.
"Aww Dad please!" Leo cried even more weakly as Gabriel finally got to his feet.
"Come on then, better get down on the platform encase your valve blows." Gabriel said as he dragged the boy down the stairs to the lower deck.
An two hours later...
Inside the zoo in the picnic area sat a one of the many wooden tables Gabriel and his wife sat watching Itachi and Naruto play with a ball. In the distance Emma watched as Sasuke and Leo raced around the animal enclosures, the sun was shining and for once the sky didn't have a dark cloud in sight.
"Oh its lovely sitting here in the sunshine isn't it Gabe." Emma directed the question to the mumbling man sat next to her. "Out in the fresh air"
"The Gas Works would smell good after that elephant house." Gabriel said as he looked down at one of his shoes and saw what he hoped wasn't elephant dung.
"You know all that walking given me an apatite, are you hungry Gabe?" Emma
"Well seeing as all I had for breakfast was an argument I could eat a bear between two bread vans." Gabriel said as he used a small stick to nudge the offending muck from his shoe.
"You have brought some butties haven't ya?" Gabriel said as he threw the stick way as a copious amount of the dung had attached itself to it.
"Yes I've done some of each nut their all mixed up so its take your pick cus I don't know what will be in am." Emma said as she began to look around for something...
"I do my teeth." Gabriel said as he gave Itachi a glance and then looked over to wife, he remained looking at her as she began to get more flustered and emptying her bags out.
"Where are they then?! " Gabriel asked as the women emptied the last of her bags onto the grass...
"I'll shout our Leo and Sasuke." Emma said as Gabriel glared down at the now empty bags set beside him.
"The butties Emma?!" Gabriel called as he and Itachi looked down at the piles of things the women had brought, even Gabriel was confused by the large and rather by the small iron...
"Leo come on, Sasuke it's dinner time." Emma called ignoring her husbands constant muttering.
As the two boys appeared racing over from the direction of the monkey cage Emma returned to her search for the sandwiches, under the watchful glare of her increasingly irritated husband.
"Its fun here isn't it...Can I have a hot-dog?" Leo asked as he longingly looked over to a hot-dog stand.
"No I've brought some sandwiches. If I can find them." Emma said as she continued to look through the contents of her bags.
"Sandwiches?" Sasuke asked looking slightly worried.
"Yes" Emma said as she repacked one of her bags, Gabriel now glaring at the two boys with a knowing glare.
"Them in that paper bag? Emm Was they for us?" Leo asked as he tried to sidestep is fathers glare.
"Yes, where are they?" Emma said her own eyes looking at the pair of boys with an accusing look.
As the two boys hesitated Gabe's fingers began to tap on his knee and the vein in his forehead began to pulsate.
"Speak lad? While you still can." Gabriel growled as his finger tapping became more frantic.
"We haven't eat them." Sasuke blurted as he pointed back towards the baboon enclosure. " It was that monkey with the funny coloured bum."
"Oh Sasuke..."Emma moaned in disappointment.
"You what? You give my bloody lunch to a baboon!" Gabriel snapped as his fingers stopped tapping.
As the two boys took a step backwards Gabriel sat muttering curses to himself under his breath.
"Gabe don't swear, people might be listening" Emma said as she put a hand on the man hand that was resting on his knee.
"We thought they were for the animal, we was just giving the monkey with the funny bum one when it just snatched the bag of me" Leo said as he tried not to catch the rather annoyed look even Itachi was giving him.
"How did you get that close to it?" Snapped Gabriel's he thought of the small wall that ringed the fence of the animal cages, the wall was as tall as the two boys.
"Emm we just climbed up on the wall." Leo said as Gabriel's glare intensified.
"In your best shoes after all I said!" Emma raised voice caught everyone's attention and even Gabriel jumped a little as the women's voice pierced the air like a knife through butter.
Gabriel started to bang his head on the wooden table he was sat at as his wife continued to rage at the boys, when the thudding sound did catch her ears she turned and snapped.
"Gabe stop banging your head on the table you'll show me up!" Emma shouted as a passing couple caught sight of the scene.
"yeah stop it uncle Gab" Naruto called as he put his small hand under the man's head in an attempt to stop him, all he got was crushed fingers as Gabriel not realising thumped his head down again.
Moments later the man shot to his feet and dragging the teary eyed Naruto with him walked away towards the hot-dog stand, as he turned back he called for Itachi to come with him.
As Itachi followed after the retreating man Emma was down on the ground looking at the pairs shoes and growling in a terrifying way as Sasuke and Leo watched the hot-dog stand.
As the pair watched the three others eating fresh hot-dog their stomachs growled, off in the distance one of the baboon was curled up with stomach cramps.
