Chapter 19
The past two weeks almost seemed like a blur. The High School Musical play went off great the second time around, and since then, no one has stopped telling her what a beautiful singer she was. On more than one occasion Miguel had told her that he would totally get her in touch with his former manager next time he got the chance.
Today, she was walking out of class talking with Abbey about possible ideas for their biology project.
"We could test the growth rate of small bean plants using different fluids. Like tea, lemonade, and water. See which one helps the plants grow the best." Angela suggested.
"That's a pretty good one, but I think that one would be too time consuming. Remember we only have a week to get this one done." Abbey reminded Angela.
"Well, what if we…" she started to say but bumped right into Miguel dropping her books. "Oh my gosh, so am sorry I. Agh! I mean I'm so sorry." Angela stammered.
"It's cool, it was my fault I should have been watching where I was going." Miguel said helping her gather back up her books. "But I guess since I have you here, how about I make it up to you. I was thinking about checking out the zoo later today. I mean word is they have a new exhibit at the reptile house. Would you like to come with me and check it out?" Miguel asked handing Angela her books.
"Yes, to I love do would that." Angela stammered.
"Great. So meet you at the zoo around 4?" Miguel answered laughing.
"Yeah, 4." Angela agreed not entirely there.
"Great, I'll see then." Miguel said walking away.
"Earth to Angela, you do realize that the guy you're totally head over heels in love with just asked you out right?" Abbey called shaking Angela out of her haze.
"Yeah." Angela drooled. "What! No! Not here, not like this, not today! I haven't worn my lucky sweater, I'm not wearing my special perfume!" Angela panicked snapping out of it. "Help me Abbey! I can't do this alone!" she pleaded hugging her best friend's girlfriend who patted her back.
"It's okay, Abbey's gotcha." She laughed. "Look, you can do this. Just be yourself."
"Remember the last time I did that." Angela said recoiling remember the last time she tried to be herself in front of a guy.
"Oh come on it wasn't that bad." Abbey defended.
"I walked right into the guys' locker room and saw him in his under wear, in fact a lot of them in their under wear." Angela reminded her.
"Fine, just be yourself and look where you're going." Abbey said. "Now come on, we need to get you ready for your first date since Anderson."
Abbey pulled Angela to the bus for her place. The entire way there, Angela still panicked about her date with Miguel.
"Oh what if I fall into a cage or make a fool of myself trying to eat popcorn by the birdcage?" Angela chattered as the bus chugged along.
"Angela, just breathe." Abbey said making Angela look her in the eye. "Now repeat after me. I'm going to go on this date, I'm going to have a good time and it's going to be great."
Angela took a breath. "I'm going to go on this date, I'm going to have a good time and it's going to be great." Angela repeated.
"Yes you are." Abbey said pulling on the signal cord. "Now we have a lot of work to do, so let's get to it." She said as the bus pulled to a stop in front of her house.
Angela felt her heart hammer as Abbey pulled her up to her room. Abbey set her down in front of her vanity and then opened her closet.
"Alright, first thing we need to do is change that outfit. There's no way you're dressed for an afternoon at the zoo in that dress." Abbey said gesturing to Angela's long skirt Greek style dress. "Maybe some blue jeans with a nice v-neck sweater and a scarf." Abbey said pulling out a red sweater and a black and white plaid scarf.
Angela pulled herself out of her greek style dress and put on a white t-shirt under the sweater and then folding the scarf around her neck. She was about to slip her feet back into her black flats when Abbey stopped her.
"Na uh. These." Abbey said holding up a pair of high-neck low heeled black boots. "These are what you wear on a date like this."
Angela slipped the boots on. Abbey then sat back down by the vanity and then turned her around to face her.
"Now, don't move." Abbey said pulling out her make-up sets. "This is going to take a very steady hand." She said setting to work on getting Angela's face done up.
A short time later, Abbey turned Angela around to see her reflection. "Girl you would not believe how hard it was for me to make you look any better than you already do. Just a little more mascara and a slip of eye-liner with a shade of blush. Girl you are a natural beauty." Abbey said with her face by Angela's.
"You think so?" Angela asked.
"Sweet heart I think the big bang theory is real. I know you're a natural beauty." Abbey answered.
Angela looked at the clock. "Oh I have to go like now if I'm going to get there on time." Angela said seeing what time it was. "What about my clothes and yours?"
"We'll exchange back on Monday." Abbey answered shoving Angela out the door and onto the bus for the zoo.
As Angela boarded, she looked back and saw Abbey signal 'Call me' as the bus pulled out. Angela settled down in her seat and tried to calm down.
"Okay, just breathe. It's going to be great, it's going to be great." She kept telling herself.
"It's going to be okay Angela. Just follow your instincts." Tikki said poking her head out.
"Thanks Tikki. It's just, I can't believe I'm actually on a date with the love of my life. What's worrying me is if I'll even be able to talk to him without babbling like one of the baboons." Angela answered feeling her heart with her hand. "Right now my heart is beating so fast I'm sure if I don't slow it down I'm going to pass out here on this bus."
"Just do what you've been telling yourself, breathe." Tikki answered.
Angela continued to take deep breathes trying to calm down. "I can do this, I can do this." She kept saying.
Finally the bus stopped in front of the zoo and Angela could see Miguel waiting for her. She took a couple more deep breathes and stepped off the bus.
"Hola bella dama." Miguel said meeting her. "Debemos?" he asked offering her his arm.
"Sí, lo haremos." Angela answered.
"Wow, beautiful and you speak Spanish." Miguel said. "I didn't know you could."
"Yeah, my dad used to teach me and Valentina when we were kids, before we lost," Angela started. "Well, anyway, I've been able to speak Spanish ever since I was little. I just haven't had anyone to speak in Spanish to." Angela answered.
"That's awesome. What made your dad come to America?" Miguel asked.
"My Mom. She was traveling with family and she decided to hit a Mexican karaoke club while her parents and her cousins were at the spa across the street. Dad was just out with some friends and they felt in the mood for dinner and a show. By the time Mom got up Dad was getting bored. But he says that as soon as he heard Mom sing that first song, he was in love.
"Mom said it took a little convincing for her, but she said that some part of her always knew that he would be the one she would spend the rest of life with. Soon Mom had to go back to the states with her family but she and Dad kept in touch while Dad worked on getting legal to let him in the states. By the time they meet up again they were practically engaged.
Her parents didn't exactly approve of her marrying my dad. When they found out, they threatened to disown her if she didn't leave him. But Mom said if her parents couldn't see love when it was right in front of them, then maybe they didn't deserve her as a daughter. Dad's parents on the other hand couldn't have been happier. They moved to the states too to help take care them after the wedding. They certainly were a big help after Josh, me, and Valentina came along. Even more so when we lost Mom and Valentina." Angela said as they walked through the zoo toward the reptile house.
"Sounds like a real Romeo and Juliet." Miguel said with a grin. "So you haven't seen your grandparents from your mother's side?"
"No. Even after Mom reached out to them to tell about me and my siblings, they never even reached back. I don't even know what they look like." Angela answered.
"And your Dad's parents, what about them? How are they doing?"
"Well, they were great a couple of years ago." Angela answered looking down. "My grandfather passed away about three years ago and then my grandmother died not long after."
"I'm so sorry."
"Don't be, I still have Dad and Josh and then there's Brock."
"Who's Brock?"
"He was a friend of my Mom's growing up. He works for my Dad now, security around my Dad's place mostly."
"Wow."
"I know." Angela answered. "But enough about me, what about your parents? How'd they meet?"
"Well, Mom illegally crossed over from here from Mexico and was running from the law. Dad met her at bar where the tender was giving her a hard time just because of her race and Dad stepped in, pulled some legal correction out on the punk and then things just seemed to click from there. Not long after meeting, Mom found out she was pregnant with me and Dad promised to marry her. Until he found out she was here illegally and had no choice but to send her back. But things never really changed between them. They still keep in touch, it's kind of the reason I came here. Just to spend time with and get to know my Dad." Miguel explained.
"That's just amazing. You know most guys who go through what your Dad did would have just left and let the woman fend for herself."
"Yeah well, if there's one thing my Dad's all about, it's responsibility."
"That's something to admire in a man." Angela said eyeing Miguel.
As they entered the reptile house, things got a little darker. Lights dimmed, and then the ambiance sounding like a jungle.
"I think the new python exhibit is right over here." Miguel said guiding Angela deeper in.
As they approached the new python, a Burmese python, they heard something that did not sound all too pleasant.
"Look kid, you have no idea what you would be up against if you were wrestling with Bertha here." The zookeeper inside the cage yelled through the glass.
"Oh yeah, well how about Bertha and I go right now. Beat your snake would tap out before we even got started." They heard one of the on lookers tease.
"Some people just have no idea how much they underestimate what snakes and lizards are capable of." Angela said shaking her head.
"No kidding." Miguel agreed. "What do you say we come back later when this guy leaves them alone. We can go check out some of the other exhibits."
"Sounds great." Angela
She allowed Miguel to lead her out and they went about the zoo visiting all other exhibits that seemed to catch both their attention. They were heading back for the reptile house when they heard the kid from earlier yelling and come running past them.
"He's coming!" he screamed shoving Angela out of the way.
"Hey, that is no way to treat a lady!" Miguel yelled after him.
"What was he yelling about?" Angela asked righting herself.
Suddenly everyone was running out of the reptile house screaming at the top of their lungs. As they avoided the crowd, they caught a glimpse of what they were running from. A large snake slithering it's way out of the reptile house.
"One of the snakes must have gotten loose." Miguel said pulling Angela along. "Come on, we need to get out of here." He said leading her to the bathrooms. "You hide here in the girls' room, I'll be in the guys' room. Listen to all the commotion outside, when it's quiet, it means it's safe." He instructed her.
Angela felt her heart racing. "I can't just hide here. It's time to transform." She said letting Tikki out. "Tikki! Spots On!" she said transforming.
Swinging over the crowd, she caught sight of the snake that had gotten loose. But what caught her attention was when it cornered the teaser from earlier. But it was what happened next that told her that this was more than just a simple put the animal back in its cage.
"Come on kid, I'm ready for our match. What's a matter, lizard got your tongue?" the large python hissed.
"Well this won't be easy." Ladybug said. "Then again, when is it ever?" she leaped and landed between the kid and the new akuma. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"
"Or your own species?" Cat Negro said appearing out of nowhere.
"Why don't you pick your fights more wisely?" the akuma hissed.
"If you value your life, run." Ladybug told the teaser.
Said teaser dashed for it. "You won't outrun Connor-dile." He declared slithering through Ladybugs legs.
Ladybug managed to get her hands on the snake, just behind the head. "Nice grab mi senora." Cat Negro grinned. "You a snake handler in normal life?"
"I have hidden talents." Ladybug answered.
She felt something wrap around her arm. She looked and saw Connor-dile wrapping around her arms making his way up to her body. Cat Negro grabbed the rest of the body to keep him from getting that far.
Suddenly in a dark flash, the snake vanished and in his place stood a crocodile.
"Run!" Cat Negro pulled Ladybug along to outrun the giant lizard chasing them.
After a long chase, they looked back and saw that Connor-dile was no longer following them.
"Where did he go?" Ladybug said looking around and then realized Cat Negro was still holding her hand.
Giving her his usual grin, he finally let her hand go. "My guess would be after that kid." He answered.
"Which means we need to find him before Connor-dile does." Ladybug said swinging off.
"That shouldn't be too hard." Cat Negro said catching up and showing her his tracker and it was on the move.
"Buen trabajo gatito." Ladybug said scratching Cat Negro's chin.
They followed the tracker to a house a long way off from the zoo, but they soon saw that Connor-dile was quickly becoming the least of their problems. Animals from the zoo were running rampant all over the city.
"Guess we better catch this snake in the grass before our concrete jungle becomes a real jungle." Cat Negro said as they closed in on the signal. "Tracker says he took shelter not far from here."
Ladybug got another look at the location and felt her heart drop. The kid had hid in Ms. Roland's old house. The place had been empty since the open house and the funeral. How he would have gotten inside she wasn't sure, unless he broke in. But what was important was that he was safe for now.
They found the guy hiding in the living room. Scared out of his mind when they found him.
"It's okay, you're safe now." Ladybug said trying to get him to calm down. "You'll be safe here with the doors and windows locked." She said sitting him down on the fireplace. "Can I borrow this?" she asked pointing to his cap.
"Sure." They guy said handing it to her.
"Good, come on gatito." She said pulling him out the door.
"What are you planning mi senora?" Cat Negro asked as they left.
"Didn't you notice how tired he seemed after he changed? I'm thinking, transforming drains his energy. If we can trap him in a cage or something, we can tire him out and make it easier for us to find and capture his akuma."
"Buen pensamiento mi senora." Cat Negro smiled.
Ladybug and Cat Negro continued on past the suburban area and up to the new houses under construction and a bus that looked like it hadn't seen any action for a while and knew that this would have to do for a cage. They then went further up the street to a house in the last stages of construction and placed the cap by the stairs. Hiding among the scaffolding, they readied for when Connor-dile appeared. Which wasn't long. After a few minutes, a lizard slinked its way into the house and up to the cap.
Ladybug managed to grab the lizard and hold him still, though, feeling him squirm did make her skin kind of crawl. Looking closer, she saw where the akuma must have been hiding.
"Cat Negro, the necklace with the croc teeth on it, that's got to be where the akuma is."
"You hold him, I'll grab the necklace."
Suddenly, Connor-dile morphed into a large komodo dragon and chased Ladybug and Cat Negro into the abandoned bus. Ladybug and Cat Negro were able to slip back out before Connor-dile saw them leave and shut the doors preventing him from escaping.
"Not the kind of cage I would use, but it'll do for now." Ladybug said as they waited for Connor-dile to tire himself out changing.
As his changes came slower and his fighting weaker, they could see it was almost time.
"Listo?" Cat Negro asked as Connor-dile finally collapsed on the floor.
Suddenly the bus began to shake and the roof start to split. All at once it burst open and what appeared was a large dragon with massive wings and large jaws.
"No es justo!" Cat Negro exclaimed. "Since when do mythical lizards count?"
"Dragons may be myths but technically they're still retiles." Ladybug answered.
"I know of some other creatures that will soon become myths, the cat and the ladybug." Cat Negro said pulling Ladybug along with him as they ran across the roof tops trying to avoid being burned or eaten by the dragon now hot on their tails.
They took shelter in an alley behind a dumpster as the dragon passed by them over head.
Ladybug knew they needed help. "Luckycharm!" she summoned. What came to her was a table on wheels. "What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Too bad Connor-dile didn't order room service." Cat Negro joked.
"I think I have a plan. See how his eyes are on top of his head?" she said pointing to their pursuer across the street. "You get on top of him where he can't see you and while you're distracting him, I'll ground him." Ladybug explained.
"Sounds like a plan. I can be very distracting." Cat Negro answered staring into her eyes again.
Ladybug pushed him away and told him to go. She watched as Cat Negro got into position and then readied to ground the beast. As Connor-dile tried to take off with Cat Negro on his back, Ladybug got her yo-yo around his wings and legs and brought him down in the streets.
"Well that's weird we didn't need to use this. What do you think it means?" she said as she met up with her partner.
"I think it means we rock as a team." Cat Negro answered steeping closer to the dragon to grab the necklace.
Ladybug then thought of something and knew she had to stop him. "Cat Negro wait!" she yelled pulling him back by the tail just as Connor-dile was about to close his jaws around Cat Negro. "I know what to do." She said riding the table jack like a skateboard toward the beast.
"Ladybug!" she heard Cat Negro call after her, but she kept going.
"Disfrute de su comida!" Ladybug yelled as she got closer.
As Connor-dile opened his jaws, she pulled the jack up and jumped into his mouth. For a moment everything was dark but she got the jack between his jaws and pried them open. Stepping out of the beast's mouth she saw Cat Negro give a smile like he was relieved. She grabbed the necklace and broke it and out fluttered the black moth.
"No more terrorizing for you moth." She said opening her yo-yo. "Time to be purified!" she declared capturing the akuma. "Got you! Be free little butterfly." She said releasing the white butterfly. "Miraculous Ladybug!" she yelled tossing the jack repairing all the damage caused by Connor-dile and the villain was returned to his original state.
"Ole?" she said holding up her hand, but was surprised by Cat Negro's response.
"Ladybug!" he cried grabbing her in a hug. "I thought I lost you." He said holding her a little tighter.
Finally he let her go as her earrings started to beep. "I have to get out of here." She said taking off.
She raced back to the zoo and hid in the girls' room again as her transformation wore off. Angela stood in the bathroom and laid Tikki in her purse with some cookies she had brought with her.
"I was going to share them with Miguel, but right now I think you need them more than we do." She said as Tikki started to eat.
"Thanks Angela." Tikki said as Angela made her way out and found Miguel waiting for her.
"Hey, I'm glad you're okay." Miguel said as she came out.
"Yeah, me too." Angela answered. "I mean that I'm glad that you're okay too. Well not to say that I'm not glad that I am okay, but you know, sorry, I'm such a spaz."
"It's okay, I like girls who have a lot to say." Miguel laughed. "What do you say I walk you home?" Miguel said offering her his arm.
"Sounds wonderful." Angela answered accepting it. 'How could it get any better than this?' she thought as they started off.
