Chapter 8.
Lloyd Snow Leopard
Lloyd sat on his bed in his bedroom looking so sad, he was sad because he had no friends at all, he took a deep breath and sighed quietly in despair. Lloyd lived with his mother Nicole Snow Leopard in a building next to a newspaper building where Nicole works called the Daily Beagle.
"I'm the loneliest Snow Leopard in the world," Lloyd said sadly to himself, "I feel like nobody wants to be my friend..."
Just then there came a knock on the door of Lloyd's bedroom.
"Come in," Lloyd replied sadly.
The door opened and in walked Nicole.
"Lloyd?" Nicole asked, just as she saw Lloyd's face. "What's the matter?"
"I have no friends, Mom," said Lloyd.
"Oh, dear..." Nicole said in sympathy.
"Mom, could think of a way I can make some friends?" Lloyd asked Nicole.
"Well, there are a few kids who live and hang out in this neighborhood," Nicole stated. "Maybe you could go out and try socializing with one."
"Hmm... Okay," said Lloyd.
Nicole smiled as Lloyd got up and walked out of his room.
"How do I get other humans or animals to be my friends though?" Lloyd asked Nicole.
"I suggest you make small talk with them first," Nicole started. "Maybe you'll find something you and they have in common."
"Okay," said Lloyd and he made his way out of the apartment building he lived and into the street. He turned his head this way and that for someone to talk to but he had no luck at the moment.
"I'll try at the MonGoose City park," Lloyd said to himself and so he made his way to the MonGoose City park and he saw Leonardo, Tony, Echo, Spike and Marianne were playing with Leonardo's new ball and Lloyd's eyes lit up as he got an idea.
"Maybe I can be friends with them...?" he wondered to himself.
Suddenly the ball came flying towards Lloyd and it hit him in the face causing him to fall to the ground.
"Ow! My face!" he called out in pain as he placed both of his hands over his face.
Leonardo, Tony, Echo, Spike and Marianne saw what had happened and quickly ran over to the fallen snow leopard cub. Lloyd lay there, rubbing his face as tears appeared in his eyes.
"God, this... hurts...!"
"Are you okay?" asked Leonardo.
"Yeah, I'm fine... I guess I didn't see that coming, though..." Lloyd mentioned.
"We're so sorry," said Tony, "If we would had known you were standing there one of us should not have kicked the ball in that direction."
"Oh, it's alright." Lloyd removed his hands from his face with a smile. "I'm not mad at you or anything."
"That's good to hear. I'm Leonardo Turtle by the way," Leonardo said to Lloyd.
"It's nice to meet you, Leonardo," Lloyd replied as he stood up.
"I am Tony Lion," Tony introduced himself to Lloyd.
"It's nice to meet you, too," Lloyd replied.
"I am Echo Fox," said Echo.
"It's nice to meet you, too, Echo," Lloyd replied.
"My name is Spike Wolf," said Spike.
"I'm glad to meet you, too" Lloyd replied.
"And my name is Marianne Tiger," said Marianne.
"And it's nice to meet you, too, Marianne," said Lloyd.
"Why were you watching us play Football?" Leonardo asked.
"I was just curious," Lloyd stated, "And I wanted to know if I could be one of your friends."
"And why is that?" asked Tony.
"Well, I've actually never had any friends..." Lloyd admitted.
"Oh. Sorry to hear that," said Echo.
"It's alright, I was wondering if you guys could be my friends," Lloyd stated.
Leonardo, Tony, Echo, Spike and Marianne all looked at each other and smiled. Lloyd smiled as well, although he didn't know what they were thinking.
"Lloyd, you can be our friend," said Leonardo.
Lloyd smiled once more. "Thanks, guys," he replied.
"Would you like to play football with us?" asked Spike.
"Sure!" Lloyd replied.
By the time Lloyd had joined in on the game of football, the lonely feeling he had had was no longer there. He was happy now - not only because of the game, but because he had some friends to call his own.
