Chapter 2 Blooming

Ginger was timid as she slid over the wall to the penguin's habitat. Marlene holding onto her hand and gliding through the water, they arrived at a small block of ice surrounded by cement blocks.

Marlene pointed to an opening under the water and slipped through the opening with Ginger following behind. Inside the spiral opening the water was slipping through the drains and they could walk towards the metal door.

Marlene opened the door and jumped to the floor inside of the penguin's HQ, she turned towards Ginger and motioned her to follow. Slowly scared by the jump Ginger gathered her breath and leaned towards the floor. Ginger by an accident, slipped and fell on her face. Marlene ran over to her.

" Geez! are you okay Ginger?" she asked as she leaned a hand. Ginger held on as she stood up, unaware that the penguins were staring at her from a distance.

" Oh no!" Ginger felt herself become flustered, " I made a fool of myself haven't I?"

Marlene shook her head and smiled.

" No it's fine anyways I'll introduce you to everyone, come on!" Marlene grabbed Ginger's hand and pulled her towards the boys.

" Hey guys!" Marlene waved while Ginger hid behind her. However, Marlene pulled Ginger from behind her and placed her in front of the boys.

" This is Ginger, she's a platypus from Tasmania"

Ginger put up a hand and smiled shyly. One of penguins ( the shortest one of the bunch) smiled kindly, the second tallest stared at her. One of the penguins just smiled a crazy smile while the tallest penguins looked amused at her.

" Your a platypus?" The tallest one asked,

" Yes, I am" Ginger slowly answered.

The penguin came over and grabbed her hand and looked at, he then walked around her and seemed really excited by Ginger.

" You are a platypi, however you are of different chromosomes, that would explain your colors why there so different" the penguin went to a clipboard and started scribbling down things at the sound of light, Ginger, amused watched him as he flipped through his notebook.

" Umm Kowalski? could you speak english please?" Marlene asked, sarcastly.

Kowalski rolled his eyes and walked back over to Ginger.

" It means she's albino, her chromosomes got either sick when she was concieved or she's extremely senstive to sunlight" Kowalski answered, while still scribbling.

" What does albino mean?" Ginger asked timidly.

" It means that your skin is very fragile underneath your fur, instead of turning brown fured you turned to a milky white color, the only thing I don't understand is why your beak is yellow instead of black" Kowalski slowly went to touch Ginger's beak, Ginger took a step back just to let him know that she wasn't in the mood to be touched.

Kowalski relised this and stepped back, a little flustered about the outcome. She heared him say sorry and walk behind the group.

Look what I've done, Ginger thought to herself, I've made him feel uncomfortable I probably look like a huge fool or jerk.

" No i'm sorry, actually I'm as curious as you are, I wonder if my father would have any say in this matter, you see my mom was a platypus as for my father, I do not know since he died when I was a baby" Ginger answered while sweating bullets.

Kowalski seemed to look more curious then flustered, he once again walked up to her and smiled.

" Do you mind?" He asked this time.

" No not at all" Ginger answered. Kowalski slowly almost pausing and stuttering tried to touch Ginger's beak, when he did he kept his flipper on it for a while.

So warm, Ginger thought while her face flushed, she closed her eyes and she felt Kowalski take his flipper off her beak.

" Well it's soft like I thought, but could I do some experiments on you"

Experiments? Ginger felt herself become scared, the question was what kind of experiments did he want to preform? A little scared and embarrsied Ginger started walking towards the door.

" I- I'm sorry, I gotta go now, see ya Marlene and I'm sorry I haven't met everyone yet"

Ginger swam through the water and climbed over the wall and went to her habitat. She swam around for a while and tried to catch shrimp that weren't even there, she did figure 8's like she saw everyone do back home in Tasmania, no matter what she did she couldn't get the thought of needles or beakers and her on a table strapped, while Kowalski started poking at her with needles. The whole scene seemed like a frankeinstien movie. Ginger swam back up to the surface to catch her breath, when she arose she saw that Kowalski was trying to get over the wall.

Oh no! He's gonna kill me or paralze me or something! Ginger swam as fast as she could to her home on the land, when she arrived at the land she ran into her burrow and rolled herself into a ball.

" Wait! Ginger!" She heared him holler.

" I'm sorry, but I don't feel like talking" Ginger said a little too hasty.

" No I want to say I'm sorry, I relised I made you feel nervous so I apoligize" She could tell he was right outside of her burrow.

Her breathing started to exhilirate and it was faster now, she wanted to run but where? She would just bust right through him and run far away. She stood up and charged right for the exit. She bumped right into Kowalski and they both fell into the pond.

When Ginger felt herself bob back up from under the water, the whole time she was suprised that she wasn't sinking, instead she felt herself holding onto something. Something soft and cuddly. Around her hips she felt two warm hands holding her up. She felt her heart race and she felt her face warm up. She noticed the soft cuddly thing was black and white. Ginger slowly looked up and saw her looking into the eyes of Kowalski, he looked down his breath was slow and steady as it hit her face, he too looked flustered.

Ginger then panicked, she let go and started swimming to her burrow and hid again.

" I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Ginger said through sobs she was so embarrised she felt herself start to cry.

" No it's okay! I don't mind....ummm I must ask why did you do that?" She heared Kowalski say.

" Oh I-I was so nervous I ran but instead I- you know, I ran into you! I'm such a klutz sometimes I really didn't mean that I'm sooooo sorry!" Ginger said slowly peeking outside of her burrow.

" It's okay, I wanted to say I'm sorry for making you nervous, and by experiments I meant going through your family history"

" Oh" Ginger whispered, she felt like such an idiot she stood out more than she would have back at home. She peeked her nose out of the burrow and felt a warm flipper being placed on her nose.

" I don't know why it's so golden in color or why it's more softer than the other platypi's noses" Kowalski said, without taking his flipper off her nose.

Ginger came out of her burrow, she stared determinenly at Kowalski and smiled.

" I'd like to go back, apologize. For being rude to the other penguins" Ginger said and with that she jumped in the water and swam to the wall. When she climbed over she waited for Kowalski so that she wouldn't barge in for no reason at all. When Kowalski came over the wall they both climbed over the wall to the penguin's HQ and swam though the opening to the penguin's HQ.

Ginger was more excited then ever now, she wanted to start off on the right foot. Not look like some shy girl that got mad at a lot of things, for once in her life she actually wore a smile on her face.