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Chapter 7: New Beginnings

Skipper looked around the aquarium. Nothing but glass surrounded him. Loneliness spreaded over his mind. Some penguins stood on the little island that was surrounded by water. Skipper saw that he was in an indoor aquarium, the temperature regulated to something he called 'freezing cold'. Some visitors stood behind the glass. Skipper was aware of the fact that everything he did, outside and in the water, was observed by the humans. Some of the penguins in the aquarium were even interacting with the people.

Skipper waddled towards the flock of penguins. He could count 7 penguins, mostly males, but he already noticed that there were also some females and even some little hatchlings. With a faked smile on his face, he waddled towards the biggest male he saw. "Hello…" He said. The male just looked at him, nothing more. After a view seconds, a smile made his way upon his face. The penguin stepped aside and a smaller female penguin made her way towards him.

The door Private in front of him was heavy, oak, English looking. He knocked three times and the door almost immediately opened. A large, penguin had opened it and now stood in the door opening smiling at Private. "I knew you would come." He said, with a British accent. "Uncle Nigel!" Private immediately hugged his uncle, letting his trunk fall to the ground. Uncle Nigel smiled. "Yeah, yeah, I am happy to see you again, too." Private let go off him and picked up his trunk again. He stepped over the threshold into uncle Nigel's house, or what he assumed was uncle Nigel's house.

The house had a long hallway, carpeted with a dark blue carpet. Several paintings hang on the wall, mostly containing older, smiling penguins. Private waddled after his uncle further into the house. "It's almost tea-time, Private." His uncle said. Private nodded. "That sounds splendid, uncle Nigel." He said in his British accent.

Maybe he was wrong about there being no kabooms. Rico looked around the new room he had just been brought into and saw penguins waddling around with some unknown objects. Somehow, Rico felt fear by looking at the objects. Maybe it was for the best to hold himself as still as possible.

But the penguins came to him. Now he could see what they were holding. Syringes, long needles. Rico didn't fear needles, nor doctors, but this seemed somewhat intimidating. He looked around, but saw no possible way to escape. He just closed his eyes and waited for them to inject with whatever the syringes were holding. It didn't take long for him to feel drowsy and somehow he fell asleep.

Kowalski took the envelope and opened it with great caution. Maybe it was only Skipper's paranoia taking over him, but he didn't trust it. What if it was holding picric acid? He could almost slap himself, immediately after he thought that. Picric acid wasn't a thing that would be hidden in a letter. He opened it and took the letter out.

Dumbstruck, he looked he at the contents. They wanted to hire him for a job at a laboratory. Working with chemicals and of course, he could get enough time to work on his own inventions. He smiled after reading the letter. How could they know that he was in need of a job? Not that he really cared about that, but still it was a bit awkward. He stood up and waddled towards the direction the letter was leading him.

It seemed like he had walked right into one of his dreams. From the moment he had set one of his feet in the building, he had gotten the feeling that he was home. Everywhere he looked were penguins running around holding science equipment. Large monitors at the sides of the walls monitored the progression of various experiments. He even saw some penguins he knew from different science fairs and meetings. Kowalski waddled towards the information desk with a large smile on his beak. He didn't think again about how he had to leave his former home and friends behind, he could only think about this wonderful place.

Skipper smiled at the female penguin who came towards him. She was a little larger than he was, but seemed less strong. Her face seemed happy and young, although Skipper could see that she was older than he was. She extended her flipper, seemingly happy and friendly. "Hallo, I am Anneke." Her voice sounded sweet, though there was a slight harsh undertone, maybe coming from her accent. He looked suspiciously at the penguin. He didn't trust her, although she seemed nice. He grumpy said his name. "I'm Skipper." Anneke didn't seem to mind or notice his attitude. "And you don't understand a word of the Dutch language?" She asked.

Skipper nodded, while still checking his surroundings for places to exit. He made sure to check every little spot, but again, he failed. Anneke gave him a small smile. "Looking for an exit, right?" Skipper nodded again. "You aren't going to find one, lieverd." She said with a sad smile. Skipper looked at her, seeing that she wasn't lying.

Somehow, Anneke seemed to follow him everywhere. She was constantly behind his tail, watching every move he made, ever step he took, every word he said. It was getting on his nerves. He didn't mind being followed by his team, but now, he'd rather stayed alone. Not having to talk with anybody, just to think about possible ways to get out of this aquarium. He sat down on a nearby rock and watched the flock of penguins moving through the habitat. They behaved just like normal penguins, although he couldn't make sense of anything they said. Sometimes he could hear an English word in their sentences. He held his head in his flippers and thought about his friends. He missed them. He also missed his violin. It would do him good if he could play a little.

Private sat down in the living room and waited for his uncle to return with the tea. He wondered where he was supposed to go from here, he surely couldn't stay with his uncle forever. Uncle Nigel entered the room after a couple of minutes with the tea. He also brought some cookies. With a smile, Private picked up a cookie.

Thank you for reading this far :)