Marlene felt the crate door open up. Sunlight filtered in, and she gasped. It looked like she was in the mountains! She stepped out of the cage.

"Hi!" Marlene looked over to see a little otter. He had a tuft of fur on his head, and she seemed about 7 years old. "You must be my new roommate!" Marlene looked around. This wasn't a zoo. She shook her head.

"Where am I?" She queried. The otter giggled.

"You're in ZooMontana!" The otter squealed. Marlene scratched her head. Zoo? No, this can't be. This isn't a zoo! It looks too much like the wild... Marlene thought to herself. The little otter laughed again. "I know, looks like the wild, doesn't it? But it isn't!" The otter said. Marlene stared at him. "I'm Andres. What's your name?" Marlene smiled. Andres was really cute.

"I'm Marlene." Marlene replied. The Andres hugged her. He was about half of her size, and he was a lot younger too. Marlene grinned. It would be fun to have a little kid in her exhibit.

"Hi Marlene! It's hot out today, don't you think? Want to come swimming with me? Or play with a beach ball?" Andres asked her. Marlene sighed. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, I just miss my old zoo. I had great friends, and even a boyfriend." Marlene told him. A look of sadness was on his face, but suddenly it turned to a smile.

"Don't miss your old zoo! This zoo is way much better! Like I said before, it looks like the wild! Wouldn't you much rather be in the wild than stuck in a boring old zoo?" Andres questioned. Marlene thought about it.

"Well, it's not the zoo, it's my friends that I miss!" Marlene said. Andres nodded.

"But we have plenty of nice animals here! Really! They can be your friends!" Andres started to sound desperate. Marlene grasped his shoulders.

"Look, Andres, I'm only staying here for a few weeks or so. But I need your help! When the right time has come, I need you to bust me out of here!" Marlene said. Andres stepped back. His green eyes filled with tears. He started to cry.

"But I've been waiting forever to have a roommate! I wanted someone to play with, someone to hang out with..." Andres whimpered. Marlene gasped.

"No, don't cry! I'll be here for a while, it's just that, well, you know... I need to get back to my friends." Marlene murmured. Andres wiped his nose.

"I understand." Andres mumbled. Suddenly, Marlene yawned. "Oh yeah, you must be exhausted! Here, right inside here is where you'll be staying." Andres turned around and scurried over to a small cave. A waterfall rushed over the entrance. Marlene followed him, dodging the falling water. Inside, there were two little beds. They were made of small blankets. Marlene crawled onto her bed. It was so comfortable, she almost fell asleep. "But what about playing?" Marlene quickly sat up and saw Andres holding a beach ball. Marlene smiled and got up. Andres through the ball in the air, hit it, and it flew backwards and out of the cave. Andres laughed and sped after it. Marlene followed him.

Outside, the beach ball bounced up and down. Marlene hit it with her hand, then it flew over to Andres. The otter hit it with his head, and it landed in the water. Andres dove into the little pond, his splash soaking Marlene. She laughed and jumped in after him. They hit it back and forth for a while, until they heard a voice.

"So, this must be the new transfer?"

Marlene and Andres hopped out of the water.

"Hey, Shaofu, this is Marlene! Marlene, that's Shaofu!" Andres pointed to an Indian Tiger standing not too far away. She was smiling happily.

"Hey, Marlene. Like he said, I'm Shaofu. So, do you like the zoo so far?" The tiger asked. Marlene shrugged. It was nice, but not as good as her home in Central Park. "I know how you feel. I was transferred too... from the Bronx Zoo. But if you stay long enough you'll actually feel like you're home." Shaofu meowed. Marlene's eyelid twitched. This wasn't her home! How many times did she had to say that?

"This isn't my home! None of my friends are here! My boyfriend isn't here! I live in Central Park Zoo, not here!" Marlene shouted. Her heart pounded. She wanted to go home! This place was lovely, and it gave her a wild feeling, but she needed Central Park! Shaofu hopped the fence.

"Woah, woah, calm down! You're gonna scare all the animals away from here!" Shaofu's gaze suddenly turned angry, and she let out a loud hiss.

"Anyway," Andres yelled. "She has some anger issues." Andres whispered to Marlene. Marlene nodded, shivering. "Shaofu! Let's all calm down and not rip each other to shreds, okay?" Andres ordered. Shaofu's gaze softened and she sat down. "There, good. I know Marlene doesn't want to stay here. but we'll show her that this is the best thing she could ever want!" Andres squeaked.

"Andres, I don't want to stay here!" Marlene snapped. Andres stepped back. Shaofu let out a humph.

"Marlene! Come on! You've only spent an hour here so far!" Andres begged. Marlene sighed. She just needed some time to think it through.

"I know you're going through a hard time here, but you have to face the facts. You don't even know where your old zoo was!" Shaofu mewed.

"I do know. It was in Central Park in New York City." Marlene replied.

"But do you know how to get there? No."

"Yeah I do!"

"How?"

"I need a map."

Shaofu and Andres laughed. Marlene felt like she was going to burst. She needed to get out of this place!