I hope you enjoy this new chapter! I haven't written a humor scene for a while, so I added in... what-you-will-see-later to lighten the mood a bit.
About a week and a half later...
Sarah wanted to think that she and Private were friends. And they were - but that really wasn't all anymore. Sarah felt something more that friendship between them, and it seemed to grow a little every time he spoke to her. This thing - it made her heart flutter, her stomach flip, even her tongue stutter sometimes...
She didn't like it.
She'd had a crush, similar to was she was now feeling, once before. He had been the 'new guy' in the zoo, and an unusually good-looking one at that. He'd known nothing about her or anyone else. But that had been she had the courage to dye her feathers or anything like that, and she was afraid. So she waited. And waited. By the time she'd worked up the nerve to say hello, the others had already told him that she was 'different'. A rebel, they called her. She'd never tell Private, but that was one of the main reasons she'd started being the way she was now - if they wanted a rebel, they'd get one, she'd reasoned with herself.
Anyway, he'd rejected her before she could even say more than 'hello'. That was her first taste of a broken heart, and judging from her mother's stories, it only got worse as you get deeper and deeper into that messy disaster called love.
One day, as she and Private were talking, she'd unconsciously shifted her sitting position on the couch and their flippers touched for the first time in quite a while. She'd felt it immediately - if felt like sparks were going up her flipper and into her very heart. She'd pulled away as fast as she could.
It scared her, how fast she was falling for him. And even though it seemed Private cared for her too, she couldn't forget that sinking feeling of rejection. So, Sarah did was Sarah did best - she hid away.
…
Private, however, was very confused, to say the least. One minute, things were perfectly fine - he was telling Sarah a funny story about when Kowalski tried to make a special mulch for Marlene's flowers (they'd ended up with giant, carnivorous Venus flytraps - Kowalski still wasn't sure how the daisies had made the species-switch), and then, their flippers had touched. Sarah had given him a funny look, almost as if she were frightened of something, then calmly walked away, grabbing her notepad and pencils, and sitting in a dark corner, away from him.
Maybe this was what Vanessa had been telling him and the rest of the boys about. Sarah was indeed a sensitive girl - had he done something wrong?
He replayed the moment when they had touched. He'd never had a feeling like that before - it had been like his arm had turned into a string of Rico's favorite firecrackers. It really was a great feeling - hadn't she felt the same?
UGH! It was baffling! While it was true that Private was the most sensitive of the team and even an amateur therapist, he'd never had to do something this complicated before. His 'patients' always told him every detail of their problems, not left them for Private to figure out, like Sarah was.
He needed advice. He needed suggestions on what to do…
"Let King Juuuulieeeen be enliiiiightennning yooooou…" a frighteningly familiar voice said in Private's head. Wait… he thought. He climbed the ladder and opened the hatch about an inch. Julien was waiting topside, with a bullhorn doing his creepy-flashback voice. Private huffed and closed the hatch shut. No way was he going to Julien for love advice, he'd already learned that from Rico.
No, he needed a more gentle mind. One that was somewhat like his own - sweet and optimistic - but perhaps one without the XY chromosome, as Kowalski might put it...
He needed...
…
"Marlene? Are you home?" Private called out, actually using front door and knocking for once.
Marlene, thoroughly surprised at his sudden courtesy, let him in and was more than happy to help with his problem. She listened closely as he told her exactly what had happened the last week and a half. She had to smile when Private blushed as he told her how it felt when his and Sarah's flippers touched.
"Well... it sounds to me as if she's unsure of whether you like her or not, which obviously, you do. I'd suggest you show her with something really romantic."
"That sounds perfect!" Private said enthusiastically. He frowned. "But I'm not really that good at coming up with things like that... do you have any suggestions, Marlene?"
You have no idea. "I sure do!" she said helpfully, hiding her sarcastic thought. "Do you speak Spanish?"
"Um..." Private thought aloud. "I took a semester in military school, but I only remember the basics."
"That's alright - anything sung in Spanish sounds romantic, just how if you say anything angrily, it sounds like an insult. (1) Now, let's get started!"
…
"I don't know if I can do this, Marlene."
"Private, we did not practice for a week for you to chicken out now. Plus, just imagine what Sarah will think!"
"She'll think I look ridiculous - which I do."
"Nonsense, she'll love it!"
Private was now ready to give Sarah the wooing of her life - or so he'd thought. He'd written the song with minimal help from Marlene, and she'd taught him to play Spanish guitar - at least, enough for the song - but when she'd brought him the full matador costume (a sparkly black and gold jacket, a matching sombrero with red balls hanging from the edges, a huge red cape that swished with even the slightest movement, and to top it all off, a pointy moustache - never mind the fact that penguins don't grow hair, much less facial hair) he began to feel immense anxiety, lest he'd make himself look like a fool. But, just to humor Marlene, he'd tried it on and she'd talked him into wearing it now.
"I'll go introduce you, get ready to win her heart!" Marlene said excitedly.
Private nodded. Marlene opened the fishbowl entrance and jumped in. He heard her announce proudly:
"Ladies, gentlemen… and Sarah (Private could practically hear her wink) - may I proudly present - Señor Soldado! (2)"
Private gulped away his fear, thinking of Sarah and how badly he wanted to impress her. He jumped through the hatch wearing a Skipper-worthy smirk.
Upon seeing Private this way, each penguin in the HQ had a different reaction. Rico burst out in laughter, rolling on the floor; Kowalski did a spit take in Skipper's shocked face; Vanessa snorted back a laugh; Sarah - actually, Sarah looked a little scared.
Private did his best to stay in character - a confident, heroic matador winning the heart of the dark-feathered señorita bonita (pretty girl). He somewhat-suavely walked closer to Sarah, playing the Spanish guitar and singing:
(A.N.: The words of the song are in italics, and for my less-bilingual readers, I've translated the lyrics so you're in on the joke too)
Hola senorita
(Hello miss)
Como te llamas?
(What is your name?)
Me llamo "Private"
Me llamo "Private"
(My name is Private)
¿Donde esta el bano?
(Where is the bathroom)
Feliz cumpleanos!
(Happy Birthday!)
¿Que hora es?
¿Que hora es?
(What is the time?)
La la la la la
Me gusta biblioteca
(I like the library)
Vivo en la casa roja
(I live in a red house)
Yo tengo dos bicicletas
(I have two bicycles)
Muchos gracias y de nada
(Thank you and it's nothing)
¿Cuantos anos tienes?
(How old are you? Literally: How many years do you have?)
Un momento, por favor
(A moment, please)
It's the one-semester of Spanish, Spanish love song
Mi mama es bonita
(My mother is pretty)
Mi gato es muy blanca
(My cat is very white)
Perdon me, perdon me!
(Excuse me, Excuse me!)
La la la la la
Uno, dos, tres y cuatro
(One, two, three and four)
Cinco, seis, siete, ocho
(Five six seven eight)
NUEVE, DIEZ!
(NINE, TEN!)
… no remember-o how to say 'eleven'
Antonio Banderas
(a popular Spanish actor: think 'Spy Kids')
Nachos grande y 'cinnamon twists'
It's the one-semester-of-Spanish, Spanish love song
… au revoir…
(French - Goodbye)
He'd hoped to get a laugh or at least a smile with that last verse. The others smiled, and he even heard some applause when he finished, including a wolf-whistle from Rico. But from Sarah - nothing. She actually looked kind of mad.
But Private was too exhilarated from his performance to really notice this.
"So… what do you think?" he asked her excitedly, taking off the guitar and returning to his natural British accent.
Sarah looked back at him with steely eyes. "Once. (own-say)."
Private blinked. "What?"
"That's how you say 'eleven.' Once."
Private's stomach plummeted. Oh no... "You understood what I was really saying the whole time?"
Sarah nodded, still angry. "Yep. Before I took up drawing, we had a new transfer in Boston - he was from New Mexico. Everyone picked up quite a bit of Spanish because he had a big, loud voice and never stopped talking." She narrowed her eyes. "What? You thought I wouldn't know? Just because I didn't go to fricking military school or anything doesn't mean I'm stupid!" she shouted.
"No! I didn't mean-" Private tried to protest.
"And take off that... costume. You look ridiculous." With that, she stood up and walked to her little corner where her notebook and pencils still lay. Private noticed that when she saw the first page, the drawing she'd been working on since she arrived here, she looked at it for a second, then shook her head and flipped to a brand-new page.
Private was heartbroken - a little angry too. He nearly tore off the jacket, cape, hat and moustache and plopped down on the other side of the HQ. Marlene, also shocked and let down, gingerly stepped towards him.
"Private, I'm sorry." she said contritely. "I had no idea that-"
"That what?" Private spat. "That she might have been different from everyone else you know? She may not be a ray of sunshine, but… that's kind of what I liked about her..." he sighed and looked away. "It's hard to understand. You have to know her, and I shouldn't have thought anything I could do would make her like me."
Marlene began to bend down to comfort him, then thought that maybe it would be best to leave. Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico pitied their hurt comrade, but Private didn't respond when they tried to comfort him.
Vanessa shook her head. Was she really the only one who had the common sense to see what Private really did wrong?
It wasn't the Spanish - it was the act he tried to put on. If Private had nixed the whole matador-thing, Sarah probably would have loved the song.
Vanessa wanted to help him - he really was a nice boy, someone good for her girl to be with. She nonchalantly strolled near Private and sat about two feet away.
"I'm quite sorry, Miss Vanessa," Private said quietly but polite as always, "but I'd sort of like to be alone right now."
"I know." Vanessa said. "I just... like sitting here. This is a good spot."
Almost ten minutes passed without a single word exchanged between them. Finally, Vanessa spoke up.
"You know, Private... all she really wants is to be accepted. If you were to somehow show her that you love her exactly the way she is... well, she'd probably feel the same way."
With that, she got up and left with a small, knowing smile on her face.
Her statement definitely set Private to thinking. Vanessa seemed to have hit it right on the head... he glanced over at Sarah, who was still hard at work, drawing. He took a closer look at her pencils.
Now, there's an idea...
(1) I'm going into Spanish II this year, and the statement "Anything spoken in an angry voice in Spanish sounds like an insult" is a direct quote from my awesome teacher. Try this sometime - if you're angry at someone and want them to think you insulted them, call them a sello feo (say-yo fay-o). It means "ugly seal" as in, "unattractive sea lion".
(2) There really isn't a translation for 'private', so in the Spanish dubbing of 'Madagascar', he's called Soldado, which means 'soldier'.
The clip to hear what the song sounds like - type in the Youtube address into the little white bar at the top, then add in /watch?v=ngRq82c8Baw
Review!