2 DOING THE TOURISTY THINGS

'Isabella Marie Swan! You have not yet reached home! You were supposed to be here this morning, if I remember clearly.'

Thank you, captain obvious!

If I couldn't be seen in the house, it was a given that I was yet to arrive. Though, for that matter, even if I was in the house on some rare unfortunate occasion, I did end up spending majority of my time in my bedroom, giving the impression to many that I was not in the house in the first place.

'Yes, mom.' I rolled my eyes in response, amusement shining in my light brown almond shaped eyes. 'There is a lot of traffic on the way.' There was no traffic on the way. This was our first halt in the two hours since we had left. 'I am nearly half way there. Should be in by dinner. Oh, what are you making?'

Renee Swan was an amazing cook and a phenomenal baker, and while I could manage the basics out of necessity, whenever I travelled home, it was my lucky day! I would get to gorge on homemade pizzas and pies, cheesecakes and lip-smacking hotdogs, filling my stomach to the brim as I let out a sigh of sheer satisfaction.

Sure, it was slightly disgusting to watch- I admit, but truly, her food was heaven on earth.

It was a definite treat to the palette!

A crime I was ready to commit over and over again.

And…you get the point!

'Charlie wanted to eat fish, so that is what is on the menu tonight.'

'Oh.' I stated, slightly disappointed by the prospect of eating fish for dinner. I wasn't a big fan of seafood. 'Are you sure that he should be eating fish? He is not completely out of the woods yet….'

A few months ago, dad had suffered sudden chest-ache, which when tested had detected high cholesterol. It had come as a shocker to us, as he was otherwise healthy and pretty regular in the exercise department. Either way, he was now on a strict diet, with his food intake being specifically monitored.

'He knows that I will be baking it. It is that or nothing.'

I gave out a small smile, nodding my head in realization. Of course, mom was smarter than agreeing to every ridiculous whim and fancy of dad.

'That's good then.' I commented. 'Oh, before I forget, make dinner for four. I am bringing Ali along….'

'Ali, as in Alice Brandon- your roommate?'

'Yup.' I instantly quipped. 'She was feeling a little low and….'

'Isn't she supposed to go home for the summer? I thought most of you did end up going home?'

I sighed, frowning heavily, glad that Ali was nowhere around to hear this discussion occur. We were currently parked outside a small café, with Ali volunteering to grab us some go-to coffee, the caffeine essential for us to make the journey ahead.

'Mom, I have mentioned this to you earlier. She does not have a home to go back to….'

'Oh, yes, the orphan.'

I shut my eyes tight, wanting to protest against that open declaration made, but aware that my mother had not meant that in an offensive manner.

She just said things at times; it wasn't with the purpose of offending someone.

Yet, of course, it was a rude thing to say!

'So, either way, I am bringing her home for a few weeks. Can you prepare the guest room for her? I know I didn't ask you and dad if this was alright….'

'Of course, it is.' Her tone was rather, surprisingly curt, even holding a tinge of worry- if I was guessing this correctly. 'It is just, had you mentioned this to me earlier, I would have been better prepared. This does change things.'

'I know.' I let out a sigh. Mom had made so many plans for the summer, the two of us spending quality time together, bonding like we once had before I had moved away for college. 'We can still work around the plans.' I hesitantly offered, playing with the hem of my shirt in anticipation of her response.

"We will, Bella. We will work it out.' I could hear the smile in her voice. 'I will talk to Charlie and get everything ready. But, lady, the two of you better be home before the sun sets. It is a dangerous world out there.'

'I will. Love you! Bye,' I rambled into the phone, a massive grin on my face as I ended the call, Ali appearing in front of me with a cup of coffee in each of her hands.

'Thanks,' I muttered, quick to grab the piping hot coffee from her as I instantly took a sip of the black liquid, ignoring the burn that graced my mouth with that one action of mine.

Totally worth it!

'That your parents?' Ali raised an eyebrow, pointing towards my phone in question.

'Yup,' I stated, offering her a brief nod. 'I was talking to mom. Asked her to prepare the guest room, and to make dinner for one extra person. We are eating Fish tonight!' I stated with a mock cheer, nearly clapping my hands together.

She made a face of disgust at that; just like me, she wasn't much of a fan of seafood.

She tolerated it, at best.

'They cool with me staying over?'

'Will you relax?' I frowned at her, rolling my eyes in annoyance. 'I told you that it is alright. It is really not a big deal. And mom agreed to that.'

'Okay,' she hesitantly conceded, 'I just…you know my experience has never been good with the families. Honestly, they scare me off.'

I sighed, not having any words to offer her in consolation. It just wouldn't be enough.

Mary Alice Brandon had never known a home. She had been found outside a hospital in Las Vegas, abandoned mere hours after her birth. No one knew who her parents were. They could just never find them, popular theories being that they had been visitors to the city. Mary and Alice had been the two nurses to look after her, giving her the name that she went by. They were her first family, a family that she had to leave behind when she entered the maddening routine of changing foster homes. Not once or twice, she lived with several foster parents in her short sixteen years of life, with each attempt the circumstances turning even worse to speak of. Some houses were abusive. Some accused her of theft. And some plain blank creeped her out. Finally, at the young age of sixteen, she had taken the decision to get emancipated, struggling the rest of the way to reach where she was today. She was also mighty intelligent, a full scholarship in her kitty.

Irrespective of that, she never really trusted or believed in the concept of family. Her past had made sure of that.

'I know,' I stated, slightly apologetic. 'But my parents are not the kind to mind. It is truly not a big deal!'

She shrugged. 'If, you are sure!'

'I am.' I grinned wide. 'Now, let's go? What say, we make this an epic road trip?'

'Oh,' she clapped her hands together in excitement, a newfound gleam visible in her eyes. 'Can we take a de-route and visit some popular sites? We are either way early.'

I shrugged in response. 'We need to reach before the sun sets- that definitely leaves us with a few good hours, so yeah, let's see us some sites!'

She offered me a grin of her own, coming to sit back in the car, the two of us continuing in on our journey.

'A zoo, Ali?' I frowned at her in disbelief. 'Seriously? This is your idea of fun?'

Really?

A zoo?

Last I checked, I wasn't five!

'Hey! Now, don't hate on the zoo.' She scowled in annoyance. 'It is a universal thing. Every age group enjoys the zoo.'

'Yea, that is why all I can see around me are freaking kids!' I exasperatedly stated, waving my hands in air, waiting in line to enter the damn children's paradise.

Ali had forced me into this, in my defense!

She had taken control of the car, apparently becoming an expert on the city of Seattle after ten minutes of a Google search, stating excitedly that she knew exactly where we should be headed for a "day of fun".

Can't say I saw this one coming.

'That's not true,' Ali passionately protested, 'They don't have a kid with them.' She pointed towards a young couple that seemed to be clicking photos near the entrance, the love they felt visible in their eyes, trained at one another instead of looking into the camera lens. 'Oops, sorry! Spoke too soon.'

I nodded my head in agreement, rolling my eyes briefly, a child of nearly five suddenly appearing next to the couple as he hugged them and called them his parents.

Yikes!

'See!' I smirked in achievement as I boastfully glared at Ali; my point having been proven. The zoo was for the kids. You did not see twenty-one-year-old college going adults in here. Ever!

'That does not prove anything.' Ali sighed in retaliation, 'Sure, it is less popular with the adults, but you do see adults in here! And did you know that the Woodland Park Zoo span over ninety-two acres and is a home to over eight hundred animals and two-fifty species! One can find all sorts of animals in here- The African lion, The Assam rhino, Demoiselle crane, Humboldt Penguin, Malayan tapir and so many freaking more!' she excitedly cheered, in a commercial to promote the tourist attraction.

'You read that off Google, didn't you?'

She waved her hands in air, shrugging. 'How you get the information does not matter; it is the information that always matters.'

'That's bull and you know it!' I sarcastically quipped. 'Ali, I thought we were going to do something fun today?'

'This is fun. Now, stop cribbing.' Ali growled out at me, taking inspiration from the pack of wolves that were bound to be in here. 'We are going to go in there and have some fun!'

'Seems like you ordered a packet of fun for yourself!' I stated, cringing.

'I did.' She nodded her head in response, dragging me ruthlessly through the open gates into this hell on Earth.

Aka, the zoo.

It wasn't that bad, to be very, very honest, in my own head.

I just wasn't ready to admit it out loud.

But secretly, I did smile a few times.

Especially, when Ali made supposedly funny faces at the Orangutan, the Ape expressionlessly staring back at her, almost as if debating how to react to someone even lower in the intelligence scale than him.

It was a fact, though.

With Ali finally giving up and walking away as she stated that the Ape was just broken and so could not react appropriately to her initiative to have fun.

Yeah, right!

A wide smile was also brought out on my face on observing the Flamingos' and the Penguins', and the peacock and the….

What can I say?

Certain species are simply adorable to look at!

I did end up clicking a thousand photos of theirs, so that is something!

Feeding the Giraffes and the Stingrays was an experience to take back home, and so was the train ride that toured us through the entire zoo, enjoying the sights as we fought to get the better window seat, unable to understand that each window seat had the same view to offer.

Anyhow, it was indeed fun to become a kid again, even if it was only for a few limited hours, nobody was there to judge us as we oohed and aahed at the beauty of the Malayan tiger, or when we decided that watching the North American black bear feed was really not our thing, or a great way to keep your food in your stomach.

The gift shop was where we ended our tour, grabbing plush soft toys- for her a monkey and for me a lion- as a souvenir to take back home with us. Sure, I was well aware that I had not miraculously actually transformed into a kid, but they were just so cute and cuddly…and irresistible.

They purposefully make it so, it seems.

Finally, after a long few hours of roaming under the blazing sun- our excitement being the only thing keeping us from falling face down, we took our first halt, our stomachs growling as we passed by the in-house cafeteria, deciding to stop in for a sandwich or a burger.

Or anything, really!

I volunteered to get us our food, as Ali sneakily grabbed us a table, a family of four glaring at her as she snatched the last empty table from them.

In our defense, the zoo was pretty packed. And we were tired of standing!

So, eh!

Our order of a cheese sandwich and a hamburger with fries on the side soon arrived and I was quick to grab the tray as I made my way back to the table which we were calling ours for the time being.

'Hey?' I gave Ali a confused glance, noticing that she had been staring at something in the distance, a wide frown on her face. 'You okay?'

'That man is following us.' She sneakily pointed towards a shadow standing somewhere behind us. I did not even bother to turn and look.

The idea of it was simply so preposterous to even believe!

'What? No.' I instantly protested, rational thinking kicking in. 'Ali, this is a public place. It is just a coincidence to see someone twice.'

'I have been seeing him everywhere I look since morning!' she waved her hands in air in clear exasperation, glaring at me in defiance.

'And that just proves my point further.' I pacifyingly smiled. 'Ali, it is a mere coincidence. He probably was just viewing the same exhibit as us at the same time. It does not mean anything. I saw that couple in the Rhino exhibit.' I pointed towards a bunch of strangers munching on a pizza. 'And they were there with us when we saw the Ostrich….'

'Every exhibit, Bella? It is a weird coincidence, don't you think?'

It was slightly weird.

'Okay, look, we are either way done here. Let's just leave. Considering, he is just some crazy stalker, I doubt he will follow us out into the Seattle traffic.'

She let out a sigh. 'Fine. I was about to call the cops on him.'

'And that would have been an overreaction of massive proportions!' I stated, without missing a beat.

She just rolled her eyes at me, munching on her sandwich as she stole a few of my fries, the two of us eating in silence, the thought of getting out of here as soon as possible heavy on our minds.

Finally, once we were done eating and throwing away the waste, we walked out of the wide gate, towards our car, our good mood slightly vanished.

'Why?' I scowled at her. 'Why are we ruining our mood? We had been having such an amazing day so far!'

'He was following us.'

I let out a sigh, nursing an imaginary headache. 'Even if he was, Ali,' I still doubted it. 'I am pretty sure he was harmless. Just following us around till we exited the place!'

'I don't know.' She gave out an audible sigh of defeat. 'It just…creeps me out.'

'It creeps me out, too.' I admitted in a whisper. 'But it is over now. And I know the exact place to get us in a better mood.'

'And which place would this be?' she narrowed her eyes in curiosity.

'You will just have to wait and watch.' I smirked, walking ahead of her and taking back my prestigious driver's seat.

Ah. I had missed it.

'Are we going to see a movie?'

I turned to stare at her in confusion. Where had that come from?

And why in the first place, would we waste two hours of ours on some random, unheard-of movie that no one wanted to see?

'Um, okay, so it is not a movie. Then, are we going to a museum or something?'

'Nope.' I offered her a tight-lipped smile, coming to enjoy the impromptu game.

'Park, maybe?'

'Try harder.' I offered, a giggle leaving my lips.

'Oh, shut up.' She groaned out. 'You know I am not really good at this whole "waiting for a surprise" thing. I don't like surprises. Period.' She folded her arms over her chest, her statement made.

'And that is exactly why it is so much fun to give you a surprise!' I sarcastically mumbled, grinning wide.

She simply waved me off, turning to look out of the window, a sigh of frustration leaving her lips.

Did I feel bad for tormenting her in this manner?

Probably.

Was I about to take it back and give her the correct answer?

Nope. Never.

This was just too much fun to not continue.

And so, I let her frown and sigh in silence, our destination soon arriving, with Ali turning to look at me, an excited grin on her face.

'Shopping? We are going shopping?'

'Yup,' I smiled in agreement. 'The savior for every girl with a bad mood!'

Apparently, Ali's bad mood had vanished so quick that she could not even wait a few minutes for me to park the car, or to complete my sentence for that matter.

She simply ran into the mall, the excitement that she felt radiating through the air.

That girl truly did love her shopping!

I let out an amused sigh, going ahead to park my car in the designated parking space, grabbing my purse as I walked towards the lift that connected the underground parking lot to the inside of the mall, a small sized queue awaiting me, as I kept my eyes trained to the ground, waiting for my turn to arrive.

'Oh, I am so sorry.' I hesitantly apologized, bumping into someone who had been heading towards the lift, the two of us attempting to enter the small, crowded lift at the same time.

'It's okay,' the stranger smiled, 'Ladies first, I insist.' He took a step back, offering me the chance to get into the lift first.

'Thank you,' I shyly pushed a strand of hair behind my ear.

'Not a problem. I am James, by the way.'

'Bella,'

I reciprocated the grin on his face with a smile of my own.