Author's Note: I apologize for the delay, but here is the next chapter, hope you enjoy.
BEEP …. BEEP…. BEEP ...BEEP BEEP... BEEP…. BEEP... BEEP... BEEP
I look at my alarm, it is five in the morning, so I continued my usual morning routine on this Monday morning. It was the first time back to work since the gala Friday night and discovering about some of my colleagues being hybrids. ...Oh man! I also just remembered the scene I caused that night. Man, I am going to get whispers in the lab and the rest of the museum today. Anyway, I gathered my things and I headed to catch the Blue Line to work.
Perhaps the commute could be helpful to clear my head, it's a warm July afternoon and there was a slight breeze outside. I arrive to see the usual Monday morning crowds on the Blue Line. Got off a stop to transfer onto the Red Line and then got off at the Roosevelt stop to walk to the museum. I walked up the steps and opened the glassdoor to go through the line to scan in my ID. I then approached the security desk to scan my ID and I noticed that there was a woman with blue eyes and black hair in a bun, right in the the desk Beshte usually works on Monday mornings. I guess he decided to take a different shift today or he could be out sick or something.
So I approached the desk and gave her my ID, and tried to start a conversation with her.
"Hi, I'm Edwin, I work in the genetics lab and I'm one of the newer-" I was saying until the woman at the desk interrupted me.
"Oh yeah, I know who you are. You're the guy who freaked out the gala last night, and Rafiki had to 'calm you down'. Are you feeling alright?" The woman asked.
"Oh I'm fine, though there is still some things that I need to process about the overall situation. Oh I forgot what is your name?" I replied.
"Oh..yeah, I'm Anga. I work security here, Beshte usually take the desk but today he is in the lower floor to cover someone who's out sick." She replied.
"Hi Anga, nice to meet you, hope you have a good day." I said as she was giving me my ID back.
"You too." She replied as I walked past the desk.
I walked across the marble floor and went up the stairs to walk into the lab. I went to my office just to put my things ready for the research I'm going to do today. As I walked into the lab, I saw that Ma Tembo, in her human form, was already here and was just taking out some glassware from the cabinets. I was on my way to grab some loading buffer for an SDS-PAGE I am going to do today, but then I stopped in my tracks when I heard Ma Tembo calling me.
"Oh Hi Edwin, how are you today? Are you feeling any better?" She asked.
"Hey Ma Tembo, I'm good. I'm still trying to process a few things but I think your story is starting to settle in my mind. How about you, how has your weekend been?" I said, trying to be a little more nonchalant.
"Well it has been fine, I just did a couple of personal errands, and I went with my neighbors to this new restaurant they saw advertisements for, but it wasn't enjoyable since many people in the restaurant kept staring at me when I transformed into my elephant hybrid form that night. Also, their food was actually quite bland compared to what I was expecting. But we just came back to their apartment and just socialized for a bit." Ma Tembo replied.
"Okay, that's cool, but sorry to hear about the restaurant-thing. I wish I could say that the human world has progressed into a judgement and bias-free era, but unfortunately I see proof everyday of how that vision of a bias-free era is still far away. Even I have some stuff I still need to work on, but I guess you can say that everyone has flaws in one way or another." I said. Ma Tembo was starting to clean the glassware at this point at a sink, rinsing them with deionized water.
"It's okay, I've been used to these kinds of reactions and behaviors for over twenty years in the human world, but I don't hold anything against you for the actions of some humans. But bias was not something I have only seen in humans, even before the drought, there were numerous encounters of bias within the Pride Lands. For example, the museum President's son-in-law, Kovu, and some of his pride mates from the Outlands encountered extreme prejudice from the Pride Landers once the two prides merged, mostly because Kovu had a resemblance of the evil king Scar that we mentioned to you earlier. Also, I regret to say that I have contributed to bias myself, when Makuu from the fossil lab was a full crocodile, he was learning to get the hang of being leader of the Pride Lands's crocodile float. Even when he was maturing as a leader, I still only saw him as an immature crocodile who caused nothing but trouble, but as I got to know him, I saw him as a growing leader who is able to make mature decisions. Though he can still be stubborn at times, so yeah, even when we still miss the Pride Lands at times, it was not exactly this immaculate society, that's just impossible." Ma Tembo said as she finished the glassware, I decided to help her out by drying the ones she already rinsed.
"Yeah, bias can be difficult sometimes. I have friends who have experienced forms of bias because of their gender, race, sexual orientation and ethnicity. It's also unfortunate to see how many decades old stereotypes are still propagated in media today." I replied.
"Yes, it's very unfortunate, there are some cases I wonder how the human race is still able to exist when many of you guys can be so stubbornly divisive, no offense." She replied back while giving me a beaker.
"None taken, and sometimes it surprises me too." I said while drying off that beaker with a paper towel. She then turned her head towards me.
"I'm just wondering, I am preparing some lab stations for the interns , can you please help me out?" She asked.
"Sure no problem, what can I do for you?" I replied.
"Well for starters, you can help me set the dried beakers to the interns section of the lab back there." She said while pointing towards a back section of the lab.
"Okay, no problem." I said. I threw away the paper towel and brought the beakers to the the back lab area where the interns usually conduct their tasks of the day. I see there were also some microcentrifuge tubes and a thermal cycler so I guess the interns are helping us out by conducting PCR tests.
When I was walking back to the usual lab area and Ma Tembo asked me if I could get a box of micropipette tips to also place in the intern's area. By the time I got back I saw that Bupu, also back in human form, just came in. When I was about to get some the cell lysate in the cabinet.
"Hello Edwin, how are you doing? Are you feeling better after Friday?" He asked.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine Bupu, Ma Tembo and a few of the others helped explained the who Pride Lands transformation thing to me. There are still some things that I still might need to process a few things but I'm starting to get the hang of it now." I replied.
"Good, nice to hear that you are feeling better!" Bupu said walking towards the supply closet.
As I passed by him, I then saw the animal figurines by the lab stations again. As I was looking at the figurines at most of my colleagues' stations, I realized that the animals in the figurines...were also the animals they transformed to last night, except for Pete, he didn't have one. I turned to ma Tembo who was towards my left.
"Hey Ma Tembo, just out of curiosity, where did you guys get these animal figurines? Did Pete gave you those as a gift or did you guys buy them somewhere?" I asked.
"Oh those were not bought, Vuruga actually made those in one of the pottery classes she takes outside of work. She gave them to us give help give us a reminder of what we used to look like and also bring back memories of home. Even when Pete never received one, Vuruga made up by giving him a mug so he didn't feel left out. She gave us those before you started working here." Ma Tembo replied back.
"Okay, that's cool." This also made me think back to the paintings that were up by Ma Tembo's office, the ones that I first noticed in my interview. Perhaps they were painted for the same purpose. But before I do that, I got to get started on the SDS-PAGE analysis of my lichen study.
After four or five hours of conducting SDS-PAGE on lichen protein samples, I was about to go on my lunch break. I grabbed my lunch from my office and I was heading towards the exit when I saw the paintings again. There was one which had an African savannah setting with green grass, a few trees and the L-shaped rock formation. But I also saw a painting with a similar background but with a large tree in the center. This particular tree had a particularly wide trunk and roots, which stretched a long distance from the trunk. Another painting next to it that pictured this rocky area, in which the only sign of life was a small pond, a few wilting plants and what looked like vultures in the sky.
I saw Makini, Vuruga, Pete and Bupu were walking down the hallway as they usually do when we head to the cafe. The soon stopped when they saw me looking at the paintings.
"Hey Edwin, are you going to join us for lunch at the cafe?" Makini asked. I turned my head towards the group.
"Oh Hey Makini. Yeah I am, I guess I got distracted looking at these paintings, they are really detailed. I never would have guessed Rafiki from human resources was such a gifted artist...Oh not that I assumed that he would be terrible, it's just that he never discussed it much out of the times I met him." I replied.
"Oh no it's fine, we all never would have expected some of Rafiki's hidden talents. But on the other hand, he was the Mjuzi of the Pride Lands." Makini said.
"Wait, a Mjuzi? Are you and Rafiki related because why would he be called your last name? I thought he said he was a shaman." I said in a confused tone while Makini started to laugh a little.
"Oh no, we are not related, though I wish we were. A Mjuzi is a shaman, who was also the king and queen's advisor, as well as the kingdom's healer, historian, cultural adviser and spiritual adviser. When we became half-human and half of our native animal, we chose our last names mostly based on the Swahili word for the animals we were, but some of us chose names based on the places we came from or a special title. I chose Mjuzi as my last name because I was a Mjuzi at the Tree of Life and I was a Mjuzi in-training in the Pride Lands under Rafiki's teachings. If you are curious, Rafiki chose the last name Mwongozo because it is the Swahili word for guide, which he was and still is to many of us here." Makini replied.
"Okay, that's actually quite interesting. Actually, I was curious.." I was walking towards the painting with the L-shaped rock formation. "Is this painting supposed to be of the Pride Lands?" I asked them. All of them, except for Pete nodded.
"Yeah, this was the Pride Lands before the drought. I still remember the lush grasslands, the clear water springs, the warm sun soothing our fur and skin." Bupu said, seeming to drift away in recalling this memory.
"Living a life where the only thing necessary was to live and avoid a predator. No bills to pay, no forms to fill out, and none of the stressors that we now carry. But that was like twenty years ago and once we got used to it, the human world might have a few downsides but it could have been worse, we could have died in the drought." Vuruga said, but started to have a pensive expression when she mentioned the drought.
"Boy, life in the Pride Lands sounded nice." I said.
"Oh it was, though we did have to live to survive each day, but that's just life, even in the human world." Makini said.
"That's true…" I said while walking towards the painting of the wide tree, turning my head towards Makini. "Hey Makini, I'm guessing that this painting is the Tree of Life that you told me about?" I asked.
"Oh yeah, when one came to it, they can see it from a hundred feet away. But it was worth it arriving after the trip I took there with the former Lion Guard. Sometimes I still think of the Tree of Life, but when I occasionally contact Kion's ex mate, Rani, she still seems to carry some level of guilt for her brother's death, even when she knows her uncle killed him. But I think she might have actually left the museum because...well I guess she just wanted to work more with kids. As I said, she used to work in the department that usually assisted with field trips and occasionally worked in the Crowne Play Lab, but she also has a degree in education, so I guess she wanted to apply it teaching first grade at some elementary school in the Morgan Park neighborhood." Makini said starting to look depressed as she is saying this, I started to get a little concern.
"Makini, are you okay?" I asked.
"Oh I'm fine, I guess sometimes I still miss having Rani in the museum, she is someone I used to talk to frequently, but no I'm lucky to get a text from her once a month. I guess being a teacher really gets her occupied." Makini said.
"I guess, it can be difficult to manage an entire classroom of thirty six-to-seven year olds." I said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Perhaps, I definitely know that I would have difficulties, I barely get some of our interns to listen to a word I say, Ma Tembo always has to vouch for me in that department." Makini said while developing a small laugh.
I then began to look towards the painting of the arid field with the small pond. Intensely focused on it thinking that this must have been quite a drought to recall painting this.
"Is this supposed to be the Pride Lands during the drought?" I asked them, turning my head towards them.
"Oh actually no, that is actually the Outlands before the drought. It was pretty much a desert before the drought, but when it came, it became practically uninhabitable." Vuruga replied. I was kind of surprised to hear this because, wasn't that where Jasiri told me where she lived?
"Wait a minute, didn't a few people from the museum came from the Outlands like Jasiri and that Kovu guy?" I asked and they all just nodded their heads.
"Yeah, they were initially exiled for the misdeeds of others, but we eventually let them in the Pride Lands, though Jasiri wanted to stay to try to make it a better place, but despite that, it was still a wretched place to live. The drought essentially destroyed all of those hopes for her." Bupu said.
"Oh my...that sounds terrible. I'm sorry to hear that." I replied.
"It's fine, we have all experienced hardships during the drought but it was over twenty years ago...we are over it and we are fine. Let's just go to lunch and talk about something else." Vuruga said in a slightly agitated tone.
"Okaay…. Let's go then." I said in a slightly suspicious tone. Other that light suspicion of that abrupt end, I just followed the group to the cafe downstairs. When we go there, I had to watch their bags again since I brought my own lunch while they are buying their lunches at the cafe.
I just began to look around to see that everything seems to be nothing out of the ordinary...except for the people that were suddenly staring at me. I saw the two women from the information desk; the one whose name I think is Muhimu just stared at me while her friend was whispering into her ear. The security guard named Bunga just pointed towards me while whispering something to the guy next to him. I became irritated so I just decided to ignore them to avoid making a bigger fool of myself than I did Friday night.
I then started to her footsteps thinking that it was just my colleagues returning from their lunch orders, but it was actually just Jasiri back in her human form, and she was approaching the table I was sitting in.
"Hey Edwin, how's it going? Feeling any better this week?" She said while starting to sitting in the seat across from me.
"Oh hi Jasiri! I'm doing well, though I am still curious about regarding some of the things from what you guys told me Friday night. Are you still up for that jog on Saturday?" I said, still feeling a little bit nervous and awkward at the same time.
"Oh yeah definitely, we can meet at the same place as last time. Perhaps we can even stop by...uh Edwin, are you okay, you seem to be sweating?" Jasiri said.
"Oh yeah I'm fine, I'm just feeling a little hot in this jacket." I said while taking off the sweatshirt I was wearing while wiping the sweat off my head. "So what were you saying again about stopping somewhere?" I asked, she gave out a light laugh in response.
"Oh I was just suggesting that we stop by this ice cream parlor nearby, I heard about it from a friend and they are supposed to be really good." She replied.
Even when I still felt awkward about the events from Friday night, there was another unknown in my life that was making me have conflicted emotions...my feelings for Jasiri.
I've been thinking of her since we first met and I want to ask her out but I've never had the guts to do it. Sure, even when the hyena-hybrid-transformation-thing might have shocked me at first, but I just can't help but feel comfortable around Jasiri, even when we are not doing anything. Since the two of us are alone, perhaps…
"Hey Jasiri, I was thinking-" I was about to say before I heard footsteps and a familiar voice callout "Hey guys! How's it going?"
When I that voice called out, I thought to myself "Damn! I was so close!"
I turned around to see it was just Beshte and Makuu coming to our table, and my colleagues we heading over with their lunch orders.
"Oh hey Beshte. I'm fine, Jasiri and I were just chatting about jogging and this ice cream parlor one of her friends recommended." I said as all the others were sitting down.
"Oh that's cool. I this one time when I was about age 13, human years old, and this person on a park bench next to me spilled ice cream on my shoulder and some of it got into my mouth. That was the first time I ever tasted ice cream and I enjoyed it so much that I licked the spill from my shoulder. I ended up getting a bunch of weird looks from strangers that day." Makini said. I thought that along with those strangers fifteen years ago, she was also getting some strange looks from some of us right now.
"Okaaay?...So Edwin, did you do anything over the weekend?" Vuruga said, seeming to rush to change the subject away from Makini's ice cream story.
"Oh nothing much, I just went for a long walk, I actually stopped near North Avenue Beach at that point, and funny thing I actually bumped into the museum president's daughter, Kiara, and her husband Kovu. We had a light conversation and at one point they brought up this fruit called "upendi" that they said grew in the Pride Lands, do any of you know what that is?"I said in an inquisitive tone.
"Oh yes, Rafiki used to work with Upendi fruit all of the time when he was the royal Mjuzi. It was usually used to symbolize the budding love between two potential lovers, though there were times where he got a little carried away with it." Makini said.
"Yeah, he pretty much gets carried away with everything he does. He even does odd jobs for people on CraigsList, speaking of, I think he washed somebody's windows over the weekend." Beshte asked.
"Oh yeah, he told me that while he was washing the windows, the guy that hired him started to do zumba with their pet goat and offered Rafiki to join in when he finished, and that's not even the part I found surprising, what I found surprising was that Rafiki accepted the offer." Makini recalled and many of us just started to laugh.
"You have to be kidding! You're really telling us that he accepted to do zumba with some random guy and his goat?" I said still laughing between parts of what I said.
"Yeah it's all true! I'm still in shock. Oh Edwin, I remember that you said that you were having car issues this past week?" Makini asked.
"Yes I did, I had to get problems with my engine fixed, but I nearly had a heart attack when I received the bill. Two-hundred and seventy-five dollars, right out of my pocket, even when I don't know anything about cars, I feel that I got ripped off." I said.
"Ooh, that sucks Edwin." Jasiri said.
"Yeah, but I can totally understand where you are coming from. Yesterday, I had to pay a hundred and fifty dollars to have my backseat cleaned after somebody threw up all over my back seat." Beshte said while turning his head towards Makuu after "somebody". Makuu turned towards Beshte with an irritated expression on his face.
"For the third time, I said I was sorry!" Makuu said, practically yelling.
"I know, but sorry doesn't get the smell out of my car." Beshte replied.
"Wait, what exactly happened for Makuu to throw up in your car?" Bupu asked.
"Well, it was when I went to hang out with my old army buddy, and remember how Makuu was so upset with his interns that he wanted to join the two of us, well eventually he did take the offer and I gave him the address of the bar-" Beshte said before Makuu interrupted him.
"I can take it from here Beshte. So any way, after Beshte texted me the address of the bar and I eventually took an Uber to the bar-" Makuu said and he began to turn his head towards me.
"Oh and before you ask, yes I transformed into my crocodile form and yes, Beshte's friend knows about our story so he is used to seeing Beshte in his hippo form, so that might get any transformation-related questions out of the way, Edwin." Makuu said. I just nodded my head to indicate that I understood.
"Okay, so anyway, I went to the bar and I sat with Beshte and his friend. We just talked and drank a little bit, having a good time, though a few people at the bar did stare at us and one person did ran away, but I'm used to it, I guess that one guy has just never seen an anthropomorphic crocodile in a bar before. But within two hours, I've had three or four beers and I might have gotten a little tipsy." Makuu said.
"A little? Man you weren't able to stand still and you almost got in a fight with someone who accidentally spilled their drink on you. To prevent you from tearing that guy to shreds, Cameron and I had to literally drag you out all the way to my car. And guys, that is how I got the vomit in my backseat on the way home. But I guess you can say that we are even now." Beshte replies.
"Exactly how did you get even?" Vuruga asked.
"Well, he got even by making my hangover period miserable. Blasting loud music during the morning I woke up from your couch as well as force feeding me tomato juice all throughout that day." Makuu said.
"Actually I did read something on how tomato juice is supposed to improve hangover, but it didn't have to be as ingested as much as I gave you yesterday." Beshte replied.
"Well, I guess, lesson learned then, don't ever puke in your car." Makuu said.
"More like don't have four beers in one sitting, there was a whole unit on that in my freshman year health class." Beshte replied.
We just all had a quick laugh after that and resumed our meal like any other day.