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 Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 3:15 pm
Finally Gabriel was able to get Ryan and his good friend Mariel into a practice before a football game. Gabriel struggled to get the arrangements official; he was told it would happen early summer that turned to late summer then early fall. So when October came a knocking so did Gabriel. He made it clear to the director of planning and events that he would soon turn to the media if something wasn't arranged. It took less then week to get an official date from the coordinator. Once getting the final word Gabriel called up Luna and she was happy to make plans around going.
It was nice fall day the trees around the football stadium started to turn lovely shades of orange and red. Gabriel had on a long green scarf and Ryan had on one similar but it was black and white checkers. The colors of Aekea and the football team. Ryan was also wearing a long sleeve shirt with the Zebras mascot on it. He could hardly contain his excitement "Are they here yet Dad, are they here yet, what about now Dad" Ryan would ask as he would march around. Gabriel would just answer "Ryan we are early since I had to check in , lets worry if they aren’t on time" he chuckled.
"BUT I wanna show Mariel the real Zebra mascot, ZEEBEE" he jumped in the air a little. They have the first ever full body costume among other memorabilia for display in the main hallway. Ryan saw all of this in magazine. He knew everything about the team, and couldn’t wait to show his Sea Mink friend all that he knew.
He walked around some more "Soo we gunna get to meet the team... not just be on the benches ..... I'M GUNNA GET MEET THE TEAM IN PERSON" his tail swished around like a whip. Gabriel smiled, if Ryan only knew what Gabriel did to get this playdate going. A car pulled up but it wasn't them. Ryans eyes got hopeful but when he saw it was just an elderly couple his domineer got low but not for long because shortly after another car pulled in. “ITS THEM DAD” he waved and galumphed around. A smile formed on Gabriel’s face “See I told you they would be on time” Luna became a very dependable friend to Gabriel. “MARIEL , MARIEL I got something for you” shouted Ryan. “Ryan you’re going to need to wait till they get out of the car” said his Dad.
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 9:01 am
Mariel had been excited every since her mother had told her that they were going out to see a sports team with Ryan and his dad. She had never seen a sports team before, let alone watch too many sports, but since her career in surfing had been starting up lately she understood the importance and fun that you can have at such events. PLUS she would get to see Ryan again and he was always fun to visit. Mariel kept bugging her mom on the day of to get ready faster. "come on we gotta GO" she would call as she was heading out of the living room. Luna only chuckled and knew they werent going to be late but made it look like she was hurrying up to appease Mariel.
Finally they drove up to the stadium and sure enough Mariel could see Ryan outside looking excited. He looked like he was saying something but she couldnt hear him while she was in the car. She plucked off her seat belt and jumped out to go see what it was thet Ryan was so excited about. She had even dressed for the occasion. She didnt have any of the Zebras uniforms like Ryan did but she wore jean shorts (her fur kept her from being cold most days) and a white shirt. She also had a black cap on just so that she would have something black and white. She was afterall going to meet a sports team and so she figured even if she didnt have the logo having black and white would be the best idea. Her hair was in its usual thick braid and it flew behind her as she ran over to Ryan. "I'm so excited Ryan! What are we gonna do? You Gotta tell me everything about the team, man I bet they are gonna LOVE you, you look like a part of the team already!" and so he did in his outfit. mariel was so glad she had Ryan with her, she was sure he would know exactly what to do and say all day.
Luna was smiling as she walked over, of course the kids were already talking excitedly were these two ever not excited? She made her way over to Gabriel after locking the car and smiled at the two fuzzy children looking like they just won the lottery " I can see it is going to be a good day for dose two." She remarked to Gabriel in her usual spanish accent. "Ets nice to see ju again, I 'ope ju dont mind leading cause I ave never been here before." Luna smiled, she had never even been to the stadium for a game in her life and now she was meeting a team! She had to admit she wanted to see what it was all like.
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Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2011 11:08 pm
Ryan listened to everything Mariel had to say her excitement made him even more excited. He almost forgot the gift bag he was holding. The Night family liked to make crafts and handing out gift bags became a hobby in the household. Sadly Ryan didn't care much for crafts so he just flung all the stuff he wanted to give her inside and then placed a sticker on the bag. Normally Gabriel would make him try harder but today was about sports so he let him pass.
"OK OPEN IT UP MARIEL YOU GOTTA SEE WHATS INSIDE" he almost looked like he was going to burst. Inside was a pumpkin painted by Ryan with white body with black stripes titled 'GO Zebras'. On Gabriel's farm plenty of pumpkins are grown all year long so the kids often handed out crafted pumpkin items. Ryan hoped she would like it. Also in the bag was a little Aekea Zebra's Pin with the mascot face on it and black and white checkered arm band. "Do you like it? do you like it?" the rhino boy asked.
Gabriel nodded "Yes, I think there already having fun" he smiled. This was a good feeling. This day took so long to arrang so he was glad they were off to a good start. "We both have never been here before , but I bealive we will have a guide to walk us through the stadium" he stated. Gabriel watched as Mariel looked inside the bag , he also hoped she would like it.
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Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 1:43 pm
Mariel took hold of the bag as Ryan thrust it at her and she felt her tail lash in delight. She LOVED surprises, mostly because she was so gosh darn curious. She ripped open the bag since Ryan seemed like he wanted her to (and she wanted to) and squeed at the things inside.
"Ryan your so AWESOME! She quickly put on the armband so that she would have some cool zebra gear just like Ryan did and she started insppecting her shirt for a cool and prominent place to put the pin. Once it was found and the pin fastened she jumped and hugged Ryan. I love it all! especially the pumpkin! Did you paint it yourself? She had the pumpkin under one arm and she thought that black and white stripes looked pretty good on a round pumpkin. "I know exactly where I'm gonna put this, its gonna go on the dinner table so everyone can see it!
Luna smiled as she watched Mariel open the bag and love all the contents. She laughed softly to see the kids so worked up over the zebra items. Ah the days of youth when things were so happy. She perked up at the thought of a guide helping them get around the place. "A guide? Dat is good, so now we wont get lost." Luna disliked not knowing where she was going but luckily for her this trip was getting more stress free as it kept going.
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 5:43 pm
The rhino boy smiled with delight "YOu look even awesomer now" he nodded when asked if he painted the pumpkin "Yeppers all by myself" he pointed his thumbs at himself and sort of flexed at the same time. He looked over at his Dad "We ready now, Dad" he asked with huge puppy eyes. Gabriel nodded "Let’s let Mariel put her pumpkin in her car" he smiled then looked at Luna "Its safe in the car" he winked. Once the group was ready the man with the ducky hat lead the group to the entrance of the stadium. There met by a assistant manager of the museum part of the building.
His lanky appearance and apparel made him look like a history buff. He noticed the children's clothing "You two are dressed in a modern Aekea Zebra clothing. He pointed his finger up in the air "This flag above us use to be the design of all Aekea clothing , as you can see the flag has a slight gray tone, laetrile and even black checkers. We updated are clothing back in 2010 when we felt the Zebra's needed re-vamp. That is when we turned our mascot more aggressive and less general but our first mascot can still be found on our clothing. Ryan nodded and listened to every word the man said. "We use to have our checkers exact to the flag on our clothing but we have allowed more random checkers like on your" he pointed to the girls wrist "like your arm band" he nodded.
Ryan looked at Mariel’s pin "The pin is marked like the traditional flag, right" he asked vary respectfully. The man looked down, then slid his glasses off his long knows till they almost looked like they would fall off “Why yes it is , that’s very good, you can see how the black checker on the corners are cut off right in the exact spot, this pin must be over ten years old” the man said in a chipper voice. Ryan nodded “Before my grandpa and grandma passed they sponsored Aekea sports, I found a box of them in our barns addict” he said smiling from ear to ear.
“So you are Gabriel Night” the man stepped back “I don’t know why we didn’t have you in sooner” the man’s facial expression showed excitement. Gabriel let that comment go and didn’t say anything though he was tempted. “Oh I love it when we have true fans come and visit us” the manager ran over to table and started to show the children some old pictures of the football team compared to the current team using a digital tablet. Gabriel turned to Luna “Let’s hope he keeps talking to Ryan and not to us” he slightly kidded. Neither Gabriel nor Luna would be considered fans of the Zebras. Luckily for Mariel her interest in what was being said helped her pass as a fan.
“Ohhh man that is Andy Anderson, the first and last player ever to wear the number Seven , he scored more for the Zebras than anyone else back in the glory days, and even was considered for best player of 1999 and for 2002” Ryan said when the guide pointed out the older team. The guide nodded “We haven’t been up for much awards, but this year is looking up for us” he nodded. Ryan smiled “yep , we only need to win two more games to get into the simi-finals and with new recruits and new celebrity endorsements the team has gotten much better ” his tail started to wag. The guide nodded at Ryan than looked at Mariel “Do you have any questions” he asked since it seemed to be Ryan him talked. Ryan looked at her also hoping she would ask something cool.
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Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 9:43 am
Mariel was enthralled and happily overwhelmed with everything happening all at once. The guide seemed very knowledgeable and he was giving them so much information that Mariel could feel it washing over her like a wave. She tried her best to listen and retain as much as possible but it was just impossible since she was so new to everything. The players, the game, the designs it was all so interesting! She grasped at everything and listened intently when Ryan asked questions. Both ears pricked forward and tail twitching she must have looked pretty funny. She mainly listened and tried her best not to disrupt the flow of information coming from her guide and Ryan. But almost as suddenly as it began the guide looked at her and asked if she had any questions.
Mariel had to stop for a moment and compose herself. It was as if she had been on a roller coaster that suddenly screeched to a halt. names, dates, and everything in between were bouncing around in her head but she struggled to bring it all together and not be rude. "Why is Andy Anderson the only man to wear the number seven?" It was probably a dumb question but it made Mariel very curious "There have been so many players since, but no more sevens, is it out of respect?" Mariel could not quite understand why no one else would take such a number. Wouldn't they want to share numbers with the best player the team has ever had? Or did being so great somehow make that your own special number? She had never followed sports as a child and so she wanted to know this particular fact. Especially since it was one of the last things explained so it was the first question she could think of.
Luna was pleased with Mariels curiosity and Ryans expertise. It seemed to be going very well for both children and that was all she wanted. She gave Gabe a sidelong stare when the tour guide initially seemed to regard him with such respect but she figured if she needed to know he would tell her and seeing as how everything was going so well anyway she didnt really care.
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