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 Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:23 pm
"And if you look to your left you'll see the emperor penguin exhibit. We've just opened it this past spring, and we've already had a laying pair." The docent blabbered on and on at the front of the tour train, nearly lulling Manuela to sleep. She had come with the youth group Ms. Harris, the daughter of a prominent preacher, had set up, but right now she wanted to be anywhere else. It wasn't that she didn't like the people, or the group, she had just been hoping that should would be able to explore instead of being told what to do. "Now, we're going to take a quick bathroom break," the docent said as the cart came to a stop. Manuela perked up, finding an opportunity to slip away. She tucked her scarf up over her nose, a weak atempt at a disguise, and slid out through the crowd, heading back to the tropical greenhouse. Monkeys were always fun, and she had read in the pamphlet that you could pet the baby orangutan if there was a trainer there.
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:30 pm
"Harper, I've been reading on blogs - well, alright, your Uncle has been reading them to me, but it's starting to make sense.. we need more bonding time! And this 'zoo'... disgusting as it may be... is one of the top suggestions for a cheap childhood thrill that parents can..Harper! Pay attention!"
An all too uncomfortable looking woman clad in leather so tight it made the average passerby briefly wonder if her blood circulation was still intact marched passed the exhibits of the zoo as the woman on a mission she was. She was gripping a zebra stripped rope that led into the harness of one of those absurd 'two year old leashes' that was, instead, attached ridiculously to the ankle of her ten year old son.
It was certainly enough to grant the pair more than a few odd looks, not like either of them cared.
"Yeah whatever Ashley." Harper said absentmindedly, despite the tugging on one of his ankle, he was entirely engorged with staring into the quickly passing animals' worlds.
"That's MOM to you!"
"Sorry! Mo- Hey!" Harper shouted, alarmed. There were suddenly monkeys and more people and SOMEONE he recognized. "Hey, Manny!" He yelled, clinging to a nearby wall to stop his mother's incessant pulling.
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:45 pm
Manny hesitated, thinking she may have been discovered, then recognition hit her like a ton of bricks. "Harper!" she shouted as she turned around making a break for the other kid. She nearly tripped over her flared jeans as she dodged strollers and groups of people, eventually coming to a stop in front of him. "What's that thing on your leg?" she inquired, seeming more surprised by it than Ashley's attire.
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:50 pm
Harper grinned, "Hi!" He beamed happily, swaying from foot to foot. "Hm? Oh.." He looked down at the contraption on his ankle and gave a pointed look to his mother.
Ashley promptly crossed her arms. "Who are you to judge me!? You have no idea what it's like raising a kid, so don't you dare accuse me of-"
"Hey Mom, me and Manny are gonna go ... like, you know, actually have fun, I'll see you!" Harper interrupted, unbuckling himself from his 'leash', moving to grab Manny's hand, and take off.
"So why you here, Manny?!"
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:00 pm
Manny giggled a bit as they took off, hoping Miss Ashley wouldn't get mad. "Community center field trip," she explained, "But the tour was really lame. I want to see the monkeys and the koalas." Her outfit was almost as strange as Ashley's, in casual sense. Her purple satin blouse was definately not designed for animal contact, her straightened hair rebelled against the wind, and her heeled boots weren't made for long distance walking. But she would suffer for beauty.
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:04 pm
"Monkeys and Koalas?" Harper asked, stopping and turning to look at her. He stood on the tips of his toes and looked over Manny's head to catch a glimpse of his mom, making sure she was properly subdued by a coffee cart.
"That's pretty lame.. I mean Manny, this is the only place to see the BIG stuff, and you wanna see little old monkeys? There are giraffes and lions and things, Manny!" He said, eyebrows furrowed as though this was a very important point to convince her.
"I saw a janitor go in a locked door a little ways back, come on Manny, lets get real close to the animals!" He said, grin spreading on his face. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jacket and scrunched his neck down to look as 'covert' as possible.
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:20 pm
Manny opened her mouth to protest the obviously prohibited idea, but since Harper wanted to do it. "Okay," she agreed, dropping her voice to a near whisper. She imitated his posture, silenty admitting to herself that she did in fact want to see the monkeys. And that lions and stuff were scary. She blew out a tiny bit of air, attempting to distract herself from being nervous by watching it turn into smoke. "What're we going to see?" she asked quietly, wanting to know at least that it wasn't going to be something that could eat her.
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:26 pm
"I dunno, I didn't get to see what was on the other side of the door.. it was a back entrance!" Harper exclaimed, sounding quite excited. He gave a sidelong glance at Manny's breath turning to smoke and blinked at her in a 'dude, you're weird' way before finding the door he had mentioned before.
It was brilliant! The door managed to stay just slightly open, having not been closed hard enough to click in. It was a freak thing for sure, but totally awesome!
Harper nearly squeaked, and grabbed Manny's hand again as he slowly opened the door. It gave a loud, moaning creak while Harper nervously poked his head in. "I don't see anyone.." He whispered.
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:34 pm
Manny felt her heartbeat quicken, trying to hush her inner voice's screams of you're going to get caught. She swallowed hard, wishing the lights were on in the dim room. Reluctantly she let go of his hand, running her fingers across the wall until she found a switch. The first one she flicked didn't turn the light on, so she flicked it back. The second one however, turned on both the overhead light and a loud buzzing fan.
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:39 pm
Harper let himself in and closed the door behind them less anyone else notice the two kids in the 'employee's only' zone. "I don't see any animals.." Harper observed disappointedly, before noticing another door.
"Maybe that one leads into the exhibit? You go first, Manny!"
Oh, how valiant of you, Harper.
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:46 pm
"Oh- okay," Manny agreed, glancing around the room to something to defend herself with before they ventured out into the unknown. Spotting a plastic handled mop she smiled, unscrewing the base so that she only held the white stick. She took a deep breath, then opened the door. It led to a long hall, lined with what appeared to be empty cages. In front of them hung large buckets, tinted red. It smelled weird, and the cages certainly looked like they had been occupied at one point, but there was no danger for the time being. "What do you think it is?" she asked Harper, relaxing a little.
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:01 pm
"Lions, definitely." Harper said with a nod, hiding quite pathetically behind Manuela. "I don't know where they are, though.." He said quietly, looking side to side.
The door behind them slammed shut, the type to automatically air-shut after being opened. It none the less caused Harper to jump and cling to his friend.
"Before the lions got out, anyway! Hurry up, Manny!" He demanded, sounding scared (finally.)
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:10 pm
"Where are we supposed to go?" Manny asked, sounding frantic. There seemed to be little doors on the other side of the big cages, and since the doors on their side seemed to be open she got an idea. "We could go out one of those," she suggested, pointing to the least nasty of the bunch. At the very least it would lead outside, right?
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:23 pm
"Alright!" Harper agreed, rushing off to the door in question. Without any more thought to it he pried the door open and threw himself into the place it led; an exhibit, go figure!
And what foul, bloodthirsty creatures lay waste to said exhibit!? Some strange, tall, gaunty looking bird-creature with strangely bendy necks!
"I think... I think they are aliens.." Harper said outloud, though he was unsure if anyone was behind him.
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:31 pm
Manny followed a half step behind, eyes going wide when she realized they were actually in an exhibit. "Whoa," she said in awe, holding her arms tight to her shoulders as she stepped forward cautiously, "They're ugly." One turned its head and looked at her, it's dark ringed eyes focused on her own. Well, as much as a dinosaur with a pea sized brain could focus that was. Then it squaked loudly, then went back to picking at its toes.
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