The Zooniverse
one
Katie Alison Wheeler smiled briefly at her friend as she stepped into the "Zooniverse". It was some crappy looking Zoo within the town where she lived and, really, she hadn't wanted to visit it, but arriving at the doors had sparked that childish delight that every child got at the zoo. Her friend, Beth, smiled back.
"I told you it would be fun."
"Complete waste of money though, isn't it?" Katie smirked, as they headed directly towards the Reptile house. Snakes were a sort of morbid fascination for Beth-- something Katie didn't quite understand, but never questioned-- and Katie decided that the reptile hut was probably the only reason they were at the Zooniverse anyway.
"Cobra!" Beth clapped her hands as Katie pushed her way into the reptile house. The air, a slight humid twinge, made her skin prickle with warmth. She rose her eyebrows at her friend as she followed her towards one of the glass tanks. A snake lay coiled behind the glass; a man stood off to the side of it, wiping away the grime of the side of the tank.
He was tall, Katie noticed, with a littering of messy, short brown hair. It was curly and a little greasy. She frowned at the back of his head, before turning to face Beth. Her friend grinned. "Cobra's are amazing."
"Sure," Katie shrugged. "And so are every other kind of snake according to you." She smiled at her friend cheekily, before stepping up beside her to admire the creature contained within. "It's sad, but eventually, there will be some breeds of animal that will only be found in zoos. Fucking poachers."
The brown, curly haired man turned to face the two girls. "Nature is as nature does."
"You're saying poaching is natural?" Katie squinted.
"No, no." He frowned, fiddling with the cloth. His plain, green jacket sported no name badge. "I hate poachers, you know, big time."
"Right," Beth straightened from her crouched position, to peer at the zoo keeper. Katie licked her lips.
"Howard!"
And then she turned as another person entered the slightly stifling room. And blinked a couple of times. The entrant and another zoo keeper, she assumed by the similar uniform, was good looking. His hair was long, and styled. Blonde highlights flecked through the soft brown and his smile was very amused.
"What do you want, Vince? I'm busy."
'Howard' indicated towards the two girls idling by the cobra tank-- Beth had returned her attention back to the slithering reptile, whilst Katie tried to tear her eyes from 'Vince'. The newcomer grinned, "Alright?"
Katie blushed as she inclined her head. Vince turned back to Howard, "You'll never guess what Bollo is doing."
"I don't care what you're stupid gorilla friend is doing." Howard sounded exasperated; Katie frowned. What kind of zoo keeper didn't care about animals? Beth coughed mildly.
"Er, thanks for your help or whatever," she waved to Howard. "Elephants, Kate?"
Katie flicked her eyes over to Vince, briefly and smiled sheepishly when she caught him watching her. "Yeah… yeah, okay." She waved her hand in the direction of the zoo keepers, before following out after her friend.
"Okay, that Howard guy was creepy," Beth muttered, the second the door clattered shut behind them. Katie grinned.
"Yeah."
"But, you liked the other one, huh?"
"Shut up, Beth."
"So, like, we can go to the gorilla's after, if you want to see if he's back there?"
"Shut up, Beth," Katie murmured, smacking her friend in the arm. Beth grinned as she dragged her friend down the small streets of the zoo.
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"I didn't scare them off," Howard snapped at Vince as he reclined against the side of the cobra tank. Vince's eyebrows rose and dropped.
"No, they left of their own accord after you started speaking to them. Right," Vince smirked.
"Actually, I'll think you'll find they left after you came in," Howard retorted, packing his cloth away and passing on the bottle of cleaning fluid onto Vince. "Don't you have something else to do?"
"Sure," Vince grinned, "Fossil wants me to feed the elephants." Waving at Howard, he departed the reptile house.
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Katie scuffed her shoes against the straw strewn floor outside the elephant house. Some kind of sign had informed her friend that the feeding of the elephants was happening in ten minutes and that meant something good, apparently. Beth giggled with anticipation, whilst Katie idled around. Her zoo excitement had suddenly become transferred to a slight fascination with the zoo keeper, Vince. Every time someone else passed by the elephant enclosure, she found herself eyeing them.
Beth giggled, "Look, Katie! It's your friend."
Katie's eyes snapped up from where they were trained on her shoes and her head whipped round towards the elephants, where Vince was feeding the elephant energetically, his lips moving in soft words, before trailing off into a bright laugh. His eyes were flicking from the animal companion to her.
"Kate, He's watching you."
"Shut-"
"Hey."
"Hi," Beth grinned, turning from her friend to the man that had approached the barrier of the enclosure. Katie flicked her fringe from her eyes, and blushed.
"Uh, you're the only ones here, so…" Vince spared a glance in either direction. "Do you want a go?"
"A go of what?"
"Feeding the elephants, silly," he smiled, waving some straw at them. Katie shrugged. Beth's eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Uh… I'm sorry. What are your names?"
"I'm Beth, and the quiet one is Katie."
Katie shot a hateful glance at her friend, before waving softly at Vince. He smiled.
"Okay, Beth… Katie," he eyed her. "Want to have a go? Just through the fence, like."
"Sure."
Beth and Katie extended their hands to where Vince was offering the food. "Okay, cool," he grinned, brushing his finger's against Katie's as the food was handed over. She blushed, meeting his eyes for the first time. He winked, before turning back to instruct them on how to feed the elephant.
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Katie flopped down on a bench outside the bathrooms located at the Zooniverse. A permanent smile had been etched onto her face since the feeding, and her time had brightened considerably, even after the encounter with another strange man, who seemed to be referring to the animals as oddly depicted people. She leaned back in the rough, wooden chair and glanced upwards at the autumn sky.
"Lost your mate?"
Katie's eyes blinked as a silhouette filled her vision, blurring it. When she opened her eyes again, Vince's face was shown clearly against the back drop and she tried her best not to blush.
"No. She went to the toilet." She inclined her head towards the booth, and smiled a little. Vince nodded, a soft bobbing of his head. He shuffled his feet.
"Er, look. I uhm, I was wondering-" Vince cleared his throat. "You wanna get a drink sometime?"
"Okay, all done- Oh, hey, Vince!" Beth grinned mischievously as she bounced out of the bathrooms. "Me and Katie were just about to head off to the pub. If your shift ends soon, you can come with?"
"Half an hour, actually," Vince grinned, eyeing Katie discreetly. She rolled her eyes, and he had to smother a laugh.
"Great, then you have no excuse," Beth palmed a sheet of paper into his hand, before turning to haul Katie off the bench. "We're going to the one just down the road. We expect you there within the hour, Vince."
"Alright, bye," he grinned, waving. Katie rolled her eyes as she was dragged off, causing another grin to split Vince's lips.
And the same grin was still in play when he entered the pub, forty minutes later.
"I told you it would be fun."
"Complete waste of money though, isn't it?" Katie smirked, as they headed directly towards the Reptile house. Snakes were a sort of morbid fascination for Beth-- something Katie didn't quite understand, but never questioned-- and Katie decided that the reptile hut was probably the only reason they were at the Zooniverse anyway.
"Cobra!" Beth clapped her hands as Katie pushed her way into the reptile house. The air, a slight humid twinge, made her skin prickle with warmth. She rose her eyebrows at her friend as she followed her towards one of the glass tanks. A snake lay coiled behind the glass; a man stood off to the side of it, wiping away the grime of the side of the tank.
He was tall, Katie noticed, with a littering of messy, short brown hair. It was curly and a little greasy. She frowned at the back of his head, before turning to face Beth. Her friend grinned. "Cobra's are amazing."
"Sure," Katie shrugged. "And so are every other kind of snake according to you." She smiled at her friend cheekily, before stepping up beside her to admire the creature contained within. "It's sad, but eventually, there will be some breeds of animal that will only be found in zoos. Fucking poachers."
The brown, curly haired man turned to face the two girls. "Nature is as nature does."
"You're saying poaching is natural?" Katie squinted.
"No, no." He frowned, fiddling with the cloth. His plain, green jacket sported no name badge. "I hate poachers, you know, big time."
"Right," Beth straightened from her crouched position, to peer at the zoo keeper. Katie licked her lips.
"Howard!"
And then she turned as another person entered the slightly stifling room. And blinked a couple of times. The entrant and another zoo keeper, she assumed by the similar uniform, was good looking. His hair was long, and styled. Blonde highlights flecked through the soft brown and his smile was very amused.
"What do you want, Vince? I'm busy."
'Howard' indicated towards the two girls idling by the cobra tank-- Beth had returned her attention back to the slithering reptile, whilst Katie tried to tear her eyes from 'Vince'. The newcomer grinned, "Alright?"
Katie blushed as she inclined her head. Vince turned back to Howard, "You'll never guess what Bollo is doing."
"I don't care what you're stupid gorilla friend is doing." Howard sounded exasperated; Katie frowned. What kind of zoo keeper didn't care about animals? Beth coughed mildly.
"Er, thanks for your help or whatever," she waved to Howard. "Elephants, Kate?"
Katie flicked her eyes over to Vince, briefly and smiled sheepishly when she caught him watching her. "Yeah… yeah, okay." She waved her hand in the direction of the zoo keepers, before following out after her friend.
"Okay, that Howard guy was creepy," Beth muttered, the second the door clattered shut behind them. Katie grinned.
"Yeah."
"But, you liked the other one, huh?"
"Shut up, Beth."
"So, like, we can go to the gorilla's after, if you want to see if he's back there?"
"Shut up, Beth," Katie murmured, smacking her friend in the arm. Beth grinned as she dragged her friend down the small streets of the zoo.
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"I didn't scare them off," Howard snapped at Vince as he reclined against the side of the cobra tank. Vince's eyebrows rose and dropped.
"No, they left of their own accord after you started speaking to them. Right," Vince smirked.
"Actually, I'll think you'll find they left after you came in," Howard retorted, packing his cloth away and passing on the bottle of cleaning fluid onto Vince. "Don't you have something else to do?"
"Sure," Vince grinned, "Fossil wants me to feed the elephants." Waving at Howard, he departed the reptile house.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Katie scuffed her shoes against the straw strewn floor outside the elephant house. Some kind of sign had informed her friend that the feeding of the elephants was happening in ten minutes and that meant something good, apparently. Beth giggled with anticipation, whilst Katie idled around. Her zoo excitement had suddenly become transferred to a slight fascination with the zoo keeper, Vince. Every time someone else passed by the elephant enclosure, she found herself eyeing them.
Beth giggled, "Look, Katie! It's your friend."
Katie's eyes snapped up from where they were trained on her shoes and her head whipped round towards the elephants, where Vince was feeding the elephant energetically, his lips moving in soft words, before trailing off into a bright laugh. His eyes were flicking from the animal companion to her.
"Kate, He's watching you."
"Shut-"
"Hey."
"Hi," Beth grinned, turning from her friend to the man that had approached the barrier of the enclosure. Katie flicked her fringe from her eyes, and blushed.
"Uh, you're the only ones here, so…" Vince spared a glance in either direction. "Do you want a go?"
"A go of what?"
"Feeding the elephants, silly," he smiled, waving some straw at them. Katie shrugged. Beth's eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Uh… I'm sorry. What are your names?"
"I'm Beth, and the quiet one is Katie."
Katie shot a hateful glance at her friend, before waving softly at Vince. He smiled.
"Okay, Beth… Katie," he eyed her. "Want to have a go? Just through the fence, like."
"Sure."
Beth and Katie extended their hands to where Vince was offering the food. "Okay, cool," he grinned, brushing his finger's against Katie's as the food was handed over. She blushed, meeting his eyes for the first time. He winked, before turning back to instruct them on how to feed the elephant.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Katie flopped down on a bench outside the bathrooms located at the Zooniverse. A permanent smile had been etched onto her face since the feeding, and her time had brightened considerably, even after the encounter with another strange man, who seemed to be referring to the animals as oddly depicted people. She leaned back in the rough, wooden chair and glanced upwards at the autumn sky.
"Lost your mate?"
Katie's eyes blinked as a silhouette filled her vision, blurring it. When she opened her eyes again, Vince's face was shown clearly against the back drop and she tried her best not to blush.
"No. She went to the toilet." She inclined her head towards the booth, and smiled a little. Vince nodded, a soft bobbing of his head. He shuffled his feet.
"Er, look. I uhm, I was wondering-" Vince cleared his throat. "You wanna get a drink sometime?"
"Okay, all done- Oh, hey, Vince!" Beth grinned mischievously as she bounced out of the bathrooms. "Me and Katie were just about to head off to the pub. If your shift ends soon, you can come with?"
"Half an hour, actually," Vince grinned, eyeing Katie discreetly. She rolled her eyes, and he had to smother a laugh.
"Great, then you have no excuse," Beth palmed a sheet of paper into his hand, before turning to haul Katie off the bench. "We're going to the one just down the road. We expect you there within the hour, Vince."
"Alright, bye," he grinned, waving. Katie rolled her eyes as she was dragged off, causing another grin to split Vince's lips.
And the same grin was still in play when he entered the pub, forty minutes later.