Status: another story i shouldn't start.
Oceans for Backyards
other than seeing me which is the best part of your day
Zayn was looking up the prices for the aquarium and the dolphin encounters and he knew it was too much money, honestly it was half of his paycheck and he still had to buy groceries and his phone bill was due soon and he needed to save up on rent. So he shouldn’t buy tickets to the aquarium or the dolphin encounter but he did. He decided he was going to do it a few days after going to the aquarium with his family. It was probably creepy he knows but he couldn’t stop thinking about Mackenzie and how her face lit up when she talked about her job and if he could see her again and see her bright eyes and big smile then Zayn would do anything. He didn’t tell his mates about the aquarium or Mackenzie because he knew there was a good chance that they would make fun of him and he didn’t want to deal with it.
So that Saturday he made excuses that he was going to visit his family for some cousin’s birthday and made the train journey to the aquarium. He tried not to think of how awkward he felt going by himself and focused on the fact that in a few hours he’ll be swimming with dolphins and hopefully hanging out with Mackenzie. When he got to the aquarium he still had a few hours before his scheduled dolphin encounter so he took his time and went through the aquarium, allowing families to pass in front of him and took pictures for families when they wanted a group shot. It was actually nice to go by himself, that way he could take his time and do things twice if he wanted. It was relaxing and he needed to feel that way before he did the encounter. He was able to go through the aquarium a couple of times before it was time so he made his way to the dolphin exhibit.
He gave his ticket to the people at the kiosk and followed one of the workers through a door and hallway that eventually led him to this giant pool that seemed to connect to the dolphin tank. There were already some people lined up with their trainers and a few other people waiting to meet their trainers. He immediately saw Mackenzie, his heart rate picking up just a bit at seeing her again. He hoped she was going to be his trainer but it didn’t seem like he would be that lucky.
“Okay Zayn, here’s your wetsuit. The men’s dressing room is right over there, change into your bathing suit and take off any jewelry. There are lockers you can put your clothes and belongings in and come back out. Your trainer today is Mark and he’ll be waiting for you once you’re done.”
Zayn nodded taking the wetsuit from the worker and walked towards the men’s room, looking over at Mackenzie who looked shocked to see him. He smiled at her and waved a little as he walked into the room. He changed as instructed and put everything into the small lockers and walked back out and saw Mackenzie waiting for him.
“Hey Zayn!” she said hugging him which took Zayn back.
“Hey Mackenzie.”
“I’ll be your instructor today!”
“Really? I thought it was Mark.”
“I might have switched with him.” Mackenzie shrugged. “So I have to go through some policy rules and stuff but then we can get to the fun bits, yeah?”
“Yeah alright.”
Mackenzie went through what would happen in the encounter and some rules about how to interact with the dolphins. Once that was over with she led Zayn to the pool and walked in with him. She blew a whistle around her neck and it didn’t take long for a dolphin to be swimming towards her.
“Zayn this is my dolphin, Claire.”
Zayn smiled, “Hi Claire. How does she know to come to you? Like how come she doesn’t go to just anyone who blows their whistle?”
“We have different tones for the different dolphins.”
“Oh, okay cool.”
“Okay so go ahead and hold your hands out.”
Zayn did as instructed so Claire swam up to him and touched her nose to his fingers.
“Whoa.”
Mackenzie smiled, “Cool, yeah? Now that she’s accustomed to you, you can rub her head and her body.”
Zayn was hesitant to do so but he did it anyway, finding the texture of Claire very soft. Mackenzie rubbed Claire’s body along with Zayn and went to give her a fish but Zayn stopped her.
“Can I do it?”
“Yeah sure. Your hands are going to smell like fish for the rest of the day though.”
Zayn shrugged, “I have a feeling it will be worth it.”
“Oh it will be.”
Zayn grabbed the fish from Mackenzie, only feeling a little queasy, and tossed the fish into Claire’s open mouth. He couldn’t help but laugh a little which made Mackenzie smile yet again.
“Alright let’s do some tricks, yeah?”
Mackenzie clicked her teeth together and made a hand motion and before Zayn could even react Claire was spitting water in his face making him laugh loudly.
“Splash her back.” Mackenzie told him.
Zayn did as he was told and splashed the dolphin, making the dolphin spit water in his face again. He laughed again and pushed his hair back, looking over at Mackenzie who was already looking at him.
“What?” he questioned.
Mackenzie shrugged, “It’s just nice to see someone enjoy this as much as I do.”
Zayn didn’t know what to say so he just smiled at her, “Show me some more tricks?”
Mackenzie nodded and went through some more tricks with him. His hour was almost up and he honestly didn’t want it to end. He was having such a good time learning all about Claire and the other dolphins and spending time with Mackenzie was just as much fun as he hoped it would be.
“Okay now you get to swim with her. So come up beside her and hold onto her fin right here with both hands, like this.” Mackenzie showed him what to do. “She’s going to take you around the pool once, okay?”
Zayn nodded, “Okay.”
“Try not to let go, alright? You have to wear a life vest for policy so it’s not like you’ll be injured or in danger if you do let go but it could scare Claire.” Zayn nodded again and took the life vest from Mackenzie and put it on. “Ready?”
“Yeah definitely.”
He put his hands on Claire’s fin like Mackenzie showed him and waited anxiously for Mackenzie to blow the whistle and tell her to swim around. Finally it was time and Zayn didn’t think he could do anything cooler than this. It was such a rush to swim with Claire and he found himself smiling and laughing as she swam around the pool. When Claire swam back to Mackenzie, Zayn let go and tackled Mackenzie in a hug.
“That was so cool!”
Mackenzie hugged him back with just as much excitement, “Isn’t it!?”
He pulled away and talked a mile a minute about how much fun it was as she gave Claire a fish and started undoing Zayn’s life vest.
“Thank you for talking me into this.” Zayn told her.
“It’s no problem. I’m happy you enjoyed it as much as you seem to.”
“This was so much cooler than I thought it would be to be honest. I want to do it again.”
“Well you have to come see me again so might as well.” Mackenzie smiled.
Zayn smiled right back at her, “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Okay.” Mackenzie said smiling shyly. “Well now you get a picture with Claire.”
“You too?”
“I mean if you want me to be in the picture.” Zayn nodded immediately. “Alright well come on.” Mackenzie and Zayn stood next to Claire, Mackenzie keeping a hand on Claire and an arm around Zayn and Zayn wrapping his arm around her waist. The photographer took the picture quickly and gave Zayn a piece of paper. “There’s a photography desk downstairs that you can go look at it and buy it, if you want.”
“Okay cool, yeah.”
“Unfortunately your time is up but it’s time for me to go to the dolphin exhibit and talk like last time. So if you want, after you get dressed you can meet me down there?”
“Yeah, I’ll come do that. That sounds good.”
“Okay cool.”
“Thanks for this, by the way. It was really cool.”
“It’s not a problem Zayn, really. I’m so happy you enjoyed yourself.”
Mackenzie smiled and hugged Zayn again, not really knowing what else to say, and finally walked away to go to her station. Zayn walked to the dressing room and changed back into his street clothes, happy he brought a beanie to cover his wet hair. Once he was done he walked down to the dolphin exhibit and immediately spotted Mackenzie, still in her wet suit.
“Long time no see.” Mackenzie joked.
Zayn laughed and shook his head, “Yeah, it’s been ages. So how’s your day been? Other than seeing me which is the best part of your day.”
Mackenzie rolled her eyes and shrugged, “It’s been pretty good.”
She was going to go into a story but was stopped by some people who had questions but once she was done talking to them she continued to talk to Zayn. It went on like that for a long time until Mackenzie had to get ready for a show. She asked if Zayn was going to stay but he couldn’t, having to catch the train. She shrugged it off and hugged him goodbye and told him to visit soon. Before he left the aquarium he went to the photography station and looked at his picture. He debated for a long time about getting it or not and finally he decided to get it. He didn’t know what he was going to do with it but he’d come up with something.
When he finally got back to his flat, Niall wasn’t there presumably out at a local bar with their other friends, so he could shower off and relax from the day with no questions. He still didn’t know what to do with the picture but he ended up just putting it in one of his old sketchbooks, knowing that if he left it out all of his friends would make fun of him and he didn’t want to go through that just yet. Maybe if anything happened with Mackenzie he would tell them but for now, he would keep it quiet and go back to the aquarium when he had free time. He decided before he went to sleep to see if he could pick up any extra shifts at the art store if he’s going to visit the aquarium frequently.
So that Saturday he made excuses that he was going to visit his family for some cousin’s birthday and made the train journey to the aquarium. He tried not to think of how awkward he felt going by himself and focused on the fact that in a few hours he’ll be swimming with dolphins and hopefully hanging out with Mackenzie. When he got to the aquarium he still had a few hours before his scheduled dolphin encounter so he took his time and went through the aquarium, allowing families to pass in front of him and took pictures for families when they wanted a group shot. It was actually nice to go by himself, that way he could take his time and do things twice if he wanted. It was relaxing and he needed to feel that way before he did the encounter. He was able to go through the aquarium a couple of times before it was time so he made his way to the dolphin exhibit.
He gave his ticket to the people at the kiosk and followed one of the workers through a door and hallway that eventually led him to this giant pool that seemed to connect to the dolphin tank. There were already some people lined up with their trainers and a few other people waiting to meet their trainers. He immediately saw Mackenzie, his heart rate picking up just a bit at seeing her again. He hoped she was going to be his trainer but it didn’t seem like he would be that lucky.
“Okay Zayn, here’s your wetsuit. The men’s dressing room is right over there, change into your bathing suit and take off any jewelry. There are lockers you can put your clothes and belongings in and come back out. Your trainer today is Mark and he’ll be waiting for you once you’re done.”
Zayn nodded taking the wetsuit from the worker and walked towards the men’s room, looking over at Mackenzie who looked shocked to see him. He smiled at her and waved a little as he walked into the room. He changed as instructed and put everything into the small lockers and walked back out and saw Mackenzie waiting for him.
“Hey Zayn!” she said hugging him which took Zayn back.
“Hey Mackenzie.”
“I’ll be your instructor today!”
“Really? I thought it was Mark.”
“I might have switched with him.” Mackenzie shrugged. “So I have to go through some policy rules and stuff but then we can get to the fun bits, yeah?”
“Yeah alright.”
Mackenzie went through what would happen in the encounter and some rules about how to interact with the dolphins. Once that was over with she led Zayn to the pool and walked in with him. She blew a whistle around her neck and it didn’t take long for a dolphin to be swimming towards her.
“Zayn this is my dolphin, Claire.”
Zayn smiled, “Hi Claire. How does she know to come to you? Like how come she doesn’t go to just anyone who blows their whistle?”
“We have different tones for the different dolphins.”
“Oh, okay cool.”
“Okay so go ahead and hold your hands out.”
Zayn did as instructed so Claire swam up to him and touched her nose to his fingers.
“Whoa.”
Mackenzie smiled, “Cool, yeah? Now that she’s accustomed to you, you can rub her head and her body.”
Zayn was hesitant to do so but he did it anyway, finding the texture of Claire very soft. Mackenzie rubbed Claire’s body along with Zayn and went to give her a fish but Zayn stopped her.
“Can I do it?”
“Yeah sure. Your hands are going to smell like fish for the rest of the day though.”
Zayn shrugged, “I have a feeling it will be worth it.”
“Oh it will be.”
Zayn grabbed the fish from Mackenzie, only feeling a little queasy, and tossed the fish into Claire’s open mouth. He couldn’t help but laugh a little which made Mackenzie smile yet again.
“Alright let’s do some tricks, yeah?”
Mackenzie clicked her teeth together and made a hand motion and before Zayn could even react Claire was spitting water in his face making him laugh loudly.
“Splash her back.” Mackenzie told him.
Zayn did as he was told and splashed the dolphin, making the dolphin spit water in his face again. He laughed again and pushed his hair back, looking over at Mackenzie who was already looking at him.
“What?” he questioned.
Mackenzie shrugged, “It’s just nice to see someone enjoy this as much as I do.”
Zayn didn’t know what to say so he just smiled at her, “Show me some more tricks?”
Mackenzie nodded and went through some more tricks with him. His hour was almost up and he honestly didn’t want it to end. He was having such a good time learning all about Claire and the other dolphins and spending time with Mackenzie was just as much fun as he hoped it would be.
“Okay now you get to swim with her. So come up beside her and hold onto her fin right here with both hands, like this.” Mackenzie showed him what to do. “She’s going to take you around the pool once, okay?”
Zayn nodded, “Okay.”
“Try not to let go, alright? You have to wear a life vest for policy so it’s not like you’ll be injured or in danger if you do let go but it could scare Claire.” Zayn nodded again and took the life vest from Mackenzie and put it on. “Ready?”
“Yeah definitely.”
He put his hands on Claire’s fin like Mackenzie showed him and waited anxiously for Mackenzie to blow the whistle and tell her to swim around. Finally it was time and Zayn didn’t think he could do anything cooler than this. It was such a rush to swim with Claire and he found himself smiling and laughing as she swam around the pool. When Claire swam back to Mackenzie, Zayn let go and tackled Mackenzie in a hug.
“That was so cool!”
Mackenzie hugged him back with just as much excitement, “Isn’t it!?”
He pulled away and talked a mile a minute about how much fun it was as she gave Claire a fish and started undoing Zayn’s life vest.
“Thank you for talking me into this.” Zayn told her.
“It’s no problem. I’m happy you enjoyed it as much as you seem to.”
“This was so much cooler than I thought it would be to be honest. I want to do it again.”
“Well you have to come see me again so might as well.” Mackenzie smiled.
Zayn smiled right back at her, “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Okay.” Mackenzie said smiling shyly. “Well now you get a picture with Claire.”
“You too?”
“I mean if you want me to be in the picture.” Zayn nodded immediately. “Alright well come on.” Mackenzie and Zayn stood next to Claire, Mackenzie keeping a hand on Claire and an arm around Zayn and Zayn wrapping his arm around her waist. The photographer took the picture quickly and gave Zayn a piece of paper. “There’s a photography desk downstairs that you can go look at it and buy it, if you want.”
“Okay cool, yeah.”
“Unfortunately your time is up but it’s time for me to go to the dolphin exhibit and talk like last time. So if you want, after you get dressed you can meet me down there?”
“Yeah, I’ll come do that. That sounds good.”
“Okay cool.”
“Thanks for this, by the way. It was really cool.”
“It’s not a problem Zayn, really. I’m so happy you enjoyed yourself.”
Mackenzie smiled and hugged Zayn again, not really knowing what else to say, and finally walked away to go to her station. Zayn walked to the dressing room and changed back into his street clothes, happy he brought a beanie to cover his wet hair. Once he was done he walked down to the dolphin exhibit and immediately spotted Mackenzie, still in her wet suit.
“Long time no see.” Mackenzie joked.
Zayn laughed and shook his head, “Yeah, it’s been ages. So how’s your day been? Other than seeing me which is the best part of your day.”
Mackenzie rolled her eyes and shrugged, “It’s been pretty good.”
She was going to go into a story but was stopped by some people who had questions but once she was done talking to them she continued to talk to Zayn. It went on like that for a long time until Mackenzie had to get ready for a show. She asked if Zayn was going to stay but he couldn’t, having to catch the train. She shrugged it off and hugged him goodbye and told him to visit soon. Before he left the aquarium he went to the photography station and looked at his picture. He debated for a long time about getting it or not and finally he decided to get it. He didn’t know what he was going to do with it but he’d come up with something.
When he finally got back to his flat, Niall wasn’t there presumably out at a local bar with their other friends, so he could shower off and relax from the day with no questions. He still didn’t know what to do with the picture but he ended up just putting it in one of his old sketchbooks, knowing that if he left it out all of his friends would make fun of him and he didn’t want to go through that just yet. Maybe if anything happened with Mackenzie he would tell them but for now, he would keep it quiet and go back to the aquarium when he had free time. He decided before he went to sleep to see if he could pick up any extra shifts at the art store if he’s going to visit the aquarium frequently.