Manimal Crackers

Our Crazy, Mixed-Up Date

Unfortunately, Isabella and I had so much fun watching the show that night, that I screwed up and accidentally overslept. It was practically 11:00 when I woke up. (Don't ask why she was able to wake up at a reasonable hour, because I don't know.) So, you could guess my reaction when I realized how late I was going to be. I tried to hurry, but I rushed my makeup and looked more like a sleepy Goth kid who's been in a fight than a model. Which would be fine for Isabella, but certainly not for anyone at Starbucks. So, I gave up and decided on "Bare minimum" makeup. As for what I wore, I figured my dark Deviantart shirt would have to do, holes in the top and all. I could always hide the holes with pins, anyway. Too embarrassed to ask my parents for a drive, I decided to quite literally make a "run for it.".

At Starbucks I found her grumpily twirling a stick around her tea bag and looking at what appeared to be a menu on her phone.

"Hey, Isabella!"

"Oh, hi," she said apathetically.

"So, how are you doing today?" I chirped.

"Okay, I guess."

"Tell me. Is something up?"

"No, I'm fine," she said. I could tell she was totally lying.

"Something's up," I said, leaning over to her. I could kind of understand what Simon was going through with me.

"Look, I know the world can be unfair to people like you who are odd. It sucks. Just look at you and your crazy life," she continued. "But, you don't need to have someone or something building up your self-esteem for you. You're amazing just the way you are."

While I appreciated her comment, I was honestly pretty surprised at Isabella's reaction. Did an alien come and take over her body to make her more pleasant and agreeable? That certainly sounds like a film for her dad to do.

"I know you often feel jealous of popular successful people you see on the media all the time. And of course, they're mediocre people because the world is shit. But, I was talking with Dad last night, and he told me all about living with you and your kooky family. To be honest, I think it's kind of cool that you found Dad's old show through an IMdb search. Not to mention, I kind of admire your dad."

"Really?" I asked.

"You bet! He has all these cool books on British history and such, I could literally read them all day. I have, in fact. After my Dad finished lecturing me on how I shouldn't be so nasty to you, I decided to go search through his library to search for a book. After finding all the books about Sherlock Holmes, I was instantly hooked, and before I knew it, I was up all night reading everything he had! He has, like, every classic author under the sun, except for maybe Hans Christian Andersen."

"If you look closer, maybe you'll find it. He shelves his books alphabetically."

Suddenly, Isabella leaned over to whisper at me. "You know, this place isn't too bad. There aren't any stupid paparazzi here to stalk me, which is nice."

"Well, no shit. We're in the middle of a boring suburb in the US of A, so there's no way people will recognize your dad's work in Manimal."

Suddenly, a thirty-something guy with thick glasses and "hipster" facial hair enthusiastically turned his chair around.

"Wait, Manimal?" he said excitedly. "That's an old show; I'm surprised you remember it."

"I don't, it's a little before my time," said Isabella wearily.

"But her dad was on the--" I chimed in before Isabella covered my mouth to avoid reminding people of her claim to fame. But it was too late. Everyone in the store knew who her dad was, and they were all chiming in with their eager questions about him.