Rainbow High OC Scraps

Zoo Day

Brandy perked up as the bus began going around the familiar bend. She'd been this way a billion times, but it never got old. She eagerly turned to look at the window, taking in the abstract mural covering the inside of the tunnel. The brightly colored animals always cheered her up and got her excited for the zoo. She hoped she'd be able to maybe even contribute to the mural one day!

The bus finally came to a stop and Brandy happily bounced out of her seat and out onto the sidewalk. She turned back to wave goodbye to the bus as it pulled away. Someone in the back waved back, and so did a small kid towards the front. Score!

"Excuse me?"

She spun around to face a woman with bags under her eyes. She held onto a child leash attached to an excited toddler.

"Are you waiting for someone? A family member or something?"

Brandy held herself back from rolling her eyes. Adults asked her stuff like this all the time. She could totally take care of herself! But they never liked that answer. "I'm meeting my cousins in there!" she said, gesturing to the zoo's front entrance.

"Oh." The mom looked a little relieved but still glanced around cautiously. "Good." She kept looking between Brandy and the entrance. "I hate to just leave you on your own...how about I walk you to your family? Is that ok?"

"Um, ok." Brandy had met a lot of adults while on her adventures. She liked to think she was good at figuring out which ones were good or bad. This one seemed nice. Just worried. (Which she didn't have to be, but she didn't know that).

The mom escorted her into the zoo and tried to make small talk as they walked. Brandy had some fun making up things to say. She told her she had two grown-up cousins who were waiting for her inside the giftshop with their own kids who were Brandy's age. She told her stories of family barbecues and vacations, like the ones she saw on TV. A big get-together, with a bunch of people. Her dad would barbecue food, and she and her cousins would play with water balloons. They even have a backyard!

Brandy wondered what it would be like if she had a family like that. She'd have someone to go to the zoo with! That would be fun...

Once they reached the main gift shop, Brandy assured the mom that her family was right inside, and slipped away. She stayed there until she was sure she was gone. Adults were always weird about her solo adventures, but Brandy never understood why. It was fun! And her dad never seemed to mind.

Besides, this was the ZOO of all places! Nobody knew the zoo as well as she did! She barely even needed a map anymore. And her first stop was going to be the gorillas! It was always one of her favorite parts of the zoo. She liked how it felt like a winding road through a jungle, and, of course, seeing the gorillas!

On her way to the exhibit, Brandy passed a bunch of flamingos standing in a pond. A girl was pointing them out to her parents excitedly. "They're pink! How come??" Her parents shared a confused look. They didn't know!

"I know!" she cut in. "Its 'cause they eat pink stuff! It says so over here!" she led the family to the small plaque about flamingoes the zoo had put up nearby.

"Oh, would you look at that?" the dad muttered. Brandy grinned and slipped away while they read. She loved knowing the answers for people. It was so fun when she was able to help someone out with something! They always gave her this nice look and smiled. It made her feel all warm inside. That was why she always kept an eye open for things she could do to help.

Plus it was just fun to look at all the different people and see what they're up to. She passed a family that spoke in another language, and a couple that argued back and forth. A few steps ahead, she heard crying. She picked up speed to see what was going on and found a toddler sobbing in his parent's arms. Oh, Brandy had seen this before. She didn't understand anything MORE. Peacocks were allowed to go wherever they wanted at the zoo. They look so nice and easy to pet! But you CAN'T. Which is so unfair! Brandy wanted to pet him too. Instead, she reached into her handbag and pulled out her camera. She snapped a quick picture of the peacock before continuing on.