We Bought a Zoo-Falling Apart

Chapter 7-Flashback

I blankly stared out into space. I was still sitting at the picnic bench, but this was probably the saddest I had ever been in months. What sucked was I couldn't really make myself happy without losing something. I could go home, and miss Kelly and Dylan and the others or stay and miss my family. Then again, my family really was more important than the zoo. I guess.

This was too frustrating.

"Sorry about earlier." I recgonized Dylan's voice as he crunched leafs, walking up to the picnic bench. He took a seat next to me but facing the opposite direction so I couldn't see him. "Do you want to talk now?"

I exhaled my breath and felt a breeze blow. "Not really."

"C'mon. We're best friends, right?"

Yeah Dylan, that's why you ditched me during lunch. I guess you're best friends with all your other friends too. I had so much I wanted to talk with Dylan about but at the same time, I didn't feel like discussing anything with him.

I wanted a girl-friend. But at this point, I wasn't in the mood to find another friend to suit me. Friends are complicated. You need to build up so much trust that can easily crumble down, and good relationships take a while to build. I could just imagine talking to someone about how angry I was at Matthew for not telling me more, even though it wasn't that big of a deal.

"I want to go home." I blurted that vague sentence out, knowing there were two meanings. I hoped that Dylan would just think that I wanted to go back to my house. 

"Then go," Dylan's response surprised me. It was harsh and his voice was laced with annoyance.

"I mean San Francisco. Leave the zoo. Gone." I tried to get the message along to Dylan, hoping that he would care and try to convince me to stay. 

Dylan let out a frustrated sigh. "I heard the first time. Look, I want to be friends with you, but it's not like you really want to be friends with me. I know you're going through a hard time, but I would hate to be seperated from my family for a long time, and I think your family needs-"

I froze for a moment, realizing how good of a friend Dylan was being to me. I was acting like a spoiled brat, complaining about everything, and not even realizing how Dylan was helping me and being an amazing friend. He went to me, he tried to talk to me first, and initiate a conversation. I had no reason to be angry that Dylan left before I was going to tell him something. If I really wanted to talk, it would've been my job to go hunt him down and drag him back to the field. 

"Thanks for coming to talk to me first, even though I've just been this terrible and frustrating person since school started." I sincerely thanked Dylan.

Dylan chuckled. "It's not that big of a deal."

It's not that big of a deal to Dylan because he has tons of friends. I'm a loner and I hate making friends. 

"I'm serious on going home. I just miss everything and I'm homesick and everything's so terrible here" I complained, resting my elbows on the bench and putting my head between it. 

Dylan turned around, so we were both sitting in the same direction. He stared me in the eye. "So you're a fleer. You're running away from your bad grades, you're running away from people who care about you, and you're running away from the zoo."

Seriously? After that deep conversation and thoughts I had on Dylan being an amazing friend?

I was about to reply angrily when Dylan continued, so quiet I could barely hear him. "But it's for family. And I guess that's all that counts."

---

"Kelly!" I hollered as soon as I got home, shutting the door behind me. The time was 7:00 PM, and Kelly should've been home already to cook dinner. I poured myself a glass of Sprite and brought it to the dining room. I sat down on a chair as I saw a note laid on the table: