Leo

Day 124-125

Day 124 with this Journal

10:21 AM

Here's the thing- you can only act like you don't care about the lion in your backyard for so long. After a week, you begin to question how it got out of its cage. My family owns a zoo and we live a good mile from the attraction. One of our lions, named Leo, escaped and severely injure his leg on January the 22nd, I think. It's winter, so he was easy to find. Leo had a big gash on his leg from a rock; he managed to find a creek. He slid on the ice and scraped his thigh against the rock, then fell into the icy water.

Next thing I knew, I was helping haul a lion out of Brendon Creek. We had to debilitate Leo so he could fall asleep on the way home. The roads were really bad that day, so we couldn't drive that one mile to the zoo. At least that's what Dad said. I took of my cold, wet boots and threw them into the downstairs bathroom, just so I don't track anymore snow into the house. It was right next to the back door, so it was accessible. What we were doing was kind of illegal. Our small hamlet has a rule about 'pets.'

"No animals are allowed that could be a threat to the village, or weighs more than 300 pounds," the mayor huffed.

Usually, he stays in his office; he recently found out we owned a zoo, and that's when he started talking to us.

The Owner of the Weird Journal,
Taylor Miller

Day 125 with this Journal

Leo just ate my homework, again. Mrs. Smith is starting to get fed up with me. I don't know what to tell her! "Oh, yeah. My lion ate my homework. You know, the lion I shouldn't have." We'd get in so much trouble, to be honest, we'd probably have to move. My friends Kelli, and Lauren both know I have a lion on my property.

11:50 AM

I hate boys. Why do they think being quip will get them a girlfriend? Heck, why do they want a girlfriend? We're just annoying brats that want attention. I'm speaking for the "popular girls." Those brats need to stop trying to impress people with their things and their problems. Like, that's definitely going to get them a boyfriend. We're all 15 years old, why are we worrying about this, anyway? There's no point, our "partner" would just be holding us back! We don't need that lucidious drama in our lives. Now, I should probably stop ranting and eat my lunch before it gets any colder.

2:23 PM

I'm tired. I wish I had pop to alleviate this drowsy feeling. I'm stuck in History, learning about the 10 Amendments, again. I just want to go see Leo right now, he's better behaved than these kids will ever be. Mr. Koshatka looks like he doesn't want to be here, either. Jackson Stewart talked to me today; we had a really nice conversation about animals. I told him he could come to the zoo since we have some indoor exhibits.

"Yes! Do you guys have penguins?" he asked with exuberance in his voice.

I nodded and he gave me his phone number so I can invite him whenever. Jackson actually seemed really nice. I usually see him hanging around with his group of annoying friends, I just assumed he was annoying, too.

5:19 PM

Leo and I are hanging out under the shade of our tree, it's warmer than usual, but the plows haven't been able to get to our street yet. The snow is melting, which will help, but our road is gravel...

Leo purrs and rolls over, I was leaning on him, so guess who had to take a shower after getting all muddy? He's a good kitty, but Leo does sometimes forget he's not the only one benefitting from all the comfort.

7:10 PM

Mom and Dad are fighting again. This is the third time today. This is all a volatile experience for me. They never used to fight like this, Mom always made sure Dad never stepped out of line...

Oh. Maybe he's tired of feeling controlled? I still don't know for sure if that's the reason. I just hope it isn't tentative. Otherwise... Bad things could happen...

11:09

Leo won't stop meowing... Why is a lion meowing? Now I have to get out of bed and go outside INTO the cold!

"Signing" off,
Taylor Miller

"Leo, do you want a treat?" I ask in the most annoying voice in the planet.

Leo stared at me, and it looked like he rolled his eyes at me. I could only chuckle at the thought. A lion, rolling his eyes. I grabbed some beef from our deep freeze in the garage. I went back inside so I could throw it in the microwave. When I walked back outside, Leo was gone.

Leo, our lion.

Was no longer in the backyard.
I dropped the slightly warm beef, and ran to the front of the house. Where is he, where is he, where is he?! My bike was sitting in the garage so I ran back to get it.

"Leo, where are you?" I whispered in every block, "I have some beef back at home, I know you want some."

A police car was beginning to drive by me. I'm not an adult yet. I have a curfew. Me, being the brightest crayon in the box, threw myself in a pile of snow. I was beginning to feel pessimistic about the whole situation. I'm going to get caught I thought. I forgot my flashlight. That was just bad on my part. My hair was covered in snow, it also fell into my shirt.

"Who's there?" the officer came out of his car. Great.

This tangible situation was starting to get to me. I began quivering uncontrollably. At that moment, I heard metal clashing together. It sounded far away, but the officer was able to hear it. He jumped and ran back into his car to go investigate.
I took a deep breath and exhaled.

Those were some squalid conditions I was under. Cold, wet snow, sitting on mud... I made out a scream that came from where the metal clashed. Oh no. Leo...