Snapping at Crocs

Chapter 8

(just so everyone isn't confused there was a timeskip)

Dear mama,

Day nine in Australia. The trip so far has been absolutely perfect! The expedition is set to start in three days. I have been studying almost every hour of free time I have. Don't worry, I'm sleeping fine. In fact, I'm rather exhausted and falling asleep is no trouble for the first time in a long time. I've been training with Wes and the rest of the team to ensure that I am in top physical shape in case of emergency.

Now I know what you're thinking mama, but I'm not going to get injured out there. These steps are purely precautionary. Anywho, we've picked an absolutely perfect spot to look for crocodiles. The conditions are marvelous. There are two large rocks for them to sunbathe on, the temperature never dips under 30 degrees celsius, and best of all, the body of water is very large. We have plenty of reason to believe that there are crocodiles there. One of them being that a tourist claims to have seen one there before. We'll never know until we go.

Robert said he was going to take me aside to assess my skills today and do some last minute training. And no, I am absolutely not nervous mom, because nothing is going to happen. Well I mean besides me crushing the training course and Robert being proud and maybe giving me a hug. But uh you know what? Yeah no, that's not gonna happen. Why would that happen, right? No no, I'm just gonna crush on the test that's it. Crush the test I mean. I'm focused. So anyway, I'm rather bush today. But I can give you an update later.

Hugs and Kisses, Y/N

I set down my journal to get dressed for the day. Australia Zoo gave me their official uniform my third day in Australia, and I've been wearing it every day. I have made the decision on my own that khaki shorts look good on just about every female, and increase your confidence by 5%. If they're cuffed at the bottom, that is.

I pin my hair up and out of the way so that I can run easily throughout the day. The running bit is quite possibly the most annoying part of this exhibition to me. But on the bright side, I've never felt this powerful. There's a wonderful perk of exercising and it's that after you struggle and push through a difficult activity, you feel like you can do just about anything else.

I select a pair of shorter socks with a train on them. They're very interesting because it's styled to look like a painting. I've had to bring it back a notch on the crazy socks a little though because they get extremely dirty and are much harder to wash if they are long and caked in dirt. Besides I wouldn't want to ruin them. Oh yeah and I guess they make me appear slightly less professional too.

I bounce down the stairs and find Ms. Irwin to be the only one up yet again. She's making pancakes today, and there is plenty of fruit set out on the table.

"Good Morning Mrs. Irwin," I chime. "Would you like any help?"

She turns around to smile at me and shakes her head no.

"No, that's okay, darling, I've got it under control," she chuckles. "Anything you want on your pancakes? We have butter, syrup, honey, molasses, whipped cream, plenty of fruit. Anything you can think of, I suppose."

"Oh, I don't know. That does sound good though."

"No rush, Y/N, you've got plenty of time. After all, you get ready way before any of my children do."

"You're right," I laugh. "Speaking of them... what do they like on their pancakes? If you don't need help cooking the least I can do is get us set up to eat them."

"I suppose you're right," she agrees. "Hmm, well Bindi likes syrup I believe... the organic kind. I like mine with butter and blueberries. Robert is a mystery. He changes it a lot, but I think he'll like butter and syrup."