Chapter 18: Disillusionment

Nora and Tristan walked back to the employee’s lounge at the same pace. Tristan refused to be left behind, even though Nora didn’t seem to want to associate with him at the moment. He had a few questions on his mind, and he had to ask them now, or he would lose his courage and never ask about them again.

“So, you really like that Nathaniel guy, huh?” Tristan asked casually, not looking at Nora. She glanced over at him quickly, a surprised expression on his face.

“What are you talking about?” Nora asked sharply, looking away from Tristan.

“It just seemed like you like him.” Tristan replied with a shrug. Nora shot him a glare.

“He’s just a good friend.” she said, trying not to sound too defensive. Tristan scoffed.

“Yeah, a friend you make googly eyes at…” he muttered, putting his hands in his pockets. Nora sighed heavily while rolling her eyes.

“Look, he’s just a good friend. I like him, he likes me. No big deal.” she said, hoping to brush the matter aside.

“No big deal? I thought for a minute that you were going to kiss him right then and there.” Tristan grumbled. Nora glared at him again.

“Well, it’s not like I have any better choices.” she shot back quickly.

“Oh, ouch, that really hurt.” Tristan said dryly. On the inside, though, he did feel a pang of…something… Some emotion he couldn’t place… Nora sighed once more.

“You know, I really wish life was like the movies. In the movies, the girl goes wandering off and runs into a handsome boy, then the two of them fall in love and live happily ever after. In real life, the girl goes wandering off and runs into a big-mouthed boy who becomes her worst enemy and makes her life miserable.” Nora growled, glaring up at Tristan as she finished speaking. Tristan looked straight ahead. He wasn’t showing any emotion. In fact, Nora wasn’t sure if he had even heard her.

“Ugh! You’re so aggravating!” Nora exclaimed, stomping ahead of Tristan. Tristan slowed to a stop, watching her leave. Her fists were clenching and unclenching at her sides as she stormed away. He sighed then turned to the nearest bench and sat down. He placed his face in his hands and rested his elbows on his knees.

“What am I going to do?” he mumbled to himself. He was finding it harder and harder to be angry at her, even when she was furious at him. Instead, he was feeling…sorry for her…sorry that he had made her so angry…

“Girl problems?” a voice suddenly caught Tristan’s attention. He looked up and saw a young boy, probably no older than twelve, standing near him. Tristan stared at him for a moment, not sure how to respond.

“Um…kind of…” he said slowly. The boy nodded understandingly. He sat down next to Tristan and looked at him with the kind of emotion only a child can have towards a perfect stranger.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” the kid asked softly. Tristan stared at him, confused.

“Do I know you?” Tristan finally asked. The boy thought for a minute.

“I don’t think so.” he said quickly. Tristan recoiled in shock. The boy stuck his hand out to Tristan. “I’m David.” the boy said, waiting for Tristan to shake his hand. Tristan slowly reached out and shook the boys hand.

“I’m Tristan.” he replied, still a little puzzled as to why the boy was acting so friendly.

“Well, Tristan, it’s nice to meet you.” David said politely. “Now, would you like to talk to me about your girl problems? I’ve got all the time in the world. Mom walked into the gift shop, and she’s been known to stay there for hours.” David explained. He leaned a little closer to Tristan and whispered. “It makes for a pretty lousy vacation sometimes.” Tristan cracked a grin as David sat up straight again. Tristan took a deep breath and decided that there was no harm in telling this boy about what was bothering him. Besides, it might to him a bit of good to get his feelings off of his chest.

So, Tristan told David of his first encounter with Nora, about the attempted robbery, and about how Nora was being nice to him then suddenly got very angry with him. “No wonder she got angry! You’re totally dissing her favorite place in the world!” David exclaimed before Tristan had even finished his story. “She obviously has a back story that would be worth hearing. I’m sure it would shed some light on this situation. But we don’t have a back story, so we kind of have to do some guess work. I’m going to guess that family life isn’t so great and that she doesn’t have a lot of friends, she’s a bit of a loner, but she’s got a good heart…” David went on and on with his analysis of Nora. Tristan sat and listened, amazed by the young boy. Finally, Tristan was allowed to finish his story. Once Tristan had finished, David clicked his tongue and shook his head in disapproval.

“Tristan, Tristan, Tristan…” David said slowly. He sighed then looked up at Tristan again. “You, my friend, have been bit…by the love bug.” Tristan stared at David, shocked by what the boy had said. However, he thought about it a little longer and realized that he shouldn’t have been surprised at all. He had known for a while that he liked Nora, he had just refused to admit it to himself.

Tristan marveled at how right Nora was; life wasn’t like the movies. What character in a movie needs a twelve year old boy to tell him that he’s fallen head over heels for a girl who hates him?

Chapter 17: Tricks

The light shone down on the sunny afternoon, illuminating the park and adding a cheery tone to everything. However, a little black rain cloud seemed to be following after Tristan and Nora. While they were being a bit more cordial with each other after their conversation in the locker room, there was still a good deal of tension between them, and it was visible.

Nora was walking a good three feet ahead of Tristan, who was kicking rocks as he slouched behind her. When they reached an empty table to eat their lunch at, they practically sat on opposite ends of the table. Neither one of them spoke as they opened their lunchboxes and began eating.

“Hey, Nora!” Nora glanced over her shoulder and saw someone waving at her. It was a man about her age with dark blond hair that reached down to his chin. Nora recognized him as one of her co-workers and waved back.

“Hi, Nathaniel!” Nora called with a smile, instantly seeming happier. Tristan felt something burn inside his chest and he turned to look at the approaching man. Nathaniel walked over and sat down next to Nora, a wide grin on his face. He hardly glanced at Tristan.

“Nora! It seems like I haven’t seen you in ages!” Nathaniel exclaimed. Nora nodded.

“I know! I’ve missed talking with you.” she said with a smile. Tristan glared at the two of them as he picked up his sandwich and tore off a bite of it.

“Same here. But I guess that’s what we get for working on opposite ends of the park, huh?” Nathaniel said with a small laugh. Nora giggled and Tristan thought he might gag. He forced himself to swallow before he put his sandwich down. Just then, Nathaniel glanced up.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there. Who’s your friend, Nora?” Nathaniel asked politely.

“This is Tristan. And he’s not my friend.” Nora muttered, sending Tristan a glare. Tristan faked a smile and waved a little in greeting. Nathaniel looked at him, a little confused, then smiled in return. He then turned to Nora, the same confused expression on his face. “Long story. Don’t ask.” Nora mumbled, still glaring at Tristan. Tristan sighed and rolled his eyes, looking away from the two of them.

“So, how have you been? I heard about your daring robbery rescue, or whatever you wanna call it.” Nathaniel said, making small talk with Nora. Tristan tuned the two of them out, trying to focus on something else. Nora was probably the most aggravating and confusing person Tristan had ever met, and yet…seeing her with this guy made him feel all…weird inside… He couldn’t quite explain it, but it made him angry to think about this guy being friends with Nora, to think about her liking Nathaniel more than she liked him.

Just then, a light bulb lit up inside Tristan’s head. He realized that he was jealous.

This is so stupid… Tristan thought, shaking his head. I don’t even like her. Why in the world would I be jealous? Tristan put his head in his hands, resting his elbows on the table. He closed his eyes and repeated over and over to himself that he didn’t like Nora. He listed everything about her that made him angry or annoyed, and he tried to convince himself that she was the ugliest girl he had ever seen. However, he realized that his list of aggravating things about Nora wasn’t very long, and she most certainly was not the ugliest girl he had ever seen. But I don’t like her! he exclaimed inside his head.

“No, no, no, no, no…” he muttered to himself.

“Um…Tristan?” Tristan glanced up when he heard Nora’s voice. Nora and Nathaniel were both staring at him with puzzled expressions on their faces. “Are you okay?” Nora asked slowly. Tristan swallowed hard, not sure how to respond.

“Uh, yeah… Yeah, I’m fine. Just…a stomach ache, that’s all…” he lied, hoping they would believe him.

“Okay…do you need to go home?” Nora continued, looking a little concerned.

“No, no… I’ll be fine…” Tristan replied, looking away.

“Okay, if you say so…” Nora said with a shrug. She turned back to her conversation with Nathaniel and Tristan sighed heavily.

Why was his heart playing tricks on his head?

Chapter 16: Distractions

Time seemed to be moving slower for Tristan today than it had any other day of his life. He had gotten to work on time (a little early, actually), but Nora had not been impressed. She had hardly even noticed him, so it seemed. She told him to get everything ready then meet her out in front of the zoo. From there, they had given their tours as usual, but Nora hadn’t let Tristan say a word. In fact, she had ignored Tristan for most of the tour. Each time he had tried to open his mouth, Nora had cut him off or sent him a sharp glare. Needless to say, Tristan had not liked that one bit.

“Is there any particular reason you’re being so rude to me today?” Tristan asked as he and Nora grabbed their lunchboxes out of their lockers.

“What do you think?” Nora asked icily. She slammed the locker door closed and turned towards the door of the employee’s lounge.

“Wait! Don’t just walk away from me! Communication is key to a relationship!” Tristan blurted out, not realizing what he was saying. Nora glanced back at him, a confused expression on her face.

“We’re not in a relationship.” Nora said quickly, a glare on her face. Tristan stared at her for a moment, a little puzzled by what he had said as well.

“Um…I didn’t mean, like…a relationship in that sense… More like a friendship…” Tristan said slowly. Nora sighed, her shoulders dropping.

“We can’t be friends if you keep bashing something I’m passionate about.” she said softly. Her eyes had suddenly changed. She didn’t look furious anymore; she just looked hurt. Tristan swallowed hard. He wasn’t sure what to say next.

“Well, it’s just that… I think that sea-life belongs in the sea…” he said, trying to choose his words carefully.

“But sometimes these animals are taken out of the sea for a reason.” Nora replied gently. Tristan looked at her with a questioning expression on his face. Nora sighed and began explaining.

“A lot of the animals here have actually been saved because of this park. We have a program that rescues animals whose habitats have been endangered by oil spills or pollution, and most of the animals are kept here instead of put back into those dangerous habitats. We also take in animals that have been injured in fishing accidents. Sometimes, when fishermen put down nets, they catch swordfish, turtles, dolphins, and we actually have a whale that was trapped in a net as a baby. Instead of the fishermen putting the injured animals back into the water or just killing them outright, we’ll send a team out to pick up the animal and bring it back here until it heals. We’ve had scuba divers bring in animals from the reefs nearby, and most of the animals that have been brought to us would have died without our help. The blanket octopus is a great example of that.” Nora finished softly, but her eyes were alight with a fire Tristan hadn’t seen before. It wasn’t anger, but it wasn’t some sort of happiness, either… It was more like passion. Nora really was passionate about her job.

“Really? The blanket octopus was brought in by someone?” Tristan asked, walking towards Nora. Nora nodded.

“Yep. A few years ago someone brought in this tiny little octopus that was missing a leg. We kept the octopus in a tank, discovered what it needed to live happily, and took care of it here. It’s been thriving ever since.” A small smile came to Nora’s lips as she spoke. Tristan couldn’t help but smile a little as well.

“So, you don’t just take animals out of their natural habitats without good reason?” he asked, just for clarification.

“Nope. If the animals aren’t brought in because they’re injured, then they’ve been born and raised here.” Nora replied quickly.

“Oh…so, they’re not all animals that have been injured…” Tristan said softly.

“No, but would you really want them to be?” Nora asked, giving Tristan a pointed look.

“Well, no, but I just thought, after that speech, that all of the animals had been brought in because they were injured.”

“You’d be surprised as to the number of eggs one fish can lay. Usually there are too many baby fish to keep here, so we release some of them back into the wild once they’re old enough.” Nora said quickly.

“But the ones that were brought in because they were injured stay here for the rest of their lives?” Tristan asked. Nora nodded.

“Yes, but sometimes they have to stay here, or else they’ll die.” Nora replied. Tristan thought for a moment.

“What about the blanket octopus? Does it need to stay here to survive?” Tristan asked quickly.

“The blanket octopus is healthy enough to, in theory, survive in the wild. However, because it’s been raised here since it was a baby, just dropping it into the sea would be quite a shock to it. It would have to be introduced to life in the sea very slowly to make a good transition.” Nora explained. Tristan was silent for a minute, thinking about everything Nora had said.

“Hm… Interesting…” he murmured.

“Do you understand a little more where I’m coming from now?” Nora asked hesitantly. Tristan glanced down at her.

“Yeah, a little bit.” he replied softly. Nora smiled slightly.

“Good. Now, let’s go have lunch.” she said, turning and walking away. Tristan followed after her, everything she had said playing through his mind.

After hearing all of that, it was going to be incredibly difficult to protest the park…

Chapter 14: Seeds

After lunch and before their next tour, Nora decided to take Tristan on her own little tour. “Have you ever been to the park as a guest before?” Nora asked Tristan as they were exiting the employee’s lounge.

“Um…no.” he said sheepishly. Nora glanced over at him and Tristan couldn’t tell if she was glaring of if she was just squinting because of the sunlight that was suddenly in their eyes.

“And yet you had the audacity to come here and protest…” Nora muttered. Tristan inferred from that statement that she was glaring at him, not squinting.

The two of them walked in silence for a moment, Nora clenching and unclenching her fists as she walked. Tristan glanced down at her hesitantly and saw that she no longer looked angry, just slightly annoyed. Tristan caught himself feeling relieved that she wasn’t angry. Anger was what he had originally hoped for with this job, wasn’t it? Didn’t he want to make her miserable? Didn’t he want to make her lash out in anger? Tristan squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he knew why his emotions were playing tricks with his mind.

“How are you going to see anything on the tour if your eyes are closed?” Tristan heard Nora ask from a short ways behind him. He stopped abruptly and turned around. Nora was standing a few feet behind him with her arms folded over her chest. She was raising an eyebrow and tapping her foot impatiently. Tristan smiled sheepishly then dashed back over to her. Once Tristan had reached her side, Nora turned to the large structure beside her.

“This side of the park houses our largest and most popular attractions, not our rides. We’ll get to the rides another day. Also, because we’re short on time,” Nora paused to glance down at her watch, “we won’t actually be going into any of the attractions. I’ll just tell you what they’re about.”

“This--” Nora paused dramatically. Tristan motioned for her to get on with what she was saying. “Is the Dolphin House. Although there are some dolphins in the zoo, this is where all of the trained dolphins are kept and where they do their tricks.” Nora explained.

“Oh, so this is where the inhumane stuff happens…” Tristan said, taking a step towards the building. “I should have gotten a job in there…” Nora suddenly grabbed Tristan’s arm and began pulling him down the paved pathway towards another building.

“Moving on!” Nora said as she tugged Tristan along behind her. Tristan quickly straightened up and turned around, pulling at his shirt indignantly. “This is the Orca Dome. It was named the Orca Dome because the building is enclosed by a dome-like roof and it houses the orcas.” Nora explained, sounding exactly like her tour-guide self.

“Orcas are killer whales, right?” Tristan asked, looking up at the enormous building.

“Yes, ‘orca’ is the scientific name for killer whales.” Nora replied with a sigh.

“So, all of the park’s killer whales--”

“Orcas.”

“Live in there?” Tristan asked, glancing over at Nora. Nora nodded. “And that’s also where they do all of their tricks and stuff?” Tristan continued. Nora shot him a glare.

“Yes. Yes, it is.” she replied shortly.

“Huh…I bet that’s worse than the Dolphin House…” Tristan muttered. Nora stormed past him, stomping on his foot as she went. Tristan sucked in a breath and his eyes went wide from the pain in his foot.

“Are you coming?” Nora called over her shoulder.

“Yeah, just as soon as I find the toes on my right foot again!” Tristan said, inhaling deeply after he spoke. He finally turned and hobbled after Nora as quickly as he could.

“Up here are a few of the shows we do that involve more people that aren’t just trainers. We have actual actors and actresses who don’t do anything more with the animals than what’s called for in the script. Most of the people that are on the stage are trainers or other employees who have some acting experience, though.” Nora explained as they walked past two buildings on opposite sides of the path. Tristan glanced up at them both as they passed. He heard laughter coming from one and screaming coming from the other. “Sounds like the audience just got wet.” Nora said, glancing back at Tristan with a smile on her face.

“Do you have any acting experience, Nora?” Tristan asked, jogging to catch up with her.

“Not really…” Nora said slowly. “I’ve really only ever acted in front of the mirror…”

“I did a little acting in school… I wonder how well the animals are treated in there…” Tristan murmured more to himself than to Nora. Nora sighed and rolled her eyes.

“The animals are treated well here, Tristan. In ever area of the park.” she said, sounding exasperated.

“How do you know? Have you worked in every area of the park?” Tristan asked, snapping his head over to look at Nora.

“No, but I’m sure that I would have heard of some mistreatment by now if there was any.” Nora said, walking faster. Tristan noticed that she was clenching and unclenching her fists again.

“Well, they might have--” Tristan began, but Nora cut him off by holding up her hand.

“Save it. We have to go back to work now.” she said shortly. Nora turned around and walked off briskly, not waiting for Tristan. Tristan watched as her ponytail bobbed away from him. He had certainly done a very good job of upsetting her. She certainly looked angry...

But the problem was, Tristan wasn’t happy anymore, either…