Chapter 29: Grace

Nora was fighting with all of her might, trying to free herself from the hands that held her ankles. She kicked but felt nothing but water. She looked down and didn’t see anything. However, she felt something, and this something was not something she could fight against.

Nora turned her thoughts to finding the mouthpiece to her oxygen tank. Her body might not survive the depths of the water because of the pressure, but at least if she had oxygen, she had a chance of surviving. She waved her arms around behind her, trying to find the mouthpiece, but she had little success. Just then, Nora looked up and saw Tristan swimming down towards her at lightning pace.

“Tristan!” she said happily. However, all that came out was bubbles, and Nora quickly realized that that had just used up a lot of the oxygen left in her lungs. She reached over her shoulders again, feeling around for the mouthpiece as Tristan came closer. She finally found it and stuck it in her mouth as fast as she could, sucking in a deep breath of air. She inhaled some of the water that had collected in her mouthpiece and choked a little. She kicked her legs some more, trying to make contact with whatever it was that had her.

Nora stared down into the water beneath her, trying to see what was holding onto her leg. All she saw was a hand…a webbed hand… The arm led down into a swirling mass of bubbles that Nora couldn’t see through. She inhaled deeply, trying to stay calm, but the mounting pressure on her chest and abdomen was making her worry.

Nora glanced up again and saw that Tristan was directly over top of her, reaching his hands down to grab her. She raised her hands up to him and reached his fingertips. Tristan sped up slightly and the two clasped their hands together tightly. As soon as Tristan had Nora’s hands, he stopped swimming downward. He turned his body around and began swimming up, pulling at Nora’s hands. Nora felt the speed in their decent decrease, but they continued going downward. Nora kicked as hard as she could with both of her legs, trying to free herself and help Tristan at the same time. She felt the grip on her ankle tighten.

Just then, Nora realized it was getting harder and harder to take in a full breath. She could literally feel the water pressing in on her body, her chest and head especially. She knew that if she wanted to survive, she had to fight harder.

A scowl came over Nora’s face as she tightened her grip on Tristan’s hands.
Suddenly, she pulled her knees up to her chest at a surprising speed. She then kicked her free leg out, hoping to kick whatever it was that was holding on to her other leg. Much to her amazement, her foot actually hit something hard. She felt the grip around her right ankle loosen. She pulled her knees up again then kicked her left leg down and, once again, she made contact. She pulled her knees up one last time and felt the hand around her ankle release. She shot upwards, Tristan right behind her.

Unfortunately, the thing that had grabbed her was right behind them as well. A brief memory of what Ron had told them about going up through the water too fast crossed into Nora’s mind, but she decided that she would have a higher chance of surviving by swimming quickly. She pushed onward, making sure that Tristan was still at her side. She glanced up again and saw the light shining down through the water. She saw Ron, floating near the boat. She started to smile, but the world started getting darker… Nora was puzzled by the sudden change in lighting. She then started to feel woozy, and she felt warm water in her mask…

Nora felt her legs slowing down. She willed for her body to keep going, but her body had decided to stop. Just when Nora thought she was going to start sinking down again, Tristan shot past her and grabbed her under the arms, pulling her up to the surface. She felt the air surround her and she heard Tristan’s voice calling to Ron, but she still felt like she was under the water, listening to them speak above the surface. After a moment, she felt two more arms lift her onto the boat, gently laying her down on the floor. Through bleary eyes, she saw Ron gently remove her mask. She felt the warm water that had been captured inside of it trickle down her face.

“Nora! Nora, are you all right?” Tristan asked, crawling into the boat. Nora moaned.

“Just take a few deep breaths, you’ll be all right…” Ron said softly, looking around for something. He pulled out a small metal box and began looking through it. He took a few tissues from the box and held them underneath Nora’s nose.

“Wha’ ‘appened…?” Nora asked, trying not to pass out.

“Your body couldn’t hold up to the pressure. It’s just a bloody nose. You’ll be fine.” Ron replied gently. Nora turned her head to look at her mask and saw that there was still some blood pooled in the bottom of it. Nora then realized that what she had thought was warm water was really her own blood. The thought made her gag.

“Is she going to be okay?” Tristan asked frantically as he knelt down next to Nora. Ron nodded, still dabbing at Nora’s bloody nose.

“She’ll be fine, but we should probably go back to shore and look her over there.” Ron replied. He glanced up at Tristan, looking for a response. Tristan glanced up, startled.

“Oh, yeah, definitely.” Tristan nodded his head furiously before he looked back down at Nora. Nora stared up at him, still fighting the urge to pass out.

“Okay, you look after her and make sure that she does not fall asleep. That is very important. She might have inhaled some water and we wouldn’t want any dry drowning going on…” Ron said as he stood up and walked over to start the boat. Tristan sighed.

“Did you hear that, Nora? Don’t fall asleep.” He repeated, a little more softly. Nora nodded slowly and reached for the tissue. She held it to her nose again. Ron started the boat and began steering it towards the shore.

“You didn’t happen to see what grabbed her, did you?” Ron asked Tristan.

“No, I didn’t.” Tristan replied. He glanced back at the water and only saw the waves.

“Well, I guess we’re going to need to send out a search party or something… Whoever or whatever it was is going to be very bad for business.” Ron said seriously. Tristan looked down at Nora again. He opened his mouth to ask her if she had seen what had grabbed her, but before he could speak, she shook her head.

“I didn’ see a thing…” she said softly. Tristan nodded.

“That’s okay. I’m just glad you’re safe.” He replied. The two of them sat quietly for a moment, Nora dabbing at her bloody nose and Tristan just staring down at her with a worried look on his face.

“Tristan?” Nora said after a moment.

“Yeah?” Tristan replied.

“I don’t think I wanna go diving for a while…” Nora mumbled. Tristan smiled pitifully.

“I completely understand.” He said quietly. Nora managed to smile, but not because she was feeling better. She just wanted Tristan to get a happy look in his eyes again.

She wondered if he realized that this was the second time he had saved her life.

Chapter 25: Wishes

Nora and Tristan completed their final tour of the day, happy smiles on their faces. The air between them was much clearer, and everyone assumed it was because they had been great friends for a long time. The truth was, they had been great enemies for a short time, but no one seemed to know that.

Nora finished the tour, as usual, by directing people into the gift shop. However, on the final tour today, she decided not to follow the tourists. Instead, she stayed behind and watched the blanket octopus swim back and forth in its tank. Tristan began walking towards the gift shop but stopped when he noticed that Nora was no longer with him. He turned back and meandered over to her once again. She didn’t seem to notice him approaching; her eyes were fixed on the blanket octopus.

“So, do you still want to be a diver?” Tristan asked softly. Nora smiled a little.

“Yeah…” she replied slowly. The two of them stood there for a moment in silence.

“You’ve really never been diving before?” Tristan asked. Nora shook her head.

“I really have never been diving before.” She replied, a small smile still on her face. Tristan thought for a moment. He slowly leaned in a little closer to Nora.

“How does your weekend look?” he asked in a whisper. Nora’s eyes flashed up at him. Tristan wasn’t sure if it was the poor lighting that made him think this, but he was sure that her eyes were sparkling.

“Busy, actually.” She replied with a teasing smile. Tristan’s heart dropped.

“Oh…” he mumbled. There was a moment of silence between them again. Finally, Tristan took a deep breath. He turned to face Nora full on. “Nora, I have something I need to tell you, or a certain friend of mine is never going to get off my back about it.” Tristan said quickly. Nora turned to him, confused.

“When I first came to the park, my only intention was to gather a lot of incriminating evidence that would get the park shut down or something. I was totally against this place and…well, you, when I first met you.” Tristan paused to take a deep breath. “But, then I started to get to know you. I mean, I don’t really know you that well now, I guess, but…there’s just something about you. Something that’s different from anyone else I’ve ever met. I don’t know if it’s the passion you have for this place or just the look of determination in your eyes, but you’re definitely not like other girls I’ve met.

“At first, I just wanted to annoy you and make your life here miserable. But…then something changed… I guess it was the robbery attempt. After that, there was just something that felt different inside of me. I guess it was…” Tristan paused, glancing down at his hands. He hadn’t realized it, but Nora’s hands were now in his. “The look in your eyes after the fight. You looked so…scared…so real. I hadn’t seen you like that before, and it made me think about you differently. Instead of being some big, tough monster I had to take down, you were just…human.

“And then, when those guys tried to kill me, they mentioned your name. They said they were going to come after you, and I knew I couldn’t let that happen. What they said lit some kind of fire inside of me that made me want to kill them before they could kill you. I didn’t think about me anymore, and to be honest, that’s probably the first time something like that has happened to me. I’ve never thought about someone the same way I think about you. I get all protective and…insecure, I guess. I mean, I didn’t think that I liked you or anything, but when I saw you with that Nathaniel guy I just wanted to lean over and punch him in the nose. I…I guess I wished that you liked me as much as you liked him. But…you didn’t…so I couldn’t do anything…

“Then—“

“Then you met David.” Nora finished for Tristan. He looked up at her, surprised. She was smiling.

“How did you…?” Tristan asked, a confused expression on his face.

“I’m not an idiot, Tristan. I know that you two talked about me and that he’s the only reason you started being nice to me.” Nora said, still smiling.

“Well, not the only reason… He was just the thing that prompted me to be nice, I guess.” Tristan mumbled, looking down at his feet bashfully. He stood there silently for a moment, waiting for Nora to reply. She didn’t speak. Finally, Tristan glanced up at her timidly. “You think I’m a moron, don’t you?” he said. He moaned. “I knew that was dumb. I shouldn’t have said all of that. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to--” Just then, Nora put her finger up to Tristan’s lips, silencing him.

“I don’t think you’re a moron, Tristan. To tell you the truth, when I first met you, I totally hated you. You said bad things about my second home, and it made me really mad. After the robbery attempt, I thought you were being nicer. But then I took you on that tour of the park and you got all mean again, so I got defensive and decided that you didn’t like me and you never would, so I kept my distance. Then you started acting nice, and it really confused me, and I’m still confused, but…” Nora paused, looking down at her hands, which were still holding Tristan’s. “But I’m pretty sure that…that I like you too.” She said softly. She looked back up at him, and they stared at each other, neither one knowing what to do.

“I feel like we’re supposed to kiss or something…” Tristan muttered, looking away out of embarrassment. Nora threw her head back and laughed.

“How about we take it slow?” she suggested, calming down her giggles. Tristan was blushing furiously, but he nodded. “How about…this Saturday, you, me, and a diving instructor. Does that sound all right?” Nora asked.

“I thought you said you were busy this weekend…” Tristan said, a little confused. Nora smiled mischievously.

“My weekend just cleared up.” She said softly. Tristan grinned and Nora giggled a little.

“What time do you want to meet?” Tristan asked, still beaming. Nora thought for a moment.

“Two-thirty is good for me.” She replied. Tristan frowned. He thought for a moment then sighed.

“All right, two-thirty it is.” He said with a nod.

“Does that time not work for you?” Nora asked, a puzzled expression on her face. Tristan shook his head a little.

“No…it’s just that…” he paused, looking up at Nora again. “Two-thirty is a long time to wait.” He finished with a small smile. Nora laughed, squeezing Tristan’s hands tighter. He chuckled a little, feeling lighter than air.

“All right, then,” Nora began, trying not to laugh anymore. “How does your two o’clock look?” she asked, smiling. Tristan returned the smile.

“Perfect.” He replied softly. Just then, Nora slowly stood up on her tiptoes. Tristan leaned down a little, closing his eyes. The two of them were just about to meet for a kiss when the sound of small running feet caught their attention. They immediately straightened up as a little boy ran into the room to look at the blanket octopus. Nora glanced up at Tristan from the corner of her eye and giggled. Tristan smiled back. He took her hand and the two of them walked out of the gift shop together.

Tristan’s wish had come true—Nora liked him, too.

Chapter 24: Bridges

Tristan paced back and forth, thinking hard. After lunch, David had decided to go find his mom. Well, that’s what he said. Tristan knew that David was a twelve year old boy, and he knew that twelve year old boys were incredibly fond of roller coasters. David could say whatever he wanted to, but his eyes spoke the truth.

So, there Tristan was, waiting nervously for Nora to reappear. He had been smitten by other girls before, but he had never been so antsy around any of them. Nora was definitely different… Probably because she hated him. Just then, the sound of a door opening caught Tristan’s attention. He glanced up and saw Nora standing just outside the welcome center’s door, staring at him with a puzzled expression on her face.

“Um…what are you doing?” she asked slowly. Tristan thought for a moment.

“Oh, uh, just…putting a rut in the ground.” he replied with a soft chuckle. Nora didn’t seem to think his joke was funny. Tristan cleared his throat awkwardly as Nora began walking towards him. “I was just, um, waiting to--” Tristan began. Nora walked past him, not paying attention to what he was saying anymore. “Walk to the front of the zoo with you…” he finished, sounding very dejected. He followed after Nora, trying to catch up with her. Once he was next to her, he slowed down so that they were striding in sync.

The two of them walked in silence, neither one of them sure as to what they should say. Tristan was feeling nervous because of his crush, and unbeknownst to him, Nora was feeling confused because of his sudden change in behavior. They walked along, looking at everything but each other, the silence between them growing more and more awkward. Finally, the reached the front of the zoo.

“Well, I guess we’d better--” Nora began, but Tristan suddenly cut her off.

“Nora,” he said urgently. Nora looked up at him, surprised. “I, um…I bought you something.” he continued softly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pin. It was a light blue dolphin, outlined in gold. “I looked for a blanket octopus one, because I know that one is your favorite, but they didn’t have any…” he explained in a quiet voice. Nora stared at the pin in silence. “I…I hope you like it…” Tristan finished, hoping for some response. Nora just continued to stare. Tristan looked down at his feet, still holding the little dolphin pin out to Nora. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard, trying not to feel like such an idiot. A gift had been David’s idea, but Tristan had picked out the pin on his own. He wasn’t thinking it was such a good idea anymore.

Just then, Nora gently lifted the dolphin out of Tristan’s hand. Tristan looked up slowly, just in time to see Nora pin it onto her shirt. She glanced up at Tristan with a smile on her face. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.” she said softly. Tristan smiled, looking down at his feet again, a blush coming across his face.

“But…I’m confused.” Nora began, her face clouding over. “Why did you buy me something?”

“Well, I…I wanted to say…” Tristan swallowed hard, forcing himself to say the two tiny words that brought every man to his knees. “I’m sorry.” he finally blurted out. He sighed then looked up at Nora. “I’m sorry for the way I treated you. I shouldn’t have said the things I did or acted that way. I realize now that you really love this place, and I’m guessing it’s kind of like your second home or something, but I didn’t know that before, and I was just trying to cause problems for you, and I’m really, really sorry--” Tristan explained quickly. Nora reached up and placed a finger over Tristan’s lips, cutting him off. She had a smile on her face.

“Apology accepted.” she said softly, her eyes sparkling. Tristan smiled a little, seeing the change in Nora’s eyes. The two of them stared at each other before they turned and began walking towards the entrance of the zoo.

As they walked, Tristan noticed a new bounce in his step. He wondered if Nora felt the same way he did, or if she was just happy that he was being nice. Well, however she felt, Tristan was amazed that it was so easy to take down the wall that they had built up between them and replace it with a bridge.

Chapter 22: Stress

Nora sighed heavily, placing her head in her hands. Tristan had been acting even stranger than usual this morning, and she didn’t know what to make of it. He was being really polite and nice to her since he had met that David kid… She wondered if that little boy had some sort of magical powers and if he had put Tristan under a spell… To her, it was all a mystery. She wanted to ask Tristan about is sudden change in behavior, but she was worried that asking him about it would make him feel self-conscious and force him to go back to being mean. Once again, Nora sighed, wondering what she should do.

“Nora?” Tristan’s voice came from the other side of the door. “Are you okay in there?” he asked, sounding concerned. Nora had told him she needed to use the bathroom, but really she just needed a quiet place to think.

“Yeah, Tristan, I’m fine.” she said through the door. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“You said that five minutes ago…” she heard Tristan mumble. She rolled her eyes but realized that she had been in the bathroom for a while now… No wonder he was getting worried.

Nora quickly washed her hands and face then straightened out her ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror then frowned. She looked awful. She had huge bags under her eyes because she hadn’t slept well and then somehow she had misplaced her makeup bag, so she couldn’t even try to cover up her blemishes. Nora attempted to cover the pimple on her forehead with her bangs, but her attempt was not completely successful.

Finally, Nora turned to the door and exited the bathroom, finding Tristan waiting nearby for her. She walked over to him with her back straight and her shoulders back, trying to look confident.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Nora?” Tristan asked as he began walking beside her.

“I told you, I’m fine.” Nora replied quickly. She tried to avoid Tristan’s eyes, which was pretty easy, since she had been doing it all morning.

The two of them walking in silence for a few minutes, walking back to the front of the zoo. Their next tour was in fifteen minutes, so both of them were walking rather quickly. Tristan glanced down at Nora hesitantly, but she didn’t look up at him. He cleared his throat.

“Y-you look nice today, Nora.” Tristan said softly. Nora felt her face heat up. She knew he was lying. She had just looked at herself two minutes ago, and she did not look ‘nice.’

“Yeah right…” she mumbled, looking away from Tristan so that he wouldn’t see her blush.

“No, really. You look nice.” Tristan insisted. Nora glanced up at him with a skeptical look.

“Nice how?” she asked quickly. Tristan thought for a moment, studying her face nervously.

“Um…well, your ponytail is perfect, and I like how your bangs are spread over your forehead. You usually have them pushed to one side.” Tristan said. Nora was surprised he had noticed that. “That shade of lipstick looks nice on you, and your makeup looks really natural.”

“I’m not wearing makeup, Tristan.” Nora said dryly.

“Oh…that would explain why it looks so natural, then…” Tristan said with a nervous laugh. Nora couldn’t help but smile a little.

“So…you really think I look nice today?” she asked, glancing up at him quickly. Tristan nodded.

“Yeah, I do.” he replied. Nora’s smile widened a little. She looked away again, trying to hide a blush. She had no idea why Tristan was being so nice, but him being nice was much less stressful than him being mean.

Chapter 19: Reconciliation

David walked with Tristan back to the employee’s lounge. “Are you sure your mom isn’t going to worry about you?” Tristan asked.

“Nah,” David said with a shrug. “Like I said, she can shop for hours. And I kind of have this habit of wandering off… She’s learned not to worry about me.” David finished. Tristan laughed a little. He was starting to like this kid.

The two of them came to the door of the employee’s only lounge and Tristan frowned. He glanced down at David, and David glanced up at him. Tristan quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching before he opened the door and pushed David into the room. David stumbled forward as Tristan rushed in after him. Tristan closed the door as softly and quickly as he could.

“Um, you realize this is the employee’s only lounge, right?” Tristan spun around as he heard Nora speak. She was pointing down at David with a puzzled expression on her face. Tristan hurried over to David and stood behind the boy, placing his hands on David’s shoulders.

“Nora, this is my new friend David. He’s, um…lost.” Tristan said. David nodded convincingly. Nora gave the two of them a skeptical look. “I saw him sitting on a bench…crying. Yeah, he was crying.” Tristan said, making his story up as he went along. David looked up at Tristan, looking offended and confused. Tristan squeezed his shoulders and gave him a look, silently telling him to go with it. David quickly got the hint and turned around to face Nora. He began to sniffle and wipe at his eyes. Nora sighed and folded her arms over her chest, giving Tristan an exasperated look. “So, I asked him what was wrong and he said he had gotten separated from his mom, and I decided to bring him here to…ask you what was the best thing to do…I guess…” Tristan mumbled the last part more to himself. David let out a little sob and Nora rolled her eyes.

“Okay, what’s really going on?” she asked, giving Tristan a light glare.

“What do you mean? That was a true story…” Tristan replied slowly, not looking Nora in the eyes. Nora sighed heavily.

“Okay, fine, if that’s what you want to tell me then that’s what I’ll believe. For now.” Nora said, throwing her hands up in the air. Tristan smiled. “However, we have more tours today, so we’re going to have to contact the front desk about a lost boy--”

“No!” David suddenly exclaimed. Nora shot him a confused expression. “I mean… I wanna go on a tour…” he said softly. He remembered to sniffle a little as he looked up at Nora with pleading eyes. Nora stared at him for a moment before she moaned in defeat.

“Fine! He can come!” Nora said, sounding exasperated. She stomped past the two boys and went out the door, slamming it behind her. David pulled his fist down towards his hip and whispered the word “yes.” Tristan smiled and raised his hand up for a hi-five. David jumped up to reach Tristan’s hand and slapped his hand hard. The two boys turned and walked out of the room together, trying to be sneaky as they ran after Nora.

Nora led the two boys to the front of the zoo where a crowd was already gathering for the tour. They waited for about ten minutes before beginning the tour, just to make sure everyone was there who had signed up. Once Nora thought that most of the people were there, she began the tour.

“You guys do this every day?” David whispered to Tristan. The group had stopped in front of one of the fish tanks, and Nora had decided to stand a few feet away
from Tristan and David. Because of this, David thought it was perfectly fine to talk to Tristan about her.

“Yep.” Tristan replied, looking at all of the tourists.

“Wow. It must get really boring really fast.” David said quickly. Tristan shrugged.

“Not really. It’s a different group every time we do it, so it’s not that bad.”

“Huh… I guess that makes sense… Do you ever get to talk, though?” David glanced up at Tristan, squinting a bit.

“Sometimes…” Tristan replied slowly. “Well, I only got to talk for the morning tours one day… Then I got Nora all mad again and she hasn’t let me speak since. I think she’s afraid I’ll say something bad.” Tristan glanced down at David, who sighed and rolled his eyes.

“No duh! She has a brain, she knows your agenda, and you haven’t done a whole lot to gain her trust. You’ve bashed the park every time you’ve opened your mouth and you expect her to let you talk to a group of customers?” David said incredulously. Tristan recoiled in shock.

“Hey! I thought you were on my side!” he exclaimed, slightly offended.

“I am, but to help you, I have to hurt you.” David replied with a nod. Tristan stared at him for a moment, a baffled expression on his face.

“That doesn’t make any sense.” he said slowly. David patted his arm.

“It will in time, young grasshopper.” the boy said softly. Tristan continued to stare at him like he was crazy.

“As I was saying, you need to regain her trust.” David continued, coming back to his main point. “You need to keep your mouth shut when it comes to bad things about the park. You need to start saying good things about the park. Most importantly, though, you need to apologize to Nora.” David checked off the items while counting on his fingers how many there were.

“What? Apologize?” Tristan exclaimed loudly. A few of the guests in the near vicinity glanced over at him in confusion. Nora, however, didn’t seem to notice his sudden outburst.

“Yep. It’s the only way to go.” David said, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding with authority. Tristan sighed.

“Why? I mean, can’t I just buy her flowers or something?” he whined.

“If you write ‘I’m sorry for being a jerk’ on the card that goes with them.” David replied quickly. Tristan sent him a light glare. “I know that ‘sorry’ is the hardest word, but it’s the only word that will make your problems with her go away.” David said, placing a caring hand on Tristan’s arm again. “It’s the only thing that will break down the barrier she’s built against you. You have to remove the barrier before you can build a bridge.”

Tristan sighed. He knew that the kid was right, but he didn’t want to admit it. He put his hand over his face and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping he would open them again and have the problem magically fixed for him. However, when he opened his eyes, David was still looking up at him knowingly and Nora was still ignoring him.

“You’ve gotta do it, Tristan.” David implored him.

“Can’t I just tell myself to stop liking her?” Tristan asked, staring at Nora sadly.

“No! You can’t deny true love! Don’t you know that you can die from a broken heart?” David hissed.

“Maybe I can just quit, move away, and forget about her… Find a girl that doesn’t hate me…” Tristan mused to himself. David smacked his arm.

“Ow!” Tristan exclaimed, rubbing his arm and glaring down at David.

“I will not tolerate that attitude, mister!” David growled, wagging a finger at Tristan. “You like her, and you are not going to roll over in defeat just because you have to apologize to her. Real men don’t do that! Real men go after what they want!” David cried, his voice getting louder. Tristan shushed him as people began to stare at them. David sighed and began speaking quietly. “Tristan, you’re like a dog--”

“Gee, thanks…” Tristan muttered, rolling his eyes.

“And Nora is like the bone that is buried in some other dog’s yard. You have to fight against that other dog to get to the bone. Unfortunately, the other dog is inside your own mind. It’s that little voice that’s telling you to not apologize. You have to fight that little voice to get what you want. It won’t be easy, but I know you can do it. You might have to work up to it. Start with just saying nice things to Nora and not saying bad things about the park. Maybe drop in a nice word or two about the park, too. Then you can work up to apologizing.” David explained. Tristan listened closely, amazed at the pearls of wisdom this boy carried. He nodded slowly, understanding what the boy was saying.

Nora began moving the group to the next part of the zoo, catching both of the boys’ attention. “Come on,” David said, turning towards the group. “We have to get up to the front so that you can start making friends with Nora.” he finished, taking Tristan’s hand a pulling him along. Tristan sighed and followed him.

And now began the process of reconciliation… Tristan was not looking forward to it.

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?