Young Writers Society

When you walk into the zoo a feeling of freshness fills your lungs. You look around wondering where to go first. You decide to quickly go round the main park before it gets hot. You stop at every exhibit. Always something incredible. Something you’d never see anywhere in the wild of South Africa. Crawling, rolling South American armadillos. Their shields up. No weapons, just protection. No want to fight, no need to fight. And as you watch them roll and tumble you spot through a window the sad face of a tiger.

It was the first day of Grade 8 at Marc Hutton High and the freezing cold of Winter was finally starting to thaw. Although Steven wore a heavy jacket he shivered as he walked into the school. As he timidly walked down the hallway he could see his misty breath in front of his face. He tried to keep his head high as he walked into his new classroom, but he felt confused and lost. He looked around the classroom searching for a familiar face but, he saw nobody that he knew. He had told his mother it would be like this but she had insisted that the schools his friends were going to were horrible. He didn’t believe her for a second. The only reason she wanted him to go to this school was that his uncle was the football coach. God, he hated football. He looked out the window, trying to stare clearly through the frosted panes, but everything seemed a blur. He saw the other kids had already formed some type of groups. A group of big muscly kids stood in the right corner. Most of the girls stood next to the door looking at their reflections in handheld mirrors and whispering gossip. He put down his bag next to a desk marked Steven in the fourth row. “That’s my place, chump,” a deep voice startled him.

“No. This desk is marked St-” 

He turned around. He was looking into the face of a bully. The meaty muscly build of a future football star enshadowed him. He recognized him as the kid that terrorized the next block down the road. One encounter was enough for a lifetime. He could almost hear his mother’s voice saying, Maybe he’s changed, but he couldn’t (wouldn’t) believe that. “Steven. That’s right.” 

He couldn’t believe it. His worst nightmare had come true. Steven Hofmeyr was in his class. “Sorry. I’ll go sit somewhere else.”

“You bet you will. Get moving ass,” Hofmeyr said and slapped him on the bottom. 

He squeaked in painful surprise. “Faggot,” the bully said and walked back triumphantly to his laughing friends. 

He felt the whole class look at him at the mention of that last word. He wished he would disappear as he picked up his bag and walked back to the front of the class to look for his seat. Eventually, he found his seat in the second row, but there were a group of kids huddled around it. He tapped one of the bent-over members of the group on the shoulder and said, “Sorry to bother you.” The girl’s golden blonde hair whipped past him as she spun around to face him. “No need to worry.” He looked into her metal grey irises for a few seconds before the girl spoke again, “Sorry where are my manners? It’s nice to meet you…”

“Steven,” he said.

“I’m Felicia.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Felicia,” he said, looking down at his feet shyly, “I’m sorry to say I think this is my desk.”

“Would you like us to move,” Felicia said politely.

“May I join?”

“Oh right. Sure. No familiar faces here either.”

“You don’t know anyone here,” he asked surprised.

“Not until this morning.”

“I haven’t seen you before either. Are you from around these parts?”

“No. My dad’s a trucker and he all of a sudden decided the bridge across the Orange River wasn’t good enough. So we had to move to this godforsaken town.”

She giggled sweetly, before asking, “Where do you live?”

“26th & 27th West.”

“Then you know Steve Hofmeyr all too well.”

“He really is just a big bloke.”

“Well, he’s standing right there in the group of muscly kids.”

“Not at school too,” she said, visibly upset.

“Why? What did he do to you?”

“He stole my shirt and dumped garbage on it. I had to dig through the garbage,” she shivered, but continued to speak, “And put on my dirty, seeping wet, smelly clothes and walk all the way home.”

“Was that the first time?”

“Yep. How about you? You ever gotten caught by his gang?”

“That's pretty harsh for the first time. And yes, I've had the pleasure."

“What happened to you?”

“They hung me from a tree limb by my underwear. Drew on my face with a permanent marker  and covered me with toilet paper.”

“What did you do?”

“Eventually the branch snapped so I ran home and told my mom.”

“What did she say?”

“That I should avoid the neighbourhood.”

Felicia covered her face dramatically and let out a long sigh. “Don’t worry. You could wait out the afternoons at my house. We live in 24th & 25th East.”

“Could I really?”

“Of course. My parents would be only too happy to help you.”

“You sure,” she said as they finally started walking back to the group. 

The bell rang and he answered her quickly, “I’m sure.”

So you run to the wild catteries, determined to cheer up a tiger. Once your little legs can’t run anymore you stop and take a breath. You look around and enter the catteries. The tiger is looking away from you and you call out to it. “Come here, kitty, kitty.” But when it comes you can’t seem to make it smile and profoundly you walk away. The cougar is much closer than the tiger and you jump in joy as you see its lolled out tongue ready to lick itself.

Steven fidgeted with the envelope as he walked around the school in search of Felicia. Steven’s flowing brown hair was trimmed back for their eleventh-grade prize giving. He walked around the corner and saw her in the midst of a group of girls. He took a deep breath, put the envelope in his pocket and tried to walk as confidently as he could. “Felicia,” he said as he got closer, he felt everyone’s eyes turn to him, “I need to talk to you. In private.” He led her back around the corner.

“What is it,” she asked, curious as to why he wanted her.

“You’ll see,” he said and handed her the envelope. She opened it up quickly and read the letter.

Two clues you must find

A special award awaits

Look where we first ate

“A scavenger hunt?”

“And we only have half an hour before school starts.”

“Well, then we better get going,” she said and started to think about the clue, “Where we first ate. Where we first ate. Where we first ate. I got it! The flowerbeds.”

Steven ran around the other side of the school building with her. “Since we only have so much time I can give you a verbal clue.”

“Go for it.”

“Swing and climb and jump and climb.”

“Huh?”

“Swing and climb and jump and climb,” he said more slowly.

“Climb. Walls. The fence. No.”

“The junge gym. A tree,” she said and looked up at a white envelope nooked into a gap in the bark. She stood on her tiptoes and stretched her arm out, trying to reach it. She felt the envelope but missed it. She swung her arms and stretched as far as she could. She brushed it just hard enough and the letter fluttered down through the air, eventually coming to a stop at the foot of the tree. She quickly opened it and saw three small pictures. A gate. A rubbish bin. An owl. “This has something to do with Mr Kliente’s assembly. Doesn’t it,” Felicia said. Steven just shrugged. She walked quickly to the teacher’s parking lot where their principal, Mr Kleinte supposedly saw an owl and looked in the big black dustbin, but it was completely empty. “Where’s that verbal clue?”

“Under where the ant’s crawl.”

“Ant’s crawl,” she said confused and he shrugged again, “Underground. Under something on the ground. Under the bin on the ground.” She lifted up the bin and to her surprise, the white envelope lay there, enclosed with a pink ribbon. Excited to finally see her surprise she untied the ribbon and read the letter. A medal or two for you, it said. “What,” she said, this clue didn’t make sense at all. John suddenly started to walk away, “Sorry Felicia. I have to take care of something. Just remember. Go where good art draws.”

She still didn’t understand, but she thought the art room was worth a try. She quickly ran into the school and dashed to the left. She walked as fast as she could towards the end of the corridor and eventually spied the big metal door. She opened it hurriedly and saw Mrs Patterson sorting through the week’s work. “Sorry to bother you, Mrs Patterson, but is there any chance you saw Steve Linton come here anytime in the last few days.”

“Not since your art lesson last Tuesday,” she said in a kind tone.

“That’s disappointing," she said confused and asked hopefully, "Sorry to ask more of you, but do you know what this means? Go where good art draws.”

“Give me a second. Uhhh… You had to draw those pencils for me. They’re still up in the foyer.”

“Medals. The hall,” she muttered under her breath.

She quickly said, “Thank you for your help, Mrs Patterson,” and ran out the door. 

She checked her watch. 6 minutes till the start of the school day. She saw the foyer and started to slow down. She wondered if this was the right place. She saw the pencils, her own first in the row and stopped at the hall door. “Please be right,” she whispered and opened the door. The lights came on and she walked in. She saw Steven standing in the centre of the room, holding a bouquet in one hand and a box of chocolates in the other. She ran to him, resisting her instinct to hug him and shout “Yes!”. He looked at her in a way that made her feel special and loved, waiting patiently as that fantastical gaze strolled across her body. She remembered the first time she had felt that way. That day, oh so long ago, when she had felt his hand cross hers, that feeling of protection as he guided her to safety overwhelmed her senses. Making her feel like a princess of old carried out the castle. Safe and protected. Knowing now, that no dragon could hurt her. “Felicia,” he said and her eyes started to tear up, “Do you have time for a dinner next week Saturday?”

“Yes, Steven, of course, I do,” she said and hugged him, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks. “I loved every second of it and I can’t wait to be your girlfriend.”

“Why don’t we start right now?”

“Ok,” she said, wiping her dripping tears away. Steven handed her a tissue and she dabbed her eyes clean. She felt the words “I love you” bottled in her throat, wanting to be let out, but it was too early for that. “Let’s be girlfriend and boyfriend,” she said and he pulled her in tightly.

You leave behind the catteries and skip along the dog walk, whistling as you go. The Grey Wolf foams at the mouth he’s so happy to see you and you try to froth a little for him. He howls. You howl. And after a while of being a little wolf pup, you give up. The wolf in his litterbox, you slink away. You decide it’s hot when you finally break into a sweat. You walk slowly, but quicker than before. Trying desperately to finish the loop before you run out of time. You stop only once in those last few minutes. You watch quickly outside the Sable enclosure as they swing their majestic horns through the sky and then you carry on.

He knocked on the neat light brown door and waited nervously. The familiar sparsely wrinkled face of Felicia’s dad passed into the doorway, “Hi there, Steve. Here for your date?”

“Yes,” he said excitedly and held the bouquet of pink and white roses next to him so Mr Hall could see. He eyed the cockatiel's empty cage in the living room and he guessed Mr Cracker was upstairs with Felicia. “Those look beautiful. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled.”

He rubbed his hands together and shivered. His spine tingling in a nervous sensation. Steven pulled down the arms of his black tailored suit. He checked his patent leather shoes and saw one of the laces had come undone. The outfit alone had cost him half a year of savings and he was sure the night might cost even more. “Is Felicia ready?”

“She’s still a little busy powdering her nose upstairs. Why don’t you come in so long?”

He came in and walked towards the living room. He escorted Felicia home every day even though he wouldn’t be much use against Steve Hofmeyr and by now he knew the layout of the house. Mrs Hall smiled, “Hello,” as she pointed to a seat next to her on the couch.

“Hi, Mrs Hall.”

“You look so handsome tonight, Steven,” she said and asked abruptly, “What do you think when I say I knew this was going to happen?”

He stared at her confused and she explained, “The first day you brought Felicia home I was upstairs and although it was innocent, I saw you holding her hand. And I saw how her eyes twinkled and your chest heaved as you did so. To me, it was obvious from that day, the first day I ever met you and the first day you ever met each other.”

“I hope you don’t mind if we hold hands tonight.”

“Oh. I hope you do more than that.” 

He sat down and thought for a moment how to reply, but just as the words imprinted on his tongue, a steady, feminine voice called from behind him, “You guys done talking yet?”

He turned around and suppressed a surprised gasp. She wore a red strapless gown that flowed down to her ankles, her face sparkled with a rare hint of makeup. “You look beautiful,” he said and checked his silver-plated watch, “We leave, we don’t want to miss our reservation.” 

"A reservation. How fancy."

He got up off the couch and said shyly, “Have a good evening, Mrs Hall.”

“Good luck you two. Just remember, home by 11 or I'm setting my husband on you.”

He opened the front door for Felicia and gave Mr Hall a firm handshake before closing the door behind him, calling back, "I promise." Steven looked at the moon for a moment and listened to the busy sounds of the night. “It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?”

“It sure is,” she said, “Still remember where we’re going?”

“Where we went on our first date,” he said hopefully.

“I thought our first date was when you held my hand for the first time,” she said and her eyes twinkled.

“I wasn’t joking about that reservation. Let’s not miss it.” 

He opened the car door and she climbed into the passenger seat. He went around and got in the driver’s seat. He squeezed her hand delicately and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She hugged him, leaning her head on his lean, but broad shoulders, giving him a small peck on the lips as she pulled away slowly. He pulled out of the driveway, watching the rearview mirror carefully. His heart raced as the trees flashed by. He drove past the local petrol station and carefully look for an entrance to the restaurant's parking lot. He went around to open her door, sticking out his hand for her to grab. He locked the car and slid the keys back in his pocket, squeezing an arm around her waist. She leaned softly against him as they walked towards the restaurant. “Blue Moon Over Philippos! Seriously?”

“Of course, you love this place.”

She gave him another peck and he smiled back at her. Steven checked their reservation and they were herded to their table. The service was slow, but they had each other's company to keep them busy. And by the end of their dinner, their stomachs full of great food, they walked back to the car, lovingly holding each other. "So I guess that's it?"

“Come on, Felicia. It’s only 9 pm and I have another surprise for you. We’re going to the carnival!”

“Carnival?”

“Where the old zoo used to be. They have it for a month every year.”

“Can I first thank you for the dinner, Steve?”

“Don’t worry, Felicia. You being there was worth more than the stars in the sky.”

“I love you, Steven.”

“I love you too,” he said and Felicia kissed him. Her lips absorbed his in a loving frenzy. She whispered in his ear, “I love you so much.”

You finish the loop in the nick of time and run towards the cool, air-conditioned creepy-crawly house. Inside are a host of insects. You stare for many minutes at the butterfly box but come away dissatisfied, all the butterflies must be hidden away somewhere. The spider cage is full and squirming and you decide to go somewhere else. You see a weird-looking exhibit with tons of water. The dark black-ish blue worm is wriggling around in what space is not yet water. “Ca-ca-caeci-i-i-i,” you try to say the name on the information card, but you can't pronounce it properly. You try to memorize the word. Caecilian, you think and spell it out, “C-a-e-c-i-l-i-a-n.” And when you finally exit the creepy-crawly house. As the breath of fresh air parts from your lungs and you wave goodbye. You cry a little. And even if you don’t know anything else. You know one thing. You’ll always love going to the zoo.

Felicia heard something bang against the door. She carefully got up off the couch, trying not to make a noise. She slipped on a fluffy pair of bunny ear slippers and tiptoed to the door. Testing the wooden floor, making sure she didn’t step on a squeaky board. She heard the small whistling snores of her baby. Her heart pounded, her baby was in the house. There was another bang and she heard John whimper softly. “Shhh. Shhh. Mommy’s here. Mommy’s here.” She took another step towards the door and flicked open the peephole. She could see a man leaning against the palm tree, their hand searching for something on the ground. Drunk, she thought, Knockout drunk. She listened and watched making sure he didn’t come any closer. She heard the rattle of keys and watched sadly for the man as the keys popped out of hand, sliding somewhere out of his reach. “Dammit,” came the angered voice. And she recognized the voice. Steven. Steven’s back. Two days he’s gone and he comes back too drunk to stand. She tried to keep her mind away from her worries, tried to stay angry, but she couldn’t help herself. She was too hurt already. If he’s drunk then he’s angry. Then he’s really angry. She heard another bang and watched through the peephole as he pressed his body against the door. She saw his wedding ring squished far down on his little finger. You bastard. Drunk, disguising your marriage. Bastard. Damn you. But her heart rate increased even at the thought of those words. She was too hurt already. She heard the keys hit the keyhole and bounce off. Go. Go away. Come back once you’re not drunk. He tried again and she heard the key go in. One of his legs fell out from under him and he pulled on the door handle, but he couldn’t hold on and it snapped up loudly. She watched his forehead wrinkle as he concentrated on staying upright. She tiptoed quickly back to the couch and lay down quietly, worried he had noticed her. She turned over on her side and closed her eyes. Hoping he wouldn’t disturb her. She listened as the door opened and he dragged himself through. She heard a thud as he fell trying to pull himself up again and a rough scraping himself as he continued to drag himself across the floor. He carelessly pushed a chair out of his way, not caring that the noise could wake the baby and continued to crawl and stumble. Crawl. Stumble. Crawl. Stumble. Stumble. Crawl. The couch across the room made a soft plop as he pulled himself onto it. She could feel him staring at her, burning a hole in her back. “Whore,” he said and she clenched her eyes, “You stupid whore. Divorce. You thought divorce would scare me. We'll see what I say about that tomorrow.”