school trip (jay)

The next day, on the last week of school, Thia came running in through the door way ahead of the rest of us and went bounding straight for the lounge. Bursting in, grinning all the while and practically jumping for joy, the others noticed right away. "Someone's excited."

"We're going to the zoo tomorrow." She announced.

I laughed as I came in after her. "The last school trip before the summer."

"Oh. Well, you better make sure you got everything before then."

"Don't you need to get permission for stuff like that."

She rubbed the back of her head. "Err."

But then Zee just laughed. "Don't worry. Your dad was told about this weeks ago and gave permission then."

"Oh." It didn't really come as much of a surprise that she'd forget this until now. "Ok." In truth, she didn't have a great short-term memory.

"You might also wanna make sure" I pointed out "that you get a proper night's sleep and not stay up all night reading!"

She rubbed her head again, not bothering to ask how I knew. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"So, what do you need?"

She thought for a moment. "Erm…packed lunch…headphones…maybe a water bottle."

"A water bottle would be a great idea."

She and Brain smiled at each other like they were sharing some secret. No one else seemed to notice but I didn't think to question it. Those two were alike in a lot of ways. I let them have their moments.

Thia had always loved all animals—even wild and dangerous ones—and she'd never been to Nabula's zoo before, so it was understandable why she was so excited.

Still, that didn't stop her staying up a little late reading, as I was up before she was and decided to find something to watch on the hollo-screen while having breakfast until she got here. When I found something interesting though, I didn't get to enjoy it for long before she showed up. From the looks of it, a girl with kitty ears was being molested by a guy with scared eyes while listening out for a motorbike coming closer. I didn't get to see the climax however before someone behind me turned it off.

"7:30" Thia looked apologetic, standing there just beyond the doorway.

"I was kinda enjoying that." I said, gesturing towards the screen.

"Sorry. I just don't wanna be late."

Sid was standing by the window, looking out at the clouds. "Looks like a storm's coming."

I stared at her "Does that mean it's gonna be cancelled?"

"Aw." Thia complained "and I was really looking forward to it."

But Sid shook her head and smiled. "I doubt it'll be cancelled. It just might not be as fun. Just in case, you might wanna bring your hoodie."

She smiled. "Ok."

Of course she wouldn't need much persuading for that. She loves that hoodie. In addition to that, we did one final check just Before we left.

"Got your packed lunch?"

"Yep"

"Got your water bottle?"

"Yep."

"Got your key card?"

"Er" She double checked "Yep."

The zoo was on the other side of the city, farthest away from the base. It wasn't particularly unusual on long bus journeys for Thia to just sit with her headphones in looking out the window but she seemed a little more distracted. I rubbed it off as her still just being excited about the trip. She seemed her usual self again when we got off the bus and made it to the zoo's entrance. The trip was being led by one of her favourite T.As. A sign overhead read 'Nabula zoo' funny how it's pronounced 'na-boo-la' but spelt like a nebula.

Most of the day was spent just looking at ordinary animals but towards the end we started to see more…extra-terrestrial beasts. Giant Draguls with cages 5 times the size of us that could've torn us all apart if they were free; Gentle Franvers with their feathers and chicken-like wings; and at the very end, when the clouds began to darken, were creatures that at first glance would just pass as

"Just horses?"

Zaffin shook her head then nodded towards the creatures. "Look more carefully. If you see them at the right angle, you can spot their silken wings shimmering in the sun."

I looked at them again. It was hard to see but sure enough, if I looked very closely, I thought I could see a slight shimmer.

"Those things can fly." Thai said in wonder.

She nodded. "They're called Silqueens. Their wings can change texture. When they're not flying, they become silky and almost see through so they can pass as just ordinary horses. Their wings only really show when they're flying. When in times of danger their wings can become as hard as steel and raised in front of them to protect their face and their rider.

"But if they can fly," I asked "Why don't they just fly away?"

"Look closer. You see the fetters under their bellies? They hold the wings together."

"That's horrible." Thia looked at them in pity.

"It's necessary."

They were all white or gold or silver. Some of them were two of those colours. Some were all three. The two closest were a mother and her pure white foul. It looked relatively new-born. You could hardly see its wing at all. Thia reached out to try and stroke it but the shy creature whinnied away and hid behind its mother.

Soon after, the first raindrops started to fall so we all headed back to the bus in a hurry. I had a feeling Thia had enjoyed that trip better than I had.