Link to Chapter 1: https://steemit.com/story/@justephen1/justin-time-mystery-science-fiction-novel
Link to Previous Section: https://steemit.com/novel/@justephen1/58x4h-justin-time-mystery-science-fiction-novel
Justin Time
Chapter Two: The Zoo
The next morning, Katherine sat Justin on his bed. “You need to be careful of strangers and don’t listen to them.”
“Why not?” asked Justin.
“Sometimes they try to trick you with their words.”
“Like the man in my room?”
“Yes dear.”
“Okay mommy. I will not listen to strangers. They will try to trick me.”
Both William and Katherine took the day off from work as it was their anniversary and they wanted to spend the evening alone. Sunday was usually a big day for William at his restaurant because they had a wonderful champagne brunch. Because of the special occasion, William was able to take the day off. They had decided to celebrate their anniversary at home and William was going to make a fabulous meal. William spent the rest of the morning and afternoon shopping and preparing for their anniversary dinner.
Katherine had other plans. She decided to take Justin and his best friend Blair, to the zoo. Katherine called Blair’s mom, Francis and made sure Blair was available. Katherine went back up to Justin’s room. Katherine grinned. “Justin dear, I have a surprise for you today”
“What mommy?” asked Justin.
“I am going to take you and Blair to the zoo today.”
“Awesome!” he yelled as he jumped out of his bed. He was so excited he jumped back on his bed and danced around.
“I am going to the zoo-oo. I am going to the zoo-oo. When are we leaving?”
“As soon as you get dressed, eat breakfast and then brush your teeth.”
“Okay, I will be ready in five minutes.” he said racing down the stairs, through the family room and into the kitchen. He sat at the breakfast nook to his awaiting bowl of cereal. Almost every morning Katherine would make breakfast before she woke Justin.
“Slow down honey. We’re not trying to break any records here.”
“I’ll bet you I can finish this bowl of cereal with just ten big spoonfuls.” he challenged her.
Shaking her head, Katherine put her hands on her hips. “No you can’t. The spoon is too small and so is your mouth.”
“Oh yeah? If I win, I get a chocolate dipped ice cream cone after lunch.”
“And what if you lose?” she challenged.
“I will keep my room clean for one week.”
“You are supposed to do that anyway” she said.
“Okay then.” He was trying to think of something else. “Okay, I will do the dishes for a week.”
Katherine knew he wouldn’t do a very good job and will need supervision, however she appreciated the thought. “You have yourself a bet, but just ten spoonfuls and don’t choke.” she said.
With the challenge on, Justin took his ten spoonfuls and he hadn’t yet even finished half of it. “I won!” cheered Katherine.
“I am not finished yet.”
“But you said...” as she was about to finish her words, Justin picked up the bowl, placed it to his lips and started drinking from the bowl. “Hey...you can’t...”
Justin finished the bowl of cereal and said with a smile, “I only took ten spoonfuls.”
Out witted, she just rolled her eyes and said, “Do you want vanilla or chocolate ice cream?”
Thirty minutes later, they picked up Justin’s best friend, Blair and arrived at the zoo. Blair Windham was a short boy with blond hair and freckles who was known for having unusually accurate intuition. It was a warm September day and an occasional leaf of yellow, orange or brown from the park trees would gently fall to the cobblestone pavement. The warm sun shined brightly above them as they entered the zoo park.
Justin asked to go directly to the monkeys, while Blair wanted to see the old tortoise.
“That tortoise is really old. He is the oldest living thing in the zoo.” exclaimed Blair.
“Boring, boring, boring...he just sits there and never moves. The monkeys are the smartest and they are playful. Let’s go there first.” said Justin.
“We will go clockwise around the park.” commanded Katherine. “That way we can see most of the animals before we leave. We will see them both. The monkeys we will see towards the end as they are on the right side of the park and we will be starting to the left.”
They first encountered the aviaries hosting a wide variety of birds. Justin and Blair loved the bright colors of the exotic birds. They both agreed that the Polynesian Lorikeets were the coolest. Not only because of their spectacular colors, but the uniqueness of their brush tipped tongues.
“I wish I could fly.” said Justin. “Someday I will. Right mom?”
“Knowing you dear, you will figure it out.”
“Really?” said Blair.
“Really!” said Justin.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” said Blair.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” responded Justin.
“Justin, stop acting like a smart aleck.” ordered Katherine.
“It is better than acting like a dumb aleck.” countered Justin.
“Justiiiiin?” Katherine said sternly glaring at him.
“Okay mommy, I’m sorry.” said Justin.
Before lunch they visited the lions, cheetahs, tigers, elephants, hippopotamuses and finally the turtles.
“Look at Winston.” said Blair pointing at the 919-pound tortoise. “He is the oldest animal here.”
“He is boring.” remarked Justin wanting to move on.
“He was alive during the United States Civil War!” Blair countered.
“How do you know that?” said Justin questioning the legitimacy of his friends claim.
“I just do.” answered Blair smugly.
“Is he that old mom? And when was the Civil War? What was the Civil War about?”
“One question at a time son. Let’s have lunch and I will explain it while we are eating.” said Katherine.
They all sat at a small table surrounded by the comfortably close food courtyard. She brought them a foot long hot dog, French fries and a drink before she started.
“Okay. The Civil War was a war in the United States between the North and the South. It started in 1861 and ended in 1865. The north was called the Union and the South was called the confederates and....”
She continued for about 20 minutes and the boys found it quite fascinating. Finally, they were ready to get started again.
“But mom.” remembered Justin, “How do we know that the tortoise Winston is that old?”
“I don’t dear.” She asked Blair, “How do you know that Winston was alive during the Civil War dear?”
Blair started to giggle. “Because the sign next to his cage said he was.” Holding his belly, he laughed.
Both Katherine and Justin smiled and shook their heads. “Okay, let’s see some more animals.” said Katherine.
More will be posted in a few days.
Justephen