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Description
The following day, the girl called Tiger experienced what it meant to live at The Zoo for the first time.

During the week, The Zoo was open to the public, so that everyone could see the modern marvels of genetics and evolution. Adults and children alike passed by the cages with seemingly judgmental eyes. Tiger had nowhere to hide in the sparsely decorated cage, so all she could do was turn her head to avoid their gaze. Becoming quickly self-conscious, she covered her chest, otherwise only covered by her striped fur, with her arms as best as she could.

Looking at the other cages, she saw most of the other Big Cats just laying around, ignoring their audience. Puma would occasionally growl in anger, and Panther would jump from the decorative branches to scare the onlookers. Lion, on the other hand, waved to passers by, wearing a forced smile.

As the day grew late and the crowd died down, one young girl walked by the cages with her mother. Looking at Tiger, the child's eyes went wide, and a brilliant smile adorned her face. "Mommy, she's so pretty!" The child shouted for all to hear. "Mommy, can I be a tiger when I grow up, too? Pretty please!"

It was enough to make Tiger approach the bars of the cage, ready to lecture this girl about the evils of the world. Had Panther not shouted her name to stop her, she would have done just that. When the loud and rambling girl left with her mother, Panther explained why he had to stop her. "Look above you." He said, pointing up to the ceiling. In the corner of the room was a camera, no doubt feeding directly to The Zookeeper. "The animals are to be seen, not heard. I don't want you to have to experience a punishment like that."

The Zoo closed near dusk. The only people left walking around were the animal handlers and the custodial staff.

Tiger heard a click on her door, earlier than she'd heard it the last two nights. Rather than allowing her egress, it instead allowed the entrance of a medium-sized man with short brown hair. He pushed a cart of various cleaning supplies, which put her mind at some ease. Still, after today's experiences, she felt troubled by his presence.

"Oh, no need to be scared. I won't touch you. I'm just hear to... you know... clean?" He said, awkwardly motioning to the cart behind him.

"Sean, she's had a tough day, leave her be." Panther said from his spot lying in his bed.

"Right, of course." The uniformed man nodded, returning to his cart. "By the way, my name's Sean, as your friend said. So... did you... um..." Awkwardly, again, he held out what looked like a dust pan and a large tool for scooping something. Realizing quickly what he meant, Tiger motioned towards the corner of the cage. "Oh, the corner, cool." As he went about his work, he rambled on about this and that. "Puma sometimes just lets it fall wherever in the cage when she's in a bad mood. It's pretty gross for me, honestly. Gotta be gross for her too. One of these days I'll just... heh, forget to clean her cage. Teach her a lesson, you know?"

He returned everything to the cart, getting ready to push it away. "You know, I'm not a bad guy. I ended up at The Zoo because of some crap decisions too. I payed for my degree in Mathematics with a shady loan, sponsored by The Zookeeper's non-profit cover. I couldn't pay it back, so here I am. Not as tragic as your story, I'm sure, but at least it wasn't bad enough to warrant your fate." Finishing his story, he motioned to the camera, causing the familiar click on the door.

With the door slammed shut, Tiger could swear she could hear a small voice, barely a whisper, coming from Lion's cage. "Stupid, it's not that bad."

At night, the Big Cats all did their own thing. The Jaguars mentioned that the Polar Bears got their handler to give them a deck of cards, so they would all play some poker together. Lion approached Panther about something, and the two of them wandered off. Puma vanished like always.

Tiger knew what she would do today. She returned to the place she had been yesterday, the one that had affected her mood so greatly. She looked through the bars of the cage, seeing the girl called Pig sleeping, albeit restlessly. As she stared, the other girl standing there spoke up.

"She reminds me of my younger sister." Puma said candidly. "I know she's not her, but she just looks so familiar.

"A long time ago, before any of this ever existed, I had a small family. My no good mother ran off when I was young, chased some other man. My dad would cry, which we thought was so lame, but he told us to never be like her. Never abandon our family.

"When I was about 12, I think, my family was in a car accident. A semi truck came rushing down the freeway, headed the wrong direction. My dad couldn't get us out of the way, because some asshole was panicking in the other lane. It hit us head on. My dad died instantly.

"My sister was pretty beat up, but I was fine except from some scratches. So I pulled her from the car and laid her down. I didn't know what else to do, so I used my jacket as a pillow for her. Pretty dumb, right?" Puma laughed weakly, pausing for just a moment.

"The man driving the semi truck jumped out, not a scratch on the bastard. He was drinking something, probably beer now that I think about it. He staggered over to us, mumbling something. He said..." She hesitated once more, but the emotion she held back was much stronger. Knowing she could hold back her tears, Puma continued. "He said I was cute, and he'd deal with me later. He tossed me aside, and I was so shaken that I could barely move. I couldn't move a single muscle as I watched that drunk asshole kill my sister.

"He walked over to me, but I don't remember what he said. Too fucking traumatizing for me, I guess. Luckily, a cop showed up at the last moment. Shot him in the leg and cuffed him. The cop walked over to me, made sure I was okay. Do you know who that person was, Tiger? The name of the cop who saved my life?" Puma stopped, looking intently at Tiger. "I don't know what his name was back then, but today, he's called The Zookeeper."

Puma walked away slowly, escalating to a run when she thought she was out of sight. She probably couldn't handle telling any more of her story, as Tiger really didn't think she could handle hearing any more. She collapsed to her knees, sympathetic tears streaming down her face. She only looked up once, seeing the face of the Pig girl, with the same tears running from her eyes with no end.

She would spend the whole night in front of that cage, until finally the Jaguars walked by and escorted her back home. Tiger slept well through the next day, to the dismay of her captivated audience.

Description
The following day, the girl called Tiger experienced what it meant to live at The Zoo for the first time.

During the week, The Zoo was open to the public, so that everyone could see the modern marvels of genetics and evolution. Adults and children alike passed by the cages with seemingly judgmental eyes. Tiger had nowhere to hide in the sparsely decorated cage, so all she could do was turn her head to avoid their gaze. Becoming quickly self-conscious, she covered her chest, otherwise only covered by her striped fur, with her arms as best as she could.

Looking at the other cages, she saw most of the other Big Cats just laying around, ignoring their audience. Puma would occasionally growl in anger, and Panther would jump from the decorative branches to scare the onlookers. Lion, on the other hand, waved to passers by, wearing a forced smile.

As the day grew late and the crowd died down, one young girl walked by the cages with her mother. Looking at Tiger, the child's eyes went wide, and a brilliant smile adorned her face. "Mommy, she's so pretty!" The child shouted for all to hear. "Mommy, can I be a tiger when I grow up, too? Pretty please!"

It was enough to make Tiger approach the bars of the cage, ready to lecture this girl about the evils of the world. Had Panther not shouted her name to stop her, she would have done just that. When the loud and rambling girl left with her mother, Panther explained why he had to stop her. "Look above you." He said, pointing up to the ceiling. In the corner of the room was a camera, no doubt feeding directly to The Zookeeper. "The animals are to be seen, not heard. I don't want you to have to experience a punishment like that."

The Zoo closed near dusk. The only people left walking around were the animal handlers and the custodial staff.

Tiger heard a click on her door, earlier than she'd heard it the last two nights. Rather than allowing her egress, it instead allowed the entrance of a medium-sized man with short brown hair. He pushed a cart of various cleaning supplies, which put her mind at some ease. Still, after today's experiences, she felt troubled by his presence.

"Oh, no need to be scared. I won't touch you. I'm just hear to... you know... clean?" He said, awkwardly motioning to the cart behind him.

"Sean, she's had a tough day, leave her be." Panther said from his spot lying in his bed.

"Right, of course." The uniformed man nodded, returning to his cart. "By the way, my name's Sean, as your friend said. So... did you... um..." Awkwardly, again, he held out what looked like a dust pan and a large tool for scooping something. Realizing quickly what he meant, Tiger motioned towards the corner of the cage. "Oh, the corner, cool." As he went about his work, he rambled on about this and that. "Puma sometimes just lets it fall wherever in the cage when she's in a bad mood. It's pretty gross for me, honestly. Gotta be gross for her too. One of these days I'll just... heh, forget to clean her cage. Teach her a lesson, you know?"

He returned everything to the cart, getting ready to push it away. "You know, I'm not a bad guy. I ended up at The Zoo because of some crap decisions too. I payed for my degree in Mathematics with a shady loan, sponsored by The Zookeeper's non-profit cover. I couldn't pay it back, so here I am. Not as tragic as your story, I'm sure, but at least it wasn't bad enough to warrant your fate." Finishing his story, he motioned to the camera, causing the familiar click on the door.

With the door slammed shut, Tiger could swear she could hear a small voice, barely a whisper, coming from Lion's cage. "Stupid, it's not that bad."

At night, the Big Cats all did their own thing. The Jaguars mentioned that the Polar Bears got their handler to give them a deck of cards, so they would all play some poker together. Lion approached Panther about something, and the two of them wandered off. Puma vanished like always.

Tiger knew what she would do today. She returned to the place she had been yesterday, the one that had affected her mood so greatly. She looked through the bars of the cage, seeing the girl called Pig sleeping, albeit restlessly. As she stared, the other girl standing there spoke up.

"She reminds me of my younger sister." Puma said candidly. "I know she's not her, but she just looks so familiar.

"A long time ago, before any of this ever existed, I had a small family. My no good mother ran off when I was young, chased some other man. My dad would cry, which we thought was so lame, but he told us to never be like her. Never abandon our family.

"When I was about 12, I think, my family was in a car accident. A semi truck came rushing down the freeway, headed the wrong direction. My dad couldn't get us out of the way, because some asshole was panicking in the other lane. It hit us head on. My dad died instantly.

"My sister was pretty beat up, but I was fine except from some scratches. So I pulled her from the car and laid her down. I didn't know what else to do, so I used my jacket as a pillow for her. Pretty dumb, right?" Puma laughed weakly, pausing for just a moment.

"The man driving the semi truck jumped out, not a scratch on the bastard. He was drinking something, probably beer now that I think about it. He staggered over to us, mumbling something. He said..." She hesitated once more, but the emotion she held back was much stronger. Knowing she could hold back her tears, Puma continued. "He said I was cute, and he'd deal with me later. He tossed me aside, and I was so shaken that I could barely move. I couldn't move a single muscle as I watched that drunk asshole kill my sister.

"He walked over to me, but I don't remember what he said. Too fucking traumatizing for me, I guess. Luckily, a cop showed up at the last moment. Shot him in the leg and cuffed him. The cop walked over to me, made sure I was okay. Do you know who that person was, Tiger? The name of the cop who saved my life?" Puma stopped, looking intently at Tiger. "I don't know what his name was back then, but today, he's called The Zookeeper."

Puma walked away slowly, escalating to a run when she thought she was out of sight. She probably couldn't handle telling any more of her story, as Tiger really didn't think she could handle hearing any more. She collapsed to her knees, sympathetic tears streaming down her face. She only looked up once, seeing the face of the Pig girl, with the same tears running from her eyes with no end.

She would spend the whole night in front of that cage, until finally the Jaguars walked by and escorted her back home. Tiger slept well through the next day, to the dismay of her captivated audience.