Mom normally teaches us once she gets home, or she'll have a friend of hers come to the house, and teach us. Her name is Mrs. Stacy, she's a small woman, I mean really small, she says she's a midget. She's really pretty though, she's got short brown, pixie cut hair, a young smile, with joyful brown eyes, and she's really patient with Marco, and I.

Today (which is about two weeks after the ice cream store visit) when I woke up, and everyone else is at school. Alex is beside me, he's filled up again, no longer see through, and has explained to me several times that he is not a ghost.

"Then what are you?" I asked him

"I guess I'm an angle." He said shrugging his shoulders.

No one else can see Alex but me, and Mama says that he's an imaginary friend. I don't know what that is, but I don't know if he is that.

I told Alex about the man who I saw at the park, as soon as I got home, he looked scared, and hasn't left my side sense. (Except for when I'm in the bathroom.)

Once we did get home from the Ice cream store Jasper talked to Mama in really quiet voices, I could still hear them though, but left to go play Mario Kart with Jason. (He won.)

Clyde got home really late, in a different uniform then what he was in at the ice cream store.

He didn't want to talk about today, he just said he was tired. I know I'm just a kid, but he really does need to fluff his pillow more, I borrowed it one day, and I have no idea how he sleeps on it.

Alex says he doesn't sleep, that he just closes his eyes.

"Alex help me pick out my outfit." I say poking his nose, he's really good at that.

"Raven, left you some clothes on her bed."

"Why on her bed?"

"Because she forgot to put them on your bed." He mumbled sleepily.

"Are you sure you don't need sleep?" I asked going to the other side of the room, climbing up the ladder grabbing the clothes.

"I'm sure." He said.

"Okay buddy boy." I said walking to the bathroom.

Raven had laid out a dark purple long sleeved shirt, a black sweater, and jeans.

"You dropped your socks." Alex calls from outside the door.

"What are they today?" I ask hopeful.

"Spirited Away."
"YES!" I yell excitedly opening the door, grabbing the socks, from the 'angles' hand, and closing the door getting ready for the day.

When I got downstairs everyone was there, bustling around the kitchen like crazy. It's not Saturday is it? Alex didn't look shocked, when I gave him a shocked look, in fact he looked pleased.

"What's going on?" I asked to no one in particular.

"WE'RE GOING TO A ZOO!" Marco yelled, but then immediately began coughing.

My mouth hung open.

A zoo. A ZOO!

"Get some food M.J." Clyde told me, pulling me into the kitchen, as Mama ran over to Marco, giving him some water, and rubbing on his back.

"We've got a long walk."

I never knew a zoo could be so big, I didn't even know how big animals could be too. Clyde lifted me up on his shoulders, and Jasper lifted up Marco on his shoulders giving Jason a few teases, asking him if he needed a lift too.

"Bastard." I heard Jason mumble.

"I may be short but I'm tall enough to kick your as-butt at Mario Kart."

Jasper made a sort of offended over dramatic gasp.

"You take that back."

"I would but it's so high above me that I can't reach it." Jasper said making jumping iwht his left hand in the air looking like he was trying to catch something.

"Let's go to the Penguins." Eloise said pointing at the map with the other girls.

"Lions!" Clyde said.

Alex smirked, and let out an actual lion roar.

"Wolves." Alex said his big brown eyes looking up at m with gleam.

"Wolves?" I asked my head tilting.

"I like that idea." Mama said to me,

"Wolves, birds, and then the Penguins."

Eloise groaned.

"The wolves are close Eloise." Mama said,

"Fine." She groaned, giving me a dirty look.

"Don't take it personal M.J." Clyde, and Alex said at the same time.

The wolves, or the gray wolves, were so pretty. There was a big pact of them. The alpha was a big wolf with dark brown highlights in his fur.

Eloise got bored of the wolves quickly, and begged Mama to go see the penguins.

"See if anyone wants to go with you." She sighed.

Raven, and Jason went with her.

I don't know why but I couldn't take my eyes off the wolves, how they were all this one big family.

"Do you want to say hello to them?" Alex asked me.

I nodded.

"One moment." He said, rubbing his hands together. Then he disappeared

Looking into the sanctuary I saw him there, approaching a wolf, talking to it but, I didn't know what he was saying, then he pointed at me. The wolf looked at me, and went closer to the glass that separated us. Clyde set me down just as others came to look at her.

"She says Hello." Alex said from the other side of the glass, smiling at me, my heart skipped a beat.

I waved at the wolf, she rubbed the side of her head on the glass, then licked my hand before returning to the pact.

Alex was beside me in a moment, pulling me away from the crowd.

"Thank you." I said to him.

"No problem she's a very affectionate pup, in human years she'd be around Ravens, and Eloises age."

"Really?" I said looking back at the wolf, the pact was getting closer to the window.

"I'll have to come back later, and give them some proper meat." Alex said looking at the pact.

"Can I come?"

"Maybe."

We met up with the other three after the birds. Marco really loved them, and I guess they all liked him too. When we came into the sanctuary we were given some bird food, and then like magic birds everywhere around all of us, I gave Marco my food because I got really scared when one got close to me, and hid behind Alex, who chuckled at me.

Anyway, once we got to the Penguins Eloise was feeding one with a zookeeper, and she looked happy. Really happy, that's something I didn't see a lot, and it shocked me.

I wanted to get her a penguin plush at the store.

"Mama." I said tugging on the dark young womans sleeve.
"Hm?" She said looking down at me.
"Can we get Eloise a Penguin stuffed animal at the store?"

She thought for a moment, then wagged her finger like she did at the store, mumbling to herself for another moment.

"I guess." She said

"What do you want from the store?" She said looking at me.

I didn't want anything honestly, it already seemed like I had so much, and I was afraid of being greedy.

"Nothing." I said, rushing back over to Clyde, who was sitting on a stone bench.

Then we saw the fishes, Rose loved the manatees, telling me that they were once mistaken for mermaids.

Then we saw the alligators Rose smirked like she was going to start trouble with them.

Then we saw the bears, Graciela put her face up to the glass as the big brown bear went by, looking at her like she was crazy, it came up to her even looking a little worried.

Then we saw the chimpanzees Avril, Marco, and I acted like monkeys in front of them getting them a little riled up, getting Clyde to join in only for a moment though, before Mama pulled us away to see the Gorillas.

At the end of the day, we went to go see the Lions, it was the last thing that we hadn't seen that day.

Alex was holding my hand, looking around carefully like he was expecting to see someone. I looked around with him, thinking maybe I could help, that the person would be looking for him as well.

We got there, and Clydes face lit up like a Christmas tree, it was brighter than Ameras.

Alex looked like he was going to cry, so I squeezed his hand a little harder.

The lions were spilt up into two separate compartments, one was with the older lions, and the other (which was smaller) had the mother, and her two cubs.

I could tell Lions were Alexs, and Clydes favorite animal just by the way they looked at them, and dragged behind when we started to leave, like we had all done with our animals.

The gift shop was a blur, I hung out with Alex, and Raven outside nearly falling asleep on her. When we had to leave Alex made a move like he was going to carry me, but didn't. Looking disappointed he shoved his hands into his jean pockets, looking at the ground as Clyde picked me up, and fell asleep.

When I woke up in my bed was a small Wolf stuffed animal, with a male lion beside him.