by Karen L Mead
The picture of the apartment on the screen was palatial, with floor-to-ceiling windows showing off a grand view of the city park. The hardwood floors looked brand-new, like each plank of the flooring was from a tree just cut down the previous day, and the stately white pillars made the room look far more like a museum than a private home. In fact, the room looked similar to Eugene’s apartment, which she thought was probably one of the nicest in the entire city.
“No way,” she said, breaking away from Mike and Jay and continuing forward toward the elephant exhibit.
“C’mon, you’re not paying for it,” said Mike.
“Exactly. It’s not my money,” she said, moving aside to let a woman with a stroller pass in between them. “I don’t need to make Eugene pay for the Taj Mahal of studio apartments.”
Mike kept pace with her, his attention still mainly focused on the tablet. She wondered if he would ever slam into a tree like he deserved, or if he was just one of those bizarre people who really could walk and do something else perfectly at the same time.
“But Eugene doesn’t care, right? You could ask for a place that costs $800 a month or $8,000 a month, it’s all chump change to him.”
“Still, it’s not right,” she said, crossing her arms. She smiled as a little girl in overalls waved at her with a toy elephant on a stick from across the path.
Besides, I AM going to pay for some of it. And if I get a cheap apartment, I may even be able to pay half the rent, or close to that at least.
“I wish I could get my own apartment,” Jay said wistfully. “I could throw killer parties and everything.”
Mike looked up from his tablet to exchange a slightly pained glance with Cassie; both were a little afraid of what Jay’s version of a “killer” party would be like.
“Well, you just need to get yourself bonded to a demon, so that your family is in danger just by you living there. Then you’ll have an excuse to move out,” said Cassie softly, as they walked past a cart selling plush elephant toys. They were almost at the elephant exhibit now.
Jay gave her a peeved look. “Um, my family IS in danger, remember? My mom just got out of the hospital three weeks ago.”
“Oh, bring out the aloe vera for that one,” said Mike quietly, while Cassie felt the heat rise to her face. She thought about how to respond as a troop of kindergartners walked past them, pulled along by tired-looking chaperones.
“That crazy witch is gone,” Cassie whispered, “and that was a one-time thing. No one’s going to go after your mom.”
“Uh-huh,” said Jay, tossing his unfinished ice cream cone in the trash. He sounded less than convinced.
“Can you see Teddy?” Madison Clarke’s high-pitched voice cut through the air, nearly making Cassie wince, even though she was used to it by now. “Can you see him? Can you see him?”
“Does she ever shut her dumb face?” Cassie mumbled as they pulled up to the fence at the elephant exhibit.
Teddy was the latest addition to the Sterling Zoo, the zoo’s pride and joy. The only elephant ever born on the premises, he’d become an online sensation; people from all over the world were hitting the zoo’s website to see the videos of Baby Teddy learning to walk and use his tiny trunk. Now, approaching three months old, he still hadn’t made a public appearance at the elephant enclosure; they were keeping him inside, safe from prying eyes and a million cameras.
Jay shrugged as he leaned his weight against the fence. “I don’t blame her, I wanna see Teddy too.”
“We’re not going to see him today. They’re going to keep him inside, where it’s safe,” said Cassie.
“Actually…I think we might see him today,” said Mike, keeping his voice low so only Jay and Cassie could hear him.
“Really?” Jay asked hopefully.
Looking both ways to make sure no one was nearby, Mike continued sharing his privileged information. “They want to get him outside in front of people a few times before they do his big public debut, to get him used to seeing people. A slow weekday like today is a good time to try it, since there are fewer people and he won’t get overwhelmed by the crowds.”
While Jay beamed, Cassie narrowed her eyes at him. “How do you know this? Did you hack into the zoo’s emails or something?” she whispered.
Mike carefully put the tablet in his messenger bag, then leaned against the wooden railing next to Jay. “Technically yes, but that’s not how I know. I heard two of the keepers talking this morning, right after we got off the bus.”
“You’re like the James Bond of useless information,” Cassie said as she turned her gaze to the elephants in the enclosure. It was an impressive expanse of grass, mud, and shrubs, suitable for large animals who needed some room to walk around, and two adult elephants were munching on greens lethargically in a corner, almost out of sight.
Minutes passed, and aside from one of the elephants getting close enough that Cassie could make out its ears and tail, nothing happened. Some of the students filled out a few answers in their packets and moved on, eager to find a more exciting exhibit.
“How long are we supposed to wait for something that’s probably not going to happen?” Cassie asked, fiddling with her packet. It was hard to write down answers using only the wooden railing for backing, but she wasn’t moving over to where the information placards were; that’s where Madison Clarke and her group were hanging out.
Excited sounds from the other patrons prompted Cassie to look up, and she saw another gray elephant being led into the enclosure.
“Here he comes!”
“That’s one of the adults. I’m pretty sure—”
Mike cut her off. “Look under the big elephant.”
Cassie squinted and saw what Mike was referring to. As the large elephant made its way into the enclosure with a relaxed gait, something seemed to be twitching under its body. After a few moments, it became clear that something was moving under the adult, shyly hiding behind her massive legs.
“That’s Teddy!” shrieked Madison, and Cassie narrowly resisted the urge to put her fingers in her ears.
“Shhh, Mads, you’re going to scare him,” whispered one of Madison’s friends, and to Cassie’s relief, Madison did stop her screeching.
The people at the railing broke out into a chorus of quiet oohs and aaahs, everyone keeping their voices down in fear of spooking the baby animal. People whipped out their phones and tablets and started filming, but they weren’t getting much; Teddy seemed to be keeping his mother’s leg between him and his audience. Every once and a while they would see the flick of an ear, or the clumsy step of a small gray leg, but he was clearly afraid to leave his mother’s protection. For his mother’s part, she slowly began nibbling on some greens and seemed to take no notice of either her child, or the onlookers.
“Can’t blame the poor guy for hiding,” Mike whispered. “It must be so confusing to him.”
“Yeah,” Cassie added, leaning further forward on the railing in hopes of getting a better look. “It’s not like he knows he’s a star on the internet.”
“Sucks we can’t see him better,” said Jay dejectedly. When Cassie narrowed her eyes at him, he cleared his throat. “I mean, I know he’s scared, I just wish we could get a better look, that’s all.”
Then, something surprising happened: the mother elephant moved, but Teddy didn’t stay flush against her leg. When she turned to the side, he was completely visible to the crowd, staring back at them with his ears flared and trunk lifted. The onlookers made appreciative noises and adjusted their phones to get better video of him.
“Oh my gosh, he is soooo cute,” said Madison; fortunately, even she was whispering now. Her friends cooed in assent.
For once, Cassie had to agree with Madison; Teddy was even more adorable in person than he was in the videos. With his ears spread, it was obvious why the local newspapers had nicknamed him “Dumbo”; while they weren’t nearly as big as the cartoon elephant’s, his ears did seem almost comically large for his body. While
his mother’s skin was rough and mottled with mud and dust, Teddy looked clean, like he’d just had a bath, and the network of wrinkles that criss-crossed his skin looked crisp and new, instead of old and weathered. He was too far away for Cassie to get a good look at his expression, but it looked as though he was smiling.
“Awwwww,” Cassie murmured, unable to help herself.
“How cool would it be if you could have one of those as a pet?” Jay mused.
“That would get really inconvenient in about six months,” said Mike, taking photos with the Venus 2800X; he had whipped the tablet out again, sometime when Cassie wasn’t looking.
“I know you couldn’t keep, like, an adult elephant as a pet. I’m just saying, if they stayed that size—”
He trailed off as Teddy began moving forward, to appreciative sounds from the crowd. Slowly at first, but then more confidently, he began making his way toward the front of the enclosure where his adoring fans waited.
Cassie’s smile began to slip as she watched Teddy trot toward the railing.
Is it just my imagination, or is he looking straight at me?
Then, Teddy began to charge.
The onlookers gasped, more in delight than fear, but everyone pulled back from the railing, concerned. As Teddy got close enough for Cassie to see his twinkling black eyes, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Please, let him not be coming for me. Please. Please.
“Cassie!” Jay called out in a panic, and she opened her eyes.
Teddy was standing up on his hind legs right in front of them, his front legs barely clearing the top of the railing. With his trunk, he reached forward, and made a distressed sound when Cassie backed up.
“Oh, God,” she murmured.
“Go to him,” Mike said, sounding calm and commanding. “You know he wants you.”
Tentatively, Cassie stepped closer to the railing, and Teddy seemed to bounce at her movement. She reached out a hand, and he began sniffing it with his trunk—tentatively at first, but then with great gusto. Eventually, he wrapped his trunk around her wrist and seemed to be trying to pull her into the enclosure; quickly, Jay supported her by throwing his arms around her waist. Teddy might have been just a baby, but he was still an elephant, and he weighed nearly twice what Cassie did. Plus, what he lacked in coordination, he made up for with effort; he really seemed to want to get her over the railing.
The other onlookers made surprised noises, and Cassie stiffened as she sensed all of the cameras, tablets, and phones focus in on her. Everyone wanted to take a film of the elephant playing with the girl.
“Um, please don’t,” said Cassie, trying to hide her face with her other hand, but she knew it was too late; the clip would probably be on the internet within the hour. Frustrated that his efforts to pull her to him weren’t working, Teddy released her wrist and contented himself with using his trunk to poke her legs through the wire fence below the railing. She tried to back up, but he made a sound not unlike a baby’s cry, and she gave in and moved as close as she could. Through the fence, Teddy hugged the back of her knees with his trunk.
“This is just like what happened with Vladmira,” Jay whispered in her ear as more and more people flocked to the elephant enclosure, drawn by the crowd noise. “Teddy is probably drawn to your magic.”
“Yeah but there’s a difference,” Cassie said as Teddy made delighted noises and blinked up at her. “Vladmira weighs, like, a pound.”
*********
“The video from the zoo has about 60,000 views already,” said Mike.
“That’s even worse than I thought,” Cassie murmured. With her face planted on the table, it was kind of hard to talk clearly.
“You had the misfortune of being in, simultaneously, a cute animal video and a funny animal video. That’s the magic formula for breaking the internet.”
“That’s a really good quality video,” said Jay appreciatively from over Mike’s shoulder.
“I know, right? I have to ask Grant what kind of phone he has.”
“I’m glad you guys are taking this so seriously,” Cassie said, knowing full well that no one could hear her.
“Cheer up, you’re famous!” said Miri, slurping what must have been her fourth cafe mocha of the day.
Cassie turned her face toward her vampire bodyguard, still not lifting her head off the table. “This is your fault. You should’ve stopped him.”
“You think I should have jumped into the elephant exhibit and torn the baby elephant away from you? Yeah, that would have gone over well.”
Cassie sat up, still feeling disoriented. She’d expected to head to The Daily Grind with Jay and Mike later that day, but she’d expected to be filling out mock SATs in a state of post-trip relaxation; not being afraid that her newfound internet fame was going to cause problems for everyone she cared about. She stirred the remains of her soy latte half-heartedly.
“There must have been something we could have done. Half the world is looking at me!” Cassie said, pointing across the table to where Mike and Jay were poring over the videos of her latest exploits. “That’s not safe,” she whispered.
She was, after all, a witch; she was supposed to keep a low profile, wasn’t she?
Miri seemed unimpressed. “C’mon Cass, it’s the internet. They’ll forget in two days, when the next cute animal video takes off.”
Mike swiped the tablet a few times with his finger, then froze in place. “Uh…”
“What is it now?” Cassie asked.
“I think we’d better watch this one,” he said quietly. “Just put up.”
He turned the tablet so the rest of the table could see, and hit the play button. He had found a video from the local news channel. The chyron “Special Report: Baby Elephant Escapes From Zoo,” was plastered over a picture of Teddy.
“Oh no,” Cassie moaned.
The newscaster’s tone was amused. “Panic broke out this afternoon at the Sterling Public Zoo when Teddy, the baby elephant—the zoo’s most popular resident—broke out of his enclosure and began running wild. By the time zoo personnel caught up with him, Teddy had already left the zoo and was heading south on Central Avenue.”
“He must have been trying to come here,” Miri murmured.
“While the animal has been safely returned to his environment, questions remain: why was the animal so eager to leave, and how did he get out?”
“We have no idea,” said a man in a zookeeper’s jumpsuit; the chyron identified him as Mark Carnetti, Elephant Handler. “This is extremely uncommon. Baby elephants can be playful, but calves Teddy’s age are usually too shy to move very far from their mothers. I’ve never seen an elephant take off like that.”
“I’ve checked the enclosure, and part of the fence that was there before simply isn’t there,” said an older man the chyron identified as “Darrell Moore, Sterling Zoo Vice President.” He swallowed nervously. “Unfortunately, Teddy got out because the fence had been damaged.”
“Did the elephant break through the fence?” asked a female reporter.
“Absolutely not, we would never allow that to happen for the animals’ own protection,” said the official, sounding peeved. “Someone must have vandalized it, although I can’t imagine why someone would do that; that’s the only way a whole section of the fence could have just disappeared.”
“Did anyone see it vandalized?”
“No; my staff tells me that the fence was intact one minute, missing a chunk the next. Whoever did this must have been some Houdini, let me tell you, because we’ve never had an animal escape from the Sterling Public Zoo in our 84 years of operation.”
“Until now,” the reporter said smugly.
The official barely suppressed a grimace. “Yes, until now.”
The camera returned to the newscaster in the studio. “Teddy is now being evaluated by experts: the zoo has issued a statement that the animal seems upset, but is perfectly healthy otherwise. Some are calling for an audit of the zoo’s pr
actices, believing that the animal was running from possible mistreatment. Others are more concerned with the potential vandalism in the zoo, and are worried it might happen again.”
A testy-looking old man appeared on camera.
“We were lucky it was just a little baby elephant; imagine if it was a tiger running down Central Avenue? Or a bear? Whoever’s responsible for this needs to be arrested!”
On that note, the video came to an end. Jay, who had come back from the bathroom in the middle of the video, was tapping his pen on the table.
“So do you think the zoo was really vandalized?”
“What do you mean?” said Cassie, feeling cold. She pressed her paper cup against her chest, though it had lost most of its heat.
“Maybe Teddy zapped the fence himself, because he wanted out,” Jay whispered.
“You think an elephant used magic?” said Miri incredulously.
“Why not?” said Mike, his fingers moving quickly over the screen as he talked. “We know what Vladmira can do, and an elephant has a much bigger brain than a bat does.”
“We need to talk to Ser,” said Cassie. Then she sighed. “I feel weird calling him, though.”
Since he’d returned from the? Realm over a month ago, Serenus had barely been spending any time at the shop. Cassie didn’t think he was mad at them or anything, but she didn’t feel comfortable bothering him if he wanted some time to himself. He had always made himself so accessible before….
“This is important, though,” said Jay. “What if Teddy busts out and tries to find you again? Then you’ll be in the news, not just in a random video where you’re unidentified and could be anyone. Stuff could get out.”
Cassie just looked at her childhood friend for a moment. Jay flushed slightly.
“What?”
“I’m amazed when you’re the sensible one.”
“Why?” asked Jay, but Cassie ignored him and stood up.