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  ANOTHER HAIRY TAIL 2

  Another Hairy Tail 2

  JAMIE CAMPBELL

  Copyright © 2015 Jamie Campbell

  Smashwords Edition

  Jamie Campbell asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.

  CHAPTER 1

  Something incredibly exciting was happened at the Mapleton Regional Zoo. They were preparing for a special arrival and no-one was more excited than Hannah.

  “I can’t believe we’re getting a panda bear,” she said as she swept the enclosure. It was being prepped for the new arrival, given the final touches so it was perfect.

  “I know, right?” Harry grinned as he washed down the walls with a steaming bucket of hot water. “Can you imagine putting him on the airplane? I wonder if he has a passport?”

  Hannah laughed. “Would he have had to pose for a photo? I hope they warned him not to smile, you aren’t allowed to do that in passport photos.”

  “His signature would be interesting.”

  “And his address, Shanghai Zoo. I guess that was his place of birth too.”

  Harry threw the remnants of the bucket against the wall and gave it a final scrub. The enclosure was sparkly and clean, everyone at the zoo had contributed to making it the best possible environment for the panda.

  “It’s going to be awesome,” he gushed.

  Hannah smiled, still unable to believe she was actually spending the entire summer at the zoo before she started college in the fall. It was the chance of a lifetime and she was savoring every part of it.

  To have the opportunity to work with Harry again was an added bonus. She hadn’t seen him since they were fifteen and they broke off their relationship. Reuniting with him in the intern program was an unexpected surprise.

  “I’ll have to stop myself wanting to give him a cuddle,” she said. “Pandas always look so cuddly on television. But everything I’ve read said they can be a bit moody so we need to treat him with caution. Just like all the other animals.”

  “Speaking of cuddling…” Harry segued. “How about we go to the movies next weekend? We can go after our shift?”

  Before Hannah could open her mouth to reply, their intern coordinator, Logan Barry, stepped into the enclosure. “How’s the cleaning crew going?” he asked. He made a show of examining the area as if he was holding a magnifying glass. Finally he stood. “Looks up to par for our special guest.”

  Hannah leaned against her broom. Working at the zoo was fun and incredibly interesting but it was also back-breaking hard work. “We’ve worked on it all morning.”

  “Good.” Logan nodded. He was barely older than the pair, an animal genius if there ever was one. “I hope the panda speaks English, otherwise we’re going to have to get an interpreter in. Anyone speak Chinese?”

  Hannah burst into laughter at the thought. She shouldn’t have found Logan’s lame jokes funny but they never ceased to crack her up every time.

  “We could use sign language,” she suggested, miming shoveling food into her mouth. “He’ll only want to eat all day anyway.”

  Logan grinned. “Good thinking, Hans. I’ll cancel my call to the Chinese Ambassador.” They shared a silent moment before he grew serious again. “There is still work to be done. Hans, please go make sure the wombats are fuzzy enough. You know they like to look their best. Harry, I have some tasks for you. Please, come with me.”

  Harry shot her a rueful look as he tagged along behind Logan. Hannah watched them leave before putting away the cleaning supplies. She was kind of relieved she hadn’t had a moment to answer Harry’s date request.

  Being with Harry all those years ago had been wonderful. He was her first love and he would always, always, hold a special place in her heart.

  But did she really want to go there again?

  They were older now, eighteen and ready to start a brand new chapter of their lives at university. It was a time to let go of the past and emerge into adulthood, gripping all the new experiences with two hands.

  But… there was something about Harry. Something that stirred up all those feelings she once had and made her heart do a little dance in her chest. He made her nervous with butterflies and made her feel beautiful just by looking at her.

  It was all too confusing. She needed to avoid him for a while longer until she could make a decision. Harry had made his feelings clear, she didn’t want to toy with his emotions while she sorted out her own.

  She went over to the wombats to check on them, knowing Logan was only joking about their fuzziness. He joked around a lot and always found ways to make her laugh. He was completely different to Harry, and maybe one of the reasons she was so confused about the whole date dilemma.

  The wombats looked to be doing their thing without needing any food or cleaning. She left them and wandered back to the administration building for her next assignment. Logan asked her to help with the rosters for the next couple of weeks.

  She reported for duty, grateful for some light tasks after all the enclosure cleaning. She was itching to get back into the surgical lab but the animals had all been healthy for a few days – which was a great thing but did nothing for her budding veterinarian skills.

  “Ah, Hannah. Here are the rosters, please check them and then distribute the sheets to everyone’s lockers,” Phoebe ordered. She left her alone, quick to leave her to the monotonous task.

  Hannah flicked through, meticulously checking each person’s hours against their availability. When she reached hers she noticed her hours had changed slightly. Her shifts were a little longer, she wondered if that had something to do with the new panda. She hoped she was assigned to his enclosure.

  Harry’s roster was a few sheets further on before she checked it. Something was immediately apparent – they didn’t have any shifts together. Occasionally they might cross over for an hour but nothing for any longer.

  Something strange was going on.

  CHAPTER 2

  Hannah tried to put the roster issue out of her mind as she finished her shift. Tomorrow was the big panda day so all hands were going to be on deck. It was going to be a big day, she needed to get some rest beforehand.

  Not that she could sleep very well. With the Harry problem plaguing her thoughts, she tossed and turned all night long. She needed to make a decision about whether to go out with him or not. Stringing him along would only make it all worse for everyone involved.

  She turned up for her shift at the Mapleton Regional Zoo the next day with heavy eyelids. Her first task of the day was to order a large coffee and drink it on the way to her locker.

  The coffee helped somewhat, making sure she was at least awake for the huge arrival. Everyone was extra excited, no matter where they worked in the zoo.

  The panda enclosure was roped off and strictly off limits for all visiting guests. Only zoo staff were allowed back there while the newest member of the family arrived and settled in.

  Hannah arrived just in time to see the crate lowered into the enclosure. It had both Chinese and English writing printed on the sides, warning of a live animal inside. It wouldn’t be long now before they all caught their first glimpse of the endangered giant panda.

  Logan was working with five other zookeepers to open the crate. They used a crowba
r to lever the door open. When it was pried off, Hannah gasped and her hand covered her mouth.

  The panda was lying on the floor of the crate – unmoving.

  She held her breath, praying for it all to be a mistake. Surely they could not have hurt the panda on his journey. Surely he had to be okay. The alternative was just too horrible to consider.

  Logan and the others pulled the remaining walls of the crate apart quickly and left the enclosure all together. The panda was curled up on the floor still, his eyes closed.

  Hannah looked around in a panic, surely someone else was seeing what she was? There were dozens of staff watching the panda, weren’t they just as concerned as her as to why he wasn’t moving?

  “He’s sedated,” Logan said as he appeared at her side. “He’ll stay like that for about another hour before waking up. It’s the best way for him to travel, that way he doesn’t get distressed about all the different sounds, smells, and sights.”

  “Oh,” Hannah sighed. “Good. I thought he might have—”

  “No, nothing like that. Right now he’s probably dreaming about female pandas feeding him bamboo while he lazes about.”

  Hannah smiled at the sleeping bear. She hoped he would like his new home when he did finally wake up. The zoo in China had sent them photos of his previous home so they could recreate it as much as possible. That way he wouldn’t feel so homesick, or maybe he wouldn’t even notice the difference.

  Above all, she hoped he would be happy there.

  They’d all worked so hard on his enclosure, making sure it was perfect for him. The newspaper had called it ‘state of the art’, hopefully Mei-Ping would agree.

  Logan tapped Hannah on the shoulder. “Guess who has first panda-watch tonight?”

  “You?” she guessed.

  “Us.”

  Little bursts of excitement jolted through her. “Seriously? I get to be on panda-watch tonight?”

  “You betcha.” Logan flashed her a smile and she would have hugged him if there weren’t so many people around. Being on panda-watch overnight was a huge deal. The zoo only gave the shift to those most capable of dealing with an animal related emergency.

  “Awesome,” she whispered under her breath. When she started university in the fall, she was going to be streets ahead of everyone else. How many other students would have had the opportunity to observe a panda over the summer?

  They watched the panda for another hour before it started to stir awake. At first it was just a slight twitch of the paw, then his eyes blinked open and took in his new surroundings.

  Eventually, the panda sat up and looked around. Everyone held their collective breaths while they waited to see how he would react.

  Mei-Ping pushed up onto his feet and took a few wobbly steps toward the food left out for him. He guzzled it up greedily, as if he hadn’t eaten in a very long time. He sat down while he chewed and looked around.

  Hannah couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw approval in his expression. He seemed happy enough with his new home. Maybe everything would work out with him after all the preparation and excitement.

  Harry joined her, his hands twined with the fence. “He’s cute, huh?”

  “Very,” she replied. “I think he’s happy.”

  “Who wouldn’t be happy to visit Mapleton? It’s the number one spot on the tourist map.”

  Hannah laughed. “Yeah, sure. More like tourists get lost and accidently end up in Mapleton.”

  “You might be right,” Harry agreed, chuckling. His eyes went back to the enclosure. “Mei-Ping is amazing, isn’t he? Such a beautiful animal. I wonder what he’s thinking right now?”

  “Probably that the bamboo tastes good. At least, I hope that’s it. We’ve been growing it for months.”

  Harry nodded and smiled as his gaze remained fixed on the animal. “Have you thought any more about going on a date with me?”

  “I’ve been thinking about it,” Hannah confessed. Her mind skittered to think of what she would say next. She hadn’t reached a decision, only thought about it incessantly.

  “And what do you think about this weekend?”

  Logan chose that moment to place a hand on both their shoulders. “Lady and gentleman, we have official word that panda-watch is about to start. Everyone else needs to go about their ordinary tasks. The other animals aren’t going to feed themselves. Otherwise we’d all be out of a job.”

  Hannah excused herself and headed for the wetlands enclosures. She had a date with the otters, that’s all she needed to know right now. She’d work out what to say to Harry another time.

  CHAPTER 3

  Even through her fatigue, Hannah was beyond excited. She had packed snacks, she had a comfortable seat, and Logan was there to keep her company.

  They were assigned to the nightshift of panda-watch, one of the most important posts on the roster. It was just the two of them. If anything happened to Mei-Ping, they needed to be able to deal with the situation alone.

  “He doesn’t do much other than sleep and eat,” Logan commented. “This might be a long night.”

  “Let’s hope that’s all he does,” Hannah replied. If the panda did anything else, it might mean he was in distress and that wouldn’t be a good thing. She’d read countless books on the animal to prepare herself for this moment.

  The hours dragged past and they were as boring as Logan promised. The panda did nothing more than scratch his belly and rollover. He burped once, which went in his behavior diary as something notable. Hannah was sure they only recorded it to break the monotony.

  She stretched out her legs, imagining how nice it would be to be lying in bed at home asleep right now. Billy would be curled up at the end of her bed, snoring soundly with the steady rise and fall of his chest. Coco would be doing the same a few doors down.

  The thought was enticing, calling her home to sleep for a few days straight. But that was impossible. She had a job to do and she would do it perfectly until her shift ended. She took another gulp of her coffee and forced her eyes to remain open.

  “Who would have thought pandas were so boring? They always look so cute on television,” Logan said, stretching his arms and blinking a few times.

  “They don’t show the times when they’re sleeping. That wouldn’t be very interesting TV.”

  “No, you are right there.”

  “Weren’t they thinking of installing a webcam down here so people can logon to Panda-Cam whenever they want?” Hannah asked. She’d heard whispers but nothing more.

  Logan shrugged. “I think it was voted down. The penguins didn’t want any attention taken away from them.”

  Despite her fatigue, Hannah laughed. Perhaps she only found it funny because of her fatigue. Anything would seem hilarious in the otherwise long night.

  “Have you heard of the Edwardtown Animal Symposium?” Logan said, completely changing the subject. Sometimes it was difficult to keep up with his thought processes. Hannah was getting used to it.

  “That’s a big conference, right? Where all the zookeepers and vets go every three years?” It had popped up in one of her Google alerts a few weeks ago. It was the biggest gathering of animal professionals in the country. Everyone wanted to attend and the tickets sold out faster than a Taylor Swift concert.

  “That’s right. I have a spare ticket, do you want to come with me?”

  Hannah’s jaw dropped open with surprise and disbelief. She shook her head a few times, making sure she was still awake and not just dreaming up the invitation.

  When she looked at Logan, he seemed deadly serious about the offer. Which was strange because he was rarely serious about anything.

  “Are you kidding?” she clarified. She couldn’t trust herself not to be imagining the whole thing.

  “Would I joke about something this huge?” Logan waggled his eyebrows, back to the guy he usually was. “I think it would be a good opportunity for you to listen to the professionals talk instead of just listening to me. I tend to make up a l
ot of what I say when I don’t know the answers.”

  “I would love to go.”

  “Then it’s a date. Make sure to block out the weekend in your roster, you’re not going to have time for your shifts. It’s a fully intense weekend at the symposium.”

  Hannah was wide awake now. All she could think about was looking up the agenda for the weekend and marking all the talks she wanted to attend. She would time them all perfectly to make sure she didn’t miss out on anything.

  She wanted to throw her arms around Logan for giving her the opportunity. It was a big deal for anyone to attend and she was only an intern who hadn’t even started college yet. Deals didn’t get any bigger than this one.

  Watching the sleeping panda for the rest of night was much more interesting after the invitation. Hannah mentally prepared everything from what she would wear to the snacks she would take for the break times. She couldn’t wait to tell everyone about it.

  In the early hours of the morning when the sun was starting to cast its orange glow over Mapleton, Hannah and Logan were relieved by the next shift workers. They gave a quick handover before heading home.

  Coco was up already when Hannah stepped through the front door of her home. Billy was asleep on the couch, only managing to open one eye to acknowledge her presence. He was too comfortable to greet her the way he usually did – with a hero’s welcome.

  “Hey, honey,” Coco said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Did you learn any Chinese from the new panda?”

  “Ha ha. Very funny,” Hannah deadpanned. She’d never introduced her mother to Logan, but she got the feeling they would get along very well. Perhaps that was a good reason to keep them apart, she didn’t want both of them ganging up on her. “Mei-Ping didn’t do anything interesting all night.”

  “That’s a good thing, right?”

  “Yeah, it is.” She yawned, eyeing her mother’s coffee but knowing sleep would be a better alternative. “I’m going to bed, I’m exhausted.”