Member-only story
SHORT STORY
Beware the Gas Station Breakfast Burrito
Zookeeper Darcy finds herself in a crappy situation when she’s forced to clean the chimp enclosure as her stomach fights a battle against a gas station breakfast burrito
It’s still early, but the sun is already bright in the sky, and I’m regretting that gas station breakfast burrito. My stomach grumbles unhappily as I swipe my badge and pass through the zoo’s employee entrance.
As I walk toward the staff canteen to ferret out some ginger ale, the trumpet of an elephant clashes with the laugh of a hyena, which sets the lemurs to chattering. Normally I love the ambient music of the zoo, but right now, all I can really hear is the angry rumbling of my colon.
“Darcy!”
I jump, releasing a tiny screech. “Jeez, what?” I say, whipping around. When I see Mike, my manager, I instantly blush. “Oh. Mike. You scared me.”
Mike hustles up next to me. To our left, a male peacock flings up his impressive tail feathers.
“Sorry about that,” Mike says. His black hair is windswept, and his jade-green eyes narrow as he takes in my expression. “You okay?”
