Jump | Zach Mitchell

ten

"AND this is the petting zoo-" I awkwardly spin in a slow circle with my arm outstretched, trying to get as much of Jurassic World as possible into my limited phone screen. 

Mom smiles on her end of the FaceTime call. "Cute! Look how little they are!" I tap the corner of the screen, allowing the camera angle to switch off of me. "Ooh, I want a baby dinosaur!"

I snort. "You know Dad would kill you."

"Yeah, he would. Besides, I doubt it's legal."

"Shame. But maybe it's for the best. These guys seriously smell bad."

Mom laughs. I manage a small smile too, but it drops when I hear Gray say, "I can't see!" He's rushing up and down the fence, trying to peer around the groups of families hogging the view.

"Chill out," Zach grunts, busy texting on his phone.

"Lift me up!" Gray begs.

Now Zach rolls his eyes. "I'm not Dad, and you're not five. Grow up, Gray."

"But I can still ride the-"

I turn my back on the scene, tapping the icon in the corner so Mom can see my face again. "Hey, I gotta go," I tell her regretfully.

Mom's happy face droops. "Is something wrong?"

"Everything's fine. Gray just needs some help with something." I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm not sure where we're going next, but I'll take some pictures and send them to you."

"That would be great," Mom says. "I love you. Be safe. And stay with Zach!"

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. "Love you too."

"God, Gray, this place is for little kids." Zach shoves his phone into his pocket as I approach. "Tell him, Jonelle."

Gray doesn't even wait for me to do as Zach says. "How about the spinning dinosaur eggs? Do you wanna go on those?" He stares up at his big brother hopefully. It makes me sad to see Gray try so hard to make Zach happy.

"No," Zach scoffs.

"Guys," I interrupt. "It's hot as hell. Let's decide on something that we all want to do instead of just standing here and arguing about it."

Zach nods. "Perfect idea, Jonelle. You know what I want?" We stare at him expectantly. "I want Gray to cover up his dork pouch."

"It's a survivor pouch, Zach," Gray stresses. His small hands rest on top of the pre-packed fanny bag he bought in a gift shop. "And it has everything I need to survive."

"Why would you-" Zach cuts himself off mid-sentence. "What are you going to be 'surviving' with some trusty matches by your side?" He raises his eyebrows. "Hm? Nothing. The stupid thing was a waste of money-"

"Would you shut up?" I snap. "God, you're such a dick, Zach." I shake my head. "Just let him be happy with his hippie sack."

"Survivor pouch, Jonelle." Gray corrects me.

Zach makes a sarcastic face and nods along to his little brother. "Survivor pouch," he mouths.

I wrinkle my nose and shove his shoulder. "Stop."

Gray sighs. "Okay." He tugs his shirt tail down over his bag slightly. "So what should we do now?"

"You mean besides acting our ages?" I send a sharp look at Zach before turning back to Gray. "I don't know." I cock my head to the side, thinking. "Wait, has anyone seen Zara? Isn't she supposed to stay with us or something?"