1. P R E V I O U S L Y : On "ZooPhobia"

CHAPTER V

Cameron gaped at the girl, who was dressed in a beige cat costume with a ridiculously large head. What the...

"I didn't need to see any act to know you have nothing to offer," the tall man sniffed. Then he narrowed his eyes and gestured slightly with his notepad. "Why are you wearing that?"

Before MacKenzie could respond, the green-skinned man next to the taller man said, "Actually, I would love to... see..." He trailed off as the taller man shot him a look.

"Next," the tall man said in a clipped tone.

MacKenzie scowled and began heading off stage, but somehow ended up tripping on her outrageously long hair. She slipped and fell backward off the stage, landing on top of the tall man with a grunt.

"Ach! What kind of clumsy move was that?" the tall man spat, sitting up with MacKenzie sprawled across his lap.

"MacKenzie?" Jackie gasped as she hurried over to the man. "Gustav!" she cried. "What's happening here?"

"It tripped," the man—Gustav—replied scathingly, getting up and dusting himself off.

Ouch. "It"? Cameron thought, wincing at the insult.

"Oh, Kenzie... again?" Jackie said to the girl sympathetically as she curled up on the floor.

Jackie frowned and crouched down next to MacKenzie. "Sweetheart... you can't keep—"

MacKenzie hissed at her angrily before leaping up and storming away, arms wrapped around herself.

Jackie sighed, shaking her head.

"So... that's happened before?" Cameron asked, confused.

"It happens every year, it seems," Jackie replied sadly.

Cameron glanced at the man Jackie had called "Gustav". "So who's this?"

"Oh! Oops. I never told you," Jackie apologized. "This is Gustav! He's a former student of mine, and he usually comes to help me judge the tryouts!"

"Guten tag!" Gustav greeted Cameron, a warm smile replacing his condescending expression.

"Are you human?!" Cameron asked pleadingly, grabbing Gustav by the lapels and pulling him close.

Gustav gently removed his hand and let his forked tongue flick out of his mouth with a smirk. "Snake."

"That's worse than the birds!" Cameron wailed, shrinking back.

"So who's next?" Jackie asked, ignoring Cameron's reaction.

"The freshman girl," Gustav answered. "Sahara."

Cameron watched warily as a young girl with a chocolate complexion and pink-and-black hair—Sahara, as Gustav had called her—came on stage, wearing a pink-and-black dress and a matching witch's hat. "For my act, I'm gonna demonstrate some traditional magic!" she declared. She cleared her throat and rolled up her sleeve. "Nothing up my sleeve," she announced, gesturing to her arm.

Cameron frowned.

Sahara hunched over the cauldron she'd dragged on stage and yelled, "Boil, boil, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble—"

She paused.

Then she quickly checked the book she'd brought with her before turning back to the pot, hiding the book, and finishing, "Ego voco apon copias magnus et supernaturalis! Veni foras et ostende nobis fulgentiorem, COLOR!"

Cameron clung to Jackie as she anticipated a huge explosion.

However, only silence filled the theatre.

Sahara scowled and leaned over the cauldron. "Aw, come on... seriousl—"

BOOM

Sahara blinked, her face black with soot.

The judges stared, unimpressed.

Then Gustav barked, "NEXT!"

-

P.O.V. – Zill

"Where is she?" Zill muttered worriedly, checking his phone. He turned as Sahara came backstage, carrying her cauldron with a sour look on her face. "Hey, Sahara! Have you seen Kayla around today?" he asked. "I told her to meet at 8... and she's never late..."

"Dude, meet where?" Sahara replied, giving Zill a strange look. "She's not here. She told me earlier that she was missing the tryout this year 'cuz today's your anniversary."

Zill blinked. CRAP.

Sahara's face fell. "Aw, h---, no!" she exclaimed. "You did not forget your own anniversary!"

Zill put both hands on his face. CRAP!

Then he dashed out the backstage exit as fast as he could.

"How'd you pull that off?" Sahara shouted after him, incredulous.

-

P.O.V. – Kayla

Kayla rested her face on a hand inside her house as the clock struck ten next to her. Where could he be? she thought inwardly, a stab of hurt entering her heart.

Knock-knock-knock.

"Kaylaaaaaaaaa!" a familiar voice sang from outside.

Kayla's ears perked up, and she quickly composed herself as she walked up to the door and opened it to find Zill standing there, a sheepish smile on his face. "Zill," she greeted him halfheartedly, barely able to force a smile onto her own face. "What, um... what kept you?"

"Well, uh... y'see," Zill tried to explain, "uh... I kinda..."

Kayla glanced down at Zill's tail, which bore on its face an expression of shame. "You forgot, didn't you," she whispered.

Zill hesitated. Then he quickly handed Kayla a bouquet of blue wildflowers. "Happy Anniversary, Angel!" he told her with a grin that was equal parts apologetic and hopeful.

Kayla glanced down at the flowers and then up at Zill. "Zill," she murmured, her voice cracking, "you know how h-hard it is to upset me. I could forgive lateness. B-But... 3 years... and you forgot...?" She sniffled and whimpered, "This... this upsets me..."

-

P.O.V. – Zill

Zill's face fell as Kayla broke down. "Kayla! K-Kay!" he cried. "I'm so sorry!"

Kayla turned away. "I need some t-time to recover from this!" she said, hurrying back into her house and slamming the door.

Zill remained where he was, staring at the door.

Then Kayla threw the door back open and shoved the flowers back into Zill's arms before slamming the door again.

Zill's antennae drooped, and the flowers dropped the ground. "Kayla...?"

-

Small-time "criminal" (and one of Zill's archrivals) Horris watched with a grin as Zill trudged away from Kayla's house. "And now he's vulnerable," he chuckled. "He'll be easy pickings tomorrow..."

-

A shadowy figure floated outside the barrier overhead, using her enhanced vision to watch Zill head home. "Ah. Their strongest protector is defenseless," she breathed. "When this barrier goes down tomorrow, taking him down will be all too easy..."