He consumes me and I hate it, his words strike my lungs hard. I knew I was deep, but until now I didn't know how deep I was until I faced reality. I am standing in the torrential rain in front of the person who had this kind of power over me, one...
"Would you like something?" She kindly asks and smiles at me. I blush, walk closer to the counter, nod my head, and look at the extensive menu on the wall behind her.
"I'd like a caramel macchiato with an extra shot of espresso and extra caramel, iced, please. Oh! And two chocolate chunk cookies and a bag of roasted and salted nuts mix. Thank you." I wait a few minutes until my order is ready, pay the barista, and walk out of the shop, heading down Euston Road and making my way to Regent Park. I can't wait to see the Zoo, specifically the Reptile House. I walk past a couple making out on a bench in the middle of the park. Don't they have anything better to do than to make out in a park? Enjoy nature, not each other's saliva. You can do that at home. I make my way through the zoo, snapping pictures at everything I find interesting, and then I'm in front of Reptile House, and I feel so excited to go inside to watch all the reptiles. I know it's weird to fangirl over a place full of snakes just because you saw it in a movie. But maybe I'm a weirdo. Some girls faint from watching a hot celebrity on the street, but not me. I get excited about places mentioned in films and books. I have to visit Hyde Park; next, then maybe go to Jane Austen's house. Perhaps I can go and see one of the world's seven wonders – Stonehenge. There's so much history here, excitement, and all the love stories I've read about happening here in the United Kingdom. I stop in front of a window and look at a black and green snake that looks directly at me. As the snake lifts his head and hisses at me softly, I move closer. Being the weirdo I am, I hiss back at him and take a picture without flash to not scare or hurt the snake. The guy next to me looks at me and chuckles. I turn my head towards him and raise my eyebrow. "What?" I ask, half laughing.
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"Nothing. I just never saw a person hissing back at a snake." He looks at the snake and then gives me a side-eye look, smiling.
"Maybe I was speaking Parseltongue to him." I walk to another window, smile at the Axolotl, and take a picture of him when he's "smiling" at me.
"I'd be impressed." He stands next to me and looks at the Axolotls swimming. "I'm Ethan. What's your name?"
"Josephine. Nice to meet you." I smile and snap more photos. I can't wait to transfer the pictures to my laptop and email them to my mum.
"Based on your accent, I suppose you're not from here." He looks at me, and I shake my head and put the camera back in my bag.
"Nope. I'm Australian." I say proudly.
"I'm glad you travelled from Australia to photograph our reptiles. But I'm sure you can see them free in the wild in Australia."
"Oh, um, no. I moved here, well, I mean my job offered me the opportunity to work here, and I accepted. So here I am." We walk out of the reptile house and head to the Gorilla Kingdom.
"Josephine!" He walks to me, and I stop in my tracks and look at him. "I think the butterfly paradise is more interesting than Gorillas.
"Butterflies?" I ask, and he nods at me. "Yeah, I'd like to watch them. I came here only for the snakes anyway." He laughs and points his head in the direction we should take.
