Personal Narrative: Stay A Night !

Stay a Night!

When Maisie won tickets to the Suffolk Zoo’s Annual Stay a Night! Maisie said she was going to invite Heidi G and Stacy B, but Mom said that Maisie could take Bane and me or she could take nobody. “Fine, I’ll take nobody,” Maisie said, but she is afraid of everything, especially anything exciting like gorillas or tigers, so here we are, gathered around a kiosk that smells like lion piss, waiting for Call-Me-Thomas to open the gates and let us go wild. Along with Maisie, Bane and me, three other kids pace outside the gates, saying things like, “I think I heard the howler monkey,” and “Mom, can you leave now? You’re embarrassing me.” Just as Thomas finishes collecting child-release forms from parents, three teenagers lumber

Who wants to see the gorillas?”
Maisie says, “I was about to suggest we look at the gorillas,” and Indie says, “Well, follow me then,” and they take off down the hill. I trail a little behind the group so I don’t have to listen to Maisie explain about how she’s on this wonderful mock trial team, how the team is third in the nation, and how she has to wear these fancy black shoes when she goes to her competitions. I am no longer allowed to be on the mock trial team because one time, in response to the defense, I asked, “Well, how the fuck should I know?”
At the bottom of the hill, Bane asks, “Do you guys hear that?” and Indie asks, “Hear what?” Bane lowers his voice so it’s all creepy, and says, “Sounds like the flapping of giant bird wings.” Then he starts moving his arms like they are snakes. The two other boys look at Bane, then they look at each other, shrug, and start flapping their arms too. Maisie takes a couple of steps closer to me. I tell her she is a big baby.
“Listen,” says Maisie, just before we get to the Gorilla pavilion, “I think we should elect a leader, since we all have to stick together, I think there needs to be one person deciding where we go and