JAY JAY POV
After the tiger, we passed by the lion's enclosure. He looked big, lazy, and surprisingly noble—kind of like Keifer when he's not busy being a total jerk.
I didn't even bother asking Jare this time. I knew his "No" was already loaded and ready to fire. Instead, I turned to Percy.
"Percy, my handsome kuya... wouldn't a lion look so aesthetic in the backyard? Just think of the photos!" I said, giving him my most manipulative simile
Percy paused, tapping his chin as if he were actually considering the logistics of a predatory cat for the sake of his Instagram feed. "You know, the golden fur would complement the sunset lighting quite well. It's a bold fashion statement, Jay-Jay. Very royal."
I was so close! I could practically feel the lion's mane! But of course, the Fun-Killer General stepped in.
"Forget it, Percy. Don't let her brainwash you," Jare interrupted, shoving his way between us. "One more word about bringing a carnivore home and I'm leaving both of you in the reptile house. Permanently."
Tss. Asshole.
Finally, we reached the monkey section. It was loud, chaotic, and smelled a bit like... well, Section E.
Jare stopped in his tracks, staring at a group of monkeys swinging wildly from the ropes. He slowly turned his head toward me, a slow, annoying smirk spreading across his face.
"Jay-Jay, look! I see you," Jare said, pointing a finger at a particularly loud monkey that was currently jumping around like it had too much caffeine. "Go ahead, go say hi to your friends for me. They've probably been wondering where their leader went."
The monkeys inside the cage started screeching, and I swear, one of them looked right at me.
"Asshole!" I barked, hitting his arm.
"Stage seven," Percy sighed
"The twin realization that they are indeed the same species."
"I am not a monkey!" I yelled, stomping my foot.
"The evidence says otherwise," Jare deadpanned, watching a chimpanzee peel a banana. "Look, he even has your same table manners."
Aries let out a quiet chuckle. "I have to admit, Jare, the resemblance is there."
"Not you too, Aries!" I wailed, clutching my Snorlax.
Lord, please. If I'm a monkey, let me be the kind that knows how to use a flamethrower. I have some brothers to take care of.
I was about to commit twin-slaughter right there in front of the chimpanzees, but my stomach decided to stage a protest first. All that arguing and animal-hunting—excuse me, animal-heist-planning—really burns through those morning pancakes.
"ARIES!" I barked, turning away from the grinning Donkey.
"What?" he asked, looking at me with that calm, slightly wary expression he always gets when I scream his name.
"I'm hungry! Let's go get something to eat!" I declared.
Without waiting for a response, I looped my arms firmly around his, using him as my personal human anchor, and started to skip toward the concession stand nearby. Aries stumbled for a second, caught off guard by my sudden burst of energy, but he eventually gave in to his fate as my favorite brother of the hour.
"Wait up, Monkey! Are you really abandoning us for a hotdog?!" Jare yelled from behind.
"Tss. Proper nutrition is a priority, Jare! Go play with your relatives in the cage!" I shouted back over my shoulder, not slowing down for a second.
"Jay please don't eat the whole concession stand" Percy shrieked, running to catch up so he wouldn't be left alone
Aries sighed, but he didn't pull his arm away. "You know, for someone who was a ghost three hours ago, you're surprisingly fast when food is involved."
"It's a Mariano trait, Aries. Get used to it!" I chirped, already eyeing the popcorn machine like it was a holy relic.
Lord, bless this food stand. And please let them have something chocolate-covered so I don't have to bite my brothers.
We were finally sitting down, blissfully inhaling our hotdogs and fries, when I noticed a group of girls a few tables away. They weren't even pretending to eat; they were just staring, mouths practically unhinged, eyeing my brothers like they were some kind of limited-edition buffet.
Tss. Please.
I took a loud, aggressive sip of my soda and rolled my eyes. Honestly, I think people's taste these days is hitting rock bottom. I mean, I get it—on the outside, they look like they were sculpted by the gods, but I've seen them first thing in the morning. I know the truth! Of all the people in the world to obsess over, they chose this circus act? Get your eyes checked, ladies.
"Jay, why are you glaring at your ketchup like it's a personal enemy?" Aries asked, tilting his head. He was calmly eating a salad—because of course, he's the "healthy" one.
"I'm just judging the general public's lack of standards," I muttered, gesturing vaguely toward the group of girls who were now whispering and pointing at Percy.
Percy, sensing the attention like a shark senses blood, immediately sat up straighter. He put down his burger, smoothed his hair, and gave the girls a slow, devastating "visual" smile. I haven't seen a man work his angles that fast since we left London.
"Don't hate me because I'm the main attraction, Jay-Jay," Percy purred, checking his reflection in the back of a plastic spoon. "It's a burden, really. I can't even eat a zoo hotdog without becoming a public monument."
"A monument of what? Stupidity?" Jare deadpanned, his mouth full of fries. He didn't even look up; he just reached over and shamelessly swiped a chicken nugget from my plate. "They aren't looking at you, Percy. They're looking at me. They've clearly never seen a twin this handsome before."
"In your dreams, Donkey!" I barked, slapping his hand away from my nuggets. "They're looking at you because you have mustard on your chin and you're eating like a caveman who just discovered fire."
Jare quickly wiped his face, his ears turning red. "Do I?"
"Yeah. Stage eight: the handsome twin's downfall," I teased, shoving the rest of my nuggets toward Aries for safekeeping.
One of the girls actually stood up and walked toward us, smoothing her skirt.
"Oh no. Red alert. Mission compromised. She's actually coming over here," I muttered
"I knew it!" Jare whispered, suddenly abandoning his caveman eating habits. He sat up, puffed out his chest, and tried to look like a brooding male lead from a romance novel. "She's finally realized which twin is the actual masterpiece. She's obviously coming for me. Step aside, peasants, the King has arrived."
"In your delusional dreams, Donkey," I snapped, already pulling my phone out of my pocket. I let my thumb hover over Mia's name in the contacts. "You really want to test that theory? You want me to call Mia right now and tell her that her boyfriend is currently open for mistress applications?"
The cool mask Jare was wearing shattered into a million pieces. He looked at my phone like it was a ticking time bomb.
"Don't! Jay, put the phone down! I'm serious!" Jare pleaded, his voice dropping an octave in pure terror. "Mia will literally kill me. Or worse... she'll bite me again!"
My jaw dropped, and I felt my entire face twist in a mask of pure horror.
"Eww! Gross! Stop!" I shrieked, fanning my face as if I could physically push the mental image away. "I did NOT need to know about your weird, predatory biting habits, Jare! Seriously, keep your middle-school romance drama to yourself. My ears are innocent!"
"It's not drama, it's a safety hazard!" Jare hissed, looking back at the approaching girl with genuine panic now.
"Tss. Serves you right for being an egghead," I muttered.
I looked up just as the girl reached the edge of our table. She wasn't even looking at Jare or Percy; her eyes were glued to Aries.
"Hi, I'm Ana. I just had to come over and say... your shoes are really good-looking," she said, giving Aries a smile that was way too sweet to be natural.
Tss. Shoes? Seriously? That's the best line she has?
I didn't even give Aries a chance to breathe.
"Aries" I started, my voice dripping with fake concern, "do you want me to call Ella? You know, your girlfriend? She and I have been total besties ever since she found out I was your sister."
And that was the 100% truth. Turns out, Ella was only being a total bitch to me before because she thought I was some random girl trying to steal her man. I know, stupid, right? As if I'd want to deal with Aries' drama by choice. But now that we're 'sisters,' we're basically a tag-team of terror.
The Ana girl's smile faltered, her eyes darting between us. Realizing Aries was a dead end, she pivoted to Percy so fast I thought she'd get whiplash.
Before she could even utter a syllable, I held up my phone. "Oh! Percy! Let me call your future wife. She said she wanted to talk to you right about now."
Percy's jaw dropped, and Ana practically took a step back.
Look, I don't want any of these girls to actually kill me or start a catfight in the middle of the zoo, so I figured 'scaring them off' with the girlfriend-card was the safest bet.
"Wait, Jay-Jay! I don't even have a future wife yet!" Percy hissed, looking offended that I just ruined his 'visual' aura.
"Tss. You do now. I just invented her. You're welcome," I snapped, going back to my fries.
Jare was still pale, Aries was looking at the ceiling, and Percy was pouting. Lunch at the zoo? Just another day in my personal circus.
"Do you want me to call 'honey' now? My thumb is itching to press dial," I teased Percy, waving my phone in his face.
He shook his head so fast I thought his expensive sunglasses might fly off. "No! Stop! My reputation is already in the gutter!"
Lord, please. In my next life, can I just have ugly brothers? Like, bottom-tier visuals only? Being their sister is a full-time security job and I'm not even getting paid for this.
Once we finally finished inhaling our lunch, we started making our way toward the aquarium. I was busy looking at the map when I noticed the air suddenly turn sub-zero. I looked up and saw the "Triple Threat"—Jare, Aries, and Percy—all standing in a row, simultaneously glaring at a group of boys nearby.
"Here. Wear this. Now," Jare commanded, practically shoving his jacket into my face.
"I don't want it! It's eighty degrees outside, Jare! I'll melt!" I snapped, trying to push the heavy fabric away.
"You're wearing it," Jare hissed, his eyes flicking back to the group of boys who were definitely looking in my direction.
"Who told you to wear that tank top anyway?" Aries interjected, his voice dropping into that strict 'Kuya' register. He stepped in front of me, effectively blocking their view. "Look, your stomach is showing. It's too short."
"It's a crop top, Aries! It's called fashion! Look it up!" I huffed, clutching my Snorlax tighter.
"In this family, it's called a safety hazard," Percy added, abandoning his narcissism for a second to join the 'Protective Brother' squad. "Cover up, Jay-Jay. We don't need you attracting anymore strays. We've already dealt with enough today."
Tss. Assholes. Honestly, I don't know which is worse—the girls eyeing them or them eyeing any boy who breathes in my general direction.
I made a sour face, aggressively zipping up Jare's oversized jacket. I probably looked like a blue tent with legs, but at least the "Holy Trinity" stopped vibrating with overprotective rage. Tss. Imagine being this stressed over a few inches of skin. Get a hobby, guys.
I wandered over to the massive tank, my eyes widening as a whale glided past. It was majestic, silent, and totally breathtaking.
"Woah... so cool," I whispered, pressing my hands against the cool, thick glass. I felt like a little kid again, completely entranced by the blue world inside.
Percy, Aries, and Jare—apparently bored of the peaceful vibes—all migrated to the shark enclosure next door. I could hear them debating which shark looked the most "aggressive," which was ironically very on-brand for them.
I stayed behind, my gaze locked on the whale. It circled back, its massive form moving with slow, heavy grace until it was right in front of me. It felt like it was looking straight into my soul with those huge, deep eyes.
"You look so sad... what happened?" I asked softly as it hovered there.
Seriously, if this whale were a person, it would definitely be in Section E—lonely, misunderstood, and probably tired of people staring at it all day. For a second, I felt a weird pang of sympathy.
"Did your brothers force you to wear a jacket too? Or are they just being assholes?" I whispered to the glass, tilting my head.
The whale let out a slow bubble and drifted closer, its face pressed almost right against mine. Honestly, I think I like this whale more than my brothers right now. At least the whale doesn't threaten to call my parents every time I wear a crop top.
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