Carroll, a big beautiful bird living amidst the trees in the wild jungle, was flying to her high school. It was almost homecoming day, and she didn't have a date yet. All of her classmates had someone to go with. She was anxious that she would be the only bird in her school who wouldn't have a date.
As Carrol landed on the steps of her high school, she tried shooing away her negative thoughts. She strided to her group of bird friends and greeted them.
"I cannot wait for homecoming!" exclaimed Jenny, one of Carroll's best friends. She hopped up and down in excitement and started talking about her date.
The school bell rang, setting the birds scurrying to their first period classes. Carroll somehow managed to get through her day. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, so she snuck through the back door of her school after her last period class and took a different route home. As she flew through the trees, she could smell the freshness from all the blooming flowers in the serene landscape that screamed Spring. pring. She continued to fly and closed her eyes to feel the small leaves blown by air as fresh as any after a beautiful rainstorm.
Suddenly, she crashed into a tree, her beak stuck in the bark, and before she knew it- fell swiftly into the two fuzzy arms of a monkey. Carroll slowly opened her eyes and saw two beautiful eyes that looked like shiny black beads. Both the monkey and bird stayed in that moment for a while.
"Well, that was quite a fall. Wasn't it?" Jested the monkey, "I'm Charlie, by the way, the guy who saved your life."
Carroll blushed in embarrassment and picked herself up to look up to a very tall and handsome monkey. Her heart thumped in her ears.
"I'm..I'm Carroll. I'm extremely sorry. I was just flying home from school and I guess I wasn't looking where I was going," apologized Carroll shyly.
"Oh it's fine. I was on my way to the pond to get some berries. Do you want to come?" Asked Charlie.
"Oh! Me? Haha! Yeah sure! I mean I have nothing else to do," said Carroll in excitement. She couldn't believe that someone as handsome as him was asking her to hang out with him!
As they walked to the pond, Carroll couldn't help but notice his soft brown fur and how tingly she felt when his tail brushed against her feathers. With his tall height and powerful shoulders, his dark face seemed fierce, but his eyes seemed to flash and glitter whenever he talked. All his movements were large and perfectly balanced, like those of a wild animal. Charlie walked with confidence, but his voice was as gentle as sunshine which Carroll loved.
They began talking about their lives and how beautiful the weather was. Then, they started to talk about school and basically anything thatat came to their minds. Carroll had never felt so close to someone from another species, as her mother had always told her to stay with her own kind, but Carroll didn't see a problem in talking to someone as kind as Charlie. He seemed like an amazing monkey. Suddenly, Carroll had an idea and wanted to ask Charlie out to homecoming.
"Hey..um Charlie.. So I was wondering if you could come to my school's homecoming. I mean, it's very casual and it's tonight at 7," stuttered Carroll.
"Ohh.. your school homecoming.. Hmmm well sure! It'd be my pleasure to spend the evening with a beautiful bird like you," exclaimed Charlie. Carroll became flushed immediately and couldn't wait to tell all her friends about her new date.
After they gave their farewells to each other, Carroll flew home as quick as she could.
"Mom! Guess what?!" She exclaimed as she barged into the door of her house.
"What's up, Carroll?" her mom asked as she came out of the kitchen.
"I have a date and he's a monkey and he said he'd come with me to homecoming!," exclaimed Carroll as she jumped up and down.
Her mom didn't say anything for a while. The silence stretched for almost 30 seconds, which seemed like forever.
"Absolutely not! You know what I told you about dating an animal from another species!! Your reputation will be ruined among us birds!" rraged Carroll's mom before she stomped away.
Tears started to fill Carroll's eyes as she ran out of the front door. She couldn't believe her mother and her ignorance. She flew to the pond where she met Charlie and sat down on a log right next to the water. She stared at her reflection as tears dropped in the water creating ripples of sadness. All her life, Carroll was never allowed to associate with anyone but her own species and she was tired of it. She was tired of her mom's judgment of animals from different species. She didn't care anymore. Carroll resolved that she was going to homecoming with Charlie no matter what. Why should it matter anyways?
Carroll wiped away her tears and picked herself up. She flew to Jenny's house and knocked on her wooden door. When Jenny opened the door Carroll burst into tears again. Jenny immediately asked her what happened and Carroll told her the entire situation. As she consoled Carroll, both of them started getting ready for the big party.
Jenny put makeup on Carroll and let her borrow one of her beautiful golden gowns while she put on her own white and flowy dress. It took them an hour to get ready and finally Carroll looked at the mirror. Her feathers seemed to glow, and her face looked vibrant. She spun around and giggled.
"It's time to go," she said.
As Jenny and Carroll walked out the door and flew to their school. She immediately spotted Charlie in a black tuxedo. He looked as handsome as ever.
"You look amazing," complimented Charlie.
"Thank you, you too," Carroll replied.
As they linked their arms and walked into the dazzling party, Carroll didn't care what her mom or anyone else thought about Charlie. All she could think about was how truly content she was. She was self assured and almost felt like a free spirit from all the negativities in the world.
