The Zoo

She got a job at the zoo after 5 years of unemployment. It did not go how she expected ? Five years out of uni with a degree in Comparative Literature, and the only offer she ever got came from a zoo. ? Their lioness had died. The director didn't have the budget for a new one, but he did have the skin. "You sit. You look majestic. Nobody asks questions." She took it. Pay was terrible, but so was everything else. Two weeks in, a keeper left the connecting gate open and the male lion walked in. She froze. One thought, very clear: well, at least the student loan dies with me. ? The lion put his mouth to her ear. "Relax," he whispered. "Kevin. Master's in Nuclear Economics." ? Pause. "The monkey's got a PhD. Don't get him started."