I Am Not Uptight!

The zoo part 7

Daniel's general discomfort around monkeys was not unfounded. Although unlike most fears that adults have, his didn’t start from a childhood traumatic experience. In fact, he was already in high school when it happened.

He was at some family event then—a birthday party of a younger cousin that he and Dustin had in common. Since Daniel was one of the oldest of the cousins and was in the age when he wanted to show-off, he somehow decided that an 8-year old's birthday party was worth ditching. So after nudging a few of his cousins around his age, they went on to have their own adventure in the nearby forest. 

The term “adventure" was used loosely in this case, since Daniel was generally considered a good kid (even during his supposedly most troublesome years). He did not invite the others to do anything illegal or the sort, for his idea of rebellion was just that—ditching a party.

On they went in a group of five, snickering as they snuck off into the woods in a humid afternoon to do… well, to walk around and maybe see some trees and animals—and an they did run into not far from their starting point. It was a lone monkey up on a branch of a medium-sized tree, minding its own business. Deciding it was the perfect way to show-off, Daniel smugly told his cousins that he would approach it. 

If one were to ask Daniel, everything became hazy after that. If one were to ask Dustin, however, he would tell the story in good detail. 

Despite Daniel only inviting the older cousins, Dustin—who, even back then as a 7 year old kid did not appreciate what most kids his age did, and so decided to see what the “grown ups” were up to—had managed to follow them without getting noticed. He was a witness to what happened that afternoon. He saw with his own two eyes when Daniel—who had stupidly brought along some finger-food from the party as a snack—ever so bravely walked up to the monkey. He also saw the exact moment Daniel realized his mistake, right before stones were thrown at his direction and he was aggressively chased until he tripped on a root. The monkey didn’t stop until it got to Daniel, even if it left the poor teenager with a few rips on his shirt, a couple of bruises, and a bite on his arm. The other cousins, of course, tried to come to the rescue, but before they even had the chance to chase it away, it already ran off as soon as it got a hold of Daniel's bag of food. 

It was the first time Dustin had seen Daniel cry like a baby, and he remembered wondering if all of his cousins were really as uncool as he had witnessed.

Fast-forward to Daniel's latest interaction with a monkey at a zoo, Mr. Tour Guide saying, “Don’t worry, Marshall doesn’t hurt humans,” and Dustin seeing the decade-old memory flashing behind his cousin’s eyes as he sat ever so stiffly next to the guide and Marshall.

“I hope you didn’t bring any snacks this time!” Dustin teased. Even though Daniel was practically frozen in place, he still managed to cast a glare at him. If Dustin could read his mind correctly, Daniel was mentally giving him the finger.

“Daniel, I’d like you to meet Marshall. Put out your hand and he’ll shake it,” Mr. Pritch encouragingly said. 

Daniel hesitated, but when his eyes glanced through their tour group and landed on Josh, he remembered his speech about trying new things and loosening up. It also didn’t help that he remembered it was his idea to come to the zoo and go on a tour. Deciding he did not want to look like a hypocrite, he gathered his courage and slowly lifted his hand.

“Hey, little guy,” he said in a high-pitched and shaky voice which Dustin and the others had never heard him use. The monkey looked like it smiled—although Daniel was unsure if he was imagining things—then it took his hand and jumped onto his lap to sit.