***Author’s Note*** This story was first posted on April 23, 2022 but it was written in early January of 2022. In early April of 2022, I discovered a news story in a Chicago newspaper that shared some remarkable similarities to the fictional story posted here. Probably most remarkable is the name of the gorilla, Amaree – the same name in both stories.
June 6, 2021 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
The Cunningham’s Sunday dinner started off like normal. Missy Cunningham had invited over her sister, Nicole. After eating, their teenage daughters disappeared, leaving the two moms alone to talk. The conversation quickly turned to the end of the school year and how Missy’s daughter, Angela, and Nicole’s daughter, Sadie, would be spending their summers.
“So is Sadie interested in a summer job? I hear there are lots of people hiring,” said Missy.
“She hasn’t said too much. I’m not going to push her. It has to be her idea or she’ll never go for it,” replied Nicole.
“I wish Angela was old enough for a job. At fourteen, she’s kind of in that in-between phase where there’s not much to do all day.”
“Yeah, I’m guessing Sadie will mostly want to hang out at home. Probably talking to Angela.”
Missy smiled at her sister like her next words were going to be uncomfortable. “I think it’s great that Angela and Sadie can be such great friends, as well as cousins, but don’t you think maybe they talk too much. I mean Sadie’s seventeen and Angela’s only fourteen. I was kind of thinking they should spend more time with kids closer to their own age.”
“You think Sadie’s too old for Angela?”
“Not exactly. I think it’s great they’re friends, just not so exclusively. Whenever Angela’s on her phone, which is all the time, the only person she’s ever texting is Sadie.”
“So what? You think Sadie is a bad influence?”
“No, I’m not saying that. I’d just like them both to have a little variety and maybe get off their phones some of the time.”
The conversation did not get any easier. By the time Nicole and her daughter left, Nicole had clearly chosen to be offended. Her parting words to her sister were, “Good luck finding Angela some more acceptable friends.”
Missy hurried to find her husband, Kyle, for some emotional support. “So how did it go with Nicole?” he asked.
“About as bad as possible. She basically thought I was calling her daughter a bad influence.”
“She is a bad influence. That’s the point. We don’t want Angela talking, dressing, or acting like her.”
“I know, but I can’t just come out and say that.”
“And maybe if her mother would limit the time Sadie was on her phone, our daughter wouldn’t constantly be in her room, shut off from the rest of the world,” Kyle added.
“I know. I tried to talk about the phone, but I don’t think Nicole cares.”
“All Angela wants to do is watch stupid videos, filling her head with garbage. I wish we could turn it off.”
“I know, I know. But we can’t just tell her to quit. We need to replace it with something. And I think I have an idea.”
“What idea?”
“Maybe I can get her interested in the zoo again, like when she was little. It’s close enough to walk. It’s outside. I can talk to some other moms and see if I can get their daughters there too.”
“Like a play date?”
“Yeah, kind of. But don’t you dare let Angela hear you say that. If we convince her it’s fun, she could do it all summer. We can get her a pass. I would have loved it when I was her age.”
“You really think so?”
“Yeah. It’s sort of like hanging out at the mall and I loved hanging out at the mall.”
“I guess it’s worth a shot. I can’t wait to see what your daughter thinks.”
Angela’s mom had lots of fond memories of pushing Angela’s stroller through the zoo and meeting up with other parents. She called around and talked to friends, some of whom she had not contacted in years, and explained her zoo idea. A handful of moms seemed interested, so she acted especially excited when she shared the news with Angela.
“Why would I want to go to the zoo?” Angela’s immediately replied. “And you expect me to hang out with people I don’t know?”
“You do know them,” argued her mom.
“I haven’t talked to them for like ten years. Why can’t you just leave me alone? Is this because you don’t want me talking to Sadie? She told me what you said to her mom.”
“Sadie’s fine. I just thought you’d like a few more friends and a cool place to hang out.”
“The zoo’s lame. You can go yourself if you want.”
“I already told people you would be there. Can’t you at least give it a try?”
“Why didn’t you ask me first? No, I’m not going.”
Despite her protests and claims she would never go to the zoo again, on the appointed day for her meet-up with a new friend group, Angela walked the half-mile with her mom to the zoo entrance. Angela refused to acknowledge what a beautiful day it was and stayed silent when her mom speculated about which animals would be active that morning. But when they reached the ticket window and Angela’s mom bought a season pass for her, Angela accepted it without any protest.
“Shall I come in with you?” asked her mom.
“No, you don’t have to babysit me,” replied Angela.
“The other girls are supposed to be near the entrance at 10 am. I’m sure you’ll recognize them.”
“Fine.”
“And when you’re done you can either walk home by yourself or text me and I’ll meet you right here.”
“Okay, I got it.”
Angela’s mom gave her a hug and then Angela wandered through the admission gates, showing her new season pass. She kept walking until she could not see her mother and then leaned against a wall, watching for the girls who were supposed to join her. After about two minutes, Angela made the snap decision to keep walking. If she was forced to spend time in the zoo, why not do it alone? That way, she would not have to make small talk with kids she barely knew. She would probably be left out of most conversations anyway because she had to assume that the other girls were already good friends with each other.
Angela followed the shady path toward the animal exhibits, trying to act like she was not necessarily alone or looking for company. She knew the layout of the zoo well because she had visited hundreds of times as a kid.
Although she was not headed anywhere in particular, Angela found herself following the route to her favorite exhibit – the gorillas. When she was little, she was fascinated by the way they walked and how they would come right up to the glass barrier and look her in the eye. When she rounded a corner and got her first look at their enclosure, she felt the tug of old memories.
Close to the main viewing area, and the broadest length of viewing glass, sat most of the gorilla family. A crowd of zoo visitors gawked at them and took pictures. Some of the humans waved their arms and made funny noises, trying to get the gorillas to react.
Angela watched the crowd for a few minutes and then moved on to the much smaller viewing areas located away from the main walking path. There, she found one of the younger gorillas, covered in black hair and lying alone next to the glass.
“Hi there,” said Angela, shuffling close to the lone gorilla. “Looks like no one’s very interested in you. I know the feeling.”
The gorilla turned its head and locked eyes with Angela, as if it were agreeing with what she had said. Angela leaned down and sat on the low ledge at the bottom of the glass. The gorilla scooted closer to her.
“I’m Angela. What’s your name?”
The gorilla put its hands against the glass. Angela laughed and did the same thing.
“So why aren’t you with everybody else? Your mom probably wants you to do a bunch of stuff you don’t want, huh?”
The gorilla pushed its forehead against the glass.
“Yeah, I’m supposed to be hanging out with a bunch of girls I don’t really know. They’d probably hate me. Hey, I’ve got an idea. You want to see something cool?”
Angela pulled out her phone and searched for “gorillas” on YouTube. She played one of the videos that came up, which showed a group of wild gorillas playing in a forest. Angela turned the phone around so her new friend could see. As the video played, at first the gorilla acted a little scared. Then it became mesmerized. Angela smiled as she watched the gorilla’s reaction.
“Pretty cool, huh?” said Angela. “Those are gorillas who aren’t in zoos. You want to see some more?”
Angela found more videos and played them. The gorilla kept her eyes glued to the phone even as she chewed on stalks and vegetables for lunch. Zoo visitors who happened to find Angela interacting with the gorilla thought the scene was a little strange, but mostly ignored it.
Time passed quickly for Angela. When she finally paid attention, she realized that three hours had gone by.
“Maybe I should go,” Angela said to the gorilla.
As she got up to leave, the gorilla pounded the glass in protest.
“I promise to come back and see you. Real soon,” said Angela.
The gorilla kept pounding.
“I promise,” repeated Angela. “I’ll probably be here tomorrow.”
On her way out of the gorilla exhibit, Angela stopped to look at a chart showing pictures and names of the gorillas currently on display. She instantly recognized her new friend, who was named Amaree. Angela strolled past her second favorite part of the zoo, the wild cats, and then strolled home. Her mom was waiting to eagerly ask questions.
“So what did you think? Did you make any new friends?”
“Yes, but not with the girls you were planning on. They never showed up. So I talked to a different girl.”
Angela’s mom smiled and tried to not look judgmental. “Oh, that sounds nice. Who’s the new girl?”
“Her name’s Amaree. She’s younger than me, but she’s still really cool.”
“Oh, younger than you? And she likes the zoo?”
“I guess so. We’re supposed to meet there again tomorrow.”
“That’s great! A new friend. Fresh air. Aren’t you glad you went today?”
“I guess so.”
Angela returned to the zoo the next day and the day after that. Soon it was the only place she ever wanted to go. She did not share many details about her new friend, Amaree, and Angela’s parents tried not to push too hard for information. But they did notice that Angela seemed a lot happier and energetic, although she had taken to wearing mostly black clothing. Her parents decided that Amaree was a good influence on Angela and although they wanted to meet her, they stayed satisfied with Angela’s explanation that Amaree was shy around other people and would have a hard time coming over to their house if Angela invited her.
Angela’s visits to the zoo became so routine that Amaree was always waiting for her next to their glass viewing window. Angela showed videos she thought Amaree would like. Some were of gorillas, but most simply showed humans doing silly stuff. Amaree always had a stack of vegetables ready so she could snack while binge watching.
If other gorillas happened to wander over while Angela and Amaree were together, Amaree made threatening noises and did her best to chase them away. Angela would hide her phone and not let the other gorillas see. She copied the same threatening facial expressions made by Amaree.
A month into the summer zoo season, Angela’s mom picked up an unexpected call originating from the zoo. She answered and tried to sound polite.
“Hello, I’m trying to reach Angela Cunningham’s mother. We tracked down your number from the information you gave us when you purchased Angela’s zoo pass.”
“Yes, I’m Angela’s mom.”
“Would you mind coming in to talk with us?”
“What’s this about?”
“It’s hard to explain over the phone.”
Angela’s mom and dad made the trip to the zoo’s administration building and sat down with two uniformed employees. The zoo personnel acted friendly but serious.
“Has Angela told you what she does when she visits the zoo?” one of the employees asked.
“She hangs out with her friend named Amaree. But to tell you the truth, we don’t really know much about Amaree,” said Angela’s mom.
“Amaree is one of our juvenile gorillas.”
“What? Her friend is a gorilla?” asked Angela’s dad in surprise.
“They mostly sit and watch Angela’s phone. Sometimes they bully the other gorillas. We don’t think it’s very healthy behavior.”
Angela’s mom’s jaw hung open, but she managed to say, “So are you telling me my daughter’s a bad influence on a gorilla?”
“I guess you could say that,” replied the zoo employee. “We think it would be best if they spent more time with individuals their own age and species.”
“Wow. Are you saying Angela can’t see Amaree anymore? Because she would definitely hate that.”
“Not necessarily,” said the second zoo employee. “Angela’s phone is definitely a bad influence, but I’m wondering if we could channel her energy in a different way. I’m sure we could use anyone willing to spend hours every day at the zoo.”
“What did you have in mind?” asked Angela’s mom.
“Well, we’ve got this young volunteers program, but she’d have to be willing to keep all the rules.”
When Angela’s parents spoke with her later that evening, they tried to sound like the zoo was recruiting her.
“They’ve noticed all the time you’ve spent at the gorilla enclosure,” said her mom. “They’re hoping you could help with tours and stuff.”
“What would I have to do?”
“Mostly answer people’s questions when they walked by. Tell them about the different gorillas.”
“But they already have signs up. People can read the signs.”
“They like hearing from guides, especially young guides who can act enthusiastic. You’d get to wear your own zoo uniform. But you’d have to promise to talk about all the gorillas, not just Amaree. And put away your phone.”
“Maybe I’ll think about it,” said Angela.
After a few days of thinking, Angela reported to the zoo’s office for some training. By the end of the summer, she proved to be the zoo’s most interesting animal ambassador. She was an insightful observer of gorilla personalities and shared with zoo visitors how the gorilla family interacted. She could not help being partial towards Amaree.
“I’m not supposed to have favorites,” Angela told visitors. “But I think Amaree’s the funnest one in the family. Be sure not to show her your phone. She’s a total screen junky and instantly gets addicted to devices.”
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