A Zoo of a Romance

Chapter I

It'll heal with time, they said.

You'll get over it soon, they said.

They lied.

Tina knew she needed to find another job soon, seeing as she was the main source of income for herself and her sister and it had been two weeks since she'd been fired, but being a police officer was her passion. Apart from that brief year or two that she wanted to be a witch (which scared her parents senseless; as Jews they were more or less opposed to the idea), she had always wanted to go into law enforcement one day. Being fired from federal law enforcement was like getting a bite into a slice of cake and then having your parents take it away from you.

Maybe I should just stop being so ambitious, she thought to herself, then chuckled humorlessly. Impossible.

"What's so funny, Teen?" her sister asked from above her.

"Literally nothing."

"Stop being so angsty." Tina hissed as Queenie plucked an exceptionally stubborn eyebrow. This was their ritual – when one of the sisters was upset, the other would pluck their eyebrows. It was a strange quirk to have, but it helped, for no apparent reason.

"I'm not being angsty-"

"All around me are familiar faces, worn out places, worn out-"

"Stop!" Tina giggled. In moments like these, it was easy to let go and just enjoy the presence of her sister. Queenie always seemed to know what Tina needed – whether it was coffee, space, laughter, ice cream, noodle soup, sleep, a movie – no matter what, Queenie was always there. It was like she had some sort of clairvoyant ability to see inside Tina's mind. Where Tina had ambition, Queenie had empathy. It was a sort of balance, a yin-yang, if you will. But no matter how hard Queenie tried, she couldn't solve all of Tina's problems.

Once their laughter died down, Queenie spoke up.

"Tina, you really do need to start looking for another job. I've started looking too, for the time being, but there's no way I'll be able to sustain us both as a cosmetologist or anything else I might be interested in, so you'll need to find something soon."

"I know, I know. It's just-"

"Yeah, being a police officer was your dream. And it sucks that Director Piquery would fire you like that. But at this point there's not really anything you can do about it. Tell you what – we'll go see a movie today, to get your mind off things, as long as you find at least five openings you're interested in by day after tomorrow."

"Well, it depends on the movie. Is there anything new out? Other than creepy horror movies that'll keep me up at night even more than I already am."

"There's nothing new... but The Greatest Showman is still showing, and I know how much you loved it the first three times we saw it."

"Oh, come on, Queen, I wasn't the only one! You were practically singing the lyrics to 'Rewrite the Stars' last time."

"Okay, okay. I'll leave you to get ready, then we'll go."

Tina ducked into her room to put on something slightly nicer than the gray sweatpants and Syracuse University sweatshirt she was wearing to mope around in and decided on a baby blue blouse with navy jeans. She didn't bother with makeup – the only times she's ever worn it was to her high school and college graduations, her induction to the CIA, and work parties here and there. It was just Queenie anyway – and they were going to be in a dark room packed with strangers she honestly couldn't care any less about. She grabbed her phone off her nightstand, her purse from the foot of her bed, and slipped on her shoes to head outside.