Robert Irwin and I

Chapter 1: Leaving the US

You wait in line to board the plane with your little siblings behind you complaining. "Shhh!" Your mother sighs. "You need to be good it's a very long flight." Your father just got a new job doing something or another in Queensland Australia. You are super excited because you are moving close enough to Australia zoo that you can volunteer and maybe even work there. You idolize the Irwins ever since you were 5. Especially the sweet and kind Bindi. You are quickly ushered on to the plane and take your seat. You listien carefully to the safety instructions and protocols before puttting in your headphones and taking a nap. When you wake up you still have 13 hours left of he flight. You sigh and start reading "And Then There Were None" by your favorite Author Agatha Christie. Once you finish the book you watch the BBC T.V miniseries adaptation of the book. You think Philip Lombard is cute. Really cute. You have fallen back asleep and are shaken awake by your dad. "Wake up Y/N it's time to get off the plane." You exit the plane and fly through customs. You catch a cab to your new house and listen to your favorite band. "What are you listening to?" Your mom asks. "Oh just Y/F/B/N. They have a new album out." You smile as you replied. 

You arrive at a beautiful family home that, until now, you have only seen photos of. "Wow.." you breath. Your parents smile at each other. You go up to your new room to see that all of your stuff has been shipped and placed in your room. You start to unpack and make this space feel like yours. You can hear your mom help the twins' unpack and get situated. Once you are 75% done you plop on your bed and think "The rest can be done later.... I'm so tired and jet lagged.." You drift off to sleep. You wake up to the smell of take out Chinese food. You groggily get out of bed and go downstairs. You eat while your mom and dad do most of the talking. "So when do we start school?" You ask. Your mom smiles and laughs "It's summer here. Remember? The seasons are flipped!" "I forgot!" You get up and do a tired happy dance. Your family erupts with laugher. "it's going to take time to get used to the time change so I say you guys go to bed." Your dad says after laughing hysterically. "I downt wan to gow to bed." Your whinny 6 year old brother says. "Charlie you have too." Your mom says while patting him on the back. "Oliva's Okay with it. Right     olive tree?" Your mom asks your sister using her nickname. "Yes." Olives answers. Olivia is always trying to be better then her twin brother. 

You head up to bed and change into an old t-shirt from when you were on the middle school track team. You pull on a pair of Pj shorts. You brush your teeth for 30 seconds and plop down and fall asleep quickly while you hear Charlie fighting your mom about going to bed while Olivia tries to be a perfect mommy's girl. "Beep! Beep! Beep!" Your alarm rings. You groan then check the time. It's 5:35 and it's your alarm from when you work up early for school in the states. You turn it off and roll back over to catch a few more minutes of  precious  Sleep. You wake up naturally at 8:16. Perfect. You look at the photographs framed on your walls. All of them are Robert Irwin's work. Some old and some new. You sigh wishfully. "I reallly wish I could meet the Irwins." You say out loud to yourself. You get dressed in a wildlife warriors shirt and cute and short cargo shorts. You brush through your crazy nest-like hair and walk downstairs.

You are welcomed by the scents of coffee and fresh air blowing in through the open kitchen window. It really is perfect here... you think to yourself. Olivia and Charile must be asleep becaus only your mom and dad are up. You grab a bowl of cereal and eat it slowly breathing in the scents of Australia. "Mom can you help me fill out my volunteer form for Australia since, you know, none of us are Australian citizens yet." You ask in between slow and small bites. "Of course sweetie." Your mom laughs. "Chirp!" You hear a cockatoo outside your window. "Ohmyghosh ohmyghosh! So much wildlife to photograph!" You scream jumping up and down. "Calm down. There will be plenty of time for  that later. We need to finish unpacking." Your dad tells you. "Your shoulders slump slightly and you frown. "Fine. Fine." You say gingerly. You stalk upstairs and finish unpacking. It only takes you 1 hour to finish. By then the twins' are up and eating downstairs. You then remember it's your bestie, Sara's birthday. You shoot her a quick text "Happy 15th birthday queen! 🎂 👸🏼 I hope you have an amazing day! Miss you and love you! 😘" There you think happily. Excited that it is time to take some pictures you grab your Canon camera and some extra lenses. You think about taking your other cameras then decide that one Canon is enough. You pack the camera and lenses into your backpack along with sunscreen and bug spray and a chocolate bar. You know. For good measure. 

"I'm going out." You announce as you march down the stairs to your parents. "Okay, but honey be careful and stay on our property!" Your mom warns you. "I will!" You scream back as you head out the door. "If she can go out alone I should be able to too!" You hear Olivia shout. You head into your massive backyard. 30  acres of fields and woods to explore and photograph wildlife in you think excitedly. There is a small pathway onto a patio and then a fire pit. Off to the side their is a massive inground pool. You can see the neighbor's houses which are close but not too close who each probably have 30 acres of their own you think dreamily. "Well, there is no better way to kick off a new life then exploring it all and photographing some wildlife!" You announce excitedly to yourself. 

A/N: I hope you like my first chapter of my new Robert Irwin fan fic! Let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is very welcome! Thanks for reading! -Robert Irwin's future wife