Snippet #2293782

With a brown leather backpack slung over her shoulder, the tiger was on the prowl for her brother, Marcus. She expected him to be over at the tennis court, and sure enough, there he was. Whenever he had nothing to do, Marcus could always be found practicing on the court. Whenever he wasn't at home or at the Pawprint, the family cafe, everyone assumed that he was practicing. Marcus was a master at the game, and it would be a shame for him not to practice.
She watched him hit the bright green balls with ease. They flew across the court like birds soaring above a field. He didn't miss any of the balls that bounced towards him. This wasn't unusual for Marcus. In fact, he rarely missed any of the balls from the machine.

Ramona watched him cool down and put the tennis balls back into the machine where they came from. She waited for him to leave the court. Finally, he did, and at the sight of her standing there, he blushed. There he goes again, she thought to herself. Another thing that wasn't unusual for Marcus was the silly facial expressions he made whenever she was close. Ramona was well aware of the fact that her "brother" had a crush on her. Yes, he was a dragon, and she was a tiger, and although the two were mighty powerful creatures, she couldn't see anything more than mutual care and friendship coming between the two. To put it simply, Marcus was DEFINETELY not her type. However, she did love him like he was one of her own.

"Hi, how are you?" he asked. "I'm fine, Marcus. Nice hitting out there. I saw you," she said, a small smirk appearing on her face. She took a few steps closer to him, and continued.
"Listen; i'm going to be gone for about two to three hours. I got invited to go to a fishing thing with a couple of "friends" from school, and unfortunately i wasn't able to say no."
She shrugged. Ramona was never interested in hanging out with her so called "friends". To her, the word 'friends' meant people she knew, not people she liked. She only had friends and was at the level of popularity she was at for her money, looks, and family reputation. If it was up to her, she would have wanted it any other way. She was never into the things her friends talked about, and when she actually had a chance to speak, her friends weren't into the things she talked about either. Her relationship between the people she knew was genuinely awkward.

"So if mom or dad or anyone else asks where i am, you just tell them that. We're going to be on the trail in the woods. Wish me luck. I'll see you later."
She waved goodbye to her brother before she set off on the road to the trail. The trail was actually quite close to the tennis court. Although a large town, Sunny Haven felt like a small world to Ramona. For a tiger like her, the world was always waiting to be explored.