My Short Short for the Day

 The chimp swung from the hanging light to the windowsill.  He looked at the people and gave a couple of “ooks” before slipping out the window and into the darkness.

Alex and Mandy stared in shocked silence.

“Uh, did he?  He just… Gone.” Alex stuttered.

“Yeh.”  Mandy replied with a slight smile.  “Smart chimp.”

“What do we do now?”  Alex panicked.  “Should we tell Professor Banks?  He’s gonna kill us.  We’re dead!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.  Calm down Alex.”  Mandy picked up her phone.  “Let’s think for a minute.  What would I do if I were a chimp?”

“That’s ridiculous.  He’s gone!  Gone!”  Alex began to pace.  “We’ll never find him.  Disappeared forever!”

“Let’s see.  Chimps love bananas. So how about a fruit stand?”  Mandy quickly swiped through screens on her phone.

“The professor’s gonna kill us.  We’ll get thrown out of college!”  Alex stopped and stared at Mandy in terror.  “What do I tell my parents?”

“No.  No.  No.  Ok, so no fruit stands within a 10-mile radius of here.  Also, they won’t open until 7am tomorrow.”  Mandy paused for a moment.  “Where else might he go?”

“Maybe I could get a job at Saul’s Bakery.  Yeah, then I could rent a room above the shop.  Collect bottles and cans.”  Alex was pacing again.

“Hmm?  Maybe the park?”  Mandy swiped quickly through the screens.

“Yeah, that’s it.  Then I could pretend I was still in college and they’d never know.”  Alex brightened.  “I would go home for holidays and wash my laundry there, just like I was still in college.  Yeah, this could work.”

“Oh, of course.  I’ve got it.  He’s going to the zoo.”  Mandy grabbed her keys.

“Ook.”

“Did you hear that?”  Mandy paused at the door.

“I’m sure it won’t be too hard to learn how to make bread.  Maybe in a couple of years I could make manager.”  Alex paced, gesturing with his hands as he talked.

“Ook.”

“It’s coming from over there.”  Mandy strode to the window and looked out.

“Then, after manager, maybe I could even move up to supervisor.  Or open my own location.”  Alex smiled at the idea.

Mandy climbed out onto the fire escape. She looked around and then climbed up to the roof.  “There you are.”

“Ook.”  The chimp climbed up onto Mandy’s lap and pointed out.

Mandy’s gaze followed and she caught her breath.  “Wow!  What a view!”

“Ook.”  The chimp pointed up.

“Even better.”  Mandy said looking up at the sparkling, night sky.  “It’s beautiful.”