I came to the zoo because my shift was scheduled to start right after my classes ended. I changed out of my casual clothes and into my work uniform in the staff room. Placing my bag and clothes in my locker, I left the room. I needed to organize the storage room where the animal food was kept.
After tying up my long hair, I put on my brown gloves. I began sorting the food by animal species. Humming a tune to myself and staying focused, I finished the job quickly. I was doing some final checks just to be sure when my coworker walked into the storage room. He was a university student just like me.
Seeing how engrossed I was in my job, he whistled to get my attention. I smiled and nodded a greeting when I noticed him.
"How are you, Rinya? How is school going?"
I sighed. "Exhausting. How are you?"
He shrugged, despite having a slight smirk on his face. "Same as usual. Trying to survive."
He opened the deep freezer and started filling the basket in his hand with the fish used to feed the aquarium animals. He turned his gaze to me while filling the second basket.
"Do you want to help? I'm going to feed the sharks."
Since I had finished my job, I had some free time to help him. Plus, I enjoyed spending time with him since we were close in age. The fact that he was quite handsome was definitely not one of the reasons. Feeling my cheeks heat up, I looked at the wall instead of him to distract myself.
"Sure, okay."
He stopped me when I took off my gloves and reached out to carry one of the baskets. He laughed and said he wouldn't let me carry anything while he was there. After picking up both baskets, he started leading the way. I was following him. As I studied him from behind, I couldn't help but notice his height and broad shoulders. My body was moving automatically.
When he stopped suddenly, I crashed into his back. While I held my throbbing forehead, he turned around.
"Are you okay?"
I giggled in embarrassment. "Yes. Sorry, I didn't expect you to stop suddenly."
"Be careful. We wouldn't want you to get hurt, right? Let's go up the stairs. We need to throw the fish from above the tank."
As we walked toward the stairs, I looked at the sharks swimming in the massive tank. They were swimming calmly, but I knew that tranquility wouldn't last long if they caught the scent of blood. When we reached the top of the stairs, he set the baskets he was carrying on the ground. He pointed at the fish.
"Do you want to throw them?"
I looked down into the tank. I was really high up, and my fear of heights was triggered a little. Still, I had no intention of looking like a coward in front of him. I nodded to confirm.
First, he handed me the smaller of the two baskets. I tipped the basket over and dumped the fish into the shark-filled tank. The second basket was bigger than the first. When he handed me the second basket, I realized how heavy it was. All I had to do was tip this basket over and empty it; I could do this.
When I tried to tip the second basket, my worst fear came true. I lost my balance. First the basket in my hand fell into the tank, and then me.
My brain screamed in alarm but then I felt strong arms grab my hand. Looking up, I saw that my coworker had caught me at the very last second. My eyes watered from panic.
"I was so, so scared. Thank y—"
In contrast to my emotional turmoil, he was expressionless. His eyes looked completely empty.
Then, he let go of my hand.