“Uh-Ricky.” He said quickly, raising his hand. “It’s Ricky.”

     This was Ricky, the boy Lucas’d mentioned earlier. Oh, that made perfect sense! So I would have to work with him? I don’t know that didn’t seem that bad. This place was beautiful. I gave a quick look around again before looking back and nodding at him.

    “Oh uhm, sorry-” I mumbled, realizing I’d stopped the conversation in its tracks. “I’m Clover, Clover Sparks.”

     He smiled, cheeks a simple shade of red as he reached out a hand for me to shake. “Great to meet you, Clover.” He said quickly, shaking my hand with enthusiasm. I noticed he had a bit of an accent, which surprised me. I took the time to look him up and down quickly.

     A lab coat licked at his heels as he bounced from foot to foot in excitement. He had messy (and when I say messy, I mean messy) light brown hair. I could tell he hadn’t brushed it in at least over a week. Dark, doe eyes stared at me, alight with joy. His eyes were large on his face, giving an appearance of innocence and youth. His lips were small and soft, a pink-grey color as he smiled at me with crooked teeth. His features were soft, cheekbones barely seen. Thick eyebrows raised above his eyes, lighter than his hair so they blended into his dark skin. He was a tanner fellow, and honestly kind of cute. But not exactly my type. Couldn’t say the same for him and Sage though.

       Sage continued to squeeze the end of her nose, just below her glasses. “Clover is the newest addition to our operation.” Ricky formed his mouth into a small “o” which was practically adorable and made me smile. “She’s studied zoology in school and-”

     “Oh my, where’d you go?” Ricky cut her off mid-sentence, his face excited beyond compare.

     “Oh uh, Ohio University.” I grinned at him, swaying on my heels. He nodded quickly, seemingly interested in that choice, his eyes looking me up and down. It was if he was intent on memorizing every feature of my form. Sage rolled her eyes, sighing. I glanced at her before looking back at the intently staring Ricky Bebbington. “Main campus.” I hummed slightly. “And uh-I understand that I’ll uh-I’ll be working with you from now on-”

     That seemed to surprise him as he straightened curtly. However, within an instant, he regained his composure and was smiling like an idiot. “Oh, splendid. I could really use the help around here! Tell me what made you pursue Zoology?”

     I froze slightly. “Oh.” I didn’t want to have to tell him the real reason I studied in that field was that I wanted to be one of those guys on T.V with the Australian accents who point out creatures and try to ‘wrassle em’. “I’ve always liked animals.” I lied, smiling.

     Ricky nodded, intrigued. “Oh yes of course. Simply fascinating you know.”