“Claire!” screamed Katie, dropping her snow cone. “THE TIGER IS GOING TO EAT ME !” I rolled my eyes. “If you keep screaming like that, yes she will.” Leslie nervously twirled her ponytail. “Um, let’s go,” she said, her voice crackling. “We have a big chance of being injured by the tiger, you know.”

“Tigress,” I corrected her. I firmly planted my Old Navy flip flops in the ground. “I’m not leaving.” “Why?” Katie begged and pleaded as she punched my denim Bermuda shorts. “I want to see what happens after this.” “It’s probably going to be in the newspaper,” Leslie said, giggling. I sighed. I didn’t know why, but I had the sudden urge to stay put and see what would happen. “Fine,” I said, after thinking it over.

“Throw this away for me, would you,” Katie sneered as she thrust her empty snow cone wrapper at me. “Whatever.” I spotted a trash can behind the snow cone booth and walked over. Suddenly, I gasped. Before my eyes, laying on the ground right by the trash can was…the tiger.