Page 33 of A Cock and Bull Story

Jack just shakes his head.

“Oh! And I almost completely forgot! Before all this—on my way to Professor Yardley’s office—I saw this. . .thingwatching me! I swear on my soul that it winked at me!”

“A thing? What thing?” Jack asks.

“An animal,” I elucidate. “I think it was a fox, maybe.”

Theo raises a brow.

“You don't know?”

I mirror the look he’s giving me.

“Why wouldIknow? I'm not an animalist, er, zoologist.”

Jude glances at me.

“Well, most of us can recognize animals; although, sometimes we only can recognize our own kind,” he adds like I’m slow.

I gasp.

“Did you just call me a pussy?! Like, because I have a vagina, I can only recognize other women?” Jude’s mouth drops open at my words. “That's misogynistic!”

“N-n-no,” he stammers, “because you're a cat.”

“Like a ‘cool cat’—huh, Iampretty cool,” I say mostly to myself.

I realize that the conversation has degenerated into general confusion again amongst us.

“Was it a jackal?” Jude prods, getting things back on course.

“Do they look like foxes?” I ponder.

Arthur lets out an inarticulate grumble.

“Kind of—but not really. How can you not recognize animals?” he asks gruffly.

I shrug helplessly.

“I don't know. I don't go to the zoo very often.”

Elise clucks at this.

“Well! I would hope not! They’re the bane of our existence—some ofusget trapped there!” she whispers in disgust.

I glance over at her.

Who the fuck gets trapped at a zoo?

Does she mean that sex addicts were having sex at the zoo, and they get stuck there?

Well, that puts a new spin on ‘you and me baby ain’t nothing but mammals because, clearly, they’re doing it like they do on the Discovery Channel—but at the zoo.

“Yeah,” Sian nods, “zoos are like pets—and you know how we feel aboutthat. We don't have pets.”

“Er,Idon't have a pet, butTheodoes. He has his fish!” I accuse.

Theo paces in agitation.