In the Closet (boy x boy)

27. Koalas Sleep around 20 Hours a Day

Saturday, April 22nd

I was assigned a shift in the koalas' enclosure today and it's not as easy as I expected. The new section is nearly completed so the staff is spread out in different area again, just like before the beginning of the project. I'm paired with Juliette and Livia, which I would normally be delighted about, but not today. They've been fighting for a couple weeks, nobody has been able to figure out why exactly. All the coordinators got the memo, expect Carlos who was tasked with shift distribution today. Result is, I lead a team with two colleagues that won't even look at each other.

Glass surrounds a good portion of the enclosure to allow guests to watch inside. We stay in a corner, still in view but as little as we can. It's time for feeding the orphaned joeys and the adults. With a syringe in hand, I approach the first joey on my list. Livia has left to fetch the Eucalyptus microcorys leaves. The enclosure is full with Eucalyptus tree, which the koalas are free to feed on anytime. We only store away their favorite specie of Eucalyptus so the public has something to watch throughout the feeding. Juliette surveys the nearby koalas for anomalies or signs of injuries or illnesses. Her face has gotten paler, her eyes glassier, her smile duller. Without prying, I feel the need to make sure she's alright. So as I allow our biggest joey to get his fill, I glance at her.

"Are you alright?" I ask and she spins on her feet, like she was waiting for the question.

Her eyes water and she sniffles. I watch as she swallows it all back in. I relate to her so much I don't know what to do with myself at the moment. The joey grabs the syringe, sucking for more although it's done. I remove it and smile at the adorable small koala.

"You'll have more tomorrow, Froyo," I whisper. Juliette now stands in front of me, ready to unpack it all.

"Livia hates me. She never loved me," she tells me with a quivery voice. I shake my head softly because there's no way that's true.

"She adores you, Juliette. Everybody knows that. What happened for you to think she otherwise?" I busy myself with another joey in order to avoid a potential scolding from my superiors. She follows me.

"We've been together for a year, Billy, a year. And she won't let me move in." Her head falls, her face crisps with sadness. Everyone knows Livia has an apartment and Juliette spends so much time there they could start splitting rent. And everyone knows that although Livia pretends she hates it, she loves when Juliette visits her. So what can this even be about?

A new joey places its mouth on the syringe.

"Juliette..." I say because even if I want to, I'll never be as helpful as a proper heart-to-heart conversation with Livia.

"She doesn't even want me in her life." She's on the brink of tears. I look at the glass, there's barely any visitors at this time of the day. I decide it's better to solve this once and for all than to ignore it.

"Did you fight?"

Juliette's lower lip quivers. She wipes her nose. "Yeah. I thought she was okay with it. I thought she knew I wanted us to live together. But she— she—" Her sentence cuts. I feed a new joey.

"Maybe it's a misunderstanding?" I offer. She shakes her head, a sob escaping from her lips.

Just as I hear Livia's footsteps approaching the enclosure's entrance, Juliette excuses herself and leaves, crying. I sigh. I only have one joey left to feed and its the most difficult one. It's been underweight since it was rescued, too upset with the loss of its mother to accept proper nutrition. We named it Boo because it's often spooked and it then scampers away from sight like a little marsupial ghost. So for once that it's not concealed behind thick foliage, I take the opportunity to try to convince it to feed. I slowly near its mouth with the syringe. It blinks at me, unafraid yet a bit wary as always. Livia swings the door as she comes in and Boo disappears. I flatten my mouth with a sigh. With a glance at Livia, I know that she doesn't give a flying shit. She gives me her infamous gaze that says "why did you make Juliette cry, you twerp. you should just make everybody's week and die." and I agree with her for the first time.