"Hanna! Are you almost ready? You're going to be late to guide the safari experience." 

I turned around, my brown, wavy hair falling in place behind me as I looked at my fellow zookeeper, Morgan. "Come on Morgan, you know I'm never late."

Morgan rolled her green eyes at me, as usual. "Yeah yeah, but still. We shouldn't make our guests wait. Their dollars means a better future for our animals." She lightly punched my arm. "Including your precious Robert." 

I smiled. Robert was our 9 year old giraffe that had come to the Rosebush Zoo as a baby giraffe who was sadly orphaned in Africa. Once Rosebush Zoo had gotten word of it, we volunteered to take him in right away. We had many giraffes, including Roberta, our 5 year old lady giraffe who hadn't given birth to any calves. She made the perfect adoptive mother to Robert (hence, why we named Robert after Roberta, just a male version of the name). Besides this, there was another reason why Robert was my favorite animal in the zoo.

It was around the time Robert came to the zoo that I first started working at Rosebush Zoo. I was a total newbie, scared of failing, and worried that I would somehow mess up drastically and lose my dream job that I had worked so hard at getting. But when I worked in my first enclosure (which so happened to be the giraffe enclosure) and saw little baby Robert come up to me right away and nuzzle his sweet head into my hands, all my fears and anxieties melted away. I knew that I truly belonged her, and nothing could ever take me away. 

Now, it had been 9 years, and Robert was a full grown giraffe, 18 feet tall and all! He roamed about our 100-acre makeshift savannah plans at Rosebush Zoo, eating all the leaves he wanted. It felt so good to have made a difference in just one giraffe's life, and even better when the giraffe was as cute and special as Robert was. 

"Hello? Earth to Hanna?" Morgan was waving a pale hand in my face. I turned back to look at her, snapping out of my Robert memory daze. "Now we're really going to be late for the safari tour. Let's hustle!" We both hurried out of the employee's locker room and headed for the safari tour employee entrance. 

After a while, we were all situated in the safari car (Morgan was the driver and I was the tour guide) and all the guests started to clamber on board, eager to see animals. There were small children with their faces painted as different zoo animals with wide smiles on their faces at the prospect of seeing safari animals up close, many parents who seemed a bit tired but nevertheless also excited, and elderly couples who were regulars at the zoo who loved paying visits to their favorite animals on the safari tour. It was a pleasure to see so many different kinds of people all enjoy the same animals. 

"Hello everybody and welcome to the Rosebush Zoo Safari Tour! Please remain seated at all times and keep your hands, arms, legs, and feet inside the tour bus. We're going to see a lot of different animals today, including our world famous giraffes." I smiled, getting ready for my big surprise. "It's also a very special day for our giraffes, because today, June 21st, is World Giraffe Day!" I spread out my arms in a grand motion, which made my announcement receive many claps. 

"Without further ado, let's press on with the safari tour!" Morgan started driving and now we were moving. We passed by many animals, I narrating what they were and some cool facts about them, and the conservation efforts we can all make to save them and give them a better future. Then, we got to my favorite part of the tour. I couldn't help but smile in utter glee. 

"And here, ladies and gentlemen, are the stars of the show today. Please give it up for our world-renowned giraffes!" Everyone pulled out their cameras and began snapping at the glorious creatures. The giraffes stayed a distance away, as they always did when the buses came around, but they were never uncomfortable. 

Some of our other zoo keepers were pulling up to start feeding them, something we coordinated the bus schedule around so that everyone could see the feeding of the giraffes. Suddenly, I saw him, recognizing him by the distinct spotty pattern on his coat. 

"I have a special shout-out to give here, folks." Megan raised an eyebrow, which I gave a wink to. "I know you're not supposed to have favorites, but I do have one. He's a very special animal, and his name is Robert." I pointed outside the bus (yes, breaking my own rule, I know). "He's that handsome giraffe right over there."

Robert looked at the bus inquisitively and then, upon seeing me, came closer to the bus. I couldn't hide my delighted gasp, and everyone rose up in their seats to take pictures. They were also technically breaking a rule, but I let it slide. Robert was worth it. 

I went over to Robert and extended my arm out to him. Robert bent down and let me pet his head gently, something he loved that I did. "Robert was brought here as an orphan 9 years ago, and he has truly thrived here at Rosebush Zoo. He's an inspiration to us to know that with a little help, this species can truly thrive." 

I looked into Robert's eyes, his beautiful long lashes blinking away the dust from the ground that would come up to his face. I smiled. "Thanks Robert, for keeping me here," I whispered, away from the microphone. 

I turned away from Robert and continued the tour, albeit with some tears in my eyes. I waved goodbye to Robert as he went about, going to be fed. 

After a while, the tour ended and all the passengers got off. Morgan got off, but not before smiling my way and saying, "Good job out there today, Hanna." She hopped off the stairs to the bus and walked off. 

I sighed and crossed to the left side of the bus, admiring the beautiful plains before me. I gasped in delight. I could see Robert prancing about on the plains, something I don't see very often. 

It was a special day after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello everyone! Thank you for reading this little story I wrote in honor of World Giraffe day!