tap...

tap...

tap...

Libby sat at a bench wrapped up in a light jacket, her fingers nimbly twiddling a pencil over a pad of thick drawing paper placed gently on a picnic table. Her feet tapped the ground in a steady rhythm, and she hummed along to the song playing gently playing from the gift shop. 'Don't it always seem to go, you don't know what ya got 'till it's gone, paved paradise and they put up a parking lot..'. She looked up from her work and rubbed her hands together. This was turning out to be a chilly Autumn, even for Rhode Island. Still, she was used to cold. Her breath fogged the air in front of her for a moment, before vanishing. Across from her, the elephants were standing around, looking none to happy.

Libby reached for her pencil again, putting the finishing touches on her sketch. She remembered the professor's exact words. 'Draw me something..unusual, whatever you can find in real life. Just a sketch will do. Good luck.' She had smirked, and she had given her a smile in that lazy art-teacher way of saying 'impress me. Or else.' The teacher really was a nice person, beautiful, almost. Shame she dies so young, Libby thought. Of course, it was just her job, don't quit your day job, as they say.

She yawned,stretching her arms over her head and looking up at the cloudy sky. It was going to rain. She should probably leave before she got wet. Or, more importantly, her precious drawing got wet. Too late. The first drop splattered down onto her nose, and she snapped her pad shut and tucked it beneath her jacket just as it began to pour. Her hair, skin and clothing were soon dripping wet as she madly ran for shelter in the gift shop.

Libby reached the heated haven of the gift shop and stepped inside gratefully, her blond hair dripping down onto her face. Her wet sneakers squeaked around on the tile floor as she wandered around, investigating stuffed animals and elephant poop paper. Libby realized with a sight that, unless she wanted to be soaked,she couldn't get to her car until the downpour stopped. Eventually, Libby tired of wandering among the shelves and picked up an eco-friendly chocolate bar. She purchased it at the counter, fishing a bill and some change out of her pockets.

Yawning, she made her way over to one of the benches scattered around the small shop and sat down. She rested her pad on her knees and peeled open the chocolate bar. Libby folded the wrapper meticulously and slid it into her pocket. She savored the rich chocolate as she stared out the steamy window. At that point, most of the animals had turned inside, the cold Autumn rain being too much for the more tropical varieties.

Libby finished her candy with a sigh and stood up lazily. The rain had finally stopped pounding down. She exited the store, causing the bell above the door to jingle, and started walking through the mud, now happy-as-can-be.

A chocolate bar and sun'll do that to you.