Page 703 of Not Over You

Leaning forward, I rested my arms on the table. “Tell me about your project, Piper.”

She dug in her backpack for a few seconds before pulling out a folder. She handed me the folder as she said, “I have to pick an animal, then research it and its habitat. Then I have to make a model of the animal in its habitat and choose five important facts to write about.”

I smiled as I read over the project. “This sounds like fun. Have you decided what animal you want to research?”

She nodded eagerly. “A snow leopard.”

“Oh, a snow leopard, huh? Those are cool,” I replied.

“Did you know that snow leopards live in the mountains in Asia?”

I chuckled. “I did.” I set the folder down. “Where do you think we should start?”

Piper pursed her lips in thought. “We should probably get some books about snow leopards since we’re in the library.”

“Great idea.” I stood and extended my hand to her. “Let’s go see what we can find.”

Piper smiled up at me as she grabbed my hand and stood.

“We’ll be back,” I called over my shoulder as we walked toward the shelves of books. I heard Lincoln and the Andrews chuckling as we walked away.

As we navigated the various aisles of books, I asked Piper, “Is the snow leopard your favorite animal?”

Piper nodded. “Yep. I saw one at the zoo one time, and it was so pretty.”

“They are very pretty,” I agreed, scanning the tops of the shelves to find the aisle we were looking for.

After a few minutes, we found the section with animal research books. Piper and I picked out a few about snow leopards, then headed back to the table.

“Find anything good?” Tim asked as Piper sat down next to him.

She spread the books out in front of her and nodded. “I think this should be enough for the project.” She grabbed one of the books, opened it, then began reading.

I smiled as I watched her eyes scanning the words of the pages. Her eyebrows rose as she asked, “Did you know that a snow leopard’s habitat ranges across twelve countries?”

“I did not. You taught me something new, kiddo,” Lincoln answered.

“That sounds like a good fact for your report,” I suggested.

Piper grabbed her notebook and a pencil from her backpack, then wrote down the fact. She repeated the process, alternating between reading out loud and writing facts down in her notebook.

After about thirty minutes, she set her pencil down and sighed. “I think that’s it.”

“Well, read us what you wrote down,” Emily urged with a laugh.

Piper smiled as she looked down at her notebook and began reading. “The snow leopard habitat ranges across twelve countries in the mountains of central Asia. The climate of their habitat is cold and dry, and only grasses and small shrubs can grow on the steep mountain slopes. Snow leopards are carnivorous and eat mainly ibex and blue sheep. They use their tail to keep warm by wrapping it around themselves. Snow leopards can leap up to thirty feet.”

“Those are amazing facts, sweetheart,” Tim praised with a wide grin “You did a great job.”

Emily, Lincoln, and I agreed with Tim, praising Piper and making her blush as she fought a smile.

“What do you have to do next, Piper?” I asked.

She pulled her assignment paper from underneath the stack of books. “I have to make a diorama.”

“Do you know how you want your habitat to look?” Lincoln asked.

Piper shrugged. “I know what it’s supposed to look like, but I don’t know how to make it.”

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