" I can tell you that these two statues are not monkeys native to India. This one’s a spider monkey. They come from South America. This one is a chimpanzee, which is technically an ape, not a monkey. They’re often classified as monkeys because of their size.”
I gaped at him. “How do you know so much about monkeys?”
He crossed him arms over his chest. “Ah, so am I to assume that talking about monkeys is an approved topic of conversation? Perhaps if I were a monkey instead of a tiger you might clue me in as to why you’re avoiding me.”
“I’m not avoiding you. I just need some space. It has nothing to do with your species. It has to do with other things.”
“What other things?”
“Nothing.”
“It’s something.”
“It can’t be anything.”
“What can’t be anything?”
“Can we just get back to the monkeys?” I yelled.
“Fine!” he hollered back.
We stood there glaring at each other for a minute, both of us frustrated and angry. He went back to examining the various monkeys and ticking off a list of their traits.
Before I could stop myself, I shot off a sarcastic, “I had no idea that I was walking with a monkey expert, but, then again, you have eaten them right? So I guess that would be the difference between say, pork and chicken, to someone like me.”
Ren scowled at me. “I lived in zoos and circuses for centuries, remember? And I don’t…eat…monkeys! "
― Colleen Houck , Tiger's Curse (The Tiger Saga, #1)