username; SilhouetteStation
name; Leore
gender; Male
prompt;
They were fighting again. He could hear them in the kitchen, even with the door shut. It wasn't uncommon to hear them arguing, so he'd learnt to block it out. He toddled over to the fish tank, peering through the glass at the two goldfish inside. They were the only ones who didn't make a lot of noise. From his pocket he pulled out a small plastic shark and held it up, moving it along, pretending it was swimming with them. Sometimes he imagined it was him, in the water with his golden friends. Something smashed in the kitchen. He and his shark kept bobbing along.
~
Kids crowded around, pointing and chattering loudly. Their teacher was doing her best to keep the class together. The voice of the aquarium guide rose over the noise, pointing out various sealife. Leore only half heard him. He was so close, his breath almost steamed up the glass. In the underground dimness, the water cast flickering blue light over his face. His eyes were wide with wonder, and he held his breath as a shark swam up over his head in the tunnel.
He'd always loved fish when he was younger. His two goldfish had given him something to focus on; clean the tank, keep them fed, ignore anything else. He'd raided the school library for fish-related books, reading them all at least twice. But one fish had always stayed his favorite. He reached down to touch his pocket, where even now, the small plastic shark was nestled.
He started listening properly to the guide, who had just asked the class what their favorite fish were. There was a flurry of answers. "Goldfish!" "Tropical!" "Nemo!"
"What about you?" The guide asked, and Leore realized he was talking to him. Without hesitation he pointed into the water, where the shark had swum back around. One of the students snickered. "That's a shark, dummy." A few others giggled.
"Actually you're wrong," the guide said bluntly, and the giggling stopped. "Technically speaking, a shark is a kind of fish. You knew that?" He asked, turning back to Leore, who nodded. "You know what kind that one is?"
"Nurse shark," he whispered. The guide looked impressed.
The tour moved on, but the guide hung back to walk with Leore. "You seem to know your stuff," he said. Leore felt a rush of pride. "You know," the guide continued, "you should really think about a career in this. Seems like your kind of thing."
~
"Oi, Dolly Daydream!"
"Huh?"
He snapped out of the memory to find his workmate laughing at him.
"Away with the fishes again, I see," they teased gently, and he rolled his eyes. "Zip me up," they said, turning around. Leore did up their wetsuit; his was already snug against his body. Together they stored their belongings in their lockers.
"Ready for another fun day of marine biology?"
Leore touched the side pocket of his backpack, where he could feel the plastic shark inside. "Always."
(499/500)