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Adventures in the Aquarium

An Unlikely Friend

By Alex FordPublished about a year ago Updated about a year ago 14 min read
1

Eager silver fins race through the chartreuse green seaweed, the water shifting the soft blue pebbles in the sand with his quick stride. Lue was certain he would make it to the meeting at the Twin Barrels in time, until a brown striped pufferfish abruptly blocks his path.

“Alright sly guy, you think you’re going to take the best spot inside the barrel from me? Move aside Killifish,” Rob the Proud Pufferfish chanted, blowing himself up like a balloon and knocking Lue back into spiral of bubbles.

Lue tries to flutter against the powerful vortex Rob made, crashing into a tomato clownfish. Pebbles flew everywhere, covering the bubbles that were shooting out of the sand.

“Oh no! Now I won’t be able to complete my new musical bubble song!” Matt the Rockstar Clownfish gasped, scurrying back and forth in a panicked state.

“I’m sorry, it wasn’t my fault! Here, I’ll help you,” Lue replied, rushing to Matt’s aid.

A ribboned orange fin grabs Lue, two longnose hawkfish pulling him behind a rock.

“Alright, look at me and follow my movements,’ Jolly JoAnn said with care in her voice, red and orange stripes crossing her floral white body. ‘Move your left fin up…Good. Now move your right fin up. Excellent!”

“Is this really necessary, I need to get to the-

“Of course, it is necessary, right Dan?” JoAnn chimed, nudging her husband to speak up.

“Oh yes dear. You know Lue, you better be careful going down the southern waterway. I heard it can be quite dark and narrow. Lots of different paths. You might end up in the jellyfish’s area. I heard Gary gives the worst kind of sting…Complaining,” Dan the Humble Hawkfish warned, his deep nasally voice making it hard for Lue to tell whether he was serious or not.

After two daunting minutes of exercises Lue had enough, wiggling his way out of JoAnn’s firm grip and sailing to the Twin Barrels. The two worn barrels absorbing the sand were already filled with a crowd of fish. Lue could barely see or hear what was being announced, finally shimmying his way into a vacant shell. An enormous gray fish floated in the center of the gathering, a flat nose shooting out his of face like a nail. Rob proudly hovered next to him, perfectly under the barrel’s shade.

“Alright,’ Rob protruded his voice with a loud belch, nearly making himself puff up again. ‘The Allfish Believers of Colors meeting has begun.”

“Thank you, Rob,’ Ben the Brave Unicorn Tang said, beginning his triumphant swim around the inner circle. ‘As you know, the starfish brothers have long been shinning their bright lights upon our homes at a substantially growing rate. It is vital that we show our bright colors, elegant bodies, and large fins to make sure their lights never dim!”

“I heard the starfish brothers were made from coral and rocks,” Ashley the Thoughtful Threadfin Butterfly Fish interjected, her vibrant golden yellow stripes blending over her shy purple face.

“Ah yes, thank you. I do believe the starfish brothers grew up from the coral and rocks, crawling up out of the water and into the…Outside!” Ben’s gapping eyes peered into Ashely’s wandering eyes. ‘Also, Ashley, I need you to actually float out into the open so they can flash their lights onto your beautiful colors!”

“But they are so bright. I think I like the dark better…But I will try,” Ashley grumbled.

The Ryan Starfish Clan quickly explode into a fit of boos and hollers. The clan consisted of two vermillion starfish named O-Ryan, and G-Ryan, and young sea turtle named C-Ryan.

“No, don’t listen to him! Those…those sticky hands…always have yucky goo on them,” Gentle Ryan stuttered, soap suds oozing from his rough sandpaper skin.

“They’re monsters! Just look at what they did to my arm,” Omega Ryan protested, his voice sounding like his throat was clogged with barnacles. ‘Huh…Oh wait, this one…No this one,’ he twirled all five of his arms around, not a single one bearing a scratch. ‘Turtle dust! It grew back!”

“Goo? Lost limbs? That’s nothing compared to the torment John and I go through. How would YOU like it if a giant sea turtle arm always yanked on your shell…Hours and hours of sorting colored pebbles,” Cool Ryan snarled, hiding in his shell at the dreadful though.

“ENOUGH!’ Rob commanded, heaving his way through a cluster of goldfish to be by Ben’s side. ‘Remember! Colors and stripes make lights, and-

Before Rob could finish his epic monologue, a giant net suddenly hails down from the heavens. The fish scatter, hoping not to get caught too.

“The Great White Jellyfish has chosen me!” Rob yelled, the net scoping him up from the water and into the Outside.

“Taday! I made him disappear,” Darrel the Foxface Magician Fish chuckled, his teeth looking like gold from his deep grin.

“Whoa! That was amazing, how did you do that,” Trevor the Sassy Copperband Butterfly Fish asked, his crystal blue eyes teeming with joy.

“A magician never reveals his secrets,” Darrel smiled, proud of his accomplishment.

“You didn’t do that! Rob has the Sneezles so the aquarium worker took him out of the tank with a net. DUH! And they’re not called starfish brothers. They’re called humans. Don’t you ever read the bright square lights by our areas,” Keshia the Brilliant Barred Rabbitfish stated, annoyed by all the other fish’s nonsense.

Lue waits for all the fish to fan out and then perches his head out. A long hairy leg suddenly emerges from the shell.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were in my shell,’ Vince the Halloween Hermit’s voice rang, his thin whiskers popping out with his beady blue eyes. ‘Allfish Believers of Colors? Ha, more like, All’bout Ben’s Chattering! Look I’m Ben, blab la bla blah” Vince mocked, waving his claws around in a silly motion as Lue swam off.

The east waterway took Lue to the Coral Reef, its croaked pink and blue coral branches looming over the smooth sand. A large reflection in the glass emerges in front of Lue, two giant claws flexing with pride.

“I am Muscle Mark. Tell me about all the other fish here or else I’ll get ya with me mighty claws,” the fearsome image boasted, until Lue realized it was just a tiny coral banded shrimp.

“No. I am the one with the big muscles,’ a large indigo blue lobster declared, who was also named Mark. “And I decide who passes by this reef. Come Here,” Mark the European Lobster swung his claws at Lue, trying to tickle his fins. Lue’s little heart leapt as he dodged the attacks.

“Ay!” Dan the Cheerful Oscar fish hollered, popping up behind Lue and making his spine shiver.

“You look lost little one,’ a bright orange faced frog fish stated. ‘I’m Bob the Heroic Hogfish…Oh no! Look at your fins! Yep, that looks like chigger piranha bites-that’s why they’re not blue yet. Actually, they look like sand urchins, and those are even worse. You see they are so tiny they like to burrow under your scales,” Bob puckered his lips, bearing a Texan accent.

“I am so excited,’ Christine the Ecstatic Moray Eel exclaimed, her long and green slimy body slipping through the coral high above Lue. Her body was so thick, it crushed a large chunk of coral. The branch fell with a loud pummel, nearly squishing Lue while she giggled uncontrollably.

Two potbelly seahorses clung to the broken coral with their tails, Jeff the Incredible Short-tail Nurse Shark coming to the rescue.

“Come on Lue!” Justin the Juggling Seahorse yelled.

“I guess we’ll have to start over,” Jigsaw Jerod sighed, carefully calculating the depth of each coral piece in the area.

“Well, that’s not how you do it,” Chris the Chuckling Regal Tang Fish chimed in, nearly laughing off his blue and yellow colors as he observed the scene.

Lue didn’t give them time to laugh or yell at him anymore, hoping to have better luck fitting in among the fish in the Great Undersea Cavern.

Massive boulders curved around every inch of the cavern, guarded by the three largest champions of the coral transportation system: Paul the Friendly Bamboo Shark and Todd the Tumbling Southern Stingray, and Rich the Legendary Sea Turtle. A giant carving stood in the center, long ears sprouting out the sides like leaves and fish scales covering the cheeks. Lue didn’t know what it meant, but all the fish said it was a rock creation made by the starfish brothers-AKA the humans.

Marvin the Marvelous Blueline Triggerfish swam by Lue, softly nudging him into a group of harmonizing angelfish.

“Orange, blue, green, red, and indigo are my colors! Let your colors glow,” Queen Gloria sang, her powerful voice led the choir with a heavenly stroke of symphony.

Lue dreamed of having a beautiful voice but knew if he tried, only a squeak would come out. He floated up high, wavy black, blue, and white stripes appearing before him.

“I’ve hit the jackpot. Yep, I don’t got to bust my fins all day now,” Mike the Chill Moorish Idol Fish chuckled, holding a promising treasure in his mouth. The grand treasure was an unusual Jelly Bean, coated in a coffee brown golden shine.

Amazement filled Lue’s eyes, but before he could gaze any longer, a long red tentacle pulled him down.

“Sorry bud, this is hazard zone.’ Steve the Stupendous Mechanic Octopus said, bringing Lue down to the bottom of the coral reef. Several broken branches of coral were ensnared by the suction cups on his oily tentacles. ‘I’ve been up since 2:45am trying to fix this place so we can attract more lights. It’s always more lights here, more colored pebbles there. Heck, Jim the Mighty Marine Clam has been here so long, he has got three pearls stored away in his shell!”

The moment Steve let go, a strange fish approached him. At first Lue thought it was a rock, slowly recognizing the lake sturgeon’s jagged nose.

“Hello, my name is Daring Diving David,” the sturgeon exclaimed.

Eyes wide open in terror, Lue raced away. No matter what he did or where he went, every rock, leaf, and bubble was occupied by busy colorful fish. He watched the lights dance on their scales, wishing they would shine on him. Alone, Lue slowly settled to the bottom of the cavern.

Right when all hope seemed to fade from Lue’s little heart, a giant mushy green eye glanced at him from the glass outside. Lue froze for a moment, and then looked around to see if there were any colorful or majestic fish by him…No…The…human. He couldn’t be looking at me, Lue thought.

“Wow! You’re a Bluefin Killifish,’ James observed, leaning into the glass. ‘You look lonely and sad. None of the other fish must like you because you’re not colorful. I know how that feels. Just look at the old clothes I am wearing,’ James lifted up his saggy red pants, holes in the pockets. The worn pinkish red reminded Lue of the old coral branches back in his home. ‘I'm in 4th grade. It's pretty rough. I don't have cool clothes like the other classmates...I’m too short, and I’m horrible at math and reading…You must have trouble getting around too with how small you are. So many bigger fish…Hey, want to see something cool!”

James takes out some pencils and starts balancing them on his hand, putting on top of the other.

“Look, I can stack four high! Wait, let me try to go for five! Opps…They fell…”

“Are you alright?” Sam asked, getting James to jump a bit. She wore a bright blue T-shirt, lots of different sea fish pins on the keycard hanging from her neck. Her enthusiastic eyes made him ease up as she helped him pick up his pencils.

“Why is there a Bluefin Killifish with all the big fish. I thought their tank was back in the first section at the entrance,” James asked, a lively curiosity capturing his voice.

Sam’s face lit up while she reached in her back pocket for some cards.

“His name is Lue, and he can do something here that no other fish can do. Let me show you,’ Sam explained, pulling out a card and bringing it in front of Lue. ‘See the picture on the card, with the large rusty pipe? That’s the Rocky Reef exhibit. Now watch what I do when I just wave the card like this.”

“He ran away!” James leaped.

“Hurry up and follow me,” Sam said, running down the hall.

She led him to the Rock Reef exhibit, pointing to the rusty pipe. There, floating beside the round metal tube, was Lue.

“How did he do that?!” James yelled. He couldn’t believe what he just saw.

“It took me a while to train him to do that. Somehow, he figured out a way to slip through all the waterline pipes and get into the other tanks. No matter how hard we have tried, we haven’t been able to stop or even catch him. So, we just let him wander the different exhibits.’ Sam smiled, her cheeks illuminating her graceful eyes. ‘If you have any other questions about the other fish, I will be hanging around her for the whole fieldtrip!”

“Can I go back again? I want to see Lue again,” James asked his mom as she came to pick him up.

“Honey, you know it isn’t free to go to Sea Life Aquarium! It’s 2022, and the prices in Michigan have gone up a lot. You were only able to go because they gave us a discounted price for the field trip,” his mom said.

“But I really want to come back!”

“Well, I suppose if you got the year pass, you could. But it cost seventy dollars…You’d have to do a lot of work to earn it all,” his mom said as they walked out.

Five weeks passed, James hard at work mowing lawns, washing windows, and even cleaning his dad’s shed for extra money. Finally, he earned enough to afford the year pass. James spent almost every day at the aquarium, playing hide and seek with Lue in the crawl spaces, and even racing with him from tank to tank. After a long day at school, James returned again to the aquarium, hoping to watch Lue scare the pufferfish again. He eagerly checked each tank, assuming Lue had already started another game of hide and seek. Hours past and Lue was nowhere to be found. James rushed to the tank with all the Killifish, only to find that they were replaced with angel fish.

“Ms. Sam, I can’t find Lue anywhere, or any of the other Bluefin Killifish.”

Sam twirled around in a heartbeat, her warm smile following with her golden flowing hair. She tried to keep herself from tearing up, giving a big inhale.

“I’m sorry James…I didn’t get a chance to tell you,’ her sadness gleaming from her eyes. ‘All the Bluefin Killifish were transferred to another aquarium five hours away from here.”

“Five hours! But Lue, no. You said he was too fast for you to catch! He has to be here somewhere,” James hollered, tears swelling up in his eyes.

“I…I…I was able to catch him and put him with the rest of his kind…I’m sorry…Maybe you can make friends with the other fish-

James already left, running out of the aquarium.

“Hey Sam, did you make sure you feed the starfish,’ her manager asked.

“No, I’m sorry. I spent all my time trying to get Lue. I can’t believe I caught him! I had to hide the net in the sand to finally get him. I’ll go in the back,’ Sam ran to the storage room. She grabbed the starfish feed and glanced at the tank sitting on the table where they transferred all the Killifish. She suddenly gasped, ‘How did you!”

There was Lue, floating by himself in the spare tank. Somehow, he jumped his way from tank to tank to avoid leaving the aquarium.

“Umm. I think we have a problem…Uh…It’s Lue…He must have gotten out of the main tank,” Sam rolled her eyes, dreading the paperwork she would have to fill out again.

“Oh really? That’s so neat! Hmm…Well, we’d have to pay for a whole transfer again…and to be honest, we can’t afford to do that for just one fish,” the manager answered.

“But all the spots are full, and all the other fish keep bullying him!” Sam interjected.

“Well, you’ll have to figure out something. I don’t care what you do with the fish. He just can’t stay here,” he said, quietly returning to his duties.

Sam stared at Lue, scratching her forehead.

“Hmmm. I wonder.”

The next day, James’s mom practically had to pull him out of the car.

“But I told you, I don’t want to go back to the aquarium!” James protested.

“Sam! You’re here. Thank heavens. It’s a miracle I got him in the building. James, lift your head up. Sam has something for you!” his mom said.

Reluctantly, James lifted his head. Sam held out a round fishbowl, the size of a flowerpot, a smile blooming from her face as she gave it to him. Inside, a clever fish swam around, darting in fast zigzags and circles. A hint of blue had finally appeared on his fins.

“Lue!’ James hollered, overjoyed as he held the fishbowl. ‘Thank you Sam. Oh wow, it’s really you! My friend has a fish too. She is a flame cardinal fish! Maybe the two of you could meet one day!”

James ran off with a huge smile, a new friend made.

Adventure
1

About the Creator

Alex Ford

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  • Alex Ford (Author)about a year ago

    Writing this story was super fun! Not only did I get to visit the aquarium I based this adventure on, Sea Life Aquarium in Auburn Hills Michigan, but I also based all the fish off of my friends and coworkers! A lot of the ideas I used for the story were given to me by them. All of you helped make this story happen! I also want to give a shoutout to my friend David who went with me to the aquarium, as well as Sam, who works at Sea Life. Ryan (Gentle Ryan), also works there, so I included him as well!

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