Fiction logo

Aquarium - Comedy Of Errors

Eating Pringles To Swimming With Manatees

By Anu SundaramPublished about a year ago 7 min read
2
Aquarium - Comedy Of Errors
Photo by Mario Serpas on Unsplash

HOW DARE HE?

Maya stood on the side, fuming while watching the aquarium officials pull her boyfriend - Sanjay, out of the aquarium. The crowd had edged away from her as if she was a maniac who pushed people into tanks. Pringles made a loud crunch as Maya bit on them ferociously, defying the looks she was getting. If only they knew her reason - their sympathy would be for her and not him. She took out her kerchief from her red purse and brushed sweat away from her forehead. The humidity in the aquarium was palpable.

Sanjay’s black hair was plastered all over his face. His black shirt clung to him, and water dripped from his jeans. She could hear his teeth chattering despite the heat blanket wrapped around him. Despite what he had suggested - she found his dimpled cheeks and square jawline endearing. Who would have thought a conniving monster was hiding behind that handsome face? He pushed his hair back with his free hand and gave her a puzzled look.

She adjusted her glasses, glared at him and stuffed her Pringles into her purse. She and Sanjay had met through their brothers at the aquarium. Both their brothers had kids of similar ages. While they were away on date night with their respective wives - Maya and Sanjay babysat two boys and two girls at the aquarium. Manatees were the newest attraction - and it was feeding time. So, the kids were all sticking to the glass, watching these big sea cows eat lettuce. She had liked spending time with Sanjay, so when he had asked her out on a date, she had said yes.

They had been dating for about a year now. And even after a year - you can never really know anybody.

WHAT A DAY!

Maya had been super excited that Friday morning. She had blow-dried her hair straight. Despite being a Friday, she was going into the office as she was supposed to meet Sanjay at the aquarium in the evening. They had got tickets for Behind the scenes tour of the aquarium. The aquarium was closer to her office, and with traffic in New York, there was no way she could finish her work and be on time for her date. She worked for a technology company downtown, and a light day meant she closed her laptop at five.

The weather was supposed to be hot - so she wore a black polka dress. She decided to go all out with red pearl earrings and a matching choker. She picked up her white jacket on her way out. Her office could be cold. She had tucked her brand new phone - so new that she hadn't even picked out a cover into her bag. She adjusted her black-rimmed glasses in the elevator mirror and confirmed that she indeed had a big nose. The lady on the subway beside her had complimented her dress - 'It goes with your lovely complexion, dear.' Maya smiled and replied, 'Thank you.' It had made her day.

But that did not last when she reached her office. And as they say, when it rains, it pours. It was one thing after the other. First, there was a fire drill where her boss wanted metrics which were not due for another two weeks. While busy doing that, her business stakeholder complained for an hour about the new delivery lead. And she nodded politely while trying to find a way to end the call. Finally, when she got to her report - her floor decided to do a mock fire alarm test. And that meant two hours wasted while people went down the stairs, got Starbucks and then lined up for the elevator. And she was on the twentieth floor, which meant many stops before she could get back to her desk. She was tapping her foot so hard that the man beside her said, 'Please, can you stop that ruckus?' She restrained herself from tapping her foot even louder and nodded instead. And if things couldn't get any worse - she had a resignation email from one of her star developers. He had decided he needed to take some time to think about his life. With the great resignation, there was no way she could find a replacement, and he was terrific. What she needed now was a break from everything.

So, when her phone indicated thirty minutes before her date - she had enough. She sent the report to her boss, so it will have to do. If he sent her any feedback, she would work over the weekend. She closed her laptop with a bang and stuffed it into her backpack. On her way, she decided to pick up Pringles - her 'pick me up'. She was very conscious about what she ate, and Pringles was allowed only on days like these. She texted Sanjay that she was getting Pringles and asked if he was in. She waited for him to reply - he was pretty quick. She saw the typing… a few times but no text yet. She got two Pringles and made her way to the aquarium.

By Maegan Luckiesh on Unsplash

WIERD, WIERDER, WIERDEST!!!

She wanted a pleasant time with Sanjay, but it seemed her lousy luck had followed her from the office to the date. To begin with, Sanjay was late, which was unusual as he was always on time. And then he had given her such a long hug that she had to push him away.

‘Are you ready, Maya? This is a big step.’, asked Sanjay. Maya rolled her eyes. Sanjay could overreact sometimes; it was a tour of the aquarium. And she had nodded and said, ‘It’s not that big a deal. We really wanted to do it - remember?’

Sanjay squeezed her arm and said, ‘You read my mind.’

‘You mean Pringles?’ asked Maya as they started lining up for the tour.

Sanjay had given her a funny look and said, ‘You are funny.’

‘It wasn’t a joke.’ Said Maya as she handed him the Pringles.

Sanjay hugged her and said, ‘Well, if you are ready, so am I.’

Maya shook her head, and this conversation was making less and less sense with every sentence.

And when the tour started - that’s when things started getting weirder. Sanjay held her hand really tight. And he had that spring in his step, which she found super annoying after her day. And then he went bonkers - whenever a little kid squealed at a fish or something, he would give her a conspiring look. She tried her best to ignore his look and focus on what the tour guide was saying. But he turned her face to look at the kid. Their group moved to the ledge of the aquarium, where they could watch the sting rays and manatees floating in the water below them. The stench of chlorine was overpowering. And her dress was sticking to her with all the humidity.

And then he pulled her close to her and said, ‘ You know it was a sign that we met when we were looking after kids. I knew that we wanted the same thing in life.’ It was getting hot, and the guide was still yapping away. She turned around, facing him and the water and asked, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Sanjay gave her a big grin and said, ‘You want to get pregnant, and I am ready.’

Maya did what came to her mind. She pushed Sanjay into the water.

COMMUNICATION - AN ILLUSION

The Aquarium officer gave her hot tea to give to Sanjay. She walked up to him and pushed the Styrofoam cup under his nose. He looked at her and took the cup. She lost her patience and said, ‘What the hell was that? Where did you get the idea that I wanted to get pregnant?’

Sanjay stared at her for a while and said quietly, ‘You texted me.’

‘I what’ Arya stopped mid-sentence and whipped out her phone from her purse.

Maya's Phone

And she started laughing, much to everybody’s surprise, including Sanjay. She laughed so hard that she had to sit down. She wiped the tears from her eyes and leaned over to give Sanjay a hug, who still had a puzzled look. And she told him, ‘It is my new phone - it auto-corrected Pringles to Pregnant.’

HumorLoveShort StoryYoung Adult
2

About the Creator

Anu Sundaram

My vision in life is to be a Better Version Of Myself Every Day. And my purpose in life is ‘Learn, Grow, Inspire and Contribute’.

Everything that I do ties into this vision - including my writing. Check out anumorris.com for more info!

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.