The rest of the day whizzes by at breakneck speed.
Not to brag, but I was a social butterfly, hopping from group to group and chatting it up between classes, all while Fish hovered in the background like an introverted moth, blinded by my mad popularity among my classmates.
Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but still. It's only after I talk to a couple of girls in theater class and they ask about Fish that I realize how stupid I was for not bringing him over to talk to anyone. I guess I was worried that he might feel awkward trying to communicate with the other kids.
Or maybe I was the one who was uneasy, and I just didn't want to admit it to myself.
"Who's your friend, Carter?" Bianca, one of the theater girls, points to Fish, and then she and her friend look over at him as if they hadn't noticed he was there.
"Oh, um..." I look over at Fish, who's standing near the bulletin board on the wall, staring at a flyer taped up among a slew of other papers. "That's Fish," I tell the girls, a sheepish grin on my face. "He's new here, so he doesn't talk much."
"Really?" The other blond girl lifts an eyebrow and crosses her arms. "Is that the kid they found wandering around on the beach butt-naked?"
"They what?" I question, the smile freezing on my face. Oh my God. Had Smith paired me with a maniac or something and hadn't told me? Maybe that's why he'd been in such a hurry for me to take him under my wing.
"Yeah," Bianca bobs her head. "A few weeks ago, during that really bad storm, a police guy found him walking back and forth on the beach like he was lost or something. Nobody knows where he came from or what his real name is, so they just made one up for him. "
Whoa.
"He's kind of cute though, isn't he, Bianca? Quiet guys are so mysterious! " The girl tells her friend, and then they both laugh while I stand there awkwardly, feeling even worse now that I knew where Fish had come from.
"I should probably head to lunch," I say, after a brief pause of general weirdness. "I'll catch you two later, okay?"
The girls wave goodbye, and I walk over to the bulletin board, where Fish is still standing, his eyes fixed on a poster asking people to apply at the local aquarium.
"That's Monterey Bay," I say, and he jumps at the sound of my voice before turning around to face me. "It's really cool. I mean, it was when I was a kid and my parents took me. Anyway, I'm really sorry about ignoring you earlier. I just get so caught up in the local gossip... "
I trail off when Fish reaches out, plucks the poster off the wall, then points to the picture of a giant tank filled with kelp on it, like he wanted me to take him there or something. Which was crazy, because we were both in school and about to head to lunch.
"Fish, dude. I don't know what you want," I say, my cheeks bright red at this point. "I'm just supposed to walk you around school, okay? I already missed first period and most of Smith's quiz. I'll be lucky if my mom doesn't wring my neck when I get home. "
Fish holds the poster out to me stubbornly, his lower lip jutting out slightly.
I take a quick look around, left and then right, making sure no one is coming. Then I take the poster from him and point to the kelp forest. "You want to go here? Right now? " I question.
Fish bobs his head, something like relief crossing his expression when I finally get what he's trying to tell me.
I check the time on my phone and then look at the poster again. The aquarium was actually pretty close, not even a full thirty minutes from where our school was located. Everything in this town was ridiculously close, which could be a good or bad thing depending on the situation.
"Fine," I agree after a moment, and then I roll my eyes. "We'll ride a bus and have lunch at the cafe since I'm starving. But we're coming right back, okay? "
Fish lets out an excited gasp, and then he grabs me by the wrist and drags me towards the exit.
And I knew it was crazy, but I get excited, just like him.
It wasn't often that I skipped school to do something crazy like this. I was a good kid, you know? Or at least I tried to be. Creed had kind of put a dent in my road when we slept together that one night, but we were over, thank God.
We end up riding the bus across town, and I pay the fee upfront before we take our seats together. The whole time, Fish was looking around and holding onto the torn headrest in front of us, a huge smile on his face, as if he had never ridden a bus before in his entire life.
Who was this guy?
And why the hell had he been wandering the beach naked?
"Hey, Fish? Bianca said they found you on the beach," I tell him, and he turns to look at me before sitting down, his hands folded in his lap. "Were you kidnapped or something? Did someone leave you there without any clothes? " I think about the kid who'd stolen my clothes earlier, and wonder if it had anything to do with his strange appearance.
"What happened out there?" I press, curious to know if he'd actually talk to me, or if maybe something had traumatized him into being silent. "You know you can talk to me, right?"
Fish reaches into his pocket and then pulls out his stack of cards. He had long, delicate fingers, and they shuffle through the many pictures and words before picking some out.
"Bandaid. Hurt. I Forgot."
I look over at him and he reaches up and touches the side of his head, right above his ear.
"You hurt yourself and you forgot." I try, and Fish reaches over and grabs my hand, squeezing it real quick before he lets go. "You lost your memory!" I clarify, getting a little excited now. "Holy shit, Fish! Have you told anyone? That's crazy! "
The bus stops before Fish can even think of getting his cards together, and next thing I know, we're pulling up to the aquarium, which was huge.
I take Fish's backpack for him, and we get out together, both of us standing side by side. I hadn't realized it earlier, but I was actually taller than he was, and his hair was this super pretty shade of gold in the sunlight, with bits of brown mixed in like it had been bleached by the sun.
Goddamnit, Carter. Stop crushing on the new kid!
"Okay, um..." I look around, shifting his backpack over my shoulder. "Do you want to get lunch or buy our tickets first? We can buy a pizza and share it since I'm broke as hell. "
Fish doesn't answer me. Obviously.
I turn back around to face him, and that's when I hear a nearby splash from one of the open tanks and a woman screaming.
Oh, God.
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