Definitely not the Little Mermaid

Squid People

Chapter Six

Fish sticks were a definite no-no.

I glanced over at Laiken, saw the blue haired boy scrutinizing a box of onion rings and discreetly slipped the fish sticks back into the giant freezer. I cleared my throat to get his attention and inadvertently got the attention of everyone else in the aisle as well. I hurriedly stammered out something, ducked my head and willed my red cheeks away.

Laiken trotted over. He slipped his hand into mine and gave it a squeeze. I let out a tiny gasp at the sudden contact and pulled back. I snapped my eyes up to the boy. Laiken looked slightly perturbed about the sudden loss of contact. He wordlessly reached for my hand again.

"What's wrong?" I hissed softly, glancing at him.

Laiken pursed his lips and looking like he was thinking. He shrugged and seized my hand once again. Before I could pull back again, Laiken stepped closer and whispered, "I'm comforting you. You looked scared."

I faltered, staring at him in disbelief. Indignation flared up in the pit of my stomach and I almost snapped at him. I stopped myself at the last minute and hung my head in embarrassment. Silently, I accepted Laiken's small gesture of comfort.

We continued with our shopping. I ended up buying Laiken a pack of sea monkeys and repeatedly told myself it was just to keep him busy while I had chores and work to do. The boy seemed happy with it so I decided that it wasn't much a waste of money. Nonetheless, I bought the twins slightly cheaper deodorant.

Once we paid and had our bags, we headed out. Laiken obediently stuck to my side as we walked out of the shop and took a left turn.

"This place is loud," he commented quietly, looking at me sheepishly.

"It's probably all the cars," I replied. Laiken looked decisively at the vehicles speeding up and down the road and gave a hesitant nod. I adjusted my grip on the bag and peered cautiously over my shoulder. I couldn't help but feel uneasy. I felt eyes watching my every move, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't just my anxiety talking.

"I don't think we have those in the ocean," said Laiken, nudging me to get my attention. I glanced up at him and gave a small nod to show that I was listening. Well, listening now at any rate.

"I can imagine. I don't think you have roads down there," I commented. That made me pause. What did they have down there exactly? My curiosity was now piqued and refused to settle down until it was sated.

"Do you remember anything from where you came from?" I asked curiously.

"Nope..." Laiken said slowly, as if hoping he would remember something mid-word. He looked frustrated that he hadn't.

"Do you know how you ended up on land?" I asked, a frown on my face.

"No..." Laiken gave a hesitant shake of his head.

"That must suck," I murmured. I gently bumped his arm with my shoulder, catching his attention. Forcing a smile onto my face, I said, "Hey, don't worry too much about it. My parents will help."

"I thought they think I'm just staying because my parents are out of town?" Laiken frowned in confusion.

"Yeah...we'll just ask them to like, evaluate you or something...or we'll pretend the twins hit your head pretty hard and you got amnesia from that," I shrugged. I honestly didn't know why I'm so fixated on helping this strange apparent merman.

We continued on in silence after that. After crossing several not so busy roads which resulted in Laiken getting terrified, I decided that we should take a quieter route back to my house. There were several walkways between huge apartment buildings that led to the neighbourhood I lived in. I was advised not to use them by my parents and neighbors alike, because they could be dangerous, but hey, it's broad daylight, school holidays and I have heavy shopping bags that I can use as a weapon. A tiny sliver of confidence climbed onto my shoulder and refused to be deterred.