𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐃 ☀︎ 𝐁. 𝐊𝐀𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐙

07. In The Tidepools

(rewritten: 21.01.24)

"Fish get washed into the rock pools at Low tide," Pa stood ankle deep in the rockpools, the four boys gathered around him as he demonstrated how to spear fish. You watched from a couple feet away, sat down in one of the tide pools as you caught the trapped fish, dropping them onto the rocks.

"The trick is to stand very still, and keep your eyes pinned on Your target," Pa explained, stilling his movements as he spotted a large fish swimming between the rocks just a few feet away. All the boys froze, except Tom, who was busy daydreaming about something instead of focusing on the lesson.

Pa straightened his posture, holding his spear with a strong grip. Pa kept his eyes trained on the fish, waiting, waiting, waiting for it to come closer. The fish came close, a bit too close unfortunately. Tom yelped out in terror as his foot brushed against something slimy, causing a great deal of splashing as he ran back onto the rocks, scaring away the fish in the process.

You burst out laughing, almost dropping the fish you were holding. Tom rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as everyone laughed at him. Pa chuckled heartily, patting Tom's shoulder. "It's alright Tom, you can learn to spear another day. Why don't you sit in the tidepools with Y/N instead?" Pa suggested kindly. Tom nodded and smiled gratefully, shooting a glare at the laughing boys as he trudged past, making sure to step only on the dry rocks.

"Sit down Tom, it's okay. There's only sand here" You reassured him as he hesitantly stepped into the tide pool, sitting himself down in the water beside you. "So you sit still, and when the fish come by, you just pick them up and toss them on the rocks!" You demonstrated, picking up a parrotfish as it swam between you and Tom. "Easy" Tom said smugly, reaching for a fish swimming against his leg. He grabbed it, his face twisting in disgust.

"Ack! It's all slimy!" Tom Gagged, hurriedly tossing the fish onto the rocks and wiping his hands on his shorts. You couldn't help but laugh, quickly slapping your hand over your mouth. Tom rolled his eyes playfully, lunging forward to wipe his hands on your arm instead. You squealed, splashing water at him as you both laughed together.

Bill glanced longingly in your direction, his eyes meeting yours. You averted your gaze with a shy smile, pretending to be very interested in Tom's complaints about the slimy textures of fish as he caught another, tossing it onto the rocks with a clearly disgusted expression on his face. You reached for a basket and gave him the job of putting all the fish inside it, laughing when you saw the expression of pure despair on his face at the thought of touching all those fish.

Bill looked over at Pa helping Gustav with the spear before slipping away, making his way over to you and Tom. He sat himself down beside you, your legs touching. "Hey Bill," Tom said between Gags as he put another fish into the basket. "Having a great time Tom?" Bill snorted, ignoring the eye roll from his brother as he grinned at you.

"Come with me, Bill. I'll show you the "cool" stuff in the tide pools," You tested out some of the slang you'd heard the boys using, making Bill laugh. He stood up, taking your hand and helping you up. "Have Fun Tom" Bill yelled over his shoulder, also ignoring the rude gesture Tom made with his finger.

You held onto Bill's hand, leading him across the rocks to a cluster of good looking tidepools. You crouched down on the rocks, Bill sitting down beside you. "There's so many creatures in the rock pools, here, a sea urchin!" You carefully dipped your hands into the water, gently edging the spiky black sea creature out from the rocks and into your palm.

You held it out to Bill with a smile, "Would you like to hold it?"

"It has all those spikes!" He observed the creature, hesitating to even poke it with his finger. "Sea urchins are friendly, the spikes will only hurt you if you accidentally step on one," You reassured him, touching one of the spikes with the tip of your finger to demonstrate. "Okay," Bill breathed, watching you as you gently placed the sea creature onto his palm.

"It tickles," Bill laughed, observing the sea urchin in the palm of his hand for a moment before gently lowering it back into the water. "Oh, look at the little crab!" he pointed to a tiny little crab on the rock beside you. You quickly scooped it up, cupping your hand over it. "You can hold them too!" You held Bill's hand against yours, the little crab scuttling onto his palm.

"I can feel his little legs" Bill laughed, watching as the little crab ran around his palm in a circle before jumping right off and into the tide pool. "You can also find hermit crabs, sea snails and sea slugs, there's all sorts of stuff!" You explained as you sat yourself down on the rock, crossing your legs.

"And what are those?" Bill pointed to these spidery looking creatures at the bottom of the pool. "Those are a type of starfish," You leaned over him to pick up the creature, holding it in your palm. Bill gazed down at the creature in your hand, his finger tip tracing the spidery limbs of the starfish as it slowly crawled across your palm. His gaze wandered up to your face instead, your eyes meeting his as you lowered the starfish back into the pool.

Your lips curved into a smile, the two of you staring at each other for a long moment until someone came along.

"Hey," Georg sat down on your left, greeting you with a friendly smile. "What are you guys up to?"

"I was showing Bill all the creatures in the tide pools," You explained, reaching down into the water to pick up a little sea urchin. "We were holding them and petting them too. Would you like to hold one?"

Bill watched a bit bitterly as you handed Georg the sea urchin, focusing all your attention on him as you showed him all the creatures. He couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed at Georg for ruining the moment between you two and sticking around. Gustav and Tom came over as well, and any opportunity Bill had to be alone with you was soon non-existent.

He stared down at the starfish in his palm, thinking about the way your eyes sparkled and the sound of your laughter.