Sealed With A Kiss

Choosing Claudette

Marlon was napping in the tank when he felt it shaking a little, causing him to wake up and look around before realizing that he couldn't see with the cover in the way. With that, he went back to sleep as he heard a few people's muffled voices outside of the tank, all seeming very curious about what was inside. Just from listening to the voices, Marlon could guess that he was about to be presented to a group of people who sounded like they were at least in their late teens, so he was sure he was going to be handled by a mature bunch. After someone addressed the audience as the "Wellspring Herpetology Youths," the curtain was lifted off of Marlon's tank before he flinched a little at how bright things were for the first time in a while, and he looked around the room with just his eyes before seeing that his prediction was right.

Even though he couldn't tell much while he was in the glass tank, he could guess from the bright lights and rows of tables with chairs that he was in a classroom somewhere, and he would be correct. This was one of the science classrooms at Wellspring University in the small town of Ribbingston, and the one who was showing him off to the Herpetology team was the group's leader, a gentle giant by the name of Peter Bradshaw. Thanks to being a biology professor at Wellspring, Peter was able to lead the group in activities each Friday ranging from swamp excursions to frog-themed racing competitions, which sometimes brought the inner children out of his fellow college students - enough to call each meeting day "Froggy Friday."

One of the most involved members was a young woman named Claudette Benson, who had been fascinated by frogs ever since she was a little girl, especially since there was a pond not too far from her house. At least once or twice a month, she used to wait by the pond to hear if there were any frogs around, and she made sure to be extremely careful whenever she caught a frog before gently releasing it back into the pond. While her parents were delighted that she had such an unusual fascination, both her teachers and friends growing up considered her as weird, so she was glad to find an on-campus club that focused on her favorite thing. Even though she was the only female on the team, Peter and the others made sure she felt included, and she was both full of information and ready to learn.

After announcing that this was the last "Froggy Friday" of the semester, Peter said that he brought Marlon along so everyone could hold him as their last-day activity, which was a good way to destress after final exams. While Peter was ensuring that everyone's hands were clean before touching Marlon's skin, the frog wanted to say hello to everyone, but he stayed quiet to avoid freaking everyone out. Even though that would have been a funny surprise, Marlon kept his mouth shut as he was gently passed from person to person, starting with Peter before eventually making it to Claudette. The moment he was placed in Claudette's patient palms, Marlon swore he felt something like a shiver course through his body, as if something was trying to tell him that Claudette was special while she looked at him.

"I... hello!"

Claudette greeted as she gently held Marlon in her hands, and since he didn't want to say anything in case it freaked her out, he started nuzzling into her hands and getting himself as comfortable as he could. His actions made the young woman start to giggle, but she made sure she moved carefully and slowly to avoid scaring the frog, just like both her parents and teammates had taught her. Even though Peter brought Marlon onto the campus, it was clear that he was feeling very comfortable with Claudette, and it seemed like Peter could tell that the frog wanted to stay with her. With that, Peter smiled as he helped Claudette place the frog into the tank, which he then gave to her before assuring her that he had plenty of tanks back home.

After promising to take good care of Marlon, Claudette washed her hands along with everyone else before shouldering her backpack and carefully lifting the tank by its handle. She then said goodbye to everyone before heading out the door and putting his tank in the front basket of her bicycle, keeping the cover around the tank while Marlon rested with a huge smile on his face. Maybe being a frog wasn't going to be too bad, especially with a gentle sweetheart like Claudette.