Ray and Fry

Once upon a time, in a land far far away...

"Hey, Ray! Come over here! Look what I found!" I swim over to my seahorse friend quickly. "What is it?" I ask excitedly. We have a big competition coming up. Whoever can find the coolest monster-made item wins. It's a slightly dangerous competition, but the prize is worth it; an underwater castle. This year's topic is food. Not only do you have to find the coolest object, but it has to be food. 

Fry lifts up a stick-type thing about as long as him. It has fluffy things on either end. "Cool," I say, "But is it food?" I ask. Fry licks it, causing me to gag. "Tastes like food," he says. "Well, as long as it tastes good, it's food," I say. I wonder what everyone else will find?

The night of the competition is hectic. Everyone in Atlanta is going crazy with busy things. Mostly making their objects look good, but partly making themselves look good. The judges don't only judge your object, they judge you. They aren't just going to let anybody live in the castle for a whole year, you know. 

Fry and I are just about ready. I am almost done with my makeover, and he is finishing up getting dressed. Guys don't take nearly as long to get ready as it does for us girls. Once I finish my makeup, I quickly get into my dress. Now, when I say quickly, I mean frantically doing it slightly faster than normal.

I hear a know at the door followed by, "Are you almost done in there?" Of course, it's Fry. Ugh. Boys. "Just a little bit longer!" I yell in reply. As soon as my dress is on, I swim out. I spin in a circle to show him my dress. "Finally! Let's go, or we'll be late!" Guys just have no appreciation for the time us girls take to look our best for them!

At the competition, one person from each team sits at a long table with their object, including me. I can see Fry cheering me on from the audience. All of the contestants brought old news. In the end, the judges announce that ours is the coolest. To prove it's food, I take a bite off of the edge. It tastes absolutely gross!

The crowd goes wild. Excitement runs through me as I swim up and down the line of people, starting the wave. Fry congratulates me and we go home. I'm not feeling the best, so I go straight to bed. "It's that stick," I explain to him. He just shrugs.

Neither Ray the Stingray or Fry the Seahorse lived through the night. They sadly died from eating the cotton-swab. According to oceancrusaders.org, 100,000 marine animals die each year from plastic entanglement or eating plastic. It does not disintegrate fast enough for them to digest. You can help by recycling plastic and/or cleaning up beaches in your area.