When we returned from the whale expedition, everyone at Paradise City helped to restock our supplies. We wouldn't be heading back to the mainland for a few days, so as long as we had enough to survive, we'd be fine.
As fun as water soup was, it wasn't exactly a meal. Brett now had a few more ingredients at his disposal.
But the one thing I asked for, a few house plants, was noticeably missing from the items Toby bought, but he got coffee.
Poor Logan (or perhaps, poor me).
After several long days of whale searching and a few peer mediation sessions for Jia and Darrell, we all sat down together for a meal that Brett had been preparing all day while I was at sea and everyone else was working on their projects.
Carter's project was one that I found particularly interesting since whales ate krill and other microscopic organisms, but he never spoke a word about it (which wasn't different than usual, I supposed).
That pattern continued through dinner, and after Logan got up to do his seal watch, he turned to me.
"Let's go, Rea," he said.
But before I could even reply, Jia spoke instead. "Sorry, dude. She's stuck with us right now. She has whales and blubber samples she needs to analyze."
At least I didn't have to disappoint Logan then.
"Right, I forgot about that. No problem," he replied, then headed out the door.
"Okay, big announcement here, so don't go anywhere. Tomorrow's Logan's birthday, so we're getting off this damn island and heading into the city. The real city. On real land. And getting real drunk," Jia said.
"Like, on a real boat?" I asked.
Jia rolled her eyes. "No, we're gonna walk. Channel your inner Jesus lizard, everyone."
"I didn't mean it like that. It's just that Logan doesn't like boats at all. He tends to get rather pukey," I said.
Brett laughed. "Poor dude."
"Hm. I hadn't really thought about that, but you're right. What kind of seasickness remedies do we have here?" Jia asked.
"Or we could just stay here since believe it or not, there's no law that says you have to party on your birthday," Darrell said.
"Oh, fuck no. I'm getting off this island if it kills me. We've been stuck here for a month, and if I don't see a real person within the next twenty-four hours, I might actually take that sword sitting in the game room and disembowel myself in front of all of you," Jia said.
"Are—are we not real people?" Brett asked.
Jia shook her head. "I'm pretty sure I just made all of you up to cope with loneliness."
"Shit, I'm not real. Fuck," Brett muttered.
"Would it help you feel more real if I gave you a citation for swearing again?" Darrell asked.
Brett nodded. "I'd really appreciate that. At least someone else sees and hears me too."
I looked up at an imaginary camera.
Country roads, take me home.
"And just to be clear, you all notice Carter, right? I didn't make him up, right?" Jia asked, emphasizing each right.
"Who's Carter?" I asked, and Brett did his best to hold in a laugh.
"Oh, hell no. See Toby? This is why we need to get off this island. I'm going crazy," Jia said. "I'll look up seasickness cures right now."
YOU ARE READING
Fluke
Chick-Lit"For a place called Paradise City, this island sucks. I don't think a single day has gone by that I haven't thought about stabbing the shit out of myself," he said. "Especially since I'm forced to live with you every second of every day." "Sh. I'm t...
