Oceanic

One - $eaHorsez?

"The breeze catches on,

To the air that escapes her moist tongue,

Just let go,

Little one."

-One- $eaHorsez?

     "Anyone?" She sighs. "Anyone, besides Saige?" She asks, slightly annoyed at the empty stares she receives, yet still managing to let out a small chuckle. "Alright. Saige? What is this a picture of?"

     "Um, I believe its the aquastellar seahorse, right?" The teacher nods her on, prodding her on to continue, "and, well, if I'm correct, it was named on a mysterious voyage across the pacific ocean by the US navy. Its said that as they were sailing, they came across, and I quote, 'a large, underwater cloud, resembling mystic fog resembling that of a fairy tail, the whole sky of stars captured inside.' as one of the sailors wrote in his journal. They are my favorite kind! I-"

     "That's enough Saige," chuckles Mrs. Marienna, cutting off another one of Saige's "bound-to-be-forever-long" tangents, as Saige's best friend Miranda liked to put it. "Now everyone is to do a report on one of the sea creatures I have shown in this presentation." She flicks on the lights, sending the small click of the switch and the groans of once sleeping students echoing through he small white classroom. "And with that, I will see you all, after break." Right on queue, the bell sounds, and backpack zippers and shuffling students fill the halls, leaving the room to only the student and the teacher. As Saige is about to cross over the threshold, she is pulled back in by the gentle voice of the woman in her late thirties.

     "And Saige, please don't do the aquastellar."

     "You got it." She smiles as they wave their goodbyes, and word their wishes for over holiday break, and then she is off. As studious and totally into school she may be, Saige has another side to her, the rebellious, need-to-be-free, teenager side.

     When she reaches the hallway, she is met by Miranda and Jackie, her two besties from the third grade.

     "Hey girl!" Jackie says, hugging Saige tightly.

     "Hey! Its only been one class period." They share a laugh as Miranda buts in.

     "Jackie, should we tell her?"

     "You tell her."

     "No you!"

     "Will someone just tell me already?" Saige gasps, breaking up the petty banter between the two.

     "Well, Miranda and I were thinking,"

     "Since you sing and we-"

     "Woah woah woah. I don't sing," she laughs nervously, staring in fear at her friends.

     "You do to. Anyway. Miranda came up with this idea that-"

     "Seahorsez!"

     "Miranda! Im getting to it!"

     "Oh sheesh Jackie your taking forever. What we are saying Saige, is that we want to start a band! Seahorses!"

     "You guys want to call us 'seahorses'?"

     "Money sign for the S, then e, a, capital H, o, r, s, e, z.

     "Really guys? Really?" She stares at them wide eyed, a smile creeping onto her lips. This would never work out, as fun as it sounds.

    "Yeah! Call us! I'll be at Miranda's place today so you should come over! Bye!" And with that, the terrible two walk away, leaving Saige to brush it off as if it were normal, and continue on her way.

    

     She runs through the halls, weaving through students and dodging opening lockers, making her way to her own. She spins the dial left, right, then left again, landing spot on each number, each time. As she does this, she listens to the choppy whir and waits for the click, and when it comes, chills spread through her body, as always when she hears these simply perfect little noises. She swings open the door, not expecting to hear more that the slight creaking of the hinges, but hears instead the sounds of crunching bone, metal meeting skin, snapping plastic, books falling to the ground, and shattering glass.

     As she quickly retracts the locker from its wide open position, she instantly finds the source of it all. There, sprawled on the ground in front of her is Aaron, the biggest nerd in the whole school. He has a card in one hand, his other hand holding his now fountening crimson nose. His glasses are broken in half, lenses shattered on the ground by his ASL book, reminding her of all that had gone down in that class of silent speaking in which they shared. All the times he had spent half the class looking back and forth from the teacher to her, trying to catch a glimpse of her perfectly straightened reddish-orange hair, her adorable freckles, or her electrifying sea foam green eyes.

      "Shiz." She mumbles under her breath, coming back to life to see that everyone is staring at the two of them, the hall deathly silent, all except for two pairs of heavy footsteps. The hallway clears as the red sea must have oh so long ago as the principal and school nurse come running down the hall, first aid kit being grasped tightly to the chest of the larger women that was, unfortunately, the school nurse here at Eisenhower High, private high school for marine biology. As her whole body bounces, (including the parts that really shouldn't bounce that much,) her feet come down with a stomp every time.

     "Aw naw. Aw hell naw. You okay son? Oh Lordey we gotta get you to a haspital!" (A/N I will do my best to keep swearing to a minimum, but I mean, sometimes characters surprise me. If I feel it enhances the situation, I'll roll with it, even though swearing is not a god thing. Lol thanks for understanding!) Some students snicker at the Madea-like accent, while others who are unlucky enough to be behind her as she bends over to help up Aaron, first ruffling his ebony black hair, shield their eyes and plan how they will repent later.

     Unsure of what to to, Saige stands and watches as the nurse pulls away the student, muttering things about "kids these days" among other stronger profanities.

      "WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED?" the principal shouts in her ear in his western accent, making the young girl wonder why there are so many accents in the school administration.

      "I- I was opening my locker, and I didn't see him. Im really sorry, its all my fault." Her bottom lip quivers as she lowers her head, being towered over by the fat, burly country man, who somehow got a nice enough job as this. Belly hair tickles her forhead as the shirt bottom is lifted from the man scratching his head.

     He let's out a sigh. "Listen kid. Go home, I'll call your parents and decide what to do with you then." And with that, Saige was left to her own devices. After putting all binders in her locker, except for the couple she needed for over break,  she closed it with a click and made her way down the hall, replaying the whole ordeal through her mind over and over, until she was finally convinced she was dreaming.

     When she walks through the door to her familiar childhood home, she is met eye to eye with her mother, arms crossed, eyebrows pulled together, and all her weight on one leg.

     "Hey mom," Saige manages to choke out.

     "Don't 'hey mom' me missy. Explain why I was called by your principal today," she snaps at Saige as the door clicks closed behind her.

     "I opened my locker too quickly and didn't see this kid there, and before I knew it, I had broken his nose, his glasses, and probably all of his self esteem," she manages to breathe out, her fingers fumbling with her hoodie zipper, making small chinking noises.

     "Your grounded. Accident our not, your grounded."

     "But I-"

     "'But I' nothing! We could lose a lot of money! Go to your room!" Accepting her defeat and trying to salvage her hearing, Saige turns to run up the stairs, stomping and sniffling the whole way up.

      When she reaches her room, she slams her door, knocking down her "Bundy Family" picture frame in the process. She thrusts off her backpack and plops down on her bed, no longer as excited about this winter break as she was this morning.

I hope you enjoyed, more to come soon!