“Did you hear about the accident in the lab yesterday?” Abbey says. I don't answer; I know she's going to tell me anyways. "Apparently one of the newest interns knocked over a bunch of beakers, and when they finally got everything cleaned up, they just found a random fish lying at the site of the accident. Whenever they tried to put it in water it flopped around and looked like it was drowning, so they'd take it back out; it doesn't look like it has gills. And when you run your hand along it backwards, there are a bunch of sharp spikes on the undersides of its scales." She stops and looks at me. "Are you even paying attention?" She asks, pouting. "Not really?" I say. "And why not?" She asks. "Because I've already heard this, but I know you would have told me anyways, so I didn't say anything." I answer. "Hmph. Well, I'm going to continue anyways. No one ever lets me talk to them about anything other than work at work. So, this fish seems attracted to trees, and I heard they were going to let it loose in an enclosed, outdoor area to see what it'll do. I wasn't able to get the time or place, but I hope I'll be able to find it! I want to see this strange fish for myself." Abbey says. I don't tell her I know exactly where and when it's happening; that would lead to an interrogation, and I don't have the energy to deal with an Abbey-style interrogation this early in the morning. Finally, my stop comes, and I get off the bus. "Sal! Come on, we need to get this fish on the road. We're going to be late as it is." Marlene says. She's already got the fish in a crate and has everything else ready to go. "Yeah, yeah, gimme a minute to drop my things then we can go." I say, heading to my tiny corner of the office. I drop my bag into the seat and plug my laptop in before going back to Marlene. "Let's go, let's go!" She says, grabbing the crate and putting it into the back of the truck. I grab the rest of the stuff and place it with the crate. "Are you sure it'll be fine back here? The boss'll k!ll us if we lose this fish." I say. "It'll be fine." Marlene says, waving my worries away. "If you say so..." I say, getting into the passenger's seat. Marlene refuses to let anyone but her even touch the wheel of her truck. Marlene slides into the driver's seat. *** "You left the fish in the trunk? Do you have any idea what the boss would have done to us if you had lost that thing?" Robert cries when he spies the crate. "Oh calm down. The fish is fine." Marlene says, rolling her eyes. I ignore them and grab the crate. It's heavier than it looks. I carry it into the roped off area. "Hey, you're not supposed- Oh, it's just you. The boss is over by the bushes." One of the guards says, nodding in the direction of the bushes in question. "Alright, thanks." I say, then turn to Marlene and Robert. "Come on, you two! We need to go give this fish to the boss." "Coming!" Marlene calls, ducking under the rope. Robert just steps over it. I can tell by the hunch of his shoulders and the way his eyes keep darting everywhere he's still worried. He's always been the worrier of the three of us; Marlene just brushes everything off and is endlessly optimistic, while I'm quiet and pretty much always pessimistic. Finally, they catch up to me, and we go to see the boss. "About time you got here. You got the fish, correct?" He asks. I nod and hand him the crate. "Perfect. Time to see what this thing is." He sets the crate on the ground and unlocks it, letting the door fall open. We all stand around silently, waiting for the fish to emerge. When it finally does, it's slithering along on its side like a snake. The boss makes note of that. It stays still in the middle of the clearing for a bit before making a beeline for the nearest tree. The boss follows it, and the rest of us follow the boss. Reaching the trunk of the tree, the fish pauses for a moment before rearing up on its back fins and beginning to climb the tree. The boss takes note of it. The fish finally settles once it reaches a branch; it sits there and doesn’t move any longer. “Well. I believe we’ve found a name for this new creature.” The boss says. “And that is…?” Marlene asks. The boss turns to face us. “The treefish.”
all by me bg was made on canva
