Part 1
By Crystal ([email protected] )
The front door to Grams� house swung open, gently banging again the wall as Jen carried in a load of groceries. Silently cussing Jack for not coming to help her, she rounded the corner to find him staring into the small fish bowl.
�What are you doing, I thought you hated that goldfish?� She asked, obviously startling him by the way he jumped at the sound of her voice.
Quickly scrambling to his feet, Jack turned his back to the table that housed the fish, and nervously smiled at her.
�Why are you acting so weird today? First you wouldn�t go shopping with me and now you�re hovering over the goldfish like a madman.�
�I�well�um was just looking at it, you know to calm my mind�or clear it or whatever it is supposed to do.� Closing his eyes, Jack knew he was mumbling and making no sense whatsoever.
�Okay then, I�ll just be outside getting the rest of the bags if you�d care to help me.� Turning to leave the room, she eyed him one last time puzzled at his actions.
As soon as she left the room, Jack looked back at the floating fish that was belly up in the bowl. Knowing she was going to be upset when she found out that it was dead, he was trying to think of something to tell her that might make it better, since plan one was quickly falling though.
Putting the last of the bags on Grams� table, she went back to find what in the hell was keeping Jack. Spotting him eyelevel with the water once again, she sighed.
�Hey Jack, move away from the fish now. You�re probably scaring the poor thing to death.�
Jack coughed, nearly choking at her words for the situation. �I don�t think that�s what I did Jen.�
Finally walking over to where he was, she tapped him on the shoulder as she knelt down beside him. Looking into the bowl for the first time she spotted what he was so interested in.
Her eyes widened in shock, and as she turned her attention to him they narrowed into a glare.
�Jack, you killed my fish!� She screamed.
�I did no such thing, I found him like this after you left for the market.�
�He was alive when I left, and now poor Clarence is dead. I hope you�re happy Jack, I hope you know that you did this to him.�
�Jen, I didn�t kill him. I promise I didn�t. He was floating when I first saw him this morning, and I had nothing to do with it.�
�You had to of killed him, because he was fine when I left and now he�s not.�
� I swear I didn�t kill the damn fish Jen, would you quit blaming me for something I didn�t do!� He screamed back, his anger starting to rise.
�If you didn�t who did?�
�No one did, he just died. Fish die all the time, for no real reason.�
�Is that so?�
�Yes it is, Tim had a whole tank when we were little and it seemed like every other day he�d find one that had died during the night. So it�s no big deal. Fish die and you replace them, end of story.�
�You wanna know what I think happened to Tim�s fish?�
�What?�
�I think that you killed them, just like you killed Clarence. It�s the only explanation.�
�Jen, I didn�t kill any fish. Why won�t you believe me?�
�Because you were hovering over the bowl, thinking of a lie. If it wasn�t you why were you hiding it from me?�
�I figured you�d be upset, and I didn�t want you to be so I was trying to think of a way to break it to you gently. I didn�t kill it, I promise.�
As she opened her mouth to lay into him again, they heard the doorbell chiming through the house. Casting a glare in his direction before leaving she swung the door open to find Drue�s blue eyes staring at her.
�What are you doing here?�
Looking around from his place at the door, �Is Jack here?�
�Why do you need Jack?�
�I just do Miss Nosey, could you run along and fetch him for me.�
She cocked her head to the side, noticing for the first time that his right hand was behind his back.
�What are you hiding?�
�Nothing, why would I be hiding something Jenny?�
�Because you are, and if you don�t show me what it is, I�m not letting you in to see Jack.�
Pulling the hand into sight she saw the plastic bag that was housing a little, and very much alive goldfish.
�Why is that here?�
�Jack called me and wanted me to bring over a fish to replace a dead one. So here�s the fish and if you�d be kind enough to let me in, we�ll get this bad boy some air.�
Allowing Drue in, she lead the way to where Jack was fuming at the fact that Jack was trying to replace Clarence without telling her.
�Hey Jack, guess who�s here?�
�Drue, hey buddy what are you doing here?�
�You know why he�s here, it�s because you killed my fish.� Turning to Drue she continued her rant, �Did he tell you he killed it, is that why he needed a replacement? How did he do it?�
�I�m not getting into this, here�s the fish and I�ll be on my way now.�
�You aren�t going anywhere Drue, not until one of you tell me what happened to my fish!�
�Jen, we don�t know it was just dead when I found it so I wanted to replace it before you got upset. If I thought you were going to blame me, I would have just let you find the dead thing yourself.�
�Nice heartfelt sentiment, but I don�t buy it for a second.�
Ignoring their bickering, Drue grabbed the bowl heading for the bathroom, leaving them arguing without the knowledge that he�d even left.
Pouring the fish into the toilet, flushing it away, he headed to the kitchen to dump the old water so the new fish wouldn�t die from whatever the last one had. Finding the strainer, he salvaged the rocks, before refilling the tank and dropping the new fish back into the bowl of fresh water.
Walking into the living room, he placed the bowl back on the table and cleared his throat.
Both turning to look at him, Jen noticed the bowl beside him.
�What did you do with Clarence?�
�What do you think I did with him? He�s gone, and here�s the new Clarence so chill out.�
Glaring at him and then back at Jack, she grabbed the bowl after muttering a very small thanks to Drue and headed upstairs towards her bedroom with the fish in tow.
�What was that all about?� Drue questioned.
�I have no idea, but I never thought she was crazy until she got that fish.�
�Should I go check on her?� Drue questioned.
�Don�t worry about her, she�ll come around.�
�Are you sure?�
�Yeah, but thanks for bringing the fish over. It seemed to please her, even if the other one is dead.�
�Not a problem. Tell her I�ll give her a call later on this afternoon.�
�Sure thing,� Jack said as he closed the door behind the exiting Drue. It was just a fish. He muttered as he leaned back against the door, knowing that her wrath was far from over.
The End