Theo was a goldfish born in an aquarium store who felt different from the other fish. He found friendship with Shelly, Pete, Hortensia, and Oscar. A wise iguana named Icarus told the fish stories and fueled their imagination. One day, a strange man bought the five friends and Icarus. He took them to his home filled with fish tanks. Icarus noticed fish going missing and discovered the man was experimenting on them in his basement, driven mad by drug use. Icarus devised a plan where the fish attacked the man to escape, leading to the man's arrest. Theo and his friends lived happily in their new home.

1. Hana Hinds
FYS 100
Theo was born in an aquarium store specifically designed for human children. The store
itself had thousands of brightly colored fish (fresh and salt water), an entire room just for
reptiles, and a compassionate corgi named Hector that looked after the store when the owners
were on break. Theo was a goldfish that had always been a bit bigger and different than all the
rest of the fish in the tank. No matter what, he felt awkward in his own scales. He found solace
in his friends Shelly, Pete, Hortensia, and Oscar. He thought “without them I’ll just be another
fish among the masses”. Their tank was located in front of the reptile room. All five friends
looked up to a wise old iguana named Icarus. Now Icarus was a crafty bastard, he loved to
mess with their tiny tiny brains. With above average intelligence and creativity up the wazoo
Icarus told them fanciful stories of far off lands full of monsters, love triangles, magic, and a
never-ending utopia. He loved to end his stories with a dark twist. Day in and day out he fueled
the young goldfish’s minds with ideology and dreams of someday moving to another place.
On a rainy Friday afternoon a young man who couldn’t be more than 27 walked into the
store. With a quizzical and slightly surly look on his face he searched high and low for the
perfect fish. He stopped at the goldfish tank. Theo noticed that this man had a long white lab
coat on, and large coke bottle glasses. The man stroked his scraggly beard, pushed up his
glasses and said to the owners " I'll take some of these." All five friends started to panic!! Wide
eyed and terrified they huddled together. The blue scoop swooped down and picked them up
out of hundreds of fish in the tank. "Of course it had to be us" thought Theo. In their panic they
didn't notice that the man bought Icarus as well.
The car ride to the mans house was a giant blur to the fish. Once inside the mans house the
group could see fish tanks floor to ceiling as far as the eye could see. Fresh water, salt water,
and rare fish were everywhere. The man placed them in a medium fish bowl, he noticed that
Theo was bigger and worried that he would eat the others. He placed him in a separate glass
bowl. Theo was wiggling out!! Walls were closing in, separation anxiety hit him like a pillow case
full of bricks. He needed to get over there by any means necessary. He focused and a burst of
adrenaline kicked in, with all his might he jumped over to the other bowl to his friends. Whatever
the equivalent to humans clapping is what the goldfish did. It was the bravest thing any of them
had ever seen. "We're back together!! Tonight, we celebrate!!" Shouted Pete.
Icarus who had been in the room with them lounging on the couch was plotting what to do in this
new situation. He decided to continue with his story telling but with the rest of the fish in the
house. He was smart, his plans would come to fruition. From his first day there he spouted great
tales of endless wonder, and a utopian paradise. Each fish in the house listened intently. He
knew he had them. Icarus noticed as weeks passed that little by little fish would go missing....
A few times a week the young man came up from the basement grabbed a few fish and went
back. Icarus noticed his unsettling creepy smile that donned the mans face. The man had left
the basement door open a crack. Icarus went downstairs and he was less than shocked at what
he saw. Notebook paper filled with notes covered the walls. Brunson burners, beakers, a
blender and a hack saw lined a work bench. A sickening chemical smell filled the room. " I didn't
expect anything less, jeez what a nut job. But where are my missing fish?" He turned around to
go upstairs when he saw it. A 100 gallon fish tank filled to the brim with small bones,

2. fish...mostly. This sight shook him up to the core of his being. He rushed upstairs and started
developing a plan to get rid of the man before he got him.
A week from that horrifying evening, Icarus had everything set in order. He had calculated that
the man would take him next. He was right! The young man trumped upstairs looking ragged,
and a bit crazed. With his sights set in Icarus, he grabbed his tail. Icarus yelled " NOW!!!" With
that one word thousands of fish jumped from their tanks and attacked the man. Like a rainfall of
scales, they pelted the man one after another knocking him down. Success!! Icarus made his
escape to the front door which conveniently had a dog door. But before he could return to nature
, a loud rumbling noise got closer and closer. Kicking down the doors like a bad noir b movie
montage, a barrage of police man came crashing through the house.
"FIND THE DOCTOR AND ARREST HIM!!" Yelled the police chief. Looking down, they finally
noticed the odd sight in front of them. The young man was lying unconscious soaking wet on the
floor surrounded by suffocating flappy fish. Separating the team, a few cops put the fish back
into their respected tanks. The others dragged the man out to the paddy wagon.
Cut to 3 weeks later. All the animals in that house had been put in foster care, including Icarus.
Icarus now separated from his flock spent his time reading his newspaper bedding in his cage.
he noticed an article on the man. He turned out to be a doctor who suffered a psychotic break
due to rock cocaine consumption. He went mad and became a shut in, hell bent on finding a
formula for never ending youth through the worst most explicit tests on fish he could think of. He
was apprehended after the police received an anonymous tip, and PETA became involved. He
was later charged with fish related assault, and cruelty to animals. The trial was over and the
mad doctor received 100 consecutive life sentences at a medium security prison.
Theo and his friends continued to have fun together for many years.
The end.