1. Brooke Scarbro
FYS 100
Harold Blanco
4 April 2014
Fishy Friendship
I look around in my small confined space, everything around me is warped and abstract. I
see the same space every day. Sometimes other creatures come into view and change in size as
they make their way across my bowl; skinny, really wide, then skinny again. The shorter creature
comes by to check up on me and feeds me to make sure that I’m still swimming. He’s a nice boy.
He saved me from a day so hot the water in my little bag felt like it could boil. I was sitting in
that tent so long watching all of my other friends being adopted by other small humans. I wonder
how they’re doing now.
It’s nice to have him visit me once a day. I always look forward to them. Sometimes,
though, I feel really lonely. I don’t have anyone to talk to or race with. Sometimes I see my
reflection and play with it. We tend to argue who won the race around the bowl though. We can
never resolve to an agreement-- but I know I won fair and square. It would be nice nonetheless to
have an actual race with an actual fish sometime.
As time went by, I noticed My Boy carrying a bowl about the same size as mine, but
perhaps a bit larger. He sat it down right next to mine, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. There
were more! More creatures like me! I was taken aback. I hadn’t seen another fish in months…
well one that was alive anyhow. I waited in anticipation for My Boy to take me to them, yet he
just put some of my food in both of our bowls and went his way.

2. I began to wonder why he didn’t put me into the other container. Perhaps he will later,
but until then I began to think of how I would even introduce myself. First impressions were
always awkward for me. I found my reflection and began to practice with her. I tried playing it
cool, being really bubbly, mysterious, and a lot of other edges I could play off of. However, none
of them really fit me.
My patience is beginning to run thin. My Boy hasn’t come back. Maybe I need to take
these matters into my own fins. I swim around the bowl thinking how in the sea I could be with
my potential friends. Nothing really came to mind except jumping out of my bowl. That’s pretty
much a flush down the toilet though, and no fish wants to risk that. However, I don’t really know
of any other options.
I begin to weigh my odds; 50:50 from the looks of it. My racing around the bowl has
prepared me for this moment. If I swim fast enough, I can shoot above water and somehow land
into the bowl. I swim back as far as my bowl will let me and take a deep gulp of water. “Here
goes nothing” I think to myself.
I flap my fins harder than I’ve ever flapped before, leaving nothing but bubbles behind. I
brace for impact and break the surface. For the moment I’m left without water is so
uncomfortable that I lose focus on the bowl in front of me. I hit the rim and take a hard splash
into the bowl with the others and gently drift for a moment.
Next thing I knew I saw gills and fins all around me. “I made it!” I was over joyed. The
others came by me to make sure I was okay; they were afraid I was hurt. However, in response to
their concern I simply asked, “Do you want to race?”