Something Fishy Going On

Spring was nearing its end and Summer was around the corner. However, vacation already began for my brother and I. We finished our classes and were already planning to start our volunteer work. It was also the time to finally get my driver's license over the summer holiday. Though I'm a little nervous, the important thing is that I do my best. In the mean time, I can still kick back, relax, and have my friends come to my door.


One Tuesday morning, I got up earlier than usual. My parents already left for work and my brother was playing his video games.

Me: *groggily* "Well, at least I'm getting up without the help of an alarm clock and a need to go away from home." *chuckles*

After eating my breakfast and doing my morning exercises, I went upstairs to take my shower. Suddenly, I hear the doorbell ringing and my dogs barking.

Me: "Hmm, who could that be at this hour?" *heads down stairs*

When I opened the door, no one was there. However, I did notice a large fish tank that had a castle prop inside of it. There was also a letter next to the tank.

Me: *confused* "Huh? I didn't order anything."

So I picked up the tank with my hands and letter with my teeth and brought them into the kitchen. Once there, I opened the letter which read the following:

    Dear Robert,

    Lyloo and I are going over to play with Kate and Denise, our newest friends, for a game of basketball. If we're lucky, we hope to have a Space Jam reenactment. Anyway, we recently got a new pet and we wanted someone to look after it while we were gone. All of our other friends were busy and since you had finished your class for the semester, we thought you were the best choice. We're not sure how long we'll be gone for, but we've given you a little supply of food to give her. Be sure to keep a close eye on her.

    Love,
   Rilastika

 
Me: "So the girls have a new fish, huh. *looks at the tank and sees no sign of the fish* Must be shy."  

I checked in the envelope and found the food.

Me: "I'll feed you when the time is right." *brings the tank upstairs into my room*

As I got upstairs, Tim got up and came downstairs to feed the dogs. 

Tim: "Morning, Bob. *notices the tank* What in the world did you order?"

Me: "It actually belongs to a friend of mine. I know this because it came with a note. By the way, don't bother checking out to see what it looks like. It's really shy."

Tim: "Either that or it's just nocturnal."

Me: "Likely. Anyway, I'm putting this in my room so I can look after it until the owner comes back."

Tim: "When do you think he or she will be back?"

Me: "I don't know. The letter didn't say how long she'll be gone for."

Tim: "Oh."

Me: "Well, I'm going to take my shower now."

Tim: "Okay." *heads downstairs*


After my shower, I got dressed and turned on my laptop.

Me: "Time to begin my day."

Just then, I noticed something moving in the tank. I got up and took a closer look. Turns out, it was the sisters' new pet fish. The fish looked like a puffer fish, but it had large cobalt blue eyes. It also had a black saddle, three small yellow rings with black centers, which were below the saddle along it's back. The fish had green body with aqua colored fins and tail. Finally, it had cream white belly and an almost human like mouth.

Me: "Hey there, little fella. It's about time I've seen you. I was wondering what kind of fish you were."

The fish breached out of the water like a dolphin and nearly got me wet.

Me: *surprised* "My, you're quite the pet. I've seen dolphins, sharks, and some other kinds of fish that can breach. But I've never seen a puffer fish do it."

The fish nodded as if she understood what I said.

Me: *shocked* "You understood that?!" 

The fish nodded again.

Me: "The girls really have something here."

Then, I also noticed that her tank looked a little bit dirty. So I thought it would be nice of me to give it a little clean up and save the girls a bit of trouble.

Me: "No sense on going home in a dirty tank. Come on, you little scam; lets get your tank clean. *heads downstairs* Tim, can you take care on the plants and grass outside? I got to clean the tank up."

Tim: *inside his room* "Okay."


Once Tim got outside to water the seeds, I put a large towel on the kitchen table and got a large bowl out for the fish to swim in while her tank was being cleaned. But just as I was about to fill up the bowl with water, something came up that worried me.

Me: *worried* "Oh no! I don't know if she lives in fresh or salt water!"

Since that wasn't written in the note, I had to gamble on what type it was. So I filled the bowl up with fresh water from the sink.

Me: "Now to get the fish."

Then another thing hit me. What if the fish was poisonous? Not only were puffer fish the most poisonous fish, but are also the second most poisonous vertebrate in the world. Only surpassed by the golden dart frog. Though I knew that the poison had to be ingested in order to be deadly, I didn't want to take that risk. So I got some rubber gloves to protect my hands and put one hand in the tank.

Me: *trying to grab the fish* "Here, fishy, fishy, fishy."

Though she was tricky to grab, I eventually caught her. Right when I got her, she puffed up into a fish balloon as expected.  

Me: "Now, now. *gets her out of the tank* "I know you're nervous about it, but it will be over soon."

So I put her in the bowl and, thankfully, didn't show any ill effects to fresh water. This made me give out a huge sigh of relief.

Me: "Thank goodness. Now, back to the business at hand."

Soon I emptied the tank of water, gravel, and the castle. Then, I rinsed the gravel so that it was clean and kept the old water for a little test later. For the cleaning process, I used an old toothbrush sponge to get rid of any smudges on the tank. Once that was done, I washed it down with hot water and dried it off. Before the tank could be refill with fresh water, I put the gravel and castle back in.

Me: "Alright, now for the most important part: the water."

In a short time, the tank was filled with nice, clean water. However, I had to test the water to be sure it was at the right temperature. Otherwise, the fish would go into shock.

Me: "Man, it's moments like this that make me realize how hard it can be to take care of a fish."

So I felt the water that was in the tank, the old water in one bowl, and the temporary bowl for the fish. Using a water thermometer, I found that the water in each container had the same temperature. The fish was ready to go back home.

Me: *puts the bowl in the tank to let the fish swim in her tank* "There you go, fishy. All nice and clean for you and your owners."

The tank's cleanliness made the fish happily breach out of the water again. At the same time, Tim came in through the kitchen door.

Tim: "The seeds have been watered."

Me: "Good work, bro."

Tim: *notices the fish breaching* Wow, that is one heck of a fish."

Me: "She sure is."

Tim: *chuckles in agreement* "I'll say." *heads upstairs*

Me: *chuckles* "I'm glad you like it. No other fish has every expressed their happiness of a clean tank like that. You're truly something else." *grabs the tank and heads upstairs*


After I had my lunch, I thought that it would be a good idea to get on the treadmill.

Me: "Okay, fishy. I'm going to do my workout on the treadmill. I'll be back in a while, so don't worry." *heads downstairs with my phone and headphones*   

When I was about to go on the treadmill, my brother came downstairs.

Tim: "You're doing your run now?"

Me: "Yeah. I figured if I get it out of the way, I can go on the rest of my day without waiting."

Tim: "Good idea. But what about the fish?"

Me: "She's alright. Just be sure to check on her every ten minutes to make sure she's doing well."

Tim: "Okay."

Me: "Thanks again for helping me out." *gets on the treadmill*

Tim: "No problem." *heads upstairs*


During the ten and twenty minute marks, Tim told me the fish was fine. However, the thirty minute mark was different. Tim came down alarmed.

Me: "What's the matter?"

Tim: "Bob, I think you might want to look at the fish."

Me: *worried* "Don't tell me she's dead!"

Tim: "Thankfully, she's alive. But I think you need to have a look at what's happening."

Me: "Alright." *turns off treadmill and puts on my shirt*

When we both got into my room, I was surprised to find the fish out of the tank, up at the ceiling, inflated up to twice her size, upside down, and motionless. 

Me: "Tim, hand me some rubber gloves."

Tim: "What for?"

Me: "I think she's stressed out. If so, I'll try to calm her down."

Tim: "Be right back." *runs downstairs to get the rubber gloves*

Me: *nervously* "Don't worry, help is on the way." 

In no time, Tim managed to get the rubber gloves.

Me: "Thanks." *puts them on*

Tim: "No problem."

Me: "I think I can handle it from here."

Tim: "Okay." *exits the room*


I grabbed the fish's body with my hands and gently coaxed her body to calm her down.

Me: *gently* "There, there, sweetie. It's alright."

Shockingly, the result of my gentle caressing wasn't what I expected. Instead of deflating, the fish got bigger and rounder at a fast rate!

Me: *shocked* "Oh, crap! Tim! Help!"

Unfortunately, both Tim's and my door were closed. So he didn't hear me as the fish's balloon body was crushing me against my door.

Me: "If this keeps up, she's going to pop! I don't know how I'll explain this to the girls."

Just then, the doorbell rang and the dogs barked like crazy. Fortunately, I heard my brother exiting his room and going downstairs to answer it.

Me: *thinking* "Thank goodness he at least heard that!"


At the door, Rika and Lyloo were waiting.

Lyloo: "I'm sure glad we got Robert to look after our fish."

Rika: "Me too."

Right after they said that, Tim opened the door and saw the two girls for the first time. He was a little unsure on how to introduce himself. 

Tim: *puzzled* "Uh, can I help you?"

Rika: "You must be Robert's brother. Uh, Tim right?"

Tim: *nervously* "Yes?"

Rika: "I'm Rilastika, but you can call me Rika. This is my little sister, Lyloo."

Lyloo: "Hello." *shakes his hand*

Tim: *shakes back* "Uh, pleased to meet you."

Rika: "We've come to tell Robert that we're here to pick up our fish."

Tim: "So you're the owners of the fish?"

Lyloo: "Yes, yes we are."

Tim: "I see you're also the reason why Bob is-"

Suddenly, they heard a muffled, but loud, cry of help by me.

Rika: "That's Robert! He must be in trouble. Come on, Lyloo!"

Lyloo: "Right, sis!

Both of them grabbed on each other's legs to became some kind of a wheel and rolled upstairs. This left Tim quite surprised.

Tim: *shocked* "Woah!"


The girls stopped and let go of each other when they reached my door.

Rika: "Bob?!"

Me: *muffled* "Rika? Is that you?"

Rika: "Yes. My sister and I are here to pick up our fish and tell you about the game."

Me: *muffled* "Open the door!"

Rika opened the door and I popped out of the door, landing on the ground, and gasping for breath. The girls helped me get back on my feet.

Lyloo: "Bob, are you alright?"

Me: *gasping for air* "I don't know. I did make contact with the fish's skin, so I might have to go to Kathaly's lab or something."

Just then, both of the girls noticed a cream white bulge on the door. It was the fish's belly sticking out.

Rika: "Bob, what happened?"

Me: *scared* "I don't know. I noticed her floating above the ceiling and I thought she was under stress. So I decided to caress her in the hope of calming her down, but then she got bigger and bigger!"

Rika and Lyloo then tickled the fish's belly and started making "coochy, coochy, coo" sounds. The bulge moved up and down and began to shrink.

Me: *confused* "Huh?"


After a minute of continuous tickling, the fish was back to its normal size and swimming around playfully in its tank. The sight was both a shock and a relief.

Me: "Would you care to explain how she's back to normal?"

Lyloo: "Gladly. Sis?"

Rika: "You see whenever she gets bored, she tends to inflate herself as a way to entertain herself. How big did she get when this happened?"

Me: "Twice her normal size. Also, I was on the treadmill for thirty minutes, but I asked my brother to check in to see how she was doing every ten minutes."

Lyloo: "Was she inflated in both check ups?"

Me: "No, he told me she was just fine. It was only at the third checkup that he told me that she like that."

Rika: "I think you not being in the room with her must have something to do with it. She must've have gotten bored to the point where she wanted to inflate."

Me: "But that doesn't explain why she filled up the room."

Lyloo: "Did anything else happen?"

Me: "You see, I thought the reason why she inflated was because she was stressed out. So I caressed her body in the hopes of calming her down. But instead of deflating, she inflated on a massive scale!"

Lyloo: "She must've been excited to see you again and probably just couldn't contain her excitement."

Rika: "Sort of like a dog wagging its tail."

Me: "Exactly. So where did you get this creature?"

Rika: "Oh, we got it as a gift from our parents. It's the Rubberian equivalent of the puffer fish."

Me: "That would explain the unusual behaviors I've witnessed, like breaching, listening/understanding human language, and the human-like face."

Lyloo: "Yep, they're a popular pet for Rubberian families."

Me: "I can see that. But do you use rubber gloves when handling her?"

Rika: "No, but we do wash our hands thoroughly."

Lyloo: "Unlike normal puffer fish, the rubberian puffer fish don't have deadly toxins in their bodies."

Rika and Lyloo: "As a result, we don't have to worry about being poisoned!"

Me: "So I had worn my rubber gloves for nothing."

Rika and Lyloo: "Yep!"

Me: *chuckles* "So, how did was your basketball game?"


We both went outside in the backyard to talk about the game. The girls told me that the game was great and that Rika had the same experience that Wayne Knight's character went through in Space Jam. Even though their friends won, they all had a fun time.

Me: *chuckles* "I wish I could've been there to see it. By the way, I cleaned up the tank while you were gone. Figured I'd save you a little work."

Rika: "Why, thank you. It was about time it needed cleaning any way."

Me: "Just so you know, cleaning a tank is different than cleaning a fish bowl."

Lyloo: "Don't worry, Bob. We did our research."

Me: "Do you know that you shouldn't use any soap when cleaning it?"

Rika: "Because it could harm the fish? Of course."

Me: "Good, it's just that I was making sure. Sorry, its just that a pet is a big responsibility. All those years of watching pet episodes on television really speak a lot."

Lyloo: "They sure do. By the way, we have one more thing to show you what our fish can do. Would you like to see it?"

Me: "Sure, why not."

Lyloo: "Okay, Rika?"

Rika: "You got it."

I watched as she picked up the fish, put it in her mouth, and swallow it!

Me: *gasps in horror* "What did you do?! You ate your pet!"

Lyloo: "Relax, Bob. This is one of the thing these fish do best at."

Pretty soon, Rika's body started to quiver. Suddenly, her body became inflated. Her limbs and head sank in completely and her navel popped out. Only her hair could be seen.

Me: *stunned* "What the-"

Then, she spun around and started chasing me! With each bounce, she deflated until she was back to her normal figure.

Me: "Are you okay, Rika?"

Rika: *gets up* "Of course I am, silly."

Me: "But what about your fish?"

She then gave herself the Heimlich maneuver, this caused the fish flew out of her body and land in her tank. Thankfully, she wasn't hurt.

Lyloo: "Now you have seen why these fish are popular."

Rika: "If we're ever low on Puff-A-Loon candy, we can use her for a similar experience."

Me: "Doesn't that hurt the fish? I heard that puffer fish can only inflate a couple of times in a short period. If you cause it to inflate more than that, it could damage the organs. In short, it could kill the fish."

Rika: "Relax, Bob. These fish are as rubbery in the inside as they are on the outside. Meaning it can get bigger and not hurt itself."

Me: *looks at the fish* "They really defied the evolutionary chain."

All of a sudden, it suddenly hit me.

Me: "Say, does your fish have a name? When I looked at the letter you sent me, it didn't say."

Both of the girls looked at each other.

Lyloo: "We were actually wondering if you could name the fish."

Rika: "We tried many names, but they didn't quite fit the bill."

Me: "Really?"

Rika: "Yep. We tried Puffsy, Blimpy, e.t.c. But they just didn't work."

Me: "How about Mrs. Puffenstein?"

At that moment, the fish happily breached out of the tank.

Lyloo: "I think she seems to like it."

Rika: "Why didn't I think of that? It's perfect! Thanks, Bob."

Me: *chuckles* "You're welcome. *looks at watch* Oh goodness, I better head back inside." 

Rika: "Yeah, we'd better head home too. See you later, Bob."

Lyloo: "Bye, Bob."

Me: "See you around, girls."

Both of the girls stretched their legs, making themselves as tall as giraffes. Then, they walked carefully back home.

Me: *watching them leave* "I didn't know they could do that. I guess they found another quick way to get home."

Once they were gone, I went back inside to tell my brother everything about our adventures.



The End