Moira's Point of View: Turtles are Cute
I practically danced to class. I was in such a good mood! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, until I happened to stumble upon the right door at the right time.
Ren, practically the best guy in school, talked to me! How lucky could I be? Maybe high school isn't so bad, and the people that complain about it don't know what they're talking about? Yes! That has to be it!
Mr. Tingersburg stood near the door, waiting for the last people to show up. I walked in casually and explained that I had been lost and I'm new. He took it as an excuse and told me to sit down.
When I glanced around the room. I saw the same boy from the bathroom scene. His dark eyes met mine icily, and it dropped my mood back down to all time low that it had been feeling this morning. For every person who likes me, there always has to be someone who hates me.
I took a lot of effort to walk to my desk, knowing that his eyes were following me. It also didn't help that the new depressed mood I was in seemed to just suck the energy out of me like a vacuum.
Maybe he did see the kiss and hug routine that my Mother did and was planning to expose me for all I was?
What was I?
When I turned to look at him, he was suddenly gone, and my eyes darted around the room searching for him. Where did he go?
When I looked at the ground, I almost screamed.
A turtle stood there looking at me.
Okay, now this was getting weird. What the hell was a turtle doing near my desk?
I had the sudden urge to lift my feet up so I wouldn't step on it.
The teacher started talking, and I drew my attention away from the turtle. It was a stupid move, I know. I probably should've alerted the teacher in some way that there was a creature that laid eggs in our classroom, but I just didn't feel like going to the trouble.
When the teacher changed topics, his eyes located the boy's empty seat, and the question rang in my ears. "Where did Jakota go? He's skipping already? Everyone knows that there's no actual school work on the first day of school."
So that was the boys name? Jakota?
When the turtle tapped my ankle, I practically jumped in my seat. The teacher noticed and came over to me. I couldn't handle this pressure. I was going to burst. What do I do!
"Moira?"
"Yes?" I replied quickly. Maybe a bit too quickly.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm perfectly fine."
He nodded, but when he did that, his eyes zoned in on the turtle around my foot, and his eyes went wide.
"Why is there a turtle near your foot?"
I laughed awkwardly. "Oh that? It's my lucky turtle." Nice save, Moira. You're a real genius. "I like him, he's cute, right?" I picked him up and placed him on my lap.
"You're not allowed to bring pets to school, Moira."
"Oh. I was not informed of this." I said truthfully. Hey! It was my first time in a real school!
The turtle was really dry, and I wondered if that was alright for a turtle?
"Well, I'm going to have to phone your parents and schedule a pick up for the turtle." He told me.
"Oh, I guess that's fine." I said, it was perfect actually. They didn't have my parent's restaurant number, only our home phone, so before they go home and check the machine, I could erase the message!
"Until they come and pick it up, you can wait in the office."
"Alright." I began to pack up my stuff.
Thank god they didn't think of giving me detention. I think all the teachers thought I was some sheltered rabbit that was just freed from its cage for the first time. They gave me warnings for practically everything, and I knew if it had been any of the other students, I would've gotten into more shit than a trip to the office.
I prayed thankfully in the hall on my walk to the office. I went to the girl's washroom first, and put the turtle in the sink. The turtle seemed pretty happy. I mean, his movements are slow and precise, and I couldn't really read what was going on in mind, but I figured he was happy to get some water. I knew I would be.
When he was having a bath in the sink, I got some paper towels and wet them. I took him out of the sink and placed the wet paper towels under his feet, so he would stay wet for as long as possible.
When I arrived at the office, the same secretary told me to sit down. I smiled sweetly at her and sat down on the farthest chair way from the offices.
I took in the scenery around me. Nobody was really paying attention to me. The secretary immediately caught on to why I was here, and was already making the stupid phone call home that I would erase later. Nobody was really around me, maybe they were avoiding the turtle? Who would want to avoid something so cute?
I looked down at the turtle and sighed. I don't know why, maybe it was loneliness, or maybe I was just bored, but I started talking to the turtle.
"You know." I whispered. "I really didn't know that I couldn't bring pets to school. I thought it was cool as long as we cleaned up after them. Man, people are so uptight in public school." I went on. "And now I'm stuck here babysitting the cutest turtle ever. I wonder who you belong to? I wish I could keep you."
When I met the eyes of the turtle, it kind of startled me. The eyes reminded me so much of... that boy.
I thought for a moment. No, this couldn't be that boy. It was just a turtle. A very very weird turtle that had exactly the same eyes as the boy. Yup, makes perfect sense to me.
I looked down at the turtle again, and sighed. God, why do I delude myself?
I looked around to see if anyone was watching me, then I made a break for it. I ran out the front door of the school and at least a block down the road. When I reached the end of the road, I hid behind the bushes.
Oh God, I was insane.
"Okay, I'm really stupid for asking this. But is that... you, Jakota?" I looked directly at the turtle. "Nod or something if it is."
I watched the turtle, and his small eyes surveyed me. He moved his head up and down and I gasped quite audibly.
"Oh my God, I'm insane! I think this turtle is a boy!" I started hyperventilating.
I looked back down at the turtle, trying to calm my breathing and trying to understand and rationalize in my brain what was going on.
I took a deep steadied breath. "Okay, I'll play along. How'd you end up this way?" An idea came to mind. "Nod for yes. Tap your foot for no." I began. "A witch?"
A foot tapped. No. Damn, maybe I'm not insane?
"Are you a like a wizard or something?"
He didn't say anything for that, he kind of just looked at me.
"Or something?" I pressed.
He nodded his head.
"Okay." I breathed in a deep breath. "So if you're 'something', then why can't you control it? Um..." I thought for a moment. "You know, with a lot of people around me, I can become kind of secluded and weird. Is that it? All the people?"
He tapped his foot. No, again.
Then, an idea hit me. "Is it me?" I whispered.
He nodded his head instantly.
"God." I fell backwards, and stared at the sky for a bit. "I'm insane. This is just a dream, I'm not having a conversation with a turtle."
I closed my eyes for a bit. You know, maybe if I just left the turtle here, I could go back and pretend it never happened. What if I went to visit my parents at the restaurant? Would they know what to do with the turtle? But what if Jakota is actually inside that turtle, and he comes back seeking a vengeance? What if he turns into a bear next time, and then he'll try to attack me? The only memories of Jakota I actually have are him looking at me like I'm some kind of animal.
I laughed at the irony.
"What's so funny?" A voice asked.