Molly nervously tapped her fingers on the table she was sitting at in Dunkin' Donuts, waiting for Oona to get her beverage. Soon, she came with a medium tea and a cheese danish. The purple haired guppy placed her food on the table and narrowed her eyes at Molly's food: Medium coffee and an everything bagel with cream cheese.
Molly grinned. "I'm so glad you decided to join me for coffee!"
Oona exchanged the same look. "So am I." She sat down across the booth and took a sip of tea. "Do you think we can make this date men free? I don't feel like talking about Nonny or any of the guys right now."
Molly nodded. "Of course. Anything you want."
They sat in silence with their heads down. Molly took a sip of her coffee and tapped her finger against her cup in anticipation.
After a couple of minutes, Oona started laughing, but it didn't sound cheerful at all. She started to shake her head. "You know what's funny?"
"What's fun-"
"Nonny thinks he won. He thinks he's the winner because he went off to university. Well you know what? He's wrong! He has nothing! He has-" Oona's eyes soon filled with tears. She covered them up and started weeping.
Molly slowly swam out of her seat and sat next to her friend and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. She grabbed a pack of Kleenex from her purse and handed it to Oona. "Why don't you tell me what's bothering you?"
The purple-haired guppy forces a grin and slowly took out a tissue from the package. "Okay."
FLASHBAACK *Oona's Perspective*
It all started in our last year of high school. There was a science fair coming up in May and Nonny thought it would be a cool idea to sign us both up. Being his girlfriend, I decided to go with it. The grand prize was a full scholarship to the University of Bubble City for both of the partners. Anyways we only had a month to work on the project. We were researching day and night in the library. I came up with all these cool ideas that involved flowers and Nonny thought they were too simple. One day I came up with an idea that would sure win the contest!
"A lemon battery?" Nonny asked. "That's impossible."
"No it's not," I said. "All you need is steel paper clips, copper wire, and some zinc covered nails!"
"No one's gonna fall for that." he said in his monotone voice as he rapidly started typing on his laptop.
A couple hours later, he said. "AHA! I GOT AN IDEA!" He stared at me smiling, which he rarely did, of course. "How about we make a battery, but we make it out of a lemon?"
I stared at him surprised. "I just suggested-"
"We can make it out of steel paper clips, copper wire, and some zinc covered nails! The lemon battery will generate an electric current off of the metal! I can even attach more lemons to make a stronger electrical current! Oh Oona, it's PERFECT!" He gave me a deep kiss on the lips and swam around the library, practically dancing. "I'm a genius!"
On the day of the science fair, we both wheeled our project to our presentation table for the judges to see. Halfway through the presentation, a couple of the judges were discussing our project. You could tell because they were staring at us from a distance. I decided to just keep my mouth shut because Nonny was so happy, and it's rare to see him so giddy. Nonny noticed and beamed. "See those judges over there? I have a chance of winning!"
I officially lost my patience. "YOU HAVE A CHANCE OF WINNING? WHAT ABOUT ME? I WAS THE ONE WHO CAME UP WITH THE IDEA!"
"Whoa, hey, I'm sorry. I meant we have a chance of winning. Not just me."
"YOU'RE NOT SORRY," I shouted. "YOU CLAIMED THIS LEMON PROJECT WAS YOUR IDEA, BUT YOU'RE WRONG BECAUSE IT WAS MY IDEA!"
Nonny's voice started to get louder. "WELL I DID ALL THE WORK!"
"YOU DIDN'T LET ME DO ANYTHING"
"WELL I COULDN'T LET YOU BE IN CHARGE! YOU WOULD JUST SCREW THINGS UP!"
I got so furious with him that I slapped his face. I then completely destroyed our project as the judges walked back to our table. I unscrewed the lemons, unhooked the copper wires, and zinc covered nails. Afterwards, I threw the project in the nearby garbage. I narrowed my eyes at Nonny. He was in tears. I huffed and swam away as fast as I could.
"Wow," Molly said breathlessly. "I don't know what to say."
"Yeah," Oona sighed. "Now I'm starting to think I was a little harsh on Nonny."
"What?" she said quickly. "Nonono! You did the right thing!"
The purple-haired guppy glanced up from her hands. "I did?"
"Yeah! You stuck up for yourself. Now Nonny knows he messed with the wrong person!"
Oona smiled and glanced out the window with determination. "You know what? You're right! I did do the right thing! Gee. Talking things out does help!" She stood up and hugged Molly. "Thank you so much!"