Chapter 35: Tummy Trouble (SNEAK PEEK)

A/N: To start off the new year and decade, I'm deciding to do another chapter of this story to help me with my writer's block. I really feel like I want to post something since I haven't written anything, let alone post a chapter to any of my stories, in months. I'm feeling very bad about that, so I'm giving you guys a little treat. Keep in mind that you are reading the sneak peek, not the actual chapter. I'm writing it right now, and I want to post it sometime this month, but unfortunately, I can't do that because it's on my mom's laptop, and she needs to use it for the week. Instead, I'm posting this little sneak peek to give you guys a heads up about this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it! :)

"Dory! Time to get up!" Charlie hollered from the center of their home, helping Jenny finish preparing breakfast.

Her father's voice didn't quite catch on to the dozing, young blue fish, but it was enough for her to hear. She groaned, barely tempting to open her wide, magenta eyes. Her little fins clutched tighter onto her doll Lulu, snuggling with her. Dory wasn't usually like this in the mornings; she was always a bright, perky little girl this time of day. But today, she wasn't feeling it, not even one bit. There was a story behind this, and it all took place yesterday. It took place exactly in her little tube bed. It was so bad that she couldn't even forget about it. There were rare occasions where she would remember certain scenarios; this was a rare occasion. Yesterday, Dory and Destiny happened to be chatting with each other as usual, but suddenly, they started... bickering.

Bickering. That parasite of a word clung onto Dory's tongue. It couldn't wash away. The two girls never fought. They were best friends after all. Destiny was even considered a sister-like figure to her. Dory was confused about why they quarreled in the first place. Odd that she couldn't remember the reason, but she could remember the fight. She desperately wanted to forget all about it, but the taste was still fresh in her mouth. She shivered a little from the memory, eyes remaining closed.

"Dory, please wake up, sweetie," Jenny said calmly but still loud enough for her daughter to hear. "We made breakfast."

The recent word that came out of her mother's mouth instantly grabbed her attention. Two magenta eyes eagerly shot open. She quickly rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and gave a huge, natural yawn. Her small stomach rumbled by the idea of breakfast. She had already forgotten about what happened yesterday. Her focus was on the food now. She raced down to her parents.

"Good morning, Kelpcake," Charlie cheerfully greeted. "Are you feeling better today?"

"Feeling better from what?" Dory asked as her mother placed the small batch of kelp in front of her.

"From you and Destiny's-" Jenny began, but then stopped herself from carrying on. She knew that her daughter didn't have a great day yesterday. She remembered the tears that were streaming down Dory's face. That thought alone made her frown. If she brought up the subject, Dory would be gloomy again. She certainly didn't want that mood coming out of Dory once more. So, she kept her lips zipped.

Not caring about getting an answer, Dory happily ate her breakfast. She gobbled on her food.

"You're really hungry today. Aren't you Dory?" her father chuckled.

"Yeah," Dory muffled from pieces of kelp stuffed in her cheeks. She loudly gulped down her breakfast.

Jenny looked up from her food to see thousands of fish swimming around, either by themselves, in groups, or in families, in serenity. She gave a sweet smile at them. The mother fish always loved seeing fish swimming about in the huge tank. It was calm and relaxing. Which was why she adored having swims with her family. It was one of her favorite activities to do besides shell finding and spending time with her beloved family.

She turned to her husband and suggested, "How about we have a pleasant morning swim?"

Charlie nodded before swallowing his helping. "I'm always down for that. What about you, Kelpcake? Do you want to go on a family swim?"

His daughter nodded excitedly. "Yes! I love having those!"

"Alright, then! We'll go immediately after breakfast," Charlie stated.

"Yay!" Dory cheered, wolfing down the rest of her breakfast.

"Woah there, Dory," her mother said. "Don't eat too fast, or you'll get a tummy ache. We don't want that now, do we?"

Dory shook her head. "No! Tummy aches are bad!"

Charlie nodded. "That's right, Kelpcake."

"Dory, why don't you go and play for a bit while Mommy and Daddy finish having breakfast?" Jenny suggested.

"Okay, Mommy!" Dory chirped before swimming away to go roll in some sand.