Chapter 1
Eight years later…
In a shabbily decorated apartment building, Marlin was asleep in a two-person bed. He grasped the sheets, sweating profusely in a frenzied sleep, dreaming about his lost love. He had grown older, and his brown hair had grown grayer. Although covered by the sheets of the bed, he wore a pair of orange boxer shorts.
"First day of school!" The voice of a young, male child yelled, rushing into the room.
Suddenly, something was jumping up and down on the bed, hitting and rocking Marlin, who was trying to stay asleep.
"First day of school!" The child continued yelling, as he jumped up and down on the bed. "Wake up! Wake up! Come on! First day of school!"
"I don't want to go to school…" Marlin muttered in his sleep. "Five more minutes…"
"Not you, Dad! Me!" The child replied. "Get up! Get up!"
Marlin was then pushed out of his bed, ending up on the floor, still wrapped in the sheets and blanket of the bed.
"Okay, I'm up, I'm up…" Marlin muttered drowsily, sitting up.
"Time for school! Time for school!" The child continued. "Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy!"
The child raced out of the room and raced down the stairs, suddenly slipping and falling the whole way down!
"Nemo!" Marlin yelled in fright, his drowsiness instantly clearing up.
He quickly untangled himself from the blankets and sheets, rushed out of the room, still in his boxer shorts, and raced downstairs. Nemo laid in a heap on the floor, perfectly fine, smiling and excited for the first day of school. Marlin quickly helped his son up, wanting to make sure he was alright.
Nemo was eight years old, with light orange hair, fair complexion, and blue eyes. He wore an orange jacket with white sleeves and a hood, a light blue t-shirt underneath, dark blue jeans, and white sneakers with orange socks. An interesting fact to note about the boy was that his right leg was smaller and less developed than his left. Due to this, he would limp instead of walk, and gallop instead of run.
"Alright, where's the break?" Marlin asked, quickly looking his son over. "Do you feel a break?"
"No…" Nemo answered, his mood now somewhat soured.
"Something you can't tell, but fluid is rushing to the area. Now any rushing fluids?"
"No…"
"Are you woozy?"
"No…"
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Marlin asked, holding up three fingers in Nemo's face.
"I'm fine!" Nemo replied, his tone annoyed.
"Answer the question…"
"You're holding three."
"NO!" Marlin yelled, looking at his fingers. "I'm holding… three fingers… oh, well, you're okay. How's the lucky leg?"
"Lucky!" Nemo replied cheerfully, patting his right leg.
"Good." said Marlin, outstretching his left hand.
Nemo galloped up, wheeled up his right hand, and slapped it down into his father's palm; a little ritual he and his father often did.
"Now then, are you sure you want to do this?" Marlin asked. "I mean, because you can wait till the next year or two to start if you want."
"Come on, Dad!" Nemo replied, tugging his father's arm. "Get dressed! It's time for school!"
"Uh-uh-uh!" Marlin tutted. "Go brush while I get my clothes on."
Nemo let out a groan at that; he didn't really like brushing his teeth.
"Do you want your breath to kill people?" Marlin asked.
"Yes!" Nemo replied with a grin.
"Brush." said Marlin, pointing upstairs.
Nemo let out another groan, heading back upstairs to brush his teeth. Marlin also headed upstairs as well, going back into his room. There, he put on an orange sweatshirt with white stripes, a white t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and white sneakers with white socks. After he got dressed, he passed by the bathroom, to which Nemo came out.
"I'm done!" Nemo said cheerfully.
"Let me see." Marlin replied.
Nemo did a grin with his teeth, and Marlin closely looked at his teeth.
"Looks like you missed a spot." Marlin spoke.
"Where?" Nemo asked.
"There…" Marlin replied, playfully poking his son in the face.
Nemo giggled at that, leading Marlin to do it again and again jokingly, causing his son to break out in laughter.
Marlin and Nemo were standing at the door of their apartment. Outside the door would lead into the city, where they would go down to the school.
"Alright, out into the city!" said Marlin. "First day of school! Here we go! We're ready to learn and get some knowledge! So, what's the first thing I taught you about the outside world?"
"It's not safe." Nemo replied, his tone bored.
"That's my boy!" Marlin replied cheerfully, ruffling his boy's hair. "So, we check to see if the coast is clear. We go out of the apartment, and then back in…"
Marlin ran out with Nemo following him, and then ran back into the apartment. They did this two more times, but when they did it the third time, Nemo was not coming back. But, Marlin didn't take notice of this.
"And sometimes, if you want to do it five times…" Marlin continued.
"Dad…" Nemo groaned, his tone somewhat annoyed.
"Alright, come on boy!" said Marlin, exiting the apartment and closing the door behind them.
The two both took to the sidewalk, with Marlin in the back, and Nemo in front of him. Every time Nemo seemed to stray off the sidewalk, Marlin would pull him back gently on to it.
"Dad, maybe while I'm at school, I'll see a thug!" Nemo said excitedly.
"I highly doubt that…" Marlin replied, pulling him back from going to the street.
"Have you ever met a thug?"
"No! And I hope not to!"
"How old are surfers?"
"Surfers? Uh… I don't know."
"Sandy Prescott from next door, he says that surfers can live to a hundred years old!"
"You know what, I'll ask the surfer myself how old he is, right after I speak to the thug, okay?"
They suddenly stopped a busy intersection, and waited for the light to turn red, and the cars to stop. Marlin and Nemo walked through the intersection, and to the school.
"Hold my hand!" Marlin spoke, grasping Nemo's hand. "Hold my hand!"
"Dad, you're not going to freak out like you did at the petting zoo, are you?" Nemo asked, his tone annoyed.
"Hey that goat was about to charge!" Marlin replied.
When they entered into the schoolyard, there were other parents who were dropping their kids off. Looking around, Marlin was wondering where they were supposed to go. Then, seeing three other fathers laughing among themselves, Marlin walked up to them.
"Excuse me, is this where the drop off for the kids is?" Marlin asked.
"Well, look at you." said one of the fathers, who was a tall man with black hair, wearing a brown business suit. "Straight out of the apartment, huh?"
"Yes, surprising, isn't it?" Marlin asked.
"Your name's 'Marty', right?" The brown business suit man asked.
"Close, it's actually 'Marlin'."
"I'm Bob." The brown business suit man replied. "This is Ted and Bill."
"Hey, I know you!" said Bill, who was a short man with blonde hair, wearing casual clothing: a yellow and black polo t-shirt, dark blue jean shorts, and black flip-flops. "You're a comedian! I've heard your albums before! Please, tell us one of your jokes!"
"Aw, I don't know…" Marlin spoke. "I haven't done comedy for a long time…"
"Oh come on, Marty, my man!" Bill continued.
"Yeah, tell us something funny!" Ted spoke up, his voice deep. He was a large, balding man also dressed in casual clothing: a light purple colored t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and black sneakers.
"Well, I do know this one joke." Marlin replied. "There was this guy, and he walks up to this other guy in a bar, and the guy's sitting there drinking some kind of weird drink. I don't know what kind of drink it was, but I think it a drink that wasn't really good for you, and he says to the guy that his there is-"
"SHELDON!" Bob suddenly yelled, causing everyone to jump. "Get out of Mr. Johansen's yard, now!"
Bob's son, Sheldon, along with Ted's daughter, Pearl, and Bill's son, Tad, were playing in the yard of a house next to the school. Upon seeing them, an angry old man came out to chase them away, and they quickly ran out of the yard, laughing. The three then came over to meet Nemo, since he was the new kid and all.
"What's wrong with his leg?" asked Pearl, who was rather healthy girl with brown hair, wearing a pink dress top, dark blue jean shorts, and red sandals.
"He moves funny!" said Tad, who was a short boy with blonde hair, wearing a yellow t-shirt, blue cargo pants, and black sneakers.
Bob thumped Sheldon on the head, even though he wasn't doing anything. Sheldon had black hair, and wore a brown jacket, a black t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and white sneakers.
"OW!" Sheldon groaned. "Hey, what did I do?"
"Be nice." Bob replied, his tone stern. "It's his first day at school."
"He was born with it, kids." Marlin spoke up. "We call it his lucky leg."
"Dad…" Nemo groaned, his tone somewhat annoyed.
"It's alright; we all have our own little quirks." said Pearl. "My left thumb is actually larger and longer than my other thumb."
"Yeah, and I have carbon dioxide intolerance." Sheldon added. "Every time I get breathed on, I sneeze- AC-CHOO!"
"I'm obnoxious!" Tad spoke up, getting a little too close to Nemo.
A honking was heard, and the school bus began pulling up, to which the kids, including Sheldon, Tad, and Pearl, cheered and rushed to it! The doors to the bus opened, and the bus driver, Mr. Ray, was there to greet the kids!
"Greetings, explorers!" Mr. Ray called out. "Come aboard!"
The kids began boarding the bus, to which Nemo and Marlin came up to the door of the bus. Mr. Ray had dark blue hair with a beard, pale skin, and dark blue eyes. His clothing consisted of a dark blue sweatshirt, black dress pants, and black dress shoes with white socks.
"Well hello, who's this?" asked Mr. Ray, his tone friendly.
"I'm Nemo." Nemo replied, his tone somewhat shy.
"Welcome aboard then, Nemo!" said Mr. Ray. "Climb into the bus!"
Nemo obeyed, and Marlin came up to quietly speak with Mr. Ray.
"Just so you know, he's got a bad right leg, so he can't walk very well." Marlin spoke, his tone quiet. "So, if he gets tired easily, just let him take a break, ten to fifteen minutes."
"Dad, its time for you to go now." Nemo spoke up, poking his head from the bus.
"Don't worry, we're going to stay together as a group." Mr. Ray replied. "Your son is in good hands, don't worry."
Marlin stepped off the bus, Mr. Ray closed the doors, and began driving away. Marlin stood there watching it, along with the other fathers. As it began driving, Nemo stuck his head out of the window to say goodbye.
"Bye, Nemo!" said Marlin, waving his hand. "Bye, Son!"
"Bye, Dad!" Nemo replied, before ducking back into the bus.
The bus rounded the corner of a building and disappeared, and Marlin knew that Nemo was on his own. But, he was perfectly okay with that…
"Hey, you're doing pretty well for a first timer." Bob spoke.
"Well, you can't hold onto them forever, can you?" Marlin asked.
"You know I had a tough time when my oldest one went out to the airfield." said Bill.
"The airfield?!" Marlin yelled. "They're going to the airfield?! What are you, insane?! Why don't we just tie them up and put signs that say 'hey, take our children!'?!"
"Hey Marty, calm down." Bob spoke, a little shocked.
"Don't tell me to be calm, brownie-man!" Marlin yelled, before running off after the bus.
"Brownie-man?" asked Bob, his tone confused.
"You know, for a comedian, he's not really funny." said Bill.
"Pity…" Ted added.
Author's Notes: Shocking, right? Yeah, I understand. In all honesty, I thought I wasn't going to continue this story. But, after some help from a fellow FanFiction user (Thank you, Dinoman213), I'm going to try and write it! So yeah, let's keep going!
R&R,
Heroboy005