"Simon! Where are you!?" Libby called out for the thousandth time that day. As to be expected there was no reply back. After all, turtles cannot call back.

Libby had turned her attention away for no more than 20 seconds, and when she turned her attention back, Simon was gone. 'Where did he go?' This was the first fear stricken question that ran through her mind.

"I knew I should have kept a closer eye on them during their ten minute recess outside the cage." Libby said to herself. "But Mom needed help carrying that large stack of books, and I thought I would only be away for a moment, which I was, but he still -ahh this is all too much to bear."

Libby had looked all over Book Marks the Spot, her house upstairs, and the nearby streets, finding nothing. Her mom had helped the best she could but eventually had to return to run the store, promising she would text her if Simon turned up.

From there Libby searched all the nearby blocks of downtown Brighton by herself. She would have asked her best friends Molly and Scratch to help search, but they were away visiting with their Grandma Nin. Libby briefly pictured Scratch stuffing his face with various Thai dishes, the glutton. And with no one else she could easily ask, the turtleneck clad girl was a lone wolf searching for her young.

Presently, Libby stopped and did a double take down an alleyway. "Have I checked back here yet? Well, it wouldn't hurt to check it again." She took a step down the alleyway and stopped. "No! I need to cover new ground. But what if Simon's back there now? I don't know what to do anymore!"

The sun was starting to go down, and panic was setting in. Well, even more panic than before. Moreover, a feeling of dread washed over Libby as she was beginning to lose hope she would ever see her beloved turtle again. Tears began to well up in her eyes, but she choked them back and pressed on, she had to keep looking. Perhaps she could put up posters, or ask someone else to help, but there was almost nobody left on the streets at this hour. It was dinner time on a Sunday, most people were home.

Libby once again bent over to choke back a few tears, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to be met by a boy around her age. He was a taller, slightly heavy set boy with shaggy blonde hair. He wore glasses, a royal blue pullover hoodie, and black dress pants. Libby thought this boy looked familiar, she was 95% sure she had seen him in school once or twice but had never interacted with him. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

"I can't find my pet turtle." replied Libby. "The sun is starting to go down and I would hate for him to be lost past dark."

"P-perhaps I could help you search." Libby noticed a look of apprehension on the boy's face as he spoke. His hands were folded behind his back as well.

"Thank you. I really appreciate this." she paused. "I'm Libby by the way."

"I'm Troy," the boy said, his head aimed down but eyes still looking in her general direction.

Libby immediately found herself enjoying Troy's company, his reserved mannerisms hit very close to home. But there was no time to focus on that. "I'll check the sidewalk on this side. You check the sidewalk on the other side."

"Can do."

Around fifteen minutes went by as Libby continuously combed the sidewalk, but she was oddly not as panicked about finding Simon anymore. Maybe it was because she now had help, help in that boy Troy. "Hehe, boy Troy. Troy boy." Libby found herself giggling, but soon recomposed herself. "Focus on finding Simon, it's almost dark."

"Libby!" called a now familiar voice.

Libby turned to see Troy jogging toward her. "I think I found your turtle sitting along a metal frame balcony. Follow me."

Libby felt her stomach jump. Had Simon been found? Only one way to find out. She followed Troy across the road and a few blocks south. They turned into a narrow crevice between two brick and mortar buildings, and stopped halfway. There, directly above them, was Simon, perched along the rail of a small metal frame balcony. The platform was small, only about ten square feet, and the metal framing looked old and part way corroded.

Libby felt a mix of relief and new worry wash over her. Relief because her beloved turtle had been found, but new worry because she now saw the precarious situation he was in. "That is Simon! But how do we get him down from there?"

"What if I..." Troy extended his limbs so that each hand tightly gripped the brick walls along either side of the alley. He began to slowly shimmy his way up, grunting and wheezing all the while. However after making it about 12 inches up, he lost his grip and fell back down.

Libby opened her mouth to say something but Troy beat her to it. "Well that didn't work. But if at first you don't succeed, try again."

Once again Troy gripped the bricks on either side of him and slowly maneuvered up the two walls. This time he only made it about eight inches off the ground before slipping and falling back down. "Again."

Libby watched as Troy continually tried to climb the walls, each time making it less further up before slipping back down. In a way she admired his persistence, but this was getting them nowhere. "I uh- don't think this is working." she finally said.

Gasping for breath, Troy said. "No no, I can do it. I'm just getting warmed up."

"Alright then. I'm going to go ask the people who live in the building if I can go up to the balcony and get Simon."

"I don't know if that will work." replied Troy.

"Why wouldn't it?"

Troy paused for a moment. "Well, yeah okay it's worth a try." he relented.

"Stay here and keep an eye on him please."

Libby turned and walked out the alley as Troy kept his gaze on the sky-high turtle. And as he kept his gaze, he once again attempted to climb up the walls.

Libby rang the doorbell to the building, and an older African American man answered the door. "Sorry to bother you sir, but my pet turtle made his way onto your upstairs balcony, would you mind leading me there so I can grab him?"

"Sorry kid," replied the man. "But my, um… wife does not like me letting people we do not know into the house."

The man began to close the door when Libby stopped it with one of her boots. "Could you then go and get him for me yourself please?"

The man stared at Libby with a blank expression on his face for a few moments. "Okay. But it may take a while, these old bones do not do stairs well." With that the man closed the door. Libby was confused about his speech pattern, it was as if what he was saying was pre rehearsed. She shrugged it off and made her way back out to the alley where she saw Troy once again attempting to climb the wall.

Libby looked up in anticipation for the sliding glass door to the balcony to open. It was then, as if fate was mocking her, a strong gust of wind came through, pushing Simon off the edge of the rail. "Ahhh!" Libby screamed.

Troy meanwhile, who had made it about 18 inches up the wall, was immediately startled by the loud scream of Libby and once again lost his grip. He fell onto the ground belly up with a loud thud. But before he had any time to process that, he felt something hard and fast slam into his stomach. "Oof!" The cotton of his hoodie helped soften the blow, but the wind had still been knocked out of him.

A few gasps later Troy sat up, seeing Simon had landed right on top of him. The turtle, so far as he could tell, was completely unscathed.

Libby came running over to where Troy had landed. "Simon!" she exclaimed. "You're okay!" She quickly scooped her turtle up from Troy's midsection and held him close to her chest. "Oh thank goodness you're safe! I missed you so much. Never scare me like that again." Then she turned her attention to Troy, who was now standing back up. "You saved him!"

Troy shrugged. "I guess I did."

"Thank you so much!" Libby, channeling her inner Molly, wrapped Troy into a tight hug.

"No problem," Troy slowly brought an arm around Libby and patted her back lightly.

Libby, now realizing what she was doing, let go as her cheeks flushed red. "Sorry,"

"Oh no," Troy raised his hands assuringly. "I don't mind."

Libby attempted to quell her blush and continue the conversation. "I-um, think I've seen you around before. Do you go to Brighton Middle School?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Me too."

"It's interesting to think we're in such close proximity to each other for so many hours a day yet have never interacted with each other."

"Yeah, it is."

"Perhaps we could hang out sometime."

"Sure," said Libby, twirling her hair. "I'd like that."

"You mind if I get your number?"

"Not at all." replied Libby. Troy pulled a piece of paper and pen out from his pants pocket and wrote down the ten digits as Libby spoke them. She found it funny he was recording her number the old school method, as opposed to just typing it into his phone.

"I'll text you sometime. But for now I'd better get home. See ya Libby!"

"Bye Troy," Libby shyly waved goodbye.

He waved as well, then turned on his heel back the other direction.

Libby watched Troy walk down the sidewalk for a few seconds before turning and walking back herself, Simon sitting on her left shoulder. "He's cute," she thought. "But who am I kidding? There's no way he would ever see me as more than a friendly acquaintance, let alone a-" Libby blushed just at the thought of having him as a boyfriend. "A woman can dream though, a woman can dream."

Later that evening, Troy, with his blue hood pulled over his head, rang the bell to the brick and mortar building with the corroded metal frame balcony. The same older African American man as before answered the door.

"Here," said Troy, handing the man a crisp fifty dollar bill. "Plan did not quite go as I expected but it all worked out."

"Told you you couldn't climb the walls like some half spider human." said the man.

"Yeah yeah,"

"You know back in my day when a guy liked a girl, he would walk up to her and say hi. Not hire someone to kidnap her pet turtle just as an excuse to talk to her."

"You don't understand my situation," Troy shot back. "Libby is the most elegant, beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes upon. She would never be caught dead talking to the likes of me without a darn good reason."

"If you say so," the older man said, closing his door.

Troy turned and giddily skipped down the sidewalk. His plan had worked and now he had her phone number, though it was by means of a dirty trick. A trick that the more he thought about it, the more guilt pooled in his stomach. Nevertheless, he had created a spark. Now all he had to do was fan the flames.