At recess, everyone was swarming around Dinho and the girls, eager to ask him questions about his life in the metropolis.
"It must be hard having to take on all that responsibility," asked Agostinha, the Lobster Princess.
"How are your parents?" asked Matilda, the Hawkfish Princess.
"Do you have any pets?" asked Elektra, the Electric Eel Princess.
"How come we haven't seen you at school before?" asked Marli, the Swordfish Princess.
"Calm down, everyone," reproached Polvina. "Give him a chance to answer first."
Dinho answered, "My parents are well, thank you for asking. As part of the Blowfish Royal Family, each of us has our own duties all around Salacia, so I've had to learn how to survive alone and live by myself. I have a pet blowfish called Bib, but he tends to hang out with others more than me."
By the time everyone finished asking Dinho their questions, recess was about to end. Marcello came up with Hugo, Maurico, Sirilo and Flourison and asked Dinho, "Hey, me and the boys were wondering if you'd like to join us for hoopball at lunch."
"Sure. I've never really played a lot before, but I'd love to join you."
"Cool! See ya at lunch, simp," Marcello replied as the bell rang and everyone began going back to the classroom. Polvina, Ester and Tubarina, however, were less than pleased with Marcello's remark. He knew that they were the ones who met Dinho and that most of the students asking questions to him were girls, so not only was the remark unnecessary, it was also used incorrectly as for one thing, Dinho wasn't paying anyone to hang out with him.
"Ugh, why does Marcello think that just because a boy chooses to hang out with girls, he's a simp or whatever?" grumbled Tubarina.
"Oh, don't mind him. He probably still thinks girl germs are a thing," replied Polvina, trying to understand the thought process of boys like Marcello.
"Nah. He's around that age where he sees girls differently. He'll probably end up being a simp himself and he won't know it," mused Ester.
"I dread to think of the day it happens!" Tubarina joked. The girls laughed as they went back to class.
Dinho went on to be good friends with everyone at the Sea School. Despite the other boys trying to rile him up sometimes, he managed to keep himself out of trouble. Dinho remained good friends with Polvina, Ester and Tubarina, hanging out with them alongside his pet Bib on occasion. His duties as the true guardian would take him all over Salacia, but his friends and the memories he made continued to stay with him, for sometimes the little things in life help us get through the bigger things in life, and that is something that all the princes and princesses in Salacia understand.
If there is one thing among the princes and princesses of Salacia that is for certain, it is that Dinho, the Blowfish Prince, will never be left forgotten in the shadows again.
THE END