Chapter 5

Mr. Shark wished he had shut up because now everyone was crowding around him to bombard him with questions. He couldn't help but noticed Mr. Piranha standing a few distances back, when really he should be the one fighting to get some juicy details.

"Was that why you took so long?"

Mr. Shark blushed. "Come on, I just HAPPENED to bump into her and then decided to help her out because my shark side just came out."

"Amigo, are you saying that you drowned her?" Mr. Piranha asked with shock. This led to the whole gang demanding to know what happened. The great white shark had never felt this overwhelmed before- well, there was the police chase but that was different!

Placing a large hand over his chest, Mr. Shark was doing his damn best to stop himself from getting a panic attack. All he had wanted was a nice time with his gang but now...

"Stop it, guys!" Mr. Shark yelled, making the gang stepped back. He may not be as grumpy as Mr. Snake or a short-fuse like Mr. Piranha, but he knows his limits. At this point, everyone had pushed him over the edge.

"Yes, I accidentally pushed Mira into the water. My stupid instincts thought that it was some kind of seal but then again, there are no seals in the city, right? Unless they escaped a zoo!" Mr. Shark rambled on as he paced back and forth. He wanted to stop but all of these emotions were spilling out of his mouth. He pointed at Mr. Snake, "You MUST have something to say about this, Snake. You married a human for crying out loud!"

"I did not drowned Rani when we first met," he reminded him, voice holding back a bit. "At least Mira forgave you and spent time with you. Or else she's probably gonna swim back, tell everyone in the family that she almost got attacked by a shark. Do you want that? Bad enough there's a shitty a movie about you in a tornado- oh wait, there's at least six of them!"

"Snake don't you think that's a bit harsh?" Mr. Wolf asked his friend gently.

"You know what? I'm gonna go to my room, drown myself in ice cream and cry!"

With that, Mr. Shark stormed into his room with a slam of a door. Inside, he sobbed onto his pillow, his large frame made the bed creaked. Why was he so sensitive and defensive? Then again, Mr. Snake was right about one thing:

No matter what, people will see sharks as man-eating monsters of the sea.

"What am I going to do?" he asked himself through hiccups and sobs. That particular night at the gala where he played drums and had a few people coming up to him with questions about whether or not he could smell blood from miles away in the water.

"Shark, you need anything? Coffee, cake, a chew toy?" the muffled sound of Mr. Piranha asked on the other side. He couldn't answer his friend, mind still thick with the memories of the sea, Mira and...

He shuddered at the thought. If he weren't careful, he could actually hurt someone and there's a chance someone might tie him up and chopped his fins to be made into a soup.

...

Mira's heart was pounding ever since that day with Mr. Shark. She still couldn't believed that she found herself a friend even if he accidentally tried to drown her because of his shark instincts. She should've seen that coming since Ichthyology was her major for god's sake!

And yet, the shark took upon himself to apologise and even spent time with her. As much as she loves solitude, Mr. Shark's presence was welcoming and...

'I wonder if he's going to be there again,' she thought to herself with a smile. During her college life, she had friends to hang out with but never a close one to share her deepest secrets or talk about things that not many would know about. The closest would be her sister, Rani.

But now, things are getting interesting ever since she came back. Meeting Mr. Shark may be the silver lining out of this. Maybe one day she might meet the Bad Guys again if she played her cards right. Right now, she was busy taking care of her little brothers while her mother went out to get some of her father's medicine.

"Mira, I'm hungry!" Karim whined, his face still glued to the iPad. He was watching that addictive kids show, CocoMelon. Adam was still busy playing a game on his phone. At least he wasn't giving her any trouble unlike little Karim. Nonetheless, she loved both of her brothers and wished they don't have to deal with their mother.

While she was fixing her brother a sandwich, she was thinking back on how can she find time to swim or at least secretly text Rani to hang out with her. Anything's better than a dealing with her mother's mood swings. Before she moved to live at the dorms, Mira learnt how to be as quiet as a field mouse.

She just hates drawing attention.

Just as she was giving Karim his sandwich, the doorbell rang. Mira answered the door and wished she had not. Immediately, one of her hands clutched her chest, trying to stop her heart from bursting out. Why, just why now? Standing at the doorway were two people she really wished they weren't here at this very moment!

"My, my, my, look how much you've grown."

...

Meanwhile at the gym, Rani could not utter a word as she was pumping iron. It was partially a training exercise if she was to keep up with the schedule at the zoo. Thankfully, the police chief, Misty Luggins was watching her every move.

"Damn, to think you keep breathing too hard during cardio," Chief Luggins whistled, crossing her arms. Rani gave her a smirk, finishing pumping the irons before giving herself a long stretch. "That's rich coming from someone claiming they could do a split without making a soprano."

Both the chief and young woman laughed as they had their drinks. Rani liked her as a friend and workout buddy after a long day. However, this could not beat coming home to spend the rest of her evening with her husband. He should be back after the mission. Speaking of which...

"Misty, I hope you and your squad got hold of those psychos the Good Guys dropped off at the station," said Rani, gulping her bottle of water. The chief had never looked so proud.

"Hah! Never would have thought that the station is going to get some major updates thanks to those crimes- well, not from the Bad Guys of course. Yet, I'm still keeping an eye on them. ESPECIALLY Snake."

Rani rolled her eyes, packing up her things from the locker. Despite everything, people are still wary of Mr. Snake out of the five members of the Good Guys. "Please, I know how to handle his pipes. He sang a different tune last night and who knows, he might have a new instrument to test out with me."

As expected, the police chief's jaw dropped, speechless at the remark. It's not the first time someone had asked about their...intimate life. She bids her friend goodbye before taking the bus back to her home.

Entering her humble abode, she was greeted by a gentle wrap around her waist. Giggling, she knew who it was and traced her fingertips to where the chin might be. "Welcome home, sugar dumpling," the raspy voice hissed softly into her ear.

The both of them shared a small kiss before breaking off. "Rani, do I have a story to tell you."

"Oh? Something interesting during the mission?"

Mr. Snake chuckled. "Let's just say someone tried to reenact the scene from Jaws, if you catch my drift~"

Sorry I haven't been updating. Work has been giving me more time than the quests in Skyrim!

And yes, we will get scenes with Piranha in the next chapter