After nearly an hour of working on my whales, which mostly consisted of staring at flukes and their unique patterns until they all blurred together in my mind, Logan Two finally spoke.
"So, Reagan, it's terribly quiet in here."
No wonder Carter liked it in that room so much. A muted version of the foghorn still went off, but that was the only place in the house that didn't suffer from all the other noises and natural light from the outside world. While life on Paradise City felt separate from the rest of the earth, life in that room felt like a microecosystem, one that only Carter could fully appreciate. But I had my own way of enjoying the silence.
"Yes, and I feel like we should really preserve that, don't you think?" I said.
He shook his head and smiled. "I don't know about you, but I can't focus unless there's some background noise."
"You don't have to focus on anything right now. I'm the one that's trying to piece these flukes together, and—" I trailed off before I could say anything mean.
And you're wasting all of my oxygen. And you're accomplishing nothing with your free trial. And you're breathing too loudly. The list went on and on, and yet, I didn't want to hurt his feelings with careless words.
"And what?" he asked.
"And you're distracting me," I said, figuring that was the nicest way to put my list into one sentence.
He smiled. "Am I?"
"I, uh—" I stammered, then went back to my keyboard. "I'm just trying to finish this up. I have plans for later, and the sooner I get this done, the sooner I can—"
"I don't want to be rude, but you can get that done anytime. I'm only here until tomorrow morning, and I'd like to talk to you."
"How will I live with myself if I don't finish this immediately? That's like putting off homework until the last minute, or finishing a paper at eleven fifty-three the night it's due, or saving ice cream until after you eat real food. It just doesn't make logical sense," I said.
"I'm totally on board with the last thing you said, but the rest just makes you seem like you're," Logan Two thought for a moment, "too driven. You care too much."
"Well, that's true, but I like what I do, and I enjoy doing everything well. To perfection, even."
"And you'd enjoy it a lot more if you'd just slow down. Enjoy yourself. Get caught up in the moment for once."
That was my plan for later. I shook my head. Some people had no discipline whatsoever.
"Must be nice to be able to afford that." I looked up from the screen and to him.
"Talk to me about it."
"What's there to say?" I let out a forced laugh. "I don't know, I just feel—left behind. The world keeps turning and turning and turning, and then there's me. All I want is to live, but who has the time for that? No one."
"Mhm," he said, and he sat down on the table in front of me.
"Being here is the culmination of every feel-good choice I've ever made, and I can't waste that, you know?"
"Oh yeah, absolutely," he replied.
My eyes widened. "You do?" I let a smile come across my face. "No one else here does. They've all practically been raised in the ocean except for Brett, and I'm the only one who had to catch up."
"Well, I mean, I was too, but I totally get how you feel."
"Oh." I sighed, then turned it into a smile. "Wanna look at more whales?"
YOU ARE READING
Fluke
ChickLit"For a place called Paradise City, this island sucks. I don't think a single day has gone by that I haven't thought about stabbing the shit out of myself," he said. "Especially since I'm forced to live with you every second of every day." "Sh. I'm t...
