Fluke

30: It's Not Rocket Science

"I'm shit. I don't know what the fuck he thinks he's talking about," Logan said beside me from the top of the seal watchtower.

I didn't even ask him what on earth he was talking about, since he seemed upset, and I was trying to count seals.

He looked over to me, let out a sigh, and turned back to the water. "Fifty-eight, fifty-nine."

The tide rolled in as the sun began to set over the ocean, and mother and father birds flew across the painted sky to bring back food to their chicks, who were just beginning to learn to fly. They'd flap their wings with such enthusiasm and optimism, and when they came crashing back down to the rocks, they didn't dare to quit; rather, they figured that the next time would be it.

Humanity had a lot to learn about nature, yes, but we also had so much to learn from it.

With the departure of the next generation, our equilibrium had shifted back to its original position, favoring the products of our work instead of the reactants, and even though I had plenty of reasons to feel stressed, it still felt calmer. For me, at least.

There were several people who knew about Logan and me, Robbie, Nastasya, Brett, Hailey, and Logan Two, but only one of them had no filter and constant access to Darrell. But with Brett's brilliant plan, maybe everything would work out.

Maybe it would be a good idea to tell Logan about this brilliant plan. Communication is key, after all.

"Hey," I said just as another seal poked its head out of the ocean like a periscope. "That's—dammit. I lost count."

"Don't worry about it. We'll just double my total for today. No one will even know that you screwed up," he replied.

I frowned. "Logan."

"What? It's not like this is an official, government-funded study. I'm just trying to graduate here."

Some things were better left ignored, so I dropped that subject. "So Brett has an idea that might help us gauge Darrell's reaction to a Paradise City relationship, and I think it's pretty smart, actually."

"It's Brett's idea. How smart could it be?"

"Don't. He's a very smart person, and you shouldn't look down on him because of what he decided is best for him."

I knew what that felt like. According to the small population of Oldham, West Virginia, if I was smart, I would have taken a free college education thanks to my basketball scholarship, but no. I had to be the one who thought she was too important, too good to stay.

But for me, drowning in debt was a small price to pay for drowning in happiness.

"I bet it took all three of his brain cells and his duckie slippers to put the idea together," Logan said.

I said he was smart. I never said he didn't have the decision-making skills of a squirrel in traffic.

"Anyway, he came up with the brilliant idea that he pretends to flirt with me, and we'll see how Darrell reacts," I said.

"Holy shit, that's brilliant. I can't think of a single reason why that wouldn't work or one way that it could possibly end with someone dying." He shook his head. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, and I've listened to you talk about wanting a pet baby elephant."

"Well, it'd be cool, I think. I'd give it plenty of space and food and clean all of its poop."

"What are you going to do when it grows up into a big elephant? Kill it and get another baby?"

I frowned. "I never said this was a practical dream."

Logan Two would have never made fun of my baby elephant fantasy.