Blake:Don’t worry about it
I’ll figure something out.
Celeste:Okay but I still want to know what you saw when Marin sang!!
Blake:I already told you!!!I didn’t see anything!!
Blake shoved his phone back into his trunks’ pocket before heading back into the castle, anxious to clock out.He was eager to see what information Marin had managed to gather and get back to the pressing issues at hand.
Although he’d left the merman by the snack bar fiddling with the art app on his iPad before heading back out to the park, Blake didn’t see him anywhere in the arcade during his walk to the point of sale system.To his great suspicion and surprise, Noel was loitering nearby, propped up against the pillar beside the screen.
Upon spotting Blake, he looked up from his phone, irritation coloring the furrow of his brows.“May I have a moment of your time?”
“Uh, sure.What’s up?”Blake replied.In addition to reneging about keeping Marin a secret, there was a whole list of things that Noel could chew him out for—Noel didn’t outrank Lovepreet in terms of their company structure, but he did directly answer to the owner.A reprimand for going back to work after passing out was the last thing Blake needed.
Noel didn’t say anything, leveling an expectant stare at Blake before turning away and mounting the stairs.Blake shot a suspicious frown at his back before following along.Noel stood at the top of the staircase in front of one of the empty birthday rooms, pointing at something Blake couldn’t see from his position.
“What’s—?”Blake started, turning to face the near wall and falling silent.
The entirety of the wall that had once displayed Walter the Wacky Water Wizard’s mural had been completely painted over.The plate settings, cups, and party hats that were always set out on the table had been neatly placed aside on one of the chairs, the cheap plastic tablecloth spread out over the floor to act as a tarp, upon which Marin sat cross-legged.Little cans of paint that, years ago, had been used for touch-ups to the mural were laid out beside him, mixed into a palette of brilliant tropical colors.
On the wall, a fierce-looking black sea serpent was swirled around a merman, their foreheads pressed together.A parade of sea animals surged around them, along with the outline of an extensive shelf of coral that Marin had blocked in.Blake stared in wonder.
“He’s been at it for four hours,” Noel told him.
“I…” Blake uttered in lieu of anything protective.“Why didn’t you say anything if you wanted him to stop?”
“Honestly…” Noel began.“I didn’t have the heart to stop him.It’s… it’s really beautiful.”
The two met one another’s eyes—Noel looked like he wanted to say something more, but before Blake could ask him what was up, he skulked back into the security office.
Sighing, Blake looked down at his phone—it was nearly nine PM.As much as he wanted to reconvene with Marin about his search of the offices, he felt bad taking him away from his art.
Blake recalled with a pang in his chest that Marin only had four days to experience being human, and Blake had already wasted one of them making him sit around the place where he’d been trapped for at least twenty years.He easily could have bowed out after the first half of his shift, using passing out as an excuse; it would’ve left Marin ample opportunity to scour the offices in that amount of time.Regardless, Blake resolved to leave Marin to his painting for the moment.
Determined to make the most of the time, he rode his bike down the street to pick up some food from the Filipino market.By the time he returned to Water Zone, Marin was cleaning up the party room, painting supplies all tucked back into the custodial closet.
“Hey, I grabbed us some dinner,” Blake said, holding up the plastic bag.“I know you only got an omelet and a sandwich today, so I grabbed you a full meal.Hope you don’t mind chicken adobo and rice?”
“That’s more than fine with me,” Marin told him with a smile.They sat down on the benches around the birthday table, digging into their food.“I’m not sure how I know this, but based on the condiments in your pantry, you seem to be a big fan of Filipino food.Do you have friends or family from there?”
Blake nodded.
He explained, “My last foster family before I aged out of the system was Filipino and I got addicted to the food.”He pushed a slice of fried spam across his plate, smiling down at the cardboard box.“We used to get food from this place all the time.It was a happy coincidence that work ended up right down the street.They’re really great people, my foster family.I’m still in contact with them.”
Marin smiled, eyes crinkling as he scooped up a spoonful of adobo.“I’m glad you have somewhere nearby that has such happy memories for you.”
Blake laughed into his food.“I’m really lucky to have those memories.I owe my foster family a lot.
“CPS took me away from my dad when I was about four,” Blake explained.“I nearly drowned in the ocean while he was somewhere drunk on the beach with his friends.”
“Oh my God.”Marin flinched, covering his mouth.“I’m so sorry.That must have been… horribly traumatizing.Almost drowning when you were so small…”
Blake shrugged and admitted: “I don’t really remember it that well.Just little bits and flashes of bobbing above the water and getting sucked back down.The clearest part to me was a guy at the beach who managed to pull me out and keep me from drowning…”
Blake trailed off.
Warm arms around his torso, hands to keep him afloat.Ruby red pooling around him, staining the water dark.
