Mountains of coral towered in the distance and valleys of sand hid below the coral plateaus. The narrow road we were traveling on discouraged me from seeing what was below in fear of falling out of the window.
It has been about ten minutes since we embarked on our journey to exploration school. The ride so far has been smooth, besides my arms becoming numb from holding onto the wall. I'd prefer to be far away from any windows of this carriage, but my peers had already claimed their space and stayed clear of my area.
I was used to it and it was better this way. What would happen if I inked in an area full of air? Would it float in the air like it did in water? It was a question I didn't want an answer to. Nothing worse could happen in this situation.
Umbrie kept to herself in the corner of the carriage. Everyone else seemed to have gotten over their initial excitement of floating in air and settled into their own spots, talking with each other. Then there was Barry. I wanted to disappear from his burning gaze, but there was nowhere to hide. Trying my best to ignore his stares, I kept my eyes away from him, but I couldn't help but listen to his conversation.
"Do you know what that thing is on his back? It looks weird."
"It's a stupid tooth. My dad has one hung up in his office," said Barry.
"What is it for?"
"It's a tool to fight monsters."
"What? Why would you need that when you can use your tentacles?"
"Because he's a stupid squid," said Barry.
"Oh... How did the ink sac get one anyways?"
"How would I know? Stop asking so many questions. He probably stole it or threatened to fart on someone if they didn't give it to him," said Barry, laughing with his two friends.
"You know what elder said about Oceanus academy? Sounds like a crazy place. You planning on going there after exploration school?"
"Of course, I am. Why would I stay in Takoyami? I'm going to be the best explorer the ocean has ever seen. I'll show them," said Barry. "You guys are coming with me."
"What? I mean... Maybe. Sounds like a hassle."
"Then why did you join exploration school? Unlike George over here, I will pledge my allegiance to the one and only Barry Octo."
"Oh, shut up Wemp. I told you not to call me that," said Barry.
"Yes, master Barry," teased Wemp.
"If this idiot is going then I'm going to stay in Takoyami," said George.
It sounds scary, but I'll stick with you guys. That's what friends are for right? Their conversation continued with laughter and teasing as I stared out the window. Maybe I could stop imagining when I make some friends in exploration school. If not, then maybe at Oceanus academy.
"Hey ink sac, let me see that tooth on your back."
I turned around to see Barry with a smirk on his face floating towards me followed by George, and Wemp. George floated in the back with his usual squint for eyes that made it look like he was always asleep. Wemp, the smaller octopus of the three, floated next to Barry with long antennas above his eyes.
"H-hey guys. What's going on?" I asked.
"I said, let me see that tooth behind your back," said Barry, latching onto the wall near me.
Why did he want to see it? I guess anyone would be curious about it. I was too when I first saw it. "S-sure thing." Letting go of the wall, I grabbed the tooth from behind, and held it in front of me. "It's a shar-"
"We know what it is ink sac. Let me hold it for a second, just to see how it feels," said Barry holding out a tentacle.
"I-it's a gift so I rather not hand-"
"Just give it." Barry grabbed my tooth with his tentacles, prying it from my hands.
"Hey, give it back!" I yelled, as I floated across the carriage, unable to grab onto anything.
"Relax, I'm just showing it to George and Wemp. I'll give it back after," said Barry, holding the tooth in his hands.
I helplessly watched as the three of them touched and examined the tooth, talking to themselves. They took turns swinging it in the air and punching it with their tentacles.
"S-stop it. It already has cracks," I said as I neared the opposite wall from where they were. Why were they doing this to me? It was a gift from elder Babo. They better give it back. I pushed off the wall towards the three, attempting to grab the tooth from Barry's clutch, but instead I slammed against the wall.
"Woah, relax ink sac. I said I would give it back." Barry held the tooth in front of me.
The smirk on his face gave me a sense of unease, but I reached for my tooth, only to see him throw it across the carriage.
"Go get it," said Barry.
Ignoring whatever expression Barry had on his face, I pushed off the wall to float towards my tooth. The only thing on my mind was to get back the gift elder Babo gave me no matter what. I stretched out my arm to grab my tooth but before I could, George appeared out of nowhere and threw it towards a different area of the carriage. Distracted by my gift, I collided with another student in front of me.
"Hey watch it."
The student pushed me away with her tentacles, making me float in the opposite direction of my tooth. My narrowed focus caused me to run into another student.
"I'm sorry," I said, turning to face the victim of my clumsiness to see a pair of spiraling glasses.
"A-are you okay? D-do you want me to help?" asked Umbrie.
Umbrie? Why did she want to help me? Wasn't she ashamed to be seen talking with me? I shook my head. "No, I don't need your help." I scanned the room to see Wemp holding my tooth, before pushing off the wall towards him.
Not to my surprise, Wemp threw the tooth to Barry as I neared the wall he was latched onto.
"W-why are you doing this?" I asked Wemp.
"Barry wanted to have some fun. Something to pass the time and whatever he says goes," said Wemp, shrugging his shoulders.
Whatever he says goes? Something about that didn't sound right to me. Was that what friends do? A question I didn't know the answer to, but I pushed it aside as I floated towards Barry.
"G-give it back Barry," I said, reaching for the tooth and staring at the mischievous smile on his face until a loud resonating hum made the whole carriage shake. Barry and I covered our ears as we exchanged confused glances. The noise continued to vibrate the carriage for a few seconds before dying down.
Everyone stared at each other, trying to find answers to what was going on.
"What was-"
"Shhh." Principal Stuffy skittered across the floor to the center of the room. "Away. All of you need to stay away from the windows and be as quiet as you can. Find a place on the floor or the ceiling. Hurry on now."
I was confused by the sudden directions, but his serious tone of voice made me follow his words. Floating towards the ceiling, I reached my hands out to hold onto the coral surface. Everyone followed without making any noise, before we waited in complete silence.
A minute past in silence as the seahorses continued to pull the carriage to our destination. Even in the moment of confusion, I couldn't help but look around for Barry and my tooth to see them on the floor of the carriage. Should I head to where my tooth was? I didn't want to get into trouble or cause any problems, but I wanted to get my gift back as soon as possible.
"Is it over? Can we talk-"
"Shhhh!" said principal Stuffy, shooting the student an angry glare, but it was too late. The deep hum returned louder, making the carriage tilt to the side.
My tired arms held on for dear life as the carriage slammed back into its original position. It was then, when I heard gasps. Everyone was frozen in place with eyes wide open and mouths dropped, starring at the wall.
Dark blue rings surrounding a black circle spanned multiple windows, twitching in all directions. What is that? It moved around as if it was examining the inside of the carriage until it stopped.
A muffled scream filled the carriage making all heads turn to a student who was crying.
"Shhhh!" Principal Stuffy scurried over to the student to cover his mouth with a tentacle.
Another loud hum made us tilt in the air. My grip weakened as I held on. When the carriage returned onto the ground, the eye was no longer there, replaced by dark moving scales.
Everyone watched in silence as the scales passed by, seeming to last forever, until they finally disappeared.
Principal Stuffy released his tentacle from the student before floating towards a window. He glanced outside for a few seconds before returning back to the center of the floor.
"What in the lands above, was an electo eel doing in these parts of the water?" said principal Stuffy to himself. His face looked pale. "I must inform the council... Students. You mY settle down since the danger has passed us. Some of you have acted out of place and I am quite disappointed, but most of you listened well enough." He stared daggers at the student who had cried before turning his back away.
"Principal Stuffy... What was that?" asked a student.
"That was an electo eel, usually found in the southern part of the ocean, quite far from here. Such a magnificent yet harrowing encounter." Principal Stuffy seemed to be deep in thought. "Students, I highly advise you to stay quiet for the rest of our journey. It'll only be about ten minutes until we arrive at our destination." He floated towards the front of the carriage to hold onto the reigns.
Everyone seemed to be frozen in fear as they stayed still in their spots. I on the other hand, couldn't help but let go since I had lost all strength in my arms. Floating towards Barry, George and Wemp, I listened to their conversation as I focused on my tooth.
"Electo eel? That thing was huge. Did you see the size of its eye? It was bigger than all of us combined," said Wemp, shaking his tentacles in the air.
George crossed his arms as he sat on the floor. "If that thing lives in the Southern Ocean. I'm never going to explore there."
"Stop being so scared. Once we finish exploration school and Oceanus academy, we'll be able to take that thing on. I'll punch it in the eye with my tentacles, blinding it. Then you guys will hit the other eye. Just as easy as that," said Barry, puffing his chest out as he punched the air.
"Whatever you say. I'll follow your lead," said Wemp.
George stared at Wemp in disbelief. "Whatever you say? You're both crazy. I rather work in the air falls my whole life than fight one of-"
"Barry, give my tooth back," I said as I landed face first against the floor between the three.
"You're still on about this stupid thing? You think a tooth is going to help you do better in school?" asked Barry.
I propped myself into standing. "Elder Babo said I could fight as well or even better with that tooth."
"Fight better? The ink must have gotten into the small brain of yours. Let's see you fight better," said Barry tossing my tooth at me.
Relief washed over me as I grabbed the tooth, but I couldn't celebrate since a tentacle came flying at my face. My head began to throb as I was sent floating, until my back hit the coral wall.
"I-I don't want to fight," I said, hugging the tooth.
"But you said you could fight better. Let's see it," said Barry, rushing towards me while swinging his tentacles.
I closed my eyes as his tentacles bombarded my body. It hurt. His fists buried into my back as I shielded the tooth with my body. My ears began to ring as the pain increased, making it hard to hear clearly. The words 'stop it' entered my hears with the heavy breathes of who I assumed was Barry's. My whole body throbbed in pain as I kept my eyes closed until the punches stopped.
Floating before me was Barry covered in sweat. "You should have listened ink sac." I closed my eyes once again as he cocked his fist back, before his fist slammed against my face, sending me backwards. Everything that happened after was a blur. Why did Barry look shocked? Why was Umbri behind him? The rough surface of coral scraped against my arms and the outside of a window entered my view before everything went dark.