sazarac
Member
Saturday should have been a day like any other day.
And it was. Until I stepped into my local(est) pet store.
They have a tiny, bland saltwater section, but I needed a coral fix. I should have know better.
The tanks were dingy and dark, like the back alleys in a big city. The fish guy was young and inexperienced. And strange. Just how strange I was about to discover.
I peered into the topmost tank. It was over my head, the lights blinded my eyes. I felt like a stoolie under interrogation. I asked the kid, "ya got any mushrooms"? He piped "Sure"! then grabbed a step ladder, hopped onto it and thrust his hand into the murky water knocking corals willy nilly. He hadn't washed that hand.
He pressed the mushroom against the glass like a hired thug with questions that needed to be answered. "I've got that color", I said, as a bolt of fear went through me. He let it go, it's crumbled body fell listlessly to the bottom of the tank.
"Well, howabout this one"?, he asked as his hands roved over the hapless hammer coral. He poked and prodded and toppled coral after coral. I trembled inside. "Uh, no"...I stammered ..."I think I'd like the candy cane and the frogspawn frag". I knew I couldn't rescue them all...the others would just have to take their changes.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a lone mushroom in another tank. "Hum", I heard myself saying, "I'll take that single 'shroom as well". The kid said "I gotta ask the head guy how much". "We don't have prices on singles." "Fine" I said, "I have a dinner engagement that can't be broke" "I'll be back in awhile to pick up my corals". He said he'd have a price for me when I got back. I paid then left for dinner.
I returned with trepidation. I ignored it. I squared my shoulders as I walked back in the store. I followed the hired hand into the back room. He again grabbed the step-stool to retrieve my charges which he'd already bagged. For how long I have no idea. I dreaded the answer to that question. As he pulled the first bag from the tepid liquid in which it rested, it sprung a leak. A thin spray of water hit me in the left eye. The salt water ran down my face like tears.
He double bagged the caulestra. "Did you get the price on that single mushroom"? I asked as I dried my face. He turned to me and said "The head guy says I can't sell it until he cleans and pollinates it". Luckily my cell phone choose that moment to ring. I saved me from the asking what he meant. I've decided not to step foot back in a store which is run by a coral molester and an insane person.
THE END.
And it was. Until I stepped into my local(est) pet store.
They have a tiny, bland saltwater section, but I needed a coral fix. I should have know better.
The tanks were dingy and dark, like the back alleys in a big city. The fish guy was young and inexperienced. And strange. Just how strange I was about to discover.
I peered into the topmost tank. It was over my head, the lights blinded my eyes. I felt like a stoolie under interrogation. I asked the kid, "ya got any mushrooms"? He piped "Sure"! then grabbed a step ladder, hopped onto it and thrust his hand into the murky water knocking corals willy nilly. He hadn't washed that hand.
He pressed the mushroom against the glass like a hired thug with questions that needed to be answered. "I've got that color", I said, as a bolt of fear went through me. He let it go, it's crumbled body fell listlessly to the bottom of the tank.
"Well, howabout this one"?, he asked as his hands roved over the hapless hammer coral. He poked and prodded and toppled coral after coral. I trembled inside. "Uh, no"...I stammered ..."I think I'd like the candy cane and the frogspawn frag". I knew I couldn't rescue them all...the others would just have to take their changes.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a lone mushroom in another tank. "Hum", I heard myself saying, "I'll take that single 'shroom as well". The kid said "I gotta ask the head guy how much". "We don't have prices on singles." "Fine" I said, "I have a dinner engagement that can't be broke" "I'll be back in awhile to pick up my corals". He said he'd have a price for me when I got back. I paid then left for dinner.
I returned with trepidation. I ignored it. I squared my shoulders as I walked back in the store. I followed the hired hand into the back room. He again grabbed the step-stool to retrieve my charges which he'd already bagged. For how long I have no idea. I dreaded the answer to that question. As he pulled the first bag from the tepid liquid in which it rested, it sprung a leak. A thin spray of water hit me in the left eye. The salt water ran down my face like tears.
He double bagged the caulestra. "Did you get the price on that single mushroom"? I asked as I dried my face. He turned to me and said "The head guy says I can't sell it until he cleans and pollinates it". Luckily my cell phone choose that moment to ring. I saved me from the asking what he meant. I've decided not to step foot back in a store which is run by a coral molester and an insane person.
THE END.
