As Blue As The Ocean!

Chapter Three

"What do you think you are doing there?!" Gary warns me sternly. "I told you, stay away from there!" he hisses at me as he holds my wrist in his hand.

I am floored. I was not sure what to say. I dropped my keys on the floor because he had startled me. "Gary look, I am covering for Belinda. She had to go pick up her kids. And I am only going back there to clean. Then I am off the clock" I inform him.

He sighs. "I am sorry. We have to becareful. Or all of us will get our asses chewed out. No one else can be told what is behind that door" he warns me. "Once you go on in there no telling anyone. Not your brother, or your mother, sister, no one" he explains sternly to me.

I nod. "Gary, come on. Who the hell would I tell? What would I care to tell anyway?" I state.

"Alright" grumbles Gary. "Go on in and clean then go on ahead"

"I will not tell a single soul" I promise him before he lets me go in.

"Not even Kandice" he whispers a warning to me.

• ❤︎ •• ❤︎ •

He knew me well. I shake my head then follow him inside. I get in there and in the room was a huge tank filled with dark sea water. So far, I was not seeing a single thing. Just dark sea green blue water.

I notice a heart monitor hooked up to the side of the tank. Cords dripped down the tank. Why in the hell would a sea creature need a heart monitor? Maybe something was having babies? Whatever made a loud noise the other day certainly was not making any today.

"The broom and mop for this room is over there. It really needs to be mopped. We got saltwater all over the floor" warns Gary. "And we have been slipping on spots all over this place" he explains.

"Got it" I say as my eyes are peeled right on the tank.

"You might not see the critter in the tank right now. They sedated him" he explains to me. "They will be snoozing all night long"

"What? You guys gave a poor innocent creature drugs? To make it sleep?" I grumble feeling angered.

"They will be fine. They were freaked out to be out of the ocean. They just need to get used to their surroundings. Besides that, it can't hurt anyone" grumbles Gary.

"Alright" I sigh.

"Get to working" he tells me. "No one else is allowed back here. Not even Kandice. Lock up when you are done" he reminds me before he leaves.

• ❤︎ •• ❤︎ •

I never thought he would leave. Now maybe I could see what was in the tank. I begin my work. I had my normal work uniform on. I was wearing my hair pulled up in a braid. I always wore my special necklace my mother had gifted me when I graduated high school. She said I had it beside me on a beach blanket when I was a baby. It had a little stunning seashell on the necklace. It was a coral pink and a deep-sea green.

My mother thinks that I got the necklace from my birth mother. Because she never saw anything like it before. Not in stores. And my mother would never let me wear it when I was growing up. She promised me when I was done with school and all grown up, I could have my necklace back. 

And I now wore it every day of my life. It spiced up my boring work uniform to say the least. Everyone always asked me where I got the necklace. I would tell them my birth mother. I liked to think she wanted me to have something to remember her by. It brought me comfort.

I sigh as I stopped sweeping for a moment. I lean near the tank. My necklace begins to glow a little. It never glowed in the dark ever before. The little spot that was a coral pink on the shell begins to glow. I gasp as I glance down at the necklace. I am mesmerized by the thing. Why was it glowing now? I notice something glowing in the tank to. The heart monitor begins to beep like crazy now to.

I peer in the tank. Why was something glowing in the tank at the same time of my necklace?? How was this connected?? Suddenly Gary and the other guys working in here come rushing into check on the heart monitor. They rush on past me. They go up the little latter to the top of the tank, some of the men get on scuba suits. One dives in once they are dressed.

• ❤︎ •• ❤︎ •

"Gary what is going on?" I call up to him.

He was not listing to me.

"Get out of here!" Peter Alden orders me. One of my other bosses.

"What is going on? I did not do anything" I protest.

"We know we know! Get out!" orders Peter.

He was so rude!

"Come on Elissa. I know this had nothing to do with you. So please come out here and wait. Feel free to go home. No cleaning will be done tonight. We have work to be done" Gary tells me as he comes back to my side. He escorts me out of there.

I am stunned. "But Gary I was not done cleaning yet!" I protest.

He shakes his head. "I know. Something set the creature off. They are super sensitive. And you need to go" he warns me.

"I promised Belinda I would finish her work!" I plead.

I had to get back in there. I still did not get to see what was in that tank!

"No worries. I will finish for you and for Belinda" he promises. "Now go!" he orders to me.

"I wanted to find out what was in there" I sigh feeling disappointed. "I just love learning about ocean life. You know I want to study it in college one day" I remind him.

He softens. "I know you do. Listen one day soon everyone in this whole town will find out what is in that room! And you will get to know then" he promises me. "I swear! It is amazing!" he brags.

"Tell me now! Please" I beg him.

"Gary come on!" calls out Peter from behind the door.

"I am sorry Elissa. I better get going" Gary rushes back into the room.

• ❤︎ •• ❤︎ •

There goes my chance.

I head to the back. I clock out of work. Then I place the keys back into my friend's locker. So long keys. So long mystery. Now I was going to half to wait like everyone else. That was not even fair. Life sucked. I glance down at my necklace.

It stopped glowing. I wondered what could have caused something in the necklace to glow? And whatever was in the tank glowed at the same time? That was really odd. It never did that in the dark. It never did that ever!

Maybe something in the water or something around it made it do that. I sigh. After I clocked out, I head back by the door. It was locked up tight. My necklace did not glow again.

Even though I was by the door. Near that tank. I give up. I was just going to have to wait. Maybe tomorrow I could ask Gary when the project in there was going to be ready to be shown to everyone else. At least I could find that out.

• ❤︎ •• ❤︎ •

"So, did you find out what was in that tank?" Kandice startles me causing me to jump in alarm.

"No, I did not find out what was in the tank. I was about to. And the nerds all walked in. And I was pushed out of there" I mutter.

"Did you ask Gary what was in the tank?" she begs to know.

I nod yes. "I sure did. He said soon everyone in town will know what they discovered" I explain to her.

"When?" she gasps with excitement.

"I don't know when. All I know is he told me was that we would soon all see what they discovered" I tell her.

"Wow so it is a new creature!" she exclaims. "I can't wait to find out what it is!"

"Me to!" I sigh. "Look I better get going home. It has been a long day. And no good has come out of it for me" I mutter. "I did not get to see what was in that tank"

"Sorry about that" she says.

I nod then head on my way home. I hoped they would all let us know soon what was in that tank. I had to get myself into college. I wanted to be off making huge ocean life discovers to like Gary. And not just giving tours all day every day. Tours got boring. It could be fun teaching little kids about ocean life. Seeing the wonderment on their little faces as a dolphin or a shark swim by.

But I wanted more.

There was more to life than being stuck here. I wanted to be on the ocean. Or with the animals. My soul always loved the ocean.

I felt so drawn to it. Maybe because I was left there on the beach beside an ocean. Maybe because I lived by the ocean. I grew up with the ocean. I did not fear the ocean. Whatever drew me to the ocean, the ocean was a part of my life.

It always would be.

• ❤︎ •• ❤︎ •• ❤︎ •• ❤︎ •• ❤︎ •• ❤︎ •• ❤︎ •• ❤︎ •• ❤︎ •