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"Now, now, Caligosto, where are you going so early?"
The boy in question turns, pushing up his glasses to see who called for him. He glances up and down the alley, over the park nearby, but there seems to be not a person in sight. He's about to resume his walk when he hears it again.
"Down here, Cal. You didn't forget about me, did you?"
The voice is coming from the small pond near the benches, and this time he doesn't even have to look to recognise his fish friend. He forces a smile onto his face and walks over to the edge of the park, checking one last time to make sure no one's around.
He hasn't talked to Marshal and the other fish in a while. He's been scared ever since a classmate caught him doing it and told everyone. Word reached his mother and she wasn't too delighted to hear about it.
Caligosto doesn't see what's so wrong about fish. They make for really nice conversations if you just listen closely.
"Hey Marshal. Sorry I didn't see you earlier. Mom's been telling me not to talk to fish, so I…"
He rubs the back of his head sheepishly, taking off his backpack and laying it on the bench as he crouches next to the shore. The paint is old and flaky and it creaks even under the weight of his textbooks.
"I'm really sorry I haven't been spending more time with you."
Marshal lets out a bubble and smiles at him. It's not like a human smile at all, but the boy knows when Marshal is trying to comfort him.
"It's quite alright. I've Bubbles to keep me company after all."
He nods his fin to the orange goldfish a few feet away. Caligosto smiles sadly.
"How's he doing, anyways?"
Marshal purses his tiny lips and hums for a second. He usually looks derpy every time he does it, but now it just seems like a weak attempt to lighten the mood.
"Well, still got dropsy. The others don't know how to help either. We've tried a few diets, looked for parasites, but we really just don't know what's wrong with him."
Caligosto glances over to Bubbles, chewing on his lower lip in thought. The poor goldfish is swollen and floating at the bottom of the pond, scooping up some leftover food and looking very sickly.
He's helped feed the fish before, naturally, but he isn't exactly an expert in how to treat their illnesses. None of the books he's been forced to read at home have ever said anything about fish, much less dropsy. Although that is not surprising. His father is a doctor, not a vet, afterall.
He ponders for a second before raising a finger.
"I could still ask-"
"We've had this conversation, Cal", Marshal reminds him in a stern tone. "I'm fine with you coming to visit me and the boys after school, but you shouldn't drag your parents into this. You're in enough trouble as is."
Caligosto hunches his shoulders.
"I just don't get why they're so mad at me for hanging out with you guys. You're way nicer than the kids at school…"
Marshal tries to give him a smile again, this time raising the right corner of his mouth a tad. Although his gesture doesn't seem to comfort Caligosto much.
"I mean, how often is it you see other kids talking to fish?", he argues with a wink. "We didn't know humans could talk before you showed up. Your parents probably just don't understand."
Caligosto folds his hands and looks down at the grassy ground.
"I guess so…", he mutters. "But they're just so… y'know. Mom said if she caught me 'acting crazy' again she'd have to walk me to school. I'm way too old for that!"
He throws out his hand during the last sentence, but pulls it close to his chest immediately. The bruise where his elbow hit the ground still stings and his jacket is torn at the sleeve.
"Are you alright?", Marshal asks with a trace of worry in his voice and swishing his tail from side to side. Caligosto hesitates.
"It's nothing."
He doesn't like talking about school. He doesn't like thinking about school. He'd beg for his parents to transfer him or look for an excuse to be kicked out if he could, but the thought of his father's homeschooling makes his head hurt.
Hours upon hours at the same desk, studying the same anatomy, learning the same useless medical jargon and the same lessons about responsibility and hard work and how he's so immature for his age. He dreads nothing more than the weekends where he has to postpone his schoolwork to read medical books or sort his father's papers.
When asked, he'll just say it 'builds character'. Caligosto doesn't think it builds character. For him it just builds sadness.
"You don't have to talk about it", Marshal reminds him softly, holding out a fin for him to take.
Caligosto sighs, dipping his pinkie into the water so Marshal can hold it.
"Some kids in my class asked me to play tag. They tricked me. Just kept pushing me over and laughing at me."
A tear rolls down his cheek from behind his glasses. He wipes it away, sniffling.
"I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I thought they'd be nice to me for once. But no one ever is."
He takes off his cracked glasses and buries his face between his knees. The rough fabric of his school uniform grates against his temples. He hates it. He hates it just like he hates the hospital his father works at and the sound of his mother throwing a fit of rage in the kitchen.
He imagines his parents wrapping his arms around him and holding him close as he hugs himself. He imagines his mother telling him she loves her, and his father telling him how proud he is.
Marshal holds on to his finger as he sobs for a while. It's not for long, as the boy is used to crying when his parents aren't looking, which isn't often. Marshal just tries to be there for him when he can.
Caligosto calms down after about a minute, taking deep breaths and leaning against the bench behind him. His finger has long since left the water.
The wind blows through his curly hair and the autumn leaves rustle around him.
Part of him wishes it were the breeze of the sea.
Marshal blows some bubbles, pulling him out of his thoughts. It does little to cheer him up, but an obligatory half-smile does creep up the corner of his mouth.
"I think I'm fine", he murmurs with a deep breath, dusting off his rugged clothes. He's been sitting on the grassy wet ground for a bit too long, so his shorts are probably a bit soaked by now.
Marshal gives him a skeptical look. "Are you sure you don't wanna talk?"
He shakes his head. "It's ok. I'm just kinda skipping class right now.", he says at last, throwing a few crumbs of bread into the pond before leaving as he always does and trying to stop himself from breaking into tears again. "I don't wanna go back, or home."
Marshal understands. He doesn't tell him this, but Caligosto knows it nonetheless.
He wonders if that makes him crazy.