Work Text:
“Today is the big day!” That’s what you were told by the email your manager sent you this morning. You get ready for work like you always do except you take a bit more time to make sure that your appearance is extra decent for the day. You make sure that your uniform has as few wrinkles as possible and that your hair is done neatly before heading to your car to make the drive to the aquarium. The drive isn’t long -which is one of the reasons why you took the job- but it’s long enough that you don’t want to go through the hassle of walking all the way there, especially on a day as important as this.
When you arrive at the aquarium, you already see guests parked in the guest parking lot. When you enter the aquarium you see your manager Jeremy, excitedly pacing around the room. Jeremy is a bit older -you guess he’s in his forties or fifties- and has a slight southern drawl to his voice. He turns to continue his pacing but, stops when he locks eyes with you.
“Hey there, Squirt!” He greets you with a smile.
“Hey Jeremy!” You reply as you walk further inside.
“The new jellyfish are beautiful! And the best part is that we’ll get to be with them all day today!” Jeremy exclaimes. Jeremy is a huge fan of all things marine biology. He’ll happily list off cool facts about any sea creature you ask him about and is very good at captivating both children and their parents with his facts and explanations. You, on the other hand, aren't crazy about the ocean or its inhabitants. You also aren’t crazy about having to deal with all of the guests that are going to want to see the new jellyfish. You had only taken the job because it was close to home and paid decently.
“I can’t wait!” You lie, not wanting to take away from Jeremy’s excitement.
*
As you walk into the jellyfish section you see the new area, finally unblocked by construction. It’s a corner but it has plenty of room for guests to gather around and see the two jellyfish in a large tank in the center of the area. The wall to your left is sun themed and the one to your right is moon themed. There are plaques on each wall that give information on the jellyfish inside of the tank. There is a sign above the entrance that reads “Kid’s Cove” and has a sort of sea side beach theme to it. The jellyfish themselves are quite the sight. One is orange and its stingers have frills on them. The other is translucent and glows, emitting a white-ish blue-ish light.
“These actually look pretty cool!” You say, genuinely impressed. While jellyfish aren’t really your thing -all of those talks about how dangerous they can be as a kid had kinda freaked you out- you had to admit to yourself that they looked lovely floating in the tank.
“They are very cool indeed! The orange one with the frills is a flame jellyfish and the translucent one is a moon jellyfish.” Jeremy explains. That explains the sun and moon theming, you think to yourself. “If these two are well liked by the public, Fazco will make proper sun and moon animatronics!” Jeremy explains.
“Then let’s make sure the people like them,” you respond.
*
It isn’t long until the guests arrive and when they do, they all go straight for the jellyfish. Jeremy happily lists off facts about the jellyfish and while you don’t pay much attention to what he says, part of a conversation he has with a parent catches your attention.
“Where are the jellyfish from?” The parent asks.
“Well, moon jellyfish can be found just about anywhere but flame jellyfish are only found in the Pacific and Indian oceans. These two were found off the coast of Japan. Apparently they were inseparable and have always been together. Although moon jellyfish tend to prefer being alone, this one seems to like being near the other one,” Jeremy happily explains.
“Are they brothers?” The parent's child asks.
“They just might be,” Jeramy replies. That’s all you’re able to hear before you are launched into your own conversation with a guest. As the day goes by you start to notice some things about the jellyfish’s personalities. The flame seems to like the guests and will often gravitate towards children, whereas the moon seems to hide behind the flame and stays away from guests. After spending the day watching those two you can’t say that you don’t like them. Once all of the guests have finally left the aquarium you’re left with Jeremy and the jellyfish.
“Those two are like day and night opposites,” you remark.
“You noticed it too?” Jeremy asks, eyes lighting up.
“I mean yea, it’s pretty easy to notice,” you reply, slightly embarrassed.
“I think you need to give yourself more credit. After all you really need to look at the little details to figure out a sea creature’s personality,”
“I guess so,” you mutter. You look at the tank and you see the two jellyfish against the glass wall closest to you.
“I think they like you,” Jeremy remarks.
“I think I like them too.”