Finding My Porpoise in Life

My day starts like any other school day at Crescent City High, except it's the day of the big field trip. I feel the excitement buzzing through the halls as I walk towards Heather's locker, where she's adding yet another picture of Harry Styles, no surprise there.

"What did you bring for lunch today?" I ask, already dreading the tuna fish sandwich my step mom packed for me.

Heather slams her locker shut and sighs, "Bologna."

"Thank God! Want to swap?" I plead, desperate to get rid of the smelly tuna in my backpack.

"Yes, if it's turkey. No, if it's tuna," she decides.

"Dammit, it's tuna," I groan.

"Sorry, Cas. I absolutely cannot do tuna today. If I sit next to Jackson on the bus and smell like tuna fish, I will literally die and then come back to haunt you," she says as we walk into class.

"Shit, you're right. I can't believe Sheryl would do this to me. What the hell, Sheryl?"

My stepmother tries her best to fill in for my mom, but she never quite gets it right. My mom always packed the perfect field trip lunches. A salami sandwich with cheddar cheese, extra mustard, no mayo. I hate mayo and, honestly, I hate tuna too. The fact that said tuna is now stinking up my bag for the entire 9th grade class to smell is just the cherry on top of the sundae.

"Yeah, Sheryl totally snaked you. You might as well toss that thing in the trash now before someone on the bus smells it, and I can't be associated with you anymore," Heather jokes playfully as we take our seats.

She's not wrong about Sheryl, but at least she tries. The last stepmother my dad introduced me to was a literal sociopath. Thank heavens that ended quickly. My dad thinks replacing my mom with a maternal figure will make me forget, but he can never truly replace her. Mom was a force to be reckoned with, a ball of sunshine whose positive energy radiated through everyone around her. I miss her every day, but at least she's not suffering anymore.

"Oh yeah, then you'd be stuck with Jessica from third period. I can see it now, you and your new bestie," I tease, trying to shake off the sadness my mom's memory brings.

“Hey Jessica’s not that bad, she said she liked my locker the other day!” She gleams, satisfied. 

"Heather, you know she was being sarcastic, right? Last week in gym, she practically told the whole class that she thought Harry Styles was totally overrated," I chuckle as Heather gives me a disgusted look.

"Is she actually joking?! Harry Styles is the greatest artist of our generation!! She is clearly delusional, or has no taste, or both. Okay fine, I wouldn't last a day in this dump without you. The people here are clearly insane," she says looking around with disgust. 

"Aw, see, you do love me," I tease as our homeroom teacher gets the class's attention.

"Okay class, we'll be heading to the downtown aquarium shortly. Make sure you have your unit four assignments with you so that you can take notes on your chosen sea creature. Let's start lining up alphabetically and head to the buses," Ms. Peterson announces.

Heather and I separate into our places in line and I can't help but giggle to myself as I watch her shyly approach Jackson. Leave it to Heather to be confident in everything except when it comes to the one boy she's had a crush on since fifth grade.

The 20-minute bus ride to the aquarium is uneventful, but I keep myself entertained with glances at Heather and Jackson, each one looking at the other longingly while the other isn’t paying attention. I’m going to get those two talking one day, I just need to come up with one of my elaborate plans, a Cassie classic.

We arrive at the aquarium and exit the buses, heading into the lobby through the large double doors. As I enter, a strange sensation flows through me. It's not quite a headache, more like a tingling feeling starting from my head and radiating down my neck. Maybe it's the janky bus seats, or just my body rejecting the thought of eating the tuna sandwich in my bag. I shake it off as I spot heather and walk over to begin the obligatory debrief about the bus ride.

"You and Jackson looked cozy on the bus," I say with a smirk.

"Ugh, does he hate me or something? We used to be able to have a conversation just fine, and now he won't even look at me!" Heather crosses her arms and storms out of the lobby towards the fish exhibits.

I catch up to her and loop my arm through hers.

"Oh, stop it. You know what his deal is, don't you?! He's totally into you! I'm sure the moment he saw you on the first day of school this year, he completely lost his marbles. You got your braces off and switched to contacts, and now he can't help but see you as the goddess you are instead of just his semi-nerdy chess club friend."

Heather tries to hide her blushing cheeks and subtle grin while playfully shoving me for bringing up her nerdy side. Her upturned smile falls to a frown as she second-guesses herself.

"You don't know that, Cas," she says quietly, avoiding eye contact. "If he liked me, don't you think he would've said something by now? Or at least be able to utter a single sentence to me?"

She sounds defeated, and it breaks my heart. Heather has been the one person in my life who has been there for me completely after my mom died. My dad pretends everything is fine, and my older half-brother James was never close to us. I wasn't shocked when he didn't come to the funeral or visit since. Other than my immediate family, I've never had anyone else in my life.

Heather, on the other hand, has been my rock since we met the summer before third grade when she moved into the house next door. As soon as they moved in she came over with her mom's famous chocolate chunk cookies fresh out of the oven and the rest is history. We've been inseparable ever since, not just because those heavenly cookies are still my weakness. Heather intuitively knows when I need a shoulder to cry on or a funny quip to lift my mood. I would be worse off without her, and I wish she could understand how amazing she is. Despite her disbelief in my attempts to convince her, I won't stop trying to make her see it one day.

I grab her face and look straight into her eyes. "Heather Mathews, you are the light of my life, and no one is truly deserving of the beautiful person you are, both inside and out. If Jackson comes to his senses and asks you out one day, great. But you are complete on your own, and if you don't start acting like it, I will hide my tuna sandwich in your bag when you're not looking."

"Okay, fine. You're right. You always are. Let's visit the sea mammals and get this assignment over with. And let's find a trash can while we're at it since you're apparently still concealing that live stink bomb in your bag," she says, linking her arm with mine again as we head further into the aquarium.

We navigate through the exhibits, keeping an eye out for a trash can, and that peculiar feeling fills my head again. I dismiss it as the stinky tuna giving me a headache. Maybe my dislike of tuna and mayo has turned into a full-blown allergy. I'll have to talk to Sheryl about her sandwich choices when I get home.

Passing the smaller exhibits, I can't help but be entranced by the sea life around me. Growing up on the coast of Oregon, I've always had a deep love for the ocean and marine life. There's nothing quite like wading in the ocean, observing marine creatures thriving all around you. They live their simple lives, blissfully unaware of the chaos in the human world outside their watery domain.

Finally, we arrive at the sea mammals and I head towards the whales while Heather stops by the dolphins. Stepping into the orca exhibit, I suddenly feel the tingling sensation throughout my body again, this time stronger. I hear sounds from behind me and turn around, thinking it's Heather, only to find an orca staring straight at me. Startled, I take a step back, realizing how close I've been standing to the glass.

As I gaze back at the orca, it stares at me, nearly motionless. For a moment, I forget about the sounds and find myself captivated by the sheer beauty of this magnificent creature. Orca whales have always fascinated me, and seeing one up close leaves me awestruck.

The sounds I heard earlier grab my attention again, and I strain to determine their source. They almost resemble distant voices echoing in a room underwater. At first, the words are indistinct, but as I concentrate, they become clearer.

I glance around the exhibit, realizing there isn't a single other person nearby. I briefly question whether an allergic reaction can cause hallucinations but quickly dismiss the thought since I haven't even eaten my tuna sandwich yet. Maybe I'm just losing my mind. However, as the voice-like sounds capture my focus once more, I recognize their true nature—they clearly sound like someone speaking underwater. My mind races to comprehend what's happening when the orca finally moves, and I hear a thud against the glass, drawing my attention once again.

"Hi, yes, it's me. Over here," says a soft feminine voice.

A chill runs through my body as the realization dawns on me. I stare wide-eyed at the orca before me, utterly dumbfounded. There's no conceivable way that this orca is talking to me right now. I must be experiencing some sort of psychotic break, and it's all because of Sheryl's tuna sandwich that I have yet to actually consume.

Pacing anxiously, I mutter to myself, "Okay, compose yourself, Heather. You're too young to be having a psychotic break. Maybe Cassie's pulling an elaborate prank on me. That must be it. Ha ha, Cassie, very funny. You can come out now. You got me!" I frantically address the empty room around me.

"Are you done yet?" the voice asks again, even clearer this time.

I cease my pacing and gaze back at the orca, still staring directly at me, almost as if it's smiling.

"I am smiling, actually. And I'm a she, not an it," the voice responds.

"Hey, wait! I didn't say those things out loud. I just thought them! Are you reading my mind?! Oh God, I've lost it. I bet schizophrenia runs in the family, and now I have it. What's the protocol for this? Okay, come on, Cassie, make one of your elaborate plans to figure this out. How far away is the nearest mental hospital? I think there's one on Third Street. Or maybe that's just a regular hospital. Well, as long as it has a psych ward, I'm sure it'll work. But then again..."

"Okay, yeah, I'm going to stop you right there. I thought you'd take this better given the blue, indigo aura I'm reading off of you. But I also haven't met anyone who could hear me in quite a while, so maybe I'm out of practice. In summary, you're not having a psychotic break, I am an orca that is talking to you, and yes, we can communicate telepathically, which is slightly different from mind reading."

My racing heart rate slows slightly as I stare at the orca that is somehow communicating with me through means I cannot even begin to comprehend.

"I guess this is better than me having schizophrenia?" I say, speaking directly to the orca in front of me.

"Yeah, obviously it's better. You're talking to an orca. How cool is that?" She sounds so enthusiastic that I can't help the toothy grin that plasters my face as that voice comes through clear as ever now.

"How is this possible? And why me?" I ask her, my brain flooded with questions.

"It's a lot of explaining, but the short version is that some people have a gene that allows them to communicate with nature. Some specialize more in flora communication, and others in fauna. Those who have the gene tend to have a bluish aura and are more connected with the earth. This also allows plants and animals to see who would possibly be able to communicate with us. We then send out telepathic messages, and if the person has the gene and is open-minded, the message is typically well-received. These days, it's quite rare to come across someone who has the gene and whose mind is open enough to receive the signals. So, I haven't communicated with any humans in a very long time. But I felt your presence when you got to the aquarium, and then you came in here with your glowing blue aura, and I was ecstatic at the thought of being able to communicate with another human again!"

I take in all of this information, still completely stunned by the events that have taken place in the last five minutes.

"Wow. I don't even know what to say, where to begin. I have so many more questions! Firstly, though, I never caught your name. Surely, you have a name, right? Not the silly name on this plaque," I say, pointing at the plaque with the name "Splashy" engraved at the top.

The orca scoffs, moving in a way that I can only interpret as her shaking her head in disgust.

"Yeah, those idiots gave me the silliest name ever, and I haven't found anyone to communicate with in so long, there was no way for me to have them change it! But my real name is Seraphina."

"That's a beautiful name. Well, it's nice to make your acquaintance, Seraphina!"

"Gosh, I haven't heard my real name said out loud in so long, thank you. By the way, you look really familiar. Have you been here before? I guess you couldn't or I would’ve seen your aura.”

​​”Not since I was a little kid. My mom brought me a couple of times when I was three. She loved the ocean and loved bringing me to see the sea life. I don't remember a ton of it, though, I only know because of the pictures I have with her here."

Seraphina stares at me for a minute before speaking.

"Did your mom's name happen to be Amelia?" asks Seraphina, with a slight tilt to her head.

I pause, frozen. "How did you know that?" I ask, flabbergasted at hearing my mom's name telepathically spoken to me by an orca.

"No way! Amelia is the last human I was able to communicate with! What happened to her? She stopped coming by ages ago."

"She passed away, Seraphina," I utter quietly, my brain still calculating what this means.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. Your name is Cassie, right? Gosh, I remember her bringing in a little girl once or twice. You were so tiny and adorable. You look so much like her now!"

I can't help but smile as I realize I have this new connection to my mom that I never knew about. She passed on this incredible gene and the open-mindedness that allowed me to even hear Seraphina at all. She may be gone, but she was able to give me this miraculous gift without even being here.

"Can you tell me about her? I remember the details less and less these days."

"Of course I can, Cassie. I have so many stories I can share with you. In fact, I can share with you all the things she told me while she was pregnant with you. She came by quite a lot those days, saying that being surrounded by water and sea creatures distracted her from her morning sickness."

I am overcome with excitement before I hear Ms. Peterson from down the hall calling everyone to the lobby for lunch, and my heart stops for a moment.

"It's okay, Cassie. I'll be here when you're free to come back. Next time you visit, I'll tell you about the time you kicked your mom so hard while she was pregnant with you that I could see the foot from over here! It was hilarious."

"I haven't been back to the aquarium because it reminds me of my mom. But now that I know you're here, I'll come whenever I can!" I say as I hear Ms. Peterson yelling for all the students again.

"Okay, dear, it's a date! You better get going now before you get in trouble. But it was so good to see you, Cassie. It has truly made my whole decade," Seraphina says as she dips her head.

"Alright, I'll see you soon, Seraphina!" I say loudly as I quickly make my way towards the front of her exhibit, pausing before I am out of sight. "And thank you!" I yell, turning towards her, smiling all the way back as I jog to the front lobby.

I make my way to the lobby and quickly locate Heather with her sleek blonde hair.

"Hey, where have you been? Did the orcas hold you hostage in there?" she jokes as she takes her bologna sandwich out of her bag.

I take one look at her and smile. "Honestly, you have no idea," I say to her as I grab my tuna sandwich out of my bag and take a big bite, not a single care in the world.