With the new addition to our seal watch, there wasn't nearly as much counting to do. That giant seal intimidated everyone within a twenty-foot radius (although he didn't scare me), and when I looked over at Logan during our allotted hour, he leaned forward and rested his chin on his palms.

"I can't decide if I like this guy for making this so easy, or if I hate his guts for fucking everything up," he said. "Now I'm just going to let myself get distracted."

"Don't do that. There's still a little bit of time we have to fill, so keep counting," I replied.

"Hey." Logan shushed me. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Is that the ice cream truck?"

"If the ice cream truck managed to drive through the ocean, I'd be very impressed, but—" I stopped talking as I heard the foghorn go off. I had gotten so used to it that I never even heard it anymore, but now that I paid attention to the sounds surrounding me, the noise blared just like it used to. "Did you really just undo my ability to ignore a stimulus?"

"Have fun listening to that again," Logan said with a laugh.

I shook my head. "I don't know how I'm supposed to count now that I hear that awful foghorn again."

There was nothing I could do besides waiting for myself to get used to the noise again, so I continued counting the seals that popped out of the water for a quick breath or to check on the mega seal.

"Oh look, dolphins," Logan said.

"Where?" I looked out to the horizon, and surely enough, there were some dorsal fins that popped out of the water. Although I couldn't tell whether they were dolphins or porpoises from the distance, I let out a breath. "I love dolphins."

"They're so smart, too. I'm sure you know more about them than I will ever know, but damn. They're adorable."

I smiled. "I don't know everything, Logan."

"You're pretty damn close, though."

"I know because I care. I love this, and from the second I saw my first whale three years ago, I knew that this is what I'm meant to do with my life. By myself, I'm worth nothing, but as a part in this system? I'd like to think that my contributions can cascade into bigger effects. I mean, what do you care about?"

"Well," Logan began, "I care about who I am and that I find people who like me for me. And it's important that I don't kill myself over what I find interesting, because I can't enjoy it otherwise. And I care about the big picture of life like you do, but to a lesser extent."

"What do you mean to a lesser extent?"

"You set the bar pretty high, Rea. You're kind of obsessed."

I shook my head. "That's just mostly what I care about, the harmony of everything living and nonliving. But you? You care about so many other things, but at the same time, you care about nothing at all. It's just," I thought for a moment, "odd."

"Same thing could be said about you, weirdo."

I smiled. "Maybe we're just weird, or maybe we're the only sane ones on the earth. We'll never know, I guess."

"I already know that you're weird and that I'm the sane one. That's the time for the seal watch. What's your total for the hour?"

I hadn't really been counting for the last few minutes, but I told him the fifty-three seals that I had remembered counting. He added it to his number and scribbled it down in his notebook, and I peeked over his shoulder to see our total. It certainly seemed like an outlier in the data at ninety-eight seals in the hour, but a lot of them must have fled the rock if we still only counted about a third of our usual total, including the seals in the water.

"Wow. That's a sad number," I said.

"I can't imagine why any creature would want to live here in the first place."

"It's a nice little rock in the middle of the ocean. Who wouldn't want to live here? It's incredible."

The real trick would be to somehow drag me off of the island after the summer was over, but that was a problem for Toby and Robbie later.

He smiled. "Like I said, you're weird."

But he must have been a thousand times stranger, because for some reason, he liked this weirdo. It was an odd sensation, for sure, but I liked the way the beginning phase made me feel. Like the fog approaching from the unknown over the horizon, it'd eventually catch up to me completely, but I couldn't afford to be blinded by a blanket of emotion that'd eventually pass. I just had to remember to keep my mind clearer than my surroundings.

"Do you think that huge seal will ever go away?" I asked to change the subject back to what was before us.

"Nope. It's there for the rest of eternity. He's the seal who cannot be moved," he replied.

I rolled my eyes away from him. "I meant, do you think he'll stay here much longer?"

"Nobody stays here long. He'll find the rejuvenation he's looking for then head back out to sea because that's the only place he feels truly at home."

"Are you just making fun of me now?"

"It's what I do best."

I figured.

The ladder creaked from the other side of the small room, and I looked over to see who it was.

"He heard you talking shit, Rea. The seal's coming for you," Logan said.

"At least my final moments were spent with among data and seals. It's exactly how I imagined I'd die," I said, but the seal didn't peak through the opening. Instead, it was Carter.

"Hi Carter," I said with a smile.

"Hi," he replied. "When you're done with your seal watch, Toby wants you two back in the house."

"Why?" Logan asked.

"He said he has some stuff from the real world for us," Carter replied.

"Ew. I like it better here than the real human world," I said,

"Me too," Carter said, then started his descent back down the ladder. I waved to him, and he nodded back at me.

"Believe it or not, some of us actually have lives off this rock," Logan said as soon as Carter's creaking footsteps were replaced by the sound of waves crashing against the rocks.

"But what could possibly be better than this?" I asked as the foghorn went off once again. "If you don't like it here, I don't know what to tell you."

Sure, I had a life away from Paradise City, but it wasn't one that I wanted. And although I'd have to return to it eventually, I could barely stomach the thought of it. Another semester by myself in the pouring rains of Maine was better than being the only person in the small town of Oldham, West Virginia who dreamt of a life with whales and sharks and jellyfish, but the real world couldn't be taught in a classroom. It had to be lived.

For once, I wasn't a complete outsider, and as someone who valued accord, I finally found something worth my time. I found some people who understood even a small part of me.

"Let's go see what Toby wants, then," Logan said, and he picked up his notebook and pen. "Come on, Rea."

I transfixed my vision on the waves rolling in. "I don't want to go."

"Well, you have to. I'm sure everyone else is waiting for us back at the house."

He was probably right, and the last thing I wanted to be was inconsiderate and rude, but my legs didn't want to move. They didn't even want to try.

I couldn't even fathom having something to live for away from the ocean. I had made it through seventeen years making up a purpose for myself, but now that I knew better, my purpose was to act for those who only spoke whale (Dory included).

Logan waited beside me for a few moments, his stature hunched to fit under the ceiling, but when he realized I meant my words, he took the seat next to me once again.

"You mad at me?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Not at all. It's not your fault you have better places to be."

"I'm not sure if you meant that to be as passive-aggressive as it sounded, but I don't really have anywhere better to be. Other places, yeah, but nowhere better."

I didn't mean it passive-aggressively at all, but I didn't acknowledge that comment either way. Instead, I kept my gaze on the ocean.

"This isn't the worst idea ever. At least you keep it interesting. And Jia. That girl is a wildcard," Logan continued.

I smiled. "Yeah, she is. I never know what she's going to do, but it's never the wrong thing."

Jia was one reason why Paradise City was a better life for me. So were Logan, Brett, and Carter, and Toby, Nastasya, and Robbie. And occasionally Darrell.

I looked down at our feet, then up to his face.

And just like earlier, another pair of footsteps resonated through the hollow tower.

"For fuck's sake," Logan muttered, then rose his voice. "We're coming."

"Okay, sorry," Carter's voice replied.

I bit down on my lip. "Aw, don't be mean to Carter. He doesn't deserve that."

"I didn't know it was him. Sorry, Carter," Logan called after Carter's retreating creaks, and now that my legs were willing to cooperate, the two of us headed back to the house.

------------------------------------------------------

Hey! You! Thank you for reading!

So, to update you on my New Year's resolution: it is on hold. I have injured myself while running. But I ate a vegetable yesterday, so I'm still killing it in that department. And I knitted myself a nice hat, so I'll be warm now that Ohio decided that it's winter.

This chapter's on the shorter side (it was longer, but it would be too long if I changed my stopping point), so what do you think Toby could possibly have in store for his children?