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❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ɢʀᴀɴᴅᴍᴀ ᴡᴀs ᴀ
ʀᴏʟʟɪɴɢ sᴛᴏɴᴇ ꒱


❝ AH, YOUNG LOVE ❞

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Juliet leaned against Cory's fence as her two best friends picked snails off of Mr. Feeny's plants. She'd told them that fish didn't eat snails but since she wasn't a 'voice of authority' as Cory had put it, they didn't listen. Mr. Matthews came out to join them. "Hey guys, collecting snails?"

"Yeah, Mr. Feeny said we could take 'em off his flowers and use them for bait when we all go fishing Sunday," Cory explained.

His father looked at the older man. "Fish don't eat snails."

"I love being right," Juliet said, earning eyerolls from the two boys.

Mr. Feeny gave him a smile. "Gee, guess I was mistaken."

"Well, whenever you guys are ready the bass master here is all set to pass on to the younger generation some of the finer points of casting," Mr. Matthews said.

Cory turned to their teacher. "Manipulating young, impressionable minds. I hope you're proud of yourself Mr. Feeny."

"Indeed I am Mr. Matthews."

"You were asking for it," Juliet told the boy.

"No one likes a know-it-all, Juliet," Cory answered sarcastically.

"Come on, guys," Mr. Matthews interrupted them. Shawn and Cory jumped back over the fence as the redhead walked up to the older man. "Now, the main thing to remember is that it's basically a simple flick of the wrist. You open the bail, hold the line with your finger and then it's two o'clock, ten o'clock."

He demonstrated only to catch one of Mr. Feeny's pots.

"Kind of a quarter after three thing you've got going on there huh, dad?" Cory asked.

"May a, uh, fellow angler try his luck?" Mr. Feeny asked.

The dark-haired man handed it to him. "Be my guest, George."

"Thank you," he said before he aimed and scored. He smiled at them. "It's like getting back on a bicycle. One never forgets."

"Mr. Feeny, you fish?" Cory asked.

"Oh, sure. I'm an old bass hog from way back," he answered. "I'll never forget that September morn in 1956. I was after a small-mouth bass in the Louisiana Delta—"

"Sounds fascinating, George," Mr. Matthews interrupted him.

Juliet frowned; she thought that Mr. Feeny was actually a good story teller.

"Spanish moss hanging down and Cypress knees jutting up through the brackish water of the bayou—"

"Sounds fascinating, George."

She looked at Mr. Matthews with wide eyes. "It does," the girl protested.

Mr. Feeny smiled at her. "And this is why you have potential." He pointed to the two boys and older man. "You three could learn from her."

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Don't encourage him, Julie. He'll think this is History class!"

🌎🌎🌎

Juliet and Shawn met Mr. Matthews at the docks. The man explained that Cory wasn't there because he had plans with his grandma but that the three of them could still go. The boat was older and weathered but well-built so it didn't leak. There was a strong, fishy smell and the nets and tools on the deck had obvious wear to them. As they climbed in, Mr. Matthews went first, then Shawn, who turned and offered his hand to the red-haired girl who took it gratefully. The boat rocked only slightly as she jumped down to the floor.

The three of them talked while Cory's dad motored them away from the shore. A faint, slightly salty breeze blew around the boat as the sun shone brightly down on them. With a bag of chips in her hand, Juliet couldn't help but smile. "I think being outside makes food taste better."

Shawn leaned over and stuck his hand in her bag to draw out a few chips. "And stealing from other people is even better."

"My chips," Juliet pouted as he stuck them in his mouth. He hesitated before he offered her his root beer. "Want some?"

Not worried about germs since she'd known him forever, the girl nodded and took the offered exchange. Mr. Matthews smiled at them. "Ah, young love."

She blushed. "We're not in love, Mr. Matthews. Shawn's my best friend."

"I'm in love," the boy agreed. "I've been trying to convince her since kindergarten."

"I'm guessing you haven't had any luck?"

He shook his head and Mr. Matthews gestured for the boy to come closer. Juliet watched as he whispered something in Shawn's ear that caused the boy's face to brighten in a smile before he nodded in agreement. "You're a genius, Mr. Matthews!"

He pulled away, still smiling happily.

"You gonna tell me what he said, Shawnie?"

"Nope. You'll find out."

Later, once they'd reached their fishing point, Mr. Matthews brought out the supplies. "Now remember what I taught you? Two o'clock, ten o'clock. Shawn, maybe you want to show Juliet just to remind her?"

The boy took the pole from him and handed it to the redhead. "Here, Julie. I can help you."

She was about to protest to say that she didn't need help, thank you very much. Just because she was the only girl didn't mean she was incapable— but stopped when Shawn's arms wrapped around her in a backwards hug as one of his hands overlapped hers to help demonstrate the swing of the fishing pole. Maybe help was okay sometimes.

They did several practice swings while Mr. Matthews gave them a secretive smile that neither noticed as he pretended to busy himself about the boat. Then, Juliet swung the pole for real and the waiting game began.

Almost half an hour later, a tug showed on the line and the redhead gave an excited squeal as she leapt up to take care of it. Carefully and slowly, she pulled the fish in to keep it on the hook. There was a little tug and jerk, then the line went slack. She slumped. "Oh."

Shawn jumped up beside her. "It's okay, Julie. We'll just try again. Want help casting?"

She nodded and they resumed their previous positions before sending the line out again. Another twenty minutes passed before there was movement, but this time Juliet was much more subdued and she hesitated as she looked at the line. Her best friend came to the rescue again. "Look, watch this."

He moved more quickly than she had but at a steadier pace to pull the hook and fish out of the water. Her mood brightened almost immediately as she laughed at the flopping fish while the line swung in front of her face. She gave a little yelp and jumped out of the way. "Shawn, be careful!"

The boy shot her a grin. "Sorry, somethin's a little fishy right now."

Juliet giggled. "Get in line, Shawnie. We're in for a boatload of fun."

Mr. Matthews carefully unhooked the fish and took care of it. "One for Shawn, zero for us. We've gotta get on the board, Juliet."

The redhead gave the line a doubtful look.

"You can do it, Julie. It's not hard," Shawn encouraged her.

She shook her head. "No thanks, I'll just watch."

The afternoon passed by quickly with Shawn eating most of the food and having the best luck with the fish. Juliet liked Mr. Matthews a lot; he was a great dad and didn't mind hanging out with his kids' friends— even if he did tease them a little more about being 'in love.'

"Alright guys, this is probably the last one," he said as the sun started to set. "It's going to get chilly so we should head back soon. Juliet, do you want to do the honors?"

"Oh, well—"

Shawn took the pole from Mr. Matthews and handed it to her. "We'll do it together. You can help me reel it in if you want."

She gave a hesitant nod and the boy took up his position behind her, following through with the motion once more. As the afternoon had drawn on, the fish had bit less so it took nearly forty minutes for the last one to be caught. When the line tugged, the dark-haired boy stood and pulled the redhead up with him so she didn't have a chance to back out.

Holding the line with one hand, he positioned himself behind her and guided her hand to the reel as his other clasped over hers. Together, they began pulling in the line at his usual pace and soon the fish was dangling in front of them.

Juliet gasped happily. "We did it!" Turning, she released the line in favor of throwing her arms around her best friend.

Mr. Matthews quickly took the pole from the boy to allow him to hug her back as he replied, "you did it, Julie. I was just helping."

Her head tilted up to look at him, her blue eyes almost silver in the fading light. "We did it," she insisted.

🌎🌎🌎

When they entered the Matthews' backyard, Juliet saw Eric. . . well, preoccupied with a girl on the other side of the fence.

"Nice night, huh?"

They separated quickly. "Yeah," Eric answered.

"Well, we're just passing through."

"Good, pass."

Juliet handed Mr. Matthews the tacklebox so he could go inside. Shawn nudged the older boy. "Eric, the lipmaster."

"Look, anybody else or are we done here?"

"Everyone have a good day without me?" Cory's voice sounded from above and they turned to see him in the treehouse.

Juliet rolled her eyes.

"How long have you been up there?" Eric asked.

"Long enough to see you swap spit with a Feeny," he answered.

"Well, I'd say the mood is officially killed, wouldn't you?"

"Dead and buried," the curly-haired girl agreed.

"I think my little sister's busy tomorrow so it'll just be you and me."

"I'll bring the pen."

The redhead frowned in confusion. Were they going to write an English paper?

"She's related to Feeny?" Mr. Matthews asked as he rejoined them.

"Niece."

"Nice."

"Nice? She's beautiful! She's the most incredible girl I've ever kissed!"

"Which puts her at what, two?" Cory asked.

"Look, making out isn't a spectator sport," Eric said, annoyed.

"Oooh," Mr. Matthews said as everyone clapped. Juliet rolled her eyes again.

"What are you doing back from Baltimore so early?" Cory's dad asked him.

"I didn't go to Baltimore," he answered. "'Cause I stayed here all day. 'Cause my grandma dumped me while my best friends were stealing my dad."

"Oh, grow up. We weren't stealing your dad," Shawn said.

"We gotta go, Shawnie," Juliet prompted him. "School night."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Good night, Shawn, Juliet."

"Night dad," they answered in unison as they smiled at each other. 

[edited apr. 2022]