Night at the Aquarium | Teen Ink

Night at the Aquarium

May 19, 2023
By Anonymous


It was a late Friday evening, and Police Detective interns Olivia Johnson and James had a very eventful day. They had been working on a case for months and finally had a breakthrough. 

" Good work Olivia and James. I will take care of the paperwork from here, you are dismissed." The police chief stated, as he picked up the case file. Olivia was about to walk through the door but was halted by James, who stood in front of her. His stern expression slowly morphed into a goofy grin, which always made Olivia smile.

" Did you have any plans for the rest of the evening?" He asked, looking at Olivia.

" No not really, I don't think I'm going to do anything." Olivia replied, shifting her eyes up to meet his. He was taller than her, which was another thing Olivia liked about him.

" In that case, I heard there was a new aquarium that opened nearby. And if you didn't catch on, we are going." James remarked.

" If you're wondering I don't- " Olivia answered as James took her hand and dragged her to the parking lot.

" Please no 80's music. Olivia please." James whined, as Olivia made herself comfortable in the car and reached for the radio.

" It was your idea to take me to the aquarium. I choose the music, and today feels like an 80’s music day." Olivia simply replied, and James started the car. They drove to the aquarium and waited in line for tickets.

Olivia enjoyed seeing James out of work, which was quite odd. The first time James and Olivia got partnered up to work together was very entertaining. The two would bark at each other like dogs, to later apologize and yell again. It was a never ending cycle but somewhere in the middle they seemed to have found a balance. Whatever it was, led to a great relationship. They always had each other’s backs and never failed to make each other smile. What more can someone ask for from someone?

" I can't believe that line was 20 minutes long. That ticket holder simply does not seem to understand the pain of waiting." James commented when they finally got inside the aquarium. Olivia nodded her head in agreement. The aquarium was decorated well for it's opening night and was very colorful. As she looked around, Olivia's eyes immediately lit up when she saw a donuts stand.

" We. Are. Getting. Donuts. Last one there pays." Olivia yelled as she started running with James sprinting in front of her. 

“ I win. Get your wallet out Ms.Johnson.” James laughed.

“ Get your wallet out Ms.Johnson.” Olivia mimicked James, as she rolled her eyes and got her purse out. Olivia’s phone rang and it was her friend Megan. She moved away from the busy crowd to speak to her.

“ Hey Olivia! Nothing important, I just need the answer to a question. Are you out with your boyfriend again?” Megan bantered.

“ I am at the new aquarium with James. To clarify for the fifth time this week, no he is not my boyfriend. I have accepted that he just see's me as a friend, and I don't really see him ever asking in the future.” Olivia calmly responded.

“ Olivia it's more than obvious he likes you. Why would he spend so much time with you then?” Megan continued.

“ Good night Megan.” Olivia declared as she ended the call with her friend Megan.

Olivia loved him, but as a friend right? Each moment she spent with James in or out of work was always interesting. And she couldn’t imagine a world without him. She loved his smile and his eyes and his personality. While she chooses to avoid thinking about these types of things, the possibilities of what their relationship could be are always in the back of Olivia’s mind. But she couldn't risk losing what they have together now. At that moment someone tapped her shoulder which caught her by complete surprise. She let out a small shriek and turned around to see James laughing.

“ Looks like someone was in deep thought. Here are your donuts. ” James exclaimed as he handed the donuts. Olivia began to stuff the donut holes in her mouth and received some concerned looks from some people walking beside her.

“ What was the phone call about? Probably talking about me huh?” he joked and Olivia started aggressively coughing.

“ Uh, it was about this thing…Not you. I meant we were not talking about you.” Olivia mustered, and she observed James' skeptical expression. What if he heard her conversation on the phone? 

“ As interesting as that sounds, I was thinking we should go to the petting area. Some kids were talking about how they got to pet glowing jellyfish. I have never been that close to a jellyfish before. Nonetheless a glowing one.” James insisted and Olivia had no other choice but to agree.

While they were on their way to the petting zoo, Olivia began to wonder if there were any chances of him liking her. It's crossed her mind in the past but she assumed he would've done something by now if he did.  Another question came to mind. Was he dating anyone? She recalled when they first met, he was dating a girl from the forensics department. It's been a while since those two had broken up, and he hasn't mentioned anyone new. The thought of James being with someone else did not sit right with her. Olivia needed to know. After all, they are close and it wouldn’t be out of place to ask him.

“ Hey James, are you dating anyone? ” She questioned, looking away, trying to act as natural as possible.

“ That is quite random, why do you need to know?” He answered, raising an eyebrow.

“ Just a casual question...” She replied back.

“ So you know how I see you for the majority of my day? Around 5 hours during the internship, and maybe 3 hours after work to go somewhere. That is about 8 hours. I spend almost a third of the day with you.” James expressed, while using some very dramatic hand movements.

“ Yes, what about it?” Olivia asked, confused about what he was trying to get at. 

“ In those 8 hours, have I ever mentioned having a girlfriend? If I had one, I would be spending my evenings with her, ” He said, looking at Olivia. 

“ Ohh. If you don’t have a girlfriend, then do you like anyone, you know romantically?” She asked, praying that she doesn’t sound too desperate.

“ I’m not answering that. Right now my life goal is to find those glowing jellyfish.” James announced as he scanned the whole petting zoo. 

" I'm going to sit at the bench over there. " Olivia stated, as she sat down at a bench and watched James hastily walk around the petting zoo to find the jellyfish. 

She began thinking about her situation with James and came to the conclusion that she shouldn’t ignore her feelings for him. Olivia looked up to see James at the jellyfish zone and smiled to herself.

After a solid five minutes, he came back to Olivia and stood in front of her with a very peaceful and contented look on his face.  

“ James?” Olivia asked.

“ Those jellyfish were so beautiful. Really soft too. And were actually glowing. My life is complete.” James admitted, and Olivia stood up from her seat.

“ As for your question earlier, I do like a girl. Love her, actually.” James spoke, as Olivia’s face fell. He liked someone.

“ Oh, that sounds nice. Whoever it is, she is lucky,.” Olivia said as she shifted her eyes down at the ground.

“ You know you should spend more time with her.” She added, moving her eyes again to look up at him.

“I do. I'm with her for a third of my day and I’m with her right now. ” James exclaimed as he stared into her eyes. Olivia’s heart never beat this fast. She couldn't believe it. She hugged James very tightly.

" I didn't know Olivia Johnson liked me that much." James joked with a smile. 

" If your wondering whether I am going to confess my feelings right now and tell you how much I love you, I will not. " Olivia responded, trying to hide her laugh.

" I didn't know she loved me either." James grinned, as Olivia laughed and the two spent the rest of the night walking and laughing with each other.



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