DAY ONE
“Aaah! My eyes! They burn… ” I said. The waves crashed, causing me to fall asleep. But soon enough, one hour later, I was bought! I was finally going to be free at a gigantic house!
“Mom, can I get this crab? The young, blue shelled one so that he lasts long!” said my owner, Lucas.
“Sure, Lucas,” said my owner’s mom. “Whatever you want.”
And at first sight, I saw in his eyes that he was going to love and cherish me for all of my life. But right after he bought me, we had to go in this scary piece of metal that went so fast! And it was so fast, I almost got sick! It had all these bags and coolers in the very back, and that’s where my owner was sitting, all alone! And the worst part is that it took one hour and thirty minutes until we finally stopped! And when we finally did, they left me in the piece of metal! Then finally, one hour later, they came back! But the same thing happened! So for two hours, I had to sit in an uncomfortable cage in an uncomfortable piece of metal that was fast. And I didn’t even get food. And then, we finally came to a stop. For good. That’s when I saw it. A gigantic house! Where were we? We definitely weren’t in Bethany Beach… so where were we?
“Buddy, we’re in Maryland! Chevy Chase!” I stared at him in despair. “Buddy, this is all the peace and quiet you need. Let’s go inside!” said my owner. “This is the office. This is where I sleep. This is also where you sleep. Let me show you my brother’s crab. You guys are gonna have a great time!” said my owner.
So, he showed me my “friend” as he called him. But he was so massive. We both hid from each other, and my owner and his brother started laughing. Humans were idiots sometimes.
“I’ll call you The Flash. You’re so fast,” said my owner.
So after, we went to sleep, but I couldn’t because my owner complained to his mom that I was making too much noise, so she put me in a scary room, and I was up all night.
DAY TWO
The next morning, Lucas’ mom wasn’t there to wake him up. His dad was. He fed me, but I didn’t like the smell of the food. So, I didn’t eat it. And then, he put me back in his room. And then he let me exercise for a few minutes, fed me, and then just left the house with his dad. Where did they go to that took so long? He was finally back with his grandma and his brother like… five hours later! Then finally, Lucas went to get me out of my cage and let me exercise. Lucas was a cool dude. I tried to speak to him, but his response was way out of topic.
When I said I needed water, he said, “Looks like you need exercise!”
And then once again, obviously, he brought in my brother’s crab like… two hours later, and he put my face in front of his face. We both ran. That crab was huge!!! I didn’t like him. That crab was annoying. He spoke too much and smelled. He said things about the World Cup, trying to bet me 50 bucks that England was going to win over and over again, and he sang soccer songs, and shouted, “HARRY KANE! HARRY KANE! HARRY KANE!” Take a shower, dude! I just ignored him, but I didn’t think he had any reason to ignore me… I was just a perfectly normal crab living a normal life. This time, Lucas didn’t get tucked in by his mom again. Where was she? So once again, I expected him to wake up in the middle of the night to my cage rattling and kick me from his room. But this time, he didn’t! So this time, I could finally get some sleep!
But I woke up to him in the middle of the night when he was moving in his bed while he was asleep… so I said, “Dude! Quiet!” and rattled my cage.
Then, all bad was released. Lucas woke up, angry. This time, he didn’t take me to his parents’ room. He took me to the basement. I couldn’t sleep all night. It was so dark…
DAY THREE
I was hungry. I hadn’t eaten in two days. The food was so gross. Seriously, Lucas? Just give me a banana. Lucas was worried for me.
He said to his dad, “Dad! The Flash hasn’t eaten his food in two days. I’m worried… ”
“Don’t worry. I’ll try to get Gabe to get The Flash to eat. It’s going to be fine,” said Lucas’ dad.
Lucas got ready for where he was going and played on his iPad for a bit until he had to go. My water sponge was out of water.
Then, when they were about to leave, Lucas checked my sponge and said to his dad, “Can I quickly give my crab water in his sponge?” and Lucas’ dad hit the wall really hard.
I started to get scared.
His dad screamed at Lucas and said, “YOU SHOULD’VE DONE THAT EARLIER!”
“Well, do you want my crab to die?” said Lucas.
“Sure. Let him die. I am going to kill him!” said his dad angrily.
I started to get so scared… I started crying. “I don’t wanna die!” I said.
But Lucas’ dad didn’t kill me. He didn’t even come upstairs. I calmed down. I stopped crying.
“You need to go to Writopia! I’m going to be late for a ten o’clock meeting in downtown D.C.!”
So that’s where he went every day! What’s Writopia? Well, at least I knew where he went every day. And then, they left. And I heard some shouting outside. So, I just sat and waited for Lucas to come back. When Lucas came back from Writopia, he finally took me out of the basement. He put me up one floor, which was much cosier. Then, he gave me a banana, which I did not eat, but I usually would. Then, he just watched some TV. He let me out of my cage while he was watching TV and let me exercise. I liked Lucas, but sometimes he was scary… like… his hands were colossal. So, as usual, I was expecting to have to go face-to-face with my mortal enemy, The Soccer Dude, and yes, that was what I called the one who shouted, “HARRY KANE! HARRY KANE! HARRY KANE!” all night long, and I was the only one who could hear it, but no. The happiest day of my life was today. God shined the light on me. Angels watched over me. I did not see The Soccer Dude today!!!
“HARRY KANE! HARRY KANE! HARRY KANE! HARRY KANE!”
DAY FOUR
The next morning, as usual, he gave me water and went on his iPad for a bit. No questions asked. And I still had a headache from The Soccer Dude shouting Harry Kane all night. Lucas left to Writopia, once again, and I was all alone with a madman singing “Ole.” When Lucas returned, I heard a calm, soothing voice. Apparently, his mom was here! Even I was surprised! One day she was not here, the next she was!
“Mom. Did you bring anything from your business trip?” said Lucas.
“No, sweetie. I’m sorry. Next time I will,” said Lucas’ mom.
“It’s okay, Mom. You didn’t have to,” said Lucas.
Okay. Business trip. So… where did she go for the business trip? So, Lucas just picked me up like it was nothing and held me in his hand. Okay. Imagine this. You have to sit in the palm of a sweaty hand in a hot room for two hours watching a piece of metal that has a screen that projects people kicking a ball and flopping on the floor. Plus, my mortal enemy (The Soccer Dude) was in Lucas’ brother’s hand, cheering for England. That’s what his definition of fun was. At the end of the game, The Soccer Dude wept. The Soccer Dude snapped his pinchers in the air. You see, that’s why I only did normal things that crabs do.
“WHYYY!!! England! Ye lost! How? It’s only Croatia!!! Come ON England ye worthless scrubs! Wahhhhhaahhaahaa,” wept The Soccer Dude.
“Oh, come on, dude! It’s only a game! What’s the meaning of people kicking a ball and flopping on the floor?” I say.
“You really don’t get it, do you?” said The Soccer Dude in a weepy voice. “This is the World Cup. It happens only every four years, and this is very rare! England is way better than nasty ol’ Croatia!” The Soccer Dude pinched me!
“Aaah!” I started to cry. “Lucas!!! Aaah!”
Lucas heard the pinch. He immediately came downstairs. He threw The Soccer Dude on the hard floor. The Soccer Dude was hurt. Yay! Then, he quickly sprinted to me.
“Are you okay?” said Lucas. I was bleeding. It hurt! I frowned.
“Mom!” said Lucas.
“Yes, Lucas?” said Lucas’ Mom.
“The Flash is bleeding!” said Lucas.
“Oh, no!” said Lucas’ Mom. “I’m coming right now!”
“We need to put a tiny piece of folded paint to stop the bleeding,” said Lucas.
“Good idea,” said Lucas’ Mom. She ran upstairs to get toilet paper and put it where I was bleeding. And it stopped after a while.
At night, The Soccer Dude finally stopped yelling “Harry Kane” and singing “Ole.” For the first time, I was not taken to the basement. Instead, I was taken to Lucas’ room where I had to boringly watch Lucas sleep for 11 hours. But still, I loved him. I was growing to be comfortable with this house. And that, my friends, was when I realized Lucas’ family would cherish and protect me forever.
Fin
Credits
Lucas Gebrekristose (story idea)
Rita Feinstein (comments/helping/correcting)
Ebony Adkins (comments/helping/correcting)
Marina Cooper (comments/helping/correcting)
Sofia Laguarda (comments/helping/correcting)
Special thanks to my family and my wonderful crab who hold and cherish me, knowing I will do the same for them.