Page 37 of Beautifully Complicated

He’s so engrossed he doesn’t even hear me approach or realize I’m peering over his shoulder like a creep until I exclaim, “What the hell is that?”

Aiden jolts, dropping the phone to the floor with a clatter. Since it lands near my foot, I pick it up, getting a closer look at the…fishon the screen.

“Breaking news!” the fish declares, then launches into a story about the upcoming election.

Aiden grabs the phone and silences it before I can fully comprehend what I’m seeing. His face is red as he pockets it and turns on the computer with a hurried, “Sorry.”

“What was that?” His flustered movements have my curiosity piqued.

“Just a news clip.”

“About what?”

“The democratic nominee picking a running mate.” His fingers fly over the keyboard, entering his password.

“When did that happen?” I ask.

“Just now.”

“But…” I debate whether to ask about what I thought I saw, and decide I need to know. “Wasn’t that a fish on your phone?”

“Yeah.” Even the back of his neck is red.

“So, it’s a parody?”

“No, it’s real.”

Just then my phone pings, and I see an Apple News notification that a running mate has been selected.

Now I’m really confused.

“Do you have some sort of goofy filter on your phone? Is that why the reporter looked like a fish?”

Aiden props his elbows on the desk and rests his head in his hands, talking to the keyboard rather than me. “It’s not a filter. It’s Real Talking Fish. He anchors Bikini Bottom News.”

I’ve never heard a more ridiculous string of words come from Aiden’s mouth. Positive I heard wrong; I parrot the sentence back to him. “Real Talking Fish anchors Bikini Bottom News.”

“Yeah.” He sighs dejectedly.

“I don’t understand.”

Aiden digs his phone from his pocket, taps the screen a few times, and hands it to me.

The fish on the screen booms, “Breaking News. Florida issues a state of emergency as Tropical Storm Bella threatens to make landfall.”

“What tropical storm?” I ask.

Aiden finally looks at me with an incredulous expression. “Don’t you pay attention to the weather? News of the storm is all over the place.”

“I uh, haven’t been following the news lately. It’s usually over by the time I get home and I’m asleep before the late news starts.”

Nothing says lame like admitting to the man you like that your pathetic life revolves around work.

“I don’t watch the news either. That’s why I follow this.” He nods at the phone I’m holding.

“But this is a fish.”

“He’s surprisingly informative.” Aiden’s brow wrinkles, as though even he’s shocked to admit that despite it being his phone I’m looking at.

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