Just Add Water!

I saw Derek freeze at the doorway, his mouth open and his brow wrinkled.

"What in God's name is that?" he asked, his voice rising steadily. I knew this moment was inevitable, but I hadn't quite planned a response.

The reason for my curious purchase was embarrassingly simple and nae.

"Water-Mites," I explained, "I saw them advertised in this comic book I picked up a while back." My roommate's only response was to look angrier.

I knew I was in deep, but I continued anyway.

"They're these--creatures--that come to life when you pour water on them. Derek, they're amazing. Come look!"

He regained his locomotion and slowly approached me and my tank. When he stopped glaring wordlessly at me, he leaned down and looked at the Water-Mites, who were swimming in and out of coral structures. Then he drew himself up and stared at me again.

"You spent how much on this?"

I was also unprepared for this.

"Thirty dollars," I told him quietly. My roommate blinked slowly before speaking.

"You owe me sixty bucks and you're spending it on this junk? These shrimp?" He cornered me, and I was compelled to placate him.

"They're not shrimp, I swear! They're very advanced creatures! Look closely; they're creating things!"

He seemed not to have heard me.

"Where did you get this tank? Where's my goldfish?"

I threw up my palms.

"Your goldfish is still in your room. My mom gave me her old one."

He stormed off into his room and, after he'd surely confirmed my claim, came back into the living room. I glanced at my tank. There was something I hadn't seen stirring among the Water-Mites. I examined it more closely. It came even as a shock to me (after all, I'd read the printed promises) to see a small object that resembled a submarine with a silvery hull and green windows.

Derek had been talking.

"--end of the month or I'm kicking you out. Get a new job or ask for some more money from your mom. I'm not dealing with this anymore."

"Derek!" I protested, "Look!" I tapped maniacally on the tank's wall. But when he stopped to look, the submarine was gone. He gave me another hard look and shook his head. He went back to his room, slammed the door shut, and cranked up some heavy metal.

I'd scared them off. Part of me knew that, no matter what Derek saw, he wouldn't accept it as any proof of the Water-Mites' intelligence. He might even write off the submarine as just being a little battery-powered toy that came with the creatures and coral. I decided to film their progress, starting the next day. I retired to my room, put on the earplugs necessary for sleeping near a chronic music-blaster, and dozed off.

I awoke to my roommate shaking my mattress violently with his foot.

"Your mom called. Remember what I said."

I called my mom back. I posed to her the question of borrowing money; she agreed and told me it'd been the reason for her call. Sometimes I wondered how I'd ended up with a mother so charitable. It only cost me the respect commonly bestowed upon adults; I was always her baby.

I'd almost forgotten the Water-Mites. The tiny creatures (who, by the way, looked less like mites and more like miniature merpeople) had converted the coral to buildings! Now there were smaller vessels floating around. I pulled out my camera and began to record, but Derek snatched it out of my hands.

"What'd she say?" he demanded. I was momentarily stunned.

"Y-yeah, she said she would. But look at them!" This time, I made a more contained pointing gesture at the tank. He only glanced at it.

"B.S.," he mumbled, "That was there before." I'd correctly predicted his reaction. I sighed.

I found my mind drifting back to a time when Derek and I had been good friends. My being fired for perceived rudeness and my lack of job-seeking behavior had alienated him. Also, he knew his ex-girlfriend, oft-lamented, had a crush on me, though I never pursued a relationship with her.

Nevertheless, I recorded. How had the world missed a species like this? How had I known that the ad in the comic book hadn't been another lie? Should I share them with people beyond my apartment? Or would they be as stubbornly skeptical as Derek?

The Water-Mites' technology advanced within the span of mere hours. My phone had missed some of their leaps and bounds due to its need to be recharged. An odd feeling began to creep up on me--not quite fear, but a certain anxiety--one that the Water-Mites would find a way to escape the tank in a machine made for movement outside of water. But I buried it.

In the meantime, I watched as serpentine maritime buses swam around the buildings, both vehicles having bright green windows. I wondered how they could've gotten the fuel necessary for all of this.

My phone rang, interrupting my observations. I shut off the camera and answered.

"Mark?" a feminine voice asked. It was Jodie--Derek's ex.

"Um, hi," I said, "I can't, uh...talk right now."

"Oh, I know you're not busy," she said, "Heard you got fired. You want to talk about it?"

"Um...no, not really. Maybe later."

She began to talk again, but I hung up. Someone behind me cleared his throat.

Derek was crossing his arms and glaring again.

"Derek, I told her--"

"Maybe later?' Yeah, O.K. Go get the mail while I decide whether to knock your block off."

I did as I was told. I reflected. I didn't even like Jodie and she'd just threatened my safety. I brought up a stack of bills and coupons.

Then I saw it. The Water-Mites' buildings were ruined, as were the machines, which now rested static at the bottom. The creatures themselves were nowhere in sight. Instead, a goldfish dominated the tank.

I wanted to hurt Derek, but knew I couldn't. I knew that anything confrontational would result in my ejection. I looked closely at the goldfish. I was surprised to see the fish's eyes suddenly grow green, and two metallic legs emerge from each side.