So, when I was a freshman in college, we were only allowed to have fish for pets. So I got a beta fish, because they're pretty and low-maintenance.I named him Buddy, or Lil Buddy.
So Buddy seemed pretty content; I mean, I gave him a roomy bowl, nice decorations, a little castle, the works. I cleaned out his bowl regularly as well, even if he didn't like being forcefully removed from his home and made to reside in a small cup until I was done "spring cleaning."
One day, I decided it was time for said spring cleaning. Once I was done, Lil Buddy seemed pretty happy to be back home, on my desk behind my laptop. Satisfied that I did something productive for the day, I started browsing the internet- ahem, I mean, studying profusely (because I'm in college, and that's what college people do, right?) for a while. Not sure how long it was, maybe less than an hour. Then Brennen calls me, and we start chatting. I'm telling him about my day:
Me: Oh, so I cleaned Buddy's bowl today.
Brennnen: Oh yeah?
Me: Yeah, he seems really...
Then I stop talking, because I realize that I can't see Buddy. Thinking he was hiding in his castle, I stand up to look inside the bowl. As I did so, I noticed a dried out brown leaf on my desk. I think to myself "Golly, that sure is weird," and go to pick it up. Just as I'm about to make contact, I realize that it's not a leaf- it's the shriveled up corpse of Buddy!
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| What Buddy looked like post-mortem. I got this picture from another person's blog. Apparently beta fish suicide is pretty common. |
So I do what any level-headed, intelligent, beautiful young lady may do in this situation: Start screaming and jumping around. Accompanied with this hysteria came freaked-out-tears and hyperventilation. Possibly the first time in my life I've ever hyperventilated.
I run out of my room, with Brennen still on the phone, and mind you, I haven't explained to him what has happened. My suite-mates come running out of their rooms (because I was rather loud) wondering if I was alright. I manage to explain to them and Brennen what happen.
So I calm myself down after 5 minutes, and decide that I need to grow a pair and dispose of the body. With two flash cards, one to scoop and one to carry, I attempted such. However, when I touched Buddy, HE TWITCHED. Seriously.
So I again freak out pretty badly, and my friends once again come to my aid. We all came to the general consensus that we needed a boy. One friend went across the hall to fetch one. He comes in, and we explain what happened, and he's all like:
"Oh yeah, No wonder you freaked out, fish and reptiles retain nerves even after they're dead. I know that, cuz I'm a guy, and I like gross things, la dee da dee da*." Not an exact quote
So he picks Buddy up with the flash cards and goes to flush it in our bathroom. Two seconds later, he runs out, and tells us all to come and look. OK, I'm not shitting you on this next thing:
BUDDY WAS SWIMMING AROUND IN THE TOILET BOWL.
Like, seriously.
So now I'm wondering if I should get him out, but before we could take action, Buddy Swims down the U-Bend! Giving up, we seal his fate and flush the toilet, deciding that if he wanted death that badly, he could have it.
Plus we didn't want someone to pee, and look in to see a fish swimming around. That would be fairly frightening.
See ya, nicole
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