Blanket Disclaimer: Not mine.

So. This will be a flash fiction collection. Happy reading.

Oceanography

Percy's eighth grade class is at the school library.

They're supposed to be learning how to use the reference tools or something, but Percy's English teacher is letting them roam the library instead.

"You'll learn best if you figure it out yourself," he said.

A room full of books is kind of useless when a kid is ADHD and dyslexic, so Percy wanders down the rows, not really looking at anything. That old book smell of dust and faded ink clings to the shelves. He can hear the soft shuffle of feet and faint giggling from some of the girls in his class a couple rows over.

His class will be here for at least another twenty minutes.

Percy sighs and drops his backpack on the floor, intending to follow it and just wait out the time until his eye catches something.

The shelves across from him are filled with glossy covers in shades of blues and greens. Schools of fish and coral reefs decorate the covers. He may not be able to read the titles, but it's clear he has stumbled upon the oceanography section.

Hesitantly, he pulls one down and thumbs through the pages.

There are days when Percy still isn't sure about his dad, but the book is pretty interesting. The pictures are cool, even if the words float around the page.

Before he realizes it, the twenty minutes have passed. Percy grabs his backpack and looks at the book in his hands before stuffing it under his arm.

He walks up to the librarian and scoots the book across the counter.

"I'd like to check this out, please."

I couldn't shake this image out of my head, so I thought I would share.