“Calamari”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: “Crispy calamari.” —suggested by Bob

“I don’t wanna!”

I let out a long sigh as Scout crosses his front two tentacles and pouts. Honestly, I thought that he’d be hungry by now; it’s already been over an hour since our last meal.

“Come on, it’s your favourite restaurant and everything,” I tell him. “That one near the oyster shack. It’s called Gone Fishing or something, right?”

I’ve got his attention now. He looks up at me, his tentacles relaxing. “Well, I do like the variety they have,” he says slowly. Just when I think he’s about to come with me, he stiffens and shakes his head. “No! I still don’t wanna go!”

Rolling my eyes, I swim over to him. “Come on, Scout, Mom’s going to be mad at me if you don’t come. Not you. Me!”

He shakes his head again and turns his back to me.

Suddenly, I get an idea. A wicked, cruel, genius idea.

“Hey, Scout,” I say casually, “did you know that up there, above the sea, there are creatures called humans that have their own restaurants too?”

“No,” he says slowly.

“Well, they do. And guess what?”

“What.”

“They eat lots of the same things that we do, like fish and shrimp.”

He turns slightly to look at me. “So?”

“Well,” I say, lowering my voice, “they also eat something else. They call it ‘calamari’.”

“So?” he repeats.

“Do you know what calamari is made of?” I ask.

He shakes his head vigorously.

“It’s made of… SQUID!”

I jump at him, tentacles raised, and he squeals and darts away to hide under the nearest rock.

“They… they do…?” he asks, trembling.

“Oh yes,” I say. “But you know what?”

“What?”

“The humans only hunt for specific types of squid.”

“What type of squid?”

“The ones who are naughty and don’t listen to their older siblings.”

He frowns slightly at that, but he slowly comes out of his hiding place. “Fine, I’ll come to the restaurant with you.

“Good,” I smirk, quite proud of my made-up horror story.

Final Comments: I love squid so much! They’re super cute. But also super yummy…

Overall Rating: 😅