have you seen the mock turtle? {lizzie}

[BYRON MOINA]

Byron Moina hated New york for the most part. The one time of year that it was okay was when the sea turtles came onto the beach to lay their eggs, and when the eggs hatched. He was part of an organization that helped save the baby turtles from getting lost and dying. It was the only time he felt really at home, when he was saving those young turtles. Any other time, he was too busy missing home to worry about much else.

Of course, there was the aquarium. Byron probably spent more time there than he did back at his dorm at Baum, whether he was working or not. Yeah, he spent enough time there that they offered him a job, and he took it. Well, job, internship, same difference. In fact, an internship was better so he could have more experience in marine biology, since that's what he wanted to do.

Byron was just sitting and staring up at the marine life above and around him. He was sitting in a bench in one of those tunnels that went under a huge aquatic display, and was probably his favorite part of the entire building. This was where he took his lunch breaks, seeing as they let food in here and even had a few tables scattered all around. Taking a bite of his veggie sandwich every once in a while, he was perfectly at peace here. In fact, he would probably have forgotten that he was in New York had it not been for the accents of the people walking by. Some of them weren't even really looking at the display, just hurrying their kids through so they could go home.

Ugh, he did not like people like that. But it wasn't like he was really going to get up and do anything about it. Byron wasn't one to start a fight, or interfere with a fight, or really fight back. Mostly because he didn't want to deal with the consequences, being a pretty strong guy, but mainly because he had simply forgotten how to fight. The last time he had been in one was back home, before the shark attack.

Thinking about home, Byron realized that it was pretty warm in the blue-tinted room, so he took his coat off, exposing the scar on his arm. He didn't really mind if anyone wanted to hear his story today.

OUTFIT

[LIZZIE SPENCER]

Lizzie loved New York for the most part. Sure, the weather sometimes bothered her and she’d been pick-pocketed a few times and some strangers reacted rudely to her kindness; none of that compared to everything else, though. She loved the people that enjoyed her quirkiness and she’d never had so much fun learning (about the city that was). Lizzie had decided to take a trip to Coney Island today; specifically, the aquarium. She’d been meaning to go for the past two weeks and hadn’t gotten around to it. Today, though, she’d made up her mind. Despite having quite a lot of homework, she was going to see all those different fish. (She’d left straight from school so she still had all her work in case she had some downtime to work on an essay).

There had been a small admission fee but Lizzie wasn’t going to let that stop her. Once she was in and had a brochure in hand, she was on her way. There were lots of things she wanted to look at but she knew she didn’t have much time. The family was having dinner tonight and she’d need to be there early. Any other time, Lizzie would be rather excited but today she just wanted to wander around the aquarium. Oh well, there wasn’t much she could do about it. Maybe she’d come another day with one of her sisters! Right now, though, she had to focus on where she was going and what she was looking for. The brochure had a map of sorts in it which she was sure would help in the long run.

It was after an hour and forty-two minutes of admiring that Lizzie decided she could use a rest. Her feet were hurting – the darn heels – and she’d become a bit hungry. Slowly wandering down a passage that was much like a tunnel, the walls and ceiling made of glass. She could see all of the marine life swimming above and around her and it was mesmerizing. Lizzie had never been one for hanging about alone, so she looked around for somebody approachable. Most people in New York came off as quite unapproachable.

However, there was a man who looked her age sitting on a bench not too far ahead. He was eating lunch and for a millisecond, Lizzie thought it might be rude to bother him, but then she was already making her way towards him. Without so much as a second thought, Lizzie sat beside him and crossed her her ankles. “Have you managed to find any turtles?” She asked casually, “I haven’t seen any yet.” It was a shame, really. She quite liked them. “I’m Lizzie, by the way.” Lizzie turned to face him and smiled, hoping he was one of the people who enjoyed her quirkiness.

outfit!