The Peacock and The Squirrel

There were two young boys, around the age of 13, who met each other on a popular Cruise line ship leaving from Alaska, traveling to California. One boy with dark curly hair and deep hazel eyes sat on a poolside chair sipping on a glass of apple juice. His name was Theus. He was wearing khaki pants, and a basic white t-shirt with some basic sneakers. He sat by the pool playing video games on his cell phone trying to figure out if his first Cruise trip was going to be any fun.

The other boy had strawberry blonde hair and greenish blue eyes. He was wandering around the ship looking out at the ocean to see if he could spot any marine animals. He had heard stories of dolphin coming to greet passengers and was hoping he could take a photograph of such an occurence. His name was Abuc. He finally reached the pool area, and saw Theus sitting by himself, so he walked over and sat in the seat next to Theus.

"Hi," Abuc greeted Theus who was pretending as if Abuc hadn't sat next to him. "I'm Abuc. Are you as bored as me?"

"I don't know how bored you are," Theus replied without looking up from his cell phone.

"Bored enough to talk to a stranger," Abuc told him, then noticed his apple juice. "Can I have a sip of your drink?"

Then Theus looked up into Abuc's face, irritated.

"No," he said with disdain, "Get your own."

Abuc looked around to see if one of the ship's servers were in sight, but they were not at the pool at this time.

"I'm thirsty," Abuc complained.

"So?" Theus said trying to focus on his game, but seeing that the conversation was distracting him. "The waitress will be around soon."

"Waitress?" Abuc said confused. He hadn't heard that word before.

"Or waiter," Theus said rolling his eyes thinking that Abuc was one of those sexist pronoun sticklers.

"Waiter?" Abuc said confused again, "What is that?"

Finally, Theus put his cellphone down and really paid attention to Abuc. He noticed that Abuc was wearing bright orange and blue pants with a silky green button down shirt and black sandals.

"You don't know what a waiter is?" Theus asked him in disbelief.

"No," Abuc confessed, "English is my second language."

"What's your first language?" Theus asked curiously.

"Spanish," Abuc told him, "Tu hablas espanol?"

"No," Theus replied rolling his eyes. "The person who will bring you something to drink is sometimes called a waiter."

"Oh!" Abuc said in understanding, "Thank you. New word for me."

"Are you from Spain, or Mexico, or Puerto Rico?" Theus asked.

"None of those. I was born in Cuba," Abuc told him.

"What were you doing in Alaska? Ice-fishing?" Theus laughed at his own joke, but Abuc didn't understand what was funny.

"My parents are marine biologists. They were doing some research and work in Alaska," Abuc explained. "Do you live in Alaska?"

"No," Theus said, "We just visit sometimes. My Uncle has a place in Anchorage."

"Where are you from?"

"Buffalo," Theus replied nonchalantly.

Abuc was confused as he imagined the animal, but he did not inquire further on the question.

"You and your family are traveling to California for vacation?" Abuc asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Something like that. My mom and I get to tag along as my dad meets with family and business people along the way." Theus told him.

Then Abuc noticed a server near the pool area and called out, "Waitress! Waitress!" and the server gave him a dirty look as she approached him.

"May I have a glass of juice?" Abuc asked her.

"What kind?" the server asked him. Abuc looked at Theus' drink and pointed to it, "That kind."

"Apple Juice," Theus told the server. She walked off.

"So you are American?" Abuc said to the other boy quite certain of his conclusion.

"Yeah," Theus agreed proudly and wasn't sure what to think of a Communist Cuban who looked like a poorly dressed Irish kid.

"Did you pick that outfit?" Theus asked like a spy trying to analyze his character.

"Yeah," Abuc said proudly, "You like it?"

"No," Theus told him honestly.

"Why not?"

"You look like a silly peacock," Theus said bluntly.

"Peacocks are beautiful," Abuc said dreamily and feeling flattered.

"Peacocks are stupid," Theus said astonished at their differences.

"Well, you look like a squirrel," Abuc told Theus commenting on his bland outfit.

"Squirrels are smarter than peacocks," Theus replied, but Abuc just shrugged as if he could not confirm that.

"Well, at least we can be friends and not sit alone on this trip," Abuc told Theus. "The peacock and the squirrel will not be lonely."

It was Theus' turn to shrug.

They sat quietly for awhile, and eventually the server returned with the apple juice for Abuc.

"Thank you," he told her, and she finally smiled at him.

"We don't drink much Apple Juice in Cuba," Abuc said to Theus.

"What do you drink?"

"Mostly coffee and milk and orange juice," Abuc explained.

"Do you like being a communist?" Theus couldn't hold it back.

"I guess," Abuc said wondering about it, "I've never been anything but Cuban, so I have no way to know if I'd like or dislike another way."

"Does your government tell you that Americans are evil Capitalists who are going to destroy the world?" Theus asked suspiciously.

"No," Abuc said stunned, "Are they?"

"I'm not," Theus said, then added, "What do they tell you about Americans?"

"That you are very rich and do not appreciate your wealth," Abuc said.

Theus was silenced for moment, considering how accurate that was.

"I guess your propaganda is different from ours," Theus concluded.

"Propaganda?" Abuc was confused by a new word.

"Yeah, I have no idea how to teach you the meaning of that word," Theus gave up quickly. "Don't worry about it. You seem alright. I'll hang out with you."

"The peacock and the squirrel," Abuc said and laughed.

"Really, you should try to look more like a squirrel if you want me to be comfortable around you," Theus said.

"I can do that," Abuc agreed, then looked at the swimming pool. "It's too cold now for swimming that pool. They should cover it up."

"Who knows," said Theus shrugging, "There may be some crazy Alaskin who thinks it's warm enough for a swim. It wouldn't surprise me."