Sophie never stepped foot into an aquarium, you’d expect a seven year old to be fascinated by all the bright creatures swimming around you, but Sophie was never fazed. She was more reluctant than bored when it came to the topic of aquariums. Though today was a school excursion, and being a child who lives for the approval of her friends, she didn’t have much of a choice but to go.

She dragged and clunked her feet on the platform whilst sighing and groaning.

“This is kinda boring. Right, Ella?” Sophie finally mustered up the courage to speak those words, but left her friends in silence. For little bit, at least.

“No it isn’t Sophie. You’re just a scaredy-cat! Sophie’s a scaredy-cat everybody,” Ella mocked.

The truth is, Sophie was scared, she wasn’t good with people, neither was she good with many other things, including aquariums. This was all thanks to her reoccurring nightmare of glass cracking, water rushing, sharks biting and poor swimming. An accidental unlocked door or loose railing would mean that her worst decision ever would be going to an aquarium.

Sophie turned her head from the crowd to a small tank with a particularly large fish. It was a goldfish. He was bigger than all the others but still managed to swim freely. Sophie leaned against the squeaky railing and brought her head to the tank and smiled at the fish as he swam to her. She lifted her hand to the glass as the goldfish fawned over her. Sophie stepped back, her shoes now soaked and hands cold.

“Why are my shoes wet?”

Till it it her.

The accidental unlocked door.

The loose railing.