My Nerdy Fairy Tale

I wrote this last year but, I still love it to this day!

My Nerdy Fairy Tale

 I have found the saying “birds of a feather flock together” to be completely and utterly true. James and I were dubbed “the class nerds” from the very first day of our Junior year. We were the only two kids that came in wearing white polo shirts, tube socks, and Khaki pants that were held up by spenders. Our clothing made for a good distraction from the real problem, our face. Both of us also had a pair of round, thick, black rimmed glasses that had white athletic tape on the bridge. A face full of ache and braces completed the “dork” look. 

Like most nerd, James and I were very smart and totally devoted to our studies. Honor roll, A+ report cards, science fair... the whole enchilada. Marine Biology was our thing. We lived, breathed, and ate marine biology. Every single day that we weren’t in school we were at the beach. We would wade in the crystal clear blue water of the Florida Keys looking for any signs of life. Wether it be a plankton, like a jellyfish, or a Nekton, like a stingray, we loved it all. Not only were fascinated with the ocean itself but, we loved the shore. After a little digging we were sure to find some infaunas hidden in the sand like clams, whelks, and sometimes phoronid worms. 

We spent nearly every waking moment together. The inevitable was bound to happen. We fell in love. Sweet, pure, innocent, nerd love. After all, we were perhaps the only people who understood each other. When I would pull out my magnifying glass, instead of asking why I even had one of those in my purse, he would simply says “great idea” and from his pocket he would pull out one of his own. 

On school days, we would write notes to each other but, not in class of course. We left them in the other’s locker. And in between classes I would run to mine, open it up, and joyously read the note that was left inside. Who knew that ordinary collage ruled paper could make my heart skip a beat. Each and every note had a reference to marine biology. On day after pre-calculus I found a note that read, “Your love is keeping me buoyant in the oceans of life.” I had a smile on my face the rest of the day. My absolute favorite note I ever got said, “Our love, which at first was only the size of a mere picoplankton, has now grown so large that scientists are baffled at this occurrence, after thought and further examination they had declared our love to have gigantism.” 

On our first anniversary I got James a brand new microscope that on the side had engraved in blue letter “Just like the process of upwelling you have brought feelings of love to the surface of my very being. I love you deeper than the ocean! Happy anniversary.” Even after graduation, we were inseparable, like epifauna. We both attended Miami University and planned to majored in, what else, Marine Biology. 

Two weeks before graduation James and I travelled up to Jacksonville to visit my family. James only came along because I didn’t want to drive all that way, there and back, by myself, or at least that’s what I thought. After a lovely evening and intellectual conversation at Ruth Chris, James took me for a walk on the beach. At some point he stopped, took me hard, and stared straight into my eyes. Then in one swift motion he got down on one knee and began to speak.

“Just like the continental shelf is the beginning of a long slope toward the deep depths of the ocean. The first time I saw you through my spectacles it send me on a path towards the deep depths of love. You are my photophore in this dark world. You love me just for me, suspenders and all. Would you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?” And without another word he opened the little velvet blue box that held the ring. Any ring would have done but, he went above and beyond. A three carat diamond ring in a platinum setting. The stone was flanked by two perfect pearl. The jewels of the sea

Vocab:

Plankton - Marine organisms that cannot swim strongly enough to move against the ocean current

Nekton - Marine organisms that swim strongly enough to move against the ocean current

Infauna - Organisms that live under the sediments of an ecosystem. 

Buoyancy (buoyant) - To stay afloat 

Picoplankton - A tiny organism 

Gigantism - A situation in which an organism grows to an extreme size 

Upwelling - The process that carries colder, nutrient-rick water upward to a more shallow depth

Epifauna - Benthic animals that move about the surface of the sea bottom or are firmly attached to it

I know this is from chapter 9 but, I just wanted to let you know that I am retaining information :)

Continental Shelf - A gently sloping area, beginning at the point near land, just below the low-tide mark. 

 Deep Ocean - Where light is not abundant. Located below the mesopelagic and extends down to the ocean floor 

Photophores - Organs that produce light.