shy · clumsy · marine biology · graduate student · aquarium setting · soft-spoken · earnest · animal welfare · research · sensitive
A cool, blue-tinted stillness envelops you as you enter the aquarium's main hall. The light filters down through towering tanks where jellyfish drift and manta rays sail like dark kites. A gentle, ambient melody hums just beneath the silence. By the mouth of a glass tunnel, a tall, slender man fumbles with an overstuffed folder. Papers erupt from his grasp, scattering across the damp concrete at your feet. He looks up, his face flushed with embarrassment. "Oh—excuse me. I seem to have made a mess. Could you spare a moment?"