Corie the Fish

I come from a big pet family. Growing up, my sister and I always had a new animal, whether it was a hamster or a horse. Most importantly, I have always had dogs, and it is just recently, here at college, that I have experienced life without animals. The only pet we are allowed in the dorms are fish. So, naturally, about a month after I moved in, I bought a beta fish. Her name is Corie and she sits right next to my computer. She isn't very entertaining, and I am not particularly attached to her, but still, she's my fish. So when I asked my dad how I should bring her home for vacaction, and he laughed and told me he doubted she would still be alive, I was obviously a little upset. Talk about a lack of faith. It can't be too hard to keep these fish alive; betas are supposed to live for several years! So, after much planning, I decided to bring her home for Thanksgiving break and leave her there so that at Christmas, when I had a lot more luggage, I wouldn't have to worry about her. This is how I found myself, an 18 year old attending one of California's top ranked universities, sitting at my desk grinding a hole in a water bottle for 15minutes. My plan is to put her in the water bottle, put the water bottle in the cup holder, and bring her home. It will be interesting, to say the least. I am starting to see that freshman year of college is a year of firsts. First time living with a complete stranger, first time eating waffles at 11:00 at night, and first time transporting a fish in a water bottle.