Prologue:

Two girls recently got stranded on the island in the middle of Pyramid Lake, which, as locals know quite well, is banned to the public. They declined interviews, saying that they, a seventh-grader who is starting middle school and a college freshman at UNR were just wanting to go for a short, recreational boat ride around eleven yesterday morning when they got tired of paddling their canoe and stopped at the island to rest. They were rescued by a passing speedboat around two in the afternoon. They did do an interview with the University's newspaper, the Sagebrush. It will appear in tomorrow's edition.

"Geez, all that over two girls going to an island? Who would have thought we'd be famous?"

"I don't know Lara. But whatever happens, don't mention that cave. I have a bad feeling about it." With those words, the two girls both remembered the events from the day before- the way that they had suddenly gotten tired when they were really close to the island, the fact that the cell reception had just disappeared within fifty feet of the shore, how they had walked into a cave that was a brilliant green, almost as though the walls were lined with peridots or emeralds. The way that the pool in there had looked so inviting, just begging them to come rest in it. So they did. The water began bubbling, and the cave was suddenly brightly white when the sun came overhead. Both girls looked up at the walls, which were very high and far away from them. Little pink bubbles appeared around the girls, filling the cave. When the sun no was within a couple degrees of being lined up with the cave, the bubbling stopped. Both girls climbed out of the pool.

"Well, that was weird. Wasn't it, Erin?"

"Yeah. Well, we'd better go. I don't want to be late to my first day of summer classes."

"Ok." Lara stood up and went to put her glass in the sink. Their cat, La-a (pronounced "La dash a") ran in front of her, causing Lara to trip over the cat, spilling the remaining milk in her glass. "La-a! What was that for?"

"Meow." The cat went over and drank the milk off the ground.

"No! You will get really gross if you drink that! I'll clean it up!" Lara went and got a paper towel and wet it in the sink. She then picked up the paper towel, and bent down to wipe up the mess. She suddenly turned transparent for less than half a second.

She looked down and screamed. Erin looked up from the book she was reading, and screamed as well. Luckily, neither parent was home- they had bought the girls a condo that was close to the University, and that was where they were staying.

The cause for the screaming was obvious enough- Lara had grown a light pink tail, which was so light it was almost white, but still would be identified as being pink by any sane person. Her shirt had disappeared, and in its place was a top, almost like a bikini top, made out of scales of the same sort. Her hair, which she would always wear straightened and pulled back in a ponytail, was curly and hanging down around her face. La-a meowed and began licking Lara's tail.

"Here, I'll get it. What happened, anyways?"

"I don't know... Maybe you shouldn't get it cleaned up. It can't do me much more harm to clean it up as I am now, right? If it's genetic or something, you'll be like me."

"Yeah, I guess. But I wonder if it is genetic... Or if it's a freak accident of some sort... Let's see... What did we do yesterday out of the ordinary, that nobody ever really does?"

"We went to that island... And then that happened... That might be it!"

"Yeah... Well, no time like the present to find out..." Just then there was a knock at the door. "Can you make it disappear?"

"I don't know... Can I have a towel?"

"Here. Hurry, try to dry yourself."

"It's not working! I just want to disappear!" With those words, Lara did disappear.

"Are you ok? I can't see you!"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"You just disappeared, that's why! Well, I need to go get the door. Try to get dry, and I'm sorry if it's someone from one of my classes- I have to go, I'm really late!" Erin opened the door to find herself face-to-face with her professor.

"I hope that screaming is not going to be a daily occurrence, young lady. I would hate to have to have you two girls evicted."

"No, I'm sorry, it was just a one-time occurrence. I was excited, you see, for my first day of college- I'm doing that summer college thing- and so we began screaming about it at the crack of dawn. I'm surprised it hadn't woken you before then."

"Oh. Well, next time, please keep quiet. I need to sleep to be able to teach bratty college freshmen biology courses."

"Oh, you teach that? That is what I am taking! I am really sorry to have disturbed you, but could it not have been for the better? We are supposed to be at the college five minutes ago- my sister and I were talking and I lost track of time. Please don't mark me late for my first day!"

"If you can get there before me, you will be marked on time. Now go!" It was obvious that she was trying not to laugh.

"Thank you! Bye, Lara! See you after class! Don't get into mischief, and no boys around besides Nathan! Behave yourself!"

"Okay! I won't."

Then Erin ran to the college campus, and made it into her seat just ten seconds before the teacher came in. For some reason, she was the only person in the classroom, and her seat had a water balloon on it. She sat down on the water balloon, not noticing it, and swore when she felt water soaking into her pants. At least it's just water- eek, water! What am I going to do? Maybe I should try to turn invisible, like Lara did back at the condo. Nope, not working. Hmm...

"Hello? Oh, you're he-" The professor had come in, and now she was staring at Erin's tail. "I've never properly introduced myself. My name is Grace Watsford, but all of my friends call me Gracie. You should do so as well."

"I'm Erin. You won't lock me up or anything, will you? I don't even know how this happened..."

"Well, have you gone anywhere strange recently- Australia or anything?"

"Not Australia, but I did go to that island on Pyramid Lake yesterday. Why?"

"What time was it? And what happened on that island?"

"It was about noon- I went into this cave on the island, and it has a hole in the roof. The few minutes that the sun shone in enough to make it bright, the water bubbled. I was in the water before that, and I was too tired to get out of the pool in the cave. It began to bubble and turned bright green, like the walls of the cave. Light pink bubbles, about the color of my tail, floated into the top of the cave, but they disappeared before leaving the opening. I don't think anyone else knows about the cave."

"Ok, so the bubbles were pink, you say? Not gold?"

"No, definitely not gold. Besides, I don't think anyone besides my- me has ever been there." Erin was not yet ready to tell that her sister was there with her in the water- that was Lara's decision, not hers. "Why do you ask?"

"I once was a mermaid as well- I had a golden-orange tail, though. I just was curious about why your tail is so different from how mine was. And you say you were alone?"

"My sister was in the cave, but she did not join me in the water. At least, I don't think so- the bubbles enamored me so much, distracted me so much that I would not have noticed someone else in the pool- and I almost feel as though I was hypnotized after I got into the cave- I can remember my actions, but they don't seem to have belonged to me, and I can't remember much else. Why?"

"Two of my friends and I were changed in a pool in Australia- of course, it was salt water- and so I was never alone. Also, we each had different powers. Do you have any new abilities, as of yesterday?"

"I don't know- what were some of yours?"

"Well, try first to make water move- here, this is a beaker of pure water. Do it this way" Then she showed Erin how to do each of the three powers she knew of. Erin could not do any of them. Gracie looked perplexed.

"Maybe you should just try different hand motions- be sure to keep your mind blank as you do this- and it will eventually come to you. It took one of my friends almost a month to figure out her power. It will come to you- just be careful around people."

Erin returned to her condo to find Lara and Nathan there waiting for her. He looked slightly shaky.

"What happened to you guys? What did you do to Nathan, Lara?"

"You guys never told me you two were part fish!"

"That's a- ah- new development. Like, as of today. So I take it you and Lara did something with water while I was out?"

"No- did you see all that rain? It came on sudden-like and I was caught outside in it. Before I could do my disappearing act, I changed in front of Nathan. And then I managed to get it together enough to disappear- after he picked me up. We both became invisible- it was obvious that we were, anyways, because everyone's eyes just kind of passed over us. We came here, and I told him all I knew. How was your day- did you phase fish at all?"

"Yep- exactly ten seconds before the professor came in, I sat on a water balloon. No one was there, except her. I tried to disappear, but it didn't work, and she saw me. Apparently every mermaid has a different power- she was a mermaid once, but it sounds like she's not anymore. I wish I knew what my power was- you have it so easy, you just disappear at will." Erin threw her hands up into the air in exasperation. "I just want to know my power! Is that too much to ask?" Out the window, it began to rain heavily. Erin's eyes widened. "Did I do that? Fat lot of good that'll do me, being able to create rain at will. Whoever came up with irony is probably laughing their heads off at this." Erin suddenly smiled. "But what if I'm immune to this rain? Then, if it looks like it is going to rain, I'll make it rain, and I'll be able to go to school still! This is fantastic!" She stuck her arm out the window. After ten seconds, she had still not changed. "Cool! Does it work for you, Lara?" After sticking her arm out the window and waiting, Lara nodded. Then a queer expression came across her face, and she licked one of the raindrops on her hand, sitting down as she did so. She spat out the water.

"It's salty- like the ocean! We are immune to salt water! Which means that our trip to Hawaii is still on! This is so cool!"

"No pool parties, though. Oh well..." Erin looked a little upset that her power would not allow her to hide. She shrugged. At least I won't be stuck inside on a rainy day- which is so rare here in Nevada, that someone could quite easily get suspicious. La-a came into the room, saw Nathan was there, and ran, as Nathan is the one who would trim her claws, and sometimes paint them as well, at the girls' request. She got up to wash her hands for dinner. She was still in the denial stage, so Lara was surprised that, when Erin wet her hands in the sink, she still did not grow a tail. Lara stood up, and then noticed that the water droplets that appeared to bead her skin really floated a teeny bit, almost imperceptibly, above her hands.

"Erin, I think you have another power- I don't think you even realize that you're doing it. Are you thinking at all about getting wet?"

"No. Why would I worry about that when I know I won't? Isn't it cool how my hands appear to be wet, but are really dry? I find it kind of cool." The next few years passed quietly, for the most part. Before long, Lara was going into college, and Erin had graduated and gotten a job in a lab.

The rest of the story will be from someone's point of view. I am not going to say whose point of view for each chapter, and I will put the location of the person, and have them write some identifying things, such as age or who their sibling is.

August 20, 2012

Reno, NV, University of Nevada, Reno!

Well, I'm finally here. Dear diary, I've never written these words before, but I do now- and I plan to continue to do so. You see, college is going to be very different from High School- which is different from Middle School in a different way. My sister, who has already come here and left, told me that. And she should know... Although getting a tail at the beginning of college probably complicated matters a bit more than my tail at the end of elementary school. She now lives in Western Washington- she works at a cancer research facility, as she has always hoped to do. Most days, she uses her power to make it rain. She said that one of the people in her lab, a woman named Cleo, is even more frightened of water than she is. She parks in the parking garage everyday, and wears gloves and goggles all the time in the lab, even during lunch, although it is not abnormal for people in that building to do so.

Last night, Nathan and I went out to dinner. He was so romantic- I think he will be popping the question soon; we've been going out so long! He has gotten over my secret, even helped me when I was sun struck- since then, every new moon has been rainy, thanks to Erin. Even from Washington, she's able to cover the sun on those days. I don't know what I'd do without her. She's gotten more control over her powers, and now can make it overcast, or just cover up the sun, or do something like that most of the new moons, although when she is sick, I pretend to be ill as well, as I don't know when or if she'll fall asleep and loose control, which will cause me to loose control.

One of Nathan's cousins is coming to town, with his fiancée. His name is Will, I think. Hers is Bella. They are from Australia. That's what Nay-Nay told me, anyways. He said that they are a cute couple, although a little strange- she's a non-competitive free-water swimmer, and he used to competitively deep dive. They now swim around together. When he said this, I mentally scratched off her being a mermaid- from what Erin told me, anyone who changes into a mermaid tends to not be able to control whether or not they change. We are the exception. We are also the exception on the color of tail- everyone else, apparently, has an orange-gold tail. They sound kind of ugly. But I must not judge. It's sort of unbecoming. Oh, Nathan's back! I wonder what he wants?

August 20, 2012

Seattle, Washington

A nice, dry ferryboat

Dear diary-

I know I told Emma and Rikki that I'd stop keeping a diary- for the tenth time. But they don't always listen to my problems, and by writing them down, I can sometimes find patterns in them. And, I definitely have a huge problem. I got my dream job- I get to work in a lab. My problem is, just about every day, it rains. Hard. The strange thing is, though, the rain is salty. I can feel it, thanks to my mermaidness. I can't tell why it's like that- I cannot come up with any explanation for it. Lewis can't figure it out, either. So I've just avoiding all water even more. I don't even swim home anymore. Also, I think one of the people in the lab, this girl named Erin, has figured out that something is different about me- but it's been ok, because she has covered for me when it's my turn to wash dishes- she waits until the lab is empty and then does them for me. I cannot figure out if she knows, or if she was a mermaid. She obviously is not one now- I've seen her park her car each morning, out in the outdoor parking lot, and she actually laughs when she feels the rain on her skin. I can see her practically every morning, laughing. I have no idea why she is like that- although it makes me jumpy, as well as being pretty close to certain that she was a mermaid, and gave it up. She has no boyfriend, no family in the area- the only family member she talks about is her sister, who goes to a university in Reno, Nevada. Once I asked about her parents. She said that to her, they were as good as dead, for all the love and support they gave her. She was quick to add that they did give her plenty of financial support, but she stopped taking it about a month ago, when she got this job, saying that she was sending it to her sister instead, so that she could have a life outside of school. Her sister sent a necklace to her a while back. The gem on it looks like a green version of the gem on mine. They are just as magnetic, if not more so, as the other blue ones- she took hers off to show me, and I sort of wandered around the lab, pretending that I was looking for a window so I could look through it, when I was really seeing if they were magnetic. I had to act quickly to keep them from hitting together when they were an arm's length apart. I don't want to cause a power outage, anyways. That would draw some notice to them. Erin came up behind me, and I told her that it looked so pretty with the sunlight streaming through it. She looked surprised when I asked her if she knew what type of stone it is. I added that I am an amateur geologist, and I find that kind of thing interesting. She replied that she did not know, and had not thought to ask her sister.

I wonder if Kim would do that for me. I know I wouldn't do that for her- she'd spend it all in one fell swoop.

Blue moon in about a week- I'm a little scared, I wasn't moonstruck last time, but I might be this time... That would really suck...

Erin is really young- probably a year or two older than me, but still comparatively young. Together, we halve the average age in our lab while bringing up the average IQ- she is a genius, and is earning her doctorate so that she can take over when the doctor in our lab retires. He's paying for it, because he knows that she will continue his research exactly as he wishes, even when he's gone. I don't think she will, but he can wish, or believe that, if he so wishes. I yearn to just jump off this boat, into the water, and to swim home, but that would arise suspicion when the boat docks, especially since I can't get myself back up. I hope Lewis comes here soon- there is a new opening in a lab on my floor, and he would help me to not go insane.

I also wonder what type of fish there are here. Lewis says that it is safe for me to swim, but I am not sure. What if I end up mutated from all the pollution in the Puget Sound? Anyways, I'm going to go now, because the boat is about to dock, and I need to get back to my car. I wish I could get more easily to my car without getting wet- I've had my windows as darkly tinted as legal, and manage to get in line for the ferry at just the right time every day so as to be within ten seconds of my car, for if the water splashes up. I also take the first and last ferries of the day, so as to cut down on the number of people who could possibly see me. Well, bye now!

August 20, 2012

Seattle, Washington

The beach

As I lay here on this beach, I wonder if I have my mermaid abilities underwater. I want to try it, but what if someone comes in time to see me dive into the water, and not come back up? I must find a house that is right on the Sound, so that I have my own private beach. I certainly have enough money- my parents found out that I am giving Lara all my money, so they have begun depositing money into my bank account, so much so that I cannot withdraw it all at once without them getting a notice. I will tell them that I want to buy a house by the water, so that I can have a nice view- my apartment is dank and dismal, my mother will understand at least.

I also worry about Lara, every single day that I am gone from her. I moved to Washington a while back, and then began work on my doctorate. I've already gotten it, but it took me such a short time that no one but my sister and my boss, as well as my parents, know that I am already technically Dr. Herold, not Ms. Herold. My parents do not care, Lara has told no one besides Nathan, and my boss pretends to pay for college for me. He knows that I may not continue all that he is working on right now, but he has promised me that he will cause everyone who was in the lab before me to retire before him, and make me his replacement.

There is a strange girl in my lab, Cleo. I think that she may be a saltwater mermaid- she is so scared of water, and I cannot come up with any reasonable explanation for it, other than that. Oh, reasonable explanation is that she is a mermaid! How I laugh at myself sometimes! I pretend to know nothing about mythology, other than what I was supposedly taught in college, but in reality I know quite a bit. I long to test out the freshwater mermaid myths- I found a Native American woman who was the daughter of the granddaughter of a mermaid, and she knew all of the myths of her people about them, because they were such a large part of her family's history. They did not have to keep what they were a secret- sure there were no mentions of them outside of her tribe, due to the fact that they did not want the other tribes coming to their mermaids for help, or to kill them out of spite or jealousy- but inside of her culture, they were important people. However, the State of Nevada bought their island and made it a natural preserve, banning people from going to it, thus killing off the mermaids. She had always hoped to meet a mermaid, and so I told her I was one, and showed her as well. She was ecstatic, because it meant that her culture was not wrong, and that the mermaids would not die away, because young women would still be called there if they were meant to become mermaids. I did not mention the saltwater mermaids to her, because that would mean telling a secret that I have no part in. I also did not mention my little sister, since one mermaid seemed to be enough for her. In return, she told me everything she knew about mermaids- for example, that they could get sun struck on a new moon. Since then, I have always hidden the sun from Lara, although sometimes I forget to do so for myself. If Cleo is a mermaid, then I will make sure to hide the sun from her as well- after all, we should be nice to each other.

I wonder sometimes if Nathan wishes that he could be a merman. I hope, for his sake, that he does not try. There have been very few men who have survived becoming mermen, none in the last 2000 years. So either the gene is gone, as the Y chromosome is disappearing, after all, or we are way overdue for a merman. I really hope, if Nathan does try to become a merman, that it is the latter. According to the Native American woman, the mermen all had green tails, the same color as that of the cave of the sun pool. On full moons, Lara and I sometimes go to Pyramid Lake and swim around, going into the cave through an aquatic entrance. Lara went the last full moon without me, and found a small crystal for me that had fallen off from seismic activity in the area. She said that she had found one as well, and made them into matching necklaces. She sent me mine in the mail, overnight express (that must have cost her an arm and a leg!), and I got it the next day at work. I waited until I got home to open it up, but then I wore it the next day. Cleo seemed really interested in the necklace. I noticed that she has a blue one that is similar, although not quite the same. I am sure that she is a saltwater mermaid, almost 100% sure. Maybe I should try to catch her as a mermaid, alone, of course, and then tell her my secret. But first, I shall find my house on the Sound.

At least it's almost an entire month to the next new moon.

August 20, 2012

Study Hall in the LLC for Science

This is not a diary- it is a manly journal. Although I don't feel very manly right now- Lara, my girlfriend, is stronger than I am, and more easily able to keep her secret, for all that it is her secret. And if she gets the tiniest bit wet, she'll be showing it to the whole world. Or anyone present, that is. It is bad enough when it rains- she has to make herself invisible, then I carry her around campus in a golf cart, which I bought from a golf course. I pretend like it has too much weight on it, from my textbooks. We figured out how to make it so that, unless it is really windy, the water that comes in is completely salt water. That helps- then she is not invisible, and I'm not the mean guy who won't let people take a ride in my golf cart, because I'm suddenly the really nice guy who drives his girlfriend around campus. Sometimes when it is raining, she lets herself become a mermaid, then covers herself with a blanket or towel, which dries her off enough so that she can go around campus visibly, but that is only when it is sort of late or early, and few people are about. I sort of wish that I were a merman with her sister's powers. I know that I promised both girls that I wouldn't ever go anywhere near the island on a new moon, but I feel it calling to me. Even on non-new moons, I can still feel it. I can tell you exactly what way I am facing, the exact number of nautical miles from the island that I am, the exact distance from the island I am in miles, kilometers, meters, nanometers, you name it, I can tell you the exact distance, down to the trillionth of that unit (further if it is in meters or larger). I could even tell you how many moles of any element there are separating me from it at any given moment. That is how much it is calling me. I know that I am meant to be a merman, but how will I ever explain it to either of the Herold girls? I am in love with one of them, and the other one is like an older sister to me. Heck, the one I am in love with is like a slightly younger sister to me- yet I am still in love with her, in a very romantic way. I know, and she knows, that we are meant to be together forever- even though we have never dated anyone else, neither of us, ever.

I think that I will surprise her with a long weekend the next time a break and the new moon coincide- of course, I will have to work it out with Erin, and just tell her that Lara misses her, and tell her I am behind in something. Their parents will gladly pay for the trip, and I will have no mermaids breathing down my neck, keeping me from the sun pool. And, if Lara is with Erin, then Erin won't block the sun from shining. I wonder if I can get sun struck as a human, and then say that that is what happened?

And I'll have to find something for Will and Bella to do while I do that- maybe they would enjoy a day where they get to use my car. They got in tonight, and already I see that they are soul mates, much like Lara and I- and no, I do not mean that in any sort of pompous way. I mean it in the nicest of ways. Now all I have to do is get Erin to open up to someone enough to tell them her secret, and they'll eventually get married, and she'll be happy. I wish Michael were still around- for the brief time that they dated, she seemed so happy, but she broke it off when she went to college and he left for -wait- for Washington State, and Gonzaga! Yes! Now I just need to have a chance meeting between them happen- maybe he'd agree to it. He's my best friend, besides the girls, almost like a brother, or at least, he was back then. If I can get back in touch with him, he may still be in love with her, and be willing to have a date with her. I'll warn him that she's changed a little, but nothing big or too fishy (hehe, that would make her mad if she ever found out I told him that... And I'll need to make sure that Lara doesn't look at my emails during that time- easier said than done, although I do need to get an engagement ring for her, I'll just tell her that I don't want her to see the correspondence about it)

Yes, I need to propose. But when, and how?

Possible ways to propose to Lara:

1) Show her this list- nah, not romantic enough...

2) Hide the ring in her favorite bra- easy enough to do, but again, not romantic- in fact, borderline creeper-ish

3) Get down on one knee, like a man, and propose after a fancy dinner at Zozo's

4) Basketball game big screen

5) At the airport after she gets back from Seattle- say that while she was gone, I realized how much I missed her- yeah, that'll work well!

After quite a bit of time thinking about this- when I really should have been working on homework- I've decided to do 5. It's not as cliché as 3, and not as pressuring as 4, but yet also romantic. I think that I'll tell Erin as well, and then have her come to town with Lara- besides, if I become a merman then, then I'd sort of like to tell her in person, not over video chat or the phone, when anyone could listen in and hear. And a nice quiet room with sound proof walls, like my dorm is not, but the music room, which I can get into at any time, the professor loves me, is, and therefore is a safe place for me to tell her. And Lara. Of course, I'll drop hints to them, but never much more than a hint- for example, "do you want fish or chicken at our wedding?", or "nothing really fishy has been going on here.", or even "It's been really dry lately- that's kind of cool, right?" probably will get them guessing what happened. They shouldn't be too mad, not if I tell them that I was sun struck. They'll probably understand- they know that the sun pool calls to me, and strongly at that. I wonder if I'll lose that sixth sense- I sort of find it useful, although it is also very annoying, as then I cannot pretend to be lost, or get lost, which is something that I'd like to experience sometime. I've had this sense since I found out the girls were mermaids- since before I could drive, or even was allowed to go anywhere on my bike alone. So I'll try to get sun struck. I'm emailing Erin right now- I am so excited, and I'm really lucky, because the 16th of September is a Sunday- so I'll be able to turn at the next new moon- only problem is that it is a whole month away! Oh well, now time to carry out my plan... And they say most guys don't plan like this! Well, I do- and I'm also a human GPS.

Thank you for reading this- I hope to have one or two journal entries per chapter. This is chapter one combined with the prologue, which, yeah, I know, is a little off topic from all of the rest of it, but it's for good reason- it gave you guys some sort of crucial information, didn't it?

Oh yes, and before I forget:

I do not own H2O. I happen to have a couple of OC's in this story, whom I do own, and the OOC moments with the H2O characters are, again, all my thinking. I probably never will own H2O, unless something amazing happens to me, such as winning the lottery.

Also, I do not live in Seattle or Reno- I happen to have gotten the chance to tour University of Nevada, Reno Campus, recently, and I personally think it is a beautiful campus, which is why my characters are from there. My inspiration for the whole story was actually from Reno- as we were flying in, I saw a lake, which I found out was called Pyramid Lake. It does have an island on it, and as close to what I found out about it, it is a sanctuary. I know nothing about the local Native Americans, nor do I pretend to- what I wrote was purely imagination.

Again, I do not own any of the locations, I have only had the pleasure of seeing them a couple of times, and only some of them at that. I describe Seattle from memory only- no maps, because, although I do not live there, I have been there a reasonable number of times, and I do have friends who live there whom I visit. I know the area, sort of, and therefore have been as accurate as possible- again, I do not own anything in Seattle, although there are many things that I would like to.

Thanks again for reading!