So spin offish of my other story with Bella, Rita, and Zac. I attempted to write the ultimate mermaid fic with ALL of the mermaids in it. That was an epic fail because I had so many different subplots, losing interest, and not enough time. So I'm just doing some one shots and random tidbits.
She had come back to the Gold Coast last year after getting her master's degree. Just the general education at first and finally in musical education. Now Isabella Hartley was going back to her old school to be a teacher. Right now she was going to be a substitute until the music teacher retired, which was by the end of the year.
The school even smelled the same from the last time she was here. This time she looked more professional than the average high school student. Bella looked over her outfit; she thought she looked pretty professional in a button down top and flared skirt.
Now she went and reported to the newest woman in charge. During her senior year, Rita Santos was her guidance counselor in her first year. Now, Ms. Rita Santos had quickly went from guidance counselor to principal after a few years. Now the woman is Bella's boss.
"Isabella Hartley reporting for duty," she said jokingly at the auburn haired woman. Rita Santos cracked a smile on her usual stern face. Her blue eyes meet the woman's brown eyes for a minute.
"Nice to meet you Isabella, I presume I'll be calling you Bella," said Rita shaking her hand. Both women lost their grip on each other's hands. Rita had picked up a file on her desk.
In the manila file folder a profile of Bella lay open. It had a picture of her and a mini bio for the school to know. Isabella Grace Hartley, alumni of Suncoast High, the class of 2010. She had a master's degree in education and musical theory at the University of Melbourne.
"Bella is just fine," she said with a smile. Bella only looked around the back offices with a smile. It was kind of nerve racking, after all it is her first day working as a teacher. Rita handed her the folder
"Tea?" said the secretary coming into the office. This was the first time she had been back here and not in trouble. Bella nodded at the secretary, not wanting to be disrespectful or rude.
The other woman had wobbly placed a tea cup in front of both of them. Bella nearly tensed up when she nearly spilled it on her. To another person, they must think that she didn't like getting wet. Hopefully, that was what she silently thought.
Rita thanked the woman looking unsettled at the tea in the cups. The secretary, Mrs. Foster, had left the room smiling at her. Bella looked around the office looking at all of the diplomas on the wall. Rita Santos never studied in Australia but rather in countries in Polynesia and New Zealand. She must be a world traveler having lived in all these places. The beige walls seemed to be smiling at her but nothing else really decorated her office.
The only thing that really stood out was a picture of three girls on her desk. They happened to look nothing like Rita but maybe they were her nieces or something. Having never really known Rita, as she came after Bella's senior year, it felt like it wasn't her business. She was after all going to graduate that year and never talked to her counselor. Kim Sertori might know something though. Bella made a note to call Cleo after her first day and possibly bring it up.
"Since you are Mrs. Tanner's replacement and she doesn't retire until the end of the year, you will be filling in a sub around the school. You're first class is science and they are doing some kind of water displacement experiment –"
"Water?" said Bella with her eyebrows raised high. "I don't think I can conduct that experiment. I've never really experimented much with science in my college experience."
Rita only looked suspicious at this since never once did a substitute question her placement options. Not only that, but an education degree usually requires all classes to be covered. Bella's reaction to the water was something that she didn't at all expect.
Neither one of them expected what happened next. Rita had put down the file on her right and Bella's leg hit the table after crossing them. Tea had spilled everywhere on the laps of both Bella and Rita.
"I gotta go to the bathroom," said Bella. As she stood up she had quickly fell back down to the ground. Her head nearly hitting the edge of the desk and splitting her head open. In place of her legs, a long bright orange tail replaced her flared skirt. A halter scaled top covered her bust.
Rita had slid down her chair, her tail sliding right on top of Bella's back, her spiral chair bumped against the wall. Thankfully, that didn't alert anyone because Rita had told her secretary to never come in unless told.
Bella's head turned, blue eyes wide, and her mouth gaping open a bit. Her boss was a mermaid just like her! Well, seeing as Bella was turned in Ireland, Rita was likely more like Rikki, Emma, and Cleo.
"Nice tail," said Rita looking over at her.
"Like wise," said Bella smiling. This was definitely like a flashback to when Rikki and Cleo had figured out she was a mermaid. Except this time there wasn't a water tentacle involved. At least Bella had hoped there wasn't a water tentacle.
"What pod are you from?" asked Rita confused. She had never seen this girl before so she couldn't be from the Mako pod. Judging the look on Bella's face she had no clue what Rita was talking about.
Bella flopped her tail, wishing that she had: a) Rikki's powers and b) understood what the h-e- double hockey sticks Rita was talking about. What's a pod? Could there be more girls that had turned into mermaids? What if there was all of a sudden a merman cropping up? Now she had another wish in her head c) kept up with what was going on in the area.
"I became this way when I was 9," said Bella with a slight smile. She loved to reminisce the days she had just become a mermaid. Learning her powers for the first time. Avoiding the heavy rainy days when she lived in places like England, Seattle, and India. "It was the sea caves in Ireland. I guessed you changed at Mako Island here in Australia?"
"No actually I was born this way - "
"Please tell me you're just quoting Lady Gaga," said Bella.
Rita Santos's face just looked dead serious. The more Bella thought of it, it could actually be more possible. There was that time she lived in Argentina when she had thought she had seen something. It looked like a tail much like her own except a pink gold color. There are natural born mermaids.
"Oh wow, you're serious, you are really born a mermaid? That's incredible." She had a pregnant pause and spoke again. "So would you by any chance happen to have the power to dry us would you?"