No Ordinary Girl
Chapter 1 – Storms and Full Moons
Olivia Mitchell stood on the pier, surrounded by enough scuba gear for a small platoon. Her strawberry blond hair glinted in the sunlight as it fell in loose waves over her shoulder. She knelt down, grabbed the hose laying on the decking beside her and began hosing down flippers and masks.
"Ready to go?" a brunette girl dressed in a hot pink wet suit walked down the pier towards Olivia.
A similar grin spread across Olivia's face as she grabbed a pair of oxygen tanks to load into the bow of the boat.
"Of course, Evie! When will your dad be here?" Olivia jumped onto the pier and tossed flippers and masks into the bow.
"In a couple minutes," Evie said. "I'll help finish loading the boat. He's gone to go meet them at the Ocean Café."
"Awesome!" Olivia turned off the hose spout and shook the remaining water off her mask. "How many?"
"Only five," Evie's smile slipped a bit, but remained in place. "And it will be lots of fun."
The brunette grabbed two more tanks and hoisted them onto the boat and set them beside the tanks Olivia loaded.
"I hope they spread the word about your dad's business," Olivia said, hoisting her tank and flippers over her shoulder. She stepped onto the boat and arranged them in a small corner of the stern.
Evie nodded and glanced up as massive dark clouds rolled across the blue sky.
"Hopefully the squall will roll past without touching us," Evie said, slipping her arms into her wetsuit sleeves and zipping it up over her bikini.
"Where are we going exactly, Evie?" Olivia asked, hopping back down on the pier. She rummaged around in her pack, pulling out sunglasses, sunscreen, and her t-shirt.
"There's a reef just off Mako Island that's supposed to be beautiful," Evie said. "They're going to be blown away at all the beauty."
"Dang, I forgot my wetsuit in the lockers," Olivia said, shoving her belongs back into her pack. "I'll meet you back here?"
"Sure thing, Liv," Evie smiled. "I'll finish up here."
Olivia nodded and took off down the pier. She weaved her way around a pair of boat captains making their way down the docks to their boats. She squinted her eyes against the bright sunlight and saw Zac Blakeney headed towards her. Her cheeks flushed as he smiled at her. Her heart fluttered inside her chest and her stomach flip flopped.
"Hey, Liv!" Zac waved at her. "Is Evie down at the boat?"
"Hey, Zac," Liv smiled, trying to force her heart to calm down. "Yeah, she's loading everything on the boat. We got a group ready to head out as soon as Mr. McClaren gets them from the Café."
"Nice!" Zac smiled.
Olivia tried not to sigh at his twinkling brown eyes.
They stood there a minute, both teens smiling awkwardly at one another.
"I better go get my wetsuit," Olivia gestured towards the locker rooms at the edge of the pier. "Can't go diving without it."
"Yeah, I bet not," Zac smiled. "See you around, Liv."
"See ya!" Olivia turned and sprinted towards the locker rooms.
She slipped through the door, dodging two women arguing about the benefits of ocean swimming versus water aerobics. Olivia rolled her eyes and dashed towards her locker. She quickly spun the lock dial to the correct numbers and pulled her aqua wetsuit out of the locker. Olivia traded her shorts for her wetsuit, zipping it up over her blue and white bikini. Slamming her locker door shut, Olivia darted back up the pier to where Evie and Zac were standing talking next to Mr. McClaren's boat.
Olivia slowed to a stop as she began to approach them. She couldn't hear what they were murmuring to each other. Olivia's heart sank a little as she watched Zac wrap his arm around Evie's shoulders and kiss her tanned cheek. The brunette girl smiled and stretched up on her tiptoes to kiss Zac on the nose. Olivia's heart sank even further and she tried to push down the ache in her chest.
You know he is with Evie, she chided herself as she walked up to Evie and Zac. Pull yourself together, Liv.
"Ready to go, Liv?" Evie asked, her green eyes twinkling. "Dad's gonna be here any minute."
Olivia pasted a grin on her freckled face. "Ready when he is."
The blonde climbed onto the boat and crossed to the bow where life jackets lined the seats. Olivia looked over her shoulder and saw Mr. McClaren leading a family of five over to the docked boats. Zac waved bye to Evie as she got onto the boat.
"Alright, folks," Mr. McClaren announced. "Welcome to McClaren Dive Tours. Let's get going."
Olivia smiled as Mr. McClaren started the boat engine and slowly guided the boat away from the dock. She handed out orange life jackets to the tourists then joined Evie in the stern next to Mr. McClaren.
"So a reef off Mako, huh?" Olivia smiled.
"Yeah," Evie grinned. "I don't think I've dived off of this one with dad before."
"It will spoil you for everything after," Mr. McClaren yelled over the motor.
The trip out to the reef took about twenty minutes. Olivia and Evie helped the tourists zip the back of their wetsuits and hoist the tanks on their shoulders. Olivia passed out masks while Mr. McClaren zipped up his own wet suit and shouldered his oxygen tank.
"Right, let's get in the water," Mr. McClaren exclaimed. "Now my two lovely assistants, Evie and Liv, will be in the water at all times with you, monitoring your oxygen levels and all that. I'll hang around the boat if any of you need a rest. Let's go!"
With that, 8 people jumped flippers first into the bright blue ocean. Before Liv dove under the swell of the wave, she quickly glanced up at the sky as gray clouds slowly rolled across the cerulean sky. Liv prayed the storm would hold off for at least an hour. As she dove under the water, Liv thought she heard a distinct rumble of thunder in the distance.
The world underneath the waves was beautiful. Liv couldn't help but smile to herself as she followed Evie down towards the reef. Thousands of different fish swam in and out of the coral, their bright colors glinting as the shadowed sunlight filtered through the clear water. Evie stuck close to the teenage daughter and son while Mr. and Mrs. Thomas and their 12-year-old son followed Liv around the reef and coral beds.
As Liv brought the trio across the reef, a flash of light illuminated the ocean floor. Liv glanced up and saw that the sky and the ocean had turned storm gray. She quickly gestured to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas to make their way to the surface. She glanced over to Michael, the young boy, who was swimming further down the reef. The water got colder as the wind began to pick up, moving the ocean currents faster
Liv kicked her feet and grabbed the boy's wrist. His blond head whirled around in surprise, bubbles floating around his face as he breathed out. She gestured to the surface and began her ascent. Her hand latched onto the boy's wrist as they both swam their way to the surface. As their heads broke the surface of the water, hard raindrops spattered on their faces and masks.
Michael cried out in surprise as the choppy waves buffeted him.
"Over this way!" Evie yelled over the wind and the water, waving from the stern of the boat.
Mr. McClaren glanced over his shoulder as he fought the swell of the ocean to keep the boat steady. Liv waved at Evie and turned to Michael.
"C'mon, Michael, you gotta swim," Liv shouted over the rain.
"I can't, it's too strong," Michael yelped as the waves knocked him into Liv.
Liv grunted in pain as his oxygen tank hit her in the chest, knocking the wind out of her. She coughed and spluttered as a wave splashed in her face. She shoved Michael towards the life preserver Evie threw to them. Lightning forked through the dark clouds. Michael yelped again in fear. Still coughing and trying to keep her own head above water, Liv shoved the boy through the water. She watched him grab hold of the life preserver when an enormous wave appeared out of nowhere.
"Hold tight, Michael!" She yelled. "Don't let g—"
The wave crashed down on her, pulling her under. She coughed and spluttered as the rip pulled her further away from the boat. Liv opened her mouth to scream for help, only to get a mouthful of seawater. She choked and coughed violently. The sting of sea water in her nose made her eyes water. Another wave crashed into her, sending her tumbling through the surf. Her flipper caught on a piece of rock and tore from her foot.
I need to get this tank off, Liv thought frantically as she tried to swim towards the surface.
She fumbled with the harness buckle across her chest. Her head broke the surface and she whipped her head around to look for the boat.
Nothing. Only choppy waves that carried her farther and farther away from the reef. Her shaking fingers finally unclipped the buckle and she felt the tank slip from her shoulders, disappearing into the depths. Another wave swamped her pushing her further under water. She opened her eyes to peer through the murky water for rocks or sharp coral bits.
Liv managed to make her way to the surface once more. The rain beat her face as she peered through the gray for any sight of the boat. As she turned around, treading water as hard as she could, Liv saw a dark shadow just beyond her in the rain.
The boat!
"Hey!" She shouted. "I'm over here."
She began to paddle through the water, making long strong strokes like Mr. McClaren had taught her. As she got closer to the dark shadow, Liv thought she heard the slapping of the waves against the hull of the boat. A grin spread across her face as she continued to swim through the waves. The rain continued to pour, making circular rippling patterns in the waves. Liv frowned as she realized it wasn't the waves slapping against the hull.
Her bare foot touched sand and rock as the ferocious waves pushed her toward the dark shadow. Liv's heart sank as she recognized the roar of surf as the waves crashed onto a small beach. She quickly pushed off the ocean floor and kicked hard letting the force of the waves carry her closer to the small beach. Just as she thought she could stand and walk through the shallows to the beach, another wave knocked Liv off her feet.
Seawater filled her nose and mouth as she fought against the wave. Just as quickly as it had crashed into her, the wave receded. Liv coughed and spluttered on hands and knees in wet sand. The rain pounded against her back. Liv gagged as sea water ran down the back of her throat and out her nose. She looked up and shivered as cold raindrops splattered her face.
Need to find shelter, she thought. She slowly got to her feet, wiping her nose and mouth with the sleeve of her wetsuit. Liv took a step towards the line of trees, tripped over her remaining flipper, and promptly tumbled into the sand. She lay there breathing heavily. How that flipper miraculously stayed on her foot the entire time was a mystery to Liv. Liv sat up and stripped the flipper off her foot and tossed it into the wet sand next to her.
She glanced over her shoulder at the tree line and shivered. Thunder grumbled and lightning flashed across the dark sky. She needed to find shelter and she needed to find water. All that sea water made her thirsty. Liv pulled herself to her feet and slowly made her way up the beach to the trees. The wind howled through the branches, blowing wet dead leaves through the air. Liv dodged the leaves as she pushed through the wet branches. The rain and the wind continued to beat against her back and face. Wet hair clung to the back of her neck and against her cheeks.
Her foot caught on something. Liv grunted as she hit the ground. Her elbows stung from the impact. Liv glanced up and saw rock outcroppings ahead. She scrambled to her feet and sprinted towards the rocks. When she got closer to the rocks, there was no place to shelter against the rain.
"There's got to be a cave somewhere here," she muttered.
Liv reached up and pulled herself up onto the rocks. The wind slammed her against the rock face. Her hand slipped and her knee rammed into the rock, tearing the wetsuit open. Liv hissed in pain as water and dirt ran into the scrape. She reached again and pulled herself up onto the rock.
As the rain fell in torrents around her, gathering in little pools in the rock face. Liv carefully felt her way across the rocks. She wrapped her arms around herself, bending her head against the wind. She inched forward, feeling with her toes all the way. Liv shivered as she crept along the rock half bent against the wind. A gust knocked her off balance.
Liv wobbled. She tried to find her footing, but her foot touched nothing. Her scream disappeared in the howling wind as she tumbled backward. Liv covered her head with her arms as she rolled head over heels down the hole. She came abruptly to a stop, sprawling out on a dirt floor.
"What is this?" Liv murmured.
She pulled herself to the feet. The cave was dimly lit, the only light coming from the occasional lightning flash. Liv looked around. The walls were made of dirt and rock. As she surveyed the cave, she saw a shimmer of light on the cave wall.
"What?"
She slowly made her way towards the shimmer on the wall. Liv looked down and saw steps leading down somewhere. She peeked around the rock wall and saw light dancing all along the walls. Tiptoeing down the steps, Liv gasped.
She was standing in a rather large chamber. Soft sand crunched under her feet as Liv turned around. The walls were made of rock like the cave's entrance. There was a wide pool of water straight underneath a volcano crater high above Liv's head. Liv's mouth fell open as she took in all the wonder around her. Rain trickled in through the cave opening overhead.
Lightning flashed, lighting the entire cave up. Liv blinked in surprise as thunder rumbled overhead. There! She almost missed it. Liv hurried to the edge of the pool, kneeling on the stone ledge. Her blue eyes searched the rock wall under the pool's surface. Lightning flashed again. Liv smiled as the flash illuminated an opening in the rock wall under the water.
"Yes!" Liv pumped her fist.
She jumped into the water, holding onto the ledge. The pool was deeper than she originally guessed. There was another flash of lightning. Liv took a deep breath and dove beneath the water. Kicking out with her feet, Liv swam towards the opening in the rock wall. She couldn't see where the underwater entrance opened to, so she kicked back up to the surface of the pool for more air. Liv broke the surface, taking deep breaths as rain continued to hit her skin. Liv looked up and froze.
Dark clouds parted and bright light shown down into the pool. As the moonlight danced across the surface of the pool, the water began to bubble and churn around Liv. She whirled around in the churning water, her red blonde hair swirling in the frothy bubbles around her. Another small gasp escaped her lips.
As soon as the water churning started, it was over and the bright moonlight faded. Liv glanced up at the crater. The edge of the moon disappeared across the crater's lip. The sixteen-year-old took a deep breath and dove under the water. She kicked her legs, swimming down to the opening and out of the cave. Beautiful rocks and reefs surrounded her as she swam out of the cave entrance. Her lungs were almost bursting for air as she swam upward towards the surface.
Liv gasped for breath as her head broke the surface. The rain had stopped, but thunder rumbled in the distance. Lightning danced across the sky, lighting the ocean surface. As she gulped in the cool air, Liv glanced up at the full moon as it peeked out from behind dark clouds. Whatever just happened in that chamber was freaky.
A spotlight flashed down on her head. Liv flinched, raising her hands to shield her eyes from the bright light.
"Olivia Mitchell?" a voice boomed over a megaphone.
"That's me!" Liv shouted. "I'm here!"
She kicked out towards the light. A life preserver splashed into the water two feet ahead of her.
"You've got some worried people waiting for you at the station, young lady," the Coast Guard captain said, wrapping a towel around Liv.
Liv shivered and smiled. "Thanks for saving me."
"Word is, you saved a little boy when the storm swept in," the man said, ushering her into the cabin where another Coast Guard sailor handed her a tin mug of tea.
"Just making sure he got to his mum and dad okay," Liv said. "I could manage all right."
"You haven't been treading in water this whole time, have you?" the sailor raised his eyebrows.
Liv shook her head. "I made it to the beach and was looking for shelter. Fell into an underground cave and it had a water entrance, thankfully. That's how you found me."
"Well, we'll get you back home safe." The sailor patted Liv's shoulder.
"Thank you," Liv smiled.
Zoe Mitchell was standing on the pier, hands clasped under her chin as the Coast Guard boat pulled into the dock. Liv jumped onto the dock and ran to her mother, wrapping her arms around her.
"Oh, darling, I thought you were lost," Zoe whispered into Liv's damp hair. "That little boy won't stop talking about how you saved him."
"I'm okay, mum," Liv murmured into her mother's shoulder. "The Coast Guard found me."
Liv smiled and saw Evie and Mr. McClaren running down the pier towards them. She broke her mother's embrace and smiled at her mother. Evie slammed into Liv, flinging her arms around her neck.
"I was so scared when that wave swept you away," Evie cried.
"I'm okay, I'm okay," Liv patted Evie on the back. She pulled out of the hug and looked at Mr. McClaren. "Mr. McClaren, I'm really sorry, but I had to ditch the gear. I'll make sure to pay you for the losses."
Mr. McClaren shook his head and drew Liv into a hug. "You're safe. That's the important thing, kid. Evie and your mum weren't the only ones worried about you."
Liv smiled and nodded.
"Let's get you home," Zoe draped Liv's Coast Guard towel around the teenager's shoulders. "You need to be in bed."
"C'mon," Mr. McClaren gestured towards the Coast Guard station. "I'll drive you."
Evie wrapped her arms around her exhausted friend. Liv sighed and rested her damp head on Evie's shoulder. The two adults guided the teenagers to the car. The ride back to the Mitchells' home was silent. Five minutes into the drive, Liv's eyes closed and her head fell gently against Evie's shoulder. Evie smiled as she slowly adjusted her arm around her exhausted friend.
"Thank you, Doug," Zoe murmured in the front seat.
"It's no problem, Zoe," Doug glanced at Mrs. Mitchell. "You and your daughter are family to me and Evie."
Doug pulled into the Mitchells' driveway and got out of the car.
"Liv," Evie gently nudged the sleeping girl. "We're at your house."
Liv's eyes opened and she yawned.
"My whole body is sore," she moaned, stretching as she stepped out of the back seat.
"Well, let's get you into bed right away," Zoe ushered her daughter towards the front door. "Thank you again, Doug, Evie."
"Have a good night!" Doug waved.
Evie got into the front seat and waved as the car pulled out of the driveway. Zoe unlocked the front door and pushed Liv towards the stairs.
"Upstairs, and get changed into pajamas. I'll bring up some tea."
Liv nodded and slowly made her way up the stairs. Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion. Liv fell into bed immediately after changing into her pajamas. Her wetsuit lay discarded on the floor. Exhausted from the day's events, Liv felt herself drift off into a dreamless sleep. Zoe crept into the room, leaving a mug of tea on the bedside table for her. She kissed her daughter's cheek, switched off the lamp, and closed the bedroom door.
When Liv opened her eyes the next morning, a smile spread across her lips. She stretched luxuriously, her toes reaching for the end of her small twin size bed.
"Liv, you up?" her mother called from downstairs. "Principal Santos is letting you come late to school this morning, but I have to make breakfast before I go to work."
"I'll be down in a sec, mum," Liv replied.
She pulled on her dressing gown and made her way down the stairs. A plate of eggs, bacon and toast awaited Liv with a mug of tea next to it. Zoe stood sipping on her tea with the newspaper folded back to the page she was reading. She was dressed in light blue scrubs and wearing tennis shoes on her feet.
"Darling, I'm so sorry, but they've called me into work. Dr. Blakeney's down a nurse and needs me to cover a shift," Zoe put down the paper.
"That's okay, mum," Liv reassured her mother. "I'll be fine. I'm just going to walk to school, finish that this afternoon, and come home and crash. Mr. McClaren doesn't need me till Saturday."
"Of course," Zoe smiled and patted Liv's hand. "Just don't overdo it today. I think you've had enough excitement for the week."
Liv nodded and bit into her toast. Zoe grabbed her purse, tossing her small mobile phone into the outer pocket.
"I'll have my mobile with me all today, if you need me," Zoe kissed Liv's head and ruffled Liv's hair. "Love you!"
"Love you more," Liv replied, smoothing her golden waves over her shoulder. "See you tonight."
"See you tonight," Zoe smiled at her daughter and left through the front door.
After Liv finished breakfast, she glanced over at the kitchen clock and jumped up. She had 10 minutes to get to school and she still smelled like the ocean.
Liv tore up the stairs and ran into the bathroom. She flipped on the shower and grabbed her toothbrush from the sink. Liv quickly brushed her teeth and leaned over to spit. As she held her toothbrush out to rinse it with water, Liv gasped and dropped her toothbrush in the sink. The stream of water flowing out of the tap had just curved away from her hand, like opposing magnets.
Liv shook her head and stared at the water for a second before quickly turning the water off.
"I'm clearly still very exhausted," she murmured. "Gotta hurry to school."
Liv undressed and stepped under the warm shower of water. This time, the water did not move. Liv let out a sigh of relief and began to rinse off the smell of the ocean. As she ran her hands through her hair, Liv reached for the soap and then froze. Within seconds, her whole body tingled and transformed into water bubbles. Liv cried out in surprise as she slowly began to tip over backwards. She waved her arms in the air violently to stop herself from falling as she tumbled towards the bottom of the shower. Liv lay there for a few seconds, trying to catch her breath before propping herself up on her elbows.
Liv's eyes widened as she looked down at her legs. Only there were no legs.
Stretched out in front of her, where her legs would normally have been, was a large red-gold scaly tail. Liv's mouth gaped open as she saw similar looking scales covering her chest like her bikini tops. Liv ran a shaky hand over her arms down to her…tail and gulped.
"So much for enough excitement for one week," she choked out.