Alright, this is just a testing chapter (as in testing the waters) for a new story based in the H2O Universe, starring Kim Sertori. Takes place after season 3 and, just to put this out there, the moon pool was damaged as in canon but not rendered inactive.
3rd POV
It was mid-February, the last month of summer in Brisbane (AKA the Gold Coast of Australia). The sky's never been clearer, the oceans never been a greater shade of blue and the sun couldn't have been any brighter.
But for one household, it was a day of wild excitement... and contempt.
On Runaway Bay, a household was hosting a very special Going Away Party. The home was filled and decorated in blue, red and gold decorations and balloons. As various families and guests were partying in the backyard, two vans with a moving truck attached to one of them sat in front of the house with boxes filled varieties of clothes, toiletries, miscellaneous items, and furniture.
Red and blue party streamers hung from the ceilings and backyard deck as gold and blue cups, plates, and napkins were arranged on tables under a large white tent set up close by the jetty. Gold-lettered balloons spelled out "F-A-R-W-E-L-L" on display and music blared from the sound system, enticing many people to dance on the front lawn.
And whose house was hosting this big party? It was none other than the House Sertori, in honor of 4 special girls going away to college that day. Having graduated high school almost 3 months prior and received their acceptance letters around the same time, all the families (mainly Don Sertori and Lisa Gilbert) decided to plan a party for the day girls left for school at the prestigious University of Sydney, a drive that would put the girls 9 hours away from their families.
And who were these special girls: Rikki Chadwick, Isabella "Bella" Hartley, Emma Gilbert, and last but not least, Cleo Sertori.
Also speaking of school, what were the girls going to college for:
Rikki Chadwick was going on a scholarship to continue in Business. The young woman figures that since she's always been good at money and saved her cafe from financial ruins, she might as well keep going.
Bella Hartley was going to school for Arts and Humanities. She loved singing in the cafe, but she also wanted something different. Nothing like being a traveling hotel manager like her dad, but something more subtle.
Emma Gilbert will also attend and double-major in Education, specifically Physical Education and Business. She may have lost the ability to swim competitively, but after her family vacation and taking classes online to graduate, she had a renewed love for traveling and wanted to do something with both with them.
And as for Cleo Sertori, who also snagged a scholarship, will be going to school for Life Science. She had a new love for science, specifically ocean science, and was accepted into the Department of Marine Science.
Don had been apprehensive about his oldest child moving away, and had even elected that she and her friends go to the school nearby, Brisbane University, and stay home. But his college-bound daughter argued against it, calmly explaining that she wanted some distance away from home, to have her own adventures in a new place. Cleo went as far as to say that she needed to "'find out her new identity outside of the Gold Coast'".
Don still didn't like the idea, but he knew her friends and trusted them to look out for his eldest...not knowing that there was more to the reasons why Cleo and her friends had chosen that specific school.
In fact, as he stood in the backyard talking to Niel Gilbert, Cleo walked right up to them and asked if she could have a minute with him.
"So, do you have all of my stuff put into the truck?" Cleo asked, a worried frown growing on her face. "I know I packed most of my things with Sam's help, but I just don't want to leave anything behind."
"Sweetie, it's not like we're packing up your whole room!" Don stated. "You'll be back for Christmas and then for the summer holidays. And if you did leave something behind, I'll send it to you in the mail. Stop worrying and enjoy the party. It's all for you, well, you and your friends."
Seeing the worrylines visibly relax on her face, Don rested both hands on her face and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Look at you, all grown up and ready to take on the world. It seems like it was only yesterday when your mom and I first brought you home from the hospital. You didn't cry much, just looked at the world as if you wanted to see all the wonders it had to offer," he reminisced. Cleo turned to see Bev not far behind them talking to some of the guests. "Now here you are, 18 and heading off to college in about a few hours. Almost makes me want to cry."
Cleo laughed softly. "Dad, it's not the end of the world. School won't officially start for another 2 weeks. If you miss me, I'll be a phone call away. If there's an emergency, I'll be here as fast as I can. And I know the same will apply to you too! Don't worry."
Don scoffed. "I'm your father, I'm supposed to worry! Don't get me wrong, I was with you during the college tour, Sydney is a fine school! But as a parent, I still think you should consider going to USC or Queensland University-"
"DAD!" Cleo exclaimed, stopping him. She took a breath and continued, "Believe me, I know where you're coming from. But please let me do this for myself. I know I can still come home, but let me prove myself first!"
Amongst the noise around them, there was tense, momentary silence between the two. But then Don nodded.
"You're right," Don relented. "Your an adult, I should let you live your life. But just know that if you need anything, and I mean anything-"
"-I'll come straight to you," Cleo finished with a sad smile. "I'll go check on the girls now."
"Yeah, you do that. I'm pretty sure that they're just as excited to go too."
Rubbing her cheek one last time, the two parted ways. Cleo made her way to the dancefloor, where she met up with Emma, Rikki, and Bella.
When Emma came back after graduation, Cleo had to admit that she was really worried. Yeah, Bella helped Cleo and Rikki shoot a comet back into outer space and saved the world, but considering their past with...additional mermaids, risking an internal struggle between the two terrified her.
But luckily enough, the two got along great and Bella had her own unique personality to add to the group!
"So, is he crying yet?" Rikki asked blatantly.
"Rikki!" Emmad scolded, "don't be so rude! I was on the other side of that kind of talk not that long ago. And considering how BOTH of my parents are, Cleo has it easy."
"Well, I think it's sweet, but considering how my parents had to leave before the party though gave me their best wishes, I think any parent would cry if they saw how far their child has come," Bella said.
"Well, thanks to getting a scholarship, it won't affect my dad. Hence why he's not here..." Rikki trailed. "But, you know, well wishes and all. Besides, we're heading to Sydney. The opera house, beaches, the school. And no one knows us. Nothing to stop a couple of mermaids from having fun!"
"RIKKI!" three of them exclaimed.
"Alright, alright!" Rikki raised her hands in surrender. Bella started laughing though, causing the remaining three to join in.
Everything seemed perfect for the unsuspecting mermaids as they celebrated to newfound freedom and to new adventures. However, while the party went on, unknown to everyone else downstairs, there was someone upstairs that wasn't in the mood to celebrate...
Up in a pink-and-white beach themed bedroom, there was a young girl sitting on her bed, wearing a light pink dress. The girl had long, honey blonde hair that went down her back and freckles on her round face.
This girl's name was Kimberly Sertori, the younger sister of Cleo Sertori.
Kim wore a solemn expression on her face as she looked around her bedroom and at the pictures, various toys, devices that cluttered her dresser and the photos she had kept over the years.
Her sister was moving out and heading to college today...and she had no idea how she felt about it.
She had chatted up how she was looking forward to taking over her bedroom while she was gone (which her dad said wasn't going to happen), keep the clothes she had "borrowed" from Cleo (which she mostly gave back) and that she won't even realize she's gone.
Which was hard to believe giving the party downstairs.
Hearing the music blaring from downstairs, she shook her head as she got up and walked across the room to pick up a picture of her and Cleo. It was just the two of them in Cleo's freshmen year of high school on her birthday. Their dad had gone and given her another kiddie part, but there had been a bounce house involved, so it made up for it.
She smiled as she recalled how humid that day was and how Cleo's hair had gone all frizzy as she clung tight to her then 11-year-old sister.
Funny to think it would be Kim's turn to be 15 while she was away. Not that anyone cared.
Ever since Cleo got her acceptance letter, actually since her graduation, their dad had been nothing short of appraising his eldest at everything she has going for her. Whether it be the college, the acceptance letter, the scholarship, or even her short-lived job as a dolphin trainer. Just anything under the sun regarding her sister was giving her a massive headache!'
Even now, as the partygoers carried on, Don was relentless as he constantly talked about her. Yes, the Gilberts were just as bad, from what Kim could gather, but her dad was on it.
Don't get Kim wrong, she knew how unbelievably proud he was since he opted out of college and took to the fishing business after his dad. And he knew especially after the divorce, how rough things were for her afterward.
But there was only so much he could do before praising becomes bragging.
KNOCK!
KNOCK!
KNOCK!
Jumping at the sound, Kim quickly opened the door to see it was her stepmother, Samantha, or Sam as she liked to be called. Her hair was pulled back and in a light brown dress.
"Oh, hey!" Kim tried to fake her enthusiasm as she let her in.
"Hey yourself," Sam said. "How come you're not downstairs celebrating with everyone else?"
"Why not? I won't miss her," Kim answered.
Sam laughed. "Oh, I doubt that. She's your sister, and that doesn't just go away. Not easily. Seems only like yesterday when the three of us first met."
"You mean when I sent you swimming from Dad's boat by accident? Yeah, fond memories. Well, this party is for her leaving, so I don't agree with that," Kim retorted. "Did you bring everything down?"
"All that's left is the basics, her wallpaper and a few of her things she didn't want to bring. It's packed up in the car out front and just waiting to be unpacked in a dorm-"
"Apartment," Kim corrected. Cleo had, for some reason, thought it would be better to live off campus than in a dorm. Something about needing privacy and advocating "'what better way to be responsible than to be living with friends!'"
Sam nodded. "Apartment. She'll be moving into her apartment with her friends and you'll be here starting your first year of high school. Two new starts, and you won't be together to start them. Is that why your not downstairs? Is this too much for you? It's her big day, and you should be there."
Kim shook her head. "To be honest, I don't know how I'm supposed to be feeling right now. On one side, it's not really a big deal to make a spectacle out of. She'll be back! She can visit on holidays and vacations. She's not dying!? She's just going...to school. That's the other side, she's coming back. Honestly, ever since she got that stupid letter to go to Sydney, everyone thinks she won the Golden Ticket. The only thing I can be grateful for is that I get the whole house to myself!"
Sam gave a long look at her one more time before asking, "Kim, is this hard for you? Cleo leaving?"
Kim paused before she can say anything. "No, so don't worry, Sam. I'll join everyone downstairs when it's actually time for her to go, I promise. I just need more time to myself and away from the party and the crowd. That's all."
Well, Cleo's crowd, if she was being honest. Her boyfriend, Lewis, had to go back to the States after Cleo graduated, so he couldn't see her off. Rikki and Kim never got along, so another good thing coming out of this was not dealing with her. Emma - how she graduated, Kim will never know- chose the college because it was new territory, and she also suspected it was to be closer to her best friends again, Kim suspected. And Bella, probably the only one worth liking, would go for Performing Arts.
And they're all going to the same college? Isn't the main point of college intended to break away from old friendships and form new ones!?
If Kim listened to her gut instinct, she'd readily suspect there's more to her sister's living arrangements than she's letting anyone know.
Seeing the faded determined look on her face, Sam sighed as she got up from Kim's bed. She wasn't going to budge and she won't make her. Her stepdaughter may be spoilt at times, but that doesn't mean she's not headstrong.
"Alright," Sam relented. "I'll see you outside when she leaves. Be there to say goodbye, OK?"
Kim nodded as she watched her stepmom walk out of the room. And as soon as the door closed and she was sure that she was gone, Kim found herself walking towards her bed and grabbing something from inside her pillowcase.
It was a bunch of printed papers that held familiar handwriting and drawing of fishtails...and mermaids.
Printed extracts of Cleo's diary.
Kim couldn't help but feel giddy inside. She's had them since she was 12. When she still had the diary in her possession, she had originally copied them in case she accidentally lost the diary. Which was proven right when it had disappeared out of nowhere!
But after Cleo had told about the project, she tried to let it go. Yet, after the camping trip to Mako Island nearly two years ago, she couldn't shake the doubt that there was something on the island that roused something in her.
Thus she still reflects over them from time to time, scanning every single, little detail involved. She wonders why her sister is so attached to Mako, and the fact that Cleo went all weird on Mako during that trip only raises her suspicions further about the island. And she definitely was not dismissing the sudden gusts of winds practically steered at her!
So since then, Kim had found herself constantly reading the extracts. Trying to make sense of what she's been reading. The powers, the tails, the extensive details regarding life under the sea...
Anyone could be a great writer, but unless her sister was pushing herself, Kim would believe that at some point, everything Cleo wrote...might be real.
But even when she had accused Miriam Kent of being one at the pageant, everyone had gotten wet. So didn't that discount her too? But then again, she could have lied too?
Either way, Cleo's leaving would be the perfect chance to explore Mako. If she is somehow connected to the island, then her being around would help Kim much. And she couldn't do it this week either. Her dad had been constantly fretting over Cleo's departure, his job, and making sure Kim herself was prepared for her first year of high school. She would be monitored almost as soon as Cleo left, just so her dad could have something to take his mind off his minor case of Empty Nest Syndrome...even if he's not quite there yet.
So, in conclusion, next week she would go to Mako for the last week before school starts do a little exploring.
Suddenly, there was another knock on the door.
KNOCK!
KNOCK!
KNOCK!
With a slight panic, Kim swiftly put the papers back in her pillowcase and jumps back into her bad, trying to act as normal as possible.
"Who is it?" she called.
The door opened and Don peeked his head in. Kim took in the sad eyes trying to hide behind the smile he wore.
"Come downstairs, it's time," he simply said.
Kim sighed. And now it was time.
"Alright, I'll head down," she said.
Don looked at her. "Are you alright?"
Kim shrugged. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, your sister is leaving? Aren't you a little upset about that? You weren't even down for the party?" Don asked her.
"Why? I don't see the point. It's not like we're never going to see her again. She'll be back, I think. And it's not like I'm going to miss her either," Kim states sarcastically at the end.
"Kim, be a bit more gracious, will you?" he reprimands. "Can't you just be proud of her for once?"
Kim felt a rise in herself, begging to fight that dispute and clenched her fists. And then, she took a few breaths and calmed down, feeling the rise squander and her anger deflate.
She didn't want to fight today.
Opting out of responding, she got up and chose to ignore her as she walked past him and headed down the stairs. Meanwhile, Don watched her go and shook his head. He, for the life of him, couldn't understand: Why his youngest was like this?
She found herself blending in as friends and families came out to the front to see the girls off. With the exception of Rikki and Bella, people bombarded Cleo and Emma, giving them their good wishes, good luck, and - for their families - goodbyes.
Kim just folded her arms and found herself just standing awkwardly, not sure whether or not to wait for Cleo to notice her or walk straight up to her. Luckily though, it seemed to be the former.
Turning her head from her mom, who came to say goodbye, Cleo looked up, locked eyes with her sister, and excused herself to go talk to her. And by the time she got there, a brief moment passed before Kim chose to break the ice.
"So, I guess this is it then," Kim started. Cleo smiled sadly and nodded. The two may have had their differences over the years, but she would still miss her.
"So...when school starts, you'll be attending high school," Cleo said. "Are you going to continue attending South Coast High, like me?"
Kim shook her head. "No, I had Dad sign me into another one close by. It's called Ocean Tides High School. A few years old and all, but so far, only good things said. Figured I had a better chance there at some place new. The last thing I want is to be someplace where all the teachers would expect me to take after my 'Darling Dear Sister'. Plus, the others required uniforms."
Cleo rolled her eyes. "Fair enough, if that's what you want. You know, I might actually miss you."
This made Kim stiffen and avoid contact. She wasn't lying when she told Sam how she felt, but expressing this type of emotion (Sadness? Longing? Guilt perhaps?) made her feel very uncomfortable, almost naked. Lasting so long without a snarky or witty comment to her sister felt wrong.
She hated feeling vulnerable!
"I'll miss you too," Kim stated, but couldn't get herself to mean it truly.
Cleo brought her int a hug and Kim had to force herself to warp her arms around and return it.
"Cleo, come on! It's time to go!" they heard Rikki yell ahead of them.
the two sisters broke apart and Cleo excused herself to walk towards Sam and their dad to say any last goodbyes. She watched as she embraced them one last time, holding them a little longer than she should have, longer than with Kim, before pulling away and hopping inside one of the vans with Emma while Bella and Rikki got inside the other one.
With the sound of the engines running, Kim watched as the vans started running and then took off down the street. Everyone went and stood where the vans once were, yelling and waving the girls off as a final goodbye.
Everyone but Kim though, who watched as dust collected from her sister and friends' departure.
If she was honest to herself enough, maybe she could get herself to admit she's a little saddened by Cleo leaving. But honestly, she also wasn't. Yes, she would miss pranking her and annoying her. However, she wouldn't miss the things that came with Cleo's presence, such as doing extra chores and friends that can't seem to remember that they have their own houses to hang out at.
But for now, she's excited to spend the remaining weeks having the house all to herself and finding new ways to keep herself entertained...
...At least until Kim managed to steal away from under her dad's nose.
And she especially knew that now the clues that Cleo had left behind in her diary would help her solve a long-3-year mystery of the "Golden Tail Incident" , and as well as the curious case of Mako Island.