Thump. Thump. Thump.
"Cleo!" Kim stood outside the bathroom, banging her fist on the door. "Come on, Cleo! The rest of us need the bathroom too, you can't just keep hogging it all day long!"
"Go away," Cleo replied angrily, "just use Mom and Dad's bathroom or wait! I'll only be a minute longer."
Pulling herself out of the bath with her arms, Cleo landed on the floor with a thud. She grabbed the fluffy blue towel off the hamper and started drying herself off. When her tail finally disappeared and she had two normal legs again, she stood up and started brushing her hair. She knew she should be hurrying so her younger sister could get ready for school, but she couldn't help rolling her eyes and taking an extra moment to decide whether to put her hair in a ponytail or wear a headband.
"I'm telling Mum!" Kim ran downstairs shouting. "Mum, Cleo won't get out of the bathroom and I need to shower! We're supposed to share and I'm going to be late for school because she thinks she's the most important person in the world!"
Bev Sertori was tired of her daughters arguing and had finally had enough. A glance at her husband's expression told her that he felt the same. She threw her dish towel on the counter and marched upstairs, stopping in front of the girls' bathroom door.
"Cleo," she snapped, "your sister needs to get ready for school as well. You've got that vanity in your bedroom for a reason, you can do your hair there."
Finished with her hair, Cleo rolled her eyes and reached for the door handle, not noticing the puddle of water from the tub that she was about to step in. The moment she felt the water on the bottom of her foot, she spun to grab the towel. Instead, she fell into the bath tub with a splash.
"Oh goodness," Bev cried, "Cleo honey, are you alright?"
"Fine Mum," Cleo glared at the door as she tried to pull herself out of the tub again.
"Cleo, I'm coming in."
"Mum! No! I'll...um...I'll just be a moment, I promise!"
Cleo began to panic as she heard her mother jimmying the lock from the outside. The doorknob turned...she struggled to dry off quicker...
"My god!" Bev stared in horror at the orange tail. "What the bloody hell is this?"
"I can explain-" Cleo cut her response short as Kim and their father appeared, "oh, great, this is going to be a picnic."
Don ushered Kim back downstairs when the obnoxious girl started making comments about "the freak they had exposed her to all these years". Bev stared as Cleo finished drying off, and followed her silently downstairs.