Lewis, Will, and Zane sat in the cafe. They shared a table but they didn't have anything to say to each other. The three boys shared the girls' secret, but they didn't have much in common and weren't close friends.
Zane had, for years, been a bully to the rest of the class. He was rich, not to mention handsome, and he knew it. He never thought he could feel for anyone what he felt for Rikki. Had you told him 2 years ago that he would be in love with a mermaid he probably would have shoved you in the ocean just for laughs. He had changed quite a bit over the two years he and Rikki had dated, but Lewis and Cleo had a hard time looking past all of the ill treatment they'd received over the years.
Lewis had been friends with Cleo for years, but had been in love with her for as long as he could remember. He had been shocked when he had found out what had happened to her out at Mako, but he truly loved being able to protect her and her secret. He was always looking for new scientific ways to make things easier on the mermaids.
Will was the newbie to the group. Sometimes he felt like maybe Lewis didn't care for him much. After Lewis traveled to America to conduct science experiments Will had kind of taken his place with the girls. Now that Lewis was back they were butting heads a bit over who got to "take care" of the girls.
"So..." Lewis started.
"Yup." Zane said without interest.
"Well..." Will began. "Has anyone got their mobile on them? Maybe we should call?"
All three boys pulled out their cells and dialed their girlfriends' number. One by one they clicked their phones shut.
"No answer from Rikki."
"Or Bello."
"Or Cleo."
The silence resumed. A few minutes later, all three boys' faces lit up as the girls walked through the beaded doorway. They greeted each other enthusiastically and all began taking at once. The boys relaxed. It wasn't nearly as hard to get along with each other when the girls were there to create conversation.
"Ok," Rikki began, "We really really want to go to Mako, but we can't go because there are ships all over the ocean using radar and we haven't been out in the water in FOREVER and we are just going crazy! Zane, baby, can you pleaaassee take us to Mako so we don't pull our hair out?"
She said all of this very fast.
A few seconds later, after Zane had run the monologue back through his head to make sure he knew what exactly she was saying, he nodded. Rikki pulled him into a tight hug and gave him a peck on the cheek before running towards the dock. The girls skipped off behind her. The boys reluctantly followed. Secretly each boy was thinking that they wished they could just go somewhere to be alone with their girlfriend, but with the three girls you had to accept that they were connected.
By the time they got loaded into the small boat the moon had risen over the water. All three shivered as the night air chilled. Lewis couldn't quit thinking about the article he had been reading in the ancient book of folklore. He felt like there was something he read that he was meant to remember, but he just couldn't seem to get ahold of what it was. Oh well. Couldn't have been too important, right?
