That weekend, Merton invited Tommy and Kalida over for a study party. Tommy was still hovering dangerously close to his minimum GPA to stay on the football team - and Kalida spent all her time studying anyway - so they brought their materials over to the lair Saturday morning.
Kali had a stack of English worksheets on the coffee table, and was sitting on the floor filling them all out.
Merton was going through flash cards with Tommy on the couch. "Myocardium."
"Heart muscle." Tommy grinned.
"Epicardium."
"The, uh, outside membrane."
"Of?"
"Of the heart muscle."
"Endocardium."
"The inner lining of the heart muscle."
Merton passed the stack of cards back to Tommy. "Okay, that's Bio. I think you'll be fine for the test now."
"With how many times we just did that, I feel like Kali could take the test now."
Kalida laughed. "I never took Biology. Once it switched to English in grade 10, I couldn't follow along."
"Wait, you did biology in french?" Tommy gaped.
"Yeah, everything was in french, except for English class. Until like grade 8. And then it was just French," she counted them out on her fingers, "Social Studies, P.E., and Science."
Merton raised his eyebrows. "No wonder you're fluent."
She laughed. "Yeah, but ask me to do long division the english way and you're out of luck." She went back to her worksheet.
"I didn't even know there was an english way to do math," Tommy fell back, stretching out over the arm rest. "Maybe that's why I suck at it."
"You suck at it because you don't try very hard," Merton chastised. "Did you even bring your Math homework?"
Tommy rolled his eyes. "Yes, mom."
"Let's do that next."
By the time Merton was done helping Tommy with his math, Kalida had packed up her homework and was reading a novel quietly on the recliner.
Tommy stood up and stretched. "I need a break. I'm gonna go take a run around the block."
"Alright."
Merton tidied up the sheets they'd been working on, then looked over at Kalida. "How's your book?"
She peeked up at him with a small smirk. "It's terrible. This teacher has the worst taste."
He laughed. "Tell me how you really feel." He rubbed his shoulders and neck, sighing. "I'm gonna need to start charging him. Puts a real crick in my neck."
She tossed the book at her bag and moved over to sit sideways next to him on the couch. "Turn around, I'll rub it."
"Oh, uh, sure." He licked his lips nervously, but closed his eyes as her small hands smoothed over his shoulders.
"Relax." She pressed his shoulders down, trying to reposition them. "You're really tense."
"I'm not highly experienced with getting massages."
"Well lucky you to have a sweet girl like me to help you out." She kneaded his tight muscles methodically.
Merton let out a small pleased whimper, leaning into her hands. "You can definitely do this any time you want."
She chewed her lower lip, trying to get him to make that sound again.
A few charged minutes later, Tommy walked back in Merton's exterior door. Spotting her massaging Merton's shoulders, Tommy tapped his chest. "Me next."
Kalida laughed, drowning out Merton's sigh. "Sure, come sit down."
Tommy settled on the floor in front of the couch and Kali switched to rubbing his shoulders. "Ohhh, yeah…" Tommy let out a long, pleased groan.
Merton rolled his eyes and settled back against his seat, trying not to feel jealous. They were cousins, after all.
"Kalida, why are you not giving me a massage every day?" Tommy continued, eliciting a laugh from her.
"Because it makes my hands sore? You two are so tense!" She balled her hands into fists and started pummeling his back. "You gotta relax."
"I could if you'd massage me."
Merton cleared his throat. "What should we do for dinner?"
"Let's go out," Kalida interjected, stopping her massage to turn to Merton. "I haven't been anywhere but The Factory yet."
"There isn't much else."
Tommy whipped around. "We could eat at the Hungry Bucket."
Merton pinched his nose. "Yeah, we could. Again."
"What's wrong with the Hungry Bucket?"
"Nothing." Merton shook his head, giving a look to Kali. "Tommy's a little passionate about their chicken."
"I need a lot of protein. I'm a football player!"
She laughed. "Well I'm game."
"Let's get it to go, then." Merton suggested. "The ambience is a bit lacking."
"Oh, we can eat it in the back of the hearse up at the lookout!" Tommy stood up, excited. "It looks super cool at night, and Kali hasn't been up there yet."
Kalida shrugged. "Sure, sounds good."
Merton stood up. "Alright, children. Time to pile into the Merton-mobile."
Once they'd hit the drive through, they snaked their way up a mountain road. The waxing moon was the only light (other than their headlights) guiding their path, and Kali shivered as she looked out into the pitch black woods.
"Aw, are you afraid of the dark, cuz?" Tommy wrapped an arm around her shoulder, his other resting on the seat behind Merton's head.
"More like what's in it," she half-joked.
The tree-lined path gave way to a grassy clearing, and Merton backed the vehicle up toward the ledge. When they hopped out, Kali stood at the edge of the cliff, looking out at the aerial view of the small town below them.
"It's beautiful."
Tommy nudged her and pointed up. "Stars are pretty nice from here, too."
Her gaze followed his, but she was distracted by the sounds behind them.
Merton opened the back doors to reveal the large empty space within, already draped with blankets.
"Wow!" Kali gaped. "You could sleep in there."
Merton shrugged. "Thought about it a few times."
Tommy hopped in, holding the massive bucket of chicken they'd bought. "Best view in town, best people to share it with."
Kalida climbed in beside him, leaving Merton enough space to sit on her other side. They were quiet for a few minutes as they ate, the faint sounds of the city below filtering through the sounds of the forest.
When Kalida was done eating, she turned around and laid on her back, letting her head hang off the back end slightly as she stared up at the sky. "The constellations are different," she murmured.
Merton gazed upward. It was the same sky that he'd seen every year around this time. "Some of them must be the same. Ursa Major, Ursa Minor."
She pointed, smiling softly. "Cassiopeia, Draco. All the circumpolar constellations."
"Circum-what now?" Tommy squinted up at the stars.
"That means they rotate around the north pole, so you can see them everywhere in the northern hemisphere."
Tommy tapped her on the nose. "Nerd."
Tommy polished off the last of the chicken, and they spent a good hour up on the hill. They told camping stories and discussed their star signs. When it got cold, Kalida suggested that they get some dancing in at The Factory.
They pushed through the crowd. Merton leaned over to Tommy. "I don't think there are any tables."
Tommy pulled Merton along. "Guess you'll just have to join us on the dance floor, then!"
Kali joined in, hooking arms with Merton to playfully force him into the fray.
The three danced together as a group for a few songs - Merton a little more awkwardly than his partners.
A senior girl from Kalida's English class started dancing near Tommy, catching his attention. As the crowd grew and closed in around them, Kali moved closer and closer to Merton. He was careful to keep his hands off her.
When the music slowed, he realized that he could no longer see Tommy in the throng.
Kalida reached up to hold Merton's shoulders, resting her head against his neck.
He swallowed and held her close, his hands on her hips.
"Relax," she whispered.
The way her breath tickled his skin made him shiver. "Y-yeah, I'm very relaxed."
Kalida closed her eyes. Though it could hardly be called dancing, rocking back and forth in his arms made her cheeks burn.
Merton was enjoying their embrace until he felt something seeping into his shoes. He looked down to see water was flooding the dancefloor. "Whoa."
Kalida pulled away, but was pushed into him as the crowd started moving away from the entrance. "Another monster thing?"
"Probably."
They let the throng press past them, finally revealing a blue-skinned woman covered in scales and seaweed. Waves crashed through the entrance behind her.
Merton rubbed his chin. "Bipedal mermaid?"
"Don't mermaids drown people?"
Merton pointed at Kalida with a whimper. "Maybe we should go."
The mermaid glared, fixing a glowing gaze upon him. He turned, holding hands with Kali as they trudged toward the exit. The water was now at their knees, and they looked up to see that the back door now appeared to be taped shut by kelp.
"How do you kill a Mermaid?" Merton squeaked.
Tommy jumped down from the stage area in werewolf form, blocking the mermaid's path. "Hey water lady, go back to the ocean!" Despite his battle stance, he was slowly backing toward his friends as the mermaid shot various forms of sea life at him.
Kalida leaned against the back door and took a deep breath, studying the creature. "The shell in her crown is glowing. Maybe that?"
"Oh, like in Disney's animated classic The Little Mermaid!"
Tommy called behind him. "What happened?"
"Well, some say it was the film that brought Broadway to cartoons with its Academy Award winning musical score-"
"In the movie, Merton. What happened in the movie?"
"An evil sea witch trapped the mermaid's voice in a shell. When the shell was broken, so was the spell making the witch look pretty."
"I don't think this is the exact same thing," Kalida interjected pushing the wolf man out of the way as a swarm of sea stars were launched their way. The weight of the creatures sticking to her knocked her over into the water.
Tommy felt a surge of frustration and lunged through the air, knocking the creature into the growing pool.
Merton helped Kalida up, and started peeling the echinoderms off of her. "You protected Wolfy." he gushed.
"He's the muscle, right?" She winced, clawing at the sea star on her neck.
Suddenly the thrashing in the water stopped and Tommy stood up, holding the broken crown in his hand. The sea creatures and kelp turned to water, and the lake inside The Factory quickly dissipated. At Tommy's feet lay an unconscious teenage girl.
Sopping wet, Kalida sighed in relief and leaned into Merton. "I'm starting to think this place is cursed."
Tommy turned to Merton and Kalida and gave them a nod before darting out of the building.
The girl on the ground sat up, holding her head. "What happened?"
Kalida rushed over. "Hey, we got caught in a flood. Are you okay?"
After making arrangements for the girl - who seemed to have amnesia of the whole ordeal - Merton and Kalida finally made their way out into the parking lot.
Tommy rushed over to them, still damp. "There you are! Can you believe it? A water main burst down the street!"
"I'm so glad you're safe!" Kalida hugged Tommy tightly. "It was awful, The Factory totally flooded and we couldn't get the door open. We had to hide on the stage 'til enough of it drained."
He hugged back, raising a brow a Merton. "I'm glad you're okay." He mouthed that's a good lie.
She's amazing, Merton mouthed back.
