Zac woke up the next morning to the sound of the waves crashing against the dock. Opening his eyes, Zac let loose a yawn, sat up and stretched. He looked over at his alarm clock to check the time. It was only 6:25 in the morning. He never got up this early on a school day, or any day for that matter. School didn't start for another two hours. He would have to get up in an hour to start getting ready. Usually, he would just fall back asleep, but today, he was wide awake. He looked out the window and at the sea. The sun was just beginning to rise, and he had a strange urge to go swimming. Being a merman, he always seemed to feel at home in the water. But today, that sensation was really strong.
Shrugging, Zac decided to get ready early and go for a swim. He got dressed and brushed his teeth, getting ready for the day. He decided to grab something from the café on his way to school. He reached over and grabbed his phone from his bedside table. He was going to text Evie and see if she was up and if was wanted to go for a swim, but when he opened his phone, he saw that he had a message from Weilan. They exchanged numbers in the café on the night of the water dragon. She texted him an hour after he fell asleep.
Weilan: What happened with your parents today? Your mum called Rita and asked her if she knew what was going on with you. Don't worry, she is handling it. But, she did invite your parents over for dinner tomorrow after school to talk about you. So be there. If not, I will personally feed you to the water dragon next full moon.
Zac smiled at the last sentence. But he seriously doubted that Weilan was joking. He saw that she texted him again a few minutes later.
Weilan: Also, what did you get for question 7 on the Biology packet that Ms. Trouble gave us? I swear she is trying to kill us with these packets. :(
Zac sent her a quick text back.
Zac: I haven't done it yet. Planning on doing it before school starts. I will be at Rita's though.
He doubted that she will respond though. She was still probably sleeping. He put his phone in his pocket and ran out of his bungalow and into the water.
Meanwhile, Mimmi was just waking up. She yawned and opened her eyes, looking out through the cone of the volcano as she drifted on her back in the moon pool. She sunk her tail into the water and looked around the moon pool. Ondina was still sleeping. She had one arm on her stomach and her other arm was trailing in the water, keeping her afloat.
Shaking her head, Mimmi decided to let her best friend sleep while she went to gather breakfast. Ondina and Mimmi both decided that whoever woke up first, would go and get breakfast. Mimmi was usually the first one up, so she was the one to go and get food the majority of the time. But she was fine with it. She liked being out early in the morning. She loved watching the sun hit the water as it rose.
Swimming out of the moon pool, Mimmi went to where she knew there would be a patch of oysters for breakfast. She swam gracefully through the water, letting the sun warm her scales as she swam closer to the surface. She broke through the water and looked at the sky. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. She dove back under and went to find something to eat.
Zac on the other hand, was going in the same direction as his sister without knowing it. He was gliding over a patch of coral when he saw a glint of something that golden-orange. He shook the bubbles away from his eyes and peered at the figure. He smiled when he saw his sister gathering some oysters. She had no clue that her brother was even there. Zac decided to have some fun with his sister.
He swam over and grabbed the edge of her fin, pulling her backwards slightly.
Mimmi yelped in surprise, the yelp only being a stream of bubbles escaping from her lips, and dropped the armful of oysters she was collecting.
She looked surprised at first, seeing who pulled her tail, but her surprise soon turned into anger. She glared at her brother, who was floating on his back, clenching his sides. He was laughing and bubbles were escaping from his mouth. Mimmi crossed her arms and continued to glare at him. Oh the things that made him laugh.
After Zac got over his laughing fit, he smiled warmly at his sister, who rolled her dark blue eyes in response. But she couldn't be mad at him, so she soon smiled back.
Zac dove down to the sea floor and began to pick up the oysters that Mimmi dropped. She went over to help her brother. Soon, they gathered all of the oysters and headed back to the moon pool.
Ondina was still asleep when they arrived. The siblings swam to the edge of the moon pool and placed their findings on the edge. Mimmi picked up a sharp rock that laid nearby and used it to crack open an oyster. She ate the oyster's contents before putting the shell down and reaching for another one. Zac watched his sister. So this is how mermaids spend their mornings. Collecting food and just hanging out.
Mimmi saw that her brother had not grabbed an oyster yet. She reached out an oyster for her brother to take, but he just shook his head. Zac didn't want to be rude and eat her breakfast, but his stomach had other plans. It made a loud noise and indicated that he was in fact, very hungry. Mimmi raised an eyebrow and looked at her brother. Zac grinned sheepishly and accepted the oyster. He cracked open it and slurped it down.
"So." Mimmi said after her third oyster. Zac looked over at his sister. She was leaning up against the side of the moon pool, her tail sunk deep under the water.
"What's new with you?" she asked.
Zac groaned and placed his head back, staring up at the sky. "My parents asked me all sorts of questions yesterday of why I'm so distant recently."
"And what did you tell them?" Mimmi questioned.
Zac sighed. "I didn't tell them the truth if that is what you are implying. I just told them that I am going through some changes right now, which is not technically a lie." Zac answered, gesturing at his tail with his hand, his eyes still fixed on the sky.
"It's not technically the truth either." Mimmi said in a whisper a moment later.
Zac turned to look at Mimmi. She was looking down at the water, her fingers training though it.
"What am I supposed to say? Hey Mum and Dad. Don't freak out, but I'm really a fish. That's why I have been acting so weird lately. Every time I touch water, I grow a tail. Oh and there is a whole other world in the sea that if filled with people just like me." He gave a look at his sister, but Mimmi's eyes still remained focus on the water.
"You're not a fish. You're a merman." She said quietly.
Zac sighed and rolled his eyes.
"I'm not saying that you tell them now, but don't completely shut them out of your life. They are worried about you Zac. We all are. You've been through a lot recently and we just want what's best for you. But you got to help us." Mimmi said, placing a hand on his arm. She finally looked up from the water.
"What am I supposed to do to help?" Zac asked.
"Come up with a better excuse then 'I've changed.' Give them something that will ease their minds. Say that you are just trying to figure out where you came from. Say that the realization that you are adopted has made you want to learn about your birth heritage, which is true. You do want to learn more about being a merman. And I will be right there to help you." Mimmi explained.
"You are coming to dinner tonight?" Asked Zac.
Mimmi smiled. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Thanks sis." Zac said, smiling at Mimmi.
"Will you please shut up? Some of us are still trying to sleep!" A voice cried from the other side of the moon pool. Ondina was now awake, but her eyes were still closed.
"It's time to get up anyways. I already collected breakfast and if you don't get up soon, Zac and I will eat all the oysters." Mimmi called over to her best friend.
A groan was the response Ondina gave.
Zac smiled and decided to give the friends some alone time. He heard countless times from Mimmi how hard it was to get Ondina up, and he really didn't want to be there to meet a grumpy mermaid. He slipped out of the moon pool and headed for shore. Now to get through school.
Yay! Sibling bonding! Do you guys want me to start adding more characters P.O.V. or do you want me to keep it between Zac and Mimmi?
I start school in a week so… yay me…
I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for all the support. I'm going to go and eat my ice cream now and pet my cat.
~Moonlight Mermaids