Disclaimer: Ocean Girl and all its characters and places are the property of Jonathan M. Shiff Productions. I am a fan of the show and this is my own personal take on what could have happened if there had been a Season 5. Please also note: English is not my native language, therefore, please forgive me for any linguistic mistakes.
Jason held Neri's hand tightly as they approached the science building. Jason had taken Neri along to campus on previous days, and it seemed that it being finals week, everyone was preoccupied with themselves and not giving the wide-eyed girl without shoes more than a passing glance. Still, Jason was cautiously alert as they walked the corridors and only relaxed once they reached their seats in a large auditorium. Val, Jason's lab partner was already seated. Neri met her the day before and couldn't shake the impression that the confident Val didn't like her. When Neri told him, Jason wondered if Neri was jealous, and was quick to assure her that he wasn't interested in Val at all: "You know that there'll never be anyone else for me but you."
Neri didn't doubt Jason's feelings, but she sensed the antagonism from Val nonetheless.
"Hi Val," Jason greeted her.
"Hi Jason, Neri."
Neri said "Hi" as she took a seat next to Jason.
"Are you prepared for Old Pete's exam?" Val asked Jason.
"Who is Old Pete?" Neri asked.
"That's the nickname for our Marine Organismal Biology professor," Val said.
"Nickname?"
"That's the name by which he goes among the students. He's really old," Jason explained.
Val suppressed the urge to role her eyes. She really wondered what Jason saw in Neri. At the beginning of the term, Val has been less than pleased when Jason ended up as her lab partner. Val's sister devoured celebrity magazines and TV shows, so Val had seen her fair share of images of the Ocean Princess and her human boyfriend before Val left for university. However, once she was working with him, Val quickly realized Jason was a decent guy, smart and a good study partner. He's also quite handsome. While Neri may be nice looking herself, and a royalty from another planet, she seemed quite dependent on Jason, to read for her, and to interpret for her. Val really didn't get it. But then again, she had a more pressing matter to discuss: the upcoming exam.
"Jason, I've got a question for you. Do you get this part on the narrow distribution of some organisms?"
Jason looked at Val's notes. "Yes, it's actually quite simple."
Neri tried to follow his explanation, but there were so many words whose meaning eluded her, so she started looking around, watching other students filing in. A dark haired girl with glasses took the seat next to Neri and smiled at her a little shyly.
"Hi, I'm Neri." Neri introduced herself.
"I know who you are. My name's Heather. It's really nice to meet you. "
"It's nice to meet you, too. Do you know Jason?"
"Not in person. I lived on ORCA close to the Hawaiian Islands until recently, so I heard about you and the Bates family. To be perfectly honest, reading Dianne Bates' whale research inspired me to become a marine biologist. "
Neri smiled and turned to Jason who was still in a deep discussion with Val. Neri put her hand on his arm, which got his attention immediately.
"Jason, this is Heather. She read your mother's whales study."
Jason smiled, thinking of how pleased Dianne would be when she heard that: "Hi Heather, I'm Jason." Val didn't look pleased about the interruption, but she didn't like being left out of the conversation.
"I'm Val, Jason's lab partner."
"I'm Heather. We were in the same freshman orientation group, Val."
"Oh yeah right. How have you been?" You could tell from the tone of voice that Val couldn't remember and didn't really care. Neri was puzzled by Val's superior behavior, Heather however was taking it in stride.
"I like it here, especially—oh, never mind."
Heather stopped herself since a young, female professor greeted the students in that moment and the students in the auditorium fell silent.
Paul arrived at ORCA in the late morning. When he stepped off the turbo lift, he ran into Brett.
"Dad, what are you doing here?"
"I'm looking for your Mum. I should ask what you are doing here. Shouldn't you be in class?"
"I just finished my last exam, so I got a break until cadet training starts in the afternoon. Haven't you just seen Mum a few days ago?"
Paul chuckled. "Yes, I have, and I guess after today, I'll see her again when you all come to the farm on Sunday."
"I'm not sure if we'll make it on Sunday though. It all depends on when Jason and Neri get here. I bet they'll take their time returning to ORCA."
"Wasn't Jason planning on coming back on Saturday? And why is Neri with him?"
"Neri stayed behind to spend some time with Jason, Vanessa and Mick. They will be returning on Sunday now since they have some party the night before which they didn't want to miss."
Paul nodded. "I see. Let me discuss things with your Mum."
"Alright. Bye, Dad."
"Bye, Brett."
Paul went to the bridge where Dianne and Dave Hartley were discussing a simulated emergency protocol training for the cadets in the afternoon. Dianne smiled when Paul stepped in.
"Good morning, Paul!"
"Dianne, hello. Could we speak in private for a moment?"
"Of course. Dave, we're all set?"
"We're all set, Commander."
Paul and Dianne walked to the Commander's Quarters.
"I just ran into Brett. He mentioned to me that Neri stayed with Jason on the mainland."
Dianne looked a little guilty: " I knew you wouldn't like to hear that. Spending the evening there, I've realized they are so much more mature than we were at their age. At the end of the day, I know I can trust our son, and so should you. As a matter of fact, you should go see him and his place for yourself! Why don't you pick them up to come home on Sunday?"
Paul sighed: "I'll call Jason later."
They entered the Commander's Quarters.
"Can I offer you anything to drink?"
"Just plain water will be fine."
Dianne poured the water and Paul started talking. "Now, the reason why I'm here: I got good news to share. We can release you out of your current contract effective April 30th, and offer you a two-year research contract starting the next day. You and Brett would need to vacate the Commander's Quarters once your current contract is up though and move into a smaller cabin."
Dianne was happy about the news, even though she'd miss the larger Commander's Quarters. "Oh Paul! Thank you so much!" She hugged her former husband tightly, who reciprocated the embrace and held her in his arms just a little longer than customary. When Dianne stepped back, she was a little confused, but caught herself quickly. "I can't wait to tell the boys!"
Since Jason and Vanessa had finals in the afternoon, Neri joined Mick, who was interning at a primary school in the afternoon. As they entered the school building, Neri was excited to see the kids' artwork displayed on the hallway walls.
"This is beautiful," she said.
"Yeah, this school is putting a lot of emphasis on the arts. I'm sure you'll like it here. Today, we are going to help out with a small group of kids from within different ranges of the autism spectrum."
"Autism?"
"It's a neuro-developmental disorder which noticeable affects interaction with others."
Neri smiled at Mick, not feeling much wiser. She'd ask Jason later.
They walked into a small, colorful room. Mick introduced Neri to the teacher: "Mrs Johanson, this is my friend Neri. If it's alright with you, I brought her along to help out today."
Mrs Johanson shook Neri's hand. "Thank you very much, we can always use an enthusiastic helping hand." She looked at Neri more closely: "Aren't you-?"
Mick jumped in: "Yes, she is. We've been good friends for a few years, and she's currently visiting."
"Are you sure she won't mind being here with us? Maybe she should rather sit in with one of the other classes-"
Mick assured Mrs Johanson that Neri would be totally fine in this classroom. Neri in the meantime caught the gaze of a small girl who was sitting at a desk in the far right corner or her room. After staring out of the window for a long time, her attention shifted once Neri entered the room, and she stared at Neri with big blue eyes. None of the other children have taken notice of the visitor as they were concentrating on the images they were drawing with watercolors. This girl however was sitting in front of a blank sheet of paper, the paintbrushes in front of her untouched. Neri walked over to her and sat down on a small chair next to her.
"Hi, I'm Neri," she said with a warm smile.
The small girl looked at her with her wide eyes. The teacher came over and knelt at the other side of the little girl. "This is Sarah," Mrs Johanson introduced her, and went on to explain to Neri, "She doesn't speak much, but she is very smart with numbers, aren't you, Sarah?"
Sarah still stared at Neri, seemingly oblivious to her teacher's presence.
"It's very uncommon for Sarah to take interest in someone she hasn't met before. You must be making her feel at ease," the surprised teacher explained to Neri.
Suddenly, Sarah picked up one of the paintbrushes, dipped it in water, mixed blue and black ink with it, then started to paint. Mrs Johanson needed to assist one of the other children at that moment and left Neri and Sarah by themselves, Sarah painting, Neri admiring the richness of the colors against the white background. After a little while, Mick came over and took a closer look at Sarah's painting.
"Hey, is this a whale?" Mick asked surprised. Sarah didn't respond, she didn't even acknowledge his presence, being solely focused on painting. When she was done, she neatly put down her paintbrush, looked at Neri and said: "Charley."
Neri smiled happily. "Yes, Charley. Your painting is very beautiful."
Mick looked back and forth between Neri and Sarah. "How did Sarah know? You didn't tell her to draw a humpback, did you?"
Neri shook her head and smiled at Sarah, who went back to staring into the distance.
"She knew I thought of him today," Neri said.
