Chap. 21

After everything that happened during the previous day, Bella came back to school the next day, mostly unaware of what had happened the day before and the trouble she was most likely in. She was completely oblivious.

She went through the day as normal, not knowing what Will had up his sleeve and what he was planning, and certainly not knowing or even close to expecting the fact that Mr. Bennett knew her secret. She should be terrified, but little did she know this.

Finally, it came time in the day for Bella, Rikki, and Cleo to have English, Mr. Bennett's class. Bella walked with Will there, they held hands, but Will seemed sort of distracted. As they walked through the hall, Bella looked over at him. "Are you alright?" she asked him curiously.

Will was deep in thought. He was trying to plan out exactly what he needed to ask Mr. Bennett about trying to get Bella to tell her friends about her dyslexia. From what Will had heard from Bella, Mr. Bennett was really understanding of Bella's situation. Will knew that Bella was nervous and insecure about her dyslexia, but he kept telling her a million times that there was no need to be. She wouldn't listen to him. He just tried to let it go, he was sure it was something she would grow out of and become more comfortable with over time.

Will had a hard time letting it go. He didn't like the idea of Bella keeping secrets from her friends, especially when she really didn't need to, Will was sure they'd be understanding and supportive of her. Bella just wouldn't listen, she was stubborn. But now it was starting to come between Bella and the girls' friendship, which is something Will wasn't about to tolerate. He knew he couldn't let anything come between them, and he knew he had to do something about it.

About two minutes later, Will looked over at the blue eyed blonde next to him. She was giving him a peculiar, almost suspicious, expression. It finally occurred to him the she had asked him a question. "Oh… wha?" He fumbled over his words. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

They arrived at the classroom, and to avoid further questioning from Bella, Will quickly gave her a kiss on the cheek and sat down in his seat. Bella did, too, but she was still wondering what was up with Will…

They went through all of English class as they normally would. They paid attention to the lesson Mr. Bennett taught, did their class work, and read their assigned books. Soon, the class came to an end and Mr. Bennett dismissed them.

Will was planning to stay after class to talk to Mr. Bennett, but as usual, Bella had the same idea. He decided he would just wait out in the hallway until she was finished talking to him.

But little did he know that by standing out there, he would overhear a conversation that he had never, ever hoped to hear in his life…

…

Bella stayed after class as she usually would to talk to Mr. Bennett. She felt a lot better when she talked to him, almost like venting. She trusted him as a teacher more than any of her other ones. Whenever those public service announcements said 'find a trusted adult', she thought of him.

Bella was about to say something to him that she knew might be a mistake, but she didn't care. She was just curious. She slung her bag over her shoulder and went up to Mr. Bennett's desk.

He turned to her. "Hey, Bella," he said. "What's up?"

"Nothing really," she said. She leaned up against a nearby desk. They were silent for a moment, but Bella eventually broke the silence. "Mr. Bennett…?" he looked at her tentatively. "Can I ask you something? A weird question…"

He chuckled a little bit. "Sure," he said.

She shrugged and decided to go on ahead with it. "Do you believe in mermaids?"

Mr. Bennett didn't answer immediately. He stared at Bella for a moment, just thinking. He tried to keep his face free of anything that might worry Bella when he eventually answered. Finally, he said in a quiet voice, "Yes."

Bella couldn't believe he had actually said yes. She was curious of his reasoning. "Really?" she asked, still in disbelief. "Why?"

Mr. Bennett sighed and prepared for the next thing he would say. "Because I saw one," he said. His voice was still quiet. His eyes met Bella's. "Because I'm talking to one."

Immediately, fear shot straight through Bella. She was almost frozen stiff, but her eyes never left her teacher's. She tried to keep the fear she was feeling out of them. She tried to bluff her way out of it. She scoffs at him and rolls her yes. "Oh come on, what on earth are you—"

Mr. Bennett cuts her off. "Bella," he says patiently. "I think we can both agree it's futile for you to deny it at this point."

She gives up. Instead, she slowly shakes her head and slowly begins to back away.

He raises his eyebrows at her. "And I don't think running would be the smartest idea, either."

She stops. She just stares him down, unable to know what to make of this situation. It's obvious that he knows what she is, but she doesn't know what he's going to do about it. She decides to start with the basics. "How did you find out?" she asks, her voice a little more vicious than she intended it to be.

"Yesterday when you ran out of the classroom after getting wet, I followed you to make sure you were ok. I saw you on the floor through the window. Next time, try choosing a classroom without a window on the door," he says.

Bella sighs. She's really anxious, and Mr. Bennett can tell. "Bella, relax," he reassures her. "I won't hurt you."

She looks at him with a peculiar expression. She can't tell if he's being sincere or just trying to get her to calm down. But in situations like these, her judgment gets hazy from stress. "You aren't supposed to know."

He gives a small laugh. "Yeah, I kind of figured that part out."

"You can't tell anyone, either," she tells him sternly.

"I wasn't really planning on it," he says with his hands up in surrender. He can still see the fear in Bella's eyes. This isn't a small thing for her. He tries to reassure her. "Look, Bella, you don't have to worry. Your secret's safe with me."

Now Bella knows he's being sincere. She can tell by his voice, the look on his face. After a little bit of silence, Mr. Bennett speaks up again. "Why are you like that? How are you a mermaid?"

Bella gives a slight smile. "Good question," she says. "I'm still trying to figure that out myself."

He shakes his head, like it doesn't make sense. "Is it… in your genetics… or your…"

She shrugs. "I just like to go with magic," she says in all honesty.

Mr. Bennett chuckles again. "I like that." He asks more questions. "So you change… just when you… touch water?" He asks as if it can't be true. Which it really can't…

She nods. "Yup," she says. "Not the easiest thing to avoid in the world."

"And you just… grow a tail?" he asks. "Your entire cellular make up just… changes?"

She half understood what he meant there. She gives an uncertain nod. "Ok…"

He smiles. "Sorry, didn't mean to go all science on you."

Bella laughs. "Yeah, I only currently have a B." They both laugh.

Bella looks at the time. "Listen, Mr. Bennett, I have to go before I'm late. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok," he says. "See you then."

She nods and walks towards the door. She smiles. She realizes she can trust Mr. Bennett. She knows her secret's safe with him. She was surprised at how well he handled it, despite going a little science crazy on her.

Just as she gets to the door, Mr. Bennett calls for her. "Bella?"

She turns around to face him. "Hm?"

He looks at her solemnly. "Be careful."

She gives a nod without giving another word and exits the room.

She turns the corner and runs right in to Will, who just heard everything that went on.