Chapter 7: Rikki's Rescue

Several weeks had gone by since Rikki and Zane's argument at the track. They reverted back to the disagreeing couple they had been when they first met. Zane continued his immature antics, targeting all three of the girls. He had served them prune juice at the JuiceNet pretending they were colas. He, Miriam and Tiffany had laughed when Cleo took a sip and all but spit it out. He stopped laughing when Rikki had called him immature. He crashed the girls' party later on, flirting with ever girl that had a pulse. Rikki pretended like it didn't bother her. She supposed on some level it didn't, she wasn't interested in someone as immature as him. Still, a part of her couldn't shake the guy she shared a lemon flavored sports drink with on the hill of the race track.

Rikki still continued to go to the track to train for the city tournament. She had only had a handful more mermaid scares since her fight with Zane. She seemed to be on a cycle where she would transform, think about quitting, become more comfortable and aware of the water threats and then accidentally transforming again. It was a cruel cycle that sometimes sent her straight back to her trailer or to the ocean, either alone or with the other girls.

Rikki went to the JuiceNet with Emma, Cleo and Lewis a few days back when Wilfred had shown them a documentary Lewis made when he won the junior film makers competition last year. She was ready to win the hero-themed competition by making a film about sharks. Who could get better footage of sharks than a mermaid? She would be a shoe-in.

Emma and Cleo were telling her about Harrison Bennett's record wind surfing time around Mako Island. Rikki had yet to see Zane be that pissed and closed up as when his dad was brought into conversation. Rikki wondered what he would be doing for the competition. She wondered if he would even be able to enter with his dad judging.

Rikki had come to the track after filming another boring interview session with Emma and her mum. She needed to get away from the girls for a bit but wasn't ready to go back to her trailer. The track would be the perfect place.

Zane was working on his bike when she walked into her stall next to his to get ready for a ride.

"Haven't seen you around here in a while." He told her. "You haven't been going soft have you?"

"I could ask you the same." Rikki replied as she dropped her backpack.

"I guess we just train on different days." Zane said.

"Maybe." Rikki replied. "Are you entering the film makers competition?"

"Sort of." Zane replied. "Why? Sizing up the competition?"

"None of your business." Rikki shrugged.

"Then why are you asking?" Zane scoffed.

"It doesn't matter," Rikki said. "I'm working with Emma and her idea isn't exactly... exciting."

"Not surprising." Zane said. "For your information, I'm going to break my dad's windsurfing record and catch it on film for the competition."

"Break your dad's record?" Rikki replied. "How are you going to do that when you haven't been practicing?"

"I've been practicing." Zane told her.

"Around Mako?" Rikki asked. She spent almost all her time out there since she had become a mermaid and had yet to see him. She doubted he had surfed out there. He also had all his limbs intact, she could tell he hadn't been out to Mako or a shark likely would have gotten him.

"No, just around the coast." Zane said.

"Right," Rikki scoffed. "Because there are so many sharks off the coast. Perfect practice ground."

Rikki was standing by the wall that divided their stalls and Zane had looked up to her at her last statement.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Rikki." Zane said.

"It's not an opinion, it's a fact." Rikki said. "Do you know how dumb and dangerous it is out there?"

"Look," he said walking up to her. "If my dad can do it, I can do it and better. Why don't you just stick to making your own boring film?"

"Fine." Rikki replied, moving to her stall and mounting her bike. "I just wanted to see if you had rocks for brains. I guess you do."

Rikki sped off from her stall and saw an angry look on Zane's face. She knew she had annoyed the hell out of him but she hoped he might consider her warning and change his mind about breaking his dad's record.

Rikki had been filming sharks when she heard his cries for help. Zane had really been dumb enough to go wind surfing and sounded like he was in trouble. Rikki didn't think twice as she dropped her camera and sped off, stopping just below him. She looked up just in time to see two Mako Sharks circling him. Rikki didn't know if there was anything she could do. She couldn't speak to the shark and ask him to leave Zane alone. She couldn't physically fight it. She was much stronger in her mermaid form but she doubted she could take on a shark. Rikki saw the shark bite her in her mind and her mermaid body float to the surface, just in time for Zane to see it before he got mauled himself. Whatever she would do to save him, she'd have to move quick.

Rikki figured the sharks wouldn't like boiling water. Could she boil the water when they were in the ocean? Could she do it without harming Zane? Sure, he'd survive but he'd have severe burn marks on his legs, not to mention what might happen to her. Would that draw attention to hers and the girls' mermaid identities? Rikki closed her eyes and squeezed her hand imagining creating a barrier around herself and Zane. When she opened her eyes, she saw bubbles starting to rise and felt the water was heating up, just as she had pictured in her mind. The sharks that were circling Zane swam away from the barrier and she knew they were safe. Rikki doubted Zane would want to go underwater to look around but she would need to leave just in case he did. She smiled to herself and swam back to the camera she dropped.

Zane owed her big time.

Rikki, Cleo, Emma and Lewis arrived at the cafe on a Saturday night to watch the entrees for the junior film makers competition. Rikki wanted to show her shark footage but Lewis had annoyingly made the point of asking her how she would explain how she go it. Emma had also given up on her mum's interview saying some heroes don't need their stories told on film. Lewis had entered a film but had yet to tell anyone what it was about. Rikki figured it would either be genius or incredibly stupid. Lewis didn't seem to have much of a middle ground.

The entrees were all relatively to extremely boring, Rikki thought. Maybe heroes wasn't the best theme. If she wasn't supporting Lewis with the other girls, she would leave if she had to watch someone fly their Superman action figures around one more time. Finally, Lewis's film was set to be shown. Rikki didn't think Lewis would be as dumb or generic as to fly an action figure around with his hands and call it a film. Still, she was surprised when she saw Zane on screen, screaming for help. She had heard those screams before. Lewis had cut to a goldfish swimming beneath Zane rather than the terrifying sharks she knew were circling the helpless boy.

"You think that's funny?" Rikki asked Lewis with a bit of distaste in her tone.

"Uh, I think the audience is the best of that, Rikki." Lewis said. He was reveling in the laughter that was booming in the room. Zane looked back at their table, a look of disappointment and humiliation on his face.

"I was there, Lewis." Rikki told him, trying to keep the edge out of her voice. "Who do you think it was that scared the sharks in the first place? Zane isn't acting."

Lewis's smile dropped as he realized how serious Rikki was. Zane really was about to be torn apart by sharks on the screen and Lewis had made a mockery of his terror. The film ended and everyone in the cafe started clapping and wiping the tears from their faces from laughing so hard. All except for Rikki, Lewis and Zane. The response to Lewis's film was so much better than the others, Rikki knew he would win. She couldn't stand to see it. She was sure Lewis wouldn't feel to proud of himself either.

Rikki left the cafe before the winner was announced. She had planned on going home but something drew her out to the docks instead. She walked aimlessly around the docks, admiring the boats and yachts in place and enjoying the sound of the water splashing against the side of the pier. Despite what the other girls thought, Rikki often cursed her mermaid life. She hated the mood she would easily fall into when she would nearly be exposed. She hated questioning whether or not she could continue with motocross because of the few water threats. It was cool, growing a tail and heating up water and all but she wondered if her life would be better if she wasn't a mermaid. Today, however, she thought of it as a gift. If she wasn't a mermaid, Zane likely would have been shark food a few days ago.

Speak of the devil, Rikki saw Zane standing by his boat with a trophy in his hand. She knew he and Lewis had won. Rikki wondered how painful it was for him, how humiliating it was for him. Zane often deserved large slices of reality, he acted so cocky and arrogant. Rikki was often there to give him a large helping of said reality but he didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve his near death experience to be laughed at by all his friends and his father. No one deserved that.

"You were good." Rikki told him as she approached him. Zane looked between her and the trophy he had just won. Rikki just noticed it said "Best Acting". She felt even worse. There was nothing she could do to go back in time and stop the film from being shown but she could do her best to make him feel better.

"Acting, you mean?" Zane asked.

"No," Rikki replied, instantly. She knew he wasn't acting anyway. "The whole thing about surfing around Mako and everything else. It took guts."

Rikki was pleased to see him crack a smile. He looked from her to his trophy back to the water.

"You're the only one who thinks so." Zane told her. He wasn't at all mad she had told him as much. It had been a rough night for him and he was glad, for whatever reason, she took the time to talk to him.

Zane heard her take a few steps away from him. He smiled even more. He knew being nice wasn't her strong suit and their short conversation probably made her uncomfortable. Still, Zane found even though everyone else thought he was only trying to get attention or trying to compensate for not being able to break his dad's record, he didn't care anymore. Rikki thought he had done good. That was all he cared about at the moment.