Chapter 2 - Return to Real World
There was a strange feeling of awkwardness around his parents, Cody thought.
He had said goodbye to Sam and Jess when they reached his house, promising them both a detailed report later. It had seemed strange, showing up at his old house. Nothing had changed, and yet everything seemed so different. So much had happened to him over the Summer. He didn't know how he could explain, how he could reconnect with the people who had raised him for the first thirteen years of his life.
"So," said his mother, sitting next to him on the couch. "Did you make any merpeople friends?"
Cody smiled. Well, it was a place to start. "Before I answer that, I think I should give you guys a little lesson in terminology. I learned a lot down there. First of all, 'merpeople' is kind of a slang term. Technically, it's Sea People. Or Atlantians, if you're old-fashioned. And a while a female is a mermaid, a male is not a merman. Guys are called Tritons."
Cody's parents grinned at each other. "Well then, did you make any Atlantian friends?" his mother asked, correcting herself.
Cody thought about his arrival. He thought about the strange looks, the ridiculing, the hushed murmurs of "Overlander". He thought of his mother, trying her very best to defend him, succeeding in swaying the attitudes of many of the elders, but able to do nothing about his peers. He thought of Kelhan, latching immediately onto someone else who was different, seeming to care more than anyone else ever had, and for no particular reason.
Kelhan, the champion showfighter who won friends instantly, and who finally managed to bring around even some of the more bloody-minded sea people, until Cody was at least accepted, and even well-liked by some.
"I did," he said in answer to his mother's question. "It was tough at first, but I met someone really special who managed to make my transition a little bit easier."
"Oh?" His father raised an eyebrow inquiringly.
'Tread carefully,' Cody reminded himself. "Yeah. His name is Kelhan. He's my Best Friend down there," he said out loud. Right. Friend. And he had been at first. But he was much more than that now.
His mother clapped her hand together. "That's great Cody! So tell us, what's life like down there?"
How on earth to describe it? "Well... it's a lot more mobile, for one thing. There aren't really any conventional buildings, or no permanent ones, at any rate. Most sea people have territories, but it's a very nomadic existance. You wander around from place to place. There are general meeting places though. And I attended something resembling a school."
His parents looked curious. "It's nothing as structured as what we have here, but it's sort of an informal sharing of knowledge by one of the elders. It's not regular, and generally not announced ahead of time. It usually ends up being pretty impromptu and spontaneous, actually."
"Sounds like you really got into the swing of things," his mother commented.
Cody nodded. "I did." He stopped. This was even harder than he had thought it would be. All of a sudden things just felt awkward. He was an outsider. It made sense of course; he wasn't even the same species as these people. And yet... they were his parents, weren't they? They were supposed to protect him and love him no matter what.
He looked into their faces and found honest interest there, as well as a constant undercurrent of joy. They had their son back.
Cody smiled. So maybe he just needed to trust them.
Please sir, I'd like some more.
or
Take a risk and feed the tiger.