Mermaid Fraternity
The three boys watched from their seats on the jagged boulder as the three girls ran off into the ocean. They all reckoned they were lucky to have such wonderful, beautiful women in their lives but add on the fact that the three girls were mermaids, it just made it all the more unbelievable.
"What do we do now?" Ash Dove asked the other two boys. His girlfriend, Emma, had told him of her secret mermaid identity only a few hours prior. He was still trying to wrap his head around the idea. He was sure the other two had more knowledge of the girls' mermaid lives than the little amount he knew.
"I suppose we could always meet them out at Mako." Lewis McCartney suggested as he hopped off his spot on the rock. He had known the secret the longest amongst the three and certainly had the most knowledge of the girls and their powers.
"Mako?" Ash asked, suddenly feeling panicked. "Aren't there sharks out there?"
"Relax, mate." Zane Bennett told the other dark haired boy as he pushed off the rock to join Lewis. "They'll be fine, it's like a second home to them."
Ash looked at Lewis for some reassurance. Zane had been in a relationship with Rikki longer than Ash and Emma had known each other and longer than Lewis had been with his girlfriend, Cleo so he doubted Zane would let her swim off to dangerous waters. Still, the cocky rich boy was probably the least trustworthy of the trio.
"He's right." Lewis said. "Come on, we can take my boat out there."
"No way," Zane replied as the two started walking away. Ash jumped off the boulder to join them. "I'm not riding that rusty, tin raft all the way out there. We'll take the Zodiac."
"Fine, then." Lewis replied. "Less petrol for me."
Ash walked behind the two boys, feeling somewhat out of place. He supposed Emma had inducted him into a secret fraternity when she told him the secret. She hadn't told him much, other than Lewis and Zane were the only others that knew of the girls' secret. He needed to get back to the juice bar so they talked about her secret during the short walk back.
"So... a mermaid, huh?" Ash said as he and Emma walked back towards the JuiceNet. He knew she had been hiding something from him and it was driving him mad. He felt guilty, maybe he shouldn't have given her an ultimatum. He knew it had something to do with water, maybe she had witnessed some helpless person drown or a shark attack. He never imagined in a million years, she wouldn't go in the water with him because she was a half fish.
"Yep." Emma replied. "It's a bit of a long, weird story."
"I've got some time to spare." Ash told her.
"Your break's almost over." Emma replied.
"Well, we still have to walk back to the JuiceNet." Ash said. "Can't you tell me in that time?"
"I suppose I could try." Emma sighed.
The JuiceNet was in their view when she had finished telling him the bizarre story of how she, Cleo and Rikki had turned into mermaids the night of the full moon. He thought he might not believe it if she hadn't just shown him some proof. Mermaids were a myth, at least that's what he thought until a few minutes ago.
"Wait." Ash told Emma before they walked into the JuiceNet. "I imagine this is something you want me to keep secret."
"Yes." Emma replied. "If this fell into the wrong hands, who knows what could happen."
Ash sensed a pain in her words that made him think she had a scare like that before. He had so many questions he wished she could answer now. He knew how work-driven Emma was, she wouldn't let him get in trouble for coming back from his break late. As much as he'd hate to, he'd have to talk with her about everything another time. However, he felt this subject was of upmost importance.
"Who else knows?" Ash asked. He couldn't very well confide in someone about this who didn't know a damn thing about mermaids.
"Lewis and Zane." Emma replied. "And now you."
"That's it?" Ash asked. He didn't expect the whole of Gold Coast to know but he did expect a bit of a longer list. "Not your parents? Not Elliot?"
"Elliot's just a kid." Emma said. "Who knows who he'd tell? Besides, I wouldn't want to burden him with something so serious."
"So why tell me?" Ash asked.
"You wanted to know my secret." Emma shrugged. "I trust you."
"Well... thanks." Ash replied. He could think of few times he felt more flattered. "Your secret's safe with me."
"I'm glad." Emma replied with a smile on her face he was sure was as big as his. "We were actually thinking of meeting up with the other guys later. Do you want to join when you're off?"
"Sure." Ash replied. "That sounds great."
"She really didn't tell you anything, did she?" Zane teased as Ash followed the other two out to the dock. Lewis snickered to himself as well.
"It's not like we had much time." Ash said. "I had to get back to work. You two know Emma, she wouldn't let me stay very long."
"I reckon that's true." Zane said as the three approached the red Zodiac.
"So how much did she tell you?" Lewis asked.
"Just how they transformed." Ash said. "I mean, there can't be much else, can there?"
Zane and Lewis gave each other knowing looks before they started boarding the Zodiac.
"You have no idea." Lewis finally told Ash.
"What?" Ash asked as he hopped in the boat. "What else can there be? It's not like anything else... weird has happened."
"Right." Zane said as he checked his Zodiac over to make sure they could take it out to sea. "Because you sweating your ass off during our pool match wasn't weird at all."
"The air conditioner was turned off." Ash protested. "That's what Emma said."
"You might want to ask her again." Zane laughed as he moved to the drivers seat.
Ash gave a confused look to both of the boys on the boat. They seemed to find his lack of mermaid knowledge hysterical.
"They've all got powers." Lewis finally told him. "Cleo can manipulate water, Emma freezes it and Rikki makes it boil."
"Hence the heat stroke." Zane said. "And my hand getting frozen to the cue stick."
"Huh." Ash said, remembering some weird substance suddenly appearing over Zane's hand during their macho battle. "I bet Rikki uses her power on you all the time."
"Not all the time." Zane shrugged. "But our first kiss... completely dehydrated me. Word to the wise, never kiss a moonstruck mermaid."
"I would second that." Lewis said.
"Moonstruck?" Ash asked.
Lewis nodded, remembering how little Ash knew about the girls mermaid life. "If the girls see a full moon they act sort of..."
"Insane?" Zane suggested.
"Not quite the word I was looking for but sure," Lewis replied. "Just a little on the wild side."
"Well what else is there to know?" Ash asked, now wanting to know anything and everything about the girls' mermaid lives.
"We can't tell you everything." Zane said. "We've got to leave some mystery for Emma to tell you. Although Lewis probably knows more than all three of the girls."
"Well..." Lewis sputtered, waiving off Zane's rare compliment.
"Really?" Ash asked Lewis.
"Yeah, well..." Lewis started. "I've known for about as long as they have. I've just tried to lend a helping hand when needed, that's all."
"Yeah, even when it's not needed." Zane joked. "We should head out, they're probably already near Mako."
Ash sat in disbelief, probably wondering how the mermaids had made it out to the island so quickly. Lewis held in a laugh as he watched Ash's face. He hadn't been around to witness Zane's disbelief so this was a first for him. Lewis supposed Zane was right, he did have more knowledge about mermaids than he ever thought he'd have. He was reminded of the conversation he had with Cleo when she ran into him researching mermaids at the JuiceNet, back when he thought it was merely a myth.
Lewis was jotting down notes from a website when he heard her approach behind him.
"Lewis," Cleo started. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, well you asked. So I don't know I thought I'd do some research." Lewis replied simply. He loved Cleo and research, she might as well have given him an all access pass to Disneyland.
"That's really nice, Lewis." Cleo said with her sparkling smile. "It's just… you didn't need to do that."
"I know, but I've got way too much time on my hands." Lewis said. It was a bit of a lie. He was putting off an English paper to do this. He didn't care much for English anyway.
Cleo sighed as she took a seat beside him. Wilfred came to her and she ordered her usual orange-mango juice before resting her head in her hands.
"Cleo," Lewis started, peeling his eyes away from the computer. "Is everything all right?"
"Hm?" Cleo asked as if he hadn't been listening. "Yeah, it's fine. It's just… do you ever want to tell someone something but you're not sure they would understand? Or you're worried other people might be upset if you did tell them?"
"I try not to worry about what other people think." Lewis told her. If he did care about other people's thoughts, he'd probably spend less time researching mermaids because his crush asked him to and more time swimming laps or kicking the ball on the football field.
"What if they are people you really care about?" Cleo asked. "People you need more than anyone right now."
"Are you sure you're okay, Cleo?" Lewis asked. Wilfred dropped her juice off just then and she took a large sip. Lewis was sure if she tried to guzzle any more, the juice would fly out of her mouth.
"I'm fine." Cleo replied, once she swallowed. "Or at least I will be. Don't worry about me, Lewis."
With that, she stood from the table to exit the JuiceNet Cafe. Lewis gathered his belongings, closed his browser and followed after her.
"Cleo!" Lewis shouted. She turned around to see him running towards her and shoving his belongings in his bag.
"What is it?" Cleo asked, kindly.
"It's just…", Lewis started. "You look like you can use some company."
Cleo nodded and smiled at him. "I'd like that."
"Great." Lewis said as she started walking with her. "Besides, I've found a lot of great stuff on mermaids."
"Ugh, can we please talk about anything but mermaids?" Cleo groaned.
Lewis was sure he would never understand women.
Lewis smirked as he felt the salty, ocean wind in his face. His knowledge of mermaids had increased vastly since then. He had been roped into situations by the girls that he never thought he would be in. Lewis wondered if Zane ever knew about Miriam being frozen in the cool room at the JuiceNet or about Emma's first night as a moonstruck mermaid.
Zane shut off the engine of the Zodiac as the boy approached Mako Island. Lewis and Ash hopped off the boat once they reached the land and began to tie the boat in place.
"Doesn't look like they're here yet." Ash observed. He could see nothing in front of him but the vast sea.
"They usually don't enter this way." Lewis told Ash, placing a hand on Ash's chest and turning him around. Ash saw Zane was heading into the woods, a basket in his hands.
"Zane," Ash started as he followed Lewis and Zane into the forest. "Is that a picnic basket?"
"Contrary to popular belief, I'm more than just a brainless bloke who rides dirt bikes and dominates at pool." Zane said. "I can be romantic at times."
"I don't know if I'd use the word 'dominates' to describe your pool game, but all right." Ash said. "Where are we going?"
"Where it all began." Lewis said. "You know, my first time in the moon pool wasn't as magical as I hoped."
"I also wouldn't say my first time was magical." Zane said. "Terrifying, maybe. Shocking? Definitely."
"The moon pool?" Ash asked. He was meant with a snicker again but he ignored it. "Where they transformed?"
"Yeah," Lewis said. "Emma was actually the first person who brought me to it. We were trying to figure out why they transformed. Zane, on the other hand, didn't exactly receive and invitation his first time out here."
"To be fair, I did receive an invite." Zane replied. The tone in his voice changed as if he wanted the conversation to end. "It just wasn't from any of the girls."
"What do you mean?" Ash questioned. "I thought you two were the only ones who know the secret?"
"Yeah, we are now." Lewis replied. Ash was still confused.
"Can we drop it, Lewis?" Zane asked as a waterfall came into view. "It's not exactly my proudest moment."
"Fine." Lewis replied after a moment. Ash wished the story could continue but he sensed by the tone in Zane's voice, it was a sensitive subject. If he had learned anything in the past few hours it was that the truth came out eventually.
Zane shook his head as he tried to forget his first time in the moon pool. Lewis's had been uneventful, Ash's would probably be the best of the three. Zane, however, could not forget the amount of euphoria that was running though his veins as he tracked through the forest with his father. He wanted to sprint ahead of his old man, like a kid running into a candy store. He couldn't remember a time his expectations and hopes for a situation came crashing down faster and more severely than they had when he entered the moon pool and saw his girlfriend staring back at him with fright in her eyes. The wave of guilt that rushed over him was oh too great. He worked with Lewis and rescued them but he felt responsible for their potential fate, it really was the least he could do. The next morning, he was greeted by Rikki on the beach who told him everything.
"Hi," Rikki said as she approached her boyfriend sitting on a sand dune. He stood as she walked up to him.
"Hi," Zane replied. "Look, I'm sorry about everything. I get if you never want to see me again, I just-"
"I wanted to thank you." Rikki interrupted him. He looked at her like she grew a second head.
"Come again?" He asked.
"I reckon you are partially to blame. If blame were being given out." Rikki said as she started walking along the sand. Zane began to follow her. "It's over though, I don't see any reason for blame to be handed out."
"What do you mean 'it's over'?" Zane asked. "Denman doesn't seem like the type to give up."
"Yeah, we thought that too." Rikki replied. "So… we gave up instead."
"What do you mean?" Zane asked.
Rikki dove into the story of how the three girls became mermaids. That was also in part his fault. He was the one who pushed Cleo out to sea. It was his Zodiac they had taken to Mako. In a way, he was responsible for changing their lives. Rikki also discussed how powerful the moon is to mermaids. It was the reason she had dehydrated him during their first kiss and why she couldn't remember being at Mako Island the next day. Last night had been different though. Last night was a lunar eclipse.
"So was it even more powerful than a normal full moon?" Zane asked.
"In a way, yes." Rikki replied. "Ms. Chatham met with us after you helped us escape from Denman. She's kind of our teacher, in a way. We thought Denman wouldn't give up either. Ms. Chatham was the one that presented a solution. What use would Denman have with us if we were just normal girls?"
Zane had been looking ahead but snapped his head toward Rikki when he understood where the she was heading. Rikki gave him a bit of a sad smile, as if she didn't want to give up her mermaid powers either.
"So is that it then?" Zane asked. "You're just… normal?"
"Yep." Rikki replied. "It was getting old anyway, keeping the secret and all. Now, I can just be a regular girl. That's better, right?"
Zane could tell she was upset about giving up her powers. He was too, he wouldn't lie. He would have loved to explore the underwater world with her or just simply learn more about her mermaid life. Of course, a mermaid wasn't all Rikki was and he was mad about her before he knew this information. He still cared for her deeply.
"Yeah." Zane replied, looking back to the sand in front of him. "Yeah, it's definitely better. You don't have to hide a part of your life anymore."
"Yeah, I thought so." Rikki said as she made her way to the lifeguard stand nearby. Something in the air shifted in a way Zane didn't like. Something was telling him this would be the last time they would be together as a couple. As much as he didn't like it, it felt right. Once he voiced it, Rikki agreed with him. It confirmed what he needed to know. As if on cue, he dad pulled up in his black SUV and Zane hopped into the car. He later learned Rikki had been lying about breaking up. He was glad they ended back where they should be, as mermaid and man.
Zane smiled to himself as he already heard the girl's mummers from the cave entrance. He looked back at the others to make sure they were behind him. They both seemed to hear the girl's voices as well, Lewis giving a knowing look and Ash a terrified one. Zane could explain the entrance to Ash but where was the fun in that? With a smirk he jumped down the steep slope, catching himself just before he would surely break his ankle.
"Zane!" He heard Ash exclaim from above. Lewis was quick to calm Ash down before Zane heard the sound of someone sliding down the shoot. Lewis came into view a moment later.
"Come on, Ash!" Zane called for the third and newest member of the fraternity to join him.
"You'll be fine!" Lewis said.
They heard the sound of rocks stumbling down the slope again when Ash came into view. The boy looked confused as he took in the small space.
"You're not going to kill me, are you?" He asked. Zane and Lewis shook their heads again.
Zane lead the way as the cave became more shallow at first but then opened up to where they could comfortably stand and then some. A small set of stairs appeared with blue water shimmering against the rocks. The three boys entered the moon pool to see their girlfriends sitting the the water, tails and all.
"Look who finally made it." Rikki said as she was the first one to see the boys enter. She swam the short distance to the ledge to meet Zane and gave him a quick kiss. Cleo did the same with Lewis while Emma watched Ash take in the magical place. It certainly is something you need to do on your first trip to the moon pool.
"Hi, Ash." Emma finally said. Ash took his eyes off the caverns and looked at the three girls as if he had forgotten they were mermaids. He approached her and she swam to him while the others took a back seat.
"What do you think?" Emma asked.
"It's… amazing." Ash said, his voice filled with awe.
"I'm glad you like it." Emma said. "You're welcome here anytime."
"Well, not any time." Rikki said as she gave a knowing look to Zane. The raven-haired boy blushed and turned back to his picnic basket.
"We'll work something out." Emma said. "I trust those two took care of you on the way out here."
"Oh… um, yeah." Ash said. "Yeah, they answered a lot of questions for sure."
"Why do hesitant to say so, Ash?" Rikki asked as she swam back to the ledge.
"Yeah." Cleo said as she joined Emma and Rikki. "I'm sure they were understanding and didn't say anything rude at all."
"No, no they were great!" Ash said. "I mean… there was some snickering here and there but other than that…"
Before he could say anything else, Cleo put her powers to work. Two arms of water extended from the moon pool, grabbing the two boys behind Ash and throwing them into the pool.
"No, no don't do anything to them!" Ash exclaimed as he stood up. "It was all in good fun!"
The group burst into laughter all except for Ash. What in the world was going on?
"It's all right." Emma said as the others broke off from the ledge. "Why don't you come and join us?"
Ash smiled and shook his head, kicking his shoes off. The water was incredibly comfortable, not as cold as he expected it to be. He took Emma's hand as she pulled him deeper and deeper into the water. For a moment, he thought a fish brushed against his legs before he realized he just hit her tail.
"Well, I for one am starving." Lewis said after a moment.
"Same." The others aside from Emma and Ash chorused. Emma helped move Ash out of the way as they made their way out of the pool. He watched Rikki's powers go into effect as the two girls became dry in no time.
"Are you coming, Em?" Cleo asked her friend as she stood.
"We'll be there in a little bit." Emma said as she and Ash settled in a corner ledge.
"This is why we need to schedule out the moon pool." Rikki said. "I don't want to see this."
"Yeah, me neither." Zane replied as he put an arm around his girlfriend.
"It helps if you don't stare, you know." Emma replied. It was Ash's turn to snicker now.
While the others dug in to their food that smelled good to Ash, the two stayed holding each other in the moon pool. Ash let out a small chuckle. Never did he believe that his day would end like this. It was beautiful and magical. He couldn't believe how lucky he was.
"Thank you." Ash said, so quietly he wasn't sure Emma heard him.
"For what?" Emma asked as she removed her head from his chest.
"All of this."
