Just going to apologise for how long this took, it's been a busy few months
The new normal continues but not everyone is so happy about it
"I still think you shouldn't be going back today."
Nixie was lying on Rita's bed staring up at the ceiling. It got boring after a second so she turned her head to scan to the left of the bed. A nice lamp with a blue shade and silver stem, small white alarm clock, a photo of another horse. There were a lot of horse photos about the place. Sure horses looked nice, but why so many photos of them?
"I told you, I'm fine," Rita called from the bathroom, her voice echoing slightly.
"One more day isn't going to hurt," Nixie argued back. Sure Rita had seemed okay yesterday but a few days ago she literally couldn't walk without someone helping her. It just really didn't seem like a good idea to rush into things. While Nixie may not take that advice herself, she believed it only applied to other people, now was a good time for Rita to listen to her.
"It will."
Nixie rolled her eyes and sat up, sliding back to rest against the pillows. She forgo spending the night in the Moon Pool with Lyla and Sirena and stayed at the house. She had expected Rita to be in the pool downstairs but after a brief wait Nixie made her way upstairs. Turns out Rita was in her room with Posiedon curled up beside her.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah. Just making sure you were. Thought you'd be in the water."
"I thought about it but thought I'd be better here for getting up in the morning."
Nixie nodded slightly, still leaning against the door.
"Do you want to stay?"
"In here?"
Rita patted the bed beside her.
Nixie pulled the door towards her and twisted around the edge of the door. Once it clicked shut she quickly crossed the room and settled on the bed before Rita changed her mind.
Sleeping on land hadn't actually been that bad, it was nicer than Nixie had expected. She'd also woken up with Rita's arm wrapped around her. Nixie didn't count herself one of the more 'affectionate' Mermaids, but the embrace was comforting.
"It won't," Nixie argued back. She didn't like losing. Anything. "How can one more day affect anything?"
"The week starts on a Monday," the bathroom door shut. Nixie looked up briefly as Rita opened one of the drawers on the chest of drawers opposite the bed. "Good day to start fresh. And I already called Doctor Blakely and let him know I would be returning."
Nixie scrunched up her face, "What does he have to do with it?" It wasn't that she didn't like Zac's dad, but she didn't like Zac's dad.
"He's the point of contact for matters like this."
Nixie huffed and flopped back down.
This thing was actually kind of comfy. Nixie wriggled backwards, getting comfortable again. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to sleep on one of these more often. She'd only spent two nights on land but last night was a lot more comfortable than the blanket pile in the grotto. lie.
"Comfy?"
"Very," Nixie looked up again and Rita had changed, her pj top swapped out for a long sleeve teal shirt with a collar, buttoned up to the top, "didn't think land people could make comfortable things."
"It is fairly comfortable but after a few nights you miss the water."
"The water is good." The Moon Pool was a nice place to sleep, save for Lyla. Who she still needed to get the Moon Ring back from...
"Are you heading off now?" Nixie asked. She didn't like losing but there was no way she was winning this one with Rita. Rita hid it well, but the older Mermaid was just as stubborn as Nixie herself.
"In a few minutes."
Nixie watched as Rita sorted her hair, twisting her ponytail around itself and tying it in a bun.
"Can I walk with you?" Nixie asked. Just in case anything happened on the walk over. Or just in case she managed to convince Rita on the way there that this wasn't the greatest idea.
"I wouldn't mind the company."
The gate of Suncoast High came sooner than Rita was ready for. She put on a brave act in front of Nixie, but inside she was nothing but nerves. Dr Blakely had sounded okay about everything on the phone but it could be a completely different story once she walked back in.
"Are you sure you're okay to be here?" Nixie asked again. Rita had lost count of how many times Nixie asked that or a similarly worded question on the walk over. She'd brushed off each attempt
"I'm fine Nixie," Rita lightly squeezed Nixie's arm. "I'll see you tonight."
Nixie hung around the gate after she lost sight of Rita waiting for the other Mermaid to change her mind and come home. She got a few odd looks which she promptly returned and went back to her waiting.
The crowds of people streaming in the gate thinned away until a bell rang and the masses that were miilling about disappeared.
Well, almost everyone.
A familiar blond land boy came jogging through the gate, bag over one shoulder and some strain down the front of his t-shirt.
"Oh, hi Nixie," Cam adjusted his bag on his shoulder then pulled at the stain on his shirt as if it would somehow vanish.
"Hi Cam."
"What are you doing here?" Cam shifted his bag again, the strap having slid down his shoulder. Nixie raised an eyebrow at him and he slipped the second strap onto his other shoulder and the bag remained in place.
"I walked over with Rita," Nixie answered.
"She's back?"
"Well clearly since I walked over with her." Land people really did ask stupid questions.
"Alright grumpy gills, woke up on the wrong side of the kelp?"
Nixie huffed. "As if I would sleep on kelp."
Soft coral was preferable, or a nice bed of Sea Moss. The thought of Sea Moss brought to mind that stupid salve Veridia made for Rita.
"Ooh," Cam retorted. He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something else, no doubt something he thought would be so hilarious, but was cut short by an angry shout across the school grounds.
"Cameron Mitchell - class. Now."
A woman, older than Rita with a face like a sea witch stood, arms crossed at the edge of the steps just beyond where Nixie and Cam stood.
"Well to prison I go. Catch you later, fish chick."
"Bye land boy."
The woman said something to Cam as he passed then fixed her gaze onto Nixie. It felt like being stared at by a Great White. An unfriendly Great White ready to sink its teeth into anything that swam by.
If Rita was going to listen to Nixie and come home she would have done it by now, admitting defeat Nixie turned away from the woman's shark stare and left the school behind.
Walking back down the hall was something Rita never expected to feel so anxious about. Maybe it was the eyes, and the whispers. Whether they were actually whispering or it was just her heightened state was another matter. She'd tried again to get as much as she could from Nixie but the Mermaid hadn't been too helpful about the exact details of what people knew. Apparently things were smoothed over with Dr Blakely but you can't just miss a week of work claiming illness with no proof. And she had no proof. Can't exactly get a sick note for being hit with a Moon Ring.
It had kept her up last night, stopping her from sleeping. It wasn't until Nixie dropped by and ended up staying that she actually managed to sleep. Rita had woken up a couple of times during the night and both times Nixie had been clinging to her like a limpet. This last week must have been so hard on the girls… and Veridia too. By now Veridia would be back at the Pod, back to the meetings and drivel of being head of the Council.
What she wouldn't have given to have had Veridia with her this morning. Last night too. She'd been alone for so long, just having that connection with someone again… definitely eased the pain of the last week. She missed Veridia. So much so it hurt; dull pain in her heart echoing with every heart.
Rita almost made it to her office without any major interactions, a brief catch up with Mina the receptionist - the woman was the only person she knew more focused than herself - made for a nice break back to work. Mina was too busy to really chat. The joys of being a receptionist with a phone that almost never stopped ringing.
Rita really thought she'd made it until she came face to face with Ms Trumble or Ms Trouble as many of the students called her, standing right by her office door waiting to catch her the way those scorpion fish lurked on the reef waiting for some poor fish to swim too close.
"Looking well Miss Santos. So good to see you again, we were all so worried about you."
It was the way she said it. The heavy sweetness on each word, as false as anything. Noisiness disguised as sincerity. The worst kind of evil.
"Hi Ms Trumble," Rita greeted the woman with a semblance of a smile, enough to not be considered rude but not enough that it could be mistaken for kindness. She'd wasted far too much kindness on this woman when she first started at Suncoast High, only for Ms Trumble to turn around and try to steal her job right out from under her. The other teacher hadn't approved of the board's decision to pass her on for the position as principal and give it to Rita instead. There had been a complaint about her, followed by an investigation, followed by one of the other teachers coming forward and supporting her. It was years before they discovered it was Trumble who initially complained.
If it had been up to her Trumble would have been gone but apparently as no one could prove it really was Trumble, the woman was still employed at the school.
"It was so shocking to hear about your illness, such a sudden turn. Must have given you such a fright, not to mention your poor nieces."
It looked as though the woman went to place a hand on her arm so Rita immediately busied herself with unlocking her office door.
"It was and it did," the lock clicked. A merciful sound if there ever was one, but before she could escape into the sanctuary of her office someone else came up behind Ms Trumble.
Dr Blakely. The second person she had been dreading seeing.
"Ah, Miss Santos, Ms Trumble."
Rita could have sworn Ms Trumble's smile grew
"Dr Blakely."
By some miracle, the rest of the morning passed with little incident. Doctor Blakely had been too understanding and all too happy to move on from her absence which may have been meant to put her at ease, only made her more anxious, despite his many assurances there would be no further issue from the school board or anyone.
It eased slightly once Rita actually began her work again; there was a mountain of paperwork to catch up on and the repetitive, familiar process helped to settle her. The school had coped without her and the new teacher that started seemed to be doing well.
Things could almost be normal. It could almost be a normal day in a normal week when she hadn't been missed from work for a week and when she hadn't almost died. A normal day where her chest didn't physically ache to the point there were moments that breathing hurt.
Aside from that she was fine. Totally fine. Fine enough to be sitting here working through paperwork and waiting for things to go south. That anxiety just wouldn't go away, that something was going to happen.
Even tea wouldn't settle the nerves, she switched to decaf after the first cup made her unable to sit still for more than two seconds. Said decaf tea was almost sent flying across her desk when at long last someone knocked on her door. She'd been waiting for it all morning but now that it finally happened her heart rate shot up and her chest instantly tightened.
Rita set her pen down with a slow exhale as the worst thoughts crossed her mind. She opened the door, still expecting the worst. The dread eased slightly when she saw the new teacher, Erin Wilson.
The poor woman had not had the best introduction into Suncoast High. The typical protocol for Suncoast was an ease-in period starting with co-taught classes before being left to take over. Miss Wilson has been thrown straight into teaching a class that her record showed no experience in and was given her induction by Ms Trumble. Rita herself was given an induction by Ms Trumble and almost decided not to continue at Suncoast High.
"Hi, I'm Erin, I was told to come by?"
"Hi, come in, have a seat," Rita held the door for Erin. I can't apologise enough for not being able to officially welcome you to the school. I trust your first few days have not been too bad?"
Rita retook her seat at her desk as Erin took the one opposite.
"It's been fine, yeah," Erin nodded slightly, "It's a nice school and everyone seems really nice so far."
If Rita had been a more disparaging person she would have made a little comment along the lines of "Even Ms Trumble?" Luckily for Erin, she was a professional person in the workplace and would never say anything like that about a fellow member of staff to a fellow member of staff.
"I'm glad to hear that. I understand you have been covering some of the Spanish classes since you started?"
"Um, yeah. It's been pretty interesting, I don't really know much Spanish, apart from trying a Duolingo course a couple years ago," Erin gave a nervous laugh.
"I've gotten your class schedule sorted, no more Spanish classes, just history starting from this afternoon."
"Thank you so much Miss Santos. It's been interesting teaching Spanish but not sure it's helped their grades much," Erin laughed again.
"I've had a look over their work from the last week and everyone is still on track so you have nothing to worry about."
"Oh good -"
There was a brief knock at the door separating Rita's office from her assistant's before the said door opened and said assistant came in carrying her usual tea tray. Rita long ago stopped accepting tea from Anna. The woman's shaking hands were not suited for tea duties when a single drop of water risked exposing her. In every other aspect Anna was the perfect assistant, just not for tea.
"Tea for anyone?" Anna asked.
"I'm fine thank you Anna," Rita declined the offer.
"None for me either."
"No worries," Anna stepped back into her office and the door shut once more.
Rita directed her attention back to Erin, "if you come by here after lunch I can take you to your class."
"Thank you, I'm excited to get started properly!"
She remembered that excitement. When she first started she was alway so excited to get to work and see what the day had in store. Not now. Sure she loved her job but there wasn't the same spark about it.
"I will see you after lunch then."
Zac dressed that morning with a horrible feeling in his stomach. He'd hardly slept the last couple of nights, everytime he closed his eyes all he could see was the Trident and the blood coming from Lyla's face. He'd left the Trident back on Mako but he could still feel it's call.
Lyla said something about her and Sirena putting it back in the chamber today and then working on the Moon Spell again next Full Moon. The thought of another Full Moon sent Zac's head spinning, the Trident's call was so strong already, how bad would it become next Full Moon? He'd already hurt Lyla, what else could he be capable of by the next Moon?
Talking to Evie on the walk to school helped, talking about all the school work he'd not done and then when Carly joined them hearing all her tales of woe from the cafe and cleaning up from that Halloween party. The party Zac should have been at…
The gates of Suncoast High appeared too soon where Carly and Evie both left him to go to their class on the opposite side of the school to him. Least he had Cam. Wherever Cam was. Zac hung about the steps for a while with no sign of Cam and no reply to any of his texts. The bell went with no still no sign of Cam so Zac dragged himself off to Biology alone.
Five minutes into the lesson Cam appeared, out of breath and in a stained t-shirt. The teacher made some smart comment that Zac didn't really hear and Cam hurried down the class to grab the seat next to Zac.
Zac half paid attention to the lesson as Cam began unpacking his books and searched his bag for the only pen he owned.
"Santos is back," Cam whispered.
"What?" Lyla had said the Mermaid was doing better but he never expected her to be back so soon.
"Nixie was out at the gate when I arrived, said she walked over with her."
"Did you see her?"
"Nah, just Nixie. Guess things are better now then?"
"Seems to be."