femslash february 2022 prompt 11: mermaids.
Teleports in Front of You
The avowal was baffling. When the report reached the News Club, Ichi was left scratching her head. A claim circulated by members of the swimming team stated that a mermaid was spotted in the pool. They insisted it was true, despite their coach laughing off their frantic assertion. They requested for the News Club to investigate on their behalf. Ichi's associates had placed their fingers to their noses faster than Ichi could, resulting in her being the one to find out the truth.
While she was no stranger to gathering information, this story was too fantastical for her. She wanted to deal with narratives that had contained some semblance of logic. Mermaids simply didn't exist, and if they did, then they lived thousands of miles below the sea, far away from human eyes, never once captured on film.
Ichi clicked her tongue and fidgeted with her camera. She stood at the corner of the indoor pool, watching the waves ebb and flow from side to side. The swim team had left for the day, leaving Ichi to wait for the supposed mermaid that would emerge from the deep end of the pool. She knew it wouldn't happen, but she had an obligation to wait until the final bell before she could walk home.
She yawned. She skimmed through her saved photographs. She watched the hands on the clock creep closer to the next hour. And she was bored beyond all comprehension.
Tossing her hands up, Ichi glanced around the pool. The room was cleaned to the point of sterility. Everything was stored in the supply closet, not even granting Ichi the opportunity to sit in a chair. As the scent of chlorine wafted from the water and the sun slowly dragged itself toward the horizon, Ichi dragged her hand down her cheek, wishing she had been a second faster to touch her nose.
But just as she was about to consider departing, the door slammed open behind her. Ichi yelped, and her camera bounced between her hands. She gasped, snatching it to her chest. Thankful it hadn't fallen into the water, she glared over her shoulder at the intruder.
Another girl stood in the doorway, catching her breath. She was around Ichi's height with a mop of black hair. Her uneven bangs looked as though she had chopped them herself. She wore the Salt Middle School uniform, assuring Ichi that she wasn't a stranger on campus. With her cheeks flushing red, she gasped for air, controlling her loud breathing only to wince when Ichi locked eyes with her.
"Uh, hello? You wouldn't happen to be the mermaid, would you?" Ichi asked, a wry smile playing on her lips.
The other girl rapidly shook her head. "Oh, um, no, no, I was hoping to…"
When she trailed off, Ichi's eyes widened. "No way. Don't tell me you're actually looking for the mermaid."
The dead silence was a dead giveaway. Ichi clapped her hand over her mouth and suppressed a snort. If she thought the scoop was silly, then it reached a whole new level of outrageous. She thought the swimming team was foolish, but this girl took the entire cake for herself, and she was tempted to snap a shot of her face burning scarlet from embarrassment.
"Y-yeah, well, so what?" she huffed, crossing her arms. She carefully strode over to Ichi. "Maybe I wanna see if this rumor has any merit."
"It obviously doesn't. They probably saw a shadow that freaked them out."
She shot her finger at Ichi's nose. "Oh, yeah? Don't you know? Mermaids can teleport."
Ichi paused. The sentence, stated with such certainty, ran laps around her mind. She formed the strange word on her tongue, but she was unable to verbalize it.
The girl smacked her hand on her chest. "I, Kurata Tome, plan on exposing this mermaid to the world. That way, the members of the Telepathy Club will be one step closer to proving the existence of supernatural and extraterrestrial life."
Ichi narrowed her eyes at Tome's bitten fingernail. Raising her camera, she took a photograph of Tome. When she gawked, Ichi flashed her pearly white teeth.
"H-h-hey, I didn't, uh, give my consent to have my picture taken," Tome sputtered.
"Freedom of the press," countered Ichi. "I'm a member of the News Club. Ichi Mezato at your service."
Tome's brows knitted together. Throwing her arms up, she groaned and leered at the water. Ichi skipped to her side, keeping her camera raised in case any mermaid would suddenly appear as Tome had declared.
But as the sunlight dimmed and the clear sky meshed with hues of pink, Ichi remarked, "I don't think the mermaid is coming."
Tome buried her face in her hands. Moaning, she shook her head and mumbled into her palms. "Man, I should've listened to the guys." She pried her hands off her face. "They said, 'Tome, there's not gonna be a mermaid,' but I insisted I was right."
"At least you stuck to your guns," she replied, patting Tome's back. She held up her camera. "Well, I came here for a scoop, and you said you represented the Telepathy Club. Mind if I strike up a quick interview for the student paper?"
Tome blurted out her shock. "Huh? Me? Why?"
"Well, because you're definitely more interesting than a mermaid," Ichi said, smirking. She winked, giggling as Tome tensed, acting as if her heart would suddenly give out. She wiggled her camera. "What do you say? It would do the Telepathy Club good to gain some publicity. A five-minute interview is beneficial to keeping your club alive by spreading the word about it. Tons of students read the paper, after all." She tapped Tome's shoulder. "Who knows? You might persuade someone to leave the going home club and join your quest for weird creatures."
The corner of Tome's mouth twitched. "Uh, I can't help but feel like you're teasing me."
"Only partially," she replied, and Tome rolled her eyes, still accepting her request.
And as Ichi linked arms with Tome, dragging her to an empty classroom to chat, she noticed a faint hint of pink dusting Tome's cheeks.