Chapter 6: Opening Night

The next couple of days pass smoothly and Charlotte happily talks with her old acquaintance, Ash, while preparing lunch for the girls, who are currently out and about somewhere.

She'd just finished explaining all she knew, trying to keep Ash up to date 'and so now here I am raising the two girls…I wish I had been able to get Roxie and Becka as well but…Sophie is as stubborn as I am, more so even.'

Ash nodded 'well they seem happier with you and if this Sophie can't see that well…I think it should be questioned if she deserves to take care of them, especially now that their older.'

It just then occurred to Charlotte; she had completely forgotten that Sophie was meant to send Roxie and Becka to someone by now, at the age of 16…was she deliberately ignoring that?

'Do you think I could stay here for a few days' Ash asked 'just until I find my own place?'

Charlotte nodded 'of course, we have a spare room, you're more than welcome to stay, I'm sure Elayne in particular would like that, she seems to have taken quite a liking to you.'

Ash gave a small laugh 'yeah, now that the initial shock is over, but I can't blame her, I did know her mother in a way not many others did…Emma didn't let many people in.'

Charlotte didn't say anything, she just listened and watched Ash's quiet face…she had never seen him so sad.

'I have to admit…this is quite a turn around for you' Ash commented 'I never expected you of all people to come back and do this.'

Charlotte wasn't sure how to react to that, her past self would have been offended…but she'd grown since then, she sighed and nodded 'I know, but I'm all that is left, aside from you I'm the only person who knew about the secret, the only person who could have explained what these gifted children were…their legacy, it must continue on and I also felt I just had to redeem myself.'

Elayne watched the others swim from a distance, she had told the captain of the team she had to quit but she missed the pool already; she'd barely been a mermaid a few days and the water problem was already getting to her.

She looked over at the benches by the pool and saw Evan, waving to her, he got up and came over 'hey, I thought you'd be here, nearly always are.'

Elayne frowned slightly, putting on a small sideways smile 'do you always watch me swim?'

'Uh…no, not always, I mean…' but he was clearly looking for excuses.

'Hey Evan' said a voice, the two of them turned to see the Kayla, Roxie and Becka coming towards them.

'Oh hi…your Kayla right' said Evan frowning in thought.

Kayla nodded 'yeah, this is Roxie and Becka, they're…close friends of ours, like sisters really.'

Roxie put on a face 'let's not exaggerate.'

'How's the café doing' Becka asked, trying to lighten the mood.

'Oh yeah, that's right, knew there was a reason I came to talk to you, opening night is tonight, the café is all finished; the Juice Boost Café, come on down, we'll be having music and drinks it'll be great.'

'Sounds fun, I guess we'll see you later tonight then' Roxie replied, the girls turned and headed towards home.

As the girls walked they talked animatedly.

'Sounds great, finally we can see what they've been doing with the place' Kayla said.

'I wonder what band they'll have' Becka thought to herself 'I hope they aren't planning on karaoke, I hate that stuff.'

'Hey come on, karaoke is fun' Roxie said laughing 'especially for you, I mean you have a good voice.'

Elayne looked over at Becka 'you do?'

'Yeah, she's just shy, all talent no confidence' Roxie said casually.

Becka went red in the face 'I'll sing when I'm good and ready sis, not before.'

'Just don't let me near a microphone please' Kayla said sounding exasperated at the very thought.

'Why not' asked Roxie frowning.

'Oh trust me one song and it's unforgettable' Elayne said grimacing.

Becka frowned, clearly not getting it 'you any good?'

'No I'm aweful' Kayla replied but Elayne shook her head laughing.

'Aweful doesn't cover it sis, I don't want to be mean but it sounds like nails on a chalkboard' she said.

'Thanks' Kayla said sarcastically but she didn't mind, her singing was terrible and she knew it, there was no point in defending it.

As they approached their road Kayla stopped thoughtfully and the other three turned to look at her 'you ok' Elayne asked.

'Yeah' Kayla said 'I just want to go do something…um…kind of personal, I'll meet you guys at home ok.'

'You don't want us to come with you' Elayne asked frowning.

Kayla shook her head as she started walking away from them 'I won't be long.'

'Where do you think she's going' Roxie said, more to herself than the others.

'No idea' replied Elayne 'come on, let's head home.'

Kayla approached the entrance to the Marine Park and looked up at the large gates; it had been a while since she'd been here. As much as she loved the place it was a bit of a water hazard so she had chosen to avoid it. However it had recently occurred to her maybe someone here remembered Cleo and could tell her about her.

She payed the entrance fee and went inside, she watched as the water skiing show went by on the water, where would she find someone who knew her mother?

She slowly started walking around the park, watching the rides, the dolphins, the pirate ship and then she caught site of the dolphin show. She moved to watch it from a distance, she couldn't get the best view as she didn't have a ticket for the stands, but she could see enough.

It was the young good looking guy with dark hair and tanned skin that was riding two dolphins that had really drawn her attention, but she needed to stay focused, she wasn't here to watch cute boys.

When the show was over she moved over the bridge and around to the restricted area to get a better look at the dolphin's pools and where the trainers were hanging out.

There were four trainer's she could see; two women, one man all wearing the same uniform for swimming with the dolphins and one older man who also had dark hair and tanned skin who seemed to be in charge of them.

'Excuse me miss' said a voice and Kayla jumped and almost fell forward into the water, fortunately she caught her hand on a tree.

She turned to see the young guy who had been riding the dolphins, still wet and wearing his gear 'this is a restricted area, staff only.'

Kayla put on a smile gave a small laugh 'I'm sorry, I just really loved the show and dolphins and…everything.'

He nodded 'well I'll let it slide but I suggest you leave now before you get in trouble.'

He reached out a hand to guide her away from the area but she backed away, fully aware of how wet he was 'it's ok, I know the way.'

He followed her to make sure she left 'I didn't mean to imply that you didn't' he said with a slight laugh.

'It's ok' said Kayla as they stood on the bridge 'so…you're a dolphin trainer?'

'Yeah, names Luke by the way, my dad used to be a trainer but now he just teaches others' he explained.

'I'm Kayla' she replied, frowning in thought she added 'do you think I could speak to your dad, I just want to ask him something.'

Luke raised an eyebrow 'what about?'

'It's kind of personnel' she replied, rubbing her arm.

'Well…I guess' Luke said 'give me a minute, I'll see if he has time to talk, next show isn't for…half an hour so we should be ok.'

Kayla waited on the bridge while Luke headed back into the restricted section; she assumed that other man with tanned skin must have been his father. She wondered if he would remember her mother, she had worked here after all.

After several minutes Luke returned with his father but upon seeing her he stopped dead 'I…but that's…it's impossible, my god' he said staring at Kayla in amazement.

Luke frowned 'what's wrong dad?'

'You look so much like her…Cleo, who are you?'

Kayla watched his reaction, she was growing used to people doing this now 'my name is Kayla, I'm the daughter of Cleo Sertori and Lewis McCartney.'

Blinking he looked her over again 'Cleo and Lewis…I had no idea…I'm Laurie I knew Cleo very well and Lewis fairly well too.'

'So she worked here at the Marine Park, that is what I was told' Kayla replied 'I was told she loved dolphins and worked here.'

Laurie nodded 'yes…she um…well she started out serving ice creams but then she became an assistant dolphin trainer.'

Kayla blinked in surprise at that, Charlotte had never mentioned that 'really, but…' she trailed off, not sure how to continue, how had her mother managed that being a mermaid.

'She was a bit odd for a dolphin trainer' Laurie said with a small laugh 'never went in the water, but she really had a connection with the dolphins, as the years went on she became our best.'

Kayla was silent for a moment then she said 'thank you, for telling me all this I mean.'

Laurie nodded 'no problem.'

'You don't have…um camera records of what she did do you? Any of her shows?'

Laurie scratched his head 'I might, but they're not supposed to leave the park…as much as I'd love to help I can't, I'm sorry, I'd lose my job.'

Sighing in disappointment Kayla nodded 'I understand, thanks for everything' she turned and began walking away, she may as well head home now, this was as much information as she was probably going to get, for now at least.

She was just approaching the entrance to the park when someone grabbed her shoulder and she turned to see Luke 'hey, wait up…you ok?'

Kayla nodded 'I'm fine, I was just hoping I would be able to find some record of my mother…she died when I was so young…I never got to know her.'

Luke looked out over the main pool for a long moment, his back to her, watching the jet boat shoot past he then turned back to her 'seeing her on camera would really mean that much to you?'

She nodded, her head lowered, unable to meet his eyes.

He was silent again then finally said 'alright, I'll try my best, I can't promise anything ok, but I'll take a look around, and see what I can do.'

'Really' Kayla said looking at him with amazement 'but…I don't want to get you in trouble.'

Luke shrugged 'don't worry, I'll be careful, if you ask me I think my dad wants to help you more than he is willing to say.'

Not sure what to say or how to thank him Kayla just gave a girlish shriek like noise, then realised with horror what she'd just done 'sorry.'

'It's ok' Luke replied 'I got to go, get ready for the next show, come back in a couple of days.'

With that Kayla headed out of the park, feeling much happier, almost a spring in her step.

By the time Kayla got home the others had finished eating and were lazing around doing various things.

Charlotte was sitting in her office quietly working and Roxie was lying across the sofa watching TV.

'Hey' Roxie said simply 'wandering when you'd get back.'

'Sorry but we kind of ate without you' Becka added from her place on the opposite sofa.

Kayla shrugged, she didn't mind, nothing was going to spoil her happy mood 'no problem, I'll just make myself something' she said going to the kitchen.

Becka raised her eyebrow 'you sound happy, where did you go anyway?'

'Marine Park' Kayla replied simply.

'Why' Roxie asked, not bothering to shift her eyes from the screen.

As she spread honey over two pieces of toast she Kayla said 'well I suddenly thought, if my mom worked there, maybe someone remembers, turns out someone does, did you know she was a dolphin trainer there.'

'Who was a dolphin trainer' asked Charlotte as she came out of her office and passed by the girls.

'My mum' Kayla replied 'how come you never told me that?'

Charlotte looked surprised 'well…I didn't know, it must have happened after I left.'

Roxie shrugged 'makes sense.'

'This guy Luke, he's going to try and get me the video tapes of her shows' Kayla said smiling.

'That's awesome' said Becka 'wow I'm so happy for you, I wish I could find some information on my mother.'

There was a silence and then Roxie said 'so…this Luke guy? What was he like?'

Kayla turned red 'I…um…I wasn't really paying attention to that.'

Snorting Roxie and rolled her eyes to show what she thought of that 'yeah right.'

Looking around Kayla decided this was probably the best time to try and change the subject 'um…where's Elayne?'

'She and Ash went down to the beach' Becka explained.

'They're getting on well' Kayla said thoughtfully, she didn't mean to sound envious but she was a little, she missed her sister's company.

Charlotte walked over to the window and looked out at the beach 'it isn't as easy for Ash as he says, he understands Elayne looks to him for answers about her mother…but for him…he looks at her and he sees Emma.'

Ash and Elayne walked along the beach, heading for the far side, that was more deserted and secluded.

'Ash' Elayne asked 'could you tell me about the first time you met my mother?'

Laughing slightly Ash said 'oh what a story that is; I was working at a ranch, teaching people to ride horses.'

'My mum came for a lesson' Elayne asked laughing.

'No' replied Ash 'Eliot came for lessons, big sister was just there to look after him' Ash smirked.

'Did you like her straight away?'

Ash had to think about that one 'no, don't get me wrong she was a pretty girl but she was stubborn, convinced she knew how to ride a horse, that sort of thing. But she grew on me rapidly.'

'Did she like you?'

'Oh I think so, not that she'd ever admit it' Ash replied 'she was in utter denial for a long time.'

Elayne laughed 'wow, so when did you guys get together?'

The two of them walked around some rocks, off the main beach and into a small deserted cove.

'Not for a while later' Ash said 'the café where Emma worked needed a new manager and I got the job, problem is Emma wanted it too, causing a lot of tension between us for a while.'

Elayne smiled 'I can imagine that, Charlotte says I'm a lot like her, and I can tell you that would annoy me.'

Ash nodded 'well we went through an awkward patch, I tried to make too many changes which backfired on me and Emma ended up being right about some of them, so we settled for halfway.'

'Then what?'

'Then I decided to ask her out' Ash said 'I think it was the "out of the blue" approach that won her over.'

'The café you guys worked at…was that the JuiceNet' Elayne asked curiously

Ash nodded 'yeah, hey I hear you girls are going to its re-opening tonight, sounds fun.'

Elayne nodded 'should be.'

'So…can I see your mermaid form' Ash asked curiously giving her a friendly poke in the shoulder.

'One last question first, why did you and Emma break up?'

Ash sighed, looking down at his hands, then out at the ocean, his hair blowing in the ocean breeze 'well aside from the fact her family were going to go traveling round the world…I don't know, we just lost that spark. I was convinced that we would make up when she came back, but then I had to leave too. If it helps we broke up on a friendly note.'

Elayne nodded 'it does help; it's nice to know you were still friends and you're still loyal to us.'

Helping her onto her feet Ash said 'ok, come on now, cheer up, show me what you look like as a mermaid.'

Elayne sighed and went to the water, letting the low tied run over her ankles, the water rushed over her body and then she was a mermaid. Ash's reaction to the new look was surprising but flattering.

He looked amazed by the beauty of her blue hair addition along with the usual tail.

'Wow' he said 'it's been years since I've seen it and clearly you've become something even more beautiful.'

As the sun set and the evening approached the girls prepared for the opening night party at the Juice Boost.

'Um…there is one problem we have to think about' Elayne said 'party…drinks and the Juice Boost is near the water too.'

Roxie gave a groan 'yes we know, be careful of water, we're not stupid.'

'Elayne is right though' said Charlotte who stood in the doorway of their room watching as the four girls finished adding the last of their make-up and eyeliner 'this is the first time you girls are going to be in real danger of being exposed and I won't be around to help you this time either; be aware of your surroundings, of each other and be ready to leave or help each other out at a moment's notice.'

'But what if…' Becka was about to say but Charlotte cut her off.

'Nothing is more important than hiding your secret Becka, not boys, not even your reputation, myself and the girls had to do some ridiculous sometimes but it is worth it' Charlotte, that wasn't entirely true, it was mostly the girls that had done that…but there were times when she'd had to lie and stuff as well.

'Don't worry, we'll be careful' Kayla said as she checked herself over and then looked round at the others. She was wearing a deep purple dress and her hair was tied back in an elegant but simple ponytail.

Roxie was sticking to jeans, even a fancy night out wasn't going to convince her to wear a dress. She also had a black tank top with golden writing and a red sleeveless top over it.

'You look way too casual sis' Becka said looking at Roxie's clothing.

'I'll wear what I want thanks' Roxie simply replied 'besides it's not what you wear but who's wearing it'

Becka wasn't sure she agreed but said nothing; she was wearing a dress that was a mixture of white and deep navy blue, the blue fading from navy to white as it made patterns across the dress.

Although Elayne had also chosen to just go with jeans she had more jewellery, make up and the clothes themselves just looked a little more…flashy, making them perfect for occasion.

'Alright then' said Charlotte 'you girls have fun ok, and be careful.'

As the four girls approached the crowded Juice Boost, the sound of music filled their ears and they moved to the doorway to head inside.

'Well hi, I was wondering when you girls were going to show up' said Evan from where he stood by the entrance.

'You were waiting for us' Roxie asked frowning.

Evan laughed 'no, I'm doing meet and greet, once it settles down out here I'll see you inside.'

They nodded and went inside, the place looked great, if there were usually tables most of them had been moved for tonight but the booths built into walls looked comfy and spacious. There was a bar loaded with drinks, fruit and all the usual equipment. Next to the bar there was a stage where the band was set up.

Kayla didn't recognise the band or the music, leaning in to Becka she said 'you know the band?'

Becka shook her head 'no.'

'What do you want to drink guys' Elayne asked looking round at them as they tried to avoid getting crushed in the see of people.

Roxie shrugged 'I'm ok right now, but I think we should grab a booth, standing is going to be hazardous if you get my drift.'

Looking round at the people dancing and talking with their drinks it was pretty obvious what she meant 'yeah' said Becka 'good call, I'll find us a place' and she headed off into the crowd.

The girls got drinks and found a booth and took turns, one sitting while the other three danced, socialized or both. Kayla was actually all too happy to sit more often though, she was not much of a dancer and highly insecure when it came to the whole dancing thing.

When Elayne was taking her turn resting Evan came over 'hey, can I sit down?'

'Sure' she said smiling.

'So what do you think of the place' he asked gesturing round.

Elayne took a swig of her banana smoothy, through a straw, and then said 'um…it's real nice.'

'We didn't change the general structure much from when it was called Rikki's' Evan said 'bar is still in the same place, office and so is the stage but we re-modelled the outside and walls of the inside, the booths…'

Elayne nodded, trying to sound interested but in all honesty it wasn't that interesting to her 'sounds interesting.'

Evan raised an eyebrow 'am I boring you?'

'No' she said far too quickly.

Evan laughed 'I'm sorry, so how have you been, I heard you quit the swim team, how come?'

Searching for a good excuse Elayne finally said 'swimmer's ear.'

'That's too bad, you know I hear that isn't the first time a really talented swimmer has quit that school's swim team' Evan said casually.

Elayne gave an overly casual, slightly awkward laugh 'really…imagine that.'

Mercifully Becka chose that moment to come over 'hi Elayne, wow I'm exhausted' she said sitting down next to her 'what you guys been talking about?'

'Nothing much' Evan said, his face brightening up again 'just getting to know one another, you like the new place?'

Becka nodded enthusiastically 'I love it, I think we should make this our new café of choice don't you Elayne?'

Elayne didn't say anything; she just got up 'I'll be right back, just going to the bathroom.'

Watching her go Becka said 'what's up with her?'

Shrugging Evan watched her go 'no idea.'

'Whose the band playing here tonight by the way' Becka asked 'they're pretty cool, but I've never heard of them.'

Evan turned to look over at the group, then back at Becka 'just a local group I think, no one famous, we can't really afford that yet, we hired them from a local place I know that much.'

'I'm actually really into music and stuff' Becka said shifting her strawberry smoothy over from where she had left it and taking a drink.

'Can you sing' Evan asked curiously.

Becka nodded 'yeah but uh…I get kind of nervous in front of crowds.'

'Well' said Evan thoughtfully 'take this card' he pulled out a small card from his pocket 'that's where we hired the band from, if you change your mind try looking them up.'

Becka looked at the card, it was just a name and an address, it wasn't far from here 'thanks.'

'No problem' he replied smiling.

Just then Roxie came over 'hey guys, you want to dance Evan?'

Evan started to shake his head but she grabbed his hand 'come on, I'm not taking no for an answer.'

Becka watched her sister and Kayla dance in the crowd as she continued to get her breath back and drink down her smoothy. Evan really wasn't that great a dancer, he was awkward and insecure on the dance floor and it showed.

Before long Kayla came to sit down 'well at least I'm not the only one who looks silly out there' she said with a smile 'where's Elayne?'

'She went to the bathroom, but she has been a while' Becka said.

'Maybe I should go check on her' Kayla said thoughtfully.

Becka shook her head 'no its ok, I'm headed that way anyway.'

She moved through the crowd and over to the girl's bathroom, once inside she saw Elayne just leaning against the far wall 'hey, you ok?'

'Not really…Evan just said some stuff, kind of bothered me, that's all' Elayne replied.

'What stuff' Becka asked curiously.

But Elayne didn't seem overly up for talking about it.

'You want to go back out there' Becka asked sympathetically.

'No…but I suppose I can't hide in here for ever' Elayne replied, the two of them headed back out, into the noise and flashing lights.

The night went on and the girls managed to keep clear of any dangers; they danced, they talked and they enjoyed the general atmosphere of the party.

It was around 10:30 when the four girls were outside the café talking, standing near the jetty, when Evan came up beside them, they hadn't seen him much since the talk earlier, guess he'd been busy helping out.

'Well hello again, you girls thinking of heading home?'

Kayla shrugged 'probably yeah, fairly soon at least, why?'

'No reason, just curious, I have to stay behind and help clean up of course, so I'll be here until it finishes' he didn't sound overly pleased about that.

'But you are getting paid right' Roxie asked.

'Oh yeah, I certainly wouldn't be doing it otherwise' Evan replied laughing.

There was a silence for several minutes, while the girls talked amongst themselves and Evan just stood there, looking out over the water and sipping his drink but then he finally added 'um…hey Elayne, do you think I could speak to you a moment…just you?'

The other three looked at Elayne then each other 'I'll be fine' Elayne muttered to them and the girls moved away though not far.

'I hope I didn't say something to offend you earlier' Evan said 'because if I did…'

'No you didn't' Elayne said awkwardly 'it's fine, we're fine…really.'

He nodded 'ok' he was probably about to say more but just then a couple of morons stumbled out of the café and into him causing his drink to go all over Elayne.

Oh crap thought Elayne instantly what do I do, where do I go, I'm right out in the open, think, don't just stand around, why have I frozen.

All this and more ran through her mind in less than ten seconds, fortunately the others must have seen what had happened, she felt someone shove and pull her and before she knew it she was in the water. She looked over to see Kayla beside her, also a mermaid, the two of them shot off underwater quickly.

They finally stopped at the moon pool and Elayne looked at Kayla 'what happened back there?'

'Well you just froze, so I grabbed you by the arm and we leapt into the water, meanwhile Roxie and Becka drew everyone's attention back to the café…at least I hope they did' Kayla explained, rubbing water off her face.

Kayla's hair was a deep violet as a mermaid but also had some remaining strands of her natural brown hidden in there.

'So what now' Elayne asked 'should we head home?'

Kayla nodded 'probably the best idea' with that the two of them dived under again and headed back to the shore near their house, at this time of night it would hopefully be deserted.

(Note to Readers: Thank you for all the reviews I have received. For those of you following the story, sorry this last chapter has taken so long but I am writing many things and so I have to prioritize. The more reviews and more detailed feedback u give me the better, for I will feel more inclined then to continue this story first above others I am working on.)