Chapter 9: Fish To Fry

When Roxie and Becka finally arrived home they were in such a cheerful mood they didn't even notice Sophie standing tall, firm and livid with anger at the opposite end of the living room.

'About time you two got back' she said, her voice low but menacing and icy.

Becka trembled slightly, she'd never seen Sophie look this angry or menacing before 'sorry we…we won't…' but Sophie cut her off.

'Don't try to feed me that "we won't do it again" nonsense, I know where you go and that you have been sneaking out behind my back, I always have' Sophie snapped back angrily.

Roxie snorted 'yeah right, if you did then why didn't you stop us?'

She didn't give a reply to that, she simply stared back at them, then finally said 'I got a call from the school and naturally I heard what happened, you both alright?'

'Do you care' Roxie replied before Becka could say anything.

'Of course I do' Sophie yelled angrily and then she quickly calmed down again 'now, I think the two of you should get upstairs, worried as I was that doesn't excuse you sneaking around.'

Nodding Becka started heading upstairs but Roxie didn't move, she stayed in the hallway, glaring at Sophie 'sis, come on, leave it' she hissed at her but Roxie ignored her.

'I want to talk to Sophie about something' explained Roxie as she watched her walk into the kitchen, 'you go upstairs if you want.'

Sensing this was going to get bad, Becka headed upstairs, deciding to stay out the way.

Roxie moved into the kitchen and faced Sophie; she gave a look of surprise when she saw Roxie 'I thought I told you to go upstairs.'

'I want to talk to you about something' Roxie said 'can't I do that?'

Sophie looked a little surprised but shrugged 'alright, what is it?'

Crossing her arms across her chest Roxie took a deep breath, this could well turn into a big fight 'Becka and I are 16 now' she started.

'I am aware of this' Sophie said, sounding almost bored, like she felt Roxie was just messing with her.

'So aren't you forgetting something' Roxie asked curiously, she waited several moments, at first Sophie just stared at her frowning slightly but then a look of pure wide eyed fury came over her.

'You're not supposed to know about that' Sophie yelled angrily 'how did you even…you are in so much trouble.'

Roxie gave a small laugh 'what are you going to do? Send me to my room?'

Sophie grabbed Roxie by the arm and pulled her into her office, away from where anyone like Becka might hear 'I don't know how you found out about…that but if you think you are free of me, you can forget it, I have my reasons for keeping you both and there is nothing you can do about it, either of you.'

'You can't do that' Roxie said angrily.

Sophie smiled 'why not, Becka is my niece, Zane and Rikki gave you to me and the only letter promising to change that, I disposed of, as far as evidence goes I have a right to you both.'

'Who was it, who was I supposed to meet? Tell me or I swear to god you will never see either of us again' Roxie said angrily almost on the edge of tears now.

'And you'd go where? To Charlotte's, that would be the perfect excuse for me to get her in trouble, taking in kids she has no right to…they might even take the other two away from her as well.'

'She has adoption rights to Kayla and Elayne no different than you to me' Roxie yelled angrily 'you are the most evil person I know.'

Sophie smirked 'you'll find I have a reason for what I'm doing, just because it isn't clear to you…but I sadly can't reveal anything to you…yet, now go upstairs.'

She pushed Roxie out of the office and closed the door behind her, locking it.

Furious, Roxie bolted upstairs and into the room she and Becka shared, Becka was sitting on her bed but instantly jumped up 'what happened, I could hear you guys from here?'

Although she was still half crying Roxie explained the whole thing, to her.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Sophie sat in the office frowning deep in thought. She was distracted by the sound of her phone ringing and she answered it 'yes?'

'It's me Miss Benjamin, I believe you and I should arrange a time to meet in person, discuss things more…thoroughly' said the female voice on the other side of the phone.

Sophie sighed 'only if you'll answer me some questions, things have become slightly more…complicated.'

'Nothing you can't handle I hope, I told you what you were dealing with…and you made your decision to keep the girls, I'll answer what I feel is acceptable, is that enough?'

After a long moment of thought Sophie nodded 'yes, alright, where then?'

The next day Becka and Roxie slept in as much as possible and then went downstairs; Sophie wasn't around as far as they could tell.

Seeing a note on the fridge Becka picked it up 'huh, it says here she went out and will be back later.'

'Like I really care' Roxie said bitterly 'what should we do today?'

Becka shrugged 'I don't know, find out what the others are doing maybe.'

Nodding Roxie sighed as she sat down at the kitchen table and Becka joined her 'I still can't believe Sophie said all that.'

'Yeah well she did sis, deal with it, she was a devious woman and always was' Roxie said angrily.

Becka dialled Kayla's number and waited 'hey Kayla, what are you guys going to do today?'

After several moments Becka hung up the phone 'Kayla is going to go back to the Marine Park, see if that Luke guy has made any progress finding stuff on Cleo…but Elayne will be around.'

Roxie nodded 'then let's go keep her company, it's not like there is much to do around here anyway.'

Sophie parked her car outside the address she'd been given, it was a small private residence, secluded further down the Gold Coast, in the opposite direction from Brisbane.

She moved up to the door and rang the bell, waiting patiently, when the door finally opened a woman stood there with long dark brown hair, a deep and lustrous chocolate colour 'ah, we meet at last Sophie' she said smiling 'please, come in.'

Sophie stepped inside and followed her into the main living room and after the woman sat down she also sat down, sitting opposite her 'my name is Tayla Brooks and I presume you have some questions for me.'

Nodding Sophie frowned 'how…I mean, you told me what Becka and Roxie are but…how is it possible?'

Tayla laughed 'even I don't know the full story behind that, but I know who does.'

'Charlotte' Sophie answered, knowing she was right.

Nodding Tayla smiled 'indeed, she is the last of the…previous generation of mermaids.'

'Then how do you know about all this…and if you have known why wait until now to tell anyone' Sophie asked.

Tayla's face hardened 'my grandfather knew…he'd seen one with his own eyes, had evidence too…but he lost it and no one believed him after that, everyone made a mockery of him…my family have barely recovered from it as you can see, I live in this…small house, my family used to be wealthy, my grandfather was obsessed…squandered the family fortune and spent his whole life on it…once he died my father and the rest of our family had to pick up the pieces.'

After a long moment of silence Sophie asked 'what was your grandfather's name?'

'Karl Brooks' Tanya replied 'he not only saw the mermaid, he was in love with her…her name was Julia but when he learned what she was he tried to expose her…but her two friends stopped him.'

Sophie looked stared at Tanya for a long moment 'and what exactly does this have to do with me and the girls?'

'Don't you see, for a start those girls would be worth a fortune and secondly it is my chance to prove everything my grandfather was saying; we expose them and my family will be renowned' Tanya explained.

Frowning in thought Sophie shook her head 'Charlotte won't let you get anywhere near them if she knows what you're up to.'

'But you can' Tanya said 'you need only expose them at the right time, then it doesn't matter if I'm there or not. I'll just show up…rather conveniently, after you expose them.'

Sophie frowned 'Charlotte doesn't trust me, I doubt she'll let me get involved with the girls and they don't much like me either after our recent arguments.'

'Then perhaps it is time you used some of that charm of yours I heard so much about, become their friend, Charlotte's one weakness is she believes in giving people second chances…play that to your advantage' Tanya replied with sharp smirk 'vindication takes a lot of work…but it's what I live for now.'

Meanwhile Elayne, Roxie and Becka were sitting on the beach, though far from the water and talking about Sophie and Roxie's argument.

'She actually said those things' said Elayne with amazement 'your joking right?'

'No I'm not' Roxie argued back.

Becka put on a thoughtful expression 'maybe you just misunderstood her, I'm sure she had a reason for the things she said.'

Roxie glared at Becka 'don't defend her sis, I told you word for word what she said, she deliberately got rid of that letter, why would she do that?'

Becka shrugged 'I don't know but we don't know all the details…I just think we should try and keep an open mind.'

'Becka is right' Elayne said 'I'm not saying I like what she did, but we shouldn't be sinking to her level.'

Sighing Roxie gave in 'alright, but if she doesn't start to chill and back off soon…' she trailed off not sure how to finish that sentence.

Footsteps in the sand made them all turn and look over their shoulder to see Evan walking over to them 'hey girls.'

Roxie grinned 'hey Evan' she then gave a knowing look at Elayne.

'I was wondering, um, Elayne could I talk with you a moment' Evan asked awkwardly.

The other two girls tried their hardest not to smile; Roxie pretended to look out at the ocean, and Becka scratched the back of her neck in a nonchalant way.

'Yeah…I guess' Elayne said, she got up 'I'll be back in a minute.'

'Take your time' Roxie muttered.

The two of them walked a little way along the beach then came to a stop 'so how have you been' Evan asked casually.

'Fine' Elayne replied.

'Weird about the school fire huh' Evan replied, giving a small awkward laugh.

Elayne nodded, looking down the beach, her hair whipping in the wind, she could practically feel the awkwardness in the air.

After a few seconds of silence Evan finally said 'ok, I'm not going to beat around the bush here.'

Here it comes Elayne thought to herself, bracing for the awkward moment.

'I came to ask you about something…it's really…odd' Evan began.

Elayne frowned and turned to look at him she wasn't sure "odd" was the word she'd use if she were him.

'You know how you weren't the only swimmer to leave the swim team' Evan continued.

Elayne groaned 'oh god, not this again, let it go Evan.'

'Why' Evan replied quickly 'is there something you don't want me to know?'

'In case you didn't take the hint last time, I didn't want to talk about it, it's bad enough that I can't swim much anymore without being reminded about it' Elayne said, she began to turn and walk away but what he said next stopped her dead in her tracks.

'Emma Gilbert' Evan said 'she was the other girl who left the swim team in almost the exact same way and for the same reasons you are…wasn't your birth name Elayne Gilbert?'

For a couple of seconds Elayne stuttered her mouth half open but then she just kept walking 'I'm not talking about this Evan, drop it.'

She returned to the girls, still feeling Evan watching her, 'something the matter' Becka asked, clearly her face showed more than she thought.

'We'll talk more inside' said Elayne 'come on' the three of them headed back to Charlotte's house.

Once the three of them were settled in the living room Elayne sighed deeply 'he suspects something' Elayne said.

Becka frowned 'who does?'

'Evan, he is making the connection between me and my mother, we both quit the swim team so suddenly despite our talent…this isn't good' Elayne replied.

'It was inevitable though' said a voice and they turned to see Charlotte coming down the stairs 'sorry to interrupt you girls, but I couldn't help but overhear.'

'It's ok' replied Becka 'but what are we going to do, enough people know about us as it is.'

Charlotte nodded 'true…but right now all Evan knows is that both Elayne and Emma quit the swim team…he can't link that to you being mermaids…not yet anyway.'

The front door flew open and Kayla burst in, making them jump 'you guys are never going to believe what I found, Luke did it, he found me some footage of my mom in the Dolphin Show. We got it transferred to DVD and now here it is' she said holding out the disc in its case.

Finally seeing the others gathered together she said 'what's wrong, something happen?'

Kayla was filled in on everything and when they finished she sighed and shrugged 'I agree with Charlotte, it is awkward but it was bound to happen sooner or later. What matters though is he doesn't know anymore than that.'

'Do you think he is trustworthy, if we have to tell him' Becka asked curiously.

'We'll worry about that when it comes to it' Charlotte replied.

Kayla held up the DVD 'so um…for now can we take a look at this, I've been dying to see it.'

'I have to admit I'm quite curious myself' said Charlotte 'how did she manage an occupation like that without exposing herself.'

Kayla put the DVD in and pressed play as they all gathered around to watch, they recognised the Dolphin Cove area where the show took place, the numbers in one corner of the screen told them this must have taken place about 2 years after Cleo graduated.

'Ladies and Gentlemen, boy and girls, welcome to Dolphin Cove' yelled out one of the dolphin trainers standing at the far side of the pools with the dolphins.

The crowds were screaming and cheering and other dolphin trainers did the usual stunt of riding in on dolphins and coming to join the main trainer.

'Where is my mom' Kayla frowned thoughtfully.

'Be patient' Roxie said 'she's probably coming.'

'Now I want you to all put your hands together for the star of our show and her dolphin friends, Cleo Sertori!'

Cleo came onto the screen; she stood near the stands, away from the water, waving to the audience 'hello everyone and welcome, Ronny and the other dolphins have many exciting tricks to show today, so prepare your cameras.'

What took place next over the following 30 minutes or so was hard to describe but Charlotte saw the true amazing factor of it, to normal human eyes what she was doing would seem very strange.

After about fifteen minutes of watching Cleo signals the dolphins to do stunts and pick up the other trainers to ride them about Roxie frowned 'I don't get it, what is so special, it looks like any ordinary show?'

'Yeah' said Kayla sounding disappointed, 'how is my mom so amazing?'

Charlotte smiled 'Cleo isn't even looking at the water, she isn't even crouching low to communicate with the dolphins, from where she is standing they all understand her signals utterly and completely.'

Becka frowned 'how though?'

'She must spend time with them secretly, in the water I mean' Elayne said 'don't you think?'

Charlotte nodded 'yes, I think so.'

Roxie frowned 'isn't that kind of cheating?'

'Hey' Kayla said frowning 'she is not cheating.'

'I don't think so either' replied Charlotte 'she is using her natural affinity for the sea as a mermaid, there is nothing wrong with that.'

A beep from Roxie's phone drew her attention, she pulled it out and looked at it 'oh great' she looked at Becka 'Sophie wants us.'

'Then we should go' Becka said 'we've angered her enough recently.'

'What happened with Sophie' Charlotte asked, sounding concerned.

Elayne sighed 'I'll fill you in; you guys should go see what she wants.'

Roxie and Becka were prepared for the worst as they approached their house and walked up the driveway. They opened the door and walked inside 'hello' Roxie asked uncertainly 'Sophie?'

'Girls, there you are, I wanted you to come home so we could have dinner together…and talk about things' Sophie replied, she was standing near the dinner table laying things out 'could you help me get dinner ready?'

Roxie frowned 'um…what?'

Giving her sister a shove Becka said 'yeah sure, we'll help.'

Sophie smiled 'excellent, I'll be back in a moment' she headed into her office.

While the two girls chopped up some vegetables Roxie whispered 'ok…what is up with her…she hasn't been this nice since we were kids.'

Becka shrugged 'maybe she's just trying to meet us halfway.'

'Doesn't sound like something she'd do' Roxie replied 'just last night she was yelling at me and now…something's not right.'

Becka just shrugged 'least we can do is hear her out.'

Sophie came back in 'so how was your day girls?'

Again weird, she had never asked or seemed to care much about stuff like that Roxie blinked away her surprise and said 'um…fine, boring but fine.'

'Kayla discovered that Cleo used to be a really great dolphin trainer' Becka added 'at the Marine Park.'

Sophie frowned 'oh yeah, I forgot all about that, well to be honest I only knew the two girls through my brother and Bella…but it did make the papers.'

'How come you never told us about that' Becka asked frowning.

Sophie shrugged 'I just forgot I guess…between raising you both and…everything else.'

'Ok so why the sudden urge to have dinner together' Roxie asked 'we haven't had a family dinner in…ages.'

Sophie sighed 'well firstly I wanted to apologise for yesterday and secondly I guess I have been rather hard on you girls…now that you are older I don't see the harm in you spending time with Charlotte and the others.'

Roxie raised an eyebrow 'now you say this…after years of keeping us apart…how about an explanation.'

Sophie sighed 'I just was doing what I thought was right, in accordance with your parents last wishes…maybe I misunderstood…can we try and make things right?'

The two girls looked at each other uncertainly; Roxie had a frown on her face and was clearly trying to figure out what was going on, Becka on the other hand merely moved her eyes between her sister and Sophie, her face blank.

'Yeah I guess' Roxie said at last and gave Sophie a reluctant hug that seemed a little tense for both of them.

Becka just nodded in agreement, Sophie clearly didn't seem to think a hug was necessary with her as the two of them weren't as hostile towards each other, instead Sophie turned to the table and continued preparing it.

When the three of them sat down to dinner it was awkward, none of them really knew what to say.

Finally breaking the silence Sophie said 'I was thinking, perhaps we should arrange a time to all get together with Charlotte and the girls…put these things behind us you know, perhaps for a barbeque or something.'

Roxie didn't say anything, she just picked at her food and continued to look at Sophie, as if trying to figure out why she was suddenly acting this way.

'Yeah I guess' Becka replied 'I mean, if they are ok with it of course.'

As they ate Roxie was still thinking to herself about things 'Sophie, I want to know…' she paused…uncertain if she should go there again 'I want to know what was in that letter…about me and Becka.'

Sophie frowned for a second then her eyes lit up with understanding 'oh that letter…well it's kind of a long story.'

'We got time' Becka said simply.