Authors Note:
Sorry for the long delay. I got sick this week and felt so lousy I didn't even go to work for several days. I didn't feel like doing much of anything truth told. However I've finally kicked whatever I had and am now back. I am glad I didn't write anything as I was a bit delirious on a few of the days and who knows what I'd have written during that time. So without further adieu back to the girls and their adventures. Oh I don't own this, I don't feel the need to post that again, as it should be obvious.
Chapter 3:
Day Off
I dragged myself in the front door. I was barely able to stand. My feet were killing me and all I wanted was a hot bath and a good nights sleep. The week had been crazy. With so much to familiarize myself with I was burned out. The one upside to it all was tomorrow we all had the day off.
This was a rarity. None of us would be at work at any point tomorrow. That included the guys. We planned to make a day of it. We were going to spend the day on the beach. Enjoying the sand, sun, and surf. Well we'd be avoiding the last one but the guys would have some fun. I hoped to talk everyone into heading out to some of the reefs in the afternoon after we had lunch. I hoped it wouldn't take too much convincing.
But for now it was almost 9pm and I was almost dead on my feet. I'd called Bella earlier to let her know not to wait up for me and I could see that she'd already called it an early night. I was vacillating between a bath tonight then sleep or sleep then a bath first thing tomorrow. The soreness in my muscles decided me. Bath tonight or I'd never be able to even move in the morning.
I dragged myself to the bathroom and started filling the tub. After adding some scented oils and soaps to the water I brushed my teeth while it filled. Once it was full I held out my hand and started to warm it up a bit till it was just right. Getting dry took a long time with my powers but small changes I was really good at. I climbed into the water and got situated as my tail formed. Once in I slowly heated the water up slowly, pausing now and then to let myself adjust to the heat.
I gave out a contented hum as I leaned back and rested my head on the side of the tub. I could feel all the knots in my legs and back working themselves out. It felt like a slice of heaven. I sunk a bit lower into the water enjoying the warmth and decided to close my eyes for just a brief moment.
"Please tell me you haven't been in there all night!" I was jerked upright upon hearing Bella's comment. As I blinked my eyes I became aware of the fact that the water was now cold and the sun was shining in through the window.
"I guess I was way more tired then I thought." I admitted to her.
"Apparently." She looked worried.
"Man, feels like I just blinked my eyes for a second that's all. I really must have needed to sleep bad."
"Next time sleep first. I know we can hold our breath for long periods of time but we still breath air. Ironic as it would be you could still drown." She chided me. "That would have been terrible state for me to have found you in instead."
"I didn't plan to fall asleep you know. It kinda just happened. I guess the hot water just helped things along." I pulled the drain out so I could start getting dry.
Whatever she planned to say next was interrupted by a knock at the door. Bella hurried out to see who it was, and came back shortly with Rikki in tow.
"You chose to take a bath now. We're supposed to be meeting over at Em's house soon." She said.
"I found her like this." Bella said. "She'd been here all night."
Rikki started laughing. "It's not funny actually. We still need air. If she slipped underwater she could still have drowned."
That sobered Rikki. "Oh right. Are you OK."
"Yes. Thankfully nothing bad happened." I started to dry myself off and after a second Rikki helped. "But Bella is right. It could have been much worse."
Finally dry I stood up, still in my clothes from last night, and stretched. I felt good. I hurried to get dressed for the day. I picked out a nice two piece for the day and then grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to wear on the walk over to Emma's. I finished with a pair of slip on sandals and I was ready to go. I headed back out to the living area where Rikki and Bella waited and we gathered up our purses and headed out the door.
I got asked if I was sure I was OK at least a dozen times on the walk over. I tried not to let it bother me, they meant well, but I by the end I was starting to answer through clenched teeth and they finally let it go. I did get them to agree not to tell the others. I didn't need them worrying too and after all it was done and nothing had happened. I'd take it as a lesson learned and endeavor not to do it again. They agreed, if reluctantly, to not tell the others. However, I got the impression that Bella would be waiting up for me the next several nights.
When we got to Emma's house the whole place looked like it had been hit by a tornado. Towels were stacked up in various places and bags of snacks foods were scattered everywhere. There were a pair of half filled coolers in the kitchen one of them part filled with ice and various lunch foods and the other with ice and drinks. In the midst of it all was the tornado herself, Emma.
She was in constant motion, filling drink bottles, packing foods, counting and recounting the number of towels. We hadn't so much as put a foot into the living area before the three of us were drafted to help. I though Rikki might have protested but instead she just whispered to us to get started, that it would be less stressful. On some level that frightened me.
I got stuck helping keep stuff cold. Emma was not above a little bit of mermaid magic to save on the cost of buying ice in bulk. So I found myself filling ice trays for her to flash freeze, then I'd empty them into the coolers, and repeat. Once that was done we had to start packing all the snack food that didn't need to be kept cold in easy to carry bags. Then the towels, sunscreen, and stuff for entertainment. Through it all Emma kept running around with a list of not only what needed to be done but also when it should be both started and finished.
Several times I was ready to collapse, but Rikki, used to this, dragged me back to my feet and kept me going. I found myself wondering several times just how well Emma would have done in the military. She was certainly organized and focused enough for it.
"Where's Cleo!" Emma called out. "She's three minutes late."
Three minutes I mouthed to Rikki. She just shook her head at me with a look that said to just let it go. I decided to take her advice mostly because Emma had just pulled out her phone to call Cleo and ask where she was. She still worked like someone possessed even with the phone to her ear in one hand. The guys arrived a few minutes later. As soon as they came in the door I tried to signal them to hide, but Emma saw them first and pounced on them with a list of tasks they could help with. Only Zane had the gall to protest, but even he caved after a few minutes of Emma harping on him.
"So where is Cleo?" I asked her while I was trying to fit one more towel in a bag I was sure it'd never fit in, but Emma had insisted I find a way to make it fit. I'd seen how Emma could get task oriented in the past but this was my first time with her going all out and in truth she scared me.
"Turns out her sister was so annoyed that she get's to come to the beach with us while she has to sit at home working on her summer reading that she rigged the faucet in their bathroom to spray Cleo. This is not the first time Kim's done this." Emma answered.
"So either she's on her way or still getting dry. Right?" I asked.
"On her way. Her parents knowing made it a lot easier when she asked for a bunch of towels." Emma said while putting the last tray of ice in the coolers. "By the way why were you guys late?
"I over slept a bit." I answered quickly. Too quickly it turned out. Seems they were getting used to the ways I used to evade questions.
"You over slept. You use coffee as an alarm. So how do you over sleep?" She countered.
"I forgot to set it up. I was really tired last night." I tried. She didn't buy it. She just kept staring at me, knowing sooner or later I'd cave and spill the beans.
Unfortunately Bella broke first, "she fell asleep in the bath."
Everyone chuckled except myself, Bella, Rikki, and surprisingly Will. He just looked at me with a serious expression and calmly said, "you're lucky you didn't go under. Even you guys can drown, as ridiculous as that sounds, it's still possible."
That got everyone's attention and they stopped laughing immediately. They quickly returned to their tasks and tried to pretend nothing happened. Emma asked me if I was OK, I banged my head on the counted and tried not to scream in frustration.
I was saved from further questions by Cleo's timely arrival. She hadn't even gotten a foot in the door before Emma had her in hand and helping finish packing. After that we lugged everything out to the cars. She'd arranged to borrow her parents SUV for the day and Zane had brought his as well. She'd even had Will borrow his sisters truck as she'd left it in his care when she went to their parents. It was barely enough for all the stuff and there was almost nowhere left to sit, but somehow we managed.
Once we got to the beach we had to carry everything down to the sand and then get it all set up. Again Emma had everything planned out, but this time Ash just stopped her with a kiss and an admonishment to just let it go and have fun. She tried to protest, but he just kissed her again and after a few more times she gave in. After that we just pulled out what we needed when we needed it. In that area Emma's list did come in handy as she knew where everything was packed.
We had a lot of fun. We tossed a Frisbee around, set up a net for volley ball, and even tossed around a beach ball. We girls avoided the water, but the guys had fun running in the surf. We made sure they were completely dry before letting them come back near us though.
"You know something." I said
"What's that?" Rikki asked.
"This was a great idea." I said.
There was a chorus of affirmatives and we all shared a laugh. The guys were currently having a contest to see who could stay underwater the longest. Will was judging as if he'd participated he'd have won easily. And Emma, after checking her watch, started to unpack lunch.
"Oh! This isn't good." Emma was looking into the cooler with all the cold food.
"Don't tell me, let me guess," I said looking at her. "The ice has started to melt?"
She gave me a flat look. I just laughed. I then put two fingers to my mouth and let out a loud whistle easily getting Will's attention. I pointed to the cooler and waved him over.
"What's up?" He asked as he got near enough for us to hear him with out the need to shout.
"Melted ice." I answered. He caught on immediately and after grabbing a towel began to pull out the food and dry off the containers before handing them to Emma to set up.
"Are you sure I can't have him?" I asked Bella.
"Very sure." She answered with a roll of her eyes.
"Why do you keep asking that?" Will asked me.
"At this point I think it's just become a running joke I have going with her. I know her answer and she knows I'm not serious." I replied.
"Ah." He said handing over another package of lunch foods. He seemed to think about it for a bit. Then said "you know I guess it's kinda cool to be fought over." He cracked a smile after he said it and we all had a good laugh at his willingness to play along. I held up a hand for a high five and he was about to deliver when Bella stopped him with a reminder that his hands were soaked from the water in the cooler.
We both winced, "yeah that wouldn't be good," we ended up saying at the same time.
"Hey Will." Zane called out. "I though you were supposed to be judging us."
"The girls needed my help getting lunch set up." He held up a drink bottle that was dripping water. "The ice melted and you know."
"Right." Zane said picking up a towel and drying off. Lewis and Ash also got dry and then lent a hand getting the last of the stuff set up.
There was a large variety of foods. The range went from health foods, to junk foods, to sandwich makings, and even to a foil wrap filled with chicken wings that Rikki heated up for us. In fact there were several items that were meant to be served hot that Rikki heated for us. Sometimes it was great being a mermaid.
After we finished eating and got all the leftovers packed back up and the ice refrozen, a team effort from Cleo and Emma, we laid back and soaked up some sun while we waited for lunch to settle.
"What would you guys say to a swim?" I asked.
"How would we get back?" Rikki asked.
"We wouldn't." I answered. "We'd pack the food and all back into the cars and then we'd all meet out at Mako and then we could all go looking at the reefs with no one around to bother us."
"We could park the car's by the boat house," Will offered. "Then anyone would think we'd just stopped there to get our boats."
"It could work," Bella said.
"I'll go." Lewis said.
We talked about it a bit more, but before we could agree on anything our pleasant day ended as Nate and a large batch of others came and crashed our outing.
"Hey, Zane!" Nate called. "Thought we were mates? How come I didn't get an invite to the party."
"Because it's not a party, Nate." Zane answered. "Just some friends enjoying a day off of work."
"Looks like a party to me," a blond girl said with a sneer.
"Miriam." Zane said dryly. "I should have known."
Emma, Cleo, and Rikki all groaned. Bella and I just looked confused.
"Old classmates of ours,"Lewis whispered to the two of us.
"What's the matter, Zane? We used to get along so well, and then you started hanging out with these losers." She said. Clearly some old grudge being brought back up. "What happened to you?"
"I grew up. Which is more then I can say for you." He reached down and picked up one of the coolers. "Come on guys let's get this stuff back to the cars."
Rikki just stared at him with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open. I waved my hand in front of her face. She didn't react. I then noticed most of the others had similar expressions on their faces.
"Someone care to fill me in here?" I asked quietly. I didn't get a response.
"Sorry about this Emma," a guy with short curly hair and a killer tan said. "I tried to talk them out of it." He picked up the other cooler. "At least let me give you a hand with this since it's clear you guys are done here."
They finally snapped out of their daze and started gathering things up.
"Um... thanks Byron." Emma said, it was echoed by Cleo and Rikki.
"No problem. Hey, I haven't seen you three around before," he put the cooler in the back of one of the SUV's and then turned to me, Bella, and Will and held out his hand. "I'm Byron, an old classmate of theirs."
We each shook his hand and gave our names in turn. Afterward Will put his arm around Bella, a subtle sign they were together. He needn't have bothered as Byron didn't seem interested in Bella. Me, however, he kept looking at, not unkindly, and I felt myself wanting to get to know him a bit better too. Now where did that impulse come from!
"Laura, huh? It's nice to meet you. If you don't mind me asking where are you from?" He asked me.
"Um..." I stuttered and blushed. What the hell was wrong with me? I shook myself and in a clearer voice answered him. "I'm from the US. Northern California."
"Good place that, California. I was there for a surfing competition, but down in San Diego. Great waves there." He said.
"Yeah." I said. What was up with me and the one word answers.
"Well. I hope I see you around again?"
"OK." He headed off and I turned to see the other girls all smiling at me. "What?" They just chuckled.
"ENOUGH!" Zane screamed loud enough to draw all our attention. "Listen here Miriam. You are not welcome here, you weren't invited, you definitely weren't wanted, and yet you showed up anyways. You are still the same selfish, spoiled child I knew back in school. You haven't changed a bit."
"Like you're one to talk!" She yelled back.
"I admit I've made a lot of mistakes. Some I wish I could take back. I put my foot in it many times and it cost me Rikki, I almost wasn't able keep her friendship. Thankfully I kept that much, and I'm learning, slowly I'll admit, but I am learning, to not make the same mistakes. You, apparently, haven't learned a thing otherwise you'd have never come here and dropped yourself on us uninvited. Especially since I haven't seen you in three years."
"I just.. I just..." she stammered.
"I don't want to hear it. Just go." Zane pointed back to the crowd she'd gathered that was waiting down on the beach. She looked like she was about to say something else then reconsidered it after looking at his face. She turned and left, I imagine she tried to make it look like it was her choice, but I doubt anyone was fooled.
"Zane?" Rikki said. "Where did that come from?"
"A lot of hard learned lessons I wish I'd learned long ago. But I can't take back what's done, as much as I wish I could. All I can do is learn. I guess it took loosing you to make me see that." He answered.
"Zane, I... " Rikki looked at a loss for words. I may not have known her as long as the other girls but I'd never seen her with nothing to say.
"It's OK," Zane said. "I've come to accept that it was my fault and to not blame you for doing the right thing. Anyways we were going to go swimming before we were so rudely interrupted, I believe. Well let's not let them ruin a good day shall we?" He headed over to his SUV and got in the drivers seat.
"OK. Who is that and where is the old Zane?" Lewis said?
"And how much does the old Zane want to stay gone?" I quipped?
"However much he asks for I'll pay it." Ash said.
"And consider it a bargain." Cleo finished.
The rest just nodded. Zane rolled down the window and stuck his head out, and asked if we were going to get in or not. We hurried to jump in to the cars and we headed over to Will's boat house. Zane and Lewis jumped out and headed towards the marina to get their own boats and gear. Ash jumped into Will's boat while Will ducked inside to grab some of his gear. He even offered to loan his spares to Ash for the day.
The five of us just promised to meet them on the usual beach on Mako and dove into the water. We took off, Emma and Rikki racing each other as usual, and I hung back unable to get Byron out of my head. He was cute, and nice. I didn't fail to notice he was the only one everyone seemed pleased to see and that he'd also been the only one to offer to lend a hand. All good marks of character. I shook my head to clear it and tried to focus on catching up to the others. I didn't have much success.
I arrived at the beach last. We knew we were going to have at least half an hour to ourselves before the guys arrived. Clearly the girls had a topic in mind to fill the time. I'd barely gotten clear of the water before they pounced.
"Well it looks like someone's interested in you." Emma half sung.
"I have no idea what you mean." I said
"Oh really?" Rikki said disbelieving. "Curly hair and a great tan ring a bell?"
"He was just being friendly." I said.
"So friendly he forgot I was even standing there? Yeah right." Bella said sarcasticly.
"It's nothing." I said. "I'm just the new girl."
"Hardly." Cleo said. "He graduated two years before us and then went around the world to surf professionally in competitions. This is the first time I've seen him since he left. He's seen a lot of new girls so that won't work. And Bella's would also count as the new girl too and he didn't even notice her."
"I'd have been insulted if he hadn't been so smitten with you." Bella said with a smirk.
"I used to have a thing for him before he graduated and I met Ash." Emma said to me. "Trust me you could do a lot worse."
"Yeah but you'd be hard pressed to do better." Rikki joked.
"You're reading too much into it." I protested. "It's not like that."
"You seemed a bit tongue tied at the time." Bella pointed out.
"OK so he was cute, I won't deny that, but there's nothing there." I said.
"We'll see. You'll see him again." Rikki said.
I just rolled my eyes. "Your just imagining things." And yet I once again found my thoughts on him and how I'd never been at a loss for words around boys before. No! They were just imagining things I repeated to myself. It sounded weak.
"Anyways, what was up with Zane there? I've never seen him get that worked up." I said to change the subject away from me.
The girls gave me a look that clearly said they weren't fooled by the attempt but they let it stand for now.
"I have no idea," Rikki said, "I mean I'm seriously reconsidering somethings."
"Rikki. You can't!" Cleo protested.
"Don't worry. I only said reconsidering. Even if so he'd have a long way to go before I'd actually do anything." Rikki said. "But I definitely am not as sure as I was before that it's over."
"I really wish I'd been here to see what he did." Emma said and I nodded agreement before she continued. "Then I could understand why you two fell apart."
"Well it was a lot of things." Rikki started.
"Don't bother Rikki, its not something I'll understand from just an explanation. I'd have needed to have been here." Emma said stopping her.
"Same for me." I said. "And a little more as I've only known him for a year so I don't know what he was like way back."
"Good point." Bella said. "I saw what ended it all, but I also don't know what he was like from before as well. So there's a lot I just don't fully follow either."
"I've known him since about the age of three." Emma said. "And even I was surprised when you two got together. I did notice that he got better after you got together though. You were a good influence on him. I can't imagine what could have happened to ruin it all."
"Sophie." Cleo said. "She went for Zane like Charlotte went for Lewis, and she could sometimes be as bad as the old Zane. It wasn't a good combination."
Emma shuddered. "That explains much. I think if I ever meet this Sophie I'll understand even more."
"Well you'll have a chance to." Bella said. "Not to be the barer of bad news, but she's coming to visit Will next week."
"Why is she visiting your boyfriend?" I asked
"Forgot we never told you. She's Will's sister." Bella said.
"Ah. And I get the impression she didn't like you much?" I asked.
"Oh that barely begins to cover it," Bella said
We spent the rest of the time waiting for the guys by having Rikki, Cleo, and Bella fill Emma and me in on Sophie and all she had done. It didn't leave either of us with a good image of her. When they got to the end where they finally admitted she was responsible for what happened in the moon pool we were half temped to drown her.
About that time the guys finally arrived, and we joined them in the water. We got to play tour guide to all the reefs and underwater landscapes that were a second home to us. Each of the couples swam together, Emma with Ash, Cleo with Lewis, and Bella with Will. Rikki and I kept Zane company as the only ones not officially with anyone. I found it humors that of the guys Lewis could say down the second longest with his snorkel. Will, with his free diver training was able to swim all the way to the bottom, a depth of approximately twenty five meters, and stay down there long enough to actually make it worth the trip.
Of course even he had to go up for air every four minutes or so. We took it all in stride. Politely waiting for them each time they had to breath. Zane eventually got tired of it and took a quick trip back to his boat to grab a pair of mini air tanks. He offered one to Ash who took it gratefully and between breaths from the tanks and holding their breath they were able to join us in the deeper water.
We noticed how much time has passed only when it started to get dark out, and so we regretfully decided to call it a day. We headed back to Will's boat house to get all of Emma's stuff. The guys had been willing to give us the keys so we could drive the cars over to Emma's. They'd walk over and pick them up once they got back to shore.
However, we noticed a fourth car that hadn't been there before when we left. We kept our distance and stayed underwater. If we saw anyone enter the water at all we'd be gone before they had a chance to get their bearings. Then we waited for the guys to arrive so we could find out what was going on. It's a good thing we can hold our breath for so long as the guys took their time getting back.
They cruised to a stop when they saw the cars still there, and we surfaced behind them so anyone from shore would have a hard time seeing us. The fact that night was falling helped too.
"Sophie." Will said. "Has to be. She's early."
"How can you be so sure?" I asked.
"The car's a rental." He said. "She's the only one that would be out here at the boat house at this hour in a rental car."
I had to admit it made logical sense.
"Wait here with Lewis and Zane." He said. "I'll go inside and find out for sure."
"OK." Bella answered him.
We all were about to duck back underwater when Lewis asked us for the keys.
"Look it might be easier if we drive them over to your house and you meet us there." He explained.
"Problem." Emma said. "I had the keys on me when I got wet and they went where ever the rest of our stuff does."
"OK. That would make things more difficult." He said. "Guess we'll have to wait on Will then."
So we waited. Not that we had much choice in the matter. It took a while but eventually Will and a woman with short red hair came out of the boat house. Will was holding a paper and the woman seemed to be trying to convince him of something. He said something back to her and she seemed to accept what ever it was even if she didn't look fully satisfied by his answer. Then she got in the rental car and drove away.
Will waited until he was sure she was well gone then turned and waved us into shore. Once we got dry he asked us all to come inside. He never took his eyes off the paper he was holding.
"Will?" Bella asked him concerned. "What's wrong? What did Sophie want?"
"I'll tell you all inside," was all he said.
We exchanged worried looks and followed him in.
Soon as we all got inside he started explaining with no preamble. "I've been cut off." He said.
"What?" Rikki asked.
"By my parents." He elaborated. "They feel that I'm an adult now and should support myself. So I have to earn my own money." He sat down. "They'll continue to pay for me until my birthday in two months but after that I'm on my own. It gives me some time to look for work, but not much. Sophie gave me this as a short term alternative."
He passed the paper around and we each took a look at it. It was a simple flier for a locally sponsored dive competition. The winner got to take home ten grand local currency. I had to admit it would be a nice starting buffer while he looked for work, and said as much.
"Yeah. Except that Will no longer competes." Bella explained.
"Well it would be a one time only thing and she's not forcing me to do it. She just wanted to give me an option that would get me some money in the short term and give me more time to look for work." He said.
"Well if you do go for it," I said. "Hypothetically what would you need?"
"Honestly not as much as I would need if I wasn't spending most mornings swimming with you guys." He said. "That's the main reason I'd be willing to do it. I don't need much to get up to competition level."
"And who would train you?" Bella asked. "Sophie?"
"No. She no longer has the time. That's why she's visiting actually. She got hired as a coach for one of the other divers that's competing. He sought her out when he realized she'd trained a record setter." He said. "In this I'd be on my own for it."
"Well I guess we could coach you." I offered. "Unofficially of course. That is if you decided to do it."
"How long do you have to think about it." Rikki asked.
"I have to register no later then a week from tomorrow." He answer her.
"Let us know," Cleo said. "Either way. We're all your friends so we're behind you."
Everyone nodded, even the guys that hadn't been there when Will was a diver. "Thanks guys."
"Cleo's right." Emma said. "We are you're friends, and what better coaches on how to go underwater diving then a bunch of mermaids. If you want us we'll make you the best diver ever."
"I haven't even decided yet." Will protested.
"Sorry." I said for us all. "I guess we're a little over enthusiastic about offering help."
"That's OK." He said.
"You'll forgive me if I choose to support you from a distance this time." Zane said. "Last time I think I did more harm then good. So if you go for it I'll cheer you on but I'll stay away otherwise."
"Well I don't know much about the sport," Ash began. "But you have my vote."
"Mine too." Lewis said.
"Well I think we should all head out, get the cars unpacked, and let Will have the space to make up his own mind." I said. "It's really starting to get late here."
After a chorus of agreement we headed over to Emma's house and got everything unpacked and put away. There were a few mishaps while emptying the coolers and more then one of us ended up on the floor in tails, but it wasn't as bad with Emma's family in the know. They shook their heads along with us as we got dried and continued putting stuff away.
The guys all headed out once we were done and the five of us all pulled out sleeping bags and found a spot on the floor in Emma's room. We spent some time talking over the day's events, interspersed with Rikki and Emma arguing about who beat who in what activity, and eventually we all fell asleep. It was a pleasant end to a nice day. I couldn't wait for the next time we all had time off together. I felt it had brought us all closer in a way and was glad for it. I knew without asking that they felt the same.
The news when we woke up the next morning shattered the idyllic illusion of a peaceful world. There was a hurricane forming on the open seas. It was up to a class 2 already and would only get stronger. It was heading straight for us and would arrive in only three days. It would pass over Mako and then hit us with it's full fury. If it got to the class 4 they predicted not much would be left standing.
This was going to change everything. If only we'd known how much.