Too soon, the bell ending homeroom rings and I'm left gathering my things, trying not to fumble. I can feel Jason's eyes still watching me; I don't know what to do. Why, out of all the students in our class, did Mr. Brunner choose me to show blonde-boy around?
Trying to push the negative thoughts away, I stand up straight and take a deep breath before turning around and walking purposefully towards blonde-boy. My strides falter though, and I stop short of Jason by at least 10 feet. He doesn't do anything, doesn't say anything, he just stares. I stare back, vulnerable and unable to mask the fear that's rising higher in me with every passing second. Mr. Brunner clears his throat, his eyes darting between us awkwardly.
Finally, Jason smiles, "Hi, I'm Jason."
"Annabeth," I say quietly, much too quietly to hear, but Jason nods anyway.
Mr. Brunner beams and turns to sit at his desk, happy to shrug off the tension that's still hanging in the air. He's like an ostrich, when anything goes wrong or something bad happens, he just likes to stick his head in the sand and pretend everything is great. Jason moves to the side, gesturing for me to lead the way, a smile still plastered on his face. I bow my head, choosing to look at the floor instead of him and his lean, muscular build.
Once we get out into the empty hall – everybody else is already in class since the bell rang during our stare-down – Jason looks behind him to make sure the door is closed before grabbing my arm forcefully. He pulls me around a corner before I have time to make a sound and hisses in my ear.
"What are you?"
I gulp and try to play dumb, "What do you mean?"
Jason spins me around to face him, letting go of my arm, and glares at me. "You know exactly what I mean." His tone is short and harsh, he's not falling for my act.
Still, I say, "No, I don't."
Jason narrows his eyes, "You're the same girl I saw a week ago."
"Isn't today your first day here?"
Jason rolls his eyes, "I'm not falling for your little act so drop it. I saw you, you had a tail!"
I snap at him, "I don't know what's wrong with you, but I suggest you schedule an appointment with your therapist because you can't go grabbing random girls and yelling at them!"
Jason – clearly frustrated that I refuse to admit anything – shouts, "I'm not yelling."
I shrug, a random sense of confidence blooming in me.
"You are now," I say, matter-of-factly.
Jason stares at me. Neither of us flinches, this time I'm not backing down. I realize that Jason can't prove anything. He can say he saw a mermaid, he can even tell everyone that I'm a mermaid, but he can't prove it.
Still hugging my notebooks protectively close to my chest, I level my gaze and try to make my next words sound calm and unphased.
"Now, if you're done, I need to get to class." With this, I turn around, ready to leave in a huff but Jason stops me with a condescending chuckle.
"Hold up, mermaid. You still have to give me a tour."
I turn back to see him smirking and feel my stomach drop. Of course, I'd forgotten that whether I liked it or not – definitely not – I had to show Jason around. If I didn't, Mr. Brunner would get suspicious, investigate, and probably force me to do it in the end anyways.
I heaved a huge sigh, scowled, and started walking briskly down the hall. Jason, clearly surprised by my sudden movement, took a few seconds to catch up. I could see him looking at me out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't glance back at him. I didn't care. I stopped abruptly, immediately turning the black knob on my gray locker while blonde-boy backtracked the few steps he'd continued walking.
I shoved my books into my locker, slammed it shut, and crossed my arms. I glared at Jason, and he stared at me with wide eyes for a second, then seemed to decide that a smirk was more appropriate.
I rolled my eyes, "Stop smirking, it makes you look like you have a long face."
Jason stopped smirking, subconsciously bringing a hand to feel his face.
"Kind of sad, really," I added.
I strolled off, knowing Jason would be forced to play catch-up again. I showed blonde-boy every part of the school, voicing their names in monotone and refusing to react to his glares. By the time we got to the pool, Jason had given up glaring at me and instead listened while I told him what rooms we were in. My tone started to shift and eventually I wasn't droning, but actually enjoying myself just a little bit.
While I pointed to different swim-team posters, Jason stared at the crystal-clear water shining in the pool. I saw his head turn to look at me, and back at the water, then back to me. I sensed what he was going to do before it actually happened. Jason lunged forward, pushing me into the pool easily with his strong arms.
Water rushed all around me, filling my ears and muting the world above. I focused, making sure I didn't transform before rushing up to the surface and staring at Jason with a gaping mouth and water dripping from my eyelashes. Blonde-boy stares at my image underwater, clearly waiting for my tail to appear. I glare at him incredulously until he finally looks up towards my face.
"What in the world did you do that for?" I scream at him, my voice echoing throughout the room. Water is lapping at the sides of the pool, softly filling the air with the noise. Jason's face is crestfallen and I can tell he's starting to doubt what he saw that day in the ocean. I start to feel relief but I'm still cautious.
"I-" Jason starts, trying to answer my question, "I thought…"
"You thought what?" I interrupt, my blue eyes flaming.
Jason looks down at the ground, embarrassed.
"Nothing," he mumbles, "It doesn't matter."
I look at him, feeling guilty for turning his confidence into shame. It's for the best, I remind myself, He can't know I'm a mermaid. Still, the guilt ebbs away at my brain.
I shake my head and sigh.
"Will you grab me a towel, please?" I ask, all the venom gone from my voice.
Jason straightens up, nodding, and hurries across the wet, tile floor to grab me a towel. I climb out of the pool, dripping water over the already-wet floor, and smile gratefully at him. He smiles awkwardly and apologizes.
I sigh.
"It's okay. I don't know why you did that," I smile, trying to lighten the mood and joke, "but I get that guys like to push girls into pools, Percy used to do it to me all the time."
Jason grins, glad to accept this excuse and pretend he didn't push me in the water to see if I was a mermaid. He tilts his head down bashfully and looks up at me from under his long, brown eyelashes. Grinning sheepishly, he punches me lightly on the arm.
"Just trying to keep you on your toes, A."
I raise an eyebrow, "A?"
Blonde-boy shrugs, "Annabeth is too long."
I laugh, wrapping the towel around me tightly. Jason returns to his signature smirk, but his eyes aren't burning with accusation this time. I roll my eyes and suggest I show him to the lost-and-found bin next so I can try to find some dry clothes. Jason laughs, but I can see he's confused. He knows what he saw in the water, but he's doubting it now, doubting himself now because I didn't grow a tail when I hit the water. He doesn't realize that I'm not like those girls on the popular TV show: H2O. I don't turn into a mermaid whenever I get wet, I have to choose to transform.
Part of me worries that he'll figure it out, and part of me feels guilty for tricking him by letting him think he's crazy – that he hallucinated that day I accidentally surfaced in front of him. I don't like lying but I don't have any other choice. I have to lie to everyone when it comes to me being a mermaid. Secrets are secret for a reason, and I can't afford to be discovered.
