Chapter 7: A New Discovery?

"Emma," Rhuben called as she got over her shock. She told herself that her eyes were playing tricks on her, there was no way she saw a tail. "Do you have any clothes I can borrow?"

"Um...just a minute!" Emma called back before the door closed the rest of the way. Rhuben rested her ear on the door and heard a hair dryer starting. Rhuben chuckled a little before going back downstairs. Riley gave her a questioning look which Rhuben responded with a shrug. They were looking at each other as if they were having a conversation in their minds.

Emma finally came down the stairs with a stack of Karaoke discs in one hand and a folded shirt and jeans in her other hand. "I think they'll fit you. If not, then I can get something else," she said as Rhuben took the clothes out of her hand.

"Thanks." Rhuben quickly left the room as Rikki took a karaoke disc out of Emma's hands and fed it into the player.

"You're going to regret this," Lewis hissed to Ash and Zane as they all sat down in random places around the room. Zane's eyebrow rose as Ash opened his mouth to respond to Lewis when the music started up and Rikki belted out the lyrics.

"I'm gonna see the sun rising up till the morning light/The time forget about reality and lose your sanity/Just for the night..." Rikki sang as she made up a dance routine on the spot. Riley's and Crystal's mouths dropped open while Lewis and Cleo clapped their hands over their ears. Ash looked as if he had been slapped in the face and Zane was staring at Rikki in shock. Emma was trying her best to ignore her but was finding it very hard to do. "Tonight were gonna drift away/Far away tonight tonight tonight tonight!"

"Oh my god, what is that? It sounds like a dying cat!" Rhuben cried out as she came down the stairs. She stopped abruptly when she saw Rikki still singing and dancing along with the music. "For the sake of my sanity, Riles, Crys, let's go."

"You're leaving all ready? You don't want to try?" Emma asked as she cringed slightly when Rikki's voice cracked.

"I'll pass," Rhuben responded as she raised a hand before staring hard at Riley. She nodded before nudging Crystal and the trio silently left the house.

"That was kind of weird," Emma muttered.

"At least they were able to get away from this torture," Lewis muttered. Cleo lightly elbowed him in the side and gave him a hard look.

"She's not that bad," Cleo said in an unsure tone.

"But she's not good either!"

"Oh, so you think you can do better?" Rikki demanded as she placed a hand on her hip before holding out the microphone to him once the song was finished. "Go on then, give it a go," she said as she waved the microphone. Lewis simply stared at it as Rikki gave him a challenging look.

"Not that I would want to miss Lewis making a fool of himself, I have to go or else Dad will go ballistic," Zane announced as he stood before he walked over to Rikki and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah," Rikki responded before kissing him on the cheek. She made a face when Emma and Cleo both grinned and hooted.

Zane waved to them before leaving the house and started his walk down the street. He found it ridiculous that his father made him walk all the way to the Gilbert house. Zane kicked at a rock that was by his foot imagining that it was his father's head.

Ever since Zane stopped his father from finding out that Rikki, Cleo, and Emma were mermaids his father didn't trust him as much as he did before. Zane had a curfew, he had a limited time of using the car, and he had to tell his father exactly where he'd be going, what he'd be doing, who he'd be with, and when he'd be back.

Zane let out so much frustration by kicking the rock that he was exhausted by the time he made it back to his house. He fumbled in his pockets for his keys but the door swung open and he was pulled inside before he even had a chance to make a sound.

"Dad, wha-" Zane uttered.

"Zane, we are going to be going places soon," Harrison said happily as he walked into their large kitchen. Zane followed his father; confusion was evident on his face. Zane stood in the doorway of the kitchen as Harrison filled a glass with champagne and downed it in one gulp before filling it again.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Zane demanded as he kept his eyes glued on the champagne bottle that was in his Dad's hands.

"Celebrating, son," Harrison responded as he took another sip of the champagne.

"Celebrating what exactly?" Zane questioned as he sat down on a stool and faced his father.

"A new scientific discovery," Harrison replied as he put his glass down.

"About?" Zane questioned.

"Elementals," Harrison responded.

"Ele-what?" Zane asked.

"Elementals," Harrison repeated. "I've been contacting a couple of scientists who are friends with Dr. Denman, but under a different branch. These scientists basically study super humans. They include but aren't limited to psychics, geniuses, prodigies, and now they are looking into obscure reports about children who can control an element."

"That sounds like something out of a science fiction novel," Zane said with a chuckle. "No one can control an element; it's a load of rubbish."

"We'll just see about that, Zane," Harrison said with a sly smile as he lifted his glass to his lips once more. "We'll just see about that."

-----

"You guys will never believe what bull my Dad came up with last night," Zane called out to Ash and Lewis as he walked over to their lockers the next school day.

"Does it have anything else to do with mermaids?" Ash questioned as he closed his locker door. He made sure that his voice was low so no one would hear him.

"No, it has nothing to do with that," Zane responded, which grabbed Lewis's attention instantly. "My Dad was saying something about what scientists are studying now. They're studying 'super humans'." Zane put finger quotes around the word.

"What?" Ash and Lewis asked in unison.

"Super humans. They're people who have supposed powers. They're studying prodigies, geniuses, psychics, stuff like that. But, Dad told me that they are now trying to study a new type of superhuman called an Elemental."

"What's an Elemental?" Ash asked as the boys started walking towards their class.

"Supposedly it's someone who controls an element. Dad told me that the scientists are studying reports of superhuman behavior right now. If this thing is real, it would be a great scientific breakthrough."

"And you believe that?" Ash asked with an amused smile. "Zane, there are no such things as super humans. Psychics are fake, geniuses have nothing better to do than study, and prodigies are nerds who like to work."

"Ash is right, Zane," Lewis agreed. "Besides, there's nothing scientific about psychics, prodigies, and geniuses." Lewis paused before realization dawned on him. "Are you calling me a nerd?" He demanded as he rounded on Ash who shrugged before continuing to their class room.

"Maybe I'll have better luck with Nate," Zane muttered to himself as he followed the guys into the class room. He scoped the room before moving to the back where Nate was sitting at their table. Zane dropped his books on the top before sitting down in his chair. "What's going on, mate?"

"All girls like flowers and chocolate, right?" Nate asked him suddenly.

"Only the romantic ones," Zane responded. "From what I've learned, not all girls like that romantic thing. Why?"

"I'm trying to figure out what to give Riley to win her over," Nate responded with a smile.

"Mate, that won't win her over," Zane said as he shook his head as Nate who looked over at him. "The only thing that's going to get you is a swift kick to the ass."

"How could you possibly know that?" Nate demanded as he glared at Zane in suspicion. "Are you cheating on Rikki with her? 'Cause I dibsed her."

"One, you can't dibs a person," Zane said as he held up a finger. "Two," he raised another, "I wouldn't cheat on Rikki." He used his two raised fingers to flick Nate in the forehead. "Three, I grew up with Riley so I know how she would react to something like that. Four, you don't have a chance with her at all. Five, I bet you that she will never go out with you." Zane slapped his palm against Nate's forehead.

"You really don't think that I can't get Riley to go out with me?" Nate asked with a raised eyebrow, a smile found its way onto his lips as Zane shook his head. "All right. Twenty bucks says I can get her to go out with me by the end of this week."

"You're going to need a month," Zane responded.

"Fine, the end of the month," Nate said with an eye roll as he stuck out his hand. "Deal?"

"Deal!" Zane responded as he shook Nate's hand.