After the sun started to rise, I knew that it was time for Amanda to take over again, so I went back to the boat and sat there until my tail disappeared and went to the bottom of the boat to get cloths. Everyone joined me and started to get dressed. That is when I noticed that Keith had joined us. His eyes were no longer the colors of the sea, they were hazel.
Ok Amanda, time for you to come back.
I took back my body, remembering all of the things I, my mermaid, had done. Crap. I hated her.
"Keith!" I yelled, grabbing his arm. He winced in pain and I pulled back. "Oh! I'm sorry! I forgot about your arm. I wasn't-"
"It's ok. Right now, my arm is the least of my worries. Look, my mom really needs me right now, and if I leave then she's going to be helpless."
"Keith," I said, "I'm sorry, but once you say-"
He held up his hand and said, "I know, once I agree then what ever I agree to can't be undone, but there has to be something you can do! I mean, you are the Luna of every mermaid in the world! There has to be a loophole, a way out, or even something you could tell-"
"Keith," I said, interrupting him, "I'm really, really sorry. It was not me, it was my mermaid. I promise, if there was anything that I could do to help you, I would. Actually, I think there is."
His head perked up and he grabbed my hand. "Please! Anything, I will do anything to keep my mom safe, no matter the cost!"
"Well, you never agreed to how long you would stay. So, maybe I could just make it until the next full moon and then you will be able to go home."
"But that's a whole month!"
"Sorry, that's the best I can do for now. I will try to see what else I can help with, but for right now, that is the only thing I can do."
He thought for a minute, and then I noticed that he was still holding my hand. Awkward...
"Ok, I guess if that's the only thing you can do, then it will have to do."
I nodded and said, "Um, Keith?" He looked up, "You're still holding my hand."
"Oh!" he let go, "Sorry, I wasn't-"
"It's ok. Anyway, the boat is about to leave. I need to go the U.S department of the ship."
He smiled, "Great, I'll follow you there."
"You're American?"
"Yes. I live in America. To be specific, in Georgia."
"Oh."
And with that, we both went up to the third floor of the boat. You see, this was a very large boat. Each deck represented a country, and with there being two hundred and forty two countries, there were two hundred and forty two levels of the boat. It all went by population. Largest population on the top, smallest on the bottom. There was at least one mermaid for each country, but in the Pitcairn islands, being the lowest population, mermaids were rare.
This year though, we had two people, but we refused to have them on the very bottom of the boat, so they were with China on the first floor.
That's how we worked. Everything was organized by country and/or continent. It depended on which yacht we had for that month. This month, we had the very large one, so every country had its own deck.
"You ready?" He asked, fastening his seat belt. Oh, and this was a fast boat. We made it across the world in just a day.
"I'm always ready. This is the best part."
We both smiled and the boat took off. Well, first stop was China.