Huge thanks to my reviewers! You really made my day! Here you go, the next chapter:
May's POV
Melissa and I were seated in front of the computer in my room, watching Pokémon on YouTube. We loved that anime! It brought back a lot of childhood memories. We laughed at some hilarious scene, when a knock on the door interrupted us. I immediately removed the tab - due to the two of us wanting to keep a secret of what we were watching - and went to unlock the door.
"Who is it?" I said as I turned the key.
"It's me, Destiny", female voice replied from the other side.
As I unlocked the door, Destiny entered my room and sat on the bed. I locked the door again and sat next to her, leaving Melissa surf the net alone. I noticed Destiny wearing a big smile on her face, indicating that something good has happened.
"What did you do?" I asked, suspicious. Des wearing that kind of a smile was bad news - she must've done something.
"I've got a job", she stated proudly.
Melissa instantly got up and went over to her to hug her. "That's great!"
"It sure is", I agreed and tapped Destiny's shoulder. "And where are you working?"
"I'll be selling ice cream in Sea Life."
Room was instantly bathed in silence. Sea Life? Is she crazy? Everyone knows Sea Life is a bad place for a mermaid: it's wet, full of dolphins, water, sea animals, wet games and sports activities etc. What the hell was she thinking?
"What if you get wet?" Asked Melissa. Good question! We were worried for a reason. We wouldn't want our secret to be spoiled because of her new job. Why did she need a job anyway? I don't have it and have no intent of having it.
"I won't get wet", Destiny reassured us, "And even if I do, I have a power to dry off."
"Are you sure?" I asked. I had no intention not to trust my friend - especially since she's the oldest of the three of us - but the risk was too big and it wouldn't be a really nice thing if someone discovered our secret. Too many people already knew.
Destiny just nodded. "I am. Don't worry, everything will be okay. I can take care of myself."
Melissa and I nodded in agreement. We sat back at the computer desk and went back to YouTube, this time watching 'The worst bank robberies' video. We laughed at all those morons in it, but the joy had to be put to an end after I saw what time it was. It was noon already and at one I had a lunch at Dyson's to meet his parents. I did meet them sometimes at PTA meeting, but it was only when we said 'Hello' and 'Good bye'.
"Sorry girls, but you have to leave. I have a lunch at Dyson's."
Destiny and Melissa groaned as they got up and headed to the door.
"See you later", they greeted.
"See you later", I replied. Oh, dear. This will be a long day.
Destiny's POV
Standing in the middle of the Sea Life, I stared at the small ice cream stand. Even though it was pretty hot outside, I was dressed into knee-length dark jeans and red jersey shirt. Damn it! I should've put on a swimsuit instead - maybe then it wouldn't be so damn hot!
A few meters away from me was a huge rollercoaster that splashed water at everything and everyone around it. The very look at it gave me chills. I kept thinking that it will splash me. I turned my look away from it and pointed it at Diane Shaw, my boss. She was a short, middle-aged woman, clad in formal - AKA boring - clothes. She was chubby and tanned and had short blond hair. She was explaining to me all the rules and everything and I was supposed to listen to her, but that damned rollercoaster kept bugging me.
"Any questions?" Mrs. Shaw asked in friendly tone.
Yeah. Can you explain everything again to me because I haven't heard a word of what you've said because I couldn't keep my eyes off of that stupid rollercoaster. That0s what I should've said, but instead I shook my head. "No, everything's clear. Thank you." Oh, boy. I hope this long day ends fast.
May's POV
After walking for almost half an hour, I finally managed to get to Dyson's house. I've never been there, but I knew his house number so it was pretty easy to find it. Melissa also said that his house will be pretty obvious and that it stands out in the neighborhood and now that I'm here, I finally understand why.
His house was big, like one of those mansions rich people have. His yard was huge and there was a big garden with lots of flowers and plants that made the house even prettier. I guess that's life for you if your mom's a lawyer.
I knocked at the door and in an instant they were open by Dyson, who just smiled at me and approached me to give me a kiss on the lips.
"You're here", he said, sounding surprised by my appearance. "And you look nice."
"Thanks… I guess." I blushed. Was that a compliment or he just said that because he thought he had to? I wasn't wearing anything special - just light blue tunic with a big crystal-edged heart, knee-length tights and pink ballet flats.
Dyson took me to the dining room, where his parents and I greeted each other. They sounded nice and polite, which made me instantly like them. His mom was still putting the lunch at the table, while her dad helped her organize plates and that sort of things.
"I don't think this is a good idea", I whispered to him.
"What are you talking about? Of course it is", he said.
"I'm embarrassed."
"There's no reason to be embarrassed. Come on, let's sit. My sister will be so excited to see you."
I widened my eyes in shock. "Your sister? Isn't she in San Francisco on college?"
Dyson shook his head. "Irma has a week off, so she decided to visit."
I was just about to say something, when Mrs. Zachary interrupted me by saying: "The lunch's ready!"
Dyson and I went over to the table and sat as close to each other as possible. I was still nervous about the whole thing and he took my hand to calm me down, when I saw a person that made me even more nervous - his sister, Irma Zachary. She was a short, chubby, bleached blonde haired and milky-white tanned girl. She sat at the table across us and gave me a fake smile. There was something about her that made me even more nervous and I became more convinced that this lunch was not a good idea at all.
-H2O-
"How long are you and my brother together?" Irma asked in a serious tone.
As I ate soup, I put the spoon down into the plate and raised my head. "Around month and a half", I replied. I thought that by replying I'll get rid of that death glare I was getting from her, but it was just the beginning.
"Is he your first boyfriend?" Irma continued her little questioning.
I nodded. Irma kept observing me like I'm some kind of a murderer or intruder and couldn't keep her big blue eyes off of me.
"That's a pretty long lasted relationship for a first one", she noticed and put her spoon down. "Are you nice to him?"
"Why?" I don't get it - what was she implying at by asking am I nice to Dyson? That I'm abusing him?
"I want to know how you treat him."
Okay, that was way too much for me. First she can't keep her eyes off of me and then asks me stupid questions. It was obvious Irma didn't like me and she didn't even try to hide it. So I decided to play her own game. I retaliated the glare and put my hand under the table, squeezing Dyson's. He probably noticed tensions between the two of us and decided to cool things down.
"Okay, okay, okay. Can we talk about something else? For example, Irma, how's coll-"
"Why aren't you answering me?" Irma cut him off with another question addressed to me. Although she talked quietly, the presence of anger in her voice was pretty easy to detect.
I instantly let go of Dyson's hand and put my hand on my lap. I was sick and tired of her questions like I'm in some kind of a police station. I slowly waved my hand, making the soup on Irma's plate explode all over her. Mrs. and Mr. Zachary looked at Irma in shock, while she growled and stormed out of the dining room.
"I'm really sorry, May", Mrs. Zachary apologized for her daughter's behavior. "She usually isn't like that."
I curved my lips into a pale smile, while Dyson gave me a serious look and shook his head unapprovingly. "Way to go, May", he whispered with a dose of sarcasm.
Melissa's POV
She looked into his velvet eyes filled with emptiness. They looked so emotionless and have lost the bright light they always radiated with. The very look into them made her shiver and tears streamed down her face like a fast river. "We have to find a spell to reverse it. We can't just let him stay like this forever", she spoke to her friends with a raspy voice. "I can't stand to watch him in this state."
"We'll find a spell", Luciana said, very confident in her words. She put a hand onto Chloe's shoulder to comfort her. "And we'll kill that witch who did this. I promise it to you."
Chloe wiped her tears away and closed her eyes. She nodded and hugged her friend as a' thank you' for the words of encouragement. They will find the witch for sure, and make her feel the pain she caused them. They were said to be the most powerful of all and such a low-leveled witch was like a piece of cake for them to handle - she was one of those people who shouldn't mess with them.
I closed the notebook and took a deep breath of fresh air. Sitting on the edge of the pier sure had its advantages - you could always get inspiration by only observing the ocean shimmering under the sunlight.
Ever since Destiny, May and I became mermaids I've been writing this book about the three of us being witches. I had the idea for it for quite a long time and us becoming mermaids made me finally start writing. In my book, called 'The Power Of Three' - very original - May is called Chloe, Destiny is Erica and I'm Luciana. We have powers similar to our real life ones, meaning Chloe can move thing with her mind, Erica can blow things up and I can freeze time. This book means very much to me and I always keep it close. I showed it to the girls and May liked it, but Des just said she doesn't care, although she did find it funny when she blew herself up in the first chapter when she first got her power.
I glanced at the bright sky and smiled as the clouds covered the sun and made a shadow that lasted for a couple of minutes. I got bored writing my book and decided to find something else to do. But what? I would like to go for a swim, but when I get bored of it, Destiny won't be there to dry me off and I'll be too lazy to wait. So what else could I do?
I could go shopping, but I'm not sure I'll be able to buy something nice with a dollar since I spent all my allowance. I could start a new chapter of my book, but I'll get bored by it in a second since I couldn't wait to finish the last one.
After minutes of thinking, it finally came to me - I'll go visit Destiny at the marine park. I could go see how she's handling her first day and even buy some ice cream with this poor one dollar I had. It sounded like a good idea! Why haven't I thought of that earlier?
Destiny's POV
I crouched by the stand, trying to avoid the sun and its light - the damn star just had to be right in front of me and send its light into my eyes. My head already began to hurt and I regretted that I haven't brought an Aspirin with me when I went to work. The day way boring and too hot so there were not many people at the marine park that day. The only thing that stopped me from going to the boss' office and quitting was the desire for the new clothes - holidays were coming to an end as the days passed by and my parents were kinda broke so I had to get money for the new outfit myself.
I turned to one of the many pools dolphins swam in and eyed the pool in search for those aquatic mammals. I saw a couple of them swimming and sighed. I should be swimming like them instead of standing here on the sun, I spoke in my head. I admit it - I was jealous of the dolphins. I wanted to swim too and desire was so big I almost jumped into the pool with them.
One of the dolphins dove his head out and approached the edge, where I was standing. It squealed happily, making me role my eyes. I never liked squealing, especially not that loud one. Why did dolphins have to squeal when they're happy, anyway?
"Shut up!" I ordered, but it squealed even more. It turned on its left side and waved his tail, splashing waster all over me.
I jumped a step back and almost let out a shriek, but managed to sustain myself. What was I supposed to do now? There was no place to run away or hide. I couldn't hide behind the stand either because what if someone wanted to buy ice cream and found me like this?
That's when I came up with a plan. I looked around to convince myself that there was nobody around me and jumped into the pool. I observed my legs becoming a tail, after which I swam to the bottom in fear of someone seeing me. What if there was someone above me right now, taking pictures of me and calling everyone to see me?
I just had to be sure I was alone so I dove out and once again proved I'm all alone. The very same dolphin that splashed me swam to me and began swimming around me. He still squealed, but a bit quieter. I dove under the water again and found five more dolphins around me. Although I was angry at the dolphin that made me jump into the pool by splashing me, I couldn't help but smile. I put my hand on one's dorsal fin and swam along with it.
May's POV
"So, May, you and Dyson go to the same class?" Mrs. Zachary asked. Although the answer was pretty obvious, I think she just tried to break uncomfortable silence that was there after Irma left the dining room.
"I used to", I replied, "But I don't know with who I'll be going with when we start high."
Mr. Zachary smiled. "Your dad and I very often work together. He's a good man."
I returned the smile, feeling even more uncomfortable. My dad a good man? Well, that's a good mask he has to hide his true face in front of his colleagues. And I was not gonna spend the entrie lunch talking about my dad, was I?
Dyson probably noticed the nervousness on my face and cut another piece of chocolate cake, offering me. I declined and he put it on his plate. I was already stuffed and if I ate any more, I think I'd explode.
"I ate too much", I said.
Mrs. Zachary gave me a worried look. "Nonsense! You only ate a plate of soup, a piece of grilled pork and a piece of cake. Don't be ashamed."
I shook my head. "I'm not ashamed. I just can't eat anymore. Really. I can't."
Melissa's POV
Still holding a mechanic pencil and a notebook in my hand, I walked around huge marine park - the Sea Life - in search for Destiny. It was like the earth swallowed her since she - nor her stand - was nowhere to be found. I saw a middle-aged woman talking to some dolphin trainers and - concluding that she was the boss - decided to ask her about Dess.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, do you by any chance know where Destiny Bain is?" I asked, trying to sound as polite as possible.
The woman turned to me and gave me a warm smile. "She works there between those pools and rollercoaster, honey", she said, pointing her hand at the right side.
I thanked her and went the way she showed me to go. I found the stand and the pools, but still no sight of Destiny. Where could she possible be? I looked around, but still no sight of her. She couldn't just disappear, could she?
I was just about to go search for her somewhere else, when in one of the pools I saw something bronze - like my tail - swimming with the dolphins. As I crouched to look closer at it, I could resemble a big mermaid tail, pale skin, long hands and long dark hair. There was no one else who could be there but her - Destiny!
I came closer to the edge of the pool and called for her, but she didn't seem to hear me since she was in the water. I had to get her attention somehow, but how? What could I possibly do to make her notice me?
Then it came to me - I could use my power. Looking around one last time to be sure no one was near, I raised my hand above the pool, cooling the water temperature down. I figured that if she was smart enough, she could recognize it was me by recognizing my power.
But after a couple of minutes of keeping the water colder, I realized she was not so smart I thought she was. So I cooled the water down even more. Yes, I know I could've hurt the dolphins, but what was I supposed to do? Let her stay there forever?
One of the dolphins dove out and approached me, squealing playfully as I smiled at him. Seeing his sad face, I put my hand down, giving up my try. I wanted to save my friend, yeah, but there was no way I could hurt such an innocent being. That's when I saw Destiny's head going out of the water.
"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, obviously annoyed by the situation. I really wanted to know what she'll say in her defense.
"Swimming?" her answer sounded more like a question than an answer. And what kind of an answer is that? 'Swimming'? I mean, really! I expected different behavior from someone like her.
"I cannot believe you just did that!"
Destiny gave me an innocent look. "It's not my fault. The dolphin splashed me."
I simply rolled my eyes. That was not the answer she was supposed to give. "Well why didn't you use your power then?"
She gulped. "Well… You see… I was having fun."
"Ah, you were having fun", I said and smiled for a moment to fool her. She smiled too, but my smile was in a second replaced by a look of anger. "Get out. Now!"
Without complaining, Destiny obeyed and quickly dried herself off with her power. "I'll quit", she said after a few minutes of two of us just staring at each other.
I nodded. "I think it would be the only smart thing you'd do today."
-H2O-
"…And then I splashed soup all over her." We were at the moon pool that evening; we decided to take a break from the wild day. And I gotta tell you, May's stories about her lunch at Dyson's made me laugh really hard. I knew his sister ever since they moved here and she was always nice to me. I guess she just disliked the girls that are her brother's actual girlfriends.
"And I quit", Destiny added. "After a nice swim with the dolphins." She probably noticed May giving her a glare and decided to explain everything. "No one actually saw me… Well, almost no one." She looked at me with a sad expression; I was still mad at her, but she was my friend so I think it would be a right thing to forgive her.
-H2O-
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