Chapter Thirteen

Lolly's POV

"Hey Lolly, got a minute?" I cringe at the sound of Penny's sing-song voice. How does the girl manage to sound so angelic, yet once you get to know her, she turns out to be pure hell?

"Sure!" I say, exaggerating my fake enthusiasm and grinning like… some psychoneurotically disturbed guy who thinks he's a rabbit… or something…

"Okay, first off, stop doing that because you're totally freaking me out. Anyway, how the hell do you know Connor Sullivan?"

"Are you a stalker? He's been at our school for two days and you've already figured out that I knew him before he came here? And either way, is that any of your business?"

"Please. I have way better things to do than stalk you."

"Well you seem to be stalking me an awful lot lately… I mean, there was the thing about your birthday party yesterday, and now you're asking me about Connor, who you must be stalking too."

"I'm not stalking anyone. But seriously, how do you know him?" she persists.

I groan. "Will you go away if I tell you?"

"Maybe…"

"Good enough. He went to my school when I lived back in Perth. Bye bye!"

Penny smirks. "I said maybe."

I groan again. "What will it take for you to leave me alone?"

"Invite him to my party."

"What? Why? You don't even know him."

"So? He's cute, and he's popular. I want to know him."

"Yeah, okay, I'll see what I can do. But I must warn you, Connor's not really the party type. And neither am I."

In all honesty, the both of us love parties. Especially wild ones, and I know that Penny's party will certainly be wild seeing as she's so rich and popular, and tends to, well, throw wild parties. And I just used the word wild three times in one sentence. Go me! I guess…

When I get home, I empty the contents of my school bag on to my bed in order to sort it all out a little. At the top of the pile of the things that come out is a crumpled pink feathery card. Penny's birthday party invite. She probably only wants me there so that I can buy her a gift… I reluctantly open the card, half expecting Penny to have put poison in it or something, but luckily, it's just a normal card, which reads:

Dear Lolly,

You are invited to Penelope Allen's birthday party on the 6th of January. Bring as many guests as you like, and remember that a present is vital or you'll be kicked out.

Love, Penny.

Love? Oh God. Okay, so anyway, it's the thirteenth of December now, which means there's just under a month left. Just under a month for me to invite Connor, even though Penny can easily befriend him and invite him herself. Then again, it's nearly the summer holidays, and I suppose that school is the only place she's going to see him except for once or twice, unless she really is a stalker. She probably is. Come to think of it, it's kind of strange how Connor started at our school about a week before the holidays begin. I'll have to ask him about it… Anyway, I'm getting off topic. Although it's not as if I really want to think about Penny or her birthday party, so why not think about Connor? Not that it'll be pleasurable for me in any way at all. Pfft. As if…

After ages of worrying about Penny possibly stalking me, I decide I'm freaking out over nothing, and go for a swim to clear my mind a little. Unfortunately, I just can't stop getting interrupted today.

"Hey Lolly!" a voice calls out behind me when I'm not even two steps away from my house (okay, maybe I'm over exaggerating, but still…). I spin around to face Luke. I sigh.

"Hey, Lukey," I say in a sarcastic tone. Luke rolls his eyes - he hates when I call him that. "So, like, are you planning on leaving anytime soon? 'Cause I'm planning on going for a swim and, y'know, being alone…"

"Oh, okay. I was just wondering if you're going to Penny's birthday party?"

"I don't know… I mean, I'm pretty sure she only wants me there to buy her a present. Wait, did you get an invitation?"

"Yep. Nice and pink, huh?"

I roll my eyes. "But why would she invite you?"

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, no offence or anything. It's just that she only wants me there for the present, right? 'Cause I have money. But you're just this average guy with an average amount of money and these average looks-"

"Oh yes, because you're just stunningly gorgeous," Luke breaks in.

"I know," I reply, flicking my hair back and smiling, even though I know he's being sarcastic. "Anyway, bye Lukey."

Luke rolls his eyes once again before walking away. By this time, I've nearly reached the sea. I stroll along the sand and keep walking until I come to a bunch of rocks. Sea water is trickling through the gaps between them. I jump lightly from rock to rock until I've reached a secluded area and deeper water. From there, I dive in and swim away. At first touch, the water's freezing because you never get any sun here and it's quite cold today anyway, plus the fact that I'm still in my human form. But once I grow my tail, I warm up. Something to do with those privileges of being a mermaid.

I race through the ocean, a smile on my face as fish dart around me. I'm glad I decided to go swimming. It definitely takes my mind off everything. But when I'm nearly at the moon pool, I see something strange. A new mermaid.

Unknown POV

I pace around the moon pool, scuffing the heel of my shoe on a stone. Where is she? I put a hand into my pocket and snatch my mobile phone from inside. Ugh! She's half an hour late. I tap in her phone number and she picks up on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Where the hell are you?" I snap.

"Huh?"

"You were supposed to meet me here a half hour ago!"

"Omigod! I'm so sorry! I totally spaced! Can we reschedule?"

I roll my eyes. "Look, I've gotta go. My parents will be worrying. I'll call you back."

Before she can reply, I cut off the call and stuff my phone back inside my pocket. I dive into the water with a splash and start to swim away, slowly. As I swim through the exit and leave the cave, I think I see something looming to the side, and I can almost feel it's gaze resting on me. I'm not entirely sure what it is. Whatever. It's not important. Probably just a dolphin.

A/N: Oooh, there's some random mystery person. Who could it be? Am I going to tell you? Of course not! The answer to that being... I honestly have no idea who she is. Like seriously, I just had this random inspiration of there being some other mermaid... I mean, I have a vague idea of who she is. Unfortunately for you people, you have yet to find out (y'know, kinda like how I do). ;)

-Kat xxx