Chapter 3: Wishful Thinking

A week after the incident with the dragon, Evie's back was mostly healed thanks to Rita and Mimmi and their skills with healing potions. There were still some marks on her back and a few they thought would leave scars, but there were no longer any open wounds. To celebrate, she and Zac went on an early morning dive.

They met up at Zac's bungalow and entered the water in the canal behind his house. They quickly speed off to deeper water. They spent a while swimming over the reef and through the blue abyss, enjoying the beauty of the sea life.

As the couple swam, something caught Zac's eye as the sun reflected off of it. He went over to it and found that it was a glistening shell. He flipped it over between his hands a couple times before motioning for Evie to join him. They swam to the surface together.

"That's a really pretty shell," Evie commented, turning it over in her hands after Zac had handed it to her. "You should keep it."

"You think so?" Zac asked, taking the shell back from Evie when she held it out to him. "Are you sure you don't want it?"

"No. You found it; you should keep it."

"Okay."

"We should probably head back now though," Evie spoke after a few moments of comfortable silence.

Zac nodded in agreement. In only a couple minutes, they had made it back to Zac's bungalow. He placed the shell on the shelf between his living room area and his bed before joining Evie on the couch to work on some homework.

CHCHCH

After a little while, a knock on the door interrupted Zac and Evie's studying. "Come in," Zac called from where he sat on the couch looking over some notes. Both he and Evie looked up as the door opened and Mimmi, Ondina, and Weilan entered. "Hey guys," Zac greeted while he and Evie stood.

"What's up?"

"We have the research you wanted," Weilan said, holding a stack of papers out to Zac and Evie.

Zac took the papers and began to flip through them while Evie glanced over his shoulder at them. "All this just for one project?"

"We did say we wanted it," Evie reasoned.

Zac nodded and flipped through the papers once more; a silence followed.

"Can we go to the cafe now?" Ondina asked, swaying back and forth on her feet impatiently. "I would like to eat something this month."

"Okay," Weilan spoke. "Zac, Evie, you want to come too?"

"We really should work on our Chemistry project," Evie answered. "Though it is tempting."

"Yeah," Zac agreed. "I'm not sure I can tear myself away from this," he joked, holding the papers up.

"Oh, come on, cheer up you two," Weilan said. "Where are those famous smiles?" she asked. Picking up a nearby picture of Zac and Evie smiling at a party when they were twelve. Weilan held the picture up next to her face and smiled broadly.

"We didn't have Chemistry projects when we were twelve."

"Hey, what's this?" Mimmi asked, noticing the shell Zac and Evie had found that morning. She picked it up to look at it.

"Zac found it out on the reef when we were swimming today," Evie explained.

"It's beautiful," Mimmi said, showing it to Weilan and Ondina. "I've never seen anything like it before."

Zac turned to look at the picture he now held in his hands while Evie looked over his shoulder at it. They reminisced as they looked at the picture. "School used to be so easy," he commented. "I played all the time. Life was pretty good as a kid. I wish you could have seen us then." Zac and Evie laughed. Zac lowered the picture a minute later and they turned to look back to Ondina, Weilan, and Mimmi. "Guys?" Zac asked, looking around at all the alien stuff that now plagued his room. There were charts and pictures of crop circles and alien spaceships as well as alien figures all over his room.

"What happened?" Evie asked.

"I have no idea," Zac trailed off as they continued to look around the room in wonder.

CHCHCH

Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan briefly felt themselves shift through no power of their own. The shell, which Ondina now held, slipped out of her hand. She, Mimmi, and Weilan looked around in wonder. The bungalow was no longer Zac's room; it seemed more like a storage shed.

They turned around slowly to look at the room better. What they found was what looked to be a younger Zac and Evie staring up at them. Zac had a table with pieces for remote controlled cars in front of him.

Zac and Evie shared a look before Zac reached down to the walkie-talkie that also sat on the table. "Cam, come here quick. Three girls just appeared in my room."

Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan all glanced at each other, concerned looks etched on their faces.

CHCHCH

Zac and Evie continued to look around Zac's room in wonder. "Where'd all this alien stuff come from?" Evie asked, picking one item up.

Zac shrugged. "And where'd Mimmi, Ondina, and Weilan go?"

"Maybe they're invisible?" Evie suggested. "Guys?" The two flailed around the room for a minute trying to find their friends. All they found was that they kept hitting air; they're friends weren't there.

"Look at this." Zac drew Evie's attention to a picture of them dressed up in space outfits with weird devices on their heads. They once again looked around the room in wonder; curious as to how they got there.

CHCHCH

"Where are Zac and Evie?" Ondina asked, looking over to Weilan and Mimmi.

"How do you know our names?" the girl, younger Evie, asked.

"You– You're Evie?" Mimmi stuttered. Evie nodded. "And you're Zac?"

"Yeah. How did you know that?"

"Um," Ondina spoke. "We just did," she answered, speaking slowly and separating each word.

"It's just like the picture," Weilan whispered, looking at the younger Zac and Evie.

"How did you do that?" Zac asked while Mimmi, Ondina, and Weilan looked around the room.

"Do what?" Ondina asked.

"You weren't there a minute ago and then suddenly you were," Evie answered.

"We're," Weilan trailed off as her eyes caught sight of a toy spaceship. "Aliens," she finished,

Ondina and Mimmi turned to Weilan with wide eyes. Weilan just shrugged as a knock on the door cut through the silence. Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan raised their hands to become invisible as Zac's mum entered.

"Zac, are you getting ready?" she asked, entering the room. "Oh, Evie, you're over here."

"Yeah, I, uh, asked Evie to come by," Zac explained. Evie nodded in agreement.

"Well, don't stay too much longer. You should be getting ready for your party."

"I was going to leave in a couple minutes."

"Okay. Zac," Lauren drew the attention of her son. "Did you see where I left Evie's present?"

"Yeah," Zac replied, absentmindedly.

"Okay, don't forget it."

"Yeah."

"Is everything all right, you two?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Yup," Evie answered.

"Okay. Zac, we'll be leaving in an hour. Make sure you're ready. I'll see you later, Evie,"
Lauren said. She moved outside and closed the door behind herself as she left.

Once Lauren was gone, Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan breathed a sigh of relief as they reappeared.

"You really are aliens!" Zac exclaimed.

"How'd you get here?" Evie asked.

Zac picked up his walkie-talkie once again while Evie spoke. "Cam. Hurry up. You need to see this. Come here now."

"Um, we need to get going," Ondina said. Mimmi, who was closest to the door, took Ondina's hand who took Weilan's hand as they rushed out.

Zac and Evie shared a smile. "I really should be heading home. I'll see you in a little while, Zac," Evie said, making her way out the door.

Zac waved goodbye and smiled to himself.

CHCHCH

From Zac's, Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan headed down the familiar route to Rita's. As they walked along a grassy area near the water, they talked and tried to work out what had happened.

"All right. Can anyone explain what's going on?" Ondina asked somewhat rhetorically.

"I have no idea," Mimmi trailed off. "Why are Zac and Evie so young. It's like they're twelve again."

"Did we do that?" Ondina asked.

Weilan shrugged. "It's actually almost like we time traveled," she spoke, her voice slow and unsure.

Ondina scoffed. "That's ridiculous. Time travel, as if."

"Uh, we are mermaids in case you forgot. Who says time travel can't be possible too?"

"We need to find Rita and talk to her," Mimmi cut across Ondina and Weilan's argument. They nodded in agreement and the trio continued towards Rita's.

CHCHCH

A few minutes after Evie had left, Zac sat in the bungalow closely examining the spacecraft he held in his hands. 'Could the aliens have come to Earth in one of these?' he asked himself while he waited for Cam.

At the sound of the door opening, Zac turned around. "Where are the girls?" Cam asked as he entered.

"They're not just girls, Cam. They're aliens too."

"Really, Blakely? I raced over here expecting to see girls and all I find is you," he paused. "And now you're telling me they're aliens too?"

"Well, they're aliens who look like girls."

"Wait. So are they actually girls, or just aliens who can make themselves look like girls?" Cam asked.

"I– I don't know," Zac stuttered. "Maybe they're girl aliens," Zac nodded as he spoke.

"You've lost it," Cam scoffed. "I've got to get ready for Evie's party. Later Blakely." Cam turned and left the room.

"Wait," Zac stopped him. "They might come back, and you have to see them. They really were here. I swear."

Cam raised a brow and turned back to face Zac and shook his head. "Act your age, Blakely. Only little kids and weirdos believe in aliens." Without so much as a glance back, Cam headed out of the bungalow.

Zac sunk down into his seat, feeling defeated. When he looked up, he caught sight of something on his floor. Upon investigation, Zac found that it was a shell. He turned it over in his hands a couple times, looking at it curiously.

CHCHCH

After entering Rita's through the pool, Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan walked up the stairs and to the main portion of the grotto. "So, have either of you got a better explanation than time travel for why we're here?" Weilan asked, her voice snarky.

"C'mon, time travel is a fantasy."

Weilan rolled her eyes at Ondina's comment.

"Let's just find Rita so we can sort this all out," Mimmi broke through their argument.

The girls began to make their way down the stairs to the lowered portion of the grotto. While their backs were turned, Rita entered. "What are you doing here?" her stern voice asked,

The girls turned, surprised to hear Rita sounding so stern. She only ever used that sort of tone when they'd done something to get themselves in trouble. "Rita," Mimmi sighed in relief, thinking Rita's tone had only been because she wasn't expecting to see them. "We need your help. Something weird is going on."

"Who are you?" Rita asked, her brow furrowed. "How did you get in here?" she continued, starting down the stairs as the girls had made it all the way down them.

Ondina drew her brow together. "We swam in through the pool, like we always do," she trailed off.

Rita shook her head and pursed her lips. "Veridia sent you, didn't she?"

Mimmi looked to Weilan and Ondina who were just as confused as she was. "What do you mean? Veridia didn't send us."

"Right," Rita spoke, obviously not believing the girls. "I knew she'd send someone but I didn't expect her to send three hatchlings."

"What are you talking about?" Ondina asked. "We're not hatchlings."

"Veridia didn't send us," Weilan echoed what Mimmi had said before.

Still not believing them, Rita answered, "You can tell her that my mind is made up. I'm staying here on land."

Mimmi furrowed her brow. "I don't understand."

"It's simple, really," Rita began. "This is my home," she trailed off. "Right now I have work to do at school. Tell Veridia I'm not going back to the pod. Ever." Rita emphasized. "Now go!"

Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan started towards the stairs. Their brows were all knit together as they made their way past Rita. Ondina was nearly at the top of the stairs when she stopped. Mimmi and Weilan came to a stop behind her. "We– we live here with you," Ondina spoke, turning to face Rita.

Rita scoffed in response. "You live here with me?" she asked, her brow raised in disbelief.

"Yeah, with you and Poseidon," Weilan expanded.

"Poseidon?"

"You know, your fluffy white cat."

"I don't have a cat."

"Rita, please–" Mimmi began, only to be cut off by Rita.

"Go!" she exclaimed. "And don't come back," she added forcibly.

A confused expression still on her face, Ondina turned to lead the way out of the grotto and back outside.

"It makes sense," Weilan spoke as they walked along the house outside. "Zac and Evie are kids and Rita's younger and doesn't know us."

"Okay, so maybe we did travel back in time," Ondina admitted.

"But how'd we do that?" Mimmi asked,

"The seashell!" Weilan suddenly exclaimed. "It glowed, there was this flash of light, and then the next thing we knew, we were here."

Mimmi paused for a minute in thought. "You know, now that you mention it, I think you're right. The shell must have some kind of magical power over time. I dropped it in Zac's room."

"What are we waiting for?" Ondina spoke.

"Hold on," Weilan held her arm out to stop Ondina from heading towards Zac's. "We need to be careful around Zac and Evie."

"Why?" Ondina scoffed. "They're just kids here. What does it matter if we're careful around them or not?"

"Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect?" Weilan asked, turning to face Mimmi and Ondina; they gave her blank looks. "I'm guessing not then. Well, if we mess around with the past too much, it could change the future."

"We don't have a choice," Mimmi said. She continued towards the bungalow, taking the lead. Ondina and Weilan followed behind her.

CHCHCH

Having not found any answers to why there was suddenly so much alien stuff in Zac's room, or having any idea what had happened to Mimmi, Ondina, and Weilan, Zac and Evie decided to go to the cafe. Hopefully David, Carly, or Cam would be there and know something.

Only a few customers were outside the cafe when Zac and Evie got there, so they ventured inside where they found both David and Carly.

"Hey Carly," Evie greeted.

"Evie, hi," Carly replied, her voice slow as she eyed Evie suspiciously. "What's going on? Do you want a juice or something?"

"Uh, no. Zac and I were wondering if you'd seen the other mer–" Evie cut herself off as a customer passed by. She and Zac gave the customer fake smiles and lead Carly closer to the cool room.

"If you'd seen the other mermaids," Zac finished, making sure he kept his voice low.

"The other what's?"

"David," Zac drew his attention as he passed by.

"What's up? Can I get you guys anything like a drink?"

"Uh, not now. Have you seen the other mermaids?"

"Mermaids?"

"Yeah," Evie added. "Ondina, Weilan, Mimmi. You know, Zac's sister."

"I didn't know you had a sister, Zac," David said.

Zac and Evie turned to each other and shared a confused look. "Yeah, we told you about her a few months ago. She's got brown hair, blue eyes, Canadian accent. Mermaid," Zac finished.

"So now you two are all about mermaids?" Carly questioned.

"You've met them."

"Yeah right."

"That would be cool," David said. "But I don't think I've met any mermaids. I mean, it'd be cool if they were real."

"If?" Zac asked.

David nodded. "You both have pretty wild imaginations."

"Yeah. What happened to those aliens?"

"What aliens?" Evie asked.

"That's what we've been wondering for years," Carly replied, doing nothing to keep the snarkiness out of her voice.

"But David, you're dating a mermaid, Sirena," Evie said.

"No I'm not," David replied. "Carly and I are dating. We have been for a while now. How could you two have forgotten."

"How could you confuse me with some 'mermaid' named Sirena," Carly added.

"Where's Cam?" Zac broke across the conversation.

"Probably at the beach," David replied.

"Thanks." Zac and Evie turned to leave the cafe. David and Carly watched them for a minute before going back to their work.

CHCHCH

From the cafe, Zac and Evie took the short walk to the beach. They were there within a couple minutes. They surveyed the beach for a minute trying to find Cam. "There he is!" Zac exclaimed. "Cam, hey!" Zac ran ahead of Evie. She laughed and followed behind him.

Cam, who had been sitting in one of the chairs, jumped down and handed the binoculars he held over to another lifeguard who then took over in the chair.

"Cam. Man am I glad to see you," Zac spoke, embracing Cam in a hug as Evie caught up to them.

"Whoa, hold on there, Blakely. Three paces at all times. I need my personal space. People might be watching." Cam held Zac's shoulders to make him stand back. "So, what are you two doing here?"

"We've had the weirdest day," Zac spoke, motioning with his hand as Evie nodded in agreement.

"Oh, have you now?" Cam asked, his brow raised.

"So you saw a UFO or something then? Little green guys coming to attack the Earth soon or something?"

"Cam, what are you talking about?" Evie asked, her voice stern.

"You know those big metal flying things in the sky? They're called airplanes, and they are identified."

"Wha–what do you mean?" Zac repeated Evie's question.

"I'm pretty sure that's a song title. Just without the stuttering," Cam trailed off. "I have to get back to work. See you weirdos later." Cam turned and motioned for the other lifeguard to come back down. They exchanged who had the binoculars again and Cam got back up into the chair.

Zac and Evie looked to Cam again, unsure of what he meant. After a minute, they headed back up the beach.

CHCHCH

Twelve year old Zac sat in his room tying his shoe when Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan entered. He looked up at the sound of the door opening and his face instantly lit up in a smile. "I knew you'd come back. Cam and Evie are going to be sorry they missed you this time," Zac said, looking to the girls. They, however, ignored him and looked around the room.

"I can't see it," Mimmi said after looking under the table in the bungalow.

"Sorry about telling Cam about you. He's the only other person who knows about you. Unless Evie told Carly," Zac trailed off. "Hey, can I see your spaceship?" Zac asked. "I bet it's super cool and high-tech."

Ondina rolled her eyes as she turned to look at him. "Put a clam in it. Where's the seashell?"

Zac looked taken aback as the three moved to stand in front of him.

"Wha– what seashell?" Zac stuttered.

Mimmi gave Zac a small smile before speaking softly. "There's a seashell here, Zac. It's really shiny. Have you seen it? We really need it to get home."

Zac eyed them earnestly, trying to figure out what their intentions were. "But you just got here," he spoke a few seconds later.

"Hand it over, kid! Or I might just zap you to outer space!" Ondina exclaimed.

"Ondina," Mimmi said, sending her best friend a stern look and a glare. "Zac," Mimmi began, her voice much softer than it had been when she spoke to Ondina. "Are you sure you haven't seen the shell?"

"I– I . . . uh," Zac stuttered. His gaze moved to the shell on a shelf behind Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan.

Following Zac's gaze, Weilan and Ondina turned to see the shell. Ondina snatched it before Zac had the chance to protest. "I've got it!" Ondina exclaimed in excitement. "Let's get out of here."

Before Ondina had the chance to do anything else, Zac rushed forward and took hold of Ondina's forearm. "Please don't leave. Meeting you today was the coolest thing that's ever happened to me."

There was a moment of silence that was broken by Zac's mum calling for him from outside. "Zac, are you ready?" she asked.

He was ready, but he didn't want to leave quite yet. He looked to Ondina and then over to Mimmi. "You should go to Evie's party," she spoke.

"Zac!" Mrs. Blakely's voice once again broke the silence. "Hurry up or you'll be late!"

Zac sighed as he looked to the door and then back over to the girls. He had taken a small step towards the door when Ondina stopped him. "We were never here. All right?"

Zac held eye contact with Ondina and her threatening gaze for several seconds before moving past her. He picked up Evie's present and hurried out the door. He hadn't fully gone out the door when he turned to give the girls one last look before hurrying off.

Mimmi sighed as she looked to Ondina who held the shell in her hands. She turned it over slowly as she looked down at it.

CHCHCH

Rita walked through the halls with a small stack of papers under her arm. She looked up and saw Ms. Trumble several paces ahead of her, just turning a corner. "Ms. Santos," Ms. Trumble spoke in a smooth and cold voice.

"Ms. Trumble," Rita greeted.

"Working on a Saturday, I see. It's good to see a junior member of staff who's dedicated to their job. I'll make sure I keep my eye on you when I'm in charge."

Rita paused for a moment to consider what Ms. Trumble had said. "In charge?" she questioned.

"Why of course," Ms. Trumble exclaimed. "The members of the school board are interviewing me for the job of principal."

"Oh," Rita spoke in surprise, glancing down. "Really?"

"Why of course," Ms. Trumble repeated. "The interview is really just a formality. I'm perfect for the job and they all know that."

"Well," Rita began. "I was actually thinking of applying for the position."

Ms. Trumble raised her brow at Rita as three teenaged girls came running up to them and Rita specifically. "Hi, Rita," Ondina spoke in an overly sweet voice. "We need to talk to you."

"Right now," Weilan insisted forcibly.

"I mean, if you're not doing anything important," Mimmi added, already ushering Rita to the side and away from Ms. Trumble.

Ms. Trumble watched Rita and the three girls walk away and to the side of the hall. After a few moments, she shook her head and continued on her way.

"How dare you follow me to here!" Rita exclaimed. "This is my place of work. You have absolutely no right to be here."

"Rita, please," Ondina begged. "Just hear us out. We're from the future."

"Yeah, right," she scoffed.

"It's true," Weilan insisted. "We live with you five years from now."

Rita gave a scoff at how foolish that sounded. "All right," she began. "If you really are from the future, prove it. Tell me something about myself that would prove you're from the future or that you know me."

"Um," Weilan paused for a minute. "You like seaweed cordial!" she exclaimed.

Rita gave a light laugh as she spoke, "Every mermaid liked seaweed cordial." Shaking her head, Rita turned to go.

Mimmi watched for a second, biting her lip as a solution came to her. "You're the principal here!" she exclaimed.

Rita stopped dead in her tracks and turned back to face the girls slowly. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"In five years, you're the principal here," Ondina repeated.

"How could you have any idea that I would be the principal here? I only decided to apply this morning."

Mimmi smiled as she looked to Ondina and Weilan, they both gave her a small smile. "Like we said," Ondina began. "We're from the future."

A small smile formed on Rita's lips as she realized they were telling the truth and began to believe them.

CHCHCH

Rita sighed as she walked with the girls. "Time travel," she spoke wistfully. "How is that possible?"

"Well, it's not really an every-day type thing," Mimmi laughed.

Weilan turned to Ondina and gave her a nudge. "Show Rita the shell."

Ondina nodded and held the shell out to Rita who carefully took it and turned it over in her hands. Her eyes lit up when she realized what it was. "This is a wishing shell. They're really rare. I've heard of them but I've never seen one before." Rita turned the shell over a couple more times before handing it back to Ondina. "Tell me exactly what was happening when you time traveled here."

"Um," Weilan began, trying to remember what happened. "We were over at our friend, Zac's place, talking to him and Evie. We were looking at a picture of them when they were twelve, like they are now. I think Zac said," Weilan paused in thought. "He said 'I wish you could have seen us then'. . ." she trailed off, starting to put the pieces together.

Realization dawned across Rita's features. "When your friend, Zac, made the wish, the wishing shell made it come true."

"And then it sent us back to their childhood," Mimmi concluded.

"So we should be able to wish ourselves back to five years from now, right?" Ondina asked, looking hopefully to Rita.

"It's not that easy. If Zac was the one who found the wishing shell and made the wish in the first place, that makes him the one who controls it, not you. It's going to need to be his choice to send you back home."

Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan looked to each other. "Then, what happens if Zac doesn't want to send us back?" Ondina asked.

Rita paused for a moment and looked solemn when the answer came to her. "You will never be able to go back if Zac doesn't want to wish you back." The girls turned to each other with wide eyes.

CHCHCH

After going to the cafe, Zac and Evie had returned to the bungalow where they sat looking at a magazine about aliens and UFOs that appeared to be Zac's. "Where did these even come from?" Evie asked, looking at a small stack of them quizzically.

Zac shrugged as the door opened and his parents entered. He put the magazine down and both he and Evie stood.

"Morning Zac," Rob greeted. "Morning Evie."

"We're going shopping," Lauren began. "Is there anything you want?" she asked.

"Well no, not really," Zac said, going over to his parents. "But I am glad to see you," he began; Evie nodded in agreement while Zac took a few moments to lead his parents over to the couch.

"Why don't you sit down," Evie spoke, helping escort Rob and Lauren over to the couch.

Zac went over to the door which was slightly ajar and looked out it before closing it. His parents looked over to him with concern written across their features as he stood opposite Evie. "All right," he started, taking a step away from the door. "Something weird is going on."

"Now we know this is going to sound crazy," Evie said as Zac nodded fervently.

"But," Zac took over, walking to the other side of the room and picking up the picture of him and Evie in their alien outfits. "This– this isn't us." Zac said, holding the picture out towards his parents. They both looked to Zac and Evie with expressions that clearly said they thought the two had gone crazy.

"Well, they look like us," Evie reasoned. "But– but it's not us."

"You can tell, right?" Zac asked.

Rob pursed his lips. "Zac, Evie, are you feeling all right?"

"Everything was normal when I got up today," Evie began. "I came over here after breakfast so Zac and I could work on our Chemistry project."

"Right," Zac agreed. "Then our friends Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan brought us some research. Then, suddenly everything was different," Zac explained. "Now it's like we're in some type of alternate reality where everything is different and nothing makes sense," he finished. "None of this is real!" he added in a whisper.

Rob and Lauren looked to each other. "Zac, darling, you don't know anyone named Ondina, Mimmi, or Weilan."

"I– what?"

"We do too," Evie insisted.

"Is everything all right at school?" Rob asked.

"Are you two okay? Evie, should we get your dad?" Lauren questioned.

"No, no," Zac and Evie replied together, giving nervous chuckles.

"We're fine," Evie waved her hand.

"And we, um, have to go," Zac said.

"Uh, yeah," Evie agreed. Zac took her hand and the two hurried out, giving Zac's parents smiles as they left.

They stopped outside the bungalow and turned to face each other. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Zac asked.

"Rita?"

"Rita."

Zac and Evie raced down the jetty and dove into the water. They were happy to find that despite the supposed alternate universe, they still had their tails. They made it to Rita's in record time and dried their tails off as quickly as they could.

Zac and Evie ran up the stairs and over to the grotto. "Rita!" Zac called.

"Rita!" Evie echoed. She and Zac both had to duck as a spider web blocked the top part of the doorway into the grotto. "What the world?"

"Hello, Rita?" Zac called.

"How is the grotto like this? Rita would never let this happen."

Zac shrugged. "This doesn't make sense," he said, looking around the cobweb covered, rubble ridden grotto.

"Rita?" Evie called one more time, her voice weak and unsure. She and Zac stood in stunned silence looking at the grotto and its state of disuse, wondering what could have happened and where Rita could have been.

CHCHCH

Evie stood at her party talking to Carly who had been her best friend since before she and Zac met. Her dad, Doug, walked out of the house with another plate of snacks. "Having fun, Evie?"

"Yeah," she replied, turning towards her dad. "Everything's great."

Doug nodded and walked towards the table where Cam stood "These are delicious, Mr. McLaren," Cam spoke, referring to the small treat he held in his hand.

"Thanks, Cam," Doug said. Cam and the other boy he was with started off as Doug headed back inside.

Zac began to walk up towards the party. "Hey Evie," he greeted.

"Zac!" Evie exclaimed happily. "I'm glad you made it." she spoke as Carly walked away to talk to another girl who was calling her over.

"Happy birthday," Zac smiled and looked down. "Here's your present."

"Thanks Zac." Evie lowered her voice a little. "Did you see the aliens again?"

"Yeah. They came back again for a couple minutes," he explained as Carly walked back over to Evie.

CHCHCH

After finding that Rita wasn't at her house, Zac and Evie started back towards the cafe to find answers. Both David and Carly were outside clearing tables when Zac and Evie approached. "Hey, Zac, Evie," Carly greeted, being the first to look up and see them.

"Do you want anything to drink this time?" David asked, noticing them and making his way over.

"No," Zac waved him off.

"We actually have a question for you," Evie gave a pause. "Where's Rita?"

"Rita?" David and Carly asked at the same time.

"Yeah, you know, Principal Santos, our school's principal," Zac explained, his brow furrowed as he wondered what could have been confusing about his initial question.

David and Carly shared confused looks with each other. "She moved away, what, was it two, three years ago?" Carly spoke, turning to David.

"Yeah. I think that's right. But everyone knows she moved away."

"She– she," Zac stuttered. He turned to Evie.

"Is there something on your minds?" David asked.

Evie gave a small laugh. "I don't think you'd believe us if we told you."

David pursed his lips and looked over as a couple people sat down outside the cafe. "There's a customer. I better go take care of them."

"I've got it," Carly offered.

"Okay. Thanks, Carly." Zac, Evie, and David Carly go for a few seconds. "Listen. I know people give you guys a hard time about your theories, but I agree with you. There are a lot of mysteries in this world. Who says there aren't things we don't know about yet."

"Okay," Zac said. "Then what if we told you we're from an alternate reality?"

David paused in consideration for a few seconds. "That's a bit crazy, even for you two."

Zac and Evie were both stunned to silence, unsure of what else to say. "How long have we been obsessed with aliens?" Zac asked slowly, looking to David.

David furrowed his brow as he thought back. "I think it was– it was around Evie's twelfth birthday party," David finished with confidence.

CHCHCH

At Evie's twelfth birthday party, she stood talking to Cam at by the table with her presents. "Everything all right here, Evie?" Doug asked as he went to check up on Evie.

"Yeah, party's great, dad. Thanks," Evie replied.

"Terrific," Doug spoke. "Well, I'm going to get the cake decorated. Can't have a party without a cake," he joked.

Cam and Evie smiled at Doug as he walked away.

Zac, who was getting a glass of punch, looked up as Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan walked up. "Go away," he spoke in a sad voice when he knew they were close enough to hear him. "You got your shell. You can go home now."

Mimmi turned to Ondina and gave her a pointed look as well as a small nudge. "I wasn't nice to you earlier and I'm sorry," Ondina apologized.

Evie looked over towards the punch and saw the girls she had seen at Zac's she thought were aliens. She took a minute to excuse herself from talking to Cam before going over there as well. "You're the aliens," Evie spoke.

"Yeah, hi, Evie," Weilan replied.

"Zac," Mimmi began. "We really need your help."

"Really?" Zac asked, a new light in his eyes. As Zac spoke, Cam made his way over to them to see what Evie was up to.

"What, are these the girls?" Cam asked sarcastically as he made it to the group.

"They're the aliens, yeah," Evie replied. "Do you need my help too?"

"Well, it was actually Zac specifically, but we might need your help too," Mimmi said after a couple seconds of consideration.

"Well, these aliens don't look like aliens," Cam spoke with a scoff.

"But they are aliens," Zac insisted. The other kids at the party had gathered around to listen in. They laughed as Zac insisted that the normal looking girls a couple years older than them were aliens.

"It's true," Evie added. "They are aliens. They can do a trick where they disappear."

"By becoming invisible," Zac pressed. "Show them."

"Looks like Blakely's finally lost it. And he's taking Evie with him."

Zac looked over to Evie and gave her an apologetic look before turning to Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan. "Please, show them."

Mimmi, who stood in the middle, turned first to Weilan, then Ondina, and finally Zac and Evie. "What disappearing trick?" she asked.

As Zac and Evie's expressions fell, the other kids laughed. After a few seconds, Zac ran off towards the jetty at the end of Evie's yard. Hoping she could cheer him up since she understood, Evie followed him.

"Um," Mimmi spoke, watching them go. "Let me go talk to them," she looked to Ondina and Weilan for a moment before going down by Zac and Evie.

Ondina and Weilan stepped to the side and out of the way. Cam took a few steps closer to them to try and flirt with them. After a minute, the girls turned away from him, ignoring the fact that he had called himself 'The Camster'.

Having not been able to cheer Zac up, Evie had fallen into a silence. They both looked down at the water with their legs dangling off the edge towards the shallow water. They watched it slowly lap onto the shore as Mimmi's slow footsteps approached.

"Go away," Zac said coldly when Mimmi stopped and stood behind him and Evie.

"Please just hear me out," Mimmi spoke.

Zac and Evie looked first to each other, then to Mimmi and back to each other. They shared a look for a moment and moved a little farther away to allow Mimmi to sit between them.

"Zac, Evie, I'm sorry I embarrassed you both," she paused. "But we aliens need to keep a low profile when we visit other planets. You know what people would do if they found out aliens existed?" Mimmi joked, give Zac and Evie both small, gentle nudges. Getting no reactions from either of them, Mimmi continued. "We really do need your help. Probably both of your help."

"Why us?" Evie asked. "We're just normal kids."

"You two aren't normal, trust me. You're both special."

"No we're not," Zac insisted.

"You may not think you're special, but you're both really special, especially to me." Mimmi put her arms around them. "You know, we're not just aliens," she paused. "We're also from the future. In the future, the three of us our really good friends."

"So what," Zac countered, turning to look at Mimmi and shaking her arm off him. "What does that matter? Everyone thinks we're crazy."

"Yeah," Evie agreed. "I think Carly's even starting to think I'm crazy. And she's my best friend." She shook Mimmi's arm off her as well and turned to look back to the water with Zac.

"Hmm," Mimmi paused in thought. "You know, I think I might be able to do something about that." She put her arms around them again and gave a gentle squeeze before standing up and motioning for them to follow her.

CHCHCH

"Can I freshen your drink for you?" Cam asked Weilan, making his way back over and standing next to her and Ondina.

"Uh, how old are you?" Weilan asked.

"I'm twelve," he replied in a suave voice."But my mum says I look older than I really am," Cam gave a sly smile but Ondina and Weilan only laughed and turned away. Cam walked away a couple seconds later, seeing that he was still getting nowhere.

While Cam walked away, Mimmi approached the party with Zac and Evie.

"Hi everyone. Can I have your attention?" Mimmi said, raising her voice above the noise of the party. "I understand that some of you here don't believe in aliens," she spoke even as some of the kids laughed. "Well, you may not believe in aliens, but me and my friends are aliens. And we can prove it."

Ondina and Weilan turned to Mimmi with wide eyes and questioning expressions. "What are you doing?" Ondina asked through gritted teeth.

"Just trust me," Mimmi whispered in reply. Ondina sighed.

"All right. Let's pretend you are aliens and Blakely hasn't lost it," Cam said. "If you are aliens, what planet are you from?"

"The name doesn't translate well," Mimmi answered. "But where we're from, the laws of gravity like here on earth are upside down and everything floats." At her last words, Mimmi turned her hand towards the punch and lifted a spear of it out of the bowl. Kids gasped as Mimmi held it in mid-air.

"Whoa!"

"Cool!" some of the kids exclaimed.

"Weilan," Mimmi motioned.

Weilan handed her empty cup to Ondina and moved to stand opposite of Mimmi. As Weilan did that, Mimmi split the one ball of orange punch into three spheres. "Catch," Mimmi said, tossing one of the spheres over to Weilan. Kids once again gasped as Mimmi and Weilan began to juggle the balls of punch.

"Aliens aren't real," Carly laughed. "This is just some sort of trick.

Cam scoffed at the thought of aliens being real. "Carly's right. They're not aliens," he laughed. "It's just plastic balls tied on strings. Someone else has to be in on their trick," he spoke, moving forward to wave his hand over and then under the juice to try and find strings. His hand, however, didn't hit anything.

"And now, a special present for Evie," Mimmi said, seeing that Evie had picked up her empty cup. Mimmi brought the juice back together as one and lowered it into Evie's cup. All the kids gasped in amazement. Mimmi gave a small bow and Weilan a curtsy.

"This is awesome," Evie said, smiling at Mimmi and then locking eyes with Zac.

"Are you guys ready?" Mimmi asked them, picking the shell up from where it has been placed on the table.

"Yeah," they answered. Zac started off to the side of the house as Evie handed her drink to Carly for a minute so she could follow. Cam and Carly closely examined the juice inside.

CHCHCH

Over to the side of the yard, Zac and Evie stood opposite of Mimmi, Ondina, and Weilan. "What do you want us to do?" Evie asked.

Weilan looked to the shell in Mimmi's hands. "That shell is a magical wishing shell," she explained. "You just need to say, 'We wish things back the way they were.' Once you do, we'll be able to go home." Weilan finished, locking her eyes with Zac and Evie.

Zac looked down and then over to Evie. "I don't want you to go."

"Me either," Evie added.

"Guys, I meant what I said. We'll all see each other again in the future," she smiled and gave a nod as she spoke.

"Promise?" Zac and Evie asked after looking to each other. They both held their pinkies out to Mimmi.

Mimmi gave the shell to Ondina and held her own pinkies out to Zac and Evie. "Promise," she confirmed as a small glow went through her moon ring. The trio shared a smile as Ondina and Weilan looked on. Mimmi took a step back towards Ondina and Weilan and then took the shell again.

"Okay." Zac and Evie looked to each other and spoke simultaneously. "We wish things back the way they were." There was a flash of light as they finished speaking which caused them to close their eyes briefly. When they opened them, they stood alone.

CHCHCH

"School used to be a breeze," Zac sighed. "I played all the time. Life was pretty good as a kid," he commented. Evie laughed lightly in agreement. "I wish you could–" Zac was suddenly cut off as he found a hand over his mouth. He and Evie gave Ondina a questioning look.

"Be careful what you wish for," she said, slowly pulling her hand back

Zac and Evie turned around to look at Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan completely dumbfounded.

"Um, what exactly did we miss?" Evie asked.

Mimmi moved to set the shell down on the coffee table. "Do you feel all right?"

"Yeah," Zac spoke, Evie nodded in agreement while both furrowed their brows.

"No memory of anything weird happening?" Weilan questioned.

"No," Zac and Evie answered slowly. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Ondina answered as Carly knocked on the door; Cam stood behind he as he held her hand,

"Hey guys," Carly greeted.

"We were hoping to find you here. We're going to catch a movie and came to see if you wanted to come with us."

"Sounds good. What do you think, Zac?"

"I think we can put the Chemistry assignment on hold for a little while longer. What movie?"

"It's a sci-fi," Carly explained. "The Time Traveler."

"We'll pass," Ondina spoke a minute later after looking to Mimmi and Weilan. The two couples shrugged as everyone headed out.

CHCHCH

Zac and Evie were staring down Evie's yard when Carly approached them. "Zac, Evie, what are you doing over here?"

"I– I don't know," Evie answered, coming out of a daze.

"Your dad was just getting the cake. Can't have the cake without the birthday girl. Come on." Carly held her hand out to Evie who held her hand out to Zac. The three friends walked back to the party together.

A/N: I wanted to give Evie a bigger role in the rewrite than she had in the original, especially since she was hardly in the original at all, which is why I have her be there with Zac in both cases rather than Zac being on his own. I also figured that if Evie had a bigger role to play, Carly would as well seeing as how they're best friends.

Thanks once again for the reviews, favorites, and follows. I appreciate them all. I'd love to hear from you about what was handled well and what you thought could have been better both concerning the way I carried out the rewrite, and my writing in general.

I'm not sure when I'll next be able to update, as I have to watch Lost and Found yet, but hopefully I can do that soon and not leave a large gap between these two chapters.

Thanks for reading,

-CrazyHayniac