When his door flew open Marcus instinctively hid himself with magic. He waited silently there on the floor, wondering who would be barging into his house like this. He got his answer when Rita came striding furiously into his living room. Marcus breathed a sigh of relief and dropped the cloaking spell, staring up at the principal. "So." He said conversationally. "I might have had a lapse in judgement."
Rita stared down at him imposingly before shaking her head and pulling out her Moon Ring and slipping it over her finger. "I warned you." She reminded him. "Magic is not something to take lightly. We will speak more on this later, but for now let's see if we can fix you. Your tail is dry, correct?"
Marcus took it to be a good sign that she had not remarked on his tail's unusual color. "Yeah, I dried it off."
Rita stooped down to examine his tail more curiously, running a hand over his scales. Marcus winced as the dry scales tried to catch against her skin. Dry scales were by far one of the most annoying feelings he had ever experienced. "I believe I might have an idea." Rita said. "When the girls first came on land, they had to use a spell to get their legs. I think that if you use a similar spell you should get your legs back."
"Sweet." Marcus said. "How do I do it?"
"You don't." Rita said coolly. "I do. I think that you have caused enough damage with your magic." Her Moon Ring glowed bright and alternating series of hot and cold ran up and down Marcus's tail.
Marcus squirmed and fought the urge to itch at his scales. The alternating temperatures lasted for a few minutes as Rita continued her work, but eventually they stopped. Marcus's legs reappeared as suddenly as his tail would have if he had been in water, something he was very glad for. He sprang to his feet and hopped from one foot to another, testing his legs. "You are a lifesaver." He told Rita, turning to look at her. The smile on his face faltered as he registered the disapproving look that she directed at him. "Oh. I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
"Do you have any idea what could have happened if I had not been here?" Rita demanded, throwing up her arms angrily. "What could have happened if someone else came looking for you? What was your plan if I hadn't shown up? Use more magic and risk advancing your situation? Or were you planning on crawling to the water behind your house and trying to find your way to the underwater entrance to my grotto?"
"Well, when you put it like that…" Marcus muttered.
"Marcus, doing things like this make me question my trust in your ability to keep our secret." Rita told him sternly.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Marcus said, immediately defensive. "Everyone makes mistakes. The others must have made mistakes too! I can't be the only one to have screwed up!"
"You're right, you weren't." Rita said fairly, crossing her arms. "And I'm afraid that you won't be the last either. But the difference between you and the others is that they have each other to rely on. You are very much alone in that regard. Marcus, you are both young and brand new to this world you have managed to squeeze your way into. That in itself is never a good combination."
Marcus stood there silently, listening to every word that she was telling him and not being able to find a single excuse or argument. Rita sighed and regarded him thoughtfully. "I think it's time you tell the others." Rita told him softly. "I let you have your time to yourself to figure out your powers, but now I think it would be best if we brought the others in on your secret."
Marcus racked his brain for an argument, but what Nixie told him the night before resurfaced in his brain. He now had three mermaids who knew his secret and were threatening to unveil it to the others. He knew that if they found out by any other source than his own mouth then it would only look bad on him. "Fine." Marcus said, defeat in every letter. "My parents have an island in the Caribbean, I was going to go there for the holiday next week and work on the whole merman thing. Nixie and Lyla are already going, I'll bring the others along too. I'll tell them there. Would that be fair?"
Rita pursed her lips before nodding. "I should think so." She said. "When would we be leaving?"
"We?" Marcus repeated, catching the inclusion. "You're going too?"
"Of course." Rita nodded. "As your teacher, I can't allow that many young people to be out on their own. Besides, I am almost certain that Zach and Evie's parents will want to know who is escorting this little trip."
"No one ever escorts me." Marcus frowned. "I always go there by myself."
"Be that as it may, not everyone has quite the same thought process that your parents do regarding supervision." Rita told him.
"Are you sure that you don't just want to go the Caribbean?" Marcus asked suspiciously. "Because I think that you might just want to go and the supervision thing is just a bogus reason."
"We always could tell the others today." Rita offered.
Trapped, Marcus sighed and kicked viciously at his floor. "Mermaids." He said, making the word sound like a curse. "All of you."
Rita bade him farewell and left him to his thoughts. Marcus fell onto his couch and put his head into his hands. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his cellphone, quickly dialing up Zach's number. He answered on the second ring. "What's up Marcus?" He asked good-naturedly.
"I'm going to the Caribbean next week on my family's private island. I'm inviting everyone. Do you want to go?" Marcus cut straight to the point.
"U-uh, yeah sure." Zach said, clearly caught off guard by Marcus's casual way of asking. "I'd have to ask my parents first though."
"Rita is chaperoning the trip apparently." Marcus told him. "Apparently that's a big deal, so let them know that. And tell the others too if you don't mind. Might as well invite all of 'em."
"Sounds great mate!" Zach said, clearly ecstatic about the idea. "Cam, Carly, and David too?"
Marcus thought for a moment back to the size of his plane and frowned. "Yeah, go ahead." He told him. "Invite Chris too if you want. We should have plenty of room."
"Great man, I'll let them know." Zach promised. "What are you up to today?"
"Oh you know-." Marcus ended the call and stowed the phone back into his pocket. He was in no mood to talk to the others right now. His failed attempt at magic had left a sour taste in his mouth and he still had to deal with the whole Ondina issue.
His phone trilled gently in his pocket and he reached for it without opening his eyes. "What do you want Zach?" He asked irritably.
"Who's Zach?" The soft voice of his mother asked curiously. "A friend of yours?"
Marcus's eyes snapped open and he looked at the caller ID on his phone. His mother's number flashed on the phone and he put the phone back to his ear. "Yeah, a friend." He said dismissively, ignoring the happy feeling in his stomach that came from speaking to his mother. "How are you mom?"
"Doing well, thanks." She laughed in the phone and a smile broke out on Marcus's face. "You always sound so formal. How is the new school?"
"It's… I am thoroughly enjoying it." Marcus said. "I've even made a few new acquaintances. If you ever manage to find time to visit…." He let the sentence hanging in the air, like bait on a fish hook.
His mother was wise to his trick however and sighed disappointedly. "I wish I could be there tomorrow." She told him. "But you know how busy your father and I are. I'll try to make time to come visit you soon, but I make no promises."
That's what you said six months ago too. Marcus thought. "That's fine. I understand your schedule is somewhat hectic. What are you and Father up to right now?"
"We are actually over the Pacific Ocean." His mother told him. "We're currently touring some of our branch companies."
"That sounds…. enjoyable." Marcus said, his voice falsely positive. "By the way, I never thanked you for the credit card you sent me."
"I was meaning to ask you about that." His mother told him, suddenly stern. "I checked your statement and it told me that you have barely spent anything other than what you spent on food. Marcus, that credit card is there so that you can enjoy yourself. I know you are very fiscally responsible, but please enjoy yourself. Who knows how long you will be there?"
"I was actually meaning to speak to you on that, Mother." Marcus told her, straight business now. "I know that you and Father prefer it if I keep moving around, but I am enjoying my time here. I think that I will ride out the remainder of my time in school here."
"Marcus," His mother said chidingly. "You know that we won't be able to visit you early as often as we do if you stay there. We don't have any investments tied to that part of Australia. Making a trip there just to see you would not be time well spent."
"Mother, it's been two years since I've seen you or Father." Marcus told her. "Besides, switching schools so much is very impractical to my education. It would be smarter if I stayed in one spot for the time being. Once I graduate, you can choose to send me wherever you want for college. Would that be a fair exchange?" It had to be very give and take with his parents, and it always made Marcus feel like a negotiator whenever he spoke to them.
His mother was quiet for a long moment as she considered the offer. "You have a deal." She said after the pause. "I know some lovely colleges in Europe, and studying abroad would be absolutely marvelous."
"I look forward to it." Marcus told her. He wasn't actually, but he knew that this conversation would be almost instantly forgotten by his mother in favor of some business deal.
"It has been lovely speaking with you Marcus, but I have to go now. I have a call on the other line I must take. I love you son, have a wonderful day." She hung up without another word.
Marcus slowly lowered the phone from his ear and stared down at the floor. He let the phone drop onto the floor and left it there. He got up from the couch and exited his house, not bothering to lock it behind him. He couldn't tell whether he was sad or angry at his mother, and he decided that it was a little of both. Marcus knew where he wanted to go, but how he would get there made him hesitate. In the end he decided on the safest route, Arthur's boat. He gunned the outboard out of the harbor and made his way for Mako. He anchored the boat to the normal driftwood stump and made a beeline for the cliffs above the Moon Pool.
He intentionally used a different path up the cliffs this time, one he thought was more difficult. Indeed when he pulled himself over the edge his muscles were screaming in protest of their rough treatment. Marcus wiped his brow and tossed the rope that he had left on top of the rocks into the cave. He rappelled down the rope and into the cave, touching down lightly to the floor and then sinking down to a sitting position. He rested his back against the cold stone and gazed over the Moon Pool.
He couldn't have been there for more than an hour, but he enjoyed every second of the solitude. However, it seemed like on Mako such peace could never last. A familiar blonde mermaid appeared in his field of vision and immediately noticed him.
"I thought you said to meet you at the café?" Ondina asked, clearly annoyed at the misinformation.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Marcus muttered. "Long story. Look, I don't really feel like swimming today. It's not even noon and it has already been a really long day."
"That's fine." Ondina pulled herself onto the stone, her tail smacking the water. She scooted backwards until she was fully out of the water and then set to drying her tail. Marcus watched her with a passing interest for just a moment before he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the rocks. He only opened his eyes when he felt something brush his arm. He opened one eye and saw Ondina looking at him with a small degree of concern. "What's wrong?" Ondina asked, scooting over to sit next to him.
"Oh nothing." Marcus said. "Just some personal stuff. I'm fine."
"So we're going to the Caribbean?" Ondina asked. "I love it there."
"Seems to be the general consensus." Marcus muttered. "Yeah, we leave next week. Look, if you don't mind I don't really feel like talking."
"That's fine." Ondina said, closing her eyes and scooted close to him before resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm tired anyways."
Marcus stared down at her for a long time, uncertain how he had been caught in this situation. Eventually he sighed to himself and closed his own eyes. The last thought that he had before he drifted off to sleep was that Ondina smelled a lot like the sea. Makes sense. He murmured to himself.