Chapter 15

Mr. Shark felt as though he was about to melt into the sand. His dorsal fin was wagging rapidly at the sudden contact that was brief yet sweet to his sandpaper skin. Blinking, he faced her with a shocked expression.

She had kissed him. She really kissed him!

Inside, he was screaming with joy to the point he wanted to put on a broadway show to celebrate this moment. However, he instead lets out a high-pitched squeal and kicked his legs in the sand.

Mira covered her mouth to giggle but even he could see that she was blushing hard. "I can't believe that just happen. I-I don't know what to say but... I think I want to try something..."

He wondered if this was the first time he had heard his voice being this quiet. Seeing her confused yet guarded expression, Mr. Shark gestured toward the sand. "Ever tried making a sandcastle?"

Mr. Shark wondered if he had said something wrong when she looked away. Kneeling down to her level, he asked, "Do you know how to make a sandcastle?"

Reluctantly, she shook her head and brought her knees close to her chest. "I...don't know how..." There was shame in her tone, clearly something that she wasn't comfortable with. He rubbed her back gently. "Never got the time to do it?"

She shook her head. "They won't let me..."

Now it dawned on him. Mira's family must not let her go anywhere near some place dirty and yet they let her swim about? No wonder Rani left and was happy with Mr. Snake. Instead of giving her sympathy, he offered his fin out.

"Wanna learn how?"

There was hesitation in her body language but he could tell that her eyes wanted to try things that she wasn't allowed to do. Seriously, what kind of family does that? Even the jail that he went to with his gang treated them better.

Thankfully, he brought his extra bucket and spade for her to use, guiding her on how to build a sandcastle. It was fun since they were the only ones at the beach after the sunset and Mira, for the first time, was smiling and laughing.

He hoped she could see that those little things were what made her cute.

However, that changed when the walls of their sandcastle crumbled down, causing a domino effect when Mira tried to place a sand dollar on it as a decoration. At an instant, Mira's demeanour from bubbly to stressed and ashamed of herself.

Concerned by this, he kneeled down beside her. "What's wrong?"

Mira glanced at the crumbled down sandcastle. "It's ruined...it's my fault it's not perfect..."

He noticed the waver in her voice, then the tears dripping down her cheek. Unlike most people including himself, she never made a sound as she cried. He could only drape a towel over her shoulders and held her close.

"Hey, hey," he soothed her. "No one is perfect. This is your first sandcastle, right?"

The young woman nodded and wiped a few tears with the towel. "I should have known," she murmured, pressing her knees close to her chest. "I have to be perfect at everything and I failed this...I'm a failure...I'm a failure..."

Growling, he lifted her chin up so that her eyes met his. "Look at me, Mira. You are NOT a failure. All of us failed at something. Have you watched any of our heists before the arrest? We got caught a lot of times despite my creative disguises! In fact, even our plan before the heists were off so we kept trying until all of us agreed to it, whether we like it or not."

Mira only looked up at him with those tearful eyes that made him want to cry as well. However, he pushed those thoughts aside as he continued to comfort her since that's what a good guy would have done.

And his dorsal fin began to wag.

"Hey, you know what they say?" Mr. Shark attempts to lighten the mood. "If all steaks are perfect, we wouldn't any meatballs or hamburgers."

That caused Mira to smile, leaning herself into the great white shark's pudgy stomach. He blushed at the sudden touch. He couldn't believe this was happening right now. If he were to rate anyone in his gang

He couldn't wait to tell Mr. Piranha about this!

...

Mira had never opened herself up just as what she had done with Mr. Shark. After spending a few more minutes at the beach, he decided to escort her back to her sister's apartment in disguises. After a long time of fun, anxiety began to well up in the young woman's stomach.

Was someone watching them?

Glancing over her shoulder, she relaxed when she saw no one. Yet, she couldn't help but feel as if there WAS someone following them. Could it be one of her family members? She dared not to switch on her phone because she would have been bombarded with messages demanding her to explain her sudden disappearance.

Unlocking the door to the apartment, both Mira and Mr. Shark were surprised to find Rani and Mr. Snake playing with their instruments. Just watching them play something in harmony stirred something within her. Just watching her sister interacting with her serpent husband with teasing smiles and loving looks that she had seen in movies.

'I wonder if I could have something like that with somebody,' Mira thought to herself wistfully. It was Mr. Shark who cleared his throat to get their attention. Mr. Snake was startled but composed himself while Rani got up from her seat. "Oh, you're back! I tried to call you but then I remembered you turned off your phone for your safety. Good thing Shark's here, right?"

Mira blushed and then nodded, causing her sister to exchanged glances with her husband. He had a smug expression on his face and then whispered something in her ear, causing Rani to blush hard. What were they whispering about?

The young woman decided to scan the living room, her eyes fell for the Golden Dolphin award that was placed on the mantlepiece. She watched the news a year ago when Mr. Snake became the Good Samaritan for saving her sister from a stalker.

She wished she could go to a Gala but she had assignments to do and her mother showing her off to her friends.

"Mira and I had a good time," said Mr. Shark, plopping down on the sofa. "In fact, I never knew she could use my weakness against me and I DON'T mean the Push Pops. Say, we don't have any missions tomorrow?"

Mr. Snake shrugged. "Beats me! Wolf hasn't said a word but just be ready with your disguises. You weren't being followed?"

Mr. Shark shook his head and then glanced at Mira who reluctantly does the same. She couldn't be too sure if they were followed since they were wearing disguises. Then again, if there was anyone outside of her family that scared her, it'd be that creepy tall man with beady eyes behind those John Lennon sunglasses.

While the two gang members decided to discuss something, Rani led Mira to the guest room. "So, everything went well?" she asked as they sat on the bed. Mira nodded and explained in a barely audible whisper about what she had done with Mr. Shark.

The more she described it, her voice slowly began to turn back on to a normal volume. It wasn't until Rani pointed out that made her shocked. "I...I really spoke up?"

"Yeah, you did," Rani confirmed, wrapping an arm around her. "I'm proud that you find someplace comfortable to speak up. It's not easy when you've be silenced. Anyways, no one got me or Mr. Snake about your whereabouts. Planning on keeping your phone off?"

Mira glanced at her phone, her reflection was shown on the black screen. "For a while..."

Rani nodded with understanding. "Okay. You're welcome to stay on but just to let you know my husband and I are at work early in the morning so help yourself to anything in the kitchen. Now, let's get to the nitty gritty."

Rani looked into her eyes. "Who do you like more?"

"W-what?"

"Your friendship with Mr. Shark and Mr. Piranha's the talk among us," her sister admitted, trying to hide her grin. "It's rare because the both of them have been best friends before I even met them. Having you with them will one day help them make more friends if they want to be the Good Guys. From what I can tell, they're really happy to see you and look forward to hangout with you"

'They are?' she thought to herself, feeling something light within her chest. Throughout her life, her so-called 'friends' at school were nothing more than study buddies for upcoming exams. She never had sleepovers, attend their parties or even let them visit her.

Her mother and grandfather claimed that those things will make her 'buck wild'.

"I don't know who I like..." Mira spoke quietly. Rani only patted her back before bidding her goodnight. She appreciated it since she too was exhausted and was ready to get some rest.

That was until she heard a few noises from the opposite wall of the room. Curious, she leaned her ear close to the wall and heard a few muffled gasps and moans on the other side. She swore she could've heard something like shackles rattling on the opposite side...

Needless to say, she immediately went to her bag and pull out earplugs before getting some much needed sleep.

If she turns on her phone, god help her...

That's all I could say