"Still thinking about Harmony?" Eric's tone was sympathetic, and Ariel sighed, accepting a jam filled pastry from him in the process.
"I don't know if she would have loved this," she admitted, staring morosely at the sweet treat, "but I feel bad for denying her the opportunity. At least Melody seems to be having fun."
"She'll come around," he replied, trying to soothe her frayed nerves. Ariel had been in knots over how she'd handled the teen's stubborn determination not to return to school for days. "I keep telling you, you weren't in the wrong by trying to be parent. She's a teenager, it's going to happen."
"I know," Ariel answered, now fidgeting with her wedding ring. "I can't stop thinking about her, though. Locked in that room for two days, all alone, not eating…and it doesn't help that everyone keeps asking after her."
"The kingdom is curious," Eric shrugged, inclining his head slightly back to the crowd. They'd managed to slip away from the food and fun of the festival, if only to have a moment for themselves in this quiet side street. "You know how big this event is. Everyone probably thought we'd put her on display like bread in a window, so they could ogle and point."
Here, Eric shook his head, a distasteful look on his face. "I won't do that to her."
Ariel felt a breeze blow through, and she wrapped her arms around her, under her cloak. "She's a princess. She'll have to get used to it, one day."
"Well, today, she's essentially grounded from the festival, and I'll bet right now she's probably in the kitchens eating everything she can get her hands on." Eric smiled at the idea, but it was tight, almost forced, as he tried to lift Ariel's spirits. "Speaking of which – are you planning on eating that pastry?"
Ariel lifted her eyes to meet his, and tried to smile back. It didn't work; the guilt gnawing at her was still prevalent. She handed him the pastry wordlessly, unable to think about stomaching anything right now.
Instead, when he took the treat from her, rather eagerly, she slipped her hand into his. It was time to return to their kingdom.
Marcie took a handful of sand, and let it pour out in between her fingers. She felt everything from tiny pebbles to shells go through. That was something she would have to remember to tell Matt; beaches in pictures didn't show what lay underneath.
"He'll never believe me," Marcie mused, smiling faintly at the idea, before it faltered, falling from her face. She sighed, staring out at the sea, squinting in the sunlight.
It was a beautiful, perfect day. The kind that would have had her riding her bike down familiar dirt roads, gleeful the moment the flat land allowed her to catch some air, breathless with laughter as she looked behind her to see her friends. Instead, here she was, alone, in a strange world, no friends in sight, and no bike to be seen.
"It's my own fault," she muttered to herself as her stomach growled angrily. "Who wants to go to some lame carnival anyway?"
She didn't even care that she was being punished and not going to this festival thing: the last time she had gone out to the town, she'd made the newspapers. She had bigger things on her mind. For instance, today was Halloween, and she doubted Ariel and Eric would get her home in time to celebrate Emma's birthday.
She lifted her face to the sun, closing her eyes for a moment as a salty breeze passed by her face. For being the last day of October, the temperature was fair, even when the crest of the waves would wash over her toes. She opened her eyes, examining the water, tilting her head slightly.
The water was flat, not a wave in sight. Despite knowing better, she felt a push, a strong desire to get into the water. After all, she reasoned, what was the worst that could happen? So long as she didn't go too deep, where she couldn't feel the bottom, she should be fine.
Marcie stood up, determined. She tied her skirt just above her knees in a thick knot, reasoning that there was no need for it to get wet. She looked around, making sure she wasn't being watched, and slowly stepped a foot into the water.
Like she had on the second night here, it startled the girl to realize that the water felt comfortable. She couldn't explain why, but something about the waves running over her foot felt tranquil, calm. She stuck her other foot in, feeling the same, but multiplied now by two. Carefully, she walked into the water, letting it rush around her bare legs.
She was almost up to her knees now, and felt engrossed in the idea that she was in the water, and she was fine. She wasn't sinking, she wasn't panicking, she was composed. Maybe the water wasn't so bad, she thought, maybe there was a real reason why Melody was always—
Marcie yelped as she felt something grab at her ankle and yank her down, below the water. For a second, she swore she saw a fin.
A shark!
Instinct kicked in, and she tried to claw her way back up to the surface, to air, but her clothes were heavy and her legs couldn't thrash, not with a knot around her knees. Her arms flailed upwards, but she couldn't pull herself back up from this position.
She was going to drown!
Without warning, a hand grabbed hers, and pulled her back up. But Marcie's legs felt like jelly, and she couldn't stand anymore. Just as she came up and took in a gulp of air, her head fell back below the water.
This time the hand yanked her up by the back of her dress, nearly choking her, but it kept her head up. It took Marcie a few deep breaths of air to realize that she was moving. And just as she came to the realization, she was pushed towards something sturdy.
A rock!
It was smooth and slippery, but her fingers managed to catch onto tiny divots in its formation. Water had gone up her nose, making her sneeze, in between bouts of trying to regain her breath. Luckily, she hadn't had the chance to swallow any saltwater this time, so she didn't have to choke it back up. She clung to the rock with everything she had, and eventually, realized that she could open her eyes again.
Fortunately, her glasses were once again still on, although filled with water droplets.
Unfortunately, a blonde girl was less than an inch from her face, scrutinizing her.
Marcie jerked back, nearly losing her grip to the rock, her eyes widening.
"You're not my cousin," the girl said, thoughtfully. "Sorry. Are you alright?"
Marcie stared at her, wordlessly. The girl wore a strapless bikini, in the shape of shells. One side was yellow, the other green. Her hair was long, loose around her face, and dirty blonde. Her eyes were deep green, and if Marcie had to guess, she'd say they were mischievous.
"Are you alright?" The girl asked again, this time becoming concerned, her brows pulling low. "I can get my Aunt and Uncle if you're not, they live just over there. Although, you might not be able to see where they live, because this rock is so big, and they might not be able to see you, but I don't think you'd be too hard for them to find out here."
Marcie stared at the girl, incredulous now, before saying, "I almost died!"
"I said I was sorry," the girl reiterated, blinking. "Anyway, what kind of swimming was that? You're supposed to come up to the surface!"
Marcie's features turned even more incredulous. "Why would you go around pulling someone's leg out from under them? I can't swim!"
The dirty-blonde girl stared at her, then scrunched her face. "How?"
"How?" Marcie repeated, wildly. "I'm from the middle-of-nowhere Nebraska! I've never even seen a lake!"
"Where's Nebraska?" The girl inquired, curiously.
"It's—" Marcie bit her lip. Eric had told her they didn't want this news spread around. He had a point too; it sounded like an absurd claim. "—far away."
"Well, if where you're from is faraway, what are you doing here?" The girl asked, green eyes confused but sincere. She noticed the hesitance in the girl's words, as though she was weighing out what she said carefully. "Did you move?"
"Something like that," Marcie mumbled, quickly following up with, "But any day now they're gonna figure out how to get me back! They keep saying they're working on it!"
"Who's they? Your family?" The girl questioned, not giving a moment to pause before continuing on. "Are you going to move back to Nebraska?"
Marcie carefully regarded the girl. Her guard was up, but this girl's green eyes were unlike Melody's; they were considerate. "They're sending me back, just as soon as they figure out how."
"Oh, because you still have family in Nebraska?" The dirty-blonde girl said, seeing the situation now. "I understand! I have an Aunt and Uncle who live outside the city. Mom and Dad sent me there for a visit last summer, for a week!"
Marcie hesitated at the comparison, then nodded. It was close enough. "My brother is still back home. He's older than me."
"Do you miss him?" The girl asked, frowning at the notion, troubled by it. "I think I would miss my brothers if I had to move. Well, at least one of them, anyway."
Marcie felt her throat tighten. Her shoulders dropped, and she nodded. Finally, someone who didn't tell her she would adjust, that somehow everything would magically fall into place. This girl, who had almost killed her, somehow got it. "I miss a lot of things."
"That sounds hard," the girl said, sympathy in her tone. "When do you think they'll figure out how to send you back?"
"Soon, I hope," Marcie answered, sighing, swinging her head back, unwilling to use her hands to push back her wet red hair. She would not let go of this rock if her life depended on it. She offered a tentative smile to the girl, admitting, "I thought I was done-for back there."
The dirty-blonde girl brightened, smiling for the first time in their exchange. She had dimples in both her cheeks. Marcie supposed they were around the same age. "I wouldn't have let you drown. My Aunt would be very upset."
"I saw a fin and thought a shark had got me," Marcie confessed, her turn to be sheepish now at the ridiculousness. "I think I just imagined it. I couldn't see a whole lot, you know, 'cause I was trying not to drown."
"Sharks don't come this close to shore," the dirty-blonde girl answered breezily, before flipping onto her back and lazily swimming backwards. "Besides, you probably saw my tail."
Marcie's red brows pulled low, and she asked, confused, "What tail…?"
Light-purple fins were the first thing she saw, poking out from the water. These were unlike any from movies; they didn't look like two giant, plastic, webbed feet sticking up. These looked like actual fins, like the kind on sea-creatures. The redhead's eyes followed upwards from the fins, past the smooth, yet somehow scaly, tail, which ended just below the girl's waist.
She gaped.
The dirty-blonde noticed, turning around easily and swimming closer, back to the other teen. Marcie noticed she hardly used her upper body; this girl's swimming was so fluid using her tail. "Oh, I forgot, you're not from around here. Have you never seen a mermaid?"
"Mermaids aren't real," was all Marcie could blurt out, stunned, barely able to raise her voice above a terrified squeak. "Mermaids aren't real."
The girl frowned, then grew excited, green eyes lighting up. "Grandad's told me stories that humans used to not believe in merpeople. I thought that was a million years ago, though! But you really didn't believe merpeople existed, until now, didn't you?"
"Mermaids aren't real," Marcie repeated, feeling whatever color being lost in her face. "This is a joke, it's gotta be a joke. There's no such thing, it's like vampires and ghosts and—and—it's all make believe stuff!"
"Mom says ghosts aren't real too," the girl answered, thoughtfully. "But I know she's wrong—my room doesn't get so messy because of me!"
"It's not real," Marcie said again, shaking her head, trying desperately to blink. But she could see the light purple starting below the girl's hips, proving her wrong. "On top of everything else that's crazy in this place, mermaids are not one of them."
"I'm real," the girl said, still smiling, bowing slightly. "My name's Coral. Or, well, it's really Coralina, but Mom only uses my full name when I'm in trouble. What's yours?"
Marcie stared at her. This was not normal. Was she really having a conversation with someone who was half fish? "Marcella Nicole Johnson. Everyone calls me Marcie."
"Nice to make your acquaintance, Marcie," Coral answered, tilting her head slightly in confusion when she saw the other girl continuing to eyeball her tail. "What?"
The redhead swallowed hard. Maybe she was crazy for starting to believe, but Coral did seem so at ease treading water…"Are you sure you're real? 'Cause if you're pranking me, after almost killing me, it's not okay."
"I promise, I'm really a mermaid. I'm from Atlantica," Coral said, earnestly, before pausing to explain. "It's a kingdom, under the sea. My whole family are merpeople—well, except for my Aunt, she's human."
Marcie looked alarmed again. "You can choose to be one or the other?"
Coral stifled her giggle at the assumption. It would be rude to laugh at the girl for something she didn't know. "No! It's only because my Aunt fell in love with my Uncle—completely one-time-thing. They got married and have my cousin."
"So your cousin is…half-human, half…not?" Marcie pressed, trying to understand this confusing dynamic. "Does your cousin have a tail?"
"She was born human. Half-human, half-mermaid, child of the land and sea, blah, blah, blah," Coral waved it off, having heard the story a thousand times before. She scrunched her nose, admitting, "We're not really close. I tell my parents I come up here all the time to visit her, but it's mostly to get away. I'm not really supposed to be up here by myself."
"Why do you need to get away?" Macie wondered, her voice still unsure, but laced with curiosity. What kind of problems could a mermaid possibly have? "Why can't you be up here by yourself?"
"Everyone is always telling me to be more responsible, because I'm the oldest one around," Coral huffed, rolling her eyes. "Mom will never say it, but I think she still believes humans aren't trustworthy. She'd flip if she knew how often I came up to be alone! They all expect me to act a certain way, and it's not fair, I only want to be Coral."
Marcie seemed surprised, and the blonde noticed, biting her lip, and quickly saying, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—"
"I feel the same way," Marcie cut her off, her voice straining under the hope that she may have found a kindred spirit. "It's like, everyone wants me to be someone else, and I don't want to disappoint them but—"
"But you don't know how to be everything they're asking?" Coral filled in, eagerly, and Marcie nodded in quite a serious way.
"It sucks," the redheaded teen declared. She swallowed hard, feeling vulnerable, but somehow, felt like she had finally found someone to trust. "It's like, I just always feel like no matter what I do, I'm gonna be a disappointment."
Coral tilted her head, acknowledging the other girl's words, and sighing. "Gosh. It's weird; who would've known there's a human girl that feels like I do?"
"Yeah, well, who would've known there's a mermaid who understands what it's like?" Marcie retorted, her ice blue eyes brimming with relief. In this moment, she could have cared less what the blonde girl was—so long as she finally found someone who listened, who didn't tell her it would all work out, who acknowledged that growing up was difficult.
"You don't even like football," Marcie said, turning to Matt, and her eyes flipping from the helmet he held, and then back to his face.
Matt shrugged. "My Dad likes it. If I play, we might have something to talk about."
Marcie made a face, concern now touching her features. "Your dad only talks to you about the weather and the farm."
"I know, but this time, it's different," Matt answered, trying to make himself appear taller, more sure of himself. "This is high school football. It's like, important. He'll be interested, I think."
"There's seniors on the team, they're gonna squash you into bits," Emma said, thoughtfully, putting her pencil to her chin. "I'm not cheering for you if you get crushed."
"You're not even a cheerleader, try-outs don't start until school does," Matt bit back, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms stubbornly over his chest. "Besides, who's ever heard of a computer nerd as a cheerleader?"
"At least I like cheer," Emma answered, tucking a blonde curl behind her ear, not bothering to look up from her grocery list as she answered. "And besides, it'll give my parents an excuse to stop fighting and come together to the games, to see me."
"After that big fight they got into at middle school graduation?" Matt leaned forward on his elbows, incredulously. "Good luck. We could hear them from backstage."
"Your mom called your dad curse words I didn't even know existed," Marcie supplied, watching as Emma cringed at the memory of two months ago, before straightening her face out.
"Well," Emma declared, putting her pencil down, and screwing her eyes on the redhead. "At least I'm trying to do something in high school. You don't even want to join a club or sports or anything else!"
Marcie appeared wounded for a second, before squaring her shoulders back. "What's the point? I'm not good at anything."
"You're good at music," Matt pointed out, frowning. "And there's a music club."
"Yeah, but you have to bring your own instruments," Marcie responded, pushing her glasses up her nose. "There's no piano, and I don't have a keyboard."
"You have your guitar," Emma answered, easily pursing her lips. "Why don't you bring that?"
Marcie shook her head. "It's all scratched up and duct-taped together. It still plays, but I can't bring that to music club. Everyone there has new instruments, not stuff they got at a thrift store in Kearney."
"Maybe they've got extras?" Matt suggested, shrugging.
Marcie's shoulders dropped, helplessly. "What's the point? I've never had real lessons. And it's not like the old man would even bother to show up for recitals."
"He might, you never know," Emma responded, yelping when she was kicked under the table. She looked across at Matt, who gave her an annoyed look. "What?"
"It's okay, I'm used to it," Marcie said, looking over at Matt, who looked unsure at her response. "Really, it's not a big deal. Makes it easier, in fact. There's no pressure to do something just to get his attention."
"Until you move back to Nebraska…do you want to be friends?" Coral asked, shyly, gauging the other girl's reaction. "It would be nice to have a someone to talk to. None of my friends understand this kind of pressure, and my family thinks I'm being overdramatic."
"I mean, yeah, sure, but how can that work?" Marcie wondered, blinking. "You don't live up here, and I don't live down there."
"I can swim up!" Coral exclaimed. "Afterschool, I've always got free time. I'm supposed to be doing homework, but that's boring."
Marcie blanched. "You go to school? There's schools for mermaids?"
"I wish I didn't have to, I don't like tide school," Coral said, making a face. "Do you have time afterschool to meet?"
"I—" Marcie had to stop herself from saying that yes, she had time afterschool, as long as she wasn't watching Matt get smashed in football practice. That life didn't exist for her right now. "I quit school."
"You quit school?" Coral asked, breathless, shocked. "How can you quit school?"
"The school here blows," Marcie said, venom to her words. She recalled the discussion with Ariel two days before; she would never go back to Melody's tutors. "I got kicked out of class for passing notes, and then all the teachers said I'm really behind, and to catch up I'd need extra help. So I quit; I'm waiting till I go back home, that way I can go back to my school."
"You got kicked out of class?" Coral hung on every word, now convinced that redheaded girl was a rebel. "That's so tidal!"
"What's tidal?"
"It means, awesome!" Coral explained, excitement pouring out of her. "I wish I was that tidal."
"Oh, it's your version of cool?" Marcie wondered, perking slightly at the idea, before deflating again. "So. I'm free, but won't your parents notice if you're always gone? You said you're not really supposed to be up here, what if they start asking questions?"
"They won't if I say I'm doing homework with a friend," Coral replied, eyes glinting at the idea of her impish behavior. "If I bring my homework, then I can bring you extra schoolwork; that way you don't feel like you're missing anything, until you go back home to your school. And I'm not technically lying."
"That's," Marcie paused, scanning the girl before her. She was almost a criminal mastermind. Plus, she didn't think Ariel and Eric would notice her absence, if she slipped away for a bit. They would probably think she was in her room. And having schoolwork to do would allow her to not fall behind. It was foolproof. "Actually a really good idea."
"Thank you," Coral answered, her smile proud. "I can teach you to swim too. So you don't almost die next time."
"What if I start drowning, and you can't pull me up in time?" Marcie asked, worry flashing across her features.
Coral brushed off the idea. "If my Aunt could swim my Uncle all the way back to shore, I can handle you. Trust me, you're not that heavy."
"Can you swim me back to shore now?" Marcie asked, her fingers still clutching tight to the rock. She swallowed hard, wincing. "I can't feel my arms."
"Oh!" Coral said, smacking a hand against her forehead. "I keep forgetting you're human."
"I'm not the one with an actual fin here!" Marcie responded, as Coral reached, out, securing her grip onto the fabric of Marcie's dress.
"Try to keep your head up!" Coral asserted, and before Marcie had the chance, the mermaid was dragging her across the waves at a speed that was clearly not human.
Disclaimer: Ariel, Eric, Melody, and the setting for this story are from The Little Mermaid, which is property of Disney. I own nothing; everything represented from the film(s), tv series, etc. is/are the property of Disney. Other characters are from my own imagination and are not associated with Disney.