Wait! I Wrote That? (A Collection of Old, Horrific Stories)

Story 28: Fins (Claxton Spin-off Series)

Song: "Mermaids" - Hans Zimmer

Genre (s): Fantasy/New Adult

Written When? Sophomore Year of College

Episode 1

Pilot

        It was Tracey Freeburg's first day of college. He tried his best to talk his adopted parents, Emilee and Jesse, out of it, since he had very bad memories of human school, but he never prevailed. Now there he was, standing in front of Glenn McConnell Residence Hall on Wentworth Street in Charleston, South Carolina.

He shivered at the sight of the immense building, but he told himself there was no turning back.

Tracey was a very handsome, young man who had long, black hair that reached down his back and golden-brown eyes. He wore a gold-trimmed, dark green shirt with a black and white vest over it, white pants that were held up by a brown belt, black boots, and maroon-colored fingerless gloves. His appearance was ninja-like, giving him a very different look from the other kids in the move-in crowd. After all, Tracey Freeburg was no ordinary boy.

Tracey was a claxton, the male equivalent of a siren, and a prince. His father, Tamesis, was the claxton king of Atlantica (the Lost World of Fairies). His mother, though, had been a fairy. She took Tracey as a baby to Merlin's Island after the Octopus Man (Poseidon) attacked his realm. However, she died from a broken wing soon after she turned him over to Merlin the Great himself, who was Tracey's mentor for nineteen years.

Tracey started as a fairy, but then he chose to become a merman so he could return to his father, while still living with Emilee and Jesse above the waves. He loved being a merman, but at the same time, he hated that he popped a tail every time he got wet.

***

"Tracey, you're supposed to be blending in," Emilee told her adopted son. She hopped out of hers and Jesse's Acura and opened the trunk of the car.

Jesse, her husband, helped her. He was an older man who wore glasses.

Emilee held her gray hair in a bun. She, too, wore glasses.

"I am blending in!" Tracey argued with the older woman.

"By wearing that?" asked Emilee. "Did you bang your head on some coral while out on your swim? I told you to look 'presentable'."

"But I like this outfit."

Tracey didn't ride with Emilee and Jesse to the college. He got carsick easily because he wasn't used to cars, so he agreed to meet them there. Yes, Tracey swam to the Charleston Harbor and climbed out of the water at the last leg of Waterfront Park. It was a rather enjoyable swim, counting out the fact that the whirling of boat motors caused his head to spin. Therefore, Emilee and Jesse never got the chance to check the outfit he wanted to wear for Move-In Day because Tracey left early so he could get to the school on time. In his mind, the word "presentable" meant wearing the best ninja clothes he had.

When Emilee saw she was not going to be able to convince Tracey to change, she just said, "Fine, fine. I'll let you off this time. Why don't you grab a cart and check yourself in, while Jesse and I start unpacking your things?"

"But there are humans over there!"

"Shh!"

A few college kids heard Tracey's remark and gave him funny looks.