Mermen on Accident (DNF Mermaid AU)

Aquarium Day

The aquarium smelled awful.

The perks were that we could basically go wherever and do what we wanted. They handed us all wrist bands and told us what time we had to be back for lunch.

George and I were not excited.

The first thing we did was get as far away from our classmates as fast as possible. Basically we went to all the boring places. We also avoided the fish areas, which was difficult.

It just felt weird looking at those fish in the tanks knowing that it could be us. So instead we watched strange informational videos in the front areas of the aquarium. We got bored very quickly.

As we were walking past the lobby for the fifth time, a teacher noticed us and called out.

"I've seen you boys in this same area three times now. You don't want to look at the fish?"

George and I look at each other awkwardly. 

"Oh.. uhh. Not really..."

She frowns. "Why don't you take a look around somewhere besides here. You don't have to be back until 12 for lunch. Go explore. Take your mind off school and enjoy some time off. I don't want to see you walking around here until it's time for lunch."

We both nod our heads and she ushers us towards a group of kids with a teacher. We follow them as a tour guide talks. 

I look over at George and he shrugs. As long as he was okay, I was okay.

We walk into a long hallway full of fish trapped behind floor to ceiling glass walls. As we step down the hall and stop at each tank, the light blue glow reflects off our faces and along the flooring, shifting with the moving water. 

George and I step up to the glass as a long koi fish swims past. George puts his hand against the glass and it feels like all the fish turn and swim towards his hand. He pulls it back when he notices, but they continue to gather around him.

Tinny voices echo down the hall and I look around. The aquarium was not busy at all, considering it was a Thursday morning. Where were all these voices coming from?

George steps away from the glass awkwardly when the guide points out that the fish don't usually gather like that. We continue down the hallway. 

"This tank ahead has a big variety of salt water fish including the Archerfish, Rainbowfish, Cardinalfish, Bignose Unicornfish, and the Black Crappie."

A snicker comes from my classmates at the last fish name and we step up to the tank to look. One of the Archerfish swims over to me and shows me his black and white stripes. His mouth opens and closes and I watch in awe. 

"You're a fish."

I look around frantically trying to figure out who said that. George seems to be preoccupied watching his shoes and staying away from the glass after his last encounter.

My eyes move back to the glass and watch the Archerfish as he stares at me.

"You're a fish," I hear again.

This time I swallow thickly and hope I am just going crazy. 

"The fish king," it echoes in my head. 

The fish gather in front of me like they did with George. I step back.

"The fish king."

My heart races when I realize it was the fish talking to me.

When could I understand fish?

I point at myself as I look at the Archerfish. I mouth, 'me?'

He seems to nod his head as his fish friends press against the glass chanting, "fish king". I blink rapidly and look around at my classmates to see if they were seeing what I was. Without me realizing, they had moved on to the next exhibit, disappearing from the hallway. I was standing with a concerned George watching.

"What are you doing?"

I point at the school of fish swimming at the glass as if trying to break through. They were now chanting, 'touch the glass'. 

"What are those fish doing?" He asks me.

"They are talking to me," I mutter.

George scrunches his eyebrows. "They what?"

I step forward as the murmur becomes louder. "Touch the glass."

As if in a trance I reach out and my fingers feel the cold glass. 

"Dream?"

Where my fingers touch, and where the fish are pushing, the glass breaks. The whole exhibit seems to fall towards George and I and we are instantly soaked in ocean water.

I gasp as the water hits my body with enough force to knock George and I on our butts. Water drips from my soaking clothes and hair. My heart rate spikes when I realized I've been drenched in ocean water. I look over at George with pure fear on my face.

"We have to go. Now!"

The both of us are on our feet faster than lightning and we both race down the hallway, now completely flooded with ocean water and random fish. I beeline for the first closed door I can find and slip trying to get to it.

I can feel my body trying to shift into my merman form as I clamber to my feet, George following swiftly behind me. We both scramble through the door and slam it shut. We are in a janitors closet that is now flooded and we collapse onto each other. 

I huff as my legs turn into a tail and I move to get untangled from George. He shuffles awkwardly, but the small closet makes it hard for our extra long bodies to fit easily. We give up and lay next to a mop bucket, me across George's midriff like an X. 

I look over at him and sigh.

He looks back. "What just happened?"

I place my forehead on my forearm. "I touched some glass and the fish tank exploded ocean water on us making us turn into mermen, killing the fish inside, and flooding this janitors closet we are hiding in so that we can't get dry and turn human again."

George cringes. "Why?"

"Don't laugh." I pick my head up at look over at him again. "The fish told me to."

He rolls his eyes. "And you listened to them?"

I groan. "They called me the fish king or something. I don't know why I did it, I just did."

I hear shouting outside and someone slips on the floor with a thud. I go wide eyed and cover my mouth. My tail flips nervously against the wet floor. George stares back in horror. 

I realize with a stomach drop that the janitors closet was the actual worst place to hide after a flood. 

Such a predicament isn't it? How are they going to get out of this one?

Sorry for being late. Fun fact: I had to look up different fish types for this chapter. You're welcome. :)

Thanks for reading! Have a lovely week.

1124 words