Twisted Wonderland

Cramming Session

Rain patters against your face. You open your eyes and sit up, seeing you're on a beach. Thunder roars in the sky as the rain falls heavily. You see a large boat out on the ocean, shocked to see it's on fire. Sailors jump overboard and swim to lifeboats in the ocean.

You jump to your feet, watching with worry in your eyes. You see a boy in a loose white, long sleeve shirt and raven black hair help a dog get away from the fire and into the ocean to safety. The man tries to jump but is knocked over by a wooden beam. He crashes into the ocean and you don't see him resurface.

Heart hammering, you look around wildly at the spot he disappeared, trying to spot him. Something splashes out of the water. You spot the boy but he's being pulled to shore by a girl. She has vibrant red hair and bright blue eyes.

The girl brings the boy to shore a little ways down the beach from you. Getting closer, you hide behind a rock. You stifle a gasp with your hand when you see the girl has a green fish tail.

A mermaid?

The mermaid brushes the boy's hair off his face and looks at him fondly. You see the steady rise and fall of the boy's chest and are relieved to see he's okay. The boy blearily opens his eyes and holds onto the girls hand as she brings it to his cheek. The suns rays shine down on them, making it hard for the boy to see her.

"Eric!"

Noticing someone else approaching their way, the mermaid jumps back into the ocean. A tall, skinny man kneels next to the boy and helps him up. The dog he saved jumps excitedly around them, barking at the water.

Eric rubs his head. "A girl... saved me."

Eric turns and looks back to the ocean. "She had the most beautiful voice."

The skinny man helps carry Eric away from the beach. The dog looking to the ocean, trying to get their attention. On a nearby rock, you see the mermaid again. She watches Eric walk away.

"I don't know when," You hear her say. "I don't know how. But I know something starting right now, watch and you'll see. Someday I'll be..."

The girl props herself up and water spashes around her. "...part of your world."

Ripples fill your vision and you feel yourself being pulled away. Closing your eyes as you listen to the girl's beautiful song.

You open your eyes and find yourself back in your bed. Grim snores loudly as he curls up next to you.

"Mrrrghrow... The trick to tests... is if there's two choices... it's a trick question."

You giggle and gently shake the cat. "Rise and shine, Grim. Coming off an all night cram session?"

"MYAH!" Grim jumps in surprise. "Don't surprise me like that. You'll make me forget everything I memorized!"

Grim indignantly smooths down his fur. "Today's the last day of final exams, y'know. You and I are still technically one student put together, so you better not tank my grades,"

You roll your eyes and shake your head. "This, from the last minute crammer."

"The test is over, whelps."

You and the other students sigh as you finished the exam. Crewel paces in front of the desks.

"Put your pens away and hand over your answer sheets like good little dogs."

One by one, you all place your test papers forward and Crewel places them on his desk. Crewel nods with satisfaction. "And with that, I do believe exams have come to a close."