Oceana: The Hidden Kingdom

New Student

Okay, so I tried drawing a style kind of like anime. This is a drawing of Lucien Ambrose. I know, he kind of looks like Leo Valdez from HOO (heroes of Olympus) but I was thinking that not many characters have curly hair, so here we go. Hope you like it and thanks for reading!
Edit* I added another picture instead of the old one because I redrew Lucien in my new style. He looks more like a black haired, grey eyed Peter Pan. Actually, come to think of it, Peter and Leo have the same features and humor, wow, I didn not see that coming. Anyway, hope you like it and happy reading!!
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I opened my eyes and saw myself looking out from a fish tank. I scrambled back, and found myself at the backboard of the bed. "What the--" "Shh, don't talk. Rest. You fell pretty badly, what happened?" A nurse asked me. "Oh I uh, had bumped into a wall, and uh..." "Where's my family?" I asked her. "Downstairs. They'll come up in a minute." "Oh, ok." I put my head back on the pillow as the nurse walked out. "What are we going to do now?" "Can we help her?" I heard my mom's voice along with my brother's. My dad sighed. I imagined him raking his hand through his hair. "Well, after what that creature said, maybe she should go to whatever place she is needed. Jonah, you don't remember any of the details?" "I only remember some things before I heard Aquata hitting the ground. That's all I can remember, sorry." "It's okay, Jonah. You've tried your best." "How much time does she have before leaving?" He asked him. "I told you that I have no idea." "With our luck, we might have enough time with her for a month. Now, quiet everyone, she might still be sleeping." And that's what I pretended to do, trying to process what they'd said in their little conference. I didn't have a month, I had a week. A week where my strange powers will show through, turning me into a... mermaid. I had no idea what to tell them about that, either. A soft knock came from the door. My mom opened it slightly. "Aquata, how are you feeling?" The only one who can tell when I'm sleeping or faking is my mom. "Good, I think." She glanced wearily at the door. "Dad, I can tell you're listening. Jonah..." he came in with his hands up in surrender, although I haven't heard him say anything about me, he was protecting me, as usual. I wanted to protect them, but I didn't know how my choice will affect them. They'll be shattered. I sighed. My dad held up his hand seeing I was about to say something. "Don't say anything, yet. You can tell us what happened on the day you're leaving. Sound good?" I nodded. Jonah grinned. "We're really sorry we had to lock you in, but we won't do it anymore. We will spend however long you have left with us as a fun, loving family. So, where should we go today? The park? We could even try surfing again, if you want." I smiled. "The park would be nice. We could go on Wednesday since tomorrow I made plans with Irina and Eldowen. Is that good with you?" I asked. This conversation lightened up the mood that Dad starting talking about a new game with Jonah, saying they'll win against Mom, Callista, and I. "You're on." I said in unison with my mom. We got out of the hospital, thanking the nurse and going to pick up Callista from Jasmine's. I felt good now, even though I had one week left, they're going to try their best to make it the best week I've ever had with them.
At night, I played on some music so I wouldn't get called to the shore. My family was making an effort, and so was I. Of course, I had nightmares that night. I was in a surf competition after school, and I fell, which never happens to me. When I got out of the water, my skin started tingling, I looked down, and saw turquoise colored scales growing on my skin. "What the--" Great, I had a tail too. An aquamarine colored tail, and silver scales glinting in the sunlight. My thoughts went against me. I did not want to be a mermaid living the rest of my life underwater, but that image of myself as a mermaid, kind of changed my mind, although I would still rather be with my family than be a mermaid. But I was stuck between two worlds, and I had no idea what to choose. Knock knock knock. Someone rapped on my door. I woke up. "Hey, Aquata. Mommy said to bring you breakfast in bed. How did you sleep?" Callie asked me. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and smiled at my little sister. "Just fine, how about you?" "I dreamt I was riding a unicorn!" I took that as a yes. "Thank you. And tell Mom I said thank you, too." She skipped off to the kitchen. Splash. I heard glass shatter downstairs. "Hello?" I put my breakfast on the table besides my bed and hurried downstairs. Laughing. "What happened?" "Jonah is being silly!" Callie said gasping, and laughing again. "Mom?" She too, was laughing. Dad also. I noticed Jonah was wet, and there was coffee on the floor. "I was holding the cup of coffee, and Callie asked me what time it is. I turned to look at my watch, and dropped the coffee all over me." "And across the floor too, it seems." I shook my head, starting to laugh too. "You know this happened in Dog with a Blog, right, Johny?" Callie's nickname for my brother. He started laughing again. Soon, you could hear our laughing voices from a 5 mile radius. I sighed, wiping the tears from my eyes. "Off to school, now. Have fun at work! Bye Callie!" Jonah called to the rest of our family. "Bye bye." I heard Callie's voice. "Have a good day in school, you two." My parents called shortly after. I got to school and headed quickly to first period, waving goodbye to Jonah as I got out of the car. "Hey, what's up?" Irina asked me as I sat down and took out my science binder and notes from yesterday. "Jonah spilled coffee on himself, exactly like on an episode from Dog with a Blog, Callie told him." "Oh, you mean the watch trick? Now that was funny." She started chuckling to herself and Ms. Robins started on another lesson. Someone knocked on the door. "Ms. Robins, meet your new student, Lucien Ambrose, he's from Rome, Italy." The assistant principal said. I kept writing, not hearing what they had said. "Aquata...look up." "Irina, I'm trying to--" The boy standing in the room was tall, with black hair and eyes... his eyes were the color of the moon. I gaped. "Come, Lucien. There's an empty seat next to Aquata and Irina. Class, introduce yourselves, one at a time, please." They all introduced themselves, but Lucien kept his eyes on me, a smile tugging at his lips. "Nice to meet you all." He said. Ms. Robins showed him to the seat next to me, and I couldn't find the words to even say hello. "Hi, my name's Irina. You're from Rome, right? That's so cool, I went to vacation there once with my family." Irina kept blabbering about her 'life,' which, not to be rude, was mostly a lie. I'd been with her for every vacation, both our families having fun together, but we've never been to Europe, even though I'd thought about going countless times. Lucien was still looking at me, and I turned away, blushing. The bell rang, and he came up to me. "Hey, uh, do you know where Ms. Lucy's language arts class is?" He asked me, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, I have her next period, too. I can show you the way, if you'd like." "Of course. Thanks." "No problem." I walked to the end of the hall, and this time it was Lucien's turn to blush. "Oh, I didn't realize it was this close to homeroom." "That also happened to me on my first day here, so I guess you're not the only one." He started laughing, until we had to go in class. "Good morning, everyone. Today, you will be putting your essay-writing skills to good use. The promt is on the board." She took attendance, and asked if she'd missed anyone. Lucien raised his hand. "What's your name?" She demanded. "Lucien Ambrose, ma'am." "Very well. Since you didn't get the notes on how to write an essay yesterday, then you'll have to--" "Wing it?" He smiled and the rest of the class started laughing. "Yes... Eldowen, Aquata, show him the ropes, if he needs it." I nodded. "He's cute, I think he likes you," Eldowen mouthed. I blushed for the fifth time today. "It's okay, you don't have to show me how to write an essay, we used to write all the time back at home." "Right, from Rome. That's cool." Eldowen said. Eldowen might be the only one in the whole school that doesn't have a crush on him. Weird. Well, this was weird, too. I was taking in how all the students looked. A lasting memory before I left the human world forever? Lucien had curly black hair, slightly tanned skin, and those silver-grey eyes like the moon. Eldowen had auburn hair and hazel eyes. Irina I can remember since kindergarten. Hair so blonde, it looked white, and light blue eyes. I had Dark brown hair and eyes the color of the ocean. "Where are you two from?" He asked, indicating me and Eldowen. "I'm from Alaska." "You don't get tired of snow?" I asked. She shook her head and smiled. "Winter's my favorite season." "Nice. How about you, Aquata? Where are you from?" "Australia." "Get into any kickboxing fights with kangaroos lately?" They started laughing. "What's Rome like?" I wondered. "It's really cool. Old monuments and stuff. I've traveled many places before, but never got to go to Alaska or Australia." "Must be nice traveling all the time." Eldowen wondered out loud. "Sometimes it is. But since we have to move a lot, I don't get to make many friends. My best friends are back in Rome, or some I've made along travels." "Well, you've got friends from Australia, Alaska, and America, so you've pretty much made friends all over the world." I said. "How many languages do you speak?" Eldowen asked. "Italian, Latin, Greek, and French. English also, if it counts in this conversation." He gave us a half smile. And we laughed softly again. "I do hope you're working on your assignment?" We nodded, trying to hide our grins. "Good. You have half an hour left of class. I expect you to finish 5 solid paragraphs before leaving. On your way out, don't forget to leave your essays on my desk!" She turned to the class. Lucien gave me one last smile before going back to his essay. We finished and turned our papers in, heading to P.E. We put our backpacks by the fence, put up our sweaters, and sat down. "Aquata, Eldowen, please see me. You too, Mr. Ambrose." We gave each other confused looks. "Surf class begins today, please follow Ms. Robins to the surfboard shed by the beach. Mr. Ambrose, welcome to MIST high school. You also surf, don't you?" "I've never tried, but I skateboard and swim. I'll give it a try, if I might?" "Of course. Take this pass to Ms. Robins. I trust you've met her already?" He nodded. "She's my science teacher." "Good. Follow Eldowen and Aquata. I will be joining surf class next week. Get along now." She shooed us away. I must have looked scared for Eldowen and Lucien asked if I was alright. I just nodded. "I thought we started next week." I muttered. "Maybe she got mixed up with our schedules and hers." Eldowen told me. "Eldowen! Aquata! Good to see new additions to our team. You to, Mr. Ambrose?" "Yes, Ms. Robins." She shrugged. "You'll be with Mr. Stone, who will be teaching the boys, until the competitions start. Off with you." She shooed him away. He looked back at us and waved, walking to the other side of the beach. I wondered if Ms. Robins and Ms. Tealbrook were related. Eldowen snickered at the thought. "Ms. Robins, may I ask why we started so early?" I asked. "Competition is on Thursday. We're training early." "Oh," my shoulders slumped. Eldowen gave me a questioning look. I sighed. Later, I mouthed. She nodded. I didn't know if I should tell her my secret or not. But I didn't tell my family, what would make me tell her and not them? I thought to myself as we watched how other surf coaches took the waves and showed us how to keep balance. Knees bent, I thought even before they had started. It was kind of like a little mental pop quiz. "Hey, what time did you say we were meeting up after school?" I asked in a whisper. "Right after school, if you're allowed." "Sure, I just have to tell my parents and my brother." "I don't know if Irina is coming, by the way." I said. "No, she's not." Her expression turned sour. "What happened?" I asked. "She decided to stick with her plans with her other friends." "What!?" I asked, alarmed. Ms. Robins glared at me to keep quiet. I shrank back from her sharp gaze. Once she turned away, I went back to our conversation about Irina. "Yep. She said she already got a date with Lucien." "How? She would never do something like that." "Are you sure?" She turned her gaze on me. I fidgeted with my silver bracelet. "I'm not sure. She's been acting weird lately." "Hmph." "Okay, never mind. What are we doing after school exactly?" I asked. At this, she brightened and winked. "It's a surprise." I got a cold feeling in the pit of my stomach. The bell rang and we headed to algebra. "Oh, hurray. Here she comes with her subjects. "Hello, Aquata. Eldowen," Irina sneered, Eldowen crossed her arms over her chest angrily. "What do you want, Irina?" I asked. "Just telling you that you shouldn't be friends with this, ugh, girl." Eldowen snarled. "Don't go on telling her who to be friends with, witch." "Moi?" She said a little too sweetly. "Hey, stop it!" I yelled. "Irina, I'm sitting with Eldowen today. You're welcome to join us." "No way am I sitting next to her. See you later, Aquata." She flipped her hair in our face, and turned back to her group, who were all smirking at us. "What's up with her? She's not like this." I frowned. Eldowen steered me, dazed, to our seats. The class went by a blur. When we went to lunch, we had a surprise waiting for us. Unfortunately, we didn't know. I walked with Eldowen at the back of the line, and when we opened the cafeteria doors, a bucket of freezing water fell on my head. I yelped. When I saw Irina's shocked face, I realized this was meant for Eldowen. "Irina!" "I-it wasn't meant for y-you. It was meant for her!" She glared at Eldowen, who had gotten a towel from a supply closet. "Don't even start, Ice Princess!" She sneered at Irina. I shivered. "Irina, I can't..." "You can't what?!" She demanded. I shrank away. She looked like a wild animal, waiting for her chance to come in for the kill. I shrank back, taking a couple of steps away from her. "Irina..." She growled. Her eyes flashed green. I stood there dazed. "What she's trying to say is, she doesn't want to be your friend anymore." Lucien came. "How dare you!" Someone from Irina's group yelled. I noticed the whole cafeteria had gone silent. "I'm sorry, sweetie. But have you met me? Everyone wants to be my friend. I suggest you choose your crowd wisely." "Aquata was your friend, but you let jealousy and pride take over you. If that's how a friend acts to her, then I would assume she wouldn't even stand to see you behaving like this. I wouldn't like to be in a crowd like that." Irina flashed him a fake smile, thinking he meant us being the mean girls. But he turned amd walked to our side, glaring at Irina. "What!? No one walks away from me! Aquata, tell them." I gaped at her in disbelief. "But you...you don't even care about what happened to me! I'm afraid I have no choice, but I'm staying with them." I found my voice, and turned to my real friends. Irina gaped, the wild animal look returning to her face. I trembled, and Lucien and Eldowen took me to the clinic. "Oh, Aquata, dear! I think you've developed some fish illness, better get that checked!" Irina called at my retreating back. The cafeteria had started murmuring quietly. Lucien's and Eldowen's eyes widened. "What?" I asked frantically. "Let's take her to the clinic, Eldowen. She's freezing." "Are those scales on her neck?" I heard some students murmuring behind me. "Aquata, let's get out of here!" Lucien yelled from a couple of feet away. Eldowen shook her head, as if it helped to get rid of a daze. We ran to the office. We ended up in the bathroom. "What? Why are we here? What's going on?" Lucien came in. "Lucien, what are you doing in here!" Eldowen screeched. "I'm really sorry. I had to check on Aquata. There's no one here, right?" He said, his eyes covered. Eldowen checked for shoes in the stalls and shook her head. "You know what this is?" Eldowen asked Lucien. They both looked at me. Or my neck, which had started to itch. "Those are scales." He sighed. "Aquata, why don't you tell her about mermaids." I gaped at him. "H-how do y-you know?" I stammered. "I'm, uh, a demigod. Son of Neptune. Live underwater. You know, Poseidon, but in Roman form." I stood there, paralyzed. Eldowen had also seemed to lose her voice. "What is he talking about...?" I sighed. "Eldowen..." "Tell me!" "Well, um...I'm a mermaid, or turning into one, I think. That's why I was kind of nervous in surf class. But I wasn't sure... I didn't believe her..." "Her who?" She asked, hands on her hips. "The nereid." I said in a small voice. Her eyes widened, and she passed out, Lucien catching her and propping her sideways on the big counter. She looked peaceful sleeping, not at all scared that her friends were part fish or part Roman demigod. I looked in the mirror and gasped, my 'rash' was really a small patch of growing scales. I don't remember much about what happened later, though. Better not get into details...