H20: Our Story Season 1 1955 {COMPLETE}

Metamorphosis Episode 1

As the bus bumped and jostled, I smiled from ear to ear. After all our hard work, it was finally happening! All those hours studying wasn't completely useless! Mrs. J was an angel, keeping her end of the bargain. We won't have to pay a dime. After all, the whole class spent their moneys' worth in studying.
The whole lot of us passed our exam, and now we were being rewarded. There will be food and soda pop and dancing... I hoped no one was wearing the same bathing suit as me. I feel a nudge.
"No one is as unique as you, Louise. No need to worry." Gracie said. I smiled.
"Ready to mingle?" I asked.
"More or less. My brain is fried." The bus came to a stop, and all the excited chatter starts to slow. Everyone ran off the bus quickly, mimicking something of a stampede. Gracie and I huddle together to avoid it.
"Children! Children! Behave yourselves!" Mrs. J shouts over the thundering of feet. But by that time, everyone was out the door. We were the only ones left. She sighed. "Go on ahead. I'll catch up."
"Thank you, Mrs. J!" We said in unison as we stepped lively down the steps.
"Oh, my sunglasses!" Gracie hurries up the steps while I wait. Our stomachs growled. The smell of barbecue was in the air.
"Let's split up, I say. "Grab two plates and fill them with desert. I'll grab the entrees. You go left, I'll go right." I grabbed a hot dog, brisket, coleslaw, and a link with chips for each plate. It was a miracle I could carry it back in one piece. Gracie grabbed a variety of cakes, including chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. A few cookies were on each plate. "I managed to grab the last of the cookies," says Gracie, "Who knew they would be so popular?"
"You did. You made them yourself, remember?"
"Ohhhh, that must be why." I roll my eyes playfully. "Do you really think we're going to eat all this food?"
"It's best to sample everything before it's gone. It's unlikely we're going to get seconds." I look over at every line being filled with boys. Hardly any girls. "I guess all the girls are trying to keep their figure."
"More for us. Shall I grab some soda pop?"
"Would you? I'm stuffed." She got up to go get them. I lay back and close my eyes.
Gracie and I were laughing as if we'd heard the funniest joke ever. Day turned to night in a matter of seconds. A fire burned in the distance. We had gone silent. Though the fire was far away, we could hear it cracking and faintly see the embers.
The fire came toward us, shaping itself into a girl. The girl made of fire looked us in the eye. She came so close we could feel the heat on our faces. The wind moved her, which was strange to see, which such a lifelike creature. Several times did she brush my skin, but I was never burned. It was surreal. Then the wind blew harder, and everything burned.
I am shaken awake. I wake up dazed. Gracie plopped down beside me with pops as I sat up.
"How long was I out?" The wind was higher now, and the smoke of the barbecue was in my nose.
"Ten minutes. I decided to walk around for a bit while you snoozed." She says, handing me a Coke.
"I had the weirdest dream." I then went on to explain it to her, and she shrugged.
"I've had weirder." She sighed. "I think we should head home. I'm sleepy, and no one's doing anything but tanning."
"So soon?"
"What do you suggest we do?" I looked around. Everyone did appear to be be tanning or talking to one another. After a while, I decided we should go home. We thanked Mrs. J for the great time and set out to find a payphone. When we realized we had no quarters, we dreaded the idea of a walk home. When we were about halfway there, a girl looking to be our age passed us on a boat.
"Need a ride?" She says, stopping the engine. As Gracie opened her mouth to say yes, I said, "Are you sure you know how to drive that thing?"
"Are you sure you want your feet burning in the sun all day?" Reluctantly, she got in and I followed.
"Thanks, Julia." Says Gracie.
"How do you know my name?"
"I've seen you around school. You were supposed to be in one of my classes, but I guess they moved you somewhere else." There's a moment of silence before she starts the engine again.
"Hang on to something!" The engine roars to life as she goes the opposite way home.
"This isn't the way home!" Gracie shouts through the loud engine, voicing my own thoughts.
"I'll get you home! Let's go sightseeing a while!" We ride around for a while, waving at people as we go along. I almost forgot we were supposed to be heading home, until we heard the sound of the engine sputtering. She tried to make the boat go, but it wouldn't budge.
"Our parents are going to kill us!" Says Gracie.
"Not if we sink first." I say under my breath.
"Relax! That's what these oars are for! We'll just paddle to that island over there."
In the distance was Mako Island.
"No way." Says Gracie. "There's sharks!"
"Not to mention the other dangerous animals that inhabit the island itself."
"It's our only option." She gives each of us an oar, hands herself one, and we start to paddle. When we finally reached the island, we left the boat on shore and went inland. Eventually, after passing miles of island, I gasped.
"What?" Gracie asked.
"Follow me. I think I found a way in." I slide in through the rocks as agile as possible, and the others follow. Through the hole in the volcano, I could see night had fallen. I turn my head as I hear them coming; I smile at the wonder of it all, and as we walk together, I give a half smile of awe at the beautiful pool in front of us. A huge smile escapes my lips. I turn my head to the others.
"I'm going in." Julia dives in, and I laugh as I'm splashed. Then Gracie dives in, and the full moon comes overhead. The water starts to glow, bubbling and growing brighter and brighter until it passed over us again. None of us say anything for a minute. I break the silence. "I guess our only option is to swim home." Gracie looks unsure.
"How else do you expect us to get home?" Says Julia in response to Gracie's face. We all dive under and head home.
Morning arrives, and I decide to head out for a swim. I float in the water. My legs go numb, and I realize that my legs aren't legs at all. It's a huge orange tail complete with a scaly orange bra.
Gracie's p.o.v
The bathtub is full of bubbles, and I put my legs in the warm water. Yesterday was a long day, and I needed to relax. I close my eyes. Something's wrong, I realize. I open my eyes to see a huge orange tail passing my bathtub. I fight the urge to scream.
Julia's p.o.v
I open my eyes slowly, hearing a drip, drip, drip, come from the ceiling of my room. One drop lands on my head. I get up to get a bucket. I become water itself before falling down on a huge orange tail.
Louise's p.o.v
Gracie says she wants to tell me something, and somehow I think I know what it is. There's rapid knocking on the door. Gracie's staring into space, so I get up to get it. I open the door to see Julia.
"We need to talk." She briskly walks over to the couch to sit down. "I'm guessing by the way she looks, the same thing has happened to you two?"
"It happened to you too?" Gracie snaps out of her trance.
"No one else is here, right?"
"No, my family is at the movies."
"I had a tail longer than my bathtub!" Gracie looks as though she was recreating the memory in her head.
"So did I!" I was glad she finally said something.
"I was water for a second!"
"This is weird. This is too weird." I said, feeling my legs, grateful they were back.
"I turn into whatever this whole thing is after ten seconds. Is it the same with you two?" We nodded. "It's not permanent, is it?"
"Only one way to find out." Says Julia. "We go back in the water." We arrive at the beach.
"I'm not sure about this."
"I am."
"Considering you nearly sank us, I now feel worse."
"Aren't you coming?" Julia turns to Gracie.
"It's all too weird." She says sitting with her legs crossed on the sand.
"How are we supposed to solve this problem if we don't go in the water?"
"I'm not coming."
"She's a lost cause. Let's go." We walk over to the waters edge. The water washes over our feet. Julia starts to count, and I follow along.
"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9—" we scream as we fall down. The tails appear again. I'm sure my smile was as big as hers.
"Hey." Says Gracie's friend, Max. We paddle over to the deep part of the ocean, so that he wouldn't see our tails.
Gracie's p.o.v
I look over to see that Julia and Louise are gone. Who knows where they went. "I thought we were supposed to study today." Says Max, who's been my friend for as long as I can remember. He's in his fishing clothes now, meaning he gave up on waiting a while ago.
"I'm sorry. It's been a long day."
"That's ok. We can reschedule. What are you doing at the beach?"
"Umm. I'm bored. Nowhere else to go. Anyway, I better get back. See ya!" I ran off before he could question me. I was on my way home when I heard a voice.
"You shouldn't be walking by yourself." I turn around. It's Carl, the second richest boy in town, next to his father. "You could be hurt."
"Leave me alone." I try to speedwalk past him, but he continues to taunt me.
"One day you'll be all alone and there will be no one to protect you. Do you really want that to happen?" I turn around. I move my hand a little. "Where are your friends? I guess you really don't—-" The pool behind him sprays him with water. I run away, terrified.
Julia and Louise are talking about how weird this all is, when I step in.
"You'll never believe what just happened." I put a glass of water on Louise's desk. The water moves up and away from the glass, moving left and right as I move my hand.
"Where's the water coming from?" Asks Julia.
"I don't know." The water moves toward Louise, and she puts her hand out to stop it. It freezes.
"Did I do that?"
"This is awesome!" Julia says, trying out a few hand movements herself. Nothing works. "Why don't I get a power?"
"I don't know, Says Louise. "But we can't tell our parents. Or our friends. This is our secret, our responsibility. Agreed?"
"Agreed." We both say.
"It doesn't mean we're married, does it?"
We all laugh.