Aqua Waters | ✔

Fifty-Six

"Wait, you want to go swimming now at this hour?" Sammy looks at her phone checking the time. "It's almost midnight?" I nod my head in response.

"Yeah, I think that would be nice," I paused for a moment searching everyone's faces. They didn't seem as stoked on the idea as I was. "Think about it, we haven't been in the water at the same time since the night you and Gage were created. Don't you think it would be nice to go and explore the water together?"

"That sounds amazing!" Sammy chimes in. She immediately jumps from the couch heading to the entryway to put her shoes on. Asada nods her head as well, also removing herself from her seat.

"Great!" I smile as we all head towards the front door. I was eager to get back to the water.

"You guys go ahead," Hudson mumbles. His sister nearly halfway out the door rushing towards the water. Gage and I stopped to look at him, he stood frozen in the hallway of Sammy and I's place. Sammy and Asada standing outside on the grass.

"You're not coming with us?" Gage questions, taking a step towards Hudson. He shakes his head.

"No, I think I will just head home if you guys will let Asada know where I'm going that would be great," I shook my head. I wasn't going to do that, If we were really going to work on making sure this friendship worked he needed to be a part of that. I hadn't planned on being friends with these people when I first moved here, but there was no reason we couldn't be. We needed each other.

"We are not going without you Hudson," I too took a step towards him as I spoke. Why was he being so weird about heading to the water with us? He was the son of a goddess in control of the waves there was no way he couldn't swim.

"I'm not like you Olyvya, just drop it please," Hudson took a few steps towards the door until he saw his sister walking up the steps.

"Are you slow pokes coming or not? I'm ready to get into the waves," She smiles, her pearly white teeth showing. She was much more invested in the situation now that we were doing something more her speed.

"Yeah we are," Gage responds as he heads towards Hudson. Leaning in to whisper in his ear. "Let's just do this for the girls, I can tell you if you at all care about how Sammy feels she needs to get to the ocean to learn about her powers. You can't avoid it," Hudson nods his head. He quickly took the steps needed to be next to Asada before ushering her out the door.

"Yes, go!" He pushes her as they break into the chilly night air. I whisper a thank you to Gage before we trail behind the rest of our friends.

I could almost hear the waves as we round the corner to Gage's street. The desire to be in the water dancing in my blood as I rush to get there. I wanted the water to crash over my body. I wanted to swim with the fish and explore a new world.

I couldn't take it anymore. As soon as I could smell the salt in the air I began running, I ran until I couldn't run anymore. I sped across the asphalt until it turned to sand, kicking my shoes off as quickly as possible. Only stopping to take my clothes off. That's when it hit me. I got only as far as pulling my shirt off before realizing I would have to get naked in front of all of my newfound friends.

My body froze before Asada walked up next to me. She pulled her shirt off looking at me. "We are not here to judge Olyvya, I understand how weird it can be at first to get naked in front of near strangers but it's either now or later," She was right. If I rushed into the water with my clothes they would be gone. Dissolved with the water. I would never see them again. I was frustrated with the amount of clothes I had losted due to not knowing these things.

Everyone seemed to avoid eye contact as we slowly took our clothes off. I knew once we transformed we would be covered up but before that it was just us, one with the nature around us. I removed the last article of clothing before placing them all in a neat pile. Sammy and Gage had already seen me in the nude due to my many mishaps as a mermaid, but Asada and Hudson were mere strangers. Once my clothes were neatly put together I started walking for the water. The thought of us all together as mermaids. I had a home again, a family. There were others like me, and I knew they would be there for me no matter what. At least some of them would be. Sammy and Gage would now understand what I had been going through the last few months.

I wasn't alone anymore.

As I dove into the water, I began to think of the school Asada had brought up the other day. Sammy, Gage and I were supposed to be discussing things but there really wasn't much to discuss. It was either we did it or the entire mermaid population would die off. We would be the last.

The water washes over my face and I feel the transformation take over my body. I didn't want the mermaids to die out. I didn't want to be the last mermaid to make it. One by one my friends dove into the water, the transformations also taking over their bodies.

We had to make this school work. A mermaid academy for those who weren't able to fit into a normal world. But how would we find people?

Would anyone even want to go to a mermaid school?