Into the Ocean

•You Can Count on Me•

•Chapter title~ lyrics from "Count on Me" by Bruno Mars•
***
I twist the sleeve of the white lab coat, trying to calm my nerves.
Don't freak out, Maggie knows what she is doing.
Maggie's plan is very simple. Henry, Evelyn, and I have to act like scientists coming to see my mom, hence the lab coat. The main concern of this plan is me. Maggie's afraid that someone will recognize me, so she is giving me glasses and she made me put my hair up. We're hoping that my aunt and uncle won't be with my mom when we walk in.

Maggie walks over to me, handing me a pair of black glasses. I put them on and almost fall over. Thankfully, Henry is there to catch me.
"Are you ok?" He whispers.
"Yeah. These glasses just have a prescription." Maggie winces.
"Sorry. The only glasses I can give you are mine." I nod.
"It's alright. I think I'll be ok." Maggie gives a hesitant smile and surveys the three of us.
"Alright. Let's go get Coral's mom back."

I smile, and Maggie returns it. "Follow me." We file in behind her. I'm at the back, so people won't see me as clearly. I swallow back my fear as we pass by various scientists and military personnel.
The military is here?!
I focus on keeping my head straight.
Don't fall, don't fall.
We approach a table with an Army officer sitting down writing notes in a journal. He looks up and smiles when Maggie walks over to him.
"Good afternoon, Miss Magnolia. Who are your guests?"
"These are the German scientists. They are here to see the specimen." I notice how confident Maggie sounds. Even though she is telling a complete lie, she doesn't let her voice waver.

The officer shoots Maggie a puzzled look. I feel my heart jump into my throat.
Oh no!
"I thought they were supposed to come with Dr. Johnson this evening."
"That was said in case any members of the press wanted to try and sneak in." Maggie answers, keeping her voice steady. The officer nods his head.
"Very smart. Magnolia, do you mind if I speak to the scientists? I am fluent in German."
"Maybe another time. They really have to see the specimen." Maggie motions to us to follow her.

We cross over to the doors when the Army officer blocks Evelyn, Henry, and I.
"It will only take a second, Magnolia." He looks at us with a stern expression.
"Hallo, wie geht es dir? (Hello, how are you doing?)" I glance at Henry and Evelyn. Their faces are pasty white.
"Wir sind gut, wie geht es dir? (We are good, how are you?)" I answer slowly. I see Henry's mouth open in shock. The officer looks at me and smiles.

"Ich bin fantastisch. Einen schönen Tag noch! (I'm fantastic. Have a nice day!)" The officer moves away from the doors. "You may bring them in, Magnolia." Maggie nods and opens the doors. We quickly walk through them, leaving the Army officer going back to his table. Maggie shuts the door and stares at me.

"You speak German?!" She whisper-screams. I nod.
"My dad's side of the family is German. When I found out my high school offered it, I decided to try it."
"That's so cool." Henry says in awe. My face burns up.
"Um, thanks." I mumble. I see Evelyn raise an eyebrow out of the corner of my eye.
She's going to bombard me with questions now.

"Ok, follow me. We should be in the clear now." I smile.
We're going to pull this off!
Maggie leads us down the hall to a pair of double glass doors. She puts her hand up to stop us. "I'm going to poke my head in and make sure no one is there." We nod. Maggie opens the door and looks inside. She gives a thumbs up and lets us in. I walk in first and freeze in my tracks. There are tons of science equipment all around the room.

I walk towards the center of the room, taking the glasses off.
Much better.
I see the tank in the middle of the room. I start running to it. My mom is at the bottom of the tank with her back to me. Her once sunny orange tail is now covered in dead skin. "Mom!" I shout, approaching the glass. She picks her head up and turns towards me. Her face is deathly pale, and she looks about 10 years older. However, when she sees me, she breaks out into a smile, returning her youthfulness. I notice stairs leading to the top of the tank, so I climb up them.

My mom swims to the surface.
"Coral, you found me!" She exclaims. I smile, tears streaming down my cheeks, blurring my vision.
"Of course I did. I will always help you if you're in trouble." My mom reaches up to touch my face but quickly drops her hand.
"What?" I ask.
"I can't touch you. If I do, you'll transform."
"Wait, what?" A voice exclaims behind me.
My heart stops.
No....
I turn and see the two most awful people I have ever met, watching me.
"Hello there, Coraline," Uncle Mike sneers. "What did your mother just say?"
***
A/N: The scene where Coral speaks to the army officer in German to get into the room to see her mom is inspired by the movie "Splash" starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah. It's an awesome movie and I recommend it ;)