When Life Gives You Fins by Elaina H (classic books to read txt) 📖

for you too?!” he yells.

            “Just a little!”             “Yeah, I just came with a friend. Not really my thing,” he gestures to a boy with a blonde ponytail and red fins dancing like he’s intoxicated – and in simpler terms – drunk.

            “Me too,” I pointed to Adrianne and his face lit up.

            “You came with the royal Princess her self,” he looks at me like a fat kid staring at a piece of chocolate.

            “Uhh, yeah, but she’s more of a royal pain!” I scream over the noise.

            He doesn’t hear a word I said, “Will you introduce us?!” I look at this scrawny boy, with brown hair and freckles, a tail that shines silver, and tall as a bean pole. Definitely not Adrianne’s type! And I can see Adrianne smushing him like a bug.

            “Well…”

            “Oh, please. Just to say hi?”

            “Fine,” I grab his hand and pull him toward Adrianne and her group of friends. I get Adrianne’s attention and call her over with my finger, “Adrianne meet,…?”

            “Joshua, but call me Josh!” he reaches his hand out and shakes her hand.

            Adrianne gives me this look, like, what the heck. “What do you need, Joe?” she asks.

            “Josh!” I yell, she waves it off.

            Josh goes closer so she can hear him, “You look very pretty tonight, Adrianne. The prettiest girl in the room!”

            Her cheeks flush, but she even ignores it, “Who are you?!”             “Josh, Richard Benson’s son! He works for your father, at the castle!” he waits for her reply.

            Adrianne looks at me one more time, and this time gives me a glance that says, ‘what the heck!’ but in a good way. “Sure why not!’

            Josh grabs her hand and drags her out to the dance floor, blonde hair and aqua tail dragging behind her.

            I watch her smile and dance for another minute until I turn and leave. This kind of thing is not for me.

            I find the entrance/exit and swim out. I make my way through the small openings and come out the end. Thy sky has been pitch black for a why now, and I make my way to the top of the cliff, and sit on the edge. I lay on my back and gaze up at where the stars would be if I were home. I wonder, hoe is home?

            I miss you, Mom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Finally, It’s The Kraken!

 

            I wake up and feel dirt and grit in between my teeth. Uh! Oh! I slept out here all night. Everyone is so going to flip. I sit up and look down to the town below me.

            People scurry around frantically. I wince at the pain in my back from sleeping on rock.

            I swim down to the bottom of the cliff and make my way to town.

            I swim through town yawning all the way. People scurry about crazily. I pull a piece of hair down into my eye sight. Gross! My hair is brown, caked with mud from last night.

            I come to the castle gates. The doors are locked and no guards appear to be anywhere. I take a seat with my back against the castle wall. And to no surprise I fall asleep, again.

            I wake up to a man with a speak slapping my face, “What are you doing?!” I ask as I bat his hands away.

            “Sorry, Miss. We need to get you to the King, right now!” he screams in my face.

            I shield the light from my eyes, “Okay, but I don’t look so great.” I hold up my hair.

            “We are aware,” he yells.

            “Uh, thank you?” twenty seconds later two soldiers are rubbing sponges and soap in my hair.

            Dirt runs down my face and I sputter, spitting the mucky water from my mouth.

            “I’m done! Alright!” they step away and we enter the palace.

            We go into the throne room and the King, Queen, Prince, Princess, and Boy Prince all stand where they stood on the day I met them.

            “Hola!” I wave at them. Then I bow.

            The King bellows, “Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused?” I cringe at every word, “You had had all our men searching, all night, for you!” I’m too scared to look anywhere but the Kings face. “We all thought you left. Went home to land. Do you know I would have sent a tidal wave up to your home town and drug a wave through your city until I realized, that you weren’t there!”

            “I’m..I’m… sorry? I don’t know what else to say. I fell asleep after I,” I stop and glance at Adrianne, not wanting to sell her out, “after I took a trip to the top of the city. I didn’t realize I would fall asleep.”

            “Well, you’re lucky Adrianne, here, defended you and promised me that you didn’t go home. Now go to your room, and don’t forget about your classes today. It’s already 6:45!”

            I bow and swim out of the room. A few silent tears drip down my cheeks, I swim, fast, up to my room. I enter my room and slam my door. How could I be such an idiot; I can’t believe I fell asleep, in the dirt!

            I hear a knock on the door, “What?” I whisper, choking back tears.

            The door opens, “Hey,” its Adrianne, “I told father to slow it down, it’s my fault really. I left with Josh last night and I didn’t see you, so I figured you went home,” she chuckles, “I figured wrong.”

            I stare at her, I basically jump on her lap and hug her, “Thank you,” I say in her ear.

            She pats my back, “Well, I don’t know, but Josh I really sweet,” she pulls me back, “do you think it’s too late to dump Gale for the ball and take Josh?”

            I laugh, “Just a little,” I wiggle my eyebrows, “unless you make him ditch you!”

            She smiles her wicked smile, “You,” she points at me, “are the best!” She swims out the door at super speeds.

            After she leaves, Zak swims in with is arms behind his back. “Here,” from behind his back he pulls a bouquet of, what at first looks like flowers, but are really an arrangement of corals.

            I take them from him, “They are so pretty, Zak!”

            “Well, I wanted to apologize. I shouldn’t have forced you to go out with Adrianne. Or maybe I should have come?”

            “Actually,” I stare out the door where Adrianne left, “I think we are on better terms now.” I smile up at Zak as he gives me a questioning look.

            Zak gives me a hug and laughs, “Told you she wasn’t all evil!”

            We hear a smash from the front of my room, and Haden explodes through the door. “Celia,” he sees me, “are you all right?” he grabs me by the arms and turns me around examining for bruises and scrapes.

            “All I did was sleep outside! Haden! Stop shaking me!” I yell as I try to get his attention.

            He stops, “Oh, sorry, I just thought maybe something happened to you. I came as soon as I heard. Gossip spread through town like wildfire, that you had gone home, the King killed you,” he looks at Zak as he says this, “or that you were eaten by a barracuda.”

            “No, all lies.” My answers are short to Haden because I’m getting all these mixed feeling. Do I trust him enough to be friends again or do I still need a break. It’s only been a day?

 

            I head to my history class right after Haden left. I told him that I was happy he came to see me, and left it at that.

            I open the door to my professor’s room, “Welcome! Come we have a lot to speak of!” I set my parchment down and write the date.

            “Well, I’ll start where I left off,” he doesn’t even acknowledge what happened last night, and I am so thankful for that, “I believe I left off at the Sirens, correct?”

            “Yes, Sir.”             “Okay, well, we were talking about how Sirens have an effect on both human and mer. So I advise you to stay away if you see one! Sirens are the most deadly creatures to approaching ships. They were actually considered royalty in mid-evil times because they were compared to knights.”

            “What did they do?”             “Well, they do what Sirens do best. During this time period, half of the city would be underwater and the other half would stick up out of the rocks. When ships would approach, the Sirens would serenade them, and no more ship.

            After the Age of the Siren was over they automatically became objects of hatred. Ever here of the Salem Witch Trials on land?”             “Yes.”

            “Well, it was like that, except with Sirens. Sirens were taken from homes. Children taken from family and at the time anyone with an overly exceptional voice was beheaded. This time was very hard on the Siren race. They basically committed genocide.

            The Sirens did hold the grudge on that era of mer, but on every mer afterward. The Siren act more as a cult now, they have a ‘Hymn’’ which, like it sounds, is the best singer in the group.

            A Siren hasn’t entered our town since last year when they passed through.”

            “Well, there were some her yesterday!” I feel the information is important.

            “Really!” he jumps up out of his chair and moves to a bookshelf. He removes a book titled History of Sirens: An Encyclopedia of Sirens and Everything Having to do with Siren. Talk about long name!

            “This book should talk about…” he begins to tell me.

            “The history of Sirens and everything having to do with Sirens?”             He stares at me, “Yes,” and continues reading, “This proves my theory!” h kisses me on the cheek and I wait for any sort of explanation.

            “What’s your theory?” I finally ask.

            “I believe that every 376 and a fourth days a group of Sirens come to Brunswick. Now this sound like I made it up, right?” I nod, unsure how to react, “well, I didn’t! I’ve timed the distance for 4 years! It’s the same. But Sirens were supposed to be here yesterday, right? No, because there’s the fourth you have to worry about. A fourth plus a fourth plus a fourth plus a fourth equals one day.

            Today was the 377 day since they last came! It proves my theory, does it not?”

            “What if every four years they just come one extra day?”

            “That makes no sense!” Okay, this guy is clearly bonkers, coo-coo for coco puffs, silly rabbit tricks are for kids. Anything you want to say, this guy is.

            He sits in his chair and mumbles to himself. His completely random episode is kind of freaking me out. It’s already 7:45. Fifteen more minutes, I can do that?

            “Excuse me?” he doesn’t hear a word I say. “Excuse me!”

            “What!?”

            “Is there more lesson?”

            “Yes, sorry about that!” he sits down, and restarts our lesson. “Anyways, a ‘Hymn’ is in charge and every piece is controlled by that ‘Hymn’.

            Moving on, another huge part of mer history is the Kraken. The Kraken is a giant squid…”

            “I know what the Kraken is!” I say, I’m irritated? Just a little.

            “Yes, anyways, the Kraken would demolish everything in his sight,” I was about to speak, but he held up his hand, “Now this,” he points to a picture in a book, “is what you don’t know.” I stare at an image of the Kraken. He looks just like every other picture I’ve seen.

            “What’s so special or different about this picture?”

            “Read this,” he point to the side of the boat being swallowed.

            The Santa Maria, “Do you mean the Santa Maria, Columbus’ ship? You don’t know what you’re talking about!”