A couple days have passed by since I've met the merman, and sometimes I even catch myself staring at the ocean in deep thought. For obvious reasons, I was intrigued by the strange circumstances I had found myself in. But today of all days, was not the time to think of him. It was the day of the beach party, and in a couple of days, school will start. I prayed that going back to school would keep me busy enough to not think off him. I went downstairs to grab a bowl of cereal where my mom was standing, drinking a cup of coffee. She just looked at me without a word.
"Good morning to you too I guess" I said interrupting her thoughts. She looked at me startled.
"Good morning Somni, I didn't see you there." She said. I nodded before grabbing the box of Lucky Charms.
"Uh huh, sure." I said. Grabbing the milk and A bowl, I headed back out and into the dining room. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." I said pouring my cereal. She took a deep sigh before massaging her temple.
"More like a mermaid." She joked. I flinched slightly as I poured in my milk. "Some of my patients keep rambling on and on about how they caught a mermaid in there fishnet but when they came back it was gone." She said. This time, I knocked over the cereal box. It fell to the floor, spilling the cereal everywhere. I winced.
"Sorry about that...." I said awkwardly. I went into the kitchen and quickly got a broom. My mom stopped me and felt my forehead.
"You okay dear? If your feeling sick it's best if go lie down." She said. Just as she did, I instantly thought of getting out of the stupid party. As I was about to fake cough, she instantly smiled and pulled her hand back.
"Your still going to that party though." She said, I groaned before making my way back into the dining room to clean up my mess. My mom walking passed me and into the living room with a small chuckle as she glanced at my miserable expression.
***
At around 1:10pm, I decided to start getting myself ready, I took a warm shower before changing into my one piece dark grey bathing suit. I tied my hair up into a pony as I slightly curled the ends. Grabbing my towel and bag which has my phone and some sunscreen inside. I stared at myself in the mirror before grabbing some black shorts -that could barely be passed off as clothing- and put that on top. Staring at myself again, I grabbed a white tank-top and put that on top. I looked in the mirror and frowned. I didn't like how little weight I had on my legs and arms. I sighed before flopping on my bed.
"I looked like a wooden tooth pick" I said frowning. My mom walking in and looked at me.
"A cute, wooden tooth pick." She said. "A very sun kissed and blessed, wooden tooth pick."
I groaned and looked at her. She stared at me with a small smile before kissing my forehead.
"It's already 1:55 dear, now stop criticizing your lovely body and go and have fun." She said, I frowned at her.
" you do realize that you're forcing me to go to this right? How am I supposed to "have fun" if I don't even want to go in the first place?" I said. She shrugged before patting my back and standing up.
"I'm sure you'll find a way, entertain them with your knowledge on tsunamis or something, but I have to go to a party." She said. I sat up and stared at her confused.
"A party?" I said. She shrugged once more.
"All the adults here are having a little get together and they invited me." She said. I frowned even more. My mom passed me a spare set of keys before leaving my room. I stayed in my room, hoping she would forget about the party.
"I expect you at the beach in no less than ten minutes!" She suddenly yelled. I whined loudly.
***
At around 2:05, I finally left the house and went to the beach. My heart silently pounding in my chest. As I got there, I saw lights and a bunch of people who looked like they were having the time of their lives. I gulped. A girl walked up to me with a smile.
"Hey!" She said as she got closer, I instantly recognized her overly cheerful voice. It was Amy.
"Nice seeing you here! Let me introduce you to everyone!" She said. I scanned around unsure.
"Everyone?" I asked, she didn't answer. Instead, she signaled to the DJ to turn of the music, walking over to him, she grabbed the microphone. I wanted to die there and then.
"Guys! Can I have everyone's attention!" She yelled. A couple guys yelled back catty remarks but she simply ignored them and turned to me. She waved for me to come stand next to her. I slowly walked up next to her when she suddenly rapped her arm around my shoulder.
"This here is Somnium! She's new here. Please make her feel welcome!" She yelled. Everyone cheered and I felt all eyes were on me. She handed me the microphone.
"Say a few things." She said with an encouraging face. I gulped again before grabbing the microphone with my sweaty hands. I quickly cleared my throat.
"Uh, hi. My name is Somnium. I'm 16 years old and I like the color grey, nice to meet you all." I said quickly and quietly into the mic. Amy took it from me realizing that I wasn't going to say anything else.
"Alright! Everyone give a warm welcome to Somnium!" She said. They all clapped before Amy signaled to DJ to continue. And just like that, the party started again. Amy looked at me.
"Your awfully quiet!" She said loudly. I nodded. Just then, a random guy walked up to us, as well as two girls.
"Sorry to disturb you ladies." The guy said. He swung his arm around Amy.
"I'm Oliver. Amy's twin brother." He said. I nodded before mumbling a quiet 'nice to meet you' he stared at me for a moment. Getting uncomfortable, I looked up at him.
"Is something wrong?" I said. He shook his head.
"Ya know, you look nothing like your mom? Are like adopted or-"
Amy elbowed him hard in the gut.
"I'm so sorry about him, his mouth has no filters." She glared at him. I scratched my head awkwardly.
"That's okay. If you must know, no I am not adopted I'm just mixed." I replied. " my parents are different races." He nodded understandingly.
"So, where is he? Your dad?" He asked. This time Amy smacked his head, and pretty hard from what I heard. I scratched my head again nervously.
" he died when I was still young I've never met him." I said. Amy looked at me apologetically.
"I'm, I'm so sorry, about that and my brother." She said. The two girls then interrupted before I could say anything else.
" so, Somnium, is it?" They didn't wait for my response. " so you're like, really skinny and pretty how do you manage your weight? Can you give us a little hint on your beauty secrets?" They said, putting a good amount of emphasis on the word skinny. I instantly clutched my bag harder.
"Cmon Somni, these are just normal questions, why can't you answer them?" I thought to myself.
"Oh I uh, I'm just.. I " I was stuttering while sweating. I couldn't do this. "I'm sorry." I said before making a beeline for the back door of my house which had happened to be the closest one. As I was speed walking out of the corner of my eye, I saw the water which crashed back and forth. I didn't know I was changing directions until the soft sand got damper, and I had taken off my shorts and top.
Dropping my back of the ground, I submerged myself in the cool water. I for some reason, started to calm down. My heart slowly relaxed into the crashing sounds of the water. As weird as it sounded, It felt like I was on drugs, and I finally going on them again. It was a soothing feeling. I wondered if I could still breath under water, but before I could test it out, I felt someone next to me. I quickly stood up in the water and looked around. The party was still there and the loud music and people yelling was proof. I was confused until I realized who it might have been. Taking a deep breath just incase, I dived back into the water. Opening my eyes slowly, I was shocked to see the same, black haired merman, staring back at me.
***
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