CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The kitchen was loud. Students clamoured around the countertops, filling plates with seaweed and sushi. I looked at the bright green—almost florescent salad—with trepidation, but seeing everyone else taking some and gobbling it up, I decided to take some too. I didn't want to appear rude, and I was certainly sick of being the new girl. One morning of it was enough and I still had half a day to go.
I took six pieces California roll—the only type of sushi I ate. There were also large slices of raw fish. I took a small piece of salmon because it appeared to be popular. There was no time like the present to get used to eating raw fish, especially since not eating it would make me look like an outsider.
"You're being brave today!" Colleen bumped up next to me in the line. Her plate was loaded with raw pink salmon. "The salad’s delicious, you'll love it. The vodiani made if from their own garden." I looked over my shoulder at the vodiani. Both Telmath and Paket were already deftly consuming their lunch with chopsticks.
"Come sit with us." Colleen headed for the side of the room closest to the door. I caught site of Caesar as we walked past. He was sitting with Shia. My grip tightened on my lunch tray.
"How was your summer? You must tell me more crazy stories. It’s been so long since I've seen you." Shia’s arm was pressed up against Caesar’s.
"Did I tell you the one about the hundred foot wave and the spaghetti yet?" Caesar said before I stepped out of hearing range. I pushed the pirate from my mind and focused on what Colleen was saying.
“I always sit with Kyle and Zeke for lunch.” Colleen set her plate on the long wooden table, sitting down across from the two Orcies. I sat down across from Colleen and next to Zeke, whom I’d met briefly during the introduction period earlier.
“Not used to the raw fish yet, I see,” Zeke said, his broad face friendly.
I tried not to blush, but felt my cheeks warm. “No, but I’m trying. I have a feeling there are a lot of things around here I’ll have to get used to.”
“You should come swimming with us later.” Colleen stuffed a piece of sushi into her mouth, which pushed out her cheeks.
“Can’t,” I managed to say between bites. “I’m still grounded. Which is completely unfair considering you’re allowed out.” I was pleasantly surprised at the taste of the seaweed salad. It was salty and nicely spiced, the texture, however, was bit slimier than I preferred.
“Mom said that since I’d never done anything like that until I met you, that she’d unground me if I promised to seriously consider your future suggestions before getting pulled out with the tide.”
Now I was the bad kid? That was hardly fair. Joanna didn’t even know me. “Lucky you. You get freedom and I get to go home and take more lessons. Yay.”
“Shannon has to let you off grounding soon. It’s the annual camping trip this weekend—there’s no way she’d make you miss that.” Colleen looked at me with luminous eyes.
“Maybe, but I wouldn’t count on it.” I poked the inside out of one of my pieces of sushi.
“Hi, mind if I sit here?” Amynta appeared at my right, a glossy magazine in her hand.
“Sure, but don’t you want to grab some food first?”
She shook her head. “I already ate with Markus. The pirates are all going outside to do something. Not sure what it is, they didn’t really say. I just thought it was a good time to bring these over.”
Out the corner of my eye I noticed Colleen tense. After what happened last year, I couldn’t blame her. Kyle reached over, giving her hand a quick squeeze. Colleen smiled briefly at him.
“Of course, sit down.” I waved at the empty spot on the bench.
“Have you seen this?” Amynta opened her magazine to an earmarked page halfway through. A gorgeous advertisement for a very beautiful dress stared back at me. I forgot all about my food and used my finger to trace the lines on the page.
“No, but it’s beautiful. Who designed it?”
Amynta flipped a few more pages, showing me some more dresses, shoes, and shirts. I would have swam a thousand miles to own the clothes in those magazines. Something I daydreamed about through my afternoon of classes.
Around two o'clock Grandma appeared. She smiled politely at Joanna, who wrapped up our brief discussion about Seatongue—a language we would be learning tomorrow—and then stepped aside.
"Good afternoon." Grandma clasped her hands in front of her waist, looking over the tops of the glasses she only wore for reading. My classmates sat up straight, watching her with interest. I slouched in my seat, pulling out my blue pen. I found an empty page in my notebook and began doodling. Listening to Grandma at home was hard enough. I didn’t want to listen to her here, too.
"I'm Shannon O'Shea, the owner of this school and a member of the Pacific North-East Council. I’m also a part-time instructor here, though you will see me much less than you will see Joanna York or Mira Tiderunner.” I perked up at this. We hadn't met anyone named Mira yet, but from her name I knew she would be an orcie and somehow related to Kyle.
“Before we start the next demonstration, I’d like to warn you all that we believe a hunter has been spotted in the human town on the main island. Obviously, students are not allowed to travel to the mainland without permission, but I just want to stress how important it is to remain here, to remain unseen, at least until the hunter moves on or is dealt with. Now, on to the fun stuff."
Grandma reached into the bag she'd brought with her—the same carpet bag she'd had on the ferry a few weeks ago—and pulled out three long, thin vials. Each was filled with a different color of liquid.
"I've brought three transformation potions here this afternoon. Joanna and I thought it would be a good idea to go outside, enjoy some of this beautiful weather, and do some Neptunian transformation demonstrations." Grandma turned her back to us, heading for the door. Were we supposed to follow her?
“Come on, come on.” She waved her hands impatiently.
In single file, we headed out of the classroom, into the kitchen, and then into the sparkling green forest. We turned left, following a short, woodchip-covered path to a rocky cliff. Then we turned to the right, following the cliff as it rolled downward, ending in a very small, rocky beach.
Grandma turned at the water’s edge, facing us as we formed a semi-circle around her, our backs to the tall pine trees. Joanna stood to the left, watching the pirates who were the last to get in line. Caesar caught my eye and smiled. I felt the corner of my mouth curling up but was stopped when Grandma cleared her throat, grasping my attention like an Atlantic gale.
“Alright, I could use three volunteers: one of the merfolk, one sea nymph, and one vodiani.” Shia, Telmath—the vodiani I’d spoken to earlier—and one of the sea nymphs, stepped forward quickly. Grandma handed each of them a vial. Shia took a purple one that matched the color of her purple tank top. The sea-nymph took a clear one. Telmath took a brown one that looked disgustingly chunky. Grandma whispered something to all three volunteers. They nodded in response.
“Shia has kindly agreed to demonstrate first,” Grandma announced. She peaked over her shoulder and Shia nodded. “Shia is of the merfolk. As a female of her species, she can also be called a mermaid, whereas the male would be called a merman. The natural form of the merfolk is that of a humanoid upper, and a scaled, fish-like lower half.” Grandma stepped to the side, indicating to Shia, who turned and dove into the water, fully clothed. Her head emerged again two seconds later. She threw her pants up on shore, and then she submerged again, leaving everyone in silent expectation. She leapt out of the water twenty feet away. Her mane of dark, curly hair flew through the air, followed by her bare, pale arms, and a long turquoise tail that glittered in the sun like a sequined dress at a New Year’s party.
I tried not to gasp, or show any outward sign that I was completely floored by this exhibit. I was looking at a real live mermaid—and she was beautiful.
“Merfolk,” Grandma continued, “Can only walk on land with the
help of a sea-witch. In order to gain human form, merfolk must drink a potion called mermaid’s wine, brewed by a sea-witch.”
Shia swam back toward the shore, pulling herself up on the rocks so that we could see her tail. I could tell it was hard for her to be out of the water. Her face was red and her breath was laboured, as if the air was choking her. Shia held up the vial for us all to see before popping the cork off the top. She took a small swallow. Before my eyes, her tale changed color, shrank, and separated into to distinct halves, transforming into human legs. She smiled at us all, tugged her long tank top lower.
“My turn,” called the sea nymph. I was unsure if it was Dawn or Rainbow. I had just enough time to turn toward her blue, white-sheet clad form before she exploded into a shower of water.
“Eek!” I jumped, startled, and then looked around for her.
“Newb,” I heard someone near me mutter—though I couldn’t tell who. A few others laughed quietly. My cheeks flushed. Was I ever going to stop looking like an idiot?
“Rainbow.” Someone called. “Rainbow stop kidding around.”
A giggle came from the rocks beneath my feet. I glanced down, noticing a small puddle of water that hadn’t been there before. Slowly, the puddle grew, rising upward until it was standing in front of me. It was the shape of person, but still made of one hundred percent water, and completely transparent.
“I couldn’t help it. Did you see how surprised she was?” The water person—Rainbow—laughed again, stepping away from me, making her way back into the robe she’d left crumpled on the ground. She slipped it back on.
“Sea nymphs,” Grandma said, “Have three forms. This insubstantial form, when the sea nymph is water, is the natural form. The second form can be obtained with just a small swallow of opacity draught.”
Rainbow held up a vial, opened it, and barely touched it to her lips. Her transparent body darkened and milliseconds later she was the same opaque blue form that all the other sea nymphs were. I could now make out all the regular facial features of a human. She looked at me with her jewel blue eyes and smiled.
“The third form of a sea nymph is a full humanoid transformation, which can be achieved by taking a full vial of the potion.”
Rainbow giggled and slammed back the rest of the clear liquid. Her pale blue body was replaced with an olive skinned one, which could fit in at any high school in the country. In this form, I could really make out Rainbow’s personality. She had short white hair that had blue tips, which she wore spiked to its full two-inch length. She still had clear blue eyes, but she also had dark black eyebrows that arched mischievously.
“Thank you, Rainbow. You may change back to your regular form if you wish.” Grandma moved toward Telmath.
“Nah, I kind of like this one.” Rainbow skipped over to her sea nymph friends.
Grandma waited for everyone to settle down before beginning again. “Last, but not least, we have the vodiani. The true form of a vodiani is not shown in public, but this form,” Grandma indicated at Telmath who was still the green-tinged, seaweed and barnacle-covered boy I’d met earlier, “Is the form most often chosen to be worn for interactions with other Neptunians. The vodiani can also take on a completely human appearance for a very short while, in order to interact with regular humans. If you don’t mind, Telmath.” Grandma inclined her head to him, very politely. With the stern expression the vodiani seemed to favour, Telmath drank his brown potion.
He coughed after finishing it. I imagined it tasted just as awful as it looked. Maybe even worse, I thought, catching a whiff of fermented fish and sewage. Slowly, much more slowly than the merfolk or sea nymph transformation, Telmath’s skin became a pale tan, and his long seaweed hair fell off, turning to a short, black haircut. In this form, I could definitely make out his Japanese heritage. He proudly looked at the class, his head held high.
“One reason vodiani don’t like taking this form is because each time it is taken we loose our hair.” Telmath reach up with one unblemished human hand, brushing it over his head. “Hair is important to the vodiani, and we like to have long tendrils. But sometimes it is necessary that one must make the sacrifice in order to do work which will benefit our people.”
Grandma inclined her head to Telmath. “I thank you for your sacrifice.” She turned back to the rest of us. “All other transformations in the Neptunian world are voluntary and can be done at will, such as those of selkies and orcies. Of course, there are those Neptunian beings that cannot shapeshift at all, including pirates, sirens, and sea-witches. But I do think that’s enough work for today. I believe Joanna mentioned something about a cake waiting for you all back at the dormitory kitchen.”
I turned my head toward Grandma. To my disappointment, she shook her head, which meant the cake was waiting for everyone but me. Sighing, I turned toward the school, where I need to return to pick up my backpack and mountain of homework.
“Nessa,” someone called. “Nessa.”
I looked to my left and saw Rainbow—still in her spikey-haired human form, coming toward me.
“I just wanted to say sorry,” she said. “My sister Dawn said that I made you blush. I didn’t mean to.”
I shook my head, sure I was blushing again. “It’s alright, I’m just not used to all of this.”
Rainbow crinkled her eyes. “That’s so silly. You’re a sea-witch; you should know everything. But I suppose you did grow up with humans. Don’t worry, you’ll be one of us eventually.” She giggled and took off, joining some of the others in a race back to the dorms.
I bit my lip. One of us. Rainbow had gotten it right; I wasn’t one of them but I wasn’t human anymore either. So what exactly was I?
“So, are you coming to the party? I hear there'll be ice cream.” Caesar sidled up next to me, standing so close his arm brushed mine. I tried to move away in order to calm the overwhelming urge to press closer to him. Why did he have to smell so good and look so comfortable?
“I would love to, but I can't. I'm grounded.” I walked into the dormitory kitchen and then turned left into the classroom.
“Grounded? Because you didn’t want to have dinner with us on Saturday? I’ll tell Shannon that it didn’t bother me if that will get your punishment dropped.” Caesar followed me to my desk , grabbing his own books from his.
I shrugged, trying to mask my disappointment. Chocolate cake and ice cream would have been a decent end to a tiring day. “There's nothing I can do. Maybe if I'm lucky and act like a good sea-witch, Grandma will let me attend the First Day Back Celebration next year.”
“Caesar!” Shia bounced up to his side before he could respond. Caesar looked over his left shoulder at her and smiled. She said, “Come and sit by me!”
“Sure, Shia, I'll be right there.” Caesar nodded toward the door and Shia bounced back out of the classroom. I say bounced because every part of her curvaceous body jiggled up and down like she was on a trampoline.
“I'll see you later,” I muttered, turning and walking out of the classroom and the building before I had to spend any more time talking to Caesar, or before I began thinking about how he was going to stare at Shia all night, eat cake with her, and enjoy her company.
Rain clouds were beginning to close in on the island again as I began my walk home. It grew cool as the sun disappeared. In September, it was still hot back in Surrey. Why couldn't I be there, hanging out in the sunshine with my friends?
“Nessa!” I turned at the sound of a voice. Caesar was running through the vibrant green forest, carrying a small coffee mug in his hand. He reached me, not even panting from his short jog.
“I, uh, brought you some ice cream.”
"Seriously?" I glanced down into the cup and saw vanilla ice cream with fresh cut strawberries. My mouth watered. "This isn’t a trick or something, is it?” I thought of the hazing Colleen had received last year and looked over my right shoulder for a net, or a camera, or some other contraption that could humiliate and embarrass me. Other than Caesa
r, the forest was empty. “It’s not poisoned or covered in ex-lax or something, is it?”
Caesar raised an eyebrow and looked at me like I was crazy. “Why would I poison such a pretty sea-witch?”
"You’re so–"
"Sweet?" Caesar didn't look at me when he said it, he looked to the left, off into the woods, but I could still see a bit of red on the edge of his cheekbone. "I just wanted to make you smile. You've been scowling all day. I thought your facial muscles could use a break. Besides, I’d like you to be at next year’s welcoming party, and I figured a little bribe might help.”
I looked at the ice cream and felt the smile form on my face. It wasn’t my traditional scoop with Marnie; it was better. "Well, thanks. But this changes nothing you know."
"It will. Eventually. Just wait." Caesar gave me a wink. "Look, I have to get back. I promised Shia I'd teach her how to play poker."
"Oh. Okay. Have fun." I watched wordlessly as Caesar turned, running back to the dorms. I'd never had a handsome pirate bring me ice cream before... and I hoped this wasn't going to be the last time either. Somehow, I needed to get Colleen to forgive Caesar.