Emerge (6 page)

I sit in stunned silence. I’m not a sheltered idiot; I know that dating around is normal. I don’t think the first boy I start a relationship with will be my one and only. I’m not Em. But isn’t it a waste of time to put in so much energy—to risk heartbreak—for something that could never last? That’s what I’ve always told myself, and that’s why I’ve followed my parents’ rules against dating humans.

I’m still thinking about it long after Melusine, her father, and all the other guests leave. I’m lying on the sea sponge bed in my downstairs bedroom, unable to turn off my thoughts. Maybe I’m wrong to take my parents’ rules so seriously. The twins don’t. Oh, they agree about not dating humans—all the guys they’ve ever been serious about have had tails. But they’ve each had human hookups at parties, and our parents have never known the difference. It was just never something I could picture myself trying. My parents have sacrificed so much to save us from the undersea wars and forge this life for us here. I don’t think they deserve to be lied to.

Have I made a mistake? Sure, Melusine can’t have a future with Clay, but she’s spent the last three weeks hanging out with him, laughing with him, kissing him. I could have done that. I could have gotten in a few glorious weeks of kissing Clay. What would it be like to be able to hold onto those strong arms, stare into those deep hazel eyes, kiss that full, smirky mouth? I could have had that. But even as I let myself enjoy the oh so sweet idea, I know it wouldn’t have been worth it. A few weeks with Clay and I’d have fallen—hard.

I should be happy his relationship with Melusine can’t last, but instead I’m worried that she doesn’t seem to care about his feelings. I don’t want to see him get hurt. I snuggle deeper into my sea sponge, letting the layer of salt water cover me like a blanket. Clay’s a person, not a piece of eye candy. Or lip candy … yum. I lose myself in the fantasy, and my sleepy mind floats away. I might not be able to be with Clay in real life, but at least I can dream about him.

You know how sometimes when you go to sleep with your head full of worries, you wake up with a fresh perspective and realize in the light of day that your overly tired brain was overreacting? This is not one of those mornings. The moment my eyes pop open, thoughts of Melusine and Clay consume me—and now, I’m officially angry.

By the time I walk up to the kitchen for breakfast, my temper boils right under the surface. Amy has already swum off to school using the tunnels, like she does every morning. It’s just Em, the twins, and my parents at the breakfast table as I slump into a chair.

“What’s swum up your butt?” Lapis asks.

“Language,” my mother scolds from across the table.

“Nothing,” I grumble as I grab a sprouted bagel. Like most Mer, I don’t do well with processed foods, but whole grains are safe. Usually, one of these bagels topped with as much salmon as I can pile on is my favorite breakfast; today I don’t have much of an appetite.

Lapis turns her attention to Em. “So, you talk to Leo last night?”

“Yes … we talked,” Em says, barely forcing out the words.

“What did you—”

“Just drop it. Please.” Em looks down and pokes at her salmon with her fork.

Concern paints my mother’s face.

My father claps his hands once, breaking the somber mood. “I thought the party last night went just swimmingly. Pun intended!”

“We certainly had fun,” Lazuli comments. The sly look she shares with Lapis proves the two of them definitely got up to something.

“You girls must all be excited to go to school today, what with another Mer in your midst,” my dad says.

“Oh, yeah. Lia, did you know that Melusine chick was a Mermaid?” Lapis questions.

“Nope,” I say, my annoyance obvious.

“I want you girls to be welcoming,” my mother says as she sips her sugar kelp tea. Especially you, Aurelia, since the two of you are in the same grade. Do you have classes together?”

“Unfortunately.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t like her.”

“Why ever not?”

“Her boyfriend’s a human!” I shout. There. I wait for my mother’s reaction. Maybe she’ll be so freaked she’ll get the Foundation to put a stop to it.

“Yes, her father told us.” My mother’s voice is way too calm, and my father just nods solemnly.

“Well? Can’t you do something? Order an injunction or—”

“Aurelia! We’re not dictators. You know very well that the Foundation’s job is to keep the peace, not limit anyone’s freedom. Now, I wholeheartedly agree that it’s not proper parenting … ”

“But we all came up here to raise our children the way we see fit, Lia,” my dad says, covering my mom’s hand with his. “Filius assured us that Melusine has a particularly strong hold on her legs and that he supervises her with the boy regularly. We may not agree with it, but she’s his daughter, and it’s his choice.”

“At least it will prove to the community they’re not
udell
. That’ll be a help. We can’t have anyone thinking prejudice against mortals is acceptable,” my mother finishes. They both look at me like they expect me to understand.

“So, that’s it? You’ve lectured us for years on the dangers of getting ‘romantically entangled,’” I purposely use their own words, “with humans, and you’re just going to let Melusine do whatever she wants?”

“Melusine is not our responsibility the way you and your sisters are.” My mother’s tone grows firm. “No matter what Mr. Havelock lets his daughter do, we expect you to continue living by the rules we’ve set down. They exist to protect you.”

“And we’re very proud of the choices all you girls have made.” My father’s smile is genuine.

“This is way too much lecture for me to handle before 7:15,” Lazuli says as she and Lapis rise from the table. “Lia, we’ll meet you at the car.”

Once my parents and I are alone, my mother comes and sits next to me. “I can tell you’re angry at this girl, but her father promises he won’t let her put any of us at risk.” I plaster on a comforted expression. If my mom knew I’m more angry about
who
Melusine’s dating than the consequences it could have on the Community, she’d flip a fin. “I want you to think about what a hard time she must be having. You know, her mother was killed in an uprising earlier this year.”

The news sinks into my bones. I knew her mother was dead, but I hadn’t realized it was so recent or that it had been violent. I’m lucky that, living on land, none of my immediate family has fallen victim to the wars. My anger fizzles.

“Imagine how hard it must be to come up here to a whole new place and know no one. Try to reach out to her, okay, kiddo? I bet she needs a friend.” My father’s eyes are beseeching. With a sigh, I nod. “That’s my girl,” he says, and my mother squeezes my hand.

Great. Now I’ll have to be nice to her. My parents don’t ask very much of me, like ever. They saved me from a life in a warzone, they created an entire Foundation to secure my future, they spend a small fortune sending me to a school I really like, and they don’t limit my shopping budget. “Don’t date humans” is one of their only strict rules. Now that they’ve asked me to be friends with Melusine, I don’t have much of a choice. They deserve that much from me. Plus, maybe if I’m nice to her, I can convince her seeing Clay’s a bad idea.

The twins and I get to school early, and when I enter the main hallway, Melusine stands alone by her locker. I take a deep breath. I’d better try this before I lose my nerve.

Yes, a part of me wants to unleash my girl-claws and rip her to shreds, but another part of me knows it’s totally irrational to hate her just because she gets to have hot make out sessions with the guy I like. I’ve chosen not to risk being with Clay, and now I have to act like someone way more mature and live with that choice. We all need to stick together up here, and that means it’s my job to be the bigger Mermaid and reach out to her.

I walk up to her locker. “Hey.” I hope I sound natural. “I’m glad you came last night.”

“Are you?” Her gaze is calculating, like she’s appraising me again. I don’t like it.

“Sure. Um, my sisters and I sometimes grab sushi together after school. We’re going today and I thought maybe you’d like to come.” I rush through the invitation before I can talk myself out of it. She’s new. She has no friends. She needs this.

“No, thanks,” Melusine replies coolly, shutting her locker.

“Oh, well, maybe another day this week?” I should be glad she’s said no and drop it, but I can’t forget my promise to my parents.

“Look, Lia, I know you’re only trying to be besties because your parents told you to be nice to me.”

“That’s not true,” I insist. We both know it’s a fat lie.

“I’ve been at this school for three weeks, and you didn’t say so much as hello to me until last night at the party.”

“I’m sorry. I—”

“Save it. I can survive without your friendship. I’m used to being on my own.” She turns and stalks past me down the hallway. Does that mean I’m off the hook?

As soon as the bell rings, I have more to worry about than Melusine’s determination to be a loner. I hate having P.E. first period.

It would be an overstatement to say I’m as excited as Kelsey to start self-defense, but no matter how brainless a teacher Coach Crane is, I figure since the subject is new for everyone, we’ll start with some light punches and blocks. That, I can handle.

When I walk out of the locker room in my P.E. uniform and enter the gym, one look at the coach tells me I’m wrong. Her thick muscles are covered by even thicker padding strapped to her arms, legs, and torso. This is a woman who didn’t even bother to wear a helmet when she taught us lacrosse. The fact that she feels the need for so much protective gear does not bode well for the safety level of today’s activities.

“Gather up!” she calls as we make our way over to where she’s set up a whole patchwork of mats. “To start our study of self-defense, we’re going to test your instincts. You’ll come up one at a time and fight me. That way, I’ll get to see what your individual strengths and weaknesses are.”

“We’re not working on techniques first?” asks Hannah, a wide-eyed girl who looks as scared as I feel.

“I want you to see how you’d do if someone attacked you today. Hopefully that will motivate you to take this seriously.”

I know how I’d do if some psycho attacked me—I’d die. I don’t need to be beaten up by my P.E. coach to figure that out. What I do need to figure out is how I’ll get through this class with my still-shaky leg control. What if I get all twisted up in my own limbs and make a fool of myself? Epic flail. And the coach won’t make it easy. She still has it in for me because I refused to go swimming, and now she’ll have the opportunity to knock me unconscious.

She paces back and forth, the soles of her Skechers sinking into the mats with each step. “Now, for the men in the room, I want you to focus on punches. We’ll steer clear of the face for today, but feel free to hit me anywhere else—I’m wearing protection.” The few guys who snicker at the double meaning fall silent when she pins them with a death glare.

Punches. Okay, I can handle punches. I’ll plant my feet and try a few solid punches to her padded stomach. Maybe this won’t be so terrible.