Atlantis Riptide

Chapter One - Nix Normal

I ran away from the circus.

What a joke. Most teens want to run away to the circus, but not me. No, I could never do anything normal. Not with a name like Pearl of the sea Poseidon.

And yes, that is my real name. It’s on my birth certificate. Even though the certificate is fake.

My heart hardened with past pain. I clenched my hands around the broom handle. I continued to sweep the walkway around the fake lagoon at the Kingdom of Atlantis Miniature Golf Course. Instead of focusing on my past, I watched a teen balancing on a two-inch-wide black rail like a tightrope walker, his arms out for balance.

Trapeze artist or boneheaded boy? Only with hours and hours of training could a trick like that be pulled off.

I knew. It takes a lot of practice not to die.

Even though I didn’t want to be noticed, I had to say something. “That’s a twelve foot drop into a shallow pool. You want to crack your head open?”

The guy, wearing a black hoodie, narrowed his dark eyes. He wavered on the peeling black iron rail that guarded the fake lagoon. “Who are you? The janitor?”

His group of friends laughed.

Heat flooded my face and I found it difficult to keep my head up. I remembered all the times kids had made fun of what I did or what I wore. These teens didn’t realize the khaki shorts and T-shirt weren’t the real me. Just a uniform—another costume.

I ignored their cruel jibes. “Get down.” ­­­

My gaze searched for one of the workers dressed in mermaid costumes. Based on the designer’s idea of the lost island of Atlantis, the course boasted running rivers and a huge waterfall cascading into a murky pool. A cheap plastic statue of the sea god watched over the kingdom.

Funny, how my name related.

“Ah.” The hoodie guy glanced at a girl with purple streaks in her hair. “The janitor cares more about me than you do, babe.” He tossed a phone in the air and caught it.

“My cell.” The girl’s high pitched squeal hurt my ears.

An obviously-harassed mother squeezed by the little scene, pushing a stroller and dragging a small toddler behind her. The toddler scuffed his feet on the ground and smiled in my direction.

I smiled back but I didn’t want to seem soft, so I changed my expression to a scowl and glared at hoodie guy. “Get down or I’ll call a security guard. They’ll kick all of you out of the entire Boardwalk park.”

“Come on, Joe. Get down.” The busty girl held out her hand to him. “We’re supposed to have fun today.”

Must be nice to have a fun day where you didn’t have to worry about your next meal, your sleeping arrangements, or if you’d ever be discovered. If only ...

The steel inside me wavered for a second. But just a second.

“Only cause you asked nicely, babe.” Joe shook his dyed-black bangs before jumping off the rail and back onto the path. He wrapped his arm around his babe and then cocked his bushy eyebrows at me. “Janitor-Girl better watch her mouth. I’m not going to be bossed around by a wage slave.”

The put down should’ve hurt, but I’d been called worse things. Telling a customer where to shove his attitude wouldn’t be smart. I needed this job and didn’t need any extra attention.

Or questions.

Joe tossed me a superior smirk before moving on to the next hole. Disaster diverted. I blew out a large breath and returned to sweeping the walkways.