Book 1 of the Love series- Love Has a Price (Student/Teacher Relationship)

Chapter 18- Aaron

Chapter 18- Aaron

Once we had arrived on the beach of the island, Caitlin headed strait towards the jungle which towered above us. I couldn’t recognise any other way to explore so I followed. Through out our exploration, we encountered some unusual things. Caitlin freaked out at a couple of bugs and I soon realised it was probably a bad idea for Caitlin to be here. But she carried on to trek through the wilderness, completely unaware of what she’ll find next, or what king of bug will jump out on her. But to her relief, the sound of trickling water flooded both of ours. She removed the last branch, blocking our way from the source and a stream of sunlight flowed through. She stepped in and I followed.

            We had moved onto a clearing, it was huge compared to what the size of the island appeared to be. Centered in the middle was a lake, almost filling the entire clearing. At the back of the lake, rocks clambered high, creating an opening in which a waterfall had appeared. Leading from the water source was a small river which I’m sure if we followed would lead us back towards the ocean. All in all it was peaceful, and by the look on Caitlin’s face she had found what she believed to be her paradise.

“Isn’t it amazing?” she asked, bending down to pick a flower up from the floor.

            I watched her for a while, as she gazed in awe around at the scenery before heading to the water. She stared at her reflection for a while in the water; I came up behind her and stared at what she was looking at. She muttered something under her breath and pointed her hands at the water. Gold sparks shot out and an image of a mermaid formed in the water. The mermaid who represented Caitlin stared at us, smiling at the couple that we were, happy about the match which had formed. Caitlin leapt in and she was lost amongst the ripples caused by the disturbance.

“Hey, there’s a cave opening over here, you wait here and I’m going to see where it goes,” she told me.

            She had dived back down with a flick of her tail before I could get any words out. I lay on the grass, soaking up the smell of fresh air. Pine, dirt and fresh water filled my nose, nature’s finest beauty. As I gazed at the clouds, I spotted shapes that stood out to me. Caitlin had collapsed next to me, dry once again with the power of her hands.

“What did you find?” I inquired curiously.

“A cave, it’s amazing,” she exaggerated, “It’s like the cave where the mermaid first began.”

            I nodded and wrapped and arm tight around her waist, she shuffle closer to me. Her head lay on my chest as I stroked her hair. She stood up after a while and stretched her arms slightly before looking down at me. I sat up slightly and covered my eyes with my hand.   

“Come on,” she began, “It’s time to go back, I’ve got school and we have a meeting.”

“Yeah but do you really need it anymore?” I questioned, “You have me to make you happy now. And face it, I’m hilarious.”

“Ego much?”

            I shot a smirk in her direction and she slapped me playfully for it. We laughed as I chased her through the jungle. Just as she hit the water, I caught her by the waist. I waded her into the water, she kicked her legs and the water splashed everywhere. Soon enough her legs had disappeared and a tail had come through. She was going to fall to floor so I sat down in the water but kept her in my arms.

“Say you’re sorry and that I’m the sexiest man alive,” I told me.

            She said nothing so I began to tickle her; she squirmed about for a while. She had soon enough become breathless and was begging me to stop it. She turned in my lap so her head was against my chest and sighed as I stopped tickling her.

“Say it!” I ordered.

“Okay,” she submitted, “You are the sexiest man alive.”

“Thank you,” I muttered.

            I pecked her lips before standing up, she had already been moving into the ocean and I followed her. Once the water had become too deep to carry on walking, I inhaled a lung full of breath and dived back in. We swam back to shore hand in hand.

* * *

I had just pulled the car into one of the parking spaces and climbed out. The sun instantly blinded me and I slid my sunglasses on. Caitlin slid out of the other side and we headed into the building. Once we were in my office, I found a newspaper placed on my desk, it was the school’s article. On the front cover was my name, I was absolutely mortified as I read through it.

“What, what’s wrong?” Caitlin questioned, standing up and walking towards me.

            I turned the paper around to see her; she took one look at the head line and gasped. As I read it again, I panicked.

Mr Thompson caught with a mermaid

And suddenly, everything changed. People were banging on the door. Caitlin was curled up in the corner, hugging her self, crying hysterically. And then the principle strolled strait in. He took one look at Caitlin and headed strait over to her.

“Caitlin honey what’s wrong?” he asked, holding her in his arms.

            I frowned slightly at the action. I’m not sure whats going on to be honest. My life has become a mystery of confusion.