Lie to Me: A Mermaid Tail

Chapter 12- l was Their Muse

The rest of study hall was awkward and silent. Aidan drew some more pictures of the woods, while not so subtly showing them to me right where Nate could see. I stared at the clock the whole time, begging it to move faster. I didn't want Nate pissed, so l lamely tried to will the clock's hand to move faster.

It wasn't working.

But, there were only a few minutes of class left. I was absolutely elated. Lemme out...lemme out...CAN'T YOU HEAR ME I SAID LEMME OUT OF THIS HELL HOLE. I grabbed Aidan's pencil and mine and began drumming a rhythm on my desk while singing "Shake It Out" by Florence and the Machines as quietly as I could manage.

"And I've been a fool, and I've been blind, I can never leave the past behind," I mumbled in my falsetto. If I sing high, it's quieter. It filled the awkward silence that seemed to linger on only my table. The rest of the room was loud and bustling. "Shake it out, shake it out. Shake it out shake it out, ooh woah..." I sang almost silently, thankful the other people in the room didn't notice. I saw Aidan smirking next to me as he picked up a strand of my hair and twirled it in his fingers. Nate just stared at me with wide eyes, lips shut.

I slowly turned my head towards him. "And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back so shake him off..." I finished, looking him right in his sparkling ocean blue eyes. I saw Nate's gaze linger slowly to my lips and then back up at my eyes. Wait, hold up. Linger to my lips? Did he want to kiss me right now? Oh no, oh no, stupid song, luring wayward sailors to their deaths, enticing them, making them love me. Oh no, oh no...

"Relax, hon, your song's not making him want to kiss you," Aidan whispered into my ear, with a touch of bitterness. "He likes you, that's why. Plus, mermaids aren't the same thing as sirens." He sounded bitter at the thought of Nate liking me. I frowned, humming the first bars of some Taylor Swift song I didn't bother to recognize. I was just humming until the words formed on my lips.

"Been here all along so why can't you see, you belong with me, you belong with me," I sang. I kept humming until the bell rang in a B flat, messing up my song and forcing me to stand and walk to my creative writing class.

I walked a little farther ahead than Nate and Aidan, who both, coincidently, had the same class. I walked, still humming, being shoved every few seconds by a popular chick or jock. Diana made sure to tread extra hard on my feet while hissing, "stay away from him" in my ear. I frowned as I saw her walk by Aidan, brushing her hand up his arm casually, smiling and winking, then walking on. It made my stomach sick. She could have him.

We walked into creative writing, and, like always, I sat between Nate and Aidan. The metal chair is the ultimate back cracker, as it was super uncomfortable. Like yesterday, Nate reached for my hand and I took it like it was no big deal. Thankfully, Aidan didn't shoot daggers into my back with his eyes. He actually remained kinda calm.

"Alright, class, get out your journals." Mr. Piper said. I stood up to get my journal from the filing cabinet. Nate and I were on our way to the cabinet, our hands still interlocked.

We walked back now, and I tossed Aidan's journal in front of him, enjoying the slap it made against the desk. I sat down and unlaced my hand from Nate's so I could write. This wasn't a talking class.

"Pick a subject and write about them for a half an hour. Go!" And we were off. I tried to decide who my subject would be.

Nate or Aidan?

His shaggy dark hair falls over his sparkling blue eyes. I know for a fact that he loves to watch me swim; it fascinates him how my tail moves in the water. Mr. Piper would think it's a fiction piece. This is creative writing class, after all. Sometimes he'll hold my hand, and I'll just stare right into his sea blue eyes while he looks in mine. We were sitting on a dock; the wood was damp and soaked with salt and the mere air the sea let off. I stared off into the sea, the water fascinating me. The ocean always had this way of feeling fresh and alive. He slowly moved his hand up and down my bronze tail. Up, down, up, down. Suddenly, my tail disappeared in a thick cloud of bronze fog and golden glitter. His hand stopped right at the bottom of my shorts, my legs now swinging over the edge of the moist dock. I could see a small blush from under his messy black hair. And that's what happens when you swim with humans. That's what happens when you lose your tail. You make a friend. And that friend might just end up meaning so, so much more to you. Right now, words can't even describe how I feel about him.

I actually found myself crying over this small, seemingly meaningless piece of paper. I looked over at Nate, he was writing like a psycho, incredibly involved in his work. Fresh, hot tears rolled down my face, which was morphed into a look of confusion. Aidan saw my expression, and he slung his arm around me, which made me cry harder as I shrugged his arm off. Don't worry, the sobs were hidden behind my lips. I felt guilty.

"Time's up," the teacher called. I stood up, expecting to shake. But I stood tall. I walked over to him at his plain, gray metal desk. "Are you alright?" he asked me quietly when I handed it to him. My hand was shaking, though. I nodded and told him that my words got to me. He nodded. "The power of the pen," he quoted dramatically.

"It's fiction," I sniffled, turning to go back to my seat. Since the tears were silent, I was hoping my face wasn't red and puffy. Out of respect when sitting down, I didn't look at what Nate and Aidan had written. Does it make me conceited to bet that they both wrote about me? Cause I would bet money on it...does that sound a little cocky? Oh God, I bet it does.

Aidan stood up to hand his writing in. He brought me a tissue on the way back.

"Thanks," I mumbled and then sniffled. I blew my nose and then tossed the tissue in the closest garbage can. I was almost hurt by his kindness. l was confused. Nate was still writing, his pencil dulling as it scratched its way across the page. Nate's handwriting was messy but legible. If you squinted.

We waited in awkward silence while Mr. Piper read our papers. Nate held my hand and squeezed it while I was caught staring at his eyes. l blinked once and shook my head. I went from floating peacefully in his ocean eyes to drowning in them.

"I'm passing back your journals now," Mr. Piper interrupted.

I got mine back. Written in black ink, the caption at the bottom of mine said Deep. You describe it like it really happened. Is it about a mermaid? Unique, Ashlyn! I like how you never mentioned the name of the boy. Looks wise, he sounds like Nate, though. Was he your muse? I smiled at the smiley face and A on the top of my paper. I looked up at Mr. Piper and nodded, the tears gone.

By the way Mr. Piper looked at Aidan and then Nate, then me, I could tell l was their muse.