Sweet Melody

Sweet Melody- Puddles

Arabella's breath came out in puffs, visible in the chilly air of Autumn. Her sneakers were laced tightly, her jacket and scarf staving off the cold. The sleepy neighbourhood was enticing for her, and she loved this time of day. Where she could run, and no one would see. No one would judge.
So Ara took off, quickly building speed. It had rained the night before, leaving the grasses damp and marshy, puddles riddling the sidewalk and road. She dodged them as she ran, trying to keep her runner from getting too wet. Her lungs gasped for air, her legs burning, but still she pushed, loving the high of speeding through streets leaving nothing in her wake.
She would have kept going, had it not been for the foot falling into a mess of water, and she stumbled, her leg sinking up to the knee in the puddle.
"Damn potholes." Ara muttered, assessing the damage. She pulled her leg from the hole. Her sweatpants were soaked with icy water, granted it seemed at least a little less muddy than those around her. Ara shook her foot briefly, water droplets flying off her pants and shoe. Putting her foot back on stable ground, the shoe squelched as water rose from the soles.
Ara decided this was a sign to go back home. As she turned, a stranger caught her eye, across the street. They were dressed in all black, and as he large hoodie fell back Ara caught a glimpse of glinting gold-
Before a truck reared around the corner, faster than it should have been ging with the state of the roads. Water rose up in a broken wave as it speeded past her, drenching her in the muddy water from the road.
Ara froze for a minute, shocked at the tidal wave that had come at her, and silently cursed whoever had been driving that truck. She ran a hand through her short, now messy and wet hair, before looking up again.
The person was gone.
Shaking her head, she took this sudden turn of events to leave. Had she not been splashed by the car, it had it not been so early in the morning, perhaps she would have thought harder on that stranger, or realize the figure that was following her as she trudged home.

~~~

As she approached her house, she could tell it was already awake. The lights were on, and music faintly filtered through and out into the street. Breathing in one last breath of fresh air, Ara entered, the bustling of the house immediately apparent. Her younger brother rushed by her, to the table where his breakfast waited. Her mother vamw quickly down the stairs- " Jeremy Lee Lynch, you better be eating your breakfast." she called, turning the corner to the kitchens Her brother had gotten there in time and was staring smugly at their mother, knowing he couldn't be punished.
"What're you doing standing there? Get ready for school young lady." Her voice tutted out, fretting and rushing around like an anxious chicken.
"Will do, mom." Ara sighed, walking up the stairs to take a shower. Her mother was always like this, and she wasn't surprised a bit that she hadn't noticed Ara covered in water and grime. There was always something else keeping her mind occupied.
Her shower was cold and brief, she'd never seen the appeal of long, hot showers. She preferred the wait the cold invigorated her, filled her with alertness and energy. She grabbed toast from the kitchen and ate quickly, gathering her things. She left for school like she did any other day- however, today would be a little bit better, as she knew that today was the meeting of her swim team. In light of that act, she hurried to school, unable to sit for the feeling of water cascading over her once more.

The day dragged on, and while nothing particularly bad happened, Ara felt a twinge if annoyance at the pace the day was taking. Each second seemed to take hours, as if they were dragging their feet.
Eventually, school did end, and Ara rushed to her locker, gathering her items and heading to the pool. She changed quickly there, and left to get in. She was almost always the first person there, and that meant she'd have the pool to herself for at least a minutes while the others caught up.
She slipped in, the cool water washing over her. Ara took a breath, swimming over to the deep side of the pool, where she settled on the ground. It was peaceful, these moments. Just the faint murkier of water, and her own heartbeat to distract from the thoughts of daily life. Ara loathed to wear goggles, even while the chlorine stung her eyes and coloured them an angry red. She felt, rather than saw or heard, the first few people jump in into the pool.
Lazily, she floated to the surface, letting out a small gasp as she breached into air.
Her teammates were around her, doing their usual warm ups. She paid them no heed, smiling at her two friends across the pool briefly as they pantomimed funny situations. When the coaches whistle blew, she swam over to them, letting out a small laugh.
"Today's a sort of fun class." The teacher declared, immediately setting everyone in edge. "We'll be doing competitions, each person pitted against another. You can shoes what you wish to compete against, as long as it's in the pool. Go." The teacher day back in her chair, pulling out a book, and Ara immediately looked at her friends, knowing exactly what they would do.
"Let's see how long we can hold our breath." She said, a smile tugging at her lips.
"Ara, you only want to play that cause you always win!" whined James, but they still went along with it, having no better idea.
Ara took a deep breath, it was her turn first. She settled to the bottom of the pool, as she usually did.
Her breath floated up in little bubbles, and she stayed down there as long as she could, linger than she normally would. Most people would be sacred by the time she stayed under, but she was sure her friends would be used to it. With a bubbling sigh, she rose to the surface.
"Guys, did you time me, cause I think that was the longest I've-" She stopped at her friends silence, looking over to see their tense and fearful expression. "Guys?" she asked once again, tilting her head to the side a little. As she did so, she caught her reflection out of the corner of her eye.
She couldn't help but let out a small gasp at what she saw.
Pitch black eyes, and sea-blue scales adorning her forehead.