I do not own H2O: Just Add Water or any of the characters.
Chapter 19: Roommates
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While Neil and Lisa tuck Elliot into bed and go to sleep in their dorm, in the next room over, Denman lays down in her bed, frowning at the ceiling, her mind overrunning with thoughts. Not about the girls, however, but about Mrs. Chatham. She can't help but think about her: how she acts, how she knows so much about the girls already, how she seems to know every single detail about their powers. And about how she is so strange, so mysterious, yet she seems to have this vibe about her that makes her feel so, friendly, calm. Denman just couldn't understand anything about her. Something about Mrs. Chatham gave her a weird feeling, a good one though, but she just can't figure out why. It was creating havoc in her scientific mind.
Breaking her staring contest with the ceiling, she turns over in her bed, and leans herself up on her elbows, looking at her roommates: Bev, who she found out was Cleo's mother, and Sam, someone who she hasn't met yet until earlier tonight. They both were getting their beds in each corner ready for the night. Looking at them for several seconds, she debates on whether to ask them about the peculiar woman.
Sighing, she decides to finally break the silence. "What do you think about Mrs. Chatham? Does she seem a little, strange to you?"
Bev glances over at her and continues spreading her sheets. "She seems like a nice lady to me. Cleo talked about her all the time. She seems really fond of her and the rest of the girls, she cares about them. And from the looks of what we've seen on the screen, it's clear she already knew about their secret. Sure, she might act a little strange, but she's actually a genuinely nice person."
She finishes making her bed, and gently sits down on it, and looks at the doctor. "I don't know for sure, but it might be from how she lived. I overheard Cleo mention once that she lived on a rusty boat before. Lisa said that they were able to set her up with a nursing home, so hopefully she is in better conditions."
Denman nods then looks over at Sam. "And what about you?" Sam shrugs in response. "I never met her until tonight, but as Bev said, she seems like a nice person. Who knows, maybe we'll learn more about her on that screen." Denman sighs and lies back down. "Maybe."
Bev looks at the other two and stands up, believing that their conversation was over. "Well, goodnight." "Goodnight," Sam mumbles from her bed, as Denman remains quiet. Bev leans over the table and turns the light switch off. Denman attempts to sleep, but she just stares at the darkness that surrounds them, her mind remaining occupied about Mrs. Chatham.
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In a room on the other side of the hall stood a door, labeled for the men who are now getting ready for bed as well: they change into pajamas from the magical closet that somehow has clothes that fit each one of them, brush their teeth in the bathroom, and prepare themselves for a good night sleep. Every one of them, that is, except for Don, who is sitting on his bed, glaring at the floor.
Like Denman, his mind is completely occupied by Mrs. Chatham as well. Unfortunately, his feelings for her are completely different than what the women felt. He felt nothing but anger, worry, and most importantly, fear. He was afraid that she might be planning something against Cleo and her friends. He worried that she might expose them to the world, or even threaten them about the secret. He was angry (or more like jealous) that she acted like she knew so much about them, the secret, everything, yet she would not tell them why. He huffs, continuing to glare at the floor.
Max, who was currently buttoning his pajama shirt, notices his negative attitude and decides to talk to him. "You can keep glaring at the floor all you want, but it's not going to catch fire under your gaze. Well, unless you got superpowers that is." Terry chuckles, overhearing it. "Relax, Don, I don't think she will harm them," Terry says, clearly knowing what the other one was thinking.
Don finally looks up, narrowing his eyes at his friend. "Oh really? And what makes you think that?" Don says spitefully. "Because, she probably would have done something by now, don't ya think? And besides, Rikki seems to trust her," Terry replies, smiling at the thought of his daughter. "Mr. Chadwick is correct, Mr. Gilbert. You need to trust her," Max says. Don looks over at him, softening his glare, and sighs. "You can call me Don. And why do you say that?" Max sits down on the bed right as Harrison walks out of the bathroom. "We're old friends."
Harrison leans against the wall, next to his corner where the bed lays. "What do you mean by 'old'?" he asks. Max hesitates, thinking about how to word it without giving much information away. "Well, you see, I haven't seen her in a long time, probably since we were younger. But she's still the same. She was always so organized, friendly, but she can be cold when she wants to be." He smiles, loving that little hint of a joke about her old power. He sighs happily, remembering the three of them, especially the love of his life, Gracie. "She had two other friends: Julia, and Gracie. They were the best of friends, always hanging out. They were practically sisters. They knew everything about each other."
His smile slowly falters as he says the next part. "Or so they thought."
"I'm sensing a 'but' there," Terry mentions, curious about what happened. Max nods, continuing. "But one of them, Gracie, was hiding their feelings. She was so stressed, worried, scared, that it was building up until she couldn't take it anymore. I tried to help in every way I could, but it wasn't enough. One day, she did something about it, and it changed their friendship forever." Max looks at each one of them, seeing their features change from curious, to worry.
"When the other two found out what she did, they were heartbroken. They argued about it, wondering why she never mentioned it to them about how she felt; why she never talked to them for help. But it was too late, her actions couldn't be changed. After that, they became distant, their friendship became fragile. Eventually, they went their separate ways, moving on with their lives." They all look down at the floor, feeling bad for the older woman, having to go through a hard time like that. Knowing that whatever happened, must have hurt very much for their friendship to break apart.
Max sighs, giving them a small smile. "Although they didn't talk much after everything that happened, or even not at all; I know, that deep down, they still care for one another. And they miss each other very much. Louise sure seems like it." He glances at the floor, avoiding their gaze as he thinks about Gracie for a second, speaking a little quieter this time. "I know I am."
It remains silent as they all, except for Max, look at one another, taking in the information that was given. Finally, after what felt like a few minutes, Harrison claps his hands together, breaking the silence, as everyone looks up at him. "Well, I think it's time for bed." Agreeing, they all lay down, trying to sleep. Don turns over, staring at the wall, thinking about her again.
His view of Mrs. Chatham might have changed a little, but he still couldn't trust her. Sure, Max might have cleared some things up; but he knew that he didn't tell them the whole story. He knew that he was hiding something. He knew that they were hiding something. And he was determined to find out what.
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Charlotte sneaks some glances over at Mrs. Chatham several times while she and Annette make the bed for the elderly woman, waiting to ask her the question that she's been dying to ask all night long. Mrs. Chatham, who was sitting on the edge of the railing of the bed while the two do her a favor, notices Charlotte sneaking glances at her. She smiles as she looks at her way. "Is everything alright dear?" Charlotte jumps, not expecting her to talk first. Annette pauses from the bed making, as she looks up at the two.
Charlotte hesitates, before slowly asking the question, as she looks down at the floor. "Um, uh, I just, I wanted to know about the locket. The one that, um, the one that you said belonged to someone named Gracie?"
Mrs. Chatham chuckles, figuring that someone was going to ask about that sooner or later. "Ah, yes, the one with the blue gem." Charlotte nods, as Annette raises an eyebrow. "What about it?" Annette asks.
"Well, as you may have noticed, there are three of them, they were a set. They are the ones that the girls are currently wearing right now," she says, as she thinks about the lockets. "They are not no ordinary lockets. You see, they weren't made by a jewelry company or anything. They were made by Max, an old friend of ours. These three are specially designed for me and my friends: Julia, and Gracie." Charlotte shutters as she hears the name. "It was a symbol of our friendship. They were very special to us," she sighs, thinking about them as she holds her hand up to her neck, where the necklace used to lay.
"Then why do Cleo and the others have them?" Charlotte asks. Chatham turns to her and gives a small smile. "Because they earned them. Emma found the one that Gracie had at the bottom of the moon pool and believed that Cleo deserved to keep it. Rikki found the one that Julia owned at a jewelry shop, she worked hard to get it back. And Emma," Mrs. Chatham sighs. "I gave her mine, the necklaces belong as a set; they needed to be together again. Those necklaces, represent them now. It's a symbol of their friendship, and hopefully it will always be with them." The room goes silent as they hear this, however, the two were deeply confused by what she meant as a symbol.
"Where are your friends now?" Annette gently asks. Chatham's smile falters, looking down. "Gone."
Charlotte glances at her mother, deciding it was best to change the subject. "What about the full moon? My grandmother always used to mention them in her stories," Charlotte says full of hope, giving her a kind smile. Mrs. Chatham looks back up, and returns the smile, hesitating as she heard Charlotte mention her grandmother and the full moon. Did she know about it as well? "Well, as you saw, it affects mermaids. That's where the magic comes from. When they jumped in that moon pool on Mako Island that night, there was a full moon. That's how they changed. The moon is at its strongest only when it is a full moon. It's very mysterious." She holds up her hand and continues to speak. "It affects them, like Rikki said, in both good and bad ways. Although it might affect them now, I'm sure that one day, they will be able to master its control."
Charlotte urges on with even more questions. "But how do you know all of this? You seem to be very wise about it. How did you know they were mermaids? How did you know about the effects of the full moon?"
Annette lays a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Alright, Charlotte. I think we should let Mrs. Chatham rest. We've all had a long day." Mrs. Chatham gets up and nods in agreement, as they finish her bed. "Yes, I suppose we did. Thank you for fixing my bed. Goodnight." Letting her lie down, they walk over to their beds on the other side.
Annette is almost to her side of the room when Charlotte grabs her arm, and leads her to the wall, whispering to her. "Mom, she mentioned Gracie again. And that locket, I swear I've seen that around before. Do you think they could be connected? Do you think she knew grandmother?" Annette opens her mouth to speak, pausing as she glances over at Mrs. Chatham, who was facing the wall, sound asleep, before looking back at her daughter. "I highly doubt it. Your grandmother was a model, she wore jewelry all the time. She probably wore one similar to the locket. But I don't think they are connected. Your grandmother never mentioned her old friends. Not even their names."
"But, mom, what if they knew each other?" Charlotte rushes her words out, eager to know. Annette holds a hand out, telling her to quiet down. "She isn't the only Gracie in the world, Charlotte. There are plenty of others with the same name. I'm sure if she were, she would've said something about it. Now, drop it. And go to bed." Annette walks back to her bed as Charlotte sighs, pouting, and slowly lays down in her bed, hugging her pillow as she thinks about her grandmother.
Mrs. Chatham, staring at the wall, heard everything. She was never asleep, but now she highly doubts she could, as she thinks about their conversation. Could it be? Her grandmother was named Gracie? Are they the same person? She knew one thing for sure: no one was probably getting any sleep tonight. She pulls the covers closer to her and attempts to sleep.
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Zane looks up from the mini-fridge, rolling his eyes as he hears Will rambling on about the whole mermaid thing. "Can you believe how fast they swim? I mean, they can even hold their breath for so long. Fifteen minutes! That is amazing! And then there are their powers as well," Will finally breathes, almost starting another sentence, when Zane glares at him. "Please, stop." Will chuckles and plops down onto the bed, grinning from ear to ear. "I wonder what other cool stuff they can do."
"Why are you so interested in them anyway?" Ash asks, crossing his arms as he stands next to Zane at the mini-fridge. Will jumps up from the bed and leans forward. "How can you not? I mean, they're mermaids!"
"While they are mermaids, they're still people. So, I suggest you start acting like it," Lewis mentions as he walks into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Ignoring his comment, he looks at the other two guys in the room. "And, besides, I'm a free diver. I love the water just like them."
Zane shakes his head in exasperation, as he stands up and takes a sip of water. "How long do you think we'll be here?" Ash shrugs, unsure of the answer himself. "If I had to guess, probably until we catch up to the present day," Lewis shouts from the bathroom. Zane's heart starts beating rapidly. He stays standing there, worried about if it might show everyone the last interaction between him and Rikki. Worried about what their reactions might be. More importantly, how will Emma and Cleo take it that he knows about the secret again, and has resumed their relationship; will they be okay once they find out Rikki is hiding stuff from them?
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The last dorm, unlike the others, has not had a moment of peace since the moment they stepped into the room. Bella is sitting down on one of the beds, watching the mermaids' peaceful walls break down as Kim bombards Rikki and Emma with a load of questions about their powers. "Can you freeze anything besides water? And can you heat up other things as well? What about the temperature? Can you make it rise and make it cold? Can I see it?" Bella can't help but laugh as she sees steam coming from one of the cups of water as Rikki's hand clenches in anger from the annoying little girl. Apparently, she doesn't know how to take no for an answer.
"Come on, why can't I see it?" Kim whines. Rikki, having enough of the talking, turns around and bends down to the girl's level, glaring at her. "No. And if I have to say it one more time, I'm going to boil your lips off. Got it?" Rikki smiles and pats the little girl's head and walks back to her bed as Kim touches her lips. "Rikki!" Emma scolds, the cool-temper blonde lying on top of one of the two bunk beds. Rikki plops down on the lower level of Emma's bunk. "She wouldn't stop bugging me!" "Well, I just want to know," Kim shrugs innocently. "You'll have to wait to find out like everyone else," Cleo sighs as she stands next to Kim. "Yeah, but I don't have the patience for that right now," Kim huffs, arms crossed.
Bella laughs again, this time the others hearing her; forgetting that there was another person in the room. She stops laughing as soon as she sees them staring at her.
An awkward amount of silence spreads throughout the room as they stare at her. Bella looks around, trying to avoid their gaze. "And you are?" Rikki asks, breaking the silence. She remembers her from the theater of course, but the few times they spoke or interacted, there was always some kind of strange feeling. Some kind of magical feeling almost. As if they were supposed to have some sort of connection, but she doesn't know what.
"Rikki, be nice," Emma warns, before looking at her. "Hi, I'm Emma, that's Cleo, Kim, and the hot-tempered one is Rikki." "Uh, yeah, I know. Your names were mentioned on the screen," Bella says awkwardly. "Oh, whoops. Sorry," Emma says, flushing red a little bit from embarrassment.
"It's alright. Uh, I'm Bella. I'm from Ireland, but currently am in England right now. I move a lot because of my dad's job, so who knows where I'll be once this whole thing is over," Bella joked, rolling her eyes playfully. "You move a lot? So, you never get to stay in one place at a time?" Cleo asks. Bella shakes her head in reply. "Oh, I'm sorry. Hey, maybe one day you might come to Australia. We can become friends," Cleo smiles. Bella chuckles. "We shall see. I never really bothered making friends. After moving so much, I just got used to it. I never knew when we were going to up and leave, going who knows where next," Bella admits a little sadly, not really knowing why she is revealing so much to them; but she feels like she could trust them. Rikki looks down, knowing what that was like. Moving a lot, not making friends, never knowing where you'll be next. It was a hard process to go through. She only hopes that she can stay where she is now, permanently.
The silence takes over the room again; at least, until Kim decides to speak again, not caring about the threat from earlier. "Can I see your tail?" "Alright, that's it," Rikki stands up, raises her hand in a threatening way, when Cleo steps in front of Kim, and all three of them get into an argument. "Rikki! Stop! She's just a kid." "I am not a kid!" "Yes, you are, you little brat," Rikki spats. It continues for a few more minutes as Bella watches them, before looking up at Emma on the top bunk. "Is it going to be like this all night?" Emma gives her a small smile, leaning her head into her hand. "Probably."
While the two mermaids were distracted by their argument and Emma talks to Bella, Kim goes into action. She slowly steps back, moving closer to the table when they weren't looking. Feeling the table behind her, she grabs a cup that was already full of water and makes her way back to the two as if she never moved.
She hides it behind her back, waiting to make her move, and listens to Cleo shout. "You can't just threaten every person you see Rikki," Cleo says, pinching the bridge of her nose. Rikki rolls her eyes. "Then they shouldn't bother me. Look, I gave her a warning, she should listen next ti –."
Water splashes all over her and Cleo, as Kim tosses the water from the cup onto the both of them. They jump in shock, glaring at her. "Kim!" Cleo shouts, only getting a sly grin in return. "Why you little –," Rikki tries to say, but unfortunately gets interrupted again, as both her and Cleo's ten seconds end, turning them into water for a second, then collapse onto the floor as mermaids. Emma sighs, hitting her head against her hand. Bella stares at them, mouth open wide, her heart racing with fear.
Rikki leans up to glare at the little girl. "Great," Cleo sighs in annoyance. Kim gawks at them, eyes bright with excitement. "Cool! Now you can use your power." Rikki continues glaring at the giggling teenager as she begins steam-drying her and Cleo off.
Bella watches them with wide eyes; that water almost hit her. It landed just a few inches away from her. She glances at the cup that Kim was still holding, trembling with fear. Afraid that she might get splashed, afraid that they might find out the truth. Quickly getting up, she walks past them, making sure to avoid the steam and any water that might be remaining on the floor, and heads for the bathroom. Looking down, she speaks to them quickly. "I'm gonna take a bath." She rushes into the bathroom and shuts the door, locking it.
A few seconds later, after all the steam cleared, the two mermaids had their legs back. They stand up and Cleo snatches the cup out of Kim's hand. "Well, what about yours Emma. Can I see yours now?" Kim whines as she turns to look up at the blonde. Emma sighs, shaking her head. "Maybe next time, alright?" "Why not now?" Kim complains. Cleo rolls her eyes at her sister's begging and walks over to the fridge and gets a bottle of water. "I think we had enough action for the night, Kim." Kim lets out an angry breath and climbs on top of one of the bunks, pouting.
Cleo pours more water into the glass cup. While pouring the water into the cup, Cleo can't help but remember the moment when Kim admitted she was afraid of them from earlier. Although her perspective has completely changed on it, she really wants to speak to her about it but knows that Kim would rather want to talk about it in private. Or even try to deny it.
A sneeze comes from the bathroom. They turn to the bathroom, looking at it. "Bless you!" Emma says, loud enough for Bella to hear. "Thanks," came the muffled sound from the other side of the door.
Cleo grabs her cup of water and goes to her bed. Raising the cup to her mouth, she takes a sip. Or at least tries to. Deeply confused as to why there was no water coming out, she looks at the cup and sighs, a little annoyed. "Really, Emma? I thought you said you weren't going to show her your power until next time." Emma raises an eyebrow and looks at her, confused as well. "What are you talking about? I didn't do anything." Cleo rolls her eyes. "Really? Then who else would've done this?" she sarcastically says, gesturing to the cup in her hand. "Done what?" Rikki asks, gaining the attention of both her and Kim as well.
"This." Walking to her nightstand, she tips the glass over, trying to get the liquid to come out, to no avail. Shaking it, it finally falls out onto the table, revealing the liquid. They all give it a strange look as they realize what it was. The water has turned into a type of gooey, sticky, gelatin.
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Dorm Placement:
1. Emma, Rikki, Cleo, Kim, Bella
2. Lewis, Zane, Ash, Will
3. Elliot, Neil, Lisa
4. Sam, Bev, Dr. Denman
5. Mrs. Chatham, Annette, Charlotte
6. Don, Terry, Harrison, Max