A Change Of Current

Cass was unsure of how to feel as they entered the plane. Desmond gripped her hand and squeezed it.

"Thanks." She muttered. She wondered why she even decided to come on this trip. Then she remembered. It was the last time all the seniors would be together before college. Her best friends Desmond and Nina would be going to different colleges and she would stay in their boring little town.

"Maybe I can ask Dylan or Laurissa to switch seats-" Desmond started before Cass interrupted.

"It's fine, Des. I have Nina." Desmond pursed his lips but nodded. Desmond let go of her hand to go to his seat next to his friend Dylan and Dylan's girlfriend, Laurissa. Cass took her seat next to Nina.

"Nina-" Cass tried before Nina shushed her.

"I'm going to take a nap." She told her and Cass nodded. Nina's tired, she thought, I can manage a little anxiety.

After a couple hours of Cass trying to be calm, they finally landed. Their trip was on an island resort Laurissa's parents owned that was off the coast of Florida.

They all got settled into their rooms. Cass stared at the beach and ocean below. It was a breath-taking sight as the horizon turned into a blend of yellow, orange and red. As she heard her classmates yelling outside in the hall, though, Cass knew it would be a long weekend.

There was a party that night.

It was an uncomfortable time as she was basically ignored the whole time. She was in the corner when Desmond came up to her, clearly drunk.

Something about it felt awkward, "Desm-" Her breath hitched as he caressed her cheek.

"You're so pretty today." Was all he said before leaning forward. The situation took a moment to sink in. When she felt lips on hers she instinctively slapped him.

She heard him groan in pain and Cass winced. Not her finest moment, She thought.

"I'm sorry!" She blurted out.

Desmond shook his head, "Nope. My bad, should have asked."

"Still-" She took a breath, "Just-You know I don't think of you like that, right?"

He rubbed his face, the spot where she hit him, "I just thought-I don't know."

She put a hand on his shoulder, "Look, you're one of my best friends. But that's it, okay?"

He nodded, "Sorry, Cass." He held his hand out, "Friends?"

She laughed lightly and took his hand to shake it, "Friends."

He grinned, "I'm going to do some keg stands." He was off before she could protest. She shook her head.

After the party, after she entered her hotel room, she collapsed on her bed. She fell asleep instantly.

She was awoken by Nina pulling the covers off. As the cold air hit her sensitive skin, she shivered.

"Nina!" Cass whined. Nina didn't respond. She just went to the bathroom and slammed the door. She must be in a bad mood today, Cass thought, Best not to bother her too much.

Cass quickly got dressed and, after Nina left the bathroom, finished getting ready. When she left the bathroom, she noticed that Nina had already left. Did I do something wrong yesterday? Cass asked herself.

As she left the room, she ran into Desmond. He gave an awkward smile,

"Hey."

Cass smiled, a little shaky, "Hi, Des."

"About last night-"

"Water under the bridge." Cass interrupted. Des pursed his lips,

"I still shouldn't have-"

"It's fine." Cass stopped him sternly, "Just remember, if you like a girl, ask before you kiss." She told him with a roll of her eyes.

He gave an amused smile, "Sassy Cassie, it's been a while." She hit him in the shoulder and he laughed, "Did you have to stand on your tippy toes to do that?"

They began walking to eat breakfast.

After they went and got their food, they sat down together and began talking. Their small talk quickly became a friendly debate on superheroes. Nina walked by.

"Nina! Come sit with us!" Cass told her and Desmond waved her over. Nina gave an apologetic smile and shook her head,

"I promised Laurissa I'd sit with her." She told them and the two nodded and continued their discussion.

Desmond and Cass hung out for the rest of the day. Nina declined to join them, sadly, but they had fun nonetheless.

After lunch, the partying began once more.

After another night of being ignored, Nina came up. Thankfully, she didn't seem drunk. At her side was Laurissa and another two girls.

"Laurissa's gonna show us a really cool spot. Let's go." Nina told her. Cass was a bit miffed that she didn't ask first, but she nodded.

"Okay." She followed the girls.

As they led her further into the woods and away from the resort, she began to feel apprehensive. As she walked on stone, she was suddenly pushed forward and she felt her body fall and her heart stop.

Cass landed with a splash. The water was as cold as ice. It shocked her whole body. She struggled to swim up and when she did, she was gasping for air. She could hear the girls above laughing like hyenas.

After coughing up some water, she yelled, "What the hell, Nina?!"

Nina seemed to glower at her, her hazel eyes burned Cass with her icy glare, "I've decided you need to be taught a lesson. I don't like you spending so much time with Des. You even kissed him!"

"I didn't-" Cass couldn't even defend herself as Nina interrupted,

"Stop lying!" She told her harshly, "You need to understand that you don't deserve him."

As Cass tried to stay afloat, she shouted back, "Seriously?! What is wrong with you?!"

Nina then gave her a large smile, "Maybe a night in there will help you see reason." She said in the most cheerful tone Cass had ever heard from her.

Laurissa seemed shocked, but the other girls just laughed. They were acting like this was just a fun prank and not a cruel joke.

"Don't you dare!" Cass shouted, but they walked out of sight, "Nina!" She yelled. Her breathing became more frantic as the panic set in.

"Nina! This isn't funny!" She cried. She could feel her eyes burn. "Nina!" She cried desperately. This couldn't be happening, she thought, Nina could be thoughtless and rude sometimes, but she wasn't cruel.

She looked around for a way out. The water she was in was surrounded by wet stone with the only entrance being the hole she fell in. Cass couldn't even grip the cold rocks, her hands always slipping off. She breathed sharply and whimpered.

Breath, she thought, Nina won't leave her here all night, right?

Seconds ticked by and turned to minutes, although they felt like hours. Suddenly, she felt a cool drop of water fall on her face. She looked up at the sky. It was gray and cloudy and it was beginning to rain.

"Nina, I-I've learned my lesson!" She called out in hopes Nina was just waiting nearby, "I-I'll stop hanging out with Des alone. I-I promise!" She was met with silence. She began to cry. Her body was growing weak and she didn't know what to do or how long she could stay afloat. The cold was beginning to soak to her bones.

She had to calm down, she knew she had to. She remembered a lullaby her aunt Isa always sang to her as a child when she visited. It always calmed down her anxious and energetic nature.

So, Cass began to sing.

"Waves crash and songs are sung.

Feel, embrace the ocean's love.

Do not fear the water's edge.

It always remembers and never forgets.

When in need it welcomes you.

So welcome it back, the ocean blue."

She was singing a song about water to calm her while she was panicking in the water. The irony was not lost on her.

That's when she felt a tingle on her legs. She ignored it. Phantom feelings weren't something new to her. Then, something grabbed her ankle. She let out a scream.

She kicked at whatever grabbed her, but she couldn't find anything to kick. She kept kicking and kicking and kicking but nothing was hit. She began screaming again when she was being pulled down.

"No-" She was pulled under and no matter how hard she tried to swim back up, she was pulled further and further below.

Suddenly, the grip on her ankle disappeared. Opening her eyes, she saw an opening in the stone. She rushed over to it and went through it. The tunnel was long and curvy, but Cass was a quick swimmer. Just as she was beginning to feel light-headed, she reached the end of it. It led to a bigger pool. As she came up for air, she noticed she was in a larger cave. Lucky her.

She was gulping down the air when she saw light coming from above. There was a hole in the cave, but it seemed the rain had stopped and the clouds had cleared. The bright moon showed through the hole and lit up the pool.

The pool seemed to glow in the moonlight and Cass's whole body tingled. Something about the event seemed magical. She couldn't help but stare. After a few moments of admiring the scene, she remembered the situation she was in. She pulled herself out of the pool.

As she surveyed the cave, she saw shelves and desks scattered about. That must mean that there was a way out.

Curiously she approached the desk and saw a dazzling necklace next to an antique and ornate looking box. The necklace was an iridescent blue-green gem set in a silver metal with pearls surrounding it. She, again, had to shake herself out of her admiration and began to search for the exit.

Cass looked into the pool and realized there was another hole in the water. She slid back into the water and took a deep breath. She sunk in and went towards the hole.

Before she could get her whole body through the hole, the grip returned to her ankle and pulled her back. She was struggling to get through, but she couldn't grip anything. She was pulled back and she turned around to see-

Nothing.

She struggled and struggled, but her strength was dwindling and her lungs burn and she was starting to feel light-headed and-

The world went black.

The first thing she heard when she awoke was the sound of crashing waves and the feel of the coarse sand beneath her body.

Cass used her elbows to sit up and held her head. It was throbbing with pain.

Her eyes drifted to her side and saw the same necklace and box she saw earlier. Alongside it was a note.

'Stay dry' it said. She let out a puff of air. Okay, she thought, weird message.

Cass tried to stand, but her feet felt so sore and strained.

When she finally got up, she took a moment of pondering. She grabbed the necklace and box and hurried off to the hotel.

As she entered her room, she was pleased to see Nina was not in the room nor was she in the bathroom. She quickly packed up her things and the box and necklace in her suitcase.

She jumped when she heard the door open and spun around to see Nina. Nina looked vaguely surprised at Cass being there.

"Oh," She said, calm as ever, "Guess you got out." And she carried on packing for the trip home.

The whole trip back was tense for Cass, although it seemed Nina felt otherwise as she acted as if everything was normal. Maybe it was for her, but not for Cass. Cass' whole world was turned on its axis.

She couldn't understand why Nina would pull that cruel joke on her. Was it even a joke?

When she got home, she hurried to take a bath. As she let the warm water relax her tense muscles, her legs began to tingle. When she looked at them, curious, she saw-

A tail.

Cass screamed and quickly covered her mouth. She didn't want to worry her father. Unfortunately, he heard her first scream and knocked on the door.

"Are you alright?"

After taking a deep breath, she responded, "I-I just thought I saw a spider! I'm fine!"

"Okay." When his footsteps faded, she let out a shaky sigh.

The tail was an iridescent blue-green color. It was light where it began at Cass' waist, but turned darker as the color got further down the tail.

She tried to move the tail and the fin flopped. An uneasy laugh left her lips. Suddenly, the note's message came to mind.

'Stay dry' it said. Worth a try, she thought.

As quietly as she could, she got out of the tub. God, it's heavy, she thought. The tail plopped on the tile with a loud thud. She winced. Oww.

She quickly reached for a towel and, after a moment of struggle, she grabbed it and started to dry off. As she rubbed the towel on the tail she could see it shimmer and shift back into legs. Her legs.

Cass stared. Maybe she was in stock.

What was she going to do? She asked herself, She grew a tail! She was a…mermaid.

She thought for a moment, trying to think of how to fix herself, before remembering she had a mermaid fanatic for an aunt.

After getting dressed, she headed downstairs. She rushed over to her father, who was cooking dinner. Her father focused on his cooking as he asked,

"Yes, Cass?"

"I think I'm gonna visit Tia Isa."