An Autistic Mermaid Tail

Chapter Five: Cassidy Lovetail

I dreamed that I was with Father. His orange tail glowed like the sun as he swam quickly through the kelp. I called out, "Dad! Wait for me!" I tried to get to him, but then I felt something shake me from behind. I muttered, thinking it was Mom, "No, I don't want to. Five more minutes." I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I was jolted back to reality. I snarled, "What part of-!?" Then I found myself looking at a pair of long, gangly, tan legs. "Oh no..." I whispered in horror. I knew what just happened, and I hated it.

A human girl gazed down at me. I realized that now we are exposed. She grabbed my wrist, and I growled, "Drop. It." I was thinking that this girl was going to expose mermaid kind and finally wipe us to extinction.

The girl demanded, releasing my wrist, "Is that any way to treat someone who is trying to help you!?" Oh, no... the words I do not want to hear, and she uttered them. I knew what would happen if I disobeyed mermaid law: I'd be forced to drown her or force her to become a mermaid. The process of becoming a mermaid is frightening and rarely used. First, you have to have the person wear an item of clothing that you own (shirt, necklace, earrings, etc), then you drag them underwater and force them there until their tail shows. That part usually happens after the last breath leaves the body. Then you kiss the human and bite them. Yes, it does work, yes I have seen it happen, and yes, they did teach me this in school. I would always read about it.

I mumbled, trying to explain myself, "Sorry, it's against mermaid law for humans to interact with us. Since I just broke a law, I guess we can talk like civilized creatures..." I trailed off, realizing that I had spilled too much info. Ugh... no going back now. I might as well humor her. I thought to myself dismally. "I don't know how to begin." I grumbled, my voice betraying my frustration.

"How about your name?" The girl asked. Her face looked like it was spray painted with Aqua Glo Orange. Her eyes enchanted me, since they seem to change colors in the light. First they were striking blue, then they look a little brown. I found myself daydreaming about being with this girl. Cassidy. Don't be stupid. I chided myself. I had zero luck with finding a good merguy to settle down with. There was James Swordfish, who was only interested in being a heartbreaker, then there was my ex, Mike Morray.

I cleared my throat awkwardly, then I mumbled, "Cassidy. Cassidy Lovetail. You?" What? It was only fair for me to get her name. I had a feeling that as a mermaid, she'd be drop dead beautiful.

"Amaya Noir." She replied, turning a light shade of red. I can't really tell if she was sunburned or blushing. Underwater, your blush is the same color as your hair. For example, my face would turn a deep blue when I'm embarassed. I could feel my face burning, and I knew that I need to cut the chatter and scare her off. Amaya asked, pushing her glasses up her chiseled nose, "Wanna talk about your bad day?"

I nodded, then I found myself venting, "I was supposed to be at Three Oceans College by now, but Raina had to shove me up here just because I couldn't take her crap." It wasn't just her crap I was taking, it was her childish tantrums about everything. That prickly mermaid's tantrums are usually aimed at me. Why? I'm prettier, smarter, quicker, and much fun to be around. She always lashes at me whenever I excuse myself from class, or if I get a bit of extra help with my schoolwork. She always complains that I don't look autistic and that I never had it (which was a lie. She was friends with me until I had enough of her latching onto me like a leech.), which shows how spiteful she really is.

Her face crinkled strangely, then she asked, "Is Raina a friend of yours?" I stared at her with my deluxe What-kind-of-question-is-that stare. Then I shook my head angrily. This poor girl doesn't even know the half of it. Raina is a parasite who would bring out the worst in you. She abused my trust multiple times, and she dated me as a joke. So no, this ugly excuse of a mermaid is not a friend of mine. She offered, "I could get you back into the water."

I found myself thinking, Thank you. I could offer to make you a mermaid just to save the trouble. I felt a little depressed at that thought, but something has to be done. I don't think that it was right to kill someone who helped you. Amaya asked, "What's wrong?"

I muttered unhappily, "The penalty for you helping me is drowning you... or having you become a mermaid. It'll hurt like a motherpuffer, but if it means keeping you from drowning, then I'll accept your help." Okay, that was as painful as taking off a kelp bandaid. But Amaya was right, if I don't get in the water soon, I'd dry out. Drying out does not kill a mermaid; it just makes them human. Yes, it's painful. And no, we don't come out of the water immediately knowing how to walk. I knew one mermaid who actually dried herself out, and she complains to me that using her legs is painful. I was eleven when she did it. She was 13.

I think that she thought about it. She said, her tone excited, "I'll become a mermaid!"

I don't think she knows what she was agreeing to. I started slipping off the necklace my mother gave me when I was fourteen. It was two triangles, woven together to look like a star. I asked if it was a kind of starfish, and she admitted that she doesn't really know what it was, but that her grandmother gave it to her when I was a merbaby. Amaya's eyes widened, then she whispered, "I didn't know you were Jewish, Cassidy."

I asked, "What's Jewish?" as I was fastening my treasure around her neck. To be honest, it looked better on her somehow.

She replied, happiness in her tone, "It is a religion of sorts, and there are a few rules to being a Jew, such as not eating pork, only eating a cracker for one week as a form of bread, and doing nothing on Saturdays. That necklace you are wearing is called a Star of David. Some of them follow this book called a Torah to a T, but there are others who loosely follow it." Dang, sounds like being a Jew is fun. At least now I know what this weird symbol is. Once it was around her neck, I asked, "You ready?"

She nodded, lifting me in a way that made me blush. She lowered me into the water slowly, glancing around to see if anyone was watching. Once my tail was in, she started standing up slowly. I grabbed her hand and yanked her in. She yelped, not quite realizing what I was doing to her. Sorry, but it has to happen. I thought to myself sadly. Then I started dragging her down. She tried to squirm loose, but I could tell that the oxygen was leaving her body. She gazed at me, panicked.

I calmly kissed her on the lips, trying to get protrusion. She accepted (despite drowning!!!), opening her mouth so that I could slip some mermaid breath into her. Remember when I said that you have to drown the human? Well, just when that human is about to breathe their last, that is when you kiss them, forcing mermaid breath into them. Then you bite the human so that their gills come in. I knew that she needed more, so I kept puffing, letting my tail wrap around her legs seductively.

Amaya kept her lips attached to mine, and I knew that she was getting more. Okay... you need a little more. I don't want to kill you. I thought to myself. Yes, murder by lying about becoming a mermaid is a real thing, and humans had died because of it. She broke away, which was my signal to bite her. I quickly bit her on the side of the throat, then I quickly bit her other side. Her eyes were filled with fear, and she tried to swim upwards. Her panic was more apparent as the last human breath escaped her lips. Then she started sinking slowly, her legs fusing together.