An Autistic Mermaid Tail

Chapter Six: Amaya Noir

I didn't quite believe that Cassidy was serious. I should have thought of what it meant when she said, "It'll hurt like a motherpuffer" because I had no idea that "motherpuffer" was mermaid slang for "motherfucker." But who was I to judge? I've been an orphan since I was fourteen, moved to Hawaii to my foster parents when I was fifteen, and they died when I was sixteen. It wasn't like I had a caring family to get back to. I was alone at this point.

I felt her drag me underwater, her cobalt tail flicking powerfully against the current. I tried to claw up for air, but Cassidy is too strong for me to break loose. My lungs felt like they were on fire. I'm going to die! I panicked, realizing my stupid mistake too late. I swore at myself, Fucking hell, Amaya. Mermaids can't make humans into mermaids! I didn't realize that Cassidy was telling the truth. My lungs started feeling like I was inhaling fire. I thought I was going to die.

That was, I thought it until Cassidy locked her lips to mine and started breathing into my lungs. Even though her breath tasted like fish, I wasn't picky. I took a few breaths as her tail curled around my legs. Then she bit me. It felt like being stabbed. All I can think was, OWWW! My lungs are on fire and my legs felt like concrete.

I tried to swim up, but I was sinking... Fast. I found myself thinking about my old boss, my friends, family, and I knew that I was never going to see them again. My legs felt as if they were wrapped up in bandages and I felt as if my legs were smashed. I prepared myself for death, wondering when my last heartbeat is going to be.

500 heartbeats later, I was still alive. Wait... Was I supposed to die right about now? I exhaled, then I realized my mistake. No! Now I am going to die for sure! I took a panicked breath, then I froze. If I am underwater... How am I breathing!? I realized. I glanced up at Cassidy and I called out, "Um, Cassidy? Is breathing underwater normal?" I was surprised by the fact that my voice carried.

"Yes. It's normal for you to feel confused and scared. And yes, you can now breathe underwater and above water too. Just don't dry up." Her response was odd to say the least. Her tail swished, giving me a vague reminder me of Sonic the Hedgehog. I glanced at my legs and gasped. My tail was bright yellow with blue stripes. I glanced up to see Cassidy swimming down to me. She asked, "Do you need help?" I gave my tail an experimental swish and I was eye level with the green eyed mermaid in a heartbeat.

"I think I figured out how. It's not too different from human swimming." I replied. I could have sworn I saw a relieved expression cross her face, but I couldn't tell. I watched Cassidy dart away, just a blue streak in the water. I followed behind, and I got to admit that I was kind of clumsy about it.

Then she darted forward again, calling, "You need some practice." I mimicked her fast swimming until it felt natural. I stuck my chest in front of me, learned forward and began swimming. I caught up to Cassidy with ease after I performed a few flicks of my tail. I panted, not quite used to swimming this much. Cassidy glanced at me and asked, "You wouldn't take advantage of me, are you? Do you support Autism Speaking?" I was taken aback by these questions. I knew the answer, though.

"I would never do that. Why would you ask?" I asked, keeping my voice soft.

She didn't look at me and she mumbled, "I have autism."

I shrugged. I figured that she would have autism. For starters, she has flapped her hands a few times and seemed to be stimming. And there is the fact that she had not really made eye contact with me. The blue haired mermaid was definitely on the spectrum. I can tell, since she seemed passionate about her life underwater and she had mentioned something about breaking mermaid law. I wanted to ask her, but I decided not to pry at her privacy.

I asked as she began to swim off, "Where are you heading?"

She replied, "Mermaid college. Are you coming?" I froze, wondering how old my new friend is. She added, "I'm 21, in case you are asking."

I breathed in relief. "I am 21 as well." I told her, and she performed an underwater flip. I was curious about what she majors in, but I was confident that it was probably something to do with the ocean. I don't know what they teach at mermaid college. If mermaids had Calculus or Accounting, then I got a bit of an issue. I suck at math. I don't know what to say to her. So I asked, "What do you want to be?"

She replied, seemingly too happy to answer, "A video game developer." I froze, now confused. How do you become a developer for a video game if technology doesn't work underwater? I wondered. Cassidy must have seen my confusion, so she explained, pulling out a phone that looks like an iPhone mashed into a shell, "It's made with shells and we figured out how to make phones underwater. We have eels for chargers and some sort of mermaid magic too." She shrugged, adding, "I don't know the technological term for how they work underwater." I shrug, deciding not to press the matter further.

She started swimming off, and I began to follow. "How much is tuition?" I ask.

"College is free. But you got to pay for your books." She answered.

"Pay for books?"

She nodded, adding, "You pay with sand dollars. Everyone can tell which ones are fake. They're either poorly made with imperfections or they have Made in China on the back." She paused, then she asked, "Where is China?"

I replied, "Above the Great Barrier Reef." She sighed in relief as if she knew where that was. "That's near Australia, right?"

I asked, "How do you know where Australia is but not China?"

"It touches water. Heard that Autism Speaking has their headquarters there. That would make sense to me because the worst mermaids in history came from there. But many of the Australian mermaids are pretty chill." She answered, swimming away really fast. Should I follow her? I wondered. She turned back and asked, "Are you coming?" I realized that she was waiting on me. I can't tell if she was impatient or not. So I answered.

"Yes,"