Through Blessed Eyes

Chapter 4-- Evelyn

EVELYN

Dinner was a silent one. Tess's mom was seriously mad when we came home with our uniforms ruined. The fact that she was chopping vegetables with a particularly large knife did not make her yelling and waving her arms at us any less intimidating. Ergo, dinner is filled with awkward silence, glares and picked over lasagna. 

After dinner, Tess's parents send us upstairs and told us they would "have a wee word" with us tomorrow evening immediately after school. 

 Once we've all gotten into our pajamas we head to our rooms and pretend to be asleep until we hear Tess's parents go to sleep. Then Scout and I sneak over to Tess's room as previously agreed. 

After we slip into the darkened room and shut the door we take a seat on Tess's bed. 

"So…" begins Scout, "Interesting day." I give her a skeptical look. 

"We were just attacked by a mythical pony, nearly drowned, and then saved by a green mermaid whose skin burns you and that's all you have to say?!" 

 Scout rolls her eyes. 

"If I'd had more to say, trust me, I would've said it," she snaps. 

"Hey!" Tess cuts in, "We need to figure out what we're going to do."

"Do?" Scout gives her a strange look, "What is there to do?"

"Well…shouldn't we tell somebody?" says Tess. 

"Tell them what? ‘Mommy, guess what?! Today, I say a kelpie and it tried to drown me and then a mermaid saved us!' Yeah, that doesn't sound loony at all!" Scout snaps. 

"Guys! This won't solve anything!" I interrupt, slightly afraid that Scout will cause the argument to come to blows. 

"Look," I take a deep breath, rubbing my temples, "I think the only thing for us to do is find as much information about the kelpie as we can…"

"Aw!" Scout interjects, "You're making us do homework?!"

"… and then look up the mermaid," I ignore her, "We have to find out if we're immune to this thing now or not. Otherwise, it might be dangerous for us to go back to the grotto."

"What?!" Tess sits straight up, "N-no! I found that place when I was ten! I-it's like a second home…!"

"I'm sorry Tess, but even a second home isn't worth drowning," I'm all business. 

"But…" Tess's lower lip quavers, her green eyes filling with tears. 

            "So let's say we are immune to this thing," Scout interrupts, "then what?"

"Then…" I search for a moment, "we never speak of it again."

"What?" Scout's eyes widen, "This is maybe the most amazing thing that's ever happened to us! Don't you think we should go back if we're immune and try to find out more about these creatures, Miss Research?!"

"Scout, just because a merchild rescued us doesn't mean that the adults will be as friendly," I point out, raising my voice slightly. 

"You don't understand!" Scout is starting to become frantic, "We have to go back! We have to!"

"Why? There's no reason to!" I exclaim, "We were nearly killed today! If someone tried to murder you, would you go and visit him?"

"That's not the same!" Tess jumps in. 

"Oh, so just because it's a magic pony and not an armed gunman makes it safe?!" I explode, finally losing my temper, "You guys aren't thinking this through! It's dangerous! We could be killed! If it hadn't been for that mer-whatever than we would have been! There is absolutely no good reason for us to put ourselves in harm's way!"