I'm a Mermaid, Not a Merman

Chapter 1

Danny tried his best to pay attention. It was his second to last B-day of the school year, and his teacher Mr. Wright was trying his best to finish a lecture about the challenges facing the United States in recent history.

History was normally one of his favorite classes, but he was more interested in older periods of US history. Learning about recent things going on wasn't so much history anymore, as it was learning about politics - or depressing things he already knew. Plus, Mr. Wright's typically funny lectures had been trimmed down to fit all the material in before the year ended.

Danny curled a few strands of his dirty blonde hair around his finger, and glanced up at the clock. 2:18. Two more minutes.

Normally, Danny would be itching to get out of his desk and back home, but today he was in the ecstasy of freedom. His pre-calc test was done, and other than seeing the results on Friday, he didn't have a single thing to worry about until the year ended.

Well, he thought to himself, almost nothing. Nothing about school anyway.

The bell rang, and the sudden sound caused Danny to let out a surprised high-pitched squeak. Several of his classmates laughed as they all picked up their backpacks. Normally, Danny would have inwardly shrunk at the lapse in his efforts to lower his voice, but today he was in too good a mood to feel embarrassed. 

Danny left the room and went down the branch of the school near the band room. When he rounded the corner into a new hallway, he found his twin-sister Sammy cleaning her locker out.

"Ah," she said, in a haughty voice, "didst my dear brother defeat his foe? The dreaded test of preliminary calculus?"

"Indeed I did," Danny swayed his hair in dramatic fashion. "For I did have the legendary weapon Ticonderoga in hand." 

"You're such a geek," his sister teased.

Danny laughed. "Whatever."

"So you coming to the band party with me or what?" Sammy asked. She put some books and assorted things from her locker into her backpack, stuffing it tight. Danny was planning on putting off cleaning his own locker until tomorrow.

"I dunno," Danny answered as his sister put her backpack on.

"C'mon," she said. "You need to get out and make friends."

"Friends are for the weak," he said.

"Exactly," Sammy smiled, "you need friends." She picked up her trumpet case sitting on the ground next to her, and they began walking to the side entrance of the school.

Danny huffed a chuckle. "Okay, I walked into that one. But still, I dunno about it."

"It'll be fun," she said, "I promise. We're going to have a massive water war. Xander is bringing this huge water bazooka that can fire a gallon in every shot!"

"You're so encouraging," Danny said.

"Danny, you'll have a fun time, I promise. Just come and at least swim a bit -"

"I'm not swimming," he said. "I'm hurting enough as is."

A look of realization came over his sister's face. "Oh, I see. You're self-conscious about your chubby chest."

"Shhh," he said to her. He glanced around warily, and adjusted his binder, afraid that someone would notice. Somehow. 

Sammy waved her hand dismissively. "Ah, there's no one in earshot. Besides, it's not a big deal."

"It's easy to say that when it isn't your problem."

"...True," she admitted. "I don't think anyone will care though. My friends in band aren't the type to bully people. Especially not their friend's brother."

They stepped out the door and into the sunlight. It seemed like they'd missed the rush of people leaving the parking lot. A lot of classes must have let people go early.

"Still," Danny said, "they'll be staring, and then I'll have to explain."

"I can say something before to my friends," Sammy said, "take some of the edge off."

"You've already told them about it haven't you?"

Sammy tensed up. "Okay, maybe I did. I promise I wasn't making fun of you."

Danny sighed.

"Please Danny?" she said. "Trying to make friends is hard, but after that, it's nice to have people to hang out with. What are you planning on doing all summer?"

"I don't know."

They got into their car, an early 2000s corolla.

"So...," Sammy tried to change the subject as she turned on the car, "anything cool going on in your classes other than finishing that test?"

"No," he said. "How about you?"

"We haven't been doing much in band since we did our final concert," Sammy said. "There's a baritone who keeps a TV and a gamecube in his locker, so we did a smash bros. tournament today."

On the way home, Sammy detailed her amazing victory over Xander in smash. She'd beaten him as both of them fell off the stage, and he'd died just a fraction of a second before her. She hadn't won the tournament by a long shot, but it was just another moment in the two's friendly rivalry.

When they pulled onto their street, Danny spied their front porch. It was only there for a moment, but he caught sight of it. It was there.

He'd have to act fast. It would be a tense extraction, but he could do it. He quickly put together in his mind precautions he had taken, and assembled them into a plan of action. Then, as they turned onto the driveway, he put it into action.

Danny got out quickly as they stopped, but not so fast as to warrant suspicion. Accounting for Sammy's weightier backpack and having to get her trumpet out of the back of the car, Danny would have a few extra seconds.

He speed-walked into the garage and bounded up the steps to the door. Once inside the house, he broke into a full run for the front door. He opened it, and grabbed his target.

Then with the package in hand, made his way down the stairs before he even heard Sammy come into the house.

He went down the hall, into his room, and shut the door behind him.

Extraction complete.

Most of the stress he'd been carrying dissipated. He wished his door had a lock on it, but he felt reasonably sure that Sammy wouldn't come in. Mom and Dad were at work, and Jason was on a different schedule at the Junior High, and wouldn't be home for a bit.

It had all gone according to plan.

He got onto his bed, unable to suppress a smile. He grabbed his pocketknife from his nightstand drawer, and began cutting open the packaging.

The thin cardboard box came open to show an inner lining with a background pattern of a logo that said "Fin Fun." A pamphlet sat on the top of it. He put it aside. But there, now revealed was something he had secretly, in his darkest, most hidden thoughts, yearned to have.

A costume mermaid tail.