Diary of a Mermaid

Hook, line, and sinker

I walk up to him and say, "Hey,"

He looks me up and down, making me feel suddenly self-conscious. "Hey," he responds.

"So you're my bodyguard?" I ask, putting my hands in my sundress pockets.

"Yeah," he says, nonchalantly. The way he says it makes me think that he doesn't care at all. Like he has no emotion.

Ooh, this boy irritates me! "Let's get one thing straight. I don't need protection. All I need you to do is watch over Finn, Angel, and Nemmy. Make sure nothing happens to us and you'll get your paycheque. Are we clear?" I doesn't even wait for him to respond. I storm past him and march to my room where Angel, Nemmy, Jaclyn, and Cat are sitting.

They see the look on my face and Cat says, "Jac, would you mind taking the girls to their room?"

Jaclyn discreetly nods and herds Angel and a still-crying-Nemmy out of the room.

I flop down on my bed and huff. Cat sits down beside me. "What's wrong?" she inquires.

"It's just, sigh, I don't know. Theo just makes me so frustrated. I don't know why." I grumble.

Cat raises a perfectly-shaped eyebrow and smiles. "Well, what other emotions are you feeling." Cat used to be a school counsellor and is really good at reading people. She's like Deanna Troi on Star Trek.

"I feel flustered and nervous. And there's adrenaline. Lots of adrenaline. I feel like I just got off a roller coaster. All dizzy and a lot of nerves pulsing through me."

"Topaz, have you ever had a crush?" Her forwardness startles me.

"Uh - no," I sputter out.

She smiles knowingly. Immediately I catch on. "Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! You think I like Theo?! Like, like like Theo!?"

Cat smirks and says, "When I was a counsellor, I saw these, how should I put this? Symptoms, a lot. And in every single case, it was always a crush."

"Well, not in this case!" I bolt off my bed and out of my room. Without a thought, I walk into the bathroom and lock the door. I sit down on the edge of the bathtub.

What if Cat's right? What if I do like Theo? But what if he gets killed? That's another loss I'll be forced to live with. I cannot fall in love with my security guard. I cannot fall in love with my security guard. I cannot fall in love with my security guard.

But then again, it would be nice to have someone relatively my age to talk to. It could even benefit me! That's it. I'll just use him to comfort myself. Nothing more.

"Topaz, you in there?" Steven calls, knocking on the door.

"Yeah,"

"Come out," he instructs.

I quickly walk over to the mirror, finger-comb my hair, then open the door.

I'm startled to see Theo standing beside Steven in the doorway. The roller coaster feeling comes back.

"Theo would like to ask you something." Steven tells me, nudging the boy.

I look at Theo with, what my friends like to call, my sinker eyes (hook, line, and sinker). I open them wide but relax a bit so it doesn't look as forced. Everyone says I can get anything I want with that stare. I rarely use it, though.

"I would like to invite you and your brother to my mother, Denise's, birthday party." Theo says.

"It would be a good way for you three to bond." Steven puts in. "Even though he is your personal bodyguard, Finn will be living with him too."

I smile sweetly, adding to the effects of the Sinker. "I'd love to come,"

He relaxes his expression and his breathing seems more calm. "Great."

"The party is tomorrow at 4. Dress nicely." he tells me. I nod.

As he and Steven walk off, I find myself watching them a genuine smile on my face.