A Fishy Tale, The Sequel - Fanfiction for H2O Just Add Water

Chapter 138

Chapter 138

"Morning Fred," Bella greeted her colleague before their before-school staff meeting. "Did you see the news?"

"How could I not?" Fred laughed. "My wife showed me three articles this morning and I had family and friends sharing links with me too,"

"Are you talking about the mermaid news?" a fellow colleague piped up from behind them as they were all finding their seats in the staff room.

"Yes Kyla. It's crazy isn't it - the media has gone nuts!" Bella replied, sitting down next to Fred. Kyla took the seat on her other side. She taught history and classics.

"It is such an amazing discovery" Kyla gushed. "I have a unit on mythology that I teach – they'll need to update the curriculum about mermaid myths. We now have certainty that these 'myths' are based on facts, so this changes everything for how we perceive stories about mermaids. And other creatures too! Loch ness monster, yeti, pegasus, gryffons. What else is out there?"

"It does make you wonder," Fred agreed. "But so far mermaids is the only one with officially recognised proof,"

"I doubt it," Pete called out from across the room. He taught food technology. "It is all too fantastical and it has only been information so far – they haven't shown us any pictures or showed us an actual mermaid yet – it's probably all a big hoax! Mermaids existing? Pft."

"The research discusses keeping the anonymity of the mermaids who participated in the study," Kyla replied. "We can hardly blame them – look at what the media is doing about those two researchers. If a mermaid was public? That would be ridiculous!"

"True," Bella acknowledged. She wondered how Kyla and Pete would feel and react if they found out they were talking to and working with two mers.

Before the conversation could continue the staff meeting began.

OoOoO

Anna and Jessie didn't hear about mermaids until their lunch break. They were the only two in the office that morning, but everyone was there by the middle of the day. Of course, it was one of the first topics their boss Warren Preston brought up as he heated his lunch in the staff room, asking 'Has everyone seen the crazy news about mermaids!?'

"Yes, how could we not?" Anna replied rhetorically, "It is everywhere," she laughed good naturedly.

"True," Mr Preston agreed. "It is amazing that a discovery like that has taken so long to be known to science!"

"I suppose mermaids keep it to themselves," Jessie replied.

"Yes, true. I would sure love to meet one!" he said. "The research article had so little about what they are actually like as people. And there are no proper photos yet. But maybe that will be released soon,"

"What would you do if you met one?" Anna asked.

"You know what? I don't know," Mr Preston replied. "Perhaps just ask them what it is like to swim or what it is like to be a mermaid,"

"They'd probably just say that it feels normal to them – that it is what they know, that it is a part of them," Jessie smiled.

"That's probably true," Mr Preston took his lunch out of the microwave. "It would be nice to hear it from them all the same," he smiled.

"Well, I'm sure that'll happen for you, sir," Jessie smiled back.

OoOoO

"Do you reckon this is legit?" the man commented, turning a newspaper to their friend across the table.