Trains am I right?

A Fishy Situation

We all look around, and then Carson slowly steps down off the platform and waits for us. We also get off the train station platform, with Sara jumping off while I flew off and landed next to them.
"So what now?” Carson asked while nervously looking around.
"Well, let's go to that plaza; it seems cool,” Sara suggests.
I nod in agreement, and we walk into the plaza. Nothing really happens until we walk by the fountain. The mer-creature, which I can now identify as a mermaid, turned to us and waved her hand to come there. Sara and I walked over while Carson stood there for a second before walking over there as well.
"Hey there, you guys just got off the train, right?” She asks.
"Yes, we did. Why do you ask?” I respond.
“Well I’ve never actually seen you guys before so I wanted to say hi. My name is Marina Todd; if you can't tell, I'm half mermaid. This is Miles Bowman; he’s half  dragon."She says she is gesturing toward her friend when he is mentioned.
Marina was a girl about our age with long black hair and green eyes. Her tail was a nice blue color that looked almost invisible in dark waters. She had a simple red t-shirt on and a pair of sunglasses on her head. Miles had red scales on his face and didn't look happy at all. He gave off the energy of a tough dude. His hair was a dirty blonde color with hints of red in it. He was wearing a leather jacket and boots over black jeans and a blue shirt.
"Nice to meet both of you; my name is Alex Baker, this is Sara Wilson, and Carson Miller's,” I say, gesturing to the two of them.
Marina's eyes widen when she looks at Carson, and she glares at him.
"I've never seen a half-Slime scale; I’ve only heard stories. Is it true that some have two sets of jaws?” Marina asks.
"Yes, I have two sets of jaws,” Carson says.
Carson pulls out their phone and shows her a picture of a moray eel's second pair of jaws and how they work.
"That's basically what I have in the back of my throat,” they say.
"Interesting, can I see your teeth?” She asks skeptically.
Carson backs up, shaking their heads extremely fast. They back up until they are behind us, then cover their mouths with their hands. Carson’s face looked like it was extremely red. I thought back to what Angie said about yawning and looked at Carson.
"Is opening your mouth wide some kind of weird action for you?” I ask.
"A moray eel opening its mouth wide is a sign of good courtship and mating,” Miles answers for them.
"Basically, it's the moray version of asking somebody to date you or something." Sara asks.
"Not quite, but close enough,” Miles says.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Carson. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable,” Marina apologizes.
Carson waves his hands in a way that signifies it's fine. Marina nods before pulling herself out of the water. Her tail turns into a pair of denim blue jeans and white sneakers. She stands up, puts the sunglasses over her eyes, and turns to us.
“What if we show you guys around? I mean, you did just get here, and we have been here our whole lives,” she says.
We all nodded, as it would be useful to have a tour guide around the place. She looks at Miles, who scoffs and rolls his eyes, then walks beside her. She starts showing us around the city at all the different shops and such. There was even a school and college there. Then we slowly walked into a part of the city with a lot of aquatic residents.
“This is where I live in the A.S., or Aquatic Sector,” she says, smiling.
The buildings looked like they were made of coral. Many of the residents were walking around shopping. This sector seemed like the one with the most shops and places to buy things because half the buildings were just grocery stores, clothing stores—you name it, it was there. As we walked, Marina kept talking about what happened there, which included a lot of stuff about fashion and makeup. A few residents that walked past us did a double take at Carson being there. Based on their reactions combined with what Marina said, very few people have actually seen a moray eel monster. Either that or eel monsters weren't exactly well liked among the people in the aquatic sector of the city.
"Oh, and be careful of the alley ways people say that some of the worst monsters are down there,” Marina says.
“Like whom?” I ask.
“Well, Slime- Scales tend to stay in the alleyways and do not like visitors. That's what I’ve been told, and thats why I was surprised to see you, Carson.” She says
“Ah, I see how in the human world eels attack divers who startle them or go near their homes, earning them the undeserved reputation of a dangerous creature,” Carson says, nodding.
"Huh, thats interesting... Im surprised you know that much about the species of creature you are extremely similar to slime-scale,” Marina comments.
"Umm, I guess that explains why everyone is looking like Carson is going to fight them at the drop of a dime,” I comment.
“Yep, anyone who lives here would be scared of the giant eel monster walking with us,” Miles says.
“Should that be a compliment or an insult to the dragon boy?" Carson says in a joking manner.
“Take it how you want to,” Miles says, glaring at Carson.
"Alright, I take it as a compliment,” Carson says, patting Miles on the head.
Miles swatted their hands away and glared at them again so that they would stop patting him. Carson covers their mouth and laughs, and we continue walking down the street. A few other residents glare at them. As we continued down the street, Marina started to ramble about all the fascinating shops in the area.
“And there's the Octo boutique; it has the best clothes there,” she says.
"OOO, let's go in,” Sara says, dragging me and Marina into the store.
“Don't worry, we’ll wait out here for you,” Carson says, waving at us.
We walk into the boutique, and there are a lot of clothes, all of different styles. There were some clothes made for specific types of monsters. There was a fae section, a mer-creature section, a dragon section, and a section labeled other, and in the far back corner there were clothes that seemed to be for a school bully or something. I walked to the FAE section, and I saw almost only dresses. I walk down the aisles and see only dresses; everything I look at is just skirts and dresses. I looked over at Sara, who was looking extremely confused, before holding up one of the dresses for me to look at. The dress was a very nice light red, but when I looked down, the part that went around your waist was small enough for me to reach my hand completely around it.
“You what? Where the hell are the pants and shorts?” Sara asks.
"Oh, the Fae section doesn't have any pants or shorts; you would have to go to another section for that,” Marina says.
Sara and I look at each other and then back at Marina with the same confused look. I walk over to Marina and look at all the clothes in the mer-creature section before walking into the back corner of the section where all the bully clothes were. They were all very cheap and made out of inexpensive things. They looked like the clothes Miles was wearing, except Miles’s clothes were better made than these. I looked at the clothing and then looked back at Marina, who was gesturing for me to get away from there. I walk back over to her and look at her, confused.
“Those are clothes for slime scales. I would prefer if you didn't go near them,” she says, patting my shoulder.
“What does smile-scales mean? It seems like you use it a lot to refer to eel monsters, and I doubt that's their name because Miles just calls them eel monsters,” I ask her.
“Slime-scales is just a term used for them. You know, because eels are slimy and evil,” she responds.
I stood there in silence for a few seconds, just looking at her. I was wondering if she was seriously that insensitive about others. I couldn't tell if I was upset or confused about what was going on. It looked like she could tell I was upset, and she patted my shoulder awkwardly.
"Hey, umm, are you alright?” She asks.
“Huh, yeah, I’m fine,” I respond before turning around and going back to looking at different clothes.
I found a nice pair of black pants and a blue shirt. I look at Sara and see her holding a purple sweater and a pair of black and gray shoes. We both look at Marina, and we see her holding many bags. It looked like she was struggling to hold them up. We walked over to pay for our stuff, then I turned to Sara with a panicked expression.
“Ah, let me guess you both are from the human world." The siren at the register says:.
I and Sara nod, and she chuckles a little bit. She takes the normal money and puts it in the register.
“Don't worry, we take any form of money from all around the human world,” she says, smiling.
She packs our things, then hands them to us, nodding. We wait until Marina has finally gotten everything, and we take a few of her bags. There was a lot in just one bag, and it was extremely heavy from all the clothes in it. As we exit the store, we see something that causes me and Sara to be extremely confused. We saw Carson being dragged into a police car. Miles was trying to convince the cops to let Carson go.
“What did the goldfish do?” She asked Miles.
"Nothing. They were standing here next to me, and we were talking about our hobbies and stuff, and then this woman walked you with an officer pointed at him and said, ‘Thats the Halfie Slime-scales that took my purse’. He tried to explain that he didn't even know who this woman was and that he had just gotten into town. The officer didn't listen, and they arrested him, dragging him into the car,” Miles says.
"Well, who knows, while you weren't looking, they might have stolen it,” Marina says.
“Thats the thing he never left my side; they said, ‘Im not all too familiar with this city, so is it alright if I stay beside you for the time being’. So I let him stand there, and he didn't even move an inch. He was almost as still as a statue, only moving his hands slightly when he talked. Then this woman came up, and boom, he was arrested,” Miles says.
“So, why is Carson being arrested then? He clearly didn't do anything,” Sara asks.
“I don't know,” Miles says, crossing his arm.
"Well, we need to get him out,” I say.
"Yeah, we have one small problem,” Sara says, pointing at the police car driving away.
“Are you serious?” Miles sighs.
"Hey, the slime scales are gone; why don't we keep shopping?” Marina shrugs with a smile.
"Platinum, damn it, Marina, he has a name; it’s Carson. You can’t just call him that stupid name when he is clearly in danger right now,” Miles glares at Marina, who looks shocked.
“Im just saying we dont need him plus Slime-scales always cause trouble and he would probably do the same,” she retorts.
Sara and I watch the two argue back and forth about it, looking at each other while we watch the police car drive off into the distance. I look at her, and then I start to follow the car, looking back at them. Sara follows behind me as we start to follow the car. Eventually, Miles stops arguing with Marina and follows us.
“Let's go,” Miles says, walking past us in the direction of the car.
“What about Marina?” Sara asks.
“Leave her; she’s just going to slow us all down with her nagging." He keeps walking towards the police car.
Sara and I follow behind him in silence, looking at each other occasionally. Miles walks faster towards the police car, even though we were being left behind. Sara and I run up next to him and look at him. I look at him, wondering why he cared about this so much despite his rough and tough attitude. I look at Sara, then back at Miles, and the same question repeats in my mind that I had to ask him about.
“So why are you so determined to help Carson?” I am genuinely curious.
“He’s a good guy; he’s chill, and we actually have a lot in common. We both like fishing, playing video games, and listening to rock music. I can see myself as his friend in all honesty,” Miles comments.
"Hmm, alright, that makes sense, I guess,” Sara says, looking at the police car.
As we keep walking, we notice a bit of smoke coming out of Miles’s mouth as we rush towards the police car with Carson in it. We chase after the car until we reach a prison, where the gates close on us. We watch as the car stops and the officer takes Carson out of the car and takes him into prison.
"Great, just great,” Miles says, clearly annoyed at this turn of events. He starts to walk around to the other side of the prison, to the entrance.
 
Carson
As I am taken into the prison, a few monsters look at me strangely or with fear. A few of the officers look at me in confusion. I was placed in a room where another officer sat in front of me on a chair. I look around the room and see that it looks like an interrogation room. The officer gestures for me to sit down, and I do so.
"Let's start off simple. What is your name?” The officer asks me.
"My name is Carson James Miller, sir,” I respond, looking at him.
"How old are you?” He asks.
"17 sir”
"Where are your parents?”
"My mother is in the human world, and I don’t know my father."
"A halfie, alright. Why did you take that woman purse?"
"I didn't, sir; I only got here... Hold on,” I say, checking my watch. “I got here at 7:30, so only about an hour ago."
“Anyone know where you were?”
"Yes, sir, someone I met today; his name is Miles, and we were standing outside waiting for a few other people to come out of the store they were in."
“And why were you waiting for them?"
“Me and the others who were on the train were getting a tour of the city when the person showing us around insisted on going shopping."
"Alright, well, I’m sorry, but we’ll have to hold you here until someone comes and gets you."
“I understand, sir."
“You seem a lot more calm and reasonable than most eel monsters around here."
“Oh? How do you mean?”
“I mean that you seem to not be as aggressive as the other eel monsters. In fact, you’re just as docile as the police chief."
I nod along to what he is saying. I hear a knock on the door, and an eel monster in a police uniform walks in. He looks at me and then at the officer. The officer stands up and looks at the man.
“Chief Watercress, this is the boy that Ms. Blue says stole her purse."
“Thank you, I’ll take it from here,” Chief Watercress says, walking over to the seat as the other officer walks out of the room.
He looks at me and sighs, shaking his head.
“So your name is Carson. How old are you?” He asks.
"17, sir,” I respond.
“Im going to be honest with you, I am supposed to have a son your age. Im not entirely sure if he is still alive, but thats beside the point. You’re still a kid. You got one more year until you’re an adult, and you shouldn’t waste that time doing crime,” he says.
“But I didn't do anything."
“You didn’t? Well, then, do you know why Ms. Blue would accuse you of such a thing?”
"No, sir, I don’t know."
"Well, I’ll investigate this further, but you have to stay at the prison for now."
“Alright sir,"
I look at him and notice he has a similar green tint to my skin. I also notice how his hair ends in the same faded teal as mine. I shrug off the similarities as just being from the same species. He stood up and began walking away towards the door.
“Follow me; you’ll be in a cell for a few hours until we can figure out what happened."
I nod and follow after him towards the cell. When we reach it, I walk in as he closes the door behind me and locks it.
“Psst kid,” I hear a voice across from me say.
I turn around and look at the cell across from mine, and I see a shark monster there. He had multiple tattoos on his body and an angry look on his face. He had gray and white skin like a great white shark, but he had some more human characteristics, kind of like me.
“Ya upset your dad caught you doing something bad?” The man laughs.
“Dad? No, no, no, I don't have a dad,” I respond.
"Really, hmm, well, you look like a mini Chief Colton Watercress. Ya sure ya aint related, kid?” He asks.
“Im sure,”
“So what are you in for, and who are you?”
“Carson Miller and I were accused of stealing a woman's purse."
"Ah, I see names Bruce, carjacker."
“Oh, like the shark from Jaws,”
"Oh, really, that's what your mind goes to.”
“Yeah sorry,”
"Oh, you're from the human world, ain't you?”
"Yeah, I am."
"Okay, fair warning. If anyone ever calls you a goldfish, it means you're stupid, as the Marina trench is deep."
"Oh, like dumb." I try to swear, but all that comes out is bubbles. “What the?”
"Yeah, human swear words don't work here. Don't worry, I’ll teach you some sea monster ones."
"Oh, um, thanks, Bruce."
“No problem, kid, you're going to need to know some stuff to get around these parts as a half monster and half human."
“I've only heard other monsters call me a halfie. Um, what was it?"
“Slime-scales? That something they use to insult folks like yourself and the Chief."
"Oh, so why aren’t you calling me a halfie?"
“I’m one too; I ain't got no need to call someone that seaweedy name when I am one."
“Seaweedy? Oh! Okay, I get it."
"See, you're already catching on,” Bruce says, smiling at me, his teeth extremely sharp.
I smile back and nod as we continue talking to each other. I can tell that Bruce and I are going to be good friends, though I do wonder where the others are.