Tails (Transformations: Book 1)

12

Freya whistled at Eric as he came over to their tank, wearing a suit. The aquarium was just about to open, but the three scientists were on their way to the big meeting. He just wanted to see Aria, first.

"Looking snappy." Freya told him.

"Thanks." He smiled at her, then looked to Aria. "I'm off to try and save the birds. Wish me luck?"

She smiled and beckoned him closer. When he leaned in, she kissed him, then spoke softly. "They say if you kiss a mermaid, you get a wish." She wiggled her tail a little.

He smiled, feeling more confident than ever. "Then we are certain to be successful, today."

"Hey, if you two love birds are done, we should get going." Adam called. He was standing next to Dr. Grey, who was too busy going over the notes to pay attention.

"I'm coming." Eric smiled and went to join the others, waving to Aria as they walked out the door.

Aria watched him until she felt some water being splashed on her. "Hey!" She looked at Freya who was feigning wide-eyed innocence.

"It was a fish." She slipped under the water before she could be questioned.Aria laughed and followed her friend down, knowing she probably wouldn't catch her. Freya was one of the few people who could out-swim the girl.

The boys returned to the aquarium in the afternoon and their unhappy faces told the mermaids that things had not gone very well.

"That doesn't look good." Aria commented as she watched them walk away. She wished one on them had come over to tell them what had happened.

Freya stayed silent, not liking the look of things. She didn't have much time to dwell on it, though, since music started and they went into their usual routine.

During her lunch break, Aria put on some clothes and made her way back to the lab, wanting to talk to Eric. She found him and the others huddled around a desk, going over some notes. "Knock, knock."

The three looked at her and Adam smiled. "Sneaking into off-limits areas. That's kind of naughty."

She laughed and shook her head. "I just wanted to know how things went. None of you told us, after all."

"Sorry about that." Eric rubbed his neck and gave a sheepish smile. "They wouldn't agree to relocate and we are going over our back-up plan, now."

"City council, right?" She remembered Eric explaining it. "That's promising, isn't it?"

Their expressions indicated that it was not. Eric sighed and looked at her. "They refused to move because they already had experts verify that it was safe. We tried to explain that their experts were mistaken or had simply overlooked something, but they wouldn't listen. They've already got too much invested in their current location and we couldn't convince them that it would be in their best interest to move."

"Those experts were buffoons." Dr. Grey commented, never looking up from the new notes they had started with the hope of swaying the council. "They probably hardly glanced at the migrations patterns of any birds."

"We'll keep working, though." Adam assured the group, disliking all the tension. "I'm sure we can convince the council. We just need to figure out the best way to do that."

Aria watched them, wishing there was something she could do to help, but she was just a performer, not a scientist and definitely not a politician. She wouldn't even know where to begin helping them. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to it, then." She headed towards the door.