Dawn of the Mermaids

Chapter 1 Pt 1

Sereia

All I wanted was to head back to my house after visiting my dad at the Queensland Marina. I was definitely not planning on bumping into Egan and Dylan trying to fix Dylan's boat.

"Hey Sereia!" Egan called. His chin-length dirty blonde hair pulled back in a stupid looking man-bun. Even his voice sounded so stupid. It was bad enough I had to put up with him at school, but I did not sign up for it after school as well. "Sereia!" Can he not take the hint?

"Sereia, you know it's not polite to ignore someone when they're talking to you." That was Dylan, aka Mr. Rich Kid. He's an entitled prick who thinks he can do whatever he wants and get away with it, which I suppose he does. I've never understood how someone can be so obnoxious. They were both sitting in Dylan's new speedboat with a toolbox trying to fix something. His speedboat is a v-hull miniature Pantera, painted jet black with a pair of yellow looking slanted down eyes near the back. The interior was white leather with a seat for the driver, passenger, and four seats in the back for others. I'm a bit of a boat-geek, which I guess I got because my dad is as well. I hate Dylan but even I have to admit it looks very impressive. "My mate Egan was talking to you." Oh right, how could I possibly forget about that bully? "Why don't you come over here?" I would rather not, but I hate coming off as impolite and rude. I walked the short distance over to the boat and stopped right at the back where you would climb in.

"Come on, get in. I promise I won't bite." I doubt that.

"What do you all want?" I just want to go home and read my book, but it seems my plans are being put off.

"We're just trying to fix a part of my boat, but neither of us can figure out what's wrong. Maybe you could have a look?" Reluctantly, I hop onto the boat and walk to the bit of side panel under the steering wheel. I don't miss the way the two boys' smirk at each other. I bend down and stick my head into the panel and look around.

"Well, it looks like all you're missing is the spark plug. I feel like that's a pretty basic thing to look for though..." As I finish, I stand up and turn around to find the boys standing on the gangway with evil smiles on their faces. Dylan slightly tilts his head, causing his jet-black hair to flop to the side.

"Well, if you know so much about my boat, why don't you just keep it?" And with that, he pushed the boat away from the gangway with his foot. I race to the edge of the boat hoping to jump off, but I'm already too far to jump and there's absolutely no way I'm swimming back.

"That's not funny Dylan. Help me back. Please!"

"I'll tell you what, get the boat running and help yourself. My dad will buy me a new one anyways" The boys burst out in laughter and high-five while walking away as I slowly start to drift farther and farther from the gangway. Before I can yell out for help, I hear a thud behind me as the boat dips.

"Your guardian angel is here!" I recognize that voice from anywhere. Isla. She, along with Naia and Aspen, are my best friends. We met when we were all 9 after Isla moved to Australia from the US with her dad. She had walked in late on her first day of school, and when the teacher asked why she was late, she told her, "A queen is never late, everybody else is simply early." Me and Naia were the only two who understood the Princess Diaries reference and burst out laughing. Isla had then turned to us and marched over to the empty seat and introduced herself. From then on, we were inseparable. I turn around quickly and jump at her with my arms out for a hug.

"Please help me. The boat is missing the spark plug and without it we'll just be drifting for a while." I pull away and as I do, I notice the grin on her face. Before I can question her about it, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a spark plug.

"I only took it to teach them a lesson after they kicked sand all over my stuff at the beach the other day. I wouldn't have taken it if I'd known this would've happened."

"That's okay, but just give it to me so we can get this boat started and back to the docks." She hands me the plug and I quickly get to work putting it back in place, using the wrench in the toolbox to secure it.

"So nice of him to leave the keys." Isla says. She sits down in the driver seat and turns the keys, the engine roaring to life. I quickly strap myself into the seat next to her. She turns the steering wheel, but not to the docks, instead to the open water.

"Um, Isla, what are you doing?"

"Dylan told you that you could keep it, didn't he? We'll let's take your new boat for a spin." She turns to me with that same trouble-maker grin, before cranking up the radio. On our way out, we pass by the boys staring at us with a not-so-happy expression on their faces. Before Isla can yell any mean remark, I reach over and grab the wheel. I make the boat go a sharp left, dousing Dylan and Egan with water. Isla turns to me and we look at each other before we start to giggle like maniacs. We speed away, and as we reach the exit of the marina that leads to the ocean, Isla turns down the radio and makes the boat stop quickly.

"Hey Naia! Care to join us?" I turn to our right and see the third member of our quartet walking down the side of the marina. Naia looks up from her phone and gives us a smile before it turns to shock upon seeing the boat we're in.

"Where in the world did you get that? It looks like it cost a fortune!" she practically screams.

"Sereia got it from Dylan. C'mon hop in. We're gonna go for a little joyride."

"Are you licensed?" Naia yells.

"Are you my dad?" Isla yells back as she pulls up to her. Naia tentatively climbs in and settles in the backseat. Before she can even buckle up, Isla starts the boat and turns the key. The engine turns on and we speed out of there, turning up the music once again. Me and Naia throw our hands in the air and yell as we slice through the water.