Wide Awake: Opening the eyes of a Mermaid

Close call

     He ran up the steps into his house. "Hey mom I'm home." Dylan called out. "Okay hun. Take a shower and get all the salt water out of your hair. You're dad's bosses are coming over for dinner and I don't want you smelling like fish!" She replied. Dylan held back from laughing. He ran to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door. He had about five towels in a folded pile. He turned on the water and slid in, leaving his shorts on. He felt his legs tingle as they seemed to pull together, scales appeared going from his toes up his legs, his legs became a full on tail. "Dylan open up I have to get something!" Claire shouted. "Can you wait until I'm done?" Dylan yelled. "No I need to get it now if you don't open up I'm getting the key!" She shouted. Dylan was in panic. There was no way he could drain the bathtub and dry off fast enough to hide his tail. He looked around frantically. 

     "I'll pay you to go away!" Dylan yelled. It was silent. "MOM!!!" He heard Claire yell. He knew she was getting the keys. Dylan had no way of hiding his tail it didn't fit in the tub. The only one who knew about Dylan's secret identity was his twin brother Raymond. "Ray!" Dylan yelled. Raymond slid in through the window seeing Dylan's tail. "I know she's getting the keys, try to get your tail fully underwater. Dylan got his tail into the water as much as he could. Raymond eased himself into the water pushing bubbles over his brother's tail. He ducked his upper body under the water. Only Raymond's legs stuck out of the water. Dylan pulled his arms into the water to hide the fins that extended from his elbow to his wrist. 

The keys turned in the door as Claire came barging in. "It wouldn't have been hard to open it!" Claire shouted. "Whatever just get what you need and go." Dylan demanded. Claire grabbed her hairbrush, hairspray, bobby pins, comb, curling iron, and bucket of nail polish from under the sink then left. "Shut and lock the door Claire!" Dylan yelled, she did as told. Once she was out of hearing range Raymond shot up out of the water gasping and coughing for air. "Thanks Ray." Dylan claimed, pulling his tail back up out of the water as it cramped. "No problem." Raymond coughed. "There are some towels over there. Sorry." Dylan muttered. "Hey its fine. I have to protect you and your mission." Raymond shrugged, wiping some of the water off of himself. Raymond left through the window. Dylan washed out his hair, then drained the tub. He pulled a towel off the ground and used it to start drying off his tail. 

     After fifteen minutes of wiping off his tail with a towel the scales faded, and his legs appeared in his tails' place. He got up out of the bath drying his hair. He ran to his room to change. It was almost five o'clock. He was running out of time. Dylan pulled on a pair of good jeans, with a black t-shirt, and his nicest hoodie he could find. He comber back his hair adding in a little hair gel. He walked out just as the doorbell rang.