Behind The Scenes

Chapter 4

"Mum, please," Chanel pleads. Naomi shakes her head. 

"I'm sorry, girls, but I told you to meet back up here at 10, and then I find you down on the beach with two boys at 10:30."

"Oh big deal!" Chanel almost shouts. "We were making some friends, so we were half an hour late! Wow, I'm so sorry, I must have broken a law or something!"

Confused? Let me explain.

After the intimate moment between Ollie and I – well, while it was still happening, really – we suddenly heard a shout and a very angry Naomi came down the steps to find us.

Naomi looks furious right now. "Chanel, don't you dare talk to me like that! I found you on the beach with a couple of boys. How do you think that looks to me?"

I quickly interrupted. "Naomi, it was my idea to go down to the beach with them, honestly–"

"No, it wasn't," Chanel sighs. "Harla had nothing to do with it."

I know she's trying to keep me out of punishment, but I feel like she can't take all the blame. Chanel would have said yes anyway, sure, but still...

"I'm sorry, Chanel, but you would have forgotten all about coming back up if I hadn't found you." Naomi sighs. "Tomorrow, you're not allowed out in the evening. Both of you." She puts a hand on my shoulder. "Sorry, Harla." Then she walks into her room.

Chanel groans in frustration, stomping into our room. After a moment's hesitation, I follow her.

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The next evening, Chanel is lying on her bed with her face in her pillow. "This SUCKS. I can't believe mum would do this to us. Milo's probably gone to find another prettier girl to spend his time with. Ugh."

"I doubt it," I say, turning a page in my book while lying down. I'm not really interested in hearing Chanel rant right now. 

Suddenly the book is snatched out of my hands. "Harla! Look at me! Does my face suggest that I doubt it?"

I examine her face. "Hm... no, not really. But still. You should trust my judgment."

Chanel grabs my shoulders and makes me sit up. "Harla. I don't trust your judgment. But can you please be a girl for five seconds and have a deep meaningful conversation with me?"

I put my fingers up to indicate five seconds, fully intending to do what Viola does in She's The Man – including the slap – and begin to talk. "Firstly, my judgment is very wise, and–"

Chanel slaps my hand away. "Harla! You are not Viola. I just really need someone to talk to about this."

Looking at her pleading eyes, I feel a bit bad. I sigh. "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

Chanel falls back dramatically on her bed. "How gorgeous Milo is – and Ollie, as well, he's pretty gorgeous, too..."

I lie back down and stare at the ceiling while Chanel rambles on. I can pick out various words, such as 'Milo' and 'gorgeous' and 'hot' and 'Milo'.

I suddenly turn over and lean on one arm. "How is it that you can kiss one guy after knowing him for a day?"

Chanel looks very surprised at my outburst. "Well, it just depends who it is, really..."

"I'm serious, Chanel. You barely know the guy."

She frowns at me. "It's not like you and Ollie weren't getting up close and personal."

"I was never going to kiss him," I say, rolling my eyes, and go back to lying on my back. 

"How do you know? You always say these things afterwards, but in the heat of the moment, you never know what could happen." Chanel smiles almost dreamily. Oh my god, it's like Milo has her under a spell or something.

Seems like he has every female on this resort under a spell.

Not me, I think to myself smugly. At least, I don't think so. Not yet.

I turn towards Chanel, but her eyes are closed and her mouth is open. She's fast asleep. I almost snort. I guess even beautiful people don't look great sleeping.

I get up and peek into Naomi's room. She's also sound asleep, and it's not even ten o'clock yet. Huh. I don't feel sleepy at all. And it's pretty hot and stuffy in here...

I tiptoe outside into the balmy evening air. The sun hasn't set yet, and I can hear chatter coming from the bar and pool area. With one last glance back at our room, I walk down to the bar, and suddenly spot Ollie and Milo. I really don't want to bump into them, so I carry on past the bar and onto the beach below.

Without warning my feet keep walking to the water's edge. I look out at the water, the beautiful, serene, glistening water, and remove my top as I still have my bikini top on underneath. I keep my shorts on, however, and walk into the water.

It feels amazing on my skin, still warm and silky. When I get to waist height, I cast one last glance at all the people and the rooms which are scattered around the main hotel. Then I dive in.

An eerie silence surrounds me, and I open my eyes.

Everything is clear, so clear, and my eyes don't sting at all. I kick for a bit, still underwater, when suddenly I feel the strangest sensation on my legs. I come up to the surface and look down.

My legs seem to be closing in on themselves, thousands of bubbles of water gathering on them as the water froths around me. I panic, because now I don't seem to have two separate legs anymore. Whatever my legs have turned into has become stiff and is sinking me down. I try to use my hands to pull myself back up to the surface, but still I sink. I eventually give up.

Finally, the weird transformation stops. I look towards the surface where I can barely see the light. I begin to relax, and as soon as I do that, my legs don't feel stiff anymore. I look down to see what they've become, and am greeted with the sight of a shining silver tail.

Yes. A tail.

I gasp and as I do, the water enters my lungs. I expect to choke or something, but instead I can breathe smoothly in the water. 

What is happening.

I quickly pull myself up to the surface and look around to make sure no one is around. I glance down at ... my tail – I can't get used to thinking that – and wiggle it a little bit. It ripples in a somewhat beautiful way, catching bits of moonlight on the scales. I slip under water and run my hand over it. It's not slimy or slippery as I expected, just smooth and it actually feels nice. 

I flick my tail up out of the water, causing an arc of moonlit water to form. I smile to myself. Even if I am freaked out and confused, this is pretty amazing. 

Diving down, I realise swimming with this tail is easier than swimming without. I twist and turn under the water, gazing around at the sea life around me.

Swimming further out, I spot a couple of dolphins. They look at me almost curiously, and I glide along with them. They seem to acknowledge the fact that I am almost one of them and they go along with it.

I go deeper and further, exploring the waters with my newly discovered tail. That's when reality hit.

How do I get my legs back? How much salt water do I have to touch before I grow a tail? I assume it's only salt water that turns me, since I've never grown a tail when swimming in a swimming pool or anything.

What am I going to tell Chanel?