Mermaids, Trigonometry, and Everything In Between

The 11th Thing

I rolled out of bed as the alarm went off. My eyes felt like dry lumps from the lack of sleep.

"Gen, get up, we have school."

She squirmed in her bed, "My head hurts," she moaned under the covers.

"Maybe next time, you'll stick to seltzer." I stretched and made my way to the drawer at the foot of my bed. The school uniform was a red and blue plaid skirt and a white collared dress shirt. I put the clothing on, pulling on a fuzzy navy cardigan over and slipping into shiny red ballet flats.

With all my shell combs, I still had a hard time brushing through my hair. I wondered if maybe cutting the long, fluffy locks shorter would make it easier. I stared intently at the vanity, noticing my slightly baggy-eyes in the mirror and shaking my head, and then I decided to put on some shiny lip gloss and a modest covering of eyeliner. I looked down at the concealer in my makeup bag. No acne yet, but I was prepared.

I picked up my bag and headed towards the door.

"Gen," I called as I made my way out, "you're gonna be late."

"What?" She started rolling around, and as I shut the door, I heard the thump of her falling out of bed. I sighed, pulling out my class schedule. I only had three classes today. First was Trigonometry, then Archery, followed by an intermission for lunch, and finally Ancient literature. They all sounded so...foreign.

I half considered stopping by the cafeteria in the main building, but figured I'd be late if I tried to eat and find my classes in the same morning.

On the back of my class schedule was a map of the campus. It looked like the math department was in the same building as the office--the one I'd been to on my first day.

I walked along the path, eyes stuck on the paper, until I found the building.

First day, first class. Whoopee.

The classroom was at the far end of the hallway, and the door was propped open. I tiptoed inside. A few people were scattered inside. I spotted two fairies, a bundle of elves condensed at the back, some huge-looking guy with rough, green skin, and a girl, a bit sturdy in build, and obviously unhappy.

"Name?" said a man at the chalkboard. I could tell he was the teacher from his age. Pointed ears poked out from his long, brown hair that was tied loosely in the back.

"Uh, Elly. Elly Tidalis."

"Seat fifteen, to the left."

I did a quick spin and discovered all the desks were numbered in small etched letters at the right-hand corner. I followed the numbers until I reached the one that said fifteen, which was closest to the left wall. It was right next to the unpleasant-looking girl. She looked at me with mean eyes, and I felt an unusually strange feeling coming off of her.

I had been told about a feeling like this before, but I wasn't sure if I was right.

"Excuse me," I said, "But are you a--"

"A Siren?" Her voice was gruff and crass, and she raised an untweezed eyebrow, "Very astute for a pretty face like yours, Mermaid"

"Oh." I was nervous now. I'd heard about Sirens before. As I was taught, they were the plain, unlikeable versions of mermaids. They didn't like people, and they didn't like having fun. Not to mention their scales didn't shine like ours. The one thing they excelled at was singing. Mermaids were great singers, but Sirens had a notorious reputation for voices so angelic, it could lure humans like flies.

I had a hard time imagining this girl's harsh sounding voice could be as mellifluous as I'd learned they were.

"So I guess I'm stuck with you," she said, more to herself than me, "Great."

I sat down gingerly in my seat, careful not to sit too close to her.

Students began to trickle in. Some, more notable than others. I noticed a row of shorter yet more widely spaced out desks at the right of the room. They didn't even have chairs. Just as I wondered what--or who--they were for, another student walked in.

I dropped my chin. It was a centaur! The horse part of him was a dark, mousy brown, and the human half was a chill-looking guy in a red jacket. He trotted over to one of the shorter desks, and his horse half settled to the floor. I felt in awe of all of this, but no one else seemed to pay any mind.

I was starting to regain my cheerful mood when the next student entered. Naturally, as if the earth and stars aligned in that moment (which they probably hadn't, because I would've felt it), it was Seb.

"Seat twenty-two." said the Teacher. Before he could spot me, I scanned the tables next to me. The ones in front were eight and nine. So far, so good. Behind me were...twenty-one and...Uh-Oh. I shut my eyes. The desk behind the siren, still pretty close to me, was number twenty-two. I couldn't believe my luck. I wondered for a moment if some sadistic author were writing my life as a novel, throwing in as many cruel twists of fate as possible, just to keep it interesting.

Seb sat down behind me. He didn't say anything, and I kept my eyes forward, but it was impossible for him not to notice me.

"I think that's everyone," said the elf teacher, "You may call me Professer Hotchkins, and I am the professor of Freshman Trigonometry. You'll find this class is both difficult and rewarding. If you'll take a moment, I'd like you all to get acquainted to the people at the tables next to you. You'll be sitting in your spots for the entirety of this semester, and I believe collaboration is an important tool in learning any subject. During group activities, you and your deskmate will be combining with the pair of students either in front or behind you. Row one will be with Row two, row three with row four, and so on. Please, take a moment."

Great. I was stuck with two people who didn't seem to care for me very much. I felt a weird sort of energy from the two of them. If I turned around now, they'd probably kill me. I kept my eyes on my desk, embodying a statue.

"Name's Seb, you're a siren, right?" I heard from behind.

"Yeah. The name's Ginger," was the gruff response.

"That's cool." He said.

"Thanks," she responded, seeming genuine, "And you're a werewolf?"

"Guilty," he chuckled lightly, "So, Ginger, are you any good at math?"

"A bit," she said, "I passed geometry last year with an A minus."

"Score," his voice sounded impressed, "I'm not, and it looks like no one's sitting next to me at this table, so I'd be so grateful if you could lend your powers."

This time, she chuckled, a low sound, but somewhat melodic, "Hopefully my powers won't fail."

"For real?" I mouthed silently. I could feel my blood boil, and it took everything not to go tossing my desk into the wall and yell 'Seriously? You guys aren't emotionless monsters or anything! It's literally just me!'

With right triangles on the board and my newfound enemies at my side, it was as if the class would never end.

"Please, gods above," I prayed, "Deliver unto me a swift death."