How to catch a Merman

Chapter 1

Alyssa's Pov

Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep!

As soon as my brain awoke from hearing my alarm clock go off, I was awake with a groan. It was 4am. Time to get up. I hate waking up this early but I have no choice. I have to get up for work or else my parents will hate me.

If the family business was something I enjoyed then I wouldn't mind getting up as so early but since I don't, I must force myself everyday to get up. I've been a fish monger ever since my parents began the business when we moved to Ireland which was a couple of years ago.

I got my outfit for the day out of my wardrobe, a white shirt and dark jeans. It didn't really matter what I wore, I would be wearing overalls over them for work.

I hate work. I especially despise fish. I can't stand them and above all I hate their stench which is a very pungent smell. If it were upto me, I wouldn't be working as a fishmonger but I have no choice. My parents say while I am living under their roof, I must pay my way by working with them. I don't mind paying my way but why does it have to be by working with my one enemy, fish?

I said something about applying for jobs to contribute towards bills and that but my parent weren't having it. They said you have to work with us while I was living under their roof. They won't even let me move out, they say I must be married before I can leave because they won't allow me to live on my own. That is ridiculous, plenty of people live alone and I am old enough to take care of myself so why won't they let me get my own place? I understand, I am their child and they are concerned for me but what do they expect me to do? Work with them forever? It certainly looks like it. Who's going to want to marry me anyway when I am always stinking of the damn fish all the time? Who would want a wife with a fishy odour lingering on them? If someone wanted to marry me they would have turned up by now, I am 23 and no one has proposed to me and I'm not expecting anyone to because I don't really know many people around my age.

When I was dressed, I tied my boring black hair up into a bun and slipped on my shoes. I headed down to breakfast to see my younger brother Adam already there at the dining table stuffing his face with my parents shaking their heads at him with a smile.

"You're late so you are," Adam commented with his Irish accent when he noticed me take the seat opposite him.

I didn't bother replying, I just concentrated on the breakfast in front of me that mum had prepared and dug in.

When I was done, Adam's friend Jake came at the door so they could walk to school together as it was local. Meanwhile, I got dressed into my overalls before I found Mum and Dad were waiting for me impatiently outside in their overalls. They love their jobs so much while I don't. We headed to our boat together to get the morning's catch at sea.

After the catch, we headed to the shop to lay the catch out, we'd caught prawns, cod, oysters and much more.

***

After a long day at work, we headed home. I went straight to my room, undressed and headed for the shower but that was pointless as usual. Even after washing, the fish smell still lingered in my skin no matter how hard I scrubbed and tried to be rid of it. The smell became faint but it was still there. I was used to the smell but it didn't mean I accepted it. If only there was a way to get out of here and get my own place but there isn't. There is no way mum and dad are ever going to let me get my own place unless I am married but I have no intentions of getting married at this point in my life, I am too young to be married but maybe it's something I should think about if I want to leave this fish mongering business behind.

"What's for dinner?" I asked cautiously when I was dressed in my pjs and mum had called me down to eat. I hope there's no fish involved.

"Don'tworry there's no fish," Mum assured me with a knowing look. It was no secret I hated fish, there was no way I was going to eat it. I used to when I was younger when I had no clue about anything but I remember not liking it and being forced to eat it. The lumps it caused in my throat and sometimes there were silver bits on the fish that is edible but that was the worst part. The taste of it was too pungent for me to bare. I tried all sorts to get out of eating it but never succeeded. I was made to eat the disgusting slimy creature until I was older and put my foot down. I refused to eat any type of seafood. It was already so much working with it, eating it would be much worse. I don't want to go back there. I had to get away from the enemy, fish but how?

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