Lie to Me: A Mermaid Tail

Chapter 1- You Can't Just Meet Cute Boys and Kiss Them

I was curled on shore in my shorts and t-shirt. The boy was sitting next to me, staring at the ground, poking at the mounds of sand underneath his once-alone towel. His dark hair blew in the wind, and his piercing blue eyes studied me. The gulls cawed, and seemed to watch our every move.

"What the Hell," he began, looking at me with his bright eyes. His already tousled hair swayed with the breeze as a seagull wandered closer to his diving suit.

"That's a nice way to introduce yourself," I mumbled, staring at the sand.

"My apologies, fish," he scoffed. "I'm Nate. And you are?"

"Offended by your terminology," I retorted. "Fish? No. Mermaid. Mer-maid. It's not that hard." I looked up at him, trying to give him what I hoped looked like a death stare. "Can your tiny human brain comprehend that?" He squinted and smiled, shaking his head.

"And you are?" he repeated.

"Not telling you," I piped, standing up. "Don't talk to me, ever again. Got it?"

"Sure, clown fish..." he said. I could tell he didn't mean it. But it didn't matter, I'd never seen him before and I'd never see him again.

"Don't mention this exchange to anyone, or I'll have your head on a platter. Got it?" I said in a superior voice. I put my hands on my hips and glared at him.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry 'bout it...uh..." he trailed off, realizing for the third time he didn't know my name. Should I tell him? No, I'll go with a fake one.

"Taylor," I said a little too quickly.

"Don't lie to me," he whispered, leaning in. I tried not to lean forward, but I couldn't help myself. His eyes were so captivating. It was as if a magnet was pulling me in. I pulled away at the very last second.

"No no no, this is all wrong," I worried. "I can't kiss...a human!"

"Well, what merman is waiting for you, 'Taylor'?"

"None...but I can't. We just met."

"I've got to go," I said quickly, turning to leave. "I wasn't here, this never happened, the almost kiss, not what you saw, none of it! Never happened! I was never here and neither were you!" I called over my shoulder.

"But your name!" he called.

"Ashlyn," I said, turning and stopping at the beach entrance. "It's Ashlyn," I repeated. And I turned and left.

I squeezed my eyes closed. How could I let this happen? I just met him, and we almost kissed, he knows about me...is there a chance he'll think it's a dream? Not a chance, it's the middle of the day. He knows what he saw. I tucked my auburn hair behind my ear and ran. He saw me, how could I be such an idiot? I saw a lone towel, I should have known. There would be people diving, there normally is. And we might have kissed? Ugh! Not possible, we just met!

The whole slow walk home, I couldn't get the image of him leaning in for the kiss out of my head. It reappeared every time I closed my eyes. Nate had learned my biggest secret. And I knew I wasn't going to earn it back.

***

I begrudgingly walked into school the next day. Luckily, I didn't have gym today, so for now I was off the hook. I swung my backpack off my shoulder and onto the floor by my feet. I twisted my locker knob to 12-32-17. The lock clicked open and I tossed my bag onto its metal floor. I grabbed my books for math and shut the locker door, only to be greeted by a familiar face.

                "Hey Ash," my friend Paisley smiled at me. Paisley had the total package; long, shiny blonde hair, and warm brown eyes. I had always been jealous of her eyes. My eyes used to be that color;  until I became a mermaid when I was five. Now my eyes change to different shades of blues and aqua. They were cold and unwelcoming. I rolled my ice blue eyes at Paisley's cheeriness.