A RIPTIDE • DEMETRI VOLTURI

Metamorphosis Part 2

Ryleigh walked downstairs to the diving pool that was in her basement, when she jumped in it was bliss. Until ten seconds later she felt weird and turned into water. She looked down and saw a scaly, orange, six foot tail. Her breathing quickened as she watched baffled.
..............................................................
"It was orange and covered with scales!" Cleo was standing in her living room freaking out as Rikki and Emma and Ryleigh watched dumbfounded.

Ryleigh deduces the obvious, "The minute we hit water..."
"I was water for a second." Rikki was quick to put her input in.

"I was a fish-!" Cleo visibly starts to panic again so Ryleigh went up to console her, who latches on to Ryleigh like a lifeline.

"What's happening to us?" Emma has a thinking face on, pondering what's happened.

"That's what I want to know." Rikki snapped. At least Emma and Rikki aren't bickering.

There was an eerie quietness that Rikki takes notice of.
"Is there anyone else here?" She asks almost timidly.

Cleo quickly shook her head. "No. My dad is at work and my sister and mom are shopping."

"Ok what happened to us...?" Ryleigh asks the question they all want answers too.

"About ten seconds after we touch water we grow these tails..."

"And it vanishes when were dry and that's the same for you three right?"
They all nod until Cleo speaks.
"The tails are like..." Cleo and Emma have weirded out and terrified expressions on their faces.

"Exactly like..." Ryleigh has they traces of a smirk on her face as her and Rikki exchange glances.

"We look like mermaids." Rikki declares.

" I told you before your not funny mermaids don't exist, that's just too weird." And there goes the peacefulness between Riki and Emma. Bravo guys. And the award for most hatred goes to...

Someone knocks a little rhyme on the door.

"Oh no, its Lewis, he's helping me with biology today." Cleo admits sheepishly.
Then he waltzes right in without a moment to spare.
"Cleo. Cle-, oh did I get the time wrong?" Lewis checks his watch wearing a baffled expression.

"No, I said nine but sorry something has come up." Cleo tries to let him down easy but us ultimately failing.

"Like what?" Lewis curious personality was starting to bug Ryleigh who looked like she was going to strangle someone of he didn't leave.

"Just something important, but not so important that you need to know about it, Sorry Lewis I have to cancel." Cleo lamely searched for an excuse ignoring her bet Friends warning looks she was throwing her way.

"Oh, maybe some other time." Lewis looked thoroughly disappointed, which Rikki and even the pissed off Ryleigh found some humor in for the blonde haired boy, who has the biggest crush on Cleo.

Cleo was thinking and deftly ignored the others. "Lewis your smart, do you know anything about mermaids?" Ryleigh threw her hands up silently and looked away in a burning fit of rage and annoyance. Rikki did the same as Ryleigh and turned away as Emma shook her head disappointedly.

Lewis though for a few minutes. "No, not really."

"Oh ok, sorry bye, what?" She turned around after escorting Lewis out to see her companions furious and disbelief etched faces.

"'Do you know anything about mermaids?' Are you crazy?" Ryleigh mimicked Cleo's high pitched voice. She looked furious and Cleo looked down in shame.

"Cleo, this is really serious, something strange has happened to us, we don't know how and we certainly don't know why." Emma the ever so calm one is finally came to play.

"There is a way for us to find out more." Rikki told her mermaid companions.

"How?" Cleo tilted her head looking like an innocent puppy which made Ryleigh smile.

"We get back in the water."

"No way not me." Cleo is terrified of the water and it's worse now that she knows what she is.

"I'm going ,I just don't think I should go alone ,any volunteers?" Rikki asks looking at Ryleigh, the only one she likes right now, who smiled and stood up.
The three willing mermaids stood at the edge of the water, hesitating.

"I'm not so sure about this." Emma was looking over the waves she loves so much.

"It's alright I am." Rikki, the temperamental one tries to ease the tension to no avail.

"That gives me no confidence what-so-ever." Snips Emma. Ryleigh sighs impatiently, her fuse was as short as Rikki's.

"About ten seconds right?" Ryleigh was ready to get started, so they would stop bickering.

"Yep." Emma looks at the water determined as she links hands with Ryleigh who then returns the favor with Rikki and the girls take brave steps towards the ocean and stops about calf deep.

"One, two, three, four, five..."
At exactly the ten second mark they turn clear and the miraculous orange tail appear and they flop with a thump and let out a grunt.
"Whoa!"
.The three girls met with Cleo at the Setori house.
"So we come out of the water and everythings back to normal, then when were dry it's like nothing ever happened." Emma sums up everything they hand learned.

"But it did, ahh this is the best experience of my life I mean are there even words for that." Rikki is living on dream land, she's so excited about something that was thought to be impossible.

"I don't think so." Emma the genius tells her.

"Wait, you'll never believe what just happened." Cleo suddenly remember what she had did and goes and grabs a glass of water to sit in front of the quad.

"...and it grows even more" Cleo explains as she seemed to be controlling the water tentacle thing out of the glass even though the same amount is still in there.

"Where's the extra water coming from?" Rikki asked what Ryleigh had noticed.

"I don't know."  Cleo is completely clueless.
Cleo lost control for a second and the water tipped over and towards Emma who held her palm out as if to stop it and it froze. Ryleigh steed open mouthed with wide eyes as Rikki grinned.
"Did I do that?" Emma asked wearily.

"It wasn't me." Cleo sasses back, which made Ryleigh smirk.

"Ok, this is over the top I'm getting tingles now." Rikki rubbed her hands on her pants out of anticipation.

"All I did was..." Emma held her palm out towards a plant which in turn fell over.

"Ok why don't we get do cool stuff?" Rikki gestured towards the hot heads.

"I don't think cool is the word its scary , but you should have seen the look one
Zane's face...!" Cleo was getting excited before Emma shut her down.

"This isn't funny, we've got to keep this a secret from every one, we could end up dissected or in the circus or something." Emma told them all sternly who's smiles slowly dropped off their faces.

"So this secret is just between the four of us..." Ryleigh asked the girls who were slowly becoming her best friends.

"Our secret, our responsibility, what ever happens were in this together." Everyone nodded glancing at each other.

"It doesn't mean were married does it?"
Rikki asked and Ryleigh was more than willing to help.
"Yes, plus I don't think anyone could handle being married to this freak Blondie." Ryleigh playfully pushed Emma who gently shoved her back, a gentle smile on her face.

"Now that was actually funny."