Mermaids, Trigonometry, and Everything In Between

The 33rd Thing

Let me just give you a rundown of the last 24 hours. I went to bed after practice feeling particularly perturbed. Scales unexfoliated. Heart beating fast. And one too many images of a scruffy werewolf flashing through my head that I tried desperately to squash to no avail.

All of these things contributed to me lying in bed, eyes plastered open, counting hippogriffs until very, very early in the morning.

Which meant that I was late to my magical studies class and really tired for warmups after school.

Then, the sheer visual of Meridia's face sobered me up and spiked a level of adrenaline that mirrored chugging 10 Monster Energy drinks. The kind specifically for monsters.

Which brings us to now.

The Game.

I'd never been to a land game before. The older pod girls back home got together once a month to play underwater polo, and that was always a fun little scrimmage, but it hardly compared to what was going on here, now.

The band was blaring on their horns and woodwinds, short yet energetic tunes set to a loud barrage of battery drums. We were playing on the official soccer field, which meant tons of stands as far up as you could see with the field lights. And they were all filled. With cheering classmates, teachers, town residents, and incoming family members ready to support the Brecker Heights Wyverns.

I'd never heard so much noise in my life; granted, the eastern pods were a peaceful community. Generally independent and tranquil on land, while celebratory events were held underwater and even then, the spread of noise under the waves was pretty dampened--no pun intended.

Hear, everyone was practically roaring. The orcs were actually roaring. And suddenly, I wondered why the mermaid kind dominated the cheer scene. Any mermaid worth her salt would choose the waves over this madness any day. At least, I would.

Swim team, I thought to myself--zoning out, why don't we all join swim team--

"Alright ladies! Lets get into formation, it's time to shine!" Meridia's shrill voice shook me out of my thoughts.

With all the nerves from yesterday, I sort of expected the night to go in slow motion, but once Meridia started giving out formation orders and this cheer bit and that cheer bit, as a sort of pre-game crowd morale booster, I fell right into it. I wouldn't have even noticed the soccer team running onto the field if Meridia hadn't held up her hand and brought us to a halt.

The boys from our team ran onto the field, absolutely bursting with competitive energy. Some of them were pounding chests, jumping on top of each other, and howling up in the air like pretend wolves. Or...real wolves...or. Something.

I noticed Seb running out with them, he wasn't the hardest to spot, being one of the smallest members of the team. He wasn't the smallest guy I knew, but compared to the beefy size of all his teammates, he seemed noticeable. But not outshadowed. He had an air about him that was different. He seemed undistracted. Like he was in his element. He had his curly locks freshly scooped up in a half-ponytail and a huge grin. It wasn't the sort of goofy grin you could see on his friend, Max's face beside him. It was confident, and--

And I was overthinking again. I shook my head and turned my head to the other side of the field.

The other team came in as they got settled.

The Huntington Chimeras were a formidable group that stomped onto the field in perfect formation. Based on their fit, large bodies, darkly tanned skin, and impeccably sharp glares, I had a strong guess they were werewolves like our team. They did not, however, give off the same wild-and-free vibes that our team did. Their looks could have killed.