I'm a Mermaid, Not a Merman

8

As Danny got home and came through the garage door, he felt like he was lifted up inside, and it wasn't just because of his bra.

He had been able to swim with his tail, and accomplished the dream he'd had for so many years.

"Hey Danny," his sister called, hidden from view in another room.

Danny walked through the kitchen, his grip still firmly on his bag that held his suit and his tail. He was not going to let his day get ruined by being found out.

He walked into the adjoining room to find Mom and Sammy working on a puzzle, depicting multiple picturesque Summer scenes.

"Oh," Sammy noticed him, "you're wearing your hair in a ponytail."

Crap.

"Um, yeah. I thought it'd make it easier to swim if I didn't have my hair flopping around."

"Well the scrunchie looks cute," Mom chuckled.

"Thanks," Danny said, rubbing his arm bashfully.

"So how was it?" Sammy asked.

"It... I... I had a lot of fun." He fought to bridle his enthusiasm. He'd been gushing with emotion at Lucy's, but now he needed to rein it in.

"See?" Sammy said, "I told you that it would feel good to be social. I'm honestly impressed that you were willing to meet with so many people you hadn't met, just on the invitation of some guy you knew from school. What did you say his name was?"

"Uh, Liam," Danny said. Crap. He really should've thought his story through better. He'd been distracted earlier though, focusing on just trying to pull off his plan.

"But you had a fun time," Mom said, "and that's wonderful. Are you going to hang out with them again?"

"Yeah," Danny smiled.

"They didn't... make fun of you did they?" Sammy asked.

"No. They... they weren't anything like that. They didn't really care that I had breasts."

Well, that was technically true...

Mom and Sammy seemed a bit surprised that he'd clearly stated that what he had were breasts, rather than some euphemism like "chubby chest," but other than that, they seemed happy.

"Oh sweetheart," Mom said, "I'm glad to hear that you had a good time, and that you feel comfortable around them."

"Yeah," Danny said, "they were really nice and friendly, but swimming with my shirt on kinda hurt."

Mom made a slight wince. "Yeah, I can see how that would be painful on your poor chest. You didn't hurt them did you?"

"No Mom," he said, "they're fine."

"Are you going to go swimming at their house more?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Danny realized he hadn't thought of something else - what he'd do if the group wanted to go do something out in public. Augh. This whole scheme of his was becoming a veritable Jenga tower of haphazardly stacked luck, and all he'd found out today was that it wasn't going to collapse.

"Then I think," Mom said, taking a breath, "that we should get you a girl's swimsuit."

Danny mentally struggled to stop the swaying of the Jenga tower, and his physically reaction must have been intense, judging by the looks on their faces. Danny had just been trying to furnish his lies by saying what would've probably happened had he swam in a shirt.

"I... I know that it sounds a bit distasteful," Mom said, "but it will make it easier to swim, and won't cause as much pain."

"First wearing bras," Danny said, "now this? I mean, I've just gotten used to the bras, and they have helped..."

"We'll be able to get them removed in the future," Mom said, "but until then, you need to take care of them."

"Yeah," Danny relented. "I guess... I guess my friends won't mind, just as long as I only wear it around them."

This past afternoon, Danny had pretended to be a girl, and spontaneously cried out "I'm a mermaid!" Wearing a girl's swimsuit shouldn't have been too big a deal, especially around his new friends.

But it was the lead up to that - having to go shopping for a girl's swimsuit, that scared him. People from school could recognize him. Even if no one did, he'd still have to endure the awkwardness of the situation around Mom and Sammy.

"Are you sure?" Mom asked. "I want to make sure you don't hurt yourself, but I don't want you to feel embarrassed."

"No," Danny said, "I think it'll be fine. My new friends seem to enjoy acting a bit weird."

Once again, Danny had an opportunity to talk about his interest in mermaids, even if it was only giving the impression that he was around people who were into it. But he didn't press further. At least, not for now.

Sammy laughed. "Can't be as weird as us band kids."

"Agreed," Danny said.

On a normal day, he might have sat down and worked on the puzzle with them, but he happily left the room and the awkward conversation when it was no longer in a serious mood.