Chapter 1

"Ugh. Have I mentioned how much I hate homework, by any chance?" I asked, annoyed by my essay.

"Yes, Rikki. That makes five times just this afternoon." Emma sighed, probably annoyed by me.

"Oh, well, I don't think it's that bad, Rikki. Look, you're almost done!" Cleo smiled at me. I sighed.

"That's Emma's essay." I informed her.

"Oh…"

"I have an idea! Let go swimming!" I suddenly jumped to my feet.

"We shouldn't. We still have a lot of homework…" Emma protested.

"I'm going. You two can stay here, if you want." I offered. To my surprise, they didn't refuse.

"Okay, Rikki, you go. I'll call Lewis. I'm sure he'll be eager to watch." Cleo flipped her phone open as I ran out of her house.

About five minutes later, I was standing at the edge of the water. Lewis ran to my side.

"Rikki! It's nice to see you! So you going in or what?" He questioned.

I grinned, and took his wrist (if I took his hand, Cleo would kill me. Yes Cleo). I pulled him along with me and dove into the water.

I laughed as Lewis clutched my arm so he wouldn't be left behind. I love being a mermaid.

I finally surfaced after a bit, seeing that Lewis was starting to loose consciousness.

"Rikki! Don't do that!" Lewis gagged as I held him up. I rolled my eyes. I felt a buzz and Lewis took out his phone.

"It's water-proof, just in case." He informed me with a glare. Then he answered his phone.

"Hello… Oh… WHAT… Yes, I, um… Yes. I'm with her right now. No, she can't talk! I'll talk with her… Fine!" He slammed his phone shut.

"What happened?" I asked, alarmed. He gulped at my penetrating gaze.

"Let me sit somewhere first, okay?" He begged. I took him to an abandoned boat and let him climb on.

"Okay, Rikki, don't panic. You're house… trailer… was set on fire. There were no survivors… you can stay with Cleo until we figure this out…" He tried. But I was already gone.

I swam as fast as I could (really fast). I was alone now. No home to live in. No parents to talk to. I veered toward Mako Island.

But when I arrived, I found no peace. I needed to swim more. And very fast, for that matter, because Cleo and Emma would be in the water soon.

I swam at full-speed toward open sea, only coming up for air. I think I swam for more than three days, though how much, I'm not sure.

Finally, I saw land. I swam up to it, panting, and starving.

I used my abilities to dry myself, and shakily stood. My phone buzzed and I saw that I had about twenty missed calls. I quickly answered.

"Oh my God! Rikki! Where are you? We've looking for five days! You've been reported missing!" Cleo exclaimed. Five day? Huh.

"I've been swimming. I don't know where I am. But I just stopped swimming, so I'd guess that I'm far." I explained.

Something caught my eye. There was a boy walking in my direction, and he was big.

He looked straight into my eyes.

"Oh my God." I whispered.

"What is it?" It was Emma talking now.

"I've been seen." I breathed.

"As a mermaid?" Lewis questioned.

"No. But… oh my God! I gotta go. I promise to call when I can. I'm sorry, guys!" I flipped my phone shut and tucked it inside my pocket. The boy was walking towards me. I hurriedly started backing away. This went on for a few minutes until I found myself at the edge of a cliff.

I peered down. It was really high, but I think I could make it. It would hurt, and I wouldn't eat for another few days, but I might be able to make it back home.

"Hey! You! Don't jump!" A voice called. I guess he saw me debating on what to do.

I turned and jumped when I saw that he was closer than I thought.

With that jump I lost my footing.

"Whoa!" I said as I waved my arms frantically, trying to keep steady. He ran over a bit too fast and clutched my arm. He pulled me away from the edge, not letting go until we were in the woods.

He inspected me carefully.

"You don't look like you're from around here." He finally said. Where was here?!

"I'm not. Um… where exactly am I?" I asked. He raised his eyebrows.

"You're in La Push, Washington." He said. My jaw dropped.

"I'm in America?" I choked. His eyebrows went higher up.

"Yes."

I groaned and almost slammed my fist against a tree. It was wet. So was the ground, and… everything.

I gulped and looked up.

Yep, it looked like it was about to rain.

"Can I stay somewhere for the night? I don't have any money. But I… I'm sick. I can't get wet." I excused myself. The boy narrowed his eyes, but he nodded.

"Fine. I'm Jared. Come on, I'll take you to Sam's."

It was a treacherous journey as I did my best to avoid anything wet, which was everything. We arrived at a small house where an even bigger boy/man was standing. He nodded at us to go in.

I sighed in relief. The house was dry. Both boys looked at me expectantly.

"Oh. I'm Nikki. I'm really sorry to bother you, but I was wandering and I got lost. Can I stay here for the night… and maybe eat something. I haven't eaten for hours." This was technically true. I hadn't eaten for 120 hours to be exact.

A woman entered the room, overhearing the conversation.

"Of course, Rikki! You're welcome to stay here for as long as you want!" She exclaimed. I smiled.

"But where do you come from?" Poof! Smile? Ha! Gone!

"From Australia…" I mumbled.

"What?" All three voices shouted.

"I was wandering in my boat, and I lost track of time, I guess. I ran out of food and my boat broke down. It sank and I was forced to swim… I don't like swimming; I'm not good at it. I nearly drowned." I lied smoothly. Perfect! Now I had an excuse for no evidence, and not touching water!

"Oh you poor thing! Come on! We have a spare room! And I have some food right in the kitchen! Come on!" The woman (Emily, I found out) let me to a small, worn-out kitchen. I sat on a chair as she brought me a giant muffin. I smiled and ate it.

I slept in a small room. Once I decided it was late enough, I called Cleo.

"Rikki?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I found some tribal people that gave me food and are letting me stay here for the night. I probably won't be able to swim for about a week, and to swim that long… I'll swim back in about a month. Sorry." I calculated.

"Oh, Rikki! Be careful. Stay away from water!" She warned. I laughed bitterly.

"You mean everything in this place? It rains constantly, Cleo, I can tell. And the people here are already suspicious. I'm done for." I realized that I was panicking. It's a good thing that I'm strong, or else I would have cried and my tears would have turned me.

"Don't worry, Rikki. You'll manage something. Anyways, maybe you can get away from them in the day." She suggested. I agreed and hung up. Sleep came in seconds.