"I need you girl!" Sapphire, Tamora, and I sing as we walk to school. "I need you girl-" We mumble the Korean part, "-... I NEED YOU GIRL!!!" We all chime in a very unflattering way. I giggle, pushing my hair out of my face. It's been a little over a month since we arrived in Texas and today is the 20th day of school. It's been difficult fitting in, but I guess that always comes with moving.

"I'm so glad you guys are now part of the fandom!!!" Tamora squeals. Sapphire and I both nod. We were incredibly lucky that our best friend just happened to move to Texas as the same time that we did. She arrived a few days before us, so we were quite happy to know someone in the area.

"Hmm... what do you think we will do in dance today?" I hum, looking at the scenery as we walk.

"Isn't our season starting soon?" Sapphire asks. I nod slowly.

"I think we will start going over dances, then!" Tamora grins.

"You think?" I sigh. I absolutely love dancing, but there are so many new people... Sapphire giggles.

"Remember how she said we could do a specialty piece? What if we did a superhero dance but with masks so everyone gets confused who is who?" She snickers as Tamora starts choking on air.

"Oh my gosh, she looked exactly like a frog!" I laugh as she starts drinking water to stop the coughing.

"You're right!!!" Sapphire nods as we cross the busy street. Tamora sends me a semi-angry glare, but I know she's just messing around. I push the button impatiently as we wait for the light to change, but for some reason it seems that fate is not in our favor. We stand around for what seems like 30 minutes before the light finally changes and we can cross to the other side of the road. Another student races past us on a bike and we barely avoid getting hit as he rushes down the sidewalk.

"Well, then," Tamora sighs, watching as he continues zooming down the sidewalk and almost running other people over. I guess some people really like school, but at least try to not kill people on the way there.

"Maybe he heard there was a bake sale?" Sapphire giggles. Tamora and I start laughing as we walk over to the front doors. We all got lucky to have the same first class together with a teacher named Ms. Combshell. She was STILL having us do various get-to-know-everyone activities even though it has been a month since school started.

"Welcome class! Today, we will be making charts that describe ourselves. You can use pictures, words, or anything that comes to mind but please make sure it is appropriate!" Ms. Combshell passes out some papers and I instantly get bored. I think I've said my favorite color at least 10 times now, not sure why I need to do it again. Sapphire and Tamora stare at me with annoyance as they realize the same thing. I hope we can actually start this class for real, soon.

~~~~~

"What classes do you have second, again?" I ask, opening the classroom door. I know it's been a month but I still don't have their schedules memorized. At least I'm learning?

"English," Sapphire grimaces.

"Riiiight. Enjoy that!" I wink at her as we part ways. Tamora and I walk upstairs and stop in front of my class.

"Anything new?" I ask her. She shakes her head.

"Nothing that I haven't already told you. I've been looking everyday and there still isn't anything new about BTS's new tour. I wish they would release the rest of the dates, already," she huffs. I nod.

"I've been looking also and I keep finding the same things over and over again. I guess only time will tell..." I sigh. We don't even know if they will becoming here, yet the wait to find out is rather annoying. The warning bell rings and I push Tamora towards her class.

"I know, I know. I'll see you later!" She winks and walks down the hallway. I place my backpack down at my seat and stuff my coat into my backpack before taking out my school iPad and opening up the email app.
'Lunch Menu week 4' I bring my own lunch...
'Yearbook Survey' I'm not in yearbook.
'Ethan has replied to your comment on Discussion 2' I saw that when he commented, so I don't need an email.
I sigh. There's nothing interesting as usual. I refresh and a new email pops down.
'Your storage space is running out'
Great... I thought it would be something different, but still nothing worth reading. And I really can't do anything about the storage space anyway since so much is the random school-regulated apps! The teacher walks in and begins the class as I delete all of the boring emails.

~~~~~

Lunch time, aka the period when I sit by myself because there is no one to talk to. Sapphire, Tamora, and I were lucky enough to all get different lunch periods - can you believe it? The chance that we would all have different times is so small! I plug in my earbuds and click on some tv show songs, grinning when Miraculous Ladybug starts playing. Now, it's time to get to work. I pull out my iPad and begin doing homework that was assigned earlier in the day. My lunch today consists of a rough salad that I threw together last night, some apple juice, a granola bar, and apple slices. I ate a few of the apple slices in between classes so only two remain. Some girls down the table from me begin gossiping with quite annoying voices (seriously, they sound like those valley girl stereotypes). I sigh and turn my music louder. It might be a long day...

~~~~~

I stretch my legs out and stand up, ignoring the twinge of stiffness that runs through them. Study hall has finally ended, so Sapphire and I walk to the locker room. I narrowly miss getting hit in the face by a door and turn around to send an annoyed look at her.

"Sorry," she giggles, walking over and opening her locker. Let's see... what was my locker combination? Oh, 15-01-19, right! I turn the dial and sigh when the lock doesn't open. Let me try once more... this time, the lock pops open and I begin changing into my dance clothes (a dance day shirt and random black pants). Sapphire and I tie back our hair and chuck our backpacks into a long locker since they won't fit in the tiny cubes that we are given for a regular basis. After kicking it closed and locking all three, we make our way down the hallway and up the stairs.

I sit in my assigned line on the floor for attendance and begin daydreaming about my new life here. Granted, I hadn't made many friends yet, but I'm excited for the warmer weather and beach! I wonder if I will have time to go swimming later. If not, I'm sure I will during the sleepover. Hmmm... what are we going to eat for dinner? We could always just get pizza or something, I suppose.

"PSST... Pearl! Get up!" Sapphire is staring down at me as everyone else is walking around the room. I must have zoned out. I scramble to my feet and walk over to the ballet bars, snagging a spot in the middle. A girl with short brown hair stands in front of me, turning around once I get situated.

"Hi, you're new here, right? My name is Brea!" she grins at me. I freeze up for a moment, not expecting to be noticed. After a month of class I had assumed anyone who would acknowledge me would have already done so.

"Ah hi, my name is Pearl. Yeah, I'm new. I moved here from Illinois not too long ago with my sister, Sapphire." I glance over to Sapphire across the room as she fidgets with her nails. Brea begins to speak again but is interrupted when the teacher claps her hands to begin our lesson.

~~~~~

I wait outside near a tree with Sapphire for Tamora so we can all walk home together. I'm scrolling through Instagram to wait. Awww look at that cute duck! I wish I could have a pet duck. I probably don't have enough time to take care of it though...

"Hey girls!" Tamora exclaims as she walks up to our tree.

"Hi Tamora!! How were your classes?" I ask, picking up my backpack.

"Ugh, you have NO idea. You know Sam?? He was interrupting my geography class ALL THE TIME. The sub didn't bother to do anything about it." She groans as we begin walking towards the stoplight.

"They never do," Sapphire sighs while shaking her head. We reach the crossing and push the button to signal the light. Some boys behind us stop, look at the traffic, and promptly run across the street against the light. A few cars swerve and honk at them as they laugh.

"What idiots," I roll my eyes. The girls nod their heads in agreement. I've never understood the logic of sprinting across a street (at a stoplight, no less) because you can't wait 30 seconds for the light to change. I mean, really?

"Are you still coming over for the sleepover later tonight?" Tamora asks as the light finally switches in our favor.

"Of course!! It's a Friday, so no school tomorrow, AND we haven't had one since getting here!" Sapphire exclaims. "What time should we come over?"

"I was thinking 5:00, Kim and my parents won't be home so that will give us time to either make dinner or decide what to order."

"Oooooh yeah, that sounds good to me!" I chime in as we round the corner. I take a moment to appreciate the sound of the waves as we all think about the evening ahead of us. I always loved listening to the waves, and finally hearing them in person (much less that I'm living here and not on vacation) was awesome. Tamora waves goodbye as she jogs to her front door and Sapphire and I continue down the street to our house. As I open the door, our parrot, Kiwi, begins squeaking at us. I squeak a hello in return and leave my shoes on the mat. Walking up to my room, I throw my bag to the floor and flop on my bed. Is it bad that I've just started school and I kinda want it to be over? I close my eyes and let the breeze from my (somehow) open window calm my mind.

*buzz buzz*

I look over to my phone to see some new messages pop up.

Tamora: Hey guys, remember to bring your Squishables! 

Sapphy: Omg I almost forgot thank you!!

Me: Thank you! I'll grab Constellation right now.

I glance around my room and find my lovely pink octopus of a Squishable in my little reading alcove. She must have also wanted to listen to the waves! Well.... not really, I put her there before since I had space, but she looks cute so I'll just imagine she wanted to be there by herself.

"Hey, do you want a snack?" Sapphire asks as she pops her head into my room. We stare at each other for a moment until I realize our mom when shopping this morning.

"BROCCOLI!!" I yell, shoving past her and running downstairs. We chop some up to steam it and I decide to do some packing (and unpacking) while it cooks. Trudging up to my room, I notice the small piles of clothes on the floor that I have yet to put away. Um... oops? I sort through it and grab a pair of lavender-colored pajamas that consist of short and a crop top.

*buzz buzz*

Sapphy: Guys, check out this cool book I found on Wattpad! *link*

I open the link to find a book titled "How to Become a Mermaid", written by a user named Aqua. The description states this book is used both for her own personal story as well as spells and whatnot for others to use. Hmmm... intriguing. The first chapter consists of her introducing herself. Her mermaid name is Aquata and she is a mermaid princess of the Kelp Kingdom. She lives on land near the sea. I scroll to the next chapter and she posted a spell for becoming a mermaid:

Magic spirits of the deep

I want a tail, not two feet

Beauty be upon me

Fish of all kinds, let me see

When I'm finished in the sea, when I'm dry,

Let my feet return to me

I read through the list of side effects and steps for the spell (such as wearing a piece of jewelry to hold the magic). I'm so engrossed with my reading that I don't see Sapphire come into my room.

"Are you reading that book I sent?" she asks, completely catching me off guard. I jump and take a deep breath, looking over to where she stands.

"Yeah, it's really interesting. You don't think this is real, do you?" I glance back at the book with curiosity.

"I don't know, I mean, maybe? It sure would be interesting if it was."

*buzz buzz*

Tamora: Ooh I had just stumbled upon that myself! Isn't it interesting??

Me: It SO is. Do you think it's real??

Tamora: Honestly, I don't know. Would you guys want to try it just for fun tonight? We have full use of the house anyway.

Sapphy: That could be fun! Remember, the spell needs a piece of jewelry, I recommend necklaces so we can hide them under clothing if needed and they're more comfortable.

Me: Good idea!

Sapphire leaves to check on the broccoli as I search for my jewelry. Where DID I unpack that? I open up a bunch of drawers and can't find it. I could've sworn I put it away already... glancing over to my suitcase in the closet, I decide to search through it once more. There my bag is, with all of my jewelry inside. How could I have missed that?? I pull out one of my favorite necklaces (a flower/sun shape) and set that aside in my bag for the sleepover. A flicker of doubt and worry runs through me. I haven't ever done anything magical before, what if this does something bad? What if it DOES work?

"PEARLLLLLLL," Sapphire shouts from downstairs, "THE BROCCOLI IS DONEEEEE!"

"OKAY THANKS," I yell back, cramming a robe into my bag before skipping downstairs. Sapphire hands me a bowl, fork, and knife. I scrape some butter from the tub and lay it on top of the broccoli so it begins to melt. 

"Are you ready for the sleepover?" Sapphire asks with her mouth full.

"I think so, I just need to grab my swimsuit," I nod as I fork a piece of broccoli into my mouth. We eat the broccoli in no more than 5 minutes and I go back to my room. Hmmm... which swimsuit to use.... I guess my purple/black one works. Oh wait, a towel! I grab one with a turtle pattern and stuff that on top after checking that my clothes, toiletries, and other necessities are all there. I think that's it! I carry my bag downstairs and see Sapphire waiting for me. We put on our shoes and take off to Tamora's house.

"Hi girls!!" Tamora squeals as if she didn't just see us two hours ago.

"Hiiiii!!" we shriek back, going in for a large group hug.

"Alright so you can put your bags in the sunroom, I'm thinking we can spend the night in there," Tamora points us in the direction of it. I take note of the lovely beach-themed decorations.

"Wait, you have a hot tub in here??" Sapphire asks in awe as we throw our bags onto the floor. Tamora giggles and nods. "How could you not tell us?" Sapphire pouts jokingly. We lay out our sleeping bags and look out through the full wall of windows that shows the ocean and beach in her backyard. The waves lightly crash against the shoreline and I feel a rush of excitement knowing that I'll be swimming there later.

"Alright, what should we make for dinner? Or would you rather order in?" Tamora asks as she walks to the kitchen. Sapphire and I follow suit.

"Honestly, I don't care," I shrug while Sapphire appears to be distracted by the waves.

"Ooh I know! I got some of this REALLY good fried rice the other day from Trader Joe's, let's have that! We can make some roasted potatoes and cauliflower to go along with it!" Sapphire and I nod in agreement and help her set up the kitchen. We start on the potatoes first, washing and chopping them up. I season the pieces with minced garlic, paprika, pepper, salt, and some onion powder while Tamora begins to cook the fried rice. Sapphire prepares the cauliflower to be steamed. I throw the potatoes into the oven to bake and begin cleaning up our supplies. 

"Tamora, what did your dance class do today? We had-" Sapphire makes a fake disgusted face, "- BALLET. I swear the girl behind me thought I was dying or something." I snicker as I remember how she had almost knocked the bar over when a classmate jumped into her space.

"We did too, but ours was across the floor." I give Tamora a look of utter sympathy. She nods in acknowledgement. "I KNOW, it was terrible. I was fine where I was but the people next to me must not understand the concept of moving in a straight line? I know it might be hard with certain things but we were just doing pas de bourree..."

"Right? Some people do it like they're going into lunges or something!" I giggle, picturing the poor struggling classmates. "Oh right, what did you guys think about that book from earlier with the spell? I know we decided to do it but where? And how?"

"Well, I was thinking we could either do it separately in the shower or maybe all together in the hot tub or ocean or something. Do you both have your necklaces?" Sapphire asks. Tamora and I nod as she pulls a pendant out from under her shirt. Sapphire and I look at it with interest and agree that it was a good choice.

"Here, why don't I write the spell stuff down for all of us? I'll list the main spell and some of the important instructions we should know when doing it," I suggest, grabbing a pencil and piece of paper. I pull up the book on my phone and begin scribbling down all of the information that I find relevant.  

~~~~~~~~

Hello everyone! Welcome back to this story! I'm so sorry for not updating it sooner (or like, at all) so hopefully this chapter does some good. I regret deleting my previous chapters because I COMPLETELY forgot what this book was about. I think I have a general storyline now, I just need to write it! For those of you who are new, welcome! I did have a previous version of this book but had the story develop too quickly for my liking so I decided to start over. I hope you're all doing well!

~Vicky, aka Pearl

Shoutout to my mer friends:

@TwilightSparkleMagic as Sapphire

@CaptainOnesto as Tamora

<3