Mer opened his eyes and felt around beside him but didn't feel Oscar there. He panicked and sat up, looking around to try and find his friend. He rolled over to the edge of the bed and tried to stand, but was still very weak and ended up crumbling to the floor. Mer cursed and grabbed the top of the side table to try and help himself get back on his feet. He heard footsteps and looked up, hoping to find Oscar, but instead was met with Oscar's dad.

"Are you alright?" Isaiah asked, going over and helping Mer get back up.

Mer sat down on the bed and nodded, looking at Isaiah for a moment.

Where is Oscar?

"Oz had to go to the aquarium to make sure things were set up with the job he has there. He'll only be gone for a few hours. I volunteered to look after you until he gets back."

How long will he be gone? he asked quizzically.

"A few hours. Five at the most?" Mer's eyes got wide. "I wish I could give you a more definite answer..."

Mer looked away, chewing on his thumbnail a little in anxiety. Isaiah touched his hand softly and Mer looked over at him.

"I don't know everything, but I know that things have been a little hard for the both of you, right?" Mer nodded a little. "I'm here to help, as I always have. Oscar will be back soon and trusted me to make sure you were okay. You've known me as long as you've known Oz; have I ever done anything to hurt you?" Mer shook his head. "Then what makes you think I'd start now?"

Mer smiled and leaned his head onto Isaiah's shoulder. Isaiah smiled and put his arm around the merman.

"I'll make sure to do as much as I can to help. First thing's first though, please brush your teeth."

******************

Oscar drove up to the aquarium and looked at the large wall with the sea mural on it. Oscar's mother specifically chose this place for the ocean view but she also chose it because they had one of the largest aquariums around. The walls were huge and the giant picture of a blue whale on the side was almost representative by the things inside. A whale of that proportion was way too big to contain, but they did house much larger animals than usual like killer whales, whale sharks, and a giant octopus. They also had an interesting "indoor" diving experience that allowed people to go into the depths of the ocean and see some interesting creatures that were not in captivity but were definitely hard to see otherwise.

Overall, it drove tourism to the area and was one of the largest job availabilities around. Almost everyone who lived there worked or has worked at the aquarium in one department or another. Everything else was a thirty minute to an hour drive away. Ironically, even though Oscar visited the place every year, he had never been to the aquarium. Probably because he was always with Mer and had just as much fun with him.

He walked to the front doors of the building and pushed it open. He walked to the counter where a young woman was on the phone looking very bored at whoever was talking. She chewed her gum as she listened to someone ramble on the other end of the receiver and gave a half-hearted 'uh huh' every few minutes. Eventually the person on the other end seemed to stop.

"I understand the frustration, but like I told you before, it doesn't matter if you were the owner of a private island, there are certain types of sea creature that can't be housed in a normal setting and a giant squid is one of them. There isn't a tank big enough or deep enough for them. They are deep sea creatures, which is why we haven't seen them since just recently. If you really want to give your friends a display, get you a large aquarium and fill it up with firefly squid and other fish that use bioluminescence. I'd come see that. Mmhmm. No, we don't sell them. We're an aquarium not a pet store. Okay... Okay. Great. Bye." She rolled her eyes and looked at Oscar. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, um, I was told to meet with HR about the job in the gift shop?"

The woman looked at his portfolio bag and lifted an eyebrow.

"What's in there?"

"Oh, uh, I'm a painter and they told me I could sell some pieces in the gift shop. I brought a few pieces to show them what I have."

"I see. Have a seat and I'll let them know you're here. What's your name?"

"Oscar Canto-Pimenta."

The woman narrowed her eyes and pressed a button on the phone, putting the receiver to her ear. "Hello? Yes, I have an Oscar Can of Polenta here."

Oscar rolled his eyes. It was common for people to mispronounce his last name.

"Mr. Stall said he would be down in about five minutes. He's finishing something."

"Right, cool."

Oscar sat down in the lobby area and put the portfolio folder in the seat beside him. The lobby had some creatures hanging from the ceiling along with shards of glass that reflected light onto the ceiling to make it look like you were underwater. Seeing that gave Oscar an idea for a 3D painting he wanted to try later.

"Here we are, back in the lobby. I thank you all for coming and I hope that you'll come and see us again." Oscar heard a tour guide saying. "If you go in the doorway under the sea turtle, you'll find our gift shop. Feel free to look around."

He looked over and saw about fifteen or so small children being ushered by their teachers to go over to the gift shop. The man who had been giving the tour watched the kids with a tight smile and once they were out of his sight, he leaned on the desk of the receptionist. She smiled, leaning on her elbow to look at him.

"Tough crowd?"

"Little bastards. I hate when you've got that one kid who is a perpetual class clown. I mean, I wasn't the greatest but I didn't think I was funny all the time. Time and place, kid."

The woman chuckled. "Don't you dare act like you were a saint when you were in school. I remember you being in detention all the time."

"Oscar?" a man said, coming from the hallway behind the desk.

The two tried to act normal as an older man in a business suit walked over towards Oscar, holding out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Jason Stall, the HR manager here. So nice to meet you." He said, as Oscar shook his hand.

Mr. Stall started talking to him but Oscar noticed that the tour guide was looking at him weird. He chocked it up to almost being caught by the HR manager and turned his attention back to Mr. Stall.

*********************

"Wow... these are... just magnificent." Mr. Stall said, holding up one of Oscar's paintings. "The colors are just fantastic... and you painted this yourself?"

"Yes, sir."

"You said you have your own online store?"

"Yes, I sell the larger ones on their own and then I usually have a three part smaller series that is sold as a set." Oscar said, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt.

Mr. Stall nodded and handed the larger painting back to him.

"May I ask why there is a merman in all of them?"

"Uh, well, it's kind of my muse. When I was younger we came here every summer. My mother specifically wanted to buy a beach house here because she loved the mermaid lore and the quiet community but she um... she sadly passed away to cancer before we ever got a chance to come here as a family."

"I'm very sorry to hear that."

"It's fine, but coming here and hearing of all the local legends, it inspired me and I started drawing and painting and it just kind of took off from there. The manager of the gift shop said she didn't care if I brought some paintings in and sold them but she said I needed to go through you first for official approval."

"How much did she offer you?"

"Fifty percent."

"Hmm... How many do you plan on bringing in?"

"Just two large paintings and one set for right now. I don't want to take away from your store. My plan was to mostly do that and then once they sell just replace it. I didn't want to make things too complicated."

"Do you paint other things without the merman?"

"Yes, I can. That was also why I wanted permission to sell because I wanted to get some inspiration from the aquarium for sea creature pieces as well as more diverse things for the merman... Does... he bother you?"

"No, no, it's just that this is an aquarium for actual sea creatures, not mythological ones. If you'll keep a mix then I don't see why not. We get a lot of freelance artists around here and I think you're the first who has wanted to sell in our shop."

"Well, considering the aquarium is quite unique, I thought maybe I could add to it."

Mr. Stall chuckled and held his hand again. "It's good to meet you, Oscar. When do you start working?"

"I think it's the end of the week? I'm not really sure."

"Well, double check with Kelly and we will be seeing you soon. And if it wasn't clear, you're approved to sell your artwork."

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate it."

Oscar left the room and breathed in, trying to keep the butterflies from climbing up his throat. He got in the elevator and pressed the down button but heard someone yell for him to wait. He pressed the button for the doors to stay open and a young brown haired woman carrying a lot of books for some reason rushed onto the elevator.

"Thank you!"

"No problem."

They stood in silence as the elevator descended. When the door pinged, the woman moved to get off of the elevator but the door hadn't opened all the way and it pushed her books out of her hand. They fell all over the floor of the elevator and Oscar bent down to pick them up.

"It's one of those fucking days..." she growled under her breath as she bent down to grab the books.

Oscar handed three of them to her. "Here you go."

She looked up at him and snatched the books out of his hand. "Thanks."

She stacked the books up again and steadied herself. She then scrambled off towards the front door. Oscar hoped she didn't bump into anything again and headed off to his car.

"Oscar Canto-Pimenta?"

Oscar turned, not used to hearing someone say his name right and saw the tour guide from before. He pointed at Oscar.

"It is you. I thought I recognized that weird ass last name of yours."

Oscar made a face. "Do I know you?"

The guy grabbed the nametag on his shirt. "I'm Trent, remember? I almost drowned that one time?"

Oscar smiled stiffly, unfortunately remembering. "Oh, yeah... Cool... I mean, it's not cool that you almost drowned but... you know..."

"You live here now?"

"Um... yeah... Look, Trent, I have to go-"

"You gonna get a job here?" he said, walking up to him.

"Yeah..." Oscar said, taking a step back.

"Where you gonna work? You gonna be tour guide or a janitor or something?"

"No, uh, the um... the gift shop."

Trent frowned. "Why do you act like I'm going to smack you in the face or something? Just trying to catch up."

"I'm going to be starting on Monday so you can catch up then. I really have to go, bye."

Oscar scuttled off to his car and got in, leaning his head on the steering wheel. He had had a suspicion that he would run into Trent or Jeffery (it was a very small town) but he honestly wasn't expecting to run into Trent so quickly. He was not mentally prepared for that. Trent was part of a long list of things that had caused him some mental health issues and body dysmorphia, so the surprise was... well, a surprise. Oscar gathered his wits and turned the car on, looking at his list of things to get.

*********************

Mer looked at the screen in front of him and contemplated his next move. He looked over the edge to look at Isaiah, who looked like he was strategizing. Mer watched him for a moment and then smirked. He tapped the edge to get Isaiah's attention and pointed down.

"Alright, what do you have?"

A4.

Isaiah frowned. "Damn it... you killed my sub."

Mer grinned and put the red peg in the hole on his end. It was clear now the layout of Isaiah's battlegrounds and all he needed to do was call out the numbers. He missed a bunch on purpose so he could triangulate the rest of the ships. Just then, the door opened and Oscar came in with a bunch of groceries. He set his stuff down and came into the house, finding his dad and Mer sitting on either side of the coffee table.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Getting my ass kicked." Isaiah said, rolling his pegs around in his hand.

I'm winning! Mer signed big.

Oscar smiled and sat next to Mer, looking at his board. "I don't remember ever playing Fleet Sinker with you."

"You didn't. Me and Mer played that one time Vanessa and I came here while you were in college. Vanessa had gone out to be pampered and Mer just happened to show up when I went for a walk. I taught him how to play then."

"Making friends without me..." Mer grinned and Oscar tousled his hair. "I'm glad to see you up and about. You had me worried for minute."

I cannot guarantee I will be better tomorrow. I think sleeping helped.

"Maybe... So... guess who I ran into while I was at the aquarium?"

"Who? B6?"

Miss.

"Damn it..."

"Trent."

Mer looked over immediately when he said the name. He felt his face get warm and he clenched his fists. The Trent... he snarled in his head. How could he ever forget it?

"Are... you alright?" Isaiah asked, looking at him in concern.

"It was surprising but... I should be okay. I had a feeling I would run into him just... not this fast."

Isaiah nodded. "Just remember what the therapist told you: it's alright to run away, you don't have to face every fear when they come."

"Yeah, I got away as quickly as possible so... Anyway, how was everything?"

"Mer seemed to be in good spirits today, so it was decent."

"That's good. I'm going to go change and make some dinner. You're welcome to stay if you like, Dad."

"Nah, I have to get going. How did it go, by the way? Everything still going well?"

"Yes, I met with the HR manager and he said that I could sell my paintings as long as I mixed them up a bit. He was fine with the percentage too."

Isaiah made a face. "You did tell him that you will be selling them for a pretty high price, right?"

"Wouldn't he know that?"

"Oz, most of the pictures in there go for $25-$30."

"Yeah, but those are prints. Mine are painted."

"I would lower the price."

"I'm not lowering the price. If people online will pay it then people in a tourist town can pay it. It's not like they don't jack up the prices anyway."

Isaiah shrugged. "It may take a while to sell them then."

"If it does, it does, but I have the online store that's still going and I'm going to get a steady check from the aquarium, so I'll be fine. I'm not skimping out on my quality just to sell."

"I would still lower them a little. Maybe by $100 just to make it seem like they are getting a deal. I assume that you'll have your business card advertising the site, right?" Oscar nodded. "Well, you need to make them think that if they get it straight from you, the artist in person, that they will be getting a discount. If they like your work enough, they can go on the site and take a look and pay the prices there. Who knows? You may get commissions."

"I'm not doing commissions anymore. Remember the last time that happened? That stupid asshole almost ruined my business. People are going to get what I got or they can suck it."

Isaiah sighed. "It's your stuff, Oz, you do what you want. You know the market better than I do." He stood up. "Anyhow, I'm going to head out. It as great to see you again, Mer, and call me if anything happens or you need me for anything. Either of you."

"I'll be back, Mer."

He nodded as he cleaned up the game and Oz walked his father to the door.

"You should think about getting Mer a cheap cell phone. If he's going to be staying with you for a while, he'll need a way to communicate when you're gone or if he needed me for something."

"Maybe with my first paycheck I'll see if I can get him something. I agree and he needs to be able to reach us."

"I'll see you later, son." He said with a pat on his shoulder.

"Thanks for helping out."

He left and Oscar sighed. He went back to the kitchen to start unloading groceries as Mer came in. He slid onto the barstool and watched Oscar put things away. He watched him for a moment and then knocked on the bar to get Oscar's attention.

Are you okay?

"Not really, but I'll be alright. I thought I handled things pretty well..."

If the Trent made you upset- Mer started but Oscar held up his hand.

"Even if he did make me upset, you're not going near Trent. Even though it was a long time ago, you still tried to drown him. What are you going to do on land, strangle him?" Mer shrugged. "And that's why you're going nowhere near him."

Would luring him into oncoming traffic be considered premeditated murder? Mer signed, turning his head.

"Yes. Look, I can handle Trent, it's just that I thought I would have a little more time to get acclimated to knowing he's around. I didn't recognize him today anyway so I was hoping I would end up working with him and then I'd realize who he was but... oh well. It's been over ten years so I shouldn't really be having this reaction."

Just because your brain is better at handling him doesn't mean your body doesn't know what it should do. I've heard humans sometimes do not listen to their instincts.

"We do but our instincts don't work in the same way other creatures do. Now that I know he works there, I'll just make sure to keep my wits about me and do better next time." Oscar leaned on the bar and hung his head. "I acted like such a coward today... I was instantly afraid of him and it was like all of my hard work and therapy and..." He huffed. "Fuck."

Mer watched him for a moment as he gathered himself and then breathed in, pushing himself from the bar.

"Okay, what fish do you want tonight? Are you hungry?" Mer nodded. "I got some tuna steaks, a grouper, a salmon, and some shrimp. What do you want?"

Salmon.

Oscar turned back to the freezer and grabbed another salmon filet.

"I had a feeling that's what you'd picked, so I bought two since I know you can eat a whole filet yourself." Mer smiled. "You want it raw or cooked?"

Both?

"I'll cut it in half then."