Irene tried to sink down in her seat making herself invisible, but it was no use.

"Irene!! Why are you here?" Kyle marched over and by the way he spoke and moved, Lia could tell that he was drunk.

"Not good..." Irene said so that it was only Lia who could hear her.

"I'm drinking coffee. What are you doing here?"

"Don't get smart with me! I'm older than you! I deserve your respect!!" Kyle was practically spitting on Irene.

"Any luck finding the seal girl?" Irene changed the subject.

"There was a weird girl at Lia's house. Who was she? I haven't seen her around" Kyle's voice slurred as he leaned toward Irene with his elbows on the table.

"She's Lia's... cousin! Yeah. She's your cousin right?" Irene shot Lia a look and Lia nodded.

"Yeah. She's visiting me from out of town. I'm not sure how long she will stay. She has some... Uh... problems at home." Other than Nikki being her cousin, Lia didn't exactly lie. She just didn't tell all the details.

Just then the door opened and Marceena strode into the shop. Kyle immediately turned to stare at her and he frowned.

Lia and Irene exchanged a glance as Kyle stared at Marceena, an odd expression on his face. Kyle walked over to a table close to Marceena and sat down. He wasn't paying any attention to Lia and Irene anymore.

"Go. go!" Irene quietly but urgently motioned Lia toward the door. Lia wasted no time in grabbing her stuff and exiting the shop with Irene, not wanting to have to deal with Kyle anymore.

"Let's go!" Irene took off running down the street as soon as they were out of sight of the windows of the coffee shop.

"Where are we going?" Lia followed , slightly perplexed.

"We're going to search for Nikki's skin while Kyle is... busy." Irene continued running toward her house with Lia close behind.

*******

Nikki wandered through Jen and Luke's house, admiring the photographs of marine life and underwater seascapes. She stopped in front of a mirror hanging on the wall and looked at herself. Her eyes were dark, and her long hair was messy and flecked with salt from the ocean even after the shower she had taken. Her face was covered with light brown freckles.

She picked at the neck of the t-shirt she wore, missing the feel of the ocean on her seal skin. The cloth humans wore was more scratchy and rough than the smooth, soft, comfort of her skin.

She stared out the window at the gentle swell of the rolling waves. She watched as a small raft of seaweed was lifted toward the sand and then pulled back again by the current....

The day was sunny and calm at sea. A baby seal played, wrapping herself in seaweed and using the floating plant raft as a place to stay afloat and rest. The leaves of the kelp plant she had wrapped herself in were smooth and wide, making a nice bed to rest on. Her mother swam up to the raft with a large fish in her mouth. She bit some off, and then passed it to the baby, who ate it hungrily. It was a small salmon. Her mother must have gone quite a ways to get it, but her mother knew it was her daughter's favorite...

The slam of a car door outside pulled Nikki back to reality. She tensed, but relaxed when she saw that it was only Jen walking up the path. Nikki sat down on the couch and watched the water.

"Hello, Nikki." Jen said as she entered the house.

"Hello", Nikki replied, standing up and walking into the kitchen.

"I bought your favorite on the way home today." Jen gave a kind smile as she held up a package of salmon. Nikki's eyes lit up at the sight.

"Thank you." She said quietly, as she sat down at the kitchen table.

"Is Lia not here now?" Jen asked.

"I think she went somewhere with Irene." Nikki looked out the window as she spoke, watching for Lia and looking at the trees in the front yard.  

Trees on land were very different from the aquatic plant life she was used to, and yet some of the land plants were familiar enough that they were comforting. She watched a small swarm of birds flutter around the tree, land, then rise up again in a winged cloud.

They are like the fish. They travel together. Nikki thought. She was starting to realize more and more that earthworld wasn't very different from oceanworld at all.

She laughed a little as she watched a pair of squirrels chase each other up and down the trunk of the tree, then they darted away across the ground together.

"What is the scariest thing about the ocean?" Nikki asked Jen after a while of silence between them. Jen looked up from a book she had been reading.

"Oh... um... I don't know... I know lots of people are scared of sharks, but I've never really feared the ocean... I guess I'd say it's how deep and large it is, and yet it's ecosystems are so fragile." Jen said after thinking about it. "Also, moray eels just seem grumpy all the time and are a little bit creepy."

Nikki laughed. "What about on land?" She asked after several moments.

"I'm scared of how oblivious some humans can be, even when they are hurting people, animals, or things. I try hard not to be, but I think all humans are sometimes very quick to dismiss or deny something they don't want to believe. We turn a blind eye to too much. That scares me." Jen sighed. Nikki nodded.

"What about you, Nikki?" Jen asked.

"Killer whales and oil spills." Nikki replied with a shudder. "And humans and nets." Nikki said.  "Although... maybe not all humans are bad..."

Jen watched Nikki thoughtfully for a moment before replying. "I understand thinking humans are bad. Even I think so sometimes. But I also like to hope we aren't all bad. I like to hope humans can change and become less blind to the world."

Nikki nodded and looked at Jen.

"You're not a bad human."

Author's note: this update is so late! I'm sorry! I have been working out how I am going to organize all the plot I have planned, so it has taken me a while to update. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you continue reading The Sea's Lost Song !