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Sunday August 26, 1983

Annabel felt an odd tingling sensation in her legs when she put her hands under the sink water. Furrowing her eyebrows, she looked at the faucet in attempt to figure out what was provoking the odd feeling. Before she could get a good look, however, Annabel fell over. She reached out to the sink to catch herself, and was able to knock the handle and turn the water off, but it was no use in saving her. Her bottom hit the floor with a thud, and Annabel tilted her head at the obscure feeling sitting down created. Slowly she looked down, and about had a heart attack when her eyes set on a shimmery sapphire-blue fish tail, rather than the tan legs she'd come to know.

"Ginny?" she called out hesitantly. Annabel had yet to leave Ginny's house, though to be fair it was only 10:00 am.

"What's up?" The ginger girl in question knocked quietly on the door, pressing her ear up against it. Annabel gulped, eyes not leaving her new feature. "Could you come in for a second?"

Ginny opened the door with a confused look on her face, the expression quickly dropped upon sight of the girl in front of her.

Ginny couldn't help but grab the edge of the sink in attempt to keep herself standing. Unfortunately, in doing so she touched a few stray droplets. Feeling the same tingling sensation, Ginny looked down at her legs just as they morphed into a bright turquoise tail. Ginny fell down onto the floor, landing in front of Annabel, the same look of surprise on her face that had been on her friend's a moment earlier.

Ginny looked up from her own bottom half and back at her friend. "I like your bra?" she tested, sounding like she was asking a question. Annabel looked down at her own chest and noticed that a scaly top the same color as the tail had replaced her pajama shirt.

"Not what we should be focused on Virginia."

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Rory watered her plants everyday. It was a normal thing. There should be no reason watering one's plants would end in disaster. Or at least, that's what she was thinking when she flopped onto her floor, sea-foam green tail hugging what used to be her legs together. "Shit..." Rory resisted the urge to scream, knowing it would upset her father. Instead she just sat there, staring at the scales, even reaching out and touching one.

Finally deciding she needed to talk to somebody, Rory attempted to shimmy her way to her phone. It was a difficult process, but lucky for her, the phone was very close to her windowsill where she kept all the plants. Pulling it down to her level, Rory dialed a number she knew would pick up no matter the predicament.

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Amelia was in quite the predicament. One minute, she was stepping into the shower, and the next she was sat down on the tiles, half her body having transformed into that of a fish. She stared at the tail for a bit, determining if she was still dreaming. Amelia pinched her arm, and after letting out a yelp, decided that she was not.

Things only worsened when she heard the phone ring. Amelia stretched up and turned off the water, flopping out and grunting when her stomach hit the guard that separated the shower floor from the bathroom tile. She patted around, looking for a towel and let out a victorious "aha!" upon grabbing one. Amelia dried her torso off as best as she could, dragging herself to her bedroom where the phone was going off. Catching it on the last ring, Amelia panted into the machine.

"Amelia?" Rory's small voice semi-whispered through the device, and Amelia put the dots together quickly.

"Have you got a fish tail too?" she asked somewhat casually.

Rory nodded into the phone, but muttered affirmation when she realized Amelia couldn't see her. Amelia sighed in defeat. She looked down at the aegean blue color and flicked the thing menacingly. "This is kind of inconvenient."

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Amayah was about ready to pass out when her legs transformed into a large persian green tail. She'd just been trying to do the dishes for her mom, but no. The universe decided that now would be a good time to ruin her life.

Amayah stared at the thing, breathing heavily and trying to decide what to do. Eventually she reached up and shut off the water, attempting to flop her way back to the mirror in the hallway by the front door. For a moment, she was thankful her house was only one story, and that her parents had gone out for breakfast that morning.

Running a hand through her thick brown hair, Amayah let out a string of curses.

" 'Mayah?"

Amayah turned to face the recently opened front door, meeting eyes with none other than Jackson Soel. She couldn't help feel like some kind of magical fate-driven thing was out to get her.

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Jessie tapped on Amelia's glass window, an urgent tone to her actions. She was sitting in one of the trees in her friend's side yard, her usual way of entering Amelia's house. It wasn't that she couldn't enter her house from the front door like a sane person, it was just more fun to climb the tree.

That morning, Jessie had gone to take a bath and had found her legs clamped together and replaced by an odd cerulean blue tail. After maybe half an hour, the thing seemed to disappear, and Jessie immediately made her way to her best friend's house.

Jessie was beginning to grow impatient but before she could yell for her friend, a hand slammed on the glass from the inside. Jessie lurched back and almost fell out of the tree, catching herself in the last seconds. She watched as the hand twisted the window lock and pushed it open. Jessie swung into Amelia's room, smile meeting her lips when she finally saw her friend.

"Hey, me too!"

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Seven people sat in a much-too-small-for-its-current-capacity booth in the back of "Pete's", a diner that had been apart of Boro for as long as anyone could remember.

No one said anything, choosing instead to stare at each other and bask in the awkwardness of unanswered questions, that is, until Jessie spoke.

"Okay did it happen to Jackson too?" She relaxed her posture slightly, watching her blond friend and shrugging her shoulders at the pointed look he gave her.

"No, but he uh, walked in on me when it happened." Amayah piped up, averting her eyes from their previous place on Jessie.

"And the rest of us...it happened?" Ginny asked, avoiding mentioning what "it" was. Not that it needed to be clarified.

The others nodded, glancing around at each other anxiously.

"Well, shit."

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"Okay, so you think it was the water that did it?" Amayah asked, moving to run a hand through her brunette tresses, but stopping once she remembered she'd put it in a ponytail earlier.

"Mhmm." Annabel responded. "I went to wash my hands, and then it happened. And what's the thing all our stories have in common? Water." She stuck her finger out, pointing at Amelia. "Shower, bath." She continued, moving her aim toward Jessie. " etcetera, etcetera..."

"But then why didn't I change? I showered this morning too." Jackson argued reasonably, chin resting in his hands. Annabel furrowed her eyebrows and sat back into the booth. "Good point..." Ginny agreed.

"Maybe it only happens to girls?" Jessie wondered aloud, shrugging her shoulders. The seven glanced around Pete's, noting that no one else seemed any different than usual, certainly not the way a town would react if the entire female population grew tails.

"Doubt it. If Ms. Wilkins was a mermaid, she'd have shouted it from the roof by now." Amelia replied, the rest of the girls joining her in giggling about the odd old woman. Ms. Wilkins was the town's crazy, and she had a habit of over sharing personal things.

"What if it's not something in the water, what if it's something on our skin? And it just reacted with the water?" Rory brought up inquisitively. The group thought it over for a second.

"That could be...do you think it's worn off by now?" Ginny asked.

"Only one way to find out." Jessie shrugged, standing up from her spot on the outside of the booth. Annabel slid out after her, wide grin on her face.

"If your suggesting we go test it, I'm not coming." Amayah announced, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not interested in growing a tail and flopping around my kitchen floor, or anyone's kitchen floor for that matter, again."

Jessie couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. "Actually, I'm suggesting we go swimming. More space that way." She was talking back in a very matter-of-fact tone, and Annabel elbowed her in the ribs upon noticing how rude it was. Jessie flinched and shot Annabel a look, before softening her features a bit.

"Well I'm not coming wherever you're going." Amayah shot back, sinking further into her seat. Ginny put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, odd look on her face. The kid was torn between staying and keeping her friend company, and checking to see if she was still a mermaid. Eventually, Ginny's curiosity got the better of her. "Well, I wanna go." She declared, looking to her left, where the rest of the girls were sat. They all slid out, allowing Ginny to join the group.

When all was said and done, Jessie, Annabel, Ginny, and Amelia decided to head down to the dock by Ginny's house. Rory and Jackson choosing to stay with Amayah.

Just as the larger group was about to leave, the door swung open. On the other side stood a line of boys, though only the one in front, Matthew Mackintire, seemed to notice the girls blocking their path.

"Hey," he greeted them warmly, stepping to the side so they could exit the diner. It was only then that the other two looked up. Ginny immediately recognized Tony Zelek, as she'd known him since elementary school, (something that could be said for most kids living on the small island); the boy next to him however, she'd never seen before. He was beaming widely, and his hair was as swoopy as any of the actors from the teen magazines Ginny sometimes read with Annabel.

"Hi" Jessie responded, walking past him and out the door. Amelia followed, but Ginny couldn't help but fall behind the group. Annabel, noticing her friend's hesitance, stayed back with her.

"Are you new here?" Ginny asked the swoopy-haired boy without hesitation. The boy, looking slightly taken aback, quickly pulled himself together and re-dawned his award-winning smile. "Yep, 'names Danny." he stuck out his hand, a formality not typically expressed among children on Boro. Nonetheless, Ginny shook it, giggling a bit. "I'm Ginny, and that's Annabel" she turned and gestured to her brunette friend.

"Well it was nice to meet you Danny, but we've gotta go now." Annabel smiled, flicking Ginny on the shoulder to get her attention. "right, see ya' around!" Ginny smiled, and jogged after Amelia and Jessie, Annabel close behind.

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Donald Orval sat in Pete's, a scowl on his face and dark eyes trained on the group of girls running out of the diner.

"They're up to something, why else would they be running?" he questioned adamantly. His surrounding friends made no response, being used to Don's constant suspicions about Jessica Monroe and any of her friends.

"Maybe she's just really excited to go somewhere." One of the kids beside him suggested, swirling the straw around in his water cup.

"yeah right." Don blew it off, rolling his eyes dramatically.

The dark haired teen looked up at the sound of the door opening again. This time, it was Aaron Amerson who walked in. Aaron glanced around the diner in search of someone to sit with. He looked at a table seating Matt, Tony, and someone he didn't recognize, but decided against it as he wasn't in the mood to introduce himself to someone new.

Aaron's eyes traveled further back to see Donald Orval and his group of goons sitting in a booth. The unnatural redhead couldn't help but scrunch his nose up at the idea of sitting with them, looking on to find literally anywhere else.

Upon spotting the blond hair of Jackson Soel in a corner booth with some of his friends, Aaron smirked. He walked toward them, hands in his pockets, sliding in next to Amayah Wynn, another friend of his. "What's up?" he asked, grabbing Jackson's strawberry milkshake and taking a sip.

"Excuse you." Jackson joked, swiping his drink back. Rory chuckled and took a swig of her own drink. Said girl looked up when for the third time in five minutes, the door swung open again. After seeing who walked in, she immediately elbowed Amayah.

The taller girl glanced toward where Rory was looking and spotted Vincent Weslon, who upon making eye contact with her began heading their way.

"Having a party over here?" he asked sarcastically, sliding in next to Rory, who'd already scooted closer to Amayah to make room.

"Yup. I suppose you can be invited," she responded equally as sardonically, smirking all the while.

"Good."

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Amelia sucked in a deep breath, staring down at the ocean before her. From her spot on the dock, she could see the vague outline of Mako Island. Annabel, Ginny, and Jessie stood behind her, waiting for the girl to jump into the water. Amelia had volunteered to be first.

They'd gone back to the dock by Ginny's house since it was somewhat secluded. The nearest neighbor was a few miles away, or a few miles across the water, though that house had been empty for years.

Amelia squeezed her eyes shut for a second, before leaping into the sea. She felt the water crash around her, and her body sink to the bottom from the impact. For a second, there was no change, and Amelia wondered briefly if the morning's events had all been one mass illusion. Then her legs felt tight, and Amelia opened her eyes to see the tail had returned. Swimming back to the surface, Amelia erupted from the waves with a wide smile.

"Still here." she announced before ducking to avoid Annabel, who'd leapt into the water as soon as she noticed the dark tail coming off of Amelia's waist. Ginny and Jessie followed soon after laughing and basking in the late morning sun.

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Natalia Avery had never met a mermaid before. Her mother had told her about them when she was younger, but she'd never really seen them. Regardless of her inexperience with the species, the girl was 99% sure that mermaids should not be transforming in public.

The dark haired teen observed the creatures playing in the water across from the home she'd recently moved into, shaking her head at the naivety. Standing up, she walked inside, searching for a book she hadn't read in a very long time.

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Hey everybody! The next chapter is set in school, and will include some more drama so get ready!!