by Sara Summers
“Do you want a bite?” he must’ve caught me staring.
“Oh, that’s okay.” I shook my head and looked back down at my yogurt.
Sam went back to eating the waffles while I finished up my own food.
I thought eating my own food would fill me up and get rid of the craving. I still wanted a waffle, though. I still wanted a waffle badly.
I had just about decided I could deal with waiting in line when Sam stretched his arms out.
“I don’t want any more of this. Do either of you want it?” he pushed his plate forward, a few bites of waffles still left.
Alena picked her head up off the table and shook it, looking around blearily. I bit back a smile. Apparently, the table was just as good as any bed.
“What? No, I’m good.” She yawned. “I think I’m going to go back to sleep.” She yawned again, standing up. “There are plenty of you who can welcome the foreign people.” She started walking back to her room, but Sav grabbed her arm as she walked by.
“Hey, Alena? Would you be able to watch Lyssie today?” Sav checked.
Alena’s tired eyes lifted.
“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Does she take naps?”
“Every day.” Sav smiled.
“Then I’m totally in.” Alena’s eyes were bright. “I’ll watch her every day if it means I don’t have to go to the meetings.”
“Thank you. Just meet in the hallway with everyone else in like…” Sav looked at the time on her phone. “Thirty minutes. Does that work for you?”
“Yep.” Alena nodded.
She hurried out of the dining area, a little bounce in her step.
“Do you want this? If not, I’m just going to throw it away.” Sam offered again.
“Oh, no thanks.” I shook my head, though my stomach urged me to take the offer.
“Are you sure?” he asked again.
I hesitated. We weren’t friends, were we? Was it okay to accept food from the soulmate who didn’t want me? Was that something that only people who were more than friends did?
You know what, who cares? I want the waffles.
I decided.
“Alright, I’ll take them.” I accepted the plate.
They were every bit as satisfying as I thought they’d be.
“Ready to go get ready?” Sam checked.
“Um,” I bit my lip, looking for Sav. She sat with Jordie, Lyssie, and Leah. “Yeah, just one second.” I walked over to her table. “Hey, is there any dress code for the event? I don’t have anything fancy to wear…” I trailed off.
“Oh, just stop by my room.” Sav told me. “I brought a bunch of long skirts for anyone who didn’t have one. Wear any shirt with it and you’ll look nice enough.” She said.
“Thanks.” I smiled, and she handed me a room key.
“No problem.” She smiled back.
Sam was behind me as I stepped away from my friend, and he led me back up the stairs to our room. There were guards in the hallway, but only three of them. After what happened the night before, I thought there should be more than three security guys.
But I was just the mermaid queen, so the humans didn’t care about my opinion. That was all good and well as long as no one else got hurt, I thought.
In Sav’s room, I found eight or nine skirts hanging in the closet. I’d brought a white V-neck t-shirt and a light blue one, so I grabbed a red skirt with some sort of tribal-looking pattern on it. It was the only fun-looking skirt she had brought, so I had to choose it.
After living in the ocean where colors were always pale, I loved the bright colors in the human world.
The skirt would look fine, and if anything, the fun designs would make me look more like what the humans thought a mermaid shifter should look like. That would work in my favor, so at least I wouldn’t have to tell everyone what kind of shifter I was more than once.
Sam had waited outside Sav’s room for me, so when I walked out, he led me back down the hall to our room.
It was weird to share a room with someone, especially someone who was supposed to love me but wanted nothing to do with my world. I tried not to think about it though, instead focusing on getting ready.
Sam took a quick shower and got dressed in the bathroom while I got ready in the rest of the room. I grabbed my blue shirt, hoping it would say “mermaid” as much as the fun-colored skirt. After pulling them on, I grabbed the mascara from the side pocket of my bag.
I didn’t usually wear makeup; we mermaids still hadn’t figured out how to make it waterproof enough to wear deep in the ocean. But I did have a mascara tube left at Marie’s with the few items of clothing she had kept for me, and in that situation, it was a lifesaver.
I’d lived in the human world for fifteen years, and that was more than long enough to learn about the power humans assigned to the word “pretty”. To them makeup was pretty, so if I wore even just a little, I would have more sway among them.
It was a sad truth, but one I had accepted along with almost everyone else in the world.
My hair was tangled, but I knew from experience that my dark brownish-red waves would look worse if I tried to brush or comb them. So I tried to make it look presentable enough before giving up and looking at the time.
We still had twenty minutes, and I had absolutely nothing to do.
I’d lost my phone over a year earlier, when the council dragged me down into the ocean to make me their queen, so that was out. I had never liked reading very much, so I didn’t have a book or anything. There was a TV on top of the dresser, but I had zero interest in watching any movies or shows after living under the water for so long.
When I yawned, I realized that it was the perfect opportunity for a nap. Napping would make my hair look worse, but I didn’t care. It was kind of a mess anyway, but I could call it “beachy” and people would believe me because I was a mermaid.
I closed my eyes, and I must’ve fallen asleep the second my head hit the pillow because I don’t even remember laying there.
Twenty minutes later, Sam woke me up.
“Ava?” he tossed a pillow at me.
“What?” I yawned, not moving.
“We need to go make friends with people.” Sam told me.
“Okay.” I slowly cracked my eyes open, then slid out of bed and into the flipflops on the floor.
Sam was wearing a black button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and dang, he looked good. The jeans sent sort of a rebel message, one that I liked way too much.
“Do you think it’s bad to wear flipflops to a fancy summit?” I wondered, looking down at the old, once-yellow shoes.
“Eh…” Sam shrugged. “It’s up to you. Do you have anything else?”
“No…” I sighed. “I could just go barefoot.”
“If you do it, I will too.” Sam offered, with a sly grin. “We could surprise all the fancy politicians.”
I slowly smiled.
“I like the way you think.” I stepped out of my flipflops and Sam pulled his sneakers off.
We met everyone in the hallway, and I tried to hide my smile at our tiny rebellion. I couldn’t deny how much I liked the fact that he wanted to stick it to the leaders of all these foreign countries in this tiny and completely non-offensive way.
Maybe there’s a reason we’re supposed to be soulmates…
I didn’t let the thought sink in, focusing on the group of shifters in the hallway.
“Alright team, there aren’t any rules today. Just eat the cute finger food and make small-talk. Try not to explode when the eight hundredth person asks you what type of shifter you are for the sixth time. Got it?” Jazz looked around the group of us. She had taken over for Sav, who was briefing Ava on what to do with Lyssie all day.
Everyone nodded, and I turned to Sam before we could go.
“I know it might be hard, but just play along. If someone asks you a question about mermaid culture that you aren’t sure about yet, just direct it toward me and I’ll answer. Don’t let them know
you were ever a human, and be careful not to tell them about the council or anything like that. They can know our culture, but for the safety of our cities they can’t know any important details.” I instructed.
“Got it.” Sam nodded once. “Play politician for a day.”
“Exactly.” I agreed, taking a deep breath before following the rest of the shifters down the stairs and toward whatever room the welcoming friend-shipping day would be in.
The day went exactly how Jazz said it would. We ate fancy finger foods and made small talk with people who had no idea what shifters were actually like in person. I answered questions about mermaid culture, Sam pretended that he had been born a shifter, and both of us smiled and answered everyone who asked what type of shifter we were no matter how many times we had already told them.
I told more than a few lies to cover for my people, but the biggest lie was one that Sam and I told together. We held hands and told people how we met on the beach and fell quickly into a love that we had never fallen out of. We played the parts of a well-functioning couple, despite the fact that we had known each other for less than 48 hours.
It wasn’t fun, necessarily. But it was a lot more fun playing mermaid queen around humans than it had ever been while I was actually being the mermaid queen around the council.
When the meet-and-greet was over, it was time for dinner. Everyone was excused to freshen up while everything was set up, and we all went back to our rooms.
I sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed at my feet.
“Are you okay?” Sam checked, sitting next to me. Him sitting so close surprised me, but I didn’t say anything. I guess after an entire day of pretending we were in love, sitting next to each other wasn’t such a stretch.
“I’m fine.” I didn’t look up, trying to massage the pain out of my feet.
“Ava.” Sam shook his head at me, getting off the bed and walking over to the bathroom. I heard the bathtub turn on, and a minute later he came out. “Here.” He picked me up in his arms, and I tried not to panic.
What is he doing? He doesn’t want me or like me.
“Here, I put some oils in the tub. It’ll make your feet feel better if you soak them.” He pulled my skirt to my knees and sat me down on the edge of the tub, sticking my feet in the water. “You’ve looked good today, by the way. And you’re good at what you do.”
With that, he walked out of the bathroom.
I stared at the wall for a solid five minutes, completely shocked by his words and actions.
As they soaked in the hot water and essential oils, my feet actually did start to feel better. That was a relief. Mermaids don’t ever walk since tails don’t exactly work that way, so my feet were suffering since I’d taken human form after so long of having a tail.
A few minutes later, Sam came back and carried me to the bed again. He sat me down with my feet out in front of me, on a towel, and went back to drain the water.
He’d surprised me yet again.
I didn’t know what else to do but stare at the wall, blinking and wondering what he was trying to say with his actions.
Chapter 12
When we walked into what was now a large dining room, my friends and I noticed cards with names on them placed on every plate. We were some of the first people there (on purpose), so we stopped at the front of the room.
“Do we have to read all the cards?” Brooke grimaced. There were two or three hundred of them, sitting on round tables around the massive room.
“Yep. Say something if you find someone’s.” Sav laced her fingers through Jordie’s, and they went left.
Marley and Beau went right, so, Sam and I went forward. The other girls spread out, and it didn’t take long before people started finding our names.
“Brooke, you’re over here.” Sav called out, pointing to a seat at a table toward the front. Brooke hurried over there.
“Jazz.” Beau summoned her to the back of the room.
“Kennedy.” I pointed to a table in the middle.
“Leah and Kyle.” Sav spoke up, pointing to another table toward the front of the room.
“This is us.” Marley and Beau spoke up, taking a seat in the middle-back of the room.
“Merla.” I pointed to another seat in the middle, and our eagle-friend strolled over.
I looked around the room, and Sav was still going through tables. Cosette had found her chair, in the middle-front, close to the door.
“Ava, you’re here.” Sav pointed to a table at the very front of the room. It was pulled forward, away from the others just a bit. She and Jordie took their seats up at the front and fairly close to us, while Sam and I made our way to that first table.
It didn’t take long for other people to start making their way into the room. It had been a long day, so I figured everyone was ready to eat.
About twenty minutes later, all the chairs were filled except the two next to mine. I had tried to read the name-card, but there wasn’t one on either of the plates.
The president stepped out in front of the room with a big, friendly smile on his face.
“Thank you all for coming to this Summit for Peace. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say thank you to all of you shifters who have taken time out of your schedules to come speak with us. We are happy to see a representative from every type of shifter, and we are excited to hear from all of you tomorrow, and the mermaid queen today.” His smile was contagious, or at least, it would’ve been had I not been completely surprised by his announcement.
We were all supposed to speak tomorrow? Why hadn’t anyone told me that? And I was speaking at the dinner?
What am I going to say about mermaids that won’t make humans feel threatened by our magic?
My mind raced. I forced myself to smile and clap as he finished his speech and took a seat next to me. His wife sat next to him, and I realized why there hadn’t been any cards on those plates. The last two people wouldn’t need name cards.
The fake smile lingered on my face as I tried not to panic. Luckily, servers brought the food out as soon as the president was done speaking, so at least there was that to distract everyone from my worry.
My table was the first to go up to the buffet. I couldn’t focus on what anyone was saying, so as they asked me whether or not I wanted something, I just nodded.
When I sat back down, my plate was way too full with food that looked way too rich.
Sam sat beside me, and he raised his eyebrows.
“You realize these are just the appetizers, right?” he whispered.
I bit back a groan.
“Of course, I’m starving.” I forced another smile so none of the politicians or whoever else was at the table would know how ignorant and ill-prepared I was for a fancy dinner like that one.
I nibbled at the food. It all tasted good, but I didn’t have much of a stomach for any of it. After hearing that I was expected to speak, I didn’t have a stomach for anything.
Sam polished off most of what was on his plate, and then looked over at mine. He smiled and leaned over to whisper something in my ear, again acting like we were a cute and in-love couple.
“Start a conversation to distract everyone, and I’ll swap our plates.” He whispered.
I smiled flirtatiously and nodded, looking at the group. The president’s wife was smiling at us, along with the other three women at the table.
“I love your necklace.” I complimented the first lady, and she smiled.
“Thank you. I’ve been admiring your skirt all day.” She admitted. “You definitely stand out.”
I laughed and shook my head.
“Like a sore thumb, I’d imagine. I feel out of place on land, now.” I admitted. “I do like the bright colors here, though.”
“Are there not bright colors in your mermaid city?”
I chose not to correct her. Technically, there were mermaid cities. Lots of them. She didn’t need to know that, though, and if I told her, there was a chance my people m
ight be in danger.
“Oh, no. Nothing like this.” I shook my head. “Our colors are pale and muted. It makes our kingdom much more peaceful and encourages a calm temperament.” I repeated to her what the council had told me when I asked about the colors. “Once we tried painting buildings in different colors, and people started arguing and fighting a lot more than they used to. So, we made it natural again.” I explained.
“Wow.” The first lady nodded. “That’s interesting.”
“Yeah.” I nodded, looking down at my now almost-empty plate. Sam was busy eating all the food I had accidentally agreed to, and I assumed he hadn’t heard any of our conversation.
A few minutes later, one of the men across the table spoke up.
“Is it true that mermaids have magical capabilities?” the man asked.
I forced myself to keep a straight face.
“Yes, some of us have certain talents.” I nodded once, hoping he wouldn’t prod. This was another matter of security that I absolutely could not explain. My people would be at risk if anyone knew the extent of the magic that mermaids possessed.
“What do you mean?” the man frowned. “What talents?” he said the word like it disgusted him. I searched my mind for an answer that wouldn’t offend him or make anyone around me afraid of mermaids.
“My people see the world differently than you do. The world is full of magic for those who are willing to look.” I dodged the question.
“You didn’t answer me.” The man pushed. Usually politicians were more sly with their prodding than that, I thought, but maybe it was a sensitive subject for him as much as it was for me.
“Please respect the differences between shifter and human cultures.” Sam spoke up. “Shifters of all kinds are raised to keep their secrets, mermaids and mermen most of all.” His words surprised me. Since when was Sam on the side of shifters?
He’d been pretending all day, but not like that. He actually sounded like he cared. That was good for me, of course, but if I started thinking he cared I might start to fall for him. If he wanted to get rid of his tail, that simply wouldn’t be okay. I couldn’t love him if he couldn’t love me.
