Call of The Syren

Nadia sighed at she looked at the photo on her phone—her and her best friend, Carly, in their graduation caps and gowns. They both smiled at the camera, completely oblivious to the fact in three days, they’d be torn apart. That had been Nadia’s 18th birthday, when her mom had changed her life forever. Before that, she’d been a normal high school senior, eager to graduate and move on with her life. She’d been applying to colleges, stressing about exams, and hanging with her friends. Then, three days after high school graduation, she turned 18. That night, Carly had slept over, like she did almost every weekend. She’d been fast asleep when Nadia’s alarm clock had blinked out 12:00 in bright red letters—Nadia had been staring at it, waiting for this moment. Finally, she was 18, an adult, and free at last. She could do anything she wanted to do, go anywhere she wanted to go. Or so she had thought. ***Flashback*** Her mom sent Carly home before they even had breakfast, telling her it was “family time,” or some other BS. Nadia was immediately suspicious, since her mom had never cared before how long Carly stayed at their place. Carly’s mom worked a lot, and wasn’t home much, so she practically lived there. Nadia’s dad didn’t say anything, just sipped his coffee and nodded along. He kept doing that the whole time her mom was sitting her down, and telling her that it was time they had a talk. “Nadia, have you noticed anything… different… since you turned 18?” Her mother asked. Nadia shook her head, confused where this was going. “No, why?” She asked. “It’s just… there’s something different about our family. Something I haven’t told you before.” Her mom sighed. Nadia’s mind whirled, overwhelmed with possibilities. What could her mother possibly be going to tell her right now? What could be so important that Carly couldn’t be here for it? If she was secretly adopted or something, it’s not like Carly wouldn’t be the first person she’d tell, anyway. What could it be? “Nadia,” her mother began, breaking her out of her thoughts, “our family are descended from a long line of very special, very powerful women. These women were given a gift by the gods, a gift that set them apart and made them something different, something… more.” Huh. That wasn’t what she’d expected. But yet, it did seem very “mom,” with the whole drama of it all. Her mom continued, “The gifts vary from woman to woman, but some we all have in common.” Nadia interrupted, unable to contain herself any longer. “What gifts? What are you talking about? Do we have super powers or something?” Her mom chuckled, expecting this. Nadia had never been the most patient girl in the world. “If you’d let me finish, I’m telling you!” Her mom huffed, rolling her eyes fondly at her daughter. Nadia blushed, realizing her impatience had made her mom take even longer to get to the point. “We are Syrens, Nadia, not superheros. But we do have some powers, if you call them that. We’re very connected to the ocean, and water helps us heal more quickly. We can also breathe underwater, and usually swim pretty well without ever learning.” Nadia gaped at her, unable to tell if this was some elaborate prank her parents had set up to mess with her, or if her mom had finally lost it for good. She placed a hand on her mom’s head, feeling for a fever. She didn’t feel even a little warm, and batted Nadia’s hand away, annoyed. “Nadia, what are you doing? Listen to me, don’t paw at my face!” “I don’t know, I thought you were hallucinating or something!” Nadia shot back. “What the f**k are you talking about?” “Nadia, language!” Her father finally chimed in, seeming perfectly at ease with the conversation they were all having. She whirled on him, pointing an accusing finger at him. “What did you give her? What is she on?” They both just laughed, making her even more frustrated. What on earth was going on? She couldn’t actually be a Syren! That was impossible! Totally impossible! Wasn’t it? She looked back at her mom, gesturing for her to continue. “It’s true, Nadia. We really are Syrens, and we really are special. I didn’t tell you before because your father and I agreed it would be best for you to grow up as a human, without all the stress of knowing about the supernatural world.” “Wait, what? A supernatural world?” Nadia asked, even more confused even than she’d been. “Yes, there’s more than just Syrens out there, sweetie.” Her mom replied, “But you’ll learn all about that at school.” Now, her mom had officially lost it. School? She just graduated, and hadn’t decided on a college yet! Plus, what kind of school taught about supernatural creatures? Her mom seemed to sense her train of thought, pulling a brochure out from under the table. “Misthaven College Presents: Summer Preparatory Academy for Supernatural Students” the brochure read proudly across the top in bold purple letters that seemed to shimmer on the page. Underneath was a photograph of a beautiful castle nestled in the woods, on a cliff overlooking the ocean. “Pretty, huh? You’ll love it there, Nads.” Her dad gushed, making her jump. Wait, she would love it? As in, she was going? “Wait a second, don’t I get a say in all this?” She questioned, but her mother waved her away impatiently. “Open it up, read the inside!” She scolded, taking the brochure from Nadia and opening it before handing it back. Inside, there were pictures of the most ridiculously good-looking students she’d ever seen standing in state-of-the-art laboratories, sitting in huge lecture halls, and playing frisbee on a grassy lawn overlooking the sea. She had to admit, it did look a lot better than some of the colleges she’d been half-heartedly applying to with her lackluster GPA. But she did resent not having a say, especially with her newfound ‘adult’ confidence she’d been working on since midnight. “What even is this place?” Nadia demanded, looking up at her parents. Her mom just smiled, with a look in her eyes that Nadia had learned from experience meant “I’ll be getting my way no matter what.” “Oh honey, it’s where you’ll be spending the summer!” *** Nadia’s mind flashed back to the present as the tires of her dad’s truck crunched on the gravel driveway leading up to the castle where she’d be spending a very Carly-free summer. Nadia sighed again, looking down at the photo on her phone. She’d been so happy, so innocent. “Nadia, if you don’t quit that sighing I’ll give you something to sigh about,” her mother griped from the driver’s seat. Nadia jerked—she’d momentarily forgotten there was anyone else there, she’d been so wrapped up in her own thoughts—and quickly turned off her phone, before her mother tried to take that from her, too. She was about to give a snarky reply, when the view out the window caught her attention. “I- what’s that?” She asked, pointing at a huge glass structure. “The greenhouse,” her mom replied, eyes lighting up at the mention. “I spent a lot of time there when I went here,” she added, looking nostalgic. Her mom had told her last night that she’d gone to Misthaven too, and was sure she’d like it. So sure, she’d already signed Nadia up for the summer College Prep course there, despite not asking Nadia’s opinion once. “It’s just a few months, honey, then you can decide if you want to go to college here or come home and apply to State again.” Her mom repeated for the thousandth time, already anticipating her train of thought, and Nadia rolled her eyes. “I know, mom, I already told you. There’s no way in hell I’m spending 4 years at some creepy supernatural school.” Nadia huffed, and her mom just smiled. “We’ll see, honey, we’ll see.” That was the last thing she said before the main quad came into view, and Nadia was hit with the sight of the most beautiful people she’d ever seen. She gasped, unable to decide if she should stare at the beautiful scenery, or all the beautiful people sitting on the quad.