His Mermaid

Mom interrogates me

Crap! Crap! CRAAAAAAP! My eyes widened when I saw my mom lean over my shoulder I did my best to hide the drawing from her, trying to hide it so she couldn't see the entirety of it. But judging from the smile on her face, I failed miserably.

Mom wiggled her eyebrows up and down repeatedly. I gave up from that time because I know I won't be able to escape from her interrogations. I Sat up straight and let mom take the drawing in front of me. She was smiling silly while looking at the drawing.

I winced when I heard her first question. Well, it's not a question but more of a statement.

"He's handsome! Serena!"

Goodness, mom! She won't even ask me if he is real? Wow, she is really desperate for me to have a boyfriend. Then again, what mother wouldn't? I'm already turning eighteen in a week and I still haven't had a boyfriend. Dad doesn't want me to have one but mom does.

They are the perfect example of yin and yang, they are opposites when it comes to my love life. I looked at my mom and she was beaming, while I looked like I was constipated.

"Serena, who is this? You need to bring him to the shack with you. Where did you meet? What's his name?"

I had to raise my hands in front of her to make her stop because if I didn't do that, her questions would keep going. The list will go on until she can no longer think of another question.

"Mom, he's not real. He came from my imagination, so how am I supposed to bring him to the shack? Tell me, please."

I hoped she bought my obvious lie. She did the most unmotherly she could do. She pouted as if I just took her favorite cookie from her hands. She gave me my drawing back and got out of my room. I sighed in relief when I heard her retreating steps outside the door.

I slumped back on my chair and took a deep breath. I picked up the sketchpad, looked at the drawing, and started talking to it.

"Why did I even draw you? You're such a pain in the ass in person, why do you have to be one even when you are only a drawing?"

I put the sketchpad back on the table and got myself ready for bed. I need to get him out of my mind.

~The Next Day~

I woke up refreshed after a full night's sleep. I checked the time and saw that it was already a bit late. Oddly, mom had let me sleep in today. Maybe because of the accident. Oh, well. I'll take it as a blessing. I got out of bed and went to the bathroom to start my morning rituals.

Which mainly consists of taking a bath and dressing. I know, I'm not like other girls that take hours inside the bathroom just trying to prepare themselves for the day but I seriously think that it is unnecessary. 

And it's hard trying to tame my unruly red hair. And it is not the usual color of redheads, it is a fiery red with orange lowlights and a few yellow highlights. What's more, it's all-natural. It's not dyed like others think. 

Whenever they hear that from me, they would always say that I am lying. After several times of being called a liar for something completely true, I stopped explaining and stopped responding every time they ask me if it is natural or not.

My phone rang when I got out of the bathroom. I saw the caller ID and immediately answered the call. It was my mom, after all, I don't want to be on the other end of the stick when she gets mad for not answering her call.

"Hello? Mom? What is it?" I asked mom while patting my hair dry using my bath towel.

"Come on over to the shack. I need some help with the tables. The others are also waiting for you here."

This sounds sketchy but I told mom I'll be coming anyway. I ended the call and changed into my usual get-up every time I help mom and dad at the shack. Shorts and an off-shoulder lace crop top. Mom's the one behind the clothing.

Dad didn't have a choice but just go with it. The only thing that bothered me at first was the picture of a sea serpent coiling around my right calf. It was an iridescent color of blue, green, and shades of pink.

When everyone saw it, they thought it was a beautiful tattoo and we all sighed in relief because everyone just thought it was a tattoo.

It first appeared when I was six. The night I transformed into a mermaid. Mom and dad did not leave my side the whole night, waiting for me to go back to normal. When the morning sun came back up, my tail started to glow, intensely this time, and started to separate.

It turned back into human feet and we were so happy when another light started to glow on my right calf. It didn't hurt but as a kid, I was frightened of what was happening. I panicked and started screaming my lungs out.

Mom helped me calm down and we saw the light fading away. when it fully faded away, we finally saw the sea serpent coiling around my calf. The tail of the serpent was right above my ankles and starts to coil itself around my calf.

And as I grow, it also grows in size and length. I do not know what the means but I came to like the serpent on my calf. The head of the serpent actually looks more like a dragon rather than a snake but since dragons don't actually like swimming, it's a sea serpent.

Mom always wants me to wear make-up whenever I go over and help with waiting tables at the shack but I just ignored her. As I said, I don't like using make-up because it could clog up my pores and would end up being pimples.

But I do put on just a hint of a tinted lip balm on my lips. I do not like chapped lips like the next girl over. Now, for my hair. Oh, screw it. Let's have it do its job of being curly and unruly.

I was done, I got my sketchpads, pencils, and other art tools with me. I like to sketch whenever there is a lull in the shack. I walked to the shack because it is just around the corner. Well, not really a corner but it is near our house.

I got in through the back and saw the materials needed for the fireworks I'm going to make. I was excited that I just shouted to whoever is listening that I will be outside doing the fireworks. Not waiting for a response, I took the materials and went outside to start mixing and assembling the fireworks.

I was done in no time and brought the finished product back inside the shack and went inside the kitchen. I saw my mom cooking something and it immediately made my stomach growl. Mom heard this and chuckled at my blushing face.

She cooked me something for breakfast, or is it lunch? I think it's lunchtime already. No wonder she needed extra help. I finished my food and went outside to see the state the shack is in. My eyes widened. There seem to be more people today here.

I was startled when a friend of mine, she's a waitress here, touched my hand.

"Hey, baby girl. Are you sure you should be doing this? You just got out of the hospital and today is freaking chaos. There are a lot of tourists today."

I laughed at her rants. She always rants at the most insignificant things but doesn't mean it in the slightest. She is also such a sweet woman, I especially liked listening to her talk because of her accent. She's from Louisianna and she has a strong accent, which I love to imitate.

"I'll be fine, Lou. Which part is mine today?"

I ask her. We always divide the place into parts so that we could better manage the customers coming in to eat. I can also see some part-timers this time. Lou pointed y part and I immediately saw a group of guys come in and take their seats in my area.

I took out several menu boards to give to them and went to the table. I gave them the menu boards and took out the order slip from my hip.

"What can I get you guys?"

I immediately froze when they took their sunglasses off. Oh, just great! Such a great way to start my day.