Claire

Breaking News: I'm A Bad Liar, But It Worked

On the way home from the river that night, I saw a motivational poster hanging in a shop window. “No dream is ever too big.” I mumbled it to myself as I passed and continued thinking about Claire. Claire had quickly become my greatest dream. She encased so many wonderful things of the world. With her, she carried the grace of the ocean, the curiosity of a child, and the gentleness of soft sand. When we spoke, I felt rejuvenated. Something about her was soothing to my core. I stopped wondering about the meaning of life and simply wondered how someone could make you feel this way. Each time I thought about her, my cheeks grew to be fluorescent red. My ears got hot. My heart tried to burst from my chest.

I felt nervous, and excited. When I returned home, my oldest brother Landon just smiled at me like he knew something. When our little brothers crowded me to ask where I’d been all day, he helped me shoo them off. “I think Benny has to get to his room. It looks like he’s got a lot to dream about.” As the kids dispersed, he moved his eyes up to me and smiled. I thanked him and hurried off to my room. I laid down on my back and all the beauty of the world seemed to envelop me. Life had gained a sense of vividness.

There were some things that pulled me down, though. Claire made my head spin, but the thought of leaving the town behind did too. I also worried I would be hurting the family. Everyone was busy, so they would hardly notice, but I didn’t want to cause any worry. Landon was the most family-oriented guy in town, and my leaving had a strong possibility of hurting him. Still, I couldn’t imagine passing up the girl that made my breath catch in my throat. I rolled onto my side and felt for my notebook. I placed it on my lap and lit the candle beside my bed. Within moments, I had a pros list chock full of different things. My cons list had only a few complaints, and most revolved around my insecurities.

I came to my decision easily. I circled the pros list and drew a smile on the bottom of the page. With a newfound feeling of relaxation, I placed the journal down and rolled over onto my stomach. My rib still hurt a bit, but it was a sore ache rather than the sharp pain it once was. I smiled remembering Claire caring for me. Unable to get her out of my mind, I went to sleep thinking of rolling oceans and swimming with dolphins. Meeting Claire was a gift, and even if the adventure we would have would be for a limited time only, I was excited. I would make the most of our time together.

When I woke up, I felt as if all my batteries had been recharged. My body felt strong, my mind felt sharp, and my emotions were hazy yet so strong. I sat at my desk to revise my plan on how to return Claire to the ocean. As I wrote ideas down, I had to reel my mind back in multiple times. I began to stare at the blank spaces on the page. I drew mermaid tails and hearts. Sometimes, I penned her name in all sorts of fonts. My handwriting didn’t give her name the true beauty it held, but nothing could. Eventually, my plan was solidified, and I set out to make it happen.

It was early on a Sunday, so I didn’t expect my siblings to be awake. Surprisingly, they were. They were playing outside with their baseball set. Morris, the preteen, was the ringleader of our younger siblings. He was waiting to bat, so I approached him as nonchalantly as I could.

“Hey, Morris!”

“Hi Ben, are you here to play baseball with us?”

I shook my head. “Actually, I was hoping to borrow something-”

“What?”

“Could I borrow your kiddie pool? The inflatable one?”

“Why?”

In focusing on keeping my composure and not look suspicious, I had neglected the task of coming up with an alibi. I should have expected him to question me. My mind raced with excuses I could use.

“Well?” He was getting impatient; he was almost up to bat.

“I.. err, I need it for a project. For school.”

I could see that he wanted to ask more, but our sister had just rounded second base and he was needed as soon as she returned home. He rapidly glanced between me and Emily until he finally just waved his hand.

“Whatever, just bring it back when you’re done.” He pushed past me to take up the bat. The tension in my shoulders released as I had completed the first phase of my plan. My lie wasn’t good, but I was able to test my excuse on a twelve year old first. It hadn’t gone well, but I had learned a good new tactic; if someone wants you to go away, they’ll say yes! It probably was not the best way to approach things, but it would work. Now it was time to complete the second half of my plan.

I started down the road on my bike, leaving the inflatable pool safely in my room for later. Where I was headed, I wouldn’t need it. After ten minutes of biking, I was into the rural area of town. The Pérez family lived here. As far as we knew, they were the only family with a kid in online school in town. He was the only one we had ever met, though he was reclusive and spent the majority of his time at home. That was why I had chose him to donate the vehicle for my trip. He wouldn’t be needing his truck anyway, I figured. He never went anywhere, and he probably didn’t even have the wits to drive it. His only passion was sculpting, but his talent made up for his inability to focus on schoolwork.

For two years, I had been doing Miguel’s homework. He didn’t pay me or anything. Occasionally he would give me a soap sculpture or even a small wooden one, but he always told me that if I needed anything, I could go to him. Hopefully, I was taking him up on this now. As I made my way up the dirt path, I heard old-timey music drifting out from the home. A small voice sang along with the words, and when I glanced in a window of the garage, I saw the sculptor dancing around a big hunk of wood. I knocked on the door to the garage.

The singing abruptly stopped and the music lowered. I heard the clamor of tools being thrown down and busy footsteps rushed around. “Miguel, it’s just me! It’s Ben!”

The footsteps stopped for a moment before redirecting to the side of the door. When it opened, the wiry figure of Miguel stood with a small smile on his face. He left the large doors open as he returned to his sculpture and waved me in. I stepped inside the garage, escaping the heat for mild air conditioning. His newest sculpture must have been started very recently, because I had no clue what it was yet. I turned my attention back to him.

“So, what’re ya up to, Ben?”

“Well, I was wondering if I could borrow your truck?”

“What in the world do you need a truck for?”

“Well, uhm, I uh… I’m doing a school project.”

“So early in the school year? And you need a truck?”

“Yeah, uhm, I’m like supposed to go out and survey wildlife.”

“What’s wrong with the wildlife ‘round here?”

Unable to think of an excuse, I just shrugged.

“Does it gotta be a truck?”

“Why do you ask?”

“My ma wanted the truck since my siblings moved away, so I ended up with the van.”

“The van?”

“Yeah! You can drive a van, can’t ya?”

I laughed. “Of course!” I didn’t know how to drive a van.

He turned and headed off to rummage through a bucket. Eventually, he pulled out a clunky key and tossed it to me. He smiled and wished me well, saying I could take it immediately if I like. I was beyond grateful; truthfully, I hadn’t quite expected him to let me, but I knew he wouldn’t miss it. I hopped into the driver’s seat and hoped that vans were more like trucks than they appeared. On my way out, Miguel stopped his work to wave me goodbye. I waved back and felt a spark in my chest. Adventure awaited, and so did Claire.

Driving down the road made me feel just how real this was all becoming. In a few short days, my life had been turned around; now, I would have the adventure of the lifetime, no matter how short lived. And I would see the ocean! Though I’d always dreamed of seeing the ocean, the ocean hardly held a candle to the beauty I had seen in Claire. Someone from above must have sent her to me; fate, she said, and fate I agree. Fate seemed a silly concept to me before, but now it made sense. Everything with Claire made sense. Even I made sense when she was around - at least, until I tried to open my mouth.

As I rounded the bend back into town, I saw the stores lining the street and smiled. No more would I be seeing the boring, dusty shops of Tarry. I was going off to explore other people’s hometowns, and it would be new, fresh, and exciting for me. I hoped it would be for Claire too; maybe she would also find fun in the situation! At times, I doubted it. I doubted my ability to keep her entertained, and I doubted that she even enjoyed our talks. Yet, when I saw the twinkle in her eye and heard her laugh dance across the air, something told me otherwise. Maybe she enjoyed having met someone to help her, or maybe she enjoyed me. Time would tell. Either way, I would be her loyal, helpful friend. And she would be my friend, my first friend, and my best friend. She didn’t know it yet, but she was already the truest person I had ever met.

Back at my house, I hopped out of the van and pulled the back door open. It was heavy and opened with a squeal. I laughed a bit; the van was not at all what I was expecting, but somehow I would have to make it work. The walls of the kiddie pool were higher than most, luckily, so I probably wouldn’t have to worry about spilling. I was still concerned with her being uncomfortable, though. Landon was doing some yard maintenance out front and came to see what was going on. I began to sweat - if I was going to have to lie again, I didn’t think I could manage it. My first two lies shouldn’t have been as successful as they were.

“Where’d you get a van, little man?”

“A friend is letting me borrow it!”

“And why are you borrowing it, might I ask?”

“Oh, uhm, I just want to drive around instead of walking everywhere.”

“Sure,” he said with a laugh, “so what’re you poking around in the back seat for?”

“I’m trying to see if maybe I can take the seats out or something, for like, like a bike or my friends or whatever.”

He nodded along to my words. My ears were hot, but I don’t think he minded. I was lucky that everyone in my town was overly passive. He squeezed in front of me and peered into the back seat. “Let me show you somethin’ crazy, bud.”

I’m not sure exactly what he did, but by the time I looked back from the tree line in the distance, the seats were all folded neatly into one another. A smile spread across my face. It wasn’t perfect, but it would keep Claire safe and might almost be comfortable. Almost. I thanked him profusely, to the point that he became a bit suspicious of what I was doing.

“Girls, man. They make you go crazy, don’t they? Just be safe out there.”

I was lucky to have someone I could count on. He didn’t understand just how crazy Claire made me - he couldn’t in the slightest - but he related with me and that was what I appreciated. I knew if ever I needed to phone home in the middle of the night, Landon would be there to answer. He went back to weeding and I stared after him for a moment before rushing inside to get my pool. The sun was raising high into the sky and I realized it was nearing noon. I needed to hurry or Claire might think I had forgotten her! I placed the pool in the back and filled it with the garden hose. Next, I filled an old backpack and grabbed some pillows and blankets. Then, I was on my way out.

When I made it to the parking lot beside the river, I was relieved to find it empty. A quick scan of the paths assured me that we would go unseen. Most of the children in town would be in church; even the hooligans like Titus that were dragged there by their mothers in an effort to make them behave. I, however, had my own agenda. My hands were sweaty when I opened the car door and I found myself surprised at the subject of my thoughts; I was more concerned with Claire thinking poorly of me than running off across Florida. The nerves from being considered a runaway were nothing compared to the nerves of my hair being messed up. I checked myself in the side view mirror. I fluffed my hair, then combed it to the side, then fluffed it again before I remembered that I was losing time with Claire. I went down to the creek.

- At the water’s edge, I saw her with her head resting on her hands. She stared off into the distance. When I followed her gaze, I saw birds playing with each other. I smiled as I approached. As soon as she saw me, she raised her head up and returned my grin. She looked almost relieved, possibly because she was glad to no longer be alone. I understood the feeling.

“Hey Claire, how are you doing?”

“Oh, I’m doing well, Bennett, how about yourself?”

“I’m really good, honestly. Are you ready to go?”

Her eyes widened. “You already got everything set up?”

I nodded and she agreed that we could head out. Now, however, came the problem of transporting her from the river to the van. I paused for a moment; I could pick her up, but would I be able to carry her all the way. She watched me closely, so I put on a brave face and flashed her a smile. “Any suggestions on how we get you into the van?”

She glanced away and quickly asked, “could you carry me?”

It was go time. We agreed that it would possibly be easier for me to lift her if she were able to wrap her arms around my neck. To avoid anyone spotting us, I had brought a blanket to cover her tail in. I leaned down and she laced her arms around my neck. I move the blanket so that she would be able to keep a hold of it and we rose, slowly. I felt the scales smooth against my left arm; they looked delicate, but I knew they must be rather strong. She laid the blanket across her lap once we were moving. Her body was close to mine and she held on tight, her chin jutting into my shoulder. I heard a few kids playing in the distance, but I felt fairly at ease.

At the car, she helped me unlock the back door and I lowered her into the kiddie pool. I stood in the doorway, watching her get acclimated to her new space. I felt guilty I was unable to provide anything more, but it was doable. I examined her face and found she was looking all over the car, feeling the pillows and squinting at the seatbelts. In full view for the first time, her tail glimmered in the light. Her scales were a richer color than gold, with intensity rivaling fire and beauty rivaling any painting in the highest class of museums. When she moved and the light danced across her tail, it felt unreal.

I moved my eyes back to her face and saw a smile. She giggled before lifting her tail up. Curious, I looked down at the water and was met with a giant splash to the face. She was laughing, but I felt my heart jump into my throat.

“Claire! Claire, why did you do that?”

She shrunk back at my words and I felt immense guilt wash over me.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, but Claire, don’t you need that?”

My voice shook with panic and fear; I felt my heartbeat pulsing throughout my entire body. Somehow, though, Claire didn’t share this same fright. Instead, she laughed.

“This isn’t funny, aren’t you going to be hurt?”

She shook her head before throwing it back and letting the laughter shake her entire body. The noise came from deep within her belly; she leaned forward and went to tell me something, but soon resumed laughing. I was coming off of my panic, but I still felt very confused. I watched her laugh with a mixture of emotions that left my head feeling like mush. Eventually, she spoke.

“Oh, Bennett, it’s alright! I’ll be fine. I’ve got person lungs too, after all.”

“What happens if your tail dries out?”

“Honestly, I don’t really know. Legend says that if our tails get dry, they turn into legs, and then when we get wet, we get our tails back. But I’m not sure that’s true.”

“No one has tested it out?”

“No one that came back to tell us about it, no. Plus, it’s said to be really painful the first time you do it. Not many merfolk have a reason to come up on land that warrants all that.”

I nodded. I wished she could have legs, but I knew that that was not a request I had the right to make. Besides, being able to run around with her would only make me feel closer to her. This way, I would almost constantly remember that she was not truly mine; that I was just a delivery boy, taking her back to where she belonged. I smiled to override my thoughts.

“Well, shall we hit the road?”