Page 21 of Shifting Tides

The class was quiet for a moment, but then one student raised their hand to ask something trivial.

I didn’t hear it. My brain was abuzz with speculation. What did those mermaid girls know that I didn’t? It seemed that everyone knew more than I did, and not just about the shifter world, but about me.

Now that I really thought about it, it did seem strange for a school director to come to a prospective student’s home in the middle of the night to invite her to a school, shifter or not. Not that I didn’t appreciate him swooping in to save me, but what was so urgent about my placement at the school that it couldn’t wait until an appropriate hour during the day?

But if they did expect something special from me, what if I disappointed them? My next class was Transformation, and I had no idea how to transform, or if I even could. What if I failed, proving myself to be nothing but human?

They would kick me out for sure. But then, I’d already seen too much of their world. Would they kill me to protect their secret?

The bell rang, announcing the end of class. I left the lecture hall and nervously made my way to the gymnasium where Transformation was held. My legs moved sluggishly like I was trudging through molasses, and part of me—a big part—wanted to turn around and run back to my room.

Why did it feel like I was heading to my own execution?

Chapter 6

Arya

Finding the Mermaid Transformation class was easy. All I had to do was follow the stench of arrogance and privilege.

It wasn’t just the sea witch trio that gave me that impression of mermaids. Every student who carried themselves with a sense of self-importance had the mermaid symbol on their shirt.

The training room was on the far side of the second largest building on campus, which appeared to be used for physical activities. According to the map, there was a gymnasium on the top floor with all manner of sports and exercise equipment and a pool.

I walked through the door, the pounding of my heart against my eardrum beating in time with my footsteps like a death march cadence. The space inside was almost entirely monopolized by an enormous swimming pool, with diving boards of various heights at one end and several metal hoops hanging from the ceiling here and there.

There were already several students in the pool, all of them wearing the same fitted swim top of black elastic.

The realization that I’d be expected to swim shot white-hot panic into my chest. I had never been in anyamount of water, and I was almost certain to drown if I tried to swim, or, at the very least, make a fool of myself flapping around gracelessly.

As I stood paralyzed with anxiety, someone leapt out of the water like a dolphin, heading toward one of the hanging hoops. The woman’s speed was remarkable, but I did manage to catch sight of something breathtaking before she landed in the water—a long, shimmering green tail where her legs should be, delicate gossamer fins decorating her hips and the bottom of the tail like glorious streamers celebrating its majesty.

I was aware that my jaw had fallen open, but I couldn’t connect my brain to my body to close it. All this talk of mermaids today, but I still hadn’t fully accepted them asrealuntil that moment.

Unlike the two other shifters I had witnessed, this mermaid wasn’t monstrous in any way. On the contrary, it was probably the most beautiful living thing I’d ever seen.

The jumper’s head resurfaced a few feet away from where she landed. She pushed her hands up over her face and down the back of her red hair. It was Celeste.

“Arya,” she called with a beaming smile when she saw me. “I’m so excited to give you your first lesson! Go into the locker room, and you’ll find a swim top in your locker. Just look for the locker with your name on it; it’s the third one in the back row.”

Too dumbfounded to speak, I just nodded and made my way to the back of the room where there was a pair of doors, each with the appropriate gender stick figure on it—except these figures had tails instead of legs. Cute.

As I walked, I saw more beautiful mermaid tails splashing through the water. Even though I knew everyone was giving me dirty looks, I couldn’t help but stare at all of them. They were all just so beautiful.

One of the most interesting things I noticed was that not all of their tails were the same color. In fact, no two tails looked the same. The majority were varying shades of blue and green, but every now and then, there was a splash of red or yellow.

I playfully imagined what color my tail would turn out to be—if I was what they said I was. My heart fell at the question.

I pushed open the door to the ladies locker room and ignored the stares and whispers as I beelined straight to the last row to look for my locker. Third one in, I found my name on a digital screen, at the bottom of which was a flashing oval, the words PRESS FINGER HERE displayed above it.

I pressed my index finger to the circle, and after a moment, there was abeep,and my locker popped open. The screen now said CALIBRATED. GOOD MORNING, ARYA.

Wow. They sure like their gadgets here.

Just as Celeste had said, a long black swim top hung inside. I took it out and inspected it. Something was missing. It had to be. There were no bottoms included. I scanned every corner of the inside of the locker, but it was completely empty.

Did they actually expect me to go out there with nothing below the waist, or was this some kind of hazing prank?

I looked around, half expecting to see Cora and her cronies giggling in a corner, but they were nowhere in sight. A few lockers down, another girl was pulling on her swim top. It went down past her buttocks to just above her knees, looking almost like a tube dress. Then, the girl discreetly slipped out of her panties and placed all her clothes in her locker.

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