Young Adult / Mermaid's Pearl-Chapter 1
“You jerk!” Laila yelled, grabbing her glass of water and throwing its contents over Marcus.
“Ay--!” Marcus exclaimed, the grin instantly vanishing from his face. He pushed his seat back from the table. “Dang, girl, what’s your problem? Look what you did! I’m all wet!”
“Good. Maybe next time you’ll watch what you say to a girl on the first date.”
“I just said--”
“I know what you said, and I know what you meant. You’re lucky that’s all I did to you for that comment.”
Marcus snatched up his cloth napkin and furiously tried to wipe the water off his shirt. “You asked me a question and I answered. You wanted to know why I didn’t order anything for dessert--”
“And you say, ‘I’m hoping that you’ll give me my dessert later’? What kind of line is that? You’re such a pervert!”
“Maybe I meant that I was hoping you would bake me a cake or something.”
Laila rolled her eyes. “I’m not stupid, Marcus.”
“No, I wouldn’t say stupid. You’re crazy, Laila. That’s what you are. No wonder you don’t have a boyfriend.”
Seething with fury, Laila stood and snatched up her purse. “You can finish the date by yourself then!”
“That’s fine with me!” Growling, Marcus continued wiping at his shirt.
Laila turned away in a huff and stomped off towards the concrete boardwalk. Timbuktu, the Italian restaurant where she’d just finished dinner with Mr. Pervert, was oceanfront with tables under a large awning outside the main building. It was Laila who had suggested they get a table outside, and it was a good thing. Now she could let loose some of her anger by doing one of her favorite things; taking a walk on the beach.
She left the orange glow of the lampposts that lined the boardwalk and descended the steps that led to the beach, which was getting dark as twilight approached. She stopped to slip off her gold sandals, then sunk her feet into the cool sand. She carried her shoes as she continued towards the splashing of the ocean waves, letting the feel of the sand between her toes gradually calm her.
Why do I always end up dating the worse guys? Laila thought. Every guy she’d ever gone out with had always turned out to be a jerk, sooner or later. One thing all of those guys had in common was that their looks could make any girl melt.
That must’ve been Laila’s problem; only going after the hottest guys. Marcus had been no exception. He was the new guy in town all the teenage girls wanted to date. He was six feet tall, had brown skin, and was adorable. Tall, dark, and handsome; just the way Laila liked them.
So to hook Marcus’ attention, she’d used the same flirting techniques she had used on all the guys who’d captured her interest in the past. Not one had ever resisted Laila’s luring amber-eyed gazes and the flipping of her dark brown hair that stopped at her butt.
But then, she’d find out the guys only wanted to sleep with her (and she was only sixteen, for goodness sake). What she wanted was a romantic guy who would treat her good and tell funny jokes and always be honest with her. But no, she always got stuck with those like Marcus.
Thinking of him again, Laila kicked at the sand, pretending she was kicking Marcus’ face. What a shame that such good looks had to be wasted on such a…womanizer. Still, if only she had gotten a chance to kiss him just once…
Laila sighed as she stopped a foot from where the waves were breaking onto the sand. Since it was June, the air was warm even with the sun gone, so the water wouldn’t be too cold that she couldn’t adapt to it. She stepped her feet into the sea.
The usual rush of pleasure at the feel of the sandy water hitting her ankles eliminated Laila’s bad mood instantly. How she loved living near the beach! She belonged here. It was weird, but she felt like the ocean was a part of her somehow, like actual sea water ran through her veins. When she was in the ocean, she felt like she was one with it. There was no better feeling in the world.
Laila watched the whitecaps build up and crash down repeatedly, giving off a gentle misty spray that the wind carried to her caramel skin. She relished in the feeling for several minutes, dreading the moment she would have to leave before her parents started to worry.
Laila was trying to convince herself to begin heading home, when she heard a noise on the rock outcrop to her left. When she turned towards it, she saw a head retract behind it.
She gasped. Had she actually seen what she thought she’d seen? It had looked like a guy with a bluish tint to his skin. That meant he was a merperson. She had never seen one in reality before.
Excited, Laila hurried over to the outcrop to catch a glimpse of the creature. She scrambled over the black rocks and peered on the other side of them, where ocean water crashed onto the outcrop.
The moon wasn’t shining in this area, so it was hard to see anything but the whiteness of the sea foam. She searched and searched, but could not find the guy whose head she’d seen.
Maybe she’d been hallucinating. Maybe the sea air was getting to her head. If she had seen a guy, maybe the dim moon luminosity just made him appear bluish. It was too dark to see clearly.
Suddenly Laila heard a splash farther out in the moonlight-dappled ocean. When she turned to look, she found the guy she’d seen just a minute ago, staring at her with his head and shoulders above the water. His skin was a little blue. His hair was black and silver, and he was even better looking than Marcus. What was more fascinating was the blue fish tail that stuck out of the water near him. This guy was a merperson. He was young, so the proper term was merlad.
Laila watched him without realizing her mouth hung open. Merpeople hardly ever broke the surface. They usually stayed as far away from humans as possible.
She started to call out to the merlad, but then he averted his gaze and disappeared under the sea again with a splash.
“Wait!” Laila called desperately. She wanted to meet him, talk to him…
But he was gone.
Laila waited five more minutes to make sure he wouldn’t reappear. When it was obvious he wouldn’t, she slowly made her way off the outcrop and back to the lighted boardwalk to begin heading home.
She couldn’t get the merlad out of her head. She imagined meeting him, and flirting with him, then dating him. He had been such a hottie! If it hadn’t been for tonight, Laila would’ve never considered dating a merperson, but now one had come to the surface. To stare at her!
Laila fantasized about a movie-like romance with the merlad. They would meet by the ocean everyday and maybe he could show Laila his underwater world. Maybe even teach her how to swim! She’d always tried to learn in the past, but for some reason always failed, sinking every time she got into the water.
It was perfect, really. Laila had failed plenty of times at going out with guys on land. And she loved the ocean. So having a boyfriend who lived in the sea…
Laila was grinning dreamily by the time she arrived at her blue one-story home. She nearly glided into her room. Once there, she changed out of her brown skirt and gold blouse, slipping on black sweat pants and a gray t-shirt. She was still thinking of the merlad when her mom came into her room. She had dark hair like Laila’s and a lighter skin tone.
“You’re back!” Mom said. “How did the date go?”
“Horrible,” Laila replied with a grin still on her face.
“Horrible? Your face suggests otherwise. You’re practically glowing.”
“I’m smiling because of what happened after the date.”
Mom frowned. “Uh oh. What does that mean?”
Laila laughed. “I know what you’re thinking, but to ease your worries, I didn’t even finish the date with Marcus. I’m not happy because of him.”
“I’d like to hear all about it, but I came to ask you to help me get ready for the boat trip tomorrow. We can talk while we work. Come on.” Mom left the room.
Laila grabbed a gray scrunchie off her dresser and used it to put her hair in a high ponytail. Then she put on socks and an old pair of sneakers before walking out of the room and out the back door to the boathouse, which was cluttered with any and everything a person might need while living a life by the ocean.
She found Mom sorting through a box of bait, the nonliving kind. Only Dad liked to work with live bait. It grossed out Laila and her mom.
“Did Dad buy me a new fishing pole?” Laila asked as she came to join her mother.
“Yes, he did. He got you the burgundy one you wanted so bad.”
“Alright!” Laila went over to the bucket containing the fishing rods and found the new one, beaming as she examined it. Then she grabbed a spool of fishing line and started to put it on the reel.
“So, Laila, what happened tonight?” Mom asked. “Give me the details.” She was Laila’s best and only friend, so she often talked like she was a teenager too. Or tried to, anyway.
Laila made her way over to her mother as she worked on the fishing rod. “The date with Marcus was a disaster. I found out he’s a jerk.”
“What did he do?”
“He implied that he wanted to sleep with me after we left the restaurant.”
Mom tsked. “That was shallow of him. Good thing you found out sooner rather than later.”
“Yeah. I left Marcus sitting at the table by himself, after throwing my glass of water on him.”
Mom laughed. “I’m not surprised. You never react short of extreme when you’re mad.”
“Yeah. And on top of everything, he called me crazy!”
Mom grinned, but didn’t reply as she continued looking down.
“You agree with him?” Laila asked, raising her voice.
“I didn’t say anything,” Mom stated, biting her bottom lip to keep from laughing.
“But you have that look on your face.”
Mom snickered. “Okay, you’re right. Marcus was way out of line for calling you crazy. So what happened afterwards?”
Laila threaded the fishing line through the holes along the rod. “I went down to the beach to take a walk, and you’ll never guess what I saw.”
“What?” Mom continued sorting through the bait box.
“A merlad!”
Mom froze and her head snapped up to stare at Laila in disbelief. “What?”
“A boy merperson! I couldn’t believe it! I’d never seen one before, and this one was so good-looking--” Laila stopped as she watched her mother, who had a look of horror on her face.
“What is it? Was it something I said?” Laila inquired.
Mom stood up. “Um…hold on.” She strode out of the boathouse.
Laila watched her mother leave, puzzled. What was so wrong with her saying she’d seen a merperson? Did her mother believe her?
When Mom came back, she’d brought Dad with her. Laila’s dad was an average-sized guy with a stubble and sandy-colored hair.
“Mom, you do believe me, right?” Laila asked.
“Of course, Laila.” Mom turned to Dad and quietly said, “She claims she saw a merlad tonight.”
Dad stared at Mom and mouthed, “A merlad?” Mom nodded.
Dad turned to his daughter. “Is this true?”
Laila nodded uncertainly. “Is something wro--?”
“What did he look like?” Dad interrupted.
“Well…his skin had a blue tint to it like all the merpeople I’ve seen in books. He was about my age and he had a blue tail. His hair was black with silver streaks. He was very good-looking, to me. He had been staring at me. I tried to talk to him, but he disappeared before I could.”
Mom and Dad exchanged looks again.
“Could you please tell me what’s going on with you two?” Laila asked in a loud voice, peeved by their silence.
Dad turned back to her, his eyes narrow. “You are forbidden to ever go near a merperson again, do you understand me?”
“Wha--? Why?”
“Merpeople are dangerous. They hurt humans.”
That was the last thing Laila expected to hear. “I’ve never heard of that before! Merpeople don’t even come above the surface much; how are they a danger to us?”
“Yes, they usually stay hidden, but when they do come above the surface, they do much harm. Stay away from them, and I mean it.”
Laila dropped her mouth open, searching for the right words to argue back with. In the end she resorted to turning to her mother. “Mom?”
Mom hesitated, then nodded. “Your father’s right. You should listen to him.”
“But that’s not fair! The merlad I saw didn’t look dangerous!”
Dad gave her a fierce look. “If I ever find out you went near another merperson, you’ll be grounded for a month. Don’t even talk about merpeople. End of discussion.” Dad spun around and walked away, leaving Laila stunned. Mom went back to sorting through the bait box.
“What the heck just happened?” Laila asked now that it was just her and her mother. She had never seen her dad be so strict. It was unnatural and scary.
“Your father travels on the sea a lot,” Mom explained without looking up. “He knows what he’s talking about. He’s probably heard stories about merpeople. Bad stories.”
“I’ve never heard any,” Laila protested.
“You’re not a fisherman. Fisherwoman,” she corrected.
“I still don’t get it.”
“Didn’t your father tell you not to talk about it anymore? So drop it or I’ll have to ground you.”
Laila stood in her place a moment longer, totally bewildered. She couldn’t believe her parents were acting this way. She had wanted to meet this merlad so badly, if he ever came to the surface again. This sure put a damper on her fantasy love affair with him.
Of course, it could always be a secret…
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She stepped her feet into the sea: Why not just She stepped into the sea, or took a step into the cool water…
I like how you subtly hint that something is going on with her and the ocean, getting at the mermaid fantasy part of the story… Gives her some background.
That meant he was a merperson. -She just came to this conclusion that quick? I would work more up to this. Like she shakes her head in disbelief. Then goes to investigate and maybe finds him and realises what it is. Shouldn’t there be more shock? (Unless she is living in a place where fantasy creatures roan the earth, in which I hope you can mention that earlier or your readers will expect her to be questioning before she comes to her conclusion.) From what I am reading further on it seems common tha tpeople are aware of merfolk. I still hope that you should try to put that into the beggining, that fantasy creatures are real in this world she lives in.
she found the guy she’d seen just a minute -I’d try She found the face she was looking for, the same blue tint to the skin, the same look about him…You seem to use ‘The Guy’ too much in this search.
Seems a little rushed, but the storyline itself could be very interesting if you work it right. Everything seems to happen to quickly. Slow it down a bit and take your time. I like the bond between Laila and her mom. You don’t find that much these days.
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Okay cool…what I didnt like at first…is her reaction to seeing a merlad…it seemed like it was no big deal to her, but by the end I clear understood that they’re common in her world. I don’t like the title SO FAR…it didnt want to make me read. This comes off as one of those complicated romace stories.
What I liked. the opening..it had action..water throwing…and comedy. I didnt spot any errors..and like that you introduced the drama right away in this chapter. I will read more just to see how complex things gets.
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