Between the Land and the Sea

Chapter THIRTEEN

HERO

The next week at school started uneventfully. It looked as though things were going to blow over with Shayla, but I knew it was only because she didn’t want to make Ethan angry with her.

Nevertheless, I relaxed and stopped looking over my shoulder so much. I was getting used to the routine, and while my classes were for the most part boring I enjoyed spending time with Megan and Cruz. Ethan was friendly with them, I enjoyed art class, and the mean girls avoided me.

Maybe my dad was right about me needing to be here.

“Ethan’s a really nice guy when you get to know him,” Megan said. “I guess I just assumed that all surfers were jerks.”

“You know what happens when you assume...” Cruz added.

Ethan began joining us at lunch, and always escorted me to art class afterward. Our new-found camaraderie infuriated Shayla and her gang of followers. If looks could kill I would have been in real trouble. I toned down my look a bit, but always included at least one truly flashy piece of designer wear in each outfit. I could see them check out each new handbag, jacket or pair of expensive shoes I wore to my great amusement. Eat your hearts out, I thought.

I started attracting the attention of a new round of boys. They would try to sit with me in class or strike up conversations in the halls. It was a little disconcerting, but Evie would have loved it. I think it had something to do with the red hot sports car I drove to school each day, Cruz nervously coaching from the passenger seat. Ethan often seemed to materialize by my side when they came lurking around, a protective presence that came as a welcome relief. When he was nearby I relaxed and let my guard down, and I felt a little better about everything that was going on.

Every day after school I went down to the beach, hoping to find myself alone on the cement ship. Lorelei had proven to be unpredictable, so I never knew when I might happen upon her. I hadn’t seen any sea lions for quite a while and I was growing discouraged, starting to think I’d never get another chance to meet with her. That Thursday after school I packed my bag and wandered down to the pier in the hopes that today might just be my lucky day.

It was cool breezy afternoon, and the beach hosted only a smattering of people. I lingered on the pier, waiting for the ship to clear off. Making my way down to the fence, I looked through with my fingers crossed. My heart sank when I saw no sign of the sea lions or Lorelei. Pressing my face to the fence I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated.

“Lorelei! ” I called out, hoping I could summon her, “Sister! ” I scanned the wrecked concrete, sighing in frustration.

“Well if it isn’t our local freak!” Shayla’s voice called out behind me. I turned to see Shayla and Heather approach me menacingly. Jamie hung back a little with a scared look on her face.

There were three of them, and I wondered how badly they were planning on beating me. I considered jumping off into the water, but the wild surf and Ethan’s warnings about the pier stopped me. I steeled myself for the worst.

“Leave me alone!” I hissed, and tried to walk boldly passed them. Shayla shoved me hard and I stumbled backwards, falling to the pavement.

“Shayla, we should go...” Jamie said quaveringly, looking behind her. There was nobody there to call for help.

“Whersh your boyfriend now?” Shayla was taller than I remembered as she closed in on me.

She lunged for me but I scrambled to my feet and backed up. “Little miss I’m so-o perfect and my parents are rish. Ethanz so stupid– he only likes you cuz a your car.” She was drunkenly ranting, and started cursing me out, calling me every vile thing she could think of. I recognized the pain in her voice and realized how much my petty games had really affected her.

I could hear Heather laughing hysterically as I dodged Shayla’s first punch, “Kick the crap out of her! Pull her hair out of her head.”

Shayla swung again and connected, splitting my lip against my teeth. I could taste blood in my mouth and I fell back down again. She stood over me, seething with rage.

“You think you’re so great but you’re just a stupid freak!” I could smell the alcohol on her breath, and her eyes were bleary and unfocused. I tried to crawl away, watching as Heather collapsed in stitches on the pavement. Shayla reached down and snatched my purse. She staggered over to the side rail and dangled it over, a triumphant grimace on her face. She stumbled, and the weight of the bag combined with her height tipped her over the edge.

Heather’s eyes swung open in shock.

We all ran to the side and looked down. At first we couldn’t see her but she finally surfaced, her face white with shock. Her head started bobbing in the churning foam. Jamie stood frozen in fear and Heather started wailing and crying. We stood watching Shayla gasping for air and flailing as the currents sucked her down. I was pretty sure she was too drunk to swim.

I looked up, “Go get help!” I bellowed at Jamie.

Heather was squatting on the ground, sobbing incomprehensibly. I looked down into Shayla’s terrified eyes and remembered how it felt to know that you were going to die. Without thinking, I kicked off my shoes and dove in. The familiar shock of cold water cleared my head. If I could just get a hold of her I planned to drag her away from the treacherous currents and swim in for shore away from the pier.

I groped in the foamy surf until I found an arm and started to try and swim away from the shipwreck. Desperate hands clawed at my clothes and grabbed me by the shoulders. I could feel her weight force me under as she tried to pull herself up on me. I remembered reading about how drowning people often go into a panic, taking their would-be rescuers down with them.

Nice job, I thought to myself, as I struggled to get free from her death grip. I kicked furiously, not ready to die. All I could think about was Ethan. I managed to break the surface and catch a breath. Then I saw her face, and I was overcome with relief as Lorelei plucked me away from Shayla and swam a short distance away.

“Thanks! ” I gasped, catching my breath as she held my body up, looking into my eyes searchingly. “I came to see you! I need to talk–” She looked at my bleeding lip with alarm and started to swim away, taking me with her.

“No! ” I cried, “We need to take that girl to shore! ” I hoped she would listen to me this time.

She nodded, and holding me by the waist we flew through the foam. She grabbed Shayla’s wrist and pulled her along. I thought fast as she powered us to shore.

“Lorelei– meet me here tomorrow. I have a wet suit now, I can stay in the water longer! ” She looked confused, “Tomorrow? What is tomorrow? ” It occurred on me that she had no concept of time. I tried to think of how to explain it to her.

I pointed up, “The next time the sun comes, alright? ” she nodded, her eyes lighting up.

“One sleep! ” she said with a brilliant smile, and dropped us off at the water’s edge. I scrambled to my feet, looking around for witnesses, “See you tomorrow. ” I dragged Shayla by the arms as far up the beach as I could and collapsed in the sand. I looked back to see Lorelei had disappeared.

Shayla’s eyes were rolling in her head. I turned her onto her side and pounded on her back.

She began spewing salt water with alcohol fumes. I looked up to see Jamie frantically rushing up to us with a couple of the surfer boys in tow. I recognized Long from the farmers market.

Shayla was retching and coughing now but at least she was breathing. Jamie started telling them what had happened, and they both looked at me in awe. Heather staggered to the beach behind them, fell to her knees and began to vomit.

I was cold, wet and barefoot as I stood up and straightened my clothes. I touched my lip and saw fresh blood on my hand. No one said a word as I turned on my heel and walked over the sand to the stairs. I got myself home as fast as I could on bare feet. Relieved to see Abby was still at work, I knocked on the door to be let in, dripping and cold.

Based on Cruz’s shocked expression, I must have looked pretty bad. He wrapped me in a beach towel as I explained what had happened.

“This is all because of your insane obsession with that mermaid. You’ve got to stop going out to see her,” he begged me.

“She had nothing to do with it!” I insisted, “She saved my life again, and I’m going to meet her tomorrow after school,” I looked at him sternly, “Either with or without you.” At that moment Abby walked in, singing to herself. She stopped in her tracks when she laid eyes on me, and rushed over to my side, her face filled with horror.

“You should see the other guy,” I joked. Even Cruz didn’t laugh at that one. I held an ice pack to the side of my face as I recounted the whole story of what happened, with just a little judicious editing. Abby was outraged and wanted to call the police, but I calmed her down.

“Karma is a powerful thing,” she fumed, “I suppose that girl will get what’s coming to her eventually.”

I thought about my role in goading her and felt a little ashamed.

“I’ll be fine Aunt Abby... All I want right now is a hot shower,” I took my towel and headed to the bathroom.

I took a good long look at my face in the mirror. My swollen lip had stopped bleeding and it looked like the cut would close up pretty well. It hurt when I ran my tongue along the inside my mouth where it had gotten mashed. I was going to have a good sized bruise along my cheekbone.

I would live, and I was going to get a chance to find out the truth. It hurt to smile but I did, for I was finally going to have a talk with Lorelei in privacy.

It was worth it.

As we pulled up to the school Friday morning, I took a deep breath and turned to Cruz,

“Here goes nothing.”

Abby wanted me to stay home but I refused. I wasn’t about to give anyone the satisfaction of thinking I was cowering at home, afraid to show my face. I parked the car and looked up to see Ethan’s blue truck pull into the space next to us. I got out, and when he saw me the pleasant look on his face dissolved.

He came close, horrified eyes inspecting my face. He groaned, “Tell me what happened.”

“It’s no big deal,” I said.

“Shayla jumped her at the pier,” Cruz piped up. Ethan’s face hardened and his eyes grew cold.

“It’s okay,” I said, “I’m fine.” I’d never seen him really angry before, and it was a little alarming. Looking around, he spotted the group of surfers that hung out near the parking lot. I could see that Shayla wasn’t among them, and I wondered if she had fully recovered. Ethan headed over towards them, fists clenched.

“Uh-oh...” Cruz said as we started walking to class. I looked over see Long and Ethan talking animatedly. Heather and Jamie were in the crowd and I saw Ethan turn their way. It looked like he was having words with them too, and I could hear his raised voice from across the parking lot.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said, mortified. As usual, I was the subject of whispered speculations and curious stares all day long. Heather and Jamie approached me between classes and apologized, handing me a paper sack. I looked in to see the shoes I’d discarded before I jumped in after Shayla and felt a little flush of guilt, remembering my attempts to provoke them.

They wanted to let me know that Shayla was sorry too, and that she’d be alright. I accepted their apology, telling them I just wanted to forget the whole thing.

I truly did, for all I could think of was what I had planned for after school.

Cruz spent most of the day trying to convince me not to meet Lorelei. He didn’t know that I wanted– no– needed to find out about my mother. I was adamant. By lunchtime he had given up and agreed to accompany me. Megan was shocked, both at my bruised face and my after school plans.

“Mermaids are clearly unpredictable,” she said, dismayed, “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”

“I’ll be out of the water on my surfboard, and wearing a wetsuit,” I explained calmly, “What could possibly go wrong?”

“Um, she could accidentally kill you?”

We had to stop talking when Ethan approached and pulled up a chair next to mine.

“What,” he paused, looking at me seriously, “were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t thinking,” I replied evenly.

“I hear that!” snorted Megan.

“You should never have gone in after her– you’re lucky she didn’t drown you!” Ethan said.

I smiled facetiously, “I have been said to be lucky.”

“It’s not funny! Especially after what she did,” his jaw clenched at the thought. He must have heard the whole tale from the surfer crowd. “That was really brave. You saved her life,” he said, looking at me in admiration.

I looked down, ashamed.

“It was no big deal, besides, everybody else was too drunk to do anything,” I felt a flush of guilt, because I knew that I didn’t deserve any praise for saving Shayla. He was right about her nearly drowning me. I looked up at him with pained eyes, “Can we just drop it please?” He shook his head and smiled at me, “Marina, you are one strange girl.” Cruz chimed in, “You don’t know the half of it!” They all laughed for their own reasons while I twisted in the wind, forced to take the credit for something I didn’t do.

The rest of the day literally crawled by. I kept looking at the classroom clock, eager to get to the beach. I wanted Cruz’s help to get down with my gear and be there with my clothes when I got out of the water, so I kept reassuring him it would be fine. I was certain Lorelei wouldn’t hurt me, desperate to know the truth about my mother.

When we got to the parking lot Shayla was standing there waiting by the Porsche. She looked meek and contrite, and I knew instantly she was there to apologize. Ethan and Cruz stepped forward as if to protect me, but I waved them away from us. She needed a chance to speak her piece.

“Go now!” I snapped at them, eager to get the school day over with. I walked up to Shayla, looking her in the eye.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” she said, her voice filled with shame. She dropped her head as if awaiting a blow, “You must hate my guts. I don’t know why you did it. I don’t deserve to be alive.”

“Please– Please– Just forget about it,” I pleaded, “Everyone needs a little help sometimes.” I was thinking about Lorelei.

Shayla looked down at me incredulously, “I was wrong about you.”

“Yeah, well, we all mess up. Let’s put it all behind us and start over.” She shuffled her feet a little, “I owe you a purse,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it,” I held up my hand, “Seriously– not necessary.”

“Thanks for being so cool about it,” she said, lifting her head to look at me curiously, “You know... Ethan really likes you.” She met my eyes intensely, “He’s not as tough as he looks– just don’t play around with his feelings.” She turned to leave with her head down again.

“Shayla?”

“What?” she asked, turning back suspiciously.

“Lay off Cruz and Megan, okay?”

She looked taken aback, “Sure.”

She walked away and Ethan rushed over, searching my eyes for a clue as to what had transpired between me and Shayla.

“Are you still up to go surfing tomorrow?” he asked.

“Absolutely! First thing tomorrow,” I smiled even though it hurt my cheek.

“See you then,” he said, watching as I climbed into the Porsche.

I looked over at Cruz, slowly walking towards us, “Come on!” I called out, “Chop- chop!” Cruz rolled his eyes at me as he slid into the passenger seat, “Can we re-think your after school plans?”

“Not a chance!” I said as we pulled out. I looked back to see Ethan standing by his truck, eyes glued to us as we drove away. I waved goodbye.