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Description
Sairah's POV

The Michaels' backyard was filled with people. People I knew, people I didn't know, and most of them were teens. They mingled, talked, and ate. My parents silently got out of the car, and headed towards the living room, where the adults were indulging in imported foods, and probably gossiping about each other. (Which I hated!)
I found my way over to Nola, dressed in her green bikini, t-shirt, and jean shorts. She was surely dressed to swim. I looked down at my dress. It was a knee-length sundress I'd fished out of my closet from my birthday party last year. It was kind of small on me, but I didn't have anything causal enough to wear.
"So…what're you gonna do all night?", she asked me.
Honestly, I had no clue.
"Probably mill around the snack table all night. They have a chocolate fountain, haha!", I laughed.
Nola frowned. "I'm sorry you can't swim. If I could help you…"
I nodded my head. "It's totally fine."
I lied.

I made my way inside of the house. It was decorated in bright colors, with airy fabrics on the tables, and a variety of foods set in cool patterns.
Since I didn't want to pop a tail, I ventured away from the drink table. All water and soda was out. I grabbed a small turkey sandwich, and sat down in the dining room. Apparently Haiyden and Becca came, and had the same idea.
"Oh, hey. Why are you…", I trailed off. I noticed that Haiyden was holding a drink. While I talked, she managed to bump Becca, and spill it all over her.
"Oh my gosh, Becca, I'm sooo sorry!", Haiyden shouted.
It seemed like an instant. Becca fell on the floor as her blue tail appeared.
Becca screamed, and I was sure everyone heard her.
"Grab a towel, Sairah!", she shrieked.
I ran out the kitchen and into the next room, when I saw Amelya running to the dining room door.
Quickly, I pulled the door closed, and positioned myself in front of it.
"Hey, is Becca alright? I heard a scream!", she shouted.
I replied, trying to calm her down.
"It's okay. She just…saw a spider…and…Haiyden killed it, so everything's fine now."
Amelia's face showed that she didn't believe me, but she walked back to the living room.

"That was so close…", Haiyden whispered in my ear.
The party had just ended, and we had to assure everyone that Haiyden had simply fallen hard on her knee.
Luckily, she did fall while transforming, so it wasn't a total lie…
"We need to set some kind of rules in case one of us makes a big mistake. What do we do if someone sees us?", said Becca, "If we can make sure we're together when there is danger, maybe close calls like that won't happen so often."
Haiyden butted in, "Everything is a hazard for us! What do we do, hide forever? I don't want to live in fear of every droplet of water I see!"
"Says the girl who had pictures taken of her swimming in broad daylight."
Haiyden turned her head away and walked on.
It seemed these sisters just wouldn't agree on how to handle this mermaid situation.
"I think she's right. You guys need to be safer, plus, I need to try something out."
I gave her an exasperated look.
"What this time?"
"Something about how much water transforms you…and…well, just come over tomorrow after school. My parents will be at the gym all night. Some kind of relaxing yoga class, or something."
Hesitating, I weighed my options.
Lie, and say I have something to do (which wouldn't work since she knows I don't) or say yes, and get her silly experiments over with.
"Can they come too?", I gestured towards Becca and Haiyden.
Nola nodded her head 'yes'. I had to go. She might've not be quiet about it for the rest of high school.
…Or however long I am a mermaid.

I awoke next morning to a sunny, breezy day. The sun shone through my window. Today was the first day of my new dance class. We had the same teacher, and nearly all of the same students, but this year we got nicer dresses, new pointe shoes, and we got to perform at the beachside high school performing arts show in the spring.
Donning my leotard and tights, I grabbed my makeup bag to try covering up the mermaid-ness of my face. With every smear of bronzer, I looked more and more like Malibu Barbie and less like a pale, cold fish.
"Uggghhh! Am I ever going to look normal again?", I said to myself.
I slammed the door to my bathroom. And ran downstairs.
At least I had dance, and it was hard to be upset when class started. Mrs. Bailey was light on her feet as she danced around the room in jazz shoes. Her body spun and spun until halting, and she stood directly in front of the class lined up at the wall.
"This, class, is what we will start with. I want you all to come up with a dance on the spot, in your jazz shoes, because we will be dancing in our pointe shoes next week. I want you to come up with a dance that describes an experience, a feeling, something you enjoy or something you hate. The class will then attempt to interpret what you are trying to convey."
The class looked confused.
"In other words, dancing is not just dancing. It's acting as well. You're putting on a show for your viewers. Interpretive dance is just as helpful to you in ballet as stretching! You need to know how to put emotion into your dancing. Now, if someone can tell me what I was trying to mimic."
Mandy, a 15 year old girl with dark curly hair, raised her hand. "I think it was a top. Like, a spinning top. Y'know, when you spin a top, and it gets all dizzy?"
Mrs. Bailey shook her head.
"You were falling! You were getting dizzy, I saw your face. You told us you were afraid of heights last year!", a girl named Kiki said.
"Yes, Kiki. Exactly! I was describing the sensation it gives when someone has a fear of falling. It's the same feeling you got when you jumped off of a diving board, or slid down a huge slide when you were a kid."
I nodded. Of all of the things I could do, I picked the one I felt I could do almost better than dancing. Swimming.

I pushed at the air softly as if water were holding me back. In my head, thousands of fish swam by, and my tail swished up and down. But all anyone else knew was that I loved to swim. I spun around, making sure my movements were as fluid as they are in the water.
When the dance was done, Mrs. Bailey smiled, and exclaimed, "Oh, Sairah! I didn't know you liked swimming." Sairah shook her head yes, and the class stared in amazement at Mrs. Bailey's quickness.
"That is one of the best dances today. Class, I've decided that you each will perform an interpretive dance just like the ones you did today at the show, except we will perfect them. We will all be so beautiful!"
I blushed, and curtsied. I hardly ever got compliments on my dancing.

Description
Sairah's POV

The Michaels' backyard was filled with people. People I knew, people I didn't know, and most of them were teens. They mingled, talked, and ate. My parents silently got out of the car, and headed towards the living room, where the adults were indulging in imported foods, and probably gossiping about each other. (Which I hated!)
I found my way over to Nola, dressed in her green bikini, t-shirt, and jean shorts. She was surely dressed to swim. I looked down at my dress. It was a knee-length sundress I'd fished out of my closet from my birthday party last year. It was kind of small on me, but I didn't have anything causal enough to wear.
"So…what're you gonna do all night?", she asked me.
Honestly, I had no clue.
"Probably mill around the snack table all night. They have a chocolate fountain, haha!", I laughed.
Nola frowned. "I'm sorry you can't swim. If I could help you…"
I nodded my head. "It's totally fine."
I lied.

I made my way inside of the house. It was decorated in bright colors, with airy fabrics on the tables, and a variety of foods set in cool patterns.
Since I didn't want to pop a tail, I ventured away from the drink table. All water and soda was out. I grabbed a small turkey sandwich, and sat down in the dining room. Apparently Haiyden and Becca came, and had the same idea.
"Oh, hey. Why are you…", I trailed off. I noticed that Haiyden was holding a drink. While I talked, she managed to bump Becca, and spill it all over her.
"Oh my gosh, Becca, I'm sooo sorry!", Haiyden shouted.
It seemed like an instant. Becca fell on the floor as her blue tail appeared.
Becca screamed, and I was sure everyone heard her.
"Grab a towel, Sairah!", she shrieked.
I ran out the kitchen and into the next room, when I saw Amelya running to the dining room door.
Quickly, I pulled the door closed, and positioned myself in front of it.
"Hey, is Becca alright? I heard a scream!", she shouted.
I replied, trying to calm her down.
"It's okay. She just…saw a spider…and…Haiyden killed it, so everything's fine now."
Amelia's face showed that she didn't believe me, but she walked back to the living room.

"That was so close…", Haiyden whispered in my ear.
The party had just ended, and we had to assure everyone that Haiyden had simply fallen hard on her knee.
Luckily, she did fall while transforming, so it wasn't a total lie…
"We need to set some kind of rules in case one of us makes a big mistake. What do we do if someone sees us?", said Becca, "If we can make sure we're together when there is danger, maybe close calls like that won't happen so often."
Haiyden butted in, "Everything is a hazard for us! What do we do, hide forever? I don't want to live in fear of every droplet of water I see!"
"Says the girl who had pictures taken of her swimming in broad daylight."
Haiyden turned her head away and walked on.
It seemed these sisters just wouldn't agree on how to handle this mermaid situation.
"I think she's right. You guys need to be safer, plus, I need to try something out."
I gave her an exasperated look.
"What this time?"
"Something about how much water transforms you…and…well, just come over tomorrow after school. My parents will be at the gym all night. Some kind of relaxing yoga class, or something."
Hesitating, I weighed my options.
Lie, and say I have something to do (which wouldn't work since she knows I don't) or say yes, and get her silly experiments over with.
"Can they come too?", I gestured towards Becca and Haiyden.
Nola nodded her head 'yes'. I had to go. She might've not be quiet about it for the rest of high school.
…Or however long I am a mermaid.

I awoke next morning to a sunny, breezy day. The sun shone through my window. Today was the first day of my new dance class. We had the same teacher, and nearly all of the same students, but this year we got nicer dresses, new pointe shoes, and we got to perform at the beachside high school performing arts show in the spring.
Donning my leotard and tights, I grabbed my makeup bag to try covering up the mermaid-ness of my face. With every smear of bronzer, I looked more and more like Malibu Barbie and less like a pale, cold fish.
"Uggghhh! Am I ever going to look normal again?", I said to myself.
I slammed the door to my bathroom. And ran downstairs.
At least I had dance, and it was hard to be upset when class started. Mrs. Bailey was light on her feet as she danced around the room in jazz shoes. Her body spun and spun until halting, and she stood directly in front of the class lined up at the wall.
"This, class, is what we will start with. I want you all to come up with a dance on the spot, in your jazz shoes, because we will be dancing in our pointe shoes next week. I want you to come up with a dance that describes an experience, a feeling, something you enjoy or something you hate. The class will then attempt to interpret what you are trying to convey."
The class looked confused.
"In other words, dancing is not just dancing. It's acting as well. You're putting on a show for your viewers. Interpretive dance is just as helpful to you in ballet as stretching! You need to know how to put emotion into your dancing. Now, if someone can tell me what I was trying to mimic."
Mandy, a 15 year old girl with dark curly hair, raised her hand. "I think it was a top. Like, a spinning top. Y'know, when you spin a top, and it gets all dizzy?"
Mrs. Bailey shook her head.
"You were falling! You were getting dizzy, I saw your face. You told us you were afraid of heights last year!", a girl named Kiki said.
"Yes, Kiki. Exactly! I was describing the sensation it gives when someone has a fear of falling. It's the same feeling you got when you jumped off of a diving board, or slid down a huge slide when you were a kid."
I nodded. Of all of the things I could do, I picked the one I felt I could do almost better than dancing. Swimming.

I pushed at the air softly as if water were holding me back. In my head, thousands of fish swam by, and my tail swished up and down. But all anyone else knew was that I loved to swim. I spun around, making sure my movements were as fluid as they are in the water.
When the dance was done, Mrs. Bailey smiled, and exclaimed, "Oh, Sairah! I didn't know you liked swimming." Sairah shook her head yes, and the class stared in amazement at Mrs. Bailey's quickness.
"That is one of the best dances today. Class, I've decided that you each will perform an interpretive dance just like the ones you did today at the show, except we will perfect them. We will all be so beautiful!"
I blushed, and curtsied. I hardly ever got compliments on my dancing.