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Emily is fine. She could be better, but she’s fine.
She sits on a rock, tail dipped in the water. There's not a huge point in keeping a tail right now, considering that she isn't swimming, but it’s nice, reminding herself that there’s a tangible reason why she’s so frequently othered. Emily stares into the clear water, knowing she has maybe an hour at most until she has to start swimming back home. She should enjoy it while it lasts. Today, Shona had to go home in a hurry because she needed to do something for her mom, which left Emily on her own. Going home herself felt wrong, and she didn't want to relinquish the brief amount of freedom and authenticity she would get from being a mermaid.
Emily drops herself back in the water, feeling bored with nothing to do. She swims lazily, the water a little colder than it was a few days ago, a sign of autumn taking its toll. She thinks about Shona and wonders if her being a girl out of the water will ever affect things. That’s hopefully a silly idea, but now that she’s thought of it, it immediately plants itself in her mind and refuses to leave. Emily swims deeper.
Shona knows full well what Emily has going on, and she’s largely unbothered by that, but eventually Emily will encounter other mers, and what if they’re not as nice? What if Shona will have no choice but to never talk to her again to spare herself from sharing the mockery?
She stops swimming and suspends herself in the water, lost in thought. Emily blows out some bubbles, watching them as they hit the surface and burst. She sighs, which is hard to do underwater. She could go back to living on land all the time, after all, she's managed to bear a fair amount of ostracization for a while now, and she's managed to be fine. Emily swishes her tail idly, and shakes her head even though no one's around for the gesture to serve any purpose. No, she knows in her heart she can never go back to pretending to be like the others. She could never stay away from the ocean. The problem, of course, is that she could never stay away from land too.
Emily swims back up to the surface and discerns that her time is up. She starts going back home to the houseboat.
Her mother might understand, or maybe she'd disown her for being a fish-girl.
Emily pulls herself onto the deck and sits on it while waiting for her tail to separate into legs again. She then walks back into the cabin, discreetely getting a towel and drying off. To make it look like she's been in bed, she kicks around the covers, then flops down among them.
The last twenty-four hours were a slog of pretending to pay attention and yearning to be somewhere else. Now Emily once again has the opportunity to meet up with Shona, and she's sneaking out with fervour.
She jumps into the water, and feels the telltale tingling and numbness that accompanies her tail forming. Emily swims off in the direction of the rocks her and Shona often meet at, wondering if the better approach would be voicing her concerns or acting like she's in a chipper mood. She hasn't fully decided by the time she reaches the rocks. Shona's already there, brushing her hair like the perfect siren. Emily approaches her and waves, although she can't muster quite as much cheerfulness as she would like to. Shona doesn't seem to notice, and brightens when she sees her.
“Emily!” She declares happily as her friend hops onto the rock. “I got here earlier, and I've been waiting!”. Shona suddenly gets a better look at Emily and frowns. “Are you feeling okay?”.
Emily's response is just a little too late to be believed.
“Y-yes, nothing of note has happened.”.
Shona runs a hand through her hair. “Don't lie to me like that, I can tell.”.
Emily swallows her fear. “Shona, would you be my friend if you introduced me to other merfolk and they didn't like me?”.
Shona blinks. “Uh, yes? That's a really weird question to ask.”.
Before Emily can say something back and explain herself, Shona continues. “Look Emily, I have no idea what has convinced you that you're gonna be a pariah wherever you go. You're positively swishy, maybe one of the coolest people I’ve ever met, so let's make a promise now.”. Shona holds out her hand. “We're gonna be friends until one of us dies, and then when both of us are dead we can be friends as ghosts or something. It doesn't matter what people think of you, I'll never stop hanging out with you. Once you shake my hand, there's no going back.”.
Emily hesitates briefly, before shaking her hand. “Agreed.”.
“Friends forever?”.
“Forever.”.