When Life Gives You Fins - Elaina H (romance book recommendations .txt) 📗

up a ton of stairs. I know where we’re going! The roof!

            “Why do you want to come anyway?”

            “Because, I am so bored! Mira said I had to stay there from 10:00 to 4:30. That’s a long time!” I shout over music that starts to fill the hall.

            “Some of the guys aren’t going to like that you’re here. So you might have to leave early.”

            “Whatever!”

            We come up onto the roof. There are about thirty guys. Lots of drinks, music, and food.

            “This is awesome,” I yell.

            Zak is still squeezing the life out of my hand. “Yeah,” he gives a nervouse laugh.

            You can already see some of the guys gossiping like a pack of sixth graders.

            The blonde guy with a red tail that I recognize as Josh’s friend from the club comes up, “What’s she doing here? Thought no girls were supposed to come?!” he glares at me.

            “I’m here because I can be! Now leave me alone!” Zak gives a shrug, as to say ‘sorry’ or ‘too bad’.

            His grip loosens a little. We move around the party, after fifteen minutes Zak begins talking to a group of guys he knows. I head over to the food table.

            My stomach is literally growling by the time I make my way over there. Someone comes up next to me, “I leave you for the night and you have a new haircut,” Josh jokes.

            “Hey! What’s up?” I laugh at his joke.

            “Not much, just wondering why you are here?”

            “Turned on the charm, basically,” he gives me a guilty look, “Hey! It worked. If you thought I was going to sit alone in my room for six and a half hours, you’re delusional!”

            “You could have hung out with Adrianne?”

            “Yeah, but his is much better! No offence Adrianne!”

            Josh chuckles. “Not much for you to do at this party though. You don’t really know anyone here.”

            “Not really, but, like I said more fun than my room!”

            “I’m not arguing that point. I’ll see you later! I’m going to go say hi to some of my buddies.”

            “Okay! Bye!” Josh leaves and I continue eating shrimp.

            Not to long after he left three guys, one being red-fin – I don’t know his name – then he bumps me over as he begins devouring shrimp with his friends.

            “Hey!”

            “What? This food is for the people who were invited!”

            “I was invited by Prince Zak! So move it!” Bravely I walk in front of them and eat shrimp as they watch me.

            “Listen, you need to leave this is a guys party! How are we supposed to talk about guy stuff and do guy stuff with you around?!”

            “I have an idea,” I fake happiness, “why don’t you leave and talk ‘guy stuff’ in your room!”

            “You better watch your step.”

            Then his dopey friend speaks, “Yeah, read-head!”

            Everyone gives him a weird stare. He doesn’t get why of course.

            “Listen, you stay away from me I’ll stay away from you. Deal?”

            “Whatever! Roll out!” he calls to his friends.

            “You have got to be kidding me,” I mutter.

            I swim away from the food counter. I’m going to be fat. I rub my eyes and my hand comes off purple and gold. Shoot!

            I look for the staircase to Zak’s room, and open the door. I creep into the room and find a mirror.

            “Oh! No! Mira is going to kill me!” my make-up is smeared on my left eye. Dang it!

            I take a towel and wipe away the smeared eye shadow. Then I wipe away some of the make-up from the other eye to even it out.

            Decent.

            Feeling guilty about ruining Mira’s make-up I get up to leave. I jiggle the handle to the stair door, it’s locked. Dang those stupid boys.

            I go to the regular door, locked. I hate them!

            Great! I’m doing exactly what I didn’t want to do, be stuck in a room.

            I flop onto Zak’s bed, and pick up a book. Boring! I need to be doing something. I reach for my hair, but I remember I chopped it off.

            I cover my face with a pillow and scream. Uhhh! How long before someone realizes I’m down here. I can still here the music from outside the door. I here guys yelling and joking with each other!

            I close my eyes, and at least I fall asleep.

            I dream that stupid nightmare again, but I don’t wake up this time. The nightmare ends with me falling again. Then it’s over. Why end there? I could never tell you. Apparently I have a fear of falling.

            Shortly after my dream ends I start to wake up, I realize I’m being carried. There are arms around me, Zak’s I’d guess.

            “Where are we?” I mumble.

            “We’re on you way to your room.”

            “I want to go back to the party, I want to give those guys a piece of my mind!” I say half-heartedly.

            “You do that?! You’re half asleep. Plus, I called Mira, she’ll have to redo your make-up since it’s all over my pillow.”

            “Sorry, I fell asleep. I had this stupid nightmare again! Uhh! I get terrible sleep with it!”

            “What’s it about?” he sounds genuinely worried.

            “Nothing, just pitiful worries. You know, the usual.”

            “Okay?” but he’s not convinced.

            “Can I please go back to the party!?”

            “I would say yes, but it’s been over for an hour!”

            I shoot up and crawl out of his arms, “An hour! What time is it?”

            “Almost 4:00.”

            “Oh, no! Oh, no! Mira’s going to kill me! I still have to do make-up, hair, get dressed. I have thirty minutes before I have to leave and eat dinner with your family!”

            “It’s alright! Calm down,” he puts a hand on my head, “Man! I can’t get over how short your hair is! Why did you cut it today?”

            “Because it was supposed to be a surprise, but I got too bored.”

            “Well, here you are!”

            I turn to Zak, “Don’t let her kill me!”

            Zak laughs, and opens the door for me.

            Mira doesn’t hesitate, “I told you to stay here. Because all the other girls are ready and perfect! You’re going to have to go looking half-best! You know who what’s going to happen, all the maids will go, ‘that girl looks terrible! Who did her make-up? It was Mira’! All creditability lost!”

            Zak holds up a hand, “Stop! It was my fault. I told her she could stay.”

            “Then you!” She actually starts yelling at Prince Zak! Very scary!

            “Mira, we need to get started!”

            “Okay sit, you leave,” she points at Zak.

            “Bye,” he walks out the door.

            Mira starts with my make-up. It’s purple and gold, it looks exactly the same to me, but according to Mira it’s a rookie version.

            She brushes through my hair and puts some gel in it to make it shiny and straight underwater.

            Next she puts lotion on my whole body, “Do I really need to be smoother?”

            “Shut up!”

            She keeps working. After the lotion sets in she paints my nails. She paints them purple. I think I see a theme going on here.

            After that she rushes me to get the dress on. It’s 4:35! She kicks me out the door, literally, and Zak is actually standing there ready to bring me down.

            Prince Zak looks me up and down. He smiles, “Not to shabby, Celia.”

            “Do I look fine? She didn’t even let me look in the mirror!”

            “You look perfect.”

            Zak has on a vest, it’s brown with gold accents. I guess to match my outfit. “You look quite dashing.” He laughs at me.

            “I guess, I didn’t design it Mira did.”

            “I can tell,” I snicker at him, “I don’t mean that in a bad way though!”

            “Of course you don’t,” he rolls his eyes.

            We swim up to the Dining Hall entrance. “Ready?”

            “Do I have a choice?”

            “No!” he says with a smile.

            We enter and only the King, Queen, Destin, Destin’s date? are here.

            “Hello Celia,” the Queen comes up and hugs me, “You look so pretty in purple and gold. Your hair, you cut all your hair off. It’s so different.”

            “Thank you,” I’m taking the last part as a complement.

            “And Zak, you look quite dashing. Definitely worthy of the fine young lady beside you.”

            Zak thanks his mom, but gives me a look.

            “Sit down, sit.”

            We sit. I sit next to Zak across from where Adrianne and her date sit.

            I turn to Destin, I have to have some fun, “So Destin, won’t you introduce us to your date?”

            Destin smiles, “Only if I can throw a chair at your head!”

            “Destin,” the Queen chirps, “be nice, never threaten!”

            “Sorry, my date’s name is Wilma Jeffery.”

            “Well,” I reply, “it’s nice to meet you, Wilma.”

            “It’s nice to meet you too…?”

            “Celia, but call me CJ.”

            “CJ. You look really pretty. I wish I was as pretty as you are!”             “Thank you so much, Wilma. You look very cute.” She did, she had on a green dress that corresponded well with her gray fins.

            “Thank you.”

            “Your date, Destin, doesn’t look to bad either,” I say to Wilma.

            She giggles, “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind having him,” she points at Zak, “on my arm,” she blushes like mad. But I just laugh.

            I try to stop because it’s not very nice. Zak holds my hand under the table.

            “I’m sorry, Wilma. I’m sure Prince Zak would love to dance with you tonight!”             “Really?”             “Yup!” Wilma goes back to sipping her water with a smile on her lips.

            Zak leans over and whispers in my ear, “I’ll dance with her even though I’d rather be dancing with someone else,” he squeezes my hand.

            I fake shock, “Who? I can’t believe you’re my date and you don’t want to dance with me!”

            “Dork,” he mutters to me.

            The King speaks, “Where is Adrianne!?”

            Just as he says this Adrianne bursts through the doors, in an aquamarine dress. It matches her tail exactly. She looks gorgeous with her blonde hair hanging down her back.

            Trailing behind her is Josh. Josh?

            I look at Adrianne. She doesn’t notice.

            “Sorry father, I almost forgot!” she pats the seat next to her for Josh.

            The King mumbles.

            “Okay, now that everyone is here, bring out the food.”

            Food id brought out by the tons. Enough for the town to eat. Food of every variety covers the table as far as I can see.

            “You may begin eating!”

            Zak grabs my plate and asks me what I want, “Lobster, crab, shrimp, dolphin fish, sail fish, and some shark! Please.” He gives me a look.

            “All of that?”

            “Why not, they throw away the extras anyway? And I’m pretty sure there will be extras.”

            “True.”

            Zak hand me my plate and fills his own, he has more than I do. “All of that?”

            “Why not? They’ll be extras!”

            I laugh, Adrianne and Josh fill their plates. Josh is making Adrianne laugh.

            The Queen is cutting Destin’s food and he’s about ready to die of embarrassment. Wilma is looking a Zak.

            “I think some one has a crush.” I murmur to Zak.

            “Really? I thought I knew that after you kissed me!” I glare at him.

            “My turn, Dork!”

            We keep eating. After an hour everyone is holding their bellies, claiming they’re full as they eat one more piece.

            “We have thirty minutes until the ball starts, do you guys want to practice dancing?”

            “Sure!” Zak grabs my hand and pulls me to the dance floor as the music just begins.

            The King and Queen dance. Wilma pulls Destin around because he’s obviously not in the mood to dance.

            Adrianne is yanking on Josh’s arm. We fly by and I here Josh, “I don’t know how to dance!”

            The second