Chapter Four

Lylie continues to mentor Meredith, but struggles when one of her coworkers shows up drunk.

“Heads up.”

“Huh? Ow!” I growled. My hand that was waiting impatiently for the pen now went to rub my shoulder from where Garret idiotically decided to throw a pen towards. I bent down to grab the rolling pen off of the floor. “You’re such an a*s, Garret.”

“You love me.” The dirty blonde dolphin trainer said innocently before he winked. “You know, David’s always bragging about how skilled and talented you are. That your reflexes can rival a cheetah’s. But, you seem pretty slow to me.” He gestured towards my shoulder with his hand. He grinned, flashing his emerald green eyes in my direction.

“Yeah, you wish.” I muttered as I neatly wrote my name on the employee sign-in sheet. I absentmindedly wrote today’s date near my name, copying what Garret had already put. Something in that date triggered some sort of a puzzled reaction in me. Something I needed to notice and check. Did I spell everything right? A quick glance at what I had written suddenly sent ice through my veins. It was already the eighth of June? It couldn’t be. Surely I wrote it wrong.

Nope. I flipped through several pages, watching the consecutive dates match up perfectly. Damn, why hadn’t I noticed this? Only one more week until the Mijoyed. Seven meager days. I couldn’t believe it.

Controlling my reaction so Garret couldn’t see, I turned and headed toward the locker rooms. Garret followed.

“Where’s the noob?” He asked in a cheerful voice.

“Meredith.” I corrected, rolling my eyes. “Not sure.”

“You’re her mentor.” He started to say. “That means you should know where she is at all times, teach her the ways of SeaPark, feed her, wipe her a*s for her...”

“All right. I get it.” I interrupted before his list could grow any longer. The worries about the date faded from my memory. I reached for the handle on the door of the women’s locker room. “Jealousy doesn’t flatter you, Garret.”

“And why would I be jealous?” He asked me in an amused voice. I spun around so that I could face him. He crossed his arms against his broad chest and raised one of his dark eyebrows.

“Because I’m getting paid extra for this and…” I paused for a dramatic effect. “You have no limits when it comes to females.” He rolled his eyes.

“Oh, come on. I do have boundaries, you know. She’s like fourteen.”

“She’s sixteen.”

“It doesn’t matter.” He suddenly fluttered his eyelids and put on an overly dramatic pouty face. “I only have eyes for you, Thorne.” He said in a musical voice as he walked away from the locker room.

I shook my head as I walked over to the lockers to throw my bag down on one of the benches. The lockers were navy blue, really old, and were starting to rust in the corners. The name “Thorne” was scribbled in David’s handwriting on a chipped piece of white tape.

I pulled my sleek black wetsuit out of my bag and laid it on the bench. I stripped down to my bare skin and pulled my hair back in a ponytail. I stepped into my suit feet first, pulled it up to my chest and zipped it all the way to the base of my neck.

With a quick check in a nearby mirror, I felt ready to go. Except, something about my hair felt off to me. I yanked the rubber band out and shook out my dark wavy hair. I groaned as I examined closer.

Blue. Streaks of subtle blue stained my hair. It was hardly noticeable against my midnight blue hair, but my eyes missed nothing.

I’ve always had dark blue lowlights naturally in my hair that won’t seem to go away. It’s a little more dominant today, which unnecessarily worried me. Who cares what color my hair is? People dye their hair all of the time. Purple, pink, red. People can dye their hair blue too, right? Hair changes colors all of the time. It lightens from the sun in the summer and darkens in the winter.

Only an immortal’s hair doesn’t. Nothing changes about us. Not physically at least. Sirens do have the ability to shapeshift, but our choices are limited. We can shift into a few different species, but our overall 'look' stays the same.

Trying to ignore the strange color, I quickly pulled my hair back up, covering most of the colored pieces. I felt satisfied and left the room.

Meredith was an hour late today. Maybe it was divine intervention, but David didn’t show up for work. He probably thought it would be slow on a Wednesday.

That turned out to be very true. So far, only six families came to view the aquarium, and it was already noon. Our performing shows were on Friday and Saturday, which drew in the majority of the crowds. Apparently looking at fish swim in an enclosed glass container isn’t as fun as watching Bubba the walrus ballroom dance with Garret. I guess I can’t really blame them.

“This is boring.” Meredith said with a sigh. She poked the little black microphone with her index finger without seeming to think about it. I had been teaching her how to use the computer for ticket sales and admittance to shows.

“Well, yeah.” I told her. “It’s called 'work'.” A smile played on her pale pink lips.

“When is Chelsea coming back?” She asked. “I’d rather work with the animals today.”

I was pretty sure that Chelsea, the only cashier working today, was getting it on with her boyfriend in the storage room. She told me she had to get her inhaler from her car, and I agreed to cover for her until she got back. And unless her inhaler looked like a tattooed twenty-something-year-old with a sexy lip ring, then she lied. I shrugged towards Meredith.

“Guess that depends on her boyfriend.” I said with a smirk. I grabbed the microphone, choosing not to make an inappropriate joke over the intercom at the last second. “Chelsea Richardson, please come to the front office.” I could hear my voice echoing loudly through the speakers. There was no way that Chelsea could miss it.

“Guess that works.” Meredith replied. I smiled as I pulled out a drawer under the cash register.

“If for any reason you run out of change in the register,” I continued on with my lesson, “You can get it from here.” I grabbed a roll of quarters and slammed the middle against the edge of the drawer. The paper seal broke, revealing rows of shiny new quarters.

Meredith briefly nodded, looking over through the window. I could tell her attention span was slipping. Since David wasn’t here today, Meredith complained a lot more than usual. She was starting to get on my nerves. For someone who wanted a job here, I thought she should have been a little more eager to learn.

“You know how to make change right?” Meredith gave me an incredulous look and rolled her eyes.

“I’m not an idiot.” She said.

“You never know.” I said, throwing my hands up in a truce. She ran her fingers through her unruly brown hair. Her wide brown eyes stared blankly out the window.

We were suddenly interrupted as the glass door to the office swung open. I could see Chelsea cringing ever so slightly as the door clattered against the wall. Thankfully, the glass didn’t break from her force.

Her red hair was slightly messy and she looked winded. I noticed that her dark pink lipstick was smeared past her lips, and her eyes were bloodshot. Had she been crying?

“Thanks, Lylie.” She said quickly, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from under the front desk.

“Are you crazy?” I asked, gesturing toward the cigarettes in her hand. “Do you want to get fired?” I raised my eyebrows at her.

“S**t.” Her hand froze as she dropped the pack of cancer sticks on the ground. “Forgot about that.” Chelsea frowned, and creases on her fake tan appeared in the corners of her mouth. She then bent down to pick the pack of cigarettes up. She stumbled slightly, and somehow managed to grip the side of the desk for support. I could only stare in fascination.

“You’re drunk.” I stated in wonder. I wish Meredith hadn’t have seen this. A drunken coworker who had just finished having sex with her sleazy boyfriend on the job isn’t exactly model behavior for a SeaPark employee. What was with people today? The boss doesn’t show, and everyone goes haywire?

“Nooo.” She said. There it was. I could smell the stench of whiskey on her breath. It made me nauseous.

“Jesus, Chelsea. What if someone sees you?”

“Relax, Lylie.” Chelsea said as she leaned against the wall. “I just had a few shots with Marcus. I’m fine.” A few shots? What did she think this was, some kind of frat party?

“You really think you can handle money right now?”

“Girl, I got you.” She said as she winked. The fact that her wink was awkward and had resulted in both of her eyelids shutting simultaneously solidified my decision to take her home before any customer saw her like this.

“Meredith, will you go find Garret and tell him to come here? Tell him it’s urgent.” The curly haired intern nodded and left the room. Her eyes stayed on Chelsea’s face, her expression was astonished.

“Damn, Lyles. It’s good! It’s all good.” She raised her thin eyebrows at me. “I hate that son of a b***h. Garret ain’t got no business coming here to do my job for me.”

“Well, someone needs to. Do you want me to take you home?” Chelsea shrugged, running a hand through her tousled dark red hair.

“Garret’s a dick.” She said, looking away. She completely ignored my question. “He’ll f**k that brown haired tramp and never speak to her again. Stupid b***h.”

Her hand involuntarily went for the cigarettes again, but I grabbed her wrist to stop her. I let go and watched her rub her wrists from where I had grabbed her. I didn’t think I grabbed her that hard, but it was hard to tell.

“What is wrong with you?” I lashed out. My astonishment transformed into anger. Meredith was a sweet girl. Sure her attitude annoyed me earlier, but she absolutely didn’t deserve to be talked about like that.

Chelsea and I were usually pretty close. And she was acting stranger than usual. Drunk-Chelsea is something that I have never seen before. Well, mean-drunk-Chelsea is something that I have never seen before. She’s never drank on the job, or called anyone she barely even knows a b***h. Something was seriously wrong here.

“Nothing is wrong with me.”

“Well, Meredith is nice. She hasn’t done anything to you.” I said defensively.

“Doesn't mean s**t.” She said angrily.

Two loud knocks interrupted our conversation as Garret opened the door with Meredith quietly at his side. Garret didn’t look at all surprised that Chelsea was obviously drunk and pissed off. Meredith must have filled him in. Instead, he looked amused, like he thought it was funny.

“Don’t.” I warned, holding my hand up to stop him from saying something that would initiate a battle-zone between them. Garret and Chelsea had a history. It didn’t end well for either of them. “Work the register until we get back please.” I told him. I grabbed Chelsea’s hand and pulled her out of the office. Meredith looked confused, like she didn’t know if she should stay with Garret or go with me. “Come on.” I told Meredith reassuringly.

“Chelsea, don’t puke in the jeep.” Garret muttered under his breath.

Chelsea turned around with speed that rivaled a cobra strike. Black fury glinted in her eyes as she let out some sort of strangled battle cry. I swear she would have punched him in the face if I hadn’t had held her back. “Come on, Chelsea. Ignore him.” I pulled her harder, heading out to the parking lot.

We made it to my jeep, and Meredith hopped in the back so Chelsea didn’t have to drunkenly climb over the seat and possibly fall on the pavement. Once we were all situated, my foot hit the gas pedal and we sped off out of the parking lot.

“Well, that was a lot more interesting than working the cash register.” Meredith commented, chuckling to herself.

“Yep.” I agreed tightly.

Reviews

[Daydreamer54]

I wondeer what's with Chelsea, probably showing her true colors I guess, or something possesed her. :P the Mijoyed thingy would be interesting to reading about.

[Strigoikillerr]

You're closer with the second guess :P