Chapter Twenty-Eight

I was in my room, going through my dresser. I mostly only had t-shirts and high waisted shorts. I was looking for a dress for graduation, but I only had summer dresses that I no longer fit. They were all too short and I've had them since I was a kid. Flustered, I closed the dresser, which was in my closet so I had more space in my room.

"Aunt Mary!" I called, walking out of my room. My aunt was in the living room, reading a book. "Auntie." She looked up from her book, slightly distracted.

"I don't have any dresses for graduation." I huffed.

"Then we need to go to the mall." She set her book down and stood. Ever since I fixed her tail, she looked younger and happier. My uncle had been out fishing with Jason for two days, so we were okay with leaving the house. We drove to the city since there were no malls in our little town. The mall in the city was huge and had all kinds of stores. There were candy stores, clothes stores, shoe stores, and food stores. "What color dress do you want?" My aunt touched my red hair as we walked into the mall.

"How about a blue and purple mermaid dress?" I entered a dress shop. The dress would match my tail and would be a little funny because no one knew I had a mermaid tail.

"Like a prom dress?" I couldn't see her expression, but I could tell that she didn't think that was a good idea.

"Or a nice white one?" I looked around. "It'll go with my hair and I won't look overdressed." Realizing that, even though my sky blue graduation gown covered my feet, I would look too fancy at the after party. A lady in a dark blue vest came to us. Her nametag said 'Lucy".

"A white dress for graduation?" She questioned, smiling. She had blonde highlights in her dark brown hair and brown eyes. She was kind of pretty, her facial features soft but prominent. I nodded in response. "I believe I can help you." She lead us to the white dress area. All the dresses in this store was color organized. All yellows in one place, greens in another, and so on. Carefully, she pulled a long, strapless, white dress from the rack.

"That looks like a wedding dress. Do you have any others? I'm looking for something that's like a summer dress, but formal at the same time." I explained.

"All our white dresses are for weddings. Our others are mostly for proms." She placed the dress back.

"Well, I will come back when I am getting married. Thank you." I smiled. We left the store and walked down the hall. We passed several stores, glancing into each.

"Do you think Jason will ask soon?" My aunt looked into a store window.

"I don't know. We are busy with keeping the ocean clean and figuring out how to find mom." I shrugged, looking up from my shoes. I saw a dress in the window, several stores away. It had thick shoulder straps and was white with blue and purple print flowers spotted in several spots. It looked like it stopped at the knees.

"This one is perfect!" I ran over and we went inside. The store clerk helped us take the dress off the mannequin and I entered a dressing stall to try it on. It fit my hips well and kept everything in place. The only thing that bothered me slightly was that it showed a bit of cleavage. I opened the stall door to show my aunt.

"That'll be great for the after party." She smiled, touching a large purple flower on the dress. It flowed like a sundress, but it fit my curves and was smooth like silk. "You can see your skinny body, but it fits you beautifully." I smiled happily, going back in to change back into my clothes.

"And no one will see it until you take your graduation gown off." She added as I pulled the dress off.

"That's one of the best parts." I replied. Since the gown went all the way to my feet, my dress would be hidden.

*~~*~~*~~*

Jason and my uncle didn't return from fishing until almost eight at night. They sold most of their catch, but kept a nice sized fish, some shellfish, and a few crabs. I always felt weird about eating seafood, but by the time they came home with it, their catch was usually already dead. Sea life ate each other and Atlanteans ate the sea life, too. It's just how life is.

"Blake! They're back!" My aunt called down the hall. I put my graduation gown on my bed then ran out into the living room where Jason and uncle put their equipment down. I squealed, jumping into Jason's arm and locking my legs around his waist. Everyone laughed as he hugged me tightly, kissing all over my face.

"I missed you!" He shook his body from side to tide, holding onto me.

"I know! You were gone for two day!" I clung to him like a monkey.

"Jay, give me what you caught so I can start dinner." Aunt Mary waved.

"Alright." He released me, expecting me to get down. I didn't move, just held him tighter so I didn't slip. "Blake." He laughed. When I didn't budge, he placed a hand across my back to support me and grabbed a bucket with his other hand.

"Oh, will your father be here?" My aunt took the bucket. I had forgotten that Earl was coming for our graduation. I had been so busy that it slipped my mind.

"In about an hour. Maybe sooner." Jason put his other arm around me. He smelled like fish and when he moved his arms, I knew he needed a shower. It made me scrunch my nose up.

"Jason, I love you, but you need a shower." I got down and pointed to my room. He only smirked, his green eyes sparkling. "I'll tell you when he gets here. Go wash."

"Yes, Ma'am." He nodded sarcastically.