FSE

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Schoolyards are, to most common students, perfectly safe places. To Undine, however, the schoolyard only served as torture between classes, for she wasn't a common student. Hell, she wasn't even human. She was... Different. Half human half nursing shark, she was quiet and polite, intelligent and witty with a high IQ for her age and skin that reflected light as if wet even when she was dry as a bone. She featured light copper hair around her head, always clean and healthy, two pert, animal like ears and a dorsal fin on the back of her head and middle of her spine. A long tail protruded from her rear that featured yet another fin oon its back, two along the bottom near the end and the tip fanned out like any real shark's. Gentle stripes of a very pale brown coloured the top of her tail to partway down. Though her skin tone was a grey and white, it was currently extremely mottled with large painful bruises that were being added to with each passing second, every unbearable day. The teachers of her school would deny her the safehaven of the classroom where she could hide from her regular beatings, and every day she would return home to her adoptive parents hiding her painful bruises, some the size of baseballs and in varying colours all the way from green to deep purples. Teachers would ignore her in her times of need, only going so far as to make sure that students wouldn't damage anything major or break any bones in the yard.

She cried often; probably more than she slept soundly, and undoubtedly more often than she smiled. She knew better than to trust her fellow students in any way, trust would only make it more unbearable when they turned on her. She would sit alone, right at the back of the school oval, just long enough to scoff down her lunch or recess before she would be subjected to further punishment for being different. Currently she was on her side, lying in the soft, cool grass with yet more tears running down her face as she tried so desperately to defend herself from the blows that brought white hot pain and more bloodloss that her body could ill afford after the last several months. Quiet sobs left her as her body shook in fear and pain, and when a foot connected squarely in her gut, her eyes bulged and she rolled forward, wretching crimson onto the lawn. A hand slapped her face into the puddle, cruel laughter accompanying the action and she feebly pulled her face from the red muck, now covered in it. This action was, itself, too much for her taxed strength, and she rolled to her side once more and fell into blissful darkness.

Next thing she knew, she was being shaken awake. She was still too weak to move, or even open her eyes, but she grunted painfully to signify that she was, at least, semi-consious. She didn't care who it was. If it was another student, any more 'punishment' would kill her, not that this would stop them; but if it were a teacher she'd be dragged to her classroom and sat in a chair to be laughed at by the other students until the next free period.

"Undine?" A soft voice called. "Undine, can you hear me?"

She feebly opened her eyes and looked into the face of her adoptive father, who was kneeling over her with concern filling every feature of his face. She turned her eyes away, tears starting to run across her face once again; she didn't want him to see her like this, beaten almost to death and covered in her own blood. His voice came again, still lightly muffled from her weakened state.

"The paramedics are on their way, Undine." He said gently. "Don't move too much, you could do more damage to yourself."

"S-Sigmund..." She choked back. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't call me Sigmund, I've told you before." The human kindly scolded. "I'm your father, remember?" He carefully pulled her shirt back, showing her middle. Large, dark bruises practically coloured her stomach and flanks in horrid greens and purples. The white strip that went down her middle was barely noticeable through the discolourisation. "Oh, gods Undine..." He mumbled. "Why didn't you tell me this was happening?"

She inhaled sharply, intense pain following this action. "I didn't want you to worry." She sobbed. "You have a hard enough time dealing with one who isn't... human. I didn't want you to worry about my safety at school..."

"I do worry about your safety, Undine." Sigmund said, gently brushing her hair from her eyes. "I'm your father, it's my job to worry about you. True, the teachers that look after you here are supposed to be as worried about you as I, but clearly that hasn't exactly happened, has it?" He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and opened a water bottle he had by his side, wetting the cloth before pouring a little across her face. Carefully he started to clean the blood from her young features. "Well, at least your face isn't damaged." He said.

"They avoid my face." She weakly said as he wiped across her brow. "Clothes hide the evidence." She coughed, making herself groan in pain.

"Your mother will be going with you in the ambulance." Sigmund gently said, finally finished with cleaning her short muzzle. "I've a thing or two to talk with your principal about."

Another two pairs of shoes ran into view, along with a set of wheels, but her world faded back into painless sleep before she knew what was happening.

The principal, currently, was sitting in his office sipping a cup of sweet tea. It was his only consolation from the world around him without resorting to alchohol, and he relied on it often. Right now, he was using it to calm his nerves before what he knew was coming hit him like a falling piano. The police were already here, as security mainly; a parent whose child has been maimed in the schoolyard is a violent one, but this can be an understatement when the teachers have been ignoring the issue for weeks, possibly months. He didn't know the extent of it himself, but he assumed that at least one teacher was spurring the students on, and he was going to be damned if he let them get away with ruining his school's reputation. The door to his office was a solid, heavy oak, yet another precaution on his behalf; weaker doors would be obliterated by the violence that an angry parent can bestow upon it, and he had probably already saved hundreds by not having to purchase a new door every few months. The poor girl's teacher was already here, quietly sitting in a fog of her own self-righteousness as she always did. Eventually he put down his cup and prepared for the worst.

When the door opened with a polite knock, he was a little taken aback; but the air that Sigmund carried with him made him even more uneasy than his actions. He seemed to drag anger along with him like a great big bear by a collar; never letting it touch him but still bringing it into the room to let everyone know exactly how he felt. His face and attitude, however, were completley calm and collected. He sat opposite the headmaster, Newett as he was named, and right next to Undine's teacher, Mrs. Logi. She was a plump, stubborn woman with one hand in a bible and the other around her classroom's throat. Students that followed her religion always ended up with perfect grades, even when their work could be outdone by a first-grader, and she followed the bible by word, especially the parts that named mankind the greatest of god's children; a title she carried about her like a dog wears a collar. Often she had given Undine bad grades for work that was flawless, purposefully ruined work that would have been, otherwise, beautifully done, and generally given Undine an extremely hard time; her motives behind her actions were not hard to decipher.

"Headmaster." Sigmund said calmly.

"Sigmund, welcome." Newett replied. "Grim business today, wouldn't you agree?"

"If only you knew, Headmaster." Sigmund growled, getting a humph from Mrs. Logi. "What, you think this is funny?" Sigmund snapped. "A student almost died out there today!" Mrs. Logi shrugged, and even the police officers looked rather disgusted at her lack of compassion. Sigmund sighed, regaining his composure. "I have no time to argue with a godbotherer over things that she knows would get her into serious trouble." He said, getting an infuriated glare from the dumpy woman. "What I am here to talk with you and the headmaster about is far more important."

"Please, go right ahead." Newett said.

Sigmund leaned forward, resting his arms on Newett's desk. "Well, Headmaster;" he started, "to be frank, I am quite appalled that this could have occurred at all. I may only be a veterinarian, but even I can assess the extent of the damage that has been done to Undine, and it has been caused over the space of many, many months. No bones have been broken, I'd have noticed that early, but bruising the colour of violets and the size of footballs are no less dangerous. I'm worried she may not surive today's beating at all." He held up two fingers. "There are two choices of action that can stem from today. First is that everything changes as of right now. Clearly yard duty has much to be desired, especially since the only reason I was able to get here at all is because a concerned coworker happened to discover her as she drove past. This is supposed to be impossible, teachers patrol the yard for the student's safety, not their own. God knows how long she was on the lawn."

"God wouldn't care for the inhuman." Logi muttered under her breath. Sigmund heard her, however.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, Mrs. Logi." He growled. "Human or not, she is still only a young girl." He returned his attention to the principal. "The second choice is something that you need do little about."

"How do you mean, Mr. Viper?" Newett asked.

"I mean that I shall be removing her from this school and enrolling her in another." Sigmund said.

"Fine by me." Logi smugly blurted.

Sigmund snapped and stood up angrily, waving an arm at her. "I don't see why I bothered to try to discuss this like an adult at all." He snapped. "I should have come in here screaming at you two like a banshee, but that'd have the same affect! You're not going to do anything about it, and she's got her head so deep in her religion that she's probably contagious!"

"How dare you!" Logi snapped, rising from her own chair.

"No, don't you dare pull that card!" Sigmund snarled, poking her with a finger. He was physically larger than her by at least a foot, and he wasn't at all shaken by a stature designed to scare children. "Religion is well and good, but when it conditions how you think about people to the point of ruining their life you have no right to bitch when someone has a go at you for it! I don't care how inhuman she is, she's still my daughter, and I'll see you in hell before I let you ruin her life!" Mrs. Logi's jaw dropped for a moment, but he continued before she could speak. "So help me, if you have ever hurt her yourself..!" One of the officers put a hand on his shoulder, and this seemed to calm him back down. He sighed, composing himself and brushed the hand off. "I don't see why I bothered." He mumbled. "It's a good thing that we're only into second term. Don't expect next semester's fees." He turned on his heel and carefully opened the door. "I would say that you aught to be ashamed of yourselves, but that would be pointless as I can see you're not. Good day." He stepped out and slammed the door hard, causing the windows to shudder and things on shelves to rattle. Though he had left, the feeling of fury still permeated the room. One of the officers stepped forth.

"This is, indeed, a very serious matter, Mr. Newett." He said. "Either fitting punishment is to be found, or we shall have to take legal action ourselves. We have been asked, already, to investigate the matter, and we will get to the bottom of this." He glared at Mrs. Logi. "Whether the truth gets you fired or not."

Sigmund had been sitting at his little girl's side for the better part of two hours. His wife was at home, preparing Undine's room for her. It had been a shaky day, and the sun was starting to set when Undine's eyes began to flit open. Weakly she gazed about the room before her attention fell on her father and her eyes locked with his. They stared at each other for a moment or two before she looked away, her face blushing.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled.

"You have no need to be sorry, sweetie." He said, gently squeezing her hand. "None of this is your fault. You cannot help being different, just as Mrs. Logi cannot help being intolerable."

Undine lay in silence, her long, finned tail moving of its own accord beneath the blankets as she tried to become more comfortable subconsiously.

"I have the police questioning parents, students and teachers alike right now, Undine." Sigmund said. "They'll get the truth out of this, children are often terrified of police questioning, and parents will not know any better, but I have no doubt the teachers will lie." Yet more silence flowed in his direction, and he sighed. "Undine... How long has this gone on?"

She didn't answer at first, but slowly the battle that seemed to be raging in her head was concluded and she turned her teary eyes to her father. "... Since the second week of first term." She said. "It started light, but eventually I'd have to actually struggle into class on my hands and knees when the bell rang... If I didn't, I'd be given detention."

"That explains that rash of detentions last term for tardiness..." Sigmund mumbled. "Which children assaulted you today?" Undine shook her head.

"I don't remember." She sniffled. Her teary eyes locked into his again, now with a pleading gesture. "Why am I so different?" She asked.

Sigmund's eyes slowly drifted to his feet. "I don't know." He mumbled. "I've often wondered where you truly came from, but never once have the potential answers brought me even a single iota of happiness. You're different because you were born that way, and there is nothing I could, or would, do to change that." Gently he rubbed her head, making her perk, animal like ears wobble cutely. "I love you for who, not what, you are; you're unlikely to find anyone except your mother and I who do."

Shyly she nodded before moving to sit up. She stopped, however, when she realised that she wasn't dressed and she blushed brightly.

"The doctors needed to see how much damage had been done." Sigmund explained. "I was told that it's amazing you've survived at all."

Undine sighed miserably. "I... Don't want to go back to school." She mumbled. "Please..."

"I can understand your reluctance." Sigmund said. "However, you still need to finish school." Undine sobbed loudly at this, and Sigmund gently patted her hair. "Oh, no, no, no." He said. "Your mother and I have already come to an agreement never to send you there again. We're at a loss as to where to enroll you, but we would never dream of sending you back to that nightmare. No, I've already gathered your belongings from your classroom, you're to rest up for the rest of the school term, starting right now."

Undine sniffled again and nodded. She twitched involuntarily as a sharp pain surged through her. Her father lifted a small bag onto the bed and unzipped it for her.

"I took the liberty of bringing your handheld game console and a few games for you; the doctors won't let you leave for another day or so and I thought that you'd like something to do while you're here." He said, watching her carefully take the Gameboy from the bag.

"Thank you." She said. Sigmund smiled and kissed her on the forhead as he stood up to leave.

"No problems, sweetie." He said. "I've got to go close up the vet, but I'll be at my phone whenever you need me."

Undine gave a big nod, hugged Sigmund through the blankets, and watched him leave.

"Thanks... Dad."

It was the next day, and Undine had been given her clothes back after they had been cleaned by hospital staff. Though she was extremely unhappy to be back in her school uniform, she was at least happy to be able to sit up again. One of the nurses had commented on how cute she was when she had smiled, which got her morale up a little, but when her 'fellow classmates' came to visit, she cowered as low into the blankets as possible. Yet again she was terrified, she knew that she couldn't be harmed here physically, not with security cameras all about, but they could still tease and humiliate her. They had laughed and jeered at her for being weak and sick. The kick to her gut the day before had caused her stomach to rupture, and she had had surgury to repair it, which further weakened her; and she was unable to stop one of them from trying to steal her Gameboy. Luckily the kind nurse had noticed her distress and had called her mother, who stormed the room with two nurses and a security guard in her terrifying wake. Lucy, Undine's adoptive mother, was a builder; she had personally helped build the hospital and the director knew her well. Six foot five, muscled like a body builder and a mean streak that was difficult to find, yet large as a pride of sleeping lions and about as dangerous when discovered. She bore down on the five foot nothing teacher clutching a large holy cross to her chest like a shield.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Lucy barked.

"Visiting one of my students, what does it look like?" Mrs. Logi said, like she was talking to an inferior.

Lucy looked over at her daughter who was almost beneath the covers and shaking like a tree in a gale. She noticed the lack of the Gameboy and her anger only intensified. "Who has taken Undine's Gameboy?" She growled. No-one put up their hand, and she turned to the security officer. "Mark, none of these schoolkids are to leave until that Gameboy is found." She said.

"Yes, Ma'am." He nodded.

Undine pointed at one of the boys. "He's got it." She quivered, shrinking before his gaze as he turned on her. Lucy held out her hand.

"Hand it over." She growled.

"Or?"

Lucy leaned in, evil look in her face and all, and growled. "Most people are unaware that, if thrown with enough force, humans bounce." She said. "And lucky you, we're already in a hospital."

The boy's face turned white, and he hurriedly handed over the small stolen console. Lucy gave it to Undine before turning on the class once more. Mrs. Logi had gained confidence, and wasn't partially cowering, but still held her air of utmost superiority about herself like a cloak.

"You can't just come in here and threaten my students!" She barked. "I demand you leave at once!"

"You can't just come in here and let your students steal from my daughter." Lucy said. "This room is private, being paid for by my husband and I, and you come in here to torture someone who has recently been critically injured by you. I'm telling you to get out, right now, before I call the police; if you don't leave, I'll make them drag you out."

"And where, pray, do you suggest I take my students? Our excursion doesn't end for another hour or so."

Lucy leaned in. "Take them to a fast food store or something, surely you can afford to eat a cheeseburger." She grinned cruelly. "Hell, it looks like you've been scoffing them for quite a while."

Logi's jaw dropped in fury, but she knew that Lucy had the upper hand. Her name was rather large, being a great believer in charity, and she rubbed shoulders with some very important people at regular intervals. Defeated, she led her children out the doors. Lucy turned around to her daughter and gave her a careful, yet tight, hug.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner." She said. "But we said you don't have to have anything to do with them ever again and we meant it." She stood uprght and gave her daughter a cheerful smile. "Now you rest and I'll come by to pick you up later, okay?"

"Thankyou." Undine mumbled quietly.

It was much later that day, roughly ten past five in the afternoon, and Undine was dozing peacefully in the hospital bed. She had been asleep for only a short while, having been too unnerved by the visit from her old class to sleep, and had been playing videogames until fatigue took its toll. Mark, the security guard that had followed Undine's mother, proved to be a friend of the family, and kept a close eye on her, patrolling past her room when he wasn't watching the cameras, tucking her in tight when she drifted off, taking a moment to save her game and turn the device off before returning to his route. Though it was odd that she had no visitors other than her parents, he wasn't surprised that she hadn't had any friends at school with what she had gone through on a regular basis for almost half a year. When her mother returned at half past with some elder relatives, he wanted to make absolutley sure that the couple were her grandparents.

"Why do you want to see our identification..?" The male, Bernard, asked irritably.

"The class she was in at school came to visit her today and were causing trouble, I'd just like to avoid a second incident if that's fine by you."

Reluctantly they handed their proof of identity cards, and he handed them back after checking them, ushering them down the hall.

"Everything is in order, thank you for your patience." He said politely. "She's sleeping at the moment, so do try to be quiet."

The trio nodded and headed to Undine's room. She was, as Mark had warned, sleeping quietly in the bed, her calm and peaceful face defying the events that had brought her where she was. She mumbled quietly and rolled over, the light from the curtains waking her up as her adoptive relatives sat down. Slowly her eyes opened and she sleepily looked into Lucy's smiling face. She moved one of her hands across the bed towards her mother.

"Ngh, hello..." She mumbled.

"Good morning to you too, sleepyhead." Lucy replied. "Are you ready to come home now?"

Undine nodded a little before trying to sit up in bed. She shook a little, her body still recovering from her injuries, but she managed well enough.

"I've brought your grandparents along to see you." Lucy said. "They said that they wanted to make sure you're alright."

Weakly Undine looked at the other two faces in the room who smiled at her and greeted her cheerfully. She smiled back, careful not to show her razor sharp teeth that had scared quite a few of the nurses, and tried to slip out of the bed. What she managed, more or less, was more of a slide, particularly to the floor, where she was caught by her mother before faceplanting into the tiles.

"Woah, careful there, honey." Lucy said, lifting her so that she could stand and holding her steady. "Your legs still lack alot of strength, and I don't want you stretching your stomach out too much." She sat Undine on the bed and she gave her mother a confused look.

"... Why would that be?"

Lucy gave a light chuckle and lifted Undine's shirt, showing large stitches across her midsection. There was evidence of weeping around the wounds that made her skin gritty and dirty. "They're why." She said. "I'll help you bathe when we get home, but for now let me carry you."

"I couldn't..." Undine mumbled, shyly pulling her shirt back down and trying to stand once more, only to be caught by Lucy again.

"You've no choice today, hun." She said, picking her up in both arms. "Mum, could you grab her videogame stuff for us?"

Undine was carried out the door and down to the car, where she was put into the back seat and strapped in. Her grandmother sat beside her, and her grandfather sat in the front passenger seat. She was still a little tired, and when they arrived home she had dozed off in the soft leather seat, laying with her head in her grandmother's lap.

The next six weeks until end of term were quiet. Undine's mother had stayed at home to make sure she was alright and didn't overexert herself for the first fortnight until her stitchings came out, after that she was left pretty much on her own during the day. She'd spend a fair amount of her time indoors on her computer, socialising with people across the globe. She found it amazing how people would treat you if you didn't tell them you weren't human, amazing to her anyway, and she'd gotten used to talking with a guy in Australia who was coming to her town for a holiday with his parents. She had told her parents about this, and they were slightly sceptical, but they agreed to let him visit on a Saturday when they'd both be home, and only if his parents came with him. Readily she agreed, and everything was planned for the first weekend of school holiday.

The pool in their backyard was wonderfully inviting that summer, and she spent at least every fourth hour in the crystal clear water. Chlorine in the pool would have harmed her gills and possibly poisoned her, so they used pool salts and other unique cleaning methods instead, which didn't, but made the pool look somewhat like a very clear pond. She had gone to the public pool once a long time ago, which got her funny looks from the life guards and she had been mildly poisoned by the chlorinated water, so she didn't like to go there often; however, her mother being who she was, they had managed to get the facility to switch to pool salt to keep the water clean, and few had noticed the difference.

Undine only ever seemed truly alive in the water or at her PC, which her parents had noticed the previous of when she was little and had bought their extremely deep pool as a resultant Christmas present to her. It was quite an expensive buy, but it had been worth it, especially with her recent injuries. She couldn't leave the house for the first fortnight under any circumstances, and when she had enough energy to move the first thing she had done was sit next to the pool, her pawed digitigrade feet in the water as she stared at nothing in particular. This and the public pool were the closest that she could ever get to a natural body of water like the sea because of what she was. She had gone to the beach once, way back when she was little, and she had almost been killed when the lifeguards panicked, seeing her fins above the waves. For that she had stopped speaking to anyone, not even her family. When the police had come by to ask why her parents had a live shark at their home, they had been shown her pathetically huddled figure in the full bathtub, only in her bathers, her face miserable and full of sorrow. She couldn't help but love the water, it was part of what she was, built into her genetically, and her alienation from it had struck her hard. That was the year they had bought the pool; her parents had denied her going near the back yard for weeks, hiding the windows and covering over the back door until Christmas day when the door had opened and she had gotten her first view of the warmed, crystal clear water...

Lucy walked to the front door and opened it, a small, three person family stood beyond. The parents were average height and wealthy looking, the son, like all teenaged boys everywhere, looked like he had rolled down a concrete hill in his clothes. He was young, about the same age as Undine, and he smiled politely when the door opened.

"Hello... Do we know you..?" Lucy asked. Instantly the teen looked a bit unnerved.

"This is 47 Azcott Avenue, yeah?" He asked in an Australian accent. "Home of the Viper Family?"

"Ah, you must be the young man that my daughter organised to have come visit us today!" Lucy said, clapping her hands together. "Come in, come in."

She let them in the door and closed it behind them, leading them through into the family room where her husband sat on the couch watching TV. Australian football was on, 'footy' as it was called by fans. He had gotten rather interested in the game when he had gone to Australia for a Veterinary convention, and had a friend in Canberra send him videotapes every few weeks with the latest games. His car even featured a 'What the flip is Footy?!' bumpersticker which he was quite fond of.

"I'm Lucy." She said, letting the family sit down. "And this is my husband, Sigmund." She shook his shoulders gently to get his attention. "Our daughter, Undine, will be out in a minute."

"Pleased to meet you, we're the Lowells. I'm Martin, my wife is Rachael and our son is Andrew." The father said. "When he said he had a friend here he wanted to visit; we were a bit sceptical, but here we are." He risked a glance at the television. "Ah! I remember this game, Port Power Vs Collingwood! Too bad it ended so poorly for Port. It's odd to meet someone who is interested in our football outside of Australia."

Sigmund shrugged. "It's a hobby that doesn't involve glue or nails." He said. "Before our daughter comes, there is something we need to discuss with you about."

"Oh?" Rachael probed.

"Well, we're not sure if your son knows, but she may have hinted that she's... a little different." He looked imploringly at Andrew, but the boy only looked confused, so Sigmund continued. "It would be best if you didn't jump to conclusions about her, she's been through a rough life as it is, and you might be the first real friend she's ever had..." He trailed off hopelessly, giving his guests a hopeful look.

"I've talked with her for a long time, she's not told me anything about herself except her school life and how awful it is." Andrew said. "I know quite a few people around the globe, and none of them are anything less than people."

Sigmund sighed. "Alright, as long as you keep an open mind." He mumbled before whistling. "Undine, c'mon out, hun."

Carefully and slowly, Undine stepped into the room. She was wearing some of her favourite clothes, over her bathing clothes in case anything went wrong. It was a warm day, and she intended to dive into the pool in the worst case scenario. She didn't have any high hopes, she was certain that she was going to terrify them into hating her, so she hung her head apologetically, almost in tears already.

"Misters and Mrs. Lowell, this is our daughter, Undine." Sigmund said. "Before you ask; no, she is not wearing a costume or any cosmetics."

She could hear her breathing speeding up a little, feel her pulse racing. She risked a short, brief glimpse of the trio in the room. Andrew she knew had to be the boy, and he didn't look too shocked, merely surprised and almost intregued. His father was amazed, his jaw moving as he gabbled silently to himself, and his mother caught her looking, so she quickly turned her eyes away and shut them tight, worried about what she would say. She expected anger, disgust, hatred, the superiority that she had seen ooze from people at every opportunity.

"H...hello..." She mumbled, her fear shaking her voice. Inside, she was in tears, already trying to convince herself to rush into the safehaven that was four deep meters of cool, clear water; more than a common human could handle for prolonged periods of time, but that would keep her away from them, and their disgust.

"She's... very unique..." Andrew's mother said.

Lucy stood up and put her hands on Undine's shaking shoulders. "Hon, you alright?"

Undine shook her head, choked back tears, and made for the backdoor, pulling her shirt off as she opened the door with her pawed foot. She closed it hard behind her, pulled off her skirt and threw her clothes onto the table before pushing open the pool gate and leaping into the water. She swam to the bottom, curled into a ball and broke down crying.

"Oh dear..." Lucy mumbled.

"What was that?" Martin asked.

"She's half shark, she has gills and everything;" Sigmund said, "but she's had a very rough life because of it, and she's... fragile." He waved his hands exasperatedly. "Because of her recent... 'incident' at school, she's withdrawn, even from us. I think she believes everyone is out to get her, if you understand my meaning, and she's gone to hide..." He gave a lopsided frown and sighed. "Geez, after all the time she's been looking forward to this, her nerves send her packing." He looked up to Andrew hopefully. "Would you like to go get her?" He asked. "She's more likely to open up to you, and she might come back inside."

Andrew nodded and stood up, walked to the back door and stepped into the warm summer afternoon.

He found her sitting on the edge of the pool, staring into space. She sniffled every once in a while, and didn't seem to notice him until he had taken his shoes and socks off and sat next to her, letting his feet rest in the clear water. She jumped when she finally realised he was there, and tried to shuffle away.

"Undine, wait..!" He blurted, reaching out to her. "I... just want to talk... that's all."

She nodded and sniffled again. "You must hate me for decieving you..." She mumbled, still gazing absent mindedly into the water.

"How did you decieve me?" He asked. "You never once told me you were human."

"I know, but... You weren't expecting this." She said, waving her arms irritably. She sighed, returning her gaze to the pool. "I just... I needed someone that will talk with me and not judge me for what I am. You were so friendly online, except for my parents you're the first person who has ever listened to my problems..." She sniffled and a tear rolled down her cheek into the pool. "I was so certain that I'd already turned you away that I panicked..." Undine hiccupped cutely, even though she was miserable, and continued. "I just wanted a friend, that was all. Someone that'd miss me that wasn't related to me through my parents that I could enjoy the company of... Why do I have to be so different?"

Andrew gently put his arm around her shoulders and leaned her onto him. "What you are doesn't matter to me." He said. "We met on an online chat board, we've not seen each other's faces before today, and already I considered you one of my best friends. You've been through hell in your life, far more than most people go through before they turn thirty, and you're only what; thirteen, fourteen?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm thirteen." She said miserably.

They sat in an awkward silence for a minute or two before Andrew smashed it by tracing a finger along the scar on her stomach.

"Is that where..?"

"They cut me open?" She finished for him. "Yeah... it'll never go away, either. This year has certainly made a lasting impression, huh?"

"It's one for me to remember, that's for sure." Andrew replied with a chuckle. She smiled at his comment, but when his face went white she realised she had shown too many teeth.

"S-sorry." She mumbled, covering her mouth.

"It's alright." Andrew said, calming down. "H-have you ever bitten someone with..?"

"Once." She said. "Long ago. One of my relatives is a marine biologist, and he tried to kidnap me from a wedding party." Undine, once again, stared at the water. "He tried to drag me to his car, but when I realised his intentions, I bit him. I don't have claws to scratch deeply with, or anything else of the sort to defend myself with except my teeth, and it was too noisy for anyone to hear me scream over the music, so I grabbed his arm and..." She blinked a tear from her face, flicking it into the pool with a clawed finger. She was right, her claws were small, useless for anything other than scratching itches or aiding with picking things up; the most harm they could do is poking someone's eye out, but only if you got the target real good. "When he screamed and let me go, I ran to my grandmother and tugged her dress. She noticed the blood and then realised what had happened, and we've not heard from that distant uncle since."

Andrew nodded, now he understood her terror. Not even safe amongst family. Carefully he grabbed her tail, making sure that she didn't mind, and checked along the skin for imperfections.

"It's real." Undine said, making it wiggle from his grip and wave about. "It helps me swim a lot faster, but it's kinda useless out of the water..."

"That's not true."Andrew said matter-of-factly. "It assists you with balance and gives you an extra edge if assaulted from behind. It is also a good indicator of your mood, as with all creatures with semi-prehensile tails."

"Let me guess," Undine began sarcastically, "animal husbandry major?"

He laughed. "Yeah, kinda. I'm going to be studying human behavior and become a psychiatrist, hopefully."

They chatted lightly for a few minutes, mainly about the differences between Australia and America, before moving back inside. Undine was near impervious to sunburn due to her unique skin, but Andrew was not, and she didn't want him getting hurt because of her. They stepped into the family room and Andrew sat back down with his parents. Undine was uneasy with them, though, and she didn't sit. Opening up to Andrew was easy, she practically knew him already, but his parents she didn't know at all, and the first greeting she had given them was a bit... weak.

"Hello again." Rachael, Andrew's mother, said cheerfully. "It's nice to see you for longer than a few seconds."

"H-hello..." Undine mumbled.

Still, she felt like she was being judged, her mind kept going over and over how terrible they'd be thinking of her, cowering from them lightly. Slowly Andrew's mother stood up and walked over to her, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look directly into her eyes. She meeped and turned her eyes away.

"Hey, now, this is your home." Rachael said, shaking Undine's face gently. "Your territory, you're not supposed to take your eyes off a challenge. Show your position, stick up for yourself. Never back down, fight until you can't, you live only once, those're the rules of life. You've precious little vouching for you, but you've got what's important; family and friends make wealth, not muscle and money, and right now you've got almost nothing to lose, huh?" Undine's eyes went wide, and she looked back into Rachael's own in shock. "There we go, that's what I like to see." She said. "You're young, but you've been through more than your fair share, I can see a sort of defiance in your eyes, and I like that, that's important that is. Your next teachers and schoolmates might me monstrous to you, but keep that defiance alive. Your desk and your family are your castle at school, don't take any shit they throw at you for being different, cause difference is only skin deep. I'm Australian, you're American; I'm human, you're half shark, the differences are only flesh deep, inside we're still people, and all people deserve equality." Undine's eyes grew teary, and she hiccupped back a sob. "I respect you, Undine. You've got so little going in your favour in this world, yet so much spirit if only you'd let it free." She released Undine's face and gently wrapped her arms around her. "Be careful with your life, it's all you have."

"Your mother and I have already decided where to send you to school, Undine." Sigmund said when Rachael had sat back down. He tugged her into the couch next to him. "And it's actually a funny coincidence, but a relative of Andrew's is the headmaster, his uncle to be exact. It's a little different to the school you've been going to, but I'm sure that you should be safe there."

"No I won't." She mumbled. "I'm not safe anywhere, you know that."

"So take my advice." Rachael said across the room. "Defend your desk, it is your castle, your fortress, no-one disturbs you but the teacher for legitimate reasons, I'll talk with my brother about that." She smiled when Undine looked directly into her face, for once not looking away. "If someone bites, bite back; they'll need to learn that you're a predator, not prey. You're a shark, and your teeth are sharper."

Undine sniffled. "Th-thank you..."

A few days later, Undine met with the Headmaster of the school she was to be enrolled in. As far as figures go, his was most certainly terrifying to anyone smaller than he, and the list for that was massive. Seven foot two, built like a brick wall and with a voice that'd give thunder a run for its money. Richard Lowell was surprisingly kind, even towards Undine, and he had already been given prior information on her from his sister. He assured Undine that he'd do everything that he could to keep an eye on her, and that if she ever need anything to just knock on his door, any time of day. He also gave her her new uniform, dark green and black colour scheme across the entire uniform of a white shirt, green blazer with the school logo, personal preference between pants or a skirt, and a tie. She was given two, so that she would wear one one day and the other the next after it had been through the wash. He had hesitated about shoes, because she couldn't wear any due to her unique feet, but she did have hardcapped boots that had been customised for shop class, and she didn't have to worry about them, but he allowed her to be able to roam without shoes, so long as she was careful.

And so the school holidays passed with the summer heat, and she had to don her new colours. She was apprehensive when she got into the car, and almost terrified when she had to get out again; but her mother led her to the front office quietly and calmly and followed her with the principal to the assembly hall, where she was to be introduced to the rest of the school. The principal stepped into the hall, across the stage, and waited for the amassed students to quiet.

"This term," he began, "we have a whole host of new students, as always; however, only one is important enough for me to pull this assembly. She's unique, and she is also under my protection and the protection of Mr. Wing in homeroom sixty seven, and I must warn you all, here and now, that if any student is to attempt to do her harm they will recieve quite serious punishment. Please welcome Undine Viper."

There was a polite round of applause as Undine was pushed onto the stage by her mother. She wouldn't budge, however, and Lucy eventually compromised by joining her on the stage, standing behind her with her hands on the shorter girl's shoulders. The applause stopped abruptly, several students gasped, and several more laughed at her. Already she could pick out the ones that would cause trouble; they were the larger ones who eyed her angrily, and she backed into her mother's protective embrace, her breathing hastened in her quiet terror. Several students seemed to notice, and they gave encouraging greetings.

"Students are to be as fair to her as they would be to any other individual." Lowell continued. "She is here for her own protection, as her last schoolmates almost killed her during the last term for being different." He practically spat the words in his own disgust. "If any student is to harass, abuse, or harm her in any way she will come to me, and I will come to you." He calmly turned to Undine and waved her to a seat on the edge of the stage, where she went and sat with hundreds of pairs of eyes on her. "Now, for this terms notices." Lowell said, turning back to the audience...

After the assembly, the headmaster led Undine to her homeroom. It was small, to say the least, and she did notice the sudden hush that fell across the room when she entered. She was pulled to the front of the class and stood next to her teacher.

"Miss Viper, this is your teacher, Mr. Wing." He said. She gingerly shook hands with the six foot tall human male. "Now, I know that you're afraid, Undine, and I've organised this entire class to go to the public pool for the day. Your parents warned me about chlorinated water, and we have selected one that uses salt, so you should be alright. Your mother, discreetly, packed your swimming gear, and all these other students have been prior informed." She gave a shocked look to the headmaster, who smiled brightly. "Now, I believe that your bus is waiting for you; it would be wise if we don't make the driver wait too long, hm?"

"You heard the man!" Mr. Wing cheerfully said. "Up, up, up! Let's go! Line up at the door and I'll lead you to the bus!"

The students all raggedly stood, as all teenagers do, putting massive emphasis onto the effort required to stand, and Lowell leanded down to Undine's ear.

"Your mother's idea." He said. "Everything has been arranged, she's managed to get the entire pool closed for this class for the whole day, go have some fun and try to make some friends. Mr. Wing will be keeping an eye on you."

This information took a few moments to sink in, but when it did, she threw her arms around him.

"Thankyou, sir!" She cheered, a smile on her face.

"No problems, Undine." He replied. "If ever you have a problem, don't be afraid to knock on my door." He pulled from her embrace and looked her in the eyes. "Your desk is your castle, but your kingdom is your life."

The bus ride was quiet. She was the ninth to board, but when she tried to sit alone, another student sat next to her. The girl was... distinct. A good natured liar might be able to call her pretty, a certain set to the jaw, stubborn look in her eyes, she was imposing at first. Her hair was long, plaited to her waist and a deep chestnut, accenting her beautifully blue eyes. She had asked if she could sit next to Undine, and she was hesitant, but didn't want to alienate the girl before ever even talking with her.

"Hello." She said, holding her hand out. "My name is Wylie, Wylie Logi."

Undine went to shake her hand, but withdrew quickly when she said her last name. "A-are you related to a woman named Esmerelda Logi..?" She asked shakily.

The girl nodded. "Yeah, she's my second aunt." She said. "It's okay if you don't like her, our family doesn't either."

Undine stared at her feet. "She was... my teacher at my last school." She mumbled.

"Oh?"

"I... really didn't like her..." She said. "...She'd ruin my work, find flaws where there weren't any and always give me awful grades. She turned a blind eye on the beatings I got... Hell, I'm pretty sure she actually encouraged it." She sighed. "If it weren't for me almost dying, I'd never have escaped that hellhole, I'm sure of it."

wylie sighed, and shook Undine gently. "Don't you worry about her." She said. "She's always been a monster, she has. Imagine how she'll react when she learns that I'd like to be your friend?" Undine turned shocked eyes up at Wylie.

"Y-you mean it?" She asked. "The students at the last school would pretend to be my friend, only to turn on me..."

wylie grinned evilly. "Just like you, I hate my aunt." She said. "With a passion. Think of how much of a kick to her this would be, huh?"

"She'd be outraged..." Undine mumbled, before smiling slyly. "It's great to meet you, Wylie." She said, shaking the girl's hand. "I'm Undine Viper, and if it's a war against your aunt you want, you've come to the right ally."

An hour later, they were inside the aquatics center, walking into the changerooms. Undine, shyly, moved into a cubicle to change into her bathing suit. It was a simple two piece bikini, green like her eyes, and she zipped her bag up, taking it out with her and her towel. Several of the other girls gawked at her as she went past. Depsite all that she'd been through, she still had a fine figure, smooth skin and she held herself well as she walked, her claws scratching against the tiles gently, if she'd been human, she'd probably have been the girl that all the boys chased. She walked to where her teacher was and put her bag and towel down before he tapped her shoulder.

"Yes, sir?"

"That's a fine scar you have." He said, motioning to her stomach.

She giggled a little. "The one on my digestive stomach is hard to see." She said. "Both courtesy of my old school."

"We all go through our trials." He said. "I just hope that you'll not use it as an excuse to be lazy, I expect you to work hard."

"Of course, sir." She replied. "Just as long as what I am isn't a factor in my grades, I shouldn't have to work any harder than I have in the past."

He leaned on his knees, hands tented infront of him as he looked up at her. "I did converse with your last teacher at length about your schoolwork, and she said it was awful."

"Yes, but she hated me and destroyed work that I did perfectly. I could show you some of my schoolwork if you'd like?"

"Just leave me a book and I'll go through it in my own time." He said, waving a hand. "You should go have fun, go on!"

She fished her English book from her bag and put it in his lap before zipping her bag back up. "Thanks, sir." She said, standing back up and jogging to the pool.

She was met at the water by Wylie and a group of other girls, who practically siezed her as she moved towards them.

"Undine, these are my friends." Wylie said, indicating the group. "The two to your right are Margaret and Sarah, they're twins." Undine turned her head to the two girls who did, indeed, look exactly alike. "Don't worry about getting their names right, even I mix them up." Wylie said. "We just call them One and Two. The girl on your left is Polly, and the one behind you is Ocarina, but we all call her shorty." She looked, for what she could, at the girl behind her, who was already roughly five foot nine. Undine smiled a little, not bearing her teeth, and the girls seemed to notice.

"Hey," Ocarina started, even her voice was deep, "you don't smile with your teeth, why is that?"

Undine sighed and opened wide, showing them razor sharp teeth. They backed off a little bit, ut she closed her mouth and looked apologetic. "Yeah, most people are intimidated by my smile." She said. "It's hard to smile with your teeth when you could bite into a baseball bat."

"So... are you for real then?" One of the twins asked.

"...Yeah, I'm real." Undine replied, looking down again. She felt Ocarina's arms wrap around her middle, and then she was lifted from her feet.

"She feels real." Ocarina commented. "So does the scar." With a grunt she heaved Undine into the pool. She quickly surfaced laughing, and meeped when Ocarina leapt in on top of her.

They messed about for quite some time before settling on the side of the pool. Undine hadn't been this happy in a very long time; the girls didn't seem to even notice what she was until she had shown to be an extremely fast swimmer and even capable of breathing at the bottom of the pool. The girls climbed out of the water, and Undine leapt from the pool with a powerful flick of her tail, landing on her knees before standing up. She, and the others, were about to go to the sauna, when a group of boys grabbed her shoulder.

"So, socialising with the freak, are you girls?" He rudly blurted.

"Butt out, Richard." Wylie snapped.

"This one is not for play, Dick." Ocarina said.

"Everyone is for play." Richard said smugly, menacing towards Undine with a clenched fist. "Some are just in for a rougher time."

"Don't touch me." Undine warned. "I've had enough taking shit from assholes for one year. Cornered animals tend to fight back."

Richard laughed and grabbed her shoulder, pulling back a fist. "Yeah, if they're still consious they do!"

His fist didn't even make it to her, being caught short by Ocarina. Undine heard his knuckles crack as she tightened her grip.

"Leave, Richard." she warned. Undine could see Mr. Wing watching from the seats intently, he was going to stop this, but he seemed confident that Ocarina could settle it on her own. "I don't want to hurt you." Ocarina said.

"You couldn't if you tried!"

Undine heard Ocarina sigh. "Very well."

She pulled Richard across the floor, away from Undine, and flipped him over her back onto his, landing with a slap on the cold, wet tiles.

"That's enough!" Wing yelled, standing up and walking over. "You deserved that, Richard, I heard every word there." He lifted Richard from the tiles by his hand. "You heard the principal in assembly, Undine is not to be messed with. Consider this your first and only warning; now get!"

The boys scrambled away as fast as they could, leaping into the pool water on the other side and eyeing the teacher nervously. Mr. Wing sighed.

"They'll give you no further trouble." He said.

"Thank you, sir." Undine mumbled.

"Don't thank me, Ocarina is the one who dealt with him. Looks like you've got a guardian angel in her. Now, while they run along to the sauna, I'd like to discuss your prior work."

"We'll see you there, Undine." Margaret and Sarah said in unison. The girls walked off, idly chatting about what had just happened.

"Please, come sit with me." Mr. Wing said, pulling her along. She sat next to him, taking the time to pull a drink from her bag.

"Undine, I've reviewed the work that Mrs. Logi graded, and I must say that I'm rather shocked that she could grade you so poorly." He said. "Though, like all student's work, there is some work that could be done, this is marvellously done." He randomly flipped to a page and held it out. "F'r instance, the only mistake I could see in this piece was a simple capitol missing from the start of a new sentence, yet she gave you a failing grade!" He sighed and closed the book. "Your grasp of english is superb, at least several grades higher than you are, I do expect great things from you, but don't get complacent. For now, run along to the sauna, the girls are waiting for you."

Undine smiled, nodded, and jogged off happily. She pulled open the door to the sauna and was sprayed with a water gun that Polly had smuggled in. She laughed at the antic and proceeded to menace Polly playfully, ending up in only being sprayed a second, and then third time. The door closed and someone poured water on the coals. Soon they were all too warm to mess about, but they still chatted lightly as they lazed over the chairs. Someone commented that they should do this more often, and Undine said that she'd see what her mother could pull off; who knows, she might be able to get the whole pool to just them. Undine smiled when everyone voiced their eagerness for this, and a silent tear ran down her cheek.

"Un', you okay?" Ocarina asked, noticing the tear.

"Y-yeah.." She replied, flicking it into the coals. "I've just... Never been this happy with other people before."

"Stick around, kid." Wylie said, spraying her with the water gun. "The fun is just beginning!"

Undine smiled again. "Thanks for being my friends..." She mumbled.