16. Chapter 16

If Sid was going to be a merman, then he was going to wear a merbreather. He knew it was overkill for lounging poolside and talking to children, but the technology fascinated him. So, he asked his mertenders to fit him with one.

He had used scuba gear before, and the merbreather was easy for him to learn. The trick was remembering to keep his breath circulating in the closed system that ran through the decorative collar and oversized shoulder pads rather than blow it out in a stream of bubbles.

The tail, on the other hand, was an entirely new experience. He had expected to be given a simple fabric tail, or maybe one of the fancy ones made of decorative silicone. But his mertenders had brought him a bionic show tail.

The thought of wrapping his legs in a sheath of synthetic porpoise flesh was well outside his comfort zone, and he seriously considered asking for something different.

But his pride finally overcame his squeamishness. Jayna wore a bionic tail, and he'd likely never hear the end of it if he refused. The desire to prove himself to her was irrational, but he was determined to throw himself into the role and play it for all he was worth.

His mertenders helped him into the exomuscular prosthetic, and the sensation of warm synthetic muscles clinging to his legs and pulsing gently against his skin gave him second thoughts. But before he could change his mind, they began helping him into the decorative outer tail. It was black with gold and red highlights, and once it was in place, his mertenders gave him a quick inspection.

"Everything looks good, Mr. Hayes. Give it a try."

"Thanks." Sid eased himself into the staging pool, drew in a deep, calming breath, and then pushed away from the edge.

But as he tried to swim, he struggled to coordinate his movements to get any real power from the tail. Instead of helping him swim, it felt like a weight dragging his legs down. It took a lot of effort to convince both his feet to kick at once, rather than alternate as they would with flippers. But as he slowly, methodically worked through the motions, the tail began to respond. Soon he could feel the synthetic muscles synchronize their movements with his own, and he moved towards the edge of the pool much more quickly than expected.

He managed to stop without damaging himself or his mer-gear, but he hoped he figured out the tail before he made a fool of himself in front of half of Manutai.

He never would have agreed to do something like this if he'd known what would be involved. Jayna had been right to keep the event details from him. The fact that Emmaline had enthusiastically endorsed the idea made him question her judgment.

Had it been a mistake to drop out of the Cerulean Order's project? He hoped that decision wouldn't reflect negatively on him.

The sight of Jayna swimming towards him with a huge grin on her face drove all thoughts of the Order and their project from his mind. She had swapped out her merbreather and sleek emerald-green athletic tail for her frilly, glittery, turquoise tail and matching seashell bikini top.

"Not bad, but don't just swim with your legs. Instead, put those abs of yours to work and swim with your core. Imagine you're a dolphin. Like this."

Sid watched with new appreciation as Jayna moved gracefully through the water. She surfaced on the other side of the pool and motioned for him to join her.

He did his best to imitate Jayna's technique, and while he wasn't anywhere near as graceful, he could tell an immediate difference in both his power and control.

He took several turns around the pool and his confidence increased with every lap.

When he finally surfaced near Jayna, she grinned broadly and clapped. "Look at you—you're a natural!"

He shook his head and smiled at her enthusiasm. "Thanks, Jayna. I had a good teacher."

She raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "That's my human name." She pointed at the edge of the pool and said "On land, I'm Jayna. In the water, I'm Mermaid Aaramere."

"Ah, yes. Mermaid Aaramere." Sid had finally worked his way through the background information Emmaline had prepared for him which included a detailed section on the culture that had developed among mermaids and the adoption of mersonas. "My apologies to you and your pod for this unfortunate breach of protocol." He would have bowed, if he could figure out how to do that while wearing a mertail and holding to the side of the pool.

The surprise on Jayna's face made Sid's heart dance. She recovered quickly and gave him a wry smile. "You've done your homework. Apology accepted. Does this mean you have also adopted a mersona for yourself?"

"Um, no. Until thirty minutes ago I had no intention of ever becoming a merman."

Jayna looked him up and down and gave an almost imperceptible nod of approval. "Well, you're definitely a merman now. You need a proper mersona."

Sid rolled his eyes. "Fine. My mersona will be Obsidian."

Jayna pursed her lips and shook her head. "Not acceptable."

"Why not? Merman Pala uses his human name as his mersona."

"That's because pala is a kind of fish. It works. Obsidian is a rock. It's not the same."

"Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass, thank you very much."

Jayna shrugged. "It's still not the same."

"Too bad. I'm no good at coming up with names. That's what my marketing team is for."

"Whatever you're paying them, it's not enough." Jayna cocked her head and studied him. "How about Merman Marevitrum?"

Sid opened his mouth to object, but before he could form the words, his brain untangled the Latin roots of Jayna's suggestion. He laughed. "‘Sea glass.' Clever. You came up with that on your own?"

Jayna grinned and nodded, clearly pleased with herself.

"Well done, Aaramere. If this mermaid thing doesn't work out, there's a spot for Jayna on my marketing team."

A deep male voice called out, "Are you two going to chitchat all day, or are you going out to swim with the kids?" Kalani sat on the edge of the pool in a brown tiger-striped tail, his arms crossed in mock disapproval.

Jayna pursed her lips and flicked a spray of water at him with her fluke. "We're going. We're going." She pointed to a small opening in the wall of the artificial cavern that surrounded the staging pool. "Follow me. I'll show you what to do."

Sid followed her as she dived down to the underwater tunnel that led out of the backstage area. Even though he had the merbreather regulator in his mouth, Sid found himself holding his breath the long fraction of a minute it took them to swim through.

They emerged in a small cave behind a waterfall, and from the other side of the cascade, Sid heard the laughter of children. As anticipation tightened his chest, he again questioned the wisdom of this idea.

"The meet-and-greet pools are through there. Give me about thirty seconds to announce you, and then come through. Wave to everyone and then swim over to me. After that, all you have to do is smile and talk to the kids. You can do that, right?"

Sid's brow furrowed. "Of course." Did she really think he was that incapable? Sure, this whole thing was outside his comfort zone, but not beyond his ability.

Jayna nodded, then disappeared under the waterfall. A few seconds later, her voice echoed through the pool area, amplified through a sound system. "Boys and girls, mermaids and mermen, please join me in welcoming our host and sponsor, Merman Marevitrum!"

Her enthusiastic introduction triggered something deep inside him, and he had a sudden, overwhelming need to show her just how capable he was. Sid let his mind go, and allowed himself to feel the water, the tail, the merbreather on his shoulders and chest, and truly believe he was a merman.

Trying not to think about how his actions would be perceived by the Order, he took a deep breath and burst through the cascade of water, one arm raised high in the air.

As he swam, he sang.

I've been swimming with the mermaids

Out in Hilo Bay.

I've been swimming with the mermaids

Where the friendly dolphins play.

He'd been in musical theater all through his school years, but after university he'd been too busy making a name for himself in the business world to continue performing. The thrill of singing for an audience came rushing back, and Sid gave his song everything he had.

He drew energy from the cheering children and merfolk and sang even louder. His song echoed through the grotto, and Sid could just make out the small hovering microphone that followed his every move.

Jayna sat alone on a small ledge at the edge of the meet-and-greet pools. Sid swam in a wide arc around the pool, singing about the joy of swimming with the mermaids, and timed his arrival at Jayna's ledge to coincide with the end of his song.

When he finished singing and raised his hands high above his head, everyone in the pool cheered. Everyone except for Jayna, who stared at him, slack jawed. The shock on Jayna's face made the risk of ridicule from the business streamers all worthwhile.

She leaned towards him and said, "Emmaline told me you had a showman buried beneath that corporate exterior, but I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself." Her eyes drifted down to his chest and then out to the end of his tail. "I think we may need to rewrite the Sirens of Atlantis show to include a part for Merman Marevitrum."

Sid felt his face flush at the suggestion. "Thank you, no." Pleased with himself, he glanced around at the pool, where a dozen or so groups of merfolk lounged and chatted with children. Each had a streamer drone or two hovering above them at a discrete distance.

"So, what happens now?" he asked.

"Now you go and mingle with the kids. Your donation to research at the Pediatric Bionics Institute may help some of these children in the future, but it's your time and attention that will help them now."

Sid looked around at the groups of merfolk with the children and their parents, laughing and splashing. The atmosphere was entirely different from every other Giving Tour he'd participated in. He felt a surge of pride at being a part of it—and a ton of admiration for what Jayna had managed to accomplish in less than a day.