Princess of the deep Sea

AMELIA'S POV A new school. . . just the thought of it makes my whole body shiver and my hairs stand on end. The anxiety is so overwhelming that I can hardly hold my blue bag steady. It always feels heavier on days like this despite having nothing more than my usual school stuff in it. "You should have put on a dress or heels, dressing elegantly will give you a little more confidence." Mother advises, gazing at my casual outfit with disapproving eyes. Why can't she understand that what I need now is to dress up like the nerd I am and go unnoticed? I would give up anything just for a chance to go back to who I was a month ago. "You're asking me to put on clothes that will make people look at me. What if someone realises who I am and I start getting bullied and derided again? You know I can't afford to change school again." I argue, setting the heavy bag down on the table to pick up the cup of steaming coffee she made for me. "You can't live hiding from rude people as if you have done something wrong. You have no idea how happy we are that you survived, doesn't matter who or what saved you. The bullies are just people that think you may be special than them and are envious. You should stand up to them, not hide." She encourages. "I will do my best." I lie. Truth is I am so tired of fighting them, because it is literally every person I meet. A few weeks ago the thought of transferring school would not have closed my mind. Not because I loved my former school, Seacoast High, but because the idea of being the new girl in a new school didn't sit well with my uncool, reserved personality. I was never close to being any of those vulgar popular girls that had all the boys crushing over them. I have always been the quiet girl that goes unnoticed even when she is at the top of her class. That's not the kind of boring life any girl wants. But I kind of liked not being obtrusive or desirably noticeable. I was used to walking around like a ghost, being comfortably messy because people will always be looking the other way at the popular, attractive girls of the cheering team dressed in the shortest skirts, super tight tops and tons of makeup. Remaining unnoticed allowed me to be myself all the time. But that isn't the case anymore no matter how much I wish I can go back. I am now the girl that mysteriously survived a horrific ship crash that ended the life of every other passenger and crew. The girl that couldn't swim but was pulled out of the ice cold water by something unknown. Thousands of other passengers fought for their lives yet drowned with the sinking ship or froze to death. It was one of those accidents that is appalling even to those that only heard about it or saw the images of the wreckage and corpses on tv. People never expect a single person to have survived such a deadly crash especially when it took three days for the rescue team to find the sunken wreckage of the ship. I was floating away on a raft and wrapped in a warm, waterproof blanket made of a strange fabric when the rescue team found me. They seemed shocked, but I was in too much pain to care then. My mind was in a haze from the moment the ship began to suddenly overturn and those of us that were on deck fell first into the chilly waters of the ocean. But I guess we were better than those that were in any of the confined rooms of the massive luxury ship. They had nowhere to escape to once the rooms filled with water. My cousin was one of them. She and mom were the reason I was in a cruise ship in the first place having never been to a sea or ocean before. She and her rich fiance wanted to celebrate their engagement on three day marine tour and she found a way to invite me along. I am not sure why, but my guess is they figured out that they needed someone they could trust to look after them everytime they got too drunk. She was of course aware of the fact that I would not make a great company as my nerdy hobbies don't include drinking or dance. I didn't want to miss school for three days just to be on a tour I was certain I would not enjoy. But mom insisted that I go, claiming that it was a great chance for me to meet someone special, just like she met her first lover on a marine tour and has never stopped talking about him. I had no interest in meeting anyone. But I joined my cousin and her fiance anyway on their fun trip just so mom would not think she has a sociopathic daughter. The ship was bigger and more extravagant than I had imagined. It was like a small, floating paradise with all places of fun I was not used to. I felt out of place and was always out alone on deck where I could watch the ocean waves and a fish jump out of the water and back occassionally. Not the most interesting scene, but for me it was better than sitting in a bar attempting to chat with strangers. There were more people on deck the second night than the first and I got an overly polite boy to talk to. The ship began tilting downwards even before I got a chance to learn his name. We didn't get a warning that anything had broken down. The ship just began suddenly overturning and sent us plummeting towards the ice cold water. I could hear others scream out in panic as it tilted to a ninety degree angle and we all slipped off the deck towards the ocean water. I got my head hit by one of the rails even before I began to fall. Then the iciness of the water knocked the breathe out of me as I went in deep with all the force of the fall. My mind was already in a haze after being almost knocked out by the rail and the shock of being suddenly engulfed by ice cold water. I had no idea how to swim and my consciousness was already slipping away. The water was extremely cold to a point that it felt like I had been immersed into real, solid ice. It was the kind of cold that freezes your body within minutes. It was useless to struggle swimming in such water. I don't remember struggling to breathe, probably because my mind had already given up fighting and was slowly letting darkness take over. I heard people shrieking all around and above me, but the screams sounded distant with my fading consciousness. Then I felt a strange presence behind me that made my cold body twitch despite the situation. Two warm hands wrapped tightly around my waist just as my mind completely lost it's battle to stay awake. I had no idea what day or time it was when my eyes blinked open again. It was pitch dark and my mind was still in dark haze. My chest and limps had a full ache and felt stiff. I had a terrible headache, but I was no longer feeling cold or surrounded by cold, salty water. I looked around in the darkness without moving my head, curious to know where I was. That's when I saw it, the breathtaking silhouette, and literally forgot to breathe for a second. It had the most shapely body features that made it look like a male supermodel swimming in the dark. I could only see his upper body, which was beyond impressive. The lower body section was buried under water. I froze when the head turned to look in my direction. His eyes glowed in the darkness, like those of a predictor hunting at night. Fear made my heart pound abnormally hard and fast. I could have ran if my body didn't feel so heavy and painful. And where would I run to? I couldn't see my surroundings well in the darkness My head also hurt so much that my vision was blurring. I kept my eyes open though, until I saw the man suddenly dive into the water at a dazzling speed. No creature known to human would have eyes glowing or swim at the speed of on ocean predictor. It made me doubt whether or not I was alive. Had I died and was in the underworld seeing other shadowy beings? That was the only thing that made sense since I didn't see a way I could have survived. Yet I was breathing. I didn't want to see anymore scary figures in the dark. So I let my tired eyes close again, deciding I would find out whether I was in heaven or hell once my head and body stopped hurting. Next time my eyes opened it was daytime and I was surrounded by four rescue team boats. The headache and drowsiness were still there. My vision was however not that bad and I could then see that I was still alive, laying safely on a raft with some kind of a blanket tightly wrapped around my body. Shock was all over the faces of the rescue team members. They were of course baffled by the fact that I was on a wooden raft. What they didn't know is I was just as confused as them. But my head was pounding so hard that all I wanted was to lay down and give it more rest. I think they understood that because no one spoke much until we were out of the ocean and after I got treatment. Then I was bombarded with questions by both media and the authorities that had been tasked with investigating the accident. I couldn't answer most of their questions. Including how I survived drowning or freezing to death when I couldn't swim. And above all how I got on a wooden raft. Someone had obviously saved me from the water and laid me on a raft. But no one had an idea who could have done it. I told them every piece of truth I could remember. What I didn't know is it was going to be the story on the front page of every newspaper for a week. The media embellished it so it actually seemed like I was saved by unknown creatures of the sea. What they wanted was a mystical story to impress their audiences, no one cared how much it would mess up my life. I too didn't know how much it ruined everything I was until I thought I was ready to go back to school. "I don't mean to make you feel more uncomfortable, but you have grown more beautiful since the accident. Like being in ocean water for the first time transformed you." Mother says while picking up the car keys from the kitchen counter. My heart throbs everytime someone reminds me of being in the ocean water. That very short moment was beyond horrifying. "I think I am ready to go." I set the cup of coffee down and pick up my bag. Mother leads the way out of the house. My heart pounds harder with every step I take.