Being dropped off at school was a little harder now that I needed the wheelchair. Least with the wheelchair and a blanket my tail was hidden. Still I couldn't help but be in a really bad mood. The land gills made it easy to breathe but the water felt sterile... I was also on the track team, but had no way to run... My breasts seemed to be getting a growth spurt so my bra was tight... Plus I almost died in my vacation which turned into me being a test subject. Wheeling through the halls before classes started I heard a friendly voice "Dawn! What happened?!? What's that on your neck?" to which I turned to see Courtney.
I gave a small smile and said "Oh you know... almost drowned... never going to be able to walk... much less run ever again... The tech nerds called this thing land gills... I'd rather not say much out loud, but you can feel my legs through my blanket if you want."
Courtney concerned gave them a touch and felt something scaled beneath the fabric and she said "So... your a M-"
I shushed her and said "I'd rather not be known as one for as long as I can... I'd rather not get that attention right now..."
"Well, we're going to the same class together so want me to push you there and we can chat?" I nodded noticing that people saw me, and their eyes were attracted for a second until they saw my wheelchair and let their eyes look elsewhere... They didn't recognize me as a mermaid at least...
First class happened... people really noticed I was in a wheelchair, and thus was put in the disabled desk... Learning went alright, and then that weird guy Conner started looking at my neck and asked me what it was. I told him to knock it off, and then the teacher noticed and asked me what was on my neck. Then told me to take it off as bone induction headphones shouldn't be worn during class. First few minutes of the first class, and my cover as a human was blown. With demi-humans and monsters being somewhat rare still rumors spread like wildfire... and the whole school day quickly became I'm a Mermaid... I for one felt tired and depressed at this whole situation... especially since I had to resign from the Track team... Courtney skipped practice and decided we'd try to do a sleepover thinking what I needed was having some good time with a friend.
That said our chat devolved into me answering questions like "No I can't breathe in chlorinated water... No I can't breathe in fresh water... No these land gills can't be submerged underwater... No I don't inherently know any magic..." The sleepover ended early as I just wasn't feeling up for it... The following few days I couldn't muster the energy to even get out of bed. Technically I didn't die when I fell off that boat, but at this point it kind of felt like I did... Now my life was replaced with one as a spectacle. Least my family was supportive to a point, and made me eat and do some homework... It's just I couldn't imagine what any of my current schoolwork would even do for me at this point. There was no way I'd live a normal life where trigonometry would even matter... Another day passed and then...