During the early days of summer at a fuel station just a few miles outside Aquatis’s town boarders “54.77” the cashier told the green thin-hoddie with beige Capri underneath and red high-tops shoulder-length Dark-Red Asian-looking girl who has just topped her car up. “Sure thing” the girl kindly accepted as she used her credit card from her black backpack to pay.
“? Jessica Marks? You look Asian to me besides your hair” the cashier then questioned over the details connected to the card. “My mother is but my dad’s Caucasian” Jessica assured while putting her card back “But mum hated growing up in China and left when she was my age”. “Didn’t need to know that much” the cashier insisted in defense. “Force of habit” Jessica apologized as she headed back to her car outside.
However just as she was about to get in her Smartphone went off “Hello”. “How far are you Jess?” the girl calling on the other end asked. “Just on the town outskirts but my car needed a top up. Yourself Monica?” Jessica returned kindly. “Just arrived myself and Amanda’s inside in a bit of a debate” the caller admitted “Apparently somehow our assigned three-person room got double booked via a system glitch”. “I see. I’ll try and help sort it out of it’s not done so by the time I get their” Jessica assured “See you in a little while”. “Same here Jess” Monica assured as the two ended the call and Jessica got into her Green Pre-owned Coupe and resumed her journey, making sure the protective wardrobe bag and its content was still in the back where she left it.
Once she was carefully driving through the streets towards Aquatis “Hard to believe it’s been almost a year since we were all together like we’re about to be… physically anyway” Jessica remarked to herself. She alongside her Friends Monica Kendall and Amanda Adams had been almost inseparable growing up until due to their different career goals ended up going to different colleges. Sure they web-chatted and phoned each other often but it wasn’t the same so when Amanda learned from an aunt that lived locally that a merfolk convention was going to be active this summer Jessica knew they had to attend.
This wasn’t simply over a convenient time at a good holiday price but due to the fact that all three friends were serious mermaid fanatics thanks to Monica’s aunt who was a professional mermaiding performer until she had to retire and gave them the required lessons growing up. The bag in Jessica’s car actually contained her current tail, silver in color with the monofin being integrated into the base as opposed to a separate part and the material being somewhere between Neoprene and Silicone being lightweight and flexible but at the same time very realistic-looking and long-lasting. Like with the later it contained a zipper hidden by a fin-series on the back. It came with a realistic-looking Seashell themed bra made to look like it had seaweed for straps though personally Jessica was hoping for chances she and her friends could find chances to go topless like they had in some of their more private lessons growing up (She personally was more for mermaids always being nude then using seashells).
As it happened Jessica found Monica waiting there for her in the Hotel’s parking lot. Easy to notice really for her being a naturally blond-haired African, though her hair was very short and messy while wearing a blue sleeveless jacket with Light-blue long-shorts and matching running shoe. “Any Joy Monica?” Jessica asked once parked up. “Finally sorted. Mostly as the extra booking's a no-show” Monica assured. “I just can’t believe we’re finally here together” Jessica happily responded “I mean this is my first convention”. “Right those no good grand-folks of yours” Amanda noted as she appeared. “And you’ve changed a bit” Jessica remarked. “I felt like I needed a change” Amanda confessed over her pony-tailed raven hair going well with her Gray jumper under a white cardigan above a matching skirt, knee-length black biker shorts included with white boots. A look Jessica had to personally agree fitted the Caucasian girl.
The problem that was referred was how fixated on traditions Jessica’s maternal grandparents were with the hell they often wrought whenever they visited or ‘made’ Jessica and her parents visit them. Apparently not agreeing with Western Beliefs let alone existence as a culture legally. In fact it was a consent occurrences they’d call her Jian instead of Jessica and that they lived through the child-limited parenthood that was mixed in with the struggle for female equality in China that her grandmother just accepted without fighting and to them the practice of mermaiding was somewhat shameful even though most of China had since started to evolve culturally.
Before they knew it thanks to the chatting over anything that had been going on to them individually in topics such as love-lives, side friends, how their studies were going and whatever part-time jobs they were taking, the three friends reached their assigned room and entered. “Jeez how do they make profits giving out three-bed rooms like this at the prices?” Amanda questioned. “Actually they don’t lockup the tanks and pools used for the conventions during the non-con times. During then guests can hire out private times whenever” Jessica answered. “Do people event try that?” Monica asked. “Apparently so and Aquatis has a reputation of legal battles over those trying to get that during convention times. I looked it up” Jessica continued “Aquatis always wins though so that convention times remain all open though”. “Still… I hear nothing over guests being prohibited from doing night-swimming” Amanda then stated “Plus the convention’s an entire week so once we’re unpacked who wants to do what first?”: