"I'm so sorry, Emily!" sobbed Melissa. "I didn't mean for that to happen. I tried to stop her; I tried to stop myself. It must be something about being a mermaid like this, something I don't know how to control. Oh God: now Stefanie has the curse!" Melissa pulled her tail against her body and sobbed.
Emily screamed in frustration. Then she turned to her sister, who was clearly very upset by what had jsut happened. "I'm sorry, Stef. I'm going to find the woman who did this and stop you from turning into a mermaid. Just please go back to your room and whatever you do don't get wet. Melissa should never have..."
"Melissa didn't do anything!" said Stefanie. "I kissed her!"
"Yes, but that was because..."
"That was because I'm attracted to girls!" said Stefanie, her shock now having given way to defiance. "Melissa held back, but I kissed her anyway. Maybe I wouldn't have if she wasn't a mermaid, but I did it because I wanted to and I'd like to do it again!"
Emily stood there dumbfounded. "But...you looked so shocked and upset!"
"Because you walked in on me making out with another girl, and I'd never told you or anyone else in the family that I'm not straight. Imagine how you would react if I had walked in on you making out with Melissa."
Melissa and Emily both blushed at the thought.
Stefanie looked at the both of them. "Wait...are you two..."
"No! We're just friends. If we weren't, I wouldn't be getting ready to go capture the mermaid who did this so we can turn Melissa - or you - back."
"Am I going to turn into a mermaid like Melissa?" asked an excited Stefanie.
"Based on what Serenity told me" said Melissa "yes. It should start the next time you get wet."
"Awesome!"
Stefanie bolted down the hallway from where she had originally come, letting her towel fall free as she headed for the bathroom, eager for her second shower of the morning and an expected transformation into a mermaid.