Of Sea and Shore

Melody took a deep breath and then scrunched up her nose before speaking. “I just don’t want to judge her before I’ve met her, but I already have. I hear my father tell the story all the time, and I feel like...I mean even with the best intentions I’ve already pictured what I think her to be in my head, just like you have. So that doesn’t make me bad, right? Just normal?” she hoped so anyway. Some potential disasters were just better off avoided at all costs.

“They don’t,” Melody laughed, sitting up and looking Ben in the eye. “Look, you’re not the first person it worked on, and you won’t be the last. My father went through it too and he’s fine.”

“Well, to be fair to Lonnie you have seen me try to be coordinated. Who is to say I wouldn’t have screwed up the whole thing by tripping?!”

Melody had never been the princess that did what she was told, and she was glad that Jay seemed on board with the idea. Giving him a smile, she nodded. “We can take a walk. I give you fair warning, though, that I have a tendency to trip over my own feet with no warning at all...”

“Something borderline rebellious, maybe?” she asked him, shaking her head. “We can go to lake. Or sneak into the kitchens? Or go do some tourney practice to let off steam?” She was no tourney player of course, but letting off steam seemed like it could be helpful. “I could show you my favorite place?”

“Hence ‘susceptible to mind control’,” Melody said again, giving a little laugh. “The moment I saw the conch shell around her neck, it almost seemed obvious...”

“What about her? I’d rather talk about how you and my father are both incredibly  susceptible to mind control.”

“Elysia,” Melody whined, standing in the doorway and motioning toward the school grounds outside. “You and I need to go and get into trouble. We’re too safe. Lets go and get yelled at...”

He didn’t want to talk about it and she nodded, not wanting to force him to say anything he didn’t want to say. “I just worry...” she told him, slowly pulling her hand back. “You want to do something to take your mind off of it?”