Miss Marvelous: The Pit Fall

“Come in!“.

I opened the white bathroom door in Mr.Cashol’s bungalow, to see him lying in his white bathtub with his large light blue five-foot-long merman tail that hung over the side.

The teacher turned his head in my direction and gave me a small wave, giving me a soft smile as her did that. With the bathroom being a small space, it only took me a couple of steps before I was standing over my science teacher.

“Maybe the next time you need help, don’t call me when I’m in a life-or-death situation”.

Mr.Cashol shrugged his shoulders.

“How was I supposed to know?“.

“Well, I did put a ‘do not disturb’ sign on my phone number temporarily AND I texted you not to call me because I was dealing with a dangerous situation” I replied, setting my hands on my hips.

The teacher grabbed his phone off the little nightstand table that was next to the tub and went directly to the group chat between him and I, only to see that the last text from her was the one I was talking about.

“Oh, I didn’t see that”.

My purple cape levitated off my shoulders, before I scooped up Mr. Cashol’s shirt oof of the tile floor and tossed it at him.

“Here, put this on; I don’t think it’s appropriate for a student to see their teacher shirtless”.

“What, you don’t like my abs?” tease Mr. Cashol, as he slipped on the black t-shirt.

“No, I just prefer to see you with a shirt on”.

I linked Mr. Cashol’s hands with mine, before I ordered my cape, violet to grab his tail and together we lifted the teacher out of the bathtub, setting him onto the cold white tile floor.

“Thanks” he said, before I let his big hands go and tossed him a red towel that was hanging behind the bathroom door.

“Alright, it looks like my job here is done” I said as violet levitated back onto my shoulders.

“I will see you-“.

“Wait, Vanessa”.

I turned my head to look at the teacher, with an annoyed look on my face.

“Yes?“.

Instantly I could tell that something was wrong, for he was giving me a concerned look.

“My transformation is not working. I can’t change back”.

Vanessa paced back and forth impatiently in Mr.Cashol’s living room. She and her cape had moved her science teacher off the cold tile floor in the small bathroom to the long dark grey three-seater couch he had in his living room, to make him more comfortable in the meantime while Vanessa figures out what to do.

The teacher had tried drying his tail multiple times to change back into his legs, but it wasn’t working.

Why can’t he transform back? He’s been transforming back that way and it has worked. Is there another way that mermaids/mermen change their tails into legs.

A faint male voice called her name, but she didn’t hear it due to the flooding thoughts that surged through her brain.

Since Cashol is stuck with a tail, someone has to look after him.

Then Vanessa stopped herself in mid pacing for a few moments, before she paced frantically back and forth again across the room, realizing who would have to watch him.

I don’t want to babysit my teacher?! I never have babysat anyone before?! Not only that, but how will I manage to go to my classes, teach his classes, keep an eye on him and on that black lizard?!? I think I might-.

“VANESSA!“.

I whipped my head in the teacher’s direction and snapped at him.

“WHAT???“.

Mr. Cashol jolted back into the couch, since Vanessa’s tone had taken him by surprise. He knew that she was a very patient person; However, in the current moment Vanessa showed that she had left all her patience back at her uncle’s house. The science teacher chose his next words carefully.

“I have an idea that will lift some of the weight off of your shoulders” he said, calmly.

“Like you would have any good ideas” I scoffed, folding my arms across my chest as I stood a few feet in front of him.

“No, seriously. I think my idea will work and get us out of this mess” said Mr. Cashol, persuasively.

“If it involves getting you back to normal, I’m all ears” I murmured, sitting down on the love seat that was behind me.

“It doesn’t involve that, unfortunately. I was thinking, what if you used your bracelet to make an identical copy of yourself”.

“That’s your idea?? To complicate things even more?” I said harshly.

“Yes, unless you have a better idea”.

I let out a sigh.

He’s right. It may be the only option we have.

“But even if we go ahead with this crazy idea, I don’t think my bracelet actually can create a duplicate of me. It’s an enchanted bracelet with ice magic“.

Mr. Cashol shrugged his shoulders.

“It wouldn’t hurt to at least try”.

“Alright, I’ll try your idea” I replied, rolling my eyes at my teacher as I stood up from my seat.

“But if anything starts to go wrong, I’m stopping”.

I raised my forearm with the ice diamond bracelet that hung around my wrist up in front of me and it instantly began to glow white. Then a thick wall of ice suddenly appeared on my left, only as tall and wide as a door frame. Turning to the blue sheet of ice, I stared at my own reflection, looking through the clear ice to see the identical copy of myself staring back, copying my every move.

What do I do now? reach through the ice and pull my reflection out to make another copy of me?

After a few moments of silence, my cape nudged me forward towards the ice wall, trying to tell me to pull my reflection out. Taking a deep breath, I reached my slim hand through the cold thick ice wall and instantly felt a warm hand clasp mine, making me let out a sudden small gasp.

Mr. Cashol watched intensely as he watched me pull out a duplicate of myself from the slab of ice. Once the copy of me was out from the other side of the ice wall, it immediately turned into black ice, becoming actually black instead of turning completely clear.

However Vanessa didn’t take notice of it, since she was too focused on her duplicate. While she was busy filling in her other self about what she needed her to do, Mr. Cashol didn’t take his eyes off the ice wall, fearing that it might do the unexpected.

Then it did.

The wall suddenly shattered into tiny pieces, before the shards became mist and disappeared into thin air.

Did I do that? he thought, before the teacher turned his gaze back to the two Vanessa’s, who were now standing closer and facing him.

Clasping my hands together, I looked down at Mr. Cashol with a confident smile.

“Well, now that we have some extra help, let’s make a plan to get you back to normal and to make sure that no one suspects one or both of us missing”.