The day has passed and a new day has dawned. It is now the next morning and the sun’s rays are deluging through Nick and Brandon’s bedroom, shining on Brandon’s hole in the wall.

In his hole, Brandon is curled up on his mattress, blanket-less, in his slumber. He then breathes in deeply and flutters his eyes open.

With a groan, he turns over, catching sight of the working radiator on the ground, a few inches away from him. He runs his hair through his sweaty hair.

“I’m literally gonna sweat out everything until I die if I keep bringing that thing around,” he mutters to himself.

He sits up on his mattress and rubs the tiredness from his eyes. He then crawls out from the hole and climbs down the ladder to the bedroom’s floor. He exits the bedroom and ambles to the bathroom.

In there, he automatically halts in front of the sink with the intention to wash the sweat and heat from his face. He turns on the faucet, cups his hands under the running water, and splashes it all over his face. A wave of relief washes over him as the cool water trickles down his face in place of the warm sweat.

After patting his neck and some of his head with the cool water, he turns off the faucet and dries himself with the hand towel.

He then catches his reflection in the mirror. He is certainly flushed due to the long exposure of heat with the tips of his hair plastered against his skin. Yet he is still himself. And not a…

Brandon’s eyes widen with sudden realization. “I’m not a merman!” He flicks his eyes from the mirror to the sink. “I touched water, lots of it!” He reverts his gaze back to the mirror. “And I’m still myself!”

He then lifts an index finger in the air. “But the ultimate test: a shower. And boy, do I need one.”

---

“GUYS!!!”

With his hair wet from a fresh shower, Brandon bolts into the living room with exhilaration. He skids to a halt, catching sight of Joseph and Nick huddled around the island in the kitchen with their breakfast.

The two roommates peer up at him.

“Guys!” Brandon repeats bit quieter. “I took a shower! I didn’t turn into a merman! I’m no longer a merman! The curse is done!” He rushes up to them.

Nick peers up from his pancakes. “Oh, that’s good.” He then turns his full attention on his breakfast.

Joseph swallows a spoonful of Greek yogurt. “So Matt’s idea did work. You better thank him.”

Brandon sits himself on the countertop’s chair between Nick and Joseph. “Oh, definitely! I’ll do that when I see him during practice today!” He smiles massively at him. “But now I can finally play hockey like a normal person! It’s such a relief!”

“And no more midnight swims.” Joseph adds in. “That’s good to hear.”

Brandon wags his finger at him. “That’s right! Because I’m no longer a merman.”

Joseph puts his spoon in the bowl of yogurt. “So what caused you to become a merman?”

“Well…” Brandon rubs his chin with his elbow on the granite surface. “Matt and I were talking about it during the game and he concluded that he must’ve been the fishbowl.”

Joseph gives him an incredulous expression. “Oh. You mean this thing?” He then reaches over to the fishbowl, which is still in its same place for the past days with the fish swimming around it happily. He grabs the bowl with his both hands and plops it in between him and Brandon.

Brandon nods his head at it. “Yeah, that.” He then smirks at him. “Now since you touched it, you’re cursed.”

Joseph scoffs. “Pssshhh, no, I’m not.”

“Yeah, you are.” He nods his head toward the kitchen sink that is on the other side of the room, behind him. “Go try it out.”

“I’m not cursed,” Joseph enunciates. “I’ll prove it to you.” He strides across the kitchen to the kitchen sink. He then flicks the faucet on and runs his hand under it. “See?” He then retracts his hand and turns the faucet off. “Nothing.”

He shrugs, then swaggers back toward Brandon with a haughty expression. Suddenly, his eyes widen with a shocked expression.

“WHOA--!” He then falls over, disappearing behind the counter top. THUMP!

Brandon peers over the edge of the countertop, immediately spotting a translucent black tail poking out from the edge of the bottom countertop. Then with a growing smirk, he leans over to get a good look at the owner of the tail.

Lying on his stomach on the kitchen floor is Joseph the merman. He has his bare back exposed; below that is an extensive, brooding, yet magnificent black tail that is gleaming in the sunlight. Joseph has his fists pressed up against his round cheeks while staring madly ahead.

Brandon begins chuckling with a massive smile. “And you said you weren’t cursed right?”

“Before I touched that stupid fishbowl,” he growls at the cabinet.

His chuckles grow into laughs. “Oh, now who’s the fish here?!”

Joseph peers up at his roommate with piercing eyes. “SHUT IT.”

Brandon lets out a sigh of contentment. “I’ll go get you a towel.” He then slides off from the chair and begins ambling out of the kitchen. “Tell me if you wanna go to a midnight ocean swim!”

“JUST GET THE TOWEL, BRANDON!” Joseph barks from the kitchen.

“Okay, okay…” Brandon rounds the foyer with a massive grin on his face. A grin that shows that he is no longer alone in his merman adventures.

And is also never alone in his wacky adventures.


The End.

Notes

E.7 "Imma Merman"
Part 8/8
Episode 7/20