Sea Stars & Wishes

Chapter 7

Lyrika

"Lyrika?" Layla calls, waving her hand in front of Lyrika's face. Lyrika jerks back and blinks rapidly.

"Were you listening to anything I was saying?" Layla asks.

"I'm sorry, no," Lyrika answers. No, she must do something, even if it means facing something riskier than a slap on the wrist.

Layla opens her mouth to speak, but Lyrika cuts her off, "can we actually talk about this tomorrow? I'm sorry, I just need to process today and Song." Layla's lips press into a thin line, but nods. Lyrika could tell Layla didn't appreciate being shut out, but she doesn't understand the connection Lyrika has with Song. She doesn't understand that Song is the one who told her the remedy. If Song doesn't survive, Lyrika will quit marine biology.

Lyrika mumbles another apology before leaving the room. She needs to think. Somewhere to think. She passes the classroom she and her peers were in on their first day. She peeks into the window, noticing nobody else in there. She opens the door, which unlike the others in the basement, lacks a sensor.

She takes a seat in the closest chair and rests her head on the table. She closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths, trying to focus solely on Song.

He's dying. Lyrika knows what will save him. How to go about it, no clue. She could make a social media post. The pros: it goes viral and he gets released. The cons: the video doesn't go viral, Lyrika gets a lot of hate, and would get in trouble for releasing the information that Song is sick and dying. Nope, next.

A protest? No. Lyrika doesn't have enough time to set one up or get enough people.

Talking to the marine biologist would be the easiest of the options to do. But why would they listen to a teenager?

Lyrika picks her head up and leans back. She takes a deep breath.

She could do the absolute unthinkable. She could kidnap Song and release him into the ocean herself. It's a wild and very impossible idea, but Lyrika wouldn't forgive herself if she sat idly and watched Song die. Even if she is caught, arrested, and failed to free Song, she tried. Even with the risk, they could take it a step further and somehow put the blame of Song's death on her, and she gets sent to prison for a long time.

But even then... it sounds better than all the other options she can think of. Taking an extreme risk... all by herself.

She leans forward again, propping her elbows on the table, holding her head up by her forehead with her hands.

She could ask for help, but if they're caught, they too would get in trouble. Not as much as her, but still enough to ruin any chances of the future they are striving toward. No, Lyrika can't do that to them. But to herself? She would allow it. If Song dies... what would be the point of continuing to do marine biology? Humans clearly aren't here to save marine life if they continue to keep Song captive in the aquarium.

It settles in Lyrika; this is the only thing she can think of to solve the issue. She has to at least try. The only positive note Lyrika can instantly think of, is how the marine biology building is two buildings away from the pier, or a quarter-mile to the beach shore. If she can get Song out of the building it would take less than five minutes to get him into the ocean.

The marine biology building is the first obstacle. If they are keeping Song's sickness under wraps, then they could have hired more security or have the campus police make a few extra rounds around the building. Inside the building, the security room is directly inside the door, and all of the lab rooms have security cameras based on what Lyrika spotted in the sea star room. Who all has access to the security cameras? The sensors for the doors would be another problem.

They canceled all classes and labs.

If Layla doesn't need her ID card, Lyrika could borrow it for a short time. She'll grab the ID card before leaving the aquarium... which reminds Lyrika that she also has to collect her things from the cafeteria.

The only other obstacle would be how to get Song from the building to the ocean. Just by looking at him, Lyrika knows he isn't light, and she has no muscles to support that weight. She could buy a wagon- a collapsible one. One of those should be able to hold most of Song's weight. His tail will hang outside of the wagon, but that's a problem for later.

Lyrika stands up from her chair and exits the room.. If she wants to do this, she needs to start now. First, get Layla's ID card. Second, get a collapsible wagon. Third, figure out when to go into action.

On the second floor, the care specialists work in silence or are helping out Lyrika's classmates with their projects. But no one looks in Lyrika's direction. She continues walking to the break room, and avoids looking around. The last thing she needs is to look suspicious. When she reaches the break room door she doesn't hesitate to open it.

Lyrika walks inside the break room, and thankfully, nobody else is in there. She quickly walks up to Layla's opened-door locker and unzips the smaller pocket of her bag. The plastic blue and white ID card is unmissable in the sea of trash, pens, and candy.

"Sorry," Lyrika mumbles as she grabs the ID and pockets it. She zips up the bag once more and heads out of the break room.

Lyrika lies in her bed, tossing and turning every five or ten minutes. She skipped dinner. The nerves have finally settled in her. She had spent the rest of the day getting a wagon and prepping the rest of her plan. Lyrika had lied to Cassidy in order to borrow her black jacket and cargo pants. Explaining it was for a part of her project, to explain how sea stars only see shadows and light and she needed a full black outfit, and it had completely gone over her head when packing for the trip.

She then decided to strike between two and three in the morning. There would be less people on the road and it's a Thursday night, not too many people will be out drinking and partying.

She also looked up images of the marine biology building through the 3D campus tour on the college website. She notes there is only the set of doors at the entrance, which Lyrika found to be a fire hazard until she saw how old the building was, and that there are a ton of windows. If windows are unlocked and open it might be easier to get in that way. But if the windows are locked and closed she will have to settle on the door.

Lyrika turns in her bed once more. Could she really pull this off? Lyrika slaps her hand over her face and pulls it down. Who is she kidding? What spy movie does she think she's in? Avoiding security and cameras? No. She has to do this. She has to try. He may have told her not to do anything, but she would never forgive herself.

She huffs and turns once more. She taps on her phone and it illuminates the dark room.

1:05

Finally. It's time.

Lyrika tosses the blanket off her body and pushes herself out of bed. She walks into the bathroom, flipping on the light. Her clothes are neatly folded sitting on the counter. She changes into the all-black uniform: cargo pants, long sleeve shirt, jacket, and boots. Lyrika also has latex gloves, a pair of cotton gloves, and a medical face mask set aside too.

She looks at herself in the mirror. She takes another deep breath to calm her nerves. She grabs one of the two elastic bands set aside and pulls her hair into a ponytail. She turns the faucet water on and turns her head to the side so she can put the entirety of her hair in the sink to soak. She turns off the water and rings out the excess water from her hair. Lyrika twirls her hair around and wraps it around the center, creating a bun. She uses the other elastic band to put and keep it in place.

Lyrika looks at her final image in the mirror. She nods to herself looking over the entire outfit. Nothing identifiable stands out to her. The camera may be able to tell Lyrika's gender and height, but nothing else.

She meets her own gaze in the reflection of the mirror, "time to steal a merman."