A month later...

"Asada what do you think we are supposed to do with these kids?" Sammy questions, the four of us standing in a circle, our voices hushed so the three children staring at us wouldn't hear. Asada had brought us three kids, all in tattered clothing, their hair a mess. Where did she find these kids?

"We need to help them and in return they will become mermaids, they will have meaning to their life and if they don't listen I will erase their memory and they will never know any of this happened and we will kick them back on the street," I shook my head, this was insane. How were the four of us supposed to take care of these three kids. Let alone kick them out on the street after spending so much time with them? How could she be so heartless?

"There's no way that would work?" I whisper, trying my best to keep quiet. Asada and I have only came to terms with each other a few weeks ago, and now it felt like she was pushing her limits.

"Olyvya, this will work, we just need to teach them different things. Like a highschool, we can think of a dumb name for it, but we could make a refuge for these children, help them learn, help them become working members of society. They could get jobs once they get old enough and we could work on building a house close to the ocean that they could all live in, this has to work, we need these people as much as they need us,"

"We can't teach these kids anything though," Gage decides to pipe in, "And where do you expect to keep them?"

"Your place, and yes we can because Olyvya will teach them reading and that crap, and I will teach them history, Hudson can get math and Sammy will teach them science. I promise guys this will work perfectly." Asada was rather adamant about her idea. I didn't realize that when she had mentioned this nearly a month ago she was just as serious about it as she is now. She had gone out and found kids. Young ones. This was insane. She had given me no reason to believe she was going to go steal these kids from somewhere.

"Where did you get these kids?" I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes as I thought about their families. "What about their families?" Asada shook her head as if she could read my mind. She could sense the anger building up in my body.

"They are homeless children, abandoned by their families. They have no home, they have no life, they are runaways tossed aside and looked down on by a society all too mighty to help. They need us," I glance over at the children, dirt stains on their faces. They did looks homeless, they were skinny, frail, and covered in tattered clothing that looked like it was all they had. They didn't seem dangerous or like they were coming from a loving home. But could I trust Asada?

"Look, just let them spend the week with us, we will start early tomorrow morning or even the day after that. It doesn't have to be too serious at first, just until we can get our feet underneath us on this. Just give it a shot please guys," Asada was practically begging now. I needed time to think about this, but the kids were just standing staring at us. They probably felt horrible knowing we were talking about them. I couldn't even imagine the thoughts going through their heads right now.

I couldn't lie to myself though. I was honestly intrigued with the idea. But would I really be able to teach these kids anything about reading and grammar? I had barely passed english in my own high school career, not even close to enough to teach anyone else how to write and read.

"Come on, all I'm asking for it one night for right now. You can sleep on it, think about it, before you decide what to do. We would be making an amazing difference though if we could just figure this out, you've got to at least be willing to try guys," Asada had a point. This would be making a huge difference for the kids, and for us. This would help them, it would help us. But was it all possible?

"Okay fine, one night. They can stay in the guest rooms for one night. We will discuss this in the morning before they wake up." Gage sunk as he answered. I felt bad that we were always using his house. He had so many rooms to spare but that didn't mean they needed to be filled with bodies.

I wrap my arm around his as I sink into his chest. Asada spins on her heels beaming as she turns to tell the children the good news. My stomach twisting as I thought about how badly this could go wrong.

A couple days later...

"Asada can you grab those pencils out of the pantry please?" I question as the lead on my pencil breaks yet again. "Sorry guys, I'm way too rough on my pencils," Asada rushes over with a newly sharpened pencil, the third one for this lesson.

"Okay, so where would you guys put the comma in this sentence?" I question showing the sentence to the three children. They all watch carefully as I show them their options. Opal raises her hand, eagerly ready to tell me the answer. I point at her letting her answer.

"Right here," She points at the paper. I shake my head explaining to her why that was incorrect. She looks down at her feet as she listens to me. My heart breaks slightly at how eager she was to learn. "That's okay though, let's try again," I wrote out another sentence for her asking where to place the comma. She answers correctly this time.

"Good job Opal, the three of us cheer for her,"

I glance at the other two kids. It was interesting getting to know their personalities and spending time with them now, I knew I never wanted to leave. This was what I was supposed to do with my life. I had finally figured it out.

I knew coming to Washington had been a good idea.