Ryan ran his fingers through his dirty blond hair, looking out at the window at the ocean. He was on vacation with his mom and was going to stay in their house by the shore for a week. He was in a rather bad mood, but no one could say that it was just teenage angst. His dad was, as usual, busy with what he called a "top secret project" from work. He was a marine biologist, and lately he was researching some special fish on his laptop that he planned to publish a book about in the near future. David Fisher was always busy with that sort of thing-so much so that he couldn't always find the time to hang out with his sixteen year old son. This bothered Ryan, but there wasn't much he could do about it. He sighed and continued to stare out of the window. He couldn't see much of the ocean from here, but it called to him like a bird might call to its mate. He loved swimming, but hadn't gotten to do much of it yet. When he was out there, surfing was also an added bonus. The boy's father entered the room, interrupting his thoughts. He talked to him, rambling on as usual about undiscovered life out there and how things like mermaids could possibly exist. Ryan rolled his eyes and said, "Mermaids aren't real, Dad." "They could be real." Mr. Fisher seized his son's shoulders. "Ryan, the Atlantic ocean is as unexplored as space. We've only seen five percent of it. How can you be so sure of that statement?" Ryan just turned away from him. "You're insane." His father's excitement dulled at those words. "You don't mean that." His son ignored him, standing up and walking outside. The view from there was fantastic. The sea glittered brilliantly with sunshine as it swelled and crashed against its shore, and seagulls let out shrill cries as they circled a group of kids that were tossing bread up in the air for them. He smiled distantly, but was startled by a shout from his dad. "Ryan!" Ryan nearly fell over the balcony. He inhaled sharply, gritting his teeth, and turned back to face him. "What?" His father put a hand to his head out of frustration. "Were you even listening to a word I just said?"

Ryan decided to be honest. "No." Mr. Fisher sighed. "Fine, I'll repeat myself. Ryan, I'm going on a short boat trip tonight for a few days." Ryan interupted him angrily. "A few days? But that could be for all of our vacation!" His dad sighed again. "I know, but it's important for my research." "Dad, come on! You're not going to find anything out there! After what happened to Mom, you'd think you'd understand why this bothers me. A shark might find you out there!" "No, no, that's illogical. I'll be perfectly fine, kiddo." Mr. Fisher reached out a hand to ruffle his kid's hair. "Your mother will be here to keep you company while I'm gone, and so will Ella. Is that alright with you?" Ryan opened his mouth to speak, but then gave up. His cousin Ella wasn't on the best of terms with him, but he couldn't really change his father's mind now. "I guess. Come back soon though, okay?" Mr. Fisher straightened his thick rimmed glasses, and then nodded. "Okay, I will. I promise." Mr. Fisher hugged him and held him tight for a moment. Ryan stiffened in his arms, but then returned the gesture. They soon let go of each other, and parted ways. Ryan felt almost as if he would never see his father again, but that was dumb. I'm just overreacting, aren't I? he thought. That won't happen. He'll come home and be just fine.