The whole scene is really flicking depressing. A few palm trees line the sidewalk, but once you hit the parking lot, there’s not a bit of nature anywhere. So much had to be razed to the ground in order for this school to go up. In Pacifica, the Elders held classes in different locations every day. Sometimes it was a kelp forest, other times a coral reef, or alongside a mother humpback whale and her calf to keep them company on their thousands-of-miles-long migration. Elder Tsunami would even use their Passage magic to take us to vents and underwater volcanoes with the flick of their tail. The vents spouting superheated water at random made us all jump, and Elder Tsunami said they liked the way the spontaneity kept us on our fins. Drop would always brush their tail against mine afterward, saying it helped slow their beating heart, but for me, it made mine pump faster.

The thought of Drop and what a normal day would be like in the Blue sends a pang to my stomach, only increased by the severity and unfamiliarity of my surroundings. Instead of open waters with a whale buddy, students here are imprisoned inside a building, learning Blue knows what instead of connecting with the world around them. How is Sean supposed to feel all upbeat about life and love and getting Dominic back if he’s stuck inside this pile of bricks? If I’m going to get back home, Sean’s going to need to ditch this place.

But hopefully the cup of coffee I snagged for him will make Sean feel as energized about putting a plan in action as I do. When he texted he finally had to go to bed last night because he had to be at school in two hours, I figured I’d surprise him with this treat. A little thank-you for filling the silence in my new house with sneezing panda videos.

I near the building and see a huge pool behind a fence with teenagers swimming back and forth. It’s weird that humans decided to put a body of water here when the ocean is just a few blocks away. They’d rather swim in a cement hole than have open water where they can swim as far as they want, and interact with the ocean and its currents and the creatures that call it home?

People are stupid.

One swimmer climbs out of the pool and I instantly recognize his hairy chest, round belly, and those thighs.

“Sean!”

He looks over, a confused scowl on his face.

“Over here!” I yell, and awkwardly wave my arms back and forth, trying to get a noticeable amount of movement without spilling the coffee in my hands.