Party Time!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The annoyingly loud sound of Rina's alarm clock echoes through the Pearl Piari Hotel, rousing the green haired mermaid princess from her sleep. She mumbles inaudibly as she slams her fingers on the snooze button and drags herself towards the bathroom to take a shower.

She turns the shower head on, pulling the curtain closed as she steps into the hot, steamy water. She changes into her mermaid form and grabs the bottle of shampoo, squirting a small amount of the apple scented liquid onto the palm of her free hand and placing the bottle back where she got it from. She rubs the sweet smelling stuff into her hair, working it into a rich lather before rinsing it out. She grabs the bottle of Dove moisturizing body wash and squeezes some onto her wash rag. She washes her body gently, including her tail and rinses herself off and turns the water off.

She reverts back to her human form and grabs her towel off the towel rack, wrapping it securely around her body and goes back into her room to get dressed. She puts on her school uniform and goes down to the kitchen area for breakfast. She makes herself a bowl of apple cinnamon cheerios with milk and slices up a variety of fruits, setting them down on the table. She then pours some coffee into her mug, adds some milk and sugar and sits down to enjoy the meal.

"Good morning, Rina-chan!" Lucia chirps happily as she and Hanon walk into the room, joining their friend at the table.

"Morning!" Rina replies. A warm, friendly smile appears on her face.

"Hey Rina-chan, did you manage to get the homework done last night?" Hanon questions curiously.

Rina thought about the question for a moment. "Actually no I didn't. I had a hard time trying to figure out those algebra equations and ended up falling asleep."

Both girls look over to the blonde haired girl sitting a few feet away from them. Lucia looks up from her Fruit loops and gulps! Hanon and Rina look intently at their friend.

"Lucia-chan… did you do the math homework last night?" Hanon asks hopefully.

The pink pearl Princess smiled back. "I did. However, I gave it to Kaito last night." She giggles in reply.

Rina just rolls her eyes.

"Well it looks like we'll just have to miss the assignment." She sighs dejectedly.

"No way, I'm not gonna get an F!" Hanon squeaks. "Maybe Nagisa-kun has it?" She adds before walking out the door.

"You two had better get moving too." Nikora adds with a smile.

Both Rina and Lucia grab their school bags and they head for the door, hoping to catch up with Hanon. They wave good-bye to the magenta haired woman before leaving. They quickly catch up with the Aqua pearl Princess and the three friends walk together.

They arrive at school a few minutes later and after a quick stop at their lockers they head to class, arriving just as the bell begins to ring. For the most part the morning session is boring to Rina. She spends the vast majority of the time staring aimlessly out the window.

The bell rings announcing that it's time for lunch. The three mermaid Princesses get up and together they head towards the school's cafeteria.

Lucia smiles at Rina.

"Hey Rina, is Masahiro-kun going with you to Coco's party tonight?"

Rina smiles and nods her head yes.

"What about you Hanon? Is Nagisa-kun coming with you?"

Hanon giggles a little before answering.

"Of course he is. That is, unless I can get Taro-chan to go with me." She chirps as her cheeks turn a slight shade of pink. "I assume that you are taking Kaito-kun." Hanon questions curiously.

"Yep!" the pink pearl Princess replies, playfully sticking her tongue out. "I'm picking him up right after he finishes surfing practice."

"Geez, you could at least give him time to get changed." Rina teases playfully.

Lucia's face turns a dark shade of red and she glared back at the aqua pearl Princess.

"I will let him change!" She retorts, sounding a little miffed.

"Easy Lucia, I think Rina was just kidding about that." Hanon adds jokingly while trying not to laugh.

The three girls finish their lunches and soon the bell rings and they head out of the cafeteria and back to their classroom.

For Rina the remainder of the day goes just as the morning had. She is about to doze off when the sound of someone calling her name brings her back to reality.

"Toin-san, could you please answer the question I just asked you?" Their teacher questioned.

"Umm... gomen nasai Sensei, I must have missed that." Rina answers in a slightly embarrassed voice. "Can you please repeat the question?"

"I already repeated it twice." Her teacher replies. "Please pay better attention in class from now on."

Rina nods her head and tries to remain focused for the remainder of the class. Finally, the school bell rings, signaling the end on the day. Rina walks silently to her locker and opens it. After putting her books inside she closes the door and turns to walk away. However, a certain blonde haired girl is standing in her intended pathway.

"Hey Rina, wanna go watch Kaito practice surfing with me?" She asks in a hopeful voice.

Rina simply rolls her bluish gray eyes at the pink pearl Princess.

"I have a headache. Maybe Hanon will go with you." She replies simply.

"Hanon went off to see Mitsuki-sensei." She retorts. "And I don't wanna go alone!" She adds with a playful pout.

"Sorry Lucia, but I'm heading straight back to the Pearl Piari. Like I said, I have a headache." Rina replies plainly. She then steps around Lucia and heads towards the exit as fast as she can, not wanting to give Lucia more of a chance to bug her.

The walk home gives Rina a chance to clear her mind. She has been almost overwhelmed in the past few weeks with thoughts of her far away kingdom and her boyfriend.

Enjoying the cool sea breeze she walks along the sandy shoreline towards her home. She arrives at the Pearl Piari a few minutes later and Nikora and Hippo greet her as she walks inside.

"Nikora-san, I'll be up in my room. Please call me when Masahiro gets here." The green haired mermaid states plainly before trudging her way up the stairs.

Nikora nods her head in acknowledgement and returns to the paperwork on the desk in front of her.

Once in her room, Rina flips on the TV and plops down onto her bed. A quick glance at the clock tells her that she has about an hour before her boyfriend will be there to pick her up. Rina feels her cheeks warm up as she thinks about Masahiro. Slowly her eyes close and she drifts off to sleep.

The sound of someone knocking on her door awakens the green pearl Princess. Groggily she glances over at the clock and is shocked to see that it's now just after six o'clock.

"Rina-chan, Masahiro-kun is here to pick you up." Nikora states from the other side of the door.

"Damn it!" She cursed almost silently. "Thank you Nikora-san. Please tell him that I'll be right down!"

"Sure, it's no problem." The magenta haired mermaid replies from the other side of the door.

Rina then goes about getting herself ready for Coco's party. After changing into a light green tee shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans she opens the door of her room and heads downstairs to meet Masahiro.

"Hi Rina-chan, are you ready to go?" He chirps happily, watching her descend the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Rina replies as she walks over to him. They say 'good-bye' before heading outside to Masahiro's motorcycle. They put their helmets on and Rina wraps her arms around Masahiro's waist as he puts the key in the ignition and begins driving. The ride takes about half an hour and soon they reach their destination. Masahiro parks the vehicle in the driveway and he and Rina walk up to the front door of the house and ring the doorbell. The door opens a few moments later.

"Hey you two, welcome!" Coco Chirps happily. "Come inside and make yourselves at home."

"Thank you Coco-chan." Masahiro replies as both he and Rina step inside the brightly decorated home.

"Hi! It's about time someone started to show up." Caren said. "I was starting to get bored."

"Well everyone should be here real soon!" Coco piped up. "I have some games and of course karaoke planned, so don't worry Caren, you won't be bored."

Several more knocks on the door announce the arrival of Hanon and Nagisa along with Lucia and Kaito.

As they relax and chat around the snack table and other round of people arrive. This time the door opens and reveals Seira and three of her friends.

"Hi Seira, who are your friends?" Coco asks curiously as she watches the two boys and one girl walk inside.

"This is Kai-kun and his sister Lyra-chan." Seira begins, pointing to two of her friends. "And this is Jason-kun, but he likes to be called Jace." She adds. "They are Americans. Their Dad is stationed here with the American Military."

"That's cool. Please come in and have fun!" Coco says with a big smile.

Both Jace and Lyra make their way over to the table filled with delicious looking snacks and cakes. Both take a plate and add several of the sweet cakes and cookies.

"Yum! These are awesome!" Lyra exclaims happily as she takes a bite out of one of the cakes, savoring the sweet chocolaty treat. Jace picks up a piece of the cake and tastes it, laughing with delight as it touches his tongue.

"Yeah, you're right! They rock!"

Meanwhile, Kai walks with Seira over to where Rina and Masahiro are standing.

"Rina-chan, Masahiro-kun, this is my friend Kai-kun. We are in the same class."

"It's nice to meet you." Masahiro replies happily, extending his hand to the young man.

Kai returns Masahiro's handshake.

"Seira-Chan's told me a lot about you." He says with a smile.

Masahiro smiles back at the youngster.

"Hey now that everyone is here I was thinking we could start some of the games!" Coco chirps happily into a megaphone. "Who wants to try some karaoke?" The yellow pearl Princess questions curiously.

"Rina-chan does!" Lucia shouts.

"What?! No thank you." The green pearl princess replies.

"Awww, come on Rina-chan." Caren snickers loudly.

Rina gives her an evil stare but reluctantly walks over to where Coco is standing. She picks up a microphone and selects Legend of Mermaid from the machines selection of songs. As the song begins Rina places the microphone to her lips and starts to sing.

"Nanairo no kaze ni fukarete tooi misaki wo mezashiteta

Yoake mae kikoeta MERODII

Sore wa totemo natsukashii uta

Higashi no sora he to habataku toritachi

Saa takarajima ni nukeru chikamichi

Nanatsu no umi no rakuen

Arashi no yoru no ato ni wa ai wo tsutaeru tame inochi ga mata umareru

Nanatsu no kuni no MERODIA

Daremo ga itsuka wa koko wo tabidatsu hi ga kitemo

Watashi wa wasurenai

Yukkuri to kumowanagareteniji no hate ni kieteitta

Hoshi tachi wa shinju no you ni

Tsuyoi hikari hanachi hajimeru

Minami no sora kara kikoeru kuchibue

Sou otona ni naru toki ga kiteita

Kiseki wo meguru bouken

Yasashii haha no negai wo mune ni idaki nagara daremo ga tabi wo shiteru

Hoshi furuyoru no FANTAJIA

Afureru namida to inori dare ni mo wakaranai

Mirai wo terashiteru

Nanatsu no umi no rakuen

Arashi no yoru no ato ni wa ai wo tsutaeru tame inochi ga mata umareru

Nanatsu no kuni no MERODIA

Daremo ga itsuka wa koko wo tabidatsu hi ga kitemo

Watashi wa wasurenai

Kiseki wo meguru bouken

Yasashii haha no negai wo mune ni idaki nagara daremo ga tabi wo shiteru

Hoshi furu yoru no FANTAJIA

Afureru namida to inori dare ni mo wakaranai

Mirai wo terashiteru"

Loud applauses resonate throughout the house as Rina finishes her version of one of the mermaid's favorite songs. Once the music stops an evil smile crosses the green pearl Princess's face. She looks directly at Lucia.

"It's your turn now Lucia-chan." She says, handing the microphone to the pink pearl Princess and walking over to where Masahiro and Noel are standing.

"You did a great job Rina-chan." Masahiro says happily.

"Thank you." Rina says, excusing herself as she heads over to the snack table to see what is there. About the time she gets there Lucia finishes her song and Seira decides to go next.

Rina grabs a plate and adds some cookies. She stops and turns around as the sound of Seira singing Beautiful Wish fills her ears. She watches intently as the orange pearl Mermaid Princess sings her trademark song flawlessly.

"She really has a pretty voice, don't you think?" Noel asks as she joins Rina at the snack table.

"Yeah, she sure does." Rina agrees before taking a bite out of one of the cookies on her plate.

"Hey Jace, come over here." Kai calls from the far side of the room.

The brown haired young boy walks over to see what his friend is so excited about. As he approaches, the strong smell of alcohol fills his nostrils.

"What's up Kai?" He asks, making eye contact with the blonde haired kid.

"Check it out, we're gonna spike the punch with this little bottle of Jack Daniels." Kai snickers.

"Umm…, do you think that's a good idea Kai-kun? Remember what happened the last time someone got drunk? I mean I didn't think the Pearl Piari would be the same again."

Kai grins back at the elder boy next to him.

"Seira will be fine. I'll just have to make sure she doesn't have too much that's all." He answers confidently.

Jace considers things for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

"Ah, what the hell! Why not?" He replies. "It will at least keep things interesting if nothing else."

"Exactly! Now help me get this over to the punch bowl without anyone seeing us." Kai says as he tucks the small glass bottle inside his shirt. Both boys try to act casual as they walk over to the large glass punch bowl.

"Hurry up and put it in." Jace says quietly.

"I'm working on it." Kai replies as he empties the alcoholic beverage into the fruity smelling punch and mixes everything up. Once the bottle is empty they quickly make their way over to the trash can and dispose of it. Snickering, they return to see Caren dipping her glass into the bowl.