I arrive at Layla’s house and knock. She opens the door and lets me in.

“So is there a reason you wanted to come here?” she asks.

“Yes! I want to tell you something,” I say a little louder than I meant to.

“Okay then, tell me!”

“Alright. I went to the beach and I didn’t see anything unusual so I thought that maybe we’ve been looking in the wrong place. So I went in the water-”

“What? Why? That’s not safe!” Layla shouts. She seems worried but she also seems mad. Maybe this was a bad idea.

“I know! But I didn’t get hurt or anything like that! And I saw something!” I decide not to tell her how deep I went. I don’t want her to get more mad.

“What did you see?” She sounds a little irritated. I’m not sure why she’s in such a bad mood. She’s a little scary like this.

“I saw...” I pause for a second and question whether I should continue or not. “A mermaid,” My voice gets quieter at that part. Layla looks at me as if it were a joke. She even laughs a bit. I feel stupid for thinking I saw a mermaid.

“A mermaid? You know those don’t exist right?” She says as she laughs even more.

“I know it’s stupid but I saw one!” I yell at her.

“How can you see a myth?!” She yells back. I feel anger building up.

“You’re my best friend! You’re supposed to believe me, not make fun of me!”

“How am I supposed to believe you if what you’re saying makes no sense!”

I start to cry. She’s really mad. She doesn’t believe me. It’s like she doesn’t even want to be my friend. I run to the door and open it. I want to go home. I look behind me. She isn’t running after me. She doesn’t try to stop me or catch up to me. Layla really does hate me.