In search of the novel: The Mermaid I want to protect

The title in itself made you think it was fantasy, but hearing from my superiors so much about that novel intrigued me more and more, while I was thinking what I could do a curious friend pulled me out of my bubble

Claudia: Cassandra, be careful with the wall.

Casandra: What wall? -hit- oh how it hurts- -touching my forehead-.

Claudia: -run to the sound of this- I think I should be quicker to say it, I'm sorry Casandra, but... What's wrong, you're never that clueless.

The good thing about our school was that there was an infirmary nearby and after helping me to check the blow, the nurse just looked at me and while smiling she said

Pamela: relax, nothing serious happened, this pill is for the headache, then you will apply this cream at night to make the bruise disappear - handing me first the pill and a glass of water and leaving the cream next to me-.

Casandra: Thank you, Miss Pamela.

After taking the pill I went to Claudia and I asked her in a very direct way

Casandra: Have you ever felt that your parents are extreme or very overprotective? -I stare at her-.

Claudia: No, in fact my parents are very flexible, of course they take care of me and watch over me, but... they respect my personal space, did something bad happen?

Casandra: I think my parents are overprotective, they don't let me do almost anything, guards everywhere -sigh- that makes me tired.

She raises an eyebrow as a sign that she doesn't see anything extremist and while she sighs she explains to me that I'm misunderstanding and that my parents are not like that, it's true that they take care of me, but they respect my decisions and my space to do other activities apart from fencing, I can go out with my friends, go to their houses and they can come to mine.

When she explained to me I understood some things but... another question came to my mind, why the guards, they understood the activities for 2 good points, the first one was to be able to defend ourselves and the second one was to be able to choose a career from those activities, although we could choose something different, that's when I unconsciously said

Casandra: By any chance, have you read the novel The Mermaid I want to protect? -curious look-

As we went back to the living room and she explained that she also wanted to read it, a voice of our superior and sister of a friend of mine said

Margaret: I'm sorry to be nosy, but I heard your talk and I have the book, are you going to read it? -serious-

Cassandra: -nervous smile- as you think, Miss Margaret, is that my... brother, that's it, my brother wanted to read it but because he is busy with the University he has not been able to.

Claudia was about to speak and before she ruined my lie I looked at her with a gesture of *please, friend... cover for me*, Claudia only nodded and to justify my lie she commented that my brother decided to tell me that he was shy to ask a friend of his, they thought that because of that he would be called fanciful and since he was well read among more women than men that's why he asked me for the favor.

So much was my astonishment that I almost fell for that lie myself and I scored an own goal, so I calmed my face and while Margaret understood that, she agreed to lend the novel to my brother.