Cassie Williams has always been intrigued by superstitions. But when she finds out about women turning into sirens after being pushed off boats, she couldn't help but want to go out on the sea and learn more about the superstition on her own.

With the help of Daxton Edwards, one of her teachers, Cassie books passage on a merchants boat passing through the Panama Canal to learn all she can about this superstition.

But what happens when she finds out the captain believes in the superstition?

What happens when he pushes her off the boat?

What happens when all she wants to do it kill the crew to appease her death?

What happens when Daxton is the only man left standing?

“There once was an old legend among sailors that said having a woman aboard a ship was nothing but bad luck. If there were any women aboard the ship the gods would be angered. They would make the ships passage near impossible by sending storms to try and capsize the boat. It was thought that the only way that you could gain the gods forgiveness was to throw any woman aboard the ship overboard. The gods would see it as an offering and settle the seas to make for a smooth passage,” Professor Daxton Edwards said to the board looking students filling his lector room. After a moment of silence to let the students quickly scribble down notes Daxton clicked the only button on the remote in his right hand and moved forward on his power point.

After a quick glance over his shoulder to see a picture of a woman dressed to look as though she was a sailor he continued on. “Some women would go as far as to disguise themselves as men in hopes that they could complete passage across the seas. Some women were probably lucky enough to make it overseas, but in most reports women were eventually caught once the waves got too rough and were then thrown overboard,” he said as he clicked his remote again and ended the slideshow. “Now unfortunately that is all I have for today. I want you guys to have a three hundred word paper on what you think of this legend ready for discussion next class period,” he called out as all his students quickly started shoving their books and computers back into their bags.

Professor Edwards couldn’t help but laugh at how badly his students wanted to start their weekend. He wanted to get his weekend started too, but thankfully he was a lot better at hiding it.

Once the classroom was mostly cleared out Daxton started cleaning up his own things; starting with the papers he had scattered across his desk. With all his papers safely put away, Daxton reached over and turned off his computer and projector before looking up and seeing a student, a young girl with bright red hair still sitting in her seat in the front row.

“Did you not hear me Miss Williams? Class is dismissed for the week,” he said as he reached over for one last piece of paper that he needed to put in his briefcase before he closed the lid.

“Yes, I did. But I wanted to stay behind and pick your brain a little bit, that is if you have the time,” Cassie Williams said as she got up from her seat and made her way over to where Daxton stood behind his desk.

“I don’t have much time. I can only give you a few minutes,” he said as he glanced down at the watch on his left wrist.

After she was given the go ahead, Cassie didn’t hesitate before she got started on her questioning. “Do people still believe in this legend? Do people still practice this legend? How many women have been thrown overboard over the years?”

"Maybe using the word legend in my lecture was a bit far-fetched. It’s more of a superstition. It’s sort of like Big Foot; if people want to believe in it they can; if they don’t believe it, they don’t. Also I haven’t heard too many stories of women being thrown overboard lately, so I’m going to have to say no, this isn’t a superstition that is currently being followed. Now if you’ll excuse me,” he said as he reached forward and picked up his briefcase before starting to make his way out the door. Unlike his students who had parties tonight to look forward to, he needed to get all his papers graded so that he could finally relax.

Seeing her professor trying to make a break for it Cassie quickly grabbed her bag off the desk she had been using that day and ran ahead of her teacher to block his only path out the door. She had more questions that she wanted answered and she didn’t want him to leave until she got all her answers.

“Was there more to this superstition than what you told us in class?”

“Let me guess, you’re currently majoring in journalism,” he asked with a laugh.

“How did you know?” she asked with a smile as she tilted her head to the side in an innocent and childlike way.

“Just a lucky guess,” Daxton said as he tried to stop himself from acting like his students and roll his eyes. “It was said that once a women was pushed overboard, they could become a siren and try to lure the men who killed them into the sea with them as revenge.”

“Seriously? They turned into killer sirens? It’s that a bit morbid?”

“That’s just how the story goes. Now if you will excuse me,” he said as he went to walk around his student. Once he was fully around Cassie and could easily make it out the door without being stopped again, he quickened his pace so that if Cassie tried to ask another question he would already be out the door.

Once Daxton was finally outside and looking at his car he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. With a smile on his face he reached forward and opened the back door of his car to put his briefcase inside. Slamming his back door shut Daxton groaned as he heard someone, Cassie to be exact, yelling his name.

“I know you probably want to get on with your weekend, but I just have one more question to ask you,” she said hesitantly as she made her way over to the professors car.

Finally giving into temptation Daxton rolled his eyes before turning around and facing his student. After a few moments of silence Daxton realized she was waiting for his okay to ask her question, so he quickly raised his hand and motioned for her to continue.

“Was there any way to save a woman whom had become a siren? Was there any way to make the woman human again?”

“I don’t really know,” he said honestly. “The legend is about women getting thrown overboard and turning into sirens. I’ve never heard anything about sirens turning back into women again.”

“Do you think that there is a way to turn a siren human again?”

“Miss Williams, it’s a silly little superstition. It’s not real. So it really doesn’t matter what I think. Now if you’ll excuse me,” he said as he pulled his car door open and quickly climbed inside, slamming the door shut before Cassie could object.

As she watched her professor pull out of the parking lot Cassie couldn’t help but sigh. All she wanted was more information about sirens, and she really didn’t want to wait until next week Friday to ask her questions.

"There once was an old legend among sailors that said having a woman aboard a ship was nothing but bad luck. If there were any women aboard the ship the gods would be angered. They would make the ships passage near impossible by sending storms to try and capsize the boat. It was thought that the only way that you could gain the gods forgiveness was to throw any woman aboard the ship overboard. The gods would see it as an offering and settle the seas to make for a smooth passage," Professor Daxton Edwards said to the board looking students filling his lector room. After a moment of silence to let the students quickly scribble down notes Daxton clicked the only button on the remote in his right hand and moved forward on his power point.

After a quick glance over his shoulder to see a picture of a woman dressed to look as though she was a sailor he continued on. "Some women would go as far as to disguise themselves as men in hopes that they could complete passage across the seas. Some women were probably lucky enough to make it overseas, but in most reports women were eventually caught once the waves got too rough and were then thrown overboard," he said as he clicked his remote again and ended the slideshow. "Now unfortunately that is all I have for today. I want you guys to have a three hundred word paper on what you think of this legend ready for discussion next class period," he called out as all his students quickly started shoving their books and computers back into their bags.

Professor Edwards couldn't help but laugh at how badly his students wanted to start their weekend. He wanted to get his weekend started too, but thankfully he was a lot better at hiding it.

Once the classroom was mostly cleared out Daxton started cleaning up his own things; starting with the papers he had scattered across his desk. With all his papers safely put away, Daxton reached over and turned off his computer and projector before looking up and seeing a student, a young girl with bright red hair still sitting in her seat in the front row.

"Did you not hear me Miss Williams? Class is dismissed for the week," he said as he reached over for one last piece of paper that he needed to put in his briefcase before he closed the lid.

"Yes, I did. But I wanted to stay behind and pick your brain a little bit, that is if you have the time," Cassie Williams said as she got up from her seat and made her way over to where Daxton stood behind his desk.

"I don't have much time. I can only give you a few minutes," he said as he glanced down at the watch on his left wrist.

After she was given the go ahead, Cassie didn't hesitate before she got started on her questioning. "Do people still believe in this legend? Do people still practice this legend? How many women have been thrown overboard over the years?"

"Maybe using the word legend in my lecture was a bit far-fetched. It's more of a superstition. It's sort of like Big Foot; if people want to believe in it they can; if they don't believe it, they don't. Also I haven't heard too many stories of women being thrown overboard lately, so I'm going to have to say no, this isn't a superstition that is currently being followed. Now if you'll excuse me," he said as he reached forward and picked up his briefcase before starting to make his way out the door. Unlike his students who had parties tonight to look forward to, he needed to get all his papers graded so that he could finally relax.

Seeing her professor trying to make a break for it Cassie quickly grabbed her bag off the desk she had been using that day and ran ahead of her teacher to block his only path out the door. She had more questions that she wanted answered and she didn't want him to leave until she got all her answers.

"Was there more to this superstition than what you told us in class?"

"Let me guess, you're currently majoring in journalism," he asked with a laugh.

"How did you know?" she asked with a smile as she tilted her head to the side in an innocent and childlike way.

"Just a lucky guess," Daxton said as he tried to stop himself from acting like his students and roll his eyes. "It was said that once a women was pushed overboard, they could become a siren and try to lure the men who killed them into the sea with them as revenge."

"Seriously? They turned into killer sirens? It's that a bit morbid?"

"That's just how the story goes. Now if you will excuse me," he said as he went to walk around his student. Once he was fully around Cassie and could easily make it out the door without being stopped again, he quickened his pace so that if Cassie tried to ask another question he would already be out the door.

Once Daxton was finally outside and looking at his car he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. With a smile on his face he reached forward and opened the back door of his car to put his briefcase inside. Slamming his back door shut Daxton groaned as he heard someone, Cassie to be exact, yelling his name.

"I know you probably want to get on with your weekend, but I just have one more question to ask you," she said hesitantly as she made her way over to the professors car.

Finally giving into temptation Daxton rolled his eyes before turning around and facing his student. After a few moments of silence Daxton realized she was waiting for his okay to ask her question, so he quickly raised his hand and motioned for her to continue.

"Was there any way to save a woman whom had become a siren? Was there any way to make the woman human again?"

"I don't really know," he said honestly. "The legend is about women getting thrown overboard and turning into sirens. I've never heard anything about sirens turning back into women again."

"Do you think that there is a way to turn a siren human again?"

"Miss Williams, it's a silly little superstition. It's not real. So it really doesn't matter what I think. Now if you'll excuse me," he said as he pulled his car door open and quickly climbed inside, slamming the door shut before Cassie could object.

As she watched her professor pull out of the parking lot Cassie couldn't help but sigh. All she wanted was more information about sirens, and she really didn't want to wait until next week Friday to ask her questions.

"I see you've taken to harassing Professor Edwards this week," Peter Hawkings, her best friend since kindergarten said as he walked up behind Cassie with a smile on his lips.

"I'm not harassing him. I'm just doing what any good reporter would do and asking lots of questions to get all the information I can," she said that matter of fact tone in her voice as she finally put her bag over her shoulder correctly.

"That may be how you see it, but us normal people call it harassment."

"Aren't you supposed to be in class still?" she asked wanting nothing more than to change the topic of discussion.

"My professor got sick mid lecture," Peter said with a shrug. "I figured that once you were done harassing your teachers we could go grab some pizza or something."

"I wasn't harassing him," Cassie said with a pout, knowing that Peter always gave in when she started pouting.

"I'm pretty sure chasing a man through the parking lot to his car is considered harassment." Well normally he gave in at the sight of her pouts.

"How about Thai food instead?" she asked trying her best to get the subject officially changed.

"Only if we go to the one right off campus," Peter said as he grabbed Cassie's arm and started leading her out of the parking lot and towards the small walking trail that would lead them to Thai food.