Just for Fins (18 page)

Chapter 20

“M
iss Molina?”

She looks up from her desk to where I'm standing in the door to her classroom. She smiles. “Yes, Lily?”

I walk to the brown plastic chair next to her desk and sit. “So I've been thinking about what you said, about wishing you had done something more to stop your friends who burned that boat.”

“Yes,” she says, her eyes sad. “I've been thinking about that since we talked, too.”

“Well, I was wondering,” I say, tugging at the hem of my skirt. “You knew they were doing something wrong, and now you know how badly things turned out, right?'

“Yes, exactly.”

After my visit to Glacialis and learning what Dumontia's true purpose is in sabotaging human stuff, I thought I knew exactly what to do. I'd tell the other kings and queens what she was doing, and they would be just as outraged as I am.

But then, on the swim back and in the day since I got home, I started to worry. What if the other kings and queens
aren't
outraged? What if they think Dumontia's ends justify the means and that revealing ourselves to the human world is exactly what needs to be done?

Dumontia seems to think that's how they'll feel. If they were so quick to jump on the sabotage bandwagon, maybe they will think revelation is a good idea too.

Even if I think this is something we—as rulers and as mer people—might want to consider someday, I don't think this is the way to do it. Forcing the decision on all of merkind without discussion, without a vote. That's not right.

If that's the play, then maybe I have to do something more extreme to get the kings and queens to see reason.

I only have one chance to use Dumontia's secret plan to my advantage, one chance with the element of surprise. I need to use it well and wisely.

“If you had it to do over again,” I say, getting to the point of my presence, “would you tell the police? I mean, would you turn them in to keep them from getting into bigger trouble?”

Her brown eyes get a faraway look. “In a heartbeat.”

“That's what I thought,” I say, sighing with relief. “Thank you.”

“Lily,” she says, “I know you don't want to talk about the specifics of what's going on.” She smiles softly. “But if you are involved with people, or an organization, who are taking illegal action to achieve their goals, then maybe you should reconsider your involvement. You're still so young. I would hate to see you throw your future away because you got caught up in a cause.”

I can't help but laugh. I appreciate her concern, misplaced as it is. No, Miss Molina doesn't know the whole truth about what's going on—she can't—but if she did, she'd see that I'm trying to prevent that very thing from happening.

“I promise you, Miss Molina,” I say, bringing myself back to a serious place, “it's not like that at all.”

“If you're certain?”

“I wish I could tell you all about it,” I say, and am surprised that I actually mean it. If there was one human outside my circle of friends and family I would tell the truth to, then Miss Molina would be that person. She's smart and kind, and she cares about the oceans and the environment.

Even though I hope it doesn't happen the way Dumontia is trying to force, maybe one day I will be able to tell Miss Molina the truth about me.

“I understand, Lily,” she says, patting my knee. “You are entitled to your secrets. But if they ever get to be too much to bear alone . . .”

I grin at her. “You'll be the first.”

With a reassured certainty about my plan, I jump up and hurry out into the hall. I'm going to need everyone's help to make this happen, and I need to start tonight.

 

* * *

 

Doe and I are bent over stacks of kelpaper when Aunt Rachel gets home after work. She drops her bags on the bench by the door and walks over to the table.

“Another round of invitations?” she asks.

I nod. “Yes. I think I've figured out how to solve one of my problems. And if it goes well, it might solve them both.”

“Well, if you two are working that hard,” she says, “then it must be a pizza night. What kind would you girls like?”

“I don't care,” I say. “Anything is fine.”

Doe looks up from her careful calligraphy. “Pineapple and jalapeño, please.”

“What?” I ask, making a face.

She shrugs. “It reminds me of Laver's special sweet-and-spicy roll.”

I smile. I'd forgotten that was her favorite. “Okay, then I'll have that too.”

While Aunt Rachel calls the pizza place, I slide another seal-stamped kelpaper sheet across the table to Doe.

“Thanks for helping me again,” I say.

Doe shrugs, like it's whatever. “Brody had a family thing.”

“I'm going to grab a quick shower,” Aunt Rachel says, digging into her purse. “I'll leave the money here on the counter in case the pizza gets here before I'm done.”

“Okay,” I say, and then, when she's climbing the stairs, I return my attention to Doe. “Why do you always do that?”

She doesn't look up from her writing. “Do what?”

“Act like things are no big deal?” I stamp another sheet of kelpaper with squid ink. “It's okay to care, you know.”

She is still and silent for several long seconds before finally answering. “Sometimes, when you care, it hurts more.”

“But you
do
care,” I insist. “I can tell. You just act like you don't.”

“Well, I don't want to,” she whispers. “I'd rather be carefree and aloof than wind up crying in my bed every night. Once was enough.”

I take a shaky breath. I remember that one time all too well. She's talking about when her parents died. They were killed in a fishing-boat accident a few years ago, and I know Doe took it really hard. Who wouldn't? She didn't leave her room for weeks. It was months before she started attending palace events again. She was a different mergirl after that.

I always knew that was why she acted out, why she rebelled against Daddy and Uncle Portunus and anyone who tried to rein her in with rules and regulations.

I just never thought she was
trying
not to care. I thought she really didn't.

“Doe,” I say quietly, “not caring won't protect you from pain. You can't stop yourself from—”

“I know, okay?” she snaps, accidentally scratching her quill across the half-finished invitation. “Damselfish.” She sets the quill down and takes a deep breath. “I know I can't not care about stuff. About people. I screwed up that plan when I fell for Brody.”

“So why?” I ask. “Why do you keep acting like that?”

“I don't know,” she answers. “Habit, maybe? I've been pretending things didn't matter for so long, I guess it's hard to start accepting that they do.”

She looks up at me, half a smile in place.

“I'm trying,” she says.

“You're doing great,” I insist. “It'll probably take some practice, is all.”

“Well, I'm getting plenty of that.” She gestures at the invitations in process, scattered over the table. “Between you and Brody and saving the mer world from itself
and
humans, I'm learning a lot about caring.”

“Yeah, you—” I jerk back, realizing what she just said. “Wait, did you just say you cared about me?”

Her eyes widen, and she looks like she wants to deny it. Then, realizing she can't take it back, she sighs. “Yes. I suppose I did.”

“Doe!” I squeal.

Jumping up from my chair, I rush around the table and pull her into a big hug.

“You love me,” I blurt. “Admit it!”

She sighs again. Then, reluctantly, she lifts her arms and returns my hug. “Yes,” she whispers, like she's afraid someone will overhear. “I love you.”

I squeeze her tighter. “I love you too, cousin.”

Lord love a lobster, if someone told me just a few weeks ago that Doe and I would be hugging and exchanging I-love-yous over Aunt Rachel's kitchen table, I'd have told them to stop eating the fermented sea urchin.

Prithi meows from under the table.

“And we love you, Prithi,” I say, scooping the cat up into my arms. She gives me a look that says “Die, half-human!” and then strains for Doe.

“Good news?” Aunt Rachel asks, rubbing a towel over her wet hair as she walks back into the kitchen.

Doe blushes as she takes the cat from me.

I don't want to push her too hard into the direction of publicly admitting to caring about anything, so I save her the embarrassment by saying, “Just . . . cousin stuff.”

Aunt Rachel smiles, like that answer tells her everything she needs to know. She reads people really well, so she probably knows exactly what I mean.

“You girls almost done?” she asks. “The pizza should be here any—”

The doorbell rings.

“Ah, there it is.” Aunt Rachel grabs the money off the counter.

“We're almost done,” I say. “Just a couple more.”

I reach for the green kelpaper and start on the two personal messages I want to send.

“Finish up and meet me in the living room,” she says. “We can watch TV while we gorge.”

Doe goes back to writing the text of the invitation. I compose my letters, still amazed at the change in Doe recently. Part of it, I know, is her growing up. But another part of it is her feelings for Brody. Loving him—and getting over her hate for humans—is making her a better mergirl.

“I never thought I'd say this,” I say, “but I'm really glad you kissed Brody.”

She looks up and scowls at me, like maybe I'm going nuts. Maybe I am.

“I'm just getting sentimental in my old age,” I tell her. “Watch out, because soon I'll be crying in my cereal every morning. And now that you've started caring about things, you're next.”

The horrified look on her face is a joke. Mostly. But I know I'm right. Because once you start caring about something, it gets harder and harder to stop.

Chapter 21

T
he stench of chlorine in the air makes me choke a little as I emerge from the locker room. They must have treated the pool really recently.

I shake off the discomfort. A little allergic reaction is a small price to pay if my plan works.

“You're sure you want to do this?” Brody asks. He waves the video camera at me.

“Yes,” I say, feeling more certain than maybe I should.

Shannen juggles the pieces of poster board that contain the words of the speech we wrote together.

I tug the beach towel tighter around my chest. I feel like this is the right thing to do, but it goes against every secrecy instinct I've been taught since birth.

Of course, that's what I'm counting on. That I'm not the only one who will feel this way, that every other mer king and queen—except Dumontia, apparently—has the same instinct.

“You're sure you don't want me in the shot too?” Doe asks.

“No,” I say. “You're living on land now. I don't want you exposed if this all goes wrong. Besides . . .” I turn to the mergirls on either side of me. “I've got all the help I need.”

Peri nods, her chestnut hair falling in silken waves over her shoulders. She tends to keep to the oceans, so I'm really glad she came.

“We're glad we can help, Princess,” Astria says.

“Glad,” Piper echoes.

Venus gives me a thumbs-up.

I smile at them, amazed that Astria actually came through on her promise to help. I guess she realized that the environmental problems facing the mer world are serious enough for her to set aside her childish behavior. Change is definitely in the water lately, and I'll take what I can get.

I laugh a little too, because Piper and Venus have also dyed the ends of their hair. Piper's is bubble-gum pink while Venus's is bright purple. Guess I've started a trend.

Doe goes to sit with Quince in the bleachers overlooking the pool. Luckily, Coach Hill gave Brody keys to the natatorium so he could work in a few extra practices. That means we were able to get inside late at night, when no one else is here.

I reach under the beach towel and push down my skirt, leaving me in a tank top and finkini bottom behind the terry-cloth wrap. My legs shake as I bend down to pick up my skirt and throw it out of the shot.

“Okay, Lil,” Brody says, punching buttons on the video camera. “I'm close in on you. Ready whenever you are.”

Shannen holds up the cue cards.

I take a deep breath, force my hands to my sides, and smile.

The red light comes on. The camera is rolling.

“Hi, I'm Lily Sanderson,” I say to the lens, my voice quivering with nerves. “I am a student at Seaview High School in Seaview, Florida. And my friends and I have a secret.”

Shannen flips to the next card.

Brody pushes a button, and I hear the whir of the zoom as he backs out to get all of me in the shot. I reach up and grab the towel, pulling it away and revealing my swim-ready outfit underneath. And farther still to get the other girls.

Then, with a nod at Brody to make sure he's ready, I turn and dive into the pool. Beside me, Peri and the terrible trio—I guess I'll have to give them a new nickname now—do the same. I transfigure as I arc through the air, and my finkini turns into a full-on tailfin. As I slip into the water, eyes closed and breath held so I don't get too much chlorine exposure, I make sure to give my tailfin an extra wave for the camera.

I loop around underwater, turning back to the pool's edge, and pop up right at the wall. Bracing my crossed arms on the concrete edge, I kick gently below water to keep me level enough to meet the camera lens.

The other girls pop up next to me. We must make quite a picture.

Shannen holds up the next part of the speech.

“Yes,” I say, ignoring the sting of chlorine on my skin, “I am a mermaid.”

With one extrapowerful kick, I launch myself up onto the edge of the pool. Sitting on one hip, still flanked by my girls in the water, I arrange my tailfin so it spreads out next to me.

“And we aren't the only ones,” I say, hurrying to the rest of my speech so the girls can get out of the pool and we can go rinse off the chlorinated water.

Shannen scrambles to keep up with my pace.

“There are hundreds of thousands of merfolk in the world's waters. We have lived in secret for millennia, but now”—I give the camera an extrabrilliant smile—“our secret is out. You might be wondering
why
I've decided to reveal my people's existence. It wasn't an easy decision. But when I learned that some merfolk, motivated by the environmental changes affecting our oceans, wanted to exact revenge by sabotaging human ships, drilling platforms, and tourist destinations . . . well, I couldn't just sit by and do nothing. I hope that by telling you, mankind, about our existence, lives will be saved.”

Shannen flips to the final card.

I ignore it.

My smile wavers, and I go off script. “I also hope that together we will be able to find solutions to the changes affecting both of our worlds. We all need to work together.”

I hold my look at the camera until Brody says, “Cut.”

The four girls in the pool pop out onto the deck, shedding their tailfins in the process.

I shiver as I transfigure back into legs and a finkini. My exposure to the heavily chlorinated water was brief, but I can still see my skin turning red from the toxic contact. The other girls must be far worse.

“Let's go rinse off,” I say to them. “We'll be right back.”

As we stand under the streaming water, I only hope I'm doing the right thing. At least I'm not doing it alone.

“Thank you,” I say to the girls. “For swimming all this way and agreeing to be a part of this crazy plan.”

“The changing oceans affect us too,” Astria says.

Venus adds, “We're glad to help in any way we can.”

Piper seems to be enjoying the scalding-hot water too much to parrot her friends.

Peri gives me a look that says, “Did I wake up in Opposite World?”

I shrug and smile. I'm not going to question this change for the better.

When we return to the pool area, Quince and Doe are huddled around the camera as Brody shows them the video.

“Did it turn out okay?” I ask.

Brody says, “Yeah, great.”

Doe gives me a sad look. “You're sure this is going to work?”

“Sure?” I repeat. “No. But I think it will.”

“I wish I could be there to see their faces,” she says. “I bet Uncle Whelk has a coronary.”

“I hope not.” I wring out my dripping hair into the pool. “It'll be better if you're not around.”

“I know,” she says.

“I'll tell you all about it,” I promise.

“If you don't need us anymore, Princess,” Astria says, “then we should be getting home.”

“No, you've done more than enough,” I reply.

Maybe I didn't really
need
them to be part of the video, but it made me feel better to do this with backup. And hopefully it will have a lot more impact with several of us revealing our mer selves at once.

“I'll get going too,” Peri says. “We can swim home together.”

I watch in awe as Peri and the . . . not-so-terrible trio walk to the door. Together.

“Good luck,” Peri calls out as they head into the night. “Let me know how it goes.”

“Thank you,” I shout after her. “I will.”

I sigh and turn back to Doe, Brody, and Quince.

“You're all ready for your meeting, then?” Quince asks.

“I guess so.”

“So how about we take a quick ride down the coast?” he suggests. “It'll clear your head.”

“That,” I say, stepping close and wrapping my arms around his neck, “is a spectacular idea.”

“I'll get the video processed and ready to go,” Brody says. “I'll leave it on a jump drive for you.”

“Thanks, Brody,” I say. “It means a lot.”

“No problem,” he says with that curving smile that used to make me swoon.

Doe walks to his side and slips an arm around his waist.

“Everything will go great,” she says. “I just know it.”

“Thanks,” I say, not sure how to handle her compliment.

“Besides,” she says with a little of that old Doe attitude, “if you screw up, we can always run away to Antillenes. I hear they have no extradition to other kingdoms.”

I laugh as I let Quince lead me out into the night. He climbs onto his bike and I take the spot behind him. For a little while, I can forget about all the pressures of tomorrow's council meeting. For tonight, it can just be about me and Quince.