​I awoke that morning to the beeping of an alarm clock. An alarm clock? Today’s the first day of 7th grade!
​I had just turned 13 over the summer. My mom and I had gone shopping during the last two weeks of July. I got a new pair of running sneakers, a bathing suit and a pair of goggles.
​I turned off my alarm and rolled out of bed. I pulled on a pair of Hollister jeans and an Aero t-shirt. I grabbed a pair of socks and trudged to the kitchen.
​My backpack was slung on the back of the chair with my shoes under it. My thin brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. I rubbed the sleepiness out of my hazel eyes. My mom was in a robe and slippers that morning.
​“Morning,” my mother tiredly told me. She set a plate with bacon and waffles in front of me.
​“Good morning to you too! I can’t wait for school today!” I said excitedly.
​As I ate my breakfast, I went through my backpack to make sure I had everything for school. Bathing suit, check. Swim cap, check. Goggles, check. Lunch, check. Notebook, check. Folders, check. Pencils and pens, check. I was ready for school.
​I had to bike to school on my old blue bike. The ride was one and a half miles from the dock that held my boat house. The ride was sort of long but nice for exercise.
​When I got to school I recognized one person, Althea. We were kind of friends last year but I wasn’t sure if we still were. She was at least two inches taller than me, had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a deep tan.
​I set my bike on the rack and locked the chain. Then I started walking over to say, “Hi.” My small thin legs froze up on me. I couldn’t move. I was so nervous to say hello to someone I knew? Althea was already inside when I could finally move.
​I slung by back pack over my shoulder and hurried inside. I ran up two flights of stairs, turned left and found our room.
​The room was huge and filled with kids. They were all taller than me by at least two or three inches. Then I saw Althea of all people in my class. I walked over calmly and greeted her.
​“Hi, Althea. Do you remember me? Coral Seabreeze? We were best friends last year?” I asked in a hoarse voice.
​“Coral! Oh my God! I haven’t seen you since last year!” she nearly shouted.
​“You remember me? Oh, I’m so happy! You should come over to the boat after school.”
​“The boat? Oh right, your house boat. Totally, it would be awesome. We could go swimming!”
​“Alright class. Take your seats please!” Mrs. Lindberg shouted over the class. Mrs. Lindberg had dark, wavy red hair that flowed over her shoulders like the waves on the sand. She was a tall and sturdily built person.
​As we took our seats, I noticed Althea making her way into the seat next to mine. She whispered something in the kid’s ear currently occupying it and he moved over.
​“Hey Coral,” she said casually. “Looks like we get to sit next to each other.”
​Mrs. Lindberg passed out everyone’s schedules. Mine looked like this:

7:30 – 8:00 Homeroom
8:00 – 9:00 Reading
9:00 – 9:30 Gym
9:30 – 10:15 ELA
10:15 – 11:30 Science
11:30 – 12:00 Lunch
12:00 – 1:00 Social Studies
1:00 – 2:00 Swimming
2:00 – 2:30 Art
2:30 Dismissal
​Althea let me look at her schedule and it was the same as mine! Mrs. Lindberg told us that today were just going to learn where the classes are, who the teachers were, the rules, have lunch, get our lockers and go home.
​“You are going to have partners today so you don’t get lost. Now listen carefully!” Mrs. Lindberg began rattling off names. I caught my name and I was with…Althea!!
​I looked over and I could clearly see that she was excited. She was wearing a goofy smile and her eyes sparkled with joy.
​“Please get with your partners. We are going to use the buddy system, so don’t switch partners!” Mrs. Lindberg warned. There were groans throughout the group.
​We lined up in two lines–one side for each partner. Althea and I held hands as we both thought we would get lost. We met the following teachers:

Reading: Mrs. Henry
Gym: Mr. Best
ELA: Mrs. Shakespeare
Math: Mr. Quintus
Science: Mrs. Smith
Social Studies: Mr. Bartolotta
Swimming: Mr. Blue
Art: Mrs. Picasso
And the Principal, Mrs. Brownie
​“Now class, please follow me. We’re going back to the classroom to retrieve our lunches,” Mrs. Lindberg told us.
​On the way back to the classroom, through the endless maze of hallways, Althea and I talked back and forth.
​“Hey Althea,” I started, “Do you want to ride our bikes to the boat after school? We could go swimming in the ocean.”
​“Definitely! Coral, you’re as awesome as you were last year. This is going to be the best year ever!” She nearly shouted in reply.
​“Girls, quiet down please. Classes are working right now,” Mrs. Lindberg warned us.
​When we got back to the classroom everyone grabbed their lunch and lined back up. This time we walked single file to the cafeteria for lunch. Althea was walking right behind me with her purple polka dot lunch box.
​“You can sit wherever you want with whomever you want,” the teacher announced.
​My mom had packed me a peanut butter and fluff sandwich, a bottle of water, chocolate chip cookies, and fruit snacks. Althea had a salami sandwich, a bottle of water, peanut butter cookies, and a bag of potato chips. We sat down and dumped out our lunch boxes. I took my sandwich out of the baggie and took a big bite. Mmmmm peanut butter and fluff yumminess. Althea did the same.
​“Mmmmm, this is the best salami sandwich! My mom’s the best!” Althea shouted. Everyone looked over at us. Mrs. Lindberg put a finger to her lips.
​“Althea, I think we need to quiet down. This is the second time she’s done that,” I whispered to her.
​“Ok sorry. Just a little bit excited about seeing you again,” She said sadly. The rest of lunch we talked quietly to each other.
​“Now class, the principal is coming to tell you about swimming class and for a surprise letting you go swimming for the rest of the day!” Mrs. Lindberg happily told us. When we got back to the classroom everyone got out their goggles, bathing suits, and swim caps. There was a sharp rapping at the door. Mrs. Lindberg opened it and Mrs. Brownie walked in.
She’s … hmm, how do you put it? Short and thick with short, thick brown hair and brown eyes that could melt chocolate! She had on black flats and an elegant blue dress with ruffles around the neck. She had a kind face and looked like a baker crossed with a mom.
​“Good morning children. Enjoying your first day of school?” She questioned us. A dozen of us answered with halfhearted yeses.
​“Good, now listen carefully. Before you go in the pool you must put on your bathing suits in the locker rooms. Then put on your swim cap if you have one. After that rinse off in the showers and grab your goggles. Then have fun. Now go!” She instructed us. Everyone swarmed towards the doors like bees to honey. That's when it got interesting.

​Everyone raced to the changing rooms so they could get in the pool. Althea met me by the showers after she got dressed. She was wearing a navy blue swim suit with white polkas dots. On her head, hiding her hair, she wore a white swim cap and blue goggles.
​I had on a purple bikini with a little bit of fabric covering my stomach. I had a pink swim cap and purple goggles to match my bathing suit. We both jumped in the showers and hurried out.
​The first thing that surprised me was the hugeness of the pool. The second thing was the smell. Chlorine overpowered my nose and nearly gave me a headache.
​I sat down and waited for Mr. Blue to give directions. He was a big guy. Mr. Blue had short cut hair and a bristly beard. He was very muscular.
​“Now listen. The rules are simple. You can jump in the deep end. No splashing. Don’t drown yourself or other people. Now go!” he shouted. Everyone ran and jumped in the pool.
​Althea looked over at me because we were the only ones who hadn’t gotten in the pool. I walked over to her with a fast pace.
​“Let’s go and in. In the shallow end of course,” She said nervously.
“Of course. Have you ever been swimming before?”
“No, have you? I mean you live on a boat.”
​“No, let’s go.”
​“Ok.” We both walked to the edge of the pool. I pulled on goggles and jumped in. I held my breath and started to swim.
​It came so naturally to me. I just kicked my legs and Althea was right next to me. Then we both stopped. My legs began to freeze up. We both hurried over to the side of the pool.
​“Althea is it just me or did our legs freeze up?” I asked.
​“Yeah, no wonder my mom never let me go swimming,” She countered.
​“Let’s go swimming after school to see what happened.”
​The rest of the day flew by as we awaited the end of the day. When the final bell finally rang we raced to our bikes. We both wanted to get to the docks quickly. When we got there I raced to my room and changed into my bathing suit.
​When we were both were changed and had on our flip-flops we hurried out to the water. I took off my flops and put my feet in and Althea did the same. Nothing seemed to happen at first. Then my feet seemed to sparkle. I lowered my legs in up to my knees then my legs began to pull together and become scaly. When I lifted myself entirely into the water and lay on my back I had a tail.
​My tail was a violet purple with shimmers of blues and reds. My top had stayed the same though. When I looked at my reflection my eyes were pure aquamarine with flecks of purple.
​Althea had also gotten in the water all the way. Her tail was navy blue with specks of white shining in the sun. Her top had also stayed the same.
​“A tail? Out of all things I’m a mermaid?” She asked perplexed by how she had a tail.
​“What’ s wrong with a tail?” a feminine voice asked. A figure rose above the water. She had deep black brown hair that was thick and poofy. The girl had chocolate brown skin and a violet tail like mine. Her eyes shown with a purple light. She had a blue shell top on.
​“Hi my name is Sadye Gills, I’m a mermaid like you two,” she told us. We were already back on the dock our legs and toes changing back from being a tail.
​“Ok, so human slash mermaids? Well, I can show you a little bit about being a mermaid and tell you a little bit about it too,” Sadye politely told us. We nodded our heads in response and got back in. As our tails reformed, she told us that we can breathe and see underwater. I took off my goggles and my swim cap and Althea gasped.
​My dark, brown hair was pink with purple streaks. Althea had taken her cap off as well. Her hair was navy blue with white highlights. Sadye looked at us and nodded her head like we had passed a test.
​“Althea, your hair is blue and white and so are your eyes!” I yelled. She looked at her reflection and screamed. Althea jumped on the dock and her eyes and hair turned back to normal. Then her legs came back again. I swam over to the edge of the dock and coaxed her back into the water. The color rushed back into her hair and her eyes.
​“Now Althea, Coral, follow me. I have something to show you guys,” Sadye said slyly. We jumped under and we found we could breathe. Sadye lead us deeper then I knew that someone could go. There was a faint light in front of us that kept getting brighter the farther we swam. As soon as I could tell what it was I gasped.
​It was an entire city made out of coral formations and sea rocks. The light came from the many street lights and shops in the city. There were so many mermaids and seahorses in the city I couldn’t believe. There were merchildren, mermen, and mermaids shopping. Sadye lead us around the edge of the city, through a dimly lit tunnel, and to a small house.
​Before we went in Sadye whispered to us to keep quiet because she was babysitting. When we came in three little merbabies with little green tails and blond hair were laying in a crib in the middle of the room. Sadye lead us into another room and turned on a light. There was a small table with three chairs in the room. Althea and Sadye sat in two of the chairs. On the table there were little cakes and cups of tea.
​“How does the tea stay in the cups?” I asked curiously.
​“Easy. I put a water proof seal on but you can still drink the tea with it on!” Sadye proclaimed. I picked up my cup and took a sip. Warm and sweet, just like my mom liked to make.
​“Althea we have to get home! It’s almost time for dinner at my house!” I shouted. Sadye had an upset look on her face. She got up and swam to the door.
​“Come on I’ll take you home. Can you come back tomorrow though?” She pleaded. I looked over at Althea, she nodded in response.
​“Sadye we promise to come back tomorrow if you show us the city,” I bartered. She nodded rapidly.
​“I promise,” she said as we hit the surface. “Cross my heart.”
​We got on the dock and became human once again. Althea picked up her watch and turned it towards me. It read 3:45. We had gotten in at 3:00.
​When I had processed what had happened I thought of the logical explanation. We swim faster than regular humans. I wrapped my towel around me, grabbed my goggles and swim cap, and went to my room.
​I grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of sweats and got dressed. My bed was in the far corner of my room. Books were scattered by the bookshelf in the opposite corner of the room. My computer desk was pushed in the third corner of the room. In the middle there was a small area rug.
​I sat down and booted up my computer. I click on the internet icon and went to Google. I searched “how fast do mermaids swim” and clicked enter. A ton of results came up for my search. I clicked the first result. I read it aloud to Althea.
​“It’s said a mermaid can swim over 200 miles in an hour in the water. No one has ever seen these beautiful creatures, if so, they haven’t told. These tailed beauties are rare and most likely made up.”
​Althea let out a sigh of relief. Then one horrible thought came to mind. What if someone saw our tails tomorrow in swim class? I could never tell my mom or Althea’s mom. A note, one, small, note to get us both out of swim class.
​“Althea I’m going to write a note so both of us can get out of swim class for good!” I proclaimed. Althea thought for a minute.
​“Yes, what should it say? Dear Mr. Blue,” she started.
​We started our note and hoped it would work.
​Dear Mr. Blue,
​We would appreciate it if Coral Seabreeze and Althea Cove would refrain from swimming. They both have sprained their ankles that won’t be healed until the end of the school year. Thank you.
Sincerely,
​All we needed was the signature.

​Althea and I trudged to the kitchen around 4:30 for a before dinner snack. I grabbed two bananas and tossed one over to Althea. My mom walked in and sat down.
​“Hello Coral. So is this a friend of yours?” she pointed to Althea and gave me an inquisitive look.
​“Hello Mrs. Seabreeze, my name is Althea Cove; I’m Coral’s best friend. I’m very pleased to meet you!” Althea introduced.
​My mom looked very pleased with Althea’s manners. Before we went back she told us that we were having tacos for dinner. We told her we were going to the game room until then.
​The game room was across from my room. There were three gaming chairs with speakers in the head rest. By the 62” TV there was a Wii, X-Box 360 with Kinect and X-Box live, and a Playstation 3.
​Althea and I sat down in two of the chairs, turned on the speakers, and played Wii Sports Resort. My mom called us for dinner around 5:00. The smell of tacos was all over the boat.
​“Girls, dinner! Hurry it won’t stay hot for long!” She called. We rushed to the kitchen nearly tripping over each other. I sat in-between my mom and Althea during dinner. I put taco sauce, cheese, sour cream, and tomatoes on my taco. Althea put only cheese and sour cream on her taco.
​“So how was your first day of school, girls?” Mrs. Seabreeze inquired. Althea shot me a hesitant look.
​“We found out that we’re in the same class and have the same schedule as well,” I calmly replied.
​“Great! Does that mean Althea will be coming over often?” My mom looked hopefully at me.
​“Yes! God, mom I hate that look!” I joked.
​“Well, I better get home. My mom will flip if I’m not home by 5:30!” Althea went to the dock, grabbed her bike, and rode away. Now came the hard part trying to trick mom.
​“Hey mom,” I started in a sweet tone. “Can you sign this permission slip for me? It’s due tomorrow.”
​ “Sure thing sweetie!” She had just finished signing it when she asked, “What’s the slip for honey?”
​“Oh you know, swim class. We got it today when the principal came.” I covered. I started down the hall towards my room.
​“Coral are you hiding something from me?” She questioned.
​“No mom I would NEVER hide anything from YOU!” I retorted. I grabbed the note, ran to my room, slammed the door, and locked it.
​“Coral Wave Seabreeze! Open this door NOW!” She shouted. I looked at my clock. It read 6:00. I had been home for two hours and we were already fighting.
​I put in my ear buds and turned it up. I played all my Avenged Sevenfold, Clutch, and Slipknot songs. I logged on to Facebook and checked out what was going on with my friends. My old friend Mary, Althea and my mom had poked me.
​I posted “My mom, definition, a jerk who keeps me locked in my room when I get home!” and pressed enter. Under it was Mary’s post: “To the people of the ports of NC I’m moving there tomorrow and starting at MCD!”
​MCD is MY school! Mary was coming to my school! I hurriedly accepted Althea’s friend request and sent her message.
​CS: Althea! My old friend Mary is moving here!
​AC: Cool when? Can you introduce me?
​CS: Sure she’s coming tomorrow!
​AC: Awesome! TTYL!
​I then played Bejeweled Blitz and won 1,000,000 coins on the daily spin. I played one round and went so fast that I earned Blazing Steed and beat my high score. Mary’s name popped up with a message.
​MB: Hey. Did you hear the news?
​CS: Yeah, how couldn’t I?
​MB: Don’t know. Can’t wait to start tomorrow!
​CS: We have swim class too!
​MB: Awesome! I’ll bring a suit.
​CS: Great, but I’m not allowed to swim.
​MB: How come? Haven’t you gone before?
​CS: Yeah but I found out something disturbing.
​MB: What? You can trust me!
​CS: I’ll have to ask my friend if I can.
​MB: Why is she your mom?
​CS: No she’s my best friend!
​MB: Really? L I thought I was!
​I paused. Could I really tell her our secret? I clicked on Althea’s name.
​CS: Can I tell Mary the secret?
​AC: Why I don’t know her?
​CS: Please I just want to know!
​AC: Sure good night girl!
​I turned back to my conversation with Mary.
​MB: I’m waiting! I have to go to sleep soon!
​CS: I’m here! I’m here! I can tell you!
​MB: Spill girl! Spill!
​CS: You have to swear not to tell a soul!
​MB: Swear that I won’t tell any ever!
​CS: OK I’m a mermaid.
​I had told one person our secret. I didn’t know what to expect next. There was a bleep from my computer. Mary had messaged me back.
​MB: Oh my GOD! Are you SERIOUS?
​CS: I’m serious my friend Althea is too.
​MB: Alright I believe it!
​CS: Alright see you tomorrow!
​MB: See you mergirl!
​I logged off Facebook and checked my clock. It was already 7:00. I sat on my bed and opened up a book. It was one of my favorites, The Tail of Emily Windsnap. The funny thing was that I was mermaid like her now. I was nearing the end where she stands up for her father in mermaid court. I shut my book.
​I unlocked my door and walked into our small living room. My mom was sitting on the couch crocheting a blanket. She lifted her head when I came in. I sat down next to her.
​“Mom, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be mean to you,” I apologized. She looked up.
​“I forgive you sweetie,” She answered.
​“Mom I have to tell you something,” I started. The phone rang.
​“Hold that thought sweet heart,” She got up and said, “Hello?”
​I went to my room and lay down on my bed. I checked my alarm and made sure it was set. Sleep over took me almost immediately.
​The dreams were very different from usual. There was a young man with tousled brown hair. His eyes were the same aquamarine with purple flecks. His tail was a dark blue with purple spots.
​“Coral save me! It’s your father! Your friend Althea’s dad is here as well! Find me!” He shouted. He started to disappear.
“We’re at the reef! Tell your mother I love her!” Then he disappeared. The rest of the night I thought about the man at the reef.
​Was he really my father? How did he know my name? Was he really at the reef? I slept restlessly for the rest of the night.

​The morning sun was shining bright in eyes. My alarm was beeping in my ear. It read…8:00! I was late for school!
​I rushed about and threw on jeans and a tee. I put on my socks and shoes, grabbed a Poptart, and rushed out the door. I jumped on my bike and went full speed to school.
​I ran down the hall to the classroom and burst into homeroom. Mrs. Lindberg was taking attendance.
​“Coral Seabreeze?” She called. I replied with a loud “Here!” I went out to my locker. I put my bag in there and grabbed my note. I walked back to class and handed the note to Mrs. Lindberg. She made a sad face. I looked through the class. Mary! I found Mary in our class!
​I walked over and sat in my seat next to Althea and Mary. I opened my Poptart. I gulped it down fast. Mary had her black silky hair up in a bun with pearls. She was wearing a black tank top and black Capri’s. She was wearing red Converse as well.
​As I sat down Mrs. Lindberg started telling us about today’s schedule. Mary looked at me, her blue eyes twinkling. She held up her schedule and to my surprise it was the same as Althea and mine.
​“Now, you’ll be following your real schedules today,” Mrs. Lindberg announced to the class. Everyone looked at each other nervously.
​“Now please quiet down. The morning announcements will be on soon,” Our teacher finished. There was a click from the speaker.
​“Good morning this is your principal, Mrs. Brownie. Today is September 17. If you want to start afterschool clubs please sign up. Have a good day!” The announcement clicked off.
​“Alright have a good day!” Mrs. Lindberg opened the door and everyone poured out into the hallways.
​Althea and Mary followed me to our first class of the day, reading. Mrs. Henry held the door open for the whole class and shut the door. She went over to her desk and started taking attendance. When she was done she addressed the class.
​“This period is an hour for free reading. You may read any book or draw anything school appropriate. Any questions?” Mrs. Henry finished. No one raised their hand. “You may begin.”
​I took out The Tail of Emily Windsnap and started to read. Mary stifled a laugh. I gave her look that I hope said really. She stopped giggling. Mary was drawing a picture of two mermaids that resembled Althea and me. Althea was reading The Serpents Shadow by Rick Riordan. ​
​I started reading from the beginning of my book and there was a sudden SNAP on my desk. I looked up from my book and saw Mrs. Henry standing over top of my desk holding a ruler.
​“What are you reading?” She angrily inquired. I was surprised by what she had asked me.
​“My favorite book, The Tail of Emily Windsnap, why?” I squeaked. Her eyes locked onto me.
​“I wanted to know so I could send you down to the office for reading a 4th grade level book!” Mrs. Henry opened the door and sent me down to the office. I sulked down to the office.
​I sat down in one of the soft chairs in the main office. The small lady at the desk stood up and looked at me with a questioning look.
​“What are you doing here Coral?” She asked me.
​“How do you know my name?” I replied.
​“Oh, I’m Ms. Newton. I’m the secretary! I’ve heard all about you and you are not a trouble maker at all.” She replied. “Head back to class. Why are you here anyway?”
​“Mrs. Henry sent me here for reading a ‘4th grade level’ book.” I turned back to the door and headed for class. I thought about it and headed to the library. A kind man came out to the counter. He had deep blue eyes and tousled brown hair.
​“Hello, how can I help you?” he asked in a soft voice. “My name is Mr. Bagshaw.”
​“Hi I’m Coral Seabreeze. Can you help me find a 7th grade level book?” I asked curiously.
​“Of course! Come with me!” I followed him into the quietest area of the library. “These are all the 7th grade level books. Is there anything else I can do for you?” Mr. Bagshaw finished.
​“Actually, yes. Do you have any books that have been taken out a lot?” He pointed to the top of the shelf. Then he walked back to the front of the library. I looked through the shelf and found a promising looking book it was called Inkheart. I walked back up to the desk and placed there.
​“This isn’t one of our popular books!” he told me. I shrugged and said, “It looked good.”
​I grabbed my book and hurried back to Mrs. Henry’s classroom for the end of the period. When I walked into the room she looked surprised to see me.
​“What are you doing back?” She asked angrily. I stayed calm and collected.
​“Ms. Newton told me that Mrs. Brownie was busy. On my way back to class I even grabbed a new book.” I calmly answered. I walked back over to my desk and opened to the page of my new book. I got to the fifth page when the bell rang.
​The next period was gym with Mr. Best. I grabbed my gym bag and walked down to the locker room. I changed and hurried down to the gym.
​“Good morning class! Today is a free-for-all dodge ball game. Have fun!” He instructed. Everyone rushed over to sides and grabbed dodge balls. Popular kids were on one side and the other kids on the other. A whistle blew and the game was on. At the end of the period we were tied between two of the best players on each team. This period went by quickly.
​3rd period was ELA with Mrs. Shakespeare. She looked kind and wore a brown maxi dress and sandals. She had short grayish brown hair that hung around her small ears.
​“We will be writing a piece for what you did over the summer. The piece will be 3 paragraphs and written in print. We will be doing a planning page first,” Mrs. Shakespeare announced. “Remember to have fun!”
​Mrs. Shakespeare walked over to the cabinet and took out a stack of lined papers. She picked 2 boys to pass them out to the class.
​“Please put a proper heading on your paper. Name, date, teacher, and assignment,” She reminded. Everybody wrote for 40 minutes about their summer vacation. Mrs. Shakespeare stood up and began collecting all of our papers. As she went, she told us that we were going to be switching classes in a few minutes. The bell rang.
​“Have a good rest of your day!” Mrs. Shakespeare called. We all filed out saying you too and other good-byes. “You’re the nicest teacher I’ve met all day,” I complimented. She said her thanks.
​I walked down the hallway towards the room where Mr. Quintus taught his math class. He was tall and stocky with gray salt and pepper hair. His eyes were green as grass and had a genius sparkle in them.
​We all took our seats and got out our pencils. Mr. Quintus picked up a stack of papers and started handing them out.
​“This is a test to see where you left off last year. I want you to take your time. Now please make sure that your pencils are sharpened and you may begin!” he announced. Pencils hit the paper immediately. I looked through my test to see what there was. There were fractions, decimals, and integers. I did all the work and checked my answers over twice. I gently set down my pencil and raised my hand.
​Mr. Quintus walked over and picked up my test. I picked up Inkheart and began reading. It took until the end of class for everyone to finish their tests. I got my things ready for next period.
​As we stepped out of the door the bell rang. My next class was science with Mrs. Smith. She had her blond hair in a bun on the top of her head. Her brown eyes sparkled behind her blue glasses. I took my seat.
​“Hello guys! I’m the science teacher, and today we’re going to be doing an experiment.” Mrs. Smith joyfully said. We had to buddy up. I was being asked to choose between Althea and Mary. I had spent all yesterday with Althea. I choose Mary. Althea looked hurt. I mouthed sorry to her and she ignored it. I then realized that science was about to end. It was time for lunch.
​Althea and Mary were waiting for me at the lunch table. Althea looked aggravated and Mary looked excited to be near me. I sat down and opened my lunch box.
​“Hey mer-“ Mary started. She stopped when I glared at her. “Sorry! Can I come over after school?”
​“Sure,” I sighed. “But bring your bathing suit too.” I took a bite of my sandwich. Mmmmm peanut butter. I drank half my water bottle. I couldn’t wait for later.
​Everyone lined up for 7th period. I had Mr. Bartolotta for social studies. He was tall and long with a brown gray comb over. He wore a pair of glasses on his head.
​“Welcome to social studies! Today we will be starting on the renaissance,” He proclaimed. We took our seats. “Today we will be watch a movie about the renaissance.” He put the movie in. we sat there and watch the half an hour long movie on the renaissance. Mr. Bartolotta walked around and jotted things down on his clipboard.
​“Ok time to get your things ready. You’ll be going to your 8th period class. See you tomorrow!” The bell rang and Mary, Althea, and I hurried down to the swimming class locker room. Mr. Blue was standing by the locker rooms.
​“Cove, Seabreeze, who’s your friend?” He questioned.
​“This is Mary Bellamy, sir. She’ll be starting your class in our place.” I informed.
​“I heard you and Cove can’t swim because of your ankles.” He said suspiciously.
​“Yes sir. But we will still be attending your class.”
​“Ok go put your suits on!” We all rushed into the locker room to change. Mary put in her bright green polka dotted swim suit and we all rushed out to the pool. A wave of nausea washed over me as we sat by the pool.
​The pool itself was full of activity. Boys were jumping off the diving boards, girls were floating in tubes, and I was surrounded by water. Mary had made her way over to the diving board and was betting the boys that she would do a better cannon ball.
​Althea was sitting next to me on the edge of the pool. We had our feet in the water. If the water went above our ankles our feet had scales. If it went up to our calves our toes would elongated into the end of my tail. And then above that we were mermaids. The highest it ever went was just under our calves.
​We were relieved when the bell finally rang for 9th period. Althea, Mary, and I threw our clothes on over our suits and ran to Mrs. Picasso’s room. The art teacher had brown hair that flowed down her back. She was in a white t-shirt covered in stains and a pair of jeans that were covered in paint. There was a lump of clay on the table next to her.
​“Hello, young artists. Today we will be doing a clay pinch pot. Remember to be creative!” She told us. Mrs. Picasso cut 32 pieces of clay and handed them out to the class. I started my clay pot by pressing my thumb into the center and pressing it into a circle.
​I was happy with how mine looked. I put my name on the bottom and gave it to Mrs. Picasso to put in the kiln. She was impressed with my work and I drew for the rest of the period.
​When the final bell finally rang I raced to my bike. I couldn’t wait to get home.

​As Althea, Mary, and I raced down the road we idly chatted. We talked about the teachers and how the day went. As soon as we reached the docks we slowed our bikes down.
​When we reached Purple Rock Cove we took off our clothes that were over top of our bathing suits. We then jumped in.
​My tail formed faster than before. Althea was already in and swimming when my tail was formed. I swam out deep and did a flip into the air.
​“This feels amazing!” I laughed. Althea joined in the fun.
​“Hey watch this!” Althea jumped up and slapped her tail on the water and fell back in. Mary swam out to join us.
​“Wow! You guys really are mermaids!” She gasped. We shushed her.
​“Shhh! Mary you can’t say anything about it!” I yelled. I told Mary that Althea and I had to go to Coral City.
​“We’ll meet you at the dock for dinner in an hour ok?” She nodded her head and started off to her bike. She got on and went towards my boat. Althea and I swam to Purple Rock and waited for Sadye to come.
She surfaced so close that I jumped on to the rock. My legs stayed a tail. I was starting to get nervous when it turned back into legs. We had only been in the water for a little bit, why did my legs stay a tail while I was on the rock? I dived back in the water and looked back at the rock. There was a pool of water where I had been sitting.
​“Hey! There are the girls! Today we are going to the Coral City Festival of Fish!” She gleamed.
​“Cool, what’s that?” I questioned. She explained that thousands of fish migrate to see the Queen and King in Gill Square.
​“Come on we’re going to miss the Queen’s speech!” She said excitedly. We dived down under the waves. Sadye lead us to the large city square. Standing on the stage in the middle of the square was a large mermaid.
“Hello! I am Queen Madisyn of the ocean!” She announced. Madisyn was larger in size than all the other mermaids in the square. Her tail was lime green with hot pink scales. Her shell top was pure white. The queen’s lime green hair was up in a bun with pink highlights and a coral crown. Her lavender eyes twinkled with happiness.
​“I’m very happy with the variety of fish this year. Some of you came from as far as Africa. The king will be joining us later. The diversity contest will be later. Enjoy the castle!”
As we walked past the queen, she stopped us. I looked up nervously.
​“Hello, what’s your name? Are you new here?” She inquired.
​“I’m Coral Seabreeze and this is Althea Cove. This is our first time here,” I responded.
​“Seabreeze…Cove. Where have I heard those names before?” We quickly made our way to a small diner and ordered drinks.
​“Sadye, how does the queen know our last names? And no messing with us!” I demanded. She looked like she was going to pass out.
​“Well both your fathers are prisoners at Glowfish Reef Prison,” She replied sadly. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Both our fathers were in prison?
​“Sadye, why are our fathers in prison?” I asked as calmly as I could.
​“Well is your mom married?” I nodded yes. “Then your father committed a serious crime. He married a human. That’s the reason he’s in jail.”
​“So that really was him in my dream! We have to save them!” I remembered.
​“Definately! We have to go to the prison Sadye!” Althea joined.
​“Sorry, girls. There’s no way in or out of the prison. So good luck trying to save your dads,” Sadye retorted.
​I sucked down some of my hot chocolate. I was wondering why marriage was such a crime, when Sadye shook me. She pointed out the window. The queen was staring right at me. I jumped out of my seat in surprise. I turned to Sadye. I mouthed, why is she staring at me? She shrugged.
​“Miss Seabreeze and Miss Cove please exit the restaurant,” She commanded. We got up and made our way out the door. I looked at the queen and hoped for the best.
​“Now listen. You both shouldn’t have been born. You can’t get in trouble in the city. If my husband finds out about you or sees you, good luck,” Madisyn warned. “Now go!” We swam away to Sadye’s house.
​“How could you! How could you? How could you bring us to a city where we couldn’t be?” I raged. I was enraged with her. “Let’s go Althea; we need to go meet our REAL friend!” I swam as fast as I could with Althea right behind me. I surfaced next to Purple Rock. I jumped onto the beach and let my legs reform. I grabbed my swim bag and jumped on my bike. I pedaled hard all the way home.

When I reached the dock Mary was on the phone with someone.
​“Hey I got to go! Yeah I’ll see you at home,” She closed the phone and turned to face me. “You guys are early! You were supposed to come back at 3:45 not 3:15!”
​“We ran into a problem. The queen kicked us out because we weren’t supposed to be born,” I rushed. They looked at me surprised. I guess that I wasn’t angry with Sadye but with the queen.
​“OMG! I have to apologize to Sadye! She was just trying to help us! Come on we have 30 minutes to find her!” I jumped in the water. I dived under with Althea behind me again. I swam as fast as I could to her small under sea cabin. I burst in and found a note:
​To whom it may concern:
​​Sadye Gills has been taken to Glowfish Prison under arrest. She has broken an Oceanic Kingdom Law. She came in contact with a human. She has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
​​-King Brandon & Queen Madisyn
​I gasped and turned to Althea. Her eyes were full of fear. We both knew what we had to do. We had to save Sadye and our fathers. If she was at the prison where was it? I looked around the room. On the wall was a framed map of Coral City and the surrounding ocean. The prison was at The Purple Rock Reef. The coral there was purple during the night.
​“We know where to find them!” Althea exclaimed excitedly. I hushed her.
“We need to have a plan. We have to find an entrance to sneak in from so we can get to them.” I strategized.
“But Sadye said there was no way in or out of the prison,” Althea reminded. I thought about that. Sadye had said that. How could I beat it? Suddenly I was pushed against the hard rock of Sadye’s floor. I struggled against the force that had pushed me down.
“Stay down!” Althea hissed in my ear. I looked up to the window and saw a huge male mermaid. King Brandon.
His tail was orange with lime green specks. Brandon’s hair was a luscious brown with yellow streaks running through his hair. The king’s eyes were glowing gold. He was very muscular. In his large hand was a golden staff with a diamond on top. Atop his head was a golden crown with a navy blue gem in the center.
There was a soft voice outside the window. Queen Madisyn and King Brandon were arguing about something.
“My dear, why did you arrest poor Miss Gills? She meant no harm,” Madisyn explained.
“She broke a sacred law! She must be punished!” The king argued.
“Please! Release the young girl! At least lessen her sentence!”
“No and that’s final! Now come on. We have to get home.” There was a swish and they were gone. We got up and looked around, nothing was changed.
“Althea, get up. We have to get going, now.” I demanded. She got up and we began our way back through the ocean.
On our way back, there was a large swish behind us. I ignored it at first. Then I heard it again. I turned around and a huge shark was behind Althea and me. I stopped Althea in her tracks. She turned and saw the shark. Then she bolted to the surface. The shark continued to stare at me as if Althea wasn’t even here. I moved to one side and he copied me.
He must be copying me, I thought. I shot towards the surface and he followed again. If I could get him to crash into something he would stop following me. I looked around there was an anchor on the ocean floor. I shot towards the hole at the top of the anchor. I glided through it with ease. There was a large CLANG. The shark was wedge in the top of the anchor. I swam back to the shore.
Althea was sitting anxiously on the beach a short distance away. I jogged over to her. She had her clothes on and her swim bag over her shoulder. She jumped up when I approached her.
“Coral! You’re okay!” she exclaimed. I glared at her. “Not that you wouldn’t make it back.” I grabbed my bag and hopped on my bike. Althea followed my lead. We biked back to the dock in silence.

As Mary, Althea, and I walked through the door, the smell of pepperonis washed over our noses.
“Welcome home girls! Good to see you again Mary! Anyone hungry?” My mom asked us.
“Mom! Everyone is hungry of course!” I laughed. My mom’s short brown hair was straightened and hanging around her chin. She was wearing a black tank top and a short brown skirt that hung around her knees.
She pulled out two extra chairs from the counter where I did my homework for Mary and Althea. We all took a seat at the table. I sat in between Althea and Mary with my mom across from me. She handed each of us a hard roll stuffed with pepperonis from the Crockpot on the counter. We all ate ours immediately and gulped down our waters.
“So how was school today girls?” Mom asked. We looked at each other.
“Good I almost got detention and started a new book,” I said nonchalantly. I knew I had my mom surprised by the look on her face.
She cleared her throat and asked, “Would anyone like seconds?” We all muttered no thank you to my mom. I lead Mary and Althea to the game room. I handed them both a Wii remote and put in Wii sports. I sat down in the middle chair and Mary and Althea sat down on either side of me.
“What do you want to play, tennis or bowling?” I asked. They look at each other nervously, as if to make sure I wasn’t trying to trick them. Mary and Althea both answered with bowling. They both had answered more cautiously then I expected.
“Why are you guys being so quiet? Are you scared of something?” I sweetly inquired. They both shook their heads vigorously. “Good, because I’m perfectly fine!”
I put on bowling for 3 players. I played first and got a spare. Then Mary went and got 9 pins nearly getting a spare. Althea went 3rd nailing a strike on the first try. We took an hour to finish our first game. This was the score:
Coral: 95
Mary: 103
Althea: 105
Althea had made the high score for Wii Bowling at my house. Mary and I both gave her high-fives and hugs. I looked over at the clock and it read 6:30.
“Hey guys it’s getting late if you’d like I’ll walk you to your bikes.” I told them. I walked them back to make sure they had everything they needed and then sent them on their way. I walked back to the boat. My mom was in the living room watching the news. The report was about a shark sighting.
“Today a shark was seen swimming on the coast line near the harbor. A young girl was seen a few minutes after the shark went down. She broke the calm waters by Purple Rock.” I grabbed the remote and changed it to Pysch.
“Hey! I wanted to see who the girl is!” My mom protested.
“Mom I have to tell you something,” I pleaded.
“What sweetheart?”
“I’m-“The phone rang. Was it just coincidence or did someone not want my mom to know my secret? I walked back to my room and sat down at my desk. I turned on my computer and logged onto Facebook. I posted a new status:
“My mom is always busy. I really need to get this off my chest.”
I pressed enter and it showed up under recent posts. My mom is always busy. She was always on the phone for job interviews. She rarely got to sit down and relax. I pulled out Inkheart and began to read.
“It was an early morning when Meggie woke up.” I couldn’t focus on the page. I looked at my clock. It was only 7:00. I had to be in bed by 8:00. I had one hour to do what I wanted. I ran down the hall and grabbed my bathing suit and a towel. I tip toed down the hall back to my room.
I looked out my window and made sure no one was outside. I jumped in and waited for the numbness to pass. My tail sparkled in the light of the full moon. I started my mile swim to the Glowfish Reef Prison.

The water was cold on my arms and face. I could see the lights of the reef from my porthole. There was a small opening in the front of the massive coral.
I swam up to the small opening in the coral. It looked like a window into the vast coral prison. A merman was inside the window. He had blond hair with orange streaks. His eyes were a brilliant green. He wore a black long sleeve shirt and a golden badge that read: #65 Officer Cattish.
“Hello sir. Is there anyone here by the names Gills, Seabreeze, and Cove?” I asked cautiously. He looked down at his clipboard.
“Yes, Sadye Gills, Sean Seabreeze, and Chris Cove.” He stated.
“Is there any way I can see them?” I inquired, getting more excited.
“Yes, you may come in and them for a short period.”
“Thank you so much sir!” I followed him deep into the back of the prison when he stopped at 3 interconnected cells.
“Here you are Miss. You have until 8:00 with them.” He told me. I swam up to the cells. 3 mermaids sat on the cot.
“Coral, is that you?” A male voice asked.
“Yes, who are you?” I countered.
“It’s me. Your dad. Sadye wake up, she’s here.” The figure that had been resting on one part of the cot roused from whatever sleep they had been getting. I entered the cell.
“Coral you came!” Sadye smothered me in a hug.
“Yes, I came and I’m going to get you out.” The other figure got up. It was Althea’s father, Chris. He had short dirty blond hair and sharp blue eyes like Althea’s. His tail was also navy blue but with golden specks. He sat up and joined our conversation.
“But I told you…” Sadye started.
“That’s there’s no way out. I know but I have an idea.” I looked around. There was some mud on the floor and seaweed hanging on the walls. I picked up a handful of mud and smeared some mud on it.
“Dad, come here for a second.” I placed the seaweed on his forehead. It stuck in place. I did this to all three of their faces.
“Now for your tails.” I lathered their tails with mud until they were a deep and colorless brown. They looked like scared homeless people. I could finally have my dad back from this crazy prison.
“Come on. The guard is coming back for the key at 8:00,” I rushed. I started out of the cell when I spotted another exit. There was only one guard by the door. Then there was a high pitched beeping. The guard took out what looked like a phone and left!
“Now! Go through the door and hide until I call for you!” Sadye, my dad, and Chris hurried out the door. I started my way back to the front door. I was back 10 minutes early.
“Back so soon?” I nodded and handed him back the key. I swam back to our dock and sat down. A head poked above the water.
“Coral is the coast clear?” Dad asked. I nodded. Sadye and dad jumped up on the ladder. The seaweed was beginning to peel off of their faces and sparkly bits shone through the mud.
“Come on Sean, I know where we can hide. If you need us just shout!” Sadye gladly said. I hugged them both and sent them to Purple Rock.
I rushed back to my bedroom and put on my PJs. Mom came in and turned off my computer. She sat in front of me.
“Now sweetie, what did you want to tell me?” She questioned.
“Mom, I’m a mermaid. I know dad is too.” My mom only said three words.
“You found out.”

“You aren’t going to ask me to prove it?” I asked, confused.
“Well I would like to see your tail. You were so cute when you were little!” I was so confused.
“Would you like to see dad?” I asked. She shot me a surprised glance.
“Sean is here, out of prison?”
“Yes, he’s at Purple Rock with Sadye.”
“Well put on your suit on and let’s go!”I grabbed my suit and towel again. My mom had on a fancy, golden ring with a diamond. She made sure I was ready and put on her flip flops.
“Let’s go my sweet.” I started out the door when she stopped me. In her hand she held a necklace with a key on it. In the middle was the shape of a heart.
“Your father gave this to me. He said that you would be only one to wear this without terrible things happening.” She clasped the necklace around my neck. “Now let’s get going.”
When we got on the dock I jumped into the water. My mother gasped as my tail formed. I could feel my tail becoming longer than usual. I neared the rock and jumped on it. I called out.
“Dad, Sadye, Chris! Come on out we’re here!” There was a CLANG from under the water. Their heads poked out from the water.
“Maria? Is that you?” Dad asked.
“Yes Sean it’s me!” She replied. She kicked off her flip flops and ran into the water. Dad wrapped her in a hug. Chris and Sadye smiled at this happy moment. Something grabbed at my new tail. An orange octopus had pulled me under. I looked down at my tail and saw that it was now rainbow instead of violet, red, and blue. I slapped the 8 armed menace and swam back to the rock. I flipped making him hit the rock. I landed sitting on the rock.
“Sweetie what happened? You look flustered,” Mom asked. I waved it away.
“Oh, mom, this is Sadye. She’s my friend.”
“Hello Sadye. Maria Seabreeze, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Seabreeze.” Sadye replied.
“Mom, I have to go to school tomorrow. That means I have to go to bed!”
“Ok. Love you Sean. We’ll see you three tomorrow.” Mom and I waved good bye as they disappeared under the water.
When we got back to the boat mom tucked me in and said good night. I feel asleep right away. The dreams were calm and relaxing. I finally had my dad back into my life.
The next morning mom woke me up. It was 7:00 and bright out. Laid out on my bed were jeans starting to rip at the knees and a blue Under Armor shirt. I got dressed and put my hair in a hasty bun.
“Have a good day at school!” Mom kissed me on the cheek and sent me on my way. I rode my trusty bike to school. I met Althea in homeroom. She was texting on her cell phone.
“Althea, I have to introduce you to some “Friends” tonight.” I told her.
“Sure, we’ll ride to the docks together with Mary!” She cheered.
“Alright class, please take your seats,” Mrs. Lindberg announced. “Today is a special day of school. Today is International Swim Day!” The class cheered. “So today you get to swim all day long!” Everyone picked up their gym bags and lined up at the door. Althea and I were in the back of the line. Mary came up behind us with her bag.
“Let’s go you guys!” Mary pushed us through the halls towards the pool. Everyone had to sit by the pool. Mr. Blue walked out in front of us.
“Now listen here kids. Today is swim day. Only 20 kids per lane. No jumping off any of the diving boards. You may use 2 noodles and one tube. Please don’t splash anyone. You can switch spots with someone in another lane. Ok those are the rules. Would anyone like to show how you’re supposed to swim in the pool?” Mr. Blue asked. I felt my hand go up and I saw Althea’s raised.
“Mary! What are you doing?” I whispered angrily.
“Ok! Cove, Seabreeze jump on in!” Mr. Blue called. What Mary did next was unforgivable.

Althea and I walked to the side of the pool. Mary had walked up right behind us. We stood there, not wanting them to find out the truth. I took a step back, when Mary shoved us into the water. In my moment of confusion my tail formed. I swam over to the other side of the pool. Althea followed my lead over to the side of the pool.
“Dude your tail is huge!” Althea noticed.
“I know! Sit on the bottom until they leave!” I retorted. A goggled head poked under the water. Above the water someone shouted “Mermaids!” Everyone dove under including Mr. Blue. We had to get out of there. I had an idea. I whispered to Althea to follow my lead.
I swam with all my might to the surface. I flipped and landed on my feet. Althea came out right after me. We grabbed our stuff and ran out to our bikes. We headed to my house so we could tell my mom.
“Mom! Mary pushed us into the pool at school and everyone saw that we were mermaids!” I shouted. Mom looked over at us.
“She did what?” Mom asked confused. I ran out onto the dock and jumped in with Althea. We swam all the way to Purple Rock.
“Dad, Sadye, Chris! We’re here!” I shouted. Nothing happened.
“DAD, SADYE, CHRIS! LET’S GO!” I screamed. Their heads appeared above the water.
“Yes sweetie?” Dad asked. I heard Althea gasped the word “dad” behind me.
“The whole school saw that we’re mermaids!” I yelled, aggravated.
“Althea is that you?” Chris gasped. She nodded. He smothered her in a hug. “My baby! Oh my princess! I missed you so much!”
“You need to see the queen right away!” Sadye told me. She pulled me down under the water. She began swimming towards the outcropping of rocks. She was leading me to the Coral City.
“Sadye stop! We can’t go to the city. Well at least you can’t .” I protested.
“Listen I appreciate that you care about my safety, but I’m only bringing you to the outskirts. From there go to the castle,” Sadye instructed. As we neared the lights of the city Sadye stopped.
“I’ll meet you at the rock when I’m done,” I told Sadye. She gave me a hug and started back to the rock. I swam to the city.
The castle wasn’t hard to find at all. Every street lead straight to the massive structure. I passed mermaids texting, talking, and shopping as I swam through the streets. I swam directly to the front door of the castle. I knocked on the door and a young mermaid met me at the door.
“Hello how can I help you?” She asked.
“I need to speak to Queen Madisyn right away.” I answered. She looked at her clipboard.
“Come on in! Would you like some tea miss?” She inquired.
“Sure I would love some tea,” I casually answered. I took seat in a chair in the parlor. The maid brought in some tea. Madisyn entered soon thereafter.
“Queen Madisyn I have a horrible problem.” I sadly told her.
“What’s the matter young Coral?” She questioned.
“My school saw that Althea and I are mermaids.” I answered.
“You must be removed from the situation and moved to an island for special people like you.”
“Can I bring Althea, my mom, and a few other guests?”
“Yes and question, are those guests Sadye, Chris, and your father?” I sighed.
“Yes, I freed them from Glowfish Prison, do they have go back to prison?”
“No you can take them with you to the island.”
“Oh, thank you! Thank you Queen Madisyn!” I gave her a huge hug.
“One of our men are going to the school to wipe the school’s minds of you ever being there.” She confirmed. I took a sip of my tea and set it back down. “You can go home and prepare your friends for departure.” I began my travel back to Purple Rock.
Sadye, Dad, Althea, Mom, and Chris were waiting for me when I reached the rock. They hugged me tight.
“Ok everyone we are moving to an island and you all get to come,” I announced. They looked at me awestruck.
“Mom can we ride the boat to the island?” I questioned. She thought for a second.
“Sure but we have to get everything ready to sail,” She replied with a smile. We cleaned started to clean up the boat and prepare for the trip.

The next morning everyone was ready to go. Althea had met us at the docks with 3 duffle bags full of clothes and special objects. Mom had went out and bought Raviolis, Ramen Noodles, and soup to feed an army. I took out my list of people that were coming with us and did roll call.
“Mom! Dad! Chris! Sadye! Althea!” I called. Everyone said here when I called them. “Does everyone have what they need?” They all nodded and muttered yes.
“Coral do you have enough bathing suits?” Mom asked. I gave her the thumbs up. I had 10 bathing suits in my room for at the island.
Mom was way happier with Dad here. They both kept glancing lovingly at each other, I was so happy to have both of them back. Dad had given her a beautiful necklace with a silver heart locket in the middle. Dad had a matching one that was golden.
I was very nervous about going to the island. I kept wondering about it. Was there anyone else who lived on the island? If there was other people, were they nice? I was going to miss living on the coast of North Carolina.
I still hadn’t figured out why the necklace my dad had given my mom made my tail longer then it was before. I hoped that it would be revealed soon enough. I was looking forward to getting to know my dad while we were at the island.
We departed for the island with so many questions. Our future from this point was unclear.
What new challenges would we face? How would we adapt to island living?
All I knew for sure was had both of my parents and my best friend with me. Whatever came next I wouldn’t be alone and I was ready to face it with them by my side.