“Don’t try and stand up,” Delphine instructed. “That’s pretty much impossible in a shimmertail.”
“Okay,” I said, scooting myself awkwardly over to the mirror. The shimmertail was pretty awesome, I had to admit, smoothing it over my hips. Realistic-looking 3-D scales were molded along the length of it, and glitter had been embedded into the silicone itself, giving the surface an iridescent sheen. The graceful arch of the fluke at the bottom was nearly twice as big as the ones on the fabric tails. I looked—well, I looked like a real mermaid.
If there were such things.
Over my shoulder, I caught a glimpse of Hayden’s face. She was staring at my tail with unmistakable envy.
“There’s a matching bikini top,” said Delphine, handing me what looked like two aquamarine potholders sewn together.
I gulped. “I don’t—”
“Come on, Truly!” Mackenzie begged.
I sighed. In for a penny, in for a pound, I thought. Awkwardly tugging my arms inside my Pumpkin Falls Swim Team T-shirt, I managed to pull the top of my one-piece racing suit down and squirm into Delphine’s bikini top.
“It’s perfect!” said Mackenzie, after I reluctantly removed the T-shirt to show off the results. “Right, Cha Cha? Right, Jazz?”
My friends nodded enthusiastically.
“I think we’ve found our queen,” Sirena said to Delphine.
Wait. What? I thought in alarm. Who said anything about a queen?
I looked in the mirror again. There was nothing remotely regal about what was looking back at me. My worst nightmare had just come true—I was wearing a clamshell bra!
I grabbed my T-shirt and yanked it back over my head.
Sirena arched an eyebrow. “We’ve got our work cut out for us,” she murmured.
Delphine patted her on the shoulder. “We’ve dealt with worse.”
As everyone wriggled onto the sofas and chairs, Delphine went back inside, reappearing a few moments later with a tray.
“Mermaid snacks!” Sirena announced. “Time to celebrate your new tails!”
The snacks turned out to be a flavored sparkling water and shortbread cookies cut into fish shapes. We helped ourselves while Delphine passed around some handouts.
“You’ll be choosing a mermaid name for the week,” Sirena told us. “This list will provide you with some suggestions, but feel free to let your imagination take you where it will.”
Mine was taking me right out the door and onto the bus for home, I thought as I glanced down at the name at the top of the list. Malibu? Seriously?
“If your mermaid name has an interesting meaning, please share it with us,” Sirena continued. “Sirena, for instance, is Greek for ‘enchantress’—a siren was a mythical sea creature whose beauty and song lured sailors to their deaths.”
That sounded like something to aspire to, I thought, suppressing a smile. I made a mental note to add this to the growing list of things I couldn’t wait to tell Hatcher.
“And Delphine is French for ‘dolphin,’ ” Sirena went on. “We encourage you to come up with a backstory for yourself as well. Spin us a tale! Who is your mermaid? Where did she grow up? What are her hopes and dreams?”
“My mermaid name is Shellina,” blurted Hayden, like she couldn’t hold it in any longer.
If I’d been drinking anything just then, it would have spurted out my nose for sure. Shellina? Even Mackenzie let out a sound that was close to a giggle.
“I was born in the undersea kingdom of Tritonia,” Hayden continued, throwing us side-eye. “My father is the ruler there, and I have six younger sisters, and I will grow up and marry a prince.”
Shellina’s backstory sounded suspiciously like the plot to Pippa and Lauren’s favorite mermaid movie, but nobody else said anything, so I didn’t either.
“And someday, I shall be queen.” Hayden looked pointedly over at me as she emphasized this last bit.
Queen Shellina? I sat up a little straighter in my shimmertail. Not if I had anything to say about it. I didn’t ask to be queen, but I wasn’t about to just hand the role over to a spoiled brat, either.
“Wonderful!” said Sirena. “You’ve obviously come prepared, Hayden. The rest of you have a little homework to do. But don’t stay up late! Remember, mermaids need their beauty rest. ‘Early to bed, early to rise, keeps mermaids fit and their fins looking nice!’ ”
I groaned inwardly. Where did she get this stuff?
“Off with your tails now, and then off to bed with you. Tomorrow is a big day. Class will convene at the pool before breakfast. We have less than a week before the revue to transform you into mermaids.”
Review? I didn’t like the sound of that. “You mean, like a test?”
“Not review, R-E-V-U-E,” said Sirena, spelling the word out like Annie Freeman. “It’s our performance for the general public. We do it at the end of every session here at the academy.”
My face must have registered my shock.
“It’s a very popular event here in Brewster,” Sirena hastened to assure me.
“There wasn’t anything in the brochure about a revue!” I protested. It was one thing to be forced to goof around privately in somebody’s backyard, and a whole other kettle of fish to have to appear as a mermaid in public!
“Just think of it as a piano recital,” said Mackenzie.
I shot her a look. She knew exactly how I felt about those. Plus, I’d never worn a bikini top to a piano recital in my life, let alone a tail. And only parents and relatives showed up for piano recitals, not the “general public.”
So much for stealth mode. Unless I totally caved and let Hayden—make that Shellina—get her way, I was destined to be front and center in Sirena’s Sea Siren Academy pool for all of Cape Cod to gawk at.
This was quickly shaping up to be the worst week of my life!
CHAPTER 12
I lay in my bunk, listening to the soft murmur of voices that floated in the window from the cabin next door. The ladies of Sand Dollar were busy getting better acquainted from the sound of it. All was quiet
