Maybe Aunt True was right, and things would get better. And if not, all I had to do was stick it out for forty-eight hours. Forty-two, now.
I’d been happy to see that Sirena’s pool was a regulation-size twenty-five-meter one. As I churned my way to the far end, I thought maybe I’d ask if I could swim some extra laps each day, to help keep me in shape for summer swim team. This mermaid stuff seemed like it was going to be a snap. I was easily the strongest swimmer here. Well, along with Mackenzie. When I reached the far edge of the pool, I paused, treading water as I awaited further instructions.
“Swim back to me underwater!” Sirena called. “Let’s see how far you can go.”
Like I said, easy.
I took a deep breath and pushed off, diving beneath the surface into the streamline I used for races, then dolphin-kicked my way back down the length of the pool. I inspected the bottom as I swam. The pool had been nice once, with tiny colored tiles that formed an intricate mural of King Neptune holding his trident aloft, surrounded by dolphins. Now, though, the picture had faded, and some of the tiles were missing.
Thirty seconds later, I reached the shallow end.
Sirena checked something off on her clipboard. “Excellent, Truly. Impressive breath control.”
“Thanks.” At least now they knew that I could swim.
So could Zadie and Lenore, as it turned out.
When Sirena asked if anyone knew any synchronized swimming moves, Zadie and Lenore looked at each other, smiled, and swam out to the middle of the pool. They extended their arms overhead like ballerinas, then slowly and gracefully arced backward through the water in perfect unison, one knee bent, one straight, toes pointed.
“Perfect knee-back dolphins!” gasped Delphine.
We all clapped as the two older ladies resurfaced.
“We appear to have a pair of ringers in our midst!” Sirena exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. “Out with it, you two. Where on earth did you learn to do that?”
“From Esther Williams,” Zadie replied smugly, swimming back over to join us. Lenore was right behind her.
Sirena’s mouth fell open. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope. We weren’t much older than these girls here”—Zadie gestured toward Mackenzie and Cha Cha and Jasmine and me—“when a Hollywood talent scout discovered us in a water ballet class in Laguna Beach. That was the start of our film career.”
“You mean to tell me that you two swam with Esther Williams in the movies?” If Sirena’s jaw dropped any farther, it was going to hit the pool deck. I had no idea what she was talking about, but Delphine and Hayden’s mom and the four ladies from Sand Dollar clearly did, as they all looked equally astounded.
Zadie and Lenore nodded again, clearly pleased by the attention.
“We thought about telling you ahead of time, but Lenore thought it might be more fun to surprise you,” Zadie explained. “Isn’t that right, Lenore?”
Lenore gave a modest smile.
“Oh. My. Goodness,” said Sirena, for once at a loss for words. She stood there, shaking her head in disbelief. “Which of her movies were you in? I have them all!”
“Let’s see, Million Dollar Mermaid, of course, Neptune’s Daughter, and Easy to Love—a whole slew of them. They even brought us out of retirement to help choreograph the water ballet scene in Funny Lady.”
Turning to the rest of us, Sirena announced, “I simply can’t believe this. We are in the presence of underwater royalty, ladies. Royalty!” It must have been obvious that some of us were still clueless, because she went on to explain. “Esther Williams just about single-handedly popularized water ballet, which is what they used to call synchronized swimming. She was a huge movie star, and an amazing athlete—without her popularity and pioneering influence, synchronized swimming might never have become an Olympic sport! And for many of us who grew up watching her onscreen, she’s part of the reason we became mermaids. You could say that, in a way, she was the spark that lit the fire beneath today’s interest in all things mermaid.”
Thanks a bunch, Esther, I thought.
“As a tribute to Zadie and Lenore, I’m switching up our post-siesta movie today,” Sirena continued. “I’d planned to have us watch Splash, but we’ll watch an Esther Williams movie instead!” She turned back to the two elderly ladies. “And did I hear you correctly? Do you have experience with choreography?”
Zadie nodded.
Sirena clasped her hands together beseechingly. “Would you be willing to help us out this week? Pretty please with mermaid glitter on top?”
“We were hoping you might ask,” Zadie replied. “Isn’t that right, Lenore?”
Lenore nodded again.
Sirena gave them a rapturous look. “Just think what a marketing hook we’ll have! ‘All-new mermaid revue, choreographed by Esther Williams’s own protégées!’ Every senior citizen on the Cape will be begging for a ticket!”
I let the water close over my head and sank to the bottom of the pool. It was quiet down there, and sane.
Later, after breakfast—scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, and bagels with cream cheese and something called “lox,” which turned out to be smoked salmon—we returned to the pool.
“Now that I feel confident in your swimming abilities, we’re ready to try it with tails,” Sirena told us. “It’s time for your official mermaid training to begin, ladies!”
Excitement fizzed as everyone rushed to wiggle into their tails. Everyone except me. There was no rushing a shimmertail. Once again, I needed Delphine’s
