Sirena straightened up again and beckoned to Zadie and Lenore, who swam closer to shore. I hung back, watching as they charmed the crowd with a few more of their synchronized swimming moves.
“Wow,” said Carson Dawson, finally regaining control of the mic. “They’re really something!” He looked over at the rest of us. “And these are all your students?”
“Yes, indeed. Sea sirens, all! Swim on over and say hello to Mr. Dawson, ladies!”
As the rest of the mermaids obeyed, I hung back, still keeping as much of me underwater as was humanly possible.
The TV host squinted in my direction. “What’s wrong with that one?”
Sirena frowned. “Some mermaids can be shy.”
“Is that a fact?”
“Oh yes,” Sirena continued, nodding sagely. Her red corkscrew curls nodded too. “On the whole they prefer not to be seen by humans.”
Suddenly the whole thing struck me funny—two adults, one with a fake tan and faker smile, the other with an aqua mani-pedi and a T-shirt that proclaimed MERMAIDS ARE MER-MAZING!—acting as if it were entirely natural to be discussing the emotions of mythical creatures. I started to laugh and immediately got salt water up my nose again. Turning my back to the shore, I struggled to suppress my coughing fit. The last thing I wanted to do was attract more attention to myself.
Fortunately, Carson Dawson was finished with us. “That’s a wrap!” he announced. As he and Sirena retreated back toward the Channel Five news truck, deep in conversation, I rolled over onto my back and floated in the waves again. My cousin and friends swam over to join me.
“Mermaids can be shy,” I said, smacking my tail on the water for emphasis.
Mackenzie grinned at me and smacked hers, too. “Mermaids need their beauty rest.”
“Mermaids make waves,” added Jasmine with an impressive whack.
“Mermaids eat lots of fish,” Cha Cha chimed in, twirling around and splashing water in every direction.
“Mermaids talk on shell phones,” I said, wondering when Sirena would return ours. Aunt True wasn’t going to believe it when I told her about Carson Dawson.
The four of us kept a steady stream of stupid mermaid rules and puns flying back and forth for a while: “Mermaids are never shellfish.” “Mermaids send messages by sea-mail.” “Mermaids can be crabby.” “Mermaids are fintastic.” “Mermaid foes are anemones.”
Later, as we tossed our tails and towels into the back of the minivans, Sirena reappeared.
“I can’t believe our luck!” she said. “Mr. Dawson is here for the week, filming segments for a special about everyday life on Cape Cod. He’s going to be spotlighting some local events, and he’s going to stop by and film us! Ladies, the all-star revue is going to be featured on TV!”
Everyone cheered.
Everyone but me.
I felt like I’d been kicked right in the shimmertail.
I was going to be on television? It was bad enough to have to perform in front of a live audience. Being on television meant performing in front of practically the entire world!
My clamshell bra and I were on a crash course for complete and utter humiliation.
CHAPTER 19
HELP! I texted Aunt True later that day, when dinner was over and Sirena finally relented and gave us our “shell phones” back. GOT TIME TO TALK?
I’d barely pressed SEND before my phone rang in response.
“What’s up?” my aunt asked.
“Carson Dawson, that’s what!” I paced the back lawn, fuming as I filled her in on our morning at the beach. What I’d thought would simply be a funny story to share had exploded into a looming disaster.
“Don’t worry,” she said when I was done. “I’ve got your six.”
That was military speak for “I’ve got your back.” If anyone could fix this, it was Aunt True. I had no idea how, or if it were even possible, but I felt better just hearing this.
“So what else did you do today?”
I gave her the rundown. Aunt True was particularly interested in Zadie and Lenore.
“Wow, they’re helping Sirena and her daughter choreograph your routine?”
“Uh-huh,” I replied. “The stuff they have us doing is actually pretty sweet. Not that I want to perform in public,” I hastened to add. “Especially not on TV. Oh, and we’ve been watching some of their old Esther Williams movies, too, like Million Dollar Mermaid.”
“Is that the one where she wears a gold swimsuit and crown and dives off a really high platform?” Aunt True is a “cinephile,” as she puts it—which is a fancy word for someone who is a big fan of movies.
“Yeah.”
“I love that one!”
“I liked it too. And Easy to Love. They’re kind of corny, but all the water ballet scenes were amazing, and Zadie gave us the behind-the-scenes scoop. Did you know that Esther Williams was pregnant when she did most of those water-skiing stunts?”
I could practically hear Aunt True’s eyebrows shoot up. “That’s amazing! Wait until I tell Rusty!”
“He likes Esther Williams?”
“Rusty is a man of surprising depths. So what’s on the schedule for tonight?”
“A book signing.”
“Really? At Sirena’s?”
I explained about the Brewster Store, and Saga of a Ship.
“That new book I sent you?”
“Yeah.” I was just about to tell her my theory about Nathaniel Daniel and Cherry Island, when she interrupted.
“Oops, gotta go. Hair ball.”
Memphis, my aunt’s cat, was a feline conveyor belt for hair balls. Everyone in my family was used to Aunt True dropping everything when one appeared, which they did with alarming regularity.
“Okay. Bye!” I replied, but she’d already hung up.
I made a detour to Whelk to grab my copy of Saga of a Ship, then headed back to Mermaid HQ to meet up with the group that was heading to the Brewster Store. Zadie and Lenore had decided to join Mackenzie and Cha Cha and Jasmine and me, as had the ladies from Sand Dollar. Meanwhile, the four high school girls plus Hayden and her mother had opted for Sea Siren Night. Somehow Hayden
