I stammered my thanks, although to be honest at that moment I would have been happy never to see a shimmertail—or a clamshell bra—again.
Delphine wasn’t the only one who was solidly in my court, as it turned out. Zadie and Lenore intercepted my parents and me on the way to the car. Zadie gave me a big hug good-bye and made me promise to keep in touch. Then it was Lenore’s turn. To my astonishment, she spoke the first words I’d heard from her all week.
“Little brat got what she had coming to her,” she murmured in my ear, wrapping me up in a bear hug. “There’s nothing worse than a bully.”
The only other bright spot was that Professor Rusty—I guess I’d be calling him Uncle Rusty pretty soon, which was a weird thought—wasn’t the only one who had caught the finale on video. Carson Dawson had also managed to film “the tail end of things,” as my aunt jokingly referred to it. With any luck, his video clip would become an Internet meme, and Hayden could relive that epic smack online for years to come.
I, on the other hand, was probably going to be grounded for life.
CHAPTER 23
The next twenty-four hours were painful.
Mackenzie rode home from Cape Cod with Aunt True and Professor Rusty—part of my punishment, I assumed, since it was our last night together before she went back to Texas.
“Really, Truly! I am so disappointed in you” was the only thing my mother said to me on the long drive north. That’s what she always said when one of us messed up. Her disappointment was worse than any amount of my father’s bluster, or his icy silence, which was what he dished out all the way back to Pumpkin Falls.
As for the rest of my family, Pippa and Lauren, who were returning to Camp Lovejoy first thing in the morning, quickly fell asleep. Danny had his earbuds in and mostly ignored me except for a few sympathetic glances. Hatcher was the only one who addressed the elephant in the room—well, minivan.
“Too bad you’re in the doghouse,” he whispered. “That tail smack was epic!”
“Hatcher,” said my father sternly, “I heard that.”
“Sorry, sir.”
When we finally pulled into our driveway several hours later, my father reached over the back of the driver’s seat and held out his hand. “Cell phone,” he said crisply, and I reluctantly handed it over. “Remainder of your punishment still to be determined.”
Mackenzie flew home the next morning. I had been quarantined in my room overnight, while she was banished to the guest room, so we didn’t get a chance to talk before she left. I wasn’t allowed to go with her to Logan Airport, and I almost didn’t even get to say good-bye. My father relented at the last minute, though, and let me come downstairs to see her off.
“Make it snappy,” he said, grabbing her suitcase and carrying it out the front door.
We stood there for a moment under the watchful gaze of my ancestors’ portraits. They’re probably judging me too, I thought glumly. “Sorry I messed everything up.”
Mackenzie hugged me. “You didn’t! Hayden totally deserved it. Uncle Jericho is overreacting.” She broke away and grinned at me. “Videoconference later tonight, when I get home?”
“If my dad doesn’t take my laptop away.”
Hatcher and Danny had volunteered to drive her to the airport. I waved from the front steps as the three of them pulled out of the driveway.
“At least you’re happy to see me,” I said to Miss Marple, who’d been sticking to me like Velcro ever since I got home. She looked at me and wagged her tail. “Let’s go back upstairs.”
Even there I couldn’t hide from trouble, though.
“Truly!” my mother called a few minutes later. “There’s someone here to see you!”
I was flopped on my bed with my dog-eared copy of Owls of the World. Reading about birds, especially owls, was always soothing. “Tell them I’m not here!” I called back.
“Truly Lovejoy, come down here this minute!” I could tell by the tone of my father’s voice that he meant business.
I closed my book reluctantly and stalked downstairs, halting in surprise when I saw Calhoun’s father standing in the front hall. He smiled when he spotted me.
“Sorry to stop by so early in the morning,” he said. “R. J. told me you were home.”
“R. J.” was what Calhoun’s father called him, short for Romeo James.
“I hear there was a bit of excitement last night at mermaid camp!”
“Mermaid academy,” I corrected automatically, the words flying out before I could stop them. My father smelled sass and frowned at me.
“ ‘Academy,’ of course.” Calhoun’s father nodded. “R. J. showed me a photo of you in—the shimmertail, I believe it’s called?”
I nodded, squirming inside. Calhoun had a picture of me in my mermaid outfit?
“It’s quite an amazing feat of costumery, young lady. You look like a real mermaid.”
I lifted a shoulder, not sure what to say to that. My father’s eyebrows flew together as he frowned at me again.
“Thank you,” I said, obeying the unspoken order. Like mermaids, Lovejoys were always supposed to be polite.
“I came by to talk to you about The Pirates of Penzance. You’ve probably heard that I’m directing it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Rehearsals start tomorrow afternoon, and R. J. told me that you might be interested in working on stage crew.” Noting my surprise, he added, “I realize it’s not glamorous, but it’s much needed, and it can be a lot of fun.”
“Um,” I began, wondering why on earth Calhoun had told his father that I was interested in stage crew. Hadn’t I made it clear that I wasn’t?
“Your friend Lucas has agreed to join us,” Dr. Calhoun continued, as if that was an incentive. “Plus,” he added, “I’m hoping you might be willing to reprise your
