Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings (10 page)

T
HE LAKE SWALLOWED ME
whole, shutting me off from the night air. It licked its cool, watery tongue along my arms and legs and pricked my skull with its icy claws. Hands locked around my arms and legs, forcing me down.

My hair swirled wildly around my face as I flailed in the water, trying to get away. A familiar panic overwhelmed me as water shot through to my lungs, driving the air from my nose and mouth.

Breathe! Just breathe! I forced myself to inhale, disgusted by the gurgling sensation as water flooded my lungs but relieved that I didn’t gag. The panic fell away and something deep inside of me took over. It came from the horror of seeing Mom disappear underwater that day last summer, the countless nights crying myself to sleep, the look of helplessness in Dad’s eyes.

These monsters had caused it all.

Every last bit.

Get off me!
I rang out the words into the dark depths of
the lake and tried to kick the Freshies away. They let go of my ankles, only to grasp their hands along my legs to get hold of my wrists. I struggled to break free, but could only writhe and twist in their clutches as they wrenched my arms behind my back.
You bottom-dwelling, scum-sucking jerks!

The Freshies’ foreign voices rang all around me. One wrapped its arm around my throat. I kicked at them but could already feel my legs begin to fuse. How much longer before it was too late and I became one of them?

A rush of warm water shot down from above. I turned my face upward. The moon shone behind Mom, casting a perfect silhouette, as she dumped the rowboat to its side and dove into the water toward me. She let out an ear-piercing screech. The Freshies loosened their grips in surprise.

I turned and bit down hard.

Aieeeeeaaaa!

I shrugged from their grasp and swam to Mom with the mer-dudes at what were still my feet. But as I swam, the salt water from the rowboat passed over my body.

Oh, yeah. That thing Mom said about salt water boosting the mermaid transformation?

Understatement.

My legs exploded into a tail, this time, ripping my shorts and the tankini bottom from my body. Mom and the Freshies fell back from the force of the transformation. The fabric floated away in shreds.

That was an eighty dollar bathing suit, you morons!
I yelled over my shoulder as rage overtook me—not about
the suit, but from being forced underwater like that. Being pulled down with hateful hands and made a mermaid. Not given the choice.

It set my whole body on fire.

My new mermaid body felt clumsy, like swimming with my legs tied together, but my vision and hearing cleared, sharpening the sights and sounds around me. I searched the water for Mom and realized she had taken my place, fighting off Finalin and Medora.

They had her!

Get away from her!
I dove toward them, not quite knowing how to move my tail, grabbing the water and pushing it away to make it down to Mom.

Swim, Jade! Get out of here!
Mom rang.

But I wasn’t going anywhere. I felt for the fanny pack, still attached to my waist.

Finalin turned to me and sneered. He nodded to Medora and rang out an obnoxious series of rings. I didn’t need to speak Mermish to know he was mocking me. And that ticked me off even more.

I said—get your hairy, stinking hands off my mother!

Maybe it was the way I said it, or the tone of my voice, but Finalin and Medora looked like they got the gist because they stopped and looked from me to Mom. Finalin seemed to do the whole mental math a lot quicker than Medora because soon, his voice whirred at a speed that made my ears hurt.

Mom responded with a string of rings of her own.

While Finalin continued ranting, I reached into my
fanny pack and pulled out the pepper spray I’d grabbed from my purse back at Gran’s cottage.

Look away,
I yelled to Mom.

I turned my face and sprayed.

At first, there was nothing. But then, the pepper spray must have drifted into Finalin and Medora’s faces because soon, the whole underwater realm filled with a deafening ring.

I caught Mom’s hand.

Swim!
I yelled.

I whipped the tail like I’d seen the dolphins do on our last trip to Sea World and amazed myself with the fact that I was actually keeping up with Mom. We swam with all our might, leaving the Freshies in our wake. My hair skimmed my shoulders as the water slipped past.

Wow.

You’re getting the hang of this,
Mom rang out.

But I didn’t want to get the hang of it. I wanted to get out of there, out of the water, out of that nightmare.
Can you tell if they’re following us?
I kept my eyes straight ahead, not daring to look.

Whatever you did seems to be keeping them occupied. I have a feeling they’ll be back though. What was that stuff, anyway?

Pepper spray. Having an overprotective dad comes in handy sometimes. Could Finalin understand what I was saying?

I just filled in the blanks a bit.
We swam to the edge of the lake and found the creek.
Let’s hide in here,
Mom said.

I followed her in.
Won’t this be the first place they look?

Mom laughed.
Those two are mean as dirt, but they’re not the sharpest narwhals in the pod.

I laughed a humongous snort bubble.
I think I’ve just been introduced to my first taste of mermish humor.

We grabbed some sticks and branches and piled them at the mouth of the creek. But the water in the creek had the same thin feeling as it did weeks before. Only, after sprinting to get there and building the dam so quickly, I struggled more than ever to catch my breath.

What’s the matter?
Mom asked.

I can’t stay in here.
I swam to the edge of the creek and began to haul myself out.

I coughed and sputtered as my head shot out of the water. My lungs sucked in a gulp full of air like a helium balloon being filled at the party store. I stayed, half in, half out of the creek and worked to steady my breathing. A short while later, my tail began to burn, heating up the water all around it and soon, steam rose from the surface.

Are you okay?
Mom swam toward me and brushed my tail.

“I think so,” I said breathlessly. “No…” I hurled lake water and my semi-digested Hungry Man entrée and Chocolate Mug Cake onto the creek’s bank.

“Oh, Jade.” Mom emerged from the water for a moment and pulled my hair away from my face.

“Sorry…I’ve got to figure out how to stop puking like that.” I fell back against a rock and closed my eyes.

“You get that from your dad.” Mom grinned.

I laughed, remembering all the amusement park rides Mom would take me on while Dad held the cotton candy. The cool water from the stream took the edge off the searing pain. It was only about half as bad as the last time. “I’ll be… okay.” I struggled to keep my breath steady.

“Incredible.” Mom held my hand and stroked my tail as it transformed into legs. Meanwhile, millions of shards of pain ran up and down my skin. “It took weeks for me to do this in the tidal pool…”

When it was over, I pulled myself out of the water and collapsed onto the bank.

Mom’s face rose through the water once more. “I can’t believe how quickly you can change back and forth.”

“What can I say? I’m an overachiever.” My lower half was bare. “I’m also half naked. How can you stand that?”

“Occupational hazard.”

I pulled my shirt off, leaving the top of the tankini, and wrapped the shirt around my middle.

“Oh no, I left the fanny pack open when I pepper sprayed Finalin and Medora.”

I fumbled inside, relieved that everything was still there, and pulled out my cell phone from the waterproof first aid container.

“A message!”

It was from Dad. I put it on speakerphone for Mom to hear.

“Jade, I just got your message! There’s a return flight leaving from Dallas in about 20 minutes. I’m just waiting
to see if I can get on. It’s 5:20 a.m. your time which should put me back in Port Toulouse around 11 if there are no delays. Tell Mom I love her…and you too…”

I rushed to call back but was too late. “He must be on the plane again.”

Mom blinked and nodded then disappeared underwater.

I stood and stretched my legs. Port Toulouse stood still in the early morning light. A lone car crossed the bridge. Thankfully, we were well hidden behind the low alders skirting the creek and the stand of whispering aspens. I couldn’t see the ocean past the bridge from where I stood but could imagine the sun rising over the horizon.

“Once Dad’s here, we’ll get you to the ocean. Otherwise, we’ll figure out how to escape when the Martins’ sailboat goes through the lock. One way or another, a few more hours and you’ll be free.”

Mom sat upright in the creek. Water ran off her dark hair in rivulets.

“They’re coming.”

I heard it. The high-pitched whine of Finalin accompanied by the screeching whirr of Medora. To anyone else, it may have sounded like the buzzing of electrical wires or spring cicadas. To me though, the sounds were like nails on a chalkboard.

I ran to the edge of the lake, looking for the telltale signs of lurking mer-dudes. I thought I saw a flicker a couple of hundred feet away. The rowboat had drifted against the nearby rock shield, giving me an idea. I pulled it to
the mouth of the creek and jammed it in, along with the branches we’d assembled.

“What are you doing?” Mom asked.

“Just adding a bit of reinforcement.”

Once I finished barricading the creek with extra branches, logs, and any rock I could find (there weren’t many left after the mer-blockade), I took the rowboat’s bowline and tied it tightly around one of the aspens on shore.

“Here they come.”

Finalin and Medora did their best to break through our dam, but with an unfortunate lack of legs, plus the fact I kept whacking them with a canoe paddle from the safety of the creek’s bank, they were at a bit of a disadvantage.

Finally, after an hour of trying, they gave up. I collapsed on the bank once Mom signaled they were gone.

They usually hide out during the day. Rest for a bit. I’ll let you know if I hear them come back.
Mom stayed underwater as she rang out the words, seeming to lack the strength to even lift her head out of the water. The creek’s thin, fresh water was making her weaker. Only, after having spent weeks imprisoned in Dundee, it seemed to catch up with her even quicker.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” I stifled a yawn.

Neither of us will be getting out of here unless you get some rest.

It didn’t take much convincing. I curled up on the bank of the creek and drifted into a coma-like sleep.

My cell woke me up, seconds later.

“Dad?!” I screamed.

“No, Jade. It’s me. I’m at Mug Glug’s.”

Cori.

The water in the creek had collected into a deep pool behind the dam. Mom’s eyes were closed but her chest rose and fell in shallow breaths below surface. I checked my watch. How could it be past eleven already? Had I really passed out for the last six hours?

“Cori.” I tried to figure out a story that would fit. One that wouldn’t tip off what a pathetic loser I was for inviting her to Mug Glug’s and never showing up.

“You weren’t in school. Aren’t you coming?” she asked.

Ugh. I hated this.

“I’m so sorry,” I continued. “I stayed up way too late last night…”

The truth.

“And slept in.”

The truth.

“There’s no way I could make it there on time.”

A lie. I could see Mug Glug’s awning reflected in the barbershop’s windows from where I sat.

“I’m not even dressed.”

Kinda true, since a tankini top, a fanny pack, and a T-shirt stretched across my behind didn’t really qualify as dressed.

There was silence on the other end of the line. I glanced up to the barbershop window. Cori’s reflection stood on the street outside of Mug Glug’s now, giving up on our hot chocolate date. It killed me to have to mislead her like that.
Would Lainey do the same? I doubted it. Though Lainey’s mom owned a fashion studio and mine was an aquatic mammal. Not exactly the same level of complication.

“Well, why don’t we just meet at the lock for the boat cruise?” Cori asked. I could see her, shrugging her shoulders with the question, her chin hunched down into her chest as she talked into her cell. She was trying,
really
trying, and all I could do was scramble for a new lie to fend her off. “Trey said Luke got a text from you. You’re still coming, aren’t you?”

This got harder and harder.

I gazed at the boat lock, the only thing between Mom and me and the ocean. Once Dad got there or the Martins’ sailboat went through and gave us the chance to escape, this would all be over. Then, maybe I could get back on track with Cori.

But what if the Freshies didn’t let us through, and even then, what if the sentries stopped us at the end of the canal? I shook my head. Would life ever be normal again?

“I’m sorry, Cori. I’ve just got a lot going on right now. It’s just not really a great time.” Talk about understatement of the century.

“What’s going on, Jade? Maybe I can help.”

If only she could, but our only hope lay with Dad, who was probably on his way to Port Toulouse by now. What if he was trying to call?

“Listen, I’m sorry. I really gotta go.”

Talk about being a bottom-dwelling, scum-sucking jerk.

“I’m sorry too.” But her sorry sounded like something different. Not an apology, but more of a regret.

She hung up before I could say good-bye.

I
DIALED
D
AD’S NUMBER AS
soon as I hung up with Cori.

I could see Mom’s eyelids flutter through the water. She lay limp, like when I’d found her under the dock. I needed to get her out of the creek and into salt water again. A big, wide ocean would have come in handy right about then.

Dad picked up on the first ring.

“Sorry, honey, I’m driving as fast as I can but I’m still an hour away. How’s Mom?”

“She’s holding on, but I’m not sure for how long.” I moved to the creek’s opening and crouched behind a bush to look across the lake. The Martins’ sailboat cruised toward the bridge. I could see Luke and Trey sitting above deck.

Shoot! They were early.

“The Martins are about to go through the lock with their sailboat. I was thinking I’d help Mom swim across, but maybe we should wait for you instead.”

Getting Mom through the boat lock meant becoming a mermaid again. Every other time, the change had been
kind of forced on me. This time,
I’d
be the one making the choice. I wasn’t sure I could do it.

“Do you think she could make it if we carried her over the bridge to the other side of the lock?” Dad asked.

I turned back to see Mom. Her eyes were closed again. Dundee had zapped more out of her than I imagined. If she couldn’t stay strong in the creek, how could she survive out of the water long enough for us to transport her to the ocean?

“I don’t think so. Especially not if we have to wait until after dark.”

Luke and Trey were standing now, preparing the bow and stern lines. The lights were already flashing on the bridge’s barriers, signaling for the cars to stop. I heard a long car horn sound through the cell phone and could imagine Dad trying to drive and talk. Definitely a safety issue, given his engineer’s predisposition for non-lateral thinking.

“Dad, hang up the phone and just get here when you can.”

“What are you going to do?” he asked.

“I’m not exactly sure,” I answered.

“Stay safe.”

“You too,” I said before disconnecting. I made a quick call to Gran to let her know I’d made it to school (not!) and tucked the cell back into my fanny pack, safe inside the waterproof container. The sailboat made steady progress across the lake. If we wanted to follow the boat through the lock, we’d need to move fast. Someone else must have had the same thing in mind though, judging by the telltale
flicks following the boat and the annoying chatter ringing in my ears.

“Ugly and Uglier are back,” I called back to Mom.

The others can’t be far behind.
Mom’s chest heaved as she spoke.

Soon, two paths turned into over a dozen. To anyone else, it may have looked like a school of trout, or water striders flicking across the water. But to me, all I saw was competition.

“You mean we’re going to have to fight through the crowds to get to the lock?” I asked.

Like Hyde’s during after-Christmas sales,
Mom joked.

“And they’re all trying to escape?”

A fizz of bubbles escaped from Mom’s mouth as she laughed.
Not escape. No one ever escapes…just trying to keep me in.

I understood. If Mom got to talk to the sentries, the Mermish Council would know what happened and would probably let her through. Then, the Freshies’ chance to become human would be lost forever.

“How many are we talking?” I asked.

Last count…about fourteen of us.

“Don’t say ‘us’!” Bitter bile rose to my throat. “Don’t lump yourself in with the rest of those freaks.”

Mom gathered her energy and swam over to our rowboat dam.

Medora and Finalin aside, some of those mers have become my friends.

I ignored that last part. How could Mom even think of considering any of those jerks her friends?

“What if they won’t let us through?”

Jade, sweetie. You don’t need to do this,
Mom said.
We can wait for your dad.

Looking at Mom, so weak and tired, I tried to decide what to do. I could see Cori and Lainey waiting for the Martins on the concrete pier next to the boat lock. Shaky Eddie was back in his control tower after weeks away. The sailboat got closer and closer.

I felt like a damsel in distress on one of those old Saturday morning cartoons, tied up on a railroad track with a train screaming toward me. If there was ever a time when I could use a dashing young hero, this would be it. But it was up to me. I had to decide.

Would I dive in the lake and force myself underwater? Become one of
them
again? I imagined the panicky feeling of water flooding my lungs, the alien tail taking over my lower body…could I do something I hated
so
much if it meant saving Mom?

No contest.

I ran to untie the rowboat from the trunk of the aspen, then splashed into the creek beside Mom. “We didn’t come this far to give up now. You ready?” I braced my hands against the rowboat, ready to push it out of the way.

Mom pulled her hair back from her face as she surfaced.

“Are you sure?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“Sure as I’ve ever been.”

“I feel sorry for anyone who tries to stop you,” Mom said with a smile. She slipped back underwater.
Nice bathing suit by the way.

“Perfect for kicking some mer-dude butt.”

I shoved the rowboat out of the way and plunged into the lake, pulling Mom’s limp body onto my back as I dove. Water burned my throat as it flooded into my lungs. I struggled to steady my breath, resisting the urge to gag and escape back to the surface of the lake. But I couldn’t. Not with the Martins’ boat cruising down the lake toward the lock. Someone was bound to see. I kept whipping my legs, pushing the water away with my free hand and hanging on to Mom with the other. My thighs had already begun to fuse but the salt water closer to the lock ramped up the transformation, exploding my legs into a mermaid’s tail.

Like a fish to water.

Sorry about the bumpy ride,
I rang back to Mom. Her laugh made me smile. And even though the tail felt gross and wrong on my body, I hoped I’d made the right choice.

It only took a few minutes to get to the base of the bridge. Mom was right. The Freshies crowded at the lock like kids at the exit doors on the last day of school. They pushed and shoved, waiting by the massive metal gate. How the heck were we supposed to get through? Some of them were big. Really big. One looked like she was around my age though. She caught me staring and looked away.

Juvenile delinquent?
I asked.

Mom slid off my back. The salt seemed to give her a bit more energy, but still, her whole body drooped with exhaustion.

She’s Medora and Finalin’s daughter,
Mom said quietly.
Her name’s Serena.

Does a life of crime run in the family or something?

No, she was born here…
Mom said quietly
…in captivity.

You mean she’s never seen the ocean?
Something about that brought a lump to my throat, but I didn’t have time to dwell on the Mermish Young Offenders Act because just then, Finalin and Medora pushed their way through the pod.

Just remember,
Mom reminded me,
those guys have two things on their minds: escaping to the ocean or becoming human.

And they figure we have the answer to at least one of those,
I added.

Pretty much.

I held up the pepper spray.
Gave up on your rock piling career, huh?
I rang as they approached.

Finalin and Medora cowered at the sight of the can. They screeched something at Mom.

What are they saying?

They’ve come to make a deal,
Mom said.

Tell them to go suck frogs.

Let’s just listen to what they have to say.

Impressively, Finalin held back the other Freshies with just a wave of his hand. He’d obviously been holding food and the promise of foot-dom over their heads for a while,
judging by the way the rest of the Freshies followed his commands like pathetic sheep. Medora spoke to Mom in hushed rings. I understood right away.

They wanted to tag along and rush the sentries.

No way!

The nerve! The absolute freaking nerve of them!

I could see the hull of the Martin’s sailboat approaching. Dad was nowhere in sight. I pulled Mom aside. It was now or never and we didn’t have time for this.

They think now that I have this pepper spray we’re their ticket to freedom? Well they can forget it.

Mom drew my flowing hair away from my face.
Honey, think about it: Finalin just has to wave his hand and that can is history. We need to be smart about this. There are way more of them than us.

Medora and Finalin’s daughter floated behind them. Her eyes were red, like she’d been crying. Her parents pulled her close and looked to us for an answer. It’s then that I realized they weren’t just trying to escape from the lake prison for themselves, they were doing it for her. I could see it in their eyes. That’s why they’d acted so strangely when they figured out I was Mom’s daughter.

Finalin and Medora deserved to rot in this muddy, pond scum lake. Serena, on the other hand, didn’t ask for any of this, just like I didn’t ask to have Mom taken away from me.

We’ll take
her
.
I pointed and whispered to Mom.
Only her.

Mom turned to me.

Are you sure? What if they don’t agree?

The warning signal continued to clang through the water as the bridge’s deck lifted upward. The large metal gate of the lock groaned open.

They’d better. Have them call off the others so we can talk.

Finalin and Medora should have traded in their life of crime for a career in contract negotiations because after a couple of minutes of squeaks and trills, the other Freshies dispersed just as the hull of the Martins’ sailboat passed above us.

We have three minutes, tops. Tell them we’ll take her through, but alone, and once she’s there, she’s on her own. That’s the deal.

There was an exchange of rings and tones. At first, I didn’t think they’d go for it. After all they’d put Mom through in the past year, trying to escape, I couldn’t imagine them giving up without a fight. One way or another, we had to move fast. The Martins’ boat was already inside the lock. Soon, the gate would close and we’d all be stranded. Again.

Then a miracle happened.

Medora and Finalin hugged their daughter.

And swam away.

We made it safely into the lock just as the gate screeched to a close. It would take a while longer before the water in the lock rose to meet the level of the ocean so Eddie could open the second gate. Mom and I waited under the Martins’ stern. Serena huddled at the bow.

She’s scared,
Mom whispered.

No doubt terrified by stories of the pepper-spray-wielding half-human mer-girl. Mom tried to encourage her to join us with soothing tones, but Serena didn’t budge.

I can’t believe I felt sorry her.
I sighed.

That’s because you’re a good person, Jade.
Mom stroked my hair.

I don’t feel like much of a good person these days.
I thought of how I’d ditched Cori at the coffee shop and how I’d told Luke I would come on the boat cruise, then didn’t show up for either. I had a lot of things to make up for.

And yes, I felt bad for Serena, but my sympathy only went so far. She was the spawn of
those jerks
after all. The ones who’d stolen Mom from me for almost a year.

But that would all change if we could just get past the sentries.

Mom swam over to the sluice where the ocean water poured in. She closed her eyes and let the current of the water flow over her. Maybe it was the salt or just the promise of what was just beyond the wall, but her energy was definitely back.

I looked up through the water, trying to figure out how long we’d have to wait. Luke and Trey tied up the sailboat along the canal wall and greeted Cori and Lainey on the concrete pier edging the canal. The girls’ forms shimmered through the water as they boarded. Lainey stretched out her hand for Luke to help her board, then she disappeared onto the boat, away from view.

Luke hung back on the dock, glancing down into the water. I slipped under the boat and peeked out from behind the hull. Had something fallen in? Hopefully one of Lainey’s very expensive earrings. Okay. That wasn’t very nice. It wasn’t her fault I wasn’t up there, enjoying a boat cruise on a hot summer day. And she might as well take my place since there was no way Luke would give me the time of day now. Not after texting him to re-invite myself and then never showing up.

Luke climbed up the control tower to talk to his grandfather. Probably to ask him to keep an eye out for whatever had fallen. After a few minutes, Trey hopped out of the boat to help him untie the lines. I turned to look for Mom when I heard the second metal gate screech open.

Mom, it’s time.

Serena and I joined her at the gate. She took us each by the arm.

We still have a bit of a swim before we get to the end of the canal. That’s where the sentries will be waiting. They may buy my story, but who knows if they’ll let you guys through.
Mom held out her hand.
Better give me the pepper spray just in case.

No, I’ll take care of the sentries and you guys make a break for it.
I pulled the canister from my fanny pack and shut the zipper. Serena cowered.

Jade, those guys don’t mess around. I’d feel better if you gave me the pepper spray.

The gate opened wider. The sound from the sailboat’s revving engine reverberated in the lock as the Martins set off,
dragging their stern line. A rush of water from the propeller pushed us backward. My palm slipped from Mom’s hand.

Swim, honey!
Mom called out. But the force of the water was too great for my brand new mermaid body and I fell back.

I can’t.

Eddie climbed down from his tower and followed the boat along the canal’s pier. He cupped his hands around his mouth. What was he saying? Was he telling them about the stern line dragging behind the boat? I hoped not.