Waterworks (H2O Just Add Water) 🌊

3. Catch of the Day

Ever since Lewis learned about the secret, I had thoughts of telling Dad and my grandparents the truth, but I knew the girls would flip out if anyone else got wind of everything. I mean, Lewis can't be the only one burdened with a handful! Not to mention Dad may want to do some water activity with me, like surfing, which would result in the truth coming out into the open.

When Emma started joining Rikki and me on our early AM swims, I was able to introduce her to the dugongs. She too found them to be adorable, especially the affectionate baby dugong.

The three of us challenged each other to see how long we were able to hold our breath underwater, which lasted for fifteen minutes, the same time length of how long dolphins can stay under.

Rikki, Emma, and I met up with Lewis at the Juice Net after getting back on dry land and ordering a few smoothies.

"You won't believe it," Rikki remarked.

"We timed ourselves, and guess how long we can hold our breath for?" Emma quizzed Lewis.

"Um-" he started but had no clue.

"15 minutes!" I jumped in and high-fived Emma and Rikki.

"That's impressive."

"Yep! It's pretty cool," Rikki smiled.

"We could probably stay down for longer if we tried," Emma stated.

"You're on!" Rikki turned to her as if accepting the challenge, "How 'bout you Zo?" She glanced at me.

"I'll accept your challenge," I nodded.

"You two think you can beat me?" Emma questioned us.

"I know I can," Rikki bragged, "Bring it on."

"We shall see who might win," I smirked leaning back against the chair and crossing my arms.

"You guys must be jumping out of your skin about this stuff," Lewis commented as though he could tell that since becoming mermaids, the girls and I, minus Cleo have been stoked over our newfound capabilities.

"Yeah," we nodded in unison.

"Well, three of us are," Emma had a sullen expression.

I noticed Cleo arriving at our table.

"Hey, Cleo, guess what? These guys can hold their breath for 15 minutes," Lewis exclaimed, tapping the table with excitement, not even realizing that he was being loud.

"Lewis!" Emma, Rikki, and I shushed him, reminding him that he needed to keep his voice down about everything, mainly when we were out in public.

"What's going on?" Cleo asked as she sat down with us.

"We've been, you know, swimming," Emma replied.

I could tell Cleo wasn't interested in it. So, I figured it was best to not try to pressure her to where she would refuse to have anything to do with us. I convinced Emma and Rikki to give Cleo some time and wait until she was ready to join us in the water. Though the girls were adamant in trying to get her in. 

"It's the best thing," Rikki added, "The ocean's out of this world."

"That's great," Cleo nodded with a fake smile and then changed the subject, "So has anyone been able to finish that calculus homework? Question seven's a nightmare."

"My grandpa's a math wizard," I jumped in, "He was able to help me with it."

I still had trouble with calculus. Thankfully, Grandpa helped me solve the problem and make calculus easy. Cleo smiled at me. She seemed impressed that I had someone like my grandfather who knew complex mathematics.