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.
"We missed you this morning," Emma sighed, "Why weren't you answering your phone?"
Each morning when we met up, Emma tried contacting Cleo, even though I'd told her to give the latter some time to think it over.
"And that project on geography? That's due Thursday," Cleo reminded us as she ignored Emma's question, "We need to get together on that one."
"I think my grandparents have that giant atlas in their living room," I nodded, "We could always do the project at the house if you want. It's got a lot of space in there. And we could use the atlas for reference and specific details."
"Okay, Zoey."
I could tell she was avoiding the mermaid topic. So, I went along with Cleo's subject to help her feel at ease and let her know that I wasn't going to pressure her into swimming or embracing her mermaid side.
"Listen, Cleo, whatever's happened to us is incredible," Rikki expressed, "You've got to come out with us. The water is amazing."
I shook my head at her as if to tell her to stop and not make Cleo more uncomfortable.
"I'm not doing it, ok?" Cleo gave Rikki a hardened facial expression, "I didn't ask for any of this to happen to us. So stop bugging me about it, ok?"
She got up and left.
"I told you guys not to make her uncomfortable," I turned to Emma and Rikki with a stern expression.
"But she's missing out," Rikki remarked.
"The more you keep telling her to come into the water with us, the more it's gonna push her away from us."
I got up from the chair and left to catch up with Cleo.
"I'm so sorry about them," I apologized once I ran up to her.
"It's not your fault Zoey," Cleo shook her head as we left the cafe, "I'm sure you didn't ask for any of it to happen to you."
"I didn't."
I held back the fact that I learned to work with it not wanting Cleo to avoid me, like she had with Emma and Rikki. She could sense that I was trying to help her feel at ease and avoid any topic on mermaids.
"And, thanks for trying to help back there," Cleo nodded.
"No prob," I smiled a bit knowing that things were ok between us.
🌊
At school, I was heading for my locker along with Cleo when a familiar voice called us.
"Hey, Cleo! Zoey!" Byron hollered with excitement as he caught up with us, "You two have got to come down to the beach."
"What's going on there?" I asked with curiosity.
"Why? Why does everyone want me to come down to the beach?" Cleo vented.
"Hey, chill, alright?" Byron told her.
"Sorry. I'm a bit tense."
I could tell since Rikki and Emma had been pressuring her to join us in the ocean, it frustrated Cleo. All I could do was not add to the pressure, even though the other girls kept telling me to try to convince her.
"So, what's happening?" I asked.
"Saw the first of this season's turtles laying eggs this morning at the beach," Byron explained, "It was amazing."
"Wow, that's wonderful," Cleo nodded.
"I love sea turtles," I smiled.
It made me think of our family trip to Hawaii. We also got to see several sea turtles on the beach make their nests for their eggs which soon hatched and the babies headed for the sea. It was one of my favorite memories!
"Yeah, but I heard a rumor that one of them got caught in a fishing net, heading back out to sea," Byron added.
"Oh, poor little thing," Cleo sympathized.
"That's awful," I sighed, "I hope it got freed."
"See ya." Byron waved and headed for his next class.
Cleo and I headed for our lockers and grabbed what we needed for social studies class.
"Hey Cleo, you want to go hang out at the mall later?" Lewis asked on approaching her.
"Busy," Cleo replied, "Sorry." She shut her locker once she was done.
Like with the other girls, Cleo had been avoiding Lewis since he learned about us as he was more excited about a new potential scientific discovery. I stood by when I was done with my locker, making sure he didn't try to say anything that would irritate her.
"Cleo look. I--I know these recent developments have hit you pretty hard, but you can't hide forever. Just because you're a--" Lewis lowered the volume in his voice, "a mermaid."
"I'm not one of those things," Cleo denied it, "I've never liked the water, and I never will."
"What are you gonna do?" Lewis asked as she walked away, "What, hide from water for the rest of your life?"
"Let it go, dude," I shook my head, "I'm certain the others got you to convince her. She'll never be ready if you all keep nagging her."
I walked away before Lewis could say anything to me.
🌊
Later, at the end of the school day, I met up with Cleo at the stairway. We saw Lewis talking with Emma and Rikki. It sounded like they were talking about trying to get Cleo to embrace her mermaid side. I shook my head at them as if to tell them that their convincing her wasn't going to work.
Cleo turned away and looked out over at the schoolyard. I adjusted my backpack and leaned against the railing next to her.
"Thanks for trying to help me all day, Zoey," Cleo said.
"What are friends for?" I nodded.
"Cleo?" Emma called as she and Rikki stepped up the stairs and approached us, "About this whole mermaid business--"
"There are more important things in life than seeing how long you can hold your breath and frolicking with the dolphins," Cleo cut her off.
"I don't frolic. I glide," Rikki corrected her.
"Whatever. It's not important. I don't want to talk about it."
"How can you say that?" Emma asked sounding upset, "This is the most amazing thing that's ever happened to us. Probably the most amazing thing that's ever happened to anybody."
"Em, let it go," I gave her a stern expression as if to tell her that she was overwhelming Cleo.
"Well, what about the turtles?" Cleo inquired.
"Turtles?" Emma wondered.
"A sea turtle got caught in a fishing net this morning. That's important."
"One can hope that one of the fishermen noticed and set it free," I stated.
"I don't believe this," Rikki shook her head staring at Cleo, "You're such a hypocrite."
"Why?" Cleo asked.
"Cleo, your dad's a fisherman. His nets are the ones trapping the turtles."
"That's not true. My dad would never do that."
"Really?"
Cleo walked away from us.
"Told you guys to let it be," I suggested, "And besides, we don't know if her dad's fishing boat is the one getting the sea turtles caught in the nets. It could be any of them."
Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa had friends who worked in the fishing business. They often used the right nets so that certain sea animals like sea turtles, dolphins, and dugongs didn't get caught. There was usually an opening in the nets so that the sea critters would get out safely. However, hearing the latest news about the sea turtle getting caught made me worry about the dugongs, especially the lovable calf.
🌊
I went on an afternoon swim with Rikki and Emma trying to compete at who could outswim the other the fastest. I ended up being a lot faster than them. The girls and I smiled at one another after stopping.
Ahead of us, a fishing net steamed along, which was attached to a fishing boat. It was one of those small-holed nets that were banned many years ago and now was illegal to use in the fishing industry anywhere in the world due to being a danger to various marine life. What got to us was a sea turtle caught in the net and had no way of escaping.
Rikki swam up to the surface as Emma and I worked at detangling the net to try and free the sea turtle. Our friend returned with a knife and cut through the net to make releasing the animal easier. She left to return the knife when she was done so that none of the fishing crew would suspect anything missing from the boat. Emma and I managed to free the sea turtle by the time Rikki came back to us.
The sea animal swam away as if it were happy that it had help. The girls and I propelled ourselves further away from the boat. I decided to make a quick stop and check on the dugongs to make sure they weren't anywhere near the fishing routes. Thankfully, they were just grazing on seagrass and out of harm's way. The baby dugong hugged me once again as if it were happy that I dropped by to see it and its family. Emma and Rikki too arrived to see what I was up to and the calf hugged each of them. I even used my power over plants and made more seagrass grow so that the dugongs would have enough to eat and avoid the open water until whoever was using the banned nets was stopped.
🌊
The next day, I met with the girls at the Juice Net after helping Grandma with her fruit deliveries. The TV was on, which aired the local news.
"Local fishermen today have been confronted with a possible menace from the deep. Commercial fishermen have reported incidents that may involve a rogue shark. They were lucky to escape injury-" the anchorman reported on the screen.
Dad and Grandpa's fishermen friends had mentioned that sharks often went wherever there was food and didn't establish territories. Plus, sharks were like newborn babies. They take a bite out of just about anything. And second, there was no shark. It was Emma, Rikki, and myself.
Cleo arrived looking cheerful until the TV screen switched to her dad being interviewed.
"Hey guys, what's going on?" she asked as she sat down with us.
"Hey, Cleo, your dad's on TV," Byron pointed.
"I've fished these waters for a long time, and there's only one thing that causes damage like that-- a huge rogue shark." Cleo's dad explained with a serious expression.
For fishermen, the amount of fish they catch was their livelihood. It affected them financially and their business.
"Poor Dad," Cleo sighed in concern.
"Sorry to have to tell you this, Cleo, but your dad didn't catch a shark. It was a turtle," Rikki explained solemnly, "We cut the net to set it free."
"No way," Cleo shook her head, "My dad wouldn't catch turtles."
Emma, Rikki, and I turned to each other briefly. I wasn't sure if it was Cleo's dad. Perhaps someone took charge of the boat while he was away. Some head fishermen would have a skipper take charge if they had to leave for a bit.
"It's true, Cleo. I'm sorry," Emma apologized.
"We don't have all the facts, Cleo," I tried assuring her, "Maybe your dad wasn't on the boat at the time, but away somewhere and had somebody take over for the day."
Cleo seemed unsure but was a bit better at my input.
🌊
Later, we met back at the cafe. Cleo had a sad expression.
"He denied everything," she sighed, "It's awful."
I guessed she talked to her dad about the nets.
"I mean, what could I say? I know you're lying, Dad because my mermaid friends saw you fishing close to the nesting beach?" Cleo added after we sat in one of the booths.
"He was using illegal nets too," Rikki explained.
"It's true," Emma said, "And they didn't have those grid things in them."
"This just gets worse and worse," Cleo sighed in distress, "My dad."
"Well, to be honest, we didn't see your dad," Rikki stated.
"But it was his boat, right?"
The girls nodded.
I recalled from the same fishermen that some owned more than one boat.
"Wait, what if your dad was on another boat at the time," I spoke up.
"I don't know," Cleo shook her head.
"I don't remember seeing him," Rikki added, "But maybe Zoey's right."
🌊
Emma, Rikki, and I walked along the fishing dock to check on the situation. It was slammed packed with a variety of fishermen all stoked to catch the supposed shark.
"Great," Rikki frowned, "Every fisherman on this side of the planet is getting psyched to catch that stupid shark."
"Shark?" a man sharpening a hook overheard us, "Don't you girls worry. If it's still out there, it's sushi." He rose the hook next to his face, giving me the heebie-jeebies.
The girls and I walked away with discomfort.
"What a circus. They'll be searching everywhere," Emma pointed out.
"Tell me about it," I muttered and crossed my arms.
"Wonder if we can swim," Rikki smiled a bit.
"No way," Emma shook her head, "Too dangerous with these guys out there. Let's face it--until this cools down, we're grounded."
"More like beached," I nodded agreeing with her suggestion to avoid going into the water for a while.
🌊
The next day, I went with Dad and Grandpa to the marina to meet up with their fishermen friends who were prepping to head out to hunt down the nonexistent shark. The town and fishing council had put up a bounty on it, which explained why the fishing docks were jammed packed like a department store having a big sale.
Rikki, Emma, and I didn't meet up since canceling our early AM swim not wanting to risk getting caught in the nets and have ourselves revealed to everyone. Since Dad and Grandpa had their day off from drywalling, I decided to spend the day with them.
"Crazy about that shark eh, Zo?" Dad remarked as we arrived at the fishing dock where the fishermen were at.
"Yeah," I nodded pretending to go along with the situation even though I knew my friends and I were responsible for the shark-induced mania, "Pretty crazy. Lotta these guys are psyched about catching it just for the reward money."
"Too right, kiddo."
Grandpa greeted the skipper, who was one of his best friends since childhood. The crew consisted of the skipper's two adult sons who were friends with Dad and two other men who they hired.
While Grandpa and Dad were talking with the skipper and sons, I examined the fishing nets they had on the boat which were ready to use when they got to the specific fishing area. The nets were sea turtle, dolphin, and dugong safe. I mentally sighed in relief knowing the crew used the recommended netting.
"Whatcha lookin' at?" one of the crewmen asked turning to me.
"Just noticed the nets are marine life safe," I answered giving it the a-ok gesture.
"No worries. They're the legalized nets so that none of the sea critters get caught and can get out of 'em."
"That's a relief."
That second, I heard a familiar guy's voice yelling my name from afar.
"Zoey!" Lewis shouted sounding like he was panicking.
I turned and saw him running toward the dock, we were on, gripping his fishing gear. Even Dad and Grandpa were wondering what was up.
"Lewis?" I approached him and he stopped running, "What's wrong? What's going on?"
He was gasping for breath like he tried to run a marathon but lacked the training.
"Zo?" Dad called, wondering who I was talking with, "Everything alright?"
"Mate of yours?" Grandpa asked they both noticed Lewis.
"Yeah. He's a friend from school," I nodded at my dad and grandfather, assuring them both, and turned back to Lewis, "What is it? Deep breath."
"It's Cleo," Lewis answered in between breaths trying to keep our conversation at a lower volume.
"Is she alright?" I asked starting to get worried.
"She's--she's in the water."
"Right now? It's not safe!"
Part of me was proud of her for conquering her aquaphobia. The other part was freaking out that she could get entangled in the nets and be discovered.
"She's following her dad's boat to the no-go zone," Lewis added.
"Find Emma and Rikki. I'll help Cleo," I suggested.
He nodded and ran off.
"I'm gonna use the restroom at the Juice Net," I told Dad.
"Alright," he nodded.
I took off running from the fishing dock and made sure that I was out of sight and dove into the water.
🌊
Once I was in full mermaid form, I propelled myself toward the no-go zone, making sure that I was out of sight in case there were divers. I had memorized the route from the sea charts I had seen and hopefully would get there in time before anything happened to Cleo.
About a few minutes later, I saw the fishing boat ahead of me, and Cleo, in mermaid form, following it by gliding like she had experienced it before. I smiled a bit feeling proud of her.
I swam up to Cleo and at her side. She turned realizing that she wasn't alone and recognized me. I had a hunch that she wasn't giving up the pursuit. If it got bad, we'd hightail it out of there. Though we'd make sure no sea turtles got caught in the nets.
On nearing the fishing boat, I noticed that the lethal net was being dragged into the water. A sea turtle swam by the boat. Cleo and I headed straight for it hoping to guide it away. In doing so, the net closed in on us. We tried swimming upward, but end up caught in it. Cleo struggled to get free. I tried calming myself down, preserving whatever air I had left for her sake. There was no way my plant-reviving power would be able to help out in the situation.
Cleo stopped struggling at the moment, trying to conserve her air supply. The netting that entangled us was like a neverending game of cat's cradle. Even as we were being pulled almost toward the surface, I tried tugging each netting loose.
Just then, Rikki and Emma arrived at the scene. I mentally sighed in relief seeing my friends. I managed to gesture with a free hand telling them to help Cleo first. Seeing us both, Emma and Rikki swam over to us and struggled with the netting as it slowly pulled the two of us. Emma turned and held a hand up, which told me she froze the engine that was pulling the net.
Since it stopped, it was a lot easier for me to try and untangle the netting with the help of the girls. As I freed myself, I helped get the rest of the net off of Cleo, who was still unconscious.
Once the net was loose, Rikki and Emma pulled Cleo free and we swam toward the surface for air. On breaking the surface, Cleo and I gasped for breath.
"You two ok?" Emma asked with concern.
"Yeah," Cleo replied, "I panicked. I didn't know you could hold your breath for so long. But then I remembered what you guys said, and you know what?"
"What?" I asked.
"I was counting 16 and a half minutes."
"Later, guys," Rikki suggested letting us know that we couldn't linger around for long in case we were seen.
The four of us went back underwater and headed to the hidden beach a.k.a. Lewis' secret fishing spot.
I arrived back at the marina once I was back to human form. Thankfully, Dad and Grandpa didn't suspect that I was up to something when I met back with them. Their fishermen friends had left the marina to find the nonexistent shark shortly after I got back. We decided to head out and get lunch.
🌊
Cleo had texted me the next day to meet up at the beach. I arrived at the same time as her, Emma, and Rikki to find Lewis on his knees having found something in the sand. Cleo had mentioned that her dad fired the crewman who was responsible for the lethal net. At least the sea turtles are safe and so are the dolphins and dugongs.
"Guys, look!" he remarked, "Turtle eggs."
"Ohh!" Cleo gushed and crouched down, "Little turtles are so cute."
"You bet they are!" I smiled at the thought of watching the eggs hatch and the baby sea turtles crawling toward the water.
"I hope they all make it."
Lewis carefully covered the sea turtle nest as Cleo stood back up. I grabbed a couple of sticks and planted them in the sand signifying the location of the nest so that no one accidentally stepped in it.
"So, you want to show me something?" Lewis asked turning to Cleo.
"Yes, I do," she answered and turned to Rikki, Emma, and me, "Ready?"
The four of us ran behind the rocks and stripped down to the bathing suits that we wore under our clothes and dashed toward the water. Once we dove in, our tails emerged. Each of us flipped our tails above the surface for Lewis to watch and then swam together.