Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels (19 page)

Yes! I like her short hair. Yours is long except for this part.
Petra reached out and touched my bangs.
Your
hair
is
pretty. Don't you think it's pretty, Luke?

Very
pretty,
Luke agreed. He reached out and touched my bangs, too, pushing them away from my face. My heart fluttered like the school of passing fish I caught in the corner of my eye.
Did
you
want
to
ask
me
something?

Okay. I had just helped overthrow an underwater empire. Surely I could ask a guy out on a date.

Well, remember when I mentioned the Fall Folly dance when we were walking to school last week?
I asked.

Yeah.
Luke hesitated for a second.
That
was
weird, right? I wasn't exactly sure if you had asked me, then I didn't want to bring it up in case you hadn't—

Oh,
I exclaimed.
Because
when
I
told
you
it
was
on
September
nineteenth, not October nineteenth, and you got
that weird look on your face, I wasn't sure if you wanted to go.

And
I
only
got
the
weird
look
on
my
face
because
October
nineteenth is my birthday and I wasn't sure if you knew that,
Luke replied.

I stared at him for a full ten seconds before I sorted out all that had happened.

Fluke1019,
I murmured. Like the code Trey used to track Luke underwater and the name he used for his cell. October nineteenth.
Your
birthday. The day your grandfather found you when you washed up on shore.

Only, I guess that's not really my birthday,
Luke reminded me,
since
Pollinia
said
I
was
about
a
month
old
by
then.

Which
means…
I waited for him to make the mental leap.

That
my
actual
birthday
is
somewhere
around
the
nineteenth of September. Wait—
Luke seemed to be adding something in his head
—is that tomorrow?

Yup,
I replied.

I remembered how Luke's mom said he could find his mer family once he turned fifteen, and here he was, surrounded by all of them.

So,
I said again.
I
was
going
to
ask
you
to
the
Fall
Folly, but since it's kinda actually your fifteenth birthday tomorrow, why don't you go to the back of the line for the Merlin 3000 and hang out and celebrate with your new family in the meantime?

Oh
yes, oh yes, oh yes!
Petra cried.

Well, it seems like one of us likes that idea.
Luke laughed and nuzzled Petra's nose, then turned to me.
But
are
you
sure? I'll do my best to get there on time.

Don't rush.
A snort bubble escaped as I laughed.
Trust
me, I dance worse than I swim.

Same
here!
Luke leaned past Petra and kissed me on the cheek amid the ring of little mer-girl giggles.

“I can't wait to collapse into my warm, cozy bed,” I mumbled, leaning heavily against the passenger-side window as Dad weaved the car through the streets of Port Toulouse late Friday night.

Eddie had the Merlin 3000 all set up at his house along the coast, and he'd started the transformations with Coach Laurena since she was having the hardest time breathing. It would take a while before Laurena, Mom, Serena, Mr. Chamberlain, and Luke all got their turns in the tub, but hopefully Dad's new “upgrades” would speed things up.

“I call it the Merlin 3001,” Dad had exclaimed earlier when he told me about the refinements he'd made on the hot tub. “It's got new high-speed jets, titanium valves, and five cup holders.”

“Cup holders? Seriously, Dad?” I rolled my eyes at him.

“And an iPod docking station,” he replied.

“But is it fast?” I asked.

“What do you think the extra ‘1' stands for?” he replied with a grin.

I surprised myself—hoping it would be fast enough to get Luke home in time for the Fall Folly dance. But that was kind of ridiculous since I didn't have a dress and I hated to dance. Still, after being underwater far too much in the past few months, “awkward dancing” sounded like the perfect thing for a fourteen-year-old girl—a human girl—to obsess over.

We pulled into our neighborhood, hoping we wouldn't be mobbed by camera crews trying to get the scoop on the two mer-girls discovered at the local pool, but the streets were eerily quiet. When Dad turned onto our street, though, we were greeted by the same black sedan that had met us there a few weeks before.

From what I could see by the light of the streetlight, the car held Mr. Chamberlain's two enforcers, the one with the glasses and the other one with the moustache. Last time we'd run into them, they were hot on our tails trying to get evidence away from me to save Mr. Chamberlain's construction project. Why were they back?

“It's those guys again.” I nudged Dad and pointed. “They work for Lainey's dad.”

“I called Mrs. Chamberlain to tell her about her husband earlier. What could they want?” Dad asked.

“Did Mrs. Chamberlain say anything about Lainey? Did she tell Lainey about her dad? Did Lainey say anything about
us
?” I asked.

“Honestly, it was a quick phone call,” Dad said, rubbing his hair with one hand as he steered with the other. “I had to call Daniel to let him know where to meet Laurena, then call Bridget to see how she was doing, and then there were Luke's parents—”

“What if Lainey
still
doesn't know?” It had been over twenty-four hours since Lainey Chamberlain had confronted us on the pool deck and discovered our mer secret. A lot could have been going through her scheming little brain since then. “What if she put these guys up to this and they've got a news reporter in the backseat or something?”

“Let's just play it cool,” Dad said as he gripped the steering wheel to drive around them.

Dad parked the car in our driveway and we got out. I snuck a peek back down the street, but it was too dark to see anything.

“Maybe it's just a slow day for corporate takeovers,” I joked, trying not to freak out as the motion sensor turned on our porch light and we climbed the front steps to our house.

Dad fumbled for his keys, dropping them to the ground in the process.

“Here, let me,” I offered, picking up the keys so I could unlock the front door, but I could see the car's headlights turn on out of the corner of my eye. “Oh, no. Dad, they're coming down the street…they're at the end of our driveway right now…”

One of the tinted windows rolled down halfway to reveal a passenger in the backseat.

“We're fine.” Dad sighed in relief. “It's just Mrs. Chamberlain.”

“
Mademoiselle
Jade?” she called out to me. “
Voilà!
”

“Why does she want me?” I whispered to Dad, but he looked just as confused as I was.

Mrs. Chamberlain leaned out the window and held out a box. Dad and I walked to the end of the driveway together.

“What's this?” I asked, taking the box in my hands.

“
Une
surprise
,” Mrs. Chamberlain said with a wink. “Open it once you get inside so you can see it properly.”

I looked past Mrs. Chamberlain into the darkened car. Lainey was there, her eyes wet and swollen.

“Lainey.” I hugged the box to my chest. “Are you okay?”

Lainey nodded but said nothing more.

“We have been discussing Lainey's father,” Mrs. Chamberlain said quietly, “and you and the other girl, of course. It's all still new right now but we shall see our way through. Isn't that right,
chérie
?”

Mrs. Chamberlain took Lainey's hand and squeezed it. Lainey looked at her mom and smiled, then laid her head against her mother's shoulder.

“Well, we must go,” Mrs. Chamberlain said quietly. “You must rest after your ordeal.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Chamberlain,” my dad held out his hand to shake Mrs. Chamberlain's, “for coming by and setting our minds at ease. You don't know how much it means to us to know our secret is safe with you.”

“And likewise,” Mrs. Chamberlain said, patting Dad's hand.

“Yeah and, um, thanks for this, too, by the way—whatever it is.” I held up the box.

“Oh, it is not from me. I just put the finishing touch.” She signaled for her driver to go.

“Wait. What?” I asked as the car pulled away.

“Call
Mademoiselle
Cori,” Mrs. Chamberlain said as she raised the tinted window. “She will tell you the rest.”

I stood at the bottom of the driveway with Dad, trying to piece together what had just happened. Lainey hadn't blabbed about Serena and me, other than to her mother. And she wouldn't. Not now—not ever—considering her dad had the same secret.

Was life actually going to get back on track? For real this time? It had to.

We were safe. And home.

And famished.

“You hungry?” I asked.

“Starving.” Dad put an arm around me and we headed up the driveway. “Let's order pizza.”

It was nice to know some things never changed.

• • •

I'd called Cori and she insisted on coming over before I opened the package.

She looked like she was about to jiggle off the couch as I pulled the coral blue dress from the
Boutique
Chambre
Laine
box. It was the same color as the tankini I'd bought with her at Hyde's Department Store four months before. The one with the
Michaela
tag that had reminded me so much of Mom.

“What on earth?” I stood and pulled the dress toward me and looked down.

“Do you like it?” Cori asked in an excited voice.

“I…I love it.” I'd never been a dress-up kind of girl, but the fabric, the color, the details were all so amazing that I couldn't help but gasp. Plus, the dress looked about my size. I looked up at Cori. “Is this for me?”

“Of course it's for you, you dope!” Cori said.

“But how did you—did you
make
this? When did you have time?”

“Well, it's not like I whipped it up last night. I've been working on it for quite a while,” Cori replied.

Dad came from the kitchen with the pizzas that had just arrived. He placed them on the coffee table with our sodas. I hung the dress's hanger high along the living room's curtain rod for safekeeping while I grabbed a piece of pizza, but I couldn't tear my eyes away.

“Your mom gave me your bathing suit and a few pieces of clothes so I could get the fit right,” Cori said as she took a slurp of soda.

“Did you know about this?” I eyed Dad.

“Maybe,” Dad said with a sly smile as he munched on his pizza and clicked on the TV.

“No wonder I couldn't find my tankini for underwater hockey! That was cruel and unusual punishment, you know, making me go back to the mall for a new bathing suit.” I whacked Cori in the arm.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Cori said with a laugh, holding up her soda so it wouldn't spill and wiping her mouth, “but it was the only way I could pull it off without you knowing. I wasn't sure how the dress would turn out, and I kept waiting for you to
finally
ask Luke before showing you.”

“But I was too chicken,” I said sheepishly, pulling a string of cheese from my pizza slice.

“Then, I messed up the zipper, which almost ruined the dress,” Cori continued, “and I started to really doubt whether I was cut out to be a fashion designer. When you told me you'd talked to Mrs. Chamberlain for me…I guess I kind of freaked out.”

“Yeah, sorry for going behind your back like that,” I said.

“I'm the one who's sorry. I guess my pride got in the way. But after you disappeared, it felt like if I didn't finish the dress, it would mean you weren't coming home.”

“But how did you have time?” I asked.

“Well, it was just the zipper, so I sucked it up and called Mrs. Chamberlain,” Cori admitted. “Plus, I wanted to find out whether Lainey had said anything about you and Serena. By then, Lainey had spilled her guts to her mom about you guys, and Mrs. Chamberlain was freaking out about her husband, so I filled in a few holes about Tidal Law.”

“That's why you asked me if I'd seen Mr. Chamberlain in that text!” I exclaimed. “I thought you meant he was in the news or something!”

“Oh, sorry!” Cori said with a laugh. “Well, anyway, Mrs. Chamberlain and Lainey and I had a good talk about everything, and Mrs. Chamberlain offered to fix the zipper in time for the Fall Folly. Which is tomorrow night, remember?”

Remember? I'd been obsessing about finding the right dress for the past two weeks. And then there it was, just like in a surreal Cinderella moment, only the field mice and birds hadn't sewed and mended my dress. Cori had. Like the true friend she was.

“But, I might not actually have a date, remember? He's at the bottom of the ocean.”

“Well, Serena won't have a date either, but I can share,” Cori said. “Trey will be our date. Oh, and he finally got his driver's license—maybe he can drive!”

“No, no, no-no…” Dad said, putting down his pizza and wiping his face with a napkin. “Three young ladies in the same car with a brand-new driver? I don't think so. I'll drive!”

“So, it's settled then?” Cori asked, grabbing a piece of pizza for herself.

I stared at the dress hanging from the curtain rod, lit up by the living-room lamp. It sparkled like the ocean in the moonlight. I couldn't believe I owned something so beautiful. But what about shoes? I doubted my tattered sneakers would be a good look.

“You don't happen to have a pair of glass slippers to go along with this dress, do you?”

“Got that covered, too.” Cori put down her pizza and wiped her hands on her jeans. She pulled three pairs of silver flip-flops from a bag she'd brought with her, each of them hand-decorated with seashells and plastic flowers. “Flip-floops!”

“They're perfect,” I said.

Maybe I could do this Fall Folly thing after all.