How to be a Mermaid (The Cotton Candy Quintet #1)(15)

Christine mouthed something to me, her expression a cross between shock and worry as the crowd went wild, the uproar deafening.

I closed my eyes. I didn’t know how any of it had happened. Suddenly, the air that was filling my lungs now threatened to throw me into hyperventilation. I took a deep breath and retreated, heading back to the other side. I took off my mermaid tail as I did so, and doing that didn’t even slow me down. I reached the ledge, surprising a volunteer and an aquarium worker. Neptune was jogging on the other side, saying something to me.

I didn’t care.

I sprang to my feet, bringing my mermaid tail with me.

“Tara!” It was Christine. She spluttered, farther away, unable to catch up to me. “Tara, wait!”

I ran back to the dressing room, thankfully not running into anyone who could have stopped and asked me what I was doing. I needed to be alone.

What had happened?

I stopped in front of the mirror. Through my tears, I could see that I looked the same. Same dark hair, same green eyes with turquoise flecks, even if they were the color of the sea that day. Then I noticed that the spider web of bruising was gone from my temple. Come to think of it, my headache had been gone for a few hours now. I touched around my face, feeling to see if there was any part of my head that was tender. I lifted up my chin, inspecting to see if there was anything on my neck.

Then I gasped. The first second of a scream escaped my mouth before I could clamp a hand over it. My eyes were wide with terror, a fresh stream of tears falling from them.

Gills. I had gills. Just like Nereia had shown me, I had two slits on either side of my jaw.

Oh my god, it had been real. My dream with Finn and Nereia really happened. Up until now, I’d been willing to believe that it had all been a dream.

The world tilted and I grasped the edge of the vanity, trying not to pass out.

How in the world could I have gotten gills? I wasn’t a mermaid—I was human! A girl who had plans to go to college next year and become a marine biologist. Sure, I’d always wanted to be a mermaid; I just hadn’t realized that I didn’t really want to be a mermaid. Not a real one, at least.

Maybe it was only temporary, and that was how I was able to breathe last night. Maybe it would go away. Or maybe I’d start sprouting a fin for real and I’d have to live under the sea. I had no idea what I’d do with my life if that happened.

“Now that you’re a merwalker, you should come back and visit.” That’s what Nereia had said before I passed out after drinking whatever she had given me. She had called me a merwalker. What the hell was a merwalker?

I needed to think, somewhere where I wouldn’t be bothered.

Without a second thought, I ran into the shower and locked the door. I turned the water on high and huddled in the corner of the shower, unable to really process what was happening to me.

“Tara?” Christine’s voice came on the other side of the door. “Tara, are you okay?”

“I’m fine!” I cried. “I just...” I faltered. “Leave me alone!”

“Let me in, please?” I was about to, until she asked, “What was that out there?”

That only caused my chest to constrict painfully. I pulled up my legs closer in a fetal position. I was a freak, and everyone saw that. The audience might have gone crazy, but they didn’t know that what they saw was not a part of the usual performance. I couldn’t even try explaining what had happened out there. Only that I’d been saved by a merman and a sea witch had done something to help me heal and breathe underwater. Which was now causing me to transform into a mermaid. Or a merwalker, whatever that was.

I wiped the tears from my eyes and stayed in the shower until the water went cold, although it no longer bothered me. And then I still stayed in it even longer, not wanting to face the reality of what was happening to me.





CHAPTER 5


Eventually, I decided that I would have to leave the relative safety of the showers. With my hair still sopping wet, I wrapped a towel around my torso and went into the changing rooms, dreading what I would see.

Other than Christine sitting on the couch and typing on her laptop, I didn’t see anyone else.

She glanced up at me as I came in, raised an eyebrow, and then sat back, crossing her arms. “Do you mind telling me what that was today?” she asked. “Are you on drugs?”

I stared at her open-mouthed. “N-no!” I spluttered, shocked she would even consider something like that.

She was silent for a few moments before she closed her eyes and shook her head. “No, I don’t think that you’re type to do that kind of stuff. Just tell me, how did you...” she waved her hand, trying to describe our performance, “...do that?”

I had no answer for her. I averted my eyes and stood there awkwardly, unable to decide on a single thing to say. How could I?

My silence must have been too long, because Christine sighed and sat back, combing a finger through her hair. “I know it’s not my business unless you do want to talk about it. Still though. You did deviate from the performance today.”

“I’m sorry.”

Despite everything, she gave me a small smile. “You were...amazing though,” she said breathlessly. “I don’t know how you did it. You looked like a real mermaid. I couldn’t believe it. Neither could the audience. Pity you didn’t stick around at the end because everyone wanted to talk to the star of the show. Including Mr. Stevens, who talked to Neptune about having us back next year.”