How to be a Mermaid (The Cotton Candy Quintet #1)(6)

I swam up, breaking through the water. I grabbed onto the edge and hauled myself up as far as my arms would take me. I grinned and waved.

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause.

My wave became less enthusiastic when I locked eyes with Neptune on the sidelines. He always made sure to catch our performances for extra support. Usually, he was the one who started the applause, though not this time. He still had that grim expression on his face. He blinked and shifted his gaze somewhere behind me, and I knew that he was thinking about the poor dolphin calf.

My heart sank, taking the jubilation out of a good performance. My arm fell slowly back to my side, and as the mermaids turned to leave, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something I could do to help little guy.

I’ve never felt so helpless before. Mermaid or not.

***

“Good job today, mermaids!”

Oh no. I recognized that voice, and after today’s events, he was the last person I wanted to see, especially in the women’s changing room.

Mr. Stevens stood in the doorway, wearing a pristine white button-up shirt and tie. An absolutely ridiculous outfit for the backstage area of the aquarium. Then again, he was the type who always wanted to make the best impressions.

While Neptune was laid-back and easygoing despite his rough exterior, Mr. Stevens was calculated in his manner to come across as a successful executive. He appeared to be in his mid-forties, with salt-and-pepper hair.

The praise would have been more meaningful coming from anyone else.

I looked up, meeting Christine’s eyes in the mirror. She gave me an encouraging grin, which meant that I must have looked as forlorn as I felt. She was wearing a loose-fitting sweater, her blonde hair messily blow-dried after her shower and her makeup a lot less dramatic than it had been for the performance. We all used heavy-duty waterproof makeup for our performances, so seeing us without those masks on made us look like entirely different people.

To my utter relief, she took care of the president for us. I could see Alaina and Jordyn sighing with relief as well.

“Thanks, Mr. Stevens, you too.” Christine got up from her seat and headed to the door. She left the room, leaving us to ourselves.

“Ugh, I hate that guy,” Alaina muttered.

Jordyn smirked. “My sentiments exactly.”

I was glad that I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. As I pulled a sweater on over my tank top and pulled up my jeans, Christine came back into the room.

“Well,” she said with an exuberant smile. “Glad to know that we’re appreciated here.”

“He gives me the creeps,” Jordyn said with a shudder.

Christine chuckled. “He’s not that bad. “ She swung her car keys around her finger. “He’s treating us to dinner.”

“With him?” Jordyn interjected, her distaste apparent on her face.

“No,” Christine said, her smile broadening, “only us mermaids.” We never referred to ourselves as “girls” like most people would. We were always “mermaids” to each other, and I thought that was why I fit in better with them than any other group I’d encountered in my life.

That elicited grins from both Jordyn and Alaina. I still felt a bit out of it, and Christine picked that up. She sat in the chair next to me.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “You seem down.” She placed a hand on top of mine on the chair’s armrest. “You did fine with your meet and greet today. And your performance was fantastic. The crowd loved you.”

I fought the urge to clench my fists in my lap. Yes, it was a good day in those respects, but my thoughts kept drifting back to the baby dolphin in the tank and the child’s voice that I had heard.

Did I really hear it? It sounded so mournful, like there would never be any hope again. Whoever said it sounded far too young to feel that way. And if it was the dolphin, then I was either losing it or something was terribly wrong. I didn’t know which was worse.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied. “Just tired. Traveling’s getting to me.”

“I know what will cheer you right uuuup,” she said, drawing out “up” to make it sound like a song. “Dinner, you, me, Jordyn, Alaina?”

A few hours ago, I would have jumped at the chance to connect with them. Now, something was holding me back. I needed time to myself.

“I don’t think I’m up for it tonight,” I said. I offered her a half-smile so she wouldn’t get all motherly on me. “I’m really tired. I’ll meet you guys back at the hotel later.”

Christine immediately frowned and twirled the rental car keys, trying to tantalize me with the thought of a fun dinner. My heart wasn’t into it.

“You’re not coming, Tara?” Jordyn asked, alarmed.

“I’m exhausted.”

“C’mon, Tara,” Christine pushed. When I didn’t acquiesce, she sighed. “All right, I understand. Are you going to be fine by yourself, hun?”

I chuckled dryly, putting on false airs. “Of course.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “All right. Well, we shouldn’t be any later than ten o’clock. Don’t wait up for us.”

Right now, it was seven o’clock. I had three hours to get my head screwed on straight.

“I won’t. Have fun, mermaids.”

The other mermaids waved, giving me hugs. We really were like one big happy family. I was going to be sad whenever I did decide to go back to college and get that “sensible job” that my mother always wanted for me.