Mermaid School

by Lucy Courtenay

  “Is the sh-sh-shark following us?” she stammered after a few minutes.

  “No,” Pearl said. She sounded a little disappointed.

  This was a part of the lagoon that Marnie had never visited. She almost forgot about Orla as she gazed around.

  “Coral trout,” Pearl told her as they swam through shoals of beautiful flickering orange fish. Several huge creatures flew gracefully over their heads, their wide wings blocking the sunlight that filtered through the water. “And those are mantas,” said Pearl. “There are some bluefin tuna over there too.”

  Marnie watched the tuna skim away into the distance.

  “You know so much,” she said.

  “I’m a fish-spotter,” Pearl admitted, turning a little pink. “It’s not a very cool hobby, I know.”

  “I think it’s awesome,” said Marnie.

  “I have a chart of all the fish I’ve spotted at home.” Pearl beamed. “I’ll show you one day.” Her voice suddenly changed. “Hey, what’s that?”

  Marnie tore her eyes away from an octopus scooting along the lagoon bed below them. She stared. Letters had been carved into the surface of a rock just ahead of them.

  “C-H-R-I . . .” She spelled out carefully. “Christabel! Pearl, it says Christabel!”

  There were two more words.

  “L-O-V-E-S A-R-T-H-U-R,” Pearl spelled out. “Christabel loves Arthur. Who’s Arthur?”

  Marnie’s aunt had never mentioned anyone called Arthur. Puzzled, Marnie reached down and touched the letters, worn smooth by the current of the lagoon. “I don’t know,” she said.

  “Maybe it’s a different Christabel,” Pearl said.

  Urchin gave a sudden snort and took off. His scaly neck stretched out and his fins beat furiously.

  “What’s the rush?” Pearl shouted, chasing after Marnie as she held on tight.

  “I think Urchin knows where we are,” Marnie shouted back. “He must have been here before.”

  A great set of rocks were looming ahead of them, lit by the watery sun. The rugged shadows fell at a strange angle. East, Marnie thought.

  The realization settled in her belly like a cold, hard stone.

  They were at the East Lagoon Rocks.

  The East Lagoon Rocks! Human divers had seen Aunt Christabel at this place. What if someone saw Marnie and Pearl?

  “Pearl,” Marnie hissed. “We can’t be here, we—”

  An odd noise filtered towards them. Marnie stopped talking. She’d heard that sound before.

  “Someone’s crying,” said Pearl, trying to stop Andrew from eating the seaweed on the rockface.

  “Orla,” Marnie gasped.

  It had to be. Of all the places in Mermaid Lagoon, Orla Finnegan had come here.

  Marnie rode Urchin around the rocks, trying to figure out where the crying was coming from. The rocks were almost smooth, with very few crags wherea crying mermaid could hide. Urchin snuffled and snorted and pulled eagerly.

  “You brought Aunt Christabel here, didn’t you?” said Marnie, realizing. “That’s why you know it! Come on then, Urchin. Where is Orla?”

  She loosened the reins. Urchin took off, flying up close to the surface of the water. And then Marnie spotted it: a gaping black hole covered with weeds. The crying sounded louder here.

  Marnie swam up to the hole. “Hello?” she called into the blackness.

  The crying stopped. Orla’s voice was faint but filled with hope. “Who’s there?”

  “It’s Marnie!” She peered more closely into the tunnel. “Where are you?”

  “Marnie?” Orla sounded wary now. “What are you doing here?”

  “We’re rescuing you, you idiot,” Pearl said, swimming over to join Marnie at the tunnel mouth.

  “Why?”

  “Is this really the time for questions?” Pearl demanded.

  A sob and a hiccup echoed towards them. “I didn’t want to go home in case my parents had bad news. I love my sister so much. I’ve been so worried about her ever since she went to the Gulf of Mexico and now all my worries have come true. So I came here and swam up the tunnel. Sheela told me once that this is a good place to hide when you want to be by yourself.”

  Marnie had always thought that it was only Aunt Christabel who had come here. Now it sounded like she was just the only mermaid who had gotten caught.

  Orla was still talking. “But I’m cold and tired now and I want to go home even if there’s bad news, except I can’t because—”

  “Orla,” Marnie interrupted. “Listen to me. They found your sister.”

  Orla made a funny sound. “They found her? Really? Is she OK?”

  “She’s fine.”

  Orla started crying again.

  “So you can come out now,” said Pearl in a practical sort of voice.

  “I can’t—”

  “Everything’s OK,” Marnie said. “And we have to get back to school.”

  “But that’s what I’m trying to tell you. I CAN’T come out!” Orla wailed. “There’s an eel—”

  Suddenly a huge, ugly head darted into view from the tunnel mouth, its fangs glinting. Urchin bucked in surprise, and Marnie squealed.

  “Ooh, a moray,” said Pearl. “Did you know they have two sets of jaws?”

  Marnie didn’t want to think about two sets of jaws. One was bad enough.

  There was no way Orla could swim past the eel without being eaten.

  “Where are you exactly, Orla?” she said, from a safer distance.

  They heard Orla sniffing. “There’s a pool up here on the surface and I’m sitting in it. I don’t know what to do!”

  “You’ll have to get out of the pool and jump off the rocks,” Marnie said. “Get back into the water that way.”

  “But I’ll lose my voice if I get out of the water!” Orla wailed back. “I’ll lose my tail!”

  Without hesitation, Marnie made a decision.

  “Watch out for boats, Pearl,” she said, sliding off Urchin. “I’m going up to the surface. Let me know if anyone’s coming.”

  “No!” shouted Pearl. “You can’t do that. What if someone sees you?”

  Marnie ignored her. With a strong flip of her tail, she took off towards the rippling surface. She’d never put her head above water before. Mermaids can breathe air, so she wasn’t scared about that. But she was scared of human divers. And boats.

  Pearl was right. What if she came face to face with a human?

  But what if she left Orla there, and she got eaten by the eel? There was only one thing to do. She had to be brave.

  Marnie burst through the surface of the water. The heat of the sun hit her face and the air in her lungs was hot and unfamiliar. She practiced breathing for a while, staying low in the water, and gazed at the view. She had no idea the lagoon was so flat.

  The East Lagoon rocks were pale pink in the heat of the sun. Nothing grew on them.

  “Orla?” Marnie called as loudly as she dared, swimming around the shore.

  She spotted Orla’s dark head near a pale pink beach on the north side of the rocks. There was a pool, just as Orla had said. Orla was sitting in it, her eyes wide and frightened.

  “It’s not far to the edge,” Marnie called from the water in her most encouraging voice. “Just climb out of the pool and come toward me. You probably won’t even have time to lose your tail.”

  “But what if I do?” Orla cried. “I’ll never be able to swim again! And I don’t want to lose my voice!”

  Marnie thought of Queen Maretta striding out of the water to meet the Weathermaker. She must have got her tail back. You couldn’t be Queen of the Mermaids without a tail. Or a voice. Could you?

  “I’ll do it if you will,” Marnie said.

  Orla gave a shaky smile. “That’s what you said at the stables. I’m sorry about everything, Marnie. I’ve been so angry and worried . . .”

  “It’s okay. We’ll figure it out,” said Marnie. “Let’s just get you out of here first.”

  “Thank you
for coming to find me,” said Orla.

  “Of course.” Marnie smiled. “Now are you ready?”

  Orla nodded.

  Before she could talk herself out of it, Marnie pulled herself ashore. And she watched her fins and scales vanish. Smooth pale skin replaced them and Marnie gawked as legs and feet appeared. She wiggled her toes.

  Weird, she said to herself. Only nothing came out when she said it.

  Marnie froze. No tail. No voice. What was she doing? She was standing on the East Lagoon Rocks like a human. She wasn’t a mermaid anymore. This was bonkers!

  Through her panic, Marnie felt cool fingers on her arm. Orla had climbed out of the pool and was standing beside her. Her legs were as pale as her anxious face.

  We did it, she mouthed. Now what?

  Marnie gripped Orla’s hand. We go home.

  They walked clumsily down the beach together. At that moment, a sparkle of sunlight hit the water, and it reminded her of something. She knew what happened to Sheela’s demo: It had been at Radio SeaWave all along.

  She had to get back to the studio and see if she was right. But only if she could change back into a mermaid.

  Luckily, the moment Marnie’s toes touched the water, they changed back into a powerful fin. She dived. Her tail flashed. The water felt like home.

  “Neptune’s knickers,” said Orla beside her, her own purple tail restored. “I’m NEVER doing that again.”

  “Your voice is back!” Marnie gasped.

  Orla laughed in relief. “So’s yours!”

  “And I know where Sheela’s demo is. I know what happened! And we’re going to fix it. Tonight!”

  “Are we friends now?” said Orla, sounding a bit nervous.

  Marnie grinned. “I guess we are.”

  Pearl swam over on Andrew. “Urchin keeps teasing the moray eel by sticking his head in the tunnel. I think they know each other. Listen, loads of fish swam this way a minute ago, like they were swimming away from something. I think humans must be near.”

  Suddenly Marnie heard a noise in the distance. A boat. She grabbed Urchin’s bridle. “Time to go, Urchin. Can you carry two of us?”

  Urchin lunged at Orla, his teeth bared. Despite Marnie’s best efforts, he refused to let Orla anywhere near him, so Pearl offered Orla a seat on Andrew instead.

  “Thanks, Pearl.” Orla blushed. “I’m sorry I called you a flounder-face, by the way.”

  “Don’t mention it, sea slug,” said Pearl. She grinned. “Just kidding.”

  They dived as deep as they could go. Marnie let Urchin lead, trusting that he knew the way back. As they passed the rock carved with CHRISTABEL LOVES ARTHUR, she wondered again. Who was Arthur?

  Sheela Finnegan’s demo recording sat on the table in front of Marnie, Orla, Pearl, and Christabel in the Radio SeaWave studio. Sheela had decorated it with tiny mother-of-pearl fragments, and it sparkled in the light. Several other sparkly things sat beside it: some delicate crystal beads, a bangle, and a beautiful shell.

  “Garbo?” Christabel said. “Explain yourself.”

  Garbo was sulking in her bowl underneath her poster. All the sparkly things that she’d stolen had been taken from her sea-moss bed, and she wasn’t happy about it.

  “You could have ruined a promising career,” Christabel scolded. “Orla, please tell your sister that I’ll play her demo on tonight’s show, with apologies for my thieving goldfish.”

  “Thank you so much,” Orla said eagerly. “My sister will be really happy.”

  “She won’t be rich and famous right away,” Christabel warned. “The music business is tough. But her demo is good and if she works hard, she could make it in a year or two.”

  The smile fell from Orla’s face. “She has to keep working in the Gulf of Mexico for another year?” she said in dismay. “But the hurricanes—”

  “Auntie, could you give Sheela a job in your studio?” Marnie begged. “You said you needed an assistant.”

  Christabel looked doubtful. “It isn’t very glamorous work.”

  “Sheela won’t mind,” Orla said quickly. “She would love working with you. She thinks you’re incredible.” She blushed. “So do I.”

  “It’s decided then,” said Aunt Christabel, flicking her tail and rising from the table with Sheela’s demo in her hand. “Send a message to the Gulf of Mexico and bring your sister back at once. She can start work right away. NO, Garbo. No treats tonight.”

  “Thank you, Marnie!” Orla cried as Christabel swam off with Flip and Sam to get ready for the evening show. She threw her arms around Marnie and hugged her tightly. “You’re the most amazing mermaid in the world.”

  Marnie blushed. “I just wanted to help,” she said.

  “That’s what makes you amazing,” Orla said, squeezing Marnie’s hands tight.

  “I’m sorry I’ve been so mean to you.”

  “I forgive you.”

  Pearl was examining the shell, bangle, and crystal beads that were still on the table. Garbo watched mournfully.

  “Marnie, you know you said you didn’t think your aunt had ever been in love?” Pearl said.

  CHRISTABEL LOVES ARTHUR. The words on the lagoon rock came back into Marnie’s mind. She still hadn’t asked Aunt Christabel about it.

  “Yes?” she said, doubtfully.

  Pearl looked triumphant. “Well, she has. And it was true love.”

  “How do you know?” asked Marnie in surprise.

  Pearl held out her hand. The tiny beads in her palm looked like little drops of water. Marnie stared.

  “Leaping lobsters!” said Orla. “Those are crystal tears!”

  “And I think Garbo found them here in Christabel’s studio,” said Pearl.

  “I’m Christabel Blue and this is my Big Blue Show,” Christabel said as the title music faded. “All the tunes! All the fun! All the FISH!”

  The sun was blinding on the water of the lagoon, bouncing off the waves and dazzling Arthur Bagshot through his binoculars. He lowered them and rubbed his eyes.

  The boat’s first mate put his head out of the cabin. “Anything, boss?”

  Arthur thought he had seen something by the East Lagoon Rocks a few hours earlier. Two tails, one pink and one purple, flashing through the water. Maybe they were dolphins. Maybe they weren’t. Looking at the same rocks for ten years was enough to drive anyone bananas.

  “No,” he said. “Nothing.”

  “Enough for today then?”

  Arthur ran his hands through his hair. “Yes, enough for today.”

  “Back tomorrow?”

  Arthur polished the lenses on the binoculars with the sleeve of his shirt.

  “Why not?” he said.

  After all, he always came back.

  Just in case.

  About the Author

  Lucy Courtenay has worked on a number of series for young readers, as well as books for young adults. When not writing, she enjoys singing, reading, and traveling. She lives in Farnham, England, with her husband, her two sons, and a cat named Crumbles.

  About the Illustrator

  Sheena Dempsey is a children’s book illustrator and author from Cork, Ireland, who was shortlisted for the Sainsbury’s Book Award. She lives in London with her partner, Mick, and her retired racing greyhound, Sandy.

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