‘Hurray!’ shouted Sam, Sasha, Nerissa and Hakim, who had arrived just in time to hear what Solon said.
The rest of the class had now noticed the ball of fire and were all swimming over, wanting to know how Electra had collected so much. She started telling them about the bottom of the sea, only breaking off when Solon banged his gong.
‘Quiet please, class! It’s time to
announce the winners of the mermaid-fire competition. They are Electra, Sam, Sasha, Nerissa and Hakim. Would they please come forward and collect their prizes!’
The rest of the class clapped as Electra and her friends went forward. They were each presented with a shell medal. When Electra collected her medal, everyone cheered.
‘Well, Electra,’ Solon said, ‘it was unwise to go to the bottom of the sea, but it certainly showed real courage.’ He shook his head, then smiled. ‘Well done. I’m proud of you.’
Electra glowed with delight. For once, she wasn’t getting told off!
Solon turned back to the others. ‘And now,’ he said, ‘it’s lunchtime. I’ll see you all back in school this afternoon.’
As everyone started to swim away, Electra joined her friends.
‘We did it!’ Nerissa exclaimed. ‘We won!’
‘And it’s all thanks to you, Electra,’ Sasha cried. ‘You’re so brave.’
Looking at her friends’ admiring faces, Electra knew she couldn’t lie any longer. ‘I’m not,’ she said. ‘I’m really not. I… I was scared of diving that deep. I only went because Splash needed me.’
The others stared in astonishment.
‘What are you talking about?’ Nerissa asked.
‘I was caught in a sea fir near the bottom,’ Splash explained. ‘Electra swam down to save me.’
Electra took a deep breath and then told them the whole story. It was hard, but she had to tell her friends the truth. As she finished she hung her head, hardly daring to meet their eyes. ‘So you see, Sam was right all along,’ she said in a small voice. ‘I was frightened. I’m not actually brave at all.’
‘But you are!’ Sam exclaimed. Electra looked up at him. He was staring at her with admiration. ‘You
were scared but you still dived down to help Splash. That was a really brave thing to do, Electra.’
Hakim nodded. ‘I think it’s the bravest thing I’ve ever heard.’
‘Splash might have drowned if it hadn’t been for you, Electra,’ Sasha said.
‘You’re amazing!’ Nerissa told her.
Electra felt as if a huge weight had rolled off her shoulders. She smiled at her friends and then everyone hugged.
‘So, what was the bottom of the sea like?’ Hakim asked eagerly.
‘Brilliant!’ Electra said, her eyes glowing as she remembered. ‘You’ll all have to dive down with me one day and see it too.’
‘No way!’ Sasha exclaimed.
‘It’s much too scary for me,’ Nerissa said.
‘Me too,’ Sam agreed. ‘You can have the adventures for all of us, Electra.’
Electra smiled. That suited her just fine. After all, she wouldn’t be totally on her own. She knew she had one friend who would always come with her, no matter what she wanted to do.
Almost as though he was reading her mind, Splash swam up beside her and butted her shoulder with his nose.
‘We will have more adventures together, won’t we, Electra?’ he said hopefully.
Electra hugged him. ‘Oh, yes,’ she said happily. ‘We will!’
Not Quite a Mermaid: Mermaid Fire Page 3
