“Oh just the usual, dear.” An equally-tiny voice crackles from her.
“But Mrs. Ellington, it’s only Monday. Your appointment isn’t until Friday morning.”
The old lady glares at Hilda. “You think I don’t know what day it is? What kind of fool do you take me for? Yesterday was Arthur’s poker night, that means today is the society luncheon. I always have my hair done on Fridays so I’ll look my best for the weekend.”
Hilda pats the woman on the shoulder. “Sure, of course, Mrs. Ellington. We’ll make sure you look lovely for the luncheon. Unfortunately, Tammy isn’t here right now.”
The woman puts a frail, jewelry-heavy hand on her hip and purses her thin lips. “Well, why on earth not? I’ve had a standing appointment with her every Friday for the last ten years. This is unacceptable.”
“Yes, ma’am, I’m so sorry. But one of our other stylists would be happy to assist you.”
Hilda and I glance at the other booths, but most everyone is busy or has already left for lunch. I’m the only one available. Hilda raises an eyebrow at me and gives me a look that tells me I better do my best to keep this woman happy.
“This is Avery, Mrs. Ellington. Why don’t you have a seat in his chair?” Hilda leads the woman over to me and holds her hand while she drops into my chair with a sigh.
Her hair is rolled, teased, and sprayed into a big, white helmet. I’ve done a set and style like this in school, but not much since then. It’s going to take at least an hour, and most of that time I’ll need to have my arms up. My hands shake just thinking about it. I have to do this, though. I can’t disappoint Hilda on my first day, and this woman is obviously someone important.
I take a deep breath and dive in, washing and drying and setting the woman’s hair with rollers, all the while listening to her rattle on about her society friends and their families while she flips through a magazine. After about fifteen minutes, she starts repeating the same stories over again.
Pain streaks through my arm and shoulder with every move, and the wounds sear like a hot curling wand is being shoved into the holes. I close my eyes for a moment, swaying, trying to keep from crying in agony. When Hilda’s not watching, I use my good arm to hold up my bad one. Thankfully, Mrs. Ellington is too out of it to notice. Finally, after an hour, I’m just about finished.
“How does that look, Mrs. Ellington?” I ask just before I spray it into a solid headpiece.
Mrs. Ellington purses her lips and scowls at her reflection, turning her head back and forth examining every inch of it. “This is totally unacceptable. You’ll need to start over.”
“What? What’s wrong with it?” I sputter. I’ve duplicated the style she came in with.
“It’s not curly enough. It needs more height, more volume.” She goes back to her magazine like she has nothing better to do than sit here for another hour while I redo it.
Sighing but resisting the urge to groan, I pick up a curling iron and raise it up to the top of her head, separating a section of her hair. But when I press the lever, a bolt of pain shoots through my arm, cramping the muscle.
My hand seizes, and the curling iron drops from my grasp, bouncing off Mrs. Ellington’s head and shoulders and landing in her lap, sizzling against the polyester cape. Pain radiates through my whole body, stunning me into a fog and blurring my vision.
Mrs. Ellington shrieks and pushes the curling iron off her lap. I watch it fall as it clatters to the ground, and my own body follows it, dropping in slow motion as the world goes gray around me.
Chapter 8
Coral
What day is it? Is it Monday or Tuesday? Panic bubbles up inside me as I realize I’ve lost track. I work backwards, counting how many times I’ve slept since I’ve been here, the days I spent with my mother, and the days I was held captive by James and his crew. What day did we leave the city on Gio’s boat?
I swim frantically back and forth across the small room, whipping around when my fin scrapes the wall and heading back the other way, stirring up the water into a whirlpool. I make lap after lap, trying to remember. Merfolk don’t count the days of the week or months of the year like humans do, so I can’t even ask one of the guards who bring me food a few times a day.
I don’t know why it matters, but suddenly I’m desperate to know exactly how long I’ve been gone. What are the guys doing right now? Is Liam back in school? Has Avery started working at the salon? What about Jude? Is he going to enroll in culinary school? Thinking about Gio brings a sharp bite of guilt. I know my absence has upended all his plans. Have I been gone long enough that they’ve all made new ones that don’t include me? The thought is like a fishhook speared through my chest, holding me captive.
I have nothing else to do here, so I fill my days thinking about the guys, playing out elaborate daydreams of things we would do if we were together again. Of course, I’ve never done most of those things, they’re all human pleasures I never got to experience. It’s just fantasy created by my imagination, inspired by things they said or movies we watched on TV. But I don’t have anything better to do to pass the time, so instead of wallowing in my isolation and loneliness, I lose myself in my own mind, trying to pass the hours.
Jude promised to take me to a movie — buy me a big tub of popcorn and a giant soda for us to share. I imagine kissing him in the darkness when the characters on the screen have their big moment. He said it wasn’t a big deal, humans go all the time, but it sounded special to me. Why hadn’t we done it yet?
Avery wanted to take me out for a nice dinner at a French restaurant then to an art museum so he could show me all his favorite pieces. He said I’d need a fancy dress. We had reservations for September 13th. Has the date come and gone already? I can’t remember what day of the month it was when we left.
Liam and I watched a movie one time that took place in the winter. I was mesmerized by the concept of snow. He said we wouldn’t get any snow in Florida, but come winter, we’d go somewhere cold, and he’d teach me how to ski. He said his family went skiing every winter in Aspen, and he’d take me with him next time. I try to imagine the feel of snowflakes landing on my face. Liam said they were kind of like raindrops only cold and fluffy, but my mind can’t conjure the sensation. I guess I’ll never know.
Gio said he wanted to take me and Bella to Disney World, an amusement park full of rides and games and people dressed up like cartoon characters. Bella scoffed at that and said she was too old for kids’ stuff, but it sounds like fun to me. I want to see the Magic Kingdom and the castle where the princesses live.
I’m so caught up in my worries and fantasies that I don’t even hear her at first when Meribel whispers at me through the door. “Coral, Coral! Are you okay in there? It’s me, Meribel!”
Suddenly, her voice cuts through the swirling thoughts in my mind, and I race to the door. “Meribel! Where have you been? Did they hurt you?”
“I’m fine. They made up a crazy story about you and tried to convince me you were dangerous and delusional, but I knew it wasn’t true. I played along and pretended that I believed them. They threatened me, tried to make sure I’d stay silent. They kept me locked up at first, but they didn’t hurt me. They told me I wasn’t allowed anywhere near you, though, and I’d be punished if I tried.”
“Then what are you doing here?” Fear makes my voice high and shaky.
“You’re my best friend, Coral! I know you’re not crazy. I had to hear the truth from you. All the guards are in a meeting with King Aegeus, so I knew this was my only chance to come talk to you.”
I sigh and press my cheek against the rough, wooden door, wishing I could see her, touch her.
“You might think I’m crazy once you hear me out, Meribel, but I promise it’s the truth. The curse is a lie. I spent months on the land, and nothing happened to me. I met four humans, and they’re incredible, Meribel. Their world is like nothing you could even imagine.”
I tell her all about my time on the island and in the city, and Meri
bel swoons at the idea of mating with four humans. But I can hear the terror in her voice when I tell her about being kidnapped by James and his crew. She’s just as shocked as I was when I reveal how I escaped.
“There are other shoals out there, Meribel. Lots of them! Llyr took me to his, and you wouldn’t believe how they live — half their lives in the water, and half on land! Even the mermen live like humans!”
“What? Mermen can’t shift!” Meribel gasps, and I wonder if I’ve lost her.
“I swear it’s true. I saw a merman shift with my own eyes. But there’s more.”
I hear her fingers scratching on the door like she’s trying to claw her way in so she can see me. As if she can’t believe it unless she looks in my eyes. Will she be able to swallow what I have to say next?
“I found my mother, Meribel. She’s been living there since I was a baby. She told me what really happened, and it’s not like Grandfather said. She didn’t abandon me, he banned her from the shoal. He had the sea witch curse us, but the curse was not what we thought. He’s mesmerized everyone into believing what he says. I came back here so I could reveal the truth.”
My grand revelation is met with silence, and I’m pummeled with the realization that the curse is too strong to break. Even my best friend can’t accept what I’m saying. I slump against the door, feeling like a failure. How can I convince the entire shoal when I can’t convince my best friend?
It’s quiet for so long, I think she’s left, but finally I hear her voice again. “That really does sound crazy, Coral. I want to believe you, but…”
I scramble upright again and press my hands to the door. “Meribel, please. Why would I lie to you? If I wasn’t locked in here, I’d take you there right now so you could see. You have to believe me, and you have to tell everyone the truth.”
“Coral, I can’t! They’ll never listen to me. I’m just a handmaid’s daughter.”
“Then you have to help me get out of here so I can tell them myself.”
Meribel gasps, then her voice gets low and fast. “I think the meeting’s over. I can hear the officers coming out. I have to go now, but I’ll try, Coral. I’ll figure out a way to get you out.”
More days go by, and my mind is a swirling jumble as thoughts crash around inside like waves hitting the rocks. I thought I’d hear from Meribel by now, but there’s been no sign of her. What if they found out she came to talk to me and they’ve locked her up, too? What if they’ve punished her?
She’s not a child anymore. Grandfather could easily kick her out of the palace. She should’ve gone to land to mate already. She knew that Kai could never be hers. I tried encouraging her to find someone else to take her mind off him, but she refused to take another mate. I figured she’d come to her senses once Kai and I were married and she realized there was no chance she could be with him.
I wish she could find someone she could be with. Maybe I should encourage her to go to another shoal. Maybe she would like Llyr. He’s kind and handsome, brave and adventurous. I bet he’d treat her like a princess. If she married him and moved to his shoal, she could come to land to visit me!
I let these new daydreams occupy my mind while I wait for her to come back, refusing to let myself contemplate all the bad things that could be keeping her from returning. Finally, three days later, I hear her voice again.
“Coral, wake up, it’s Meribel. Wake up, Coral.” Her whisper tickles my ear like a stream of bubbles, eventually rousing me.
As soon as I realize she’s there, I swish to the door and lay my head against it. “Is everything okay? Where have you been?”
“I’m sorry, Coral. I’ve been trying to find a way to get you out of here, but it’s impossible. The guard keeps the key on him all the time.”
I had a feeling this news was coming, but disappointment still crashes into me, knocking me back. I can’t give up that easily, though.
“What about your mother? Maybe she could help.”
“I tried talking to her, but she’s on his side.” Muriel’s voice echoes my own sorrow. Since Meribel’s mother was my handmaiden, I thought her loyalty would be with me.
In desperation, I bring up the only other person I can think of who might help me. “What about Kai? Do you think he could do anything?”
“He won’t help you, Coral. I knew it was a long shot, but I got desperate and told him what was going on, hoping he would help me, but he wouldn’t. He’s mad at you for leaving and ruining everything. He won’t even talk to me anymore. He says there’s no point in spending time together since he’s going to die when he has to fight for the throne.”
“Oh, Meribel! I’m so sorry! Can you ever forgive me?” Guilt wells up inside me, threatening to drown me. At least if I’d stayed and married Kai, he wouldn’t have to risk his life.
Meribel’s voice cracks with agony. “It hurts, Coral. I knew he’d never be mine, but I thought we’d always be friends. The thought of him being killed in battle is too much for me to bear. I don’t know what I’ll do when that time comes.”
Once again, the thought crosses my mind that Meribel should leave, get away from here and find a new life somewhere else. Suddenly, the idea blossoms into another solution. “Meribel, I’ve got it! The other shoal I was telling you about, where my mother is. You and Kai could go there. No one would know that he’s high-ranking and you’re a servant’s daughter. You could be together.”
Meribel gasps and goes silent for a moment while the idea sinks in. “But what about you? I can’t leave you here to die in this cage.”
“I have an idea for that, too. My mother is there, and she knows how to find my mates. Go to her, Meribel. Tell her what happened. Beg her to go find them. They’ll come for me, I know they will.”
Meribel is quiet for another moment, contemplating my crazy idea. I know she’s tempted, but Meribel has never done anything so far outside what’s expected of her. “I don’t know, Coral. We’d be leaving everything behind. How far away is it?” she finally squeaks.
“It’s a day’s swim. You could go and check it out then decide if that’s what you want to do.”
“Tell me how to get there. If Kai will go with me, I’ll do it.”
Hope rises up in me like the tide, saturating the dry, packed sand around my heart so it can beat again.
Chapter 9
Jude
My dad steps in front of me, blocking the TV, and puts his hands on his hips. “What are you doing, Jude?”
I crane my neck to see around him. “Running a marathon, obviously.”
Dad grabs the remote and aims it at the TV, clicking it off, then tosses it on the table by my feet.
“I meant with your life. You didn’t go back to school this semester, you don’t have a job, and all you’ve done is party and lay around ever since you got back.”
I groan and throw a hand over my prickly face. I guess I haven’t shaved in a while, either. “I’m going diving again with Gio as soon as he’s ready,” I mutter.
“And when is that going to be?”
“I don’t know. What’s the hurry? I’ve got money. I made a hundred grand on the last dive. You want me to pay rent, or something?”
Dad pushes my legs off the couch so he can sit down, forcing me into an awkward position. I pull myself up so I’m leaning against the arm of the couch.
“I’ve very impressed that you found some gold, but is treasure diving really what you want to do with the rest of your life?”
I shrug. “I don’t know, I guess.” I didn’t tell my family that I was thinking about culinary school, and now I’m glad, because if I had they’d be hounding me about it.
It seemed like an awesome idea when Coral suggested it. But now that she’s gone, my self doubt is creeping back in, taking over my mind, whispering that I’m not good enough and I’ll never be able to make it.
“I know you’ve had a tough couple of months, what with the shipwreck and being stranded on the island. I’m actually surprised you wanted
to go out on the boat again. When you came back the first time, you seemed so happy, enthusiastic about life. But now you seem lost again. How can I help you, Jude?”
I stare at him for a minute, taking in his wrinkled dress shirt and slacks. He’s an average guy, like me. Not particularly great at anything. But he’s spent his whole life climbing some invisible ladder to success — putting on dress clothes and going to an office, pushing papers and sitting through meetings, getting promotions and raises and pats on the back from his superiors that make it seem worth it to him. And he thinks I should do the same thing so I can “be successful.”
But none of that matters to me. Who cares about success if I’m bored all the time? If I’m going to chase success, I want it to be something I’m passionate about, but I don’t have the skills or talents to do anything special.
Even finding the gold, which was pretty awesome, was just a stroke of luck. It’s not like I was responsible for finding the shipwreck or digging up the gold. That was all Coral.
The only thing I’m halfway decent at is cooking, and I’m not sure I’m really that great at that. I’m just a little better at it than my friends and family. I’m sure if I went to culinary school it would be obvious that I have nowhere near enough talent to make a career of it. Probably the only chef job I’ll ever be able to get is flipping burgers at McDonald’s.
Coral always made me feel like I was better than I am, but the truth is, I’m just an average Joe who might as well accept the fact that this is the best I’m going to do in life. Why should I try for something better when I know I’m not cut out for it? Coral obviously decided I wasn’t worth the effort.
“You know, I’m sure your brother would be willing to put in a good word for you at his company, get you in the door, at least. It would probably be entry-level, but you could work your way up. There’s endless potential for advancement in a company like that.”
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