Cora's Mystery

by Janet Gurtler

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Mermaid Life

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Legend of Mermaids

  Talk It Out

  Write It Down

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Dive in and get swept away!

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  Mermaid Life

  Mermaid Kingdom refers to all the kingdoms in the sea, including Neptunia, Caspian, Hercules, Titania, and Nessland. Each kingdom has a king and queen who live in a castle. Merpeople live in caves.

  Mermaids get their legs on their thirteenth birthdays at the stroke of midnight. It’s a celebration when the mermaid makes her first voyage onto land. After their thirteenth birthdays, mermaids can go on land for short periods of time but must be very careful.

  If a mermaid goes on land before her thirteenth birthday, she will get her legs early and never get her tail back. She will lose all memories of being a mermaid and will be human forever.

  Mermaids are able to stay on land with legs for no more than forty-eight hours. Any longer and they will not be able to get their tails back and will be human forever. They will lose all memories of being a mermaid.

  If they fall in love, merpeople and humans can marry and have babies (with special permission from the king and queen of their kingdom). Their babies are half-human and half-merperson. However, this love must be the strongest love possible in order for it to be approved by the king and queen.

  Half-human mermaids are able to go on land indefinitely and can change back to a mermaid anytime. However, they are not allowed to tell other humans about the mermaid world unless they have special permission from the king and queen.

  Chapter One

  Deep below the waves, in the heart of Neptunia, my cave vibrated with the sounds of mermaid laughter and merboy cheers.

  “Wow, Cora,” Rachel, one of my best friends, said as she swam up beside me in the kitchen. “I had no idea this party was going to be so …”

  “Amazing?” I filled in for her as I topped off a bowl of salty seaweed. I grinned.

  “Loud,” Rachel finished, her eyes open wide as she glanced out at all the merkids gathered in my cave. I’d invited my entire swim team and all of their friends to come celebrate the swim meet next week. It was biggest meet of the season and a huge deal for all the castles. Our team deserved this pre-tournament tradition. Even merkids from other castles and swim teams had shown up.

  Shyanna, my other best friend, swam up to my other side and linked arms with me. “So loud,” she agreed. “But Cora wouldn’t want a party any other way!” She winked.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. Rachel and Shyanna both had small families and weren’t used to constant chaos. I, on the other hand, came from a big family. My friends knew I loved parties and being surrounded by people — the fact that today’s crowd included merkids from the swim team made me even happier. It was like being part of the Spirit Squad 2 — as magical as a morning seahorse dance!

  “It’s true!” I agreed. I swirled around the water, unable to contain my joy and excitement. Food, fun, and frolicking! My family loved loud celebrations too, and my mom happily darted around, helping with the party, while my dad kept my sisters busy.

  The only thing that put a damper on the party was when Regina Merrick, a member of the Spirit Squad, showed up. I still hadn’t forgiven Regina for how cruelly she’d treated Rachel in the past, just because Rachel was half-human. Not even forming our own team — Spirit Squad 2 — made Regina’s behavior acceptable.

  “Don’t worry about her,” Rachel said when Regina swam into the cave. Regina stuck her nose in the air and swam past, quickly attaching herself to the side of a cute Titania merboy.

  I frowned, but Rachel shook her head and said, “Just ignore her.” I guess Rachel is better at forgiveness than I am.

  Shyanna grabbed a piece of the seaweed from the bowl I was still holding and stuck the long strand into her mouth. “Yum! Such good seaweed!”

  We all swam back into the chaos, and I placed the refilled bowl on a seashell table. A few moments later, a group of merboys swooped in and emptied it. They disappeared as quickly as they’d appeared — all except for one. It was the same merboy Regina had attached herself to when she arrived. She was gone now, and he treaded water alone. He smiled at the three of us, his eyes lingering a little longer on Shyanna. I covered my smile with my hand. There was a big grain of salty seaweed lodged in his teeth.

  “So I hear your relay team is going to give our team a good race,” the merboy said to me, swimming closer. He didn’t stop smiling at Shyanna with that big piece of seaweed stuck in his tooth.

  Shyanna kindly pointed at her teeth and then at his. The merboy’s cheeks turned bright red, and he turned away and dug his finger in his mouth to remove the snack.

  Just then, I heard my name being called and turned to see the other members of my relay team.

  “Cora!” Jada called again. She waved me over to where she and the rest of my teammates were starting to dance. I thought about joining them, but I noticed Rachel cringing a little. I knew the chaos overwhelmed her a little.

  “Go ahead without me!” I called back. I watched as the relay girls chased each other around in a figure-eight dance. Their mermaid tails swished and flashed like a sea rainbow. I clapped my hands and whistled.

  “They look as comfortable and carefree with each other as a pod of dolphins,” Shyanna said.

  “Wow! That’s a real compliment! Shyanna, you love dolphins more than merpeople,” Rachel teased.

  “She does?” the merboy, who was still standing behind us, asked.

  “Not entirely,” Shyanna said, winking at him.

  I glanced back at the merboy. He looked away quickly and licked his salty fingers. He seemed about to say something, but then stopped and turned away, swimming slowly back to the other side of the room.

  “There’s something suspicious about the way he’s skulking around,” I muttered.

  “He’s not skulking. He seemed nice enough. He’s probably just shy or something,” Shyanna said.

  I didn’t necessarily agree, but Rachel grabbed my hand and turned her full-on attention to me. “So are pre-competition parties supposed to help with your big swim meet?”

  “Pre-game rituals are important,” I told her, quickly forgetting about the merboy. My stomach started dancing, the nerves in my stomach swirling in frenzied circles as I thought about the upcoming swim meet.

  “Are you nervous?” Rachel asked.

  “You know when you’re so excited about something it’s all you can think about?” I asked.

  Rachel’s head bobbed up and down, and Shyanna joined in.

  “That’s how I feel!”

  “You’re going to do great!” Shyanna assured me. “Everyone says your relay team is going to win the thirteen-year-old race!”

  “Who’s on your team?” Rachel asked. She was new to our castle in Neptunia and still learning who everyone was.

  “Jada Cotnam, Kaitlyn Lumby, and Cassie Shores.” I pointed to Kaitlyn and Jada, who were laughing near the makeshift dance floor.

  “Oh, yeah,” Rachel said. “I knew. I just couldn’t remember.” She smiled and turned back to me. “You’re all such amazing swimm
ers. And you have a good chance at winning the trophy for the butterfly race.”

  “Well, I have a chance,” I replied. “Shelby Stewart is big competition. She’s really fast! And Jada is too.”

  “Is it weird that you swim on the same team and do relay events together but race against each other in individual races?” Rachel asked.

  I shrugged. I didn’t want to say it out loud, but it was a little strange. I was really competitive and wanted to beat everyone, including the mergirls on my own team, but good sportsmanship was important too. It was important to learn how to compete and stay friends, no matter who won.

  “Two-tale races!” someone shouted.

  I looked over and saw Jada and Kaitlyn linking their fins together for a two-tail race against Shelby and another mergirl from her castle. Cassie was helping them tie their tails together.

  “Take those two-tail races out of this cave!” my mom called as she swam by the merkids getting ready to race.

  “Of course,” Jada and Kaitlyn replied, swimming toward the exit of the cave. “Those girls are going to need extra room to try and catch up to us anyhow.”

  Everyone laughed, and most of the merboys and mergirls at the party swam out of the cave to watch the races. Rachel, Shyanna, and I followed.

  The two teams lined up. Both pairs had their fins securely tied together for the race. A merboy I didn’t know shouted, “Go!” and then Jada and Kaitlyn took off. Shelby and her partner were right beside them.

  Almost immediately there was a horrible, screeching cry. Jada and Kaitlyn both stopped, and each girl grabbed at her tail.

  “Oh my gosh!” I cried. “There’s been an accident!” An accident involving two of my relay team members! I raced toward them, hoping they weren’t injured badly. Both mergirls sat on the bottom of the ocean, wearing matching pained looks on their faces.

  This seemed like a bad omen of things to come.

  And I didn’t like bad omens. Not at all.

  Chapter Two

  Someone called the castle merdoctor, and he swam over as fast as he could. The party atmosphere died out quickly when he arrived. Most of the guests left, but the swim team stuck around, waiting for the results. Coach Cara arrived and sat with the girls as the doctor examined their tails. When she swam over to give us the news, I knew it wasn’t good. Shyanna and Rachel were on either side of me and each reached for my hand. They knew how much the upcoming swim meet meant to me.

  “Kaitlyn and Jada have torn their tails and won’t be able to swim in the competition,” Coach Cara announced. “They have to rest their fins for at least two weeks.” Everyone groaned. “It’s bad news for all of us,” she continued. “If we don’t compete in the thirteen-year-old relay, we won’t qualify to win the Team Banner. It’s too late to scratch from the event.”

  I tried to fight back tears. We all wanted that banner so much. We’d all been busting our tails training. “What happened?” I asked.

  “They found a fishing hook in the rope,” Coach Cara said. “It dug into their tails when they started racing. We can’t figure out how the hook got there.”

  “This is terrible news!” Cassie said.

  Suddenly I had a thought. “What if we put in emergency substitutes?” I looked at my two best friends. “If Rachel and Shyanna agree to swim in the relay, we’ll still have a chance at the banner! Even though they don’t race, they’re registered members of the swim club.”

  My two best friends had registered as members of the swim club to support me more than anything else. They practiced with us occasionally, but they didn’t love it like I did, and they never raced. Shyanna and Rachel both preferred singing and performing.

  “That could work,” Coach Cara replied. “But it’s up to Rachel and Shyanna.”

  “Please, Rachel. Please, Shyanna!” I begged. “We really need you!”

  The rest of the swim team echoed my pleas, begging Shyanna and Rachel to swim. Rachel and Shyanna stared at each other, their eyebrows twisted up and a matching frown on their lips.

  “I’m not very fast,” Shyanna said.

  “Me either,” Rachel added.

  “You might surprise yourselves when you start racing,” I told them, “but either way, it doesn’t matter. We just need to enter a relay team. We’d be so grateful.” I swallowed my own teeny bit of guilt for putting them on the spot, but the truth was we really needed them.

  Rachel and Shyanna exchanged another look, and then Shyanna shrugged her shoulders and sighed. “Okay. I mean, if it will help, I’ll do it if Rachel will.”

  Rachel’s long, red hair waved in the water as she nodded. “Of course. I’m just worried we’ll make your relay team come in last place!”

  “Last place is still a place!” I told them, hugging each of them. “Thank you so much! You’re helping the whole team.”

  We all decided to go to the swim track at school and show the girls how to use the starting blocks and how a relay event worked. When we got there, Rachel and Shyanna worked on starts and flip turns, and the rest of us helped them.

  After an hour or so, Coach Cara called an end to the impromptu practice. She had to leave but told everyone to stretch and cool off. I swam over to Rachel and Shyanna’s lane, where they were both panting.

  “Great job!” I told them.

  A few minutes later, Cassie and the swimmers gathered around. Cassie gave me a pointed look, and I nodded. “They’re ready,” I said, looking at my two best friends. “They can be trusted.”

  Rachel and Shyanna frowned and looked at me with questioning eyes.

  “We have something important to show you,” Cassie said. “It’s an old and very important ritual that’s been passed down through generations of racers in Neptune. It’s important that you follow our lead, watch what we do, and do exactly the same thing before you race.”

  The rest of the team nodded solemnly and filed out, swimming in a single line. I waited for Rachel and Shyanna to join the end of the line and swam behind them.

  “It’s serious, okay?” I whispered to them. “Do you promise to do what we do?”

  Rachel and Shyanna turned and stared at me.

  “Don’t worry,” I told them. “It doesn’t hurt. But don’t underestimate the importance.”

  Cassie led the procession of racers toward the entrance to our school swim track. I swam up so I was beside my friends. “We’re going to be rubbing the Sea Lion’s belly. It’s a crucial part of competitive racing,” I whispered.

  Rachel and Shyanna nodded. They seemed to be taking it seriously as they followed the swim team to the exit of the swimming track cave.

  Suddenly a shocked cry rang from the front of the line. A domino cry traveled all the way to the back where Rachel, Shyanna, and I were treading. I sprinted to the front. Cassie’s mouth bulged open as wide as the eyes on a pop-eyed goldfish.

  I looked where she was staring and gasped. The Sea Lion statue was gone! The only time it moved was when we transported it to swim meets. But now there were only a few greasy fingerprints around the empty space and little piles of sea salt.

  I glanced around, panic building in my stomach, and then burst into tears. Without our good luck mascot, we were doomed.

  “We’ll never win without rubbing the Sea Lion’s belly!” I cried. “Someone stole our mascot to destroy our chance to win the Castle Cup!”

  And there was no way I would swim my best without it!

  Chapter Three

  Everyone stared at the empty space, shocked into silence. There had to be a reasonable explanation for the Sea Lion to be missing.

  I looked around, expecting someone to start giggling and admit they were pulling a grand prank. I waited and waited, but no one fessed up. Finally I swam closer to the empty space. “Hmmm … looks like someone left behind traces of salt.”

  Cassie swam closer too. “It looks
like the pink sea salt from Titania Castle!” Titania was home to one of our top swim team rivals.

  “Is someone playing a joke? Is this a class prank?” I demanded. ”We need to find the Sea Lion before the swim meet. I need to rub that belly!”

  Shyanna and Rachel patted my back, trying to sooth me. I tried to take a deep breath, but it was like I’d gulped back a huge dose of krill medicine and it got stuck in my throat.

  “We have to find Coach Cara and tell her what’s happened!” Cassie said. “She mentioned earlier that she was going to Walrus Waterpark. Come on.”

  The group took off, swimming so quickly that we created a wake in the ocean.

  “Who would do this?” I asked Shyanna and Rachel as we swam toward the park.

  My friends shrugged, too out of breath to answer.

  “It had to be a rival team,” I said. “And it looked like Titania salt where the statue used to be …”

  At the front of the group, Cassie turned around. “We can’t accuse anyone without evidence,” she reminded me.

  Finlay, one of the fastest merboys on our team, swam up beside me. “Well, we have to get the statue back, or we’ll all lose our races!” he said.

  We reached Walrus Waterpark as a group. Coach Cara spotted us and frowned, swimming toward us immediately. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  Everyone started talking at once, rushing to get the story out. Finally Coach Cara held up her hands for silence.

  “Everyone calm down!” she said. “Rubbing the Sea Lion’s belly is a tradition, but it’s only a superstition. And superstitions aren’t real. It’s like believing a black catfish crossing a stream in front of you will bring you bad luck.”

  “But it does!” Finlay said. “My brother had a black catfish cross a stream in front of him once, and he was almost spotted by humans five minutes later.”

  “Then maybe it was good luck,” Coach Cara said. “Maybe he would have been spotted if the black catfish hadn’t been there.”