Cora's Mystery

by Janet Gurtler

  Neither guard looked at me. They both stared straight out, the way they were supposed to. But they didn’t tell me to keep quiet or be on my way, so I kept going.

  “The thing is, our team mascot, the Sea Lion, went missing — as in someone took it. And it’s a silly superstition, but we always rub that Sea Lion’s belly before every race. It’s good luck.”

  One of the other guards nodded his head once and grunted. “I was on the swim team. We rubbed his belly for luck. Tradition.”

  “Yes!” I exclaimed. “So you understand how important this mascot might be?”

  Neither answered. I nonchalantly waved around the shrimp. “Mr. Waters, I go to school with your son. I was thinking I might offer him some of my rare fish finds. You know, because he’s a friend, and his family is so well respected in our community. It’s like a thank you for a job well done. A job that we kind of take for granted. And Mr. Warley, I know your wife is a good friend of my mom’s. My mom makes a mean shrimp pie, and I’m going to make sure she gets one to your wife.”

  They didn’t flinch or move. “Be careful, Miss Bass,” the biggest one said. “You’re walking on a fine fish line.”

  “Oh, I don’t mean anything by it,” I said quickly. “Just that I know nothing gets by guards. Like, for instance, if someone were to take the Sea Lion out of Neptunia. Say to Hercules Castle, where Shelby Stewart swims. You would know, right?”

  The guards actually loosened their stance for a moment. They looked at each other and then back at me. My heart beat faster, hoping they knew something.

  But then the big guard shook his head and looked right at me. I saw pity in his eyes. “No one on my staff reported the Sea Lion leaving the castle.”

  I let out the breath I’d been holding, and my hope dropped to the bottom of my fin.

  “And besides, Coach Cara already checked with us. We haven’t seen anything resembling the Sea Lion leaving these gates.”

  “So that means the Sea Lion is still in Neptunia?” I asked.

  The guard almost smiled. “I can’t say that for sure, but what I can say is that it would take a great deal of work and planning to sneak something like the Sea Lion out of the castle. I suspect it would take a lot of trouble — more trouble than some schoolkids pulling a prank would be interested in.”

  In my heart, I knew they were right. But I also couldn’t accept the fact that the Sea Lion was still in Neptunia. Would someone in our own castle want to jeopardize the swim team’s chances of winning the Castle Cup? It made no sense. It was easier to believe that Shelby Stewart was much more cunning than I’d ever given her credit for.

  I had to find out.

  Chapter Seven

  The next morning, I was so tired from trying to figure out who would have stolen the Sea Lion that my mom had to wake me. Then I had to help get my sisters ready for the day and got behind on my whole schedule.

  I raced to the swim track after helping with my sisters, but everyone on the team was already at the pool doing laps in the lanes or stretching out. Rachel and Shyanna were sitting on the edge of the pool, their fins flapping in the water as they timed the thirteen-year-old merboys doing the backstroke.

  I smiled when I saw Shyanna, thinking of the dolphin Kai had made her. She would be surprised and probably a little embarrassed but pleased! He was cute and actually seemed very nice. She would probably be kind of thrilled that a merboy like him had a crush on her.

  “Hey, Sherlock Mermaid, did you sleep in?” Shyanna called, smiling to show she was joking.

  I waved at her and shrugged. I’d already told them on the shell phone about my adventure the day before and that the Titania boy I’d suspected hadn’t been the one who’d stolen the Sea Lion. They’d both been shocked when I’d also revealed how I’d spoken to the guards and was giving them rare shrimp as a reward.

  “Rachel and I are coming over after practice because your mom is going to braid our hair for the swim meet,” Shy said when I swam over.

  “Okay, good.” I dove into a swim lane to do my warm-up and concentrated hard while I swam, trying to get rid of all my angst and worries. But no matter how hard I focused, I felt stiff and a little off. Images of the Sea Lion danced in front of my eyes.

  When I looked up from my set, Cassie, Kaitlyn, and Jada were on the side of the pool giving tips to Rachel and Shyanna on their flip turns. “Come on, Cora!” Cassie called. “Let’s do a run-through and show these girls how fast they can go.”

  “Sure.” I swam under the lane ropes toward them, and Shyanna and Rachel swam over to the side of the pool. I would be first up on the blocks and first in the water, which meant I had to set the pace. Cassie would go last and bring the team home.

  I swam first and was a little off my time, but I was excited to see how fast Rachel and Shyanna could swim their parts of the race. Cassie and I cheered from the sides as they completed their laps. Kaitlyn was flipping in circles, clapping and whooping, but I noticed that Jada had a sour look on her face. I also noticed that she was eating a salty seaweed snack.

  Something in my mind clicked. Kaitlyn was always teasing Jada about her salty tooth. Could it be? I didn’t want to think one of my teammates could be responsible. My fins felt cold at the possibility.

  Shyanna and Rachel were excited after the practice race and almost piled on top of me after we completed our cool-down. I pretended to be as excited as they were, but I couldn’t help feeling weird when we swam past the empty spot where the Sea Lion was supposed to be. I seemed to be the only one who noticed, though. Jada, Kaitlyn, and Cassie swam off without giving it a second glance.

  Rachel and Shyanna swam with me back to my house. Shyanna was chatting about the human boys and seeing Owen on the computer, the only way he could communicate with us now that his family had moved away. Rachel was a little quieter when his name came up. I could tell she missed seeing her human best friend in person. I was quiet too, thinking about the Sea Lion, wishing I could rub his belly for luck.

  When we reached my cave, Mom greeted us and handed each of us a slice of shrimp cake on a shell plate. After we ate, she took us to her room to do our hair. She’d sent my sisters off with my dad to go play with the dolphins at the park and had set out all her favorite shells to braid in. I mostly listened as the girls giggled and chatted with my mom.

  Shyanna went first, and her blond hair looked stunning when mom was done. Rachel went next, and her red hair sparkled with pearls. Finally it was my turn. Mom sat me down in her chair and ran a brush through my hair. “This mergirl has been distracted for days,” she said to my friends.

  Rachel and Shyanna exchanged a look. “Well, she’s pretty worried. You know. About the swim meet.”

  “Oh, I know,” my mom said. She separated a thick strand of my hair and started to weave in some shiny pearls. “You know, Cora, rubbing the Sea Lion’s belly is just good fun. It’s an old tradition.”

  “No, Mom. It’s more than that,” I told her as she worked her magic on my hair.

  “Only if you believe it is,” she said softly.

  That was the thing. I did believe. And believed I had to find it.

  After Mom was done braiding our hair, I swam outside with the girls before they went back home to their own caves. “I had an epiphany at practice today,” I told them as we swam to the yard. “About the Sea Lion.”

  “What in the ocean is an epiphany?” Shyanna asked with a pretend frown.

  “You know what an epiphany is,” I told her.

  She glanced at Rachel and then back at me. “Okay, it’s just that … well, Cora, we’re worried about you.”

  “No, listen,” I said. “It’s Jada. She’s always eating salty snacks. And she’s been acting weird lately. Like she didn’t even seem that happy that you’re swimming so well.”

  “Cora, you’re obsessed. You’re becoming suspicious of everyone,” Rachel said
with a shake of her head. “Let’s not just wonder and gossip about it. If you really want to know, let’s go to Jada’s and find out. We’ll ask her outright instead of talking behind her tail. And then you can see that you’re wrong. Remember, Jada tore her fin. Maybe she’s upset because she can’t race. Let’s talk to her and find out what she has to say for herself.”

  I stared at her for a long moment, then I reached for her and hugged her. “You’re right, Rachel. I’m sorry. I am being horrible. Talking about merpeople and suspecting everyone. I should know better. Let’s do it. Let’s go talk to Jada and ask her.”

  “Nicely,” Rachel added.

  “Oh, Cora, what are we going to do with you?” Shyanna said, throwing an arm around me.

  I hugged her back. I was so lucky to have them. Shyanna understood competitiveness, and Rachel was thoughtful about everything.

  Together we set off for Jada’s cave. When we reached it, I glanced around. There were salty fingerprints all over the cave door. Just like the prints at the Sea Lion statue. More proof! I held my breath and swam closer.

  Inside the cave, I heard Jada and someone else — it sounded like Kaitlyn — arguing.

  “It’s not nice!” Kaitlyn was saying.

  “I don’t care!” Jada replied. “I’m upset. I wish we were the ones racing, not them.”

  I couldn’t contain myself. This was proof! Jada didn’t want us racing without her. “I know what you did!” I yelled, bursting into the cave. “You stole the Sea Lion to jinx your own swim team!”

  Rachel and Shyanna quickly swam after me, their mouths wide open. “Um, Cora?” Rachel said. “What exactly are you doing?”

  I glared at Jada and Kaitlyn, who looked shocked to see me. “Getting to the bottom of this,” I said.

  “This isn’t exactly what I had in mind,” Rachel said. “I was picturing something a little more polite.”

  “What are you talking about?” Jada asked.

  “I heard you say that you didn’t want us winning.”

  Jada frowned. “I never said that. I said I wished we were racing.” She looked at Rachel and Shy. “No offense. You guys are doing great. But it’s really hard to watch from the sidelines.” She pointed down at the bandaged scar on her fin.

  “I know!” Rachel said. “I get that. Of course you wish you could be racing.” She turned and glared at me. “It’s completely normal to feel that way. We wish you were racing too!”

  “But I still want you to win,” Jada said. “And I didn’t steal the Sea Lion. That’s crazy.”

  “But you’re always eating seaweed. There are salty fingerprints everywhere!” I said. “Just like we found near where the statue should be.”

  Jada burst into tears. I looked at her, completely confused.

  “It’s because of a boy,” Kaitlyn explained. “Kai Joustra. He’s from Titania Castle. Jada has the biggest crush on him. He eats that seaweed all the time, so she thought if she ate it too, it might somehow make him like her. But Kai just told her he’s got a crush on another mergirl and that he only likes Jada as a friend.”

  I glanced quickly at Shyanna, but she didn’t appear to have any clue that she was the mergirl Kai liked. Oh dear, life was complicated sometimes. Rachel hugged Jada close and told her she understood.

  I felt terrible. I’d been so focused on my own worries, I’d barely noticed what was going on around me. I didn’t feel proud.

  I had to change things.

  Chapter Eight

  The day of the big swim meet was almost upon us. One more day to go, and still no sign of the Sea Lion. I’d tried to stop looking for guilty signs everywhere. I told myself it didn’t matter whether I rubbed that belly or not. I told myself that winning wasn’t as important as trying my best. I reminded myself that I’d become so obsessed and superstitious that I’d lost sight of what was important — my friends.

  I tried to put all thoughts of the Sea Lion out of my mind. I tried really hard … but I couldn’t do it. Because the truth was, someone had taken the Sea Lion. Someone from Neptunia. Someone who didn’t want our team to have good luck. And that was something I just couldn’t figure out or understand.

  I didn’t say anything to Jada about Kai’s crush on Shyanna. I was beginning to realize that merboys might make sea life more complicated. Maybe that’s why I preferred human boys. My cheeks warmed thinking of Justin. He was someone else I needed to go and visit. I hadn’t seen him once since the Sea Lion had disappeared. I needed to go to land when this race was over. But the worst thing was, I couldn’t even tell him about it. He didn’t know I was a mermaid.

  “Come on, Cora, kick that tail harder!” Coach Cara shouted at me from the side of the pool lane.

  It was our final practice before the big race, and everyone was giving it their all. I didn’t use the Sea Lion as an excuse. Instead, I pressed on, working as hard as I could.

  Coach Cora clapped when my hands touched the edge of the pool. “You beat your best time!” she yelled.

  My friends were on the sidelines watching, and they all cheered loudly. Rachel, Shyanna, Cassie, Kaitlyn, and Jada wiggled their tails and clapped!

  “You don’t need the Sea Lion!” Jada called.

  I smiled and pumped my fist in the air. Maybe I didn’t need luck after all. Maybe I could make my best times all on my own.

  “You’re right!” I shouted to Jada. “I needed you as my teammate, pushing me and making me faster. I’ll race this one for both of us!”

  Jada smiled, and I could see how much my comment meant to her. It was true. Swimming with Jada had made me faster. I made me faster. Not the Sea Lion.

  Coach Cara lined us up for the relay, and we raced against the twelve-year-old girls. They had some fast swimmers, and even though we gave them a good race, they still managed to beat us by a couple of seconds.

  “That’s amazing!” I said, high-fiving Rachel, Shyanna, and Cassie. “A couple of days ago, they would have beat us by a lot more than a couple of seconds. You guys were amazing.”

  Rachel and Shyanna had really saved us. They weren’t as fast as Jada and Kaitlyn, but they were showing up and doing their best for our team. We couldn’t ask for more. The girls headed to the team cave to fix their fancy braids, while I took a little extra time cooling down.

  When I swam out of the race lanes and headed for the changing room, I heard a familiar voice — Regina Merrick. She was surrounded by members of her Spirit Squad, and she was laughing. “Did you see how pathetic the thirteen-year-olds swam? They couldn’t even beat a bunch of twelve-year-olds. I told you it would happen like this.”

  I swam inside and saw that Regina had her back to the door. A couple of girls from the Spirit Squad spotted me, but Regina didn’t and kept going.

  “They’re going to make fools of themselves at the Castle Cup,” she said. “They’re all so superstitious, it’s ridiculous. It’s a good thing their Spirit Squad isn’t performing too. That would be so embarrassing for us. We’re the only thing that’s going to give our castle any credibility. We are why Neptunia is the envy of all the other castles in the kingdom.”

  Just then, Regina noticed her friends staring. Then they all looked down, not saying anything. Regina slowly turned her head and saw me standing there.

  “Oh, it’s you,” she said. “Whatever. It’s a good thing you wear loser so well.” She flicked her long hair and then turned away from me as if I was so unimportant it didn’t matter what she said behind my back or in front of my face. “You’re going to get a lot of practice at it.”

  I stared at the back of her head. And in that moment, I knew the truth. Regina was the one who’d taken our mascot.

  Chapter Nine

  I swam toward my cave, stopping when I reached my front yard. Shyanna, Rachel, Cassie, Jada, and Kaitlyn were all out front. My little sisters were climbing all over them — and the Sea Lion
mascot.

  I gasped. “You found it!” I said. “How did you figure out who took it?”

  “Regina didn’t know we were in the shower while she was talking to you,” Rachel told me.

  “And the way she was talking about the team made it pretty clear she didn’t want us to win,” Shyanna said. “So we waited until they left, and then we got Rachel’s dad and swam to Regina's house. My dad talked to her parents, and we found where she’d hidden the Sea Lion in her cave basement. Her parents had no idea it was there.”

  “How’d you even get it here?” I asked.

  “A couple of guards heard we found it and swam over to help bring it here,” Shyanna explained.

  “You figured out it was her too, didn’t you?” Rachel asked. “How come you came home instead of going to her house?”

  “I realized I didn’t need it anymore,” I said as I swam closer. Then I darted over to the statue and rubbed the belly as hard as I could. “But I’m so glad you got it! You’re the best friends in the whole ocean!”

  We all laughed and hugged, and my little sisters crawled all over me, demanding I let them rub the belly too.

  “The guards offered to bring it to the swim meet tomorrow,” Rachel told me. “Under special guard.”

  I smiled at her. “I don’t think we need it. We make our own luck.”

  Rachel swam right at me and hugged me so hard I could barely breathe. “I’m glad you realized that,” she said.

  “Thank you, Rachel,” I whispered in her ear. “For going to get it for me.”

  “You’d have done the same for me,” she said.

  Shyanna hugged the two of us. “We’d do anything for each other!”