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They backed away from the water. The laughter died down, drifting away. But it had been unmistakable. And for the first time, Shelly had a witness. That meant something important.
She wasn’t dreaming.
This was real.
“We have to do something,” Enrique said, looking afraid.
“Yeah.” Shelly studied her hands. “And whatever we do, we have to act fast.”
“You get it?” Shelly asked Enrique as he appeared by the bike rack at the aquarium the next morning.
Feeling jittery and scared, she had raced as fast as she could to meet Enrique. When she’d woken up that morning, she’d noticed her skin had started to take on a greenish sheen. Scales had also started to appear on her arms, delicate and smooth like those of a fish. She wore long sleeves to hide them and kept them pulled down over her hands. She didn’t have much time. She felt tense. If Enrique had failed at what he’d set out to do, she didn’t know what else they could try.
But he winked at her. “Mission accomplished,” he said with a grin, pulling the card out of his back pocket. He handed it over. The ID card showed the pimply face of his brother, Miguel. Uneven bangs flopped into his brown eyes. STUDENT was printed over the crest for Triton Bay College, which featured a trident and a mermaid. “It’s our ticket into the science library at the college, with the special Triton Bay archives,” Enrique went on. “But we need to hurry before my brother notices I took it.”
“Wait, you didn’t tell him?” asked Shelly.
“Uh, that I needed to borrow it for my friend who’s turning into a fish because she made a bad deal with a sea witch? Figured the less he knew, the better.”
Shelly smiled. “Point taken.”
“Look, he’s working here for a few more hours. So the sooner we get back, the better.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” They got on their bikes, and Enrique took off. Shelly was about to pedal after him when two other figures on bikes appeared in the distance, careering down the path. A minute later, they skidded to a halt next to her, kicking up sand. Shelly stared in shock.
“Attina? Alana? What’re you doing here?” she asked.
The twins exchanged conspiratorial glances.
“Well, you’ve been acting so weird lately,” Alana said with a smirk. “Like how you ran into the locker room all freaked out after the last race. And Kendall said something, too.”
“Yeah, about you cheating,” Attina added. “Oh, and that maybe you’re turning into a fish.”
“Yeah, she told us about the webbing on your hands. Which would explain your super swim powers,” Alana added. “It doesn’t take a marine biologist to put it together. I mean, something has to be going on, right?”
“So we decided to follow you,” Attina said, sharing a guilty look with her twin sister. “I mean, we were worried about you. You’re our friend, right?”
“But . . . w-what about Kendall?” Shelly stammered. “She hates me now.”
Attina rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. “Look, we never liked her that much, either. You’re not the only one she bullies and orders around, you know?”
“And we’re sick of it.” Alana nodded.
“Plus, we’re your friends,” Attina said. “Friends help friends.”
Enrique circled back around, skidding up on his bike. He grinned when he saw Shelly with her friends. “Oh, so this is the holdup?” he asked.
The twins grinned and batted their eyelashes at him.
Shelly felt a surge of gratitude. “My friends . . . they came to help us.”
“The more, the merrier,” he said. “We need all the help we can get.”
* * *
Triton Bay College was located across the bay from the aquarium, perched on a sheer cliff overlooking the water. Waves swelled up against the steep, rocky incline. Shelly got dizzy just looking down over the side. They parked their bikes, then circled up to brief Attina and Alana on the wild events. “An actual sea witch?” Attina said. “Like in the old stories?”
“Yup, the old stories aren’t just stories,” Shelly said, pulling off her scarf to show them her gills. “Turns out they’re real.”
