Fathom L. Standage (books for 8th graders .TXT) 📖

bottoms. I would have rather worn something to cover me better—like a wetsuit or a muumuu or something. But for now, bikini bottoms were my only option. On top, I wore Cordelia’s sark. Water ran down my skin from my wet hair.

Natasha had fastened on my gills. To finish off the illusion, she also painted the pink part of my nails with purple-tinted nail polish. I doubted anyone would look that closely, but it was better to be over prepared.

I gazed at my gills through Natasha’s hand mirror—a weird sensation, seeing the fishy flaps of skin behind my ears. They looked amazing. Freakish, but amazing.

“You ready?” asked Natasha.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Okay. You look great. Let me go get one of the guys to carry you down. I’ll be right back.” She walked out of the bathroom. I sighed and looked at my reflection in the mirror again. In spite of myself, I had to agree…I did look good. So good, it was frightening. With my wet hair, it looked like I had just been pulled from the ocean. The way the scaly shimmer in the fabric played, it erased the seams Samantha had sewn, and while it didn’t blend with my skin, the way Natasha had glued it made it look pretty natural. As far as the untrained eye was concerned, I was a full-fledged, blue-blooded mermaid. I only hoped Marinus wouldn’t be near enough to see I was a fake.

“She’s ready,” Natasha said from outside.

“Good, it’s nearly time.”

“Someone come and carry her for me.”

Another set of footsteps joined hers and soon, Calder stood in the doorway of the bathroom. I watched as his jaw dropped and his eyes roved over me. I folded my arms across my bare stomach.

“Give her a blanket or something, can’t you?” he said to Natasha. He pulled a towel off the rung and wrapped it around my shoulders.

“Thank you,” I said.

He scooped me up as though I weighed nothing. I gasped as the bonded fabric pulled my skin.

He paused. “Did I hurt you?”

I shook my head and put one arm around his shoulders. My core flooded with warmth. A pleasant quiver began at the base of my chest and spread out.

“Mind your head,” he said as he carried me out of the bathroom. I ducked closer and could smell him. As he carried me to the other motel room where everyone else waited, I tried to calm my increasing heart rate, but of course it didn’t listen.

“Well, Cordelia?” Natasha asked, for neither merperson had seen me since I had put on the tail. She forced me to lift the towel so Cordelia could see me. The mermaid captain, ready for the party and looking as glamorous as an Oscar nominee on the red carpet, looked me over. Her shining red lips pursed as though she was trying hard not to be impressed by human handiwork.

“Good enough. No time to do anything else anyway.”

“You look perfect,” Seidon said benevolently. He looked quite dashing in his tuxedo. I smiled, still uncomfortable about my glued-on clothing, and clutched the towel tighter around me with the hand not wrapped around Calder’s neck.

“Take this.” Eamon handed me a plastic bag with a wet rag in it. “Use it to moisten your skin before we get there.”

I took the bag.

“And this.” He held out the earpiece I had used when Calder and I went to Oceana. “I thought of it just a second ago. It’s waterproof. We’ll be able to let you know what’s going on.”

“Thank you.” I put the earpiece in my ear, glad for his foresight.

“We’re also going to cover you with a blanket when we transport you from the car to the tank.”

“Okay.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Calder asked, the concern shining from his eyes. From behind him, Uther took a salt packet from some leftover takeout and threw it over his shoulder. It didn’t reassure me, but I nodded.

“Right then. Let’s go, lads,” said Eamon.

“And lasses,” chimed Natasha.

“And lasses.”

Uther went before us, making sure no other motel guests were around. Eamon covered my tail with the blanket and led the way down to the parking lot, where the beige sedan was parked. “We’re going to put you in the trunk, Olivia, in case they’re there when we arrive,” he said. “When we open the trunk, I want you to pretend to be asleep.”

“Okay.” Why did I keep saying okay when it was totally not okay? I swallowed at a hard lump in my throat. Uther popped the trunk, then went to get into the car with the others.

“Are you all right?” Calder asked me. I nodded. “We’ll drive carefully.”

“Um…good.”

“I’ll open up the center console in the back seat. So you can see us while we drive.”

“Uh huh.”

“Uther and Eamon will be with us when we get there, just in case anything goes wrong. And I’ll be with you until you go into the tank.”

“Thanks.” A few seconds passed. Calder was still stood there, holding me, his eyes locked on mine. I wanted to wrap my other arm around his neck and lean in closer.

“Calder? You wanna put her down now?” Natasha asked from the nearby minivan, where she had settled Cordelia and Seidon. Eamon and Uther waited in the car. Calder looked away and lowered me into the trunk. His hand lingered on my shoulder before he stood back and closed the hood.

The center console leading to the back seat opened a minute later. Calder reached his hand through. I grasped it. The engine started, along with the adrenaline mechanisms in my body.

One dark but smooth ride later, we slowed down.

“We’re here. Remember, pretend you’re asleep,” said Calder as he let go of my hand. I didn’t know if I could do it. I shook so much, I would probably look less like I was asleep and more like I was having a seizure. I worked to slow my breathing while running the wet rag over my arms, shoulders, chest, back,