The Coral Crown

Chapter ten

We swam back to Alexis to tell her what happened. When we got there, Morgan was in tears and Andrea was looking pissed off. I knew this was my fault, and I wasn't going to let anyone else take the blame. When Andrea old Alexis what happened, she just sat there looking worried. Haley and Marissa wre cuddled up to Leanna, and Morgan was sitting and talking to Kayla. I was upset that I had caused all this worry and pain. I sped out of the cave annd back up to the docks. I was going to have a talk with that boy and if I couldn't get him to keep the secret, I would take him to my island and leave him there. I would bring him food, and there was a fresh water stream running through the middle.

I got to the docks, and he was sitting and staring at the water like he'd seen a ghost. I popped up, and he jumped.

"What are you?" he asked with a tone that sounded like he was afraid that I would hurt him.

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked him, annoyed, "Half girl, half fish?"

"Oh, ya," He said with a dazed look on his face.

"Sooooo, here comes the awkward part. Are you going to tell someone what you saw?" I asked him, ready to jump up on the docks and pull him to the island.

"I won't tell if you do something for me, " He said with a cautious smile on his face.

"What?" I asked suspiciously.

"Meet me everyday and tell me about mermaids," he burst out.

"Where?" I asked, willing to do anything to keep my family safe.

He pointed to a rock about 50 feet away from the docks. "On the other side of that rock, there's a beach that only I know how to get to. Meet me there at noon."

"Okay, " I said, hoping I could trust him not to do anything to me at the beach.

I saw him staring at the water and knew he wanted to see my tail, so I asked him to show me the beach now. He ran over while I swam. When I saw him come around the rock, I pulled myself out of the water and let the tingling sensation start in my tail.

"Can I touch it?" he asked, ready to be denied.

"Go ahead," I said. I didn't care if he wanted to touch my tail. I'd been touched in far worse ways than that.

When his hand gently brushed against the scales of my tail, I felt an electric charge. He had obviously felt it to, and he was staring at me with a look of amazement.

Just then, my tail turned back into my legs, and I stood up. He was still staring at me, and it made me feel weird. I ran back into the water and felt my tail returning. Just to show off, I flicked it a couple of times above the surface. He laughed and I dove back to my sisters.

When I got back, I was smiling and blushing, which made them all the more frightened. They all rushed away, and I was left waith Alexis, Andrea, and my sisters. Marissa and Haley told me they wanted to go home, and I told them that was fine. As long as they were okay, I would be too.

We got home, and Marissa jumped into bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow. Haley got into bed and said goodnight. They were both still worried about the boy. I knew he wasn't the kind of boy who would tell. I trusted him. I would go tomorrow and see what he wanted to know. Maybe we could be friends. The thought of it sounded silly in my head, and I knew it would work. But maybe, I thought.

Just maybe