Real Mermaids Dont Wear Toe Rings

Chapter 2

✿Chapter 2✿

If I hadn't been so clueless, I might have seen it coming.

My first period that is. Not the tail. Never in a million years did I ever see that included in my life plan.

My period, though, should have been as plain as the zit on my face, which, no joke, took up half the real estate in that three - way mirror at Hyde's Department Store. Four hours earlier, that's where I stood, trying on bathing suits with the dressing room mirrors reflecting my gleaming white thighs into infinity

Charming.

My muffin top of baby fat, peeking out from the two-piece tankini I was trying on, wasn't helping.

"Jade! Come out and show me." My best fiend, Cori, called out from the other side of the dressing room door.

I pulled the tankini top down, trying to cover of my belly bulge. It's sprang back with a snap.

"You're kidding right?" There was no way I was letting anyone see me in that thing. Who every dreamed big girls could pull off midriff-baring, green sequins, anyway?

Why was I even doing this? I hated swimming.

"Come on Jade. It can't be that bad." I could see Cori's tapping foot under the dressing room door. The drinking straw from her Slurpie squawked as she jammed it up and down through the cup's plastic cover.

"It's bad." I blew a curl from my forehead. This was bathing suit number 11. Things are not going well.

"You know my dad has a conference in Dallas the day of your pool party. We could save ourselves a lot of trouble if I just went with him."

"Forget it. The perfect suit is out there." I was beginning to feel like Cory Blake fashion project. "I won't give up until we find it."

"That's comforting."

Cori's straw went silent. Her open-toe sling backs spun around and pinted out into the store.

"Jade..." She whispered through the door.

"What?"

"It's him."

"Who?" I tugged at the tankini some more. It was no use.

"Luke. You know, he's a year ahead of us? I thought he went on some sailboat cruise or something." Port Toulouse was known for its great sailing, but taking six months off school to sail the high seas was still big news.

"Luke Martin?" I muttered. "Can you hear my eyes rolling?"

The guy was so full of himself he could barely remember my name. Or, maybe he'd just blocked it from his memory after that unfortunate spin - the - bottle incident at Jenn McFadden's eleventh birthday party. How was I supposed to know I'd trip over the bottle? Or that a face-on collision with my braces would send him to the emergency room for stitches?

"Yeah, you should see his tan."

I tried to follow along as Cori went on about Luke's sun-bleached hair hair and cute surfer shorts, but the only thing occupying my mind at that moment was the fact that even through all the miracles of modern science they still hadn't invented a bathing suit that didn't creep up your butt. Maybe my brilliant engineer dad could get to work on that instead of trying to unify the theories of the universe.

"Here hold this." Cori handed me her Slurpie over the dressing room door. A few napkins fluttered to the floor.

"You're not leaving me here, are you?" I rubbed my templates to ease the pounding headache building up behind my right eyeball.