Leona Ramirez had never known an easy life, growing up on the streets of the Gold Coast. But one day when she catches a ride to Mako Island with three girls from her high school, she finds herself with more than she bargained for...including a new t...
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After I'd managed to dry myself off and miraculously, get rid of the...tail, I headed towards Cleo's house to meet up with the other girls.
"It was orange and covered with scales!" Cleo told us, grimacing at the memory.
"The minute I hit water I-" Emma began to say when I cut her off.
"-I was water for a second!" I finished for her.
"I was a fish!" Rikki complained as we all sat down in Cleo's living room.
"Okay, what happened to us?" Emma asked, her blonde ponytail flipping over her shoulder.
I pulled up my feet underneath me on the couch, sighing at the situation as a strand of brown hair came free of the bun I had it in.
"About ten seconds after touching water, we grow these-" Rikki started, gesturing towards her legs.
"-and it vanishes when we're dry," Cleo cut her off, "The tails are like..."
"We...look like mermaids," Rikki grinned like a child, proud of herself for saying it.
My eyes widened, her words suddenly making complete sense just as Emma reprimanded her. Was that it? Were we...mermaids?
"Wait, so like Ariel then?" I asked in disbelief, thinking back to my childhood obsession with the Disney movie, "Well, wait just a second, why don't I get a Sebastian then? Or a cute little fish sidekick?"
"Maybe we can talk to them!" Rikki suggested with a smile.
"Guys!" Emma cut us off, silencing us with a look as if we were children.
I cleared my throat then, feeling hunger pains hit me. With all this mermaid business, I'd had to skip breakfast. Now it was already past lunch-time and I'd have trouble nicking food from one of the vendors on the pier. Hmm...
"Guys, I'm sorry but I gotta go. I'll catch you later, yeah?" I said, quickly getting up from the couch.
The girls had barely called their goodbyes after me as I wrenched open the door, almost running into the nerdy blonde boy in the doorway.
"Oh!" I said in surprise, glancing over at him once before recognition hit me, "Hi, Lewis! Bye, Lewis!"
But Lewis didn't even have time to open his mouth before I was out the door and down the driveway, my stomach grumbling for food.
