Rachel's Secret Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Mermaid Life

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Legend of Mermaids

  Talk It Out

  Write It Down

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Dive in and get swept away!

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  Mermaid Life

  Mermaid Kingdom refers to all the kingdoms in the sea, including Neptunia, Caspian, Hercules, Titania, and Nessland. Each kingdom has a king and queen who live in a castle. Merpeople live in caves.

  Mermaids get their legs on their thirteenth birthdays at the stroke of midnight. It’s a celebration when the mermaid makes her first voyage onto land. After their thirteenth birthdays, mermaids can go on land for short periods of time but must be very careful.

  If a mermaid goes on land before her thirteenth birthday, she will get her legs early and never get her tail back. She will lose all memories of being a mermaid and will be human forever.

  Mermaids are able to stay on land with legs for no more than forty-eight hours. Any longer and they will not be able to get their tails back and will be human forever. They will lose all memories of being a mermaid.

  If they fall in love, merpeople and humans can marry and have babies (with special permission from the king and queen of their kingdom). Their babies are half-human and half-merperson. However, this love must be the strongest love possible in order for it to be approved by the king and queen.

  Half-human mermaids are able to go on land indefinitely and can change back to a mermaid anytime. However, they are not allowed to tell other humans about the mermaid world unless they have special permission from the king and queen.

  Chapter One

  Shyanna and Cora were chasing each other around, laughing so hard that tears were falling down their rosy cheeks.

  “Come on, Rachel!” Shyanna shouted to me.

  My friends flipped in circles, swishing their glorious sparkling mermaid tails behind them. I smiled from the swing where I sat watching them, loving my two new friends with all my heart.

  “Remember when, at your twelfth birthday party, you tried to convince Alexa you were thirteen?” Cora asked Shyanna. She looked at me and explained, “Alexa almost went to shore to see Shyanna’s legs.”

  “Oh, I still feel terrible about that,” Shyanna said.

  “Only because you got in so much trouble!” Cora added.

  They both giggled, and I had to admit that a teeny part of me felt left out. I was new to Neptunia. After my mom died, our entire life changed. My dad and I needed a new start, and moving to Neptunia was just what we needed. We’d just moved here.

  I was lucky to have two best friends already, but it didn’t make everything perfect. I missed my old best friend, Owen, every day. Sometimes I even missed living in Caspian and being closer to land. It was easier to go to shore and meet up with Owen from there.

  Yep, Owen was a human. And having a human as a best friend had its challenges, especially since he didn’t know that I’m a mermaid. Confused yet? Here’s the deal: My mom was human before she became a mermaid. My dad fell in love with her when he spent time on shore. Because their love was so strong, she was given special permission from the King and Queen to become a mermaid and marry him. I was half-human. I could go on land whenever I wanted for as long as I wanted. It really was an incredible love story.

  Shyanna was the only one who knew my big secret, and I intended to keep it that way. It was hard enough being the new mermaid in Neptunia. I couldn’t even imagine how freaked out the other mermaids would be if they knew I was half-human!

  “I can’t wait for my real thirteenth birthday,” Shyanna said as she twirled around. “I can’t wait to get my legs! My leg ceremony is going to be so great!” Her eyes opened wider, and she glanced at me. “I mean, the ceremony is only part of it. Having legs and visiting land will be the best part.”

  I knew she was trying to make me feel better. I wouldn’t have a legs ceremony on my thirteenth birthday. Since I was half-human, I already had my legs. I could go on land whenever I wanted for as long as I wanted. No matter what, I’d always be a little bit different. I knew it was okay to be different, but that didn’t make it easy.

  I didn’t even bother to tell Cora and Shyanna that my thirteenth birthday was the next day. It wasn’t the big deal it would have been if I were a real mermaid, so I didn’t want them to know.

  Cora swam over to the swings and floated around me. “Hey, you! There’s no need to look unhappy when you could be playing tag with us!” Cora squealed. She grabbed my arm and playfully pulled me off the swing. “Come on, I need your help! Shyanna gets a little crazy when we play tag.”

  I couldn’t help laughing and dashed after Shyanna with her. It was hard to stay miserable for long with my two new friends. I raced after Shyanna, but Cora ended up catching her first. Cora was the fastest swimmer I’d ever seen!

  We were still laughing when a royal trumpeter and messenger swam into Walrus Waterpark. We immediately stopped and floated at attention. The trumpet player lifted his trumpet to play the royal fanfare. A purple royal flag dangled from the middle of the trumpet as he blew out the royal tune.

  When he finished, the messenger unrolled a scroll, cleared her throat, and began to read. “The Queen would like to invite Rachel Marlin, Cora Bass, and Shyanna Angler to appear with her in a Royal Concert,” she announced. “Queen Kenna has requested you sing as her opening act a week from today in the Royal Gardens.”

  “Of course!” we all squealed in delight. That was an incredible honor! Our showstopping performance at the Melody Pageant had clearly not gone unnoticed by the Queen.

  One of the reasons my dad and I had just moved to Neptunia was so he could be the Queen’s singing instructor. That’s how I met Shyanna and Cora. It’s a long story, but I basically saved Shyanna, then she saved me, and then all three of us ended up singing together and becoming best friends. I guess the story wasn’t that long.

  “Wow!” Cora said. “I never thought I’d be invited to sing with the Queen!”

  “It must be because of the Melody Pageant,” I said. “She told my dad how impressed she’d been with us!”

  Shyanna and Cora swam in little circles and shrieked with excitement again. Their energy was definitely contagious.

  “My dad hinted that she might have a concert,” I confided to them. “She’s improved so much, and I think she wants to show off a little.”

  I hated to brag, but my dad really was the best singing coach in all the Mermaid Kingdoms.

  “I have to get home to tell my sisters,” Cora said. “They’ll be thrilled — and jealous!”

  “I need to tell my mom!” Shyanna said.

  My dad already knew, and the only other person I wanted to tell was Owen. But I couldn’t do that, of course. He didn’t even know I was a mermaid. I wished so much that I could share my secret with him, but that wasn't possible, no matter how hard I wished.

  Chapter Two

  When I woke up the next day, my dad was already at work. I was a little disappointed that he was gone. It was my birthday, and I was all alone. However, he did leave me a nice note telling me to get ready for our fun day together. He was going to be home after lunch.

  Dad a
nd I had planned a father-daughter day. We were going to spend our time exploring out in the ocean. He’d been so busy since we’d moved to Neptunia. The Queen and her royal mermaids were all taking voice lessons, which took up a lot of time. We’d hardly had any time together.

  I spent the morning braiding and beading my hair and polishing up my tail. I was so excited for our day together that I was waiting at the door for him to come home. But as soon as he swam inside, I could tell our plans were not going to work out.

  He pulled a bouquet of flowers out from behind his back. “Happy birthday, Rachel. I hate to do this, but our plans have to change. I’ll be home a little late, but we’ll celebrate then. I promise I’ll make it up to you.” He could tell I was disappointed.

  “That’s fine,” I said, but I didn’t mean it.

  “I’m really sorry, honey,” he said. “The Queen requested an extra rehearsal this afternoon, and I couldn’t get out of it.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” I said. I was trying really hard not to cry.

  “I wish we had planned you a party. You are thirteen, after all,” he said, frowning.

  “No,” I told him. “I didn’t want to make a fuss about it.”

  He kissed my forehead. “You’re so much like your mother. She never wanted to have parties for herself either. Could you at least go see Shyanna and Cora? I’ll be home with cake later. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” I told him. “It’s not your fault. You work for the Queen. We knew you’d be busy!”

  He rushed back to work, and I called Shyanna. Her mom said she and Cora were at the waterpark with Cora’s sister, so I swam over there. When I arrived, I saw them pushing Cora’s littlest sister on the swings.

  “Wow!” Shyanna said when she spotted me. “You look amazing! What’s the occasion?”

  “Not much,” I said. “I was supposed to go out with my dad, but he’s busy with the Queen for the rest of the day.”

  “Aww,” Shyanna said. “That’s too bad. I bet you were really looking forward to it.”

  She swam over to touch my hair. “How did you do that to your hair? It’s so pretty.”

  “It looks incredible!” Cora agreed, and she swam over to check out my red braids.

  “Cora, you should wear yours like that for your thirteenth birthday!” Shyanna said.

  “Great idea.” The girls fussed over my hair and admired the sparkles and glitter I’d added to my tail. But soon baby Jewel started to cry, so my friends swam back to the swings and started pushing again.

  “I can’t wait for my leg ceremony!” Cora said. “Mostly so I can go on land and get some peace and quiet for a few hours.”

  I smiled at her. Her life was so different from mine. She was always busy babysitting her sisters or helping her mom around the house. She rarely had time alone, which was something I had plenty of!

  “I can’t wait to have cake!” Shyanna shouted. “With oyster frosting!”

  Cora laughed. “You always want to have cake.”

  “Yes. Like today is Friday. There should be cake!” Shyanna joked.

  I smiled, but then it clicked. Friday!

  When I lived in Caspian, Friday was the day I’d always gone to visit Owen. Now I realized I had the perfect opportunity. Who better to see on my birthday now that dad was busy with the Queen? It took longer to swim to shore to see Owen now that I lived in Neptunia, but I had extra time.

  “Um … I have to get going,” I said and somersaulted in delight.

  “Where are you going?” Cora asked.

  “Just back to my cave to relax,” I said. I hated to lie to Cora, but I couldn’t tell her the truth.

  Shyanna and I exchanged a knowing look. I waved and smiled at them as I swam as fast as I could out of the waterpark. The sooner I could get to Owen, the better!

  Chapter Three

  I stumbled on the rocks and raced up the beach. My legs always felt a little wobbly and unsteady when they first changed over from my tail. I coughed, getting used to breathing in fresh air instead of filtering ocean water through my gills.

  I was at the spot where I’d first met Owen. This was also the same place where Shyanna almost got her legs too early when she went searching for throat medication. This was the spot where I saved her and our friendship was established. This was truly one of the best spots in the world. So many incredible memories were made here.

  “Hey, clumsy!” a voice yelled.

  “Owen!” I jumped up and down, waving. I ran toward him, and even though I’m not a great runner, managed to get to his side quickly. I stopped, suddenly a little shy. “It’s so good to see you.”

  “I had a feeling you were finally going to show up!” Owen said. “It’s Friday! You always used to show up on Fridays.” He stared at me for a second. “You look really nice.”

  “Thanks,” I told him. “And sorry I haven’t been here in a while. I’ve had trouble getting away.”

  Since my mom had died and we moved to Neptunia, it was a lot harder to see Owen. He didn’t know why I couldn’t see him as much, but he never questioned it. He was a good friend.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re back,” he said. “Especially since it’s your birthday!” He grinned and then started walking, gesturing for me to follow.

  “You remembered?” I couldn’t wipe the grin from my face as I scrambled to follow him.

  “Of course I remembered!” he said, turning to me with his familiar sparkling grin. “Come on!”

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “My house,” he said. “I had a feeling you’d show up, and I asked my mom to bake you a cake. Just in case. Don’t tell the guys, but I think you’re secretly her favorite friend of mine.”

  “She baked me a cake?” That made me so happy I almost cried. As we walked, I made a promise to myself to see Owen every Friday from now on. No more excuses.

  “My mom loves you, and she loves baking cakes,” Owen told me. “It was a win-win for her.”

  “She is the best!” I said.

  “Justin, Mitchel, and Morgan are on their way over,” Owen said. “They’re at swim practice, but when they heard my mom made cake, they couldn’t be stopped!”

  His other friends were always nice to me too. It made me wonder why some mermaids are afraid of humans.

  When we got to his house, his mom said, “Rachel! You’re here!” Then she went into the kitchen and brought out the cake she had made.

  She’d decorated the cake like a beautiful redheaded mermaid. My eyes bulged out of my head.

  She laughed. “Don’t you like it? I’m sorry. I only raised boys. I assumed all girls loved mermaids as much as I do! I’ve always wished they were real.”

  “Me too,” I told her with a big grin. “I love it!”

  The three boys barged in the front door then, just in time for cake.

  Owen’s mom put candles on the cake, lit them with a match, and they all sang “Happy Birthday” to me. We each stuffed ourselves with cake, and then Owen stood up and left the kitchen. He came back holding a pretty pink gift bag and put it on the table in front of me.

  “A present? Is Rachel your girlfriend?” Morgan teased, grinning.

  Owen’s face turned red, and I felt my face get hot. I avoided looking at him when I reached inside the bag. I took out a box. Inside was a beautiful shell necklace.

  “Do you like it?” Owen asked. “I can exchange it if you don’t. Mom helped me pick it out.”

  “It’s perfect!” I told him and immediately put it on. I decided I might never take it off.

  His friends made embarrassing whistles and kissy noises.

  “We’re just friends,” Owen said. He looked extra cute when he blushed. Not cute in a boyfriend way, either. He will always just be my best friend, which was all I wanted.

  I wished I could stay longer, but
I knew I should get back to Neptunia. I reluctantly thanked Owen’s mom for the cake. “I have to get going. My dad will expect me home soon,” I said.

  “I’ll walk you back to the beach,” Owen offered.

  He thought I lived in a house close by, and he never went farther than the edge of the beach with me. I had made it seem like my dad was super strict, because that seemed like the best excuse. I’d wait an extra five minutes to make sure Owen was gone, and then I’d slip back in the water and return to life in the sea. Thankfully Owen wasn’t very snoopy, or things would fall apart fast.

  “I wish you were around more,” Owen said when we reached the edge of the beach. His cheeks were a little red again. “How come you aren’t coming by as much as you used to?”

  I stared at my feet. “I wish I could tell you,” I whispered. “But you wouldn’t understand.”

  I couldn’t tell Owen I was a mermaid — or even half a mermaid. The secret was protected by mermaid magic. If I told him without special permission from the Queen or King, I’d never get my tail back and I’d have to live as a human forever. After a few months without my tail, I’d forget that I’d ever been a mermaid at all. I knew the rules.

  “Is everything okay?” Owen asked.

  “Everything is great! I promise,” I told him. “I have a couple of new mer … friends. And they’re great. I’m busy. But I miss you too.” Owen knew I’d had a rough year, but he didn’t know I’d moved to a new Mermaid Kingdom. Obviously.

  “You’re sure?” he asked.

  “Everything is great, I promise,” I said.

  “Okay,” he said. “But remember … there’s nothing you could tell me that would make me not want to be your friend.”

  I smiled. “Thanks, Owen,” I said.

  “Will you be back next Friday?” he asked. “I’m having a party at my house.”

  “It’s your thirteenth birthday,” I said, suddenly remembering.