Free Just for Fins by Tera Lynn Childs Page B

again.
    â€œDo you want to work on this tomorrow?” She glances at Calliope and back at me. “If you have stuff to do . . .”
    â€œNo,” I say, eager to get to work on the other big problem in my life. I can’t do anything about the trial right now, but I can make progress on the survey. I look back at Calliope. “We’re done here, right?”
    â€œYes.” Calliope gathers her scrolls into her bag. “Now it is just a matter of waiting for the call to the first test.”
    I join Shannen at the kitchen table, where she has pens and notepaper laid out and her laptop open, ready to work. When I told Shannen about Miss Molina’s advice, she volunteered to help me create the survey to make documenting the environmental problems easier. She’s a whiz at anything that involves research and organization, so I really appreciate her help. If only she were a whiz at the mer kingdoms of the Western Atlantic, too.
    Calliope walks through on her way to the door. “I really am sorry I had to be the bearer of this news, Princess,” she says. “You and Quince deserve some peace and happiness.”
    â€œI know.”
    â€œAnd I really do love your hair.” She smiles. “The blue is a lovely shade.”
    I smile back. “Thanks.”
    â€œIs there anything I can do to help?”
    â€œNo, I—” I shake my head, my gaze drifting to the work before me on the table. Speaking of experts in all things mer world . . . “Actually,” I say, looking up at her expectantly, “I could use your advice on something else. Can you stay for a while?”
    She immediately drops her bag to the floor and slips into the chair next to me. “Of course. What can I do?”

Chapter 8
    â€œY ou’re nuts,” Dosinia snaps. “You need to get the support of Glacialis first. Queen Dumontia is the most respected ruler in the Western Atlantic.”
    I roll my eyes. “Glacialis is too far away,” I say, for what feels like the tenth time. “It will take most of a day to even get there. If I start with her this weekend, then that will be the only thing I accomplish.”
    â€œExactly,” Calliope says, coming to my defense. “If Lily begins closer to home, in Trigonum and Desfleurelle and Antillenes, she can speak with three kingdoms right from the start.”
    â€œBut without Glacialis, she might not get their support,” Dosinia returns.
    Prithi can’t decide which mermaid to love on. She moves in a triangle, weaving around my ankles, then Doe’s and Calliope’s, and back to mine. She must be in kitty-cat heaven.
    Shannen and Brody exchange a look across the kitchen table as the three of us mergirls erupt in an animated debate. We’re so fixed on talking over each other, jabbing our fingers at the map of the Western Atlantic laid out across the table, that I don’t hear the door open.
    â€œI’m just trying to save her from looking stupid later,” Doe argues.
    â€œAnd I’m trying to help her make the most of her time,” Calliope returns.
    â€œI never know what I’m going to find when I walk through this door.”
    I look up at the sound of Quince’s voice. “Hi—”
    â€œShe might as well tear up the surveys right now,” Doe continues, “if she’s going to start with those lesser kingdoms.”
    I throw a warning glare at Dosinia. “They are not lesser ,” I grind out. “They are smaller and not as wealthy as some of the others.”
    Dosinia crosses her arms over her chest and purses her lips. “I think the word you’re looking for,” she says defiantly, “is lesser .”
    I growl, debating whether crawling over the table to strangle her would count as mermicide. Surely a jury of anyone who’s ever met my bratty cousin would understand.
    I roll my eyes—again—and am about to start in on