Karen's Mermaid

by Ann M. Martin

  Andrew was all set to eat lunch (he said he wanted to try clams), when, at the same time, he and I saw … a Ferris wheel, a merry-go-round, a funhouse, a whiplash, and midway games where you could win prizes.

  “Look! A carnival!” I exclaimed.

  Oh, boy. So much to see and do. Near the carnival was a banner advertising a Battle of the Bands. Local bands were playing in a tent, competing for a trophy that would say FIRST PLACE — FUN IN THE SUN BATTLE OF THE BANDS. I could hear loud music, and a woman singing into a microphone.

  We could not decide what to do first.

  Andrew said, “Let’s go on the rides!”

  I said, “Let’s try to win some prizes.”

  Mommy said, “How about lunch?”

  And Seth said, “Who wants to listen to the battle of the bands?”

  In the end, we did everything. Later in the afternoon we were walking down the street with sticky ice-cream cones and little stuffed animals and some souvenirs, when I noticed a stage in front of a tent. Walking across the stage was a line of young women wearing fancy dresses.

  “The Miss Mermaid contest!” I cried. I had almost forgotten about it. “Can we watch for awhile?” I asked.

  Mommy and Seth said yes, so we squirmed our way to the front of the crowd, right next to the stage. An announcer stood at the end of the stage. He was saying, “As soon as our Miss Mermaid has been selected, she will put on her mermaid costume and her crown, and ride through town in her coach in our wonderful Fun in the Sun parade. And now I am pleased to announce that our very first Miss Mermaid is … ”

  At that moment I felt someone bump my elbow. I looked around to find that I was standing right next to my enemy, Margo Pike.

  Miss Mermaid

  Margo and I glared at each other. Then I turned my head away. I looked back at the announcer. He was saying, “ … our very first Miss Mermaid is Belinda Scott. Congratulations!”

  The crowd cheered and clapped for Belinda Scott.

  But not me. I looked back at Margo. I said, “What are you doing here?”

  “I am watching the Miss Mermaid contest,” Margo replied primly.

  “Well, go somewhere else.”

  “You go somewhere else.”

  “I would if I could move,” I said. But I could not move. It was too crowded. People were to my left, to my right, and behind me. In front of me was the stage. I was trapped.

  “Attention! Attention, please! Quiet down,” said the announcer. “If everyone will please look over there (he pointed across the crowd), “you will see Miss Mermaid’s coach.”

  I turned and saw a coach that looked like Cinderella’s — round and pink, sparkling and glittering. “Ooh,” I said softly.

  “In just a moment,” the announcer went on, “I will escort Miss Mermaid to her coach so that she may ride in the parade, which is about to begin. However, Miss Mermaid must do one important thing first. She is going to pick two lucky girls from the crowd to ride with her as little mermaids. Miss Mermaid, who do you choose?”

  Belinda Scott looked out at the crowd. Then she looked down. She looked straight at Margo and me. “I choose these two girls,” she said.

  Me? Miss Mermaid had chosen me? I was going to get to ride in the coach? I let out a shriek. I could not believe it. “Yea!” I cried. “Oh, thank — ” I stopped. Miss Mermaid had also chosen Margo. I was going to have to ride with my enemy.

  I looked at Margo. She was glaring at me. We stuck our tongues out at each other. “Bossy bragger meanie-mo,” I hissed.

  The next thing I knew, I was waving good-bye to Mommy and Seth. Someone was helping Margo and me slip into mermaid costumes, while Miss Mermaid put on her own costume. And her crown, of course. Then someone else helped us into the coach. Ahead of us, the parade had begun. We were going to bring up the rear.

  “Be sure to wave,” Miss Mermaid said to Margo and me. “And smile. Smile at everyone.” She paused. “You two look adorable,” she added. “Are you sisters? Or best friends?”

  We did not have a chance to answer. Our coach began to move then. Miss Mermaid stopped looking at Margo and me. She looked at the crowd instead.

  I turned to Margo. “Bossy bragger meanie-mo,” I whispered again.

  “Baby, baby, baby,” Margo whispered back. “Why did you lie to me?”

  “I did not lie!”

  “Yes, you did. About seeing a mermaid.”

  “Well, you cheated.”

  “I did not!”

  Margo and I were whispering as loudly as we could. We were trying to smile at the crowd at the same time.

  “You and Nicky laughed at me!” I whispered.

  “What?” Margo could not hear me. Then she said something else.

  “What?” I replied.

  Margo started to smile. “We are having a whisper fight,” she said.

  I did not want to smile, but I couldn’t help it. “I guess we are.” That was a very silly idea. Margo and I grinned at each other.

  Home Again

  I did not think Margo would ever be one of my best friends, like Nancy or Hannie. I did not think she would ever be one of my very good friends. But I knew we were regular friends again. Our whisper fight had shown me that. If we could laugh about what had happened, we were probably not angry about it anymore.

  When the parade was over and our coach had come to a stop, someone helped Miss Mermaid and Margo and me onto the sidewalk. Then we changed out of our mermaid tails and into our clothes. Mommy was waiting for me. Mrs. Pike was waiting for Margo. The four of us walked home together.

  “You know what?” I said to Mommy as we stepped onto our porch. “This is our last night in Sea City. And we will eat our last dinner here. Everything that happens from now on will be the last. We will go to bed in our beach-house beds for the last time, we will wake up in them tomorrow morning for the last time, we will eat breakfast in our kitchen here for the last time, we will have one last swim in the ocean — ”

  “Karen,” Mommy interrupted me. “How about eating at Burger Garden tonight for the last time?”

  “Yes!” I cried.

  And that is what we did. Afterward, we walked home along the beach, instead of the streets. Andrew saw a falling star. Then we sat on our porch and played Old Maid. And then Mommy and Seth said they wanted to do a little packing. I played one more game of Old Maid with my brother before we went to bed. (He beat me.)

  The next morning I woke up early. Before we left Sea City, I wanted to build a sand castle, swim in the ocean, find seashells for Hannie and Nancy, and stand on the jetty watching the fishermen.

  I had time to do most of those things before Seth said, “Okay, kids. Time to load up the car. Change out of your bathing suits, please.”

  Boo. Our vacation was over.

  An hour later my family and I were driving through Sea City. As we passed Ice-Cream Palace, Andrew said, “How many more minutes until we get there?”

  Since he looked as if he really wanted to know, I tried to figure it out. “About two hundred or maybe two hundred and fifty,” I guessed.

  “Two hundred minutes?” Andrew looked shocked.

  “Get out your Fun Bag,” I suggested.

  Andrew and I both pulled out our Fun Bags. Soon we were playing games and drawing pictures. Not long after that, we were fighting.

  “Andrew is on my side again!” I squawked. “He crossed the line!”

  Mommy said it was time for a rest stop.

  After the rest stop, Andrew and I fell asleep. When we woke up, we were pulling into our driveway in Stoneybrook. Nancy and Hannie were sitting on our front porch. Emily Junior’s cage and Bob’s cage were between them.

  “Welcome home!” they cried.

  I woke up fast. I leaped out of the car. “Hi! Hi, we are back!” I exclaimed. “I brought you seashells! How have you been? How is Emily Junior? Did she behave herself?”

  “She was fine,” said Nancy. “How was Sea City?”

  “It was excellent! I got t
o ride in a parade and we built sand castles, and Andrew and I learned to ride skimboards. Oh, but Margo and I had a huge fight. She played a trick on me.”

  “Meanie-mo,” said Nancy and Hannie at the same time. (My best friends and I always stick up for each other. That is why we are the Three Musketeers.)

  “Do you want me to tell you what she did?” I asked. “It all started with a mermaid story.” Hannie and Nancy and I took Emily upstairs to my room. Then I began to tell them the story of Neptuna, my mermaid.

  About the Author

  ANN M. MARTIN is the acclaimed and bestselling author of a number of novels and series, including Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor book), A Dog’s Life, Here Today, P.S. Longer Letter Later (written with Paula Danziger), the Family Tree series, the Doll People series (written with Laura Godwin), the Main Street series, and the generation-defining series The Baby-sitters Club. She lives in New York.

  Copyright © 1994 by Ann M. Martin

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  First edition, 1994

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-05714-0