The Tail of Emily Windsnap - Liz Kessler [26]
As I turned to leave, I kicked something up in the dust. It glinted at me. A key ring. I picked it up. There was a brass plate on the ring with crystals around the edges. There was a picture of a pitchfork or something engraved on one side.
Two keys hung from the ring: one big chunky one, the other a little metal one, same as Mom has for our suitcase. A tiny gold chain hung from the plate; a clasp at its other end was broken and open.
I banged on the lighthouse door and waited. “Mr. Beeston!” I called. I banged once more.
Nothing.
I looked at the key ring again, running my fingers over its crystal edge. Oh, well. I could always give it back another time.
I buttoned the key ring into my pocket and headed home.
This was it. The moment I’d been dreading. The school board had only gone and re-opened the pool! Apparently some parents made a fuss. So here we were again. I stepped through the trough of icy cold water on the way to the pool. Back at the gym, I had tried telling Mr. Bird I had a planter’s wart on my foot, but he just gave me a couple of rubber socks to put on. So now the game was up, plus I looked ridiculous. Great. What was I going to do? Five more minutes and my secret would be revealed. Everybody would know I was a freak!
“Come on, people; we haven’t got all day.” Bob clapped his hands together as I walked slowly to the side of the pool and joined the rest of the class. “It’ll be time to get out again before you set foot in the water.”
My heart thumped so loud I could feel it in my ears.
“Okay, those who can swim already can jump right in,” he said. Please, please don’t remember that I can swim, I prayed silently. Time was running out.
“That means you.” Mandy Rushton elbowed Julia and pointed to me. “What’s up, fish girl?” she sneered. “Have you gotten water shy all of a sudden?”
I tried to ignore her, but Bob was looking our way. “What’s going on over —” Then he recognized me. “Oh, yeah. You’re the one who got a cramp, aren’t you?”
I stepped back toward the wall, hoping it might swallow me up and then I could disappear forever. I couldn’t do it — I couldn’t!
“You can get in when you’re ready.” Yeah, right — no way. “Take it easy, though. We don’t want the same thing to happen again.” He turned back to the others. “Come on, you guys. Let’s get on with it, shall we?”
“Let’s all see how the fish girl does it!” Mandy said loudly, and everyone turned around to look at us. Then she pushed me forward and I lost my footing. Tripping on the slippery floor, I went flying into the pool with a loud SPLASH!
For the tiniest moment, I forgot all about Mandy. She wasn’t important. All that mattered was that I was in the water again, losing myself to its creamy smoothness, wrapping myself up in it as if it were my favorite dressing gown, keeping me safe and warm.
Then I remembered where I was!
I swam to the surface and looked up to see thirty pairs of eyes facing my way — at least one of them glinting nastily at me, waiting for my freakness to be revealed!
I had to fight it — I had to — but it was starting already! My legs were going numb, joining together. And, like an idiot, I’d swum halfway across the pool!
I heaved myself through the water, splashing and dragging my body along, keeping my legs as still as possible to try to stop my tail from forming. Bit by bit, I propelled myself to the side, my arms working like a windmill. I had to get there before it happened. Hurry, hurry!
Gasping and panting, I finally heaved myself out of the pool — just in time! The second I dragged my body over the side, my legs started to relax. Wheezing and breathless, I pulled myself out of the pool and sat on the side.
Bob was over in a second. “Have you hurt yourself?” He stared down at me, and I suddenly had an idea. I grabbed my foot.
“It’s my ankle,” I said. “I think I’ve sprained it.”
Bob narrowed his eyes. “How did that happen?”
I was about to say I’d fallen in when I saw Mandy’s face. Sneering