Rolling in the Deep Read Online Free PDF

sunning themselves. All seven of the women looked around at the sound of footsteps, and several of them scowled at the sight of the camera.
    “We’re not violating our contract by being outside with our tails on,” said Jessica. “We checked.”
    “If you were, you would’ve been violating it since way before we got to this point,” said Anne. “We just wanted to come and see you go into the water.”
    Her words had an electrifying effect on the women. Those who were standing stood up just a little bit straighter; Teal pushed herself onto her elbows, raking a fall of blonde hair out of her eyes and looking at them with wary hopefulness, like a child being told that no, really, all that candy was theirs if they wanted it. “We’re going into the water?” she asked.
    “Rear port sector of the boat isn’t being filmed, and we have clearance,” said the woman with the purple hair. “These two wanted to get some private footage of us hitting the water, and I figured it was worth it if it got us out to sea.”
    “Yes, yes, yes,” said Teal. She pulled herself along the deck with her elbows, looking for all the world like the mermaid she pretended to be. She grabbed the arm of her wheelchair and hoisted herself up, somehow twisting in midair so that she landed with her butt in the seat and her painted flukes resting on the footrest. It was an elegant motion, and Kevin cursed himself for not having his camera in position even as he fought the urge to stare.
    Jessica was taller and curvier; she didn’t mimic Teal’s lift-and-twist, but held her arms up for another of the women to boost her into her own chair. Catching Anne’s gaze, she said, “My tail is rated for deeper dives than Teal’s is, which means it’s more heavily weighted. I try to avoid showing off unnecessarily.”
    Teal stuck her tongue out at the other woman, amiably. Jessica responded by laughing and flipping her off.
    Anne, meanwhile, had questions. “So your tails are made for you? I couldn’t just decide to be a mermaid and ask to borrow one?”
    Laughter answered her from the gathered women, but it was Jessica who spoke, saying, “Never ask a mermaid if you can borrow her tail. Never ask a merman, either. They’re all custom jobs, designed specifically for the people that they’re made for, and we’d be happier loaning you our used underwear. Also, the longer we wear them, the more they conform to the shapes of our bodies. Everybody’s different.”
    “That’s Jess’s sweet way of saying you don’t have the ass to wear my tail,” said the purple-haired woman, slapping herself on the right flank. “Jess, you and Teal are already water-ready. Want to take our guests down to the launch point while the rest of us get our things?”
    “Happy to,” said Jessica. “You want to push me, TV lady? Learn how the aquatic half lives.”
    “Happy to,” said Anne, moving into position behind Jessica’s chair and taking the grips. Teal was already rolling herself down the deck, moving with a speed and precision that spoke of years of practice. “Do you mind if we film?”
    “No skin off my nose,” said Jessica.
    They set off, Jessica and Anne chatting about the meaningless little things that filled their hours at sea—the food in the mess, the difficulty of learning to sleep on a ship that never really stopped moving completely, and the sheer frustration of trying to learn the names of the crew members and scientific interns who seemed to cover the decks whenever there was something going on.
    “I hate saying ‘hey, you, get out of my way,’” confessed Jessica.
    “So do I,” Anne agreed.
    “I just shout ‘make a hole’ a lot,” said Kevin.
    All three laughed, and kept on moving toward the open deck.
    The Atargatis rode high in the water, as befit her ocean liner roots, but had lower decks with openings that allowed for access to the sea below. Most of them were designed for fishing, or for the sampling activities that the