Sink or Swim Read Online Free PDF Page B

have a silver tail.”
    “She must have,” Carolyn huffs. “That’s what my mother told me. And what my grandmother told her. And what —”
    “Did your mom say anything about how to get the mermaids to come on land?” I ask.
    “They can’t,” Carolyn says. “Whenever my great-great-grandmother Edith wanted to see her friend, she had to swim into the sea. The mermaid even gave her a potion that let her breathe underwater for twelve hours.”
    “Ohhhh,” Jonah’s eyes light up. “Let’s take that! Do you know how to make it?”
    I shiver. I am not going underwater with or without a potion, thank you very much. There are sharks underwater. Sharks and other animals that want to eat me.
    Carolyn nods. “I do know how to make it, but I can’t because one of the ingredients is mermaid spit.”
    Gross.
    “Find me a mermaid,” she adds, “and I’ll make you the potion.”
     
    Vivian spots us as we return to the party.
    “Where have you been?” she asks.
    “Just looking around,” I say.
    She scowls. “I hope you’re not making a mess for me. Russell! Russell, come here!”
    A boy about Jonah’s age appears at her side. His skin is suntanned and freckled. Like everyone else in Mustard, he looks like he spends a lot of quality time on the beach.
    “This is my son,” Vivian explains. “He can keep you two company. Russell, why don’t you show Abby and Jonah where you play tetherball?”
    “Let’s go sailing instead,” the boy says. “I think the royal boathouse is still open.”
    Yes! That’s a great idea. If we’re on a boat, we’ll be able to find the Little Mermaid. We may not have an underwater potion, but that doesn’t mean we can’t search the sea.
    “No boats!” Vivian snaps. “It’s almost dark out, and the sea is too rough.”
    Oh well.
    “I love tetherball,” Jonah says.
    Russell nods. “Let’s go!”
    “I’m going to stay here,” I say. The last time I played tetherball I almost broke my nose.
    Tomorrow, we’ll take out a boat. Nothing that will tip over. A rowboat maybe. Then we’ll find the Little Mermaid. How hard can it be?

F irst thing the next morning, Jonah and I head for the royal boathouse.
    We find the yellow hut right on the beach. A suntanned guy in mirrored sunglasses is manning the booth. All around him are different kinds of boats. Windsurfers, sailboats, canoes, banana boats.
    “We’d like to borrow a rowboat,” I say.
    “Of course,” the royal boatman says, handing us a ledger. “Just sign one out.”
    The royal boathouse seems a lot like a library.
    “And two life jackets,” I add. “And do you happen to have some sort of radio? In case the boat drifts off and we need to get in touch?”
    The boatman shakes his head.
    “Do you have goggles?” my brother asks.
    “Yup, those we got.” He reaches under the counter and hands us two pairs.
    “What do we need these for?” I ask my brother.
    Jonah scrunches his eyebrows as though the answer is obvious. “To look underwater for the Little Mermaid.”
    “Underwater?” I ask, slightly incredulous. “Are you crazy? We’re not going in the water.”
    He snorts. “How else are we going to find her?”
    “With our eyes!” I exclaim. “From the boat!”
    “That’s just silly,” he says, taking both pairs of goggles and dangling them from his arm. “We’ll swim around.”
    My mouth gets super dry. “We’ll see,” I say, but what I really mean is NO WAY.
    Jonah turns back to the boatman. “Do you have snorkels? Or scuba equipment?”
    “Are those types of boats?” he asks back.
    “I guess not,” Jonah says.
    “You don’t know how to scuba,” I remind my brother.
    My brother shrugs. “Not yet, but I wanna learn.”
    So not happening.
    As we make our way to the shore, I see that half the palace is already out on the water. Including the prince, king, and queen. All three of them are windsurfing.
    “Let’s take Windsurfers out instead,” Jonah begs, his eyes following them with