Thalia taps her finger on her lips, thinking. “The way I see it,
the entire courtship is a way to throw the champion off his course.
Think about it. You’re competing against their brothers and cousins,
so why would they want you to win?”
“On the other hand,” Layla says, squinting at me the way she does
when she thinks I’m being a creep, “if you were to pick one of them,
then she’d no longer be a princess, but a queen. And why do they
affect everyone so much more than you guys do?”
“Because Thalia and I are here to help Tristan. They’re here to
play.”
“So here I am with my school full of mermaids, an oracle to find,
a throne to win, and the person who stands between me and the oracle
is my ex-girlfriend, who says she lost the one thing I’ve got going
for me as far as offerings go.” I rub my face with my palms, unable to
stop the feeling of premature failure from spreading through me.
“Anyone have any spare cattle?”
“No way did she lose it,” Layla says. “She was still wearing it
the day of the storm.”
I didn’t notice. I never notice. That’s my problem.
“You could always-” Thalia shifts uncomfortably and puts her fry
down. “You could always woo her again.”
“No!” Layla’s punches me hard on my shoulder.
I think of Maddy’s face when she asked if I wanted her back.
Despite everything I’d done, she’d still say yes. I think about
Jessica and Deanna in the hallways. Until they approached me minutes
ago, I’d totally forgotten about them. I figured they’d move on to
someone else. How was I supposed to know I affected them that way?
A cheer erupts at the other end of the table. Angelo picks up Kai,
a pretty little thing with shimmering pink lips and eyes like a
powder-blue sky, and her long blond curls curtain around his
shoulders. He sits her on his arm just so he can prove how strong he
is.
“I thought she called them off,” Layla says.
“Jealous?” I snort.
“You wish.”
I do, and she knows it.
“He’s acting on his own Angelo dumbassery right now,” I go. “So,
Plan B. The oracle you visited was in the Fancy Corals or whatever?”
The familiar Kurt sneer is back. I was starting to miss it. “ The
Great Coral Caves . And yes. She’s there. You and I can go together.
If we leave now, we’ll be back by morning.”
“ No! ” Thalia shakes her head. “The merrows are out there looking
for Tristan. It would be unwise to swim alone through the channels.
They’re dangerous enough.”
Kurt considers this. I don’t think he’s ready to fight those
things again any more than I am. “Perhaps you’re right. What about the
landlocked waitress from the diner? What if beneath her enthusiasm for
you as king, there was something else. What she said was curious.”
Layla raises her hand. “Some of us weren’t at breakfast.”
“She told me her kid, the little turtle boy, is rooting for me.”
Thalia stifles her laughter. “Honestly, Tristan. It was just this
morning. What she said was: You’ll find our kind is all around you,
not just in the seas .”
I’m so hungry I can’t even think. “I thought she was just being
nice.”
“We’re never just nice,” Kurt says. “Our kind never says what they
mean to say directly. It’s vague, but what if she was telling us there
is an oracle right here in New York?”
“Hold on,” Layla says. “How do you know she’s not tricking him and
making him look around the city when there isn’t even an oracle here?
Why would she care? Kurt’s right. There are tons of people like her,
right? What if she’s one of the bad ones?”
There are tons of people like her. That thought is enough to
silence us all, because we know it’s a long shot, and I’m going to
just have to take it anyway. I don’t know if it’s the vibes coming
from the rise in mermaid activity around me, the power of the dagger
in my backpack, or what. But something in there is clicking. I wish I
could tell everyone, Look, I’m not just a pretty face .
“There are tons of others like her!” I point to Kurt, who looks
surprised that I point to him. “Use your mighty-merman powers for a
sec. How do you think the other champions are finding the oracles?”
“Same way we are: hearsay, family witches, hired guides, seers-”
He pauses and catches my eyes with his violet ones. “Of course.”
“You said Ms. Pippen’s a seer,” I go, a little too smug that I’ve
come up with it before him.
“She hasn’t been in school for two days,” Thalia says, bursting my
cloud of mojo.
“That’s not a coincidence.”
Layla scrunches up her nose. “Ms. Pippen’s a what?”
“A psychic in your world. I noticed the first day we were here.”
“Oh-”
“So then, let me give Maddy one more try-” Before Layla can punch
me again, I add, “I’m just going to talk to her, not woo her. That’s
where you come in, Thalia. You stay here with Ryan and convince him he
should throw a party.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
I try to keep the sly grin off my face. “I’m sure you’ll think of
something.”
“Really, a party ?” Layla gives me attitude.
“There’s a madness to my method. I’ve got this. You, me, and Kurt,
we’re going to have a little search party on the boardwalk. There’s
someone I think can help us. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll have to
find a way to get us all to the Coral Conclaves.” I point to the swim
team table, where Angelo is the center of attention. “Because I am not
going to share my school with a bunch of bored, wannabe mermaid
queens, and especially because I never , ever want to see Angelo do
that again.”
Do you think this is a good idea?” Layla asks. We’re feet from the
entrance to the school. Behind her, Kurt squints against the sun.
Angelo runs past us as if his pants are on fire, which, given
today, they probably are. “I also invited all of your hot cousins to
come to Coney Island. Why aren’t you being more hospitable, bro? Plus,
they say they packed more bikinis than actual clothes.”
Layla rolls her eyes. “Now that you put it that way.”
Angelo presses his palm over his chest. “Don’t worry, Layla.
You’ll always be my first love.” He puts out his cheek so that she can
kiss it.
“Gee, th aaa nks.” She stops an inch short of pressing her lips to
his face. “On second thought, I don’t know where that cheek has been
all day long.” Laughing, she walks right past him, stepping from the
shadow of the school into the light.
“Oh, come on!” He runs out after her. “It’s not like I’m Tristan
.”
“Not cool, bro! Not cool!”
“See you suckers at the Wreck!” He takes the steps three at a
time. It’s surprising he doesn’t miss a step at the speed he’s going.
He crosses the street, where a bunch of cars honk at him. He throws
his middle finger in the air and howls at them, jumping into a red car
with black flames painted on the side.
“Are werewolves real too?” I wonder. “’Cause that’s just not
normal.”
“He’s euphoric,” Kurt says. “He’s had the most exposure around the
princesses other than-well-you.”
Layla looks surprised that he points to her and then blooms into a
playful smile. “I guess mermen just have no effect on me.”
I stick my hand out in the air and go, “To the subway, Merman!” in
my most dramatic cartoon superhero voice. It’s wasted because the only
one who laughs is Layla. Kurt watches me with the curiosity I give
rats on the subway, and I wonder if we’ll have enough time to
introduce him to my comic books.
•••
The train station is aboveground. Across the platform is a wall of