With everything that had happened, with all the adrenaline pumping through her body, the sparkle of the dots, the nervousness of being watched, it should be understandable that Princess held up six fingers as the answer to what was three plus four. And so confident was she about the answer that she didn't realize it was wrong until the burly boy burst into laughter, along with a few other giggles and snorts by others in the crowd.
"She is just a stupid fish." That time, his outburst was replied with a slug to the shoulder by a girl standing next to him, perhaps a sibling or mate. But his words still cut deep into Princess. She was, after all, a stupid fish, no matter her beauty. It was all too much to take and she kicked her tail off and sped away from the viewing area as fast as possible. She needed not to be seen, to hide. She needed to find . . . something. Oh God, what did she need to find? Princess darted around the perimeter of her tank, looking for a cave to call her own. But at each turn she saw a new pleixglass window and more smiling faces.
"Princess!" The people on the other side would shout with joy. And at everyone, in the back, Princess imagined the burly human boy pointing and laughing at her.
"Stupid fish, stupid fish!" Soon she saw every human saying that to her, even if it was only in her mind. How could she escape this terrible place when the humans were so clearly smarter than her? She lamented in her mind that she would spend the rest of her life here, circling around the same aquarium tank, but always finding something new, sparkly, and interesting because mermaids had the memory of a goldfish. Or so she imagined it, anyway.
Finally, Princess turn inward, going deeper into her enclosure and found a rocky red coral outcropping that was hidden from all but one of the smaller windows. It would have to do. There was a small shark swimming around the boulders, but Princess rushed at him and the little silver beastie fled, leaving the stones to herself. She pulled herself deep into the shelter. She could still see humans watching her, flashing cameras at her. It didn't make sense that the humans were so eager to see a stupid fish.
Princess's fish heart, which had been pounding through her chest finally started to slow. She didn't breathe underwater, and just sat with her eyes closed, feeling the cool water pass over her gills and her body.
A STONE! The mermaid suddenly opened her eyes. She needed to find a stone! Why? She didn't know. She spun around her new home. There! On the ground, there was a sparkling white stone about the size of her hand. She rushed to it, picked it up, and looked at it. She had the stone. Wait. No, this wasn't the right stone. Maybe. She examined the rock, and could not remember why a stone was going to help her. But then, she was a stupid fish, as the burly boy of her imagination was quick to remind her.
But if she had a memory that a stone would help, she would just have to find it. But just in case it was this stone that would help her, Princess put the sparkling rock down in her shelter, then she rushed back into the tank, looking for more sparkling stones to save her . . .
