Jenny just hung there for a bit, clinging to the rope almost subconsciously, staring, transfixed, down at the other girl and her emerald fish-tail. Michelle stared right back, seemingly stunned. Finally, remembering that it wasn't polite to stare, Jenny smiled and waved. The young mermaid's eyes suddenly went wide with panic as she realized what was happening, and she ducked underwater and out of Jenny's line of sight.
Jenny hung on the top of the rope for a while longer before sliding gently down to the ground. She had almost thought for a moment that she was looking at a painting or something inside the building, but then Michelle had moved. Was she really a mermaid? It seemed too weird to be true, but a lot of weird things had turned out to be true recently. Jenny very much wanted to go over to the house and ask about it, but if Michelle was afraid to even be seen, she probably wasn't going to want to talk about it. She briefly considered trying to sneak into the pool-house, but there was a heavy-duty padlock on the door. Giving up, she made her way home, still reeling with amazement at what she'd seen.
"So," one of the girls who had joined Becky at lunch, a redhead named Laura, said, "is it true what they were saying yesterday, that you used to be a boy?"
Becky nodded. "Like I said to them," she said, "I came down with a sickness that left me unable to function as a male, so we decided that I'd have a happier life as a girl."
Ellen, a quiet, diminutive brunette, let out a low whistle. "Wow," she said. "No offense, but that's weird. I guess people do that kind of thing because they want to sometimes, but to have to do it because you got sick, that's just...wow."
Becky chuckled. "No kidding," she smirked. "If you think it's weird now, you should've been there then."
"Do you like boys now, or what?" Laura queried. "If it's okay to ask you that?"
Becky waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine," she said. "I'll tell you if you've gone too far. But I don't really know; I don't like like anyone yet, so I guess I'm just going to have to figure it out as I go."
"But you're still kind of a boy inside, right?" Ellen mused. "I mean, this kind of thing doesn't suddenly make you like girly stuff, right?"
"Right, no frilly pink dresses for me," Becky smiled. She leaned forward and lowered her voice, speaking in a sinister whisper. "Although I have had to compromise on the underwear, for...practical reasons."
The other two girls stared confusedly at Becky until they noticed the smirk on the face of Andrew, the boy next to her. They broke down laughing at the absurd seriousness of her delivery. "But seriously," Becky said, "yeah, I'm basically the same person I was before, so no, I'm not really into girl stuff. No painting nails or gossiping at slumber parties or stuff like that."
Laura snorted. "Looks like someone has a few stereotypes," she scoffed. "That settles it, we're going to have to invite you to one sometime, just to give you a more accurate picture."
Becky smirked. "I dunno," she said, "from everything I've heard I wasn't far from the mark."
"Well, there's more to it than that!" Laura protested. The good-natured argument continued until the end of lunch.
Jenny was sitting in the living room, browsing through the encyclopedia, still wondering about Michelle, and what she'd seen earlier that day. If she really were a mermaid, that would pretty cool, but maybe she was just in some kind of costume. But if that were true, why all the secrecy? And Benny had told her once that that poolhouse had been built right after Michelle was born...
Suddenly, her mom came in, carrying the phone. "Jenny," she said, "it's for you. I think it's one of your classmates."
Jenny took the phone, and her mom went back into the kitchen. "Hello," she said, "this is Jenny."
"D-don't tell anyone." The voice on the other end was rembling, so plainly afraid that Jenny could hear it over the phone. She knew it must be Michelle, and she had so many questions she wanted to ask, but the other girl was so afraid that her secret would get out...
"I won't," she said. There was a click as the other phone was hung up.
