Cali Plays Fair Read online

  To my nephews, Luke and Anthony, my very favorite twins (who might know a thing or two about competing!)

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Sneak Peek: Mermaids to the Rescue #4

  About the Author

  Also by Lisa Ann Scott

  Copyright

  Professor Korla passed back the exams to the royal mermaids and magical seaponies at the Rescue Crew School. Her long, lovely tail swooped along the floor as she returned to her desk.

  “Some of you did quite well on this quiz,” she said to the class. “Others should have studied sea plant identification a bit more.”

  Princess Cali looked at her test and then peeked at her twin brother Cruise’s paper. They had both gotten a ninety-seven. She frowned and raised her hand. “Can we do anything for extra credit?”

  “Certainly.” The teacher paused. “But you performed very well, Cali.”

  And so did Cruise.

  “I want a perfect score,” Cali said. One that would make her stand apart from her brother. They’d always been “Cali and Cruise.” Or “Cruise and Cali,” or “the Twins.” For the last nine years, everyone had treated them as one.

  Now that they were in Rescue Crew School, Cali was ready to shine on her own. She had to. Cali would be performing rescues with her seapony partner, Rio. Cruise wouldn’t always be with her. Cali had to prove she could do things herself—and do them well. She wanted to be the best—or at least better than her brother.

  The teacher crossed her arms. “Very well. Anyone who wants extra credit can collect samples of five plants and present them in class tomorrow.”

  “What if I bring in six instead of five?” Cruise asked.

  “You’re not going to get a grade higher than one hundred, but if you want to collect six samples, feel free to do so,” the teacher said.

  Then I’m going to get seven, Cali thought. She could not let Cruise beat her—at anything.

  She turned to her magical seapony partner, Rio. “We’ll start looking right after class.”

  Rio gave her a funny look. “I’m happy with my ninety-three. If we go looking for plants, we won’t have as much time to read the pet book. You still have to decide what kind of pet you should get. You don’t really need the extra credit.”

  Cali frowned. Rio was an amazing seapony partner, always kind and fun. Cali hated bickering with Rio, but the truth was, they didn’t always agree.

  “We can talk about pets while we look,” Cali said. “I wish Cruise and I could each get our own pet. But Mom and Dad said we have to agree on one and share it.”

  Cruise smiled at her. “An electric eel would be amazing. We’d have so much fun with it.”

  Cali sighed. “What about a puffer fish? They’re so cute!”

  “Boring!” Cruise said. “We’ve got to choose something cool!”

  “I’m not sure you two are ever going to agree on which pet to get,” said Cruise’s seapony, Jetty.

  “We have to pick one before we go home at the end of the weekend, or we don’t get one at all,” Cali reminded him. But she worried that Jetty was right. Lately, she and Cruise seemed to argue and disagree more and more—about everything! How could they ever agree on something as important as a pet?

  The bell rang and Professor Korla closed the textbook on her desk. “Class is dismissed. And make sure to be here on time tomorrow! There will be a very exciting announcement.”

  The class chattered, wondering what the news might be, as they swam out of the classroom.

  Cali zoomed outside and did a somersault.

  Cruise swam up beside her and did two.

  Cali put her hands on her hips. “I can do better than that.” She tumbled in a circle three times.

  Then Cruise did four. Cali did five. Cruise did six.

  Rio sighed.

  Jetty shook his head. “Don’t make me hit you with a stun bubble.”

  Cali laughed. That would be funny to see, especially since Cruise was so proud of Jetty’s Sea Savvy. Stun bubbles were cool, but Rio could blow protection bubbles. After they’d chosen their seapony partners in the match ceremony, Cali and Cruise had spent hours arguing over whose Sea Savvy was better.

  Cali’s friends from class swam up to her.

  “Come on, Cali. Let’s look for plants!” Princess Nixie said.

  Cali felt dizzy. “Hang on. I have to do seven somersaults.”

  Princess Lana grabbed her hand. “No you don’t. You can’t even swim straight right now!”

  “I’m the somersault champ!” Cruise pumped his hands in the air. “Want to go search for plants with me?”

  Cali almost said yes—then realized Cruise probably just wanted her to be there so he could gloat when he found more plants than her. “No, thanks,” she said.

  Cruise’s smile fell. “Fine.” He swam off.

  “Why does Cruise copy everything I do?” Cali wondered aloud. He was making it very difficult for her to stand out.

  “Well, you’ve always done everything together,” Rio said.

  Cali crossed her arms. “We’re not little kids anymore.”

  “Just forget about it. Let’s go to the park,” Rio said. “You can get samples from the seaweed garden and then we can read the pet book.”

  They swam to the park and saw Cruise with his friends Dorado and Drake.

  Cruise waved a handful of plants. “I’ve already got five!”

  “Good for you.” Cali tried her best to ignore him.

  “I wonder what Professor Korla is going to announce tomorrow,” Lana said.

  “No more homework for the rest of the year?” Nixie joked.

  “Sign me up!” Cali said.

  Cali and her friends laughed.

  “Watch how long I can stand on my hands!” Cruise flipped upside down and put his hands on the sandy sea floor. “Bet you can’t do it longer than me, Cali.”

  “Don’t do it, Cali,” Rio whispered.

  But Cali couldn’t help it. She was great at standing on her hands, and her brother knew it. She swam up next to him and flipped upside down. “I can do this all day.”

  “I could be here all week if I wanted to,” Cruise said.

  “I could live the rest of my life like this,” Cali said.

  “Cali, let’s collect our plants!” Lana said.

  Cali turned her head to see Lana—and tumbled out of her handstand.

  “Ha! Beat you!” Cruise said.

  “Well, I’m faster than you.” She zipped across the park, and he zoomed after her, right on her tail.

  She was way ahead of him when Nixie’s older sister, Princess Cascadia, swam into the park. She was on the Rescue Crew, too, but she’d graduated from their school the year before. “Hey, guys!” she called.

  Cali and Cruise stopped their race.

  Cascadia’s eyes were wide. “I need everyone’s help!”

  “What’s going on?” Cali swam over to Cascadia. The other merkids and seaponies followed.

  “I just got a call on my rescue shell to help a bunch of baby octopuses trying to get home,” Cascadia said. “Did you guys hear it?”

  “No.” Cali hoped it wasn’t because everyone had been distracted by her competitions with Cruise.

  “It probably came through on my rescue shell because I was closer.” Cascadia put her hands on her hips. “All right, everyone, come with me. It’ll be a good experience. And I need help!
Tiny octopuses slip right through your fingers. Put on your Say Shells so we can understand them.”

  The Royal Mermaid Rescue Crew helped all creatures of the sea, not just merfolk. Cali was excited to go on a mission. She hoped she could do something today to really make her mark as a Rescue Crew princess.

  “Follow me!” Cascadia swam off.

  Cruise pumped his arm over his head. “The Royal Mermaid Rescue Crew is on the way!”

  They all followed Cascadia over to the coral reef on the edge of the city, where the tiny creatures were bobbing in the current.

  “They’re adorable!” Cali said.

  The baby octopuses had big eyes and tiny, wiggling legs. Cali counted at least two dozen of them, but they were so quick, it was hard to keep track.

  “We got washed away from our tide pool,” one of the little guys squeaked.

  “We don’t know how to get back,” said another.

  “I can help,” Cali said eagerly.

  Nixie gave her a funny look. “We’ll all help!”

  “Let’s gather them up and take them back to the tide pool,” Cascadia said. “And watch out—they’re little thieves with all those tentacles. They’ll snatch your jewelry or hair ties and you won’t even know it. They love trinkets.”

  The merkids tried to start collecting the creatures, but the octopuses seemed to think it was a game and scooted away, shooting ink and giggling.

  Cali had one in her hand, but it tickled her so much, she lost her grip. “Stop it! We’re trying to help you.”

  Lana had one cupped in both hands, but somehow, it slipped out! “Hey! It took my ring!” She chased after it.

  Three of them shot ink in Cruise’s face, and Cali couldn’t help but laugh.

  “How are we ever going to get them all?” Nixie asked.

  “Jetty could freeze them with his stun bubbles,” Cruise offered. “It doesn’t hurt. It’ll just keep them still for a few minutes.”

  Jetty blew a few bubbles, but the octopuses darted around them easily.

  Cali got a great idea. “I know—Rio can handle this! Get them all in one spot.” She looked at Rio and nodded. Everyone would be so impressed!

  They managed to gather the octopuses near a large piece of coral, and Rio blew a big protection bubble around them.

  “I usually do this to keep things away from me and Cali,” Rio explained.

  “But this will keep them from getting out!” Cali said, finishing Rio’s thought.

  “Great thinking!” Cascadia said. “Let’s get this bubble to the tide pool. Way to use your Sea Savvy, Rio! That was awesome.”

  Cali wanted to point out that she had come up with the idea, but she kept quiet.

  The merkids took turns rolling the bubble toward the tide pool. The octopuses inside seemed to be having a great time turning and tumbling.

  Once the bubble reached the tide pool, Rio popped it. The octopuses spilled out, giggling and cheering. They swam off into crooks and crevices.

  An octopus would be a great pet—if they didn’t shoot ink, Cali thought. Her parents would not appreciate that.

  Cali counted the wiggly creatures. She only saw twenty-three. “Weren’t there twenty-four of them?”

  “I don’t know. They were all moving too fast to count.” Lana sighed.

  “Good work, everyone!” Cascadia said. “Thanks for your help.”

  Cali’s shoulders slumped, disappointed that Cascadia hadn’t praised her for coming up with the plan.

  “I’m headed home, and you all should get back to the dorms.” Cascadia swam off.

  “Yes! It’s time for dinner!” Dorado said.

  “I’m hungry after all that work,” Nixie agreed.

  “What a fun mission!” Lana said.

  None of her classmates said anything about how she saved the day with her idea, either. Cali swam toward school not feeling hungry at all.

  The merkids and seaponies went back to the cafeteria and filled their trays.

  “Yum, sea urchins! I’m going to eat a whole plateful,” Cruise announced. He turned to Cali. “Remember when we ate a pile of them at Dad’s birthday party? Bet I can still eat more than you.”

  Cali thought sea urchins were too salty, but she started piling them onto her plate anyway. “No way—I can eat more.”

  “You don’t even like those,” Rio reminded her.

  “My tastes may have changed.” Cali added some kelp and fish eggs to her plate.

  Cali sat with her friends at the table next to Cruise. He popped a sea urchin into his mouth. And then another, and another.

  Cali pressed her lips together, then put an urchin in her mouth and chewed it as quickly as she could. She made a face and pushed away her plate. She’d let Cruise win this one.

  He pumped his hands in the air. “I’m the urchin-eating champion of the world!”

  “Oh boy, what an honor,” joked Lana’s seapony partner, Marina.

  Cruise bowed in his seat. “Thank you, thank you.”

  Cali glared at him.

  “Hey, Cali!” Nixie said, distracting her. “What do you think the professor’s big announcement is going to be tomorrow?”

  Cali cheered up. “I don’t know, but I’m excited!”

  “I can’t wait to find out,” Lana said.

  Whatever it was, Cali hoped it gave her a chance to be the best—at something. At the very least, better than Cruise.

  The next day in class, Cali hurried to her seat, waiting for the announcement. When Principal Vanora swam into the room with Professor Korla, Cali knew it was going to be something big.

  All the students quieted down.

  “Class, as you know, the school year is ending soon. And we want to do something special,” Professor Korla said. “Something fun!”

  “So we’re having a Rescue Crew tournament to name the top merstudent of the year,” the principal said. “First-year and second-year students can participate.”

  Cheers and applause filled the room. Cali squirmed with excitement. This was the perfect way to prove herself. She just had to win!

  “This competition is designed to help the city of Astoria, too,” the principal continued. “Some of the events will provide Astoria with needed services and supplies.”

  “You can win points with each competition,” Professor Korla said. “And whoever has the most points at the end is named Student of the Year.” She paused and held up a medal. “That student will be rewarded with this.”

  Cali and Rio shared an excited look. She noticed Cruise high-fiving Dorado, like he’d already won.

  “What are the competitions?” Cali asked.

  “Contest one is pearl harvesting—a test of who can gather the most,” the principal said.

  “That’ll be so fun!” Lana said.

  “We’ll use the pearls to patch up the gates to Astoria,” the principal explained.

  Cali was excited about that challenge. Oysters opened when you sang to them. This would also be a great chance to show off her singing skills.

  “Contest two,” said Principal Vanora, “is painting shells to scatter about the kingdom. The winners will be whoever paints the most and who paints the prettiest shell.”

  “And contest three—who can collect the most ocean litter?” Professor Korla smiled. “We’ll all help to clean up our beautiful Astoria.”

  That didn’t sound as fun as shell painting and pearl harvesting, but Cali knew she could do it.

  “Those are the challenges next Saturday,” the principal said. “On Sunday, we’re collecting glow coral for our street lamps and you’ll race through an obstacle course. And then we’ll declare a winner.”

  The class chattered and cheered.

  “These challenges are for royal mermaids only,” the principal said. “Your seaponies can support you and cheer you on, but they can’t do the tasks for you.”

  “And there’s a bonus fifty points if you find the missing Night Star or the Trident of Protection.” Professor Korla h
eld up an old painting showing the Trident and all its gems.

  “As you know,” the principal said, “the Fathom Pearl and Sea Diamond have been found. If we can find the Night Star and Trident, we may be able to restore the protective powers they once brought to our seas.”

  Nixie’s friends found the Sea Diamond near the rift. And Lana brought back the Fathom Pearl from the Northern Seas.

  Cali imagined how proud she’d feel presenting the Trident or the Night Star to the principal. That would certainly prove her worth. But where could they be? They might be lost forever. Or worse—they could be lost in the rift, the most dangerous part of the ocean.

  “The competition begins next weekend,” Principal Vanora said. “It should be a wonderful event.”

  “Now it’s time for our studies,” their teacher said. “Those of you who want to present your plant samples for extra credit may do so now.”

  Cruise showed off his eight plants—one more than Cali had collected. But the teacher raised both their grades to one hundred.

  For the rest of the day, Cali couldn’t stop thinking about the tournament. It would be so exciting to be named Student of the Year. That was one thing she and Cruise couldn’t share, since only one merkid could win it. She wished she didn’t have to go home for the week. She wanted to start the tournament now!

  At the end of the day, the students gathered up their things to return to their kingdoms.

  Cali swam up to Cruise. “Remember, we have to tell Mom and Dad which pet we want when we get home, or we don’t get any pet at all!” she reminded her twin.

  Unfortunately, they had to decide on one together. It would be “Cali and Cruise’s” pet. The Twins’ pet.

  “We could do that.” Cruise raised an eyebrow. “Or we could have a contest! Winner gets to choose.”

  Cali was intrigued. “What kind of contest?”

  Cruise thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. “Whoever makes it home first gets to pick.”

  Jetty and Rio shared a worried look.

  “Okay—let’s do it!” Cali knew she could beat him.

  “Contest starts … now!” Cruise shot through the water, and Cali was hot on his tail.