Cali Plays Fair Page 2

  The swim home to Coquina took a few hours. Cali zoomed ahead of Cruise, but then he caught up. They swapped the lead, back and forth, over and over.

  Finally, they could see their castle, just ahead.

  “Guys, take a break!” Rio shouted.

  But Cali had to win. Who knew what Cruise might think was a good pet? She swam as fast as she could—and then, in a fresh burst of speed, Cruise beat her by only a few inches.

  “Yes!” He spun in a circle. “I win! I get to choose the pet!”

  Cali sighed. “Please don’t pick something horrible.”

  “Of course not.” Cruise waggled his eyebrows. “I’m going to pick something cool.”

  Their mother and father, the king and queen of Coquina, swam out of the castle, calling, “Welcome home!” Their mom hugged them, and their father gave them each a kiss on the cheek.

  “Guess what? There’s going to be a big tournament at the academy next week,” Cali told them.

  “Whoever wins gets a medal and is named Student of the Year,” Cruise added, still breathless from their race.

  “Wow!” their mom said. “How exciting.”

  “Can’t wait to hear how that goes,” their dad added. “In the meantime, have you decided which pet you’d like yet?”

  “I still think we should be able to each get our own pet,” Cali said.

  “No, this is a decision for you two to make,” their father reminded them.

  Cruise grinned. “We’ll have our answer tomorrow.”

  Their mother let out a long breath. “I’m so glad to hear you’re able to work this out together.”

  Cali sighed. Together. Why couldn’t her parents understand she wanted to do some things on her own?

  “Yes, that’s wonderful!” their father agreed. “I knew you could find a solution.”

  Rio and Jetty shared a worried look.

  The rest of the night, Cruise leafed through a book of sea creatures.

  “What about a goblin shark? Look!” He held up a book with a picture of the creepy creature.

  “No! That would be a horrible pet.”

  “Come on, just read about it,” he said. “We’d be the only kids around who had one.”

  “I’m sure there’s a reason other merkids don’t have them,” Cali said.

  “Okay, then how about this?” He held up a picture of something so terrifying, she didn’t even know what it was.

  Cali turned away and wouldn’t even look at him. Why did she have to be a twin?

  * * *

  The next morning the family sat down for breakfast before the twins had to leave for their classes at Coquina Primary School.

  “So what did you two decide on?” their father asked.

  Cruise smiled wide. “It took a long time to pick the best pet, but we want—a moray eel!”

  Cali almost gasped, but just in time she forced herself to smile.

  Her mother looked at her, shocked. “Really?”

  Cali could only nod.

  “We thought it would be an interesting pet,” Cruise said.

  “Very well,” their father said. “We’ll choose one from the shelter today when you get home.”

  Cali wouldn’t talk to Cruise on the way to school.

  “Hey, you agreed to the race,” Cruise reminded her.

  She balled up her fists. “You picked something horrible just to make me mad.”

  Cruise looked surprised. “I did not. I really think it’ll be cool! Just give it a chance.”

  Cali sighed. “Fine.” But she doubted she would ever like having an eel for a pet.

  They swam to their classrooms. Today, she was glad they had different teachers at their Coquina school.

  “How was rescue school?” her friend Kai asked as Cali took her seat.

  “It was good. But there’s this big competition coming up next weekend.” Cali told her friends all about it.

  “I hope you win!” her friend Raina said.

  “Me too. I want everyone to know me for something other than being Cruise’s twin. And if he wins, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  It was nice to have a break from Cruise for the day. But as soon as classes ended, her brother swam up to Cali.

  “Let’s go get our pet!” He nudged her with his elbow. “I’ll let you name it.”

  Cali forced a smile. Maybe a moray eel wouldn’t be the worst pet in the world. Anything was possible.

  Their parents took them to the rescue shelter in town. Cali was excited to see so many interesting animals up for adoption, like sea dragons. But she looked anxiously at the tanks, crossing her fingers. Please don’t have any moray eels, please don’t have any moray eels.

  “Cali, come look at this guy!” Cruise shouted.

  She swam to the tank that held a small moray eel. It looked at her and hissed. She tried not to cry. “Cool,” she mumbled.

  “This is the one I want!” Cruise said.

  “You mean the one you both want?” their mother asked.

  “Yes, that’s what I meant,” Cruise said. “What should we name it, Cali?”

  “I don’t know.” The eel snapped at Cali, and she jumped back. “Bitey?”

  Cruise pumped an arm in the air. “Yes! Come on, Bitey. You’re going to love living with us.”

  Cruise spent the rest of the night playing with Bitey while Cali read a book.

  “Don’t you want to play with him?” Cali’s mom asked.

  “No, thanks.” Bitey scared her, but she wouldn’t admit it to anyone—especially Cruise. She avoided Bitey as much as she could for the rest of the week. And her brother, too.

  * * *

  Saturday morning, the twins ate breakfast and got ready to head back to the Rescue Academy.

  Cruise picked up Bitey to put in his bag.

  “You’re bringing him with us?” Cali asked.

  “I can’t leave him home,” Cruise said. “He’s our pet.”

  “You’re in charge of him,” Cali said.

  “I can’t wait to show him to everyone!”

  “Make sure you leave him in your room during the competition this weekend,” Cali told him.

  “Of course!” Cruise said.

  Their mother and father swam outside with them. “Do your best during the tournament!” their father said. “And have fun!”

  Cali glared at Cruise and the eel. She was more determined than ever to be the best. After all, look what happened when she let Cruise win!

  Back at the academy dorms, Cruise showed off Bitey to their friends.

  “You picked a moray eel for a pet?” Lana asked Cali.

  “Cruise picked it,” Cali said.

  “Isn’t he cool?” Cruise asked. “He’s like a cuddly little monster!”

  “I guess so.” Dorado backed away from the hissing creature.

  “Come on, let’s get to school so we can start the competition!” Nixie said.

  Cruise put Bitey away, and they swam to school.

  The Rescue Crew teachers and principal were waiting outside. “Come along to our first challenge!” They led the students to the oyster beds. “We need new pearls to repair the gates to Astoria. Grab a bag and start collecting! You have one hour,” the principal said. “Let the tournament begin!”

  Cali got right to work, singing to the oysters and tapping their shells. Slowly, they opened up so she could take the pearls inside. She grinned, knowing how much Cruise hated singing—the only thing that made the oysters open.

  The other students zipped around the oyster beds, gathering pearls. Their voices filled the water. Cali sang louder, hoping the other merkids would notice how well she sang.

  Suddenly, she heard Cruise shouting, “Open, oyster, open!” All the oysters around him started snapping their shells open and shut, agitated. Some even tried to burrow into the sand. They were clearly annoyed, but Cruise was able to easily snatch up dozens of pearls.

  “Hey, you’re supposed to sing to them,” Cali said.

  He s
hrugged. “My way seems to be working fine. Try it!”

  “No!” Cali kept working, singing louder and faster, plucking out pearl after pearl. But she couldn’t help noticing how full Cruise’s bag was. She sang even faster and tapped the shells more quickly, but she couldn’t collect as many as Cruise had.

  And no one had said a word about her singing voice.

  The principal blew a whistle and said, “Time’s up! Bring over your pearls.”

  Cali carried her bag over and checked out everyone else’s haul. Cruise’s was overflowing with pearls.

  “We’ll count these up,” the principal said, “but I can tell already that Cruise collected the most—and devised a new way to harvest pearls. Well done!”

  Cali gritted her teeth. No one noticed her sweet singing, and now Cruise was getting praise for shouting?

  “Cruise earns ten points toward the tournament,” Professor Korla announced.

  “Yes!” Cruise twirled in a happy circle.

  Cali flashed him a mean look. It didn’t seem fair that he’d gotten the pearls by shouting instead of singing. That wasn’t how it worked!

  “It’s okay,” Rio said quietly. “I know you’re upset. But this is just the first event.”

  Cali nodded and took a deep breath. “You’re right.” She was going to have to try even harder on the next challenge.

  They went to the park and took a break for lunch. Cali was quiet as she munched a kelp sandwich. Cruise sat nearby popping urchins into his mouth. “Six urchins! I broke my own record! Wanna try and beat me, Cali?”

  Ugh, why was he always taunting her? Cali turned her back, ignoring him for the rest of the meal.

  “Students,” the principal announced, “it’s time for our next event of the day. We’ll stay right here in the park and paint seashells to scatter around Astoria.” She stood beside a table filled with seashells, paints, and paintbrushes.

  “Yes!” Cali loved painting. She had to win this one.

  “Points will be awarded for number of shells painted and the best shell, as judged by the teachers,” Professor Korla explained.

  Cali grabbed a pile of shells and got to work. She sketched out an image of dolphins jumping up out of the water, then carefully painted it.

  “You’re spending a lot of time on just one shell,” Rio said.

  “I figured I could either go for the most shells, or the prettiest. I have a good shot at the prettiest.”

  After a few minutes she looked over and saw that Cruise had painted a whole pile of shells. They had simple designs, nothing like her elaborate scene.

  “Hey, you barely painted those,” Cali said.

  Cruise didn’t look up from his work. “I know that I can’t paint the best shell, but I can paint the most. No one said they had to look great.”

  Cali panicked, wondering if she should have done the same thing. Especially since Nixie had painted a gorgeous scene on each of hers. Maybe Cali’s wouldn’t be the prettiest after all.

  With shaky hands, she added a few details to hers before the teachers blew the whistle to end the event.

  Cali swam back and forth while the teachers tallied the results. “I don’t think I’m going to win this one, either.”

  “That’s okay,” Rio said. “You can’t win them all.”

  “But I have to win at least one of them!” Cali said.

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s more important to try your best.”

  “We have the results of the shell painting contest,” Professor Korla said, calling the students to attention.

  “Cruise painted the most shells,” the principal said, “earning ten points. And Nixie painted the most beautiful shell. Ten points for her as well.”

  Cali took a few deep breaths so she wouldn’t cry. How had this happened? Cruise had won two events and she’d won none.

  “Class, we’re going to scatter the shells around the city. Grab a few, then meet back here for our next competition,” the principal said.

  The merstudents started gathering the shells. “Hey, a few of mine are missing,” Nixie said.

  “How strange!” her seapony, Rip, said.

  Cruise swam up to Cali. “Come on, let’s see which one of us can scatter the most! It’ll be fun.”

  “No, thanks.” Cali gathered a handful of shells. She didn’t want him to know how upset she was. And she didn’t want him to beat her at yet another thing.

  Cruise shrugged and swam away.

  Cali just couldn’t let her brother win the whole tournament. She was ready to do anything to beat him.

  After they were done scattering the shells, everyone swam back to the park.

  “Our final event of the day is litter collection,” said Professor Korla.

  There were a few groans.

  “This is going to help Astoria,” the principal reminded the class. “You have two hours. We’ll sound the conch shell when time is up. You can travel anywhere in the city to gather trash.”

  “Take a few bags! We’re hoping you’ll get a lot,” Professor Korla said.

  Hopeful, Cali grabbed five bags.

  Her friends were gathering together in a group.

  “Come with us!” Nixie told her. “We’re starting in the park.”

  But Cali didn’t want to be distracted. “Sorry, guys. I think I’ll collect more if I’m working alone.”

  “Okay! We’ll see you later!” Her friends swam off.

  Cruise swam up to her. “Want to work together?”

  “No!” Cali said.

  “What’s wrong?” Cruise said as Cali sped off.

  “Wait up!” Rio called after her.

  Cali and Rio swam to the outskirts of the city. Out there, lots of debris had floated down from the surface. It didn’t take long to fill one bag. And then another, and another. Cali was starting to feel good about her chances with this event.

  “Let’s head back toward the center of the city,” Cali told Rio.

  They swam past a few houses. Most people lived right in the middle of the city. But some people liked being farther from town. Cali waved to an older mermaid who was swimming out of her house with a bag. She set it next to her mailbox.

  The lady smiled at Cali. “Are you the new trash collector?”

  Cali laughed. “No, I’m just collecting litter for a contest at school.”

  The lady pointed to the bag. “Add that one to your collection. Thanks, dear!” She swam back into her house before Cali could tell her the contest didn’t work that way.

  “Too bad you can’t use that,” Rio said. “You’d have four full bags!”

  Cali paused. “Well, the principal did say we could gather it from anywhere in the city. And this is the city.”

  “I don’t think that’s what she meant.”

  “But it’s not breaking the rules.” Cali bent down and picked up the bag. Some of the trash fell out and she put it back in. “See? I just collected some of that trash.”

  “Do you really think that’s fair? You weren’t too happy when Cruise was shouting at the oysters.”

  “I didn’t do anything wrong. The mermaid told me to take the bag. And maybe the currents would have scattered all her trash if I hadn’t taken it.”

  “I still don’t think it should count.”

  Cali was not in the mood to bicker with Rio. “I’ll think about it. But for now, I’m going to hold on to it.”

  Cali managed to collect another bag of litter before they heard the conch horn blow.

  “We’d better get back,” Rio said.

  As Cali swam into the park she noticed Cruise had four bags of trash. Everyone else had two or three. With the extra bag she picked up, Cali would win. At this point, it was her only chance to stay in the competition.

  Cruise saw her and waved. “I’ve got four! Bet you didn’t get more!”

  Cali gritted her teeth. “Come on, Rio. We’re handing in all those bags.”

  “Five bags?” the principal asked. “Cali, you win th
is event and get ten points.”

  Her friends cheered. “Yay, Cali!”

  Cruise crossed his arms and frowned.

  “Here’s a look at our final tally for the day,” Professor Korla said. She held up a big sheet with everyone’s points. Cruise was in the lead with twenty. Nixie and Cali each had ten.

  Cali looked at Rio. “I have a chance now!” She could be the merstudent of the year. Not Cruise. Not her and Cruise. Just her. Finally, she could stand out!

  Rio didn’t say anything.

  “What?” Cali whispered. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Let’s just go get some rest,” Rio said.

  Cruise caught up to Cali as they swam back to the dorms. “You may have won that event, but I’m still in the lead!”

  “Yeah, for now!” Cali said.

  “Want to play with Bitey?” he asked. “He’s probably lonely.”

  “No, I don’t think he likes me,” Cali said. “And besides, he’s really your pet.”

  “He’s our pet, and he just has to get to know you. I was thinking of some fun games we can play with him together. Come on, at least say hi.”

  “Okay.” Cali followed Cruise to his room.

  Cruise went to the tank he set up for the eel. “Bitey?” He looked in his closet and under the bed. “He’s not here! Bitey’s gone! We have to find him!”

  Cali, Cruise, and their seaponies set off to search the school grounds.

  “Bitey! Where are you?” Cruise called.

  “He could be anywhere,” Cali said. “We were out all day. He could have swum very far from here.”

  Cruise looked so upset, Cali forgot she didn’t even like the eel. “We can get another one.”

  “I don’t want another eel. I want Bitey!” Cruise said.

  “It’s getting dark soon,” Cali said. “We don’t have much more time to search.”

  “Maybe we can leave a dish of food on the windowsill in your room and see if he comes back,” Jetty suggested.

  Cruise sniffed. “Maybe.”

  Cali wanted to tell him that if they’d picked a cute sea slug for a pet, it wouldn’t have gotten far if it tried to run away. But she knew that wouldn’t make Cruise feel better.