Mrs. Karp was counting the mergirls and merboys. When she got to Shelly and Echo, she stopped. “Has either of you seen Kiki?”

Shelly answered, “No, Mrs. Karp. She told me yesterday she’d be here first thing in the morning.”

“We won’t leave without her, will we?” Echo asked. “Please, let’s just wait a few more minutes.”

“No way! No way!” yelled Pearl. She dashed over to Mrs. Karp and the girls, her long pearl necklace trailing behind her. “Why should we let Kiki ruin the trip for us?”

Rocky joined in. “Yeah, Mrs. Karp. That little squirt is probably too scared to show up!”

Mrs. Karp clapped her hands three times. “We will wait two more minutes for Kiki, and then I’m afraid we’ll have to go,” she announced.

The class lined up two by two, Shelly and Echo in the rear. Just when the friends thought they would have to leave, they heard a splash behind them.

It was Kiki! Out of breath and looking as pale as mother-of-pearl, the little mergirl swam over to her friends, her head down.

“Where have you been?” Shelly said. “You had us worried.”

Echo called out to Mrs. Karp, “Kiki’s here! Let’s go!”

Rocky looked over his shoulder and blurted out, “It’s about time, shrimp! Who do you think you are, anyway—Neptune?”

“Rocky, that will be enough out of you,” Mrs. Karp said sharply, and handed Kiki an ID tag. “I expect everyone to be on their best behavior.”

“Are you feeling okay?” Shelly whispered to Kiki.

Kiki didn’t lie. “No, I feel terrible. My stomach really hurts. That’s why I’m so late.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t go,” Shelly suggested. “I could stay with you.”

Kiki smiled at her friend. She knew how badly Shelly wanted to see the whales.

“No,” Echo said. “You go, Shelly. I’ll take Kiki back to her dorm room.”

Now Kiki smiled at Echo. Kiki knew that Echo hoped to see humans at the surface, even if just for a minute. Kiki couldn’t ask her friends to give up this adventure. “That’s okay. I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Kiki nodded at her teacher but held her arms around her stomach.

Mrs. Karp said to the class, “Now that Kiki’s arrived, we can be on our way.”

“All right!” Rocky shouted.

Mrs. Karp frowned and continued, “Listen carefully to these important instructions before we go. The sunlight is very strong, so keep your eyes closed at first. You may swim around to study the whales, but do not wander far. I will blow the conch horn when it’s time to return below to school.” Mrs. Karp patted the shell she had slung around her shoulder.

“I hope I can do this,” Echo whispered. “I’m excited, but I’m also a little nervous.”

Shelly patted Echo’s arm. “Don’t worry. We’ll stay with you, right, Kiki?”

Kiki nodded. She thought Echo was brave to admit she was a tiny bit scared. Why couldn’t she do the same?