“Got it!” Avani says, and I can hear her footsteps hurriedly approach from the little cabin where she steers. “I knew we had some Dramamine in that toolbox.”

Avani grabs my cold, sweaty hand and drops two small pills onto my palm.

“Take these,” she instructs. “It should help with seasickness and settle your stomach.”

“I can’t do it,” I moan. “I feel like swallowing something might push me over the edge.”

“I just didn’t think you’d have this big of a problem on the water,” Sean says. “I mean, you’re mer.”

To be honest, I’m pretty surprised I’m reacting this strongly too. Maybe it’s because it’s so unnatural for mer to be on a boat. I should be in the water, not cruising along on top of it, in a polluting, noisy man-made craft. Or maybe it’s part of the mer magic that keeps the Journey going. Technically I’m not in the water, but being so close to it could be making the magic inside me go haywire, unsure of whether I should be punished or not for breaking the rules.

“This was a terrible idea,” I whisper.

Sean keeps up the slow circles on my back, but they’re reminding me way too much of the circles my guts are making. I shove him off as Sean says, “If we could, I’d say we should go back to shore, but Avani has work to do. I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah, well, sorrys don’t cure seasickness, do they?” When I get upset, I have a habit of saying things I might regret. Like the time I told Bubbles they were a bubble-headed idiot for losing one of the merbabes we were supposed to watch. I eventually found the kid in the sea cucumber fields during spawning season. I ended up covered in their, uh, gunk, and it wasn’t pretty. I’m very near that snapping point.

Kavya glares at me. “Hey, he was trying to do something nice.”

We hit another bump and the boat gets some air, my stomach falling out from under me. Aaaand my head goes back between my knees.

“Serves you right,” Kavya says, and I know Bubbles would agree if they were here.

“Kavya,” Avani says with a warning. “Don’t take it out on Ross. The worst of us comes out when we’re seasick. Coraline had a hard time at first too.” This boat trip is seriously making me question Coraline’s judgment. How could Kavya’s mer mom pick an existence that sends your guts rolling when you’re on water? It’s unnatural.

Avani puts a gentle hand on my shoulder. When I peek up at her, she genuinely looks like she feels bad and says, “I’m with Sean. I’d take you back, but we’ve really got to track these whales.”