“No, it’s Mr. Fangtooth,” Echo whispered. The mergirls hid behind a merstatue as Mr. Fangtooth wiggled toward the Big Rock Café. Through the open windows they watched as he sat at a table by himself, and a merwaitress brought him food.

“He looks so sad,” Echo said, peeking around the merstatue.

“Maybe he doesn’t have a family to cheer him up,” Shelly said. She was grateful she had her grandfather.

“At least we got him to smile yesterday,” Echo said.

“And we were sent to the headmaster’s office for it,” Shelly reminded her.

Echo nodded. “Still, maybe we could make him smile again, and keep him smiling.”

“That’d be nice, as long as we don’t get in trouble,” Shelly said. “I like Mr. Fangtooth a whole lot better than I like Pearl.”

“Pearl was bragging about how great her report was going to be,” Echo said. “I don’t think it’s nice to brag.”

“It isn’t,” Shelly said. “But we’d better get to work on our reports. Let’s go to my house.” Shelly didn’t tell Echo about her plan, but she secretly hoped her grandfather could get the pot off Echo’s tail.

“Maybe your grandfather can help us with our reports,” Echo said.

Shelly shook her head. “No, we have to do it on our own.” If Echo wouldn’t let her sister help, why should they ask Shelly’s grandfather?

“I bet your grandfather would like to help with our schoolwork,” Echo said.

“Sure he would,” Shelly said. “But we should do this without him.”

“Why?” Echo asked. “He’s really smart. And we could get a good grade.”

Shelly rolled her eyes. Her whole life, people had been telling her how amazing her grandfather was. She loved her grandfather, but she liked doing things on her own. “No, I don’t want to ask him.”

Echo put her right hand on her right hip and banged the pot on the seafloor. “Well, I want to.”

Shelly scrunched up her nose. Usually she agreed with Echo, but just then she was tired and grouchy. “Well, I don’t.”

“I do!” Echo yelled.

“I don’t!” Shelly yelled back.

“Then I don’t want to work with you!” Echo shouted.

“Then I don’t want to work with you, either!” Shelly shouted back.

Echo swam away as fast as she could with the pot on her tail. Bump. Bump. Bump. The pot thumped along the ocean floor.

Shelly wanted to swim after her friend and tell her she was sorry. But she didn’t. “I never even got to tell her my plan,” Shelly said to herself. She had the horrible feeling that she’d never be friends with Echo again.

Pearl

I DON’T BELIEVE IT!” SHELLY GASPED. It was the next morning. She had decided to stop by Echo’s shell to apologize and help her friend get to school. But Echo wasn’t alone. Pearl was holding Echo’s hand and helping her. Tied around Pearl’s tail was a smaller, but still sparkling, piece of cloth just like Echo’s. Shelly wondered where Pearl had managed to get the fabric.