“Who?” Echo asked.

Shelly nodded toward Kiki. “She’s new to Trident City, and I think she’s a little lonely. Her family lives far away.”

The two friends stared at Kiki. She wasn’t smiling, and she looked like she’d rather be anyplace but Trident Academy.

Echo smiled. “I told you that you are the best merfriend ever. Let’s go sit with her and make her feel at home.”

And that’s exactly what they did.

Class Reports

SNAPPING SHRIMP

By Shelly Siren

My favorite shrimp is the snapping shrimp, even though it is noisy. It’s only the size of my finger, but when its jaws snap shut, it sounds like a hundred merpeople cracking their knuckles. I was lucky to find one, since they usually live in warm, shallow waters.

HARLEQUIN SHRIMP

By Echo Reef

My favorite shrimp is the harlequin shrimp. I like the blue-spotted ones the best, although the purple-, red-, and orange-spotted ones are nice too. The only thing I don’t like about harlequin shrimp is that they eat starfish. I like starfish a lot, and I hate to see them hurt.

CLEANER SHRIMP

By Rocky Ridge

Cleaner shrimp are the best because they eat dead stuff out of a fish’s mouth. One time I let a cleaner shrimp live in my mouth for a month. I didn’t have to brush my teeth until my dad saw it and made me spit it out.

ANEMONE SHRIMP

By Pearl Swamp

I think all shrimp and krill are disgusting, but if I had to pick a favorite, I would pick the anemone shrimp. I like its purple and white spots because they look a little bit like pearls. This shrimp can live beside an anemone without getting stung.

ANTARCTIC KRILL

By Kiki Coral

I think Antarctic krill are interesting, but I am very worried about them. Because the waters are getting warmer, there are fewer krill. A single blue whale can eat as many as four million krill in a day. What will happen to the whales if the krill disappear? I think merfolk should find out what is making the waters warmer and stop it.

WORDS BY DEBBIE DADEY

REFRAIN:

Let the water roar

Deep down we’re swimming along

Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.

VERSE 1:

Shelly flips her tail

Racing, diving, chasing a whale

Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.