The Mermaid's Mirror (9 page)

Everyone stared as Henry flipped down the front seat, indicating that Pem and Lena should get in back. Max frowned, but Henry didn't seem to notice.

The girls glanced at each other, then climbed into the back seat of the Mustang.

That was the last day Pem rode in the back seat.

The next day Max was there again, to "pick up Henry," and he offered them a ride home again. This time when Pem accepted, Max relegated Henry to the back seat with a cock of his head. There was a split second of awkwardness before Lena joined him, then Pem slid gracefully into the front seat as if she owned it.

Lena actually rolled her eyes the third day Max was waiting outside school. Why didn't he just ask Pem out, instead of going through this whole Oh-hi-I-just-ran-into-you-here scenario?

When he offered them a ride home, Lena declined, much to Pem's consternation.

"Come on, Lena!" she whispered.

"Why?" asked Lena. "Why can't you just go without me? Why do I have to be there?"

"Just ... it seems like it's more natural if you're there."

"What's the big deal? Henry is there."

"Yeah, but you know my parents would get all horrified if they saw me riding around in a car with a college guy! At least if you're with us, it doesn't seem so ... like, private."

"It's not private! You're riding around in broad daylight with Henry in the back seat. You don't need me. Your parents probably wouldn't mind at all."

"Lena, come
on.
I'd do it for you."

Lena sighed. It was true. Pem would do anything for her, including letting Lena stop off at her house and shower before going home from her surfing lessons. "Okay," she said.

"Thanks," said Pem, squeezing Lena's elbow. Then she opened the door of the Mustang with an air of possession, and pushed down the front seat so that Lena could get in back.

Making a face at her, Lena climbed in. "Hey, Max," she said.

"Hey, Lena."

"Hi, Henry."

Henry glanced over at her, then quickly looked away, his face reddening. "Hi," he said.

They drove without speaking, the hip-hop music of Friendly Frenzy booming from the car's speakers.

Max took Lena home first.

"Thanks, Max," she said. "Talk to you later, Pem."

"See ya."

"Bye, Henry."

Henry lifted his hand briefly.

Relieved to be out of the car, away from the loud thumping bass and the silent slumping brother, Lena went into her house.

The song in Lena's mind was bittersweet, full of lilts and trills, but with a minor-key melancholy. She hummed along, trying to memorize it.
I hope I remember it when I wake up,
she thought.

"Lena," said a voice in her dream.

Yes,
she answered.

"Where are you going?"

Magic's,
she said.

"Why?"

It's Magic there.

Then someone touched her arm, and Lena woke up.

She was standing next to the sliding-glass door in the family room, her hand on the lock, her mother next to her.

Mom kept hold of her arm. "Sweetie," she said. "Are you okay?"

Lena blinked a couple of times, orienting herself. It was dark outside the glass door, and the family room was in darkness, too, except for a small circle of light cast by the table lamp in the corner.

"I'm okay," she said, noting the worry on her mom's face. "What time is it?"

"It's five a.m.," said her mom. "I got up early because I had some work to do." She released Lena's arm. "You ... you were humming again. And your eyes were open." Lena heard the unspoken part of her sentence:
Just like that day on the beach.

Lena flashed on her mom saying, "...straight to the ER next time." She scrambled for a convincing explanation. "I got up early, too."

Her mom studied her for a moment, then said, "You did?"

Lena looked at her reflection in the dark glass. Luckily, she was dressed ... not still in her pajamas. "Yes."

"But you didn't act like you saw me."

"I ... didn't," she said. "I was thinking about something else."

"You said you were going to Magic's." Lena's mom was still tense, but Lena could see she
wanted
to believe her daughter was okay.

"I couldn't sleep," said Lena smoothly. "I thought I would take a walk."

Now Mom was shifting from worried to adamant. "Absolutely not, Lena! I don't want you out walking in the dark."

Lena shrugged and moved away from the door. Mom would feel better now that she thought Lena was clueless, rather than delirious. "Okay. This is super-early for you to be up, though, isn't it?"

Her mom went to the couch and picked up her laptop. "Yes, well, you know me: the hardest-working lazy person in the world. There were some loose ends I
had
to tie up today before the trade show." She settled on the couch. "You're welcome to sit with me, but you'll have to read or do something quiet. I need to concentrate."

"That's okay. I'll just go back to my room," said Lena.

"All right, sweetie."

Lena felt her mom's eyes on her as she walked out of the room.

Instead of returning to her bedroom, Lena went into her dad's study. She opened the window and stared out into the darkness, hoping to see a sliver of ocean in the distance. She breathed in the sea air and listened to the foghorn.

Why is it called Magic's?
she thought.

That stretch of coast was officially named Crescent Cove. That was the name on all the signs on the highway. Why did the locals call it Magic Crescent Cove?

Maybe someone saw something magical there.

Lena closed the window and went down the hall to her room. She climbed in bed. It wasn't even five thirty yet; she might as well try to go back to sleep.

She closed her eyes. Images of perfectly formed waves rolled through her mind. She rode the waves ... no surfboard necessary. In her waking dreams, she dove and turned and shifted with the tides, all by herself. Not even a wetsuit.

Like the mermaid,
she thought.

***

The mermaid woke from fitful slumber.

She had drifted for days in the magical cove, hoping to see the girl again. She knew it was madness to linger here, risking discovery, but she could not depart. When she was hungry, she found a reef full of mussels. When she was exhausted from hours of scanning the shoreline, she allowed herself to sink into restless sleep.

She draws me as powerfully as any Siren,
mused the mermaid.
What gifts does she possess?

Finally, weak and wasted, the mermaid abandoned her vigil.

Lena's pulse quickened at the sight of the red Jeep pulling into her driveway. Of course, she was happy to see Kai—he had rehearsals every day after school except Friday—but she was even happier to know that she was minutes away from immersing herself in the cleansing sea.

Lena closed the front door behind her and ran to Ani's Jeep.

Kai jumped out and kissed her. "Are you ready to ride?"

Laughing, she brushed past him and climbed in the back of the Jeep.

"No, I'll sit there," he protested.

"I don't mind. It's only fair to take turns."

Kai pretended to climb in the back with her, and Ani said, "I'm growing weary of you, Kai. If you want a ride, sit down and buckle up. Otherwise get out and walk to Back Yard."

With a scowl, Kai sat down in front.

"Hi, Leen," said Ani. She put the Jeep in gear and pulled out of the driveway. "Ready for lesson number two?"

"I can't wait!"

"Good. Today's lesson: how to wipe out."

"Yay!" cried Lena into the wind.

Ani returned to the stretch of coast where she had taught Lena her first lesson.

"This is a sweet spot for beginners," she explained. "And it's off the beaten path, so there aren't as many locals to get bent out of shape at us for breathing their air and touching their waves."

Lena hurried into her wetsuit and snapped on her leash.

"All set?" asked Ani.

"Hang on, I just need—" said Lena, reaching into her duffel bag.

Ani waited.

Lena drew her hand out.
I just need what? Not this craziness again!
"Nothing," she said. "I'm ready."

"Paddle out and practice what I showed you last week," said Ani. "I'll critique."

Lena splashed into the ocean and lay down on the deck of the surfboard, enjoying the sensation of sliding through the water as she propelled herself forward.

As Ani watched Lena on the board, she called out instructions like "Bend your knees," "Keep that foot turned out," and "Turn turtle!"

Once Ani was satisfied that Lena was proficient on the board, she called over to Kai, "Hey, Pig-Dog, can we borrow your board for a few minutes?"

"Why would I let you borrow my board?"

"So I can teach Lena how to duck-dive."

"And I'll use the soft-top?"

"Duh, Dog."

Kai considered. "If you call me Maverick the rest of the day, you can use my short board for twenty minutes."

"I'll call you Goose the rest of the day," muttered Ani under her breath. She called out, "You got it, Maverick!"

They exchanged boards, and Ani explained to Lena, "You need to know how to protect yourself in the water, whether it's from a surfer who's out of control, or your own wipeout. Sometimes you need to turn turtle, and sometimes you need to duck. You can't duck a long board, but you can a short one." Pushing down hard on the board, Ani dove under an oncoming wave.

Lena practiced a few times, then it was back to the long board.

"I'm going to let you head out to the lineup in a minute. Your timing is really good with catching the waves. You don't need to keep surfing the mushy waves. So we need to talk about wiping out. Because wiping out is just part of surfing."

"Okay."

"I know you've grown up swimming in the ocean, so you know what it feels like to get tossed around under water when a wave crashes over you, right? You pretty much feel like an insignificant little pebble."

"Totally."

"You've learned just to relax and go with the flow, yes?"

"Yes."

"You can hold your breath a long time. Longer than any wave can last. So just wait till it stops churning, then push yourself up to the surface."

"Okay."

"Are you ready to try the lineup?"

"I'm ready."

"Go, girl!"

Exhilarated, Lena paddled out to the lineup, a huge grin on her face.

"Hey, noob!" called Kai. "Show me what you can do!"

The other surfers eyed her.

"Great," muttered one. "Just what this spot needs. More beginners."

"I know, right?" said his buddy. "Like there aren't enough surfers in the world already. Dang."

Lena saw Kai's expression go tight, and she said quickly, "It's cool. I can wait."

Kai's body was tensed up, but he forced a big smile and said, "Awesome, dudes, you're so right. It's your world ... we just surf in it. Go ahead and bag the best waves. Then my girl's gonna take a ride and close this place down."

Everyone laughed, and Lena relaxed. Kai was good at keeping the peace out on the water.

"Aww, yeah," said the first guy. "I wanna see you in action now. And no disrespect. Everyone's gotta start somewhere."

They hung back, allowing Lena to get set up. When a good wave approached, the second guy said gruffly, "Hurry up. You can have this one."

Lena waited to feel just the right movement of the wave's swell, then used her arms in a butterfly motion to paddle the last few feet before she popped up. Landing on the deck of the board, feet perfectly planted, she rode the wave like she had been born to do it.

"Tear it up!" shouted Ani.

This was a bigger wave than any of the ones she had ridden before, and the feeling of rushing through the water as if on the back of a dolphin made Lena breathless with joy.

She let herself slip off the back of the board when the ride was finished, and came up laughing, tangled in kelp. Out in the lineup, people were clapping and hooting.

"Just kind of glide out of the kelp. Don't struggle with it," said Ani.

Lena shrugged her shoulders and wriggled her legs, and the kelp slid off. She turned and waved at the other surfers.

"I can't believe how you rock at this," said Ani. "It takes some people years to get good at surfing. It's almost like you anticipate the way the wave is going to move! You really only need me for maybe one more lesson."

"Wow, are you kidding?"

"Not kidding. Next week we'll try a different spot."

"Magic's?" asked Lena.

Ani stood still in the water. "No, not Magic's," she said, giving Lena an odd look. "Magic's is only for advanced surfers, and even then, it's dangerous. The shorebreak comes up out of the deep water and lands hard on the sand. It's not a nice, gradual shorebreak. Besides ... why would you want to surf at Magic's?"

So I can see the mermaid,
thought Lena. "Why wouldn't I?" she said. "I mean, if I ever got to be a really good surfer."

"Isn't that where your father almost...?"

"What?" said Lena.

"Not to mention—" Ani broke off quickly.

Lena stared. "Not to mention what?"

Ani glanced back at the shore. "I think we should call it a day. Why don't we dry off?"

"Wait. What were you going to say?"

Ani refused to answer. "Nothing. Really. Let's get out."

Lena and Henry developed a nonverbal relationship. When Max was yammering on about cars, they pantomimed snoring. When he whined about how hard his college classes were, they used their thumb and finger to play tiny violins. When Pem giggled over-brightly at some attempt at humor by Max, they rolled their eyes and pretended to vomit.

Sometimes Henry was already plugged into his iPod when Lena climbed in the back seat. Then he just nodded at her and returned his attention to his music. Lena figured there were days when he couldn't even muster up the enthusiasm for mockery.

"Bye," called Lena as she hopped out of the car one afternoon. "Thanks, Max."