Trouble at Trident Academy (3 page)

“Watch this!” Rocky said. He spit into the water around Pearl. At that moment
a tall, thin teacher with green hair and a white tail swam into the room. “Young merboy,” she asked, “
what
are you doing?”

Rocky grinned. “I'm … I'm … I'm seeing if I can turn her into a giant glob of spit.”

Shelly hid a giggle. She was pretty sure she liked Rocky, too. Maybe Trident Academy wouldn't be so bad after all.

G
OOD MORNING, STUDENTS.
Welcome to Trident Academy. My name is Mrs. Karp,” said their teacher. “I will be teaching you reading, storytelling, and science. I trust your parents have started your education and we'll be able to move along quickly.”

Shelly squirmed in her sponge seat. Her parents had died when she was just a small fry, and she lived with her grandfather in an apartment above the People Museum. She hoped he'd taught her all she needed to know, since Trident Academy expected their students to have been home-schooled for two years.

All merkids were taught at home until third grade. Sometimes her grandfather was a little forgetful, and some days he hadn't remembered about Shelly's lessons. And Shelly hadn't reminded him. She'd much rather explore underwater caves or play with sea turtles than sit still for lessons.

“Mr. Bottom will teach you math,
life-saving, and astronomy,” Mrs. Karp continued.

Rocky snickered at the name Mr. Bottom, but Mrs. Karp silenced him with a glare. “Trident Academy is lucky to have other special teachers that you'll meet later this week. Today we will get to know each other better and start your first project.”

Pearl gasped and raised her hand. “What do we have to do?”

Mrs. Karp smiled at the classroom of twenty mergirls and merboys. “I'm glad you are eager to get right to your studies. Your first assignment at Trident Academy will be a report on krill and shrimp.”

Shelly groaned quietly. There were so
many exciting things to learn about, like the dolphins and whales she wanted to swim with. Why did they have to learn about silly little shrimp?

“As you know, many sea creatures, including us, would not live long without krill to eat. Why, even humans are known to eat krill, especially those who live near Kiki's far-off waters.” Mrs. Karp nodded toward the mergirl who had stood up to Pearl.

Far-off waters?
Shelly thought. She was even more curious about Kiki now.

“You will need to collect at least four types of krill or shrimp and complete a seaweed and octopus-ink study on each of
them.” Merkids used orange sea pens with their sharpened ends dipped in octopus ink to write on neatly cut pieces of seaweed for their studies.

“How many pieces of seaweed?” asked a large mergirl in the back of the room.

“At least one per krill or shrimp,” answered Mrs. Karp.

Groans came from throughout the class. “The wise merstudent will start right away,” Mrs. Karp told them. “In fact, we will go to the library until lunchtime so you may begin your reports.”

Echo leaned over to Shelly. “Want to work together?” she asked.

Shelly nodded. This was their first
project for Trident Academy. She didn't want to mess it up.

As they floated down the hall toward the school library, Echo pointed to the Trident Academy message board. There were notices posted all over it, inviting students to join different clubs.

Shelly noticed a sign written in big green letters:

 

SHELL WARS PRACTICE

AFTER SCHOOL TODAY

IN MERPARK

 

Shelly smiled. Shell Wars! She loved playing Shell Wars. Maybe she could make the school team! The rush of water around
her face when she scored a goal was a lot more exciting than learning about krill. In her mind, she was already smacking a shell around.

“I want to be one of those,” Echo said, pointing to a message about the Tail Flippers, a group that cheered for sporting events.

Shelly nodded. “That looks great. But I think I'll try out for Shell Wars.”

“Me too,” Kiki said from behind them, and Shelly gave her a big smile.

Pearl swam up beside the mergirls. “Shell Wars is disgusting. I'd never try out for anything so rough.”

Shelly and Echo ignored Pearl as they passed a dark gray merman with a huge
frown on his face. He looked so sad, Shelly felt like crying. “Who is that?” she whispered.

“I bet that's Mr. Fangtooth,” Echo whispered back. “My sister told me all about him. He works in the cafeteria.”

“I heard he's a grouch,” Pearl said, “and he hasn't smiled in forty years.”

“Maybe he just needs cheering up,” Shelly said, immediately feeling sorry for Mr. Fangtooth. “I bet Echo and I could make him smile.”

“Okay,” Pearl said. “It's a bet.”

I
F YOU WERE GRUMPY, WHAT WOULD
cheer you up?” Shelly asked Echo as they ate their lunch later that day.

Echo thought about it for a few minutes. “If I found something human,” she admitted.

Shelly sighed. She didn't understand her friend's fascination with anything that
had to do with humans. Shelly thought killer whales were much more interesting.

Echo swallowed a handful of tiny octopus legs before licking her fingers. “Maybe we could try making funny faces at Mr. Fangtooth. That always makes my dad smile.”

Shelly grinned. “What a great idea. Let's put our lunch trays away and make faces at him.”

Echo and Shelly stood at the service window of the cafeteria kitchen. Shelly crossed her blue eyes and pushed her nose up against it to look like a dog fish. Echo pulled her dark hair into tall points and puffed her cheeks out. Mr. Fangtooth frowned at them.

Echo blew out the air in her cheeks, making lots of little bubbles. “Why didn't he smile?” she whispered. “That always works with my dad.”

“I have the feeling that Mr. Fangtooth hasn't smiled in a very, very long time. I think we're going to have to do something drastic,” Shelly said.

“Like what?” Echo asked.

Shelly shrugged and looked around the cafeteria at the scenes of merfolk history carved on the walls. Merstudents of all ages talked and ate their school lunches at polished granite tables with the gold Trident Academy logo in their centers.

Shelly saw Kiki sitting with Pearl and a group of mergirls. Kiki smiled at Shelly,
and Shelly gave a little wave, wishing she had thought to invite Kiki to sit with them. Then she turned back to Mr. Fangtooth.

Mr. Fangtooth made a horrible face and bellowed at the mergirls.
Roar!

Echo screamed and fell right into Rocky. His plate of ribbon worms flew onto Echo's hair.

“
Eeewww!
Get them off!” Echo squealed. Shelly quickly began pulling the long, thin, black-and-white worms out of Echo's curly hair. She stopped when she heard a booming sound.

It was Mr. Fangtooth! His laughter rocked the cafeteria.

All the students looked up from their lunches to see what was happening. Pearl glared at Shelly. “See?” Shelly said. “I told you we could make Mr. Fangtooth laugh. We win the bet!”

Pearl opened her mouth, but she didn't get the chance to talk because Headmaster Hermit's voice came over the conch shell: “Shelly Siren and Echo Reef, please report to the headmaster's office immediately.”

“Ooooh,” Rocky teased. “You're in big trouble now.”

Shelly gulped. It was only her first day at Trident Academy. Now she was worried it would also be her last.