5 A Fishy Tale

CHAPTER 5

A Fishy Tale "Are you okay?" Clara asked again as she propped herself up. Lucas nodded. "I'm sorry, Clara," he said. "I should have listened to you." "That's okay," said his friend, squinting at the sun. "But you had me terrified!" she went on. "It felt like you were underwater forever." Lucas wrung some seawater from his wet shirt. "Really? I wish I could have stayed longer." He sighed. "You're never going to believe what I saw down there," he said.

Clara's eyes grew wide. "What do you mean?" she asked. She leaned over excitedly. "I saw something amazing and magical," he said. "I saw the Mermaid Kingdom!" Clara's jaw dropped. "But that's impossible!" she declared. "Everyone says that the Mermaid Kingdom is

hidden from human sight." "I know!" agreed Lucas. "But I'm telling you, I saw it! And it was the most incredible thing I've ever seen." Then he tried to describe the sparkling coral kingdom and the mermaid girl who had rescued him.

"I think she helped us get back to shore too," Lucas added. Clara shook her head in disbelief. "But I sit here in Mermaid's Cove more than anyone else and I've never even seen a mermaid. Not even the tip of a tail!" she said. "Are you sure you're not making this up?" "Why would I do that?" asked Lucas. "Well, I don't know," Clara went on. "Maybe because you wanted so badly to discover something first. It's just hard to believe that you happened to find an entire kingdom the very next day...." "I see your point," said Lucas, "but I promise I'm not making this up."

Clara watched the waves crash and foam on the shore. "Well, all I can say is that I'm really glad you're safe," she said.