Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels by Helene Boudreau Read Free Book Online

members want to make sure they’re ready for any more surprises. According to my source, the Mermish Council is revoking land status and drafting Webbed Ones into their forces to help fight the uprisings.”
    â€œWhat?” I cried. “That’s crazy. They can’t do that.”
    If all the Webbed Ones I knew were recalled to the ocean to fight for the Mermish Council that would mean losing Luke, Serena, Bridget, and…Mom. Plus Coach Laurena and any other Webbed Ones walking around Port Toulouse that we didn’t already know about.
    â€œYeah, it’s not like they can force us to jump back into the ocean if we don’t want to,” Luke said.
    â€œRight,” I agreed. “What are they going to do—come pull us from our beds?”
    â€œWell, not exactly,” Bridget said. “But mers are governed by very powerful ancient laws. For instance, haven’t you ever had an urge to rescue a human in need?”
    A light turned on inside my brain. “Yes! Like that time Cori fell into the ocean down at Toulouse Point. And the other time she fell off the truck at the construction site.”
    â€œI really need to stop falling off stuff,” Cori joked.
    â€œIs that the kind of thing you mean?” I asked Bridget.
    â€œYes,” Bridget said. “These are forces we have no control over. This time, the Mermish Council plans to enforce Tidal Law, which is basically like recalling all the aliens to the mother ship.”
    â€œHuh?” I asked.
    â€œIt’s like we all have GPS trackers inside us, and when the Mermish Council members want to call us back, they switch on their homing device to lead us there,” Mom answered. “Every mer reacts to Tidal Law in a different way, but there’s no way we can fight against it if that’s what the Mermish Council wants.”
    â€œBut Tidal Law? What do tides have to do with anything?” I asked.
    â€œNature is a powerful thing,” Dad chimed in, putting on his engineering hat. “If we’ve learned anything from our research on tidal pools, it’s that we can’t make any assumptions.”
    Dad had a point. The tides in the tidal pool behind the mall had helped Mom and Serena become human by controlling the right amount of air and water and salt they breathed to force the change. Dad had invented the Merlin 3000 in our garage as a prototype that did the same thing, using a hot tub, computers, and a bunch of tubes.
    â€œSo, when is this supposed to happen?” I asked.
    â€œIf my source is correct, they plan on using the next supermoon when the tides are the strongest to help them.” Bridget glanced at the calendar.
    â€œWhat’s a supermoon?” I asked.
    â€œThere’s a full moon every month or so, but every fourteen months the moon’s orbit brings it closest to the earth, making the full moon seem larger than normal,” Dad chimed in. “It also creates really high tides.”
    â€œThey’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a while now,” Bridget said. “The supermoon and the high tides will create the best conditions for whatever they have planned.”
    â€œBut even if they get us in the ocean, they can’t force us to fight for them,” Luke insisted.
    â€œApparently they have some secret weapon they plan to use to control us but again, they’re waiting for the supermoon to take full effect so they can get the best bang for their buck,” Bridget added.
    â€œAnd they’re locking up anyone causing them grief in the meantime,” Eddie added.
    â€œBut we have time to figure out how to beat this, right?” I asked. “When’s the next supermoon?”
    â€œJust hold on a sec and I’ll tell you.” Dad was already googling for the answer on his phone. “Oh, this is interesting. Did you know the word ‘lunatic’ is derived from the word ‘luna,’ which is Latin for