Sink or Swim by Sarah Mlynowski Read Free Book Online Page B

too.”
    “I’m fifteen,” she huffs.
    “That’s not even old enough to vote!”
    “Vote on what?” she asks.
    “The president,” I say.
    “We don’t have presidents here. My father is the king. He runs the ocean. And I’m a princess. And I want to marry the prince.”
    Jonah floats on his back. “Maybe she could still marry the prince, without making a deal with the sea witch. Maybe theycan have a long-distance relationship. Or maybe she can live in the pool. Or he can go live with her in the ocean. He can use the underwater spit potion!”
    Lana cocks her head to the side. “There’s an underwater spit potion?”
    “That’s what Carolyn said,” I say. “But she hasn’t been right about everything. She’s the chef at the palace. Apparently her great-great-grandmother met a mermaid.”
    “I’ve never heard of a potion,” Lana says, “but if it really worked, then the prince could stay with me!”
    “Carolyn said it lasted only for twelve hours,” Jonah says. “So he’d have to come back on land eventually.”
    “Maybe we could alternate,” Lana says hopefully. “He could spend some time underwater with me, I’ll spend some time in his pool …”
    “It’s doable,” I say.
    “But …” Lana hesitates. “Do you think he’ll love me even if I’m a mermaid?”
    “A guy should love you for who you are,” I say. “If you have to change yourself, he’s not right for you.”
    We all nod. Sounds right, doesn’t it?
    “I like the potion-plus-pool plan,” I say. “That way you canstill be together without trading anything with the sea witch. I think the prince has to meet you. Once he sees that you’re real, and once you tell him that you’re the one who saved him from the shipwreck, I’m sure he’ll fall in love with you.”
    “Yeah?” Lana asks.
    “Absolutely,” I say, and hope that it’s true.

T he next morning, Jonah, Prince Mortimer, and I head out to the beach, as planned.
    “Is she really going to be here?” Prince Mortimer asks.
    “Yup. She can’t wait to see you again,” I say.
    Jonah and I told him that the person who swam him to shore is here to see him. We left out the mermaid part, since he didn’t believe us the first time we told him. He’ll find out the truth soon enough.
    My plan is totally going to work. He’s going to meet Lana and fall hopelessly in love. So what if she’s a mermaid? That won’t stop true love! In a few weeks, he’ll propose, they’ll getmarried, and — ta-da! — happy ending. I glance at my watch. It’s only two o’clock back home. We’ll get Lana and Prince Mortimer together, and we’ll still have five days to find our way back!
    We are really getting good at this fairy tale stuff.
    As we walk down to the shore, I spot Lana already waiting in the ocean. Her upper body is above the water and her tail is underneath. From this angle, you can’t even tell she’s a mermaid.
    Prince Mortimer’s eyes light up. “That’s her?”
    “Yup,” I say.
    “She’s beautiful.” He practically skips all the way down to the water. “Hello!”
    She smiles back. “Hello!”
    “Are you really the one who saved me from the shipwreck?” he asks.
    She nods. “I did. I brought you to Crescent Beach, and then Abby and Jonah pulled you ashore.”
    “I am forever in your debt,” he says, tipping his head. “Come out of the water so we can talk.”
    “It’s so hot out,” she says, blushing. “Why don’t you come in the water?”
    Nice one, Lana!
    “I don’t have my bathing suit on yet,” he says. “Tell me more about how you saved me. You happened to be in the water that night?”
    “Yes,” she says simply.
    “I guess you were on another boat?”
    She smiles. “Something like that.”
    “You have beautiful hair.”
    “Thank you,” she says, batting her eyelashes.
    “So you brought me all the way to safety?”
    She nods.
    His eyes are all shiny and moony. “That’s amazing. You saved me, and you’re so