Sirens

# Chapter One:

## “TOTALLY” Fine

“Are you *sure* you’re okay?” My mom, Ada Bay, asks me from the front of the car.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” I say flatly, flicking my wavy black hair over my shoulder.

“Stella Grace Bay,” my mom says and the car returns to silence beside the fact that I can *still* hear Billie Eilish music blasting through my thirteen-year-old sister Baylor’s earbuds.

My mom knows I’m not as excited as she is to be moving again. She gets to reunite with her college besties though, I get to reunite with my besties too. When I was in third grade, my dad got a promotion and we had to move from Columbus to Chicago and I had to leave my best friends Tyler and Ellenor behind. Ty, Elle, and I met because my parents and their parents were best friends in college. We’re pretty much like siblings and have been together since birth until I had to move.

We moved into my Aunt Kelly’s apartment and I also met my newly adopted cousin Skyler. My dad got a new job so now we are moving again back to good old Columbus, Ohio on Riverside Grove. The sad part is that I have to leave an amazing sightseeing extravaganza and all my besties but the upside is I will be reunited with Ellenor and Tyler. We are moving back to a house three doors down from our old house. Moving is kinda stressful though, I mean, you have to pack everything and make sure you don’t leave anything behind. But I’m kind of lucky that I’ve only moved twice. Some people move a lot more than me. Like in the book *Book Scavenger,* the main character’s parents’ lifelong dream is to live in every state in the USA! I’ve missed my friends a lot though so I’m really happy I’ll be with them since I only get to see them twice a year if I’m lucky.

We had to wait to move until the summer since my sisters and I were still finishing the school year. A lot of people say Baylor and I look similar but a lot of strangers automatically seem to know that my two-year-old sister Avery is adopted. Baylor has my mom’s dark curly hair and hazel eyes and I get my wavy black hair and brown eyes from Dad. Avery is adopted so she has *zero* resemblance to me or Baylor. Avery has reddish-brown hair, green eyes, and pale, freckled skin, unlike our tanned skin.

In Chicago, we had a small duplex we shared with our Aunt Kelly, and even though her house was small, that I had to share a stuffy room with Baylor and Avery, and the kitchen was too small for me to cook in, I loved it anyway because it felt like home. Chicago had so many sights to see, that on the weekend, the only time we weren’t out sightseeing, was from ten p.m. to six in the morning. My new house is huge, unlike Aunt Kelly’s in every way, and even though I have my very own room again, a huge kitchen to work in, and my two lifelong friends right down the street, it doesn’t feel like home at all yet. Our house has four floors and the top two floors we’re going to rent out for Airbnb.

Columbus does have a lot of cool places like the Columbus Zoo and a bunch of other places not to mention amazing cabins and hiking areas. But, I liked the big busyness of Chicago and when you compare it to Columbus, Columbus seems kinda boring but that’s just my opinion as I know what it’s like in Chicago.

I lean forward to my mom and ask, “Mom, when’s the next rest stop?”

She looks over at me and says, “In fifteen minutes right when we get into Ohio.”

She then shoves her earbuds back in and goes back to listening to a podcast about endangered species. When my Dad pulls into a McDonald's restaurant and I take Avery out of her car seat.

“Up please.” She says and holds up her arms.

I lift her and walk her to the bathroom. We all use the restroom and then my mom gives me ten dollars for a snack. I buy a bottle of sprite, a bag of tortilla chips, and a mini lunch pack that has ham, cheese cubes, and a juice pouch in it. Avery follows me back to the car with her bag of Cheetos and I put her in her seat before opening the mini lunch set for her.

“Thank you!” she says and I laugh.

I climb into the back and buckle my seatbelt. My Dad turns around to face me and says, “We have another ten minutes to go and then we’ll be there.”

I nod my head and open my lunch pack and pop a tortilla chip into my mouth while taking a sip of my Sprite. I’m a sucker for tortilla chips ever since we took a three-week trip to Mexico and we spent every day at different Mexican restaurants.  Baylor stuffs in her earbuds again and opens a bag of Doritos. I continue to eat my chips as I grab my phone. I click onto the group chat that I share with my four other friends from Chicago; Noella Tritem, Skyler Elenne, Bree Iway, and Phoebe Riga.

I look down at my phone and type, **“Hey girlies! Miss u SO much!”** before adding a picture of me with my bag of chips and Avery photobombing.

Bree types, **“Aww! Avie!”** and Noella adds, **“U ok? Miss u 2!”**

I add a sad face emoji and Pheebs and Skye both add crying emojis. We call into a group FaceTime and I see my besties’ faces.

“Hey girl!” Noella squeals.

“Hi! Oh my gosh, you need to come to visit me here in Columbus over summer break when you guys can! And then, you can meet Tyler and Ellenor in person!”

“Yessss!” Noella says.

“I can text all of our parents and see when we’ll be free to make the trip together,” Bree offers.

“Aww, thanks, guys!” I say.

“No prob!” says Skye.

“Hey, cousin!” I say and Skye laughs.

“Yeah so-” Phoebe begins but she’s distracted by something, “Is that Princess Avie I see?” she asks.

I turn around and Avery is next to me leaning her head into the camera. She picks up her bag of Cheetos and shakes it up and down in front of the camera.

“I have Cheetos!” she says and laughs hysterically before I push her out of view.

“Anyway,” I begin but my Dad cuts me off.

“Stellie, we’re about to be there!”

“Okay,” I say, “Sorry, guys, I have to go!”

We all wave goodbye before I click off of my phone. As we drive past Ty and Elle’s house I see them with their faces pressed against the window. Ellenor frantically waves at me and when Tyler turns around, I can see him say to his parents, “They’re here!” and Mrs. Penton waves to my Mom. Then our Forest Green Chevy Traverse pulls into the dark blue house with a white door and pebble pathway. As I climb out of the car I am squished on either side by Ellenor and Tyler.

Once I’ve caught my breath, Ellenor squeals, “Stella!”

“Ty! Elle!” I squeal.

“How are you?” asks Tyler.

“Pretty good. Oh my gosh,” I say as I check out my house. “It’s bigger than I remember,”

“What do you mean?” Elle asks.

“Well, we looked at it a couple of months ago but this is the first time in a long time and now, it’s like, real,” I explain.

“Oof, yeah,” Tyler says.

“Well, do you wanna see my room? While Baylor and I were still in school, Dad and my uncle came and moved in most of the stuff.” I say.

“Sure,” agrees Elle.

We walk through the living room and into the kitchen which has lots of windows, a six-person island, and plenty of counter space. We pass through the playroom and Elle and Ty wave to my Mom who’s unloading some of Avery’s toys.

“Hey, Tyler, Ellenor,” Mom says.

We pass Avery’s room but Ellenor stops us. “What happened here?” she asks. “It’s like a pink *unicorn* barfed in here!”

“Save me,” Tyler adds and I laugh.

Avery’s room has white walls and a white metal bed frame. Her bed is already made with a pink bedspread and there is a fuzzy pink carpet on the floor. There’s also a pink egg chair and a bunch of fluffy pillows and a bookshelf. I then show them my room which has pale blue walls, a white bed frame, an orange, coral, and teal-colored floral bedspread, and a book nook with two white bookshelves full of my favorite books. *Keeper of the Lost Cities, The Sky Fall Trilogy, The Going Wild Trilogy, The Menagerie Trilogy, Book Scavenger, Harry Potter, The Rosewood Chronicles…* You get the point.

“Tyler! Ellenor! You need to come home and clean your rooms!” I hear Mrs. Penton shout.

Tyler sticks his head out the window and yells, “Coming, Ma!”

Ellenor and I laugh because Mrs. Penton hates when anyone calls her “Ma”.

“Well,” she says, “We’d better get going or our Mom’s gonna storm your house. See ya later!”

“Bye!” I call.

I settle down In my book nook and curl up in the egg chair with *Rosewood Chronicles: Undercover Princess (Book #1)*. With Ty and Elle here, this place is starting to feel like home.

✬✬✬

Later, I’m at the kitchen island eating a banana when Baylor comes downstairs from her room and says, “Mom just told me to tell you that Mrs. Penton invited us over for dinner.”

“Okay,” I say and I see Mom running downstairs carrying Avery.

“Girls, go put on some nicer clothes please!” She says.

“Okay, Mom,” I say, and run to my room.

I dive into my dresser. I pull out a light pink tank top and blue jean shorts and slip them on. I put on my black choker necklace from Bree and some silver hoop earrings. Then, I run over to Baylor’s room.

“Hey, want some help?” I ask.

“Yes, please!” Baylor says.

I rifle through her closet and pull out a shimmery blue tank top and some white shorts and matching flip-flops. She goes to put them on and I quickly brush my hair before running outside. Baylor comes out next with my Dad carrying a salad. My Mom comes out and puts Avery in her stroller before we walk down the street to their house.

“Thanks for inviting us!” I say to Ms. Penton politely before letting Elle drag me inside.

“Hey Stellie!” says Elle.

“Hi!” I say.

“You guys want to go to my room?” Tyler asks.

“What about Abbie and Lincoln?” I ask, wondering where exactly Elle and Ty’s little sister and brother are.

“Good point… those squirts would just sneak up and follow us to spy on us,” says Ty rolling his eyes.

“Yeah. Lincoln has reached the most annoying stage of his childhood with his high-pitched voice,” says Ellenor.

“He’s three now, right?” I ask. Tyler nods. Then, Abbie runs over to me with her long blonde hair flying out behind her.

“Stella!” Abbie says and hugs me.

“Hi, Abbs!” I say to her.

“Hi! Guess what? I’m eight!” She says.

“Awesome! Hey, can I see Lincoln?”

“Yeah!” exclaims Abbie.

I follow Abbie into the playroom and see Lincoln with his blonde bangs falling over his eyes just like Tyler and is throwing a ball to their dog, Vader.

“Lincoln, it’s Stellie-Bo-Belly!!.” says Abbie.

Lincoln turns around and says, “Hi!” in a high-pitched voice.

“Hi, Linky!” I say.

“I am tree!” He says and walks away.

“He doesn't seem *too* annoying,” I say and laugh because I know that voice must drive Elle and Ty crazy.

We all laugh and head upstairs to Ty’s room and plop on the bed. I feel sad that I haven’t seen them in so long. Lincoln was just a baby last time I saw him. I look at him as peeks into the room, trying to take in every detail.

“Hey, Stella! Yo!” Tyler calls from behind me as I look at Lincoln.

“Oh! Hey, sorry, Tyler. I’m just–“

“Feeling like we haven’t seen each other in a while and you're behind?” Ty asks and I think about it, is there anything to add to that definition?

“Yep!” I decide to agree with that answer because it is exactly how I’m feeling.

“So? What do you want to do?” Elle asks looking around like she’s trying to think of something. We look around downstairs in the playroom trying to decide what to do.

“Umm…” I say. Baylor then walks into the room staring at her iPhone and Avery walks in behind her

“Hi, Avie!” Elle says and picks her up.

I jump up and bounce onto their couch. “So, do you want to meet my friends from Chicago?” I ask.

Elle pretends to look outraged and says, “You got friends in Chicago and never bothered to mention that?!?”

Ty smiles. “Sure,” he says. “What are their names so we can pretend like you told us who they are and they won’t get mad at you?”

Elle pops up from pretending to punch the wall in anger to listen.

“Well,” I begin, “There’s my adoptive cousin Skyler, my taller friend is Bree, the short girl is Phoebe and the other girl is Noella.” I finish.

I then pull out my phone and go onto a Group FaceTime. Noella’s face immediately pops up. Her long blonde hair is down and her blue eyes are twinkling in the sunlight. It looks like she’s at the beach with her blue two-piece swimsuit and the thin light pink cover-up over it.

“Hey, girl, hey!” she squeals.

Phoebe pops up next and her blue eyes are hidden behind her favorite rose gold sunglasses and she’s wearing a pearl necklace with her fluffy pink coat. Skye pops up next and she looks a little disheveled.

“Sorry, I just got back from gymnastics,” she explains. Her dirty blonde hair is in a loose bun with strands falling out and her team’s green and orange sweater is a little rumpled.

“No prob,” I promise.

Bree then appears and she looks like she just left basketball. Her teal water bottle is at her side and her curly brown hair is frizzy and she’s wearing her favorite red sweater.

I wave at them and say, “Hey! Guys, I’d like you to meet my friends Ellenor and Tyler.”

“Hi!” Noella squeals, “I’ve heard so much about you!”

Phoebe waves shyly “Hello,”

“Hey, I’m Bree,” Bree adds.

Tyler looks at Bree and says, “Hi, I’m Tyler.” before he blushes furiously.

Bree blushes back and Elle and I exchange a look that says, *Oooh!*

Then Elle asks, “Are you the cousin? Skyler?” to Phoebe.

Phoebe shakes her head. “No. I’m Phoebe. That’s Skye.” and Phoebe points to Skye. Skye waves and Elle smiles.

Noella, Ellenor, Phoebe, and I chat, and Tyler, Skye, and Bree talk about sports. I look over and watch Bree blush even more at Tyler.

“Stella,” Noella says and Elle squeals happily. “When we visit next month, Pheebs and I are gonna bring supplies to dye Ellenor’s hair!”

“Sweet! So wait, are you guys coming next month?” I ask.

“Yup! Your parents are letting Skye, Noella, Bree, me, and Bree’s parents stay at your top two floors for a month starting in June!” Phoebe squeals.

“Yes!” I squeal back and Ellenor jumps up and down.

“Ty!” Elle practically screams.

Tyler jumps. “What?” he demands.

“Stellie’s friends are coming and gonna stay in her top two floors for a month in June!” Elle explains.

“Sweet,” he says before turning back to Skye and Bree.

“He seems more mellow like Skye and Bree,” Noella states.

“Yup,” I say.

“Guys, dinner is ready!” calls Mrs. Penton.

“Okay, thank you!” I call. “Guys, we gotta go eat now! See ya soon!” I say to the screen waving goodbye as I hit the hang-up button.

Elle, Tyler, Baylor, Abbie, Lincoln, Avery, and I climb upstairs and sit at the big wooden table in the dining room. Mr. Penton passes out the salad we brought and Mrs. Penton passes out pita pizzas for everyone. Once we all have taken our seats, we start eating.

When everyone is about halfway into eating, Mrs. Penton stands up and says “Everyone, we have an announcement to make.”

Mom stands up and says, “The four of us adults have a special plan for this summer. In three days, we’re going on vacation to a lake house in Michigan for a week!”

# Chapter Two:

## The Midnight Pearl

Three days later, I climb into the car with a big green duffle bag on my shoulder and plop in the back seat and pull out my phone. Same old same old. I play *Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery* for a while before falling asleep. My Mom wakes me up at the rest stop half an hour away from our cabin. I groggily use the fancy restroom and near me, a girl showering is singing a smooth, wordless song. The music seems to cloud my mind and I find myself mindlessly walking toward the showers.

Ellenor grabs me and says, “*What* are you doing?”

“What?” I ask.

“Why did you suddenly start walking towards the shower that girl is in?” Elle asks.

“What?” I repeat.

“Your eyes went like, out of focus and then you were walking towards the one shower that the girl was singing in,” Elle explains.

“I don’t remember doing that...”

“Maybe Ty will know,” says Elle almost questioningly.

“Maybe…” I trail off again. The whole thing was so weird… it’s like I was put in a trance. Then, it clicks. “I know what happened!” I shout.

“Wait, what? You do?” Elle squeals.

“Girls! Let’s move!” calls Mom.

“I’ll tell you and Tyler once we’re at the cabin,” I promise and Elle reluctantly nods her head.

I spend the rest of the trip sleeping in the back seat of the car and when my mom wakes me up, we’re already at the cabin.

“Woah,” Ty says when I climb out of the car. My hair and clothes are rumpled and I look tired.

“Sorry,” I say, “It’s the car sickness medicine I had to take that made me tired.”

“Oof, anyway, Ellenor has been impatiently waiting to get here so you can explain something that happened in the girls’ bathroom?” Tyler asks.

“Yeah, let’s head to the room we’re sharing and set up first,” I answer.

We all head into the cabin and look around. It has a warm and cozy feel while still feeling like you’re at the lake. The room I’m sleeping in is being shared with Elle, Tyler, and Baylor. Elle and I decide to share the wooden bunk-bed with cute blue comforters. We both lay out the pillows, stuffed animals, and blankets we brought. I’m on the top since Elle is terrified of heights. I also take liberty in putting my *Rosewood Chronicles* three-book set in the corner of my bunk. I put my phone on the dresser and Elle and I both put away our clothes in the double closet.

Ty is taking the other bunk bed to himself and makes the top his sort of man cave with all his comics, books, and his computer. Ty isn’t like most of the guys at my schools that I’ve met because he isn’t nerdy but he likes to learn and he isn’t a jock but he still likes sports. He’s mainly just chilled-out. Baylor took up the loft bed that’s hanging above us so she has her own private space. Elle, Ty, and I get changed into our swimsuits and go into the lake. I dunk my head underwater and let the cool water cover my head. When I come up, my hair is stuck to the sides of my face and I push it off. Then, I explain to Tyler and Elle what happened in the bathroom. I wait to see if they’ve come to the same conclusion as me but they both still look confused.

“So… are you gonna explain?” Tyler asks.

“Okay,” I say, “So, in school, we had to do projects on different mythical creatures for English. I chose to learn about these things called sirens. Basically, they’re mermaids but sirens can put people in a trance by singing, and then the person will do whatever the siren says.” I explain.

“So… you think that girl was a siren?” Elle asks.

“It makes sense, doesn’t it?” I ask almost excitedly.

“It does,” says Tyler thoughtfully.

“And you don’t think I’m crazy?” I ask uncertainly.

“No way. I saw it happen,” Elle says.

“Thanks, guys, I-” I begin but I trail off when I see the girl next door to us come into the lake. I open and close my mouth multiple times.

“Stella, what...?” Tyler asks.

“It’s- it’s *her*,” I say in a whisper.

“Who?” he asks.

“Her! The girl who was singing!” I say.

I take a closer look at our mysterious siren-girl. Her hair is long and red and her eyes are a murky greyish-blue. Her skin is creamy and smooth and little red shells dot her ears. She begins to sing again and Elle and I cover our ears. Tyler doesn’t think quickly enough and his eyes glaze over. He begins to swim towards the siren girl.

“Tyler!” Elle screams fearfully.

We both continue to shout his name but then the siren girl is upon him and in one swift movement, she pulls him under the water. I watch in horror as Ellenor runs after them. The girl finally notices Ellenor and she grabs her too. I stand there frozen for a moment before I swim quickly over to where Ellenor was just standing. The siren girl is now underwater but I hold hope with all my might that she hasn’t swum off yet. I watch a creamy-white hand grab my ankle and I know it’s the siren girl. I let her drag me under and swallow a mouthful of water. The girl now has a TAIL. It is a swirl of teal, blue, and dark blue. She smiles mischievously as I begin to lose consciousness. The images blur and the girl begins to tie the three of us with something. Seaweed? I can’t put any of the pieces together before I fade away.

✬✬✬

My eyes slowly open and I’m in a dimly lit room. It’s basically a prison cell. Wow, siren-people. Thanks a *lot*. The room is completely metal and there are no windows- just a small door. Also metal. Super creative. I groan. Then I think, *How am I even breathing? I’m under flippin’ water!* I get up from the dingy bed next to the wall and try to walk around. I can’t make it further than a few steps. I look down and see my legs have a chain on them. Correction- my *mermaid tail* has a chain that’s bolted to the wall. How do I even *have* a mermaid tail? I glance around the dimly lit room some more. Then, a girl enters the cell. The same girl who just happened to be stalking me on my supposedly fun vacation and decided to drown my friends and I. She glances behind her before closing the door. She looks at me with her murky grey eyes. I roll my eyes.

“What?” I ask her, as she studies me from a few feet away like she thinks I’m some rabid hedgehog out to kill her.

“Sorry,” she says. “I’ve just never seen a human with a mermaid tail before.”

I snort. “Well, thanks for the sympathy. You know, if you’re trying to be nice, do it in a not-so-surprised way,” I say, trying to sound sassy.

On the inside, my stomach is gurgling with hunger and I’m wondering why in the actual heck this siren-girl wants three kids to be her prisoners. My stomach must have growled because the girl looks up from studying my face.

“Oh, sorry!” she says. “You must be hungry!”

I nod reluctantly. “Who are you?” I ask a little suspiciously.

“Oh, I’m Mona Koker.” the girl- Mona- says.

I nod. “I’m Stella Bay,” I say. Why am I telling her this! I inwardly smack my forehead. When someone kidnaps you, you don’t go telling them who you are!

“Who are your friends?” Mona asks.

I hesitate. Mona doesn’t seem like the type to hurt me but… “Tyler and Ellenor Penton. They’re twins,” I say finally.

“Ah,” Mona says. “So, do you want a tea cake?”

“Uhh… sure?” I say. Mona sets down a gold satchel and hands me a small, golden-brown, cupcake-like treat. I eat it and Oh. My. God. Delicious.

Mona smiles as she eats her own tea cake. “So, you’re probably wondering why this whole… ‘thing’ happened,” Mona says as she brushes crumbs off of her fingers.

I nod. “Seriously. Like, I know you’re a siren ‘cause I almost walked into your shower at a public bathroom and now I have a mermaid tail… But, why?” I say.

“I didn’t mean to do it in the bathroom,” Mona explains. “We were coming to this lake because of… something. Anyway, I’m used to singing when I’m in the water, so I started singing in the shower. I didn’t think it would put you in a trance.” Mona continues.

“Why did you capture us though?” I ask as I try not to wonder what this ‘something’ that they’re looking for is.

“I didn’t mean to. I was singing because I was calling for my friend. I did not know that you and um... Ellenor and Tyler were there. I couldn’t exactly leave you three to drown, so I gave you a potion that would give you one of our tails.” Mona explains.

“Well, that makes sense but what’s up with this?” I ask as I gesture to the chain and prison cell.

“We didn’t know if you would be stable after all that you had seen so we put you each in other rooms. We’ll untie you and put you all here together once my parents are done explaining things to Ellenor and Tyler.” Mona says.

“I’m sorry for all of this,” Mona apologizes. “I-” she begins to say something but a flurry of voices cuts her off. Mona goes to the door and lets in four people.

“Stella, these are my friends,” Mona says as the four people wave and smile. “Guys, this is Stella!”

“Hi! I’m Merlin Toro,” One of the girls says immediately.

I look at her as she walks over to me. Her skin is black and so is her hair. The tips are dyed pink which matches her eyeshadow and three hoop earrings on either ear. Her hair is swept to one side and she wears a pair of gold glasses.

“Hi,” I say.

The next girl introduces herself as Giara Windson. Her hair is pale blonde just like her skin. Her eyes are light blue and her tips are dyed purple. It seems to be a thing to have dyed hair in their friend group. Mona obviously doesn’t need hair dye though. The first boy is named Alex Perrone and he has tanned skin, brown eyes, and curly black hair. The tips of it are navy blue. The final person is named Ishmael Reys. He’s apparently Mona’s half-brother. Her dad and another woman had a kid before they broke up and then her dad married Mona’s mom. He has tan skin too, wavy black hair dyed with gold, and twinkling hazel eyes. He smiles and I can’t help but feel my heart flutter. He’s super cute.

What is wrong with me? I have a new friend who has a freaking mermaid tail and all I care about is a boy. A really *cute* boy. Better yet, he’s the one who helps me untangle my tail from the chains. The fluttering stops when two more people enter the room though. Elle and Ty. Tyler looks slightly wary of all the mermaids. After all, he was the one who got actually put into the trance. When they see me, they both run over and I hug them tightly. I bury my head in Ty’s shoulder as I squeeze him tighter. Tyler’s always been like a second brother to me and to lose him… would be unimaginable. Horrifying. Elle joins the hug and so does Mona. I step back.

“So… guess I was right then,” I say. Tyler laughs.

“Um, so, what’re you guys doing here, anyway?” I ask, turning to Mona.

She glances at Ishmael who smiles and nods. “We’re here looking for something called the Midnight Pearl. It powers our world but it has been stolen. We tracked it and it’s somewhere here.” Mona explains. I nod.

“Well, we need to go home, or our parents are going to *freak*, but we can always help you search tomorrow,” I say.

“Thank you,” Mona smiles. “Ishmael and my other friend named Sia will be joining us.”

“Got it. See you guys tomorrow.” I say. I work my way out, clumsily swimming away with Ty and Elle next to me.

“Did we just become friends with a *siren*?!?” Elle squeals.

“Uh-huh.” I smile.

“Insane,” Tyler says quietly.

I pop out of the water in time to see my tail fading and my mom waving at us to ‘get our butts over there’. “Where were you?” she says concernedly.

“In the water,” I say simply. We *were* in the water. I just conveniently forgot to add the part about us getting drowned and reawakened by freaking sirens.

“Mhm. Well, get your butts inside for dinner,” Mom says.

“Please. Not fast food,” I say. I hate fast food and eating only that for breakfast and lunch both today and three days ago is making me grossed out.

“We’re having spaghetti,” Mom says.

“Fine by me,” I reply as Elle, Tyler, and I walk into the house. I run upstairs and put on dry clothes. I tie my hair up in two buns and run downstairs.

“Ma?” I ask as I walk into the dining room.

“What, Stellie?” Mom replies.

“If you’re still asleep in the morning, can Ty, Elle, and I go in the water anyway?” I ask.

“Well…” Mom looks at me quizzically. “I suppose so…”

“Thanks, Mom!” I say, grinning slightly at Ty and Elle. When dinner is over I climb into my bed and pull out my phone. I text Elle and Ty in our group chat, **“Guys, talk on here so Baylor doesn’t hear.”**

Here’s the whole conversation:

**Tyler: K**

**Elle: So, what’re we doing tomorrow morning?**

**Me: …**

**Me: Still figuring that out.**

**Tyler: What if we find out what Mona and the others know, and go from there?**

**Me: Sure.**

**Elle: One more thing. Stellie, do you like Ishmael?**

**Me: WHAT?!? No! Ofc not!**

**Tyler: You totally do.**

**Me: \*koff\* Well, we all know who’s crushing on BREE**

**Elle: Ooo-oooh!**

**Tyler: God, you two are like my evil sisters. And I already had two to start.**

**Me: XD**

**Elle: I love you too, dearest brother of mine. Night peoplezzz.**

**Tyler: Night.**

**Me: See you tomorrow! We’re going to find out what happened!**