Mira follows me outside. I really hope Mira and Sammy like each other. If they don't, well.... I've seen dogs get mad at each other before, and it doesn't end well.

"Hey, Ren!" Says Sasha.

"Hi!" I say back, waving my arms.

Mira runs over to Sammy. The dogs sniff each other and wag their tails.

"I think they like each other," I say as a grin spreads across my face.

"That's good," Sasha says, letting Sammy off his leash. "I was worried they would get mad and attack each other or something."

"Yeah, me too." I say.

"So," says Sasha. "Do you want to go swimming in the creek? I'm wearing my swimsuit under this dress."

"Oh..." I say, look at my feet. "Well, I... kind of.... I have my period today, so, I can just go upstairs and, uh.... I'm only wearing a pad..."

"Say no more," she says, holding up one hand. "I'll take the dogs down there and we can meet."

I hurry back inside the house and up the stairs. I grab a swimsuit, some tampons, and two towels. Then I lock myself in the bathroom to get ready.

After I'm done, I tell my parents that Sasha and I are going swimming in the creek, and head out the door. As I walk down the path to the creek, I can feel the leaves crackling beneath my feet. I usually love that feeling, but this time... it just isn't the same.

I can smell the air, all the maple and beech trees. That used to be one of my favorite smells. Now it just feels stuffy and hot in my lungs.

"Mira! Good girl!" A voice says. It's Sasha. I hear a lot of splashing and Sammy barking.

I walk faster. When I finally get to the sandy hole, which is a basin in the creek where we like to swim, I laugh.

Sasha is treading water in the deepest part of the basin. Mira doggy paddles in circles around her, while Sammy sits on the shore, watching the whole thing.

"What's going on here?" I laugh.

"Mira is such a card!" Sasha exclaims. "And it's like she knows she's funny, and she tries to make me laugh!"

"Yeah," I say. "Mira is definitely something, huh?" I set the towels down next to Sasha's clothes.

"Well, why don't you come in?" Sasha says, waving me over.

"Okay, here I come!" I shout. I pick up speed and make a huge splash as I hit the water. I let myself sink down under. Near the surface, the water is warm. It feels so much better down hear near the bottom.

Sasha dunks her head under the water and looks at me from six feet above. She seems so far away... it's unbelievable.

Now Sasha looks like she's running low on air. She lifts her head up out of the water to take a breath. Then, I remember something. I don't exactly know where I heard it, but I'm going to say it...

"With a tail, I cannot fail." I say. The bubbles float up out of my mouth and burst at the surface of the water. Then, a shower of bright blue sparkles rain down from where the bubbles popped and land on me. They surround me, whirring faster and faster until they burst away from me all at once and...

I can't believe it. This has to be a dream. In the spot where my legs used to be, there is now a sea-green, slimy, scaly tail! I put my hands on my hips to make sure it's real and... well, I guess they're not really hands anymore. My fingers are webbed. I don't know what to call the things that used to be my hands.... Fins, maybe?

I look up to the surface just as Sasha sticks her head back in the water. She gasps, breathing in the water and I shoot back up to the surface to help her. She is coughing and gasping, and I drag her back to the shore.

I slide up the sandy bank a few feet, just enough so that the tip of my tail fin is still in the water. Sasha is breathing okay now, and she just sits and stares at me for a moment.

"So, this is a little awkward..." I say, trying not to freak her out.

"This is beyond weird," she says. "You're, like, a mermaid!"