Page 55 of Rise of the Melody
And because I was so nosy, I asked, “Did you guys…?”
“No!” she exclaimed. “I was too scared!”
Shani and I were dying. The ache in my stomach muscles was the best feeling. I’d never had friends I could laugh like this with.
“I literally have not been able to look him in the eye since you told me,” Shani said.
“I probably won’t be able to now either,” I admitted.
More silly laughter.
“Ugh.” Clare lay on her back, looking up at the sky. “There’s only ever been one stupid boy for me. Even when I was with Declan I couldn’t get close to him. I felt bad.”
“Oh, Clare,” Shani said sadly. “I wish you could fall for someone else—anyoneelse other than my idiot brother. He does not deserve you.” Clare stuck out her bottom lip in a pout.
I wondered if anything had ever happened between them or if it was unrequited.
“Did the two of you ever date or whatever?” I asked.
“Date?” she said, pondering. “I don’t know. We’ve kissed a lot and made out. Sorry,” she said when Shani pretended to gag. “But if there’s any other girl around who he hasn’t landed yet, he’ll always shoot his shot at them.”
“That’s skanky,” Shani said. “I don’t think he’ll ever commit to anyone.”
“He will….” Clare sticking up for him broke my heart a little. “Someday. After he’s sewn his wild boats.”
“Oats,” Shani and I said at the same time.
“What?” Clare asked.
“I think it’s sown his wild oats,” I told her. We tried to explain the saying to her, which sounded convoluted even to us, and we all ended up in another fit of laughter.
“I always wondered why you would sew boats! Like stitching them together.”
“No, it’s sow,” Shani told her. “S-O-W, like planting seeds.”
“Oh, my gosh!” Clare slapped her forehead and almost rolled off her rock.
We were still laughing when I felt a warmth across my skin that was different from the sunshine. Pricklier. I quieted at the same time as the other two, and we looked out at the ocean.
Twenty feet away was a dark bump in the water, bobbing with the sway of the waves. My heart began to race as I stared and made out a seal’s head, sticking up just enough for its eyes and whiskers to surface. It was staring straight at us. Oh, my great Gaia. I thought it was the kelpie for a second.
Shani let out a breathy sound of surprise and Clare whispered, “Is that…?”
“A seal?” I whispered. I’d never seen a seal in real life, and this was super cool, but somehow felt off. Was this normal seal behavior to creep on people?
Shani slowly got to her feet and Clare did the same, staring at the creature. I looked back and forth between them, wondering what the intensity was about, and then the seal disappeared, and the sizzle faded from my skin. My brain fired off information until I went rigid.
“No way,” I whispered.
“We need to tell the mayor,” Shani said. “There aren’t supposed to be selkies here.”
“Was that really a selkie?” I asked, excitement buzzing.
Clare gave a full body shiver. “That was so crazy! I’ve never seen one!”
“Are they bad?” I asked, rubbing down the goosebumps on my arms. Then I realized what I was asking, and knew I needed to take their answers with a grain of salt.
“Not entirely,” Shani said, still staring out. “But they do feed off humans.”
