Camille’s Mermaid Tale
Something Fishy
The next morning, when Aunt Miranda goes to the shed to get a wheelbarrow, she finds Kendall, Emerson, Ashlyn, and Willa working hard. Kendall is all wet, Ashlyn is covered in paint, and Emerson is covered in paper scraps. Willa holds her finger to her lips and says what they’re doing is a secret.
The girls know Camille feels so sad about missing morning garden time, so they’re making a surprise for her to cheer her up. Willa explains they’re making an underwater garden because Camille loves to pretend she’s a mermaid. Because they can’t go to the ocean, they’re bringing the ocean to the garden!
Ashlyn admits it’s tougher than they thought it’d be, but it’s worth it! They just hope they can keep it a secret until it’s ready. Aunt Miranda winks and promises to keep the secret.
But the next afternoon, Camille comes to the garden after ballet. The girls are all messy and aren’t ready to reveal their surprise, so Kendall rushes out to distract Camille. Although Camille questions why Kendall is all wet, she makes up a little lie, and changes discussion topic to what Camille learned in ballet class.
Camille explains they learned the plié today. She demonstrates it for Kendall, and Kendall tries to copy it. They’re both laughing when the other girls come up to them, running and out of breath. When Camille asks them what they did that morning, Willa and Ashlyn dodge the question.
Kendall takes out her notebook and waves it around. “Let’s do one of our plans!” Camille suggests using the old tin tub in the shed to make a boat, and she starts walking down the path. All at once, the other girls shout “No!” and block her path. Camille is puzzled. Then Kendall suggests planning the acrobat show today. Camille’s surprised by the sudden change of direction, but consents.
The girls all rush to the stage, where Emerson stands up immediately. Emerson suggests doing the tricks and flips she mentioned the other day. Willa says she’s got an idea for a solo act. She can do pliés and sing up a new song she made. To “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” she sings:
Down, up, down and up,
Bend your knees and squat,
Something, something,
Something, something,
Doing some pliés.
Emerson gushes that it’s a great song, and the others politely clap. Camille is confused as to why Willa’s song doesn’t rhyme and doesn’t have finished lyrics. And Emerson isn’t correcting or suggesting finished lyrics. And, just last fall, Willa was adamant she didn’t want to do solos on stage. So why the change of heart now? Why aren’t her friends behaving like her friends?