A chime sounded. Meeshell opened her eyes and rolled over in bed. It took her a moment to remember where she was. Then the chime sounded again. The noise was coming from her MirrorPad. She reached out, grabbed it, and read the screen.
Good morning. Time to get up.
Apple had set the alarm for her. How odd to wake up in a bed that was surrounded by air. And stranger still, to be covered in so many blankets. Usually, the first thing she did after waking was to feed Finbert. Then she would swim into the dining room to have breakfast with her parents. But she had no idea how her mornings would go at Ever After High.
She sat up. A note lay on her bedside table. It was from Farrah. I had to leave hextra early this morning to help set up the Fairy Club booth. See you later. Meeshell was surprised she hadn’t heard Farrah getting ready. She must have slept like a sea log, as her mom would say. She stretched out her arms and yawned. Then she stretched her tail, but when two feet popped out the end of the blanket she nearly shrieked. She pulled back the covers.
Right. She’d momentarily forgotten about those two things.
Her MirrorPad chimed again.
New Message from StoryTeller2.
StoryTeller2: Good morning.
StoryTeller2: Did you know that today is Club Day?
Seashell: Yes. I’m supposed to find a club to join.
StoryTeller2: I hope you find something that you really like.
Oh, how nice, she thought.
Seashell: Will you be there?
StoryTeller2: Yes. Oops, I mean, maybe.
Seashell: Since you know who I am, will you introduce yourself to me?
Super-long pause.
StoryTeller2: I gotta go. Good luck today.
Meeshell frowned. It was so odd not to know who was on the other side of the conversation. Was this normal on land? Did people often hide their identities and talk to one another?
A knock sounded on the door. “It’s just me,” a familiar voice called. Apple entered the room, as cheerful as ever. She wore a lovely red dress. A pair of bluebirds was tying a ribbon in her hair. “How’s your voice?” she asked.
Meeshell hadn’t spoken a word since waking, so she didn’t know the answer. And she was a bit afraid to find out—partly because of what it might mean to her story, but also because she didn’t want to eat any more of those horrid pickled pepper lozenges. She put a hand protectively to her throat. “I… I’m not sure.” Then she smiled. Her voice sounded quite normal. What a relief! “I guess it’s better.”
“It sounds spelltacular! Those lozenges must have done the trick.”
Perhaps it had been the lozenges, or, as Professor Yaga had said, maybe her vocal cords had needed time to get used to being in the air 24/7. While Apple waited, Meeshell went into the bathroom and changed into one of her new outfits that her mom had sent. When she emerged, Apple laughed, but not in a mean way. “How come you’re wearing pajamas?”
Meeshell looked down at the pants and top, both made from soft cotton and covered with little sea horse designs. She tried to play it cool. “Uh, well, we sometimes wear pajamas back home. Don’t you do that here?”
“Only on Pajama Day.” Apple sat on Meeshell’s bed. The bluebirds had flown away, but a pair of yellow songbirds was running a comb through Apple’s hair. “But today isn’t Pajama Day. It’s Club Day. All the clubs on campus will have booths set up in the quad and they’ll be looking for new members. This is the perfect opportunity for you to find the perfect club. Or two. Or three. Go ahead and change, and I’ll go with you.”
Meeshell appreciated how patient Apple was being with her, but she didn’t want to take advantage of her kindness. “Oh, you don’t have to keep being my Welcoming Committee. You must have more important things to do.”
Apple laughed again. “Nothing is more important than doing my duty. And right now, that is to find you a club.” She held up her Welcoming Committee list. “It’s the last thing on the list.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks.”
Meeshell picked another outfit from her closet. This dress was similar to the one she’d worn the day before, with a scalloped texture and with ruffles along the hem that looked like waves. She held it up, and received an approving nod from Apple. Then she went back into the bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection, but not in the way that Daring admired his. Rather, she felt as if she was looking at a stranger. Who are you? she asked herself. Who is this land-dweller, standing in a dorm room, with two feet, attending the most prestigious school in all the kingdoms? Her parents were expecting her to do her best, which meant getting good grades and making new friends. And if that wasn’t enough to cause one’s scales to tremble, she’d be trying to get those grades and friends while hiding her true identity as a mermaid. How would she pull this off? She leaned against the wall, her chest tight, her breathing quick. Suddenly, she felt as if she’d been tangled in a fisherman’s net!
“Meeshell? You okay?” Apple asked gently from the other side of the door.
“Yes. I’m almost ready.” Meeshell told herself to snap out of it. The good news was that her speaking voice was back to normal. Did that mean her singing voice was back, too? She’d have to find a safe, private place to give it a try. In the meantime, she should stop worrying so much and brave the day. It was all going to work out. She was going to live her destiny!
After dressing, Meeshell arranged her pearl headband and chose a lovely statement necklace that sparkled with shells and coral. Then she grabbed her MirrorPad and sea horse purse, and followed Apple.
Walking down one flight of stairs, then another and another, was much easier than it had been yesterday, which was a very good sign that she was getting used to her legs. And when she and Apple stepped into the quad, they were greeted by a chorus of “hellos,” which was a very good sign that the other students were getting used to Meeshell. Apple stopped at a coffee cart and got them each a mocha frappé, which Meeshell loved. “Can I have one of these every morning?”
“Sure, if you want. The cart is from the Hocus Latte Café in the village. You can get all sorts of drinks there, too.”
The world was full of so many new flavors. As she sipped the chocolaty goodness, birds sang in the branches above. A dragon glided over distant treetops. A boy and that rabbit she’d seen with the glasses walked past, both their noses stuck in books. The boy was quite handsome, and wearing a crown. Then she saw two more boys with crowns. Wow, there sure were a lot of princes at this school. Was one of them destined to be part of her story? Maybe the one who was currently staring at her?
“Whassup, ladies?” he called. He had piercing green eyes and freckles. He was dressed in khaki shorts, a velvet jacket, and bow tie.
Apple, once again, made the introductions. “Meeshell, this is Hopper Croakington II. Hopper, this is our newest student, Meeshell.”
Hopper wagged his eyebrows at her. “Well, hello. You can be me shell anytime.” Meeshell wasn’t sure what that meant but she smiled politely. Was he trying to flirt with her? He leaned against a tree. “What brings you to—?” He turned suddenly. “Briar,” he whispered. Briar Beauty was walking across the quad. She waved at Apple and Meeshell, and at Hopper. A blush spread across his face and…
Poof!
Meeshell looked down at the ground. Where Hopper had once stood, there was now a green frog. The frog adjusted his little gold crown, looked up at her, and said, “Delighted to make your acquaintance. If you ever find yourself in need of companionship, I am a skilled conversationalist. Good day.” He bowed, then hurried away on his little bowlegged green legs.
How odd. Meeshell was about to ask Apple what was up with this Hopper guy, when she saw another boy with a crown. She’d met him yesterday in the Castleteria. What was his name? Oh yes, Humphrey.
He was carrying a stack of MirrorPads. He noticed her looking at him and stopped walking. His face turned red. He fiddled with his bow tie, waved, then backed into a hedge, landing on his rump. “I’m okay,” he called as he jumped to his feet. He collected all the MirrorPads. “Nothing cracked!” Then he hurried away.
She hadn’t meant to stare at him. Poor guy. Was it possible that he and Meeshell were equally shy? And equally awkward?
The far side of the quad was crowded with white tents. A sign was posted on each tent:
Representatives for each club sat at tables that were piled with informational brochures. Apple and Meeshell walked between the tents, with Apple stopping to give Meeshell a brief description of each club. “And that’s the Oversleepers Anonymous Club.” Briar sat inside that tent, her chin resting in her hands.
“There’s no shame in being sleepy,” Briar called out. “Join today and get a free pair of wide-awake glasses so you can fall asleep in class without being caught.” The glasses were lined up on the table. Each had a pair of eyes painted on the front—wide-awake eyes that blinked occasionally.
Farrah was tending to the Fairy Club booth, which was covered in so much fairy dust, passersby started sneezing.
Ashlynn and Maddie walked up. “Hi, Meeshell,” they both said.
“Hi.”
“Hey, you’re not whispering anymore,” Ashlynn noted with a smile.
“My sore throat is gone.”
“I’m helping Meeshell pick a club to join,” Apple explained. “Do you have any suggestions?”
“I’m in the Forest Club,” Ashlynn said. “We sweep the forest floor to keep it nice and tidy. If you joined, we could sweep together.”
“I’m in the Wonderland Club,” Maddie said. “It’s supposed to be for people from Wonderland. But most people get to Wonderland by mistake, so it doesn’t seem fair to say just because you haven’t fallen down a rabbit hole, you can’t join. So we let anyone join. Do you speak Riddlish? That helps. It’s our club’s language.”
“I really like the Library Club,” Apple said. “We don’t do much, just study together. It really helps me keep my grades up. Oh, and you could always join Daring’s fan club.” They’d stopped at the Daring Charming Fan Club tent. Five girls and one guy sat at a table covered in Daring Charming memorabilia. And right next to it was the Tech Club. Humphrey sat at a table covered in all sorts of gadgets. He looked away when Meeshell looked at him. Yep, she thought. Painfully shy. She wondered if there was a Shy Club they could both join.
None of the suggested clubs sounded like the right fit to Meeshell. She was about to move to the next tent when a mirror on a nearby tree lit up. A girl with blond curls appeared in the mirror. Her curls bobbed as she talked. “Hello, fellow fairytales! Blondie Lockes here to give you the latest scoop. I’m happy to announce that we have a new student. She arrived by boat yesterday, from the faraway Kingdom by the Sea. Her name is Meeshell and she’s rooming with Farrah Goodfairy, and from what I’ve heard, they are getting along swimmingly. So please give her a big Ever After High welcome.” All the students who were hanging out in the quad turned toward Meeshell and clapped. Meeshell wasn’t sure what to do. She gave a little wave, then tried to disappear in the shadows beneath one of the tents. Blondie whispered to someone offscreen, then looked back into the camera. “In other news, it’s just been confirmed that our very own glee club, the Happily-Glees, are going to give an impromptu performance in the quad right now. They will be performing a brand-new song directed by our very own Melody Piper.”
A glee club? Meeshell stepped out from the shadows. Maybe this could be the club she joined.
Six singers gathered beneath an oak tree. A girl with a pair of headphones stood before them. “That’s Melody,” Apple whispered in Meeshell’s ear. Melody clearly loved music because she was adorned with musical notes—on her leather vest, her silver tights, and on her black leather booties. She took a pitch pipe from her pocket and blew a single note. Each of the singers hummed, trying to match the note. Melody shook her head, then blew on the pipe again. The singers hummed again. Melody’s shoulders slumped. No one had found the note. Meeshell frowned. That wasn’t a good sign.
Melody raised her hands and the Happily-Glees began to sing.
“Looking for my ever after
Don’t wanna see my dreams get shattered
Everybody says I have to, got to,
Wait around just to be rescued.
Not gonna sit alone in a tower.
I’ll show the world my princess power.
I’m standing up ’cause I am stronger.
Listen to my heart; it’s getting louder.”
It was… terrible. Not the song—the song itself was great. The lyrics were brilliant. But the singing was… well, it was like listening to a pod of elephant seals. Okay, maybe not that bad, but Meeshell was used to Mer-singing, the most beautiful singing in all the kingdoms. She winced, then tried to force a smile. Perhaps she was being overly critical. Perhaps this was considered good singing in the land-dwelling world. She glanced at Apple. The fairest-in-the-land princess was also trying very hard not to wince, but a tiny scowl had formed between her eyebrows. So it was true—they were terrible.
One of the singers was clearly off-key, while another singer was way too loud. The harmony wasn’t working, and the choreography, well, it was just a mess.
When the song finished, everyone smiled and politely applauded, then went on about their business. The singers ambled off and Melody lingered, her expression one of frustration. Apple tried to console her. “That was really… interesting,” Apple said.
“It’s not supposed to sound like that,” Melody explained. “There were a lot of wrong notes.”
Maddie giggled. “I thought it was tea-rriffic. In Wonderland, the wrong notes are always the right notes.”
Melody sighed. “We really need more practice time. And we could really use new members.”
Apple’s eyes lit up. “Hey, Meeshell is looking for a club to join.”
Melody looked hopefully at Meeshell. “Do you sing?” she asked.
Meeshell wanted to shout Yes! Yes, I sing! I love singing. But now that she’d heard these singers, she realized that if she sang with them, her voice would totally stand out. If she joined the Happily-Glees, surely someone would figure out her true identity, for her voice was even more famous than her tail. She sighed with disappointment. This was the one club she truly wanted to join, but she’d have to pass. “No,” she said. “I can’t carry a tune.”
“That’s too bad. We really need a soloist. Your speaking voice is so pretty I would’ve bet you could sing beautifully. Well, see you all later.” Melody set her headphones back over her ears and headed toward the coffee cart.
“Don’t fret,” Apple said. “Something will pop up. It always does.” At that, a mouse popped out of Maddie’s teacup hat and squeaked.
“Tomorrow is Sports Day,” Ashlynn said. “Maybe you can try out for a team. I’m on the cheerhexing squad. Maybe you’d like to join?”
“That’s a spelltacular idea,” Apple told her. “All the teams will be having tryouts, and my Welcoming Committee list says I’m supposed to get you signed up for at least one club or sports team. Tomorrow is a new day! We can still make this work!”