After leaving the professor, Meeshell stood in the center of the quad. The other students were inside the Castleteria, eating dinner. The sky had not yet darkened, so the twinkling above her head was not from stars but from a procession of cleaning fairies who were leaving the school grounds, heading to their forest homes. As Meeshell wiped specks of fairy dust from her face, she thought about the professor’s words.
The only real experience is the experience in which you are your real self.
Was that true?
She felt fidgety again. She couldn’t think clearly. Was her confusion a side effect of all the air she’d been exposed to? Even though she’d just had a lovely swim in the aquarium, she wanted more time in the water. Time to be herself and think.
She ran down the narrow path, all the way to the lake. When she got there, she jumped straight in. The golden cranes made room for her as she swam. As her tail beat a rhythm, her doubts washed away. She stopped worrying about wanting to fit in. She felt great—so great that she stuck her head above the surface and sang. How good it felt to sing! How she’d missed it. Then, when she reached a high note, she leaped out of the water.
And that’s when she noticed Apple, Maddie, Ashlynn, and Briar all standing on the bank, watching her with mouths wide open. The girls were stunned silent. For a long, tense moment, Meeshell waited to hear what her friends would say.
“Meeshell! You’re a mermaid!” Ashlynn blurted out. The girls laughed, and just like that, all the tension was gone.
“Yes, I am a mermaid. So I’m not really afraid of water. I’m so sorry I lied to you. My legs turn back into my tail when I touch water. That’s why I acted so strangely.”
“I knew it,” Maddie said. “How could anybody not like my hat?”
“Why were you pretending to be someone else?” Briar asked.
“Because…” Meeshell looked down at her tail. “I’m just not very confident around people when I’m on land. I’d never really been around people before coming to Ever After High.”
“I think you’re doing a wonderlandiful job of being around people on land,” Maddie replied. Meeshell smiled appreciatively.
“You all have made it so easy for me. But I also hid who I was because my future is living on land, without my tail, and without my singing voice. I wanted to see what that would be like. To see if I could make it work.”
Apple sat next to her, a look of absolute understanding on her face. “Meeshell, we each have futures waiting for us. But what I’ve learned is this—that we can’t control them. Yes, there are things that we’re supposed to do. Things that are expected and foretold. When I first got to Ever After High, I tried to live for my future life. I tried to convince Raven that she had to be someone other than who she really is, just to fit this future life. But what I’ve figured out is that we can’t live for the future. We have to be our true selves right now. In this moment.”
Briar, Maddie, and Ashlynn all nodded. The little mouse peeked out of Maddie’s hat, and he nodded, too.
Then Apple put an arm around Meeshell. “The Little Mermaid is my favorite fairytale ever after. Now it makes sense. I couldn’t help you find a club because I didn’t know the real you. You would be a spelltacular fit for the Happily-Glees!” She stopped smiling and withdrew her arm. “But of course, only if you want.”
Meeshell laughed. “Yes, I’d really like to join the Happily-Glees! I’ve wanted to join since I first saw them in the quad.”
“Since you’re a mermaid, I think you should also join Hunter’s lifeguard squad,” Ashlynn said. “You’d be the best lifeguard Ever After High has ever seen!”
“And what about the swim team?” Briar asked. “A mermaid would set some records for sure.”
“I think you should join the Teapot Club,” Maddie said. They all looked at her quizzically.
“I don’t get it,” Briar said. “What do mermaids and teapots have in common?”
“Oh, a riddle!” Maddie said, clapping her hands. “I don’t know. What do mermaids and teapots have in common?”
Briar peered over her crownglasses. “Uh, I was asking you.”
“Well, how am I supposed to know the answer? It’s not my riddle, you silly.” Then Maddie took a crumpet from her teapot hat and began feeding the golden cranes.
Meeshell couldn’t believe how relieved she felt. Yes, they all knew she was a mermaid. Yes, they were treating her differently. But that was okay. Because right now, this was who she was—a Mergirl going to Ever After High. She hadn’t yet given up her voice. She hadn’t yet given up her tail. That was in the future. And when that time came, she’d be that girl. She couldn’t live trying to be her future self. That didn’t make sense. In the end it didn’t matter what anyone thought of her, it only mattered what she thought of herself. She had to be her true self to be happy.
Just as Meeshell’s tail dried and her legs reappeared, a nearby mirror lit up. Blondie Lockes’s face appeared. “Listen up, my fellow fairytales, have I got a very hexciting scoop for you. It turns out that our newest student, Meeshell, is actually a mermaid!”