Swimming out of her bedroom, Coral could barely believe the scene before her. The landing was crammed with thousands of different sea creatures! There were fish everywhere she looked, some darting about, others swimming in huge shoals.
Coral could recognise many of them from her holidays. Her mother was mad about sea creatures and loved to teach her. There were angelfish, parrotfish, trumpetfish, lionfish, butterflyfish, triggerfish, trunkfish. There were barracudas, groupers, snappers, flounders, basses and wrasses, jacks and chubs. There were eels, jellyfish, snails, lobsters, shrimps, squids and starfish. It was as if her house had become a reef!
Looking down, Coral saw crabs scuttling along the patterned carpet. There were sandfish lying flat, trying to camouflage themselves in the shagpile. There was a rainbow of bright anemones, weird sea sponges and all different types of coral – some shaped like tubes of pasta, others like graceful, fine lace. There were even some that reminded her of giant brains!
Could this really be her home? She could still make out the bannisters and the stairs, the doors to the two other bedrooms and bathroom, but all around and in between was an explosion of sealife. It was her home, but it was a different world.
‘Told you,’ said Fabulous, obviously enjoying Coral’s astonishment.
Coral saw a beautiful pair of pale pink seahorses bobbing slowly in front of them. She knew that seahorses are poor swimmers, but that they also have excellent eyesight.
‘That’s Dobbin and Swish,’ whispered Fabulous. ‘Thought it wouldn’t take long for those two to spot you!’
The seahorses froze on the spot, and stared.
‘It’s her!’ they exclaimed in unison, promptly linking tails and turning bright orange with excitement.
‘Here we go,’ muttered Fabulous. Coral felt very self-conscious.
A puffer fish turned when he saw the seahorses’ spectacular colour change and noticed her. He puffed up on the spot, ballooning to resemble a small spiky rugby ball.
‘Bubba the Puffa,’ giggled Fabulous, ‘always puffing!’
Coral knew that when a puffer fish puffs, it’s usually to scare away predators, so other fish always take notice.
And that’s just what happened.
Like a ripple spreading through the water, Coral watched as shoal after shoal of fish, and all manner of strange and wonderful sea creatures, stopped to turn and stare at her. In just a few seconds the whole of the crowded, bustling upstairs landing had become completely silent and still. Thousands of pairs of eyes were fixed on her.
One little fish clearly loved being in the spotlight. Tiny in front of the multitude, Fabulous announced like a game show host, ‘She’s the one! The one we’ve all been waiting for! It is time! Put your fins, your tails, your tentacles together foooooooor … CORRRRAAALLL!’
‘Wait, wh–what’s going on, Fabulous?!’ Coral asked.
But nobody heard her, because the whole landing had erupted with frenzied cheering, whooping, bubble-blowing and fin-slapping.
‘Make way, my fishy friends!’ said Fabulous, enjoying herself no end. The crowd parted for them.
‘Fabulous! Wait! Why is everyone looking at me?’ Coral felt shyness creeping over her. It was strange just being out of her room, let alone having all these creatures staring at her.
‘No time for questions now, Coral! Ramone will explain everything. You just swim with me and…’ The little fish tilted slightly and squinted at her. ‘And maybe try not to look so scared? Smile, wave, enjoy it!’
There was no choice. The little fish set a stately pace, revelling in the attention from the crowd. Coral swam behind, with an awkward lopsided grin on her face. As she passed, fish bowed reverently.
The over-excited Fabulous couldn’t wait any longer. ‘Come on! Let’s pick up the pace! Ramone is waiting!’
Fabulous zoomed off down the stairs. Coral saw the bannisters were covered with a slimy, slippery sort of weed, and an idea popped into her head.
Coral loved skateboarding. She was pretty good at it too, having great balance. She hopped up on to the handrail and, imagining it was just like a skateboard, started to slide down it. This was fun! She gathered pace, faster and faster, swinging round the halfway post, skimming her way to the bottom and diving off into the hallway. Thousands of mesmerised sea creatures burst into applause once again. Coral smiled and took a little bow.
Scanning around her, Coral could see the downstairs of her home had been transformed too. She swam through the hallway, trying to keep up with Fabulous, who had sped off into the living room. It was like swimming through an aquarium, but this was her house. A sea house!
*
Through the hordes of fish, Coral caught sight of something strange at the far end of the corridor. It was her kitchen door. Nothing odd about that. But it was firmly shut, and in Coral’s house, the kitchen door was never closed. Her mother had always kept it wide open. ‘The kitchen is the heart of a home,’ she would say, ‘and you should always keep your home and your heart open.’
Now though, the door was closed tight and – what was that? Coral narrowed her eyes. She thought she could see an eerie, greenish glow seeping out around the doorframe. She wasn’t sure why, but Coral felt a shiver run down her spine.