There wasn’t much time for Coral to practise. The creatures were already gathered in the living room, being briefed by Ramone on their battle tactics. He wanted to make sure they were ready, just in case.
Fabulous had spread the word that Coral was planning a special surprise, and as soon as Ramone had finished explaining the plan of attack, as always, he was ready for a party. It was a relief to have something other than the dreaded battle to think about.
‘I think she’s going to perform for US!’ whispered Dobbin the seahorse to Swish, as they bobbed at the foot of the stairs, waiting for her. They both popped a deeper shade of pink with excitement.
The Crevettes – hundreds of them – were chattering wildly.
‘What will she do?’
‘Will she sing?’
‘Will she dance?’
‘I don’t know!’
‘I can’t wait!’
‘Nor me!’
‘Or me!’
‘Or me!’
‘When will she start?’
‘I don’t know!’
‘Hope it’s soon!’
‘Wish it was now!’
‘And me!’
‘OOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!’
Otto the octopus laughed deeply. ‘Calm down, Crevettes, all will be revealed soon, I’m sure.’
Marvin the eel was getting excruciating, pre-performance nerves, even though he wasn’t performing himself. It’s all part and parcel of being in the spotlight, he told himself, but it didn’t help.
‘My tummy is churning. Oh, I wish she’d start. These nerves are turning me to jelly! Oh, I’m a jellied eel!’ he wailed.
‘Hey man, no worries!’ Ramone gave Marvin a comforting slap on the back, which was actually rather painful. Marvin winced and forced a smile. ‘Coral’s gonna be just fine, you wait and see.’
*
Inside her bedroom, little waves of excitement were rippling through Coral. She wasn’t top of the class, she wasn’t the girl who won the prizes at school, but she knew her strengths. She was a pretty cool skateboarder – and she could sing.
Usually, any kind of performance would fill her with dread. She had been in agony if she had to perform in assemblies at school. Standing up in front of hundreds of other pupils and teachers, her heart would beat too fast, her legs would feel weak, the palms of her hands would go clammy, her mouth would be dry. It was always horrible.
‘Just try as hard as you can and do your very best, darling,’ her mum would say, ‘that’s all anyone can ever ask of you.’
She would sometimes come home feeling she hadn’t done her best, because her nerves had got the better of her. But strangely, she didn’t feel scared today. She really wanted to do this.
Coral was as ready as she’d ever be. She opened her bedroom door and the whole house erupted with wild cheering.
She launched herself along the landing carpet, which was super slippery with green slime. Creatures dived out of her way, as she slid faster and faster, pushing with her right leg as if she were riding an invisible skateboard.
As she reached the stairs, she leapt onto the bannisters, kicked into a handstand, and began to slide down the handrail vertically at speed. She’d been building up the courage to try this on her skateboard, but underwater, it was easy! Her balance was perfect! She whizzed down, confident enough to raise one hand and give the crowd a wave. At the bottom of the stairs, Coral tucked up her knees and ended with a double somersault and a bow.
The applause was thunderous! Looking out at the multitude of sea life before her, it suddenly struck Coral how much her parents would have loved this. For the first time though, she didn’t feel that dreadful pain when she thought of them.
