Page 35 - The Mermaid Call

I was stomping, not walking, to Poseidon’s. Mum didn’t think I was worth visiting. Mimi didn’t think I was worthy of Alice. Alice was too grown-up, too glittery, too pretty, too posh. . .for me!
Faster stomps; alongside fingers of mist like shredded string that were making the air wetter, colder, its moisture shrinking my hair into even tighter curls. On into our village shopping precinct, past Nature’s Bounty, today’s showcase: a fuzzy pear on top of a scaly pineapple (original); past the library that was closing earlier and earlier (People, stop littering!). Until I inhaled a deep breath of salt and vinegar and joined the end of the short chip shop queue; onto tiptoes to wave to Eleni, working hard alongside her parents. Sometimes at weekends, I worked here too, serving chips for extra money, like I was actually part of their family. I suddenly really needed to talk to her, especially as Mimi was acting all weird and distracted. I wanted to tell Eleni about Alice and secret dead-girl diaries and Mum not coming.
“Where shall I put the haddock, Ms Thanos?” All-hail Hero emerged from the back with a tray of floured fish, as I reached the counter.
“I meant to call you to see if you were free to help,” Eleni said in a rush.
I nodded, mumbled my order, and stared down at my feet where my heart and stomach lay, splayed on the ground. I didn’t even ask for extra vinegar as she wrapped it up.
Angrier stomps back towards the lake. The wisps of fog transforming from thread to rope now. Weaving past old people taking their evening constitutionals. “That’s how I want my perm, Enid.” I looked round: yes, the two old women were pointing at me.
Mimi’s good girl, I imitated silently. And where’s being good got me? Mum had her exciting career on cruise ships; clearly, Eleni had Hero. What did I have? Besides shrinking hair and boy’s shoulders and adult-sized feet?
Humongous lump was back, swollen with vengeance in my throat. Even the delicious warm waft of my dinner couldn’t placate me. I passed a promenade bin overspilling with day- tripper rubbish onto the pavement and a burst of exasperation exploded across my chest. I thought of Alice saying, don’t you ever do anything you shouldn’t? and I abruptly turned into Atlantis Arcades. I could be sneaky and rebellious (with Mimi’s (meagre) chippie change). I walked past the