Pretty in Pearls: A Forgive My Fins Novella (HarperTeen Impulse) Read Free

something, anything, he swims away.
    Riatus turns to face me with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry about that.”
    “It’s no big deal,” I say. “Obviously you have a history and—”
    “Ri, which ones are South Pacific,” Coral calls out, “and which ones are Indian Ocean?”
    “Just a sec,” he answers over his shoulder. Then, to me, “I’d better help her.”
    “Yeah, I need to get going anyway,” I say quickly. “With all of Mom’s preparations for the Sea Harvest Dance, I’m sure I’ll be around again soon.”
    Even if she doesn’t need me to visit.
    “I’m counting on it,” he says.
    I can’t quite bring myself to swim away just yet, letting my eyes follow him across the stall. Which means I’m caught staring when he turns back around. “Hey,” he says with a half smile, “I’ll bubble message you.”
    “Great!”
    As Riatus swims away to help Coral with the customer, I’m overflowing with excitement. When I left home this morning, I had no idea what the market would have in store for me. I’m not usually a big fan of surprises. This kind, though, I could get used to.

     2
     
    Two weeks later
     
    N ormally I can’t think of anything better than spending a day shopping in the market with my best friend. Especially with the Sea Harvest Dance only two weeks away. Stall owners are quick to pull out their very best offerings to tempt the princess, hoping to present something she might want to eat, wear, or show off on a shelf.
    To them she is the future queen.
    To me she will always be Lily.
    But today, the market is the last place I want to be. I only agreed to come so I wouldn’t have to explain why.
    “Oh my gosh, Peri, look at this,” Lily says, swimming into a stall of silks imported from the Indian Ocean. I give it a less than a minute before the owner realizes the princess is in his stall.
    She pulls a silk off the rack. A ribbon of soft orange ripples in the current, the gold trim and beaded embroidery glittering as it catches the sunlight filtering down from the surface.
    “It’s beautiful.” I catch the cloth between my fingers. “High-quality, too.”
    “You should buy it,” she says, holding it up next to my face.
    I make a face and shake my head.
    “It’s perfect for your coloring.” She gives me that sunny grin that no one can deny. “You have to.”
    Maybe she’s right, but it’s not my favorite color. I’m shaking my head when the owner appears from behind another rack.
    “Welcome, welcome,” he says. “What brings you to—oh!”
    Thirty whole seconds. I bite back a smile. Here we go.
    He bows deeply, displaying his balding head. “Princess,” he says, his voice full of reverence, “it is an honor.”
    “Thank you,” Lily replies. “Your silks are beautiful.”
    He whips upright. “These are nothing. Let me show you my special collection.”
    In a flash, he’s gone, diving behind the counter to find the best silks to show the princess. Lily gives me an apologetic look. She gets embarrassed by the attention, but after a lifetime of being her friend, I’m used to it. Mom and I have been buying silks for her dressmaking business from Mr. Egregia forever. He hasn’t even noticed I’m in the stall.
    Such is the life of a princess’s best friend.
    “Ah, yes,” he exclaims, popping up from behind the counter with an armful of fabric. “Here we go.”
    Lily and I swim over to the counter as he lays them out. They are truly breathtaking. There is a shiny one—cross woven with lime green and gold—that would match Lily’s tail fin perfectly. Mom would love the lavender one embroidered with white and purple flowers. But me? I reach for the ivory silk. It looks ordinary at first glance, just a stretch of off-white cloth. But as the current catches it, the fabric ripples and the glittery finish catches the light. A sparkling dream.
    “Wow, that’s amazing,” Lily says, swimming over to take a closer look.
    “The lady has excellent