16th of December of my 15th year

Sebastian has me singing a solo during Neptune's Ball. He keeps making it such a big deal about how it's so important for me to take part in the momentous occasion. Honestly? I just go to sing and dance with Flounder and Daddy, a little. It's fun. It makes me so mad when he, Sebastian, makes such a big deal out of something that isn't such a big deal.

I found a really cool thing-a-ma-bob today. It's really small. Flounder thinks there are two pieces to it but I'm not so sure if there really is. This particular thing-a-ma-bob is pink like Alanna's tail and shiny like a fish's scales. There is a little pointing thing that cut through the sand. There's a tiny bit on the thingy that's curled under and fits right onto the first. But I can move it up and down, it's so interesting.

Flounder found it. We were on the reef and he was trying to hide in the sand. The pointing end poked into his stomach. He was scared and then he scared me when he screamed. I laid my hand down on the sand to find it when I didn't see anything. It poked me, like a shark's tooth. There were two of them stuck together and so I took it up to Scuttle. He said that it fits in the thing-a-ma-bob family and it goes on the girl's hair. I couldn't figure out how to make it work.

Sebastian, as usual, said it's too dangerous and that we need to put it back and not touch it. According to Sebastian, the poking end could cause real damage to a fish. Kinda like it did to Flounder.

Something odd happened today, bedsides the casual adventures. We had Urchin over, like we do once in a while, and he asked about his real parents. My sisters weren't paying attention but Daddy was.

Urchin said, "I wonder if my parents love me." Daddy's fork stopped midway to his mouth.

"Of course they love you." Daddy said. "I love all of my daughters, I can't imagine not being able to love my children."

"But they gave me up. I was living on my own for so long."

"Urchin," I said, "We are you're family. Why are you asking this?"

"I'm tired of being so dependent on you Ariel. It's time I start living on my own," He said as he bobbed out of his chair.

"Urchin, you aren't a problem. We love having you over." Daddy said. "You're like the son I never had."

Then Urchin got up and swam away. Daddy said it would be a bad idea to go after him then so I'm going to wait and talk to him tomorrow.

After Neptune Ball practice.

Ariel