Lewis POV
Leah. So that was her name. But a name didn't explain why she had watched him for hours. Nor did it explain how she knew his name or that he was going to the American Marine Biology Institute. Her knowing those things, along with him not knowing a thing about her, made him wonder if she was a stalker.
They followed white-haired Jack out of the terminal to the car parked outside. They threw their bags in the trunk. Lewis noticed that Leah didn't have a large suitcase like he did—she only had a small duffel bag. Was that for her time in Australia, since he could tell from her accent that she wasn't from Australia? If so, then she hadn't stayed very long. But there was also the possibility that the bag was for her stay at AMBI, and if that were the case then it didn't look like she planned on staying there. Or she could simply be a light packer, but he doubted that—Cleo always over packed—and he was pretty sure that all girls were the same when it came to that.
"So, Leah," he said awkwardly, "Are you one of the six?"
She wrinkled her eyebrows and frowned. "One of the six?"
"You know. One of the six applicants who were accepted to study at the American Marine Biology Institute."
"Oh!" Understanding dawned on her petite face. "Umm, no. I've actually been studying at the institute for over two years now."
"How old are you?"
"Seventeen."
She was a year younger than him, and she had already been at the institute for more than two years—she must be some kind of genius.
Lewis caught the look Leah and Jack tried to secretly exchange, but he didn't understand what it meant. The two clearly knew each other. Well, Jack had recognized Leah in the airport. Did that mean Leah was coming back to AMBI? If so, again that begged the question—what had she been doing in Australia? He supposed he could just ask her.
"What were you doing in Australia?"
"Research," Leah said and smiled at him.
It made sense—she went to AMBI—and her answer sounded sincere. But, for some reason, Lewis had the faintest feeling she was stretching the truth.
He didn't say another word for the rest of the ride. He just stared out the window, taking in the scenery. Again, his thoughts wandered to Cleo. He really missed her. He pushed her to the back of his mind—she wouldn't want him to worry about her all the time—she would want him to look forward to all the research he would get to do.
He hoped they would let him collect his own data samples and not leave him in a lab all day. Not that the lab wouldn't be totally awesome with all the interesting equipment, but, ever since Cleo, Rikki and Emma became mermaids he really enjoyed "going out in the field" as researchers would call it.
Jack drove off the highway and turned down a hidden dirt road. For a minute, Lewis wondered if he had gotten in the wrong car. Where was Jack taking them? But then, after a couple minutes, the car pulled out into a clearing by the water. There was a long wooden dock that led out to the ocean with a sailboat hitched to it. There was a sign at the start of the dock. It read "Private Property. No Trespassing." Jack parked the car next to the dock. Leah hopped out of the car, suddenly full of energy. Lewis followed her to the trunk where he retrieved his suitcase and walked with her to the dock where Jack was waiting for them.
Curiosity getting the best of him, Lewis asked, "Where are we going?"
"To the institute, silly," Leah said.
"I didn't know the American Marine Biology Institute was on an island."
"Yup," Leah said, "we have our own private island. It makes things a lot easier."
Jack turned around and shot Leah a warning look but Leah didn't seem to notice, either that or she didn't care.
"But the address on the brochure is for a place on the mainland."
"Oh, that's just our cover."
"Cover?" It was his turn to frown.
Leah nodded but didn't say anything else.
What would the American Marine Biology Institute need a cover address for? What was Leah and Jack hiding? What was AMBI hiding?
Juliette POV
"Go fish."
Juliette sighed and picked up another card from the diminishing deck in front of her. At this point she probably had more cards in her hand than there were sitting on the table. She looked at the card she just picked from the top of pile. Another five. She placed it with the other one. Out of all the cards she had, she was only close to getting four of a kind with one number, and it wasn't five.
"Got any twos?" Ella, the girl sitting cross-legged in front of her and her absolute best friend, asked.
Juliette groaned and slid her two twos across the table to her friend.
"Thank you." Ella took the cards and placed two more down with them—creating yet another match. That gave her five while Juliette only had one.
"I give up," she said and threw her cards down on the table.
Ella laughed at her. "You're just a sore loser."
"No," Juliette countered, "You've already won four games in a row!"
Ella tugged a piece of her long, dark brown hair behind her ears and began pulling all the cards towards her. "Well, what do you want to do instead?"
"I want to go for a swim," Juliette grumbled.
"We could go down to the pool," Ella said.
"That's not what I meant."
"Jules, you know Evette doesn't want us doing that right now."
"I know, I know." Juliette sighed again. She longed to go for a long swim in the crystal clear waters that surrounded the island, but it was forbidden for the time being. After it took Marguerite almost 12 hours to return to normal, all the girls were temporarily banned from swimming in the ocean. "Do you think they're back yet?"
"Who?" Ella asked.
"Leah and Lewis, of course." They hadn't seen Leah in almost two weeks, and Juliette definitely missed having the older girl's bubbly personality around the island.
"They must not be. Marguerite said she would come get us when they were close."
"What do you think he's like?" Juliette got up and went over to the window.
"I don't know," Ella said, "it's not like I've ever met the guy."
"I wonder if he's cute." Juliette mused.
Ella raised her eyebrows. "He has a girlfriend you know."
She did know that. She also knew that Lewis was a huge science geek, played the drums and was a senior in high school—all things Leah had reported to them during her daily check-ins.
"And you have a boyfriend." Ella reminded her.
Juliette rolled her eyes at her friend. "I know that," she said, "But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good looking guy when I see one." Ella snorted but Juliette ignored her. Juliette moved away from the window and sat down on her bed.
Actually, she and Ella were lucky compared to the other girls on the island. Both of their boyfriends were staying in the area even though the summer was long over. Juliette's boyfriend, Riley, lived in Key West with his family who owned a water park, while Ella's boyfriend, Mason, who had worked for a corrupt marine biologist over the summer was now working on the island at "the institute".
It was about six months ago when Juliette and the other girls began to notice something was wrong. At first, Juliette thought nothing of it, but then the problems escaladed, spiraling out of control, and now the girls were prohibited from swimming in the ocean. Mason had been working alongside the girls' teachers and Evette, Juliette's grandmother and head of "the institute", for many weeks with no results. Evette and the teachers thought that Mason might have been able to see something that they couldn't, but Mason was still very new to the workings and happenings of the island.
That was when Leah had the idea of bringing in an outsider—but not just anyone—someone who was already familiar with their situation. At first, everyone was extremely uncomfortable with the idea. It wasn't often that they welcomed outsiders on their island. But once Juliette, Ella, Marguerite, and even Summer and Cecilia, agreed with Leah, the teachers were forced to concede. They sent out messages to schools around the world, asking for students to apply to the American Marine Biology Institute—the same cover they used when bringing in new girls each summer. It was the letterhead Juliette first saw last June. But, at this point, if things didn't get fixed, Juliette was worried there wouldn't be any new girls this summer.
After the messages were sent out, the applications came pouring in—over the years the graduates of "the institute" have given their cover quite a prestigious and well-respected name. All the girls did a bunch of research on the applicants, a different person investigating a potential lead each time they found one in the pile. It had been a lot of work. It was only fitting that the lead Leah checked turned out to be the right one. Once she discovered Lewis, Leah stayed in Australia for another week—secretly watching him and his friends to make sure he was the person they needed—and the person who could be trusted to keep their secret.
Suddenly, Juliette heard the pounding of footsteps from down the hall draw closer to her and Ella's door. A second later, Marguerite burst through the door, her long, blonde hair trailing behind her. Juliette didn't think she had ever seen Marguerite in such a rush before. The other junior was Leah's complete opposite—usually calm and always taking things slow—and yet, the two were practically inseparable, just as she and Ella were.
"They're almost here," Marguerite said, slightly out of breath. Then she turned back around and disappeared.
Juliette hopped off her bed as Ella sprang out of her chair. Ella was on her heels as Juliette rushed out the door after Marguerite. They followed her down the open hallway, the breeze ruffling Juliette's amber-colored hair. They ran down the cobblestoned path to the trees and bushes closest to the dock. The three girls ducked behind the thick bushes, peeking through them to spy on the people disembarking the familiar sailboat that had just pulled up to the dock. Jack climbed off the boat first, followed by Leah, and then by a boy with shaggy blonde hair.
Juliette smiled. "He is cute."
Again, Ella rolled her eyes.
Marguerite nodded in agreement but then said seriously, "I just hope he can help us."
Juliette and Ella shared a worried look before gazing back out to the dock where Lewis stood. Their future depended on him.