Edited

Chapter Two

Lolly's POV

"What is this place…?" Mel asked, in awe of the cave that she, Becca and I were in.

The three of us were stuck in some sort of volcano cave thing. Our entrance was my sense of adventure leading us down a hole - whoops, my bad... - and we had yet to discover a way out because the hole was too steep for us to climb back up again. Although Becca seemed to think that the pool of water in front of us led to the sea, so why not take a look?

"I'm going to dive in and take a look for a way out," I told the others, then did as I said.

As I dove in, I noticed how calm and clear the water was. It was strange, and I stayed still for a moment, thinking about it. Suddenly, I realised I was running out of oxygen, and continued swimming. Once I was sure there was a way out, I swum back to Mel and Becca.

"I've found an exit," I told them. "Come on in. We'd better go as soon as we can - our parents will be worried."

My best friends jumped into the water, and we were about to dive completely under, when Becca stopped us all.

"What's happening…?" She whispered, and looked at Mel and me, then around us. I looked too, and saw something absolutely captivating. Bubbles were rising from the water, flitting around us, as the full moon shone down on us. Then, as quickly as it started, it stopped, disappearing with the light of the full moon.

"That was… weird," Mel marvelled.

"But kinda cool," I gave my own opinion. "Come on, let's get out of here - the sooner the better. I'm not sure what that was, but it'll be better if we just leave it. Come on."

With that, we ducked underwater, and swum to safety.

"I had another one of those dreams last night," I tell Becca and Mel as the three of us sip milkshakes at a booth in Rikki's Café. It's pretty cool how this place is named after my mum. It was shut for years, ever since my parents left the Gold Coast. But then we moved back here when Dan and I were thirteen years old, nearly three years ago now, and Mum noticed the café was still shut. She took it into her care, not even having to buy it because it was already hers, and now it's open again – and sells great food and drink, if I do say so myself.

"What happened?" Becca asks me, referring to the dream.

"I just kind of reinvented the night that… it happened, but in a dream. It was so weird," I reply, talking about the night we became mermaids. I know what you're thinking - mermaids don't exist. They're just a myth, and I should stop messing around and making up lies like that. Well, believe it or not, Mel, Becca and I having mermaid tails whenever we get wet is, in fact, one hundred percent true. We've even got the pictures to prove it. I guess taking pictures of ourselves as mermaids could be pretty dangerous, but it can't be that bad an idea, surely, or Becca would have warned me and Mel, being the sensible and organised person that she is. Besides, we deleted the pictures off of any cameras or anything that they were saved on, and we keep them locked up in boxes and things like that.

"I don't really know why, but I have this feeling like something really bad is going to happen on this next full moon," Becca says.

"Why?" I ask.

"First off, I just told you, like, two seconds ago that I don't know why. But my best guess would have to be, well, you only started having those dreams since last week, right? And that was the last full moon, I think. According to Luke, anyway, and you know what he's like with all that stuff."

Mel smiles at Becca's mention of her boyfriend, Luke Griffin. Luke is a big fan of astronomy. All I could tell you about the night sky, however, is that it's dark. And has stars. And then Luke would be all, "Actually, the stars are there in daytime too," and then I'd be all, "Shut up, Lukey!" I know he would definitely shut up; he hates when I call him Lukey.

"Well yeah, but I would have thought that's just a coincidence that it happened on the night of a full moon. I know we're pretty sure that the full moon has a connection to us growing tails, but still…"

"I don't know, I just have a feeling. Maybe it happened on the last full moon, because the moon was trying to… communicate with you. It was trying to tell you that the next time it appeared it would do something bad, or whatever."

"Communicate with me?" I repeat. "Seriously, Bex, the moon is not alive; it's just a thing - just a weird and enormous piece of rock, floating in space. Stop stressing. The only bad thing happening on the next full moon is me having to help take down decorations from my birthday party. And the actual party will stop me from being too down about that."

"Oh yeah, it's your birthday soon, isn't it? So that means the next full moon is on the eighth of November, then," Mel says. "Well Becca, that gives us plenty of time to work out if your theory is correct or not - it's only the seventeenth of October now."

"All right, we'll just leave it for now, if it makes you happy," Becca gives in with a sigh.

I smile. "Well I've got to go and help Dan with something, so I'll call you two later. Bye."

"Lolly… helping someone?" I hear Becca ask as I turn away.

"Not a chance," Mel tells her, and I can almost hear the smile in her voice.

Becca and Mel were right about me never helping anyone. The only person I help is me, which is exactly what I'm doing right now. I know I said Becca's theory was kind of stupid, and I'm still sure it is - we've experienced plenty of full moons, mermaid and human, and nothing out of the ordinary has happened before. Well, except for the first night we transformed, but I'm sure that was just a one off. Still, it would make me feel better to look up something about the full moon, considering my birthday party will be outside at night, therefore involving us being exposed to the full moon.

So I turn on my laptop and begin to research, even though I'm sure I won't find anything of any use to us. However, I do end up finding something:

On the night of a planetary alignment, any mermaid who is in the moon pool when the full moon passes overhead will gain more powers. On the night of a lunar eclipse, any mermaid who is in the moon pool when the full moon falls overhead shall have their powers drawn away for 12 hours. When all of the planets align with the moon, any mermaid who is in the moon pool when the moon comes over head will lose their powers forever.

It's not a very long piece of writing, but considering most people online - or anywhere at all for that matter – aren't mermaids, it's a good start, at least. I rip a sheet of paper out of a notebook I spot on the floor of my bedroom, and scribble the information out onto it. I then fold the piece of paper and lock it in my jewellery box (which I don't actually use for jewellery at all, so much as secret and usually mermaid related things). I'll show it to the other two sometime closer to the full moon - AKA my birthday, which I turn my attentions to now. The party's going to be awesome. I find another piece of paper, and begin to write a list of who to invite. Well, I say of who to invite, but it ends up as more of a list of who not to invite… You could say I'm not a very sociable person.

I glide through the vast ocean, smiling at the beauty of the sea life. I'm surrounded by underwater plants, colourful fish and smiling dolphins. Sometimes the dolphins even let us swim with them. It's pretty cool really, if you ask me.

I've been swimming for about fifteen minutes now, without even coming up for air. It's amazing how long I can do this for as a mermaid. Usually, I can only hold my breath for about a minute at the most and if I'm swimming at the same time, it should be for even less time. As my thoughts begin to wander, I suddenly remember my mission. I'm here to find the moon pool - I'm guessing that's the cave we transformed in, - not to think about how amazing it is to be a mermaid, and how beautiful the underwater world is. I set my mind to focus on what I'm trying to do.

However, half an hour later, it's still to no avail. But as I'm about to swim back, I notice something shiny on the seabed that really stands out. Frowning, I swim down towards it. I brush away the sand that covers part of it to see what it is - a locket. I stay still for a moment, wondering what to do with it. Eventually, I decide to take it back home with me and puzzle over it there. So, locket in hand, I head back home as fast as I can, unable to wait to show Becca and Mel my discovery.

"That is so weird," Becca says, once I've finished telling her and Mel about the locket, and shown it to them.

"So it was just lying there, buried underneath all that sand?" Mel asks.

"Pretty much," I reply, nodding.

"It kind of reminds me of something…" Becca frowns. "I'm just not quite sure what, or why."

"Here, take a closer look at it. Maybe you'll remember something." I chuck the necklace to where she's sitting, on the sofa opposite Mel and me, and she reaches her hands out to catch it before it hits the table in between us. After fiddling with it for a while, a thoughtful look on her face, she says, "No. I'm not sure."

"Do you want to keep it?" I offer. "You might remember what it is."

She shrugs. "You can have it back if you want."

"Okay, sure. I'll take it back home." Becca nods and throws the locket back to me, but almost instantly, I drop it to the floor. "Ow!" I exclaim.

"What is it?" Mel asks, her voice laced with concern.

"It's cold! Really cold! Like, so cold it burnt me!" I emphasise the word 'burnt' in horrified fascination.

"What?" Mel stands up from the sofa then crouches down and tentatively reaches out a hand to touch the necklace. She pulls her hand back straight away too, as if she's been stung. "It did it to me too…"

"That's weird," Becca says, walking around towards us. "I mean, I just held it, like, thirty seconds ago, and Lolly, you had it straight before that."

Becca kneels down on the floor to pick the locket up too, and I reach out my left hand - the one that isn't throbbing - in an attempt to pull her arm back, but she picks it up and seems unharmed.

"What the heck?" I ask no one in particular.

"Why isn't it doing anything to you?" Mel asks. "Uh, not that I want it too or anything," she adds hastily.

"I have no idea," Becca responds. "I think I'll keep it though."

"Good idea."