Bella POV

I slowly made my way to what Rikki had dubbed, " the pink room", even though it wasn't ALL pink. It was, though, worthy of being a Hollywood movie dressing room. Make up and clothes littered the room and boys and girls chatted while frequently pulling out compacts. A pretty, Indian- looking girl with choppy brown braids and eyes that never seemed to be the same colour stepped forward. She sized me up with a slight frown. I nervously pulled the now slightly frayed hem of my white peasant blouse. Finally, the girl spoke.

" I'm Piper McLean, the counsellor for the Aphrodite Cabin. You the new kid?" I quickly nodded, and I thought detected a small amount of pity in her other-wise unreadable expression. "That's you bed, and trunk." she gestured to a bed near a corner, almost out of sight.

"Thanks," I mumbled as I stuffed my bag of clothes that were lent to me from the camp shop. I got out of there as soon as I could and hurried to the Poseidon cabin. Cleo, Emma, and Rikki were already perched on the beds.

"Hi," Cleo greeted me. "Hi," Suddenly I felt shy, around my best friends.

"Um, I have a question."

"Shoot," Emma leaned back.

" How did this happen!" I shouted the last word and Emma winced. Why were they acting so, so unwilling to talk about this.

" Um, I think we were moonstruck." Cleo said.

" But I thought I didn't get affected by that, and didn't you three get over that."

Emma spoke after some silence, " I don't think it is necessarily the moon itself, more like the moon pool."

" Yeah," Cleo chimed in. " After I touched the wall, I just, lost control. It was like, I was still me, but I was taking a back-seat in controlling myself, if that makes sense. My willpower wasn't strong enough, so even though I may have a vague recollection of things, I don't remember doing them. Like watching a movie. At least, that's how it felt." Both Emma and I nodded vigorously, but

Rikki smirked.

"Wow Cleo, you sound like Emma.'Been taking lessons?"

"Shut up, Rikki." Cleo snapped.

"Why don't you make me?" Rikki mocked.

"Maybe I will." Cleo stood up.

"You, little animal-peace-lover? Fighting? It's the end of the world as we know it!"

" Rikki, I may not like fighting, but I can still kick your mermaid butt."

Suddenly, both girls glared at each other, and produced their element: Rikki, a ball of crackling energy, and Cleo a ball of compressed water. Both of them would hurt like Hade- wait, where did that come from?Any ways, I knew if we let them go at it, we would end up being thrown sky high, or worse, blown to bits. Both girls raised their hands-

"Stop!" I jumped in between them. " Just stop!" Cleo and Rikki lowered their arms, but continued to glower at each other [ha, that rhymed!].

" What is with you two. Especially you, Cleo."

" And what's that supposed to mean, Emma?" Cleo glowered.

" It means you are acting moody and aggressive. The opposite of how you usually act."

"Well maybe I was sick of being naive and gullible." If possible, Cleo's scowl deepened.

" Someone's in a mood."

" Rikki if you don't shut up I swear I will-"

"Enough, Cleo!" Emma sat down and slowly shook her head. " This isn't like you Cleo, To pick a fight with Rikki. I mean- usually it's Rikki and I who fight-"

"Everyday. All the time." Cleo and I said in chorus.

"Shut up." Rikki and Emma said irritably.

" Or Bella and you-"

" She said I was short." I frowned.

" I only said you tail looked to long for your body." tried Cleo.

" Which means you think I'm short!"

" Doesn't matter what I think, you only care if Will thinks you're short." Cleo teased.

I blushed. " I do not!"

Emma ploughed forward. " Or even Bella and Rikki. But never you and Rikki."
"Actually that's not true. There was this time when Rikki was yelling at Cleo for consulting a meteorologist and she gave us the cold shoulder and-"

"What?" Emma exclaimed at the same time Rikki blushed and said,

"Really the one time you chose to be smart, Bella."

"I can be smart if I wa-" I was cut off as Emma gave a horrible rattle and collapsed on the was hacking so hard her eyes were watering, and she was clutching her throat. Finally, she stopped, and again crumpled unmoving to the ground.

" Emma!" All disputes forgotten, we stooped and picked up her of the ground. Emma's eyes fluttered. With a weak hand, she slowly pointed the her chest. We looked at her, and gasped. At the base of her neck, four slits had formed. They looked suspiciously like the gills you would find on a shark and evidently Cleo and Rikki had come to the same conclusion.

"She, she has gills!" Cleo trilled the last word. Instead of the squawk I had been expecting to hear, a melodious, unearthly sound filled the room. I loosened my grip on Emma and vaguely I noticed that Rikki looked dazed too. Immediately, Cleo clapped a hand over her mouth and looked at us in terror.I tried to clear my foggy brain and examined Emma's "gills", if thats what I could call , I had an idea.

" Cleo, make a ball of water." She looked surprised, but made one, and acted as if she was going to drop it of Emma's head. " No, put it on her gills." A few seconds later, Emma was a mermaid, and she was breathing again, but her eyes remained tightly closed. I sighed in frustration and leaned back on my toes.

"WAKE UP!" Cleo sang. Emma instantly sat up, and looked at us in confusion. Cleo and I sighed in relief, but Rikki had a troubled look on her face.

"Cleo, how did you do that?" She said slowly.

" I, I don't know. I just felt like Emma would respond to me." Cleo replied, faltering. There was a uneasy silence, and we continued to stare at Cleo.

Abruptly, she stood up, and said, " I have to go think. By myself." She glared and stalked out of the cabin.

"Cleo, wait!" We rushed after her, but she had disappeared in the forest. We glanced at each other, then took a deep and followed he