Page 21

His pale dead eyes stared back at her; his mouth puckered at the air.

Shelly slowly backed away. “No, that’s impossible. Fish can’t talk.”

But the fish kept shrieking. “You’re just like me now! You’re going to go belly-up!”

Shelly slammed the toilet lid.

Fear made her breathing speed up and adrenaline rush through her veins.

But the fish kept shrieking. “You’re going to go belly-up!”

Her eyes locked on the toilet, she backed out of the stall.

And bumped into somebody standing behind her.

Shelly whirled around and came face to face with . . .

Kendall?

“Hey, you’ve been gone awhile,” Kendall said, clutching the other hall pass.

Shelly gulped for air. “Uh, really?” she stammered, feeling her heart racing.

Could Kendall hear the fish, too? Shelly’s eyes darted back to the bathroom stall. She felt tense with fear. She strained to listen for the high-pitched voice that had emanated from under the lid.

“Yeah, Mr. Aquino sent me to find you,” Kendall said, twirling her hair and studying her perfectly glossed lips in the grimy mirror. “Guess he was worried after you didn’t totally nerd out on that fish anatomy question.”

“What question?” Shelly s

aid, distracted. She couldn’t keep her eyes off the stall.

“Seriously, what’s wrong with you?” Kendall said, spinning around to face her. “You look like you just saw a ghost. Is it Normie and his stupid nickname for you?”

“No. It’s nothing. I’m fine.” Suddenly, Shelly remembered her neck. She quickly checked the scarf, worried that in her panic it had slipped down and revealed her gills.

And she’d just been talking to a dead goldfish.

Kendall locked her eyes on her friend’s neck, then they narrowed. “Seriously, though, what’s with the scarf? It’s cute, but it’s like seventy degrees out.”

Shelly felt her mouth go dry. “Oh, I was just . . . uh . . . feeling like I might be getting sick this morning. So my mom insisted I wear it.” The lie tumbled from her mouth.

A tense moment passed. Did Kendall buy it?

Then Kendall snorted. “Moms have the worst fashion sense. You should’ve seen what mine bought me at Ever After the other day. Now I insist on only shopping for myself.”

Shelly forced herself to laugh, even though her mouth still felt dry and her heart was still pounding. The scarf around her neck felt itchy and hot. She was starting to sweat.

With another giggle and a shake of her head, Kendall headed for a bathroom stall.

The bathroom stall.

“No! Don’t go in there!” Shelly jumped in front of Kendall to block her path.

Kendall glared at her friend. “Uh, why not?” she said, giving her a strange look. “I know the school bathroom is totally gross. But when you got to go, you got to go.” And with that, she pushed past Shelly and opened the stall door.

Shelly cringed, waiting for Kendall to notice Mr. Bubbles.

But she heard nothing but the lock clicking, the lid opening, and Kendall taking a seat.