Excerpt
andlt;bandgt;Bloodsuckersandlt;/bandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;CLASS, HEREand#8217;S A RIDDLE. What creature has a head, a soft body, and one foot?and#8221; Mrs. Karp asked her classroom of twenty third graders.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;One excited merboy blurted out, and#8220;A dolphin with a big belly?and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Mrs. Karp raised a green eyebrow. and#8220;No, Rocky, these creatures sometimes have a shell. Can anyone else tell me the correct answer?and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Shelly Siren pushed her red hair out of her face and slowly raised her hand. and#8220;Is it a mollusk?and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Mrs. Karp slapped her white tail on her marble desk. and#8220;Correct! And mollusks are the subject of our next project.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Rocky groaned. and#8220;Mrs. Karp, do we have to do andlt;iandgt;anotherandlt;/iandgt; seaweed report?and#8221; The entire class held its breath. The merkids had been at Trident Academy for only a few weeks, and already theyand#8217;d done assignments on sharks, whales, krill, and famous merpeople.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;No. Instead of reports weand#8217;ll be making sculptures!and#8221; Mrs. Karp said. and#8220;Tomorrow your art teacher, Miss Haniver, will give you a lesson on sculpting. Wonand#8217;t that be delightful?and#8221; Mrs. Karp smiled at the merboys and mergirls.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Shelly thought making a sculpture sounded hard, but she hoped itand#8217;d be easier than a written report. Sheand#8217;d much rather be playing Shell Wars than sculpting or writing a paper. Shell Wars was a fun game where you used a whale bone to toss a shell into a chest guarded by an octopus, while the other team tried to stop you from scoring.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Shellyand#8217;s good friend Kiki Coral asked, and#8220;Mrs. Karp, I read in the andlt;iandgt;Trident City Tideandlt;/iandgt; that thereand#8217;s a group of vampire squid living on the other side of Whale Mountain. Are they mollusks?and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Mrs. Karp nodded. and#8220;Yes, they are. Vampire squid are one of my favorite mollusks because their light organs make a lovely glow when they are disturbed.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Vampire squid?and#8221; Rocky gasped. and#8220;Iand#8217;ve heard about them. They come into your shell at night and suck your blood!and#8221;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;A few merkids squealed. Shellyand#8217;s other close friend, Echo Reef, looked ready to cry. and#8220;Is that true?and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Mrs. Karp frowned at Rocky. and#8220;Of course not. Thatand#8217;s just an old mertale told to scare merkids.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Echoand#8217;s eyes widened and her pink tail shook. and#8220;It worked,and#8221; she whispered to Shelly. and#8220;Iand#8217;m terrified.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Now, students, we have quite a busy day. First, weand#8217;re going to meet Madame Hippocampus, who will teach you merology. Then, after lunch, weand#8217;ll visit the library so you can decide which mollusk you would like to sculpt.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Rocky and a few other boys frowned. and#8220;Do we have to study merology?and#8221; Rocky asked.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Of course,and#8221; Mrs. Karp said. and#8220;To be a well-rounded merperson, you must know everything about merhistory, government, and society. And, class, if you have never seen a hippocampus before, do not scream when you first see Madame. It is not polite.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;A hippocampus!and#8221; Rocky shrieked. and#8220;I heard they have six heads and twelve eyes!and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Mrs. Karp glared at Rocky. and#8220;That will be quite enough. You must stop spreading these silly rumors. They can only cause trouble.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Whatand#8217;s a hippocampus?and#8221; Shelly whispered to Kiki as they glided to line up. Kiki was probably one of the smartest merstudents in class and usually knew the answers.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Kiki whispered back, and#8220;A hippocampus is part dolphin and part horse. But Iand#8217;ve never seen one. I wonder which part is which.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;I guess weand#8217;ll find out soon enough,and#8221; Shelly said. and#8220;Whatever she looks like, I sure hope sheand#8217;s nice.and#8221;