Chapter 1: Rosie Meets Aqua

1 Rosie Meets Aqua
Rosie’s nose itched. Her rosy red tail itched too. She wanted to sing her favorite shark song. But she didn’t move. She didn’t sing. She was like a statue in her front yard.

Rosie was trying to be still enough to catch a fish. After all, fish like school. And Rosie really, really wanted to play school with someone. Her cousin Rocky lived next door and went to Trident Academy, but Rosie was only seven. She was still a year too young.

Just then, a tiny shrimp nibbled on the end of Rosie’s long pink hair. She wiggled, but the shrimp kept chewing. “Please stop. You’re too little to play school,” Rosie whispered. “You’ll mess up everything.”

Luckily, the shrimp floated away. Just in time! A big fish was coming Rosie’s way. One. Two. Three. Grab!

Rosie caught the yellow fish’s tail. But then the fish puffed up into a big pointy ball. Yikes!

Rosie let go super fast. “Ouch! That hurts! That was very rude!” Rosie called as the yellow fish zipped away, leaving her with a sore finger.



“What were you doing with that porcupine fish?” A mergirl with her hair pulled into two braids swam up to Rosie. Her tail was a swirl of blue and green. Rosie had never seen anything like it. Her own tail was bright red with zigzags.

“Who are you?” Rosie asked.

The mergirl put her hands on her hips. “I’m Aqua, but you shouldn’t hurt a fish.”

“I didn’t!” Rosie held up her red finger. “It hurt me. I was just trying to get it to play school.”

“Oh,” Aqua said. “May I play instead?”

“Yes!” Rosie twirled in a circle. She loved dancing, almost as much as she loved playing school.

She had been hoping to find a friend ever since she’d moved to Trident City three days ago.

“But there’s just one problem. I’ve never played school before. Do you know how?”

Aqua shrugged. “I’ve never played either. But I could ask my older sister, Shira. She goes to Trident Academy. We live over there.” Aqua pointed to a bright orange house that was only two shells behind where Rosie lived with her mother, father, and Nanny Manny.

Rosie’s parents often had to travel for their Angel Fish Antiques store, so Nanny Manny took care of her. Right now Nanny was making crab cookies.

“Rocky goes there too,” Rosie said. “And there he is.”

A dark-haired merboy with a purple tail zipped out of the house next door. He was racing after a group of merkids on their way to Trident Academy.



“I’ve seen him before,” Aqua said. “He’s always late for school.”

Rosie nodded. “That sounds like Rocky. I wish I could go with him and see what a real school looks like.”

Aqua smiled. “Why don’t we?”