To Catch a Mermaid by Suzanne Selfors

Author:Suzanne Selfors [SELFORS, SUZANNE]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUV000000
ISBN: 9780316041164
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2009-02-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen:

The Captain’s Story

Boom didn’t sleep at all that night, but it wasn’t nightmares about Principal Prunewallop, killer twisters, or lousy neighbors that tormented him. It was the knowledge that his little sister was sick — for real. An uncomfortable feeling way down low ached, until he thought he might throw up — the same feeling that had come right after the twister. Just when things looked promising, the universe conspired again to torment the Brooms. The discovery of the twenty-first century was supposed to bring his family fortune, not fungus.

But blaming the baby would change nothing. It was really all his own fault, he decided, for kicking that apple into Mr. Jorgenson’s window and starting the chain of events that had led him to the reject seafood bucket. Why couldn’t he have grabbed a crab, or a reject flounder, rather than a contagious merbaby?

Halvor came home after dark on Saturday night, so he didn’t notice the banana tree. He ate some fish stew, then went straight to his room in the garage. Now it was Sunday morning, the only morning when Halvor slept in, so Boom had a bit more time before he had to explain things. He dressed quickly, careful not to wake Mertyle and the baby. He checked his coat to make sure he still had the three dollars, hoping that Ick medicine was cheap.

The neighbors had taken advantage of the abundance of bananas, so the scent of freshly baked banana bread greeted Boom as he stepped onto Prosperity Street. His mouth watered at the thought of a thick, warm slice for breakfast, but no one came outside to offer him one as he hurried by. The fruit had attracted an assortment of seabirds that didn’t normally hang out in the Brooms’ front yard. A family of raccoons and a group of rats were gorging themselves as well. The banana tree’s monkey was sitting on the Mumps’ mailbox, playing with the little red flag.

The wind was strong and pushed against Boom so that he had to pump his legs extra hard to keep up his pace. Cold air stung his lungs as he took quick breaths. The wind tickled his left foot through the hole in his shoe. He didn’t bother stopping at the Winginghams’. He knew that Winger would be at church, suffering through a long, boring service in a starched button-up shirt and a tie. Then he’d sing off-key in the choir’s back row. Boom used to go to church with Mrs. Broom. She always stuffed her purse with hard candies, to help Boom get through all the blah, blah, blahs that never made much sense. Why was everyone so worried about the next life when there was so much to worry about in this one?

Ms. Kibble’s pet store was supposed to be open on weekends because Ms. Kibble took Mondays and Tuesdays off. Boom was relieved to see that the CLOSED TODAY DUE TO A HEAD COLD sign had been removed. Two customers stood at the counter.

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