The Three Friends by Malena June Fein, age 9 Hi! My name is Shelly and I have 2 friends. Their names are Lorelai and Bloom. Today was a normal day at the Beach. Here’s the story. “Can you pass the chips?” said Bloom. “Sorry, I ate it all,” I said. “Oh, come on guys!” said Lorelai. “Stop eating so much, let’s jump in the water!” “I don’t really like the water?” Lorelai, Bloom, and I went to the water and something strange happened. I went into the water slowly and Lorelai pushed me in. At first I thought I was gonna drown. But instead something magical happened. I stayed under there for 10 minutes. I was an underwater breather! I think I heard Bloom say, “LORELAI what did you do! I think she died!” They pulled me out of the water. *Splash* the water went with a whoosh! “What the—” said Lorelai and Bloom with a shocked face. I cut them off. “I think I’m a mermaid!!!” I plopped on the sand with my tail in the water. We talked for a while. I remember Bloom asking, “Soo? What if your parents find out?” said Bloom. I told them, “I don’t know, but we can’t keep a secret forever.” Then we all went home together. Hey, you know, my name is Shelly because I’m a mermaid now. My parents named me that when they found out. My old name was Ariana.
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