H2O: Just Add Water: Friends Reunited
Tony Wyzek couldn’t be happier. He was out with his friends doing what he loved to do best. However, he couldn’t stop thinking of his old home and his old friends. Unfortunately, they were a whole continent, country and ocean away. He remembered his friend Emma Gilbert, how she used to always swim like a fish and was in the water so much that it was a wonder she didn’t get wrinkly skin. Cleo Sertori, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of Emma. Cleo hated water and couldn’t even swim—she hated to get wet. He wondered how much both of them had changed and what they even looked like now, since he’d been four when his family had moved away. It was hard for him to get used to being away from them because he had been friends with Emma and Cleo ever since they were babies. Finally, it was time for Tony to go home, where he would find out the best news ever.
The minute Tony got in the house, he suspected something was different. Then his mother called his name and Tony found both of them in the living room. “Tony we have something to tell you. Your mother and I have been checking the price of housing back home and noticed it has gone way down. We realize how much you’ve been missing home, so we’ve been thinking about moving back. What would you think of that?” his dad asked. Tony was stunned. Was he really going to get to see Emma and Cleo again? “Of course, we’d be visiting over there first to see if there’s a house we’d be interested in first. If there is, then we’d come home and get the rest of our things, then head on back,” his dad explained. “I’d love to go back! You guys are the best! When do we leave?” Tony asked excitedly. His dad informed him that they would leave in a week, so Tony knew he had to tell his friends he was going. However he decided not tell them about living there just yet in case it didn’t work out. He told the boys the very next day and spent all week packing. On Saturday, the whole family left for Australia.
They got into the Melbourne airport the following day, arriving in their old hometown at noon and after eating lunch, Tony’s parents went to look at houses while Tony ran off to find Emma and Cleo. He found them coming out of the local juice bar with a new friend. Tony ran over to see them and both Emma and Cleo were stunned to see him. They introduced him to their new friend, Rikki Chadwick, and all four of them ran off together. They went to the beach, but Tony noticed that all three girls stayed away from the water and wondered about that. That was one thing they wouldn’t tell him, though. However, one day they took a boat ride out into the harbor, went too far, and got lost. Plus, their boat ran out of gas, stranding them on Mako Island. They were all careful on the higher parts of the island, but even so, Tony slipped and fell into a cave that was empty except for a single pool of water. Tony realized he’d have to swim out, so he climbed into the pool just as the full moon came up. As the moon shone on the pool, the water bubbled around Tony. Tony finally ducked under the water and swam for it, coming up on the other side of the cave, then hiked back onto the island. The other girls immediately guessed he’d swam for it and got the strangest looks on their faces, but none of them said anything.
Tony found out why they’d looked at him that way the next morning when they again went to the beach and the girls still avoided the water. Tony, however, did not and ran straight into the waves, despite the girls telling him to come back. About ten seconds later, though, the water began to bubble around him like water in a pot and Tony began to feel strange. He then noticed that he was wearing an orange swimsuit top and that he couldn’t kick his legs, so he looked down and shrieked—a long orange fish tail hung down below him where his legs should have been! Then he saw Rikki, Emma, and Cleo in the water beside him and they all had tails too! They pulled themselves up behind a rock and Rikki evaporated the water off them with a single gesture, turning their tails back into legs and astounding Tony. He didn’t know what had happened, so the girls ended up explaining about the moon pool on Mako Island and how Tony had become like that because he’d gone in when the full moon had shone on the water, as well as everything else about being mermaids. The girls had hidden while the full moon was up so they wouldn’t end up moonstruck and do anything that wasn’t normal for them. Tony knew he now had those same things to worry about—getting wet and growing a tail, getting moonstruck and acting odd, even about any powers he had acting up. Tony soon discovered that he had all three powers—Emma’s freezing ability, Rikki’s evaporating ability, and Cleo’s ability to manipulate water into any shape she wanted. He knew life would never be the same again.
A week later, Tony’s parents had decided on a house, so Tony said goodbye temporarily to the girls and prepared to go back to New York for the time being. When he got back, he started packing all his things up and went to find his friends. It had previously been raining that day and so there were plenty of puddles still around. Riff jokingly tried to splash some water on Tony and Tony ducked out of the way, crying, “Hey! What did you do that for?” in his Australian accent. Riff and the boys stared at him and Tony suddenly realized what he’d done. He finally explained how he’d originally come from Australia, about his friends there, and that they were moving back. Riff didn’t want to lose him, but knew Tony missed his home, so he accepted it. Things got more interesting the day Tony left for home, though, because his New York friends somehow followed him there.
Boy was Tony surprised to find his friends from New York there. He only hoped that they wouldn’t find out about the whole mermaid thing he and the girls shared. Introductions were made and Tony and the girls ran off toward the pier. Then one night, Emma decided to have a slumber party at her house and the Jets somehow got invited to the party. Everything went fine until Tony tried to grab a water cooler from somebody and a drop of water dripped on him. Tony’s eyes widened in horror and he ran for the closet, closing the doors just as his tail formed. The boys opened the closet and found him wrapped inside a giant sleeping bag, making them all laugh. They decided to play sleeping bag toss, and Tony was absolutely convinced they’d feel his tail inside the sleeping bag, so he used Cleo’s ability and made the drinks explode out of their bottles. Emma covered for him, telling people that the air conditioning in the room had somehow made the drinks explode, while Rikki and Cleo took Tony upstairs to the bathroom.
Emma followed a moment later, bringing some towels, and the Jets decided to follow her. Emma tried to get Tony to open the door, but he wouldn’t as long as his friends were outside. They wouldn’t leave, though, and Tony reluctantly opened the door, allowing the Jets to see his tail. Tony then used his powers to evaporate the water off of him while explaining everything to the boys. It was a pretty incredible story, but with the proof right in front of them, they had to believe it. They vowed not to tell anyone, because who’d believe them anyway, and all of them became friends. They then went downstairs and finished the party, having a great time. The next day, though, Riff and the boys had to go back home. They’d hitched a ride with a delivery pilot who’d had a package to deliver to Australia and now the pilot had to go back to New York, so they had to leave when he did. All the boys hugged, then the girls, and they promised to always stay friends. Then the Jets got on the plane and went back home.
One day, though, Tony and the girls’ secret got out when they were asked to watch Emma’s brother Elliot while he went to a sprinkler party. All went well during the party, none of them got wet and no one saw a thing. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long. Before they all left, the sprinkler somehow turned back on, drenching them all from head to toe. Ten seconds later, Tony, Emma, Rikki, and Cleo all had tails, much to their families’ astonishment. All of them had to end up explaining everything again to their families. The Gilberts finally understood why Emma had quit the swim team and had avoided all contact with water and Mr. and Mrs. Sertori finally understood why Cleo had suddenly developed a singing talent for a brief period. Kim couldn’t believe it when she found out Cleo really was the mermaid she’d always suspected she was, but was prevented from telling anyone by their parents. All the parents promised to keep their children’s secret and each allowed them to avoid chores that would put them in direct contact with water. The kids finished their chores that day, then ran to the pier, jumped into the water and swam off toward Mako Island, knowing that everything was going to be fine from then on.
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