Catch of a Lifetime by Judi Fennell Page B

today. Now I'm gonna see how long I can float on my back, 'kay?"
       Angel hid her smile. How well she remembered that recuperative tactic from physical education class. "Okay. Go ahead."
       She picked up her notebook and opened it to the page comparing Mer and Human offspring. Aside from the obvious differences of food, shelter, and legs, she hadn't listed much else. Treats, cajoling to get their way, being the light of their parents' lives… all the similarities sup ported her idea of using children to advance the purpose of the Coalition.
       She clicked her pen to add Michael's flotation tactic and paper animals to her list when, "Could it really be? Angel Tritone?" almost had her jumping out of the chair.
       She turned around. Then back. Who-in-Hades had said that?
       "Psst! My dear girl!" Something small and brown waved green front legs at her from atop the wall. A lizard. An anole, to be exact, the brown coloring camouflaging him against the stone. He must have turned his limbs back to green to catch her attention.
       "How are you?" The dewlap beneath his chin turned a vibrant orange as the green color slowly slipped over the rest of his body. "I'm Stewart. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard so much about your studies. Is this one of them? I could help, you know. I have been living amongst Humankind for quite a few selinos ." Stewart's gesticulating hand moved as quickly as his words.
       "They're not all as nice as this gentleman, if I do say so, and that child worries me. Why, before I ended up here, I'd gone through three tails at the hands of children. Three!" A shudder rippled down his body. "Vicious creatures, I tell you. Worse than any house cat. Well, perhaps not cats."
       Angel glanced at Michael, who was happily spouting water from his mouth like a whale, and opened her note book to shield the talking lizard. Bad enough Michael knew about Mers; the fact that animals could speak was just as top secret. "Hi, Stewart. I can't really talk right now." She motioned to Michael.
       "Ah yes. Bipeds." Stewart gave her a thumbs-up with a tiny digit. "But I can be of assistance, you know. I've had extensive fieldwork in the strolling habits of Humans and ways to avoid them. Plus, I did my disserta tion on escape tactics from the captivity their young find such delight in subjecting anoles to." He shuddered, a brown line of pigment zigzagging over his back.
       "I'll take up residence in this lovely gardenia bush for the duration of your stay." Stewart shook his elon gated head, then tapped the side of it with another bony digit. "But how silly of me. That won't be long at all, will it? You'll be leaving tomorrow because of that tail thing your kind has to deal with. I'm quite glad that doesn't apply to anolis carol inensis. I'd hate to think of my life being governed by tail issues. Whenever my tail becomes a problem, I simply leave it. How utterly horrifying to have to live your life according to your inability to do so. How do you stand it?"
       The tail was nothing compared to Stewart's loud, godlier-than-thou attitude and the threat of her study being interrupted by an overzealous, self-important lizard.
       "Hey, Angel!" Michael climbed onto the lip of the pool, and Angel flipped her hair back—and over— the stone wall, hiding Stewart from view. "Didya see me? Watch this!" Michael jumped in, shouting, "Cannonball!"
       Funny. Mer children did the same thing off buildings in Atlantis—though they were usually holding cannon balls. She'd add that to the list.
       Stewart coughed behind her and pfft -ed the strands of her hair out of his face. "As I was saying—"
       "Thank you for your offer, Stewart, but if you don't mind, the less interaction I have with wildlife, the less chance there is for one of you to slip up in front of the Humans and speak. Think of what that would do for your avoidance tactics around them."
       Stewart stroked his pink