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Zelda twitched the slippery fabric of her mermaid tail in her fingers, looking up to see if the teacher had arrived. She had begged her father to go to this swimming class, but now her stomach was slightly queasy with all these strangers surrounding her.
The girl next to her nudged her with her elbow, pointing her finger.
“I thought this was a class for girls. Boys don’t swim as mermaids.”
Zelda’s eyes jumped from the short-haired girl to a boy who clutched a green, glittering mermaid tail, his face all red. Another girl reached out to tug the garment from his hands while he backtracked.
“Look, he even has gemstones sewn on it!”
“Hey!” Zelda pushed her way through the bystanding, laughing girls. “Gemstones have no gender. And have you never heard of mermen, you barbies?”
The boy looked at her wide-eyed when she planted herself in front of him, hands on her hips, mermaid tail over her shoulder. “You stop picking on my friend right now.”
The girls rolled their eyes but turned their attention soon to the arriving teacher.
“Thank you.” The boy whispered, offering her his small hand. “I’m Link.”
“Zelda.” She smiled back and squeezed.