One day the house filled up with water. It poured in through the living room window, lifting up the couch, pillows, and a chair. The water turned everything a beautiful blue, sparkly, aquamarine color that left glittery star patterns on the striped and neon fish swimming nearby. A giant sea tortoise swam past Evangeline on it’s way to the underwater tea party. Evangeline kicked her feet and headed for the window as a dolphin swam in and a bluefin tuna wiggled its tail out. She followed a wisp of teal curtain over a pink balloon-shaped vase through the open window.
Outside the living room window, the water turned a much brighter, deeper shade of blue that made Evangeline's long, blond hair curl. She watched as the striped and neon fish disappeared in a trail of bubbles, and a school of small, red fish swirled around her feet. Evangeline spotted a bright, purple starfish, a huge lion fish with black and white stripes, an orange and white clownfish, a powder blue tang fish, a copper-colored starfish, and a yellow butterflyfish. She swam over blue, purple and red coral, around a slithering octopus and across the ocean floor to their favorite meeting spot. In her swimming pool back home, Evangeline and Christine practiced holding their breath underwater.
Evangeline discovered a set of small, porcelain tea cups, along with a turquoise tea pot and some saucers. Evangeline looked around for Christine. Her trail of air bubbles appeared before she did as the water, and teapot and the two tea cups swirled around their arms and legs in a lazy, mesmerizing pattern. Evangeline crossed her legs loosely and casually reached out to grab hold of a passing teacup. Christine smiled in greeting and grabbed the second teacup as the teapot continued to swirl above their heads, a thin trail of steam rising out of the spout.
Evangeline and Christine floated gently underwater, surrounded by jellyfish, elkhorn coral, silky sharks, black groupers, and purple starfish. Their underwater tea party was about to start. Since the girls' tea party was underwater, they needed to be able to hold their breath for a long time - long enough to have a tea party underwater without coming up for air. Christine and Evangeline had spent many summer afternoons in their backyard swimming pool, practicing holding their breath underwater.
Mostly, they pretended they were mermaids. Swimming back and forth, across a black-bottom swimming pool, all afternoon, on a sunny day. When they got cold, and their underwater tea party was over, the girls lay down on the blacktop on the street in front of their house, in the sun where it was warm.
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