Hi, Byron.
I was thinking about talking to you, but maybe not right now.
It's OK, we won't listen.
Next week is the school swimming sports
and I really wanna beat Zane in the 100 meters,
but he always beats me.
It's OK to come second.
Or third, or fourth. Yeah.
But I can't explain it. I've developed this need to win.
I know the feeling. Or at least I used to.
You were the swimming star until you quit.
Which, by the way, is a complete mystery to me.
You're like this quality skateboard that's just sitting in the cupboard.
I've always thought of her the same way.
Sorry, not listening.
I need you to teach me how to beat Zane.
To give me that killer instinct, but temporarily.
I don't wanna be hooked on winning on a permanent basis.
So, will you help me?
Sorry, Byron.
I'm not into that whole competitive thing anymore.
It was a former life. I can't.
That's cool. I understand.
- You did the right thing. - We can't risk swimming pools.
I've been looking everywhere for you guys.
I need a hair sample.
How dare Lewis expect pieces of us?
Him and his little experiments are really starting to bug me.
He's just trying to help.
I doubt it. He likes annoying us.
You're angry?
He'd be angry too if he was a guinea pig.
I don't know. I've known Lewis since I was five and I've never seen him get angry.
Yeah? Well, we'll see about that.
What are you doing here?
I've been thinking.
Maybe I shouldn't have compared you to a skateboard. I didn't mean anything—
You weren't that wrong. I feel like I'm sitting in a cupboard sometimes.
It's been spinning me out, wondering why you can't swim anymore
and why you can't help me.
And it came to me. You can't get wet.
- Who told you? You have swimmer's ear.
You know? Ear infection.
Either that, or you don't like me that much.
But if that was the case, I'd be kind of sad.
Hope I'm not interrupting anything.
No.
What's up? - A gift for Mrs. Gilbert, from my dad.
He bought it for his girlfriend, Candy,
but anything more complicated than picking up a phone and ordering a pizza
is beyond her skills. For your mum.
She'll love it.
What's going on here?
Nothing.
Right.
The race. You're not getting tips from the old swim champ, are you?
You are?
Waste of time, Byron.
She can't help you. You'll never win, not while I'm around.
I've changed my mind.
I will be your coach. I'm gonna turn you into a swimming machine.
- Cool. - One condition.
This has to be our secret.
No one can know, especially not Cleo and Rikki.
- You're late. I am?
Fifteen minutes.
- You would never believe what happened— - Tomorrow I expect you to be on time.
Sure thing, coach.
OK. Let's start with 20 laps.
Right now? I usually like to have a bit of a stretch first
and then bit of a float and then seven or eight laps, tops.
Those days are over.
Your time starts…
now.
I cut it for you myself.
That's a big help. Thank you.
Lewis?
- Bye. Yeah, yeah.
No, I'll see you all tomorrow for the saliva swab.
See? We're just specimens to him.
That guy really needs a wake-up call.
And he's gonna get one.
I was flying.
I must have shaved three or four seconds off my best.
You hesitate when you hit the wall.
You've got to forget it's there. Keep swimming. Try and hit it hard.
I need to know about your diet. What do you eat?
Potato chips, corn chips, packet food.
That's gonna have to change.
- What are you two doing here? - We rang. You didn't answer.
You seem kind of tense.
Me?
No.
OK, so I wanted to run an idea past you about Lewis.
Awesome shower.
This must be mine.
See you at the pool.
There is an explanation.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But I felt more sorry for Byron.
He's come second three years in a row.
And he's been having dreams about Zane.
And he's just got those big brown sleepy eyes.
That's got nothing to do with it.
It's only for a couple more days.
I'm being really careful around water.
I get it. One rule for you, a different rule for us.
- You're not even trying to understand. - Why don't you just admit it?
You like him. You wanna spend time with him.
That's not it at all, Rikki.
Right, Cleo?
Fine. I'm leaving.
Greetings.
Uh, Lewis, would you be able to just, um, get my teaspoon down there, please.
Did you drop it? Yeah.
Oh. Just down here?
Yeah, down there somewhere. Do you see it?
- No, I can't… I'm sure it's there.
I forgot to get toenail clippings.
We've been training for ages and you haven't improved one bit.
All I can do is my best. No point stressing.
That's the point, you have to stress if you're gonna be a winner.
But if you wanna be a loser, then I'm not interested in helping you.
Maybe we should take a break, get ice cream.
Typical. Every time it gets tough,
you want to have a rest, or a drink, or an ice cream.
Not this time. Back in the pool, 20 laps.
- I'm finished for the day. - You can't be finished until I say so.
I thought this was gonna be fun, us working together.
I thought you were gonna inspire me. But you let me down, man.
I never thought you were gonna turn into some heavy training dragon.
Am I too tough or too demanding?
Am I a heavy training dragon?
No way.
Not possible.
Although at times, you can be a little bossy.
And sometimes you don't really listen to people.
Wow. She takes criticism well.
Boy, have I've made a startling discovery.
- You're an android? - No.
Far better than that. According to the hair sample you gave me,
you are a seven-year-old German Shepherd.
I was wondering how long it'd take you to figure out that that wasn't my hair.
About 14 hours, actually.
Rikki, what are you up to?
Are you scared to find out the truth about being a mermaid?
It's OK to be scared.
There has got to be a way to make him crack.
Rikki, that was mean, considering all that time Lewis wasted.
Don't weaken on me now, Cleo.
I'm sorry.
That's OK.
I may seem tough, but I'm easily hurt.
I'm gonna be nice from now on.
How do I do that?
You're asking the wrong person here.
Hey, Rikki. Where's Emma?
I don't appreciate you calling my friend names.
Emma may seem tough, but she's easily hurt.
- I was just telling her— - Don't you realize she cares about you?
Really? She cares?
How much?
I didn't say really likes you, she just cares about you.
I care about Emma too.
I really care and I would never do anything to hurt her on purpose.
Oh. Well, just don't do it again.
A lot slower than yesterday.
But you're kicking much better.
A silver lining in every wave.
So I've been thinking, rather than just obsessing on winning,
maybe you should concentrate on whatever feels right.
I like it. The Zen approach. We're getting on the same level now.
Great. So how about a few more laps?
I think I need a rest. I'm seriously pooped.
OK. That's good too.
I need to apologize for saying what I did.
This is the fifth time you've said sorry. I forgave you the first time.
I know you seem tough, but you're easily hurt.
How do you know that?
I really enjoyed training today.
So did I.
Look, Byron, I'm not an ordinary girl.
I know that.
I wanna know everything.
Did he… Did he close his eyes? Did he have nice breath?
- Did he open his mouth fully? - Cleo! This is not good.
I've tried being nice and this is what happens.
I bet his swimming's improved.
No. It's worse.
What's the point of being all soft and supportive
if it doesn't actually make him swim better?
There you go, Rikki.
Apple, mango, and extra strawberry, one spoonful of yoghurt
and a dash of ginger. Just as you ordered.
Wait. That's not what I ordered.
I said half a spoon of yoghurt.
I can't drink this, you better order me another one.
Rikki, I don't remember you asking for just a half a spoon.
Oh, no, Cleo, that's fine, I can get another drink.
- Oh, no! What have I done?
I accidentally just wiped your, er,
hard drive.
It's fine. Backup memory stick.
Problem solved.
Great.
I'll keep the drink.
What's a half spoon of yoghurt?
Not very much at all.
Ah, I can be such a clumsy klutz
sometimes.
I really need to start watching what I'm doing.
Oh, no! What have I done?
I did it again. I hope this doesn't… destroy anything.
I have a mirror site set up in Amsterdam. I can retrieve it in less than a minute.
Lucky.
Rikki, this "mission" of yours is stupid and mean
and I won't have anything else to do with it.
I'm late again, aren't I? You wouldn't believe what happened—
We need to talk. This "nice" policy isn't working.
I thought we were cooking.
The funny thing is, I like how you're chilled out and laid back.
But it isn't gonna win races.
If you want me to be your coach, I'm gonna have to get tough again.
I want you to be my coach.
I believe you can win
if you push yourself.
Working on your breathing technique?
We were just talking.
Yeah, right.
Up for a race, Byron?
- He isn't interested. - Yes, I am.
Byron. Don't do this.
- You're not ready. - I'm always ready.
When you're feeling good and relaxed,
it's cool, you can win. That's my motto. Ready when you are.
Go!
You're dead meat, Byron.
Emma?
Hello, Byron. How lovely to see you. Come in.
- I'll just, er, leave you to it.
Yell at me if you want to.
Keep me swimming laps until my skin wrinkles up. Whatever it takes.
I told you not to race. You should have listened to me.
You've given Zane a huge psychological advantage.
OK. I'll listen from now on.
I'm finished with it. It's not gonna work. Too many conflicts of interest.
What conflicts?
We crossed the line.
Serious competitors don't usually kiss their coaches.
Coaches don't usually kiss back, unless they want to.
Maybe I was feeling sorry for you.
- Maybe I was just feeling sorry for you.
It's times like these when you really see what people are made of.
You sure do. I don't want you as my coach anymore. You're fired.
Good.
- That was extreme. - Are you OK?
Based on the law of probability,
Byron has no chance of beating Zane today.
I still think Byron can win.
Better drink quickly if we want good seats at the race.
Thanks, Rikki.
That is disgusting.
This has got wheat germ in it.
I hate wheat germ.
Rikki, how many times have I tried to tell you that?
I don't know.
What is your problem? Get this straight.
I never, I never have wheat germ.
I never want to have wheat germ.
Not only that, I just don't wanna look at this glass.
It makes me wanna spew!
Rikki, go get another drink.
OK. OK.
Coming right up. No need to get… mad.
- Was that convincing enough? - Perfect.
Thanks, Lewis. She's been driving me mad all week.
Yeah, I've sort of enjoyed driving her mad.
There is one catch, though.
I'll never be able to drink wheat germ again.
Hey, Byron, have you seen Emma?
She's not coming.
Hey, man, do you need glasses? That's my towel.
Why aren't you at the pool to support Byron?
I wish I could come. But I really need to clean my shoes.
- You hate cleaning your shoes. - I shouldn't have kissed him.
Now I've ruined a friendship and I didn't even teach him how to swim better.
You're just worried about what kind of girlfriend
you could be as a… a mermaid.
Maybe I should just accept that I'm more mermaid than human.
You're just making excuses.
This is who we are now and we've got to live as normally as we can.
He's still your friend. Besides,
there's a chance he might still beat Zane.
Do you wanna miss that?
Grab the blocks.
Looks like your coach isn't coming.
Cheer up. Some people are just born to come second.
Set!
I did what you told me,
about hitting the wall as hard as I could.
I imagined it was this door I was going through.
I just went for it, and it really worked.
No. Stay back.
I knew you could win. You just needed to be fired up.
I was.
Is that what you did,
plan the fight so that I'd get angry enough to win?
Of course not.
So, I guess we're just like colleagues then.
Whatever that means.
We're friends.
Yeah, friends.
Thanks for helping me.
Are you OK?
Everything's fine.
Let's go down to the juice bar. My shout.
I feel like a swim.
- We'll come with you. - Alone.