With a flick of a fin the crowd comes alive at Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies.
Two mermaids swish and they swim and they work their tails off with three shows a day.
What? This is a job.
"I've never been happier with a job," Mallory Sharp said.
Who are the woman with the fins? To find out we went to the top of the tank.
"If it's your dream you just go for it. That's what I did and I'm here," she said.
Mallory Sharp started at Ripley's this summer and loves every mermaid minute.
"You get to be with the fish. You get to make kids happy."
She relishes her relationship with the fish.
She shrugged. "Best friends."
Swimming like a fish is not a job requirement.
Alexis Green said, "You do have to be very comfortable in the water. And our legs are binded inside the tails. So you have to be able to stay cool, stay calm, and just have fun with it."
She has had fun wearing a fin for three years. Her blue mermaid tail is custom made. When the mermaid season ends at Ripley's, Alexis stays in the swim of things as a freelance mermaid. Yes, that's a thing.
"I've done multiple birthday parties. And I also am a cos player so I bring Aerial, the little mermaid, to different conventions," she said.
They make a splash at noon, 2:00, and 4:00 with meet-and-greets in between.
While they wave through the water they don't really hear the crowd. The wall of the tank is about 6 inches thick. But they do sense the kids' excitement.
"It makes me feel so happy. I love it. I love whenever we go down to take pictures and they just come and hug you and they want to sit and talk to you. It's one of the best experiences," Mallory said.
Alexis said, "When the kids touch the glass and we sink down to the bottom we can see them a little bit and that's the moment, that's the moment you know that everything is wonderful."
Everything is wonderful when you're a mermaid.