When I get to the top, I can see everyone else—Flynn and Zac and Lexi and Captain Jack—in a huddle on the back deck. It looks like they’re going over one of Zac’s logbooks. I keep my eyes on the group as I tiptoe over to Lexi’s dive equipment lined up on the big table. There are three different cameras, some funny-looking computers on wrist straps, and a stretchy belt that must weigh at least ten pounds. I pick up one of the computers. It’s got a round dial with a bunch of numbers on it that mean absolutely nothing to me, and I can feel my knees start to shake. I’m about to go scuba diving, in the ocean, and I have no idea what I’m doing. Scuba diving is dangerous, deadly even, if you don’t know what you’re doing! I sure hope Skipper has my back, because I’m not so sure anybody else on this boat does.
I pick up a plain, black, waterproof box from the table. It’s about the size of a fat book, and it says OTTER on the top in all capital letters. Oh, I love otters! They might be my second-favorite sea animal, after dolphins of course. We went to the River Bend Aquarium on a school field trip last year, and I got picked out of the whole audience to dole out the dead-fish treats during the otter show. Those dead fish smelled as nasty as you’d think, but it was totally worth it because I got to go backstage and pet those sweet little critters. I thought they’d feel all rubbery like Skipper, but they were covered with thick, soft fur.
On the way out, they gave me a giant stuffed version of Otto, the River Bend mascot. But wouldn’t you know, Izzy Zimmerman turned green with envy and stole that thing right out of my backpack on the bus ride home. When we were walking off the bus, I was all, “Um, Izzy, that’s my Otto.” Hello, his head was sticking out of her backpack. And she was all, “Uh, no it’s not!” Can you believe that? In the end, I just let her have it. Anybody who knew Izzy knew it wasn’t worth it. She once gave Willis Freedman a black eye just because he wouldn’t give up his banana-cream pudding cup at lunch.
I turn the box over in my hands, wondering what’s inside it. Maybe it’s fish food…or more film…or a first-aid kit? I check outside and see the crew is still in a tight little huddle, so I pop open the lid.
It’s definitely not fish food…or more film…or a first-aid kit. It looks some sort of timer. One that’s speeding backward, ticking off the seconds, even as I hold it in my sweaty hands. I’m no expert, but it might be the sort of timer you’d use to activate a bunch of dynamite you put underneath a precious coral reef that you were planning to blow up.
Chapter 15
When Things Go from Bad to Worse
I hold the otter box in my hands, wondering if there can be any other explanation. Maybe I really did hear them wrong. Maybe they were talking about some Scooby-Doo episode they saw once, and not about actually blowing up this spectacular reef we’re supposedly here to protect. Maybe I was dreaming, or maybe the salt air has gotten inside my skull and my brain’s all crusty so I think I’m hearing things I’m not. Flynn and Zac have gone back down to the salon. I can see Lexi and Captain Jack on the aft deck with their heads really close together, so I drop to my hands and knees and crawl over to where I can hear.
“She’ll be safely back on the boat before it blows, Lexi,” Captain Jack is whispering.
“And then what?” Lexi asks.
“And then we’ll have my grandfather’s treasure and be rich beyond our wildest dreams,” Jack says.
“Marina?” It’s Zac. He must have just come up the stairs into the salon. The kid sure knows how to sneak up on a person.
“Hey!” I shout way too loudly. “You scared me!”
“What are you doing on the ground like that?” Zac wants to know. Well, it’s a legitimate question since I’m on all fours looking like a Labrador retriever. I stretch up to peer out at Jack and Lexi, who are looking back at me like they want to know the same thing.
“Oh, I was just doing my stretching,” I say, pushing myself up into a downward dog. “It’s good to limber up before a dive, you know. You guys should try it!” I’m panting pretty hard, from nerves and also from trying to talk upside down.
“What did you just hear?” Captain Jack barks. Lexi puts her arm on his.
“He means,” Lexi says, “did you hear us going over all of the details, or do you need us to go over them again?” Captain Jack’s face is redder than an overripe tomato.
“Um, could we go over them again?” I ask. My heart is slamming against my rib cage and I hope they can’t hear it, although I doubt that. In my head it sounds louder than when I put my sneakers in the dryer.
Captain Jack nods, but he does not look happy. “We’ll be there in five minutes,” he says. “Be ready to go.”
“Wonder why he’s so moody today,” Zac whispers. “Maybe he’s nervous about this dive.”
“He wouldn’t be the only one,” I whisper back, taking a deep breath. Auntie Fi says that’s the fastest way to calm your nerves, and my nerves could use some serious calming.
“You? Marina Tide, nervous? I’m not buying it.” Zac gives me that smile and I melt just a little.
“Zac, are your aunt and uncle…you know… Do you think they would ever hurt the reef?” I ask.
“Hurt the reef? Are you crazy?” Zac says with a laugh. “They wouldn’t hurt a single hair on a mermaid’s head if you paid them.”
“Right,” I say. I want him to be right so badly it hurts.
“Why would you even ask that?” Zac wants to know.
“It’s just…I heard them say something about the reef…”
“What about it?” Zac wants to know.
“I’m pretty sure it was something about…well, about blowing it up.”
“Blowing it up?” Zac says, narrowing his eyes at me. “What do you mean?”
“Like…with dynamite,” I tell him. “To get to some buried treasure.”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard,” Zac says.
“Then what’s this?” I ask, handing him the box with the timer in it.
Zac picks up the box and inspects it.
“Open it,” I tell him. He does.
“It’s obviously some sort of timer,” he says, snapping the box shut. “Probably for one of the cameras. My aunt is a professional photographer, you know.” His face looks like it’s on fire, and I wish I could take it all back.
“I probably heard them wrong,” I say, scrambling to change the subject. “I do that all the time! You know that song that says ‘put your past away’? I always thought it was ‘the butcher passed away.’ I mean, that would be an awful line for a song, right?”
“I can’t believe you’d think something bad about them for even a second,” Zac says. “I thought we were friends.” He storms off down the stairs and I’m left shivering at his words. But I can’t worry about my friendship with Zac right now. I have to tell Flynn. There’s no other choice. If I don’t, I’m pretty sure the endangered coral reef he’s so keen on protecting is in serious danger of being blown to Bangkok and back any minute. I rush out to the deck.
“Flynn? I mean, Dad?” Don’t blow your cover now, Malone! I slow down and take a breath. He’s sitting with Lexi.
Rats.
“Marina!” Flynn says, wrapping me in a big bear hug. “Just the girl I wanted to see. It’s almost time for your dive. You ready?”
I sort of nod, because what else can I do?
“It’s time for you to step out on your own now, without me. But I’ll be right here waiting to hear all about it. Of course, your buddy Lexi here is going to be your dive partner for the shoot,” Flynn tells me. “You know what that means… You two stick together no matter what.” Lexi just stands there and smiles like she’s not wicked Queen Matilda from the Mini Mermaid movie, which she totally is.
“That’s right, Mare. It’ll just be you and me down there,” Lexi says, pulling me from Flynn’s arms. “We’re going be a great team.” What are we calli
ng our team, Lexi? The Coral Dynamos? I try to fake a smile, but I’m not good at that. The corners of my mouth don’t want to turn up.
“I think I need to hit the restroom one last time,” I say, stalling. Well it’s not like I can say I need an emergency genie conference, is it?
“Make it quick,” Flynn says. I give him a thumbs-up and practically slide down the steep staircase. I lock myself in the bathroom.
“Fffffffrank!” I whisper-yell into the metal plate that looks almost like a mirror since I am in full-on panic mode now. “Kinda need you right now! I’m about to be blown to bits! You can ignore me the next three times I call you, just not this time! Come in, Frank!” His face starts to come into focus but I can’t really see or hear him all that well since this piece of metal isn’t exactly a mirror.
“Maggie! How…doing?” he asks, squinting his eyes to see me. “Is this the best mirror you could find?”
“Sorry! Just listen!” I say, because I really don’t have much time. “It’s true! I definitely heard Captain Jack and Lexi talking about blowing up the reef! With dynamite. You know, boom, boom? And I’m pretty sure that little box I’m supposed to carry down there today has the timer inside it!”
“Okay, Mags. I’m only catching about every third word you’re saying. I definitely heard dynamite and boom, boom,” Frank says, getting serious like I’ve never seen him. “Sounds like you’re in over your head. What’s your plan?”
“Plan?” I ask, practically in tears. “I don’t have a plan! Well, actually I do. It’s to not get blown up today! Got any ideas?”
“Maggie Malone,” Frank says. “If there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that you’re a smart cookie. You’ll figure it out. Did you talk to Zac?”
“I tried,” I moan. “But he got really mad. I’m not sure he’s even speaking to me anymore.”
Frank looks like he’s thinking about this. “What about Flynn?” he asks hopefully.
“I can’t get him alone!” I shout, jumping up and hitting my head on the ceiling of the tiny bathroom. “And I can’t tell him in front of Lexi or Captain Jack—”
I can see Frank’s lips moving but I can’t hear a word of it. It’s like I’m watching a MeTube video with the volume turned down—but there’s no volume on this stupid metal plate!
“Frank?” I plead. “Frank, speak up! I can’t hear you!”
Nothing.
Okay, Malone. Think. There’s no getting to Flynn. Who else can I talk to? It’s not like I know a lot of people out here in this huge ocean. It’s just the Sea Angel and… the Coast Guard! I’ll call the Coast Guard! They gave us their call number when they were here. One-one-one-one. Eleven-eleven. I just have to get to the radio without anyone seeing or hearing me and give them a jingle. Easy peasy!
I slide out of the bathroom, closing the door softly behind me, and run on cat feet past Zac’s bedroom. He’s blaring some kind of music with crazy drums. That helps! I pass the tiny kitchen and haul myself up the ladder to the fly bridge where the radio is.
“What are you doing up here?” Captain Jack asks as I reach the top. He’s hunched over a map, which he quickly folds and shoves under a logbook when he sees me. “Lexi’s all tanked up and ready to go—she’s waiting for you on the dive platform. We’re on a tight schedule here, Marina, and we don’t have all day. Now quit dillydallying and get your butt in that water.”
Yikes. My butt’s about to be in water, all right. Hot water.
Chapter 16
When I Take a Dive with Ursula the Sea Witch
“Grab your fins and I’ll help you with your tank,” Lexi says, all kittens and sunshine. I’m shaking like a skinny, wet dog. I pick up a pair of pink fins and step into one and then the other. I have to take giant, marching-band kick steps so I don’t trip over the tips as I cross the deck.
“Uh, you know you can wait until you get in the water to put those on.” Lexi laughs. Laughs! Who can laugh at a time like this? “There’s nothing to be nervous about, honey. Today is going to be a breeze. You’re ready.”
Nothing to be nervous about, huh? I don’t know about you, Lexi, but I don’t go around blowing up endangered coral reefs every day!
Skipper is in his usual spot by the stern and he’s as amped up as ever. He sees me and does one of those standup tail scoots, nodding his big head the whole time. At least I have him on my side. I can see Captain Jack watching us from the fly bridge, and Zac is nowhere in sight. Except for Skipper, it really is just me and Lexi. I sit down on the dive platform, my legs and fins dangling in the water, and Lexi hauls a tank up and onto my back. This thing must weigh a hundred pounds! She straps me in and seems to be checking out all of my equipment.
“Okay, you’re all set,” Lexi says. I just nod. “Oh! I almost forgot! You’ll need to take the sonar unit this time,” she says, handing me the box. The box with the ticking timer in it. Oh no she didn’t!
“The sonar unit?” I say with a gulp, clutching the otter box with shaking hands.
“Yeah, when we get down below the reef, you’re going to find a nice safe spot to tuck it, but very carefully, you know, so you don’t hurt the reef,” she tells me, slipping into her own tank and fastening a thousand buckles and hooks. “We’re going to use it to take some measurements—Captain Jack has a receiver up there on the fly bridge—and then we’ll come back and get it in a few days.”
“Does…my dad know about this?” I ask, stalling for time.
“Well, of course he does, silly,” Lexi says dismissively. “He’s the boss. But to be honest, he doesn’t love the idea of us getting as close to that reef as we need to get to place it, so you probably shouldn’t mention it. You know, just so you don’t upset him. But he’s totally on board. He knows that we’re all here to do what’s best for that reef.” She nods her head a lot when she says this last rotten, stinking lie.
“What exactly are we…measuring?” I ask her.
Lexi pretends she doesn’t hear me as she slips a strap around her neck that’s attached to a huge camera. “I’m going to get some great pictures of you placing it too, and then in the video you can explain how this is an important part of an oceanographer’s work!” Pictures of me placing it?
“But wait, Lexi, what are we—” I try to ask again, but she plunges right into the water. I wait for her to pop back up, but she’s sinking—ever so slowly—deeper. Skipper is shaking his head frantically—Let’s go already!
I consider my options: refuse to get in the water…and have to deal with Captain Jack. And if he’s about to blow up an entire coral reef, I’m pretty sure he’s not someone I want being furious at me. I could “accidentally” leave the box with the timer in it behind…but Lexi would just make me come back for it. Finally I decide I only have one choice: go along with this horrible plan and then find a way to reach the Coast Guard ASAP. It’s all I’ve got. Talk about the least of all evils!
I adjust my mask and put the mouthpiece end of the tube that’s connected to my air tank into my mouth. I breathe in and out and realize I sound exactly like Darth Vader. I try to whisper “Luke, I am your father” but it’s really hard to talk into this thing. The air feels freezing cold in my mouth and has a weird metallic taste. This is what pure terror tastes like, I think to myself, positive I will never forget it. Pinching my nose and hoping for the best, I slip the strap of the awful otter box onto my wrist and plunge into the crystal-clear water.
Whooooooooa, this is crazy! I feel like I’m floating in space! I spin around like a ballerina and Skipper is right there beside me, his entire body undulating. One tiny kick of my powerful fins and I fly through the water, just like Skipper. I can see forever down here, and the only sound I hear is my crazy breathing. There are schools of fish all around me—bright blue and yellow ones and little shiny, silver ones and big, brown spotted ones—darting this way and that. A turtle the size of my bed pillow glides right
past me, and it’s like I’m in this crazy underwater movie. It’s magical and amazing and I could do this forever—except for the part where you can’t talk, because that would make me bonkers. Oh yeah, or the part where I’m about to blow up a reef. Party over.
Skipper takes off and I follow him. He leads me over to Lexi. She gives me a thumbs-up and a nod when she sees me, like “Everything okay?” Oh yeah, Lexi, everything’s just peachy! I give her the thumbs-up back—because what else can I do?—and she snaps a bunch of photos. Then she points down with three sharp jabs of her fingers and takes off toward the deep, dark water without even turning around to see if I’m following. Some dive buddy!
I catch up to her with no problem. We dive deeper and deeper, and it’s like I’ve been a deep-sea diver my entire life. The water gets colder and darker every few feet and the fish get bigger. I do love the feeling of flying through this water! If only I could forget about the box that’s strapped to my wrist. As I swim deeper, I feel my head getting tight, just like it does on an airplane. I plug my nose and blow really hard, and my ears pop right away. That’s a major relief. Not that I can hear anything down here anyway, but it’s no fun feeling like your head is wrapped in a thick cotton sock.
Lexi suddenly stops. She’s hovering a few feet above the most beautiful bed of coral you could ever imagine. It’s got bright blue fingers reaching up toward the surface and red fan-like arms waving gently back and forth. There are clusters that look like human brains and knotty bits that could be dried lava, and the whole thing is dotted with black blobs that have a million long spines jutting out in every direction. It’s like a whole hidden world down here—and it’s here all the time, all around the earth, at the bottom of every ocean! I’m so mesmerized by it that it takes me a minute or two to figure out that Lexi is trying to tell me something.
Maggie Malone Makes a Splash Page 6
