Surface

by Jody Morse

  Tyler led me down the street, Bruno keeping pace between us. When we neared the end of the road, Tyler motioned to the dome-shaped building that stood in front of us. “That’s where we’re going.”

  “The Ocean Grove Aquarium?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. I’d been to the aquarium about twenty times since January. Gram was a sucker for sea lions, so she always dragged me along with her. The aquarium could be a cute first date and, under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be disappointed. But, Tyler had just made it sound like he was planning this spectacular surprise, when really the aquarium was one of the most common first date locations in Ocean Grove.

  “You’ll see,” Tyler replied, running a hand through his light brown hair. “Come on.”

  I followed him into the aquarium, allowing my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. We walked past the tanks of colorful fish. When we were looking into the tank of clown fish, Tyler said, “Look, it’s Nemo!”

  “That’s my favorite kid’s movie!” I laughed. “I love Dory.”

  “Who doesn’t love Dory?” Tyler asked, opening a door that I had never been through before.

  “What’s back here?” I whispered as we entered a dark room. I felt like we were in some off-limits territory of the aquarium, and it gave me the feeling that we might be trespassing.

  Tyler looked over at me with an amused look on his face. “You hate surprises, don’t you?”

  “Kind of,” I replied, giggling.

  “Well, lucky for you, you’ll find out what it is in about ten seconds. Put this on,” Tyler instructed, grabbing a wetsuit from a hanger and tossing it to me.

  He stripped off his jean shorts and his t-shirt. I noticed how attractive he looked without his shirt on. He wasn’t overly muscular, but his abs were obvious. I couldn’t pry my eyes away from his shirtless body until after he had already pulled the wet suit on over his boxer shorts.

  Tyler turned to look at me. “Are you gonna put yours on?”

  “Turn around,” I insisted, making a twirling motion with my finger. Once I was out of his field of vision, I quickly stepped out of my skirt, yanked off my tank top, and pulled the wetsuit on over my panties and bra. “Okay, you can turn around now. Are my clothes going to get wet?” I asked.

  “Yeah, but they’ll dry really fast,” Tyler replied. “Besides, once you see what we’re doing, you’ll think it’s worth it anyway.”

  Before I could ask any questions, Tyler grabbed my hand as we raced down a narrow hallway that led to what looked like a huge in-ground pool. I could feel the heat radiating from the room, reminding me of what it felt like to be in a sauna.

  Tyler let go of my hand and leapt into the water, sending a large wave over the side of the pool. I wondered what type of marine animal could be in the pool, since I doubted that we were just going for a swim.

  “Are we allowed to do this?” I asked, glancing over at Bruno, who laid down at the edge of the pool contently. “What if one of the aquarium attendants catches us or something?”

  “Of course we’re allowed. I have permission.” Tyler splashed water at me and laughed. “Come in!”

  Trusting that he was telling the truth, I edged closer to the side of the pool and jumped in. The warm water hit against my wetsuit, making the material cling to my skin even more. I felt my hands being nudged by something soft and slippery; it reminded me of the texture of a hard-boiled egg without its shell. As I emerged from the water, I found that a dolphin was nuzzling against me.

  “Wow, this is amazing!” I squealed, reaching a hand out and running my fingertips over the dolphin’s rubber-like skin. The dolphin let out a whistle-like sound in response before diving under the water and bobbing its head in the air moments later. I turned to Tyler, who was swimming alongside a second dolphin.

  Tyler looked up at me and grinned. “These two are named Mika and Arnie. They’re less than a year old. They’ll train here for about a year and a half—and then they’ll be in the dolphin show.”

  “How do you know all this?” I asked. All of the times I’d come to the aquarium, I had no idea there was a private room where the young dolphins were trained.

  “My grandfather runs the aquarium. That’s how I was able to get permission for us to swim with the dolphins today,” Tyler explained. He grinned at me. “So, tell me. Is this good enough to be considered a date yet?”

  “Probably,” I said. Splashing him playfully, I added, “There’s one part missing, though.” I swam closer to him, and I could feel his warm breath inches away from my face.

  “What’s that?” Tyler asked with raised eyebrows.

  “I want to feed them,” I said excitedly, swimming over to one of the dolphins. It flipped onto its back, allowing me to rub its belly. It squealed playfully in response.

  “I’ve already got that covered,” Tyler said as he swam over to a bucket of fish on the side of the pool. I wasn’t sure, but I could have sworn I heard him mutter under his breath, “I thought you were gonna ask for a kiss.”

  That didn’t sound like such a bad idea either.

  *

  The sun was setting as Tyler, Bruno, and I stepped outside the aquarium.

  “I had a nice time,” I told him.

  “A nicer time than you were expecting to have?” Tyler asked, his eyes flitting in my direction.

  “Maybe,” I shrugged. “I don’t know.” A question had been at the back of my mind all day, and even though I promised myself I wouldn’t ask because I thought it might make me look insecure, I couldn’t resist. “What made you ask me out?”

  Tyler shrugged. His Converses kicked sand in the air as we climbed the steps that led to the boardwalk. “I don’t know. I just felt sort of . . . drawn to you. It’s hard to explain.” He turned to look at me. “Why did you agree to go out with me?”

  I thought about it for a moment before responding. “The same reason. I can’t really explain it.”

  “I’d love to go out with you again,” Tyler said, staring into my eyes.

  “Me, too. Next time, we’ll call it a date for sure?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Tyler replied. “And maybe next time, you can plan a surprise for me.”

  “We’ll see,” I laughed. “You don’t seem like the type who’s easily surprised.” As we reached the end of the boardwalk, I said, “Well, I guess I should go home now. I’ll see you around?”

  “Don’t be silly,” Tyler replied. “It’s getting dark out. I’m going to walk you home.”

  I hesitated. I hadn’t told Gram that I was going on a date tonight, only that I was going out with a friend. Then again, when we had first met up, it wasn’t official that it was a date yet, so technically, I hadn’t lied to her. Deciding that Gram would rather a boy walk me home than me walk home by myself in the dark, I nodded. “Okay.”

  We had just descended the stairs of the boardwalk, when I saw her. Her coppery auburn hair fell over her shoulders, catching the reflection of the moon.

  She looked older and taller than the last time I had seen her, but I was certain it was her.

  “Scarlett!” I yelled, a nervous feeling rising to the back of my throat. As I struggled to breathe, I completely forgot for a moment that Tyler was with me.

  I ran towards Scarlett, my ballet flats hitting against the sand. She was only feet away from me now, and yet, she felt so far.

  The girl turned and looked at me, her bright green eyes flashing with a hint of recognition—a look that proved to me that I wasn’t insane; I was really staring into my sister’s eyes.

  Chapter 3

  I was tightly gripping her arms, prepared to hug her and never let her go.

  “You must have me mistaken for someone else,” the girl standing in front of me said, shaking me off of her.

  I could tell she was lying.

  It was Scarlett. I was sure of it. It wasn’t just the way she stared back at me with her look of recognition that let me know that this was my little sister. It wasn’t even the look of happiness
that crossed over her face, quickly being replaced by an unreadable expression.

  It was her voice. Her voice had a melodic ring to it, a sound that reminded me of the song that I heard the night Scarlett had drowned.

  All of these years, I had lived under the impression that I had watched my sister drown, right in front of my own eyes, and I had done nothing to save her.

  But no one had ever found a body. What if it was because my sister really hadn’t drowned? What if her body hadn’t been carried away and she had been alive this whole time? Maybe she had taken the opportunity to run away, tricking us all into believing that she had drowned. Had her life with us really been that bad that she felt she needed to fake her own death at such a young age?

  “No. I know it’s you,” I finally said, continuing to stare at her. “You’re my sister . . . You’re Scarlett.”

  I watched as the girl’s eyes flashed with annoyance. “I told you . . . My name’s not Scarlett. Now, leave me alone.”

  I was instantly reminded of my sister’s last words to me. I told you . . . I’ll come inside in a minute. Now, leave me alone.

  Before I could say anything in protest, the girl had already turned around and was quickly walking away from me. I watched as she disappeared under the boardwalk. I followed her footsteps, but I didn’t see her anywhere. She had disappeared into the dark shadows.

  A hopeless feeling washed over me, and my vision became clouded with tears. It felt like I was losing Scarlett all over again.

  I felt a strong hand come down on my arm and whirled around to find Tyler’s worried gray eyes staring back into mine. “Are you okay, Felicia?”

  “I—I have to go,” I stuttered, running away from Tyler. I heard him call, “Wait!” but I continued running into the night, not once looking back at him as he continued to call after me.

  I ran until I was in Gram’s driveway. There was a light on in the living room. She was home. I knew I couldn’t tell my grandmother about what I had just seen because one of two things would happen. I would either upset her, or she’d think I was crazy . . . just like Mom.

  Was Mom really crazy, though? What if my mother had been right all those times when she went on pretending that Scarlett was still alive when Gram visited her? Maybe she was right; maybe she’d been able to sense that her daughter hadn’t died.

  In fact, now, I was almost positive she was right.

  When I went in the house, Gram was on the couch with an open book lying on her chest. Her eyes were closed, and she was snoring softly. I breathed a sigh of relief as I crept quietly to my bedroom.

  Staring out the window at stars that looked like they were strung from the night sky, I made a decision; I was going to try to find Scarlett again. Maybe she had felt weird about being ambushed and questioned by me in front of such a big crowd. Maybe she would be honest with me if I talked to her one-on-one.

  Somehow, I doubted it would be that easy to get Scarlett to admit who she really was, but one thing was for sure: I was definitely going to try.

  *

  I didn’t know what time I had fallen asleep that night, but the alarm clock seemed to go off earlier than usual the next morning. Sitting up in bed, I could tell that my eyes were swollen and puffy. I wondered if I had cried in my sleep.

  When I went into the kitchen, there was a note hanging on the fridge with my grandmother’s neat handwriting in red ink. Went to Savannah today with Maureen. Be home late tonight. Love, Gram.

  A sense of relief washed over me; I was glad that I didn’t have to face my grandmother just yet. It was hard to keep secrets from her. We normally told each other everything, but I really needed some time to figure this out on my own. Maybe if I could bring her back to the house with me instead of just blurting out that I had seen her, it would be enough proof for Gram that Scarlett was still alive.

  When I got to my lifeguard chair, I had already begun to climb up the steps when I realized that it was already occupied. “Umm, excuse me,” I called up to the guy who was sitting in the chair. “You’re in my seat.”

  The guy, who had dark hair and a perfect tan, leaned towards me and blew his whistle loudly, hurting my ears. “Excuse me. You’re blocking my view,” he replied in a deep voice.

  “Technically, it’s my view, since it’s supposed to be my lifeguard chair,” I shot back at him. When he didn’t respond, I yelled, “Please get out of my seat!” I hoped that I didn’t sound like I felt—a whiny little three year-old who wasn’t getting her way—but this guy was seriously getting on my nerves.

  Pulling off his sunglasses, the guy looked down at me. Studying his striking blue eyes, I came to the conclusion that I’d never seen him before. He hadn’t been there during Junior Lifeguard tryouts, so he must have been a lifeguard. That meant he had to be at least seventeen years old, if not older. “Are you Felicia?” the guy asked.

  I nodded, my ponytail hitting against my shoulders. “Yeah, that would be me.”

  “I’m supposed to tell you that we’re switching chairs,” the guy replied. “I was in the next chair over . . . number thirteen. It’s all yours now.”

  Great. Of all of the numbered chairs that I could have been assigned, I end up with a number that’s notorious for being unlucky.

  “Why are we switching?” I asked the guy, who had put his sunglasses back on and seemed to be looking over my head, at the beach. “Is there something over there I need to watch out for?”

  “Nah, you’ll be fine,” the guy replied. “Just a personal issue.”

  I stood there for a few moments, waiting for him to explain further. When he didn’t, I climbed back down and walked over to the empty lifeguard chair that was now mine. When I glanced back over at him, I could have sworn he was staring in my direction, but I couldn’t be sure because his dark-tinted sunglasses masked his eyes.

  My area of the beach was mostly empty since it was still early in the morning, but the Georgia heat was creeping steadily upwards. I wished that I could take a dip in the ocean, but that was against the rules for lifeguards while we were on-duty. We weren’t even allowed to leave our chairs unless it was to help someone. So, instead, I retreated to my chair and watched the ocean from afar, longing to just dip my toes in it.

  My mind was in another place when Tyler tied Bruno’s leash onto my lifeguard chair and climbed up the steps, plopping down on the large step that my feet were rested on. “Hey,” he greeted me.

  “Oh, hi,” I said quietly. The words had already escaped my lips when I realized how disinterested I must have sounded to him.

  “Real excited to see me, huh?” Tyler asked, raising his eyebrows, which were a shade darker than his light brown hair, at me. He tried to make his question sound playful, but I saw the pained expression on his face. I knew that he was crushed at the idea that I really might not want to see him.

  “It’s not that I’m not excited to see you,” I replied, shaking my head. “I just feel a little embarrassed. About what happened last night.”

  “Don’t be. But I was going to ask you about what all that was about,” Tyler said quietly, glancing up at me. A softened look had taken over his face. “You ran away from me before I could really make sure you were okay.” He paused. “Are you okay?” There was a genuine look of concern in his eyes. It made me feel bad about running away from him the previous night.

  “I’m fine,” I replied. “At least, I think I am. It’s a long story . . . and you’d probably think I was crazy if I told you about it anyway.” Crazy was probably an understatement. He’d probably think I belonged in a nuthouse if he knew that I had seen my dead sister.

  “Try me,” Tyler said, looking into my eyes. “I bet I know people who are way crazier than you.”

  “I don’t know,” I replied. “This is pretty crazy. And it’s a long story that I really don’t want to get into while I’m working.”

  “Okay, then, let’s meet up after you’re done working,” Tyler insisted. “Wanna meet me at the pier?”

&nb
sp; “I, um,” I hesitated. Did I really want to tell Tyler about Scarlett? I hadn’t told anyone in this town that I’d even had a sister, but . . . maybe I should have. Maybe telling someone—even someone who I technically didn’t know that well yet—would make it easier for me to get through this.

  I didn’t have time to make up my mind. Off in the distance, I heard someone scream, “Help!” Without thinking twice, I jumped down from the lifeguard chair and grabbed my flotation device.

  As I ran towards the woman who continued to scream, the hot sand burning my feet, I felt my own panic taking over. This was the first time I had officially tried to save anyone, and all of the thoughts that had been stirred up within me about Scarlett lately weren’t helping me keep my nerves under control. What if someone else was drowning in front of me, and I wasn’t able to save them?

  Racing across the beach, I reminded myself that I couldn’t think that way right now; I had to focus.

  Once I was in the water, the waves breaking against my knees, I didn’t see anybody. I panicked, thinking maybe the woman had seen a shark.

  “Everybody out of the water,” I shouted. As a few people scampered out of the water, I turned to the woman. “Ma’am? What happened?”

  “My son! I turned away from him for just a second, and then he was gone,” the woman said, in between sobs.

  I dove back under the water. As I scanned the murky depths of the ocean, memories of the night Scarlett had drowned flashed back into my mind. I remembered the blue explosion of light, and her body, so helpless, underneath the water.

  When I came up for another breath of air, I saw a blur of something bobbing in the water. I swam closer and found a little boy trying to swim to the surface, but he was being pulled down by the force of a wave.

  Grabbing his body protectively, I pulled him out of the water and carried him onto the shore. The little boy’s eyes were closed and his skin was pale; he appeared lifeless. Suddenly, everything we had learned in Junior Lifeguard training fled from my mind. Not knowing what else to do, I put my head near his mouth to see if he was breathing.