“I think so,” Mari answered, immediately sitting on the bench at the side of the deck.
Sage turned to the boat’s captain and her first mate. Both wore long-sleeved rash guards for sun protection. With the same sparkly blue eyes and space between their front teeth, they looked like mother and son.
“Hi,” Sage said. “We’re part of The Wild Life.”
“We know,” answered the woman. “That’s why we’re here. I’m Gayle. This is Cole.”
“We’ve got our next clue!” Dev announced, holding up the ancam. “I’ll read it.”
Two will start by flying high
To get a prime view from the sky.
Search and it will be no fluke
When your team sights a true fluke.
“Yuck. They need to get new writers,” Dev declared. “You can’t rhyme a word with the same word.”
“But they have different meanings,” Mari insisted.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s horrendous. And embarrassing.”
“Who cares?” Sage called out, throwing up her arms. “We have a clue!” She turned back to Gayle. “Is this a parasail boat?” she asked, eyeing the gear near the boat’s stern.
“Sure is. I need two volunteers.”
“Dev, you should come with me,” Sage said as she grabbed a pair of binoculars. When he paused, she added, “You’re the one with the ancam.”
Dev looked to Mari and Russell, then stepped into place next to Sage. There was a blur of buckles and snaps and straps as they put on life jackets and harnesses.
“Mari, any advice?” Sage asked.
“Well,” Mari began, “there are fish called flukes, but I don’t think any live around here, or are big enough to see from way up there.” Mari squinted as she looked into the sky. “So you must be looking for a whale fluke—two flukes make up a whale’s tail. You can see them when humpback whales breach. That’s when they throw themselves out of the water. It’s really beautiful.”
Sage nodded. Maybe she should have chosen Mari to parasail with her. But Dev was the techie. She knew he’d get the best shot.
“Now is a good time to see humpbacks,” Mari continued. “They’ve just migrated. Even in winter, the Great Barrier Reef is warmer than the Antarctic.”
With breakneck speed, Gayle and Cole latched Sage into place on the small gondola. It reminded Sage of a ski lift. Dev paused, several steps away. His eyes seemed to be darting around, focusing on one thing and then another. At last, he came forward so Gayle and Cole could strap him in, too.
With the pull of a lever, Gayle released the parachute, which billowed behind the boat. The sail lifted and took Sage and Dev with it. Sage felt her stomach lurch.
“What were you looking at back there?” she asked.
“I was trying to figure out if this thing was safe,” Dev yelled over the swirling wind. “My dad would freak out if he could see me.”
“Why?”
“He’s an engineer. He is very concerned with the way things work.”
Sage had been so set on the race that she hadn’t even paused to think about safety. With all that had happened in the last year, she was surprised she hadn’t considered it. But her focus was always on the finish line. “Remember, we’re looking for whales,” she said, concentrating on things she could control. “Breaching whales, so that we can see a fluke.”
Sage took in the full view. They were now hundreds of feet in the air. Below them, the water was deep blue. Toward the mainland, she could see the reef. The water there was shallow and appeared much brighter. She could see how it was many reefs, hugging the coast. They looked like turquoise jewels from up high, strung together like an expensive necklace. It was hard to believe that something so big was alive—and that the animals that made the reef were so tiny.
“It’s amazing up here,” Sage yelled. The wind plastered loose strands of sun-bleached hair across her face.
“Yeah,” Dev agreed. “I wish Russell and Mari could see it.”
“Yeah,” she said.
“Check it out!” Dev demanded, pointing at the ancam. “They added a telephoto lens! They kind of had to. We could never get a decent whale shot without it.” Mari had told them that she had read in the folder about how there was a buffer zone for whale watching. No boat could get within a hundred yards of a whale for safety reasons.
Dev lifted the handheld device to his eye and tried to focus in on something below. “Hey, look,” he said excitedly.
“What?” Sage asked hopefully.
“Russell’s driving the boat.”
“I thought you were worried about safety,” Sage said.
“They won’t let him do anything drastic,” Dev answered, but just as he said it, the gondola took a dip.
“Whoa!” Sage yelled. It felt like all her organs had jumped into her throat. “What was that?”
Dev scanned the water’s surface. “They must have spotted something.”
Sage peered through her binoculars. “It’s too bright. I can’t see anything.”
Dev leaned forward, ancam at the ready. “That’s probably why they slowed down, so we would drop and get a better view.”
Really? Sage thought Russell was just messing with them, wasting time.
They dipped again, and Sage saw a white-spotted whale tail disappear under the sapphire-blue water. “There!” Sage yelled. Almost immediately, a smaller whale torpedoed out of the water.
The young whale raised its fin in the air. Then it landed sideways with a bubbly white splash. The last thing to disappear was the tail, marked with white splotches and a ruffled trim. Dev’s fingers worked quickly. Click, click, click.
“Did you get it?”
Dev held out the ancam, and they looked at the shots.
“They’re kind of blurry,” Sage said with concern. “But that one’s the best.”
“Cross your fingers,” Dev murmured, and punched SEND.
The parasail had been descending at a steady rate, and Russell was still driving the boat.
“We’re about to hit the water,” said Sage.
“He’ll pull up,” Dev said, unconcerned.
He’d better, Sage thought, because this wasn’t some joyride. They needed to be in position to take another picture, in case the first one wasn’t approved.
Sage shivered as her toes dragged in the chilly water, and then the boat sped up. Within seconds, the wind had lifted the parachute and gondola a hundred feet.
“It was approved!” Dev called out.
“Phew!” Sage cried, and gave the signal for Cole to reel them in. She could wait until they were safe on board the boat—and reunited with Russell and Mari—to hear the next clue.
CREATURE FEATURE
HUMPBACK WHALES
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Megaptera novaeangliae
TYPE: mammal
RANGE: Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans
FOOD: plankton, small crustaceans, and fish
Humpback whales are not fish. They don’t have gills. Like other mammals, they have lungs. A humpback breathes through two blowholes on top of its head and can stay underwater for up to twenty minutes.
Humpbacks migrate every year from frigid waters near the poles to more tropical waters, where they feed on plankton, krill, and small fish. As a type of baleen whale, they do not have teeth, but have baleen plates, which are like giant toothbrush-style filters that trap small food in the whale’s mighty mouth.
While humpbacks have deep blue bodies, their fins are often partially white. Their tails can be marked with white as well. These special markings and the notches at the end of the tail are unique to each whale, like a human’s fingerprint. Scientists use these details to keep track of whales in the wild.
“We could barely see the whale,” Mari said. Sage could tell she was disappointed. If the race organizers had not accepted Dev’s picture, Team Red would have had to try to get a closer shot.
“I really love those big guys,” Mari mumbled, more to herself th
an anyone else. Sage actually had a soft spot for whales, too. Ever since her first-grade teacher, Ms. Sarah, had taught her class about blubber by doing a cool science experiment, she’d found them fascinating. Ms. Sarah had used the same fluffy-looking white baking ingredient that Sage’s mom used for making piecrusts. The experiment had shown how blubber helps keep whales and other large marine animals warm in near-freezing water. It was awesome.
“We need to keep moving,” Sage said, half wishing they could stick around so Mari could get a better view. “Look at all the other parasails. We can’t be the only team that got the picture on the first try.”
“Sage is right,” Dev confirmed. “And now we’ve got the next clue.” He read it out loud.
Reef animals must compete
For space and for the food they eat.
So the smart ones plot and scheme
And work together as a team.
Find and submit three examples.
“So we’re looking for examples of symbiosis, right?” Dev said.
“My science teacher called it mutualism,” Sage offered. “But I think it’s the same idea. Two different organisms living together and depending on each other.”
“And both get something out of it,” Russell added.
Sage glanced at Mari. The other girl gave a slight nod and looked back at the ocean. It was weird that Mari hadn’t commented on the clue yet. Normally she would have rattled off a dozen answers by now.
Javier gave them a choice. They could look for examples while swimming around the reef, or they could all get in a glass-bottomed boat and view the reef from there.
“How are we going to communicate in the water? Do we get underwater two-way radios?” Dev asked, rubbing his hands together in hopeful anticipation.
“Nice try,” Javier said. “But if you want to talk it through, the boat is your best bet.”
As much as Sage wanted to actually get in the water and be up close and personal with the wildlife, they all agreed to go with the boat.
“Okay, then,” Javier said. “Gayle, can you take us to the glass-bottomed boat port?”
Cole had just finished stowing away all the parasail equipment, so Gayle revved up the engine. “You’re not going to let Russell drive?” Dev asked. Sage could tell he was joking, but Gayle looked as if she were considering it.
“No, don’t!” Sage said without thinking.
Russell turned toward her, his eyes mischievous. “I saw you up there,” Russell said, pointing with his finger. “I didn’t need binoculars to know you were scared.”
Sage felt the skin between her eyes double up as her eyes narrowed.
“You thought I was going to drop you.” Russell laughed. “No way. Not with my man Dev up there with you.” He grabbed Sage’s shoulder and laughed some more. Dev joined in. All Sage could do was force a smile. Maybe Russell and Dev thought this race was a joke, but she didn’t. And she wasn’t going to let them slow the team down.
“Russell did a great job,” Javier said. His tone was always understanding and kind. “But I think you would agree that we are in a hurry.”
“Yes,” everyone answered together.
Sage sat down next to Mari. Being teamed with strangers was definitely awkward. Sage had known the kids on her track and swim teams for years, so they knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses. But they never had to work together and devise strategies. Even in relays, they each ran their leg of the race on their own. The Wild Life did not work that way at all.
Still, Sage had never planned to apply for The Wild Life by herself. She had always thought that she’d be teamed up with her sister, Caroline. Had she made the right decision? Maybe she should have waited until Caroline was ready to race. Caroline was the one person who got Sage. That would be nice right now.
Sage put the thought out of her mind. Team Red was currently in the lead. If they managed to win the race, they’d split a million dollars. That kind of money made a lot of things possible. Sage was counting on that. She needed it.
* * *
It wasn’t long before the boat pulled up to a tiny port where several vessels were docked. They were all long and slender, with canopies covering the open seating area, and a cabin in the front.
One look inside explained the name “glass-bottomed.” Along the center of each boat was a row of windows that stretched almost the full length of the floor and offered a clear view of the sparkling water below.
“Let’s go, team!” Sage said. When she excitedly grabbed Mari’s hand, the other girl’s palm felt cold and clammy.
As they clambered onto the nearest boat, Javier spoke up. “It looks like another team is coming. You could wait and work with them on the next clue.” He held the rope that had tied the boat to the dock in both hands.
Sage glanced up and immediately saw a huddle of purple wet suits on an approaching boat. Something told her that Team Purple was already deep in discussion about the clue. They had probably already come up with a full list of possible answers, and they probably knew which would be easiest to locate in this part of the reef.
“Smarties,” Sage grumbled.
SMALLEST TO LARGEST
Plankton is a term for some of the smallest living things in the sea. The word plankton can refer to a plant (phytoplankton) or an animal (zooplankton), but it has to be tiny!
Plankton is a food source for all kinds of sea animals, including coral. Even some of the largest animals in the ocean eat them. The great baleen whales, from blue whales to humpbacks, filter plankton from the water.
Schools of tiny fish dine on plankton, and larger fish then dine on the tiny fish. All marine life is connected. The largest predators rely on the tiniest plants and animals for survival.
It was the first time in the race that they had the option to work with another team. Sage looked over her shoulder at Team Purple again. They were close enough now that she could see their faces: all smiling, but not one showing her teeth.
“We want to go ahead,” Sage declared. “On our own.”
Javier raised his eyebrows when Sage answered and then looked to her teammates. When no one said anything more, Javier tossed the crusty rope into the stern of the new boat. He stepped past Dev and Russell to talk with the boat’s captain.
At once, the red team leaned forward, mesmerized by the view below. It almost seemed like they could step through the glass panes and drop into the brilliant blue water with the flowing sea grass and darting fish.
“The captain has asked if you want to go to a specific part of the reef,” Javier said.
All eyes fell on Mari. “Don’t look at me,” she insisted, wiping sweat from her forehead.
Sage frowned. Mari had been quiet lately, even for her.
“What about that map?” Sage asked Russell.
“It tells us where we can and can’t go, in order to protect the reef,” he said. “But it doesn’t say where we’ll find an anemone and a clownfish.” Everyone on Team Red knew about the classic example of symbiosis.
“Nowhere specific!” Sage yelled to the front of the boat. “Just find us some symbiosis!”
“Got it,” Javier replied. “Except you have to find that yourself.”
“The clownfish is the only fish that can survive the anemone’s toxic sting,” Dev said. “It’s covered with snot so slimy that the anemone’s creepy tentacles can’t touch it.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Sage said.
“Dev is kind of right,” Mari said, her tone almost apologetic. “The clownfish has a protective layer of mucus. Scientists think it’s actually a combination of both clownfish and anemone mucus so the anemone knows not to sting the clownfish.”
“Oh, that’s sweet. And disgusting,” Russell commented.
“So we’re looking for a zebra-striped fish in a mess of tentacles,” Sage said. “This should be easy.”
And it was. It took Team Red only five minutes. “Over here!” Russell called to Dev. He pointed to a vivid or
ange-and-white fish swimming in what looked like clump of long purple grass.
In one smooth motion, Dev lifted the ancam and aimed. Click, click, click. “Looks good,” he assessed.
“Then send it,” Sage prompted.
As they watched, a flat lemon-yellow fish with a snout like a trumpet approached the anemone. At once, a clownfish spurted forward and drove the larger fish away.
“In return for getting a safe home in the anemone’s tentacles, the clownfish chases away predators,” Russell said. “It’s defending its turf.”
“And we have to defend ours,” said Sage. “We can’t give up our lead.”
The team quickly moved on to searching for another pair. They saw a clam as big as a cow, but no symbiosis.
Sage felt an odd ripple in her belly.
“What is that?” Russell asked, pointing over the side of the boat.
“Whatever it is, it’s big.” Dev held his ancam in front of his chest, frozen.
The boat began to rock with the waves. Sage caught a glimpse of a huge shadow dropping under the boat. The bottom windows filled with the murky, moving mass. Russell grabbed the railing and whipped around. “It’s everywhere!”
“What’s happening?” Mari asked.
The shadow seemed to be constantly shifting, curling its way around the boat. It was on all sides at once. Sage looked out over the railing again. Now she could see more clearly. The shadow was not from one giant fish, but hundreds of fish. With sleek bullet-shaped bodies, they turned with precision and speed. “It’s a whole school,” Sage said, gulping down air with relief. “They might be barracudas,” Sage guessed after spying the silvery scales. “Mari, what do you think?”
When she glanced at her teammate, Mari was a special shade of green. She cowered in the corner, her hands pressed against her ears.
Great Reef Games Page 2
