“Mari, are you okay?” Sage rushed over to the other girl’s side. “Javier, Mari’s sick!”
Mari flinched when Sage yelled, squinting her eyes into a web of wrinkles. She pulled away. “I feel like my brain is drowning.”
“She’s seasick,” Javier said. “Sage, press your thumb to her wrist like this. It’s a pressure point.” Sage had heard about how pressure on certain parts of the body could relieve motion sickness. As soon as her thumb was in place, Javier pulled out his ancam and starting punching buttons. He studied the readout on the screen, slammed down the ancam, and rummaged in his backpack. “Mari, you’ve got to take this.” He held out a small powdery-looking pill.
He turned to Sage. “Now the other wrist.”
When Sage took Mari’s sweaty hand, a familiar feeling swept over her. “You guys should keep looking,” she said to Dev and Russell. “The sun is starting to set.”
“I don’t want to alarm you guys,” announced Javier as he adjusted the contents of his backpack, “but there is a cutoff time tonight. You’ll get a message on the ancam when you have to stop.”
“What? How does that work?” Dev questioned, looking at his trusty device with disbelief.
“You’ll just pick up with the clues in the morning, right where you left off. They can’t have you searching all night.”
When Javier went back to the cabin, the boys returned to their posts. Sage was torn. She didn’t want the red team to lose their lead. They had to win this race. But she couldn’t stand to leave Mari’s side even though the younger girl had dozed off. She looked so fragile, so much like Sage’s sister, Caroline.
“This has to be something.” When Dev motioned, Sage joined the others. “Check out that huge moray eel resting below us, near the reef floor,” he said. Sage grimaced as she took in the ghoulish frown and lifeless eyes of the eel. “Now look at its tail.”
Sage’s eyes followed the eel’s long, tubelike body until she saw a tiny fish with a bold black stripe. “What’s that other fish doing there?” Russell asked as they watched the fish nibble at the eel’s burnt-orange skin. “The eel could eat him like an after-school snack.”
“I think the eel likes it. I think the little fish is helping,” Dev explained.
“It’s probably a cleaner wrasse,” Mari said from out of nowhere. When her teammates turned to look, she didn’t even appear to be awake. “They eat dead skin and loose scales off of other fish.”
“No way,” Russell said.
“And parasites. They also eat parasites,” Mari added. “They are very helpful.”
“And kind of gross,” Russell said.
“They are also a great example of mutualism,” Sage pointed out. “The eel gets a cleaning. The wrasse gets its dinner. So shoot away.” She nudged Dev, then went back to Mari, who was now the shade of a lima bean—a big improvement from spinach. After Sage sat down, she looked back at the boys. “Good work. Only one picture to go.”
Russell had his back to her, and he spoke without turning around. “You know, Sage,” he said, “you can’t really help Mari, but you can help us.”
Sage felt something tighten in her gut. Who did Russell think he was? She didn’t like to be told what to do. And how did he know if she was or wasn’t helping Mari? But she went back to the center of the boat and tried to remember what she had read about the reef.
Now that it was twilight, the ocean’s colors seemed even deeper, like in a stained glass window.
“All the fish are darting off and hiding,” Dev said.
Nighttime was bringing changes to the reef. Already, a reef shark had floated under the boat, smooth and sleek. It sped forward with just a swish of its strong tail. Soon, the sharks and other predators would take over.
A cry carried over the sloshing of water. Sage listened more closely.
“Cheering,” Russell mumbled.
Sage knew what that meant. Another team had finished the clue.
Sage racked her brain. They needed only one more picture. But the sun was sinking, turning the sky into the richest shades of gold, pink, and indigo. It was only a matter of time before the race would end for the day, and Sage was certain that her team had already lost the lead.
CREATURE FEATURE
BLACKTIP REEF SHARK
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Carcharhinus melanopterus
TYPE: fish
RANGE: Indian and Pacific Oceans, Hawaiian Islands, Mediterranean Sea
FOOD: fish, rays, and sometimes crab, squid, and other reef creatures
Like its name suggests, the blacktip reef shark has black tips on each of its fins. It often lives in shallow water, near coral reefs. It is sleek and agile, and sometimes hunts in groups. An athletic predator, the blacktip reef shark will leap out of the water to snag a fish from the air. Even though this shark lives in waters where people often swim and scuba dive, like most shark species, it is not a big threat when people take caution.
The Red Team couldn’t make out a thing in the inky water. “It’s too dark,” Dev said.
Just then, the boat’s underwater lights came on, and they could see that the reef was alive in a whole new way. “We can do this!” Sage cheered them on.
“Check out the coral,” Dev announced. “The polyps are coming out to feed.”
What looked like one piece of coral was actually a whole colony—thousands of tiny polyps clustered together.
The coral, which had appeared lifeless just moments before, had now bloomed. Thousands of tentacles reached out to catch their dinner. Some clusters of coral looked like flowers, some like the bottom of a mushroom, others like the antlers of a deer. The polyps were all colorful and tiny.
“Come on,” Sage said. “We’re under the gun.”
“Gun,” Dev murmured.
Sage glanced at his face. His eyebrows were knotted together in thought.
“A gun makes me think of a pistol, and that makes me think of a pistol shrimp. That’s it!” he exclaimed. “We should look for a goby fish and a pistol shrimp.” Dev went on to tell them about the odd couple of the coral reef. “The shrimp is almost blind and builds a burrow in the sand. The goby fish shares the burrow and acts like a guard to their home.”
“Sounds good,” Russell said. “But are they still going to be out now that it’s dark?”
“I don’t know,” Dev admitted.
“Well, let’s look,” Sage said. They all gazed into the water. Sage instinctively went to twist her earring. “Wait,” she mumbled to herself, fumbling at her ear. “I lost my earring.” She could feel the boys’ eyes on her as she got down on her knees and searched in the creases of the rubber mats on the floor. “It’s a ladybug. It must have just fallen out.” When she didn’t find it, she headed back to the bench where Mari was resting.
Dev looked at Russell. “I thought we were looking for symbiosis,” he said, “not matching accessories.”
Sage glanced back in time to see Russell swallow a smirk. They were always joking. They wouldn’t understand.
She didn’t see the earring on the seat. Again, she reached for her bare ear. This time, her fingers caught on something. The earring had been snagged in her hair, and her fingers had knocked it loose.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sage saw it slip off her shoulder toward the dark water. She threw herself after it. The ladybug hit her palm and her fingers closed around it at once. Good thing she had quick reflexes! Too bad she had bad balance. Half her body was tipped over the boat’s railing. In seconds, she hit the sea headfirst with a splash.
She was fine. Wet, but fine.
Dev’s and Russell’s faces appeared over the side of the boat. When they saw her, they exploded with laughter.
“That was graceful,” Russell said.
“Practically slow motion,” Dev added.
Sage scowled. Why was everything funny to them?
“Too bad it’s so dark. I would have loved to have seen your face,” said Russell. Sage couldn’t believe he was smiling. “Here,�
�� Russell offered, holding out his hand. “I’ll pull you up.”
Sage rolled her eyes. “I can swim to the ladder, thanks. You guys should be looking for symbiosis. Remember? Time’s running out.”
“Oh, is that what you were doing?” Dev slapped Russell a high five, and the two boys disappeared toward the center of the boat.
Sage was furious with herself. Not only had she cost them valuable time, she had given the boys something else to laugh about, as if they needed her help with that.
The good news was that her hand was still clenched in a fist. She might have made a fool of herself, but she had her earring.
As soon as she was back in the boat, she zipped the earring into her backpack. Then she positioned herself next to the boys, as determined as ever.
“What’s that?” Russell asked. Sage heard it, too. A low buzzing was growing louder. Dev pulled out the ancam. It was flashing red.
“Time’s up for the day,” Javier announced as he entered the main cabin. He sat down next to Mari. “Race is back on at eight o’clock tomorrow morning. You can’t submit any photos until then.”
“We know,” Sage said, looking down. “We know.”
When the glass-bottomed boat pulled up to a jetty, the kids all bid the captain farewell. “There’s a resort on the other side of the island, but we’re good to hang out here for a while,” Javier said, grabbing a cooler. “It’ll be good for Mari to have some time on solid ground. The yacht will come and pick us up later.”
Sage helped Mari to the beach. As soon as the younger girl sat down, Sage took off her water sandals and started pacing in the fine sand. Even as the others took their places on the blanket to eat, Sage didn’t join them. She grabbed some grapes and walked close to the tree line. With everything that had happened, she had too much nervous energy to sit down.
It was only moments into their picnic dinner when Mari let out a yelp.
“What’s wrong?” Sage asked.
“It’s not me,” Mari insisted. “It’s that sea turtle.”
Near the edge of the waves, a lone sea turtle pushed its way up the sand. In an instant, Mari was by the turtle’s side. “She’s stranded. Sea turtles don’t just come up on land, not this time of year.”
“You’re right,” Javier said. “They close this island for part of the year so sea turtles can safely lay their eggs, but it’s too early for that.”
On land, the reptile could only scoot. Unaccustomed to being out of the water, its breath was shallow. Mari respected the tortoise’s space, but knelt down to get a better look. As her gaze fell on a front flipper, she flinched. “She’s hurt. There’s a net wrapped around her flipper and her neck,” she said, pointing to where the thin threads dug into the turtle’s scaly skin.
Javier stood and turned to the group. “You guys, stay here. There is an animal rescue center at the resort. They’ll know how to help.” With only a glance backward, Javier took off for the other side of the island.
Russell knelt down close to Mari. “How do you know it’s a girl?” he wondered.
Mari looked at him and smirked. “I don’t,” she confessed. “I just guessed.”
Dev snorted. “Mari doesn’t know everything.”
Mari tilted her head to one side. “Well, I guessed based on the fact that her tail isn’t very long. The tails of male green turtles stick way out of their shell, so this one is probably a female.”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Russell said with exaggerated pride. “We missed you today, Mari.”
“Sorry I was so sick.” Mari dragged her finger through the sand.
“No worries. We got two good shots,” Sage answered. “We’ll get the last one in the morning.” Sage brushed biscuit crumbs from her hands.
“Can I ask which ones we found?”
They quickly gave her a recap. Sage was surprised that Mari had missed almost everything that had happened on the boat.
“What about coral and the algae that live inside?” Mari asked, tightening her braid.
Of course! Sage could hardly believe it. Algae is a simple form of plant. The coral gives the algae a safe home. The algae provides the coral with energy and oxygen, which plants create during photosynthesis. How could she have forgotten that? Her sister would have thought of it in two seconds. Caroline would love teasing Sage for not coming up with it.
“I can take that shot first thing tomorrow,” Dev said, sounding both frustrated and relieved.
The four teammates fell silent.
“What are you guys going to do with the money if we win?” Russell asked, picking up a green piece of fruit that had fallen off a vine. He motioned to Dev, who stood up and readied himself for a pass.
Dev caught the prickly fruit and gave his hand a shake. “I’d give most of it to my mom so she could start her own business,” Dev said. “You?” He threw the fruit back.
“I’d donate some to my town, for our rec center.” Russell jumped up to make the catch. “After I got a new cell phone and Xbox, of course.”
“I’d buy some clothes that weren’t hand-me-downs. Then I’d give some to organizations that help wildlife,” Mari offered.
When Mari said that, Sage thought of her sister again. It’s exactly what Caroline would do. Caroline was always thinking of the big picture, and she was sick of hand-me-downs, too.
Sage could hear people approaching through the wooded path. She turned back to her teammates. “I just want to win,” she said, standing up.
“Yeah, we got that,” Russell said under his breath.
“But you want to find your earring more,” Dev added. Sage thought they were joking, but she couldn’t be sure.
Sage was grateful for the night’s shadows. If they expected her to say something, to take their bait, they would be disappointed.
Javier came back with two people from the resort. The workers had seen many stranded sea turtles in their years on the island. Some had been caught in nets; some had been hit by boat propellers or attacked by sharks; others had eaten trash and become sick. Sylvie, one of the rescue workers, had a good feeling that they’d be able to help the turtle that Mari had found.
“We’ll take good care of her,” Sylvie promised.
Mari had a hard time leaving the sea turtle but she was still tired from being sick, so she didn’t put up much of a fight. Javier herded everyone toward the yacht. No one said a word as they walked along the jetty. When they reached the lower deck, Javier pushed another chalky pill into Mari’s hand. “There’s a storm coming. It shouldn’t be bad, but be prepared,” he said.
Everyone nodded and went to their cabins with only murmurs of “good night.” Sage wanted to say something positive, to get the team pumped for the race tomorrow, but she couldn’t find the words. She doubted whether they would even listen to her. She wasn’t pulling her weight. She had let herself get distracted from their goal. That wasn’t what good leaders do.
Mari gave Sage a faint smile as she swallowed her pill and climbed to the top bunk. If they had completed the clue, they could have stayed up and talked about the next challenge. Sage thought that they should try to plan their strategy for the morning, but no one seemed up for it. She convinced herself that everyone was too tired, but she could hear Dev and Russell whispering in their cabin long after the lights went out.
CREATURE FEATURE
GREEN TURTLE
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Chelonia mydas
TYPE: reptile
RANGE: tropical waters all over the world
FOOD: as adults: only algae, grasses, and other plants; when young: plants and some small animals such as worms, crabs, and snails
You might have trouble identifying a green turtle by its shell. It’s not typically green. Neither is its skin. This species gets its name for the colorful fat under its skin. A green turtle’s shell, or carapace, is sometimes green and usually mixed with brown, gray, or black.
Amazingly, green turtles can live over 100 years, and can weigh up to 450 pounds
. But they are endangered. They have countless predators, and many die as eggs or in their first few years.
Even though they hatch on the beach, green turtles spend almost their entire lives in the water. Males never leave the ocean. Females leave only to lay their eggs on the beach where they were born, just like their mothers did before them, even if it means swimming hundreds of miles to get there.
The waves that rocked the yacht all night were still sloshing in Sage’s head when she woke. For once, she decided to go back to sleep. She always woke up too early anyway. She pulled the sheet over her head until she heard a knock on the cabin door.
“Sage?” Mari said. “It’s seven fifty-five. Dev is about to take the picture of the coral and algae. Maybe you want to get up so you’re ready?”
“What?” Sage screeched. “Why didn’t my alarm go off?” She was out of bed, pulling on her swimsuit, latching her watch, and tying back her hair in a smooth sequence of moves choreographed for efficiency.
“I thought you might need the sleep,” Mari explained.
“That’s not for you to decide,” Sage said. “I need to be up.” She had a race to run and she couldn’t do it from bed. What had happened to her alarm?
She rushed up the stairs to find Dev leaning far over the side of the boat. Click, click, click. “Got it!” he said. “That example of symbiosis was pretty easy to find. Too bad we didn’t get it yesterday.”
Sage looked at her watch. “It’s only seven fifty-nine. You better wait until eight to send it in.”
“And good morning to you, too!” Dev said, all bright and shiny.
Sage rolled her eyes and grabbed a banana. “Didn’t the storm bug any of you?”
“Not really,” admitted Russell.
Sage fumbled with the rubbery banana peel. What else was going to go wrong today?
“Looks like it’s wet suit time again,” Dev announced, still abnormally cheery. “Here’s our clue.”
Great Reef Games Page 3
