‘I found it struggling near the rocks. I think it must have been looking for its mother and somehow got caught up in the oil. It had nearly made it back to the rocks but the oil has made its fur too heavy to swim.’
‘Excellent work,’ said A1, beaming as she reached down to take the seal pup from EJ. ‘You seem to have a real gift for animal rescue.’
EJ blushed with pride.
‘Now, just press the green button marked ED next to the ignition and come up here,’ said A1.
EJ pushed the button and stepped up to the jetty as gurgling sounds began to come from Shinemobile 3. Then there were loud belching noises and a horrible smell as Shinemobile 3 began to disintegrate before her very eyes. In minutes there was nothing but some yellow powder blowing in the wind. EJ and A1 were still covering their noses.
‘Eco-Deco,’ explained A1, ‘is smelly but efficient and environmentally sound. Now we need to get back to Shining Light 2. It seems they have found quite a few other animals caught up in the oil.’
As they stepped into the speedboat, A1 moved away from the steering wheel.
‘I think you can drive, EJ10.’
The pools on the deck of Shining Light 2 were filled with oil-affected turtles and seals. A1 was receiving a full report from Captain C.
‘Tanker W was using a long hose under its hull to pump the oil out,’ said Captain C. ‘The hose was so long that the oil appeared a long way from the boat.’
‘That’s why we couldn’t trace it,’ said EJ.
‘Exactly. And the other tankers also used hoses to siphon off oil from the pipeline. SHADOW was stealing oil, that’s why the pipeline levels had dropped. Once we learnt that the oil was disappearing, they created the oil spill to distract us, to give them time to get away—and it would have worked, if it wasn’t for your quick thinking, EJ10.’
EJ smiled.
‘There was one more thing, A1,’ said Captain C. ‘The five black hawk tankers were on their way to Antarctica.’
‘Hmmm,’ wondered A1. ‘What are they up to? We will need Shining Light 1 to keep an eye on things down there.’
‘They’re already onto it,’ said Captain C. ‘Captain C2C and Shining Light 1 are down there now.’
‘And we need to get these animals cleaned up as quickly as possible,’ said A1. ‘We will need a lot more people than the agents we have on board.’
EJ had an idea. ‘I think my mum can help,’ she said. ‘She’s a vet and she looks after all sorts of animals in her surgery. Shall I call her?’
‘No need,’ said A1 taking out her phone. ‘I have the number.’
EJ, still holding the little seal pup, and A1 stood on the deck of Shining Light 2f as it headed towards the main pier.
‘Docking in ten minutes,’ said Captain C over the loudspeaker. ‘I am switching to cover mode. All agents to change.’
EJ was shown to a change room where her clothes were hanging, freshly ironed, on a coat hanger. She changed out of her SHINE training gear and went back to join A1 on deck. The globe on the deck had now been covered with a new sign with the words, ‘Illuminating Maths Marine Cruises’.
As they neared the pier, EJ could see a large group of people, all wearing waterproof jackets, gumboots and rubber gloves.
‘Ah, excellent,’ said A1. ‘The volunteer helpers.’
Now that the boat was docking, EJ could see who the volunteers were. She saw her mum, her dad, her brother Bob, her grandparents, Elle and her parents, Hannah and her parents, Ms Pleh and, it seemed, most of St Cree’s. Even Nema and her mum were there. Everyone had wanted to help and EJ felt proud, not just of what she had achieved but what her whole community had. She stepped off the boat with A1 and walked up to her mum.
‘Hello,’ said Emma’s mum. ‘I’m Dr Susan Jacks. Since we spoke, I’ve set up an emergency care station here at the pier. It wasn’t hard to find willing helpers.’ Emma’s mum looked across at Shining Light 2’s deck. ‘Goodness,’ she exclaimed. ‘Who would have thought a maths club cruise could rescue so many animals?’
‘Nice to meet you, Dr Jacks,’ said A1. ‘Thank you so much for your help. The crew will begin unloading the animals.’
And so it began. First the vet team, led by Dr Jacks, checked the animals. Agent F1N and some other SHINE agents also assisted. Once assessed, each animal was then sent to their specific care area. There was one for birds, one for seals and one for turtles. Each animal was carefully cleaned. The birds were dried with warm air heaters and the seals and turtles were placed in large inflatable pools that had been set up along the beach. Even the local cafés had gotten involved, serving free drinks and sandwiches as the team worked through into the early evening to save the animals.
‘What a smooth operation,’ said Hannah’s mum to Ms Pleh. ‘It’s as if everyone has been working together for ages.’
Emma and Hannah were working in the seal section. Hannah carefully removed blobs of oil with paper towels from each seal pup and then placed it in a tub of special cleaning solution where she washed the fur thoroughly. She then passed the pup to Emma.
‘Hey Emma, it’s so cool that you happened to be on that boat when all this happened. You’re so lucky! I wish I was in your maths club.’
‘I wish you were too, Han,’ replied Emma as she rinsed the pup. She put it into the large inflatable pool where her mum was busy checking the seals.
‘Good job, Em,’ said her mum.
‘But we still need to find this one’s mother.’
‘Now that the oil is removed, they will find each other. You know, Em, mums always know what their children are up to.’
I wouldn’t be so sure about that, thought Emma.
Emma and her mum looked into the pool. A larger fur seal had swum up to the pup and was licking it, almost patting it with its flipper.
‘See,’ said Emma’s mum giving her daughter a hug. ‘A shining example.’
Emma looked up at her mum, startled. ‘What?’
‘A shining example of what we were talking about. You know, it’s an expression.’
Just an expression? wondered Emma. Then she remembered what Ms Pleh had said about A1 being a teacher at St Cree’s at the same time her mum had gone there. And how did A1 know her mum’s phone number?
She was still thinking about it when she was curled up in bed much later that night. Did her mum really think she was at a maths club, a maths club that went on ocean excursions?
‘Still awake, Em?’ asked her mum coming into her bedroom. ‘Aren’t you exhausted after your big day? I know I am.’
‘Just thinking,’ said Emma.
‘Thinking about what?’ asked her mum.
‘Mum, you don’t have another job do you? You know, besides being a vet?’ asked Emma.
Her mum laughed as she leant down to kiss Emma good night. ‘When on earth would I have the time to do that?’ she said.
It was a few weeks after the oil spill mission and one week after her tenth birthday when a card arrived in the post for Emma. It was a bright yellow birthday card. Emma opened it.
‘Mum, can we go to maths club?’ cried Emma. She couldn’t wait to go and see what her birthday present might be.
Her mum dropped her at the Light Shop and Emma knew exactly what to do. She walked in, said hello to the lady at the counter and took the lift twenty floors down. The lift opened and as EJ stepped out, the doors to the Operations Room opened. There, as always, was A1.
‘Welcome, Agent EJ12 and happy birthday!’
‘EJ12?’
‘Yes, you are now in the under-twelve division and your work with the oil spill proves you are more than ready for mission work. SHADOW is like that oil slick, EJ. Spreading out silently, causing harm. We need people like you to stop them.’
EJ was smiling from ear to ear. ‘Mission work! How exciting!’
‘It will be exciting but it will also be hard and at times rewarding but we will always be here to support you. You will also be able to choose four people, fri
ends or family, to help when you go OM.’
‘OM?’ asked EJ.
‘On mission,’ continued A1. ‘They will be your BESTies, giving you their Brains, Expertise, Support and Tips. We will need to run a full security check so think carefully whom you select. Pick only those people you trust completely.’
EJ wouldn’t have to think for long. She knew exactly who she would choose.
‘Oh and there’s one more thing,’ said A1. ‘Your gift.’
A1 passed EJ a long velvet-covered black box. EJ opened it and saw a bracelet with two silver charms attached, one with a SHINE logo on it, and the other a small heart.
‘They’re beautiful,’ gasped EJ.
‘To celebrate the end of your basic training,’ said A1. ‘You are mission-ready, EJ12. Twist the heart charm.’
EJ took the heart and twisted. As she did, an inscription appeared in the centre of the heart.
And it was. EJ12 knew it was.
Two years later, back in the present …
Emma sat up on her bed and wiped her tears away. It was getting dark now and her mum clicked on the pink, dome-shaped light next to her bed. The room was brighter and so was Emma. Perhaps her mum did have a point, perhaps she could cope with more change than she thought. After all, look what had happened since that maths test, since she joined SHINE. She’d been on missions all over the world, skied down glaciers, swung through jungles and ridden through Paris on a bike through the air. Isi had come to St Cree’s and become one of the girls’ closest friends and now Eve was also becoming part of the group, and of course they were all SHINE agents. And then there were all the animals she had rescued—and brought home.
‘Hey, cut it out, you two!’ she cried as Pip and Beret jumped onto the bed and licked at the salty tears on Emma’s face. Emma laughed as she pushed the dogs gently down on the bed.
‘See,’ said her mum. ‘Imagine if these two changes hadn’t happened!’
‘I know,’ said Emma. ‘But England is sooooo far away!’
Piinngg!
Emma took her phone from her bedside table and checked the screen. It was a text from SHINE.
‘Mum,’ whispered Emma, showing her the message. ‘Where are the boys?’
‘It’s okay, Bob and Dad are at footy training.’
Emma texted back.
Her phone screen flashed and A1 appeared.
‘Good evening EJ12 and SJ45. I’m sorry to interrupt but I have some important news.’
‘Yes?’ said Emma, a little nervously. She couldn’t work out from A1’s voice if the news was good or bad.
‘I have good and bad news,’ said A1. ‘The bad news is, of course, that SHADOW is planning bigger and more evil projects all the time. The good news is that we are getting better and stronger at defeating them. We are expanding our overseas bases and creating new ones. We have agents moving to head up new operations centres all over the world, including India, China, Italy and England.’
England? EJ wondered. Was it possible?
‘And this is what concerns you, EJ,’ continued A1. ‘We are taking agents from the different divisions to make agent teams to take on SHADOW. They will be our STARs, SHINE Teams Available And Ready.’
‘That sounds awesome!’ said EJ. ‘We could do so much more working as a team.’
A1 smiled. ‘EJ you have changed a lot since that maths competition. You have learnt to trust yourself and do things I suspect you never thought you could. But the best part of you has stayed the same. You are a loyal and good agent, just as you are a good friend, which is exactly what we are looking for in our STAR leaders.’
‘Me?’ asked EJ. ‘A leader?’
‘Indeed, EJ12,’ said A1. ‘Your team is appearing on your screen now.’
EJ’s smile got wider and wider as first Elle’s, then Isi’s, Hannah’s then Eve’s agent photos appeared on her screen
‘Are you ready, EJ12?’ asked A1. ‘It’s quite a change.’
Emma looked at her mum and then back at A1 on the screen. She took a deep breath before answering. ‘I’m ready A1,’ she said in a loud, clear voice.
‘We know you are,’ replied A1. ‘We just needed you to know it too. SHINE OUT.’
Piinngg!
It was a text, this time from Elle.
Emma smiled. It was, probably even better than okay. She texted back.
‘Just what a leader would say. I’m so proud of you, Em,’ said her mum, giving her a squeeze.
Piiingg!
Piiingg!
Piiingg!
Three texts all at once? Emma opened them. There was a text each from Hannah, Isi and Eve—and they all said the same thing.
Emma grinned. She couldn’t wait either. She was so proud of her friends and a little proud of herself as well. It was everyone’s time to shine now.
With a little help from EJ12—and EJ10!
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Published by Lemonfizz Media and Scholastic Australia in 2013.
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Cover design and Illustrations by Dyani Stagg of Merchantwise.
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