In Over Her Head (13 page)

I gingerly start digging with my trowel, exposing more of the protruding object (which is definitely gold) and then swish my hand back and forth, trying to uncover as much as I can, as carefully as I can.

OMG!
In the gold I see something green, which must be an emerald and something red, which must be a ruby and … holy cow, is that a diamond?

I dig and swish, and dig and swish, and dig and swish until I am able to easily pull the object out from its hiding place. Oh … my … gosh … it's a crown, and a spectacular one at that!

King Ronaldo de la Isla Grande Hermosa must have had this made for his bride-to-be, Lady Isobel de Vanidad, to be worn on their wedding day, when she would become his queen. Who would have ever guessed that three hundred and fifty years later, a fourteen-year-old kid would be holding it in her hand?

Should I dare put the crown of Queen Isobel de la Isla Grande Hermosa on my head? I'm
so
tempted until I look down at my pressure gauge, which, to my shock, is in the red zone, hovering just a speck above rock bottom. My crowning moment of glory will have to wait. There'll be plenty of time for celebrating when I'm back on board. I stuff the crown in my bag and start swimming.

As my head triumphantly pops up through the surface, my excitement doubles as I see the crew all cheering onboard the boat — I made it, and just in time, too! My tank is empty. Imagine how happy they're going to be when they see what I have in my bag!

I wave back to let them know that I am okay, but the closer I get to the boat, the less cheerful their screaming sounds.

Are they mad at me?

I did kind of lose track of time down there, so I guess it's possible that they might have been a little worried, but come on … all of this freaking out is a little over the top!

Then, it suddenly occurs to me, that this could all be Patrice's doing. He's totally a silver-linings kind of guy, you know, the kind of guy who turns a negative into a positive. What I mean is, me going MIA would (in Patrice's mind) be the perfect opportunity to throw a few fireworks into the show. If he was
really
worried about me, he would have sent Carlos down to check things out,
but he didn't
. Instead, he's got everyone on board screaming their lungs out, and waving their arms like a bunch of maniacs! Brilliant! I can see the headlines now:
CREW GOES BERSERK WHEN YOUNG DIVER GOES MISSING
. Love it! Total drama! And great promo for the show! I guess I should play along.

“There was a shark!” I screech dramatically, trying my best to look terrified (the cameras are probably rolling!)

“Shark!” they all yell back in unison.

“He's gone now!” I call out to “reassure” them, as I lazily swim the sidestroke toward the boat.

“Shark!” Henry shrieks.

“I told you he's gone!” I yell back. “I scared him off!” I take a break from my swimming long enough to flex a muscle for the cameras. It's not every day a girl has a shark encounter.

“Hannah, hurry!” Henry calls, pointing. “He thinks you're food!

“What?” I twist my head over my shoulder and …

OMG!
It's Bruce!

“It's a Great White, Hannah!” Carlos screams, “He's after you!”

OMG!
… this isn't a dream! This is so real!

“Humans are friends, not food!” I scream, kicking my flippers as hard as I can. Just as I come within reach of the boat, I look back again only to see his dorsal fin slicing through the water at breakneck speed!

“
I DON'T WANT TO DIE!
” I screech as A.J. grabs my arm, and drags me on board, saving me (without even a second to spare) from the clutches of Bruce's razor-sharp teeth!

Going Bananas

“W
here
” I cry, spitting and sputtering and gasping for air. “Where is it?”

“Where is what?” A.J., who's still holding on to me with all of his might, asks breathlessly.

“The bag!” I screech.

“What bag?” Henry asks.

A.J. shakes his head. “There was no bag, Hannah.”

“There
was
a bag! I had it in my hand,” I answer, shaking free from A.J.'s grip.

“Forget about the bag, Hannah. Are you all right?” Henry asks, touching my arm.

“I'm fine! I just need that bag!”

“Oh, poor thing,” Piper says, looking down at me sympathetically. “Leave her alone, boys. She's just gone though a traumatic experience, and you're obviously upsetting her. Look, she's shaking!” Piper points at my legs, which I've just noticed are vibrating like crazy.

“It's 'cause I was chased by a shark!” I argue loudly. “That bag was important! It had the …”

Just then, Bruce rams his humongous head into the dive deck, and everyone screams at the top of their lungs. Just when we think he is swimming away, he turns back for his one last act of terror, opening up his massive jaws and then slamming them shut.

“Looks like he's got a fish in there,” A.J. says, laughing. “Guess he wanted to show us that he's not leaving empty handed.”

A.J. is right about one thing: Bruce is definitely leaving with a prize, only it's not a fish, like he thinks. It's a light brown nylon bag, holding a priceless piece of history — yup, you guessed it — Queen Isobel's crown, that as of this very moment will never see the light of day ever again.

“Amazing, Hannah!” Patrice claps happily. “Can we all have a round of applause for our brave, young treasure hunter, Hannah Smart?”

Everyone claps and cheers. I'm so shaken by the whole thing, I can barely manage to stand up. How can I explain that I had Queen Isobel's crown in my hand and then just handed it over to a shark, with whom I had quite a friendly relationship until just moments ago. I can't! No one would believe me anyway! What a disaster!

“I think I should lie down,” I say to Patrice. He nods, and then motions to the cameras to follow.

“Patrice. If you don't mind, could I just have a few minutes to myself?”

“Of course!” Patrice shakes his head ruefully. “Go and lie down, my sweet girl. You can tell us all about it later.”

“I'll take her to her room,” Henry says, giving me his elbow.

“Oh before you go, I have some news!” Piper calls out sweetly (and loud enough for everyone to hear). Then she turns to Patrice, and whispers, “You might want to have the cameras rolling for this.”

“Val, Lorenzo, Thomas!” Patrice hollers to the camera crew. “We're back on!”

Piper waits for the
okay
from Patrice, and then flashes a huge smile at the cameras. Whatever she has to say, it must be good; she's bursting at the seams.

“Well, I was going to wait until supper …” she clasps her hands behind her back and rocks on her heels “ … but with all the excitement, and knowing Hannah is safe from the clutches of that awful, evil shark, I just think now is the perfect time to show you all what I've found.”

And right there, before my very eyes, she pulls out Queen Isobel de la Isla Grande Hermosa's crown, in all of its priceless, golden, sparkling glory.

I
open my eyes to pitch-blackness and instantly start feeling around with my hands. The first thing I find is Teddy, a little bear I've had since I was three years old. That's when I realize I'm in my bed … warm and cozy and
very
relieved. It was all just a horrible and
weirdly
realistic dream! Thank god!

I get out of bed and flick on the light. Suddenly, I get a glimpse of myself in the mirror and realize I'm in my wetsuit. I look back over at my bed and see that I had been lying on a pile of towels!

OMG!
It wasn't a dream! The shark! The crown!
OMG!

There is a knock on the door. “Hannah, can I come in?” Henry asks.

“Sure, come on in,” I say, the raspiness of my voice surprising me.

“You realize you fainted, right?”

“Yeah, I'm prone to that, unfortunately.”

“How are you?”

“Freaked out.”

Henry nods. “I reckon you are. That shark was pretty scary.”

“Which one?” I ask, frowning. “The one in the water or the one on board?”

“Ahhh, good one!” Henry laughs. “Speaking of Piper, I can't believe she found that crown!”

“Well then you'd be right,” I sneer.

“What do you mean? Are you saying …”

“Yup, that's exactly what I'm saying.”

“Oh my god! You kept going on about that bag, but no one would listen. We were all so freaked out and relieved that you didn't get eaten!”

I shrug.

“The crown was in that bag, wasn't it?”

I nod. “Piper was there when A.J. pulled me on board. I remember now. She took my other hand.”

“The hand that was holding the bag,” Henry says, piecing it all together.

“Exactly!”

“Well, what are you going to do?”

“I don't know yet,” I reply

Henry goes silent.

I tap his head. “What's going on in there?”

“Does it really matter who found it? It's just going to the museum, anyway.”

“I know, but …”

“Hannah, you're a nice girl, and Piper, well … she's not. She'll fight you on this and she'll make you look bad, like really bad.”

“I know, but …”

“With or without the crown you'll still be the same sweet, awesome Hannah, and she'll still be the same awful Piper, with her awful dad, awful training schedule, and her
awful
egg-white-and-spinach omelettes.” Henry laughs.

“But did you see it, Henry? Did you see how beautiful it was?”

“It was all right,” he teases.

“Stop it!” I laugh. “Now, get out of here. I have to get ready for supper.”

“Take your time. It's going to be a late one again tonight. The captain is pretty happy about that crown.”

“Speaking of which, even if I don't call her out her in public, I think it's high time Piper and I had a little conversation. Don't you think?”

Henry chuckles. “Well, good luck with that.”

P
iper is alone in the galley when I arrive. As much as I want to sit her down and lay into her right here and now, I can't, because the conversation I'm planning on having with that girl will definitely break the no-drama rule about a hundred times over.

“Piper, I need to talk to you in my cabin.”

“I'm making a snack; it will have to wait,” she says, smearing a thick layer of icing onto a strawberry Toaster Strudel.

“Since when do you snack?”

“I snack!” she barks, squishing up her face.

“I thought you weren't allowed.”

“Oh my gosh! Are you for real?” She sneers. “Of course I'm allowed!”

“Okay, but I seem to remember you saying something about how elite athletes are a different breed from the rest of us, healthier, more disciplined, never eat between meals, only eat …”

“
OMG
, Hannah, whatever!” Piper angrily pushes the plate of Toaster Strudel across the counter, then grabs a banana from her bag, peels down the top, and takes a huge bite.

“Are bananas allowed now? I must have missed the memo.”

“They're not allowed.” She sneers.

“Okay, I have to know — what is your dad's issue with bananas?”

She rolls her eyes and sighs. “They're bad luck, okay.”

“Seriously?” I can't help but laugh.

“It's a boat thing. It's stupid. Don't worry about it and stop staring at me,” she says, shoving another bite of banana into her mouth. “Plus, my mother is allergic.”

“But your mom isn't here.”

“She's never here! What's your point?”

“Um …”

“Look! If you have something to say, just say it!”

“Okay. You and I both know that I found it.” I whisper.

“Found what?” She smiles innocently as a few people from the camera crew come into the galley for their own pre-supper snack.

“The crown,” I whisper again.

“Who cares?” she shrugs, blank-faced.

“I care!” I whisper loudly. “I out-swam a shark to get that!”

“It could have been worse, right … I mean you could have been eaten.” She chuckles.

“It's not right!” I hiss as quietly as I can.

Val raises an eyebrow and shakes her head warningly.

“I found the crown fair and square,” Piper chirps, happily.

“No you didn't! You took it!” I hiss.