The Shark Whisperer (30 page)

Tristan stared out the window as they were about to land on Cranky Key. It was midafternoon so there were still some visitors at the Florida Keys Sea Park. From the airplane, the people below again looked like a bunch of bugs scurrying about. They circled once around the runway before landing and coming to a stop.

“Welcome back to Sea Camp,” Coach Fred announced with exaggerated niceness over the plane's intercom. “Thank you for flying Coach Fred Airways. Hope you had a nice flight. Now get out!”

“Such a way with words that Coach,” Director Davis said. “Fantastic job everyone. Put your stuff away then meet at the lagoon dock before dinner. Jade, Rusty, and Rory, if you would come with me to my office for a little chat.”

Coach Fred, Ms. Sanchez, and Director Davis shook hands with the Seasquirts as each teen stepped
off the plane. They also collected their tracking bracelets. Tristan had never felt prouder, even when he nicked his foot on the edge of the carpet in the plane and nearly went headfirst down the stairs.

“Tristan, thank you for everything you did in the Bahamas,” Director Davis said. “You are a smart, skilled young man. I look forward to working with you further here at camp. You have a very bright future ahead of you. Now get some rest and please,
try
to stay out of trouble.”

“Thanks, Director Davis. You know, I should probably call my mom.”

“Of course, of course. Come to my office after dinner and we'll ring her right up. I know it's going to be tough to keep all of this a secret. When your folks come for the final weekend of camp, we'll explain everything. Though we may want to be careful about just how much we tell them about the Bahamas, if you know what I mean.”

“Yeah,” Tristan said nodding.

They all gathered around the plane as Coach Fred secured it. The runway was empty.

“Where is everyone?” Ms. Sanchez said. “I expected at least Doc Jordan to be here when we landed.”

“Woohoo!”

A mob of campers dashed out from behind the trees lining the runway. Doc Jordan led the way. Just behind her were Julie and Jillian, the Seasquirts' identical twins. They all hooted, hollered, and cheered as they ran toward the returning teens. The group standing by
the plane was besieged with congratulatory back slaps, hugs, and handshakes. Rosina looked totally horrified when two of the older campers hugged her. Ryder was just the opposite. He shook hands with everyone, giving them cool head nods, and explaining how critical he had been to the operation in the Bahamas and how dangerous it all was. Hugh and Sam didn't look quite as comfortable amid the crowd of well-wishers. Tristan just stood there in shock.

“About time they finally gave me the appreciation I deserve,” Coach Fred joked.

“Okay, okay. Thanks everyone,” Director Davis said. “Great job. Meeting at the lagoon dock in an hour. Off you go.”

Like a scattering pod of dolphins, the campers swarmed off the runway back into the park. Tristan, Sam, and Hugh stayed a little behind the crowd. Tristan felt overwhelmed. A lot had happened in a very short time and he was tired beyond being tired. Being that they were back on solid ground, within minutes Tristan also stubbed his toe on a loose rock, stumbled, and fell awkwardly to the pavement. “Can we get back in the water now?”

Hugh and Sam laughed along with Tristan and gave him a helping hand up.

By the time Tristan, Hugh, and Sam arrived at the lagoon, just about everybody else from camp was
already there. Director Davis stood on the dock talking with Coach Fred, Ms. Sanchez, and Doc Jordan. Even the fashion unconscious seawater system guy, Mark, was there in full clashing orange and purple plaid wearing his trademark yellow rubber boots. Flash, the tech wizard was also present. He had on dark sunglasses, a wide floppy hat, and seemed exceptionally uncomfortable in the late afternoon sun. When he saw Hugh, he waved.

Director Davis noticed the three teens and waved them over. They made their way through the campers milling on the beach, joining Ryder and Rosina standing at the base of the dock. Jade, Rory, and Rusty were also there.

“Okay everyone. Quiet down,” Director Davis shouted. “Why do octopus make good security guards?”

The group was silent.

“They are well armed!”

Amid a lot of head shaking and eye rolling, there was some chuckling and someone actually yelled, “Good one!”

“As you all clearly know every little thing that happened in the Bahamas, I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome back Jade, Rory, and Rusty recognizing their brave, but slightly reckless service to our mission here at Sea Camp. And I'd like to point out that learning from our mistakes is part of camp and life. Let's give them a big hand for getting back safely and their overly enthusiastic pursuit of our mission here!”

While the others all clapped and cheered, Jade, Rusty, and Rory smiled and shrugged good-naturedly.

“And now let's give a big Sea Camp thank you to Coach Fred, Ms. Sanchez, and our young Seasquirts, Tristan, Sam, Hugh, Ryder, and Rosina.”

“You'd think maybe we'd move up from being Seasquirts after all that,” Tristan whispered to Hugh.

“Their actions in the Bahamas were not only courageous, but took wit and skill. We look forward to many more weeks . . .”

A large pelican poked Director Davis in the leg.

“I haven't forgotten you Henry. Let's also give a hand to Henry and all of his friends. They supplied the most effective and stinky air assault ever!”

As the campers clapped and cheered, a flock of seagulls flew by. Everyone instinctively ducked as they passed overhead. Tristan cringed as well, hoping the birds didn't decide to demonstrate their bombing techniques. A few more pelicans landed near Henry and there was a small group of turkey vultures circling above.

Rosina leaned over to the other Seasquirts. “The turkey vultures would like another round of applause specifically for them and if we have any meat at dinner, they asked if we could save them some scraps.”

“And thank you especially to all of the dolphins, whales, sharks, octopus, crabs, jellyfish, and other marine organisms that worked with us,” Director Davis added. “We couldn't have done it without them.”

Out in the lagoon, two dolphins jumped up and
did synchronized forward somersaults. A few flying fish then shot out of the water, gliding swiftly over the sea surface. After that, three large dark dorsal fins rose up out of the water heading for the dock. At first, the sharks swam side by side. Then they shifted positions, lining up one behind the other. As each shark passed the dock it rolled onto its side staring up. It reminded Tristan of soccer players lining up after a game to shake hands. And he could swear that as the sharks passed where he was standing, they each gave him the undersea version of Ryder's cool head nod.

22

SNAGGLE-TOOTH SMILES

T
HE REMAINING WEEKS OF CAMP FLEW BY
. T
RISTAN
, Hugh, and Sam, along with the other Seasquirts, attended classes, practice sessions, and worked hard to improve their skills. By the end of the summer, Tristan could swim even faster, stay underwater longer, and almost keep in control. Now he only rarely crashed into the dock. Tristan also spent as much time as possible conversing with sharks and rays, always being sure to stay on their good sides.

Hugh was eventually able to change the color of his skin underwater for up to about two minutes, if he stayed focused. But that proved difficult, because swimming with the ocean's nonhuman inhabitants still sort of freaked him out. He and Old “six-arm” Jack became pals. Hugh spent hours at the Rehab Center learning from the octopus about camouflage techniques, the
habits of other creatures, and the polite way to address each of them. Old Jack and Hugh also had contests to see who could solve the Rubik's cube the quickest. It wasn't even close—Old Jack won every time. Sam spent many hours happily swimming in the lagoon with the dolphins and worked on her ability to echolocate. As the end of summer camp neared, she could detect even small objects in the water within a certain range.

The other Seasquirts continued training as well. Ryder worked in the Wave Pool to perfect his jumping and surfing skills. After numerous and painful crash landings, he was eventually able to use the waves to launch himself out of the water and onto the beach. He also continued to flaunt his talents, boasting about them and the important role he had played in the Bahamas. Tristan didn't remember it quite the same way as Ryder, but figured his exaggerations weren't hurting anyone so he never said anything. Besides, most everyone knew the real story. Rosina came to love her mucus deployment skills. She often played practical jokes on the other campers. Her favorite ones were to offer someone a helping slime-covered hand out of the water or to drip gooey strings of mucus on a camper's head when they weren't looking. She spent a lot of time with Henry and the other birds, though Rosina never did seem to warm up to the turkey vultures and the seagulls drove her batty. Julia and Jillian found that their talents lay in maneuvering in tight spaces underwater. They also discovered that they had excellent underwater vision—at night.

Throughout the summer, Coach Fred, Ms. Sanchez, and Director Davis taught classes and gave the Seasquirts team challenges. They were given puzzles and obstacles that could only be solved or overcome if the teens worked as a team both physically and mentally. That part of their training didn't go quite as well. They often had trouble acting as a team and agreeing on the ways to solve challenges. After the adventure in the Bahamas, the Seasquirts usually turned to Tristan for leadership followed by Sam and Hugh—all except for Ryder. He was constantly butting heads with Tristan and the others, and had little patience for anyone who disagreed with him. Rosina still snapped and snarled every once in a while, but she was friendlier and definitely more cooperative than when she had first arrived.