How to Outswim a Shark Without a Snorkel Read online

  “Girls, this is Logan,” Patricia introduced us. “He’s a marine biology student, and he’ll be helping us out this summer.”

  CREATURE FILE

  SPECIES NAME: Logan Adonis

  KINGDOM: My heart!

  PHYLUM: Guys Who Look Like They Could Be Underwear Models on the Side of a Bus Somewhere, But Instead They’re Here in Front of You and Oh My God How Do I Breathe Again?

  WEIGHT: Too busy drooling to care.

  FEEDS ON: I mean seriously, look at him! I could swim laps in those eyes!

  LIFE SPAN: Whatever it is, it isn’t long enough.

  HANDLING TECHNIQUE: I…I think I forgot how to sentence.

  Ashley sucked in her cheeks, giving her best smile. She didn’t seem to mind the fact that she was in a goofy suit. “Hi, Logan! I’m Ashley! I’m a summer student too!”

  His face lit up, and I had to stop myself from staggering backward. He was even more gorgeous when he smiled. The sides of his eyes went up like his whole face was happy. If he could bottle that, nobody on earth would ever be sad again.

  “Hey, ladies. Nice to meet ya.” He reached out and shook our hands. The smell of woodsy cologne and sunshine wafted over me. How can someone smell like actual sunshine?

  I was never washing my hand again.

  Patricia smirked the tiniest bit. “Logan is from California, where he’s studying marine biology in college, specifically sharks.” Logan nodded proudly, sending his golden hair over his eyes. He combed it back casually with his fingertips.

  Nngggghhh.

  “Ooh, I love sharks!” Ashley blurted.

  What? Are you kidding me?

  “Me too,” Logan said. His voice reminded me of rich, dark chocolate. I don’t even like dark chocolate, but it was enough to make me a total convert. Is this what twentyish-year-old guys were like? Is this what Kevin would be like when he was Logan’s age? With a deep voice and tiny lines around his mouth and gold hair on his arms?

  The thought made my insides blush. I know that insides can’t technically blush, but this was a special circumstance, I guess. It was like he walked off a movie set!

  Instantly, I didn’t want to be me. I wanted to be Anastasia, not plain old Ana. I wanted to look like I walked off some teen movie set too. Then Kevin would definitely kiss me.

  Oh God, he was talking. Pay attention!

  “I normally spend summers with my uncle on the water, but the opportunity here was too good to pass up. This new exhibit should be wild.” He looked up around us, clearly impressed. I would have agreed if he’d said Daz’s ratty sneakers were impressive, but hey.

  “Ana’s grandfather is actually the one funding it,” Patricia explained.

  “Oh right!” Logan exclaimed. “You’re Shep Foster’s grandkid! I forgot!”

  I smiled tightly. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of him thinking of me as some little girl, especially not someone’s grandkid. It made me sound so young. But he was still staring at me with those sparkly blue eyes…

  “Yeah, he’s my mom’s dad,” I said awkwardly. Like he didn’t know what the concept of “grandfather” meant. Good one, Ana. My heart was doing hopscotch in my chest.

  He grinned at me easily. “Shep’s awesome. I saw that special on TV where he got bit by that snake…man.” He shook his head. “I’d love to meet him in person sometime.”

  “Ana’s family is all kinds of crazy like that,” Ashley blurted. There was more than a hint of buzzing excitement in her eyes.

  I concentrated hard.

  Must. Make. Words. Happen.

  “He’s back in LA right now, but he’ll be here for sure when the exhibit opens,” I said. “I can introduce you if you want.” Pretty sure I’ve never been happier about getting a single sentence out of my mouth without garbling it up.

  “That’d be great!” A loud guitar riff startled me. “Sorry, that’s my phone.” He held up his hand and dug around in his pocket. “I have to take this, but it was awesome meeting you. Should be fun seeing you guys around!” Ashley waved coyly as he took his phone call, wandering off into the sunset, er…I mean, down the hallway. Something about Logan demanded an epic exit.

  “Whoa,” Ashley said. “That guy is a certified hottie.”

  I stood there, watching the space where Logan had been standing.

  “Yeah,” I breathed.

  “Did…did he say we’ll get to work with him?” Ashley turned to me. She looked as dazed as I probably did. “Is that what he just said?” She leaned back against the wall, like she couldn’t trust her legs to hold her up.

  I tried to remember. “Yes. Yes, he did.”

  Ashley turned expectantly to Patricia, with a look of “don’t-leave-me-hanging-here.” Patricia sighed. “Yes, girls. He will be helping out around here and doing some work on his thesis. You’re welcome.” She rhymed the words off in a monotone voice.

  My face went hot. A whole month of the Sun God. This must have been prophesized in some ancient book.

  Patricia clapped her hands. “All right! Don’t make me get out the hose to cool you down. Have we had enough of the hormones for today then?” She rolled her eyes. “I won’t have you ogling the scenery here on my time, thankyouverymuch. There’s no point in wasting those suits. Go ahead and see what it’s like!”

  Ashley and I waddled to the tank, with our lime-green flippers smacking the floor like duck feet. It doesn’t get more glamorous than this, does it?

  Chapter 7

  The mantis shrimp is able to strike out its claws with the same velocity as a gunshot from a twenty-two caliber rifle.

  —Animal Wisdom

  Yikes?!

  The sound of frantic footsteps and tinkling water filled my ears. A few days (and many annoying snorkel sessions) later, it finally happened: Shark Day was here. The new exhibits were full, and there were dozens of new creatures for us to meet before the exhibit officially opened to the public in a grand opening two weeks from now.

  And of course, Grandpa wanted it to be a big surprise.

  “Everyone keep your eyes closed!” he said, beaming with excitement.

  Mom, Dad, Daz, Sugar, Ashley, and I stood with our eyes scrunched shut, waiting for Grandpa’s go-ahead to open them.

  Sugar gripped my hand tightly. “Ooh, I am so excited, Ana doll! It even sounds beautiful!”

  “Ready, Patricia?” Grandpa said.

  I tried to peek through my eyelashes, but all I could see were his feet.

  “Yep! Ladies and gentlemen. One, two, three, OPEN!”

  “Whoa,” I breathed, gaping at the room in awe. Mom and Ashley stumbled back, taking in the room, while Sugar’s eyes were bugging out in shock. And naturally, Daz began completely wigging out.

  “Grandpa, this is so cool!” he squeaked.

  It was cool. The empty horseshoe-shaped tank had been filled with a beautiful mangrove forest, with roots, rocks, and sandy areas jutting out around us. The water was pristine and clear, with viewing windows on each side.

  And the best part?

  Sharks! Tons of sharks swimming around us, all right there!

  “Welcome to the mangrove forest,” Grandpa said softly. His eyes shone with pride. “The center exhibit is all animals that kids can touch.” He pointed to a group of rays with broad fins sailing past us in the water. “Cownose rays and Atlantic rays.” Ducking over to a thicket of roots, he said, “Epaulette sharks over here.”

  Patricia beamed at him. “And over here”—she pointed to a small, round tank on the floor—“is the tide pool.”

  Daz leaned over the water, while Ashley stuck closer to me. “Horseshoe crabs!” he exclaimed.

  “Yep. And hermit crabs and starfish. Everything you’d want in your friendly neighborhood tide pool,” Grandpa said. A lump caught in my throat as I saw him wipe a tear from his eye. It was easy to ge
t caught up with how crazy he could be, but at times like this? It was seriously cool to have him as a grandpa.

  “This is incredible,” I said, letting my hand dip into the water below me. “For real. It’s so awesome.”

  Ashley nodded, coming out of her dopey-eyed daze. “I can’t believe it,” she said. “It’s like walking into a dream.” She saw the surprised look on my face. “Only like a sciencey one, with lots of diagrams and stuff,” she added, her ears turning pink.

  “What are these?” I asked, walking over to the wall. The touch tanks were lined with side exhibits, ones that you couldn’t touch, but they still bathed the room with an oceany-blue glow. A yellow creature with leaflike lobes all over its body stared back at me.

  “That’s a leafy sea dragon,” Mom said, touching her finger to the glass. “They were always one of my favorites.” She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “Thanks, Dad.”

  “Ooh! What’s this over here?! Some sort of jellyfish? I like their little insides!” Sugar piped up. She scampered over to another tank, her high heels clicking on the floor.

  “I’ve got this,” Daz quipped, running over to her. He stuck out his chest. “Those are moon jellies. There are over two thousand different jellies in the world right now. And they don’t have hearts! Or brains!”

  Ashley snorted.

  “What?” Daz said, giving his best innocent look. “I know about animals too, you know.” He fake-whispered to Sugar, “Some girls don’t know how to handle an intelligent man.”

  “Talk about brainless,” I muttered to Ashley. She gave me a devilish grin.

  “How do you live with him?” she whispered.

  “You have no idea.”

  “So you guys want a quick lesson on how to interact with these guys or what?” Grandpa said. “You’ll be the ones showing kids how to do it!”

  “Yes!” Ashley blurted.

  The five of us stood outside the largest tank, watching Grandpa and Patricia’s example from the inner circle. The rays and sharks whisked by us, sending clear currents of water out in ripples around their tails. That’s when it hit me. Did these things have teeth? I glanced down at my hand. I didn’t want to lose any fingers here.

  “The first rule is: be very quiet,” Grandpa said. “They can hear you from under there, so if you have a bunch of kids in here that are being too loud, it’s your job to keep them quiet so the animals don’t get scared. If they do”—he pointed to a rocky shoal in the middle of the tank—“they will hide there.”

  Ashley’s eyes were wide as she stared down at the fins that zipped by.

  “Step two.” He lifted his hand. “Let the sharks come to you. Not the other way around. These animals are very sensitive to touch, and chasing them will only spook them. You want to be gentle and put your hand palm side down under the water.”

  We all did as he said. The water was chilly, but I was more concerned by the creatures whooshing by me to notice. Daz was practically vibrating he was so excited. I’m surprised he hadn’t just leaped in the tank yet and declared himself King Triton.

  “And three,” Patricia said. “When one does swim under you, glide your hand along its back.” She waited a moment for a ray to approach her, then stroked it lightly with her fingers as it went by.

  It didn’t even seem to mind!

  I wanted to try. I concentrated hard, willing one of the rays to come close. After a few close calls, one finally swam right under my hand. I lowered my palm slightly, letting my fingertips drag gently on its back. A thrill ran through my body.

  “That’s so cool!” I said. “It feels like sandpapery skin!”

  “I got one!” Daz announced. “It came right to me! I am the shark whisperer!”

  Mom raised her eyebrows. “For a whisperer, you’re awfully loud!”

  Even Dad was getting in on the action, waiting patiently while a ray swished under his hand.

  “They aren’t coming to me,” Ashley said. There was more than a note of sadness in her voice. I almost made a joke that sharks don’t like Sneerers, but once I saw the defeated look on her face, I decided against it.

  “Just keep your hands still.” I helped her. “And your fingers straight out. They will come,” I said. She held her breath as she listened, keeping her arm motionless under the water.

  “Here he comes,” I whispered, gripping her other arm.

  Swoosh. Her fingers lowered slightly.

  “I did it!” Ashley yelped. “It does feel like sandpaper! Only softer and spongy.” She watched intently as the water dripped from her hand back into the tank.

  As everyone was leaning over the water, I realized something. This was a definite first in my life. Yeah, it was the first time I’d ever touched sharks or rays. And the first time I got to touch a hermit crab. But as I watched closer, it was also the first time Ashley ever looked happy.

  I mean, sure. She’s happy in school, I guess.

  Especially when I’d seen her talking to Zack or that guy who wears too much cologne. She always bats her eyelashes and giggles and smiles.

  But that seemed different than now. The face she usually wore at school didn’t look anything like the one she had when she was touching sharks. Could this be what Ashley really looked like when she was happy?

  I let my thoughts swirl around in my head as I dipped my fingers in the water once more.

  “Ana!” Sugar sidled up beside me. She was holding a hermit crab in her palm from the tidal pool tank. The red nail polish on her fingertips matched its orangey claws. “You’ve got to see his little feet. They are simply darlin’!”

  Ashley bit her lip as she took a final look around the tanks. Her smile dropped.

  “What’s the matter, hun?” Sugar asked.

  Blinking away the glassy look on her face, Ashley let out an overwhelmed sigh. “I always thought that these things were dangerous,” she admitted, pointing to the touch tank. “I had no idea it was like this.”

  Mom nodded. “Many people think all sharks are vicious killers.”

  “The reality is, there are around four hundred and fifty species of sharks, and only a handful of them have ever tried to attack a human,” Grandpa added. “These epaulette sharks eat crabs and shrimp. Most would rather stay far away from us in the wild.”

  Ashley nodded, and the rest of us were silent. Ashley looked shy now. Almost apologetic.

  “I’m really glad we did this,” I blurted, causing everyone to turn to me. “You know,” I added, staring down at the water. “It’s just really cool. I’m glad to be here.”

  Beside me, Ashley smiled. “Me too.”

  “That’s great, girls. It sounds like you’re going to learn a lot this summer!” Mom said airily.

  I didn’t miss the sly grin on her face.

  Sometimes I think mothers are sneakier than they let on.

  Chapter 8

  The Japanese spider crab can grow to have a leg span of thirteen feet.

  —Animal Wisdom

  Why on earth does a crab need to be that big? Is it planning on taking over the world?!

  The next week went by swimmingly.

  No pun intended.

  With the animals in their tanks, Ashley and I worked together for a couple hours every day. I didn’t even have any good material to add to my Anti-Ashley notebook, no matter how hard I tried to think of something. That notebook sat unused in my backpack, along with a tin of mints and my headphones.

  Ashley had been so not-sneery, in fact, that I ended up giving one of my extra blue notebooks to her, so we could take notes about all the animals we’d have to learn about.

  That’s right.

  Ana the Crocodile Girl had officially become a Shark Girl. Instead of presentations with reptiles, we were going to memorize short little snippets of information about the Adventure Zone creatures, so we could be there whenever kids
had a question. With Grandpa organizing the big “grand opening” presentation for the public at the end of next week, we’d decided that since I’d already had my share of the spotlight, it was Ashley’s turn to lead a presentation.

  I won’t lie.

  It was sort of funny to see how nervous she was.

  “How do you make sure you don’t memorize the wrong facts for each animal?” she asked me on Friday, as she sat across from me at the zoo cafeteria. Piles of books on sharks and other sea creatures were stacked beside us. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it looked an awful lot like school.

  Except school doesn’t come with snow cones. I licked some of the sticky blue juice from the back of my hand and wiped up some of the drips from the open page of my notebook.

  “You try to come up with little prompts to help you remember,” I said. The truth was, I had no idea how I could remember random facts about animals. Probably because I’ve grown up with them, and my brain is a little off.

  She frowned. “But…how?”

  I opened one of the books, finding a page on cownose rays, one of the species in our tanks. “Like right here,” I said, pointing to the page. I read aloud, “Cownose rays are known to travel in large groups of up to ten thousand.” I put the book down.

  “So you tell yourself, ‘Cownose rays, schools of up to ten thousand,’” I explained. “And you remember it by thinking of a stampede of ten thousand cows charging through school. So the words cow and school and ten thousand should help you remember that one fact.”

  Ashley’s eyes glazed over. “You do this for every animal you talk about?” She paused, flipping through the pages. “Is that what you did for your reptile presentation?”

  I sat back in my chair. This was the first time either of us had mentioned that day. It brought a bitter taste to my mouth. “I knew most of those facts already,” I admitted. “Because we’ve taken care of loads of reptiles at home. So it was easier for me to know what I was talking about then.”

  She nodded glumly, and something inside me stirred. Was it pity? It felt a lot like pity. Hot and clammy inside my chest. “It’s not the same this time, though,” I added. “There’s a lot I don’t know about with these guys.” I tapped the books. “So I’m pretty much learning it for the first time too.”