Page 42 of Head First
Somehow Hugh being so encouraging about something he doesn’t want to happen just makes me feel worse.
‘Hugh, I don’t think I’m gonna do the night dive . . . If you want to ask Andrew to partner . . .’
‘Andrew?’ Hugh sputters. ‘You want me to partner with Andrew on a night dive? Even during the daytime, he can’t tell the ocean floor from the sky!’
‘Shh!’ I hiss, but despite my mood, he gets a laugh out of me. Hugh’s right, Andrew will have a harder time controlling his buoyancy in the dark, which is a recipe for disaster.
‘Why don’t you want to go?’
‘I don’t know I’m just . . .’ I trail off. I’m scared. I’m sad. I’m disappointed. I practically just explained to Pippa how much I need tofocus. None of which I really want to get into with Hugh.
Hugh drops his voice lower and says, ‘The ocean in the dark freaks me out too.’
‘It does?’ I can’t bear to look at him.
‘Yeah, it does. I’ve done a lot of night dives and they don’t get easier. But I’ll be next to you the whole time.’
‘But it’s sodark,’ I whisper.
Hugh stands up, his head almost brushing the ceiling, and steps closer to my bunk. ‘Hey,’ he says softly, ‘have you ever seen anyone doing a night dive? Like, have you ever been on a boat while people go underwater?’
I shake my head.
‘Well . . .’ He pauses, and I turn to look at him. We’re as close as we’ve been to each other, his face mere inches from mine. ‘You’re just going to have to believe me then,’ he continues, ‘but from the boat, you can see all of us really easily. We’ll each have a flashlight, and they’re so bright that Aaron and Pippa will be able to track us, no problem. So if that makes you feel better, you don’t need to be as nervous. You have people you trust looking after you.’
‘I do trust Pippa,’ I admit.
‘Exactly,’ Hugh says. ‘And Aaron knows his Tripadvisor ratings will really plummet if they lose somebody. He’ll have your back.’
The tension in my chest begins to ease. I give Hugh a half-hearted smile. ‘OK,’ I say in a small voice, ‘I guess I’ll go.’
‘There we go.’ He grins. ‘I knew you wouldn’t let me down, wrasse girl!’
‘Wrasse girl?’ I exclaim. ‘That’s my nickname now? That nickname sucks!’
‘I can see how it’s not the most appealing of nicknames. But you are obsessed with them . . . I could call you w-rassie instead?’
‘Hugh,’ I say in a falsely menacing tone, ‘I do not like either of those.’
Hugh steps back from the bunk as I climb down to the floor.
‘Seeing as it’s three to one,’ he says, tapping a finger on his chin, his eyes sparkling, ‘I’m fairly sure I can call you whatever I want.’
‘That is not fair,’ I say, ‘technically I would have stood up for myself with Derek. And I would have gone on the night dive! Eventually . . . I think . . . I just needed a minute.’
‘OK, how about this? If you go on the night dive, I’ll never call you wrassie again.’
‘Or wrasse girl,’ I counter.
‘Deal.’
‘Deal.’ I realise I’m smiling, something I thought would be impossible before the night dive. ‘Thank you, Hugh,’ I say, a few seconds later. ‘You’re not as bad as I thought.’
‘What?’
‘Don’t make me repeat myself,’ I whine, shucking off my cover-up and tossing it onto the bed. I know when we get upstairs we will immediately have to change into our stinger suits.
‘Millie,’ Hugh says, a few seconds later, the playfulness gone from his voice. ‘Before we go upstairs, I have to tell you something.’
