Page 2 of Royal Shark
I swim, keeping her in sight. Waiting…waiting…now! I pull ahead and claim the victory. I wait for her to lift her head and realize her loss before punching a hand in the air. “I won, you little cheater!”
She treads water. “Your arms are longer. It wasn’t a fair race unless I had a head start.”
“Mmm, can’t wait to eat all those cookies. Don’t worry, I’ll give you a chip.”
“Joke’s on you. I can just eat some at home.”
I hadn’t thought of that. It’s not as great a victory as I hoped. “Who cares? I still won.”
We float in silence on our backs for a bit. She’s not like her little sister, always chattering. Thankfully.
After a while, she straightens, treading water. I tread water too. I’m about to ask if she wants to go double or nothing on a race back to shore when she says, “I think my parents are going to get a divorce.”
This is a shock. Whenever her parents join us on the beach, they always seem so happy, joking around and holding hands. “Why do you think that?”
“They’ve been arguing a lot.”
“About what?”
Her lips form a flat line. “My dad wants to quit his job and start his own company. My mom says it’s not a good time.”
“That’s not too bad. I’m sure they’ll figure it out. They still hold hands, right?”
“Not really.”
“Oh.” I don’t know what to say. I hope she’s wrong. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“You don’t know that.”
I change tactics. “Ibetyou it’ll be fine. By next summer, they’ll be back to normal. I’ll give you my dragon cards if I lose the bet, which I won’t.” It’s my best playing card set, with detailed dragon illustrations on the back, which I know is her favorite.
She tries to smile but can’t manage it. “Wanna race back? Double or nothing.”
I grin. “I’ll even give you a three-second head start.”
Her green eyes light up. “Go!”
I watch her swim, counting extra slow.
“Ah!” She jackknifes upright suddenly and then drops like a stone underwater.
I swim to her, and she pops up again. “My ankle! It hurts so bad.” She starts to sink again.
I grab her arm, keeping her above water. “Float on your back. What happened?”
“I think I cut it on a rock.” She lifts her ankle above the water, and blood drips out of a gash in it. That looks really bad. “Oh my God! I’m going to bleed out, surrounded by sharks, who’ll eat my leg, and then I’ll drown!”
I’m already thinking ahead to getting her to shore before she loses too much blood. “The sharks aren’t going to eat you. We don’t have sharks.”
“Yes, you do! Sharks can go anywhere!”
“Do the backstroke and try not to kick that leg too much. I’ll swim back with you.”
“I’m scared,” she says in a small voice.
“I’ll tow you.” I wrap an arm around her middle, prepared to pull her to shore.
“No, I can do it. Just keep talking to me, okay? Distract me.”
