Moving fast.
Shelly yelled as the wave hit her square in the face. It knocked her off the catwalk and sucked her toward the open ocean. Then it pulled her down into a swirl of fizzing bubbles and dark water that crashed into her nose, mouth, and ears.
She tried to swim for the surface, toward the dim light overhead, clawing through the cold water, but the undertow latched on to her like a vise. Still she struggled against the strong current, gulping salt water. Her lungs burned and screamed for air. She was going to drown.
Then she felt something curl around her ankle.
Something slimy. Cold.
It tightened its grip.
And pulled.
“Shelly, wake up!” cried a familiar voice.
The first thing Shelly noticed was that she was freezing. Shivering, teeth-clatteringly cold. The second was that it felt like she’d just swum five hundred meters. Every muscle ached. She coughed, bringing up a jet of salt water, then flipped over onto wet sand and cracked open her eyes.
A worried face peered down at her. Enrique. “Shelly, are you okay?” he asked with a shake of his head. His curls sprayed salt water, and his clothes were drenched and clung to him.
“Y-yes,” Shelly choked out. Her voice sounded hoarse.
“I thought I lost you.” Enrique’s eyes flashed concern as he helped her to her feet.
Her ankle buckled as he propped her upright. He’s stronger than he looks, she thought. She glanced down at her foot. Her pants were torn by her ankle, and a circular red welt marred her skin. How did that happen? she wondered. Her thoughts spun. “Wait . . . w-what?” she uttered. She took in her surroundings. Waves rolled in the dark, moonlit sea beyond the beach.
How did I get on the beach? she thought.
“What were you doing on the catwalk? Miguel doesn’t let me go up there. It’s not safe.”
Shelly searched her foggy memory. The catwalk . . . the plastic cup in the ocean . . .
“You’re lucky I was nearby,” Enrique went on, wringing the bottom of his sopping shirt. “I was helping with the dolphins on the sundeck when I heard your friends scream. Well, more like shriek. And when I turned around, I saw a huge wave come out of nowhere and hit you.”
That’s right, Shelly thought. The wave.
“Don’t worry, your friends are fine,” he added with a lopsided grin. “Just a bit shaken.”
Her memory snapped back into focus. The glowing eyes. The wave sweeping her off the catwalk. Shelly trying to swim back to the surface and being pulled down, then . . . nothing.
“Y-you saved me,” Shelly stammered. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” said Enrique. “Lucky I’m in training to be a lifeguard next summer.”
“Right . . . really lucky,” she said, in shock that she hadn’t suffered a worse fate. “Thank you again. Hey, where are Mr. Aquino and the rest of the class? Are they still here?”
“No sweat,” Enrique said. “Everyone’s at the bus. Oh! I almost forgot!” He dug his hands into his jeans pocket. “When I pulled you out, you were holding this. You didn’t want to let it go.” He held out a nautilus shell. It was about the size of her fist and gleamed in the moonlight.
Shelly took it from Enrique. She ran her fingers over the nautilus’s edges. The smooth enamel was yellowish, and it wound inward to a perfect pink spiral. “That’s really weird,” she said.
“What is?” he asked.
She bit her lip. “I—I don’t remember picking it up,” she said.
“You’re okay!” Kendall wobbled up the beach with Attina and Alana.
Shelly quickly pocketed the nautilus.
“Did you see the size of that wave?” Attina added.
“Shelly, you’re lucky you didn’t drown!” said Alana.
“Yeah. It came out of nowhere,” Shelly said, grateful that her friends cared.
“Enrique, like, totally saved you, Shells,” said Kendall.
He nodded. “Sometimes big waves appear, caused by a big boat, or an underwater earthquake, or a volcano. Anyway, she’s lucky I was nearby. It could have been much worse.”
“See, girls? This is why we only swim in pools,” Kendall said with a shudder. “Told you the ocean was dangerous. I’m telling my mom to cancel the aquarium field trip next year.”
Shelly didn’t have the energy to argue about it. Everything that had happened hit her at once, and all she wanted was to lie down. Her shoulders sagged and her knees buckled.
Just then, Mr. Aquino ran up to them on the beach. His eyes fell on her and widened in concern. “Shelly, what happened to you? Why are you soaking wet?”
“I was on the sundeck . . . and a giant wave swept me out to sea,” she said, her voice still raspy. “But Enrique saved me. He works here sometimes.”
“This field trip is dangerous, like I said,” Kendall snorted.
“Let’s fetch your parents,” Mr. Aquino said. “I’m sure they’ll want to take you home.”
Shelly’s mind flashed to how swamped her mom and dad were at work, not to mention stressed over the finances. The last thing she wanted was to be another thing her parents had to worry about, especially when it was just a little water.
“No, I’m fine,” Shelly protested. “I’d rather go back to school. I’m used to being in the water.”
“All right then. Let’s at least get you dry.”
After thanking Enrique, Mr. Aquino helped her back up the beach toward the aquarium. It was lit up against the dark sky like a sea palace. Shelly glanced back at the ocean. That was when she saw them: the two glowing yellow eyes—staring at her.
Then the eyes diverged, swimming in different directions until they were suddenly swallowed up by the dark waves. Shelly took the nautilus out of her pocket and clutched it in her hand, feeling chills.
The bus was already loaded with her classmates and ready to whisk her back to school, where her mother would pick her up after swim practice later. Shelly glanced through the window at Enrique. She could barely make out his silhouette in the dim light, but he lifted one hand to wave goodbye. He saved me, she thought. She didn’t want to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t.
For some reason, Kendall got out of her seat beside Shelly and moved to an empty row toward the front of the bus, and the twins followed her silently. Shelly didn’t know why they were acting so weird, but she hoped it didn’t have to do with her almost dying or Enrique.
Maybe littering wasn’t worth it after all, she thought sourly.
But still she was determined to smooth things out with the girls the first chance she got. For now she needed a breather and was somewhat relieved to be alone at the back of the bus.
* * *
“Shell-fish, did you get it?” Dawson hounded Shelly the second she walked into the kitchen. Her mom went directly to her bedroom and shut the door.
“Go away,” Shelly said, feeling exhaustion in every inch of her body. She glanced around the kitchen. Dirty dishes were stacked in the sink. Overflowing trash needed to be taken out. Dawson’s algae-covered fish tank sat on the counter, needing to be cleaned for a new occupant.
“So, what kind of fish did you get?” Dawson asked.