Read Online The Shark Whisperer by Ellen Prager - Free Book Online

falling off the dock. A knowing look came across Hugh’s face. He stood up, walked around Henry, and sat back down.The bird shrugged its wings and took a seat next to Hugh, who let him get a little closer this time. Coach Fred went over and sat next to the two of them, talking quietly to Hugh.
    Sam had been watching as well. She turned to Tristan. “C’mon, he just needs a little more time. Let’s go see if we can find the dolphins.”
    The two of them dove in and swam together. They sped effortlessly through the lagoon. Tristan kicked a little less so that Sam could keep up. They repeatedly popped up to get a breath and look around. They could see surprisingly well underwater, even without swim goggles, but it was easy to get turned around or head in the wrong direction.
    Meanwhile, Ryder was practicing his jumping, showing off as his landings improved. One time he even jumped side-by-side with Scarface. Rosina stayed fairly close to the dock with the twins. She continued to have collisions and blame them, while they tried mainly just to stay out of her way. She also kept shaking her hands like she could fling off the skin between her fingers.
    Tristan and Sam heard some rapid clicking noises and looked to their left. A different dolphin hung motionless nearby watching them. Tristan figured it must be the other dolphin Coach Fred had mentioned—Toosha. Sam nudged Tristan and the two of them swam toward the dolphin. The dolphin flicked her head to the side and they knew she meant to swim that way. Toosha beat her tail slowly so that the twoteens could swim beside her. She surfaced and cleared her blowhole. Tristan and Sam popped their heads up for air too. The dolphin dove down. Tristan and Sam also dove, swimming after her, but the large animal had disappeared. The two teens spun around looking for Toosha, but she was nowhere to be seen. Seconds later something grabbed Tristan’s foot. He jumped nearly clear out of the water. It was the dolphin and Tristan could swear she was smiling. Toosha swam in a corkscrewing roll to the surface where she once again turned to watch the two teens. Tristan and Sam imitated the dolphin in a twisting roll along the surface. The dolphin swam between them and flicked her head forward. Tristan and Sam followed. Soon Scarface joined them and all four surfaced together and then dove, rolled, and swam through the lagoon. When the dolphins came to a stop, they were back at the dock.

    Tristan and the others were so engrossed in their first morning of training that none of them even noticed the helicopter taking off from the Sea Camp grounds. Director Davis waved as it rose noisily into the air, its blades creating a tornado of wind around him. Jade, Rusty, and Rory waved back, along with the pilot.
    Director Davis went to his office. He pulled up the tracking program on his computer. A blinking red spot moved across the Straits of Florida. The signal wastracking the helicopter as it flew to the Bahamas. He radioed the staff to see how things were going with the newest camp recruits. He then checked with the entrance personnel to see if there was any sign of their expected, but not-so-welcome visitor. His last call was to his contacts in the Bahamas to confirm that everything was in place for the campers’ arrival and to ensure that they wouldn’t be in any danger.

6

    A POLITE CONVERSATION WITH AN OCTOPUS

    A FTER LUNCH , T RISTAN , S AM , AND H UGH MADE their way across the park to the Rehab Center for their afternoon session with Ms. Sanchez. They each now carried a small Sea Camp backpack they’d gotten from Coach Fred. Tristan and Sam chatted happily and periodically took sips of water from the bottle tucked into their backpacks’ outside pockets. They were both super excited about their newfound skills and just-add-seawater webbing. They’d also discovered that after exiting the ocean their webbing disappeared within a few minutes. Tristan was