In Over Her Head (11 page)

Diving for Dollars

H
enry
whispers, “Come with me,” as he whisks me out of the gear room and into the hall.

“What?” I smile, knowing exactly what he wants.

“
Whaddaya reckon?”
he says, trying to sound all serious with his cute Aussie twang.

“What do I think?” I play dumb.

“Yeah!” He nods, looking in the direction of the gear room. “It was Piper, wasn't it? She took your mouthpiece.”

I nod. “I kind of suspected it was her as soon as Sarah said all of the spares were missing. I wasn't sure though, and I definitely couldn't accuse her without proof.”

“But now you've got proof, right?”

“Not really. It would be my word against hers. But she knows that
I know
it was her, and I bet that drives her crazy.”

“She doesn't like you, Hannah,” Henry says, playfully tugging at a strand of my hair.

“Gee … I never would have guessed.” I smile sarcastically.

Henry grins making his eyes sparkle and crinkle at the sides. “Well, she's just jealous of your awesomeness.”

“A.J. doesn't seem to think so, at least, not anymore.” I shrug.

“What, that you're awesome? What does he know? He's off in la-la land.”

“What do you mean, Henry?”

“All of this attention she's giving him, it seems to me, it's all just an act. She wants to make you jealous.”

“Me, jealous? Um … I don't like A.J. … I mean, not that way,” I protest.

“Ah heck, Hannah. Every time A.J. walks by, a smile pops on your face, and as soon as he's gone, it disappears just as fast.”

“Really?” I say, cringing. “It's that obvious?”

“Um … kinda.” Henry nods. “I don't get it, though. I mean, he follows her around like some love-sick puppy waiting for a bone.”

“You're right.” I sigh.

“Hannah … Henry …” Sarah calls from the gear room. “We need you on the dive deck.”

Henry smiles and taps my foot with his. “Don't worry, Han. He'll come to his senses soon enough.”

“Thanks, Henry.” I tap his foot back. “You're a good friend.”

Henry shrugs. “Yup … I'm a good
friend.
”

“
Okay, places everyone!” Patrice calls as we all make our way to the dive deck. “Hannah, you will be leading us on the dive this afternoon.”

“What!” Piper shouts. “Again! Why do you
always
focus on her! There are other people on this boat, you know! She doesn't even know what she's doing! I've scuba dived a million times before. You want an expert? Well, I'm the expert! I should be leading this dive. That's right! Me!”

The angrier Piper gets, the larger Patrice's smile grows.

“Finally some action! This is real life, everyone!” he exclaims. “The passion! The fury!”

Val bites her lip, and quickly turns her camera on Piper.

“Please tell me you caught that scene, Val,” Patrice says, anxiously.

Val shrugs. “Sorry, Patrice.”

“We need to be ready, people!” Patrice stomps his foot. “This show is about more than just finding treasure; we're capturing life! Creating a story! A story without drama is like a dance without music, a candle without a flame, a hot fudge sundae with no maraschino cherry … boring, lifeless … dull.”

“Sorry, Patrice,” Val says, motioning for the others to point their cameras in Piper's direction. “We're ready now.”

Piper looks horrified. “Well, I'm not going to repeat all of that, if that's what you think!”

“Piper!” Captain Steele's voice booms from above, making us all jump out of our skins (for the hundredth time this trip).

I put my hand to my forehead, shielding my eyes from the sun, and look up to see Captain Steele on the middle deck, motioning for Piper to zip her lips.

Piper tilts her eyes upwards, and nods, ashamed.

Sarah nudges Patrice with her elbow. “I think now would be a good time to finish up our
Be Awesome with Hannah
promo spot.”

“Yes!” Patrice answers, straightening his beret. “Hannah, make it good. This is free advertising at its best!”

I get into position; Val gives the
all good
sign
,
which means she nods twice, and then Patrice calls, “Action!”

“Hey there guys, I'm Hannah Smart. Welcome to this week's edition of Be Awesome With Hannah! It is a
gorgeous
day here on the set of
Teenage Treasure Hunters
, which, right now happens to be onboard the fabulous
Piper's Prize
, a super luxurious boat that I'm thrilled to call my personal digs for the whole month! Between awesome whale sightings and diving for priceless treasure under the sea, it's been nonstop adventure around here since day one! In fact, just this morning we made an amazingly exciting discovery, which tells us that our shipwreck-excavating experts were right! We're exactly smack-dab in the middle of the treasure zone. I'd love to give you more of the deets, but for that, you'll have to tune into the show. Stand by for local show times. This has been Hannah Smart saying, ahoy there, maties, and remember — keep being awesome —
yarrrrrrrrrrr
!” I say, finishing just like a pirate.

“And cut!” Patrice says, joyfully. “Hannah! That was magnificent! Did Sarah help you with that?”

Sarah raises her eyebrows and shakes her head. “Nope; that was all Hannah. I can see why Channel Nine scooped her up!”

I look over at Piper to see her rolling her eyes up to the sky, unimpressed.

“I know, right!” Henry says, smiling brightly at Piper, who quickly throws back a steely glare.

“Okay,” says Patrice, rubbing his hands together. “It's time to get you kids down there! Who's excited to find some treasure?”

B
y the end of the day we've brought up one large gold coin, found by A.J.; an emerald ring and one silver coin found by Piper; three nails, a piece of porcelain cup, and two gold coins, found by Henry; four silver coins and six gold ones, found by Carlos; and three rusty nails, five pop cans, and a barnacle-crusted bronze cannon, found by me. All in all, a very successful dive!

“Great work, everyone!” says the captain, as the crew gathers on the middle deck for a late afternoon meeting.

“A.J., my fine young fellow,” the captain says, patting him on the back. “How does it feel to hold a three-hundred-and-fifty-year-old piece of history in your hand?”

“Pretty awesome.” A.J. answers, looking over at me, wide-eyed, probably shocked by the captain's sudden change in personality. He flashes a huge, sparkling grin that make his dimples look almost too big for his face, but at the same time … oh, so irresistible.

I feel redness rush to my cheeks, and my knees go weak.
Sigh … I have to forget that boy!

“With all of today's excitement, we'll have a late supper this evening,” says Captain Steele merrily. “Go and enjoy yourselves for a few hours. You've all earned it!”

“I didn't know that man had a happy bone in his body,” I whisper to Massimo.

Massimo leans in close. “Money makes him happy.”

“What money?” I whisper, shrugging. “Every bit of treasure is going straight to the museum.”

“Hmmm …” Massimo raises an eyebrow.

“Hey, feel like doing a little fishing, Piper?” A.J. exclaims. “Let's cast a line before supper.”

Piper's smile vanishes, and she actually winces a bit.

Hmmm … I wonder how she's going to get out of this one.

“Ah, fishing is heaps of fun! I'd be keen, mate!” Henry nods in A.J.'s direction.

“Fantastique!”
says Patrice, throwing his hands in the air. “Camera crew, there will be no rest for us today! We are t>elling a story and our next exciting chapter will be … all about fish!”

“That's reality TV for ya.” Henry laughs. “The cameras are always watching.”

“I've always wanted to learn how to fish,” I admit.

“Hannah, you have never fished?” says Patrice.

“Never.”

“Henry,
you
will teach her!” Patrice demands.

“Henry? But A.J. was the one …”

“Hannah, you and Henry … hmmm … how can I put this?” Patrice taps his chin. “Well, you have what we call in the industry … chemistry.”

“We do?”

“Yes,” Patrice says, laughing. “End of discussion. Henry will be your teacher.”

I shrug. “Okay.”

“Where are you going?” Patrice calls to Piper, who's quietly trying to sneak through the gangway. “It is time to fish!”

“Oh, um … well, as much as I
love
fishing,” Piper chuckles uncomfortably, “I'm in the middle of this … um … wonderful novel and I just can't seem to put it down. You understand; right, Patrice?”