In Over Her Head (12 page)

“No, I don't.” Patrice frowns. “You can read later. Now, you will fish!”

“Not keen on fishing, Piper?” Henry asks, smirking.

“She loves fishing!” A.J. says defensively. “Guys, do you know that one time she caught two huge —”

“That was a
long
time ago, A.J.” Piper abruptly cuts him off.

“Perfect!” Patrice cries. “It's settled then! Grab your rods! It's time to fish!”

Somebody's Havin' Fish Tonight!

W
ith
the first tug on her fishing rod, Piper was history. It was funny really, how it all played out … at first I thought she might try and bluff her way through, but the moment she got a glimpse of that first fish flip-flopping in the bucket, I could tell by her horrified expression that she wouldn't last long. As soon as she got a little nibble on her line, she shoved her rod at Henry, who was more than happy to take over. She made her excuses, something about sunstroke, and being overwhelmed by the day's events. Everyone was busy catching their own fish, so Piper was able to slip away without much fuss. I actually felt a bit sorry for her; don't ask me why, though. She didn't deserve my pity, but just the same, I know how it feels to live with a lie, so for that moment, even with all of the mean things she'd done, strangely, we were kindred spirits.

Since then, there hasn't been much action around here, which frustrates Patrice to death. He's been trying like crazy to “add some fireworks” into our show, which right now he says is so flat it's on the verge of deadlining. He's even told the camera crew to keep rolling long after our dives so he can try and catch “something good.” I'm not exactly sure how realistic he's being, especially considering the captain's warnings about the drama thing. At the same time, I think it's pretty cool how hard he's trying to turn this show into a “gripping teenage adventure,” as he puts it.

Since the first few dives, we've moved around a lot, hitting different spots in the “treasure zone,” but with zero luck. In a few days, the trip will be over, and we'll be holding a press conference to announce our
exciting finds
. Based on our recent success, which, as I said, has been close to zilch, the chances of us finding anything else are about as much as Patrice finally catching the Hollywood theatrics he's been yearning for.

It hasn't been a total loss, though. We did find well over two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars' worth of treasure, which, as Carlos puts it, is
nothing to sneeze at
. At the same time, I wish Patrice felt happier about how things have played out, but with the captain's no-drama rule, which, you know the drill — don't even go there — there's not much chance of anything happening. Even Piper has been flying low on the drama-radar. It's like she got tired or bored or something, because for one reason or another, she's been leaving me alone. Thank god!

Our last dive is today. Believe it or not, I'm sad that it's all going to be over soon. As uneventful and tame as Patrice thinks this trip has been, I think it has been one of the most amazing, eye-opening, exciting times in all of my life. It's hard to describe how cool and peaceful it feels exploring the mysteries of the ocean, making friends with the marine life, taking in the awesomeness of a coral reef, and even better, discovering a piece of treasure that's been hidden away for centuries, just waiting for me to pluck it from its watery grave.

“Hannah, this is it,” says Henry, bumping me with his hip, nearly knocking me off of the dive deck.

“What?”

“Our last dive,” he says, wiping away pretend tears.

I'm about to burst out laughing when I realize that he
really
is actually a tiny bit teary, like for real. I guess it's different for him. After this trip, he's headed back home to Australia, not that I wouldn't love to go to Australia. It's totally on my bucket list!

One by one, we jump into the water.

“Okay!” Patrice yells. “Everybody ready?”

For the very last time, we all give Patrice a thumbs-up.

“Camera's ready … and let's go!”

We're only down for about ten minutes, when Piper starts frantically waving her hand to her head, which everyone knows is the universal scuba-diving signal for distress!

OMG!
What's wrong? Is it a shark? A barracuda? A Portuguese man-of-war? Whatever! I'm out of here!

Everybody must be thinking the same thing because, all at once, we drop our tools and start ascending to the top. One by one, we break through the surface, only to see Piper, calm as a cucumber, holding up something sparkly in her hand. “There's gold down there!” she exclaims excitedly, holding up two ancient coins.

Everyone lets out hoots and cheers of joy and relief!

“Wonderful news!” the voice of an ecstatic Captain Steele booms over the applause. “Well done, Piper!”

Charged with motivation, we dive back down to the bottom, hungry to find treasure of our own (not that we'll get to keep any of it … boo).

After about an hour of looking, it's time to surface for our lunch. The mood isn't quite as merry as it was before. No one's found a thing since Piper's latest discovery.

“Do not despair, my young friends,” Patrice says, smiling warmly. “We still have the rest of the afternoon. We will suit up with fresh tanks and try again.”

Swimming around with my metal detector, my heart leaps with every beep, but then drops as soon as I discover that the source of the beeping is not treasure at all, as the culprit is either a nail or a screw or a metal can … totally frustrating.

Actually, I think we're
all
having the same crappy luck. One minute you'll see someone freaking out, batting their hand back and forth at the sand like a crazy person, the next, they're holding up some random metal object, and shaking their head like they're mad at it.

Just as our air gauges hit the red zone, telling us it is time to refill our tanks, we get the signal…. It's time to surface, and for good this time.

This could be my very last scuba dive
ever
. I'm not ready for it to end! I really want this moment to last so I can hold on to it forever … the freedom, the weightlessness, the feeling of absolute …

Suddenly, my metal detector starts beep, beep, beeping like it has never beeped before.
OMG!
I've found something, and it's not an old piece of junk this time; it's something good, I can just tell!

Like I've done a hundred times before, I wave my hand back and forth over the sand, trying to locate the thing that's making my metal detector go berserk. I'm not having much luck, though, which is super-crappy because the air in my scuba tank is nearly gone. It crosses my mind (for a split second) that maybe I should swim to the surface and let them know what's going on, but I push the idea aside, knowing that since my air is low, they'd probably keep me up there and send Carlos back down in my place. All I've found so far on this trip is a dumb cannon — no coins, no gems, no bars of gold ingot. Maybe this is my time to find something great! And really, when am I ever going to get this chance again? Probably never! I have to find out what's under there and I have to find it fast!

I stick a little flag in the sand to mark the spot, and then quickly swim over to the equipment bag, which luckily, Carlos hasn't come back for yet. I dig around to find a small trowel and an excavation brush. With tools in hand, I start swimming back toward the flag, and, on the way, catch a glimpse of something interesting — a tiny golden flicker, in the exact spot where I'd stuck my flag. I glance at the air level on my tank again — not good.

Just then, a shadow passes to my right. I whip my head around, hoping that it's just Carlos coming back down to collect the gear bag. But when I turn back I realize the source of the shadow is not Carlos; it's a shark now hovering over top of the flag I had just planted a moment ago.

I am one with the ocean. I can do anything. I will face this fear and be victorious!

But then again, sharks can be dangerous and they can kill you … what are you waiting for? Swim for your life!

It's like I have a brave angel on one shoulder and the voice-of-reason angel on the other.

Ignoring the angel of sensibility (because, hey, you only live once, right?) I swim over to take a closer look. Almost instantly, my fears disappear — he looks just like Bruce from
Finding Nemo
— adorable, and probably about as dangerous as a dolphin.

I look him straight in the eye, and say, “Good day, Bruce!” (Well, I'm not actually saying it, but in my head I'm imagining that I am.) Then we chit-chat for a bit about how fish are friends and not food (again, in my head). Then he grins and says, “I'm havin' fish tonight!” The whole thing is so hilariously funny, that I
almost
forget that the air in my tank has nearly dwindled to nothing, and I need this guy to vamoose.

I sway my arms to the side, trying to encourage my new friend, Bruce, to move, but he's not budging. I try again, to the other side, but the only thing I seem to be accomplishing is some kind of weird underwater Hawaiian hula.

Feeling frustrated, I reach down and grab a handful of pebbles, then swim over to my stubborn new friend, who is starting to
really
get on my nerves, and then one by one, start dropping them on his back. Ten pebbles later, he swishes his tail and swims off into the distance. Yeah!