Shark Lover

by Marie, Gracie

  “Thank you and I’ll remember that.” She answered quietly with a slight smile.

  “You’re welcome. Good job guys.” Chris said hastily as he walked away to direct the captain to go back to the dock.

  “You didn’t have to cover for me like that,” She said as she turned towards Marc, holding his hands in hers. “I didn’t want you to get in trouble for something that was my idea in the first place.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll always cover for you. I didn’t want him to yell at you, he seems like he has quite the temper. Plus it all worked out anyways. We tagged Mandy without any issues. I can’t wait to track her later. It will be interesting to see where she goes.”

  “Thank you,” She started taking off her scuba equipment. “I can’t wait to take all of this off, it’s so heavy. Especially with all of the water, weighing it down even more. I can’t wait either. Mandy has always been a mystery to me.”

  “Ah, she’s a lot like you then isn’t she?” He asked with splendor.

  “What do you mean?” Cathy’s face went blank with curiosity.

  “That she’s mysterious, hard to predict and always gets what she wants.” He stated practically.

  “Carly? Are you ready yet? We need to get to the beach right now before the sun sets!” Cathy yelled down the hall to her sister, who was still in the bathroom. She didn’t understand how they could look so much alike, yet act so differently. Although Carly had just entered her teenage phase, meaning that she couldn’t even think of leaving the house without any makeup or her hair done. Cathy had been ready for almost an hour and she was tired of waiting for her sister.

  “I’m almost done! Just one more stroke of eyeliner. I promise!” She yelled back, stepping out of the bathroom for a second then retreating back to the mirror for another glance.

  “You are so slow. I have never seen someone take so long to get ready.” Cathy muttered under her breath. She could feel herself getting annoyed. Trying to distract herself, she threw two towels in her beach bag. She knew she wouldn’t be sitting much, she was the active one. She would end up in the water surfing or playing beach football with all of the guys, but Carly was a different story. She knew her sister would end up on a towel sun tanning, even though the sun was going down and there would be such little sunlight to soak in. Carly was the frilly one and was always concerned about stuff like that.

  “I’m ready!” Carly called out as she ran down the hall to greet Cathy. Her blond curls bounced as she walked feverishly.

  “It’s about time. Okay so I packed our beach bag. I have towels, waters and sun tanning lotion for you. Do you need anything else?”

  “Nope, that about covers it! So are you going to let me drive?” She asked inquiringly.

  “Carly, you’re only fourteen. It wouldn’t be legal. Wait another year and I will.” She gave her a don’t-mess-with-me look and started walking out the door to her car. She loved how their house was on a hill. San Francisco was full of hills. That was one of her attractions to the city. She was born and raised here. She didn’t plan on leaving the city ever. Even when she traveled, she missed the sweet smell of California.

  “Fine.” Carly said sheepishly as she opened the car door and got in.

  “Trust me. It’s better when you’re older. Everything is.” She put the car into drive and started heading towards the beach. It didn’t take them long to get there, since it was only a few miles from their house. Cathy loved living close enough to the beach. She visited everyday faithfully. Going to the beach was a part of who she was. It reminded her of her dad. She missed him dearly.

  “Cathy, we’re here. We can get out of the car now. The sun is going down soon and I want to get a tan.” Carly said interrupting Cathy’s peaceful moment. She was always interrupting something. It was just who she was.

  “Right. Okay I got the bag. Let’s go.” She opened the door and they walked down the stairs to the sand. She loved how it felt in-between her toes. It felt like home to her. There wasn’t many people left on Ocean Beach at this time of day and she was glad. She wanted the water to herself. She could already feel the cold waves hitting her skin, waking her up from the slow day that she had been having. Carly picked a spot closer to the stairs, which was typical for her. She never wanted to be near anything that would mess up her appearance. She always said the water mixed with the sand gave her hives.

  She plotted down on her towel and sat up, enjoying the view. Carly set up her towel right next to her and started applying suntan lotion immediately. Knowing Carly, she figured she didn’t want to show up to school sunburnt the next day. Glancing off in the distance, Cathy saw a lonely couple cuddling on a blanket. She smiled looking at them. They looked so in love, the man had his arm around the woman and he had brought a picnic basket full of treats. She could see delicious fruits, vegetables and sweets all spread out across the blanket. She wondered what it would be like to have a man like that. A man who was willing to do anything for her to make her happy. The way that her father had once treated her mother. She thought she had had it, but she had been wrong.

  “Earth to Cathy! Did you just hear what I said?” Carly said impatiently.

  “No, I was too dazed. What did you say?”

  “I said that guy over there looks a lot like Jason.”

  “Which one?”

  “That one.” Carly said as she pointed towards the man on the blanket.

  “No way. He has football practice after school. He wouldn’t be here. I mean come on we know football means everything to him. I asked him to go out to dinner with me tonight, but he said his practice was going to run late.”

  “Well it looks like his ‘practice’ is running late,” She said sarcastically. “Come on, let’s go get closer for a better look.”

  “I don’t think it’s him Carly. He wouldn’t cheat on me. He’s not like that.”

  “Seriously? Come on Cathy. Everyone knows he’s a huge flirt.” She grabbed her sister’s hand and pulled her off the towel. “Come on let’s go see.”

  They ran as fast as they could to possibly rat out Jason. Cathy prayed that it wouldn’t be him. She didn’t think he was the cheating type. She had told all her friends and family that he was a great guy. In the beginning, she had really thought that he was the one for her. He was constantly writing her love letters and sending her flowers with cards. After a few months into their relationship, she barely heard from him anymore. The signs of affection were all gone. Whenever she had asked him to do something with her, he was always busy or blew her off. She had been wondering what was going on, but she never blamed it on cheating.

  “Cathy, that’s definitely him. Look at his muscles. He even has the same hair color as Jason and the dark brown eyes.” She said peering out from behind a beach chair that they were both hiding behind.

  “Are you completely sure? Who’s the girl? Have you ever seen her before?” She asked dreadfully.

  “I know for sure it is Jason. He even has that scar on his back. You know the one that he got from that lineman’s helmet? I see it,” She said with certainty. “I’ve seen that girl somewhere before too, but I can’t put my finger on where. She has dark brown hair and light brown eyes. Maybe she’s a friend of yours?”

  “It’s Jamie!” She exclaimed. “I can’t believe she stole my boyfriend. That traitor. We’ve been friends since third grade. I can’t believe she would do something like this to me! What should we do?”

  “Wow, I knew I remembered her from somewhere. I am so sorry Cathy. Do you just want to go home? I bet this is painful for you.” She looked at her sister with understanding in her eyes, but Cathy had already gotten up from behind the beach chair and was storming towards the couple. Carly had no choice but to follow her sister from behind. Cathy was walking so fast, that Carly could barely keep up.

  “Cathy! Wait up! Don’t do this. You know he’s not worth it!” She christened out to her sister.

  Cathy didn’t even turn her head back as she kept movi
ng towards Jason angrily. She was fuming. Every step she took, she got a little madder inside. Here Jason was making time for another girl when he couldn’t even give her the time of day and to make matters worse, it wasn’t just another girl it was one of her good friends. She hated him so much. She couldn’t believe he had played her like this. She never thought it would have come to this. She was standing behind him now, just fuming. She cleared her throat and he turned around swiftly with horror in his eyes.

  “Cathy? What are you doing here?” He asked while his cheeks started burning red.

  “Jason! What are you doing here? That’s the better question,” She yelled at the top of her lungs. “You’re here with Jamie when you can’t even answer my phone calls? I asked you for weeks and weeks to spend time with me, but you always said you were busy with football. And worse of all I actually believed you! I knew it was football season and I knew it meant a lot to you, so I was trying to be patient. All this time you were spending time with her! I feel so stupid.” She stood back and put her hands over her face in embarrassment.

  “I don’t know what you are talking about Cathy,” He said as he stood up and put his arms around her, while caressing her hair. “Jamie and I are just friends. I would never cheat on you and I have been very busy with football. I am the quarterback you know. I have a team to run. My team needs me. Sometimes you are just a bit needy Cathy. It’s hard for me to always be there for you.”

  “Needy?” She pushed him away from her as hard as she could. “Is it needy to want your boyfriend to text or call you back at least once a week? Is it needy to ask your boyfriend to do something with you when he hasn’t for a month? Jason, you are in such denial. I’m done believing your lies! I know you were having a relationship with Jamie and you know it too. Just be a man for once and admit it.”

  “Cathy, I didn’t steal your boyfriend!” Jamie jumped in quickly. “He told me that you broke up a few weeks ago. I’m really sorry. I wouldn’t have gone out with him if I would have known that you two were still together.”

  “Stay out of this Jamie. I want to hear what Jason has to say about all of this.” Cathy responded, glaring at her old friend.

  “Cathy, look just calm down. I promise that I didn’t cheat on you. Jamie doesn’t know what she is talking about here. You know I only love you. It’s always been you. I wouldn’t want to risk losing that. And okay, I know I have been busy. I shouldn’t have ignored your texts and calls. If I could take it all back I would.” He placed his hand gently on her shoulder. “You know you mean the world to me. Even when you are being completely crazy, I still care about you.”

  “She’s not going back to you! You are a dog!” Carly shoved Jason as he fell down into the blanket. “You’re such a jerk and she could do so much better than you. I hope one day you get what you really deserve.”

  “Carly, settle down. I can handle this.” Cathy said as she gave her sister a knowing glance.

  “Come on Cathy, give me another chance please!” Jason was down on his hands and knees, begging her to come back to him. “I’ll do anything I promise. You’re the best looking girl at school. I can’t afford to lose you!”

  “All right, Jason. I’ll give you another chance.” She pulled him up and close to her face. “I just need you to tell me one thing.”

  “Anything! What is it Cathy?” He supplicated.

  “When is my birthday? If you can tell me that, I will give you another chance.”

  His eyes grew big as he looked clueless. He didn’t respond for a few minutes. When he did he stumbled. “I uh…I uh…October 3rd?”

  “Not even close. It’s April 20th. Do you want to know why it’s so important?”

  He nodded his head yes.

  “Well, first off it was the day I was born and secondly it’s our anniversary. You asked me to be your girlfriend on my birthday last April. If you cared about me, you would have remembered both occasions. You obviously don’t care Jason, so I am done.” She looked at him one last time and started to walk off the beach with Carly trailing behind her.

  “Wait Cathy! Don’t do this! I promise I will change. I can change. I will do anything to be with you.” He called as he ran after her. “You can’t just walk away from me!”

  “Watch me.” She answered coolly as she kept walking away. Jason stood and watched her walk away in disbelief.

  “That was so cool!” Carly exclaimed. “I can’t believe you played him back like that. I’ve never seen you so in charge before.”

  “He deserved it. He’s probably been cheating on me since the day we got together.” She looked at her sister, rolling her eyes. “I mean come on, the guy can’t even remember my birthday or our anniversary, but he probably remembers every inch of Jamie’s body. He makes me sick.”

  “I’m so glad you dumped him. You should have done it a long time ago.”

  “Yeah, I feel like I should have too. It’s just he was my first real boyfriend and I thought I really loved him, but as time went on I knew he didn’t feel the same way. I was just his trophy girlfriend.” She sighed in depression. “I just want to find a guy who likes me for more than my looks.”

  “Don’t worry Cathy, you will find it someday. You have so much to offer a guy, more than just how you look. You are an amazing and inspirational person. The way that you handled that back there blew my mind. A lot of girls would have just stayed with him because he is the most popular guy in school and he is the quarterback of the football team. You are so much stronger than that. You won’t stand for games and lies. Plus you always get what you want and you know it. So stop worrying and just live life. You will find someone when the time is right.”

  Cathy looked at her sister with admiration. Never had she seen her say something so remarkable. She knew Carly was right. She had to keep living her life. She couldn’t let anything stop her. Whenever the time was right and the right person came along, she could then think about settling down. As for now, she needed to be fearless and free. The way her father would have wanted her to be.

  “Hmmmm, I do always get what I want,” Cathy said thoughtfully. “It’s because I fight so hard for it. I never give up on what I want and what I think I deserve.”

  “Tell me about it,” Marc said as he took off his the rest of his equipment. “I noticed. You are very strong-willed and stubborn, but it’s okay. I like that about you. It’s a good thing.” He smirked.

  “I’m glad you see it as a positive thing. Most people don’t know how to handle me. They see fearlessness and become afraid. I guess they are just scared about what they don’t understand.” She looked away with distance in her eyes.

  “Well you don’t have to worry about me being afraid of you. I have been drawn to you since the day we first met. There’s something different about you. You have a big heart and a deep soul. Even though you are mysterious and full of surprises, I feel like I understand you. As weird as that sounds, it’s true.”

  “Thank you. That means a lot to me. I’m glad you aren’t scared of me. You have taken the time to really know me and I take that to heart. Just the fact that you are here with me, shows me that you really care. You are different than any other guy that I dated and I am glad about that.”

  “I can imagine that you must have attracted a lot of jerks. I’m sorry about that. On the behalf of all guys I am sorry. I am glad that you think I am different. I always say my mother taught me better than that.”

  She laughed at his joke as she sat down on the side of the boat. It was moving slowly into the dock. She was shocked that they had gotten back so quickly. She was happy to be back on land again. As much as she loved the water and loved boating, she had enough for one day. She wanted to be able to feel her feet again and be in control of her movements. Once the boat had docked, she was the first one off. She ran up the steps and onto the dock. She could feel the solid ground beneath her feet and she started to feel composed once again. Marc was following close behind her as she walked back up the parking lot to he
r car.

  “Cathy, Marc! Wait up!” Chris called from behind running after them. “Do you want to go back to the lab with me to track Mandy? We should be able to start seeing her on the screen now since you tagged her.”

  “Yeah, that would be great. We will meet you over there.” She turned towards Marc. “Do you want to ride with me? I’ll take you back to the volunteer lab and show you around. I don’t think you have ever been there yet.”

  “Sure that sounds great.” Marc looked back at Chris. “Thanks for asking, we will meet you there. We’re leaving now.”

  “All right. Great. Thanks for all your good work.” He ran back down the stairs to help the rest of the crew unload all of the equipment. As he ran, he reminded Marc of a drill sergeant. Marc could tell that Chris always liked to be in control. He always wanted to be the one calling the shots and giving out the orders to the crew.

  “Was Chris ever in the military?” He asked Cathy unexpectedly.

  “That’s funny that you would ask that,” She said as she continued walking up the flight of steps to her car. “He is an ex-marine, actually. He used to be a Ground Intelligence Officer a few years ago. He was wounded in battle and awarded the Purple Heart Medal. He took a few years off to recover, but he realized he missed the water. Sailing was a big thing for him growing up, but he knew he didn’t have the strength or physical ability to ever to that again. So he took up a new hobby, marine life. Seeing the creatures in their natural habitats was fascinating to him. He found that of all the creatures, he was most connected to sharks. He noticed that a lot of them were in danger in the waters around here. A lot of sharks were dying from people carelessly not throwing their trash away or fishermen not cleaning up their supplies properly. He then formed Shark Savors to better help the sharks and protect them from the dangers that were affecting their everyday lives.”

  “Wow, that’s fascinating. I never would have figured he would have had such an emotional back story. He seems like such a tough guy on the outside, but he’s done so many caring things for people and for animals.” Marc shook his head in disbelief as he ended the top of the stairs. He waited for Cathy, as she was coming up the last few. He was shocked that he had beaten her. He never beat her at anything. He was already blown away by Chris’s backstory and now he was worried about Cathy’s tiredness. “Are you feeling alright? You never walk this slowly. Maybe the boat made you seasick.”