Val throws a stern look at the captain (who shuts up immediately), and then turns her eyes back to me and smiles. “Hannah, Phillip asked us to get your weekly check-in done for Be Awesome with Hannah. How does that sound?”
“Great! What’s the plan?”
“Well, since this is our first treasure-hunting day, and you weren’t able to do the dive, we thought we’d get a shot of you up here on the bridge. Then, after lunch, when the kids go back down, we’ll get you into the water. Even though you can’t officially do the dive, we’ll edit it so it’ll look like you did. Cool?”
“Well, well, well. You seem to squirm your way out of everything, don’t you Miss Smart?”
“Um … actually, I …”
He scowls. “Thank god for the magic of television.”
“Actually, I just found my mouthpiece,” I say, pulling it out of my pocket.
“Should I even ask where?”
“No, probably, not.”
“You found it!” Val exclaims. “That’s wonderful!”
“Yeah, it is.” I smile.
“Okay, let’s get some shots on the bridge, and then go down and tell Patrice the good news! He’ll be thrilled!”
Thankfully, Patrice didn’t ask where I’d found my mouthpiece. He’s so focused on making every scene magique, that he has no time to sweat the little things, as he puts it.
Patrice asks Carlos, our treasure-hunting expert, to take me down to the site so he can bring me up to speed while the others are off having lunch.
“Hannah,” Patrice calls from his spot behind camera two. “Just like Piper did this morning, two thumbs-up and a smile!”
As instructed, I flip my thumbs up, smile, and push myself off the dive deck into the water. Carlos gives the signal and then we dive to the bottom.
I am amazed at how peaceful it is down here. Three pretty fish swim by and suddenly I feel like a fish myself, swimming in my very own personal aquarium.
Carlos swims over with my metal detector, reminding me that we are on a mission. We’re here to find treasure. I turn on my detector and start skimming the bottom. It starts beeping almost immediately. I motion for Carlos to come back, and then swish my hand over the sand. I quickly catch a glimpse of something silver! Eager to find out what treasure I’ve found, I wave my hand faster and faster until it comes into full view. Turns out, it is not treasure after all. It’s a soda can, probably thrown off one of the local boats. Carlos, obviously not nearly as disappointed as I am, shrugs, and motions for me to keep looking.
As I continue scanning the bottom, I find three rusty nails, four more pop cans, and a big old tubular-shaped thing covered in barnacles. Big deal. Carlos motions that it is time for us to head to the surface.
“So did you see anything interesting?” Carlos asks as we climb back on board the dive deck.
“No, just some rusty nails, a few tin cans and some weird, hollow rock covered in barnacles.”
“What!” Carlos exclaims.
“What, what?”
“How big?” Carlos demands.
“What?”
“How big was that weird, hollow rock?”
“I dunno,” I say, spreading my hands apart. “This big, I guess.”
“Patrice! We need a camera crew down there now!” Carlos yells.
“What’s going on?” I whisper.
“You found a cannon! That means we’re close!”
“Hannah, we need you and Carlos back down there,” Patrice says. “The camera crew is suiting up. They will join you shortly.”
“What’s going on?” Piper asks, as she saunters onto the dive deck with A.J. and Henry.
“Hannah found a cannon!” Carlos exclaims.
Piper snorts, dismissively. “How could she have found a cannon, Carlos? She didn’t even dive.”
“She did dive,” Carlos sneers.
“Ha!” Piper laughs. “With no mouthpiece?”
Carlos shrugs. “She had a mouthpiece.”
Piper smirks. “Where’d she get it?”
“I don’t know, Piper. Maybe she found one, or maybe she borrowed it.” Carlos growls, sounding more annoyed by the second. “What’s it to you, anyway?”
Piper leans in to A.J. and whispers (loudly enough for everyone to hear), “It’s reality TV; they’re just making it look like she did the dive.”
“I did the dive, Piper,” I correct her.
“Impossible.” She laughs. “You can’t wear somebody else’s custom mouthpiece.”
“True.” I nod in agreement. “But you see, I didn’t have to borrow one, Piper. I found mine.”
“That’s awesome!” Henry cries.
“What?” Piper says, gawking. “How? Where?”
I smile and answer, “Well, after an unbearable morning, just when I though I couldn’t bear missing out any longer, I could bearly believe my eyes when my mouthpiece finally beared itself.”
“Are you okay, Hannah?” A.J. looks at me strangely.
Henry laughs. “She’s just beary happy.”
“I don’t get it.” A.J. scratches his head.
Piper, however, is another story. She understands exactly what I mean. It’s plain to see (by the livid expression on her face) that even though I may have won this battle, she plans on winning the war.
11
Diving for Dollars
Henry 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 sh
outs. “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?”
* * *
By 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?”
“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!”
12
Somebody’s Havin’ Fish Tonight!
With 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 sa
ys 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.
In Over Her Head Page 7