In Over Her Head

by Melody Fitzpatrick

  “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!

  I gingerly start digging with my trowel, exposing more of the protruding object (which is definitely gold) and then swish my hand back and forth, trying to uncover as much as I can, as carefully as I can.

  OMG! In the gold I see something green, which must be an emerald and something red, which must be a ruby and … holy cow, is that a diamond?

  I dig and swish, and dig and swish, and dig and swish until I am able to easily pull the object out from its hiding place. Oh … my … gosh … it’s a crown, and a spectacular one at that!

  King Ronaldo de la Isla Grande Hermosa must have had this made for his bride-to-be, Lady Isobel de Vanidad, to be worn on their wedding day, when she would become his queen. Who would have ever guessed that three hundred and fifty years later, a fourteen-year-old kid would be holding it in her hand?

  Should I dare put the crown of Queen Isobel de la Isla Grande Hermosa on my head? I’m so tempted until I look down at my pressure gauge, which, to my shock, is in the red zone, hovering just a speck above rock bottom. My crowning moment of glory will have to wait. There’ll be plenty of time for celebrating when I’m back on board. I stuff the crown in my bag and start swimming.

  As my head triumphantly pops up through the surface, my excitement doubles as I see the crew all cheering onboard the boat — I made it, and just in time, too! My tank is empty. Imagine how happy they’re going to be when they see what I have in my bag!

  I wave back to let them know that I am okay, but the closer I get to the boat, the less cheerful their screaming sounds.

  Are they mad at me?

  I did kind of lose track of time down there, so I guess it’s possible that they might have been a little worried, but come on … all of this freaking out is a little over the top!

  Then, it suddenly occurs to me, that this could all be Patrice’s doing. He’s totally a silver-linings kind of guy, you know, the kind of guy who turns a negative into a positive. What I mean is, me going MIA would (in Patrice’s mind) be the perfect opp
ortunity to throw a few fireworks into the show. If he was really worried about me, he would have sent Carlos down to check things out, but he didn’t. Instead, he’s got everyone on board screaming their lungs out, and waving their arms like a bunch of maniacs! Brilliant! I can see the headlines now: CREW GOES BERSERK WHEN YOUNG DIVER GOES MISSING. Love it! Total drama! And great promo for the show! I guess I should play along.

  “There was a shark!” I screech dramatically, trying my best to look terrified (the cameras are probably rolling!)

  “Shark!” they all yell back in unison.

  “He’s gone now!” I call out to “reassure” them, as I lazily swim the sidestroke toward the boat.

  “Shark!” Henry shrieks.

  “I told you he’s gone!” I yell back. “I scared him off!” I take a break from my swimming long enough to flex a muscle for the cameras. It’s not every day a girl has a shark encounter.

  “Hannah, hurry!” Henry calls, pointing. “He thinks you’re food!

  “What?” I twist my head over my shoulder and …

  OMG! It’s Bruce!

  “It’s a Great White, Hannah!” Carlos screams, “He’s after you!”

  OMG! … this isn’t a dream! This is so real!

  “Humans are friends, not food!” I scream, kicking my flippers as hard as I can. Just as I come within reach of the boat, I look back again only to see his dorsal fin slicing through the water at breakneck speed!

  “I DON’T WANT TO DIE!” I screech as A.J. grabs my arm, and drags me on board, saving me (without even a second to spare) from the clutches of Bruce’s razor-sharp teeth!

  13

  Going Bananas

  “Where” I cry, spitting and sputtering and gasping for air. “Where is it?”

  “Where is what?” A.J., who’s still holding on to me with all of his might, asks breathlessly.

  “The bag!” I screech.

  “What bag?” Henry asks.

  A.J. shakes his head. “There was no bag, Hannah.”

  “There was a bag! I had it in my hand,” I answer, shaking free from A.J.’s grip.

  “Forget about the bag, Hannah. Are you all right?” Henry asks, touching my arm.

  “I’m fine! I just need that bag!”

  “Oh, poor thing,” Piper says, looking down at me sympathetically. “Leave her alone, boys. She’s just gone though a traumatic experience, and you’re obviously upsetting her. Look, she’s shaking!” Piper points at my legs, which I’ve just noticed are vibrating like crazy.

  “It’s ’cause I was chased by a shark!” I argue loudly. “That bag was important! It had the …”

  Just then, Bruce rams his humongous head into the dive deck, and everyone screams at the top of their lungs. Just when we think he is swimming away, he turns back for his one last act of terror, opening up his massive jaws and then slamming them shut.

  “Looks like he’s got a fish in there,” A.J. says, laughing. “Guess he wanted to show us that he’s not leaving empty handed.”

  A.J. is right about one thing: Bruce is definitely leaving with a prize, only it’s not a fish, like he thinks. It’s a light brown nylon bag, holding a priceless piece of history — yup, you guessed it — Queen Isobel’s crown, that as of this very moment will never see the light of day ever again.

  “Amazing, Hannah!” Patrice claps happily. “Can we all have a round of applause for our brave, young treasure hunter, Hannah Smart?”

  Everyone claps and cheers. I’m so shaken by the whole thing, I can barely manage to stand up. How can I explain that I had Queen Isobel’s crown in my hand and then just handed it over to a shark, with whom I had quite a friendly relationship until just moments ago. I can’t! No one would believe me anyway! What a disaster!

  “I think I should lie down,” I say to Patrice. He nods, and then motions to the cameras to follow.

  “Patrice. If you don’t mind, could I just have a few minutes to myself?”

  “Of course!” Patrice shakes his head ruefully. “Go and lie down, my sweet girl. You can tell us all about it later.”

  “I’ll take her to her room,” Henry says, giving me his elbow.

  “Oh before you go, I have some news!” Piper calls out sweetly (and loud enough for everyone to hear). Then she turns to Patrice, and whispers, “You might want to have the cameras rolling for this.”

  “Val, Lorenzo, Thomas!” Patrice hollers to the camera crew. “We’re back on!”

  Piper waits for the okay from Patrice, and then flashes a huge smile at the cameras. Whatever she has to say, it must be good; she’s bursting at the seams.

  “Well, I was going to wait until supper …” she clasps her hands behind her back and rocks on her heels “ … but with all the excitement, and knowing Hannah is safe from the clutches of that awful, evil shark, I just think now is the perfect time to show you all what I’ve found.”

  And right there, before my very eyes, she pulls out Queen Isobel de la Isla Grande Hermosa’s crown, in all of its priceless, golden, sparkling glory.

  * * *

  I open my eyes to pitch-blackness and instantly start feeling around with my hands. The first thing I find is Teddy, a little bear I’ve had since I was three years old. That’s when I realize I’m in my bed … warm and cozy and very relieved. It was all just a horrible and weirdly realistic dream! Thank god!

  I get out of bed and flick on the light. Suddenly, I get a glimpse of myself in the mirror and realize I’m in my wetsuit. I look back over at my bed and see that I had been lying on a pile of towels!

  OMG! It wasn’t a dream! The shark! The crown! OMG!

  There is a knock on the door. “Hannah, can I come in?” Henry asks.

  “Sure, come on in,” I say, the raspiness of my voice surprising me.

  “You realize you fainted, right?”

  “Yeah, I’m prone to that, unfortunately.”

  “How are you?”

  “Freaked out.”

  Henry nods. “I reckon you are. That shark was pretty scary.”

  “Which one?” I ask, frowning. “The one in the water or the one on board?”

  “Ahhh, good one!” Henry laughs. “Speaking of Piper, I can’t believe she found that crown!”

  “Well then you’d be right,” I sneer.

  “What do you mean? Are you saying …”

  “Yup, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  “Oh my god! You kept going on about that bag, but no one would listen. We were all so freaked out and relieved that you didn’t get eaten!”

  I shrug.

  “The crown was in that bag, wasn’t it?”

  I nod. “Piper was there when A.J. pulled me on board. I remember now. She took my other hand.”

  “The hand that was holding the bag,” Henry says, piecing it all together.

  “Exactly!”

  “Well, what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know yet,” I reply

  Henry goes silent.

  I tap his head. “What’s going on in there?”

  “Does it really matter who found it? It’s just going to the museum, anyway.”

  “I know, but …”

  “Hannah, you’re a nice girl, and Piper, well … she’s not. She’ll fight you on this and she’ll make you look bad, like really bad.”

  “I know, but …”

  “With or without the crown you’ll still be the same sweet, awesome Hannah, and she’ll still be the same awful Piper, with her awful dad, awful training schedule, and her awful egg-white-and-spinach omelettes.” Henry laughs.

  “But did you see it, Henry? Did you see how beautiful it was?”

  “It was all right,” he teases.

  “Stop it!” I laugh. “Now, get out of here. I have to get ready for supper.”

  “Take your time.
It’s going to be a late one again tonight. The captain is pretty happy about that crown.”

  “Speaking of which, even if I don’t call her out her in public, I think it’s high time Piper and I had a little conversation. Don’t you think?”

  Henry chuckles. “Well, good luck with that.”

  * * *

  Piper is alone in the galley when I arrive. As much as I want to sit her down and lay into her right here and now, I can’t, because the conversation I’m planning on having with that girl will definitely break the no-drama rule about a hundred times over.

  “Piper, I need to talk to you in my cabin.”

  “I’m making a snack; it will have to wait,” she says, smearing a thick layer of icing onto a strawberry Toaster Strudel.

  “Since when do you snack?”

  “I snack!” she barks, squishing up her face.

  “I thought you weren’t allowed.”

  “Oh my gosh! Are you for real?” She sneers. “Of course I’m allowed!”

  “Okay, but I seem to remember you saying something about how elite athletes are a different breed from the rest of us, healthier, more disciplined, never eat between meals, only eat …”

  “OMG, Hannah, whatever!” Piper angrily pushes the plate of Toaster Strudel across the counter, then grabs a banana from her bag, peels down the top, and takes a huge bite.

  “Are bananas allowed now? I must have missed the memo.”

  “They’re not allowed.” She sneers.

  “Okay, I have to know — what is your dad’s issue with bananas?”

  She rolls her eyes and sighs. “They’re bad luck, okay.”

  “Seriously?” I can’t help but laugh.

  “It’s a boat thing. It’s stupid. Don’t worry about it and stop staring at me,” she says, shoving another bite of banana into her mouth. “Plus, my mother is allergic.”