Splash's Secret Friend

by Catherine Hapka

  Contents

  Title Page

  1 The Shark Migration

  2 Echo’s Idea

  3 Splash’s Surprise

  4 Spinner

  5 Deciding What to Do

  6 Morning Meeting

  7 The Chase

  8 Magic and Mullet

  9 Pearl’s Plan

  10 So Long, Spinner

  Sneak Peek

  About the Author

  Don’t miss any adventures at Dolphin School

  Copyright

  “THANKS FOR SWIMMING ME TO SCHOOL again today, Dad,” Pearl said.

  Her father smiled. “You’re welcome, Pearl,” he said with a flick of his tail. “I know you’re used to swimming to school by yourself. But it’s best for all dolphins to be careful during the shark migration.”

  Pearl shivered and glanced around. The Salty Sea was calm and peaceful. Bright sunlight filtered through the clear water all the way to the shallow, sandy seafloor. Schools of colorful fish darted in and out among the coral, and a jellyfish floated near the surface. Everything looked normal. There were no sharks in sight.

  Still, Pearl felt a little bit nervous. It was the time of the annual shark migration, when lots of sharks moved from one area of the Salty Sea to another. Her class had been learning all about it in Ocean Lore.

  “Mom told me the sharks don’t usually come close to Coral Cove Dolphin School,” she said. “I’m glad about that!” Pearl had been nervous about leaving her pod’s safe home lagoon, even with her father along. But her mother said the waters in their part of the sea were mostly too shallow for the larger sharks.

  “It’s just a precaution,” Pearl’s mother had told her. “Sharks can be unpredictable.”

  Sharks could be scary, too. Pearl’s father had a scar on his fin from a shark attack when he was young. Every time she saw it, Pearl could only think one thing: Stay away from sharks!

  She was glad when the familiar school reef came into view. Coral Cove Dolphin School was encircled by a large reef made up of every kind of coral, sea fan, sponge, and algae Pearl could imagine. It was also the home to countless other creatures, from anemones to fish. Pearl always felt safe when she was inside the school reef’s colorful walls.

  “Be careful swimming back,” she told her father.

  “I will,” he promised. “Be sure your friends swim you home after school, all right?”

  When Pearl swam into the cove, her friends Echo and Flip were floating near the entrance. The two of them were members of the same large pod. They usually swam to school together, along with a group of older students from their pod.

  “Pearl!” Echo swam over. “Did your dad swim you to school again today?”

  “Yes,” Pearl said. “He said we’re being extra careful until the migration is over.” She looked around. “Where’s Splash?”

  “He’s not here yet.” Echo sounded a tiny bit worried. “That’s weird, right?”

  Pearl nodded. Splash was the fastest swimmer in their class. He was usually one of the first dolphins to arrive at school.

  “I’m sure he’ll be here soon,” Flip said. “Anyway, he’s fast enough to outswim any dumb old shark.” He did a flip in the water. “Just like me!”

  At that moment an older student swam past. His name was Mullet, and he was friends with Splash’s older brother, Finny. That didn’t mean he was friends with Splash and the others, though. He loved to tease and make fun of the younger dolphins whenever the teachers weren’t looking.

  “What are you babies talking about?” Mullet asked with a smirk. “Let me guess—your fins are quivering because you’re scared of sharks?”

  Echo frowned at him. “It’s smart to be cautious of sharks,” she said. “Even Old Salty says so. He says that if we see a shark, we should swim fast in the other direction.”

  Old Salty was the principal of the school. He also taught Ocean Lore. He knew just about everything about all the creatures under the sea.

  “It’s smart for babies like you to be cautious,” Mullet said. “If you saw a shark up close, you’d probably—”

  He stopped talking suddenly. Pearl soon figured out why. One of the teachers, Bay, was swimming toward them.

  Bay was Pearl’s favorite teacher, and she taught her two favorite classes—Magic and Music. “It’s almost time for school to begin,” Bay told Pearl and her friends. “Mullet, shouldn’t you be heading to class, too?”

  “Yes, Bay,” Mullet said sweetly. “I was just leaving.”

  “He’s such a sneak!” Echo whispered to Pearl. “He always acts nice in front of the teachers.”

  Pearl just nodded. She wasn’t really thinking about Mullet anymore. “I wonder where Splash could be,” she said. “He’s still not here.”

  “I hope he didn’t run into some migrating sharks,” Flip said.

  “Don’t say that!” Echo exclaimed. “He’ll probably be here any second now.”

  But Splash still hadn’t arrived when Music class started. Pearl kept looking toward the school entrance, but there was no sign of him.

  Bay told the class that they would be working on a magic-strengthening song today. All dolphins had natural magical abilities, and when they sang, it made their magic stronger.

  “Why don’t you start, Wiggle?” Bay said to one of the boys. “Sing the first section of the song we learned yesterday, and then the dolphin next to you can sing the next part. We’ll go around the circle like that.”

  “Okay.” Wiggle was a small dolphin with a pointy snout. He hardly ever stayed still for more than a second. He darted up to the surface to take a breath, then settled himself back in his spot with a wiggle of his fins.

  Then he started singing. After a moment, the girl next to him took over.

  Meanwhile, Pearl looked over at the entrance again. Where could Splash be?

  She got distracted from her worries when Flip started to sing right next to her. He was loud but kept messing up the tune.

  There was a flash of movement over near the entrance. Pearl looked that way, hoping it was Splash. But it was only a colorful angelfish swimming by.

  “Pearl? Pearl!” Bay’s voice broke into her thoughts. “It’s your turn.”

  “Oops!” Pearl quickly turned back. “Sorry. Um, where were we?”

  Flip sang the last line again. Pearl nodded and sang her part.

  But as soon as she finished and Echo took over, Pearl went right back to worrying about Splash. What if he’d run into something unexpected on his way to school—like a hungry shark?

  “I’M HERE! I’M HERE!” SPLASH BURST INTO the cove with a swirl of bubbles. “Sorry I’m late.”

  “Splash!” Pearl cried with relief. “Where were you?”

  Splash was swimming so fast that he bumped into Flip before he could stop. “Sorry,” he told him.

  “What kept you, Splash?” Bay asked. “Class started several minutes ago.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.” Splash swam up to gulp in air through his blowhole. “I hope I didn’t interrupt.”

  “You did,” Flip told him. “But that’s okay. Echo was messing up her part, anyway.”

  “I was not!” Echo protested.

  Bay ignored both of them. “Please answer my question, Splash,” she said. “Why are you late?”

  Splash looked around. “It was nothing, really,” he said. “Um, just one of those things, you know …”

  Pearl traded a surprised look with Echo. Splash wasn’t acting like himself. Normally he was cheerful and straightforward. When someone asked him a question, he gave an honest answer. Right now it seemed as if he didn’t want to answer Bay at all.

  “I know!” Wiggle exclaimed, wiggling his flukes. “I bet you ran into som
e migrating sharks, didn’t you?”

  “You shouldn’t be ashamed to admit it if that’s why you’re late,” Echo told Splash. “Any of us would hide if we saw a shark, too.”

  “No!” Splash said quickly. “That’s definitely not it. I haven’t been anywhere near any sharks. Old Salty told us to stay far away from sharks, remember?” He looked at Bay. “I just, um, stopped to watch some shrimp that were arguing over some food. I guess I forgot about the time.”

  “I see.” Bay nodded, seeming satisfied with the answer. “All right, then. Please don’t let it happen again.”

  “Okay.” Splash took his place beside Echo.

  As class resumed, Pearl couldn’t help peeking past Echo at Splash. It wasn’t hard to believe he might have stopped to watch some shrimp. But if that was why he was late, why hadn’t he said so right away? Why had he acted so oddly?

  Oh well, she thought. I’m sure he’ll tell us at recess. I’m just glad he didn’t run into a hungry shark after all!

  After Music came Jumping and Swimming class. The teacher, Riptide, was big and burly and loud. He liked to get started right away and keep the class moving the whole time. Pearl was too busy trying to keep up to wonder about Splash’s behavior.

  After Jumping and Swimming came recess. Pearl, Echo, and Flip gathered around Splash. “So why were you really late today?” Echo asked.

  “What do you mean?” Splash said. “I already told you. I got distracted by some shrimp. Now come on, who wants to play hide-and-seek?”

  “Maybe later,” Flip said. “Are you sure the shrimp thing is the real reason?”

  Splash did a flip in the water. “What else would it be? Okay, who wants to be it?”

  Pearl felt worried. Splash was still behaving strangely!

  Echo and Flip looked worried, too. “Splash, you’ve been acting weird all day,” Echo said. “You didn’t even win any of the races in Jumping and Swimming today!”

  Pearl realized she was right. That was weird—Splash almost always came in first in all the races and contests in Jumping and Swimming. Could he be sick?

  “You can tell us if something’s wrong,” she told him. “We’re your friends. We want to help.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Splash said. “There’s nothing wrong. Anyway, I can’t talk any more right now. I forgot—I need to ask my brother something. I think I see him over near the entrance.”

  He flicked his flukes, swimming off at a fast pace before anyone else could say anything.

  Echo stared after him. “That was weird,” she said. “Splash isn’t a liar. But I don’t think he was telling us the truth just now, do you?”

  Pearl shook her head. “I wish we knew why,” she said quietly.

  “Me too,” Flip said. “Let’s ask him again after he finishes talking to his brother.”

  But Splash didn’t return. Even when recess ended, Pearl didn’t see him anywhere. She swam with the others to the area of the cove where they always went for Ocean Lore class. Old Salty was already there chatting with some of the other students. But there was no sign of Splash.

  “I hope he’s not late for this class, too,” Pearl whispered to Echo. “Old Salty doesn’t like it when we’re late.”

  “I know,” Echo said. Then she looked past Pearl and smiled. “Oh, good. Here he comes.”

  Splash swam over just as Old Salty called for attention. That meant Pearl and the others didn’t get a chance to talk to him.

  “All right, young students,” Old Salty said in his deep, crusty voice. “We’ve been talking about sharks for several days now, and I’m sure you’re all getting a little tired of the topic.”

  One of the other girls giggled quietly. Pearl was pretty sure she knew why. Old Salty was nice, but his lectures were almost always boring!

  The teacher didn’t hear the giggle. “So now,” he said, “we’ll move on to something more interesting: algae!”

  Echo groaned softly. “Algae again?” she whispered.

  But Pearl didn’t care how boring Old Salty’s lecture was today. She was still thinking about Splash.

  What in the sea could be going on with her friend?

  WHEN SCHOOL ENDED FOR THE DAY, SPLASH dashed out of the cove at top speed. “Hey, wait up!” Flip yelled, swimming after him.

  Pearl and Echo followed. They all caught up to Splash outside.

  “What’s the matter with you, anyway?” Flip said, sounding annoyed. “You’re acting like a real barnacle-head today!”

  “No, I’m not,” Splash said. “I’m just in a hurry to get home, that’s all.”

  “You mean because of the shark migration?” Echo asked. “I don’t blame you for being worried about that.”

  “Yeah.” Pearl shivered. “I’m glad the migration will be over soon!”

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with sharks,” Splash said. “I already told you that.”

  “Aha!” Flip said. “You just admitted there’s something wrong.”

  “No, I didn’t,” Splash said. “There’s nothing wrong.”

  “Then why did you say ‘It doesn’t have anything to do with sharks’?” Flip said. “That’s admitting there’s something wrong—just not sharks, right?”

  Splash’s fins drooped. “Okay, you caught me.” He blew bubbles out of his blowhole in a big sigh. “Anyway, I hate trying to keep a secret from my best friends.”

  “A secret?” Echo said. “What kind of secret?”

  Splash looked around, then swam closer and lowered his voice. “If I tell you, do you promise you won’t be upset?”

  Pearl looked at the others. What kind of secret would upset them? Wondering made her feel a little nervous.

  “We promise,” Echo said after a moment. “Right, guys?”

  “Sure, I promise,” Pearl said.

  “Me too,” Flip added. “Now what’s your big secret, Splash?”

  “I’ll show you,” Splash said. “But you have to promise one more thing. You can’t tell anyone else, no matter what. Nobody. I mean it.”

  “Okay,” Flip said right away.

  But this time Echo hesitated even longer, looking uneasy. Pearl knew how she felt, since she didn’t really like the thought of making that kind of promise. She was used to telling her parents everything. She didn’t want to keep any secrets from her teachers, either.

  “Do you promise?” Splash asked the two girls.

  Finally Echo nodded. “I promise,” she said in a quiet voice.

  “I do, too,” Pearl said. Splash was their friend. She knew he wouldn’t ask them to keep a secret unless it was something really important.

  “Good.” Splash sounded a little happier. “Then come with me.”

  He swam off away from the school reef. His friends followed.

  “We’re not going to Bigsky Basin, are we?” Flip asked.

  He sounded nervous, and Pearl could guess why. On the first day of school, Mullet had dared Flip to swim out into the deeper water of the Basin all by himself. He’d run into a huge tiger shark out there, and had barely escaped. Pearl still felt scared when she thought about it. She wondered if any sharks were migrating through Bigsky Basin right at that moment. Either way, she was glad when Splash said they weren’t going anywhere near there.

  “So where are we going?” Echo asked, flicking her flukes to catch up with Splash.

  “You’ll see.” Splash glanced behind him. “Nobody saw us swim this way, did they?”

  “I don’t think so,” Pearl said. “But aren’t you going to tell us where you’re taking us?”

  “To meet a new friend,” Splash said.

  “A new friend?” Flip said. “What do you mean? Another dolphin?”

  “No,” Splash said. “Please don’t ask any more questions, okay? You should wait and see for yourselves.”

  “Okay,” Pearl said. She tried to imagine what kind of friend Splash meant. If it wasn’t a dolphin, it had to be some other kind of sea creature. But why would Splas
h think they’d be upset if he’d made friends with a lobster or a manta ray or something? Pearl had befriended several of the sea turtles who lived in her home lagoon. Her little sister, Squeak, was good friends with a reef squid who lived there, too.

  Splash was swimming even faster now, so Pearl had to work hard to keep up. When they neared a large clump of stony coral, he stopped suddenly.

  “We’re almost there,” he said, sounding nervous. “Don’t forget your promise, okay?”

  “We won’t,” Echo said. “Now where’s this new friend of yours?”

  “Is that him over there?” Flip swam toward a passing puffer fish. But the fish ignored him and kept swimming. “Oh. I guess not.”

  Pearl looked around. There weren’t many fish or other sea creatures nearby. The only ones she saw were an eel and a couple of sea urchins. Was one of those creatures Splash’s new friend?

  “Okay.” Splash blew out a stream of bubbles. “Are you guys ready to meet him now?”

  “Hold on, I’m almost out of air,” Echo said. She swam up to the surface and sucked in a breath. Pearl and Flip did the same.

  So did Splash. Only instead of stopping right at the surface, he kept going. He burst out of the water and did an unusual spinning leap.

  When he splashed back down again, Flip looked impressed. “Hey, where’d you learn to do that jump?” he exclaimed. “You’ve got to teach me—I bet even Riptide would be impressed if we showed him that move!”

  “Just come on,” Splash said without answering him. “It’s this way.”

  He darted off, swimming around the coral. The others followed. Once again, Pearl had to swim as fast as she could to keep up.

  But when she rounded the coral, she stopped short. Splash was just ahead—snout to snout with a shark!

  “LOOK OUT, SPLASH!” FLIP SHOUTED.

  “We’ll save you!” Echo added. “Come on, guys—let’s join our magic.”

  She stuck out her fin. Pearl touched it with her own, focusing her magic energy. Echo was the best of anyone in their class at magic. Maybe she could stop the shark long enough for Splash to get out of range of its sharp teeth.