Eye of the Tiger Shark
Page 4
At first it seemed like Beckah would give an excuse or protest, but then she looked at Tammy and the shark (it was quite a spectacle) and she nodded. She dialed Tammy’s grandfather in Japan on her international app.
“Hi, Mr. Aiko? This is Beckah Cohen,” she said, ever so calmly into the phone. “There’s an emergency. And we need your help.”
Tammy’s grandfather promised to send over a marine animal rehabilitation specialist as soon as possible.
Hammerhead was in a dire place.
Two weeks later, Tammy and the Marine Science Club were back on the beach. Some of the other kids were there from school too. They were all gathered at Tiburon Cove, where something very special was happening. Beckah and Carina were there, cameras in hand. Leo McCormack was there with a video camera. And there were even some local news stations and radio stations.
“After spending fourteen days at the Waverly Marine Science Rehabilitation Center, we are pleased to return this female hammerhead shark to the ocean,” said a marine biologist from the center. “She’s good as new. And a pretty feisty shark, if I do say so myself!”
The marine biologist lowered a tank into the water. Inside was Hammerhead, who looked positively gleeful to be returning to the ocean. Hammerhead cast a glance around at everyone on the scene. There were certainly a lot of people to see her off!
Tammy flashed a smile at the hammerhead shark. She was so happy that her friend was okay. It had been scary when Hammerhead sacrificed herself for Leo, but Tammy was glad it had all worked out. The rehabilitation center used something called a prosthesis, or a fake fin, for Hammerhead, but she really looked just as she had before. They had even explained that it would feel the same for Hammerhead as it had before. And Hammerhead seemed to be in great spirits. She almost seemed to be waving at the crowd!
“Now, I’d love some help putting this shark back in the water,” the biologist said. She motioned to the Marine Science Club. “Can the Waverly Middle School Marine Science Club assist me, please?”
Tammy, Alex, and Kyle smiled. Meanwhile, Beckah and Carina whooped.
“Yeah! You got this!” Beckah yelled, flashing her brilliantly white smile.
Tammy gave Hammerhead a pat on the head.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she told the shark.
While the biologist and the club members prepared Hammerhead to return to the ocean, a small, scrawny seagull was watching the spectacle unfold. And the seagull knew just what to do. It took off, soaring in the opposite direction—until it was out in the water, and looking down at the shadow of three sharks!
Squawk! the seagull called.
Mako, down at the bottom of the sea, looked up. Mako and Porbeagle had told the seagull to inform them when Hammerhead would be back. And now that they saw the seagull flying overhead … it seemed like their dear friend might return!
Everything’s going to be okay! Porbeagle nearly screech-bubbled. Seagull’s got news for us. Mako, let’s go! Scram, scram, scram!
Mako was ready, but then he thought of someone else too. Someone who needed to see that humans weren’t all that bad.
And for that, Mako went out and got Tiger, who had had a very rough two weeks.
•
Tiger didn’t like to think of himself as a rough shark or a rogue shark. Tiger was simply protective of his friends. And when they went out and did things that Tiger didn’t approve of … well, that’s when the rocks hit the waters, or so the great white sharks liked to say!
Tiger hadn’t meant to injure Hammerhead. Not at all! But that one tall kid had really thrown Tiger for a loop. Tiger thought he was attacking them. And Tiger was almost certain that when the humans had seen Hammerhead, she was done for. They hadn’t heard anything in fourteen sleeps. But with the seagull’s news, it seemed like Hammerhead would be back. Which meant … maybe humans weren’t bad after all.
•
Beckah took a nice picture of Tammy for the paper. Then the MSC and the rehabilitation center scientists returned Hammerhead to the ocean, officially.
“And that’s marine science for you,” Tammy said, smiling to herself. She had felt so bad that the humans had taken Hammerhead away from her home for so long. But Hammerhead had communicated to her that she had always wanted to fly … and she finally got to do that!
Suddenly, there was a bubbling coming up from the water. It was three sharks! Mako, Porbeagle, and … could that be the tiger shark from before?
When the three sharks saw Hammerhead return, Tammy could almost see them breathe sighs of relief. They went to join their friend and kept nuzzling against her.
“That’s amazing,” breathed Leo, who was close enough for Tammy to hear.
It seemed the tiger shark heard Leo. Its interest was piqued. It swam over.
Oh no, Tammy thought. Last time, that didn’t go over so well.
But instead of attacking, the tiger shark seemed to lift a fin up as if to say, “Hey.” Leo was skeptical at first, but then he lifted a palm up to say “hey” too.
“Is that what he wants me to do?” Leo asked, facing Tammy.
“I’m not sure,” Alex replied for her. “We’ve never seen tiger sharks behave like that before. This is totally uncharted territory, my man.”
Leo looked at the tiger shark’s protruding fin.
“Well, here goes nothing,” he said, and drew a fresh breath. “High fin!”
Leo gave the tiger shark a high five. And the tiger shark gave one back!
“You know,” Leo said, smiling at Tammy and the rest of the MSC. “I think I might be interested in joining your club. For real.”
•
Marine Science Club Is Waverly Middle School’s Next Big Thing
By Beckah Cohen
Photos by Carina Rodriguez
Seventh graders Tamera Aiko, Alexander de la Cruz, and Kyle Ray have something in common: They’re the founding members of Waverly Middle School’s inaugural Marine Science Club.
“I got the idea from my grandfather,” said Aiko. “He’s a marine biologist in Japan.”
At the first meeting of the club, something miraculous happened—the trio befriended three wild sharks! Then they even saved one shark, a porbeagle, from certain doom. The porbeagle shark got caught in unrecycled plastic.
After this event, the Marine Science Club, also known as the MSC, was inspired to give back to the oceans. They organized a school-wide beach cleanup field trip called “Marine Science Presents: Beach Day!”
More than forty students attended, each armed with a biodegradable plastic bag for picking up trash. The winner, sixth grader Allison Li, received a gift card to De La Cruz Pizzeria, the pizza shop on the boardwalk that de la Cruz’s parents own.
At the beach field trip, the members also noticed a hammerhead shark who was in trouble. Thanks to Tammy’s grandfather, they were able to connect with the Waverly Marine Science Rehabilitation Center and get the hammerhead shark back on its fins in no time.
“We’re all very grateful to have been able to help this shark,” said Ray, the club’s treasurer. “And we hope to be back on the beach very soon.”
The hammerhead was returned to the water this past Saturday. As for the club, it plans on having a new adventure ASAP.
“We’re working on something. Something big, something bad, something that helps humankind and shark-kind alike. Stay tuned, folks, because it’s going to be good,” said the Marine Science Club’s newest member, seventh grader Leonardo McCormack.
Tiger sharks are marine animals that mostly keep to themselves. They hunt at night. They eat a variety of food including: fish, seals, turtles, snakes, dolphins, birds, and crustaceans. They’ve also been known to eat smaller sharks.
Tiger sharks also have unique teeth. They poke out to the side in a sharp tip! This helps them eat food like turtle shells.
They’re found mostly in tropical areas, including the Gulf of Mexico, Japan, and the Caribbean.
Special thanks to our chums at Ubisof
t and Future Games of London, and a jaw-some thanks to Sam Fry, Valentina Marchetti, Caroline Lamache, Anthony Marcantonio, Lena Barendt, Thomas Veyrat, James Varma, and Giorgia La Rocca.
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First printing 2020
e-ISBN 978-1-338-60861-8
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