Fishin' Read online

  Yes! I have to try really hard not to swim a celebratory lap of the school field, chucking in a few fin-bombs as I go.

  Then Mrs. Shelby spoke so quietly we could barely hear her. “It’s my sad duty to inform you,” she whispered, “that Rick Reef disappeared last night.”

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  That anxious bottom-popping isn’t Joe.

  It’s me. I’ve just popped!

  Don’t tell anyone.

  “Rick left a note with his parents telling them that he’s swum away to join the sea-circus,” Mrs. Shelby explains. “The circus has now moved on to Wreck Reef. Apparently Rick wants to become an Acrosprat.”

  Pearl and Cora the dolphin twins look at each other and gasp.

  “But I can reassure you that Rick’s mother and father, along with Officer Robert Eel of the Shark Point Police Department, are on their way to pick him up right now. And they will be taking him straight home.”

  Typical! Not only has Rick gotten himself a whole day at the sea-circus, he’s wrangled himself a day off from school!

  So not fair.

  I wish I’d thought of that.

  The morning classes are full of excited whispering about Rick and how brave he was to swim away from home like that.

  I’m not excited at all. I’m mad. Rick’s managed to be the center of attention all day without even being here!

  At break time Tony and Ralph still don’t want to practice any moves. All they want to do is play boring old finball. How are we going to become Acrosprats by doing that? We can’t all run away and join the circus.

  Joe doesn’t want to play finball-the ball scares him too much. He only wants to talk about Rick. “I really hope his parents get to him before he gets trapped in the sea lion taming cage,” he says.

  “Huh?”

  “Well, those sea lions can be vicious and nasty. But it’s not just them that are dangerous.”

  “No?”

  “No. If he’s not careful he might get knocked unconscious by the Krazy-Clownfish submarine blowing apart when they’re rehearsing and be trampled by a rampaging stampede of sea horses scared by the noise. You never know.”

  “Joe.” I ask, “Do you really believe all of that could happen?”

  “Yes, Harry. The sea is a dangerous place, really dangerous, and the sea-circus is at least three times as dangerous.”

  “Thank you,” I tell him, finning him on the back.

  “What are you thanking me for? I’ve just told you about all the horrible things that could have happened to Rick.”

  “I know,” I say. “And you’ve really cheered me up!”

  On my way home from school, I let Ralph, Tony, and Joe go on ahead. They’re still more interested in finball or being doomy and gloomy about every silly little thing and wondering about Rick. But why would I waste time on Rick when I can be thinking about Mike Hammerhead, Shark Detective?

  My favorite ever episode was on last year. In it, Mike was in a strange town a long way from home. He was on the trail of a desperate gang of squidnappers who’d taken the richest squid in the ocean, Krill Gates, the creator of Findows 10, to a secret hideaway, and they wanted his company to pay them a huge ransom or he’d never be seen again!

  I imagined I was Mike Hammerhead, slinking in the shadows, sneaking down the deserted streets of an unknown town. Staying out of the streetlights, ducking down below windows, turning corners slowly, just sticking a smidge of hammer-eye out to look first, not sure who was an enemy and who was a friend, swimming down alleyways, being smart, being mean, being Mike Hammerhead, Shark Detective!!!!

  Yeah.

  I think that’s when I got a bit lost.

  I shake my head clear of my Mike Hammerhead daydream and look around.

  Uh-oh . . . I have absolutely no idea where I am!

  The streets are unfamiliar. I swim ahead a little bit and that’s when I see that I’m at an end of Shark Point known as the Shallows. The water is brighter here because we’re nearer the surface. Hardly any sea creatures come here because it’s too close to the leggy air-breathers who are always trying to catch us. I really should turn around and go back . . . and try to find home. But . . .

  Hang on.

  What’s that?

  Something black is snagged on a rock up ahead. As I swim toward it through the warm water, it catches a glint of sunlight.

  A zipper!

  When I reach the rock I can’t believe my eyes.

  It’s Rick’s leather jacket!

  My teeth marks are still on it and the zipper I ripped out is still missing! There’s no way Rick would have left his precious jacket here, not even with the holes. Everyone knows he loves that jacket.

  My mind races. What does this mean? If Rick really went off to join the sea-circus why would his jacket be here?

  I don’t like the gurgling feelings this is making in my tummy.

  I’m scared. But I’m even more scared for Rick! When I wrote in my diary that I wished I’d never met him I didn’t mean it. Not really. I’m sure it’s been character-building knowing him. And every hero needs a nemesis, right? I look around the empty water, unsure what to do.

  What would Mike Hammerhead do if he found a clue like this?

  “Even if you don’t like the guy, and the guy clearly doesn’t like you and flips your flubber every other second, you have to save him, Harry,” I imagine Mike Hammerhead saying. And he’s right! I’ve no choice. “Sometimes justice is left to just us.”

  I pick up the jacket. I can’t go back home to Shark Point now. I have to see if Rick is up ahead!

  I swim on slowly, keeping the jacket hugged close to my chest. After a minute or so I can hear something.

  Is it the sound of the waves breaking on the shore?

  “On the mean shore you have to be sure you’re going in the right direction,” says Imaginary Mike Hammerhead in my hammery head.

  I realize that the sound isn’t waves breaking, it’s cheering! Lots of leggy air-breathers cheering and applauding and laughing!

  Should I go on?

  “When the stakes are high, don’t get made into shark steaks.” Hmm, not quite so helpful, Imaginary Mike!

  Up ahead I see where the cheering is coming from. A huge see-through enclosure is reaching down from the beach into the Shallows. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of leggy air-breathers are sitting around it. Way more than I’ve ever seen before because I’ve never been this close to the land before! They all seem to be having a great time.

  Splash!!!!!

  A dolphin drops into the enclosure and the crowd goes wild!

  Splash!!!! Splasssssssssssssh!!!!!

  Two more slither in and start racing around the edge of the pool.

  Through the shallow water I can see them flicking their tails and sending huge sprays of water over the leggy air-breathers. Then the three dolphins race up to the surface, explode from the water, do three double-nose-ends and a side-flack, and then ker-splash!!!!! Back into the water!

  The crowd rises from their chairs, yelling with delight, cheering and stamping their weird feety things.

  Those dolphins are not that good, I think to myself. That side-flack was nowhere near as radical as the one I can do. I bet I could-

  But before I can think, another disaster strikes: From out of nowhere a huge net scoops me up and lifts me right out of the sea!!!!!!!!!!

  “When the bad guys’ net is closing, you don’t wanna be around to get caught!”

  Er, bit late for that, Imaginary Mike. Like, seriously late! Don’t you have better advice than that?

  I’m blinded by the sunlight as I’m pulled from the sea. I hold my gill water (like you leggy air-breathers hold your breath) and try to figure out what just happened.

  Blinking in the sunlight I see that I’m in a large net, hanging from the end of a crane arm. The crane is on a boat and the boat is heading for what I think is the shore!

  My googly-eyes start bulging and my chest aches. I won’t be able
to hold the gill water for much longer.

  The crane starts to swing and as I look down I see the enclosure where the dolphins are doing their tricks. There’s a smaller, water-filled tank next to it. I’m being taken toward it.

  “Attention! Attention!” an amplified leggy air-breather’s voice booms from below. “If all visitors care to look up to the crane swinging into the Sea-Planet Theme Park right now, you’ll see our latest attraction. A hammerhead shark!”

  They’re talking about me!

  I look around as we clank nearer, seeing thousands of leggy air-breathers, roller coasters, rides, aquariums, ice-cream stands, and there-right below me-one huge pool where the dolphins are performing (and looking like they’re getting royally annoyed because everyone is looking at me and pointing) and beyond that a smaller-looking, gloomier pool. It’s the smaller pool I seem to be heading for.

  The idea terrifies me. A theme park? What are they going to make me do???????

  My gills are bursting. All I can hear is my heartbeat thudding in my ears and the clanking of the crane as it swings me across the dolphin’s pool.

  “When you’re up to your neck in the-”

  Shut it, Mike! Shut it!!!!

  Cllannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggg!!!

  Ziiiiiiiiiiippppp!!!!

  Ker-splash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  That’s the crane thudding to a halt, the net being opened, and me falling into the smaller pool.

  The water here is a bit murky, and tastes funny, but at least it’s water. And it’s great being able to breathe properly again.

  I can just make out the far wall through the gloom, so it’s not a very big pool. About three times the size of Mrs. Shelby’s classroom, I reckon. The bottom isn’t the seafloor I’m used to-it’s white tiles covered with swirls of dirty sand.

  It’s not a very nice place to be, and I shiver.

  I don’t like it at all.

  Then I look behind me.

  “Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhh!!!”

  I swim back fast and thump hard into the wall behind me.

  You will not believe what I saw!

  There are a lot of leggy air-breathers, just standing there looking at me! Some are pointing, some are laughing, and some are looking bored and picking their noses and gazing up at their moms and dads.

  How can they be here in the water with me?

  Leggy air-breathers are as useless underwater as I am in the air. They can’t breathe down here.

  Except . . .

  They do look a bit . . . weird.

  As I get my breath back and my heart calms down, I realize that the leggy air-breathers aren’t in the water with me. They’re behind glass!

  I swim forward, cautiously.

  The laughing, the pointing, and the bored nose-picking increases.

  My hammer bumps gently against the glass.

  Boink.

  The nearest leggy air-breather kid jumps back and grabs his mom.

  “Let me out! I don’t wanna be in your stupid Sea-Planet Theme Park!” I yell, finning hard on the glass. “Please, let me go back to the ocean!”

  They can’t hear me, or don’t care what I’m saying. All they want to do is look at me.

  “You can’t talk to them, idiot face,” a voice says behind me. “Just how stupid are you?”

  What?!

  I spin around and, there, approaching slowly out of the gloom, is Rick!!!

  That’s right, Rick Reef!

  “What-what are you doing here?” I stammer.

  “What does it look like, toolbox head? I’ve been captured, just like you!”

  “No way!”

  “Yes way.”

  I look back at the leggy air-breathers, peering at us through the glass. “What are they going to do to us?”

  “How should I know? Feed us to the leggy air-breather lions?”

  I really don’t like the idea of that.

  Rick goes on. “Or maybe they’re just going to keep us in here so they can stare at us like dorks?”

  I really don’t like the idea of being trapped in here with Rick for the rest of my life either.

  “Great,” Rick mutters. “Trapped in a giant goldfish bowl with a giant toolbox for company!”

  I realize I still have his leather jacket tucked up under my fin. I hold it out to him. “I actually came looking for you when I found this on the rocks outside. I knew there was no way in the ocean you’d leave your precious jacket anywhere. But the first thing you do when I get here is call me names. I wish I hadn’t bothered.” I shake it at him. “Go on. Take it. I’m not carrying it around anymore.”

  Rick takes the jacket and for a moment I think I see a smile appear on his jaws. “You came looking for me?”

  “Yes. I thought you might be in danger.”

  Rick frowns. “I didn’t think you’d care if I was in danger.”

  “Well, if you didn’t spend so much time flubbering my hammer you might have found out.”

  Rick puts on his jacket and his smile grows. “Whatever, I’m just glad I have this back.”

  We fin over to the back of the tank so that the leggy air-breathers can’t see us through the gloom. I’m really creeped out by all those faces watching us.

  “So, what happened?” I ask him. “I thought you’d gone off to join the sea-circus?”

  “Mom and Dad wouldn’t let me go to the sea-circus again. I really wanted to see the Acrosprats bust a few more moves.” Rick sighs. “They’re so cool, man. But Mom said I had to stay in and do my homework. She’s so unreasonable. So I swam out my bedroom window, and since it’s like miles to Wreck Reef, and I wanted to get there before dark, I took a shortcut through the Shallows and was scooped up just like you.”

  Rick points through the murky water to the leggy air-breathers. “And that group has been watching my every move since I got here. I can’t believe they’d come here just to watch me and you swimming around being miserable. What kind of creatures would want to do that?”

  I decide not to point out to Rick that he likes to spend quite a lot of time making me miserable so that he can watch me and laugh. There’s no point getting into an argument when we’re both in a mess.

  “We need to find a way out,” I say. I can’t bear the thought of never seeing Mom and Dad again-or Ralph and my friends. We need to get out of here before they come looking for us. There’s no way I want them getting caught here too.

  “It’s not gonna happen, Harry. You think I haven’t tried? The sides are too high above the surface of the water and we’re too far from the shore to swim it even if we did get out.”

  “Be smarter. Think harder,” Imaginary Mike Hammerhead says in my head.

  “There will be a way out, Rick, we just have to think.”

  “You’ve seen the solution to the crime already, you just haven’t understood it yet. That’s the trick to being a great detective. Turning seeing into understanding. . . .”

  Think. Think. If I’ve seen it all already . . . what does he mean?

  Ping!!! I turn on my hammer-vision and use the replay function to watch my crane journey in the net: up out of the sea, up over the pool where the dolphins were performing. I use hammer-vision zoom, to focus on the end of the dolphin pool nearest the sea and . . .

  Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  Imaginary Mike Hammerhead is right! I’ve seen the solution already!!! There is a way out. There really is! I hunch my shoulders like I’m pulling my imaginary raincoat up, and pretend to tip my imaginary hat.

  I knew I had it in me to be a super special undercover agent detective!

  This time I do hug Rick! I throw my fins around him and begin to dance.

  “I’ve cracked it! I’ve flippering cracked it! We can escape, and I know exactly how!!!!!”

  Rick wriggles out of the hug and fins me away. “Get off me, mallet head!”

  But I’m too excited to be annoyed by his latest insult. I have a plan. “Listen to me, Rick, I think I kn
ow how we can get out of here.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “When everyone is telling you you’re wrong, remember, you might be right.”

  Yes, Imaginary Mike! Yes!

  “Rick, when you were being hauled into here in the net, what did you see?”

  “My backside. I was bent in half. I think I sprained my swim bladder.”

  “You have to notice everything. Great detectives don’t get to be great just looking at their backsides.”

  I wish I could show Rick the things I noticed as I was being lifted in by the crane, but Rick doesn’t have hammer-vision replay. If Rick was a hammerhead like me, I could have at least Blueshark-Toothed the replay to him, but Rick’s a reef shark. I’m going to have to show him what the hammer-vision showed me. For real.

  “Rick,” I say. “Come with me!”

  I drag Rick up by the fin until we head for the surface.

  “Faster!” I shout, encouraging him to kick his tail harder. “Imagine you’re going for the sickest triple gill of all time.”

  “Why?”

  “Just do it!”

  We both kick harder and harder. Rick lets go of my fin, shooting waveward, and I’m only a split-second behind.

  Fwoooooooooooooooooooooooosh!!!!!

  We break surface! As we shoot up into air, I point to the pool beyond ours, where I saw the dolphins doing their junky tricks. “What can you see?”

  “The ocean, too far away!”

  We’re still rising, but we’ll reach the top of our jump in a moment and start to fall back, “No! Nearer! Look!”

  As we start to fall back, I point and Rick looks, “The next pool over, it dips right down into the ocean!” he says.

  “Yes!” I shout as the wave tops of our pool start to get closer. “If we can get into that pool, I bet we have a good chance of jumping over that wall, and escaping.”

  Plashhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! (That’s Rick.)

  Plooooooooooooooooooooooooshhh!!! (That’s me.)

  And we’re back in our pool.

  “Are you sure?”

  I nod my hammer. “Yes! I know I can jump it, and you’ve always been able to jump higher than me. I reckon we have a great chance!”