Dolphin Summer Read online

  There was a new post about the dolphin at the top of the page. But my heart flipped over when I saw the picture that accompanied it.

  It was me! At first I couldn’t believe my eyes; how had that ended up there?

  Then, as I studied the shot, which showed me standing with my back to the camera and my hands against the glass tank staring in at the dolphin, I realized what must have happened.

  He took my picture yesterday when I wasn’t looking, I thought with growing annoyance. He knew I wouldn’t say yes if he asked, but he did it anyway, the sneaky rat!

  I clenched my fists, staring at the photo, a little distracted by how sad Wanda looked. Then my gaze wandered to the article beneath the photo. I scanned it quickly. It was pretty much the story I’d told John yesterday about spotting Wanda in the canal and the rest of it, though he hadn’t used my name, instead referring to me several times as “Brooklyn girl” or “local resident” or something like that.

  By the time I finished reading, I was fuming. How could he do this to me? I’d told him I didn’t want to be on his stupid blog! Why didn’t anyone in my life seem to care about what I really wanted?

  I grabbed my phone, ready to send John an angry text until I remembered that I didn’t have his number. Then I noticed another text waiting for me. It was from Julia.

  Hey Lils, did you know Olivia C posted a pic of you? Are you hanging out with her while we’re gone? Just wondering!

  Several winky and smirky emojis followed. I scowled at the text. Why did Julia even care who I was hanging out with while she was gone? I was just Lily Left-Behind, right?

  Then I sighed, my anger fading. This summer wasn’t going the way I’d pictured it at all …

  I was still distracted as I sat at breakfast a little while later. The whole family was there. My father had made pancakes, as he often did on weekends, and everyone except me seemed to be in a good mood.

  “What’s everyone up to today?” my mom asked, pouring my father more coffee. “It’s such a beautiful day! Should we do something together as a family?”

  Ozzy shrugged. “Sure; Mel’s visiting her grandma this weekend, so I’ve got nothing to do.”

  “Glad you’re so enthusiastic about spending time with us, son,” my father said with a short laugh.

  Ricky chuckled, too. “Great idea, Ma,” he said. “We haven’t done a family outing in a while. So what do you have in mind? Should we catch a movie or something?”

  “Not a movie,” my mother protested. “We should do something outdoors, take advantage of the nice summer weather.”

  My father shrugged. “We could see if there’s anything going on at the park.”

  I was only half listening, already chafing at spending a whole day with my family pretending to be having fun doing whatever—while I was sure to be worrying about Wanda the whole time. Wishing I could be with her …

  “I know,” I said as a sudden brainstorm hit me. “Let’s go to the beach!”

  Four pairs of eyes turned toward me. “The beach?” my mother echoed. “Hmm.”

  “We haven’t been out to Coney Island yet this year,” Ozzy added. “Probably be pretty crowded today, though. Do you think it’s worth the hassle?”

  I held my breath as they all argued about it for a moment or two. In the end, to my amazement, they all agreed that it was a good idea.

  “Okay, it’s settled,” my father said, slapping his hand on the table. “The Giordanos are going to the beach!”

  My brother was right. Coney Island was crowded. Everyone in New York City seemed to be there—lying on the warm sand, playing in the surf, wandering up and down the boardwalk, lining up to ride the Cyclone. But my family found a free spot on the beach to set up our towels and chairs.

  “Ah,” my mother said, lying back in her folding chair and closing her eyes behind her sunglasses. “This is the life!”

  “Come on, bro.” Ricky poked Ozzy on the shoulder. “Race you to the water!”

  The two of them took off toward the tumbling surf. My father settled himself beside my mother.

  “You should go with them, Lily,” he said. “Cool off in the waves.”

  “Maybe later.” I tugged at the collar of the T-shirt I was wearing over my bathing suit. “I think I’ll go for a walk first.”

  My mother opened her eyes. “By yourself? Maybe I should go with you.”

  I gulped. My plan wouldn’t work if they wouldn’t let me out of their sight.

  “Relax, Deanna,” my father said with a chuckle. “The girl’s twelve, not two. She’ll be fine.” He squinted up at me. “Got your phone on you?”

  I patted my shorts pocket. “Right here.”

  “Good. Then scoot.” He made a shooing motion.

  I obeyed before my mother could protest, quickly losing myself in the crowd. As soon as I was pretty sure I was out of my parents’ sight, I made a beeline toward the aquarium a little farther down the beach.

  It was pretty crowded there, too. Hordes of little kids surrounded the exhibits and the food carts. I headed for the door leading back to the lab, but it was closed.

  I hovered there for a moment, not sure what to do. Why hadn’t I asked Nia to send me Dr. Hernandez’s number? I thought about texting her for it, but before I could, I noticed a familiar face nearby. It was Ms. Butler, the water tech. She was over by the shark exhibit talking to a couple of older women.

  It was tempting to melt back into the crowd and wait for a friendlier person to turn up. But Ms. Butler looked more pleasant than usual. So as soon as the old women moved off, I hurried over.

  “Um, excuse me, Ms. Butler?” I said. “It’s me, Lily Giordano.”

  “Oh.” Suddenly the pleasant expression was gone, replaced by her usual frown. “You’re John Hernandez’s little friend, right?”

  “I guess so.” I felt a pang of anger at the thought of John, but did my best to hide it. “I was just wondering how Wanda—I mean, the dolphin—is doing. Do you think I could come back and see her?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” Ms. Butler’s face and voice were as cold as the ice in the penguin exhibit. “Employees only.”

  “But Dr. Hernandez …”

  I let my voice trail off. She was already striding away without a backward glance.

  Feeling rejected and oddly guilty, I glanced at the employee door. Shut tight. If Nia were here, she’d probably try the handle, at least find out if it was locked …

  But I wasn’t Nia. So instead, I turned and headed toward the gift shop.

  When I arrived, Eddy was behind the counter waiting on a young couple with two little kids. He smiled when he spotted me.

  “Lily Giordano!” he cried. “Be right with you.”

  After the family left clutching their bags of souvenirs, Eddy waved me forward. “Hi,” I said. “Sorry to bother you, but—”

  “Bother?” he exclaimed. “Seeing you is never a bother, Miz Lily!” He winked. “I haven’t even taken offense that you’re spending more time off in that lab than you are visiting your old friend Eddy.”

  “You heard about that?”

  “Sure I did.” He smiled. “I figure that poor lonely dolphin needs your company more than I do.”

  “She does. I was hoping to see her again today. But that mean Ms. Butler wouldn’t let me back, and I’m not sure how to get in touch with Dr. Hernandez, and …”

  I stopped at his raised finger. “Leave that to me,” he said, stepping over to the phone near the register. “I’ll give Dr. H a call right now.”

  Before I knew it, I was stepping through the employee door. Dr. Hernandez had let me in himself this time. As we walked down the hallway toward the lab, I asked how Wanda was doing.

  “She’s much the same,” he replied, a little crease appearing in his forehead. “Still rather listless and quiet. She doesn’t seem to be responding to the meds just yet.”

  Panic shivered through me. “She’s getting worse?”

  “Not worse, no,” he said quickl
y. “Just not noticeably better so far. That’s a little surprising, but we’re still hopeful. The good news is that she seems quite healthy otherwise. We think she’s around three years old, so we expect she’ll bounce back quickly once the drugs knock out the infection.”

  By then we’d reached the lab. I could see Wanda swimming sluggishly around her tank across the way. Thanking Dr. Hernandez, I rushed over for a better look.

  The scientist was right. She looked the same as she had yesterday. Why wasn’t she getting better?

  “Hi, Wanda,” I whispered, watching her swim around in a big, slow circle. “I just came to check on you. You need to rest up, okay?”

  She didn’t respond, or even slow down when she passed me. I followed her with my eyes, around and around the tank, wishing I knew what to do to make her better. What if the medicine didn’t work? What would happen to her then?

  This was why I wanted to study marine biology one day. I wanted to be able to do more to help than just stand here watching and wishing and worrying. If only I could help right now …

  I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when a cheerful voice startled me out of my reverie. “Hi, Lily!”

  I spun around. John Hernandez was standing behind me, his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face.

  “You!” I cried, the whole blog situation rushing back into my mind. “How could you?”

  He looked startled. “How could I what?”

  “Put me on your blog!” I clenched my fists at my sides. “I told you I didn’t want to be on it!”

  “Oh!” His cheeks went pink. “Sorry about that. I started to ask you if I could include what you told me about finding her, but then your friend called you, and, well …”

  “And you decided to go ahead and do it anyway, even though you knew I’d say no?”

  “I didn’t know that!” he protested with a little frown. “I didn’t use your name or anything.”

  I couldn’t believe he was actually arguing with me about this. “You used my picture!” I cried. “That’s way worse!”

  “I said sorry, okay?” he retorted.

  “Well, that’s not good enough!”

  I didn’t realize how loud we’d gotten until I saw Ms. Butler storming toward us from one of the side rooms. “What’s going on out here?” she exclaimed. “This is a workplace, not a kindergarten class!” She pointed at John. “You’re supposed to be cataloging those lab results. And you!” She spun to aim her finger at me. “You’re not supposed to be here at all. Out. Now!”

  “But—” John said.

  “I was only—” I sputtered.

  “Are you really going to argue with me?” she interrupted, glaring at both of us. “Go!”

  I looked around for Dr. Hernandez, but he was nowhere in sight. So I did as she said and left, tossing one last worried look at Wanda as I went.

  Soon I was back on the beach with my parents. My mom looked up from her magazine, peering at me over the tops of her sunglasses.

  “Did you have a nice walk?” she asked.

  “I guess.” Just then my phone buzzed. Another text from Julia.

  Guess what we’re doing after our scrimmage today? Field trip to the county fair up here! See? You should have tried harder to convince your fam to let you come. This is almost like that other camp anyway, duh!

  I almost turned the phone off without replying as usual. But I was still worked up from what had just happened, and couldn’t resist, my thumbs flying over the tiny keyboard:

  Maybe you should have tried harder to notice that I don’t like soccer. And I also don’t like my friends doing stuff behind my back. Then maybe you would know why I’m really not there.

  As soon as I hit send, my stomach went all funny. Uh-oh. Julia hated when anyone argued with her.

  Oh well, I thought, lying back on my towel and closing my eyes so my parents wouldn’t talk to me. Too late now …

  By Monday morning I was itching to find out how Wanda was doing. John hadn’t updated his blog since the post about me. Did that mean everything was the same? Or was no news bad news in this case?

  Luckily Nia didn’t argue too much when I begged her to take me to the aquarium that morning. “Fine,” she said as we strolled down the street toward her studio. “We can head down there right after lunch. But only if Dr. Hernandez agrees to be in charge of you while you’re there. I have something I need to do this afternoon anyway.”

  “Really? What?” I asked.

  She turned away to watch a pigeon pecking at an abandoned burrito. “Just have to deliver a sculpture to a customer,” she said. “No biggie. But this way I won’t have to drag you along on my errand.”

  “Which sculpture? The one you finished last week?” I asked.

  “Mmm.” Nia had pulled out her phone and was typing on it as she walked. “Tell you all about it later, okay, Lilykins? I have a lot to get done this morning if this plan is going to work.”

  “Okay, no problem,” I replied quickly, not wanting her to change her mind. “I’ll stay out of your way.”

  Luckily Dr. Hernandez agreed to the plan. I spent the morning reading while Nia worked on the dolphin sculpture, which was just about finished. After a quick lunch at the falafel truck down the street, we headed for the aquarium.

  When we got there, the place was buzzing with activity as usual. My eyes went straight to the tank on the far side of the room, where Wanda looked pretty much the same as ever. But Nia grabbed my arm before I could head over there for a closer look.

  “Let’s find Dr. H,” she said. “I want to check with him about something.”

  A passing woman heard her. “You mean Dr. Hernandez?” she said. “He’s in there.” She pointed to one of the offices.

  Dr. Hernandez was inside with John looking at something on a computer screen. When Nia and I stepped into the doorway, John glanced at me and then quickly looked back down. I frowned, not exactly thrilled to see him, either.

  So I pretended to be fascinated with the contents of a tank of crabs and snails just outside the room as Nia talked briefly with Dr. Hernandez. The tank was bubbling so loudly that I couldn’t hear what they were saying. But after a moment Nia popped back out of the room.

  “Dr. H leaves at five thirty, so I’ll make sure I’m back here to pick you up by then,” she said, giving me a quick hug. “Have fun!”

  “Thanks.” I hugged her back, thrilled at the thought of having the whole afternoon to spend with Wanda.

  As Nia left, I headed toward Wanda’s tank. A boy was standing in front of it looking in at her. He was taller than John, with tousled reddish-brown hair. When he glanced back at my approach, I could see that he was maybe two years older than me.

  “Hi,” I said, wondering why I hadn’t seen him before. He had to work here, right? Otherwise he wouldn’t be in the lab. “Um, I’m Lily.”

  “Yeah? Good for you.” He looked me up and down. “What are you doing back here? The kiddie tours are out front.”

  “I’m not here for a tour.” I frowned, a little annoyed by his superior tone—just like some of the older boys in my neighborhood, who all thought they were so great. “Dr. Hernandez brought me back here.”

  Just then Wanda swam past where we were standing. She was moving slowly and didn’t even glance my way.

  “Do you know how Wanda’s doing?” I asked, my annoyance suddenly swallowed up by worry. “Do the scientists think the medicine’s working yet?”

  “You mean the dolphin?” The older kid shrugged and rolled his eyes. “Who cares whether some dumb fish is still sick? Anyway, why are you asking me? You should ask your buddy Dr. Hernandez the Great. He knows everything, right?”

  I took a step back, startled by his tone, which had suddenly tipped over from rude into downright mean. “I—but—” I stammered.

  But he was already hurrying away. A second later he disappeared through one of the side doors.

  Huh? I had no idea what had just happened. Why had that kid acted like he
had some kind of problem with me? I’d never even seen him before!

  Taking a deep breath, I did my best to forget about the rude boy, whoever he was. I wasn’t here for him, or for John Hernandez, or for anything or anyone else except Wanda.

  I looked in at her, but she didn’t seem to notice me. How could I help her if I couldn’t even get her attention?

  Then I had an idea. Dr. Gallagher had given me permission to climb the scaffolding before. That meant nobody would mind if I climbed up there again, right?

  Soon I was up at the top, leaning over the lip of the huge tank. When I whistled, Wanda moved toward me immediately. She surfaced a few feet away, bobbing there and gazing at me with her dark, sad eyes.

  “Good girl!” I called. “You remember me, right? It’s your friend Lily! How’re you doing, girl?”

  I added a few clicks and whistles. Wanda swam toward me, and I held my breath, wondering if she’d come close enough to touch.

  But no. She was already sinking back below the surface. I stuck my fingers in the cool water, wiggling them to cause a ripple. That attracted the dolphin’s attention, and once again she stuck her head out of the water, though she was a little farther away now.

  “That’s okay,” I murmured, glad that she was responding to me, even if she still looked sick and listless. “I don’t need to touch you. I just need to know you’re not giving up, okay, Wanda? You have to let the medicine work; you have to fight to get better. I mean it, girl!” I took a deep breath. “You have to. Because a lot of things in my life aren’t going so great right now, and I can’t stand it if one more thing goes wrong …”

  Before I knew it, I was spilling my guts to the dolphin. First I told her about my fight with my two best friends, and how they didn’t even seem to care that I was mad, since neither of them had responded to that text I’d sent at the beach on Saturday. That was no surprise, though. They hadn’t cared what I thought when they’d changed their minds about camp. Why should they start taking my feelings into account now?

  Speaking of people who ignored my feelings, I turned next to my family, telling Wanda how much I wanted to be a marine biologist and how little they all seemed to care. It was as if my dreams meant nothing to them …