Dolphin Summer Read online

  I was just explaining about that stupid fifth-grade essay when I heard someone clear his throat just below me. “Eep!” I blurted out, so startled that I almost fell into the water. Peering down through the metal grille of the scaffolding platform beneath my feet, I saw John looking up at me from below.

  “Uh, hi,” he said.

  “Were you eavesdropping?” I demanded, feeling my face go red hot as I thought back over everything I’d just said.

  “No,” he said quickly. “I mean, maybe a little, but I didn’t mean to. I mean …” He paused and took a deep breath. “Listen, can I come up there and talk to you?”

  “No,” I snapped.

  “Fine.” He glanced in at Wanda, then back up at me, his face shadowy and hard to read beneath the metal grille. “Then I’ll say what I need to say here. I’m sorry for putting you on my blog. I really am. I already deleted most of that post.”

  “You did?” I thought about that for a second. “Um, I guess you can come up here. If you want.”

  He didn’t wait to be invited twice. It took him only seconds to clamber up the scaffolding.

  “Thanks,” he said, squatting down near the edge of the tank. “I really am sorry for doing that to you, Lily. I didn’t get it, but I do now.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked cautiously.

  He shrugged. “I thought using that picture was okay since I didn’t show your face or use your name. Because I wouldn’t mind if it were me, you know? But I talked to my mom about it, and she reminded me that everyone’s different. And obviously you did mind, so I was wrong to do it.”

  “Oh,” I said. “Um, thanks, I guess.”

  His face broke into a sunny smile. Then he glanced in at Wanda, who had just surfaced again nearby. “Looks like she’s watching you,” John said. “That’s good. My dad’s pretty worried about her.”

  Anxiety pierced my heart again, razor sharp and ice cold. “He is?”

  “Yeah.” John’s dark eyes went serious. “She’s still on those meds, and they should have knocked out the infection by now. But she’s still acting sick, and nobody knows why.”

  Just like that, I forgot about what John had done, and about how embarrassing it was that he’d just heard me pour my heart out to Wanda about all my problems. The only thing I could focus on was what he’d just said.

  “But why isn’t she getting better?” I said. “Are they going to try a different medicine?”

  He shrugged. “They’re not sure what else to try. Like I said, the one they gave her should have worked. I think they even drew blood this morning to check on the level of infection.”

  “They did? What did they find out?”

  “I’m not sure.” John bit his lip. “They were still testing it the last time I checked. But that was like an hour ago, so the results might be in by now.”

  “How do we find out?” I demanded.

  He headed for the ladder. “Come on, let’s check the computer right now.”

  “Be right back, Wanda,” I called to the dolphin, even though she was underwater now.

  Then I followed John down the scaffolding and across the lab to the room where I’d seen him with his father earlier. Nobody else was in there at the moment.

  John sat down in front of the computer and logged on. He was scrolling down the page when Dr. Gallagher poked her head in.

  “What’s going on in here?” she asked with a smile. “Oh, hello, Lily. I heard you’d be visiting us today.”

  “Yes.” I was too worried about Wanda to make small talk.

  Luckily John spoke up to explain what we were doing. Dr. Gallagher nodded.

  “I ran the blood myself,” she said. “The infection is gone. There isn’t an obvious physiological reason why Wanda’s not feeling better.”

  “Then why is she still acting like that?” I stepped to the doorway, looking out at the dolphin floating dully in the tank.

  Dr. Gallagher shrugged. “We’re still trying to figure that out. It’s possible she has some sort of internal injury that isn’t showing up in the tests.” Just then someone called her name, and she waved and hurried off.

  “I want to go back and sit with Wanda,” I told John.

  John nodded and followed me out of the computer room. Soon we were both atop the scaffolding again. For a while we just sat there watching Wanda swim listlessly around the tank.

  Finally John broke the silence. “Maybe you should try doing some of those whistles you did before,” he said. “She seems to like that. Maybe it’ll cheer her up.”

  “Do you think so?” I felt a little embarrassed to do my dolphin sounds in front of him, but I also wondered if John was right. Wanda had responded to the sounds earlier, even if she wasn’t as lively about it as before. “Okay, here goes …”

  I whistled and chirped, and the dolphin surfaced, seeming to listen. Then John asked me to teach him some of the sounds. We worked on that for a while, and after a few minutes he could do them almost as well as I did. We took turns “talking” to Wanda, and for a few minutes she seemed almost like her old self.

  Then when she began to look tired, John and I started talking to each other instead. He asked me how I’d become so interested in dolphins and sea life, and I asked him what it was like to get to spend all day at the aquarium. He was actually pretty easy to talk to when he wasn’t posting secret photos of me on the Internet.

  John was telling me about a marine biology conference his dad had taken him to once when he suddenly broke off in midsentence. His smile faded as he looked down at the front of the tank.

  I followed his gaze. The same older kid I’d encountered earlier was standing down there looking in at Wanda, though he hadn’t noticed us watching him. I was glad about that—I wasn’t eager to face his obnoxious attitude again.

  “What’s he doing back here?” John muttered.

  “He who?” I glanced at him. “Who is that guy? I thought he was an intern here. Like you.”

  John didn’t even seem to hear me. He got up and clattered down the ladder, then rushed toward the older boy. The two of them faced off, both looking angry, though I couldn’t hear what they were saying from where I sat.

  I was about to move closer when my phone buzzed. It was Nia.

  Got hung up in Manhattan, she texted. Not sure I’ll make it back to you in time. Can you call your dad to pick you up?

  My heart sank. My parents had no idea how much time I’d been spending at the aquarium lately. They hadn’t even asked about Wanda since that first night at dinner. Now Nia wanted me to ask my father to pick me up here?

  I called her. “How late are you going to be?” I asked. “Maybe I can just wait outside until you get here.”

  “No!” She sounded alarmed. “If your folks found out I left you standing on a street corner in Coney Island …”

  “Okay, okay.” She had a point. “I guess I can call Dad.”

  I hung up and hit his number. He picked up after several rings.

  “Lily?” he said. “You okay?”

  “Sure, I’m fine.” I took a deep breath. “But I kind of need a ride …”

  I explained the situation—sort of, anyway. I left out the part about Wanda. Instead I let him think that my visit to the aquarium was a special treat from Nia because I’d gotten so much reading done.

  “Hmph,” he said. “She just left you there alone?”

  “I’m not alone.” I clutched my phone, not in the mood for an argument. “Um, she knows one of the scientists here, and he’s watching me while she runs her errands.”

  “Whatever,” he said. “I can come for you, but it’ll be a while—we’re at a job in Astoria.”

  I gulped. Astoria was in Queens, and at this time of day, with rush-hour traffic, it would be ages before he could get all the way down here. “Well, the aquarium closes in like an hour,” I told him. “The scientists might be able to stay a little later, but …”

  I couldn’t make out what he said next since he’d obviously mov
ed the phone away from his face. But I was pretty sure Nia’s name was in there somewhere.

  “Dad?” I said. “It’s okay. I can take the subway home—it’s not a big deal.”

  “No,” he barked. “It’s not safe.”

  “Sure it is, it’s just the F train,” I said. “I take it all the time. I know exactly how to do it.”

  I could hear John climbing back up the scaffolding behind me. “Who’s that?” he whispered.

  I lowered my phone. “It’s just my dad,” I said. “I’ll be off in a sec.”

  When I put the phone back to my ear, my dad was talking again—something about him calling Nia to chew her out. “Don’t!” I blurted out. “Listen, Dad, it’s not that big a deal. I’ll call her myself—maybe she knows someone who can come pick me up.”

  “You mean one of her crazy artist friends?” He snorted. “You’d be better off risking the subway.”

  John was poking me on the arm. I waved him away, but he only leaned closer. “Is Nia running late or something?” he whispered loudly. “I have an idea.”

  “No, it’s not a big deal, I just—hey!” I said as John plucked my phone out of my hand.

  “Hello, is this Lily’s dad?” he said into the phone. “I’m John Hernandez—my dad is the head biologist here at the aquarium. Lily can come home with us if her ride is running late.”

  “John, seriously, it’s no big deal.” I grabbed for my phone.

  But he dodged me, nodding at whatever my father was saying. “We live in Bay Ridge,” he said. “You could pick her up there whenever you want.” More nodding. “Okay, I’ll get him, hang on.”

  He lowered the phone. “He wants to talk to my dad,” he told me.

  “Wait—” I began.

  But it was too late. He’d already taken off, and a few minutes later it was all settled. I would go home with Dr. Hernandez and John, and my dad would pick me up at their place as soon as he could. I thanked John for thinking up the plan, and then texted Nia to let her know.

  Cool, she texted back a moment later. Let me know if their house is decorated all in fish like your room, lol!

  I just rolled my eyes at that, then put away my phone and went back to focusing on Wanda.

  I spent most of the rest of the afternoon on the scaffolding watching over Wanda. John had sat with me for a while, but then he’d had to go help feed the penguins out front. He invited me to come along and I was tempted to accept, but I decided to stay with Wanda instead. John seemed surprised and maybe a little hurt when I said thanks but no thanks, so I told him it was because I’d promised Nia I would read a few chapters that day—I even dragged my book bag up to the platform to make it more convincing.

  I was kind of glad when he left and I was alone with Wanda. Not that I minded his company—he was a lot nicer than I’d thought after that blog incident. But I wanted to make the most of my time with Wanda. Maybe if I watched her carefully enough, I could figure out what was wrong with her …

  Before I knew it, John was calling me down. “Time to head home,” he said.

  “Okay.” I stood up. “Bye, Wanda,” I called softly. “Rest up and feel better, okay?”

  The dolphin lifted her head out of the water as I clambered down the ladder, keeping my eyes on her the whole time. I waved at her and smiled when she swam past the glass right where I was standing.

  “She definitely recognizes you,” John commented. He glanced at his father, who had just walked over to join us. “Dolphins get to know people pretty easily, right, Dad?”

  “Yes,” Dr. Hernandez said. “They are known to bond with humans.” He smiled at me. “Ready to go, Lily?”

  “Sure.” I followed them out of the aquarium and across the parking lot. Dr. Hernandez’s car wasn’t fancy, but it was interesting. The hatchback held a smelly rope fishnet with dried seaweed stuck to it, a couple of large seashells, a single snorkeling fin, and a bunch of buckets, bottles, and towels. In the back seat next to me, a stack of books and magazines threatened to topple over. Most of them were about marine biology and oceanography.

  John turned and saw me peeking at the pile. “You can look at those if you want,” he said with a smile. “Right, Dad?”

  “Sure.” Dr. Hernandez glanced at me in the rearview mirror as he waited to turn onto Surf Avenue. “Help yourself, Lily.”

  “Thanks.” I paged through some of the books and magazines as we inched through traffic. Eventually we arrived at a large old brick building in a nice part of Bay Ridge. Their apartment was on the top floor. When we entered, a woman with dark hair and cat-eye glasses hurried to greet us.

  “Mom, this is Lily,” John said. “She’s the girl I told you about.”

  “Welcome, Lily,” the woman said with a smile that looked a lot like John’s. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Hernandez,” I said, feeling a little shy. How much had John told his mother about me, anyway?

  “It’s Dr. Duran-Hernandez, actually,” John corrected me. “Mom’s a scientist, too. Only she works for a company in Manhattan.”

  “It’s all right,” Dr. Duran-Hernandez said, shaking her head at John. “Lily, you can just call me Paula if you like—I know my last name is a mouthful!”

  Dr. Hernandez chuckled, loosening his tie. “Did you order dinner?” he asked his wife.

  She nodded. “It should be arriving shortly.” She smiled at me again. “Lily, you’ll join us, of course?”

  I realized I was famished and nodded. That falafel lunch with Nia seemed like ages ago. “Um, thanks,” I said. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

  “Cool.” John grinned at me. “Come on, I’ll give you a tour while we wait for the food to get here.”

  Dinner was amazing. And I don’t mean the food, although that was good, too—Greek takeout and a green salad that John’s mother had made before we got there. No, the great part was the conversation.

  When we all first sat down around the modern glass-topped table in the Hernandez family’s dining nook, I wasn’t sure what to say. After all, I barely knew them. Their lives were obviously nothing like mine, here in their fancy three-bedroom apartment with its doorman and elevator and views over the bay.

  But somehow, I forgot about all of that as soon as they started to talk. They discussed such interesting stuff! First Dr. Hernandez asked about his wife’s day. It turned out that she was a biochemist who worked for a company that was trying to invent new sources of energy. It sounded really interesting, and she seemed impressed that I asked her so many questions.

  After that, the conversation turned to the aquarium. John and his father had been keeping his mother up-to-date on the Wanda situation.

  “How’s she doing?” Dr. Duran-Hernandez asked, spearing a piece of feta cheese with her fork. “Any better?”

  Her husband shook his head. “It’s hard to say. She perks up now and then—”

  “Especially when Lily is talking to her,” John put in with a grin. “Did you know she speaks fluent Dolphinese?”

  I blushed as his parents both turned to look at me. “He’s exaggerating,” I said quickly. “I just try to imitate dolphin sounds, and sometimes Wanda acts like she’s listening. That’s all.”

  “Yes, you mentioned that before, I remember now.” Dr. Hernandez nodded thoughtfully. “If Wanda is with us for long enough, we could do a study. Maybe we can figure out the degree to which she’s responding to you. Could be interesting.”

  “Do you think she’ll be at the aquarium much longer?” I asked.

  John shrugged. “We can’t release her if she’s sick, right?”

  I took a sip of water and thought about that. What if Wanda didn’t get better soon? What if Dr. Hernandez and the other scientists never figured out what was wrong with her? How long would they keep her at the aquarium before giving up on her?

  “I just wish we knew what was bothering her,” Dr. Hernandez said.

  “Me, too.” I stared at my plate, suddenly not in
the mood to eat anymore. “Do you really think she could be injured like you said before?”

  “Injured?” John’s mother put in. “What sort of injury do you suspect, honey?”

  “That’s just the thing.” Dr. Hernandez sighed, fiddling with his napkin. “None of us can see any evidence of physical injury. She swims and breathes and eats just fine. It’s just her attitude that seems off.” He shrugged, his dark eyes sad. “Sometimes wild animals can’t recover from being in captivity.”

  John suddenly dropped his fork with a clatter. “Or maybe Owen Butler is up to his old tricks,” he blurted out.

  “Huh?” I had no idea what he was talking about. “Who’s Owen Butler?”

  John’s mother looked perplexed, too. But Dr. Hernandez was staring at his son. “Owen?” he said. “I thought I saw him at the lab today. But why would you think he has anything to do with Wanda’s situation?”

  “Because he’s a jerk, that’s why.” John frowned. “And Lily and I both saw him looking in at Wanda today. Right, Lily?”

  Suddenly I caught on. “You mean that kid you were talking to earlier?” I said. “Yeah, I saw him by the tank a couple of times. But who is he?”

  “Owen started a student internship at the same time as John did this summer,” Dr. Hernandez explained. “His mother works at the aquarium and convinced us to take him on.”

  “Oh, yes.” John’s mother nodded. “I remember you mentioning him. Susan Butler’s son, right?”

  Susan Butler—aha! That was the mean water-tech lady!

  “Wait.” My heart started pounding as I continued to figure out what John was saying. “You think that kid might be doing something to Wanda? Something to—to hurt her? But why would he do that?”

  “Because he’s a jerk,” John said again. “That’s why he got kicked out of the internship.”

  John’s father sighed. “It was an unfortunate situation,” he said. “Owen had to leave the program after less than a week.”

  “He was caught teasing the animals or something, wasn’t he?” John’s mother said. She stood and hurried over to the refrigerator to get more ice water from the dispenser on the front. “I remember you two talking about it at the time.”