Jasmine sped to her brother and grabbed his vest, pulling him down. Then she swam away from the fish in a horizontal path.
Once they were out of the range of the school, Jasmine looked toward the surface. She kept an eye on the shark.
So far, so good, she thought. It’s concentrating on the yellowfin goatfish.
Holding tight to Arjun, Jasmine swam toward the surface. She made sure she exhaled to equalize the pressure in her lungs. Every few feet, she poked Arjun in the side. The sharp movement forced him to exhale, ensuring he didn’t get any nitrogen in his blood.
The water grew brighter as they climbed higher. Finally, they broke the surface.
Jasmine yanked the cord of Arjun’s buoyancy-control device. His vest inflated. She did the same thing to her vest. Once they were safely floating, she let him have it.
Jasmine pulled the regulator out of her mouth. “What were you thinking?” she exclaimed. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? We could have been seriously hurt!”
“I’m sorry!” Arjun was crying. “I just wanted to see the fish.”
“You did see them! The problem was you wanted to play with them. They’re not pets, Arjun.” Jasmine knew she was yelling, but she couldn’t help it. The encounter had been terrifying. “They’re wild creatures, and you have to respect them. And you have to respect their space!”
“I know!” Arjun said. He hiccupped. “I’m sorry!”
“Stop crying.” Jasmine snapped to cover her fear. “I have to think about what to do next.”
“Maybe we should swim back to the boat,” Arjun said, sounding scared.
“Mom and Dad are still underwater,” Jasmine said. “I have no idea if they saw what happened. I don’t know if we should swim back to where they are or go to the boat.”
As she thought, Jasmine treaded water. She looked toward the dive boat, hoping to see Captain Brody.
Sure enough, Jasmine spotted him. Captain Brody stood on deck, waving his arms in the air. Jasmine squinted. No, he wasn’t waving. He was pointing.
“Jasmine! Jasmine!” Arjun pulled her arm. He was pointing too.
Jasmine looked over her shoulder. There were three shark fins poking out of the water. And they were coming in their direction.
CHAPTER 7
ALONE IN THE WATER
“Sharks.” Jasmine gulped. “Why are there sharks up here?”
“Jasmine, your arm,” said Arjun. He pointed again, this time at her.
Jasmine looked down. There, in the clear waters, was a thin trickle of red.
“Oh, no!” she realized. “I bumped up against the reef when I was swimming after you. I must have ripped my suit and cut my arm.”
Jasmine gently pulled at the neoprene material to check her cut. It didn’t look too deep, but sharks had a keen sense of smell. They could smell blood from a quarter of a mile away.
“I’m so sorry,” Arjun said. “This is all my fault.”
“It’s my fault too,” Jasmine said. “I was so mad at you that I wasn’t paying attention. I hit the reef, and I cut myself.”
Arjun pointed to the fins in the water. “What do we do?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” Jasmine swallowed the lump in her throat. Arjun wasn’t the only one who wanted to cry.
“Yes, you do,” Arjun told her. “You always know. You’re a great diver and a great diving buddy.”
Jasmine shook her head. Tears blurred her vision as she stared at the sharks.
“I thought I did the right thing getting us up here,” she said. “But I was wrong. Look at the sharks! I should have swum back to the reef. I should have taken us to Mom and Dad, but the shark was blocking our path.”
“Think, Jasmine,” said Arjun.
Jasmine was having a hard time breathing. She wasn’t sure what to do. She pulled anxiously at her vest.
“Jasmine! The sharks!” Arjun said. “Think!”
Arjun’s words and his fear snapped Jasmine out of her frozen state. She was his diving buddy. He was counting on her.
Stop, think, breathe, act, Jasmine reminded herself. She took in a long breath, held it, then let it out. She blinked away the tears. The sharks came into focus.
Jasmine watched the sharks swimming. They didn’t seem to be moving any closer.
“They’re not interested in us,” she realized. “They’re interested in the school of fish we left.”
