“Should we dive back to Mom and Dad?” Arjun asked.
Jasmine spun him around and looked at the bars on his tank. “No,” she said. “You have less than fifty bars. You don’t have enough air to dive.”
She looked up and saw the boat heading to them. “Come on,” she said to Arjun. “Let’s swim away from this spot and give the sharks distance. Captain Brody will come and get us.”
Suddenly there was a bubbling sound behind them. Jasmine and Arjun spun around. A moment later, Mom and Dad broke the surface of the water.
“Mom! Dad!” Arjun swam to their parents.
“Are you OK?” Dad asked as he inflated his buoyancy-control device.
“I think so,” said Jasmine. “The sharks seem busy with the fish.”
Mom’s lips were pressed into a tight, angry line. “I saw you trying to play with the fish, Arjun. I’m glad everyone is safe, but this should never have happened. Swim to the boat. We need to have a family discussion.”
CHAPTER 8
DIVING BUDDIES
Back on the boat, the family sat in a circle on the sunny deck. Jasmine was still shaken from their near-miss in the water.
“I looked up from the reef and saw you swimming into the school of fish,” Mom said to Arjun. “You know that’s against the rules.”
Arjun opened his mouth to speak, but Mom held up her hand. Arjun nodded and pulled his legs to his chest.
“I tapped your dad on the shoulder, and we raced toward you.” She looked over at Jasmine. “Jasmine was already on her way.”
“I couldn’t believe what I saw,” Dad said. “We’ve talked to you kids about respecting the underwater life. This is their territory.” He shook his head. “Swimming right into the middle of the school of fish. Arjun, I’m so disappointed.”
Arjun blinked fast and swallowed. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“This is why we observe marine life, but we leave the animals alone,” said Mom.
“We tried to get to you,” Dad said. “But there were so many fish, and you got lost. We didn’t know where you were until we saw you swimming to the surface. Do you know how terrified we were for you?”
“I’m so relieved nothing terrible happened,” Mom said.
“But it could have,” Dad said to Arjun. “Sharks, fish, and the other marine life have to be respected. There will be consequences for your behavior.”
“Arjun, you’ll stay on the ship with the boat crew,” said Mom. “You can help me or your dad organize the data we collect. You can also brush up on your reading about the reef and remind yourself how much it needs to be respected.”
“For how long?” Arjun asked.
“Until you can be trusted to respect the ocean and its inhabitants,” said Dad. “How long that is will be up to you.”
“You’ll have to show us you can be responsible,” said Mom.
“What about me?” Jasmine asked. “Does that mean I have to stay on the ship too?”
“No, of course not,” said Mom. “Why would you think that?”
“I usually babysit him if you guys go out,” Jasmine said.
Dad shook his head. “This is different,” he said. “Arjun needs to deal with the consequences of his behavior. You didn’t do anything wrong, Jasmine. We wouldn’t ground you from the dive.”
Hearing her dad’s words, Jasmine realized he was right. This situation was different.
Jasmine sighed. If only I’d talked to Mom and Dad sooner, she thought. We could have solved the Arjun problem days ago!
“While Arjun is on the boat, you’ll dive with your mom or me,” Dad added. “I’m proud of what you did to help your brother and to get yourselves out of a scary situation.”
“Arjun helped me too,” she said. “When I panicked, he calmed me down.” She put her hand on her brother’s shoulder. “You were a great diving buddy.”
Arjun shook his head. “No, I wasn’t,” he said. “If I’d been a great diving buddy, I wouldn’t have bothered the fish or gone deeper in the water. I’m sorry, Jasmine. I could have really gotten us hurt. I promise, from now on, I’ll be the best diving buddy you’ve ever had. Once I’m allowed back in the water, that is.”
Jasmine grinned. “Thanks, Arjun. I’m going to be your best diving buddy too. And I’m going to start right now. How about if we get those books on the reef and start reading?”
“Really?” Arjun asked. “You don’t mind spending the afternoon with me instead of diving?”
“I don’t mind at all,” Jasmine said. “We’re buddies, in and out of the water.”
AUTHOR BIO
Natasha Deen loves stories—exciting ones, scary ones, and especially funny ones! She lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with her family, where she writes stories for kids of all ages. When she’s not writing or visiting schools and libraries, Natasha spends a lot of her time trying to convince her pets that she’s the boss of the house.
ILLUSTRATOR BIO
