Crocodile Rescue! by Melissa Cristina Márquez

Author:Melissa Cristina Márquez [Cristina Márquez, Melissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2021-01-04T00:00:00+00:00

“Let’s go! What are we waiting for?” Mr. Savage cried, waving his hands in the air.

“Julio and I can go check it out. The kids stay,” my mom said.

Mr. Savage bit his lip. “Well … the show is about the Villalobos family. It’s in the contract. They should really come. Plus, they are the ones who found this channel.”

Mom frowned again.

“Mom, Mark and Connor said Adrianna did really well with the dog segment. And she just figured out where the injured croc might be. I think she deserves to come. She’s an important part of this team,” Feye said.

“You’re right, mijo,” Mom said, and turned to me. “I think we just have trouble with letting our little girl grow up so quickly …”

I smiled. “I’ll be okay, Mom. Promise.”

A giant grin flashed across Feye’s face. “You hear that, crew?! We’re going to save an injured crocodile! Let’s go!” he yelled.

We didn’t waste any time launching into prep mode and loading up the boats.

I let one of the sound production crew members put a microphone down the back of my shirt. Mom decided to take this opportunity to slather reef-safe sunscreen on my face, even though I hated how sticky the stuff left me. “Mo-om! It smells!” I complained, trying to get away from her white-covered hands.

“Skin cancer is no joke, mija. Let me put it on and rub it in well,” she said.

“But why can’t I wear some of the good-smelling sunscreen like the other kids I see on the beach?” I asked, frowning.

Despite my protests, Mom went ahead and put sunscreen on the back of my neck, the back of my hands, and behind my ears. Yuck!

Dad walked past us and scooped me up, carrying me onto the boat and setting me down near the front. He knew I loved the front of the boat.

“All right, we all ready?” Mr. Savage asked both our boats as he peered at us from the dock where he stood. “¡Estamos listos!” we all said in unison.

Mr. Savage fist pumped the air. “Awesome! I’ll be with the film production crew in this second boat and follow you all.” Mr. Savage turned to one of the camera people as he walked away from our boat and said, “Let’s see if we can get a drone up to follow us for some cool aerial shots. Can we do that?” We didn’t get to hear the answer to that question.

With the roar of the engine, we were off! It felt so good to feel waves pounding beneath the boat as we sped up and out of our main channel. The air was spiced with sea salt and I breathed it in.

We slowed down to go around a bend and I spotted a snake slithering across the water and up the roots of a mangrove tree. It was a creamy brown color. I would have missed it had it not been moving so quickly up the tree. Was it looking for an egg to feast on? I looked high up the treetop to see if I could spot a bird’s nest and found none.

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