Stingray City by Ellen Prager

Author:Ellen Prager
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781938063718
Publisher: Mighty Media, Inc.
Published: 2016-05-13T16:00:00+00:00

13

THE SHARK PACK

TRISTAN STARED AT THE FINS, WHICH LOOKED even bigger the closer they got. He wanted to climb into the boat with the others but knew it would look bad. He was shark boy after all. Be brave, he thought. I can do this. Tristan took a couple of deep breaths, trying to stay calm. Coach Fred aimed a light over the side of the boat.

“Man, they’re big,” Hugh said. “Must be at least fifteen feet.”

“Like, they’re the biggest sharks I’ve ever seen,” Ryder added.

“Geez, thanks guys,” Tristan muttered.

Tristan clung to the small dive platform at the back of the boat. He nervously ducked underwater. Coach’s light illuminated the lead shark as it neared. It was the biggest shark he’d ever seen. And he’d seen some pretty big sharks. The one coming toward him had a huge, wide head; its big black eyes looked nearly three feet apart. The shark’s dorsal fin had to be a foot high. Then Tristan saw black stripes across the shark’s back. He knew what kind it was. It didn’t make him feel any better. Nor did the shark’s partially open mouth, which was filled with rows of dagger-sharp, serrated teeth. Tiger shark. Tristan remembered reading about tiger sharks. They reportedly ate just about anything. In their stomachs, scientists found other sharks, birds, and stingrays, along with a license plate, boots, and even a bag of potatoes. And tiger sharks were known to be especially curious, aggressive, and unpredictable. Tristan’s heart pounded harder. He hoped this tiger shark wasn’t feeling moody or hungry for a new snack sensation.

The shark silently cruised by, one eye staring at Tristan. It then tilted its head as if to get a better look at him or survey which of his limbs looked the meatiest. Behind the first lengthy tiger shark was another, along with five smaller blacktips. Closely following the blacktips was a group of small striped fish, like a bunch of big-shark groupies. The shark pack swam by Tristan and circled around the boat.

“What are they saying?” Sam asked.

Tristan shook his head and hung absolutely still in the water. He waited for the sharks to come back around, thinking about how to best introduce himself and make it clear that he was a very poor snack choice—low in nutrition and not very tasty. Nothing brilliant came to mind. The big tiger shark in the lead again headed toward him.

Uh, hi, Tristan thought. I’m Tristan, and I can talk to sharks.

The tiger shark swam by and Tristan thought it said, Duh.

The second tiger shark then approached. It paused to stare at the teen. Tristan decided to just get to the point, thinking, Heard you might, uh, have some information about what happened at Stingray City.

Who told you that?

Tristan quickly explained who they were, why they were there, and that he’d talked to the stingray and nurse shark on the reef below. The shark hovered and stared at Tristan, as if deciding whether to believe him or check out his flavor profile.

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