Swimming With Sharks by Melissa Cristina Márquez

Author:Melissa Cristina Márquez [Cristina, Melissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2021-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Mr. Savage wasn’t at his usual seat at our table during breakfast the next morning. I had been hoping to learn whether or not our Shark Appreciation Festival was a go.

“Do you think Mr. Savage has an answer yet?” I asked as Mom made up a plate of food for me.

“Maybe. But regardless if it is a yes or no, we are so proud of you, Adrianna,” Dad said as he smiled at me. He already had his morning cup of coffee and seemed a lot more alert than Mom, who was sipping away slowly at her tea. She had woken up with no pain from the jellyfish sting and the only evidence that anything had ever happened was a pink mark on her arm.

Mom nodded. “You really showed initiative by taking responsibility for your emotional outburst the other day and harnessing those frustrated emotions into some positive action.”

She turned to Dad. “Our little girl is growing up! Right before our eyes!”

I rolled my eyes.

We all ate in silence for a few minutes, the only noise at our table the slurping of drinks or the clatter of silverware against our emptying plates. I slowly drank my milk, happy to have something cold to refresh my dry throat. As I put my glass back down, I took a second to breathe in the spices that hung in the air like a yummy perfume. I looked at the colorful dishes on everyone’s table, the conversations a mixture of English, Sinhala, Tamil, and some other languages that sounded like music coming out of their speakers’ mouths.

One voice in particular cut through the melody. “Good morning, everyone! How are we doing today?” Mr. Savage boomed, suddenly quieting those around us.

Different from his usual garments, he wore a flashy black outfit that shimmered in the lights. I looked at the clothes the camera crew wore to see if we had to go back upstairs to change. No one told us we had to look fancy today! I was in an old khaki shirt, my swimsuit, and dirty shorts, so if we were going to some party, I at least wanted to look kind of nice.

Before any of us could respond, Mr. Savage began speaking again. “Do we want to hear some amazing news? Or today’s itinerary?”

“The amazing news, of course!” I shouted. I quickly clapped my hands over my mouth. That had been a little louder than I intended.

“You heard my sister! The news!” Feye parroted, play-punching my arm to let me know it was okay I had been too loud.

“The network loved the ideas! So today I’ll be heading into town and working with some local vendors to find where we can set up this amazing festival,” Mr. Savage said, and then turned to me and winked. “Including your photo gallery idea.”

I instantly brightened up and ripped my hands away from my face. Hooray! Yes! This was just the news I needed to hear to continue to prove myself as a part of the Wild Survival! team.

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