“Yeah.” I gulped. “Cool.”
Barry jogged off. I gazed into the pool. Okay. I might be wrong about the monster. But one thing I knew for sure.
Where water was concerned, I was no jock. I was definitely a rock!
And I was about to sink at the Sink or Swim!
5
My eyes popped open the next morning. A pair of eyes stared back at me.
Fish eyes.
I sat straight up in bed. I glanced around the room.
Of course. My first full day at Club Lagoona.
I sighed when I saw the fish-shaped light fixture that hung from the ceiling in my room.
I gazed at the fish painted on the walls. The bedspread covered with seashells. The fishing net hanging from the ceiling. Even my pillow was shaped like a clam.
I shook my head. “There’s definitely something fishy about this room,” I joked. I cracked myself up.
“So you’re finally awake,” Polly called from the bathroom we shared. “Mom and Dad will be here any minute. We’re heading over to the Atlantis pool together.”
I flopped back down on the bed. The Atlantis pool. The Sink or Swim trial with Barry. It was this morning!
I had to find a way out of this. And it was going to take some pretty fast thinking!
Polly bounced into my room. She wore a black and bright purple bathing suit. “Mom unpacked your stuff,” she informed me. “Your new bathing suit is in the top drawer. And hurry up!” She yanked the covers off me.
“Okay. Okay,” I grumbled. I stumbled over to the dresser and yanked open the top drawer.
Oh, man.
I reached in and pulled out the most hideous bathing suit I had ever seen.
I twirled the trunks between my fingers. Green volcanoes spewed bright orange lava. In between the volcanoes were nauseating purple and red flowers.
Well, at least I would never have to wear the awful thing. Since there was no way I was getting into the pool! I buried the suit under a pile of T-shirts.
No bathing suit, no Sink or Swim.
Dad knocked and popped his head into the room. “You kids ready?” he asked. He stepped inside. Mom followed behind him.
“It’s time to get wet!” they cheered together.
I cringed. I had to get out of this. I couldn’t let them discover my secret.
“I—uh—I can’t find my bathing suit,” I stammered.
“No problem, Tad,” Mom reassured me. “We just stopped at the Wet Set Boutique, and I couldn’t resist these.”
She handed me a pair of swimming trunks. These were even worse than the volcano suit I had shoved into the back of the dresser.
Hmmmmm. Time for Plan B. If I could think of a Plan B.
“My stomach hurts!” I blurted out. “Must have been something I ate.”
Polly snorted. “You haven’t eaten yet,” Polly reminded me.
“You’re just hungry,” Mom reasoned.
“So quit fooling around, and let’s go!” Dad said.
I had no choice. It was Sink or Swim time.
And I knew which one I was going to do.
On our way to the Atlantis pool, I spied that weird guy with the bucket that I had seen yesterday. The guy who warned me that Club Lagoona was dangerous. As I passed him, he paused and picked up a piece of litter.
“Watch out for the deep end,” he muttered. Then he scurried away.
What am I supposed to be watching for? I wondered. If this guy was playing some kind of game, it wasn’t funny!
But I couldn’t think about him. I had bigger problems on my mind. In a few minutes, the fact that I couldn’t swim would be out in the open. My mom, my dad, and my obnoxious sister were going to witness my humiliating plunge to the bottom of the pool.
But then something great happened!
“Okay, everyone!” a Club Lagoona lifeguard shouted through a megaphone. “For the Sink or Swim race we’ll be separating into groups. Afterward, you’ll be put into smaller groups according to your skill. Ladies, follow Tina!” A woman with a long blond ponytail waved.
“Gentlemen, you’ll be swimming with Philip!” the lifeguard continued. A dark-haired guy raised his hand.
“Girls, with Dave. Boys, with Barry,” the lifeguard finished.
My family would be down at the other end of the pool, I realized. I was so relieved, I almost kissed Polly.
Almost.
“See you, squirt!” I told her cheerfully. I jogged over to join my group.
Barry wore his “Barracuda” top again. Something about the guy bugged me. I thought back to the day before. Why would an instructor shove a poor, unsuspecting kid into the water?
Barry nodded at me, then blew a whistle. My group jumped into the pool. Even me.
Ugh! I hate getting wet.
I clung to the side of the pool. I watched as the others splashed away from me. I figured I would do my usual trick of walking on the bottom and stroking my arms as if I were swimming. It always worked before!
But not this time! As soon as I let go of the side of the pool, I realized we weren’t in the shallow end! I frantically stretched my legs, trying to touch bottom. It was no good. I was in way over my head.
I thrashed my feet. I doggie-paddled. It was awful. Everyone was ahead of me and I kept swallowing the water they were kicking up.
Then I realized I wasn’t alone. There were two other guys doing the doggie paddle too. We were the last in the group to make it to the other side.
“You three,” Barry called. “You’re in my class—the Guppy class.”
Oh, well. At least we didn’t sink.
We crawled out of the pool and slunk to the shallow end. I sat between the two other Guppies. One of the guys was tall, even taller than me. The other kid was kind of chubby. He had on trunks exactly like mine. I guess his mom hit the gift shop too.
I smiled at them. “I’m Tad,” I said.
The tall kid grinned. “Let me guess. They call you Tadpole.”
I nodded. “Yeah. That’s my stupid Club Lagoona name. What’s yours?”
“Even worse.” He lowered his voice. “My name’s Neal. So they call me Eel.”
“Don’t worry,” I reassured him. “I’ll stick to Neal.” I turned to the chubby kid. “How about you?”
“Mark,” he replied.
“Shark!” Neal and I guessed together.
“You got it,” Mark the Shark admitted. He sighed. “This place gives me the creeps.”
“Me too,” I agreed. “Hey, has a weird little guy with a bucket—”
But before I could finish, Barry shouted, “Okay, Guppies, let’s get wet!”
Neal, Mark, and I glanced nervously at one another. Then we slowly slid into the pool.
Very slowly.
Barry started by having us stick our faces in the water. “Get used to getting wet!” he explained.
The next step was to open our eyes underwater.
“Okay, Tadpole, your turn.” Barry stood in front of me. “When I say so, go underwater. Then open your eyes and count how many fingers I’m holding out. Got that?”
I nodded.
“Go!” Barry commanded.
I ducked underwater and opened my eyes. I blinked a few times. The saltwater burned, but after a moment I got used to it. Barry’s hand came down. He held out three fingers.
I was about to push back up, when something behind Barry caught my attention. Something moving. Something green.
I peered past Barry’s hand. The water made everything a little blurry.
Whatever it was had vanished.
I was running out of air. I surfaced, gasping for breath.
“How many fingers, Tadpole?” Barry asked.
“Three,” I replied.
I scanned the pool. What was that green thing? And where had it gone?
Neal and Mark each took their turns counting fingers. I watched their expressions as they came up. Neither one seemed to have noticed anything unusual underwater.
Had I imagined the green thing? Probably just another piece of seaweed, I guessed.
Next, Barry stood a few feet away from the side of the pool. We had to push off from the side and swim underwater to him.
“If I start to drown, you’ll save me, won’t you?” I murmured to Neal and Mark. I was only half kidding.
“If you don’t have to save me first!” Neal joked back.
“Go!” Barry cried.
I took a deep breath and went under. I pushed my feet against the side of the pool. The force propelled me forward.
I glanced over to see how my fellow Guppies were doing. Mark’s arms were flailing all over the place, but he was clipping through the water.
Neal’s face twisted with effort. But he cruised along too.
Then I saw it again. Something green.
Something that looked like a long green tentacle.
And it was reaching for Neal!
I broke through the surface of the water. I shook my head, spraying water everywhere.
“What’s the matter, Tadpole?” Barry called. “Did you run out of air?”
“No! I—I—” My eyes darted around the pool. What creature could be so huge that it had a tentacle that long?
A gigantic sea monster would have a tentacle that long. But if there were a giant sea monster in the pool, I reasoned, we would all see it.
Wouldn’t we?
Neal and Mark stood beside Barry. None of them seemed worried. None of them had seen what I had seen. Which made me wonder: Had I really seen it?
Forget it, I told myself. You’re just afraid. And you’re letting your imagination run away with you. I spent the rest of the lesson actually having fun. Neal and Mark were cool guys. Even Barry wasn’t so bad—once you got used to him.
“Okay,” Barry announced. “That’s it for today.”
A lifeguard rushed over to tell Barry he had a phone call. “I’ll see you all tomorrow,” he called as he dashed off toward the resort lobby.
I rubbed my head with my towel. I was feeling pretty good. I made it through a swimming lesson.
“That wasn’t so terrible,” Neal declared.
“Yeah,” Mark agreed. “I think I’ll even come to the next lesson. Hey, if you guys want to hang out later, come by. I’m in room one hundred four.”
“Okay!” Neal replied. I nodded.
“Adios, fellow Guppies,” Mark said. Then he slung the towel around his neck and jogged away.
I said good-bye to Neal and headed back toward my room. I felt a little silly about imagining a green-tentacled monster in the pool. Maybe I had been reading too many horror stories about the sea. My mom always says I have a “vivid imagination.”
That’s when I spotted my sister. She ran toward me.
Her eyes were enormous!
She was soaking wet and shaking.
She jumped up and down.
“The creature!” she blurted out. “I saw it!”
6
I knew it! There was something in the pool!
I grabbed Polly by the shoulders. “You saw it? You actually saw the creature?” I shouted.
“Yeah!” she cried. She hopped from one foot to the other.
“Was it big?”. I asked.
“Massive!” she agreed.
“Was it green?” I demanded. I had to be sure I wasn’t imagining things.
She stopped and thought a minute. “Yeah, it was mostly green. And it had this long tail and an enormous mouth.”
“You got close enough to see that?” I asked in disbelief.
“Of course,” she insisted. “I rode down on the tail, and it spat me right out of its mouth into this whirlpool! It was amazing, Tad. You have to try it! You just have to!”
Now I realized which creature she was talking about.
“It was unbelievably cool! I slid down three times already. And I’m going back for more!”
Yup. I should have known. She was talking about the famous Creature Water Slide. The one I’d seen the kids on the day we arrived.
“You have to try it, Tad! It’s the best water slide in the whole world!” she exclaimed.
“Yeah,” I agreed weakly. “Can’t wait.”
* * *
The whole family had dinner in Club Lagoona’s Fishbowl Restaurant. Okay. I admit it. It was pretty incredible.
The floor of the restaurant was covered with fine white sand. Plants and trees grew everywhere. The walls were glass. Behind the glass swam all kinds of fish. It was as if we were eating in a giant fishbowl—only we were the fish!
I thought of my pet hermit crab back home in his terrarium. Now I knew how he felt!
It gave me the creeps. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was having dinner underwater. And I could swear some of those fish glared at me!
While we ate our meal, sharks swam by. We were stared at by giant sea turtles, manta rays, and tiny puffer fish.
“Look!” Polly cried, dropping her spoon. “It wants a kiss!”
A giant grouper pressed its mouth against the glass right behind us.
“Go on, Polly!” Mom urged. “Give him a kiss!”
Polly jumped out of her seat and darted over to the glass. She pressed her lips against the grouper’s. The grouper backed up and quickly swam away.
“Smart fish,” I commented.
Everyone laughed—even Polly. Mom and Dad were in really good moods. They were obviously enjoying Club Lagoona as much as Polly.
“How did your lesson go today, Polly?” Dad asked. Ice cubes shaped like sea horses floated around inside his bright green drink. He took a sip.
“It was great!” Polly answered. “I made lots of new friends. Mostly we practiced the backstroke. My teacher said I was a natural.”
“How about you, Tad?” Mom asked. “Did you make some new friends?”
I nodded and sipped my Tropical Lagoona Shake. “Yeah, I met two guys.”
“Bet you were the best in your class, eh, Tad?” Dad smiled broadly at me.
I tried to think of what to say. Maybe it was time to tell them about my fear of the water.
But they were so happy, I hated to spoil it. And I had to admit, I was starting to like the water. A little.
“Actually, there are three of us in my class who are about the same,” I explained.
I’ll tell them later, I decided. And maybe if I keep going to the swimming lessons, I’ll improve. Who knows? I reasoned, maybe by the final Sink or Swim relay, I’ll have nothing to confess.
* * *
After dinner we all split up. Mom and Dad went to Adult Recreation and Polly met some of her new friends.
I wasn’t sure what to do. I found myself wandering back toward the Atlantis pool. Something seemed to pull me there.
The pool was deserted. A lone lifeguard sat atop a high chair, reading by the dim lights. He must be there to stop people from swimming after hours, I figured.
I glanced down toward the deep end. A strange figure headed my way. As he got closer, I realized it was the little guy with the bucket.
I began to feel nervous. I wasn’t exactly sure why.
Should I go before he spots me—and gives me another weird warning? I wondered. Or should I stay and see what he’s up to? Maybe ask him about the green thing in the pool.
Before I could decide, he was right beside me. But he didn’t look at me. Instead, he gazed into his bucket. “You know more than you realize,” he whispered.
“Huh?” I asked. “What do you mean? What do I know?”
He continued past me.
I turned and watched him. Was he talking about the monster in the pool? And if he knew about it, why wasn’t he doing anything?
I ran after him. I had to know more.
I saw him dash around a corner.
“Wait!” I called. “I have to talk to you—”
I rounded the corner.
He was gone.
He’d disappeared into thin air!
I stopped abruptly. My mouth
dropped open. “Where . . . ? How . . . ?” I muttered. How could he have vanished?
My eyes searched the area. I spotted the sign for the games arcade. It was a giant fish that blew bubbles with the words GAMES! GAMES! GAMES! flashing in pink neon.
Maybe the strange little guy ducked in there!
I dashed over to the arcade. I was determined to find the man and ask him some questions.
I crossed the threshold of the arcade. Instantly the blaring sounds of video, computer, and virtual reality games blocked out everything else. The little man was nowhere in sight.
I glanced around, searching for him. Lights flashed all around me. The place was packed with shouting kids. It was useless, I realized. I didn’t see the guy anywhere. I would have to find him tomorrow.
I strolled through the crowded arcade.
My eyes locked on a game that was shaped like a big booth. The words UNDERWATER TERROR 2 blinked from the top of it.
Since I was already there, I might as well try the game. It was supposed to have the most awesome graphics—and be more realistic than any other game in the world.
Besides, I already mastered Underwater Terror 1. I was sure to beat this game in no time.
Finally, I thought. Something I’m good at—something where I don’t have to swim!
As I approached the booth, I glanced around again for the little man.
I really wanted to talk to him. I had to find out why he acted so weird. And what he meant by all those warnings.
Because there was definitely something fishy going on at Club Lagoona!
7
The next morning I woke up really tired. In fact, I couldn’t believe it was morning already. My sister and I were about to knock on our parents’ door. Then I noticed a piece of paper taped to the doorknob.
“Hold on, Polly, there’s a message,” I told her. I pulled the note off and read it. “It says they went to the Rise and Shine Water Aerobics and they’ll be back later.”
Polly raised her eyebrows. “That’s funny. Dad made a big deal about us coming to meet them.” She shrugged. “Guess they changed their minds. Oh, well See you later.”
“Yeah, see you,” I murmured. “Meet me back at our room before lunch. Okay?”