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A worried face peered down at her. Enrique. “Shelly, are you okay?” he asked with a shake of his head. His curls sprayed salt water, and his clothes were drenched and clung to him.
“Y-yes,” Shelly choked out. Her voice sounded hoarse.
“I thought I lost you.” Enrique’s eyes flashed concern as he helped her to her feet.
Her ankle buckled as he propped her upright. He’s stronger than he looks, she thought. She glanced down at her foot. Her pants were torn by her ankle, and a circular red welt marred her skin. How did that happen? she wondered. Her thoughts spun. “Wait . . . w-what?” she uttered. She took in her surroundings. Waves rolled in the dark, moonlit sea beyond the beach.
How did I get on the beach? she thought.
“What were you doing on the catwalk? Miguel doesn’t let me go up there. It’s not safe.”
Shelly searched her foggy memory. The catwalk . . . the plastic cup in the ocean . . .
“You’re lucky I was nearby,” Enrique went on, wringing the bottom of his sopping shirt. “I was helping with the dolphins on the sundeck when I heard your friends scream. Well, more like shriek. And when I turned around, I saw a huge wave come out of nowhere and hit you.”
That’s right, Shelly thought. The wave.
“Don’t worry, your friends are fine,” he added with a lopsided grin. “Just a bit shaken.”
Her memory snapped back into focus. The glowing eyes. The wave sweeping her off the catwalk. Shelly trying to swim back to the surface and being pulled down, then . . . nothing.
“Y-you saved me,” Shelly stammered. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” said Enrique. “Lucky I’m in training to be a lifeguard next summer.”
“Right . . . really lucky,” she said, in shock that she hadn’t suffered a worse fate. “Thank you again. Hey, where are Mr. Aquino and the rest of the class? Are they still here?”
“No sweat,” Enrique said. “Everyone’s at the bus. Oh! I almost forgot!” He dug his hands into his jeans pocket. “When I pulled you out, you were holding this. You didn’t want to let it go.” He held out a nautilus shell. It was about the size of her fist
and gleamed in the moonlight.
Shelly took it from Enrique. She ran her fingers over the nautilus’s edges. The smooth enamel was yellowish, and it wound inward to a perfect pink spiral. “That’s really weird,” she said.
“What is?” he asked.
She bit her lip. “I—I don’t remember picking it up,” she said.
“You’re okay!” Kendall wobbled up the beach with Attina and Alana.
Shelly quickly pocketed the nautilus.
“Did you see the size of that wave?” Attina added.
“Shelly, you’re lucky you didn’t drown!” said Alana.
“Yeah. It came out of nowhere,” Shelly said, grateful that her friends cared.
“Enrique, like, totally saved you, Shells,” said Kendall.
He nodded. “Sometimes big waves appear, caused by a big boat, or an underwater earthquake, or a volcano. Anyway, she’s lucky I was nearby. It could have been much worse.”
“See, girls? This is why we only swim in pools,” Kendall said with a shudder. “Told you the ocean was dangerous. I’m telling my mom to cancel the aquarium field trip next year.”
Shelly didn’t have the energy to argue about it. Everything that had happened hit her at once, and all she wanted was to lie down. Her shoulders sagged and her knees buckled.
Just then, Mr. Aquino ran up to them on the beach. His eyes fell on her and widened in concern. “Shelly, what happened to you? Why are you soaking wet?”
“I was on the sundeck . . . and a giant wave swept me out to sea,” she said, her voice still raspy. “But Enrique saved me. He works here sometimes.”
