Two Schools Out - Forever

105

"You can what?" I called, getting up and walking toward the water.

"I can talk to fish!" Angel said happily, water dripping off her long, skinny body.

"Ask one over for dinner," Fang said, joining us.

The Gasman shook his head like a wet dog. "You can not," he said.

"I'll prove it!" Angel dived back under the water.

By this time, Nudge and Iggy were walking up.

"She talks to fish now?" Iggy asked.

Then, with no warning, a six-foot shark surfaced, mouth open, maybe two yards away from Gazzy. None of us made a sound-we were conditioned not to yell in a crisis. I'm sure we were all screaming in our heads. I sprang into the water, grabbed Gazzy's arm, and hauled him toward shore. He was frozen with fright and seemed like dead weight. I kept expecting to feel the huge tug of the shark taking off my leg.

Angel popped back out of the chest-high water. I motioned her urgently to do an up-and-away. She laughed.

"He's my friend!" she shouted. "He's saying hi!" The shark had circled and was now moving right toward her. My heart was in my throat-what if she only thought she could talk to fish? "Go on, maybe you should wave," Angel said to the shark, as I tensed to fly out over the water to snatch her up.

Before our eyes, the shark literally turned on its side, came a little bit out of the water, and waved a fin slightly.

"Holy cra-," the Gasman began, but I said, "Gazzy!"

"Would someone please tell me what the heck is going on?" Iggy said.

"Angel just made a shark wave its fin at us," Nudge told him breathlessly.

"Uh-wha...?"

Then three more sharks appeared in the shallow water around Angel. Together, the four sharks turned on their sides and waved their fins.

Angel was laughing. "Isn't that so great?"

Total trotted up next to me, his little feet kicking sand. "That's awesome! Make them do it again!"

My knees felt weak. I needed to sit down. "That was neat, sweetie," I said, trying to sound calm. "Now please ask the sharks to leave, okay?"

Angel shrugged and talked to the sharks again. Slowly they turned and headed back out to sea.

"That was so awesome," Total said, as Angel splashed toward shore. He licked Angel's leg, then spit. "Ugh! Salt."

"So, Angel talks to fish, is that right?" Iggy said carefully. "And this is useful how?"